On the King's Hwy north of Petra lays...

...the ruins of a Crusader Fortress, called Shobak Castle (1115AD).

Excavation is still on-going and we explore this 250m long tunnel,....

descending 350 steps into the darkness.

It leads to this exit.

Ruby climbing out and is surrounded by a herd of goats.

Here Mike pokes out.

Luckily we had our LED lights with us. It was a great adventure.

View of the market.

Catacombs.

Semi-Circular Keep with Quranic Inscriptions.

Excavation has revealed two Crusader Churches.

Stopping for a break in a small town...

...and talking to the locals.

View of Wadi Hasa.

Landscape between Fafila and Karak.

Visiting the Karak Castle.

It is located 900m above sea level...

...and most of the galleries and passageways have been restored.

The castle was built 1145AD.

Another deep dark Gallery.

Mamluk keep.

Crusader Gallery or Stables.

View of the marketplace.

Wadi Mujib, located north of Karak and half-way to Madaba on the King's Hwy.

It is also known as "Grand Canyon of Jordan".

Nicely paved roads winds its way through the canyon.

May 03, 2006. Mike's BMW final drive comes to a complete failure. Our transportation from Madaba to Amman.

At the Kawasaki Dealer in Amman. The rear drive in pieces.

Isaam, comes up with a temporary fix.

The teeth of this piece are totally worn off.

Five (5) holes are machined in the rear drive and attached with bolts, which lasted only 20kms.

Mike's BMW gets its first cleaning in months.

Ahmad from Khaled Kour Auto Design Shop, come to rescue and picked us up in the van.

Khaled and Ahmad. Many thanks for helping us.

May 04, 2006. Amman's restored Roman Theatre.

Cut into the northern side of a hill...

...and can seat 6000 spectators.

Mike relaxing on the ancient seats of the Roman Theatre.

Steps leading up the theatre. Live performances are still staged here.

500-seat Odeon.

Row of Columns infront of the Theatre.

An amazing view of the stage.

A perspective of size.

Restored Stage.

Temple of Hercules located on top of Jebel al-Qala'a.

The temple was constructed around 80-160AD.

The remains of the Byzantine Basilica (Church from the 6th or 7th century AD).

View of the Byzantine Church and Temple of Hercules.

Jordan Flag over the city of Amman. View from Jebel al-Qala'a.

Domed Audience Hall.

Umayyad Cistern.

Restored Domed Audience Hall.

Colonnaded Street.

April 05, 2006. The Archaeological Park in Madaba has exceptional mosaics...

The restoration work is excellent.

This is a mosaic found in a house along the old roman road.

Old roman road discovered under existing housing.

Church of the Virgin Mary.

These are mosaics in the Church of the Virgin Mary.

Excellently preserved. Very colorful.

Hippolytus Hall and a very well preserved mosaic.

Mosaics discovered in the Madaba area.

Great detail.

The Church of Apostles.

Containing the mosaics dedicated to the ...

...12 Apostles.

The George's Church located in Madaba.

The church contains the remains of the famous mosaic, indicating a clear map with 157 captions of all major bibilical sites from Lebanon to Egypt.

The mosaic was constructed around 560AD and contained over two million pieces.

Mt. Nebo and Memorial of Moses.

View from Mt. Nebo at Sunset.

Roman Milestones.

Moses Memorial Church.

Inside the Moses Memorial Church.

The church was built in the 6th century AD.

This mosaic spans 9m x 3m.

Mike and the Christological Stmbol (by Giovanni Fantoni) on Mt. Nebo.

Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land from here.

Us watching the sun set...

...from Mt. Nebo over the Dead Sea and Jerusaleum.

May 06, 2006. Descending from Mt. Nebo to the Dead Sea.

Mike's GPS reading 395m below Sea Level.

On the east bank of the Dead Sea.

Just north of Safi. Salt Flats.

Mining of Salt.

Salt deposits along the Dead Sea, clearly visible from the shore.

Salt is deposited on rocks along the beach.

The cliffs are covered in salt deposits.

The salt deposits are sharp to touch.

Mike standing on pure salt overlooking the Dead Sea.

Salt covers every rock along this stretch of beach.

It almost looks like snow.

Amazing salt formations.

Mike climbs along the edge of the cliffs.

More incredible salt formations.

Ruby floating on the Dead Sea.

Ruby & Mike goofing around in the Dead Sea.

It was just too much fun.

One can clearly not drown.

Even sitting with your legs crossed works.

Cleaning of the salt with fresh water from the Herodus Spring...

...entering the Dead Sea at this point.

Mike floating in the Dead Sea.

The water is very clear.

May 07, 2006. The Ancient Roman City of Jerash. The Hadrians Arch (129AD) on the most southern point of the site.

The Hippodrome...

...a massive arena, 245m long and 53m wide.

Once could seat 15,000 spectators. Chariot races and other sports were held here.

The south Gate.

View of the Oval Plaza.

Temple of Zeus.

South Theatre...

...built around 90-92AD.

The theatre can seat more than 3000 Spectators.

The Oval Plaza measures 90 x 80m and is surrounded by some 56 columns.

A view of Jerash looking north.

The columns of the Oval Plaza.

Mike holding up a column, just in case.

A view down the Colonnaded Street.

The ruts worn by the chariot wheels are clearly visible in the ancient Roman Road.

The Colonnaded Street stretches 800m.

A view down a side road (South Decumanus Street).

Inside the entrance of the Cathedral.

Ruby standing in front of the Nymphaeum (Ornamental Fountain), built around 191AD.

Above and behind the Cathedral is the Church of St. Theodore (496AD).

Mosaic in the Church of Bishop Genesius.

Outer Columns of Temple of Artemis.

The area which hasn't been excavated. It is said that 90% of the site has not been uncovered.

Restoration is an unbelievable job, as can been seen by the amount of columns and artifacts still on the ground.

The Temple of Artemis. Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo.

Corinthian Columns surrounding the temple.

11 of the 12 front columns still remain standing.

Mike sitting in the mids of the huge columns.

Gateway to the Temple of Artemis (Propylaeum)

Looking at the gateway from the Colonnaded Street.

Archway at the Cathedral.

Column tops.

Different pillars at the Bath buildings.

The North Theatre...

...built 165AD with a nicely restored marble orchestra floor.

The North Tetrapylon cross road of the North Decumanus Street ...

...and the Colonnaded Street.

Ruby walking along the North Colonnaded Street.

Looking at the Roman Road crossed by a modern paved road.