JORDAN

Day 1

Mt. Nebo

On top of Mt. Scopus we see this sight. This is as close as Moses would have gotten to the promised land. From here he could see (on a day not as smoggy as this) the land of Jerusalem. 

Bus Troubles

On day one of the trip we were on a way to our hotel in Petra, a four hour drive. About 30 minutes into the trip our bus broke down. As we were waiting for the bus company to send another bus we entertained ourselves by playing games, reenacting Lion King and finding an Old Roman road. Alright, end of bus #1

Bus #2 arrives and we load. Bro Judd begins to tell us about the time when his groups bus was stuck in a sandstorm in Egypt. They had to find an old hotel and stay the night, to commemorate he was about to put on the classic 'Horse with No Name' before the music could turn on... BREAK DOWN. The picture above is of bus #2.

This time we were stuck closer to around 2 hours (to be honest that is really just a rough estimate) but our guide Yousef started a fire and I began to make predictions on if/who would snap first. But to my surprise not only was everyone really good about the whole thing, we were loving it. This was a great opportunity for us to bond as a new class and I was again reminded at how amazing the people I'm surrounded by are. 

Other cool fact: this is the ruin of Um ar-Rasas. It just so happens that our bus broke down right across from it and the local people in charge let us in. There were massive Mosaic floors and we learned that this place was a crossroads for travelers where they would stop to water their camels etc. No other BYU JC group has ever made this stop so we felt pretty privileged about that. 

Day 2

Petra

Right before we came to the opening of the treasury. For those of you who are Indiana Jones fans, this should look familiar!

Camels are one of my new favorite animals. They are freaking hilarious, they make these awful dinosaur noises... one day I hope you can hear one. 

The monastery 

Me and Bryce were Jordan roommates. This is us in front of the Monestary. It really is huge!

Overlook of the Holy Land from Jordan

Me in front of the treasury

Day 3

Amman Citadel

Sometimes I take pictures and forget why they are important. Oh well, the Amman Citadel was a stronghold and fortress during the time of David. This may be the place where his troops were when he was getting in trouble looking at Bathsheba. Some scholars say that Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) was sent here by David (after he had gone back to Jerusalem and refused the lay with his wife because his fellow comrades were out in battle) with the letter in hand to his commander that said to leave him in the front of the hottest battle so that he would die. 

This is the temple of Hercules in the background. Let's just say I heard a lot of Disney music while we were here. 

Jabok River

The Jabok river is the place where Jacob and Essau are reunited after years of family tension (dating back to the whole birthright thing). In the Bible Jacob appears to be very nervous about their reuniting, so much that he splits his family in two groups so that in the case that Essau wants revenge some of his posterity may live. Quite the opposite is Essau's reaction. Here at the Jabok, the scriptures also tell us that Jacob wrestled with and angel and had his name changed to Israel. I was reminded that some times there are rivers that stand in between us and those we love, but as we wrestle before the Lord and extend and hand of fellowship the atonement can mend broken hearts, feelings and relationships. 

Jerash

The Hippodrome

Gate to the city

Bathhouse

Temple of Artemis

North (maybe South) Theater. It's cool that they now do live concerts in here.

Morgan sandwich!!!!

Overview looking the main shopping center. Jerash is one of the best preserved ancient Greek cities, dating to the period when Alexander the Great ruled over the area (around 300 BCE), just in case you were wondering how why I was at Greek ruins in the Near East. 

Amman at Night

This is a grocery store close to our hotel called the Haboob (which for those of you from Arizona is also the name of sandstorm). It is just down the street from the Prince's palace. The night we were there, there was a jamming party that some of our group tried to get in to, but were unsuccessful. 

Rainbow road (the street we were on) had this fancy building that changed colors. It was also home to some great food places including a Nestle Tollhouse store, several crepe places, Wazzip Dog and Sliceh. I chose the nutella and marshmallow crepe (the Fluffy)... it was delicious!

Day 4

Roman Theater in Amman

This was another cool gift left over by an ancient empire, this time the Romans. We were here on the morning of the 4th of July, so we sang patriotic songs, including a very interesting version of the national anthem that started way to high!

Happy 4th- KFC for Lunch

What's more American than deep fried chicken!? Well, we had ourselves some KFC delivered and it was delicious.. at least as delicious as anyone whose had real fried chicken finds KFC.

Jordan River

The trip was really wonderful, but our visit to the Jordan River was by far the highlight. While it was a hot and saunna like day (it sure felt like we were in one) there was a quiet peace and gentle spirit as we sat down and had a devotional right here, with our feet in the Jordan river. I was able to take time to ponder how John must felt as the Savior came to him to fulfill all righteousness. This was the culminating point of John's ministry, after this he knew his role would be to decrease as the Savior increased and he did so with humility. The importance of covenants and authority were brought to my mind as I thought of how the perfect Lamb of God showed the example of what we as sinners and mortals must do to be saved. My heart was filled with gratitude that I had the experience of setting my feet close to the place where this event took place. I know I will never read of the Jordan river without coming back to this day in my mind.