Are you ready for part 2?? If you haven't seen
Part 1 yet, click here to catch up!! Tons of pics and some videos along with a trip narrative so you can see everything I did on this 15 day adventure.
This post starts us out on Day 5/12 of the Egypt/Jordan/Israel trip (see part 1 for Morocco!) where we caught an early morning flight from Cairo, Egypt to Amman, Jordan. The Jordan tour agent was waiting for us at customs when we landed and made the arrival process very swift and easy! We quickly gathered our bags and we were on our way with our local guide first heading for the ruins of the Citadel.
The Citadel shows evidence of inhabitants dating back to the Neolithic Period, and was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). It was controlled by several different civilizations throughout the centuries, but devastation from earthquakes made it fall into obscurity until being resettled in the 1800s with excavations and renewal efforts in the 1900s.
Roman Temple of Hercules, built 2nd century AD
On site is the Jordan Archaeological Museum which houses many artifacts found in the surrounding areas.
Eastern gate of the Umayyad period (600s AD) mosque (reconstructed)
Umayyad Palace
Roman theater, built in 100s AD
At this site, we also toured the Jordan Folklore Museum as well as the Jordan Museum of Popular Tradition.
After this site we moved on to tour the ancients ruins of Jerash (Gerasa). Jerash has been inhabited since as early as 7000 BC, and most likely established as a major city by Alexander the Great in 300s BC. Here are some of the largest and best preserved Greco-Roman ruins in the world.
A devastating earthquake in 749 AD threw the city into ruins, and after that it was only inhabited by small groups of people.
Arch of Hadrian, built 100s AD.
Oval forum
View of forum and colonnaded streets (cardo maximus) from the South theater
Temple of Artemis, built 100s AD
North Theater built 100s AD and used for government meetings.
The Nymphaeum fountain, built from pink granite around 200 AD.
After this amazing but hot day we were happy to check into our hotel in Amman the Gerasa Hotel. After cleaning up and resting for a bit, we walked down the road and explored our options for dinner.
I was surprised to see so much American fast food! There was Popeyes, KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks...we ended gambling on a small smoked shawarma place with an all Arabic menu. It was a win! We each got a delicious meal for a great price.
Day 6 we hit the road to head south for our next destination--the Dead Sea. We watched the landscape change into more desert appearance, and our elevation slowly dropped. See the sign where we reached sea level...
From there we continued on to our hotel, the Dead Sea Spa and Resort. It is right on the shores of the Dead Sea in a very touristy area. The Dead Sea is the lowest point of elevation on Earth, at over 1400ft below sea level. It is 9x saltier than the ocean thus no plant or animal life can survive the waters. It's Biblical name is the Sea of Salt, and has been used as a "health resort" dating back to Herod the Great (1st century BC). The Egyptians used bitumen (natural asphalt) from the sea in the mummification process.
Amazing view of the sea from my room!
After unwinding and changing clothes, we took the long walk down to the private beach for a mud bath and to float in the salty waters. We could only stay in for about 15 min! It starts to get very uncomfortable on the skin.
Later that evening we decided on one of the many hotel restaurants for dinner and we enjoyed a Lebanese feast with food left over.
The sunset over the west bank was amazing from my room as I enjoyed a relaxing evening inside.
Day 7 we hit the road once again for the 3rd destination of our Jordan adventure--Petra! I was very excited for this one and was really looking forward to seeing the historical city.
Our last views of the Dead Sea as we headed south and started to rise again in elevation and into the mountains.
Petra (Greek for "rock") has been inhabited by different groups including the Nabataeans as far back as 7000 BC and is still to this day. Arab history believes that Petra is the location where Moses struck the rock with his staff causing water to flow for the Israelites.
The Nabatean people were Arabic nomads who made Petra a major regional trading hub in Wadi Musa ("Valley of Moses"). They were very skillful in harvesting rain water, agriculture, and carving stone. Most of the famous rock carved buildings and tombs date to the 1st century AD. Very soon after it fell to the Romans, however as sea trade routes emerged the importance of Petra declined. In 363 AD a major earthquake destroyed many structures. Over the next several centuries the population declined more leaving only the local nomadic tribes until it was rediscovered in the 1800s by a Swiss traveler.
