Well, I went on my final CIEE sponsored adventure around the historical country of Jordan. First, they took us to Wadi Rum and Petra. Secondly, they took us to the old Roman empire, ruined cities of Jerash and Umm Qais. Lastly, today they took us to four of the "Biblical Jordan" sites.
The other two trips were amazing because of the amazing views, incredible buildings and the history attached to them. The vastness of the red sands and mountains of Wadi Rum was breathtaking. The incredible rock carved architecture hidden in the mountains and deep history of Petra was awe-striking to me. The old Roman ruins was interesting and the view of Syria, the Golan Heights, and Israel in the distance was beautiful at Umm Qais. All those trips were wonderful but the trip I took today to biblical Jordan had a deeper meaning to me. I am a Christian, so being at these sites that I have always read about in the bible was amazing. I am named after John the Baptist and today I saw the spot where he started his life and where his life was ended. To sum it up, I really enjoyed todays trip.
Like normal, we all met at the main gate of the UJ campus at 8:00AM and got on the bus and headed to the destination. The first spot we visited was the River of Jordan. As you should know Israel and Jordan border each other, the river is the official border between the two countries. Well, we pulled up to the area where the river is and had to go through a little security check because crossing the border is just a small 5 meter swim across the river. After that we got out of the bus and started walking down a small path surrounded by trees and grass, (this was weird for me because I am used to being surrounded by barren ground over here). Before we started walking down the path the guide warned us to stay on the path because it used to be a huge mine field (because of the border). Of course that was nice to hear(sarcasm). Eventually after walking down this secluded trail we made it to the Baptism site of Jesus Christ. It was pretty cool to see that and I felt amazing standing in the spot that such an important part of Jesus's life happened. But to be completely honest, I was a little disappointed because the tributary that is supposed to flow to the baptism site was really low so the water there was kind of dirty. Here is a picture to show you what I mean.
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| Me at the Baptism site |
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| The spot where Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist |
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The mosaic map showing how the river flows into the baptism spot
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Then we walked another 50 meters and made it to the large part of the River. From here it was 3 meters to be in Israeli territory. To get to the river I first had to walk under a pavilion which was full of Koreans having a church service. Then I walked down a quick flight of stairs and was at the river. There is a little deck there which has stairs that lead down into the river so people can walk into it. It is weird though because there is not a marker to show what is Israeli and what is Jordanian land so you could just walk right on over. Although, on our deck there was a Jordanian army guard and on the other side there was an Israeli army guard. So I did not test the waters to see how far I could go across. One of the guys in our group took his shirt off and got in the river and swam a little( he stayed on the Jordanian side). Also, on the other side there were tourists that were doing baptism ceremonies. I just got in the river a little bit and stuck my arm in it.
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me touching the river with Israel in the background
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| Israel border flag |
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| Jordan River with Israel in the background |
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Got a picture with the Jordanian guard
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We then left the river site and headed to Mount Nebo. After a scary bus ride up a swerving mountain road we made it the the top of Mount Nebo. I was standing on the spot that Moses climbed up to see the promised land but was not able to enter himself. This was also the spot where God buried Moses at 120 years old. On a clear day from Mount Nebo you can see Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Which means it is a great view from that mountain. Unfortunately, I was not able to see that far because it was a very cloudy day.
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| This was a monument of the staff of Moses with the serpent on it. It is a symbol of healing. |
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Mt. Nebo map
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| Today's view from Mount Nebo |
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The entrance pillar
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After Mount Nebo we headed to the city of Madaba which has the historical St. George Church. This church has the oldest mosaic map of the Holy land dating back to 600AD. There is not a whole lot to tell about this. We all went into the church and the walls are covered with different mosaics of Jesus and other Christian art. On the floor of the church was the famous mosaic map. It was neat but not really my cup of tea. Here are some pics.
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| St. George church |
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| The 1500 year old mosaic map of the Holy Land |
After visiting the church we headed over the the restaurant in Madaba. The restaurants name was Haret Jdnoudna. I am just stating the name because it was a phenomenal restaurant with delicious food(eventually). We all got to our tables and sat down( which was weird for us because normally on these trips we eat buffets). Right away the servers started bringing us freshly baked hot bread. Then They started loading our tables with salad and then another type of salad and then another. By the end they had served us 5 different salads (at this point I was disappointed, after ten minutes of green stuff, I wanted some meat). Let me note, the whole time we were eating they kept on bringing more and more fresh tasty bread to us. After the salads, they started bringing us bowls of hummus and some type of eggplant hummus which was good. Finally, after 20 minutes of all that the servers brought out the main course which I had so politely been waiting for. It was plates of spiced chicken, lamb kabob and lamb sausage kabob. It was delicious. After that they brought us a dessert that was very good as well. Sorry to go on so much about the food but it was so good.
After that we headed to Machaerus which was the mountain where King Herod had his palace and prison. It was the prison that John the Baptist was put into and where he was beheaded. It was a very neat site. It was kind of fun too because we had to climb the mountain to get there, there is no path for a bus. There is an easy walking path that winds around the mountain and than there is a "short cut" that cuts straight up the mountain. Naturally, I took the short cut. After I climbed up the side of the huge rock I made it to the top first. I felt like a mountain goat climbing up there. Once I got to the top I saw what remains of the ancient fortress. There were about 6 columns and a base structure which led down to a basement that looked to be 20 feet deep. That was the prison where John the Baptist was imprisoned. From on top of the mountain it was a great view, so we all just hung out up there for a while admiring the excellent view and taking pictures.
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| The mountain from a distance |
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| Me at the remains of the Palace |
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| View from the fortress |
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| The fortress prison |
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| The mountain path I climbed to get to the top |
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standing on the pillar
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After spending about half an hour up top we all headed down to the bus and went back home. I was quite tired from all the walking of the trip so I took a nap on the way home. This was an amazing trip.
Well, this was my last adventure with CIEE so my blogs are hopefully going to change. Now instead of writing about my touristy adventures in Jordan, I will start writing about my life here in Jordan and how it compares to my life in the States.
Until next time....
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