Adventures with Asperger's Syndrome

As a multi-faith pilgrimage center, paths visualized by so many lead to Jerusalem. But the Holy City is also the start of many, often epic, journeys. Some of which, literally go deeper than anywhere else. After seeing journeys brought by millions of years of geological activity and thousands of years of by caravan in Jordan’s deserts, the next part of my adventure through the mythical and geological trails of the Middle East took me to the lowest point on land, the Dead Sea. The Dome of the Rock viewed from the Mount of Olives with the Jewish Cemetery in the foreground Overlooking Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives ( 800m high) gives visitors a spectacular panoramic view of the city, including the old city walls and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock. A much fought-over city throughout history and still a place where tension between faith arises from time to time, at the Mount of Olives, one sees commonalities that the three great Abrahamic spiritual paths share, that of transcend

Two of my favourite aspects of travelling that fascinate me particularly are how nature’s journeys, geological and meteorological, can be seen and experienced and how ancient civilizations, including the Inca (Quecha) of Peru and the Khmer of South East Asia have mastered the local climate, landscape and resources enabling not just survival, but also sustainability over a long period of time. My latest adventure, this time to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan saw both these aspects interweave when visiting the ancient city of Petra and the Wadi Rum Desert. Remains of carvings depicting camel caravans along the Siq Established around 2,500 years ago, Petra became a major trading hub for camel caravan trade expeditions trading luxury goods, including frankincense and silk, for the ancient Nabatean Kingdom. Now recognized as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, in present times Petra brings journeys of a different kind, that of modern tourism with thousands of visitors enteri