JORDAN: The Other Holy Land

Forested highlands rise to over 3,000 feet. The Dead Sea rests at the lowest point on earth.

Fertile plains stretch north and south along the Great Rift Valley. Desolate desert steppes claim two-thirds of the country.

At the crossroads of the ancient Kings Highway and the Information Superhighway is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a land of contrasts.

Today's traveler to Jordan may opt for the luxuries of a five-star resort and spa, or sleep out under the stars with a camel caravan. Either way, the visitor is destined to encounter an oasis of peace in the Middle East, where God chose to unfold the history of salvation.

Land of Bible

Another city of the Old Testament was Rabbath'Ammon, citadel-capital of the Ammonite Kingdom. It's now Amman, the nation's capital. Atop one of its seven hills are the remains of the fortress where King David called for the death of Uriah in order to marry his widow Bathsheba.

During the Greco-Roman era, Amman was known as Philadelphia, one of 10 cities in the region forming a loose federation called the Decapolis.

Place of prophets

In fact, the Old and New Testaments are virtual gazetteers of the hills, plains and valleys that welcomed Moses, Joshua, Job, Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, Jesus and Mary.

Archeological remains are plentiful in Jordan from the Byzantine Era, when churches sprang up throughout the Holy Land to mark the way for pilgrims to biblical sites. Foremost among them is Mt. Nebo, the Memorial of Moses. A monastery, chapels and basilica, dating from the third to seventh centuries, display some of the region's most magnificent mosaics.

Papal spot

In a post-tour audience, the Pope said, "I began my journey, in a certain sense, with Moses' own gaze, realizing its evocative power that transcends centuries and millennia."

Mt. Nebo offers a spectacular view of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. On a hazeless day, one can see the rooftops of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and the city of Jericho.

The next day, the Pope visited the excavations at Bethany Beyond the Jordan where many archaeologists believe Jesus was baptized. The Gospel of John (Jn 1:28) makes explicit reference to this location. In the Pope's own words: "That gaze was turned to the Jordan Valley and the Judaean desert, where, in the fullness of time, the voice would ring out of John the Baptist, sent by God, like a new Elijah, to prepare the way for the Messiah. Jesus wanted to be baptized by him, revealing that He was the Lamb of God who took upon Himself the sin of the world. The figure of John the Baptist led me in the footsteps of Christ."

River and nation

It was from here that Jesus began the period of preaching that took Him to Galilee and Jerusalem. Most notably, it was here that the Bible records the only known manifestation of the Trinity (see Mt 3:16-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22).

To mark this great event, Christians of the Byzantine Era constructed three churches, three caves and three baptism pools. Visitors can view the remains of these structures, as well as some mosaics and a prayer hall.

Timeless

A brief drive southwest of the Baptism site is Madaba, known as the "City of Mosaics." Its jewel is a sixth-century mosaic map of Palestine, covering over 900 square feet of the floor in St. George's Greek Orthodox Church. Touted as the oldest such map in existence, it consists of more than two million mosaic tiles that show in great detail the territories of the Holy Land from the Mediterranean to the west, to the coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon in the north, to the deserts of Jordan in the east, and Egypt to the south.

Madaba was Medeba in Old Testament times, the land of the Moabites. Later civilizations included the Nabateans and the Romans. During the Byzantine Period, many of the city's residents converted to Christianity. Today, more than 50 percent of its residents are Christian.

Dead Sea

Before leaving this area, visitors can go down to the Dead Sea and take a float. The high concentration of sea salt and minerals, eight times higher than the ocean, acts like a natural innertube.

Our group spent a relaxing few hours at the five-star Movenpick Resort. The complex includes the Sanctuary Zara Spa, the largest of its kind in the Middle East. After the harsh minerals of the Dead Sea, a swim in the soft clear waters of the sandy beach pool was refreshing.

Familiar from films

The final scenes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" were shot in the lost city of Petra. "Lawrence of Arabia," based on the true story of an Englishman who fought on the Arab side during World War I to topple the Ottoman Empire, was filmed at Wadi Rum, also called the Valley of the Moon.

Petra, an ancient city hand-carved out of rose-red cliffs, was inhabited and controlled by the Nabateans for hundreds of years, until the Romans annexed the Nabatean Kingdom and made Petra capital of their Province of Arabia in the second century AD.

