Are you ready for part 2?? If you haven't seen Part 1 yet, click here to catch up!! Tons of pics and some videos along with a trip narrative so you can see everything I did on this 15 day adventure.
This post starts us out on Day 5/12 of the Egypt/Jordan/Israel trip (see part 1 for Morocco!) where we caught an early morning flight from Cairo, Egypt to Amman, Jordan. The Jordan tour agent was waiting for us at customs when we landed and made the arrival process very swift and easy! We quickly gathered our bags and we were on our way with our local guide first heading for the ruins of the Citadel.
The Citadel shows evidence of inhabitants dating back to the Neolithic Period, and was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). It was controlled by several different civilizations throughout the centuries, but devastation from earthquakes made it fall into obscurity until being resettled in the 1800s with excavations and renewal efforts in the 1900s.
Roman Temple of Hercules, built 2nd century AD
Eastern gate of the Umayyad period (600s AD) mosque (reconstructed)
At this site, we also toured the Jordan Folklore Museum as well as the Jordan Museum of Popular Tradition.
After this site we moved on to tour the ancients ruins of Jerash (Gerasa). Jerash has been inhabited since as early as 7000 BC, and most likely established as a major city by Alexander the Great in 300s BC. Here are some of the largest and best preserved Greco-Roman ruins in the world.
A devastating earthquake in 749 AD threw the city into ruins, and after that it was only inhabited by small groups of people.
Arch of Hadrian, built 100s AD.
The Nymphaeum fountain, built from pink granite around 200 AD.
From there we continued on to our hotel, the Dead Sea Spa and Resort. It is right on the shores of the Dead Sea in a very touristy area. The Dead Sea is the lowest point of elevation on Earth, at over 1400ft below sea level. It is 9x saltier than the ocean thus no plant or animal life can survive the waters. It's Biblical name is the Sea of Salt, and has been used as a "health resort" dating back to Herod the Great (1st century BC). The Egyptians used bitumen (natural asphalt) from the sea in the mummification process.
Amazing view of the sea from my room!
After unwinding and changing clothes, we took the long walk down to the private beach for a mud bath and to float in the salty waters. We could only stay in for about 15 min! It starts to get very uncomfortable on the skin.
Later that evening we decided on one of the many hotel restaurants for dinner and we enjoyed a Lebanese feast with food left over.
Our last views of the Dead Sea as we headed south and started to rise again in elevation and into the mountains.
Petra (Greek for "rock") has been inhabited by different groups including the Nabataeans as far back as 7000 BC and is still to this day. Arab history believes that Petra is the location where Moses struck the rock with his staff causing water to flow for the Israelites.
The Nabatean people were Arabic nomads who made Petra a major regional trading hub in Wadi Musa ("Valley of Moses"). They were very skillful in harvesting rain water, agriculture, and carving stone. Most of the famous rock carved buildings and tombs date to the 1st century AD. Very soon after it fell to the Romans, however as sea trade routes emerged the importance of Petra declined. In 363 AD a major earthquake destroyed many structures. Over the next several centuries the population declined more leaving only the local nomadic tribes until it was rediscovered in the 1800s by a Swiss traveler.
One of the first structures you see when entering via the Siq are the Djinn Stones. They are funeral monuments built by the Nabataeans in 1st century AD.
Next you see the Obelisk tomb built for Abdomanchos
As we enter the Siq ("shaft") which is a narrow canyon leading to the main area, you see the original Nabataean aquaducts carved in the stone. The canyon was very prone to flash flooding, yet the native people controlled the water with dams, cisterns, and water conduits.
After a moderate 3/4 mile walk through the canyon to the city center, you start to get your first glimpse of the "Treasury", one of the most recognizable places in Petra.
We continued on with our guide past the theater, the street of facades, and the Royal Tombs.
As we got into the village, we met up with one Bedouin man who took us on a 2hr Jeep tour into the desert! With the wind and sand we definitely had to cover up as much as we could.
Next we headed to Khazali Canyon which has many petroglyphs carved into the canyon wall that we got to see. These date back to 8th century BC! Of course there was also a random coffee stand as well, haha!
Day 9 we hit the road early to start the long drive from southern Jordan back up the coast past the Dead Sea to cross the border into Israel and begin our last leg of the adventure.
At one rest stop there was a cute little kitty that needed some lovin!
The ancient city of Jericho is close to the Allenby bridge that we crossed on our way to Jerusalem in the West Bank.
These pics are from the drive thru Jerusalem to our hotel.
