Madaba and the King's Highway

Goat Anyone?

Greetings from Sunny Aqaba,  I can't believe I haven't written anything yet on this trip.  I have truly been amazed at everything we have seen and done.  As Mary has written, we started the trip in Amman, where we spent the first day exploring the city, the second, exploring the Roman city of Jerash, and on Sunday I had meetings at the Embassy all day.  On Monday we began our drive South along the ancient King's Highway.  Try as I might, I could not get Google Directions to give me a set of directions featuring this route.  The highway is the traditional route south through the country though has been largely replaced by the Desert Highway to the East and the Jordan River valley route to the West.
The history of Jordan is amazing to me, even the history since the early 20th century is amazing.  With the end of WWI and the Ottoman Empire, the country of Trans-Jordan was established.  Names like T.E. Lawrence, Sykes, etc., have shaped this country's history, along with the long history of the Bedouins, the Nabateans, and the Romans.  Currently, Jordan sees itself as a pillar of stability in a region battered by instability.  Jordan is surrounded on all sides by conflict, Iraq to the West, Syria to the North, Israel and Palestine to the West, and the Wahhabi tendencies of Saudi Arabia to the South.  The country of Jordan struggles economically, and is in fact among the poorest in terms of natural resources, they don't have oil, iron, rain or ground water.  Until recently they received heavily subsidized natural gas from Iraq and Egypt.  Saudi Arabia has allowed them to establish wells across their border to pump groundwater.  The rich countries of the gulf have provided billions of dollars of grants and low interest loans, designed to keep the government's head above water and maintain stability.  In the middle of the Arab Spring, the government reduced the subsidy on gasoline and was met with demonstrations and riots.  Since that time, subsidies have remained in place, though they are unsupportable over the long term.  To make matters worse the situation in Syria has resulted in hundred's of thousands of refugees streaming across the border, further straining an already tenuous system.  All that being said, Jordan remains safe, hospitable and beautiful.

The Madaba Tree

Historically, among the most hospitable among Jordan's cities has been Madaba, in the past it was said that if you passed through Jordan you ran the risk of being shot, but it was not personal, the Madabans just wanted to bring you back home and demonstrate their hospitality as they nurse you back to health.  Madaba was largely abandoned in 746 AD after a powerful earthquake leveled the town.  In 1882 a group of Christians fleeing religious fighting established a permanent town on the ruins, abandoned for over 1100 years.  In their building they uncovered what proved to be one of the most complete maps of the Holy Land, stretching from Lebanon on the North to The Nile River Delta in the South and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.  Constructed of over 2 million individual pieces, the Mosaic now sits at the floor of the Orthodox church at the center of town, where you can still see the location of religiously significant sites such as the Baptism of Jesus and the Execution of St. John.

A Portion of the Mosaic Map

Since its discovery at that time, archaeologists have used the map to re-discover lost historical sights in and around Jerusalem.   Today the Jordanian Government runs a Mosaic workshop and training center where locals craftsmen and women are trained in this historic art.
  One of the most iconic of these Mosaics is the Madaba Tree which was found in many of the destroyed homes and serves as the symbol of the city.

Stone Cutting Staion

Madaba Tree in Progress

The King's highway winds its way down the central spine of Jordan, crossing two large Wadi's that the locals consider the their version of the Grand Canyon, they are truly impressive and after winding our way down to the bottom and back to the top, we were greeted with beautiful views