Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CENTRAL HIGHLIGHTS
Piece together early Christian history in the mosaics of
Madaba
(
Click here
)
and
visit a modern workshop to see how they were made
Take shade under an ancient stone dolmen in
Wadi Jadid
(
Click here
)
Survey the Promised Land - that took almost 2000 years to deliver and cost the
region dearly - from Moses' memorial at
Mt Nebo
(
Click here
)
Dance with Salome's ghost at
Mukawir
(
Click here
)
, before unveiling the spot
where a reluctant Herod supposedly beheaded John the Baptist
Watch the ladies at
Bani Hamida
(
Click here
)
weave their past into the shape of
a new future
Savour an eagleeye view of
Wadi Mujib
(
Click here
)
from the viewpoint
Listen to the thunder of ghostly hooves at
Karak Castle
(
Click here
)
and
Shobak Castle
(
Click here
)
, Jordan's most impressive Crusader castles
Find peace (and ibex if you're lucky) at
Dana Biosphere Reserve
(
Click here
)
,
on a hike from the temperate high ground to the desert landscape of Wadi Araba
History
The landscape either side of the great yawning gap of Wadi Mujib is identical. There are
neat olive groves, avenues of poplars, prickly pear fences, gently undulating hills, sheep
driven along a network of paths, villages of flat-roofed houses - and occasional piles of
fallen masonry from antiquity. North and south of the divide, the rural communities seem
to form part of a seamless continuum along the surface of the upper plateau and, unless
you have driven along the King's Highway, you might never guess at the great hiatus that
divides the region in two.
There is surely no better metaphor for the continuity of human life along this ancient
trade route. For the past 3000 years, the King's Highway has been traversed by the Israel-
ites en route to the Promised Land; by Nabataeans to and from their sacred city at Petra;
by Christian faithful on pilgrimage to Moses' memorial at Mt Nebo; by Crusaders to their
castle fortifications; and by Muslim pilgrims heading to and from Mecca. Travel the road
today, with all its difficulties, and you follow in the path of history.
See
Click here
for a fuller history of this ancient thoroughfare.