We checked into our final hotel in Jerusalem, the Prima Royale. That evening we walked thru the city and discovered we were right by the US embassy! We found a trendy cafe for dinner and enjoyed some great food on the patio. I devoured a chicken schnitzel.
The previous sites on this trip were mostly historical and geographical in nature, however the sites I planned for Israel focus on Biblical and Christian heritage. Many of these sites overlap in importance for Judaism as well as Islam. Many archaeological discoveries have verified Biblical sites as true history, as well as significant people and rulers referenced with many major sites being verified by dating and evidence. Growing up a Christian and reading the Bible gives a whole different feel to actually walking in sites that Jesus walked, and seeing things that he would have seen 2000 years ago. And that is why I finally came here.
View of the Dome of the Rock in the old city from Mt of Olives.
Looking down on olive trees as we made our way to the Garden of Gethsemane (Gethsemane means "olive press").
Walking through the ancient olive trees in the garden. The oldest trees have been dated to be over 800+ years old, however they grow shoots from the existing trunks and are generational so these very well could be the parent trees from Jesus' time.
Beneath the dome and the altar, there is a section of natural rock which is believed to be the site that Jesus prayed overnight before his arrest.
After we walked down the Mt past the garden we crossed the Kidron Valley and made our way into the old city of Jerusalem. We happened to be here during the week-long celebration of Sukkot, so there were many crowds of people entering the city.
We entered through the ancient walls via the Lions Gate. These current walls were built by the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s.
We started our journey on the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross, which symbolizes the path that Jesus took starting from his arrest to trial to crucifixion.
One of the major points of the Church is what is believed to be Calvary (Golgotha)--the rocky hill where Jesus was crucified. Historical records state that 3 crosses and a tomb were found here in the 300s AD after being built over by the Romans in the 1st century AD. Constantine demolished the Roman temple in the early 300s and discovered the ruins of the tomb and other artifacts--shortly after that the Church was consecrated in 335 AD.
Over the centuries different groups fought to take control of the site along with damage from attacks and earthquakes. A major reconstruction occurred in the 11th century by the Byzantines, and later in the 12th century by the Crusaders. More renovation was done in the 16th century by the Ottomans, and the current iron dome was built in 1810 after a fire caused the previous dome to collapse.
Beneath the enclosure here is the rock of Calvary.
Here is a view from the lower level
Here is the Stone of Anointing to symbolize the burial slab where it is believed that Jesus' body was lain for burial preparation. This current stone was added in a 1810 reconstruction.
We continued thru the city from the Christian quarter and to the Jewish Quarter.
Next we got to see excavations of the Second Temple era and remains that have been excavated dating to the 1st century AD several meters down.
Next we see the ancient Roman Cardo Maximus which would have been the major road intersecting Jerusalem. It was excavated in the 1970s about 20ft below the current street level. It was originally paved in the 2nd century AD by Hadrian when the Romans had control of the site of Jerusalem. It was extended south in the 6th century by the Byzantine. There's actually an original map from a church in Jordan depicting Jerusalem from the 6th century:
We walked around the walls and reentered the old city via the Dug Gate to make our way to the Western wall or the Kotel. This site is significant as is the site of the First and Second Temple. The First Temple was built by King Solomon around 957 BC and where the Ark of the Covenant was housed (per the Bible this ceremony occurred during the Feast of the Tabernacles, which coincidentally was the holiday I was here during). The Temple was plundered and robbed by many over the centuries, then in 586 BC it was destroyed by the siege of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
The Second Temple began construction in 516 BC by the Persian King Cyrus the Great, and was expanded in the 1st century BC by King Herod, leading to the Temple's other name of Herod's Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans during their siege of the city. Curiously I found that according to an inscription on the Colosseum in Rome, Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum with war spoils in 79 CE – possibly from the spoils of the Second Temple.
Pictured here is the Kotel (Western Wall), over half of which is dated to the Second Temple era including the large stone blocks in the second picture. Pilgrims come to this site and place prayers in the cracks of the stone.
Leaving the old city one last time thru the Dung Gate, we began our walk back across the Kidron Valley to where we started on Mt of Olives. We got a great vantage point of the ancient tombs of Zechariah and Benei Hezir (formerly called the tomb of St James). The structure on the right with the cone top is a solid structure carved from the stone, but is not actually a tomb. It seems to mark a second entrance tunnel to the neighboring complex called the tomb of Benei Hezir. The structure on the left is actually the oldest of these and dates to the 2nd century BC. It is a complex burial cave and an inscription on it states it was built for the Hezir family. These are all structures that Jesus would have seen and walked amongst in his time as he went from the Mt of Olives to the Temple.
