Trip to Jordan (Day 1)

Hello My Dear Great Ones,
We spent 3 days in Jordan.  What a contrast to Israel.  Not nearly as modern or clean as Israel.  Still a very interesting place.  Here are the stops we made on our first day in Jordan:

Jerash

The Jerash ruins of Jordan are said to be the best-preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy. At just 48km (30mi) north of Amman, Jerash is a great day trip from the capital. The modern city of Jerash sits alongside Gerasa of Antiquity, an ancient city housing some of the finest Greco-Roman architecture in the world. The city is positioned in Jordan’s countryside of fertile rolling hills and valleys filled with olive, plum trees, fig trees, pine forests and wheat crops.The ancient Roman city enjoyed great wealth and importance largely due to the area’s fertile lands and year-round fresh water supply. An earthquake hit the region in 749AD destroying huge areas of the city and leaving the ruins buried in soil for hundreds of years. It was in 1806 that German explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen discovered them while searching for Oriental artifacts as part of a private research commission.  And the amazing thing about that fact is that I am RELATED on my father's side to Ulrich Jasper Seetzen!  Wow!

Mount Nebo (Arabic: جبل نيبو‎ Jabal Nībū; Hebrew: הַר נְבוֹ‬ Har Nevo) is an elevated ridge in Jordan, approximately 710 metres (2,330 ft) above sea level, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day.

 On the highest point of the mountain, Syagha,^[7] the remains of a Byzantine church^[8] and monastery were discovered in 1933.^[9] The church was first constructed in the second half of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. The Moses Memorial that houses the Byzantine mosaics has been closed for renovation from 2007 to 2016. It reopened on 15 October 2016.^[10][11][12]

According to the final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses ascended Mount Nebo to view theLand of Canaan, which God had said he would not enter, and to die there; he was buried in an unknown valley location in Moab.^[1]

 

A serpentine cross sculpture (the Brazen Serpent Monument) atop Mount Nebo was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni. It is symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4–9) and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14).

After spending time at Mount Nebo we went to an art store.  It was very interesting.

Have a great week.  Next time is Petra!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Bethlehem (Day 3 - Part 7/7)

Old City Jerusalem

The Old City (Hebrew: הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה‬, Ha'Ir Ha'Atiqah, Arabic: البلدة القديمة‎, al-Balda al-Qadimah) is a 0.9 square kilometers (0.35 sq mi) walled area^[2] within the modern city of Jerusalem.

The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981.

My Dear Great Ones,

Going to the Old City in Jerusalem was one of the most incredible experiences in my life. The old architecture is interesting and charming, but the people......wow.   The spiritual intensity from Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Secular people all dressed in old traditional and not so traditional garb is fascinating.  Having all these "different," people milling about in a small area is astounding.  Pus the fact that there are pilgrims from all over the world visiting their site of religious importance is amazing.  Mixed in all this is crass commercialism.  Hundreds of booths and stalls sell icons, trinkets, food, you name it, all obviously trying to cash in on the throngs of visitors that frequent the Old City year round.  Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse of why there are not enough superlatives to describe the Old City of Jerusalem. 

Outside the walls of the old city are ruins dated back to the time of Jesus and earlier.

The Western Wall (wailing) and the Golden Dome.

 Graveyard outside the wall.

Garden of Gethsemane.  Near the Old City.

 Inside the Old City.

 Narrow pathways and interesting arches.

 Lots of churches.  This is a German one.

 Inside a Jewish study and prayer room.

 The people are so interesting in the Old City.  Soldiers with submachine guns are everywhere.

The Old City attracts Christian pilgrims from around the world.

Very interesting and profound as we walked The Way Of The Cross.  Via Dolorosa.

 Merchants everywhere trying to cash in.  Was not impressed.

 Halfway through our walk we had a traditional arab meal.  Humus, falafel balls, veggies, yum.

 The walk at time was very crowded.  Here Celia is putting her hand in the imprint of Jesus's.  Allegedly.

Spices everywhere.

 Along the walk we saw Christian pilgrims and shopkeepers selling pomegranates.

 Stones from the old roman times.

 Lots of pilgrims

 The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is identified as the place both of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth.

The church has long been a major pilgrimage center for Christians all around the world.

 People with crosses were everywhere near the Church of the Sepulchre.

 Inside near the place Jesus died was a Holy man with incense.

 Stone of Unction where Jesus' body was prepared for burial.

Christ's tomb.

An office in the church.

Bethlehem is a Palestinian town south of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The biblical birthplace of Jesus, it’s a major Christian pilgrimage destination. The birth is marked by an inlaid silver star in a grotto under the 6th-century Church of the Nativity, which shares Manger Square with the 15th-century Church of St. Catherine and the 1860 Mosque of Omar.

After a great afternoon at the Old City we finished off the day going to Bethlehem.  Driving through the massive wall that separates Palestine from Israel was sad and reminded me of old East and West Germany. Once we got through we went to the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born.

The location of the manager.

Click on the links for great videos from myself and Celia.

Have a great week,

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk