Mohammad Shortcut to Desert Castles with stops in Iraq and Syria

I got up this morning in time for the morning prayer as it was broadcast across the city. We all gathered and wished Loretta a Happy Birthday before sitting down to breakfast.

Today we would explore a handful of desert castles. First on the list was Qasr Kharana. I don't speak or read Arabic but am quite confident that "Qasr" means castle as it prefaced each site on today's list. Having said that Qasr Kharana was not so much a castle but rather a type of Motel 6.

While not located on any known trade routes the energy inside does seem to suggest it was a resting place for traders, containing a number of small rooms surrounding a central courtyard.







We were close to the Saudi Arabian and Iraqi boarders. And this was the birthplace of the "Mohammad Shortcut", much like the birth of Christ, this too was truly magical. Our driver Mohammad was awesome, while he spoke limited English, it seemed no matter where we asked him to take us, it was always only ten minutes away, even though it often involved a handful of U-turns.

I'm pretty sure I've seen this corner more then once.

Mohammad would ask "Where you go?". We would reply with "Qasr Amra". Mohammad would turn around and step on the gas saying "Qasr Amra, ten minute shortcut". Approximately 30 minutes later, after seeing a great deal of the country side, we arrived at Qasr Amra.

This is a kind of weekend retreat for the kings of the time and many of the frescoes inside are largely intact.

The dome covering the bath, which was heated back in the day, contained an accurate representation of the zodiac.

The entire inside was one big picture, one big story. The story it told depended on how you connected with it and what resonated with you. What do you believe as truth. The story only lives because we give it energy, retelling it to others through our own eyes.

"Mohammd, Qasr al-Azraq please." After a short stop at the Syrian border, where the excitement of fighter jets flying overhead dropping bombs in the distance quickly wore off, that we found ourselves at Qasr al-Azraq.

There are 24 nations currently taking part in destroying ISIS and the Jordanians believe they will be finally eliminated this year. So I'm sure Trump will find a way to use this both on his resume as well as a personal tax deduction.

In Mohammad's defense Qasr al-Azraq is only two miles from the Syrian border. The castle has a different feel in that it was built from the local black basalt.

The castle had great strategic importance as it was close to one of only a handful of desert oasis.

This is also where T.E. Lawrence wrote his Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Or better know as the story of Lawrence of Arabia.

It's amazing that many of the arches are still standing after all these years, even more amazing that they withstand the local bombing just miles away.

Many of the site's stone doors continue to work today.

Later on this castle would be used by the Ottoman empire. I don't really know too much about them other then they sure make a comfy foot rest.

"Mohammad, shortcut to Umm el-Jimal please." After a short two hour drive and passing the Zaatari refugee camp, home to over 100,000 Syrian refugees, we arrive at the village of Umm el-Jimal. The camp consists of the white tents in the distance.

Umm el-Jimal is largely a pile of rocks today but still offers great exploration. I was here looking for more pieces of the puzzle, letting the site guide me.



Many of the staircases were actually on the outside of the house, leaving more room inside. It doesn't rain much in the desert so they don't really have to worry about them being slippery.



The construction of the roof was amazing with each stone holding the weight of the previous one.

They had doors but they all seemed to have fallen offer their hinges and replacement hardware was not available in present day.

A great place for the locals to have a picnic or afternoon tea.

I explored and saw an archway far in the distance. I thought "I need to go check that out" and was reminded of something that Malcolm said yesterday. Early languages did not have concepts like "need to" or "have to", they just did it. It was later on that the Romans introduced these concepts which place a lot more anxiety on the action. So I changed my thought to "I'm going to go check that out". It felt more relaxed and I thought "Cool, I have to write this down in my journal tonight", followed by another thought "Crap, I just did it again".



This location was not about the arches but about the water reservoir it protected.





The story of this site is interesting in that both Christian and Muslim people coexisted. While the site had churches they all faced Mecca.





We covered a lot of ground and with Mohammad's shortcut I was pretty sure we would be back at our hotel in Amman in roughly an hour or so. We stopped in town to check out the night life.

Turns out there is not much night life as this is a Muslim country and it's just about impossible to find a beer outside of the airport or hotels. Before I left I researched online and knew they had two local beers, however locating them would prove quite a challenge, but one that I was more then ready to take on with my can-do attitude.

They are very much into perfumes and if you have enough time you can create your own cologne.

We then stopped street side for some shawerma or what westerners would call a gyro.



It turns out that this stop would toss a wrench in Abraham and Mohammad's secret plan. They had a surprise birthday cake for Loretta and with us eating here they had to scramble to get road side delivery of the cake. When the delivery guy finally arrived we got quite a show when he and Mohammad had an argument that none of us could understand. But that's kind of how it works here, they blow up and yell at each other, then hug and make up before parting ways. Mohammad was mad that the delivery guy was late and the delivery guy was mad that he had to locate us on the street. Back at the hotel we found out that outside cakes were discouraged and we again had to sign a waiver before they would give us plates and silverware to eat it with.