Trip to Jordan Nov/Dec 2011

[DaveM]

Colchicum stevenii - growing in large numbers at Ajlun Castle and at several other sites.

[DaveM]

Cyclamen persicum var. autumnale

usually flowers emerge before the leaves, except when rains come early as they did this year, about 3/4 weeks before our visit. The type persicum was also in leaf at some of the localities.

[DaveM]

Sternbergia clusiana

This is such a stunning species, I feel. I have seen this several times before in Turkey but never in such a floriferous state with many multiflower clumps.......

Wish I could grow and flower this here   

[DaveM]

And more Sternbergia clusiana....

[DaveM]

Bulb of Sternbergia clusiana shrouded in papery covering from previous years. Good insulation from the searing summer heat.

[Lesley Cox]

We have some amazing and wonderful "trip" threads on the Forum but this must be up there with the very best, for me anyway, with some history, some scenery, some geography and fabulous plants of course.

A question Dave, can one go into the buildings in the old city and see the rooms or can they only be seen from the outside?

I'm sure I heard somewhere the other day, something on TV probably, that living organisms had been found in the Dead Sea, could even have been some kind of fish, in spite of the extreme salinity.

[DaveM]

Thank you Lesley for your kind comments.

Yes, one can enter most of the rooms, or are they tombs, in Petra. The only one that I recall being closed off was at Little Petra where the painted plasterwork was displayed. Just put the camera through the iron railings and snap away. Most of the rooms are just rectangular chambers carved out of the rock. There are tooling marks all over. Some of the rooms contain a stone bench around 3 sides, but there is little else except in a few which contain a carved sandstone bowl, said to be for sacrificing.....

Some of the walls and ceilings display natural iron oxide staining in the sandstone (liesegang markings - these arise as a result of fluids with Fe-oxide migrating through the rock. Some are quite spectacular - see pic below.

I'm not sure that there are any macrofauna. But I also recall hearing something recently that the Dead Sea isn't totally dead; something about a bacterium or other microflora/fauna???

[DaveM]

And now for some more crocus............

Crocus hermoneus subsp. palaestinus, from west of Amman

[FrazerHenderson]

Dave - when I lived in Israel we used to go up to the Dead Sea supposedly to cleanse the skin (actually with any cuts it wasn't much fun) and I recall being told then that only algae and bacteria were present: the salinity is too high for fish and with recent evaporation salinity will be even greater unless there is compensation from fresh water springs.

Thanks for sharing the photos, I hope that they will form the basis of a future presentation.

[DaveM]

Hi Frazer - I chose not to go for the black mud all-over-body treatment that is supposed to be so good for the skin (no chance for me anyway - too many hours in the sun on fieldwork). Folk who tried this found it difficult to remove afterwards.......

Yes, the whole structure of the water in the Dead Sea changed dramatically after Israel started taking so much water from the Jordan. Before then the Dead Sea had two layers: a hypersaline layer (crystallising salts) beneath a much less saline surface layer. Some while after pumping started, the two layers mixed so that now there is only one hypersaline water mass.

See what I can do..... 

[DaveM]

Superficially very similar to C hermoneus subsp. palaestinus is this new species. Quite variable in colour also. However, the corm tunic is distinct, having a slightly reticulate pattern - different from hermoneus which has a papery tunic.

[DaveM]

Crocus hyemalis - a lovely species this and quite variable populations, particularly with markings on the reverse of the tepals and in the yellow or orange style.

[DaveM]

More Crocus hyemalis

Some good clumps too.

[DaveM]

And now finally.... a few more pics of Crocus moabiticus

Limestone substrate, stony marly soil; west of Madaba

[DaveM]

Last few Crocus moabiticus

And sunset over the Roman city of Jerash to end with