Out the door at 5:45…. Yuk! But, got to get ahead of the crowds.

Genie blocks-cistern???

From the 6 century BC to 4 century BC the Nebateans were here.

Male and female pipes for the water

It was called the rose city because of the colour of the red sandstone

Treasury is a tomb….. they buried all their belongings with person. At the Treasury, a rich person had lots of gold which I understand was put in an urn at the top. The population expected it to collapse and then they would be rich. It is still standing. Stairs left and right…..Could be 4 levels…. 2 being below. At the Treasury …….Pillars are Corinthian with Nabatean influence. There are 12 pillars, 30 Rosettas, 365 cubes.

Faceda (the facade) street….all the rich peoples tombs

4600 Roman army attacked the Nebateans but only 50 survived …. And were sent back to Rome. Amphitheater influenced by the Romans.

Mahmoud gave demo on kohel application. It lasts 2-3 days.

The temple is in fact not a temple at all but a Palace …has huge garden and pool. Next is temple of winged lion.

Other pictures:-

Mt. Nebo is our first stop… where Moses passed away. Official Christian pilgrimage place ….. also a moslem pilgrimage place (who recognize the Christian prophets). Complex of 4 churches. Moses wandered for 40 years in the desert. They we forbidden to enter the promised land….. were diverted through Jordan. Moses consequently died here. Olive tree planted by prophet John Paul 2nd. Mosaics in the church were left undiscovered til 19th century. Cross and serpent symbol

St George’s Church …Greek Orthodox built in 590 Ad. It had a map hidden under floor. Hidden because Persians that were marauding in the area at this time, destroyed lots. The crusaders took faces off paintings, etc cuz were people were worshiping the Virgin Mary and prophets etc instead of God. The map showed 120 biblical sites. Only 10 were evident on the visitors map.

Madaba Mosaics factory. they use the ancient techniques. They get the rocks from mountains. Sliced into strips. It takes 4 years to learn trade. They use a glue made of flour and water to start, place the cut stones on a solid board. They have a rough irregular surface. When it is finished, it is flipped onto permanent place using a more sufficient glue It will then have a smooth surface. 48 of 50 employees are special needs. Some workers are blind. It takes 200 hours to make ostrich eggs from left over “dust” particles.

Crusaders castle at Karak built from 1142-1161. It is close to Jerusalem. It was used as a base to go to Jerusalem. Built in 1184…. Besieged for 80? days by Saladin after many previous attempts, they gave up. Moab people. Then became moslem going forward. Turks added parts. Crusaders used to sleep underground. Largest in Middle East. It was a city of 3000 people inside plus 700 outside. Entrance/doors …when Moslem controlled the castle ….faced south to Mecca, and when Christians controlled it, they faced Jerusalem toward the west.Military rooms hold 8, with view to be able to see oncoming armies. Window to see the mosque. Cisterns below. … 11 very deep ones. It is 50 kms from Dead Sea..

We are leaving early to get ahead of the rest of the big, big tourist buses.

There are tents here and there along the road…. They are not Bedouin tents but for farmers to use by the day…. for their animals and shade during the day. They all have open doors with no privacy. I don’t know if they have homeless communities like we have. Apparently they do have a slight drug problem but it is “still in the closet”…. not visible.

We are driving on the King’s Way from Roman & Greek times. It was built to connect from Damascus to

Madaba … translated “the land of water and fruit”.

It’s an area of caves… used by Christians to hide from the Romans in ancient times.

Mt. Nebo is our first stop… where Moses passed away. Official Christian pilgrimage place ….. also a moslem pilgrimage place (who recognize the Christian prophets). Complex of 4 churches. Moses wandered for 40 years in the desert. They we forbidden to enter the promised land….. were diverted through Jordan. Moses consequently died here. Olive tree planted by prophet John Paul 2nd. Mosaics in the church were left undiscovered til 19th century. Cross and serpent symbol

There 4 springs (oasis?) in Jordan…… one is here nearby.

St George’s Church …Greek Orthodox built in 590 Ad. It had a map hidden under floor. Hidden because Persians that were marauding in the area at this time, destroyed lots. The crusaders took faces off paintings, etc cuz were people were worshiping the Virgin Mary and prophets etc instead of God. The map showed 120 biblical sites. Only 10 were evident on the visitors map.

Madaba Mosaics factory. they use the ancient techniques. They get the rocks from mountains. Sliced into strips. It takes 4 years to learn trade. They use a glue made of flour and water to start, place the cut stones on a solid board. They have a rough irregular surface. When it is finished, it is flipped onto permanent place using a more sufficient glue It will then have a smooth surface. 48 of 50 employees are special needs. Some workers are blind. It takes 200 hours to make ostrich eggs from left over “dust” particles.

