Saturday, October 23, 2010

Jordan : On Mount Nebo, Where I Glimpsed The Holy Land



My Bible knowledge is far from fantastic, so I had to go read a bit and be reminded of the importance of Mount Nebo.

According to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Mount Nebo is where the Hebrew prophet Moses was given a view of the Promised Land that God was giving to the Israelites. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1). Source : Wikipedia.


The late Pope John Paul II and current Pope Benedict XVI both have visited Mount Nebo in 2000 and 2009 respectively.

Please enjoy the pictures I have taken at this beautiful place :

A short walk up a gentle slope. Entrance fee JD1. Elevation approx 2,680 a.s.l.

Read.

Understand.

This commemorative monument to mark the visit of Pope John Paul II in March 2000 welcomes all visitors.

Taken from one side.

And from another side.

And yet another side.

A close-up.

I think those are events/organisations commemorated on the tiles.

I only noticed these later - names on the lower part of the memorial.

A temporary (I am guessing) tent which houses ...

... this huge piece of mosaic floor dating from 4-6 A.D. which is in very good condition.

Restoration and upgrading works on the remains of a church and a monastery on the highest point of the mountain. So it was off limits to visitors. I think the Memorial of Moses is here? Archaeological excavation is still ongoing.

Mount Nebo and Memorial of Moses is under the custody of the Custodia di Terra Santa (Custodians of the Holy Land), as with other Holy Sites in the region.

But I am guessing this is the main highlight :

The spot where Moses looked out to the Promised Land.

You can also see part of the Dead Sea faintly in the middle of the picture.

A picture of Pope John Paul II's visit in March 2000.

Bethlehem - 50 km away.

Jerusalem and Mount of Olives - only 46 km away.

It's crowded with busloads of tourists and pilgrims.

We looked out to the vast landscape too. It was a sunny hot morning but still bearable.

This round stone was once a door in ancient times.

Noticed the tree had some kind white ribbons tied on its branches.

Taken from the book 'The Life of Peter The Iberian' by John Rufus.

View of the landscape on the right side of the mountain.

I tried taking a few shots of myself with the Serpent Cross scuplture in the background but kept on missing something (like my head or the cross). Finally asked a girl from another group to help. The sculpture was created by Italian artist, Giovanni Fantoni, and is "symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified".

Patience patience - there were so many people wanting to take photos at this particular stone signage. You had to wait for your turn. Thankfully everyone was polite and patiently waited. So while waiting I took pictures of other people.

My turn came :) thank you.

Mount Nebo is a beautiful peaceful place. I am thankful I have stepped foot here.

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