An amazing project has taken me and two colleagues down the Kings Highway on an exploratory tour. One of the colleagues is a veteran archaeologist. And boy does it make a difference when you have someone like that with you on an ancient road that links a myriad of sites. You alsmost forget the present age as you drive through the kingdom of Ammonites, Moabites and I-don’t-know-what-ites!!

Starting in Amman at around 8 am we drove off the Dead Sea highway to Hisban, then on to Madaba (did not stop there) to Makawir, then to Um Al Rassas on to Wadi Mujib, Al Qasr, Al Rabbah then ending in Al Karak. When then took the plain old deser highway back to Amman to be there at around 7 pm.

The trip was nothing short of amazing. It is the first time I take the Kings Highway to the south. Soon our team will have to go back on the highway again to cover it from Karak to Aqaba.

Two highlights:
1. The totally huge mosaic at Um Al Rassas. It is big, elaborate and so well preserved.
2. The view at Wadi Mujib: Jordan’s Grand Canyon mini.

Two bummers:
1. The totally non-functioning toilets full of you-know-what at Um Al Rassas.
2. The fight that broke out between the waiters of the rest house in Karak (actually it was amusing)

What a trip.