Magic Jordan Petra was in my dreams for some time. This year, I found excuses to myself, so I went with my friend Luciana. The images seen in various documentaries Petra has kept me company for the whole trip, but we soon realized that Jordan is not only Petra. We were part of a group of 50 people in seven days we covered about 2000 km,
accompanied by the exceptional driving and Ziad Uncle Aldo, as he kindly allowed us to call him thinking that "Ziad "For us, it would be too difficult to pronounce. Bedouin to the core but with a Western culture, after getting a scholarship, a degree in archeology has achieved in Florence. So speaks perfect Italian, and although he has never given opinions or make comments about Italy, I am convinced that she knew the our weaknesses better than most Italian
The first day we made a stop in Aqaba (Ayla old) where we stayed the first three nights.
Aqaba has a history that dates back to pre-biblical times, when it was known as Ayla. Since 106 AD, the Romans used as Ayla port city due to its strategic location at the eastern end of the Red Sea. It 's always been a place of primary importance for trade. In the twelfth century the Crusaders captured the city, then came the Mamluk sultans of Egypt, which gave the new name of Aqaba. Then he followed the rule of the Ottomans who ruled for four centuries. The Ottomans then lost it in 1917 in the famous battle with the Arab forces allied with TE Lawrence. The British assured Aqaba to Jordan in 1947, at the end of World War II. Aqaba today, thanks to its port (only port in Jordan) to its strategic location for trade routes between Syria and the Arabian Peninsula, the artifacts found in excavations of the ancient Ayla, is considered a charming and vibrant city where the 'host has no flaws and where kindness, courtesy and education are specific to each of its inhabitants.
On day 14 we did the hike Petra, known as the land of the Nabataeans, but in reality, several millennia ago, the area was inhabited by men of the Stone Age and the Edomites. Geographically located in the great Syrian-African rift valley (the Rift Valley), the Earth's crust that long wound that starts from the south-east, form the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea depression, the bed of the Wadi 'Araba, dates Aqaba, Red Sea and sinks into going to hit the northern coast of sul Mincio, Mozambano. Petra is located east of Wadi 'Araba. Today, Petra is a myth, an open-air museum, a fantastic and surreal place. Famous for its tombs, the Siq, the ancient dwellings carved into the rock,
the "Treasure" (tomb of Fraone), the Roman Amphitheatre, the DICOM and the fantastic rock walls with a color ranging from light pink to bright red streaks, which tend to purple. A show that has no equal ... and to think that just a thousand years ago in this area is cultivated grains such as barley and wheat, fruit trees, olive trees, vines and animals grazing on green meadows.
Day 15. excursion in Wadi Rum (the desert Bedouin). Hard to describe the feeling you making a trip to the desert known as the "Valley of the Moon." Yes, it is true is a valley, a valley of red sand with pink hues, a valley that leaves your gaze wander to the horizon, when suddenly sprout huge rocks, smoothed and shaped by the wind to the point of forming strange shapes.
is great too 
and hospitality of the Bedouins (desert dwellers). Even though we know they are there because of them pass the tourists, their dignity is intact, their tents are cozy. I wonder if the tents of Bedouins living in the desert really, those who every day have to fight with the lack of food and water, they differ greatly from those we have seen us. Today we went there, they took us on a tour with off-road specially arranged for us to be comfortable. We know that this is not the life of the desert but also excited because we actually can imagine. If you think that the area of \u200b\u200bWadi Rum has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, and that was once pasture land, it is clear that the process of desertification in the thousands of years has eroded and sculpted the mountains, as it has shaped the character of its population. Strong and proud people, able to live, even today, in an inhospitable environment in which we could not resist more a few days.
Day 16. The Way of Kings: Karak, Madaba, Mount Nebo, Amman. Al-Karak is dominated by the imposing Crusader castle. Located on the top of a hill about 950 meters above sea level, is surrounded on three sides by a valley. From these hills you can admire a splendid view over the Dead Sea. The construction of the Crusader castle began in the forties of the twelfth century by Pagano, a vassal of King Fulk and was known as the Petra Desert . Can not describe all the vicissitudes.
I will just say that the visit is extremely interesting and now houses the Archaeological Museum in Al Karak, reopened in 2004 after renovation.
Madaba, the "city of mosaics ", is located about 35 km south-east of Amman at a height of 730 meters above sea level.
For the first time we speak of Madaba in the fourth book of the Old Testament, but the discovery of a relic dating from the Iron Age port of the first settlements of Madaba to long ago.
I decorated the 15 Byzantine churches with beautiful mosaics, but in the seventh and eighth centuries, due to pillage and earthquakes, the city was abandoned.
Only in 1880 a thousand families from Karak the repopulated, even if they use the remains of ancient monuments as a raw material to build their own homes.
We went then to 
Mount Nebo, in Arabic (جبل نيبو, Jabal Nibu ). It 's a high ridge about 817 meters above sea level in what is now western Jordan. From its summit the view is of great importance and, on clear days, you can enjoy the panorama of the Holy Land, Jordan and the Dead Sea. Here are the remains of a church first built in the second half of the fourth century in memory of the place where it says Moses died. The cross-shaped sculpture with copper snakes intertwined on Mount Nebo, was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni . Remember Nehushtan, the bronze serpent created by Moses
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead to Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the southern region, the basin of the Jordan River and the valley of Jericho, City of Palms, up to Soar. " " Deuteronomy 34 1-5 ", ...
In the late afternoon we arrived in Amman , the capital of Jordan. Inhabited since 6500 BC, which is also dominated by different populations, Amman enjoys a Mediterranean climate and seasons are generally milder than other places in the region.
17 day visit to the desert castles. And 'This was a great trip where we saw another kind of desert called black desert, in fact, sand has a dark color. Visit the aicastelli VII, sec. the imposing fortress of
Kaharana, Amra Arzak where Lawrence of Arabia and stared at his headquarters.
giorno18 The visit to the ruins of Jerash dating back to Roman times and continued to
Ajlun and the famous castle of Arab Qalaat to Rabat, known as the Fortress of Saladin.
19 day visit to the castle of Araq El Amir. The name means "cave of the prince." Built in the second century. BC, rebuilt by a French mission, has a high relief with a depiction of an enormous lion, just to the north gate entrance. This port is to be remembered as a building material because it has bigger blocks that have ever been used in a building of its kind in the Middle East.
Continue to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is located in the deepest depression of the Earth, at 413 meters below sea level. Along 76 km wide and 16 has a surface area of \u200b\u200b650 km ². The water is too salty (300g of salt per liter of water) to allow some form of life, except for bacteria, hence the name Dead Sea.
once had as a tributary of the Jordan River, but for some time now the source of the Jordan is dry and no longer even emissaries of this sea. E 'is intended to dry up the sea so that its level decreases as one meter per year. 
(To the side is the place where it is believed Jesus was baptized),
Its waters were known since Roman times for their healing properties.
Day 20 departure to Italy. 
In the late afternoon we arrived in Amman , the capital of Jordan. Inhabited since 6500 BC, which is also dominated by different populations, Amman enjoys a Mediterranean climate and seasons are generally milder than other places in the region. 
