Next Stop, Jordan

We flew to Jordan after a peaceful night in Cairo.  We left bright and early at 0500 to catch our international flight to Jordan.  When we arrived after a short flight we found ourselves in a very different place.  The area was much drier than the Nile valley and the temperature much cooler.  It was a relief also to be in a place where we could use a public washroom without being asked to tip the attendant!

We were met by our driver, Ali who could not speak much English and he whisked us off to our first stop.  St. George's Greek Orthodox church.  In this small, unassuming church are the remains of a mosaic map which is the oldest map of biblical Palestine in existence, dating back to 560 AD.  

In addition and in the basement is a painting of the Madonna and Child in which one hand of the Madonna is blue.  This purportedly happened during its painting when three flashes of light appeared and suddenly the hand turned blue.  This is believed to have been a miracle.

After this quick stop we were off again, this time to Mount Nebo where Moses is believed to have sighted the promised land before his death.  This was also an interesting stop as there had been ruins which have been incorporated into the modern church.  The mosaics are incredible.  One in particular showed the development of man from Hunter gatherer to trader as shown in four lines of images.  It covered a huge area ion the floor of the church.

Perhaps the most spectacular thing was the view!  We could see the Jordan Valley stretching out before us. Jerico was visible at the foot of the mountains and Bethlehem was just bisitlble through the haze.  We were also very excited to see the Dead Sea.

This was when we learned that our program was over for the day, except for a long drive to Petra.  We asked Ali if we might take a side trip to the Dead Sea and he agreed for an additional charge to take us there!