Rome to Turkey: Day Thirteen: Shawbak, Madaba, Amman

"Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand are delights even to the end."

- Psalm 15:11

Call to prayer through a loudspeaker at 5 am woke me up. I was slowly getting used to the multiple calls broadcast throughout the day, but the early morning ones still caught me off guard. Today we were traveling to Shawbak Fortress, a crusader castle built in a strategic location between Aqaba and the Dead Sea. Also know as Shoubak, Krak de Montreal, or Mons Regalis, it gave the crusaders some control over important pilgrimage and trade routes and acted as a buffer to the Holy Land. (1), (2). Constructed in 1115 by Baldwin 1 of Jerusalem, it fell to Saladin's army in 1187. It was later occupied by the Mamluks and then by villagers that were part of the Ottoman Empire. (2)

The fortress sits atop a steep rocky hill in what was then a relatively fertile area. (2) We walked the long road that wraps its way upward to the base of the castle. Most of the original structure was crumbling or in ruins, but we were able to explore dark passages, pass under decaying archways, and descend a spiraling staircase that eventually turned toward pitch black (at which point I headed back up.) The fortress was built with escape routes and tunnels cut deep below it into the bedrock. Robbie explained that many of these were natural water tunnels dug wider, some which led to springs outside the castle walls. Apparently the castle supported up to approximately 2000 people.

The surrounding geography was very unique. The hill the castle stood on and the ones surrounding it looked like they were created by dramatic movement in the earth's surface. The strata lines were very prominent and ran almost vertical in places instead of horizontal, giving a wonderful feeling of being somewhat off-balance. Built into the sides of the hills were simple stone huts constructed during Ottoman rule.

We boarded our bus again and continued heading north to the Dana Nature Reserve. The Reserve is 308 square kilometers of preserved land, representing three distinct climates and containing many rare plant and animal species. (3) The women from the local tribe have created their own artisan workshop, creating handmade items to sell in the gift shop. We were able to tour their facility, and the women were friendly and allowed us to observe them as they cut, grinded, sanded, and finished metal decorations and jewelry. Many of us purchased items in their gift shop. I picked out a contemporary looking olive coloured handbag and eyeglasses case, along with some local dried fruit as souvenir gifts.

We continued north toward Madaba. The landscape began to appear much greener and flatten out as we descended from higher elevation. The sky became overcast and the air a little more cool and humid. On the outskirts of the city we stopped for pictures as our guide had spotted a black iris growing in a farmer's field off the side of the road. Actually there were several more dotted here and there in fields. Apparently the iris is rare, a bit temperamental to its growing conditions, and blooms for a short period of time. (4) Robbie seemed surprised that we were able to see one in bloom.

Madaba sits among rich agricultural land, in a slightly rolling landscape. It is one of the more populated cities in Jordan, situated about 30 km south-west of the capital, Amman. It is mentioned in the Old Testament as a Moabite city (Nb 21:30, Jos 13:9). (5) Much of the city lies on top of Roman and Byzantine ruins and is renowned for its preserved and restored mosaics. Most famous is the 6th century mosaic map on the floor of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. Though partially destroyed during the iconoclast controversy, the map is quite stunning and details the cites of the Holy Land, with Jerusalem as its centre. In its original state, the map would have been 25 x 5 metres and contained 2 million individual stones. (6) Following the visit to the church, we were brought to the local mosaic factory where the process was explained to us and then we were invited to browse the giant warehouse of mosaic gifts. Though somewhat interesting (I couldn't afford a $600 mosaic covered concrete table, let alone the shipping costs) I spent a good part of this time in the parking lot being hounded by a bee while waiting for the rest of our group.

Leaving Madaba, we passed the exit for Mt. Nebo. Unfortunately it was closed due to some restoration work or safety concerns. Mt Nebo is recognized in tradition as the site where Moses is buried. The mountain overlooks the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, Jericho and the mountains of Jerusalem. (7) Pope John Paul II visited the site in 2000, followed by Pope Benedict in 2009.

Approaching Amman, the first thing that struck me was how large it was, the second was how white and grey it was. Like much of Egypt and Jordan, Amman was awash in concrete buildings, this time more white in tint, with new construction being quite prevalent. Amman is the largest city in Jordan (population approx. 2 million) and is also one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world (Damascus and a number of other cities also hold this title.) (8), (9) Ammon is referenced in the Bible, was known under the name Philadelphia during Ptolemaic rule, and was one of the ten cities in the Roman Decapolis. (8) Today it is a dynamic mix of ancient and modern.

Driving through the streets I noticed the large number of shops, advertisements, or billboards for bridal wear. I had noticed the same thing in Madaba, so much so that I wondered if it generated a large part of their economies. Every street had a shop, sign or billboard. In some cases there may have been several shops on one street. Both cities also had dense retail areas. Most of the shops were fabric or clothing marketed for women. Actually probably about 95% of them were marketed to women. Men seemed to be relegated to the odd smoke shop and a few electronics stores.

We passed some rather expensive looking houses, enclosed behind gates, before we pulled up to our hotel. Each of us was on our own for dinner, so after finding my room and unpacking a few things, I wandered out and walked uphill toward the area that seemed to have the most restaurants. I can be terribly indecisive at times, and spent about 20 or 30 minutes walking up and down the same blocks before choosing a shawarma place that seemed busy with locals. I ordered two of the same item, which was a simple wrap with spiced chicken which came to a total of 1.70 dinar (about $2.47 Canadian.) I walked back to the hotel and ate in the courtyard where a car honking competition erupted nearby, punctuated by "Easy Lover" playing on someone's stereo. (I also noticed in my journal that I had a couple notes: one was that I had roughly the same thing for lunch - though can't recall any details -and the other was a note that I couldn't remember who wrote "Easy Lover," though now it seems totally obvious to me and I don't know how I forgot that, having grown up in the eighties.)

After dinner I explored the area around our hotel, taking care not to go too far as I didn't want to find myself lost. I was hoping to attend Mass, but could not find a Catholic Church. Though at one point I believe I heard bells but couldn't locate where they were coming from. I took some evening pictures and headed back to the hotel.