The very first time I stepped inside the airport was in the early hours of 23rd Feb 2011. Went through the baggage screening and was asked to open my suitcase cause my laptop was in it- the 1st of the many time I was forced to open it. WE were 19 of us from Chennai heading towards the Holy Land for 9 days. We boarded Gulf Air at 3 55am and I took off on my 1st air journey. The photo session started then itself.
The journey was quite uneventful otherwise. We were served early breakfast and then I took a nap. We reached Bahrain at 6 55am their time. Went through the transit formalities and waited for the connecting flight to Amman. We saw Ustad Amjad Ali Khan while waiting at the airport. The next flight was a 3 hr journey and we were welcomed at Queen Alia airport in Amman by the airport guide and we got into a bus that was already full of people from Kerala. In total, we were around 83 of us spread across 2 buses. The guide in our bus was Iesan(Muslim) and our driver was Hasheem. The airport is around 35 km from Amman city.South Jordan is the Moabite kingdom and North Jordan is the Ammonite Kingdom. We drove towards the south where almost 80% of it is a desert. There are 2 roads-the Desert road and the Kings road. Though the later is longer, the kings used to travel that way cause of the availability of food, water and shelter.
We first stopped at Dana restaurant in Madaba. Madaba means 'Table of fruit'. The common names of Madaba is Carpet City, Mosaic City, Christian City and Tobacco city. Lunch was arabic and was quite thrilling cause it was different from the usual rice and sambar. Even though the journey was tiring and sleep was pending, I was charged after lunch and a face-wash session and was all set to start my pilgrimage.We first visited the St. George Orthodox church in Madaba. This was earlier a Byzantine church and was destructed. Later on, a christian familyy built the present church on top of it in 1884. The oldest mosaic map of the Holy Land is found here. This map was made for the pilgrims by Sulaimanos using 2.5 million stones over a span of 11,000 hours. Till recent times, this map has helped in a lot of discoveries of places and boundaries.
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| Inside the Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba |
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| Mosaic Map |
Our next destination was Mount Nebo-the last destination of Moses (Deut 34). This place is 750 m above sea level. There is a Franscican church there, now under renovation. Mosaics from Moses's eye valley (below Mount Nebo) are found in the church. 3 springs from Moses's time still exist in the valley.
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| Moses's eye valley at Mt. Nebo |
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| Òlive tree planted by Pope John Paul |
In 2000, Pope John Paul II visited the place and declared it 'holy'. A statue has been erected to commemerate this and also an olive tree was planted by him. On Mt. Nebo, from where Moses stood and saw the promised land, to the left is the Dead sea, right, below the mountains is Jericho and straight ahead is Jordan valley.
We visited a charity organosation run by Queen Noor where some handicapped people and others make mosaic souvenirs and a lot of other things. We got some refreshing black tea and I could not finish mine cause I got it last.
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| Erected in commeration of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 2000 |
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| View from Mount Nebo |
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| The Bronze Serpent (under construction) |
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| The view from Mt.Nebo-Jordan valley |
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| Artisans at work on mosaic |
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| A completed piece of mosaic work |
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| St.George Orthodox church-Madaba |
We checked into Belle Vue hotel in Amman. Nancy and I were room mates. Prayer and a common meeting was followed by dinner.
Nancy and I did a few crazy things in the room. The fridge was stocked and we took a few chocolates. Only later did we come to know that it was charged and we had to pay for it. We also borrowed a charger from Daphene aunty and fit it into a socket creating a mark on the switchboard and getting the lights off! It was Thomas Kurian achen who came and got us out of trouble!
Nancy and I did a few crazy things in the room. The fridge was stocked and we took a few chocolates. Only later did we come to know that it was charged and we had to pay for it. We also borrowed a charger from Daphene aunty and fit it into a socket creating a mark on the switchboard and getting the lights off! It was Thomas Kurian achen who came and got us out of trouble!
Day 1 is quite elaborately described. The remaining days may not be so, though I wish to research more and add them in when possible. Search Google and the Bible for more info.
Check the below link for more pics
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