Highlights of Jordan

Around Jordan
Monday, December 30, 2013

Today started out nice an early as we packed our bags and left Amman. While I know most people want to see pictures from Petra, there a few other pretty famous and historically significant site we would see first. Our first stop on this Monday was at Mount Nebo. Now I'd be lying if I said I really knew much about Mount Nebo. According to the Bible, Moses ascended Mount Nebo and looked across at the Holy Land, but never entered because he died on the mountain. Avoiding getting into a full discussion on my relgious beliefs let's just say I was less interested in this being the site of Moses' and more interested in the view. And I must mention that we didn't have to climb Mount Nebo on foot to catch the view as the road drives right up. It's a short 5 minute walk from the parking lot.

The sculpture at the entrance. It was erected in 2000 by the Catholic Church to celebrate the Pope's visit to Mount Nebo. 

Looks like it's tea time. The haziness does not look good for our view.

The Memorial of Moses.

Well the dust officially ruined our view from the summit. We are looking across at the Holy Land and on a clear day I have been told we would also be able to see the River Jordan, the West Bank of Jericho and Jerusalem.

A look at the mosaics you will find in the area.

Beautifully preserved at the site. The building that houses them is under construction but the mosaics themselves are well protected.

Once we left Mount Nebo we continued our trek south towards Petra by way of the Kings Highway. There are 3 major highways that run north-south in Jordan and the King's Highway is the most scenic and historic of the routes. It was a major trading route during biblical times and I'm told is mentioned in the Old Testament. The route is about 5,000 years old. If you find yourself making the trek, from Amman to Petra there are a few stops to make along the way.

Our next stop was in the town of Madaba. The town has a long history dating back to the Neolithic Period (around 10,200 to 2,000 BC) and like many places in Jordan is mentioned in the bible. We only had a couple hours here but managed to see a few things. The town is home to a number of Byzantine and Ummayyad (the second of four Islamic States established after the death of Muhammad) mosaics, many of which were found by accident during development of the town. Luckily those who discovered the mosaics understood the historical significance of what they had found so ensured they were protected and preserved. We didn't get to see a lot of them but we did manage to see a very important one found in the Basilica of Saint George.

A little look inside the Basilica. Nothing too special but the floor certainly was.

This is a portion of the Madaba Map. It is a 6th Century map of the Middle East and has the earliest depiction of Jerusalem (labelled The Holy City) still in existence.  It is made up of about 2 million pieces of coloured stone. It is pretty amazing but even where we stood you could only really see part of it. This picture is of a very small lower section. Check out this page to see the reproduction of the entire map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madaba_Map#mediaviewer/File:Madaba_Map_reproduction.jpg

After some time in the church we were set free to explore the town shops and restaurants.We managed to find ourselves a top notch shawarma place (which was actually the goal pretty much everywhere we went) and then visited the shops in town. I found a very nice little bracelet and with the slightly chilly weather some tea with the shop owner was quite welcome. Jordanians tend to be very warm and welcoming people and it is always interesting to take a few moments to sit and talk with locals. Unfortunately we had to move on shortly after lunch. There was still more to see.  

Heading South on the King's Highway. This is Wadi Muijib.

Behind me you can make out the road that goes down the valley and then back the up the other side. A really beautiful spot and a nice drive. Not a quick drive however. The King's Highway is the slowest route and sections such as this would be the reason why. Not much traffic though......tends to only be tourists on this road.

A panorama view of the valley.

We eventually arrived at Karak Castle (often Kerak Castle), which was built in the Crusader period and expanded and refortified in the years that followed. During the Ottoman period it occupied a very strategic position at the crossroads of Arabia, Egypt and Greater Syria. It was built in 1142 and used until 1917.

Just in case you were not sure, there are picture diagrams in the bathrooms.

The view from the bridge leading in to Karak Castle. You certainly could see a long way. The castle has a very deep moat that separates it from the rest of the valley.

A look inside the walls of the castle. The say the architecture is a good example of "Crusader" architecture. It is a mixture of western Europe, Byzantine and Arab structures.

One of the main walk ways inside the castle. You can imagine how dark the place gets at night.

This room was part of the kitchen. You can still see what's left of the great fireplaces/stoves and other structures.

Little kittens everywhere....so cute.

Looking out from one side of the castle. Not much in-between except valley. 

