Around Jordan: The Holy Land's Other Side by Various Travel Authors on Creators.com

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Around Jordan: The Holy Land's Other Side

The winding pathway through the thicket of willow, tamarisk and poplar trees helped set a mood of reverence. Carol and I were approaching a sacred site, an intersection of tradition and belief at one bend in the Jordan River.

But the river below our path wasn't anything I'd imagined. The waterway in my mind — the one I'd formed from biblical accounts of Jesus' baptism by John — would be wide and mighty, a swift flowing testimony of events that occurred in and near it. This was a meager miniature, made muddy by modern damming and diversions of its waters by both Jordan and Israel, our guide Moawia told us. The river winds frantically on its journey north from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea about five miles away. And its banks are dry and cracked. Yet the setting touched us spiritually.

As one enters the Bethany Beyond the Jordan site, there are ruins of early Byzantine churches to regard. They are among churches early Christians built all over the Holy Land, once Rome accepted Christian worship. This site emerged only in 1996 as minefields were cleared following the signing of the 1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel and it is still under development. Pope John Paul II visited in 2000, and the Vatican added it to its approved list of pilgrimage sites. In May, Pope Benedict XVI will visit this and other holy sites in both Jordan and Israel that connect Christian, Jewish, and Muslim believers to Abraham, Job, Moses, Ruth, Elijah, as well as Jesus Christ.

Also visible from our pathway was the gilded roof of a new memorial Greek Orthodox church. Other worship styles will soon add theirs — Russian Orthodox, Baptist and Roman Catholic. Visitors may worship beneath an outdoor riverside structure and and baptize from a font of filtered river water.

Is it the actual place of the baptism recorded in John 1:28?

There is controversy, and Israel claims another site on the opposite side of the river. But scholars generally believe the Byzantines knew what they were doing when they built their churches in the third and fourth centuries. Jordanians base their claim on biblical record, archaelogical evidence and journals of early pilgrims.

Modern Israel and Jordan occupy borders defined by modern wars and treaties. For centuries, the area was simply Palestine — geography centered on the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Though Israel holds Christianity's meccas of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, Jordan completes the a biblical tour with sites like Bethany, Mount Nebo, and stunning Petra, the ancient Nabatean trading city that flourished at the time of Christ. In all, Jordan claims more than 200 sites connected to the Holy Book.

At Jerash — Gerasa in Roman times — about 30 miles north of Amman, first and second century glories of the empire came alive for us amid the stately ruins and a race. The colonnaded streets, plazas, Byzantine churches, pathways and theaters helped us recall Rome's golden age and lifestyles of the first century in the "region of the Garasenes" mentioned in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26.

In Jerash's second century hippodrome (think the film "Ben Hur"), we watched charioteers enthuse the audience as they circled the arena in horsedrawn chariots. The re-enactment brought out a dozen tunic-clad gladiators who brandished their swords and poles. With their red and gold shields, the men demonstrated training exercises before they shifted to simulated struggles. The grunts, groans, and shouts of battle-play brought us to our feet to cheer on the winners.

South of the capital, we visited Madaba, the Old Testament city of Medeba where King David fought the Moabites. The city that was an important ecclesiastical center between the fourth and seventh centuries, and it has one of the world's finest collections of Byzantine mosaics. Several church-floor mosaics are still in their original locations, while others have been moved for protection to Madaba Archaeological Park.

Madaba's mosaic masterpiece is the sixth century map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land — the earliest known cartological representation of the Holy Land.

It was underground for centuries, but now is part of the floor inside the Orthodox Church of Saint George. Comprised of 2 million pieces of colored stone, the map depicts the hill, valleys, towns, and villages in Palestine. It contains the earliest representation of Byzantine Jerusalem, labeled the "Holy City." Since its discovery in the late 19th century, the map has provided scholars a great deal of knowledge about holy sites and Jerusalem's configuration after it's A.D. 70 destruction and reconstruction.

We watched young Jordanians demonstrate the ancient art of mosaicmaking at the Madaba Mosaic School. The school was founded in the early 1990s to provide vocational training and ensure a supply of artisans who can restore the city's dazzling treasures. Basic technique has not changed for millenia, and there is no mechanical way to produce the art. Artisans cut pieces of cermaic, glass or stone with tile "nippers" and other tools, then fit them into a design — a truly painstaking labor.

Mount Nebo, the site where Moses looked into the Holy Land after he led the Israelites out of Egypt, is only about 10 minutes from Madaba. Also known as Pisgah, it's mentioned in Deuteronomy 34:1. As we stood on the summit, we observed a thrilling panorama, with a view into both Jericho and Jerusalem. The contemporary serpentine cross sculpture on the site commemorates the bronze serpent created by Moses in Numbers 21:4-9 to ward off a plague God had sent to kill rebellious Israelites, and the cross on which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14). An early church commemorates the event as well, and provides modern worship space amid remnants of mosaics from various periods.

During the time of Jesus, one of the eastern Mediterranean's most important trading centers was Petra, the amazing rock-cut capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Petra — likely Sela and Joktheel in the Old Testament (2 Kings 14:7) — was at its zenith in the first century B.C. through the early second century A.D. Moses and the Israelites passed through Petra in Edom during the Exodus, and tradition says that the spring at Wadi Musa, translated as the "Valley of Moses," just outside Petra is the place where Moses struck the rock and produced water (Numbers 20:10-11). Petra was likely the last staging post of the three kings who took gifts to the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12). The King Aretas, mentioned in Corinthians 11:32, was a Nabatean king who ruled Petra.

For most world travelers, Petra is a must-see place without peer. It was a vast trading center in Christ's time that linked the Orient with Arabia. Days are required to explore everything. We stayed two nights and two days. So like most visitors, we hit a few highlights, seeing some of the hundreds of rock-cut tombs and buildings that have survived earthquakes and other assaults. Strewn through Petra's several valleys are ruins of temples, sacrificial altars, colonnaded streets, obelisks and mysterious spaces in the rock that could have been homes. The fittest visitors scale the mountain heights; others rely on horsedrawn carriages, donkeys and camels to accomplish difficult passages.

By day, Petra displays her grandeur and history. At night, we had an unforgettable encounter with the ancients. From the entrance gate through the Siq to the "Khazneh," or "Treasury," we walked a mile-long path lit by hundreds of candles and a clear starlit sky. As we approached the plaza, the haunting flute of a Bedouin player reached our ears and added to the mystique and reality that Jordan is the essential other half of the Holy Land.

IF YOU GO

Information about touring Jordan's biblical sites is available from Jordan Tourism North America at 877-733-5673 or www.visitjordan.com. Royal Jordanian Airlines serves several U.S. gateways, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Ruth Hill is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.