One of the first structures you see when entering via the Siq are the Djinn Stones. They are funeral monuments built by the Nabataeans in 1st century AD.
Next you see the Obelisk tomb built for Abdomanchos
As we enter the Siq ("shaft") which is a narrow canyon leading to the main area, you see the original Nabataean aquaducts carved in the stone. The canyon was very prone to flash flooding, yet the native people controlled the water with dams, cisterns, and water conduits.
After a moderate 3/4 mile walk through the canyon to the city center, you start to get your first glimpse of the "Treasury", one of the most recognizable places in Petra.
We continued on with our guide past the theater, the street of facades, and the Royal Tombs.
Remains of the Great Temple.
After stopping for a drink and a snack, we turned around and made our way back up the city center toward the Treasury where we caught a horse ride back to the beginning!
At the visitors center was a great museum with artifacts that were found in the area. We enjoyed walking around inside and seeing all of the history.
Once we got back into town, my two friends wanted to visit a Turkish bath so I had the guide drop me off at a small place where I could enjoy a private shisha! You may know it was hookah--flavored tobacco. I did lemon mint and it was delicious!
After that was dinner where we tried some delicious Jordanian food. I don't even remember the name of it but it was very good! There were meat patties under the potato slices cooked in a tagine with a yogurt and tahini cream sauce.
Another long day done and we happily checked into our hotel the newly remodeled P Quattro Relax in Petra city.
We were the only people up on the rooftop pool with an amazing sunset view of the city and a huge hot tub!
Another day in Jordan done! Day 8 would be our last full day in Jordan but not at all short on adventure! We drove further south into the Wadi Rum (Valley of the Moon) desert.
Wadi Rum has been inhabited for over 12,000 years with thousands of ancient petroglyphs and inscriptions found in various canyons and areas throughout. Currently the Bedouin (desert dweller) people which are Arab nomads inhabit small areas of the desert and have a village. Some live in goat hair tents with camels as the primary mode of transportation and sport with annual camel races.
As we got into the village, we met up with one Bedouin man who took us on a 2hr Jeep tour into the desert! With the wind and sand we definitely had to cover up as much as we could.
We stopped at "Lawrence's Spring" where Lawrence of Arabia described the Ain Shalaaleh spring. It is still a functioning natural spring where camels come from all over every 3 days to drink.
Next we headed to Khazali Canyon which has many petroglyphs carved into the canyon wall that we got to see. These date back to 8th century BC! Of course there was also a random coffee stand as well, haha!
We also trudged up a sand dune to get some views of the surrounding desert.
After all the exploration our Bedouin friend took us all back to his tent where we shared lunch with him cooked in the traditional Bedouin way. Rice, chicken, baked potato wedges, cucumbers, flat bread, and even cans of Coke!
From there we ended the trip at our "hotel" Sun City Camp. This site was out in the desert with individual tents for each room, and one large dining tent. These were luxury tents however!
We decided to add on an optional sunset camel ride, because why not? So after settling our stuff we went back out to meet our Bedouin guide who got us mounted each on a camel then we took a walk into the desert to wait for the sunset.
After sunset we rode our camels back to camp and awaited the delicious feast they had prepared for all of us! The buffet was amazing and we ate outside to enjoy the cool desert temps.
Before tucking in for the night, I did get away from the tent lights a bit to see the night sky. However the Harvest moon was too bright for stargazing!
Day 9 we hit the road early to start the long drive from southern Jordan back up the coast past the Dead Sea to cross the border into Israel and begin our last leg of the adventure.
At one rest stop there was a cute little kitty that needed some lovin!
The drive to the border crossing took about 5hr, then the actual process of crossing the border with security and customs took about 3hr...so that was a long and tedious afternoon! We did not have any tours planned that day thankfully so we were not in a hurry. Once we got to Israeli customs and retrieved our bags after security, our Israeli driver was waiting for us with a sign and we were on our way!
The ancient city of Jericho is close to the Allenby bridge that we crossed on our way to Jerusalem in the West Bank.
