Day 26 - Morning Jordan Sights

I went downstairs for breakfast (which is included in the hostel price!) and looked at the menu.

So colorful!

The second option seemed like a very strange breakfast choice.  The first seemed okay, but I went with the third.  The tea was really good.  I had three cups of mint tea before leaving to meet the driver.

I paid 20JD for a driver to take me to different sights around Jordan.  The price was actually 100JD, but I split the cost with four other people.  There was a Malaysian couple and two girls from Scotland.  I sat up front with the driver.

When we got in the car, he was on the phone with a local radio station.  He turned up the volume and we listened to him speak on-air!  That was an interesting start.  Later I found out he called in to complain about old furniture being thrown in the street.

Our first stop was Madaba, a city famous for its excavations of mosaic churches.

All the pictures are made of tiny tiles.

Floor outside.

Close-up of one of the walls.

After touring the church, we went to one of the active excavations.

Rebuilding the church with original materials.

Then we went to the town to look at some shops.  As expected, they mainly sold copies of mosaics.  There were a few other interesting items, like this sword.

Yes, it was real.  Very sharp too.

I don't have space for souvenirs, but I pretended like I was interested since I think the driver gets a commission when we buy at a store he takes us to.  Fortunately, the Malaysian couple were on a shopping spree, so it let the rest of us off the hook.

After the mosaic town, we headed to Mount Nebo.

Moses Memorial.

The Promised Land as Moses saw it.

 The Promised Land doesn't really look all that wonderful.  I think I would have been upset if I traveled all this way and found out the land I had been promised was a desert.  Then again, it's better than slavery in Egypt.

They are building a massive memorial to Moses on the site, but for now it was just a small museum and the monument above.  After Mount Nebo, we went to the Dead Sea Panorama.

The Dead Sea.

Israel is in the background.

 There was a museum of the Dead Sea on the site as well.  It mainly dealt with how the Dead Sea is disappearing.  It did have one pretty interesting display.

Jordanian scientists are very precise.

I'm not sure I believe all the information presented, but it was fun to read about all the dangerous chemicals in the water.  What a great way to get excited about swimming!