“Always look at the bright side of life...”

Phil’s blog-blurbs took to road Thursday via a trip to Ma’an to pick-up the medical certificate for the visa extension. Since the Medical Center (MMC) staff said to return at 12:30 on Thursday, we did… and “inshallah” - word was that King Abdullah II was coming to Ma’an and we needed a special escort to get to the MMC, as it is in “the safe zone” for kingly visits. Thanks to a your Lt. from the Royal Jordanian Air Force we got there, but we were quickly informed it was closed and wouldn’t re-open until Saturday. So, off to Madaba (“The City of Mosaics”) we went.

Madaba is on “The King’s Highway” that has been used for about 5,000-years to transport goods and ideas throughout the area. It has a sizeable Christian majority (as much as 95%) in the downtown area. St. George’s Orthodox is known for its mosaic map of the “Holy Land.” It is also only about 10Km up to Mt. Nebo where legend has it that Moses said “viaje con Dios amigos.” I found myself asking: why was this area so significant for trade and prophet? I noted the region around Madaba appeared to be a fertile land of plenty, and commented that it looked “a little like Ireland… except for the many parts that don’t…” and then we started descending towards the Dead Sea. I can see where the prosperous kings of the uplands ostracized “the others” to.

In preparation for our workshop on Best Practices in Protected Area Management we visited the baptism site. That is: THE BAPTISM SITE (www.baptismsite.com) made famous by John (“voice crying in the wilderness”) the Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth (aka: The Messiah). The site has been agreed to by Biblical scholars, and visited by at least the last two Popes. This answered a question I’d been pondering: since Meme’s family (Medici) provided more Popes than any other family in history, would they allow her in the country? Since they allowed John Paul and Benedict in I’m thinking it’ll be clear sailing for her.

We also visited the Mujib Nature Reserve and checked out one of their nice chalets on the Dead Sea: www.rscn.org.jo/RSCN/HelpingNature/ProtectedAreas/MujibNatureReserve/tabid/94/Default.aspx While venturing up the Siq (as get wet water adventure) I met and befriended a poor lost sole – I figured this was the place for after all. He is pictured below-right:

Today (Saturday) we ventured south on the King’s Highway (more lush-lands for awhile) and visited the Krusader Kastel at Al-Karak. Then it was onto Ma’an and the MMC (which of course was closed). So, today’s lesson re: the “inshallah factor” is: maybe I’ll get a visa extension, inshallah…