Jerash/Dead Sea

Not a great night- my tummy didn’t like something I fed it and in the early hours decided to get rid of it. Another lousy night.

Luckily, by the morning tummy issues were resolved and we were up and out promptly. Sad to leave Jerash Hills – the outside space has been a joy.

Still, at least we can say goodbye to Ski Slope Hill. It gave us a final send off though, with a good bit of sliding about in the car near the top.

Next stop, Madaba and St George’s Church, followed by Mount Nebo, then final destination of the Dead Sea.

We had to retrace our steps back to Amman and this time we had to drive all the way through it. It’s not the easiest place to drive in and Google gave us some interesting short cuts, one of which was Jordan’s answer to the San Francisco hills. As you’ve probably surmised by now, Jordan is not flat.

We arrived in Madaba unscathed (which was more of a challenge than you might think) and found St George’s Church.

The church is famous for its mosaic of Palestine. The mosaic dates back to AD 560 and was discovered in 1896 when Christians were ousted from Karak and had to resettle in Madaba. It was while the Christians were building their homes and churches that the mosaic was discovered. It is thought that originally it was approximately 15 metres long and 6 metres wide and is a brilliant historical picture of places such as the Sea of Galilee and the Nile Delta.

After that bit of culture it was off to the grog shop. Although Jordan isn’t officially a dry country, in some areas it can be quite difficult to get hold of alcohol so always worth topping up when you can.

Booze bought, time to hit Mount Nebo. (This is the most sight-seeing I’ve done in years.)

Mount Nebo is where Moses first viewed the Promised Land. He passed away soon after, apparently at the age of 120. Quite hard to believe but then he did separate the Red Sea for his followers so I guess anything can happen.

Definitely mosaic day as Mount Nebo has a room dedicated to ancient mosaics, the most impressive being the Diakonikon.It depicts a range of animals including an ostrich and a weird camel/giraffe (think the artist had an off day) and is perfectly preserved. Apparently it was underneath another mosaic and no one knew it was there until the 1970’s.

Dazzled by culture and history, it was time to see what our next accommodation near the DeadSea had in store for us. Jerash Hills would be a hard act to follow but Four Zero went above and beyond. Modern, stylish, with a fab pool, we definitely hit the jackpot. The only downside are the flies. No one’s fault, it’s just how it is here, but they are a pest.

Flies are small beer though as far problems go, and talking about beer, dinner was a the beer and burger bar which lived up to its name. I had both beer and a burger whereas the others went for fajitas and beer. All good and a nice atmosphere with other people enjoying the availability of alcohol too.

Tomorrow it’s one of the highlights of our trip which we’re all excited about – A watery hike through Wadi Mujib. Dead Sea on Tuesday.