Day 10: Mt. Nebo, the Grand Canyon of Jordan, Madaba, and Al-Karak Castle

The view from Mt. Nebo

We set off at 9am again. Our first destination was Mt. Nebo, which was the mountain where Moses was buried. There was a new visitor's centor on this site, but the whole place was small and not very interesting in my opinion. From the top of Mt. Nebo, on a clear day, we can see Jerusalem.

Next, we head to Madaba. In Madaba, we get to see an ancient 6th century mosaic depicting a map, albeit not the most accurate version, of the Holy Land. The map was made by Greek Orthodoxes. If you can tell, there is the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, and then Eilat and Aqaba, etc.

A 6th century mosaic of the Holy Land

Then we head to Al-Karak Castle. On our way, we stop at Wadi Mujib, or what they nicknamed the "Grand Canyon" of Jordan. The name did not disappoint. It was simply gorgeous, but not as steep or large as the Grand Canyon. I still think both are equally beautiful.

Wadi Mujib - The Grand Canyon of Jordan

With roads and the dam. Would love to hike here.

After a while of driving on these mountainous roads, we went back to the normal roads and we get to see wheat farms. They said that when the International Money Fund, IMF, gave Jordan money, they told Jordan not to try to grow wheat. So, for a very long time, Jordanians had to import wheat from the US, an expensive choice that forced the government to subsidize wheat to make it affordable. This is one of the little things that made Jordanians, and many other Middle Eastern countries, angry at the West. Perhaps if the US helps some of these countries a bit more like they help Israel, they may start liking the US more. Currently, according to some poll, only 14% of Jordanians have favorable view towards the US. Never noticed though, because they were all nice people.

Al-Karak Castle is a castle built by the Crusaders in the 12th Century. The Muslims captured it later, and that is all I know about this place. It is a very big castle with high, impenetrable walls. It took the Muslims like two years to capture it, mainly by just waiting for the Crusader's supply to run out. The Castle is built on top of a hill and it's a very strange castle (well, I haven't seen a castle before this) because it isn't a tall castle at all and a lot of its structure is underground.

The Walls of Al-Karak. If you squint, you'll see small slits for archers.

Somewhere inside the castle

Tunnels in the castle. There are bakeries, temples/mosques/church, etc. down there.

After Al-Karak, we went to Wadi Mousa aka Petra! We arrived in the evening, just in time for Petra by night. After a bland dinner at a touristic restaurant (there are many touristic places there), we walked to the gate and then into a candle lit path. The path is curvy and only lit by a single trail of candles on the floor. We walked for about 2 km before we see an impressive field of hundreds of candles under the famous Treasury, giving it a golden glow. Unfortunately, the camera cannot capture this moment. Sometimes I wish I know some photography tricks the pros use.

We sat there in front of the Treasury and listened to a man perform a song using a traditional instrument. The lyrics were, of course, about some praises to Allah because it was 2 days before Ramadan, the holiest month of Islam. They served some sweet herbal teas too, so it was a very relaxing setting. Below is a GIF of a video of when they told everyone to simotaneously flash and take a picture of the Treasury:

Hmm, the quality sucks when you convert it to GIF. Basically, you were suppose to see the Treasury.

 Bonus pics:

Country roads of Jordan.

A typical house/building in Jordan

 A strange Jordanian tradition is to leave their houses unfinished at the top. This is so that when they get rich, they can add another floor to their house.