I omitted, inadvertently, yesterday two more places I wanted to share with regard to special moments of my travels.  Over this past Thanksgiving I traveled to Amman, Jordan to spend a week with my husband so we could all be together for Travis' first birthday.  He turned one Thanksgiving day.  Its a long way to travel for only a weeks worth of time:  3 hours to Chicago, 14 straight shot to Amman, but, you DO finally get there.  So it was a whirlwind trip for me to say the least, in that we went to the Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, and Petra.

Mt. Nebo is the traditional place of Moses' burial.   He took the Israelites to the Mountain, looked down upon the promised land, only to hear God say "Psyche!"  The Israelites were able to cross into Palestine/Israel (whatever you wish to call it), but he died on the mountain and is supposed to be buried SOMEWHERE up there.  Its not a large mountain by any stretch of the imagination, and the topography is extremely old.  Ancient mountains worn down by the slow march of time.  At the top is a small church, that was originally built in about the 4th century.  What remains of the original structure is for all intents and purposes encased in a shell, another structure that was built to completely enclose it to preserve the integrity of what remains of the original structure.  Inside is a small sanctuary that probably sat no more than 100-120 people with two smaller chambers on the left and the right for special ceremonies.  The floors are all covered in classic Byzantine Era mosaics, much very similar to those found all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean Coast.  Out side is a tiny courtyard with some modern sculpture, and a sacred olive tree that was planted several years ago by Pope JPII.  There is a water well where they perform baptisms as well.  Old churches such as this are real working churches that still conduct services, but are also open to tourists to collect revenues.  Unlike European cathedrals that actually charge admission, this tiny little gem, in the middle of the desert, only takes donations.  On the back wall there is a rack of post cards and some books for purchase, and a donation box beside the door.  We bought some post cards and a book and donated some more to the church.  While we were there, they were conducting Mass.  Several priests and a small choir made up of several men.  I was appalled when someone's cell phone went off inside and they took the call, speaking loudly.  What was interesting to note, most of the people there touring the church were Muslim.  In Islam, Moses is about as holy a prophet as you can get without being Mohammed.  In truth, this is the single oldest church I have ever been in, several centuries older than Notre Dame, or Westminster Cathedral.

Our other major stop in Jordan was a day trip to Petra.  The drive from Amman to Petra takes about as long as Houston to Austin.  There's just alot less interesting stuff to look at because once you get outside of Amman, its all desert.  Just a bunch of dirt and rocks.  The highway is 4 lanes across and serves it purpose quite well.  Petra, for those who don't know, is a small town with one major attraction, that being a city carved into the walls of a canyon.  Those who have seen "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" will remember the temple where the Holy Grail was hidden, and the facade of that structure that was carved directly into the canyon wall.  This the building known as The Treasury, although it original purpose and use is not clear.  To reach the city, you take a gravel path through steep, wind carved canyon walls for about a mile.  There are parts of it that are paved and were done so after Rome annexed the area.  At times the canyon walls seem to touch each other above, and if it were to rain, you probably would not get wet.  There are little channels carved from the entrance of the canyon into the sides of the rock that were used to channel water down to the city.  There are carvings all through it.  But, after what seems like an eternity of walking, which is actually very easy as the path is very smooth, you emerge into an open area to find this looming in front of you:

The money shot.  This is the facade that was used in the movie.  Through that darkened doorway is a large open chamber, almost like a ballroom, and two small chambers on either side.  There are a few stairs that lead up to the doorway there, and on the left side, although its hard to see, is some grating covering the surface.  Excavation has been taking place here and it was discovered that there are chambers beneath the stairs.  Jordan is a poor country and there is not much money for archaeological endeavors, so there is much at this site that has not been explored, and tombs believed to exist that just have to be found and opened.  This truly gave me chills, as it would anyone, when I first emerged from the dim canyon into the open courtyard.

Song Virus du Jour:  "Livin' la Vida Loca" ~ Ricky Martin (but actually, I am dancing around in my head to the version at the end of Shrek 2).

Useless Trivia du Jour:  The official Petra website.  Mt. Nebo on Wikipedia.