Along one of the outer walls. Those clouds are looking a little ominous don't you think?

Another look at some of the structures of the castle.

Looking through one of the viewing holes on the outer walls. It was a long way down.

This section of the inner wall is not in the best shape after all these years but it is still pretty impressive.

Eventually we had to leave Karak Castle and head to our hotel for the night which was in the small town of Wadi Musa, just a short distance from Petra.

As we were arriving in Wadi Musa.

It was after dark when we got to our hotel. The original plan was to eat some dinner and then head to the Petra by Night tour. This is a candle lit walk up the path to the treasury and then you can enjoy some tea and music in the shadow of this amazing building. Unfortunately that will have to wait until my next visit as it was pouring rain (like torrential) so it was cancelled. Not to worry, we would be getting up first thing in the morning to to check it out in the daylight.

Julie

To Stone Town and Back

Stone town, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

Now that my 4 days of diving are done, I took the day to explore a bit more of the island. It has a very amazing history (especially considering it's such a small island) and I was very anxious to experience some of it. Of course I woke up to rain today. It's just heading into the rainy season so I should probably be happy that I've managed to get this far into the trip without any.

A look at the rain from my balcony.

I was able to arrange some transportation and tours through the hotel. My first stop was at a spice farm. I was told to skip this tour but I am really happy that I didn't. Spices make up a very large part of Zanzibar's economy and for good reason. They grow pretty much everything. It became painfully obvious upon my arrival that I know very little about spices and what they look and smell like. I guess I don't do that much cooking. That didn't stop my guide, Hasim from showing me everything.

I did manage to correctly identify the cinnamon tree...but not by looking at it. Interesting to note that the different parts of a cinnamon tree smell different. The bark smells like the cinnamon you're familiar with and of course can be rolled and dried into a stick or ground into the powder but the roots actually smell like menthol.

The tour was slightly delayed by the rain.....a lot of it. But eventually it cleared up, the ground absorbed some much needed moisture and I was off to see some more spices.

 A little black pepper. You will also find green and white pepper on this farm.

I had no idea what this was, but it is actually vanilla. I never would have known. It takes 1 to 5 years for a vanilla vine to mature and produce pods. The flowers need to be hand picked or the pods will just drop to the ground and be useless. Vanilla is not native to Zanzibar but grows very well.

This is annatto. It kind of smells like nutmeg. It can be used as a spice but it can also be ground up, mixed with some water and used as face or body paint.

A fixture of any spice farm tour is the fresh coconut....which a very nice man will climb a tree and fetch for you.

My friend starting his climb up the tree to get me a fresh coconut.

A very common thing in the area however each place does things a little bit different. You can see here the way his feet are tied to help in his climb.

Almost there. It really is a long way up. Glad it's him and not me.

The song he sings while climbing is to warn anyone below that he is going to be dropping coconuts to the ground and to watch their heads. You could hear songs throughout the farm.

Once back on the ground we were able to drink some fresh coconut milk and eat some fresh coconut meat. Very yummy....but then it was actually on to lunch.

All my presents; the crown, the purse and the necklace, all made of leaves found on the spice farm.

Lunch consisted of many local dishes including pilau rice, fish, bananas and a few other things, all spiced with items from the farm. It was very tasty. Of course the trip would not have been complete without some shopping. I managed to leave with quite a few spices. I'm excited to get a chance to try them.

From there I was picked back up in the van and we made our way to Zanzibar City. We stopped and picked up our guide, David (one of the few Christians on the Island) and made our way to the central market. Zanzibar City has a very interesting history....which I will attempt to do justice to. The city is split into the old and new and our tour would be of Mji Mkongwe, a Swahili word meaning "Stone Town". It gets it's name from the fact that all the buildings are built from coral stone while the new section of town is built with cement.

Stone Town was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. The first stone houses started to appear in the 1830's and the architecture in the city show the influences of Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European culture. It really is an amazing place to check-out. It's too bad I only had a few hours.

You can trace Stone Town's Arab roots back to Oman, when in 1840 Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his seat from Muscat to Stone Town. A war of succession in the Omani Royal Family lead to Zanzibar becoming an independent Sultanate in 1861. Under Sultan Majid Bin Sultan, the city became a thriving centre for trade including spices and slaves. The city saw large Omani, Persian and Indian communities grow within it's borders. Of course over the final decades of the 19th Century, the Sultans of Zanzibar slowly lost their possessions to Germany and Britain and Zanzibar became a British Protectorate. It became a relatively important trading centre. Today, the Zanzibar economy is mostly fueled by the spice trade and tourism.

