Jordan! Where X Never Ever Marks the Spot

“We do not follow maps to buried treasure and X never, ever marks the spot.”

~Indiana Jones

Okay, I have to admit that quote has nothing to do with this post, but I had to get an Indiana quote in here somehow :) Jordan is a beautiful country, though, and I can say I discovered many treasures in our four days there. 

Day 1:

This is the view from Mt. Nebo. This is where many believe that Moses was buried (the Book of Mormon tells us otherwise), and where he was shown the Promised Land across the Jordan River and told that he would not be the one to lead the Israelites into it. 

Our next stop was the town of Madaba. One of the churches there has a beautiful mosaic floor with an ancient map of this area of the world. It was a beautiful church, and the map was fascinating. The picture I included was their representation of Jerusalem. 

Our last stop of the day was Macherus, a palace of King Herod's. It is well known as the likely scene for the beheading of John the Baptist. I couldn't belive how much history we can visit in just one day here. 

Day 2: PETRA!
Okay, cue Indiana Jones theme music! This was epic!!! I still can't believe I lived this day :)

Sweet Soldier dudes definitely added to the coolness

This is the hike through the Siq, a slot canyon, to get to the Treasury

Yeah. I rode a Camel. In front of the Treasury. IN PETRA! No big deal. 

This is called the Monastery, another amazing sandstone carving in the Petra complex. 

These little areas were carved all over the area. It is believed that they held idols at the time the Nabateans lived here. Now I'm in it... :)

Codi, Sarah and Me

We asked some of the guys to take a picture for us, and it turned into a photo shoot :)

AND then we galloped out on horses. I told you it was an epic day!! This is Kaylee.

Day 3:
Our third day was spent mostly in Amman, the capital of Jordan. Our first stop was the King Hussein Mosque. It was such a beautiful place. Once we covered up in our head scarves and  robes we got to sit inside the mosque and listen to our tour guide, Muhammad tell us about Islam and some of the things that happen in the Mosque. It was so beautiful to hear his sweet devotion to his religion. I was amazed at how many parallels there were between his beliefs and mine. 

Amman has been a site for many civilizations throughout time. These ruins are now in an area called the Citadel. 

This is the temple to Hercules. And yes, we did a rendition of "Won't Say I'm in Love" right in front :)

This is me on the bank of the Jabbok River. This is site to a couple of Biblical accounts of Jacob.

These next photos are from a Greco-Roman City called Jerash. 

Haha, what am I doing? :)

Our last stop of the day was a visit to the King Hussein automobile museum. I failed to take any pictures...


Day 4:
We started out the day at the Roman Theater near the Citadel in Amman.

This is a rather recent archaeological discovery. It is believed to be stairs down into the river for a baptismal site. It is possible that Christ was baptized by John here or somewhere similar. Kind of a different way to view the account.  The Jordan River has since changed course a little bit. 

The Jordan River

I never imagined the Jordan River to be muddy or have flies, but the thing that was cool is that it doesn't matter. There was an incredibly sweet spirit here. I loved singing hymns and primary songs about baptism. It was a beautiful way to end an incredible trip. 

FOOD! since we all know that is what this blog is going to turn into once I get home :)
Jordanian food is quite amazing. This restaurant served all 83 of us an incredible several course meal.