Jordan Final Day - 22nd March 2008

9.00 a.m - We start our journey on the final day to the Citadel. From here a splendid panorama of Amman can be had. Similar to Rome, Amman was situated on seven hills. The Citadel dates back to the Roman/Byzantine period where the traces of the fortifications of Roman times can be seen such as the temple of Hercules and the remain of Byzantine Church. It was constructed under imperial ruler, Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180). From atop of the hill, we can view the Roman Amphitheater below, the largest in Jordan, capable of seating 6,000 spectators. Beside the ruins, sits a nondescript archeological museum with only a token sampling of Dead Sea Scrolls, the majority of the collection residing in neighboring Israel.

The Bible also recorded that King David captured the city in the early 10th century BC; Uriah the Hittite, husband of King David's paramour Bathsheba, was killed here after the king ordered him to the front line of battle.

Temple of Hercules

The Audience Hall


Inside the hall

The remains of Byzantine Church

Cistern

Roman amphitheater


Archeological Museum

Skeleton of a baby buried in the vase

Dead Sea scrolls made of sheep's skin

10.45 a.m - We continue or journey to the Cave of 7 sleeper - Kubur Ashaful Kahfi. The story begun when the seven young men were accused of Christianity. They were given some time to recant their faith. Instead they gave their worldly goods to the poor, and retired to a mountain to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed. Decades passed. At some later time, during the reign of Theodosius the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, to use it as a cattle pen.

As stated in The Qur'an that the period of time these sleepers spent in the cave was three hundred years during which the calendar of their people was changed from solar to lunar and, as a result, the period of their sleep has increased to 309 (lunar) years. When they woke up, they had no idea they slept for centuries and thought they only slept a few hours. When they sent one of them to buy food, the coins he used to buy food were out of circulation and drew the attention of the town's people. After the story was widely known, the sleepers died. The Qur'an also mentions a dog along the sleepers.

The Cave of the 7 sleepers

The remains of skeleton

11.30 a.m - We then had our lunch at one of the restaurant in town. We planned to had our lunch in one of Malaysian restaurant but our tour guide got the info that the restaurant is closed for some construction. After lunch we went to the souk in the city to find some souvenirs to bring back home. Nothing much attract my interest but I did bought some table mat, shawl, t-shirts, key chains and fridge magnets for friends. After 2 hours of shopping we decided to go back to our apartment and had some rest before departed to Khartoum.

6.30 p.m - Hubby went to a nearby Burger King's restaurant to buy some food for dinner. Pack the remaining stuff bought in the souk and get ready to the airport.

9.00 p.m - Ust. Zaid and the driver had waited us to send to the airport. It was really a tiring holidays but we had fun and glad that we manage to cover almost the historical places in 4 days. Until our next holidays in June we will keep the sweet memories in Jordan in our heart. Last but not least thanks to my dear hubby for a wonderful birthday present for me and Erica.

Us in front of our hotel apartment

The kids waiting to check-in

Jordan Day 3 - 21st March 2008

8.30 a.m - Ready for another day of adventure. Snap a few photos while waiting for the driver and Ust Zaid to fetch us.

Hubby & kids in front of Qairwan Hotel

9.00 a.m - Arrived at Karak Castle but we had no chance to enter since the opening hour was at 10.00 a.m. Hubby decided not to wait as we are supposed to go to the Dead Sea and the journey would take time. Took a few pictures outside the castles before headed up to the Dead Sea.

Karak Castle was constructed in the 1140s under Paganus, the butler of King Fulk before taken over by the Arabs. It was also called Crac des Moabites or 'Kerak in Moab' by the Crusaders. Because of its position east of the Jordan River, Kerak was able to control Bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca. During the Ottoman period, It played an important role due to its strategic location on the crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Greater Syria.

Us with the Ottoman canon

Karak Castle

9.30 a.m - Continue our journey to the Dead Sea. Took us 1 hour to reach there even though it look so near from the top of the castle. The side of the roads was full with tomato farm. I cant resist but to ask our driver to stop by at the road side to take some photos. The tomato was so fresh that I felt like taking some back home. Tapi kang makan hasil curi pulak.

The ripening tomato

10.30 a.m - The driver stop by a cliff overlooking at the Dead sea to take photos before heading to the public beach. If you can see from the pictures, the water was so clear and beautiful. No polution at all. I was amazed with the beauty of the ocean. How wonderful Allah created it. In the pictures below all the white stuff was all the mineral salts. The amount contain 4 times the amount of sodium chloride as is found in normal ocean, making it unsuitable for plant and animal life and also u could float by yourself. The formation of the mineral salts look similiar like coral. It was also told that the water can help in treating skin problem. Don't know how true is that.

