Lunch @ Kerak Castle,JORDAN

The Kerak castle looms large over the landscape and Kerak town nestles almost within its folds. Even to this day Kerak is a largely Christian town and its inhabitants trace their roots to early Byzantine empires. 
It depends on what time you reach Kerak. We took the tour of the castle and later lunched at a restaurant.The restaurant where we lunched is actually in the castle....part of it.The name of the restaurant is "King's Castle". We were damn hungry so it was nice to find the restaurant so near-by.Once you come down from the castle and reach the road, you will find many more restaurants.
It was buffet lunch....there was lot of variety...from Arabic vegetarian to non-vegetarian.It will cost you 12JD/person(adult)
It was late by the time we had our lunch.But it was o.k as we (all 3 of us)were enjoying our visit to Wadi Mujib and the Kerak Castle

Kerak Castle,JORDAN:Tips for Visitors

The following are some tips for visitors to Kerak Castle:

1) Take a flashlight/torch with you when you visit the crusader castle.There are many tunnels and passages within the depths of the castle, many of that are not lit.

2) Before entering the Castle, spend five minutes to study the map situated at the entrance to the site.You will find it helps you keep your bearings whilst giving you an insightful background to its history and the people who lived there.

3) There are no railings, so be careful in climbing the castle.

4) There is also a small museum inside.Visit it as it offers some nice display.

5) Extremely windy…..carry scarf and hat.Also an umbrella during summer days.

6) Good history and amazing view of the town. You need at least 2hours to see this castle properly.

 7) Be prepared…..need to do lot of walking.Take time to go through most of rooms,passages,tunnels,corridors, up and down stairs,inside and outside. Amazing views of the city from the castle.

8) Don’t forget your camera….take lot of pictures to capture your visit to this historic and beautiful castle.

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(4)

Your visit to Madaba is incomplete without your visit to any  mosaics craft factory, where you can see artisans making mosaics items and also buy them.Here the artisans are taught the art of making, repairing and restoring mosaics. 

Tips: Amazing handicrafts abound in and around Madaba – there are handicraft souks on the road to Mt Nebo(we purchased from one such mosaic center), as well as in town mostly centered along Artisan’s Street. Particularly look out for mosaics, hand woven rugs,hand painting on ostrich egg and wall hangings.
Buy your Mosaic souvenir here. Its always better to buy things at their place of origin….WHY??? because you get variety. It’s slightly costly (don’t worry Not Much) but the variety you will get here is difficult to find in any part of Jordan.

Madaba,JORDAN: In Pictures(3)

Here are some pictures of St.George Church....

Entrance Gate to the church

There were lot of candles glowing in St.George church. The atmosphere within the church gave us lot of peace of mind. 

The visit to the church was also refreshing as it brought back memories of my daily visit to the church in my school as a kid. 

Within the church is a wonderfully vivid, 6th century Byzantine Mosaic Map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites. With two million pieces of coloured stone and a full 25 x 5 meters in its original state – most of which can be seen even today – is a map that depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns, as far away as the Nile Delta.  It was discovered in 1896 and is one the oldest known mosaic maps of the Holy Land ever uncovered, dating to the 6th century B.C.

. There is a small room in the church, where visitors write their wish with candles on the glass wall.

Madaba :Tips for Visitors(JORDAN)

Tips for Visitors , who plan to visit MADABA....

1) It’s worth visiting all the mosaic sites, not just the Church of St George’s….we visited them and were satisfied with what we saw.

2) Buy your Mosaic souvenir here. Its always to buy things at their place of origin….WHY??? because you get variety. It’s slightly costly (don’t worry Not Much) but the variety you will get here is difficult to find in any part of Jordan.

Amazing handicrafts abound in and around Madaba – there are handicraft souks on the road to Mt Nebo, as well as in town mostly centered along Artisan’s Street. Particularly look out for mosaics, hand woven rugs and wall hangings. 

3) Try the lemon and mint iced drink that is readily available in all the cafes here – it’s incredible!( Infact you can have them at Jerash also as its readily available there.)

4) Don't miss Madaba's Museum. It contains some outstanding mosaic panels as well as ancient traditional Jordanian embroidered dresses, jewellery and pottery.

Madaba: City of Mosaics(JORDAN)

In about 30 minutes from Mt Nebo, we were at our next destination – Madaba. We are again at another lovely place.

Madaba is a pretty little town famous for its mosaics and  approximately  30km from Amman, along the 5,000-year-old Kings´ Highway. Christians make up a large portion of the population here and as a result, so we observed a large number of women walking the streets without the traditional Islamic headscarf. 

Known as ‘City of Mosaics’, the town’s most famous attraction is the Greek Orthodox  Church of St.George. Within the church is a wonderfully vivid, 6th century Byzantine Mosaic Map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites. With two million pieces of coloured stone and a full 25 x 5 meters in its original state – most of which can be seen even today – is a map that depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns, as far away as the Nile Delta.  It was discovered in 1896 and is one the oldest known mosaic maps of the Holy Land ever uncovered, dating to the 6th century B.C.

After our visit to the St.George church, we visited Other mosaic masterpieces found in the Church of the Virgin and the Apostles and in the Archaeological Museum which depict a rampant profusion of flowers and plants, birds and fish, animals and exotic beasts, as well as scenes from mythology and the everyday pursuits of hunting, fishing and farming. Literally, hundreds of other mosaics from the 5^th through the 7^th centuries are scattered throughout Madaba's churches and homes.

In line with Jordan's commitment to restoring and preserving its mosaic masterpieces, Madaba’s extensive Archaeological Park and Museum complex encompasses the remains of several Byzantine churches, including the outstanding mosaics of the Church of the Virgin and the Hyppolytus Hall, part of a 6^th century mansion.

It was a pleasure and contentment to see such ancient mosaics. The visit to the church was also refreshing and invigorating as it brought back memories of my daily visit to the church in my school as a kid. There were lot of candles glowing in St.George church.....Along with the atmosphere within the church gave us lot of peace of mind. There is a small room in the church, where visitors write their wish with candles in the glass wall.

Your visit to Madaba is incomplete without your visit to any  mosaics craft factory, where you can see artisans making mosaics items and also buy them.Here the artisans are taught the art of making, repairing and restoring mosaics.

The Madaba tourism cluster extends from Bethany in the north to the villages of Thiban, Mukawer and Um Rasas in the south, covering a historic area that was known as the plain of Moab over two thousand years ago.This cluster is anchored by the city of Madaba and contains a scattering of villages located across the bluffs descending to the Dead sea, with spectacular scenes of swooping valleys and unique rock formations, as well as views of the Dead Sea itself.

Christians consider the Madaba cluster an important part of the Holy Land, and the cluster contains three of the six Vatican–sanctioned pilgrimage sites in Jordan.