Off To The Middle East

Tomorrow night I head off to a part of the world I've always wanted to visit, the Middle East. Some of my past trips have raised eyebrows when I told people where I was headed next and this one certainly is no exception. But, I guess sometimes you just need to go.

My trip will start in the town of Madaba, which is just south of Amman. It seemed easier to base myself there for a few days rather than in Amman. Also, the hotel I'm at came highly recommended by every guidebook on the country, and they help you hire cars for the day to visit sites around the country. My first trip will be to a few castles in the eastern part of the country, near Azraq. A second day trip will be to the Roman ruins in Jerash, followed by a stop at the Sea of Gallilee and the site of Umm Qaise.

After that I head to one of the places that is on the list of places I want to see before I die. It's called Petra, and is a 2000 year old city carved into the cliffs. If you've ever seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you've seen Petra. (It's where they find the grail.). I'll be spending three days there before treating myself to a stop at a resort on the Dead Sea. I'm not sure if I'll be able to swim due to the temperature, but I may have to give it a whirl. I've never been a big swimmer, but the chance to float on top of the highly saline water is something I can't pass up.

After that I'll check out Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked over the promised land of Israel and visit the Bethany Site, where it's presumed Jesus was baptized. From there it's off to Amman for a day before flying to Kuwait City. It's not known as a tourist destination, but since my flight was easier to work out of there, I'm going. I'll spend a night there before flying back to Atlanta.

All in all, this looks to be an incredible trip and I cannot wait to go. I really enjoy seeing those places that are off the beaten path, and the sites I've got planned look to be pretty amazing. If you want to follow along, I'll post here occasionally during the trip.