Jordan episode 4

On the move today. Said goodbye Amman and hello Wadi Musa just outside of Petra. It was a full day in the little bus on the Kings Highway and lots of stops to explore along the way. Our highway has been an international trade route for the last 5000 years. Our first stop was to view the magnificent Jordan river valley from the top of Mount Nebo. Moses was said to have seen the land of Canaan, milk and honey, before he died from this pinnacle. Fascinating to think we walked the same ground as Moses. On a clear day you can see the Dead Sea, Jericho, and Jerusalem. There is a photo of our travel group and one of our guide, Samir, attempting to move a stone used as a door. New meaning to a rolling stone.... We loaded up and off to Madaba to poke into St George's Church. Notable in this area are the striking Byzantine mosaics. The mosaic on the floor of this church is from the 6th century and the oldest known map of the holy land. Of course every organized tour has one of those "let's learn how they make something and lead you into the sales room". The mosaic workshop was no exception. Ya, I bit. Bought a small one after quite a bit of negotiation and bundling 3 people's items together. Of course the one I really liked was 1000 - not dollars, denars... which still is about $1400 USD. I just about choked. Lunch treated us to vista views of the Jordan River valley from our table. On our way to Petra in the afternoon we stopped at the overlook to the Mujib Valley. Absolutely breathtaking. Last stop before the hotel was to take lots of pics of a fortress built by the crusaders in the 12th century. Do we remember the name...nope. Arrived at our hotel in Wadi Musa. It is so cool. Our arrival was in the dark to maybe will have pics in the next episode. Tomorrow Petra!!