Cliffs

Petra's crowning achievement is the Treasury facade, which is carved into the mountain. It measures about 92 feet wide by 130 feet tall! Several large chambers inside the Treasury, hewn from blood-red rock, comprised the tomb of a Nabatean King. Numerous such monuments, as well as caves and exquisite Roman ruins, can be seen throughout the city.

Even larger than the Treasury is Al Deir, the Monastery. It was a pagan temple until the fourth century AD when Christians started using it for worship. Reaching the Monastery on foot requires a steep climb up 800 steps cut into the rock. (If you're not up to the trek, Arab children crying "Taxi to the monastery?" are ready to lead you to the top astride a donkey.)

Foot-weary visitors have other options. For a real adventure, they can take a camel ride through the Outer Siq. Every step is like the jolting motion of a new driver learning to shift into first gear. A tad more comfortable are the horse and carriage rides that take passengers in and out of the Siq. From the entry gate to the beginning of the gorge and back again, the visitor can travel on horseback.

Land of enchantment

Our group toured the area in a Land Rover. We stopped briefly to hike along a narrow ledge through a fissure in the mountain to view a series of petroglyphs. Also, we paused to take pictures at a natural bridge formation.

Our final destination was a Bedouin camp at Lawrence of Arabia Spring, where we enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch with a spectacular view as the backdrop.

Instead of a Land Rover, a visitor can tour Wadi Rum by camel, even spend several days as part of a camel caravan and sleep out under the stars. From March to November, hot air balloon rides are available.

Back to Bible

In New Testament times, several of the Decapolis cities were in north Jordan. It was an area visited by Jesus, Mary and the disciples.

Situated in the northwest corner of Jordan is Umm Qais, formerly the Decapolis city of Gadara. It's explicitly mentioned in the New Testament story of how Jesus cured two possessed men (Mt 8:28-34) by forcing the demons to enter a herd of swine which then ran headlong into the Sea of Galilee and drowned. The ruins at Umm Qais are particularly interesting because the architecture is so diverse. Many different civilizations occupied Gadara and left their distinct marks, including Greeks, Romans, Byzantine Christians, Arabs and Turks.

View from heights

Although our group did not visit Pella, the town is worth mentioning because it was a refuge for early Christians from Jerusalem fleeing Roman persecution. Only 60 miles from Amman, Pella was also a member of the Decapolis. Artifacts show that humans were roaming the area as far back as the Stone Age.

Thirty miles southeast of Pella is Jerash (formerly the Decapolis town of Gerasa), acclaimed worldwide as the best preserved example of a Roman provincial city. Visitors can see impressive structures, such as temples, baths, plazas and arches. A half-mile stretch of Corinthian columns lines the main street where tracks of chariot wheels are still visible in the original paving stones.

Back in time

The South Theatre, which dates from the first century AD, is noted for its perfect acoustics. A small coin dropped in the middle of the orchestra floor can be heard in the farthest reaches of the auditorium.

As I rested on one of the stone seats, a large group of tourists took centerstage. Spontaneously, they started to sing a Christian song of praise in beautiful harmony. Later, I met up with the group among the ruins of Jerash and was introduced to their leader, Roger Jones, a British composer of biblical musicals. The troupe was on tour performing his "Jerusalem Joy" in Israel and took a break from their schedule for their first visit to Jordan.

Surprises

"Our journey of surprises continued, not least on Mount Nebo. I had not realized that there was so much of the Old Testament in Jordan. I thought Israel had it all! Imagine my elation when I came face to face with the statue of the Serpent on the Pole, overlooking the site that Moses must have had when seeing the Promised Land."

At the summit of Mount Nebo is a larger-than-life iron sculpture of a snake encircling a cross, symbols of God's salvation. Ironically, Mr. Jones plans to bring his musical titled "Snakes & Ladders" to Jordan next year. The serpent and the cross are dominant themes in the story.

Day after day, archaeologists continue to unearth in Jordan ancient artifacts and settlements that span the ages. More and more of these remains are opening up for public viewing. I have merely scratched the surface on places to see. Words cannot capture the spirit of an experience that is unforgettable.

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