Greetings from Petra.... - drove out of Amman - must say they treat their police well - zooming about in very smart Audi A6 - talking of which, there is the Bank of Audi in this part of the world - very vorsprung durch geldnik.....

Anyway, on to Mount Nebo (we had no trouble finding it) - but have to say that i don't remember the name from the Bible stories of Moses - and as for the "land of milk & honey" and "promised-land" malarkey - all you can see is desert and bare rock - no wonder Moses died if he thought this was what he'd led his people to. It was so hot & hazy i couldn't see Jericho - despite it being only 27km away...

After that we went to the church at Madaba to see the famous mosaic - set in the floor the mosaic is a map of Palestine as it then was in around 567AD.......

Then onto the highway to Aqaba - passing the signs for the castle at Karak :-/

- but did stop some 200km later at the castle Shobak - set high on a hill in a barren area off the main highway. It is a terrific castle and though it is undergoing a lot of restoration - there is quite a bit to see & wander around - the views (not of very much, admittedly) are amazing and it so quiet & the air is fresh...................

On then to Petra - and settle in at the excellent Amra Palace Hotel...

Petra was built by the Nabateans - a nomadic tribe from Arabia who used Petra as a base from which to extract tolls from the merchants who used that route - the Romans finally took control in 106AD - re-building large parts of the city - earthquakes however did substantial damage in 363 and 551.......

The Crusaders took Petra & bulit two forts until repelled by the Ayyubid under Salah Ad-Din (Saladin)....