Off we go to Petra

This morning we left Amman for our trek to Petra, first stopping at Mount Nebo.  Mount Nebo is west of Madaba (Southwest of Amman) and known as Pisgah in the Bible.  It is where the Bible says Moses lived out his remaining days and viewed the Promised Land.  The view from here is amazing.  Looking west we could see the shore of the Dead Sea and on really clear days it is said you can see Jerusalem and Jericho.  There are two peaks on Mount Nebo - Siyagha and al-Mukhayyat.  The modern-day shrine atop Siyagha houses the remains of AMAZING mosaics from the third or fourth century CE.  Outside the building is a Serpentine Cross which represents the bronze serpent taken up by Moses in the desert, as well as the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

Upon leaving Mount Nebo, we visited an extremely old mosaic floor from the Church of Sts. Lot and Procopius in Kherbat al Mukhayyat (ancient name for the town of Nebo).  It is a mosaic of grape collecting and wine making and is estimated to be 560 years.  It was uncovered by a family living directly on top of it.  In fact, part of the mosaic has evidence of extreme heat damage - it was the portion directly under the family's oven.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we walked to Church of St. George in the middle of Madaba ti see the most famous mosaic floor.  The Mosaic Map of Palestine represents the Holy Land and the surrounding regions (there was even a portion near one of the pews of Lebanon).  Clearly seen on the mosaic are al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dead Sea the Jordan River, Nablus, Al-Khalil (Hebron), Arica (Jericho), Egypt and the Nile River, Turkey and Lebanon.  It was made around 560 CE and originally had over 2.3 million pieces.

                                       Part of map that represents Lebanon

The last stop before finishing our trip to Wadi Musa was at Karnak Castle.  It lies on the ancient caravan routes that used to connect Egypt to Syria and its position almost 1000 meters above the Dead Sea Valley made it an asset of great importance.  It is recorded that the Crusader King Baldwin I of Jerusalem had the castle built in 1132 CE.  It was interesting but not jaw dropping.  I braved it and climbed to the second tier.

The remainder of the day was traveling to Wadi Musa to see Petra tomorrow.  Hope some of the information is interesting.

From Amman to Jerash and Back Again

Today was an early day - on the bus by 7:00 am for the drive to Jerash.  Jerash is about 45 minutes north of Amman and is one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture outside of Italy.  Archeologists have found ruins of settlements dating back too the Neolithic Age, which means human occupation at the location for over 6500 years.  The first name was Arab/Semitic - Garshu.  The Romans later Hellenised the name to Gerasa.  The Bible refers to the region of the Gerasenes. At the end of the 19th century, the name was transformed into Jerash.  The Romans assimilated Jerash into the province of Syria and later named it as one of the ten great cities in the Decapolis League.  It had a north and south theater, a Cardo (shopping street), bath houses, a hippodrome for chariot races, churches etc.

Andrea Bocelli just gave a concert in the ruins of Jerash.  They were taking the sitting area and stage down as we were walking through.  I think it was a little more impressive than Ephesus.

Ajloun was our next stop.  It is located west of Jerash and is in the small region of "green" Jordan. There were olive groves all over.  The main reason for visiting Ajloun was the stronghold Qala'at al-Rabadh - a medieval fortress built between 1184-85 CE by the nephew of Salah Edwin al-Ayyubi.  It was strategically placed to command the Jordan Valley as well as three smaller valleys leading to it.  This location made it an important link in the defense against Crusaders.  On a clear day it is said you can see the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley, the West Bank and Lake Tiberius.  There were 130 steps to the top of the fortress and, yes, I climbed every one!!  I may pay for it tomorrow, but it was great.