Home in Larnaca

Amman is the 'other' gateway into Iraq.. Jordan is a neutral but critical player in the Arabian Middle East, sharing access to Iraq with adjacent Kuwait.. Its curious boundaries include a puzzling wedge of territory which cuts into mainland Iraq, a result of the hasty and poor definition of the current Middle East. Its original name was TransJordan, and its boundaries were defined by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War Jordan is highly visible in the news because it is a neutral Arab state imbedded within the most volatile settlements of the Middle East, Iraq, Palestine and Israel. Historically, it is a hugely important venue for the playout of the Old Testament. The wandering Jews spent much of their 40 years in Jordan, and ultimately crossed from here 'over river Jordan' into the Promised Land, the fabled Land of Milk and Honey.

Moses could not go. You will recall that the Lord took him to Mount Nebo where he could look out over the whole of the 'world' i.e. the Jordan Valley and the new home of the Jews, but was not allowed to cross over. Patti and I went to Mount Nebo and looked out over the Promised Land into Jericho, the Sea of Galillee, the Dead Sea, and into the land of the Jews. We stood there and saw what Moses saw. What a stunner!

North Jordan is busy and urban, dominated by the city of Amman. South Jordan is the land of the Bedouins, butting up against Saudi and Iraq, home to migrant desert people with sheep and camels and living largely off the tourist trade. Their tourist capital is Petra, an ancient city carved out of a rock walled valley created by a prehistoric split in the mountain rock creating a narrow canyon opened and sculpted by years of runoff water. Today it is a historical marvel -- an ancient city carved into the canyon walls and inhabited for years by the Bedouin. Petra belongs in the list of the Seven Wonders!.