Dead Sea is the lowest point on the surface of earth. It was once told that it was the land the Prophet Luth lived. The people of the towns and cities were sinful for their acts of homosexuality, raping men, robbery and murder and had therefore been given a punishment for such deeds. The punishment arrived when angels in the form of beautiful men were sent down by Allah as guests for Luth to host. When Luth's people heard of the men, they rushed to Luth's house to misbehave and rape the men. This was their final test which they failed so the angels raised the land where the prophet's people lived, tipped it upside down and threw it back on earth, causing the ground near the impact to cave in. Thus, the lowest land on Earth was formed because of this punishment. The non-believers were destroyed and the followers were saved.

The salt deposits on the cliff


Beyond the cliffs is Israel


Us at the beach - Ehsan tempted to swim

12.30 p.m - Since none of us swim, we continue our journey to Mount Nebo. According to the Bible, Yahveh had told Moses to climb so that he could see the promised land before dying and it is here that Moses was buried. A cross signs the spot chosen to commemorate his death. Now the place are use to display all the mosaic design by the mosaic craftmen Soelos, Kaiomos and Elijah and some say it is still been used for pilgrimage by the Christians.

Monastery Complex - under construction


Us at the stone mark


The Brazen Serpent sculpture

1.45 p.m - We went down from Mount Nebo to find our lunch. But on the way back we saw alot of craft shop making mosaic, so we insist the driver to drop us for a while. Eventhough the craftmen are handicap but they are talented. The mosaic made are not only to be frame for display but also they made into furniture like table top for dining table. But the bigger mosaic are the cheapest one compare to the smallest mosaic. This is because the smallest one consume time, neatness and patience. We did bought one mosaic for our new house in KD - our house number.

The craftmen designing for a table top

2.45 p.m - Had lunch at a restaurant in town and headed to Madaba Church.

3.30 p.m - Arrived in Madaba to look at the most famous floor mosaic design at St. George Church, the Greek-Orthodox church. It was a sort of geographic map of Palestine created for the benefits of the pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. It was a huge map that I guess about 3 meters long.

St. George Church

Mosaic design of Palestine map

The explaination of the map

4.00 p.m - Spent half an hour at the church and start the journey again back to Amman. The journey to Amman took about 1 hour before we reached at our apartment. This is the only time we got back to the hotel at early time. We also been introduced to our new tour guide, Ust. Said as Ust. Zaid had to go to Syria to guide the next group to arrive tomorrow. We had nap upon arrived at the apartment.

8.00 p.m - Later that night we went to a shopping mall since hubby desparate to have his McD. Got some toys for the kids and 2 pairs of blouse for me. Bought some vege from Carrefour to bring back to Khartoum. Had a wonderful night got to be in a surrounding similar to Malaysia. At least terlepas rindu nak jalan2 kat shopping mall.

10.30 p.m - Headed back to our apartment and started to pack our stuff as tomorrow another hectic day to come.

Jordan Day 2 - 20th March 2008

6.30 a.m - Woke up really early to make sure that I could get ready and prepare the stuff to bring but only to found out that the water heater still wasn't switch on. Really got pissed off and told hubby to asked Ust. Zaid to find us another hotel. I can't tolerate with this. I don't expect a 5 star hotel but a basic need is needed - water heater & air cond. Nasib tengah winter so air cond takde pun takpe.

I started to pack all the stuff soon after Ust. Zaid agreed to find us another hotel.

9.00 a.m - Had a simple breakfast. Transfer our luggage and stuff to the new hotel room before heading to Petra. This time around I checked and make sure they had the water heater in place.

11.00 a.m - Stop for a while at tomb of Al-Harith b. Umair Al-Azdy. He was the emissary for Rasulullah. When he brought the Prophet's message to the Roman, he was decapitated by Ghassanid Chief. Due to that the Battle of Mut'ah started in attempt for Muslim to take retribution against the chief. Muslim won the battle even though they only send 3000 people defeating over 100,000 of Arab Christian.

The tomb of Al-Harith b. Umair Al-Azdy

Along the way to Petra the scenary much the same as yesterday. Jordan is full will valley that I found it sometimes very scare to look straight ahead.

The hills and mountains....

Tanur Dam

The scariest part was when we nearly arrived to Petra. The slope surrounding Petra were full of houses. So scared of looking the places. Kalau kat Bukit Antarabangsa mau terjunam rumah-rumah ni.

The hill fill with houses

12.30 p.m - Arrived in Petra. It was an amazing experience got to be in Petra and had the chanced to look the tall facade of the 'Treasury', the most famous monument in Petra. The area was so huge that the charioteer said that we should spend 1 week to really appreciate its secrets. We had to hire a chariot to the 'city' as the distance between the main entrance to the place is about 30 km away. Sapa larat jalan tahan la lenguh kaki...

Petra is an archeological site lying on the slope of Mount Hor. It is renowed for its rock-cut architecture and also one of the new wonders of the worls. The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was discovered by a Swiss explorer. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time". UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.