These pics are from the drive thru Jerusalem to our hotel.
Motorcycle ambulance!
We checked into our final hotel in Jerusalem, the Prima Royale. That evening we walked thru the city and discovered we were right by the US embassy! We found a trendy cafe for dinner and enjoyed some great food on the patio. I devoured a chicken schnitzel.
US embassy
The previous sites on this trip were mostly historical and geographical in nature, however the sites I planned for Israel focus on Biblical and Christian heritage. Many of these sites overlap in importance for Judaism as well as Islam. Many archaeological discoveries have verified Biblical sites as true history, as well as significant people and rulers referenced with many major sites being verified by dating and evidence. Growing up a Christian and reading the Bible gives a whole different feel to actually walking in sites that Jesus walked, and seeing things that he would have seen 2000 years ago. And that is why I finally came here.
Day 10 our local guide picked us up at 830am and we started off the tour of Jerusalem at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. It was very informative and humbling as we walked through the exhibits and saw the awful things that happened during the Holocaust. I did not take any pictures inside the museum.
After the museum we headed for the old city and parked at the top of Mt of Olives where we saw one of the oldest active cemeteries in the world. It has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3000 years and is a very holy site for both the Jews and Christians. Many stories from the Bible happened right here, including Jesus preaching to his disciples, and praying the night before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. There are also many ancient tombs carved into the mountain dating back to 1st century AD.
View of the Dome of the Rock in the old city from Mt of Olives.
Looking down on olive trees as we made our way to the Garden of Gethsemane (Gethsemane means "olive press").
Walking through the ancient olive trees in the garden. The oldest trees have been dated to be over 800+ years old, however they grow shoots from the existing trunks and are generational so these very well could be the parent trees from Jesus' time.
At the garden is the Church of all Nations. This Catholic church was built in the 1920s and funded by several different nations. The site is built on top of previous remains of churches dating back to a 4th century Byzantine church that was destroyed by an earthquake. Some of the centuries-old original mosaic were incorporated into the modern day flooring for preservation.
Under the glass floor section here is the original mosaic you can see, and how they matched the modern floor design.
Beneath the dome and the altar, there is a section of natural rock which is believed to be the site that Jesus prayed overnight before his arrest.
After we walked down the Mt past the garden we crossed the Kidron Valley and made our way into the old city of Jerusalem. We happened to be here during the week-long celebration of Sukkot, so there were many crowds of people entering the city.
We entered through the ancient walls via the Lions Gate. These current walls were built by the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s.
We started our journey on the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross, which symbolizes the path that Jesus took starting from his arrest to trial to crucifixion.
We stopped at the Prison of Christ, a small Greek Orthodox chapel where it is believed Jesus was held prisoner along with two other men during his trial. The original building was redesigned and expanded by the Crusaders during the 12th century.
As we continued along our way we stopped at a small eatery where we grabbed lunch. I had falafel with hummus, it was delicious.
Close to where we ate there was a section of original stone walkway dating to the Second Temple period of 1st century AD. These are stones that Jesus and countless other people of his time walked on as they made a pilgrimage to the Temple.
As we continued along the Via Dolorosa, we went thru the Muslim quarter of the old city.
To end the Stations of the Cross and enter the Christian quarter at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we entered via an Ethiopian monastery Deir es-Sultan (Monastery of the Sultan) who claim rights to the tomb of St Helena and state that they are descendants of King Solomon. This is all on the grounds of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
One of the major points of the Church is what is believed to be Calvary (Golgotha)--the rocky hill where Jesus was crucified. Historical records state that 3 crosses and a tomb were found here in the 300s AD after being built over by the Romans in the 1st century AD. Constantine demolished the Roman temple in the early 300s and discovered the ruins of the tomb and other artifacts--shortly after that the Church was consecrated in 335 AD.
Over the centuries different groups fought to take control of the site along with damage from attacks and earthquakes. A major reconstruction occurred in the 11th century by the Byzantines, and later in the 12th century by the Crusaders. More renovation was done in the 16th century by the Ottomans, and the current iron dome was built in 1810 after a fire caused the previous dome to collapse.
Beneath the enclosure here is the rock of Calvary.
