JORDAN DAY 4-OCT. 19, 2015

We left the hotel after 7:30 AM and headed to the Jordanian border.  It was a definite procedure to go from Israel to Jordan.  They want to make sure that you know that they are in control of your destiny.  We had a group visa which should have been much easier but they want to make sure you are wondering what happened to your passport, where is your luggage, and when will you actually get across the border.  Someone's binoculars were taken back in and scrutinized so who knows what else they saw in our suitcases and totes and wondered about.  Some cameras have better power than some of those big binoculars.  After an hour or more we entered Jordan and the guide apologized that this never happens and so sorry about that.  We had read that this end of Jordan is noted for these type of tactics so we were prepared to just settle and wait until they were ready to let us in.  

Once in, we were greeted with lots and lots of trash all along the road.  The size of trash varied from plastic bottles to appliances.  What a mess and it was all throughout Jordan for this particular day of travel.  In some ways it looks like Egypt as far as buildings are not completed and hawkers always trying to sell you something and of course a poor country.  We also drove by a Palestinian refugee camp and the government is trying to get the people to move out and move on but many do not want to.  The Palestinians can vote and such so there is no real reason to stay in the refugee camps.  

We went through Jeresh which has phenomenal Roman ruins.  We have never seen so many large well preserved buildings, columns, mosaics, theaters, gates and roadways.  It was very interesting to see such a large collection in one place.  We walked probably 3 miles to look at all of the sites that we toured.  There was another group that took a shorter less strenuous tour and they were also pleased with the grandeur of the buildings.  We thoroughly enjoyed this site.

We also had to go through Amman the capital city which is very crowded and the people drive small cars.  The accident rate is very high and the guide blamed it on old Korean cars which sell for $6000.00.  There is such a traffic problem because people work in Amman but can not afford to live there. We have a similar situation in most big cities in the U.S. where most people work in the city but live in the suburbs.

Just like home only the competitors are in the same building.

We also drove by some areas of extreme wealth where the owners are in the cleaning business which is really money laundering.  Some are involved in the oil industry and some of the largest villas belong to Russians.  We went from extreme poverty to extreme wealth, whew!  There are also some huge huge mosques in this area too.  Who would have guessed? There are some very nice large hospitals and lots of shopping.  American things are a real lure to the people so they enjoy anything that has Amerrican logos as well as American restaurants and shops.  There is a lot of construction going on and investors are putting money into Jordan.  We saw lots of cranes and lots of construction going on in Amman.  

Sunset on the Dead Sea.  We were able to float in the water.  It was a strange sensation but glad we tried it.  The newspaper that Walt used for my photo did hit the drink.  It was very difficult to get out of the water.  Your feet would not go down to the bottom of the sea, my photo is on my old camera and it won't transfer to the iPad with the adapter that I brought. 😟