Today was a long day of travel. We loaded up the bus at 8:00 am with all of our suitcases, etc. to leave Israel. We drove from Nazareth to the border crossing on the Jordan River. Our bus driver we have had for the entire trip had to drop us off at the border checkpoint, as the bus company he works for is not allowed to take passengers into Jordan. We thought we would just have a little bit of wait as we obtained our visas and went through security. But, that is not what happened. Our Jordanian bus company had an old copy of our schedule and was not there to pick us up. Our host called the company and they sent our bus up from Amman, Jordan. We had around a two hour wait in “no man’s land” between the two countries. Finally our bus came and we were able to go through all the checkpoints without any problems, and get all our luggage loaded onto the new bus.
Then we began the long drive to Madaba, Jordan where we will spend the next three nights. On the way we went through some d
esolate looking land. The area was hot, dry and barren, with an occasional tree and several small towns along the way. Bedouin encampments are quite frequent throughout the area. 
Just prior to arriving in Madaba we stopped atop the traditional site of Mount Nebo for devotions and some picture opportunities. Mt. Nebo is the place where God took Moses to look over into Canaan before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. From atop the mountain we could see the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho, and several other towns. They told us that on a very clear day, today was hazy, you can see Jerusalem.
Going down the mountain we arrived in Madaba. Our hotel is quite nice. We had a late lunch upon arrival. Between lunch and dinner we went across the street to a Greek Orthodox Church that
was built atop an older church that had a large mosaic map of the entire Holy Land area. It was constructed by the Byzantines in the late fifth or early sixth century. Quite interesting and although the map is not complete, due to earthquakes and damage done by other religious groups, it is remarkably well preserved.
We then had a little bit of time to walk up and down the streets near the hotel and look at the local souvenir shops.
We have an early wake up call in the morning, 5:30 am. We will be leaving the hotel for a three hour trip south to the ancient city of Petra.
Then we began the long drive to Madaba, Jordan where we will spend the next three nights. On the way we went through some d
esolate looking land. The area was hot, dry and barren, with an occasional tree and several small towns along the way. Bedouin encampments are quite frequent throughout the area. 
Just prior to arriving in Madaba we stopped atop the traditional site of Mount Nebo for devotions and some picture opportunities. Mt. Nebo is the place where God took Moses to look over into Canaan before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. From atop the mountain we could see the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho, and several other towns. They told us that on a very clear day, today was hazy, you can see Jerusalem.
Going down the mountain we arrived in Madaba. Our hotel is quite nice. We had a late lunch upon arrival. Between lunch and dinner we went across the street to a Greek Orthodox Church that
was built atop an older church that had a large mosaic map of the entire Holy Land area. It was constructed by the Byzantines in the late fifth or early sixth century. Quite interesting and although the map is not complete, due to earthquakes and damage done by other religious groups, it is remarkably well preserved.We then had a little bit of time to walk up and down the streets near the hotel and look at the local souvenir shops.
We have an early wake up call in the morning, 5:30 am. We will be leaving the hotel for a three hour trip south to the ancient city of Petra.
1 comment:
Okay, that's it! Now I AM getting jealous! You better take a lot of pictures of Petra, Sam!
Been praying for strength for all of you, the ability to endure the heat, and to find the joy in all you're able to see and do.
Daisy was glad to see me today, but told me not to come back without Hannah. There's a love affair going on there! :-)
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