Here is a view from the lower level
We made our way thru the church and saw beautiful mosaics and decoration.
Here is the Stone of Anointing to symbolize the burial slab where it is believed that Jesus' body was lain for burial preparation. This current stone was added in a 1810 reconstruction.
Here is the dome over the Resurrection tomb believed to be where Jesus was buried then rose again.
In March 2020 the site was closed to visitors due to the pandemic for the first time since the 1300s for the Black Death. It reopened in May 2020.
We continued thru the city from the Christian quarter and to the Jewish Quarter.
Next we got to see excavations of the Second Temple era and remains that have been excavated dating to the 1st century AD several meters down.
Next we see the ancient Roman Cardo Maximus which would have been the major road intersecting Jerusalem. It was excavated in the 1970s about 20ft below the current street level. It was originally paved in the 2nd century AD by Hadrian when the Romans had control of the site of Jerusalem. It was extended south in the 6th century by the Byzantine. There's actually an original map from a church in Jordan depicting Jerusalem from the 6th century:
After finishing this tour of the city, we left the old city via the Zion Gate to see current Mount Zion or the Western Hill.
The bullet holes in the stone can be seen from the 1948 war for independence.
We briefly saw current Mt Zion, or the Western Hill where the symbolic Tomb of King David is. This site is holy to the Jewish as they used it for prayer when they were not allowed to access the city from 1948-1967. The site was considered the holiest site in Israel until the Jewish were able to reclaim the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, and is now used as a synagogue. The Upper Floor or the Cenacle (dining room) of the former church is considered to be the site where Jesus had the last supper with his disciples, as well as many other Biblical events. The current building has been through much destruction and renovations resulting in the structure that is there now, but evidence has dated the foundation below the building to late Roman period perhaps 2-3rd century AD. I did not take any pictures of this building.
We walked around the walls and reentered the old city via the Dug Gate to make our way to the Western wall or the Kotel. This site is significant as is the site of the First and Second Temple. The First Temple was built by King Solomon around 957 BC and where the Ark of the Covenant was housed (per the Bible this ceremony occurred during the Feast of the Tabernacles, which coincidentally was the holiday I was here during). The Temple was plundered and robbed by many over the centuries, then in 586 BC it was destroyed by the siege of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
The Second Temple began construction in 516 BC by the Persian King Cyrus the Great, and was expanded in the 1st century BC by King Herod, leading to the Temple's other name of Herod's Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans during their siege of the city. Curiously I found that according to an inscription on the Colosseum in Rome, Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum with war spoils in 79 CE – possibly from the spoils of the Second Temple.
Pictured here is the Kotel (Western Wall), over half of which is dated to the Second Temple era including the large stone blocks in the second picture. Pilgrims come to this site and place prayers in the cracks of the stone.
Leaving the old city one last time thru the Dung Gate, we began our walk back across the Kidron Valley to where we started on Mt of Olives. We got a great vantage point of the ancient tombs of Zechariah and Benei Hezir (formerly called the tomb of St James). The structure on the right with the cone top is a solid structure carved from the stone, but is not actually a tomb. It seems to mark a second entrance tunnel to the neighboring complex called the tomb of Benei Hezir. The structure on the left is actually the oldest of these and dates to the 2nd century BC. It is a complex burial cave and an inscription on it states it was built for the Hezir family. These are all structures that Jesus would have seen and walked amongst in his time as he went from the Mt of Olives to the Temple.
This structure is called Absolam's Pillar and is named for King David's son Absolam. However it has been dated to 1st century AD and is believed to be a funeral monument for the Tomb of Jehoshaphat for which the entry for is behind and to the left. The structure itself contains a burial chamber with 3 burial sites. The cave behind it has several burial niches however the remains were unidentified and the name "Jehoshaphat" refers to the Biblical name for this valley which translates to "God will Judge".
Beautiful evening view of the old city
Day 11 and our last full day in Israel brought us to the north where we first headed to Nazareth. This small mountain town was where Mary and Joseph lived, and where they brought Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem.
We visited the Basilica of Annunciation, or the Church of the Announcement. It is built over what is believed to be the site of Mary's house.The current church was built in the 1960s.
