Day 10 to Jordan and Jerash

We parted ways today with members of our group who were heading home. 8 of us left Jerusalem early in the morning for crossing the King Hussein bridge over the Jordan River into the nation of Jordan. After crossing the border we changed buses and recieved a new guide, Michel (short for Michael.) Michel is a Jordanian Christian and pointed out some sights in Amman before heading to Jerash, one of largest and most well preserved Roman ruins dating to the first century. There are many shepherds, donkeys, camels and sheep along the roadways, as you can see. There are many nomadic Bedouins liiving along the countryside as you drive around Jordan.

We arrived in Jerash to find stunning ruins dating to the first, second, sixth and seventh centuries. This is the entry gate to the city. This ancient city boasts 6500 years of human occupation. It was hidden for  centuries in buried sand before being excavated and restored over the last 70 years.

Below is the Roman marketplace leading to the main road.

Here is the theater remnants. The second picture is of the musicians that treated us to some wonderful music while we sat in our seats.

Thomas from the top off the city looking back on the ruins. The ruins in the far left of this picture are of a temple to one of the Roman gods in the first century that was converted into a church in the 6th century. There were no less than 15 churches in Jerash in the 6th and 7th centuries and there are signs that this city was the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church for a period of time before it moved to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul.)

Eventually the church did move its center to Constantinople which then moved Jerash off the major trade route from Asia to Europe, leading to its decline and eventual abondonment. These ruins were discovered in the early 1900's and have 416 columns standing, the most of any ancient city.

These are the ruins I mentioned earlier that was a temple to a Roman god but then converted into a church. Most of the ruins were converted into homes and churches in the 6th and 7th century, after the fall of the Roman Empire. 

These are the remains of the temple of Zeus.

This was known as the virgin fountain dedicated to the god Dionysus, the god of wine. The final photo is what is left of the original Roman road that went through the city.

The road from these ruins to our hotel took us over the Jabock river where Jacob wrestled with God before going on to reunite with his brother Esau. This stunning image is from just before sunset and was a great way to end our day.

Day 8 Evening addendum

After dinner we were offered an optional trip to the National Israel Museum. The first stop at the Museum was the scale model of Jerusalem in the first century that you see in the pictures below. The model is very helpful in understanding many of the holy sites we are seeing in Jerusalem. We also were able to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls on display.

Day 11 Petra

The highlight of coming to Jordan is going to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, Petra, a city carved into the sandstone. Before we entered the park itself I just had to have someone take this photo!

There is a 2 mile hike that begins down a road on which you can ride a horse if you like. You can see the beginning of the carvings in this photo. Petra is a vast, unique city carved into the sheer rock by the  Nabataeans, industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. By the 16th century Petra was completely lost to the west and remained so for more than 300 years until rediscovered as the "lost city" in 1812.

Eventually, you begin a decsent down a long canyon, similar to the Narrows in Zion National Park if you have ever visited there. You can't help but look up as you hike!

 

The canyon eventually begins to uncover the jewel of Petra, known as the treasury. You may recognize this from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

It's visually stunning and impossible to capture fully in a picture. You see camels behind me because you can ride them and donkeys further into the ruins.

I hiked up that hill behind me in the first photo of me on the donkey where you see people climbing. You can see this view of the theatre from that hill, as well as the backside of the park which would take a week to exlore, even though we only had 3 hours! 

These two young Bedoin girls rescued my hat as it blew off my head and they asked to take their picture.

If you are wondering the religious significance of this area, it is believed that Moses' brother Aaronn is buried in Petra and some scholars believe Paul preached and taught in this once bustling city which house more than 40,000 people at one point. Our final views of Petra as we leave the canyon...

Day 9 in Jerusalem from Resurrection to death and back again

Our morning begins in the Garden Tomb, one of two places where Jesus death and resurrection are thought to have taken place. This area, just outside the walls of Jerusalem most likely was thought of as the place of resurrection by the followers of John. You can see just outside this area what some believe to be "the place of the skull" where Jesus was crucified becuase of this rock formation.

A short distance from here we had a chance to enter the Garden Tomb, the place where some believe Jesus was laid after his death and where the resurrection took place. 

We then had a poweful time of worship, reading the resurrection story from John and taking Holy Communion together. It seemed very fitting to be doing this on Ash Wednesday as we begin the seasonof Lent.

Upon leaving the Garden Tomb we went to the Old City of Jerusalem. We began in the Armenian Quarter at the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man by commanding him to, "get up, take up your mat and walk." The pool is at the bottom of these ruins pictured below.

Next to the pool is the church that remembers the birth of Mary, the Church  of St. Anne. 

The interior of this church is stunning as well, where once again we were able to witness a group celebrating Mass. There are several statues of Mary and we were able to light candles and say prayers in this space.

 

From here we traveled through the streets of Old Jerusalem, stopping at the Antonio Fortress, where Jesus began his journey with the cross. This is the first station of the cross and we visited several others as we made our way alonng the Via Delarosa. 

 

 

The above photo is another station of the cross remembering the place where Jesus stumbled. Below you see us making our way along the Via Delarosa.

 

Next was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the second place traditionally held that Jesus was crucified and buried. The interior of the church is once again stunning.

Here you see the slab (below the lanterns) that tradition says the laid the body of Jesus upon. Behind that you have this beautiful mosaic.

I was able to enter the tomb area in the church believed to be the burial place of Jesus.

Believe it or not, we did all that before lunch! Lunch was rooftop with a great view of the city.

After lunch we went to the Western Wailing Wall where we spent time in prayer. We then made our way around the Temple Mount to the Southern Teaching Steps where Jesus would have entered the Temple as a young boy and a grown man. 

Thomas is encouraged to be "king" by our guide in one of the massive stones that toppled from  the Temple. This gives you an idea of how massive those stones are! Some of the stones pictured above weigh more than 600 tons!

Our day ended witnessing a bride arriving for her wedding annd then one final view of the Mount of Olives from the steps of the Temple. Tomorow most of our team heads to Emmaus and then home while others of us head to Jordan and Petra.