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India - Pakistan - Iran - Turkey - Syria - Jordan - Lebanon - Syria - Turkey - Europe Reisverhalen, grensovergangen, de auto en de opdrachten in het Nederlands |
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Date | GPS | Location | Story |
27 - 29 March 2004 |
N32º33'19.9" E35º50'59.1" |
Irbid (562 m) |
Irbid is a comfortable town close to the ruins of the Roman cities of Gadara (Umm Qais) and Pella. Pella has the first (and only) amphitheatre below sealevel we visited (see our list). |
26 March 2004 | N32º17'42.4" E35º51'10.4" |
Jerash (920 m) |
After the wars and earthquakes of the 7th and 8th centuries, the city of Gerasa was abandoned. But even after so many centuries the streets are of better quality than those of, say, an average Indian city. Not to speak of the plumbing, sewing system and the public works, which were normal in most Roman cities but not in 21st century New Delhi... |
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25 March 2004 | N31º45'41.9" E36º45'19.5" |
Shaumari (520 m) |
The so-called Desert Castle Loop is mainly a collection of "yeah, this could have been... well... something", but the Quasayr Amra, a small resort of the 8th century caliph Walid, is well preserved and the frescoes are certainly worth the trip. Remarkable is the image of a nude woman bathing. Excuse me! Islam prohibits the depiction of any living being, let alone a naked woman. Things were probably different in the early days of Islam. |
24 March 2004 | N31º46'5.1" E35º43'31.7" |
Mt. Nebo (694 m) |
This is the place were Moses saw his promised land, a vision which would cause so many troubles even three thousand years later. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful viewpoint and the mosaics in the Byzantine church are impressive. |
22 - 23 March 2004 |
N31º41'53.9" E35º34'51.7" |
Dead Sea (-416 m) |
Officially the altitude of the Dead Sea is -390 meters, but the level is falling due to excessive use of the water of the Jordan river. We measured -416 meters with our GPS and this value is probably correct within 5 meters. Dutch: |
21 March 2004 | N31º10'55.0" E35º42'6.7" |
Kerak (1041 m) |
A nice Crusader castle. Built in 1132, captured by Saladin 56 years later. |
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18 - 20 March 2004 |
N30º19'33.6" E35º29'31.8" |
Wadi Musa (1271 m) |
Many consider Petra as the most impressive site of the Middle East. May be it was so a decade ago when you could walk around in silence as our 1993 Lonely Planet describes. But nowadays busloads of tourgroups and a zillion souvenir sellers have reduced Petra to a fairground. A nice fairground though. |
16 - 17 March 2004 |
N29º26'21.8" E34º58'17.7" |
Aqaba (sea level) |
Beach time again. |
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12 - 15 March 2004 |
N29º29'35.6" E35º23'45.7" |
Wadi Rum (1073 m) |
Most of the desert in Jordan is boring. But one area compensates for the lack in variety in most of the wasteland: Wadi Rum. |
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The colourful sand and rusty rocks of Wadi Rum are magnificent. It is still very quiet, but that will change soon, considering the building activities in the village of Rum. |
6 - 11 March 2004 |
N29º26'21.8" E34º58'17.7" |
Aqaba (sea level) |
After traveling for more than a year since Goa, finally we are on a beach again! Goa has much nicer beaches than Aqaba, but here you have a beautiful reef and clear water: superb diving and snorkeling! Dutch: Opdracht 7 - 50.000 km en weer een saai stuk snelweg |
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5 March 2004 | N31º57'7.9" E35º55'55.3" |
Amman (784 m) |
The city is called Rabbath Ammon in the Old Testament and was named Philadelphia by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC. But with the comming of the Muslims the history of Amman takes a little break of 1200 years... Not before the end of the 19th century the city became reinhabited! Dutch: "6 cylinder petrol, a very powerful engine!" |
Picture copyright owned by Erwin Voogt. Please contact me first if you want to use any of these pictures for any purpose. |