Friday, March 2, 2012

Snow? On the Desert?

Today we left Beit Zaman, our cozy restored ancient village hotel in Wadi Musa near Petra, and slowly made our way over treacherous, snow covered roads towards Amman, the capital of Jordan.

The roads were particularly slippery because snow is rare here and I'm not sure snow plows, road salt, or even snow shovels are a part of the culture.


Once we got to Amman and checked into our hotel, we slushed out to explore a bit, getting our feet very wet and enjoyably watching Jordanians enjoying the snow.

A snowman in front of a hotel in Amman
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What a trip this has been! Remembering the snow here in Jordan, the marvel of Petra, the beach at the Dead Sea, the stark beauty of the Negev Desert, the glory of Jerusalem, and the sweetness of Galilee, we head back across the Jordan River for Tel Aviv and then home tomorrow.

Shalom!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Petra. Oh, my!

We emerged from yesterday's zero-visibility sandstorm (it nixed our jeep ride in Wadi Rum) into a gloriously clear, yet icily cold and windy day. But trust that weather is not a factor when what's on your agenda is Petra.

The mile-long walk down the Siq to the Treasury was amazing as we saw with our own eyes what the Nabateans wrought over 2,000 years ago, and we couldn't believe our eyes when we got there!

Our first glimpse through an opening in the canyon walls



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And camels, wonderful, wonderful camels.
We agree with Mary: "You can never have too many pictures of camels!"