Hither & Yon

Welcome to Israel

Our Israel visit began just after noon today! We met our new guide, Nader, a Syrian Orthodox Christian, and our driver Samil.

Fifteen minutes later we were at Qumran, overlooking the Dead Sea:

Qumran is, of course, the Essene community of the first century where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in 1948. There, I read from Psalm 119:9-11.

After Qumran, we drove quickly to Jericho, and read from Luke 19:1-10 before stopping to take a picture of this Sycamore tree, one of several old ones in the area of the New Testament Jericho.

After stopping for lunch at Temptation Restaurant, we climbed Tel Jericho, the Old Testament site, where we read Joshua 6:1-20...(the pic below is of a Bronze age tower fortification--probably--at the site)...

...and stood before the Mount of Temptation while reading Matthew 4:1-11:

By 4:44, we were back in the bus and on the Jericho Road, bound for Jerusalem. While passing the Inn of the Good Samaritan en route, I read from Luke 10:30-37, the story of the Good Samaritan. Around 5:30, we were rounding the Mount of Olives and in view of the city of our God while I read Psalm 48:1-3.

We checked into the Olive Tree hotel and headed for dinner at 6:30.

Last Morning in Jordan

We checked out of our Amman hotel this morning at 7:30, and headed south. Southwest of Amman we drove by Tel Heshbon, the site of Old Testament Heshbon. We read from Numbers 21:25 (which mentions not only Heshbon but also Medeba, through which we would soon drive) and Song of Solomon 7:4.

After about 45 minutes, we made it to Mount Nebo, where we read the last chapter if Deuteronomy together, and shared the view Moses had of the Promised Land before his death:

Clearly visible were the Dead Sea, the Jordan, Jericho, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.

There on the mount was this sculpture combining the staff of Moses and the serpent in the wilderness:

Though access to the area is no longer permitted, there are remains of four successive churches on the site, which I photographed from a distance:

The excavation of these churches have yielded some of the most magnificent mosaics ever discovered, of which this is just a small detail:

After Mount Nebo, we stopped at a mosaic school/factory/store started several years ago to revive and carry on the ancient tradition if this area:

Around noon we headed down the long, winding road from Mt. Nebo to the Jordan, the border between Jordan and Israel.

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Petra (Sela), Part Two

Even after all the fascinating carvings on the 45-minute descent, there's still no describing the impact of seeing the "Treasury" for the first time!

Not a treasury, but an elaborate mausoleum (which could also describe the whole place), it continues to yield new discoveries (six years ago, tombs six meters beneath the facade were discovered).

It also provides a picturesque spot for a camel ride....which the lively Robin laughed and screamed through).

Limited by time, we couldn't take in the full extent of the site, such as the high place and the "monastery." This Roman-style amphitheater was as far as we got before beginning the long journey back.

The hour-long climb back through the siq was taxing, but we all made it in one piece. We boarded the bus and stopped for a light lunch just up the road at the Petra Magic Restaurant in Wadi Musa.

On the return trip through Edom and Moab, we read Proverbs 22:28 as we noted again the boundary stones along the way which Samer had pointed out to us this morning.

We also read Psalm 60, a psalm of David referring to Edom and Moab on the occasion of David and Joab's victories over Edom.

We returned to the Regency Plaza just before 7 pm...tired as can be, but grateful for a memorable day!

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Petra (Sela)

We arrived at Petra late this morning, and began our walk together into this marvelous place SE of the Dead Sea.

On the approach, our guide Samer pointed out the highest point of Sela, Mount Hor, where Aaron the brother of Moses died and was buried. We read Numbers 33:38-39. Mount Hor can be seen in the distance in the photo above.

As we started down into Petra, our guide said there are more than 400 carvings in the soft sandstone formations of this incredible place. This was one of the first:

Two of our group rode through the siq (crevasse) in a rented buggy, but the rest of us went on foot...down, down, down.

One of the carvings was a large camel caravan and drover, which was unintentionally marred before anyone knew it was there, while excavators cleared a drift of sand to expose the water channel behind it.

After many twists and turns, we finally reached the spot where the sunlit facade of the famous "Treasury" could be seen.

(more in next post)

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Ammon, Moab, Edom

Our day began early. The lovely Robin and I awoke before 4 am, and couldn't get back to sleep. So we rose around 5 and went down to breakfast by 6:30.

As we drove through Amman (the biblical Rabbah of the Ammonites), we read from Deut 3:11. In Roman times, Amman was called Philadelphia, one of the cities of the Decapolis.

As we rode through the ancient land of Moab, we read from Ruth 1. As we crossed the Brook Zered, we read the Numbers 21:12 reference to this boundary between Moab & Edom.

Continuing our journey through Edom, we read from the first chapter of Job (of Uz, possibly Basayra today), from 2 Samuel 8:13-14, and from Obadiah, all references to Edom.

For the last hour or so of our journey to Petra, we traveled the King's Highway, which Moses asked to use through Edom, but was refused (Numbers 20:17, 21:22).

As we approached Petra (biblical Sela) we read references to this site in Isaiah 16:1 and Obadiah 1-4.

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