I love Jordan, part 3 - The Fulfillment of a Lifelong Dream

I have very clear memories of my first encounter with Petra, even though it was more than 40 years ago. It was in the form of a black and white photo in the Archaeological Supplement of my Granny Hutcherson’s Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I remember being incredulous that they carved the whole front of a huge building into the rock. Throughout my life, every time I have encountered a picture of Petra, I have wished for the opportunity to see it face-to-face. Jordan became a part of our itinerary this summer because of that life-long desire of mine. You know how sometimes the expectation or anticipation of something far outweighs the reality. I suppose that could have been the case with the Madaba map – I built it up so much in my mind ahead of seeing it. Of course it wasn’t – if you have read my posts about it, you know it even far exceeded my expectations. But 40 years is a long time to have an image build up in your mind… So what would we encounter in Petra?

First a history lesson:
The area known as Petra is in a mountainous region of Southern Jordan and strategically situated on three major trade routes between Africa/Red Sea and Damascus, between Persia and the Mediterranean Sea and between the Gulf region and Palestine. Because it is in a mountainous region, it is not particular hospitable to the movement of armies, it is outside the scope of that sort of strategic importance. The people of the region are Semitic nomads. Biblically, this land is called Edom and its people, the Edomites, are the descendants of Esau (Jacob’s brother and the rightful heirs of Isaac’s 1st Son blessing – Genesis 27). The Edomites are Arabs and one of the five traditional enemies of Israel – when you know that the ancestor of the Israelites stole their birthright, it makes sense that Israel would vilify this people throughout their history. One of the reasons that Rebekah (Isaac’s wife and Jacob and Esau’s Mom) helped Jacob deceive Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing, is that Esau had married a daughter of Ishmael – Isaac’s half brother who had been sent to die in the desert. Rebekah did not want to promise of Israel to pass into the line of Ishmael (are you keeping up? This is the oldest soap-opera in history!) After Esau was rejected, he went to live among his Ishmaelite wife’s people; and he and his brother-in-law, Nabaoth, became the progenitors of the Edomites and Nabateans. These are the people of Petra.

The town of Petra itself is called Sela or Seir in the Bible. It is mentioned numerous places in the Bible – usually as a place that Israel is fighting. The Israelites encounter the Nabateans on their Exodus and Moses curses Sela on his deathbed. So as a Biblical place, Petra is not very important. Historically, the Nabatean people did quite well for themselves. At first they were pirates and raiders of the trade routes that crossed through their territories. But eventually they realized there was much more money to be made as policemen and toll-takers on the routes. They set up a protection racket and made their piracy official. They also mined and smelted copper when the Israelites still had no means of refining metal to make weapons. It was in these capacities, as toll takers of the high desert and producers of refined copper, that the Nabateans became a city-dwelling culture and built Petra. Petra was important as a hidden city. If you were extracting tolls from trading caravans and selling weapons-grade metal, it would be important to have an out of the way place to store you goods and your profit. It is thought that this is the reason that they built their city in such an out of the way place.

In the 200 years before the birth of Jesus, Nabateans became a powerful people who controlled the trade in spices, perfume and copper from Africa and the Far East making its way to The Middle East and the Mediterranean world. As a major center on trade routes, Petra became a place that was influenced by the many cultures it serviced. At Petra one finds clear representations of Persian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Jewish influences. But there is one thing that Petra is universally known for that is almost entirely unique in the hidden city in the high Jordanian desert: it’s building materials and techniques.

As I have traveled around Israel and Jordan and catalogued these travels, I have spoken about the stones used in building – sometimes remarking about their size, more often about the particular stone themselves. It is often a wonder to reflect on where they came from and how ancient cultures moved them. Had conventional building techniques been used in Petra, we would have wonder, where did the stone come from, how did they haul it up these huge mountains? But in Petra, builders were not working from conventional building techniques – instead, they dug into the existing mountains and cliffs around them, creating spacious buildings and dwellings, and then carved elaborate facades on the buildings that rivaling in beauty the most beautiful buildings in the world. In addition to this unique technique, one must remark on the raw material as well. The particular stone being carved in the building of Petra is very soft and very colorful. Depending on how the light hits it at any particular time of day, the stone changes between a rich tan color and flaming red. It is marbled with white stone so that it looks like noting so much as bacon (this may reflect my missing pork), although one of my travelling companions called it “sashimi rock” all day. No amount of reading about Petra can prepare you for the dance of light and stone that adds a natural element to the artifice of Petra. Enough background, on with the story. We decided to go to Petra as early as possible in order to make the most of our one day there. Being Sunday, we needed to celebrate Mass. We decided to do so at 5:00 AM so that we could be at the gate of Petra when it opened at 6 a.m. The mountain formations around the entrance to the long passage through which one must pass to get to Petra is worth the trip in itself. The natural rock formations and sheer cliffs remind me of parts of Northern Arizona and New Mexico, or Southern Utah. In fact one might image any of the Old West’s outlaws (instead of Bedouin herders) establishing their hideouts in the crags and caves of these cliffs.

