Weekend trip #3: Central Jordan

                We visited three sites in Central Jordan today: Umm Ar Rasas, Wadi Mujib, and Dhiban.

                Umm Ar Rasas is the site of an ancient fortress and of at least sixteen churches, and contains Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim ruins. The site is massive, full of crumbling walls outlived by their arches, with church floors covered in sand and plastic to protect the mosaics beneath as restoration work creeps on.

                They were rather fond of their plaster detailing as well:

                Fascinating as the fortress was, neither it nor anything else seen on our tours thus far could compare to Wadi Mujib. It has been called Jordan’s Grand Canyon, and it is every bit deserving of the title.

                The pictures do not do justice to the majesty of the wadi. 

                After that, most of my photos of Dhiban, the site where the Mesha Stela was found, would be anticlimactic. That being the case, have some wild puppies in the ruins of one of Moab’s greatest cities:

                Finally, as promised, the hats: