We left Amman, Jordan, yesterday and flew all night. Three flights with stops in Abu Dhabi (in the Middle East) and Bangkok. In the afternoon we arrived in Hanoi exhausted from lack of sleep. Our upcoming Vietnam tour arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and deliver us to our hotel. Along the way we saw interesting vehicles. After a 45-minute drive we...
We are on a pilgrimage. We are making progress!! Every person is on a pilgrimage whether they are aware of it or not! Life is a pilgrimage. This was our last day in Jordan but we had a late flight so we did some last minute sightseeing in Amman. We went to the Blue Mosque. (Friday is for prayers at the mosque and family gatherings with meals. Saturday might include a...
Jamel who manages all of the mud-wallowing tourists at the Dead Sea took a shine to us. So much so that he gave us a water bottle container full of Dead Sea mud to take with us. Since we can’t take it with us, we mudded up before showering last night. What a mess. I am sorry for the hotel attendants. All the “maids” are men. Marwan says that they...
We are back in Amman and thought that we would go to a different church than last week. Redeemer Church a.k.a. International Anglican Church of Amman speaks English and ministers to expatriots. Again, churches in Amman meet in Saturday evenings. Mission: They are a family of people from different nations and church traditions who are called to trust in Jesus Christ...
We started the day with a camel ride. We had done this before and thought that it was worth repeating as we lumbered through the beautiful rocky mountains and the red sand dunes. Before we left, Marwan tied on our Jordanian scarves the proper way. I tried to do it myself and Marwan said that it was very good for an American but not so good for a Jordanian. We look...
We had such a full day yesterday that we decided to sleep late. However, before lights out, my favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals, were playing last night in a must win game to continue in the post season. They played at midnight. What is a fan to do? I contacted my family and told them to yell extra loud, and that I hope to wake up to learn that we won...
Today we went to the Lowest Museum on Earth located at the Dead Sea since it is 1,410 feet below sea level making it the lowest point on earth. The museum runs on solar power and I thought that this was a neat advertising sign quantitating its impact. Here they told about excavated items found in the area that gave information to the style of dress. They had been...
Today is a day of learning. We stayed at the Ajloun Nature Reserve. The Wild Jordan parks were established through efforts of Queen Rania. We have a cabin. In the middle of the night we heard some noises. It kind of sounded like a bunch of coyotes but coyotes don’t travel in packs. Not dogs, not wolves but a strange type of barking. Our guide said that they...
The population of Amman is four million. There are 1½ million cars so traffic and pollution are getting worse. They also have a serious trash problem. It is normal for people to picnic and just leave trash.Houses in Jordan are white buildings with red roofs. The limestone comes from Jordan and Hebron in Palestine. There are water tanks on top of the buildings for...
Today was a day of activity and adventure! Machaerus Traveling south from Amman, first we stopped at Machaerus which currently is called Mukawer. We hiked about 15 minutes to reach an old fortress on top of a hill. Now there are only some remains of the fortress including two columns that were rebuilt. The fortified palace overlooks the Dead Sea region and the...