The passage to Petra – the Siq - is a natural break in the rock that fills with water during the short rainy season. Its walls have been carved as sheer cliffs by eons of erosion. It varies in width between 24” at its smallest, and 10 or 12 feet at its widest. It is more than a mile long and would take about 20 minutes to walk were we not stopping along the way to wonder at its natural beauty and the memorials and shrines carves in the cliffs on our way down to Petra. I say “down” because the Siq steadily declines along its length. The Siq is not the only entrance to Petra, but it is by far the most accommodating, and over the years it has been paved. Throughout, one finds remnants of the huge paving stones used by the Roman Empire that are so evident in many of the sites I have visited this Summer – from Rome to Jerash. At the entrance to the Siq are a number of carved blocks called Djinn stones or “god stones.” They are shrines to a Petran god. Before even entering the Siq, we encountered the first of many carved facades at which we would wonder during the day. The “Obelisk tomb” is and elaborate carved faced surmounted by Petran obelisks, the likes of which we would encounter throughout the day.

I have read enough about Petra to know that one of the joys of the day is coming to the end of the Siq and getting your first look at Petra’s most well-known monument, which is called “the Treasury.” So many other travelers have written about the experience that you might think it would kill the joy of the anticipation and the actual experience. But, in my case, two things worked against that: my own enthusiasm to be here, and the fact that the treasury was the building that I saw in the archaeology guide when I was in elementary school. I have waited a life time to stand in front of that building. My anticipation was not the mere distance of the Siq, it was the distance of 40 years. We were blessed to be in the Siq so early. We encountered one group of five young people who entered after us but over took us on route and one other group of three travelers. So that when we came to the End of the Siq, we did not have to compete for a spot to get good photographs of our “first glimpse” of the Treasury. My experience of first glimpse was made all the more glorious by sun’s position as we came to the end of the Siq. The sun had just crested the cliffs in front of the Treasury so that we saw the Treasury in first light. You can see in the picture that the sun is just barely beginning to shine on the upper part of the building.

After photographing first glimpse, I stepped into the clearing in front of the Treasury to take in the splendor. My heart was swelled with joy as I stood in front of this breathtaking site. This building has not religious significance for me whatsoever, so the experience was different than that of Seeing St. Peter’s bones, or being on the mountain of the Transfiguration, or seeing the Madaba Map – this was the joy of reality being even more glorious than expectation, anticipation, and dream. Though I seen many photos of the Treasury over the years, no photo can prepare you for the sheer immensity of this monument. It rises to the height of an 8 story building, but has the proportions of only two stories. The Entrance Door alone is more than 50 feet tall. Encountering it for the first time, it would be easy to assume that one had come to the dwelling place of giants.

The beauty and mystique of this first Petran monument was enhanced by the presence of four camels strategically parked to be in every photography of the building./ Throughout the day, we would encounter these camels and others as they ferried tourists and pilgrims up and down the major passages between the Siq and the other places in Petra. There is quite a little cottage industry operated by the Bedouins who inhabit many of the caves around Petra providing beasts of burden (donkeys, mules, and camels) to taxi travelers to more difficult to climb places in the surrounding areas. (More about this later)

I stood in front of the Treasury soaking in the 40 years I have wanted to stand in this place. As a movie buff, the obvious Indiana Jones reference crossed my mind and I wanted to go in and see the ancient knight guarding the Hoy Grail and be told that I had “chosen wisely” as I selected the cup of the carpenter and drank from the spring of life. But of course, that is a fiction. When I did make my way up the stairs to peer into the gaping door, I found a large empty room with more elaborate carvings on the wall. This space reveals the real use of this building – it is a tomb. Nabatean Tombs have two levels – the upper level which contain the remains of the deceased and a lower room called a triclinium, which is a dining room in which the Nabateans threw elaborate parties on significant anniversaries of the death of their loved ones. I would learn throughout the day that the treasury is one of the best-preserved of Petra’s facades. It is built on a slight incline so that the rushing waters that come from the Siq have not eroded it the way we witnessed on other buildings. It is also protected from strong winds. So while what erosion there is is wind erosion (all detail is gone from the sculptures in the niches of the Treasury), the basic structure of the building remains sharp today.

After taking many photos of the Treasury I stood in awe-filled reflection, thinking I could easily leave happy at that moment. I had seen what I came to see. But the day had many other treasures to unfold. We spent more than 14 hours in Petra arriving at 1st light and travelling back up the Siq at the end of the day dangerously close to no light.

I pulled myself away from the treasury and advanced farther down the cliff-lined passageway towards the area of the main city of Petra. Along the way the cliffs are dotted above with caves, some of which were tombs, and some of which were dwellings. We passed many more carves tomb facades and wondered at the colors of the stones. I took so many pictures because as the light changed, so did the images. More sun meant more colors coming out. All day long, I would take a photo in one direction, turn to take a photo in another, only to find that the change of light dictated the need for a second photo in the first direction. I ended up with more than 900 pictures of Petra.

After passing though the street lined with tomb facades, one comes to the second indication of the Roman Empire’s 1st century occupation of Petra: a Roman theatre. This is the place that I became first impressed by the powerful effects of erosion in this place. The Roman theatre in Petra looks a lot like those we have seen in other places, except it is not built up. Like everything else in Petra, it was carved into the cliff face. If it still very clear that this is a semi-circular Roman theater, but it could not be used for events today (as almost all those have encountered are) because the rows of seat have eroded away. This theatre is in a far worse state of repair than any other we have encountered precisely because it is carved in the soft stone of Petra, which has given way to the ravages of time and the elements.

