We Journey to Jordan

I knew very little about visiting the Holy Land before I went.

I had heard stories from previous trips about leaving Israel and having to change

driver, guide and bus.  That sounded scary.

I did not think we were doing that this year.

We were, but I'm glad I did not know.  
It was interesting,
 rather complicated, curious, certainly different from 
anything I have ever done, but not really scary.

The country we were crossing into from Israel 

was Jordan.

As we approached the crossing point, the fence separating the two countries was pointed out to us.  It ran right beside the road

on which we were traveling.  The land looked the same

on both sides, but one would not think of trying to cross! 
I don't know if you can see the masses of barbed wire. 

(I hope you are clicking on my pictures and making them larger!
Some have hidden details!) 

Our crossing point was the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge.
Here we are approaching:

And a bus leaving on the other side.

We were spending two nights in Jordan, so after having our passports checked, all our luggage was placed on another bus.
We sadly bid adieu to Yuval and Elie for a couple of days. 
Since they are Jewish, they could not go with us into Jordan.

Our first stop in Jordan was Mount Nebo.
Moses stood here and viewed the Promised Land.
He had disobeyed God and was not allowed to enter, but
God made it supernaturally possible for him to view 
the land from one end to the other from right here!

 

A replica of the bronze serpent pole 

constructed by Moses as related in Numbers 21:5-9

Then we headed for our hotel for the next two nights. Wow!  Were we in for a big surprise!
It's called the Dead Sea Marriott, and
It was swanky!  Here's the lobby!

And the pool area which leads to the shore of the Dead Sea!

Here I am floating in the Dead Sea with Virginia and Jason!

I couldn't have done this without Virginia, who helped me in, and Melanie and Cliff, who helped me out!

I'm afraid of water--even water you can't sink in!

Especially this water, actually, cause it does terrible things to your 

mouth and eyes if you get it splashed there!

Just ask Jason!
I know I look like I'm sitting on the bottom, but I'm not!
I'm floating!
This was an experience of a lifetime.
I was unable to force my legs down through the water!




One more thing we did today.  We shopped.  We love to shop.
We stopped here:

They are expert craftsmen in the art of mosaics.
We had seen several beautifully preserved mosaics as we traveled through Israel and Jordan.

This young lady was demonstrating the intricate technique
of cutting and placing the stones.

I bought my best souvenir at Nebo.
It is an ostrich egg, covered with crushed pieces of mosaic.
Instead of discarding the pieces of mosaic which are 
too small to use, they are crushed and the fragments 
applied to the egg with a needle!
There are actually six scenes on my egg.  
As I remember, it took about 3 months to complete.

Now, guess what my problem is?
Where do I display my beautiful, very breakable egg?

By the way, Nebo's Pearl shipped my egg home for me.
It was expertly packed and arrived in perfect shape.
Let's hope I can keep it that way!

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. 
And the Lord showed Him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan.
Deuteronomy 34:1

And on May 31, 2013, Linda Jane Lynn Stovall was there.  Unbelievable.