Day 1: Jordan

I'm going to get through our entire trip and do a daily post. Here's Day 1 of our trip to the Holy Land.

We flew from India early in the morning to Doha on Qatar Airways.This is the plane we boarded in Doha. The country is completely desert. Seriously, the entire landscape is sand. It was blisteringly hot (110 degrees). Qatar Airways is the number one airline in the world, and it shows in the comfort of the seats, the attention of the staff, and the food (they serve even on 3-hour flights).

We arrived in Jordan in the late afternoon. The country is arid and they struggle with water supply. This was the capital city of Amman so its actually one of the nicer areas.

 Even today, the Bedouin and other Arab nomads graze sheep and live in tents on the countryside. Sometimes they wander near to the cities, as in this case.

 Once we got to the hotel (a beautiful 4-star one), we were treated to a beautiful view of Amman. No skyscrapers and everything is made of stone. Imagine a panorama like this with the sunset. Wonderful. :)

 The food was excellent. Arab and Mediterranean food focuses on fresh ingredients. There were four types of yogurt, three types of light cheese, a quiche type of dish, and olive salads awaiting us for breakfast. Sugar and meat are de-emphasized. Since this is a Muslim country, you won't find any bacon here. The next morning, we got into our bus. As you can see, it's a 54-seater fully air-conditioned behemoth.

 Before starting on the Holy Land part of the journey, we did see a small town in Jordan called Madaba. Madaba is most famous for its mosaics. The town itself is small and dusty. One thing you'll immediately notice is the lack of greenery or wood. Everything is made of stone.

 Throughout the towns of Jordan, we saw pictures of the king and his wife in various poses. Although the king is presented as a benevolent and just ruler, Jordan actually suffers from unrest. As I mentioned in my previous post, the land is impoverished and the people are well aware that wealth in the nation is concentrated in the hands of the royal family.

In Madaba, there is an ancient Byzantine church that is still attended. Madaba is about 20-30% Christian, a rarity in Jordan. There are a few churches (all Orthodox) and the Christian influence is noticeable. This particular church houses the oldest mosaic map in the world.

 On the floor of the church (now roped off), the Byzantine priests created a beautiful mosaic map of the Holy land. What you're looking at is the depiction of Jerusalem and above it the Dead Sea.

Just one of the many intricate mosaics on the wall. This is an ancient depiction of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus.

 Once we left the church, we went to a souvenir place where they sell hand-crafted mosaics and other artisan items. This one is clearly directed toward Christian tourists. This piece is absolutely beautiful and also quite expensive (700 dollars).

So that's it for now. I'll go into the next segment tomorrow! As for the picture above, it's my brother holding a traditional Jordanian dagger. :)