Monday, May 23, 2011

Madaba and Mt. Nebo

We left Petra today and drove to Madaba which is known for mosiacs.  About 150 years ago a church was built around a particular mosaic known as the Madaba map to help preserve that mosaic.  The Madaba map has been useful in determining the location of various biblical events since it covers the entire Holy Land.  Unfortunately, approximately 2/3 of the mosaic has been lost.




There was also a mosaic depicting Jerusalem.



From Madaba, we went to Mt. Nebo.  Mt. Nebo is where God took Moses to give him a vision of the Promised Land and where He burried Moses.  The exact location  is not known.  However, the memorial commemorates the likely spot of this event.

On the left hand side of this picture you can see the north end of the Dead Sea.  The haze in the background is from the evaporation of the Dead Sea which has been droping in water level about one meter per year.  Behind the haze are the Mountains of Judah.



From Mt. Nebo, we went to Amman.  There was sometime to kill between check-in and dinner so my dad and I went for a little walk to explore the city.  We were walking along a busy road.  There were no traffic signals, no clearly marked cross walks, and definitely no protected cross walks.  Crossing the street was like human Frogger.  The walk was worth the entertainment value alone.

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