Finishing off the Middle East

We are a bit tardy on our posts so we are going to catch you up on the end of our time in the Middle East....

We had a great day walking all around the old city of Petra on New Year's Eve. Words really don't do it justice. It is absolutely amazing what these people were able to build out of sandstone. The pictures are the only thing close to describing the beauty. We will hope to show them to you someday.

On New Year's Day, we headed for Amman...our last day in the Middle East. We had a trusty driver for our few days, Raeb, who would buy us drinks and treats when he stopped..pretty funny. On the way to Amman, we saw a lot of desert, some farmland, and the pretty meager existance that most people have in Jordan. We went up to Mt. Nebo, which is where Moses saw the promised land before he died. It really was amazing. Despite a bit of haze, you could see for miles into Israel - the Dead Sea, Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Galilee all in one panorama.

Our evening in Amman was wonderful because we stayed with Sameer and Mary Petro (again thanks to David Austin). They are originally from Israel, but lived in the US for years, and Lebanon, and now Jordan. It was fun to hear about their lives between cultures, the work that they do together, and to be part of a family for a night. We had a fabulous dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. Andy especially is going to miss the food. We tried to store up the tastes so that we can attempt to re-create them back home. It was a great evening of new friendship and a great ending to our time in the Middle East.