Jordan Recap

Best Tomb: The Treasury at Petra. But the Monastery is close behind.

Best Temple: Temple of Artemis at Jerash (where you can rock one of those gigantic Roman columns).

Best Mosaic: There's an amazing mosaic at Mt. Nebo depicting the evolution of human life; but you can only see photos at the moment. So we will stick with the map at St. George's Church in Madaba.

Best Arabic expression: Insha'Allah, which translates as "God willing". A typical usage would be: "When Donald and Esther get to Namibia, Insha'Allah, they will see amazing dunes and wildlife." It's similar to knocking on wood when you make a statement about the future. (The best Arabic expression from our Egypt trip, which has now been added to the Egypt recap, was yalla beena, which translates as hurry up or, in Spanish, vamanos.)

Best food: Fatoush (salad with crunchy fried bread)

Best drink: Lemonade with mint

Best creature: Yellow-vented bulbul - a cheery bird we saw all over Jordan.

Biggest surprise: The hail storm on the way to the airport.

Best guide: Omar (former badminton champion of Jordan)

Best driver: Khalil.