Madaba

Today we spent our second day in the town of Madaba. Our first stop for the morning was a visit to a local farm. The owner of the farm was the cousin of Neimr Haddadin, one of the men we met at the Ministry of Agriculture. His cousin was more than thrilled to show us around the farm. As we walked he insisted that we try something from each of the crops we passed. By the end of the tour, our pockets were all weighted down with Almonds that he picked for us. Throughout his tour, we were shown their irrigation techniques, how they graft grapes, and the quality of their soil. We were also offered Bedouin Coffee along the walk. After checking out the farm, and the views of Amman, Israel, and the Dead Sea from the top of the hill, we drove back to Neimr Haddadin's home where we were then offered juice as we talked in his living room. An older gentleman related to Mr. Haddadin also joined us and explained to us the severity of the current drought in Jordan. He told us that this is the worst agricultural production he has seen since the 1940's. After talking for a bit in his home, we walked across the street to his cousin's home where we were taken to the backyard. What we didn't know was that underneath his home he had excavated an old cave and prepared it with candles and tea for us.

After our meeting with the Haddadin's, we drove on to Mt. Nebo. This is the mountain in which the prophet Moses was shown the Promise Land after leading the Israelites through the desert for 40 years. From the top of the mountain, we were able to see the Dead Sea and Israel on the bordering side of the sea. On our way back into town we stopped at a handcraft store and were given a tour of how they make the intricate tile mosaics you find across the country. It was the perfect place to pick up some souveniers. By this point, we were all getting slightly hungry so we drove back to Madaba to pick up some food. We found a small local shop on one of the side streets and set up a table behind the restaraunt. As a welcomed surprise to most of us, we were only served appetizers for lunch, and did not need to fear an immense amount of food caused by a second course.

After lunch, we walked down the street to St. George's Church which contains the oldest map of the Holy Land in the world. The map is in the form of a mosaic tile on the floor of the church and shows location, distance, and relative size of important towns in the Holy Land, which extends from Lebanon to Egypt. Click here to see more pics of the mosaic.

We are now back in the hotel resting (and writing this blog entry) and will soon be heading out for dinner. After dinner, we have been invited back over to Mr. Haddadin's home to see the city of Jerusalem lit up at night. Tomorrow, we will be driving to Bethany where Jesus was said to be baptized by John the Baptist and then from there we will be heading to the Dead Sea. I think we're all quite pumped to float in the salty water! Tomorrow we will not have internet but I believe the following day we will, so expect another update soon. Otherwise things are going great and the group is having an incredible time. Make sure to check out the picture website as well for the visual tour of Jordan!!

-Spud