Kings Highway and Kerak
Today we drove along the picturesque Kings Highway, a beautiful, windy road that saunters through little villages and through the mountains. We visited Kerak castle, an enormous fortification that sits high up on the hill. The castle became a place of legend during the 12th century battles between the Crusaders and the Muslim armies of Salah ad- Din. Our guide told us that this castle has been home to the Mamluks, Crusaders, Muslims, Ottomans and the famous Chatillion who tortured his prisoners by throwing them over the walls into the valley 450 metres below!
Football
We drove further and every time we stopped for petrol, snacks, tea or souvenirs we got the same question ’’Where are you from?” As soon as we say Holland- ‘Óllande’ they say “Ooh, tomorrow” and we strike up a conversation in broken English and Arabic about how Holland can win the football. The Jordanians we have met say they are supporting Holland “I like Holland people”. Football, the beautiful game may get its fair share of criticism these days, what with astronomical player transfer fees and aggressive hooligans but on this trip it has united us with the people and given us an instant bond.
Grand Canyon
We thought we had seen a lot and were looking forward to reaching Madaba but first we had to traverse the huge canyon of Wadi Mujib. Wadi Mujib stretches across Jordan from the Desert Highway to the Dead Sea and is known as The Grand Canyon of Jordan. The road hugs the mountain as it climbs up and down its windy path and offers some awesome look outs across the canyon.
No comments:
Post a Comment