© Lonely Planet Publications 182 King’s Highway ﺍﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ ﺍﻟﻤﻠﻮﻛﻲ There is a point on the King’s Highway, just before you reach the lip of the great Wadi Mujib, where the landscape could best be described as quintessentially Jordanian. Neat olive groves wrap around the contours of the gently undulating hills; sheep, driven in liquid streams of good-natured bleating, pour through the rural network of paths; a village, with washing flapping outside the flat-roofed, ochre-coloured houses, sleeps through the hottest part of the day. Only the lizards disturb the peace as they rustle through the fallen masonry of antiquity, watched by pied wagtails that bob over a mosaic of parched earth. There is another point on the King’s Highway, just after the great yawning gap of Wadi Mujib, where the avenues of poplars, the prickly pear–fences and the sleepy market towns resume. It’s as if they form part of a seamless continuum along the surface of the upper pla- teau, uninterrupted by the great hiatus that divides the northern highway from the south. There is surely no better metaphor for the continuity and tenacity of human life along this ancient highway. The highway has for the past 3000 years been traversed by the Israelites en route to the Promised Land; by Nabataeans to and from their sacred city at Petra; by Christian faithful on pilgrimage to Moses’ memorial at Mt Nebo; by Crusaders to their castle fortifications; and by Muslim pilgrims heading to and from Mecca. Travel the road today, with all its difficulties, and you follow in the path of human beliefs, hopes and dreams. HIGHLIGHTS Piece together early Christian history in the mosaics of Madaba ( p184 ) and visit a modern workshop to see how they were Mt made Nebo Survey the Promised Land from Moses’ Madaba memorial at Mt Nebo ( p193 ): the prom- ised land that took almost 2000 years to Mukawir deliver and cost the region dearly Dead Sea Dance with Salome’s ghost at Mukawir ( p195 ), before unveiling the spot where a reluctant Herod beheaded John the Baptist Karak Listen to the thunder of ghostly hooves at Karak castle ( p201 ) and Shobak castle ( p211 ), Jordan’s most impressive Crusader castles Dana Nature Find peace (and ibex if you’re lucky) at Reserve Dana Nature Reserve ( p205 ), on a hike from the temperate high-ground to the Shobak desert landscape of Wadi Araba KING’S HIGHWAY lonelyplanet.com KING’S HIGHWAY •• Madaba 183 Getting Around KING'S 0 30 km Of Jordan’s three highways running north HIGHWAY 0 20 miles to south, the King’s Highway is by far the 65 15 West Bank Jo Wadi r as-Seer dan AMMAN most interesting, with a host of historical King Hussein/ Al-Karama 35 25 Allenby Shuneh al- attractions lying on the road or nearby Bridge River Janubiyyeh Na'ur 15 Al- (see p44 for the history of this ancient Jericho Muwaqqar 40 Ayoun ('Ain) Musa Bethany-Beyond 40 thoroughfare). The highway connects the the-Jordan Hesban Mt Nebo mosaic town of Madaba to the pink city Fasaliyya Suweimeh Khirbet Al-Fiha of Petra via Crusader castles, Roman forts, Mukhayyat Queen Alia Wadi Jadid Madaba International Airport biblical sites, a windswept Nabataean tem- Ma'in Dead Sea Nitil ple and some epic landscapes – including Panorama Hammamat Wadi Zarqa Herodus Ma'in Libb Ma'in the majestic Wadi Mujib. Spring Mukawir Dhab'a Unfortunately, Wadi Mujib is to blame Machaerus n Ὀda i Dead H Dhiban Umm for the lack of public transport along this Ein Sea di Ara'ir ar-Rasas Gedi Wa Visitor Lehun Wadi road: minibuses serve the communities on Centre Ariha Mujib either side of the wadi, while through traffic Fag'ua Wadi Mujib uses the Desert Highway. Chartering a taxi Nature Reserve King's Hwy Al-Qasr for the day is more feasible (see p192 ). The Wadi bin Hamad Palace Hotel (and other budget hotels inὄὄ Mazra'aὈAr-Rabba Qatrana Amman, see p105 ) run minibus tours that 50 Karak stop in Wadi Mujib and Karak (and some- 65 Karak ISRAEL & THE Castle times Dana and Shobak) en route to Petra. 15 PALESTINIAN Numeirah Mu'tah TERRITORIES The most convenient way to explore the Lot's Cave Mazar King’s Highway is to hire a car. This al- Safi Khirbet lows for longer, circular trips that combine Hammamat Tannour ὄὄBurbita Wadi the King’s Highway with the Dead Sea Fifa Hammamat Hasa Highway along spectacular hairpin roads Afra wy H Tafila (see p170 ). Al-Hesa Sea Al-'Ain Rummana al-Bayda If all else fails, hitching is possible but be ad Campground De prepared for long waits on deserted stretches – Tower Rashidiyya Dana Centre Wadi Nature Jebel Atatia not advisable in the extreme temperatures Reserve Dana (1641m) Fein ὈὈan Feinan Qadsiyya ὄ of summer or winter. To explore all of Lodge Husseinyah Khirbet Wadi the sites covered in this chapter on public Ghuw Feinan eir Al-Barra Greigra transport could easily take a week. Mansourah aba 35 Ar Shobak Hwy Castle Shobak Freight line only ﻣﺄﺩﺑﺎ MADABA Wadi Desert x05 / Pop 70,000 Umm Mathla The amiable market town of Madaba isὈὈ Wadi ὄ Udruh Petra Musa best known for a collection of superb, Jebel Byzantine-era mosaics. The most famous Haroun 817 Tayyibeh Ma'an of these is the mosaic map on the floor Ar-Rajif 5 of St George’s Church, but there are many Jebel Mubak As-Sadaqa 65 other mosaics carpeting different parts of (1727m) 5 35 Gharandal the town, many of which are even more Rajif Intersection Abu al-Lasan complete and vibrant in colour. To Aqaba To Aqaba One third of Madaba’s population is (63km) Ras an-Naqb (74km) Christian (the other two thirds are Mus- KING’S HIGHWAY lim), making it one of the largest Christian to rise, and finally Mammon gets a look in communities in Jordan. The town’s long with the honks and groans of traffic. The tradition of religious tolerance is joyfully – rest of the day is punctured with yelps to and loudly – expressed on Friday. This is buy apricots, and friendly greetings from one day when you shouldn’t expect a lie- children. in. The imam summons the faithful before Madaba is easily explored on foot. With a sliver of dawn leavens the sky. Then the its lively shops dangling with strings of carillon bells bid the Orthodox Christians shoes; skinned goats tended by men in .