Earline's Big Adventure: Finally caught up

I've got a couple of hours left on this internet card, so I figured I'd use them...and this computer loads pictures really quickly! So I'm going to catch you up, and show you the last of the pictures from the middle east. You guys have to know that these are only a tenth of the pictures I took, but at least you get the idea!

You know...I don't have to go back to Egypt. There are a couple of places I could go, and would enjoy them (Alexandria) but Egypt itself was not some place I really felt at home. Jordan was different. Part of it was the fact that, for the first time, I sort of knew the history. It's all biblical! It is amazing to travel through the place names you have known since a child!

For starters, I had a great guide. She, yes she, was too funny! She and I drove all over. She definately had a list of things for me to do, and was not about for me to miss one sight that could be found in Jordan! Since I only knew of Petra, this was cool with me! Below is a picture of the first thing she wanted me to see. Unfortuanately, I don't remember the name of the church, but this is a mosaic on the floor of the whole church center, showing all the important places in the area, meaning all the important places in the Bible! This, I think, was my most intriguing thing in Jordan. Petra was incredible, but this, so unexpected, was amazing!

Next we went to an ancient fortress. When you think of the crusades, and you see the movies, you wonder how 2000 people could live in a fortress. Not anymore! It was HUGE! and hallways, rooms, kitchens, chapels everywhere! Below is only a small bit of the fortress. You could see the defensive way it was built, with slits to ffire arrows and tunnels to pour hot stuff on your enemies! It was really cool, especially imagining it teaming with people!

After this, we drove to Petra. We drove in a fog, so that was a little hair-raising, but I think I've already told you about that! So here are some pictures of Petra. The first is the entrance...it's no wonder the place was lost for so many years!

Then of course...the treasury...

What I didn't realize, but should have, is that the city is enormous! The treasury is only the begining. There are tombs carved all over. The reality is that if it was dedicated to a god, or meant for a tomb, it was carved into the stone. The people lived in brick houses, which have not survived. So all we are looking at is tomb and temples.

After this, we went to Wadi Rumm, or the desert. I want to go back and spend the night! There is nothing for miles, and all I can think of is how huge the sky must be. We took tea at a Bedouin camp, and drove a pickup through the desert, stopping for photo opps! So here are some of the photos...

Our driver...