Jordan (Day 1)

Our trip to Jordan was incredible! Where do I start? I'll never be able to adequately describe our trip because photos just don't do it justice. First of all, it takes only 30 minutes to drive to the border of Jordan from Jerusalem. The terrain changed dramatically as we traveled south as the land became more and more barren. I am continually amazed that people traveled through places on donkeys and camels for such great distances. I snapped this photo as we were flying down the highway with two buses and 82 students. We left Jerusalem at 6:45 AM so we could arrive in Petra by 8 PM that night.

When we arrived at the King Hussein Border Crossing, we waited in a long line of vehicles for two hours while passports were checked then rechecked before we could cross. Once on the Jordanian side, our baggage was unloaded because we had to board a Jordanian bus to travel continue our travel in the country. We had been forewarned about the long wait to cross the border but that is something you have to experience first-hand to truly appreciate.

While waiting and partially out of boredom, I snapped one photo in the parking lot while our bus was being unloaded. Before I knew it, I was quickly escorted off with a guard and taken inside for interrogation.

In the meantime, Garth had stepped ahead of me and because he had my passport, I had no ID!! How do you explain to officers who speak just a little English why I had no ID and why I had innocently taken a photo? I found the situation almost laughable because I was just an old lady who didn't know any better and certainly meant no harm. I learned a good lesson: NEVER TAKE PHOTOS NEAR BORDERS. To make a long story short, after about 20 minutes, my camera was returned and after my photo was deleted, I was allowed to join our group and stand in 5 more security check points. All of this took another 1-1/2 hours before we boarded the Jordanian bus and continued along our way. We were joined by a great tour guide, Moses, who was a Jordanian Christian. His English was wonderful and in all our travels abroad, Garth and I agreed we had never had a better, more personable tour guide. He shared a lot about his personal life which I will share later which made the time go more quickly.

The first sight we stopped at was Mount Nebo. It is a western peak which faces the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. In Num. 27 and in Deut. 34:1 we are told that God showed Moses the Promised Land from Nebo. This area was once ruled by the Amorites, whom Moses defeated. After Moses died, his body was taken to the top of Mount Nebo where he was supposedly buried. However, Mormons believe Moses was translated because in Alma 45:18-19 it says: The Lord took Moses unto himself. Regardless, from this place you could see the Holy Land and the Dead Sea and to honor Moses, the Byzantines built several churches and also a baptismal fount.

Pope John Paul II visited this site inn 2012.

When Pope John Paul II visited this site, he planted this olive tree which is guarded at all times.

I'm really not sure what the guard could see as he sits to watch visitors, making sure they aren't tempted to touch or pluck a branch from the tree.

We entered a small museum and were told that when Franciscan archaeologists began excavating, they found two Byzantine churches and a wealth of mosaic floors. These are photos of the fragments of those mosaics. Exotic animals dominate the mosaics of the 393 AD Nebo church which also has a baptismal font from 531 AD.

I asked Moses if the stones were dyed and he said they were not but were carefully quarried from areas of stones of the same color to design the patterns in these mosaics. The artwork was intricate and the mosaics were stunning!

This was a a street post. The sign on the right side shows the inscription carved in the pillar which gave directions to travelers.

Moses, our guide.

This is a model of Mount Nebo and the terracing of the surrounding area.

One last look at the valley below before we were off to a Greek Orthodox church.

Professor Esplin and his wife are new at the Jerusalem Center and will return to the states in August when we go home. They have 4 adorable children, the oldest will be eight in December. They are planning to baptize him the Jordan River.

Inside the church.

Students from our bus.

This is the earliest Madaba mosaic map ever found and is extremely important to the history of Israel. It shows the cardo running from Damascus Gate southward. It also shows the Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea, with Jericho (bottom) and Bethabara (middle).

We left the church, hopped on the bus and were off to a restaurant for lunch. It was already 1:30 and were famished from such a busy day. Little did we realize, our day was only half done!!

Sitting area of the restaurant.