Some of the excavated remains from prior churches were preserved in the current construction, some dating back to the 4th century AD.
Excavations beneath the church dating to a home or tomb from 1st century AD.
After that we headed to the Church of St Joseph. This statue of Joseph was in the courtyard, and depicts him sitting on stones. Interestingly as a Christian we all learn that Joseph was a "carpenter" but actually it's a mistranslation from the original Greek New Testament that calls him a "tekton" which is more like a stone mason. The houses in this area were made of stone.
Some original doors unearthed around the area.
A humble cave home complex dating to 1st century AD.
After this we drove to the town of Magdala to have lunch. Magdala is the town where Mary of Magdalene is from. She was a close friend of disciple of Jesus.
After lunch we went to the town of Tabgha on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. Many Biblical events happened in this area included the multiplication of the fish and laves, as well as where Jesus calmed the storm for his disciple Peter. Jesus lived in this widely traveled area for 3 years while teaching his disciples and spreading the Word.
In Tabgha we visited the Church of the Multiplication. The current church was built in 1984 on the remains of prior churches dating back to the 4th century AD.
The mosaics pictured were excavated and are remains of a 5th century floor depicting varied wildlife and plants from the time.
Current restoration work was ongoing while we were there.
Below is a limestone rock that was also uncovered during excavations. This rock is believed to be where Jesus fed the crowds from.
Below is a 5th century excavated image of a "Nilometer" which was crucial in these times for the people to monitor the levels of the water to help plan for droughts. The upper part that is a bit darker is the original mosaic, the lower lighter colored part is restoration.
Next we headed to the coastal town of Capernaum where Jesus lived with Peter and other disciples during his ministry here after leaving Nazareth. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee (Kineret) and was a heavily traveled crossroad called the Via Maris which linked Europe, Asia, and Africa during the time, enabling him to be in contact with many people as they journeyed. The village was inhabited continuously from the 2nd century BC up to the 11th century AD when it was abandoned some time before the First Crusade.
Many Biblical miracles happened here, including healing of several sick and injured people. Jesus taught in the synagogue in this town, and excavations have uncovered an original building believed to be Jesus' synagogue dating back to the 1st century AD.
The Memorial Church of St Peter was built in 1990 over the remains of what has been archaeologically verified to be the house of the Apostle Peter with whom Jesus lived for 3 years of his ministry here. Inscriptions have been found dating to 1st century AD with the names of Jesus and Peter.
An octagonal church was built around the original site in approx 450 AD.
Here are the excavated remains of a small village and living quarters from 1st century AD. The stone is local basalt stone.
Here are the ruins of a 4th century synagogue which was actually built on top of the remains of the original synagogue from Jesus' time.
The white limestone of the 4th century structure can be seen sitting directly on top of the original black basalt stones from the 1st century synagogue in which Jesus taught.
1st century AD millstones and artifacts uncovered in the area.
Our final destination for the day and for our trip was the Yardenit Baptismal site located near the mouth of the Jordan River coming out of the Sea of Galilee. This site was established in 1981 as an alternative pilgrimage site from the previously established baptismal site of Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan a bit further down the Jordan River closer to Jericho. Access to that site is restricted due to military activity and the shared border and conflicts with Jordan.
The Jordan River is significant to Christians because it is where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and many others. The original Baptismal site along the River by Jericho is also believed to be the location where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
In the Yardenit location pilgrims are able to be baptized in the Jordan waters as well! The water is quite clean with much plant and animal life.
I did put my feet in the waters as we observed a large group participating in a baptism.
It was a serene way to end the day, and a great finish to our amazing trip! From Yardenit was the 2 hour drive back to our hotel in Jerusalem for our final night.
On Wednesday morning Oct 4 I left Israel from Tel Aviv on a direct flight back to Toronto, Canada where I picked up my car and finished the 2hr drive back home that evening. Just a couple days later is when Hamas began their vicious attacks against the Israeli people that is now dominating the current news. My prayers are with the Jewish people, as well as the Palestinians caught in the conflict. No person should be subjected to terrorist and extremist attacks with no regard for women, children, or innocents.