Beyond the theatre, on the opposite side of the passage, we encountered the first of what are collectively known as the “Royal Tombs.” Like the treasury, these are elaborate carved facades with clear Greco-Roman influence. It is hard to pinpoint exactly how many tombs there are because they seem to be interconnected and there would be room here to bury whole cities. But generally there are four huge tomb complexes – The Silk tomb, the Urn tomb, the Corinthian tomb and Palace Tomb. The photos here speak for themselves. We spent a long time in front of these monuments and watched the sun crest the hill over them. We got up close to look at the white marbling in the stone and to see the effects of erosion.

We plotted our course fro the rest of the morning to see the ruins of the Roman city of Petra (kinda ho-hum after Jerash – when you have seen one Cardo, you’ve seen ‘em all – and not nearly as beautiful as the Nabatean carved facades that surround them). We spent a few minutes in the ruins of the Byzantine Church on the fill overlooking the Roman ruins. Christianity came to Petra relatively early and this 6th Century church bespeaks a large Christian community in Petra. The mosaics have been well-preserved and present some of the most realistic depictions of animals we have encountered in this art-form.

We crossed from the Church through the ruins to the largest building (in the traditional sense of a free –standing structure built from the ground up of stone) – the Temple of Dushara, the Nabatean Sun-god. It was fun to be in this structure. After looking around for a few minutes, I spied a doorway in which there were stairs. I had to climb over some rocks to get to it (and I’m not sure I was supposed to get to it) but the stairs lead up to the top of the Temple ruins, offering a great place to take photos and to get the panorama of the surrounding valley. Frs. Steve and Carl and I all like to go to the highest place we can to get the best view or the great photo.

Because we celebrated Mass and went to Petra so early, none of us had breakfast on Sunday. The surprising thing was that none of the food establishments in Petra serve even a basic breakfast. We could get coffee, but the earliest food we could get was 11 am. We chose the Crowne Plaza Restaurant and were not disappointed. Knowing that we were going to push into the afternoon with some of the more strenuous climbing, we decided to have a leisurely lunch and really tank up for the afternoon. Over lunch, we decided that we wanted to reserve our energy for more strenuous climbing, so we would take the offered donkey ride up to the high place known in Petra as the Monastery. Like the Treasury, the Monastery is a must-see and is one of the better preserved monuments in the Petra region, but it is more than 1200 steps up a steep climb of several hundred feet. The Bedouins who offer donkey rides encourage people to save their energy getting up to the monastery because there is a lot of additional climbing to do in the heights around that monument.

I rode a donkey a few years ago in Mexico and was surprised (and most grateful) how sure-footed the animal was. The path to the monastery was even more precarious than the path I rode in Mexico. My Bedouin guide put me on a large mule and warned me that he was very strong. I was mostly okay with the ride, but there were times that I felt the poor beast hauling my fat-ass up that mountain was enduring more than was humane. We had a great time riding the donkeys and the walk that would have taken us more than an hour, was completed in less than half the time. When we descended from the donkeys we had to climb 5 minutes more before we came to the clearing in front of the Monastery. As I came a round the corner, a young Bedouin girl asked me is I wanted my Keffiya (Arab headdress that I was wearing to ward off the sun) tied like a Bedouin. She had me kneel in front of her and she tied it in the way of her people. Before the day was finished other people would make the same offer for Frs. Carl and Steve – we ended our day in Petra welcomed by the Bedouin and even honored to wear our heads wrapped like theirs.




As we completed out climb, we came to the place of the Monastery. IT is a wide open elliptical clearing that was used for religious purposes in the past. While this was called the monastery by 19th Century archaeologists, it is really an important Temple to one of the deified Nabatean kings. The steps carved into the mountain used today by tourists and donkeys, were a pilgrim route to this high worship place. The elliptical plaza was a gathering space for large congregations of worshippers.

Surrounding this remarkable Nabatean structure were caves and numerous peaks which promised breath-taking views of the mountains and the desert beyond. After resting in the shade of a cave across from the Monastery for a while, we set out to ascent all those peaks. At the summit of each were great views of the monastery itself and of the surrounding country side. There were also savvy Bedouin selling water and soft drinks and trinkets. At the top of one of the higher peaks, called the ‘view at the end of the world’ we saw scenery that can only be rivaled in natural grandeur by the Grand Canyon. Here we sat for a long while and reflected on the beauty of this place and crowned out day by praying the Evening Office together. We then descended back to the monastery, took some pictures and began our trek down the donkey steps.