It was already 1:30 PM and we were starving! This little restaurant was charming and the food was wonderful except we couldn't eat any of the the salads or drink the water. The salads looks so delicious and were so tempting but from past experiences we were told we didn't dare eat anything that had not been peeled. Therefore, we ate lots of pita bread, hummus, and chicken.

We left the restaurant and headed to our bus and as we walked down the street we passed a shoemaker's shop.

Back on the bus and headed now to Machaerus.

Along the way we saw Bedouin sheepherders. I have wanted to get a photo of sheep but it's hard to do that when you are in a moving vehicle.

Some Bedouins still live in caves at night as they are herding their sheep. They are very hard working people and the more I learn, the more I admire about them. Our guide explained that all Jordanians came from Bedouin stock. They are honest, hard working people who believe in peace and are taught to reach out to those in need regardless of what they have. How many of us would do the same? Ninety percent of Jordanians are Muslim and only 4% are Christian and as mentioned earlier, Moses, said he is Christian.

If you look closely, you can see animals grazing on the side of the mountain.

We are now surrounded by mountains and are heading to a steep hill which overlooks the Dead Sea from the east side. About 15 miles to the southeast, the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea. At the top of the the hill is a fortress which was originally built by the Hasmonean King, Alexander Jannaeus, and was later rebuilt by Herod the Great. This is the site where John the Baptist was imprisoned in a deep cistern and then beheaded by Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.

The map I took from the web, shows the relationship of Machaerus to the Dead Sea.

By this time it was about 3 PM and in the heat of the day we walked to the top of the hill. It doesn't look like a very steep walk, but it was! Because of the lack of water, Herod built an aqueduct and cistern system. If you are interested in reading about the events that lead up to the beheading of John the Baptist, read Matthew 14 and Mark 6:14-29. According to the New Testament, Herod's son, Antipas, feared John the Baptist but used listen to him. John the Baptist condemned the marriage of Antipas to Herodias because it was against the Law of Moses for a man to marry his brother's wife while that brother was still living. This made Herodia angry and she convinced her husband to put John the Baptist in prison (Mark 6:17). During a party for Antipas, the daughter of Herodias (who was the step-daughter of Antipas) danced before the group and Antipas promised her anything she wanted. Salome, the dancer, asked for the head of John the Baptist and to save face with the crowd, Antipas ordered John the Baptist to be executed. (Mark 6:21-26)

The isolated mountain on which the fortress stood is surrounded by deep wadis and the mountain forms two saddles, one to the south east and another to the north west. There is an upper city on the top of the mountain and a lower city on the steep northern slope. It took about 30 minutes to walk to the top.

Machaerus was never a safe place to be and was a forbidding fortress built to intimidate and control the troubled area between Palestine and Petra. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, the fortress of Machaerus was remote enough to keep John the Baptist out of the public eye where they could execute him quietly. John the Baptist's death was cruel and tragic.

You can just imagine how tired and overheated we were so before we started our 3-1/2 hour to Petra, we stopped at a gift shop which had restrooms and ice cream.
 

These beautiful inlaid Mother-of-pearl chairs were priced at $10,000 each!!
 


The Dome of the Rock replica was $1,800.00.

We were told if we arrived at Petra by 8 PM we would be able to see a light show at the Treasury so before we knew it, we were on our way once again. The students were falling asleep and some even layed down in the aisles of the bus so they had more room to rest. We arrived at the hotel at 8:15 PM and had just 15 minutes to grab some dinner before we left to walk for the light show. It was about 1-1/2 miles to the Treasury from the gate of the park. Sacks with candles inside lit the way and when we reached the treasury and this is what we saw.

We were surprised to see hundreds of people already waiting at the Treasury. For the next 45 minutes or so, we basically sat in the dark and listened to a Bedouin play a flute made of bamboo. He walked around the site and played his religious music and then suddenly lights were turned on to the Treasury, one of the seven wonders of the world!

The Treasury was truly amazing and we couldn't wait to come back the next morning when it was daylight. By this time it was 10 PM and the walk back to our hotel seemed never ending and we were all looking forward to a good night's rest. This was only our first day of 4 in Jordan. Are you exhausted yet??? (To be continued)