This structure is called Absolam's Pillar and is named for King David's son Absolam. However it has been dated to 1st century AD and is believed to be a funeral monument for the Tomb of Jehoshaphat for which the entry for is behind and to the left. The structure itself contains a burial chamber with 3 burial sites. The cave behind it has several burial niches however the remains were unidentified and the name "Jehoshaphat" refers to the Biblical name for this valley which translates to "God will Judge".
Beautiful evening view of the old city
Day 11 and our last full day in Israel brought us to the north where we first headed to Nazareth. This small mountain town was where Mary and Joseph lived, and where they brought Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem.
We visited the Basilica of Annunciation, or the Church of the Announcement. It is built over what is believed to be the site of Mary's house.The current church was built in the 1960s.
Some of the excavated remains from prior churches were preserved in the current construction, some dating back to the 4th century AD.
Excavations beneath the church dating to a home or tomb from 1st century AD.
After that we headed to the Church of St Joseph. This statue of Joseph was in the courtyard, and depicts him sitting on stones. Interestingly as a Christian we all learn that Joseph was a "carpenter" but actually it's a mistranslation from the original Greek New Testament that calls him a "tekton" which is more like a stone mason. The houses in this area were made of stone.
Some original doors unearthed around the area.
A humble cave home complex dating to 1st century AD.
After this we drove to the town of Magdala to have lunch. Magdala is the town where Mary of Magdalene is from. She was a close friend of disciple of Jesus.
The mosaics pictured were excavated and are remains of a 5th century floor depicting varied wildlife and plants from the time.
Current restoration work was ongoing while we were there.
Below is a limestone rock that was also uncovered during excavations. This rock is believed to be where Jesus fed the crowds from.
Below is a 5th century excavated image of a "Nilometer" which was crucial in these times for the people to monitor the levels of the water to help plan for droughts. The upper part that is a bit darker is the original mosaic, the lower lighter colored part is restoration.
Next we headed to the coastal town of Capernaum where Jesus lived with Peter and other disciples during his ministry here after leaving Nazareth. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee (Kineret) and was a heavily traveled crossroad called the Via Maris which linked Europe, Asia, and Africa during the time, enabling him to be in contact with many people as they journeyed. The village was inhabited continuously from the 2nd century BC up to the 11th century AD when it was abandoned some time before the First Crusade.
Many Biblical miracles happened here, including healing of several sick and injured people. Jesus taught in the synagogue in this town, and excavations have uncovered an original building believed to be Jesus' synagogue dating back to the 1st century AD.
The Memorial Church of St Peter was built in 1990 over the remains of what has been archaeologically verified to be the house of the Apostle Peter with whom Jesus lived for 3 years of his ministry here. Inscriptions have been found dating to 1st century AD with the names of Jesus and Peter.
An octagonal church was built around the original site in approx 450 AD.
Here are the excavated remains of a small village and living quarters from 1st century AD. The stone is local basalt stone.
Here are the ruins of a 4th century synagogue which was actually built on top of the remains of the original synagogue from Jesus' time.
The white limestone of the 4th century structure can be seen sitting directly on top of the original black basalt stones from the 1st century synagogue in which Jesus taught.
1st century AD millstones and artifacts uncovered in the area.
Our final destination for the day and for our trip was the Yardenit Baptismal site located near the mouth of the Jordan River coming out of the Sea of Galilee. This site was established in 1981 as an alternative pilgrimage site from the previously established baptismal site of Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan a bit further down the Jordan River closer to Jericho. Access to that site is restricted due to military activity and the shared border and conflicts with Jordan.
The Jordan River is significant to Christians because it is where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and many others. The original Baptismal site along the River by Jericho is also believed to be the location where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
In the Yardenit location pilgrims are able to be baptized in the Jordan waters as well! The water is quite clean with much plant and animal life.
I did put my feet in the waters as we observed a large group participating in a baptism.
It was a serene way to end the day, and a great finish to our amazing trip! From Yardenit was the 2 hour drive back to our hotel in Jerusalem for our final night.
On Wednesday morning Oct 4 I left Israel from Tel Aviv on a direct flight back to Toronto, Canada where I picked up my car and finished the 2hr drive back home that evening. Just a couple days later is when Hamas began their vicious attacks against the Israeli people that is now dominating the current news. My prayers are with the Jewish people, as well as the Palestinians caught in the conflict. No person should be subjected to terrorist and extremist attacks with no regard for women, children, or innocents.
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