Crusaders castle at Karak built from 1142-1161. It is close to Jerusalem… (40 kms). It was used as a base to go to Jerusalem. Built in 1184…. Besieged for 80? days by Saladin after many previous attempts, they gave up. Moab people. Then became moslem going forward. Turks added parts. Crusaders used to sleep underground. Largest in Middle East

It was a city of 3000 people inside plus 700 outside. Entrance/doors …when Moslem controlled the castle ….faced south to Mecca, and when Christians controlled it, they faced Jerusalem toward the west.

Military rooms hold 8, with view to be able to see oncoming armies

Window to see the mosque

Cisterns below. … 11 very deep ones

It is 50 kms from Dead Sea

Shobak… another crusader camp from time of Richard the lionhearted

Petra (Wadi Musa)- half carving, part buildings. Nebateans … nomadic peoples. Came end of 6th century BC ……. Came from the Sinai peninsula. Learned agriculture, used to produce wine.

1 million years ago this area was under water. The area is all sandstone…. Easier for carve. It is in the largest chain of mountains in Jordan.

Higher the facade the more money, the higher the official. They had no statues. Water basins carved. No sacrifices in Little Petra. It’s only a place if business.

Jordan mines phosphate for export. Other main industries are agriculture, livestock & tourism

Egypt/ Jordan exchange water and electricity. The electricity is produce from oil in the past, which they have to purchase. Now they get it get from windmills. They also get water from underground wells from desert near Iraq. Water is brought in by truck and put into cisterns on top of roofs.

Pictures to follow ….. if I have wifi

We had an approximately 8 hr flight including 1 hour in Entebbe, to Istanbul. Because they we two different airlines we weren’t able to get boarding passes from Istanbul to Amman. Coupled with the airline changing our flight to Istanbul by close to an hour later, not knowing where to go ti get the pass, and then where to and what to do. Are we going to make the connection??? We did, the seats were more, we got food even the flight was only 1.5 hours, leg room was more… all in all a better first impression of Jordan even if the plane on the inside was in poor repair.

Sept 18/23- Jerash and Dead Sea.

Jerash…

wear runners , take sun screen, hat, swim suit, towel, 40 JOD for tipping. plus 10 JOD for water.

Beaky from 6:30-9; 7:30 leaving.

Amira-CEO. It’s the first time we have ever encountered a woman CEO.

Traffic is very crowded in core …. Because everyone has their own vehicles, or uses taxis because public transportation is not scheduled.

We stopped for water that the CEO purchased for the group. We all contributed 10 JOD (more than USD) for the week instead of what we’d done for the previous 2 weeks, which was to purchase water individually for each 2 day period. That was a guessing game and it meant packing it ourselves. We also have a cooler in the bus to keep it cool…. Yeah!

We got stopped at a random check of vehicles. CEO said “this is why Jordan is a safe country”.

Jerash… oldest well preserved roman city from Roman age… end of 1st century bc., then Greeks came and then Moslems. They started excavation in 1925. Up to now only 25% has been excavated. City named after “gold river”. The reason these empires came was for the money. It was on the trade route from east, that they controlled. They controlled the 6 largest cities of which Jerash was one. 324ad it came under Byzantine rule. 636ad, the Moslems & 18th c under ottoman rule. In 585 AD & 748 major earthquakes …. abandoned the city.

Art of gate is Corinthian.

Under stadium it was used as stables under Roman’s. Under Bysantians used as shops. …. Has tiles.

Only partially restorated so you are able to imagine what it might have looked like. If it was totally restored it wouldn’t be considered heritage…. Jordan needs the tourist industry.

We are inside stadium

City is divided into 4 sections. Main gate faces Amman.

7 metres thick wall of defence walls. Were 60 metres high originally

3-4000 JOD for olive trees in front of hotel… ancient.

They used to burn frankincense in homes and still do, to keep bad spirits away. A single gram of it worth 2 JOD each. Each camel can carry 400 kgs each. 200 camels to transport but divided into smaller groups in case of attack

Temple …. People not allowed inside. Had to be built above everything else … to see the whole area.

Forum (ionic style) plaza in centre is oval. Under it is huge cistern… where they recycled the water.

Southern to northern gate road is called “cardio”… the heart.

Theatre…. Seats are assigned with number…,

At huge Red stone water bowl … “aqua park” is used by lovers. That where I felt so sick. It’s toooo hot.

The weather network app says it’s 28C. I cannot believe it. There is no humidity. Talk about dripping perspiration!!!!

We have some people (12) that had joined us after being on a tour of Egypt. They said this is much cooler than Egypt where it was 40.

