From the Dead Sea to Petra

A long, full and great day today but I feel like I am almost in sensory overload at its close. Before we set out this morning, Mike gathered us all in the hotel foyer to sing the blessing song (the one to the Edelweiss tune) to the staff and whoever else was around. People were videoing us and it felt a bit like one of those flash mobs you see on Facebook sometimes.

Our first stop was Mt Nebo, where Moses got to see the land that he wouldn't actually enter. We looked at the same view but it was unfortunately rather hazy due to sandstorms. Mike had a couple of people read the relevant verses from Deuteronomy and then the guitar came out again for another song.

From there to a lovely little museum nearby, La Storia, which had some beautiful tableaux of traditional Jordanian life and of some biblical scenes. There was a workshop attached where we got to see demonstrations of mosaic making.

A very enjoyable lunch at a restaurant in Madaba (and yes, we sang the blessing song again at the end!) As well as a visit to St George's church, which has an ancient mosaic map of the holy land inlaid in the floor.

Afternoon mostly taken up by the drive to Petra, during which
Osama gave us all sorts of advice and instructions in preparation for our day there tomorrow. He wants us to head off soon after 7am to beat the crowds. (Reminded me a bit of Tongariro crossing in that regard. I gather it is likely to be crowded with other tours if we don't get going early.)

Still haven't figured out my picture attaching problem here yet, so for the moment will be putting pix on Facebook.Läs mer