Picture This: May 4th – Traveling the King’s and Desert Highways

Today we departed Amman, Jordan at 8:00 am. We have a long journey ahead of us as we make our way toward Petra. It is a long trip, but there are many sites along the way to keep our attention.

Our first stop is Bethany Beyond the Jordan. This is the area many believe that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Today however, the Jordan River is in serious decline. Ferrell read in an article just this week that indicated the amount of water flowing from into the southern part of the Jordan river is only 2% of what it was 100 years ago. Syria has built a dam and collects water in a reservoir and a number of others up the river have diverted water for their own use. If this continues, the Jordan River could be dry in 2 years. The Dead Sea has also been in decline for years (lower and lower water levels) and since the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea, its continued decline won’t be far behind. A Byzantine church was built on the site of springs that are believed by some to be the historic site. People today still come to the Jordan River to be baptized. We witnessed several Greek Orthodox dipped themselves three times. The border of Israel is literally feet away on the opposite bank, but you can’t access the river from that side at this time.

The Jordon River from Jordan

Our journey continues as we head into the hills of Mount Nebo to visit the site where God took Moses to show him the promised land. The weather today has been incredible and the views of the Rift Valley are amazing as we ascend to the top of Mount Nebo. We pass Bedouin camps, shepherds with herds of goats and sheep, and two groups of camel herds. Tareq tells us something about them being the “people’s camels,” but I’m not sure what that means. A camel for every household or maybe just every Bedouin family? The government provides some support for the Bedouins.

The view at the top is a little disappointing since the primary viewing tower is under massive renovation. The experience however, has been nothing short of incredible. You just cannot imagine the perspective you have from here. You can see the Jordan River, Rift Valley, Jericho, Dead Sea and across the Jordan Valley. Ferrell has been here a number of times and has never seen it this clear. Even our guide says he has rarely seen it this clear.

A view of Jericho from Mt. Nebo.

A glimpse of the Dead Sea where the Jordan River empties into it.

We stopped for lunch and did a little shopping. There were women in the shop making beautiful mosaic tile art pieces. They cut each tile and carefully glued it into place. Several on the trip purchased egg-shaped pieces that were overlaid with the tiniest tiles, about the size of a grain of dried couscous. The mosaics make intricate pictures topics of local flavor like the tress of life and map of Madaba (see below). You had to look through a magnifying glass to see each tile.

Our next stop is Madaba and the St. George Church built in 1884 over the remains of a Byzantine church. During that time, of Muslin rule, churches could only be built on the site of existing churches. An incredible mosaic map of the region that is said to be of remarkable geographical accuracy was discovered in the 1880’s, but damaged during construction because they did not understand its significance. It dates from 560 to 565 AD.

It includes detailed graphics and captions from number areas including: Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho, the Nile in Egypt, and southern Lebanon to name a few. Madaba (Medaba) is believed by most to be the city of Moab. It is mentioned numerous times in the Old Testament. Of particular significance is when the Ammonites (recall we’ve just driven from Amman (Ammon)) hired Arameans to help them fight King David. They gathered in front of Medaba but were defeated by David (1 Chron. 19).

We’ve driven part of our trip on the “King’s Highway.” The scenery is fabulous but passes through many small towns. We could travel to Petra by this route, but instead we take the newer “Desert Highway” considered an expressway on our map. Ironically, our driver was pulled over by the police for doing one mile over the speed limit.

We finally arrived at the hotel at 7:00 pm after driving literally through the middle of nowhere! The sun was setting just as we arrive and much to my surprise as I opened the windows of my hotel room this is what I found.