Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

On Sunday February 5th, several of our group set off at 6:00 a.m. for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. By 8:00 a.m. were at the border crossing just south of the Sea of Galilee near the Israeli town of Bet She’an. After negotiating the border crossing and security we set south for Mount Nebo. This mountain located in the Moab Mountain range is the mountain Moses climbed at the direction of God and "viewed the land of Canaan which God swore to give to the sons of Israel as their domain" (Deuteronomy 32). In the land of Moab, Moses died and was buried. Later writings also suggest that the prophet Jeremiah went to Mount Nebo taking with him the "ark of the covenant." On the top of Mount Nebo today is the excavated remains of an ancient basilica which have been covered over with a modern structure leaving columns and foundations exposed which provides for an amazing mix of ancient and modern influences in a functioning place of prayer and worship.

Although there was a definite haze in the sky the view from the top of Mount Nebo was astounding. I cannot begin to imagine the size of the area of land one can se from this vantage point. Deuteronomy suggests that Moses could see from Dan in the north (which is in modern day southern Syria) to the Negev in the south. I could easily have lingered there for the entire day. Even today, one day later, I find myself standing on that mountain top still, with Moses, and all who have benefitted from its elevation.

We moved onward to our second stop which was the church of St. George located in Madaba. The town of Madaba, located 30 kilometers southwest of Amman, is most famous for its exquisite 6th-century mosaics. Its history dates back at least 3500 years, however. Madaba, which was known in the Bible as the Moabite town of Medaba, is mentioned in the Old Testament account of Moses and the Exodus (Numbers 21: 30). David also vanquished an Ammonite and Aramean coalition near Madaba (I Chronicles 19: 7). His victory was short-lived, however, as in the mid-ninth century BC the Moabite King Mesha freed the city from the control of the Israelites (2 Kings 3). Mesha, whose capital was the ancient city of Dibon (now called Dhiban, and located just north of Wadi Mujib), recorded his victories on the famous Mesha Stele, an inscribed stone set up in about 850 BC.

The rich farmlands around Madaba were coveted and fought over by the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Israelites and other local kingdoms. This town flourished under the Romans and was an important centre for Christianity in the 4th century AD.

Madaba’s most famous mosaic is located in the Church of St. George in the middle of town. The Mosaic Map of Palestine represents the Holy Land and its surrounding regions. Clearly visible on the map are al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dead Sea, the JordaRiver, Nablus, al-Khalil (Hebron), Ariha (Jericho), Egypt and the Nile River, Turkey and Lebanon. The mosaic was made around 560 AD, originally composed of over 2.3 million pieces, and measured a staggering 25 by 5 meters. It is thought that 11,500 man-hours would have been required to lay the entire mosaic. It is startling in its geographic accuracy considering the technology and information of its day. I saw an enlarged copy of the Jerusalem portion of this map incorporated into a portion of the "Cardo" in Jerusalem.

Our last stop was Jerash, a city founded by Alexander the Great. Excavations b egan in the 1920's bringing to light one of the best preserved and most original Roman cities in the Middle East. Jerash was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis, as was Amman, which we passed through on our way to Jerash, and Beth She’an where we turned east to cross into Jordan. Jerash contains a 3,000 theatre was is used today for special productions, an oval plaza, a Temple of Zeus, and the great Temple of Artemis, all dating back to the first and second centuries AD. Remains of churches dating to the 5th and 6th centuries are found among the Roman structures. The main colonnaded street with original stones running north and south extends for 800 metres and bears the ruts worn by chariot wheels. The city was taken from the Christian by the Muslim’s in 635 AD and later destroyed during the Christian Crusades of the 12th century.

This was a long and fascinating day of adventure, inspiration and discovery.