The sun was already low against the western heights and most tourist s had already preceded us down the mountain. On our way down, we met Nila, a young Bedouin merchant, who had closed up shop for the day, and was headed down on her faithful donkey. We ended up walking most of the way down the mountain in her delightful company – where she explained everything we saw and made sure we looked in the right directions to take advantage of the light cast by the afternoon sun. When we had reached the bottom she told us that the best view of sunset would be at what is called the “High Place of Sacrifice,” a height as steep and nearly as far up as the monastery, but which overlooked the main valley of Petra. We had decided not to make that ascent in the morning so as to have time at other sites. At the end of a long day on our feet and on high paths, the ascent to the High Place was almost more than I could handle. We were al hurting by the time we got to the top, but we all agreed that it was worth it. Much of what we had seen illuminated by the high sun in the late morning and early afternoon was now bathed in the light of the setting sun. And the colors were completely different. I was concerned that we would have a 45 minute walk down the mountain after the sun dipped behind the western mountains, but it turned out to be enough. It is hard to imagine a more spectacular sunset than that we saw on the High Place. Mountain tops have always attracted religious sentiment – places of Sacrifice, temples, dwellings of gods etc, and the Nabateans lived into that ideal by locating their primary place of sacrifice on the crest of this rocky crag.

After the light of the sun was no longer beaming across the valley, we hurried down the mountain by the route closer to the entrance to the Siq. When arrived at the bottom it was nearly dark. There in the twilight was the monument we had seen at first light nearly 14 hours before. In near darkness, the Treasury has a remarkably different look to it. We paused for the pictures we could make happen in this low light. Circumstances has conspired to keep us from spending the day and half we had planned in Petra, but we left satisfied that we had squeezed as much as we could out the 14 hours we spent there. By the time we got to the end of the Siq it was dangerously dark and we were exhausted, but it was among the most satisfying exhaustions I have ever experienced. Of all the sites I have visited in the last two months, Petra is among the most spectacular. IT is made so by the fact that so few people will ever make the trek to see it. I have spoken to a lot of people who have lived in the Middle East for many years and have never made the trip. Many people came to know it by its inclusion in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (and some other movies since then). Because it remains off the beaten track and because it is not known to those interested I the Bible as the site of any big Biblical story, many who visit the Middle East will never go there. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity and it did not disappoint my 40 years of wanting to see it. It was a day filled with surprise after surprise and wonder after wonder. Around each corner was another breathtaking site. In many ways, what I have just said about Petra can be applied in a large way to my whole Holy Land experience. Everyday and every turn of the corner has been yet another breathtaking site. As I prepare to leave and return to the U.S. I am every bit as excited and enthusiastic about this remarkable land as I was when I arrived on June 10th. Petra is special and, partly because it was our last excursion, will always be counted among the highlights of this time in the Holy Land. But not just because it was the last, but because we saved the best for last.

Be sure to take a look at all my Petra pictures on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0726Petra.

I Love Jordan!!!! (and Jordanians) part 2

We chose to take the Desert Highway – a shorter, less scenic route from Madaba to Wadi Musa the village outside of Petra. We wanted the most direct route so that we would be able to get a few hours in Petra on Saturday afternoon. That was a good choice but a Saturday visit to Petra was not in the cards. About half way to Wadi Musa, our right front tire blew out and thus began a new kind of adventure. We were on the side of a major highway that is travelled by almost every long-haul truck in the Kingdom. We had seen a number of tire repair places along the highway our little rental van would be back up and running in no time. Insha’Allah (as they say here, God willing). Well apparently, God had some patience lessons to teach first…

As three perfectly capable men were preparing to change the tire – removed the spare, found the jack and tools, even already jack the care up – a Jordanian truck driver named Mohammed stopped and took over the operation. We were having a problem with one of the lug nuts and were somewhat reluctant to simply force it. Mohammed had no such reluctance and got it off quickly only to find that it was tripped in side – only the first of our problems. We also pointed out that the spare was in horrible condition and that it would be wise to get the other tire fixed soon. He pointed out that there were tire places all along the way and we should simply proceed forward and stop at the first. We were very grateful for his assistance and could not thank him enough. In what we would, over the next few days come to know as simple Jordanian hospitality, this truck driver on the side of the highway offered us tea or coffee. We declined the hospitality so that we could resume our trip, but I would like to have seen how he would have prepared it on the roadside. We were the stranger in his midst and in traditional Semitic fashion, Mohammed saw us as his responsibility while we are in his land. He was the first of many gifts we would encounter on Saturday.

We continued South and soon found another tire shop. The first thing we noticed was that all the tires were huge truck tires. Sure enough, all those tire shops we were encountering catered to the Truck traffic on the highway. The mechanic took a look at our flat tire and said it was not fixable (I think – he spoke not a word of English) and indicated it would have to replaced and pointed us in the direction of Amman. We were two hours out of Amman, we did not want to have to go back. We showed him the map and asked him about the towns in front of us. He and a driver who stopped both indicated that it would not be possible to get the tire fixed in any of the small towns between there and Petra. We pointed then to the next sizable town south, called Ma’an, and he indicated we would find a mechanic there. So we headed south.