There 5 refugee camps in this area. Palestinian, 2,200,000 Iraqi refugees as well as Syrian, Lebanese & Afghanistan

Population.. 11 million total but only 5 million are Jordanian. Regardless of original country they came from, they all have all the same rights as Jordanians.

Medical is covered for government employees. Private companies may or may not provide insurance. It costs approximately 1000 JOD for private insurance per year. Donation by royal family makes it possible for those that cannot afford a surgery especially for children who have cancer.

Dead Sea … Jordan valley parallel with Palestinian West Bank

33% salinity…. If you have an open sore we were told to put Vaseline on to protect. 27 different minerals in the water. When Jordanian medical centre was built not too many years ago they used candles because there was no electricity.

Bedouins and farmers …2 tribes

Water level of Dead Sea is reducing by a metre a year. By 2050 it is expected to disappear. The sea level used to be 436 metres below sea level 10 years ago ….. now 390 metres below. Somehow that doesn’t make sense.

2 towers of the sixth circle apparently can be seen from Mt. Nemo

They used to have 8 traffic circles (roundabouts) over about a distance of 8 kms but they took then out … instead integrating with streets with lights…. A BIG mistake according to Amira.

The restaurant that we were taken to tonight was absolutely fabulous!!! So many different choices and so good. If you are ever in Amman…… I recommend you try “MO’s”.

Leave at 7 am with luggage… breaky @6:30

6am breakfast …. Leaving 6:30 from Gorilla Valley Lodge

No plastics allowed in Rwanda (Water bottles allowed)

Visas and passports at border then 2 hours to Kigali, then genocide museum and a Women’s Centre

When asked if the local people have ever seen the Gorillas, Paul said that once a month they’re allowed to go up for free otherwise they could never afford it. Everywhere you see women particularly, walking carrying something on their heads. It’s no wonder they have good posture. If you didn’t stand up straight you wouldn’t be able to carry stuff.

Everything is very lush here. We did not see any rain while here but the hillsides are shrouded in mist. It was still slippery muck.

People everywhere carrying gerry cans…… for packing water in.

Women carrying hoes on their way to and from the fields. Funny ….. you don’t very often see a man with hoe. I guess most of the work being done these steep hillsides, are by women. Because they egg y are so steep they would have to bend over much.

Another checkpoint near Kibale town and another after…. Check licences, weight of load plus where you’ve been.. Now onto the Uganda/Rwanda border after returning the rental camera …. That didn’t take all that great photos.

Rwanda, “land of 1000 hills”. Time change 1 hour back. 3 official languages… Rwandan, English and French. They drive on the right hand side of the road as opposed to the other 3 countries we have been. There is also a speed limit of 60 kph that is monitored by cameras. Good roads with no rumble bumps that we have seen…… thank God! My body has been jarred and shook like never before. If you get caught for speeding, it is a $100 fine…. A lot for most. There were 2 tribes but they are no longer allowed to be recognized as either…. now they are all one. There are elections every 7 years but current president had been in power for 20 years. There had been troubles in this country since 1925 but in 1994 when Tutsis who had been in exile wanted to return to their country, the Hutus thought if they killed them all then the country would be totally Hutu going forward. Of course some leaders helped to stir the pot.

Apparently, there is lots of money here but most are poor. The general population looks to me like they are not as poor as Uganda. It is an expensive country so some with money will have their 2nd home in Uganda. The hillsides as well as the lowlands, are neatly laid out with farms.

The difference in fees to see the gorillas is …….200 USD in Congo, 700 USD in Uganda and 1500 USD in Rwanda.

Laundry day …. Laundry splayed out on the grass along the highway.

Hydro poles are made out of cement here unlike the other countries which are poles.

At Genocide museum

1,000,000 were slaughtered in 3 months. 250,000 are buried on the grounds. In 100 days neighbours killed neighbours. Apr 7, 1994 was the start….. not that long ago. Europeans were in power here the 1800’s and early 1900’s. They decided to call the people that had more than 10 cows, Hutus and those with less than 10, Tutsi’s. Can you believe separating into separate tribes over the number of cows you had? And then you get some evil leaders that convince their people that they must kill their neighbours and friends. It reminded me of some other would-be leaders that are inciting the same kind of hatred….playing on peoples fears and insecurities. The rest of the world turned their backs on this country and allowed it to happen including the UN peacekeeping decision makers. How very awful! It all made me cry. I could barely keep it together.

We then went for lunch and a tour of a women’s centre…..a centre where single moms could get an education and learn a trade,,,,, sewing and and producing products for sake. One they have completed their training, the government will help them pay for their own sewing machines.

Some people are staying over but we have a 1:50 am flight. Not much point. Off to the airport at 10 pm. It’s going to a looooong night/ day we’ve been up since 5:15 am.

