Jordan -- November 2011

There seemed to be five or six Chrisitan Churches in this area (which the Jordanain government seems to have set off as a preserve or reservation of some kind). This one is Greek Orthodox, I believe. Another one is Catholic (I supect the pope may have been there to consecrate that church). All of the churches seem failry new.

This area is RIGHT on the border with Israel (maybe? -- this is discussed in conjunction with a photo that appears later). It had apparently been a military reservation for many years until some time after Jordan and Israel signed a peace agreement (in the mid-1990s, I think). There were stll a few lighly-armed Jordanian soliders in jeeps parked in a couple locations in the area, but no heavy weapons and no visible active fortifications. In a few places, the ruins of a high barrier fence were visible (looked like the fence had been quite substantial, maybe 15 feet high and topped with razor wire). However, large sections of the fence had been removed to allow roads for tourist access (and the fencing in these locations had been destroyed -- there were no gates).