Because we were concerned about the integrity of the spare tire, we drove more slowly than I normally would and it took us about an hour to get to Ma’an. We quickly found a shop and were enthusiastically greeted by the mechanic speaking broken English. Good sign. “You American? America good! Obama? Obama good man! Bush, not so good man. Obama good man!” Okay as much as I can buy the particular political position, politics is not what I am looking for here. My mind is racing with all the negative possibilities of our particular situation and I see our time in Petra this afternoon fleeting. We simply want to get the tire fixed or replaced and move on. But in the Middle East, business is about relationships and nothing is done quickly. Emet, our mechanic would prove to be a vey welcoming host for the next two hours. I was quite impatient with the whole situation and frustrated with our limited ability of our host (who incidentally spent three years in the Jordanian Special Forces on the King’s security detail) to communicate. He was undaunted by my frustration and kept the air very light. Thank goodness for the ever-patient Fr. Carl who ran interference between Emet’s pro-American enthusiasm and my growing frustration. (I wonder if he would have been so enthusiastic to help us if George Bush were still President. :) After looking at the tire, Emet proposed that it had to be replaced. He searched through various used tires in his shop (mind you, there was not a single new tire anywhere in the shop). I called Reliable Rent-a-car Company to discuss this with them - they asked us to bring the blown out tire back with us so they could make a determination as to whether they should pay for the repair or not. (they will henceforth be referred to as “Unreliable”). My cell phone does not work in Jordan, so I was at he mercy of using a strangers phone. Emet did not have a phone, but the proprietor of the stationary shop on his block was more that willing to let me use his phone.

Before the next step Emet insisted in stepping next door to buy us a Pepsi. No sensein refusing. We offered to pay for our drink and his. You know, for someone who considers himself a relatively savvy traveler, I sure haven’t learned the Arab hospitality thing very well – his buying us a drink was his duty of hospitality and my offering to pay for it was robbing him of that kindness. Doh!

Back in the shop, a number of proposals were floated most of which included our continuing our journey on either our precarious spare or his putting a not-much better used tire on. The problem was that he did not have a tire of the proper size _ “No Problem” he kept saying. Eventually, his collegue located a new tire in another shop on the other side of town and took a taxi to get it. We had to give him the cash to go buy the tire (not a comfortable way of doing business for me, but the way things are done here.) It took a while for him to return with the tire – nothing happens quickly here. During that time we took pictures with our host and Fr. Carl gave him an impromptu English grammar lesson.

Once Emet’s friend returned with the brand new tire, it took only minutes to repair and we were on the way again, Grateful for the hospitality and care we were offered by yet a second and third Jordanian ministering angel of the day. The sun was getting low in the afternoon sky and it would take us about an hour to arrive in our hotel in Wadi Musa.

We arrived at 6 pm the very hour that the ticket office for Petra closed. That’s okay, Sunday would be a full day in Petra (and I mean full day). Our hotelier told us about “Little Petra” a few kilometer’s beyond Petra where we could climb up and see the Sunset. Fr. Carl was not feeling well and, given that we planned a 5 am start on Sunday, decided to call it an early evening. Fr. Steve and I headed for Little Petra. Our host was right, it was a beautiful place to watch the sunset and gave us a foretaste of the Glory that would be ours on Sunday. Here a few Little Petra photos, there are a lot more at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0725LittlePetra.

I LOVE Jordan!!!!! Part 1

I have just returned from five days in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and I found it a lovely country. As I have expressed in numerous previous posts, 2 of the places I have most been looking forward to seeing are in Jordan and they did not disappoint. But everywhere I went, I found Jordan to be a place welcoming of strangers and hospitable in every sense of the word. I have known a number of Jordanians in the US over the years (both Christians and Muslims) and always found them to be wonderful people, I was so happy to learn that they are not the exception but, but the rule in this little Kingdom.

Why am I gushing so? Because my experience as a traveler was a real contrast to Israel. Israel made it difficult for us to get out of their country and Jordan welcomed us. Jordan made it simple for us to leave and Israel made it as difficult as possible for us to get back in. That ongoing sense of welcome is something I have experienced among the Arabs I have encountered in the Middle East. In contrast, I have often felt that the Israelis would just as soon I go home.

Reason two - We had mechanical problems twice on the road in Jordan and the men we encountered bent over backwards to help us with as little impact as possible. That ancient sense of treating the stranger in your midst well and considering him your responsibility while he is in your midst (characteristic of all Semitic peoples) is alive and well among the good people of the Hashemite Kingdom - both Arab and Bedouin - and I was grateful for it.

We arrived in Jordan on an incredibly hot Thursday afternoon. The closest border crossing to Jerusalem is the King Hussein Bridge (called he Allenby Bridge by Israelis) just north of the Dead Sea and east of Jericho. We chose this crossing because it is closest to the sites we wanted to see in the north of Jordan. The process to get out of Israel took two hours and the process to get into Jordan took 20 minutes. One takes a bus across the militarized zone and the actual bridge between the two stations.

Our rent-a-car was waiting for us when we arrived. We headed out for our first stop - the site where Jesus was baptized. Since the cessation of hostilities between Jordan in Israel in the 1990s there has been a lot of cooperation of Jordan with international archaeological groups to discover important sites around that country. Among them is the actual site of Jesus' Baptism. We are told in John's Gospel that John the Baptist's activity was at "Bethany beyond the Jordan." Excavations in the late 90s at a Jordanian site called Bathania have unearthed the ruins of at least 6 Byzantine and ancient Churches that mark recall this site and its natural spring - a tributary of the Jordan as the actual place where Jesus was baptized.

