Stormin' the Castles - part deux

Its been a while. Apologies.
While Aaron's been hard at work (I finished up last weekend), Noah and I have been trolling downtown Amman. We did an entomological tour of the Citadel, canvased Jebel Amman, visited a beautiful gallery, an old house that is a work/retail space for artists, and we are repeat visitors to Sweifeyyah, where there's a pedestrian street (no cars = running boy).

Last weekend, we went to Madaba with a group from ACOR. After finding the appropriate bus station (more difficult than you would think), we rode the bus about an hour south to Madaba. (I think we got pulled over by the police because we had too many folks in the minibus...but I'm not entirely sure.) The photo is from the church of St. John the Babtist and that's a mosaic of John Soup - so to speak. Saw some spectacular mosaics (for which the town in known) and had a spectacular lunch. Managed to visit the site of Tel Madaba as well before heading back to Amman in a 'party bus' complete with dangling tassles, dark blue curtains, and plush hearts with "I love you" written on them.

This past weekend, we hired a couple of vans and traveled to the desert castles in the eastern desert of Jordan. We tackled Qasr Kharana, Qusayr Amra, Qasr al-Azraq, and Qasr al-Hallabat. The term 'Desert Castle' is a bit of a misnomer, as I think only one of the four was an actual castle, but it works. Kharana's use is still being debated - its either an inn or a meeting place for the local rulers (local rulers of around 710 AD). Pretty amazing place. Noah teetered dangerously at ledges and raced through the 'maze' of rooms, managing to avoid injury thanks largely to the great group of folks with whom we were traveling. We visited Amra next, which is thought to be a hunting and bathing (who knew that the two went hand in hand) retreat for an Ummayad (?) ruler. In spite of the humidity and moisture of an early bath mixed with the arid climate of the desert, some amazing frescos remain in situ. Our favorites were the camels, the banjo bear (really), and this one of a half naked woman. Noah was facinated with a 30+ meter deep well and delighted in climbing the wood barriers that looked as if they were just barely anchored to the ground (are you noticing a 'danger' theme here?). From Amra, we went on to Azraq. Striking because its made out of basalt (a black volcanic rock - Noah gives lectures on it, if you'd like more info), Azraq is best known because ole' Larry (T.E. Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia) hid out here for a while and wrote about life squatting in the castle. A fantastic building with basalt ceiling beams, vaulted rooms, and a mosque in its courtyard, Azraq may have been Noah's favorite. There were stairways to rooms with non-existent floors (an exciting adventure that kept me on my toes - literally) and HUGE basalt doors that Noah "can open if [he] keeps eating [his] vegetables". At one point, I left the poor guy (Noah) alone in a small room in the castle. I saw a lot of 'smoke' (dust) and heard a lot about repairing the ceiling....when Noah emerged - under duress - ten minutes later, he was Pigpen. Covered in dust, he had a cloud about him where ever he walked, but boy was he happy. Had lunch in the parking lot of the Azraq Resthouse where Noah taunted some scrappy looking ostriches. Thankfully, no digits were lost. The last - and unexpected (we thought we were going to Umm al Jamal) castle was Hallabat. Currently under renovation, Hallabat boasts some beautiful mosaics and seemingly ongoing excavations. It was here that Noah delivered a lecture on basalt and the effect of 'earthcakes' on columns.

We celebrated Valentines Day by making valentines for folks at the Center, running down 'walk-a-lot' (no, really - that's its name) street, and succeeding in our quest for 3T-4T sized pull-ups (ouch - not cheap). Tonight we're having a 'picnic' at our dining room table with CHOCOLATE for dessert. Noah's been waiting for this...