CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
346 km from Umm ar Raşāş to Umm ar Raşāş, about 5 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”, Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town and back through Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”. It crosses from Jordan into Palestinian Territories - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
For about 72 km this is Jordan Kings Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
74 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
The most surprising thing at Umm ar-Rasas is a tower. It stands alone in the fields about a kilometre north of the old town, a tall square column of stone, about fifteen metres high, with no door and a small chamber at the top, and it was built for a stylite, one of those early Christian ascetics who lived on top of pillars to be closer to heaven and further from the world. Stylites became famous in Syria in the fifth century, and this tower, which dates from the Byzantine period, is one of very few that survive in the region, and it may have been used as late as the ninth century. A monk lived in that little room, and pilgrims came to see him.
Read the complete Um er-Rasas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Um er-Rasas is where the day begins. Next is Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”.
Down here you are well below sea level, close to four hundred metres under it, and the air shows it: thick, warm and heavy, with a mineral haze rising off the Dead Sea a few kilometres to the south. The baptism site known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Al-Maghtas in Arabic, lies on the east bank of the river Jordan, the place many Christians identify with the baptism of Jesus by John. Across a narrow, muddy channel of water stands Qasr al-Yahud on the western side, close to Jericho, and the two banks look at each other across one of the world's most heavily watched borders.
Read the complete Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town.
Hebron, al-Khalil in Arabic, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Middle East, set in the hills of the southern West Bank. Its heart is the old town, a warren of stone alleys, covered souqs and Mamluk-era houses, grouped around the great mosque built over the Cave of the Patriarchs, where tradition places the tombs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives. The site is holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, and its name in Arabic, al-Khalil, means the friend, a reference to Abraham as the friend of God.
Read the complete Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 173 km into the recorded legs you reach Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town. Next is back through Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”, late in the day. Next is Um er-Rasas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Um er-Rasas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Um er-Rasas. That is the ride.
Um er-Rasas → Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” → Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town is 101 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town → back through Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” is 101 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” → Um er-Rasas is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.