Because this site is so close to the Dead Sea and so far below Sea Level, it is very hot. The development of the area to handle tourist is still young, but the one necessary commodity that they must have is drinking water - it is so incredibly hot. The day we were there the person in charge of selling the drinking water had gone home for the day. That made this site very dangerous, actually, and our guide was quite embarrassed, having assured us that there would be water there. He was able to get us some lukewarm drinking water from a fountain nearby. That aside, it is clear that this remote site is under development. There are a number of modern churches and institutions under construction in the area and in a few years it is going to be a thriving tourist/pilgrimage site.

The most interesting part for me was the excavations of the ancient churches and the actual pool of water from the spring itself. We also walked down to the Jordan River, a few hundred feet away and could look across at the highly developed Israeli concession for remembering the baptism of Jesus. It was developed a long time ago and is quite nice. The water of the Jordan is quite polluted this far south (a real contrast to what we saw in Dan and Baniass). Consensus is growing that the historical and archaeological evidence points to this Jordanian Site as the actual site of Jesus' Baptism. Right at the river, there is a beautiful little Greek Orthodox Church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

We left the Baptism Site and drove up to Mt. Nebo, high above the Dead Sea and overlooking the Holy Land. It was from Mt. Nebo that God allowed Moses to see the Promised Land (Deut. 34:1). The site on Mt. Nebo is holy to Christians, Muslims, and Jews all of whom honor Moses as a Prophet - it is dedicated to Moses. There were two disappointments at Mt. Nebo - 1) the sky was so hazy that one could barely see into Israel at all - it is clear that Moses was not invited up Mt. Nebo on a hot July day months after the last rain. We are told he could see all of the Land of Promise from that summit. And I guess that is still true today in a more hospitable climate (say, wintertime). 2) The Church of St. Moses was closed to pilgrims for the sake of more archaeological work going on there now. What we did see of note there were some beautiful mosaics that are on display outside the Church and two interesting monuments - one recalls the serpent lifted up by Moses in the wilderness. Clearly a cross intertwined by a serpent, the monument is very christological. The second monument was given in honor of Pope John Paul II Jubilee year visit to this site in 2000. It is engraved in both Latin and Arabic with the words "One God, father of us all, over all" The late Pontiff also planted an olive tree beside the sculpture to signify the Peace that he prays for in the Holy Land.

From Mt. Nebo, we headed down to Madaba hoping to arrive in time that I might get my first glimpse at the Map I have so been longing to see. Unfortunately, the Church closed early for the evening because of a funeral. Oh well, we were spending two nights in Madaba; I would have plenty of time to see the Map. So we had dinner and explored this quaint little town a little.

On Friday we headed north to see the ruins of the Roman City of Jerash. Jerash (Gerasa) was one of the cities that made up the Decapolis - these cities defined an area of Frontier that was more Greco-Roman than its Semitic neighbors. They were highly Hellenized during the Hellenic period, and they were largely inhabited by Gentiles in the Roman period. We are told that Jesus ministered in the area of the Decapolis in Mark 5 (We went to Kursi earlier - that was in the area of the Garasenes - the Garasenes were inhabitants of Gerasa - modern day Jerash). So the extensive and beautiful ruins at Jerash are Greco Roman - like those we saw at Bet She'an (another of the Decapolis cities). We started the day thinking that we had seen enough Greco-Roman ruins that we would be ready to head back to Madaba in the afternoon to see the Map.

Little did we know that Jerash would so completely capture our imaginations. Easily more than twice the size of any ruin we had been to before, there is so much to see and explore. With regards to tourism, it is the exact antithesis of the Baptismal site, with lots of services and very well-developed tourist services. In the hippodrome (circus) the Jordanian Army sponsors a demonstration of Roman military maneuvers. Special forces soldiers dressed in full Roman armor demonstrate drill and fighting techniques well known in history. The show continues with a demonstration of gladiatorial games and culminates with a Chariot Race. This is the only place in the Middle East that we have encountered the kind of show we would expect to see at an historical site in the United States and it was a lot of fun! It is called RACE (Roman Army and Chariot Experience) and shows a couple of times each day. And here is the icing on the cake - the audience is invited to meet and have photos taken with the characters from the show. As that was wrapping up, one of the chariot drivers asked me if I wanted to go for a spin around the hippodrome. Before I could say know he said "jump on" and I found my self being whisked away behind two very powerful horses. It was great!!!!!

Before Lunch we had only managed to see and photograph the Triumphal Arch and the Hippodrome both of which are technically outside the Archaeological park itself. It became quickly clear that there was so much to see at Jerash that we would stay all day and into the evening. The map would have to wait until Saturday. We enjoyed the warm day in the sun crawling all over the ruins of temples, churches, mosques, fountains, gates, theatres, baths, monuments, and roads. Jerash is a truely amazing site adn I will have more to say about it in the post I will do about the history of the middle East. We left around sundown and drove back to Madaba. There are more than 700 pictures from Jerash at my Picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0724Jerash.

