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Wednesday, Mar. 01, 2006 - 6:16 a.m. World Traveler
To continue on with my travels..... I omitted, inadvertently, yesterday two
more places I wanted to share with regard to special moments of my
travels. Over this past Thanksgiving I traveled to Amman, Jordan to spend
a week with my husband so we could all be together for Travis' first
birthday. He turned one Thanksgiving day. Its a long way to travel
for only a weeks worth of time: 3 hours to Chicago, 14 straight shot to
Amman, but, you DO finally get there. So it was a whirlwind trip for me to
say the least, in that we went to the Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, and Petra. Mt. Nebo is the traditional place of
Moses' burial. He took the Israelites to the Mountain, looked down
upon the promised land, only to hear God say "Psyche!" The
Israelites were able to cross into Palestine/Israel (whatever you wish to call
it), but he died on the mountain and is supposed to be buried SOMEWHERE up
there. Its not a large mountain by any stretch of the imagination, and the
topography is extremely old. Ancient mountains worn down by the slow march
of time. At the top is a small church, that was originally built in about
the 4th century. What remains of the original structure is for all intents
and purposes encased in a shell, another structure that was built to completely
enclose it to preserve the integrity of what remains of the original
structure. Inside is a small sanctuary that probably sat no more than
100-120 people with two smaller chambers on the left and the right for special
ceremonies. The floors are all covered in classic Byzantine Era mosaics,
much very similar to those found all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean
Coast. Out side is a tiny courtyard with some modern sculpture, and a
sacred olive tree that was planted several years ago by Pope JPII. There
is a water well where they perform baptisms as well. Old churches such as
this are real working churches that still conduct services, but are also open to
tourists to collect revenues. Unlike European cathedrals that actually
charge admission, this tiny little gem, in the middle of the desert, only takes
donations. On the back wall there is a rack of post cards and some books
for purchase, and a donation box beside the door. We bought some post
cards and a book and donated some more to the church. While we were there,
they were conducting Mass. Several priests and a small choir made up of
several men. I was appalled when someone's cell phone went off inside and
they took the call, speaking loudly. What was interesting to note, most of
the people there touring the church were Muslim. In Islam, Moses is about
as holy a prophet as you can get without being Mohammed. In truth, this is
the single oldest church I have ever been in, several centuries older than Notre
Dame, or Westminster Cathedral. Our other major stop in Jordan was a day
trip to Petra. The drive from Amman to Petra takes about as long as
Houston to Austin. There's just alot less interesting stuff to look at
because once you get outside of Amman, its all desert. Just a bunch of
dirt and rocks. The highway is 4 lanes across and serves it purpose quite
well. Petra, for those who don't know, is a small town with one major
attraction, that being a city carved into the walls of a canyon. Those who
have seen "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" will remember the
temple where the Holy Grail was hidden, and the facade of that structure that
was carved directly into the canyon wall. This the building known as The
Treasury, although it original purpose and use is not clear. To reach the
city, you take a gravel path through steep, wind carved canyon walls for about a
mile. There are parts of it that are paved and were done so after Rome
annexed the area. At times the canyon walls seem to touch each other
above, and if it were to rain, you probably would not get wet. There are
little channels carved from the entrance of the canyon into the sides of the
rock that were used to channel water down to the city. There are carvings
all through it. But, after what seems like an eternity of walking, which
is actually very easy as the path is very smooth, you emerge into an open area
to find this looming in front of you: The
money shot. This is the facade that was used in the movie. Through
that darkened doorway is a large open chamber, almost like a ballroom, and two
small chambers on either side. There are a few stairs that lead up to the
doorway there, and on the left side, although its hard to see, is some grating
covering the surface. Excavation has been taking place here and it was
discovered that there are chambers beneath the stairs. Jordan is a poor
country and there is not much money for archaeological endeavors, so there is
much at this site that has not been explored, and tombs believed to exist that
just have to be found and opened. This truly gave me chills, as it would
anyone, when I first emerged from the dim canyon into the open courtyard. Song
Virus du Jour: "Livin' la Vida Loca" ~ Ricky Martin (but
actually, I am dancing around in my head to the version at the end of Shrek 2). Useless
Trivia du Jour: The official Petra
website. Mt.
Nebo on Wikipedia. |
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- - Wednesday, May. 21, 2008
More updates on another blog home. - Wednesday, Feb. 06, 2008 Where are my zzzzzz's? - Thursday, Nov. 08, 2007 Halloween '07 - Friday, Nov. 02, 2007 Hallween is All Good! - Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007 |
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