After two years in the planning our group of 30 travellers has now arrived in Jordan for a 3 week tour of the Holy Land - which takes in some sites in Jordan as well as Israel.
Our Melbourne group has been joined by 8 interstate travellers and it is a delight to have them with us.
We arrived in Jordan at 9.30am after the usual long flight with little sleep, from Melbourne, Sydney & Perth via Dubai. We were met at the airport by Michael & Cynthia Venn and our tour guide for Jordan, Maha. Despite the weariness we were ready to start out sightseeing until we all fizzled at about 3pm!
First stop was the ancient Christian town of Madaba which is mentioned in Numbers 21 v 30 as Medeba. The town is famous for a 6th century mosaic map depicting in picture form the journeys of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and also scenes from the time of Jesus. Following this mosaic, we were taken to an excavation which has uncovered a large mosaic in a church. There were at one time, 100 churches in Madaba but this is very much diminished today.
The next stop was a most delicious messa lunch at a restaurant in Madaba. We sat at long tables under umbrellas & a large Sycamore tree & enjoyed a continual stream of Middle Eastern dishes.
Somewhat refreshed, our final site for the day was Mt Nebo where God showed Moses the Promised Land. Philip read us the passage from Deuteronomy 34 v 1-8 and our guide said that this was most certainly the place where Moses stood as it was the only area where all the places God promised in that scripture could be seen. There was too much haze to see Jerusalem but we could see Jericho, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea as well as the mountains from Gilead to Dan!
Finally we were heading to the Hotel for a much needed rest but 'just one more thing' Maha said 'what about visiting a mosaic workshop (with big retail shop attached). Some were too tired to get off the bus but for others it was a great opportunity to get some local souvenirs. It was interesting to see how the mosaics were made in the old way and in the more modern method.
The day ended with an enjoyable dinner together - getting to know new friends and enjoying the company of long time friends.
Our Melbourne group has been joined by 8 interstate travellers and it is a delight to have them with us.
We arrived in Jordan at 9.30am after the usual long flight with little sleep, from Melbourne, Sydney & Perth via Dubai. We were met at the airport by Michael & Cynthia Venn and our tour guide for Jordan, Maha. Despite the weariness we were ready to start out sightseeing until we all fizzled at about 3pm!
First stop was the ancient Christian town of Madaba which is mentioned in Numbers 21 v 30 as Medeba. The town is famous for a 6th century mosaic map depicting in picture form the journeys of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and also scenes from the time of Jesus. Following this mosaic, we were taken to an excavation which has uncovered a large mosaic in a church. There were at one time, 100 churches in Madaba but this is very much diminished today.
The next stop was a most delicious messa lunch at a restaurant in Madaba. We sat at long tables under umbrellas & a large Sycamore tree & enjoyed a continual stream of Middle Eastern dishes.
Somewhat refreshed, our final site for the day was Mt Nebo where God showed Moses the Promised Land. Philip read us the passage from Deuteronomy 34 v 1-8 and our guide said that this was most certainly the place where Moses stood as it was the only area where all the places God promised in that scripture could be seen. There was too much haze to see Jerusalem but we could see Jericho, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea as well as the mountains from Gilead to Dan!
Finally we were heading to the Hotel for a much needed rest but 'just one more thing' Maha said 'what about visiting a mosaic workshop (with big retail shop attached). Some were too tired to get off the bus but for others it was a great opportunity to get some local souvenirs. It was interesting to see how the mosaics were made in the old way and in the more modern method.
The day ended with an enjoyable dinner together - getting to know new friends and enjoying the company of long time friends.
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