On Saturday mornign we checked out of our Madaba digs and headed over to see the Map (finally). I was giddy with anticipation to see this one mosaic that has become so important to me only in the last few weeks. As I said in my post of July 8 (http://frbartjerusalem.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-just-mad-about-madaba.html) I have become somewhat obsessed with the image of hte depiction of Jerusalem that is at the center of the 6th Century mosaic. My classmates have taken to pointing out any reference or image of the map we see anywhere in our travels. It is amazing to me that 20th and 21st Century archaeologists check their assumptions and calculations against the information contained on this 6th Century artistic representation. It is a kind of Archaeological Rosetta Stone (never mind that the Rosetta Stone is an archaeological rosetta stone...). I have read everything I can get my hands on about the map and it is become a symbol for me of this whole experience. The anticipation did not disappoint. As I said in my brief post on Saturday evening, I was moved to tears at the sight of it.

First of all, let me say that St. George Church in Madaba is a beautiful little church right in the middle of this little city. It has a number of beautiful mosaics on the wall representing a range of saints and all the significant moment sin the life of Our Lord and Our Lady. But what everyone comes to this church to see is this Mosaic which covers about a sixth or an eighth of the floor space in the Church. Throughout the town you see signs indicated that such and such a business is across from the "map church" or the "mosaic church." It isn't even called "St. George" by the local populace. The Map is a religious relic in that it is an adornment in an historical church. It is an important archaeological artifact and historical record in that helps historians locate 6th Century geography and gives context to other historical realities. It has also become a real symbol of my experience this summer. IN addition to being a time to study Scripture, this summer has been a marvelous romp through thousands of years of history. We have been to places that were occupied 10,000 years ago - but we have made a systematic study of nearly 5000 years of religious and cultural history. The study has dragged us through all three of the great monotheistic religions of the Middle East and down the avenue of pagan worship. It has brought us to layers upon layers of historical conquest and the movements of peoples. It has given context to great historical and religious movements, and it has given us the opportunity to refocus our attention on that which has been important to countless cultures and cavitations. The Map is a symbol of all of that. It was under the weight of that burden that I was moved to tears at finally seeing the Madaba Map. To peer finally at the original is to see Michelangelo’s David after seeing so many copies and parodies all my life. While not the most sophisticated of the many, many mosaics I have seen this summer, it is, arguably, the most significant. We spent a good deal of time in the Church. I took more than 200 pictures. I genuflected, and lay down on the map and was even moved to venerate it with a kiss - and then it was time to go. I bought a copy of a book that interprets the entire map and offers a key to the Greek labels that appear on the Map. But more importantly, I bought the one important souvenir that I will take from this summers experience - I bought my own mosaic copy of the Madaba Map of Jerusalem. Once back in Tucson, I will have it framed and it will be a reminder always of the Glory of this two months. There are a lot of pictures of the Mosaic Map at: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0725MadabaMosaics.

After St. George we stopped in to see the beautiful mosaics at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin and the Madaba Archaeological Center. They were beautiful, but face it; they are the step-siblings of the Madaba Map. In late morning we headed out of Madaba for our next important destination and the fulfillment of a life long dream: Petra. To be continued...

MADABA at Last!

I have seldom in my life been moved to tears by a piece of art. But I have come to love this map and it so represents the totality of my experience here in the Holy Land, that I have been looking forward to seeing it. The idea of it cannot compare to the reality of being in its presence. St. George is a beautiful little Church, but this mosaic is so much more than a simple adornment to a Church floor. The history contained in its tiles makes it an especially precious relic and yes, I was moved to tears whenfinally I laid eyes on it today.

Much more about this later. In the meantime, I invite you to read more about hte Map at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madaba_Map

or

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/index.html

Off to Jordan

I want thank all of you who gave me feedback in response to "Is anyone out there...".

We are off to Jordan today for our last big excursion. In many ways, outside of the sites associated with Jesus, the things I have most looked forward to seeing are in Jordan: the Madaba Map and the "lost city" of Petra. The map has become and obsession for me while I have been here, but Petra has been a life long obsession since I first saw a picture of it in an encyclopedia when I was about 6 or 7. Needless to say, I am very ecstatic about this trip.

My Blackberry will not work in Jordan and I am not sure what the internet situation is at our hotel, so this may be my last communique until Monday. Shalom and Salaam. See you on the other side of Petra!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Happy Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Celebrated Mass this morning at the altar below this image of St. Mary Magdalene in the Basilica of St. Stephen in Jerusalem. The Madeleine in honored as a Patron Saint of the Dominican Order becuase she was the first one charged with the preaching of the Resurrection of Jesus. - so this is a special day for Dominicans This painting is an exquisite image done in 1900. It is one of a series of paintings of Dominican Saints and Patrons that ring the aisles of St. Stephen's Basilica here at the Ecole Biblique. Happy Feast Day!

In Galilee: Walking in the Footsteps of the Anointed One, pt 4

On Wednesday we visited two other sites that have at least a tangential relationship to Jesus’ Ministry. In Matthew 11, Jesus curses several cities for their lackluster response to the work that God is doing in them through Him:

Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." - Matt 11:20-24

Interestingly, all three of the cities that receive Jesus’ Woe in this text (and it’s verbatim parallel in Luke’s Gospel) all lie in ruins near the shore of the Sea of Galilee – there is even no modern city built over them. I’m not necessarily saying there is a connection between their eventual destruction and this curse, but it is interesting speculation. Matthew likes the judgment theme and he reserves harsh rhetoric for these towns that did not receive the ministry of Jesus well.

