The Middle East and Africa
While working in Jordan I had an opportunity to make two trips to the Holy Land and what marvelous experinces they were. It depends on whose map is used as to where we crossed the Jordan River into Israel. The Jordanian map identifies the bridge as the King Hussein Bridge while the Israeli map identifies the bridge at the Allenby Bridge. In any case, after crossing the Jordan River, we went to Jerusalem via Jerico. On one trip we went south to Hebron and Bethlehem, and spent the remainder of the time in Jerusalem. On the other trip we went north. to Nazareth, Cana, and to the Sea of Galilee, then south along the Jordan River to Jerico, and on to Qumran, the Dead Sea, and Masada. I've seen many places more aesthetically pleasing that Jerusalem, but no place that nourished my soul as did the Holy City and no view more memorable than the Old City from the Mount of Olives.
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........................................................................... Old Jerusalem from The Mount of Olives
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...........The Via Delarosa ................ Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem .................. Sea of Galilee from Gedara, Jordan ..................... Capernaum
Jordan
Quite a few years ago I lived and worked in Jordan for a time and it was a wonderful experience. Amman, Jordan's capital, is built on seven hills. Except for the greenery planted and maintained by homeowners, the city is almost void of greenery. None-the-less, it's a rather attractive city with quite a lot to see. The people who know you are exceedingly warm and friendly, those that don't know you by and large ignore you, but I never felt any hostility.
Jordan is a small Middle-East country, half the size of my native Oklahoma, but for the past half century it's played a major political role in the region. Much of the country is barren desert, but, along with its neighbor, Israel, it's an absolute treasure house of Biblical history. During the six months I lived in Jordan working with Jordan's Ministry of Education, and during other short visits, I never lacked for exciting places to visit.
In the City of Amman there's much to see, such as the Roman Amphitheater in the downtown area. North of Amman are the ruins of the Roman city of Jerash, one of the cities of the Decapolis, which is quite impressive. To the east are the desert castles of the 8th century Umayyads. The one shown below is Qasr Azraq which was the headquarters for Lawrence of Arabia during WW I.
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......... Roman Amphitheater..................... Street of Columns, Jerash............................... Desert Castle at Azraq
To the west is the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. To the south is Madaba with it's splendid Byzantine church mosaics, Mt. Nebo, the Crusader Castle at Karak, and Jordan's port city of Aqaba. But Jordan's most spectacular attraction is the Red Rock City of Petra. Petra flurished as the capital of the Nabatean for some 500 years from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD. The entrance to Petra is via a narrow slit, or Siq, through the mountain. The walls rise almost vertically for several hundred feet. Just before exiting the Siq one has their first glimpse of the magnificant structure carved into the rock cliffs which are Petra. The structure is the Khazneh, or the Treasury, and it's a breath-taking sight!
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......... Khazneh seen from Siq ....................... The Treasury ...................................... The Monastery
Algeria
I would be reluctant to visit Algeria today, but twenty years ago when my family and I lived for a year in Algeria where I worked on a World Bank funded educational project, we had a marvelous experience. It was not always easy but we had a great time and have many wonderful memories. Algeria could have a great deal of tourist traffic if they choose to do so because there's much to see.
There are three major geographic regions in Algeria - the coastal region including the beautiful blue Mediterranean, miles of sandy beaches and fertile farm land. The second region is the Atlas Mountains, and to the south of the mountains, the third region, the Great Sahara. We lived a mile from the Mediteranean so much of our free time was spent along the sea. But we made several trips into the mountains, into the desert, and to the incredible ruins from the days of the Roman Empire.
Mediterranean Beach . 
. Roman Ruins at Tipasa 
Ruins at Djemila ......... 
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Atlas Mts. 
Ruins at Timgad ......... 
......... The Great Sahara 
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