The main entrance to the market which is split into 4 sections, fish, fruits/vegetables, furniture and meat. It is a very colourful place to visit.

Live auction at the fish market. They allowed us to take pictures here. The other side of the fish market when guys are selling their catch........they really don't like it if you take pictures there.

Another live auction. This time it's furniture.

A little church/school in town....one of many.

The donation box. There were many of these to be seen as we walked down the street as well.

This is one of the major tourist sites you will most likely if ever in Stone Town. I mentioned the slave trade earlier, was a major part of the Zanzibar economy. This was a major slave market in Eastern Africa which saw slaves sent mostly to the middle east. The British forced the slave market closed in 1873 and slavery was abolished in Zanzibar in 1897.

This is the Anglican Cathedral Christ Church. It has been built on the site of the old slave auction and is said to have been built in a celebration of the end of slavery in Zanzibar.

This is the alter inside the church. It is said that it has been built at the exact location that the whipping post would have been located.

The memorial to the slaves you will find outside the cathedral.

A closer look at a few of those figures in the memorial.

A full look at the memorial. It really is a pretty effective memorial.

No, the back of the church is not that interesting.......but the mosque minaret in the background is always an interesting contrast to me. Zanzibar's population is 99% Muslim. The other 1% is made up of Christians, Hindus and others. 

Next to the Cathedral you will find a slavery museum with a little bit of history of the trade in the region. You can then visit the basement where the slave chambers are still perfectly intact.

That's David (our tour guide) in the blue shirt explaining a few things. This is inside the slave chambers that still sit below ground. There are 2 chambers, one would have held females and children and this one for males. 75 to 100 slaves could have easily been held here awaiting sale.

The chamber or children and females. They really are as small as they seem however back in slave times they would have been a lot darker (there is now electricity) and very often it would be at least partially underwater. Slaves would be held here for days or weeks before they were sold. As you can imagine, many died of disease and starvation in these chambers before they ever made it to the auction block.

Once we left the museum we headed down the small and winding streets of Stone Town. The roads are so narrow, cars are no where to be seen.....however there is a good chance you could get run over by a scooter. We had a chance to meander through the streets and get a sense of things.....and do some shopping.

Not sure where this door leads but I love the intricate carving of the doorway. There are many doorways like this throughout the city streets.

All you can do is smile and laugh. It's funny.

A look at one of the small streets we wandered down. Lots of little hidden shops selling clothes and art work and souvenirs and everything you can think of. I bought a little more than my share.

The door to the Freddie Mercury House, so named because it claims to be the house where Freddie Mercury lived (although many buildings make that claim and no one knows for sure). In case you weren't sure, Freddie Mercury is the former lead singer of the rock band Queen. He died in 1991 from bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS, just 24 hours after he publicly acknowledged he had the disease. He denied his positive status for years and was often criticised for not doing more to bring awareness of HIV and AIDS to the public. This restaurant is probably just capitalizing on the name but it may very well be connected to Freddie in someway.

A nice shot of the House of Wonders. It was built by the Second Sultan of Zanzibar in 1883 and was the first building in the city to get electricity. It is also known to be the first building in East Africa to have an elevator. It currently houses the Museum of History and Culture and Zanzibar and the Swahili Coast (although it is currently closed due to renovations). It has a really nice location overlooking the waterfront park. You could watch all the boats coming and going and all the happenings in the park.

This is the theatre located in the Old Fort. The Fort was built in the late 17th century by the Omanis to protect against an attack by the Portuguese. It now hosts many events and festivals throughout the year.

 

One of the major hotels in Stone Town and one of only 2 hotels that have elevators.

Just found this interesting while wandering around town.

Another look at the House of Wonders, also known as the Palace of Wonders.

Along the waterfront in Forodhani Gardens. A very nice place to watch all the different boats and ferries coming in. A very busy place.

 

Eventually my tour of Stone Town ended and it was time to head back to my hotel. I did enjoy my last night relaxing....once my packing was all done.

 

My 3 weeks complete it is safe to say this was a fantastic trip. Just really really amazing and humbling and beyond memorable. It was an experience I will  never forget and I look forward to another visit in the near future.

 

Julie