We visited the site of Corazin on Wednesday. It is a very interesting town built almost entirely of Basalt. By far the most interesting part of this site was the ruins of the synagogue. It was a magnificent structure and many of the fine architectural details are still visible. I have to admit that by the time we got to the site of Corazin, we were a little sun-drunk and ruin-weary so we took the opportunity to goof off a little and climb around the ruins like little boys on a play ground.

We also visited a museum to take a look at what is often called the “Jesus Boat.” More properly it is called the "Antique Galilean Boat" and it is housed in a museum at the Ginnosar Kibbutz. It is the hull of a 1st Century boat that was excavated from the mud of Sea of Galilee. Among the commentary at the museum is that this boat is indeed from the era when Jesus and his disciples were active on the northern shore of this large lake. It is the kind of boat that would have been used by Peter, Andrew, James, and John in their fishing ventures, the kind of boat they would have used to traverse the lake, The kind of boat that would have been tossed to and fro by a storm at sea, and the kind of boat from which Jesus might have taught the crowds gathered on the shore. There is no claim that this boat (which has been preserved and presented well) has anything to do with Jesus. But it does add insight.

Before coming back to Jerusalem, We visited two more sites associated with the ministry of Jesus, one each on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday we went to Baniass National Park which encompasses a number of interesting ruins and natural features. It is the site of the Hermon Springs, which are the head waters of the Jordan River. The river is pristine at this site and on a hot day those waters looked really inviting. More important to the ministry of Jesus, Baniass was the administrative center of North Galilee and the mountain region and was known in Jesus’ day as Caesarea Philippi. We saw the ruins there of the magnificent ruins there of the Palace of the last herodian ruler of the region: Herod Agrippa. It was here that Jesus had his discussion about his own identity with his Disciples:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? - Matt 16:13-26

This is an important text for a number of reasons. It is certainly connected to the experience we had at Capernaum and Tabgha on Wednesday. We locate here the first discussion that manifests that special ministry that Jesus had in mind for Peter.

But it is also a text in which Jesus links his identity as Anointed One (Messiah or Christ) to the suffering he must face in Jerusalem. It is here that he reveals to his disciples the fullness of his mission and ministry. It is clear from Peter’s response that it is more than they can handle at this point, but Jesus begin to lead them down that path that will bring them to their full stature as his followers.

This pair of exchanges between Jesus and Peter – in One Jesus calls him solid rock – rock solid enough to support an edifice; and in the other he calls him satan. This gives us insight into how much Peter really is “every disciple.” He represents all of our ambiguity and doubt, all of our sureness and faith. At Caesarea Philipi, I was able to reflect on the logical outcome of Peter’s willingness to follow, Peter’s willingness to lead. “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus says, “he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me…” Of course, we know the rest of the story: Peter would do just that. Peter excepted the charge of Jesus to feed and care for his sheep. We see the post-Pentecost Peter boldly stepping up to the plate and knocking it our of the park… So we honor Peter, the pre-eminent disciple, with titles like “the first Pope” or speak of his primacy. At Caesarea Philippi, we learn the full implications of such honors…

On Friday, we visited a site associated with one of Jesus’ famous exorcisms. The story appears in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matt 8, Mk 5, and Lk 8) and their mixed identification of the site makes it hard to know exactly where the event happened. I am talking about the healing of the Garasene demoniac. This is the story about Jesus sending the Demons (“Legion”) into a herd of swine, causing the pigs to commit suicide in the Sea of Galilee. Since the 4th Century, this event has been memorialized at a hillside monastery overlooking the Eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the “territory of the Gerasenes.” The site is called Kursi and basically consists today of the ruins of a beautiful monastic Church. The ruins are in a great state of preservation and the site is very accessible. The mosaics throughout have been preserved or repaired well and the site, even in ruins is a fitting memorial to this Gospel story. As we stood at the ruins of the hillside hermitage above the main church, it was easy to imagine a large herd of pigs (about 2000, Mark says) running down this cliff and casting themselves into the Sea.

Like everything else we have experienced in Galilee, this story points to the eschatological reality of Jesus’ ministry. In his actions (casting out demons) Jesus is ushering in the reign of God. In his person, in his preaching, in his actions, in his healings and other miracles, Jesus is fulfilling eschatological expectations, and doing so in a way that faithful Jews can see the in-breaking of the Kingdom in Him. In gathering His disciples and commissioning them to do the same kinds of ministry, Jesus is preparing them to be the regathering of the 12 tribes – to be the “Israel of God” (as Paul will say it).

We have been many places that Jesus walked, lived, ate, served, preached, taught, healed, and commissioned others. In all of it, we have celebrated the answer to the question Jesus asked his disciples at Casarea Philippi: “Who do people say that I am?” With Peter and the other disciples, our faith is strengthened by our having been here so that we can say with more sureness than before: You are the Christ – the Messiah – the anointed one of God!

Lots more FUN Corazine picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0715Corazin
More Jeus Boat Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0715JesusBoat
More Casearea Philippi pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0716Baniass
More Kursi photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/0717Kursi