Soon after we went through at the end of the Siq, we could see the famous Treasury. The facade of the building was carved out of a sandstone rock face. It was originally built as a royal tomb, probably between 100 BC and 200 AD. Its Arabic name Treasury derives from a legend that bandits or pirates hid their loot in a stone high on the second level. Many of the building's architectural details have eroded away during the two thousand years since it was carved and sculpted from the cliff. Religious unrest in the area during recent years has reportedly resulted in further damage to the site.

We spend 30 minutes to take some pictures there as the chariot had been booked earlier. We was lucky because the charioteer was sympathetic to us with the two kids. The road to the 'city' was bumpy that we felt our b*** numb after the journey.

Us in front of the Treasury


The facade of the Treasury

1.45 .pm - Out from the 'city' and spent some time looking around at the nearby bazaar selling souveniers. Ehsan took a break eating a cone of ice-cream after a tiring walk.

Ehsan enjoying himself

3.00 p.m - Stop by at a nearby restaurant to had lunch and changed the kids diapers before continuing our journey.

4.00 p.m - After lunch we stop at one the Prophet Musa's spring - Mata Air Nabi Musa. It was told when Nabi Musa went down to Jerusalem, the Israelite felt so thirsty. Allah had ordered Nabi Musa to struck the ground with his walking stick and with Allah's will water sprung out from it.

We also visited a nearby souvenir shop selling bottle sand. We had the chanced to see the making of it. We also bought around 20 ++ bottles sand for souvenirs for families and friends.

Kawasan Mata Air Nabi Musa

Nabi Musa's spring


Bottle sand making

A neat work needed

Seal the bottle with few drops of Pepsi

5.00 p.m - Headed back to our hotel in Karak. Stop by to buy dinner and some snacks.

7.45 p.m - Arrived at the hotel room. Took shower and had a nice dinner. Watched TV with the kids until we all passed out.

Jordan Day 1 - 19th March 2008

2.30 am - Check-in at Khartoum International Airport for Jordan. We are the last passenger and the counter is nearly closing. The counter staff said there are only 3 seats available although we bought 4 seats. After arguing we decided to take the available seats. Had to wait about 45 minutes before boarding in the plane. Alhamdulillah at the very last minute we able to have our seat back.

Us at the runaway before boarding in the plane

6.30 a.m - Arrived in Queen Alia International Airport,Amman. Our tour guide - Ust Zaid a student in Jordan; were supposed to greet us but we have to wait about an hour. before he arrived. Change them out of their pyjamas and fed them before continuing our journey.

Ehsan & Erica waiting for the tour guide

10.00 a.m - Arrived in Ajloun Castle after a 2 and half hours journey from Amman. It was built as a small fortress by Izz Ad-Din Usama bin Munqidh on the site of Jabal Beni Auf. It permitted to control the road of Damascus and Egypt. It was also to develop and control the iron mines of the Ajloun. In AD 1260, the Mongols had destroyed sections of the castle including its battlements. After a majot destructive earthquake struck the castle, The Department of Antiquities had sponsored a restoration program and consolidation of the walls.

Ajloun Castle

The view from the top of the castle

The interior view of the castle

11.30 a.m - Headed to Jerash, the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Jerash, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is considered as one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities. It was a city of the Decapolis - a group of 10 cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Jordan, Syria and Palestine.

We are lucky to arrive early for the 1st show of the Roman Army and Chariot Experience (RACE). The show started by introducing their equipment and demonstrate battle tactics Roman army used such as throwing pilae (spears) and wielding the famous short stabbing sword, the gladius. Apart from that four chariots with two horses (bigae) appeared in a whirl of dust. It was really enjoying watching the shows. Even the kids stay still to the final.

The Greek, the Trojan, Retiarius, Secutor, Thracian and Us at the battle field

The Roman Army

The chariots

1.00 p.m - About few kilometers from the hippodrome there is the entrance to the city. We had to enter the Arch of Triumph to see the whole city that reached a size of about 800,000 square metres within its walls. I left hubby to take some pictures inside the city while Erica and I waited for them outside. But it doesn't last long as Ehsan start been cranky. I guess they are all tired and hungry.

Arch of Triumph

The column

The forum - the so-called oval piazza

Part of 56 Ionic columns at the forum

1.30 p.m - We headed from Jerash and had our lunch before continuing our journey to Karak which took us 3 hours to arrived. We are really tired that we all slept all the way through the journey. I had a chanced to snap a few pictures along the way after I woke up.

Agak seriau jalan-jalan kat sini. Lots of steep mountains

5.30 p.m - Arrived at the hotel and had some rest. Had a bad experinced - the hotel doesn't have water heater and the water is so d**n cold. Had to wait for the manager to switch it on at 7.00p.m. In the meantime we had to bare the coldness if terasa nak terkucil. Macam ni punya service pun ada.

8.00 p.m - Dinner was served to us in the room. Eat and all of us knock out by 10.00 p.m!