It is shortly after 7. Only one person slept in this morning

We were entertained by a band of former bush dwellers (Pygmy) dancing and singing, before we got started on our trek. They were convinced in 1991, to come out of the bush.

We are in Rushaga. In 1994 it became a World Heritage site. It is 331 sq. Kms. I’ll have to get “My gorilla family” app. We are told there are only 1760 gorillas in total in the world.

We share 98.4 % of our DNA with the gorillas.

“Tindagine” which means “Fearless” is the name of the family of gorillas that we are going to meet.. There are 17 family members

Highest mountain is 4127 metres in Uganda…. Is near Kibale town. We started at 1900 metres and going up to 2000. Our guide is trying to make it easier for us (because we are not the most fit group). Instead of going up and over, up and over repeatedly, he is trying keep to the valley. It is still a struggle. Every day the Gorillaz make a new nest and before they leave they pee in the middle of their nests to mark their territory. Each adult, juvenile & child are required to make their own nest with exception of the babies that stay with their mothers

In our group besides us 4 ladies (3 from Victoria) including one from NZ and the solitary guy from UK, we have a couple from Kampala. Bridgette and Gerous just wanted to see the gorillas as we all do, having seen them on tv. They were on their honeymoon. We also have a guide and 2 others with AK 47’s, one in front and one in back. We meet up with 3 trackers that have been following the gorilla family all morning. They call this park “Impenetrable” because you cannot see through the jungle. Every step of the way, they are slashing with machetes, making new trails.

We finally came across the family. Unfortunately, they kept moving downhill with us mostly only able to catch their backs….. especially the “silverback”. Silverbacks can weight up to 200 kgs. We stayed very close to them for an hour then slogged through the jungle back down slipping and sliding. It was an experience but one experience I don’t need to repeat. We all survived the trek. It was an endurance test…..5 plus hours. OMG, it was so tough….sweating profusely, filthy clothes and shoes ….from skidding on our butts….. not sure if they will ever come clean. But….. we did it!

I am sorry but I will have to send pictures once I am home. We just don’t have enough free time to deal with them. I promise you will be amazed at what we’ve seen.

We actually got off to a late start…. 8:15 instead of 7:30 as we were told. We had several absolute downpours this morning…. Sounds so noisy on the tin roofs. Each downpour lasted less than 5 minutes. Paul says we have a long way to go so it will be “pedal to the metal”.

Shortly after leaving camp someone spotted at least 2 cubs and 4 lioness. 2 waterbucks walk right on by the lions all unconcerned. Apparently if the waterbucks senses danger it will shake its head exuding a terrible smell.

7 in total…. 5 adults (1 with limp … right front leg) and 2 cubs…. Adults on the move….towards us as diversion away from the cubs (that are maybe month and half old) that went to a thicket. They went there for protection from several buffalo. The pride eventually were around 100 metres from us. It was great entertainment for quite a while. Just beyond that up the road, there were several guys weed whacking the grass along the highway. I wondered if they get danger pay.

There was a road off to the right were the police were checking vehicle licences, if any were over weight, etc. That road is to another part of the park where there are tree-climbing lions.

As we learned yesterday, the lion numbers are not increasing, unlike other creatures, because villagers poison them for killing their livestock. There are also some village spies that report what some of the others are doing.

Again I missed an opportunity to get a picture of hanging meat. It is hanging in the heat of the day…. Not refrigerated. It is slaughtered and sold daily consequently it doesn’t get to age. The result is that they only seem to have tough meats.

Grasshopper catcher. They are tin funnel-like with lights on at night. The light attracts the hoppers, then fall down into funnels and are trapper. They eat them.

Lots of single women with children….. abandoned by fathers.

Crested cranes… mate for life.

Schools run for 3 months and off for 3 weeks…year round.

Entering the Switzerland of Africa…. Very hilly….more than the rest which is saying something.

Stopped for lunch at “Food Stop” @2000 metres

Just up the road, I was able to rent a DSL camera for $60 USD for 2 days….. just so that I can get photos of the mountain gorillas.

OMG the hillsides just keep getting steeper, the roadsides more twisty.

Something about 900’ below sea level a lake, 1 of the biggest lakes in the country

Spectacular scenery.,…. Unbelievable!!!

95% of visitors to Uganda are coming to the gorillas. People breaking big rocks into small rocks. they are paid by the pile but they have to wait for the truck to pick it up before they are paid

Tomorrow we should have :-Long pants, Rain jacket, Gloves, Passport, Poles, Mask, Repellant on clothes before going into forest. At least 1.5 litres of water

Max 8 people per group….*8 am briefing