The ride was amazing. Often one of our professors would pop on the loudspeaker and say "To our left is the creek where Jacob and his family crossed over and he wrestled with God" or "At our 8 o'clock is the mountain where Saul and Jonathon were killed" or "Directly to our right is the most well preserved crusaders castle". Monkeys!
Our first stop was a site that had been excavated by a group from Norway. Dier Alla is the place where the Ba'laam stone was found. An entire wall was covered in red and black writing on plaster detailing the life of a prophet. Apparently the prophet was sent to curse a group of people known as the children of God and instead wound up blessing them. Three times. Sound familiar? Yep.
Second stop for the day was at a site called Pella. It was here that some of the first Christians settled when forced to leave Jerusalem. They has a breeze on top of this hill, and a spring at the bottom, and a nice view of the Jordan valley. There is also a ruin of an old mosque up on the top of the hill. One of the first known mosques in the area.
Third stop...lunch. And our first real view of the Sea of Galilee. The SEA OF GALILEE!!!! It was amaaaaaazing to know that here, on Sabbath, we were hanging out by the Golan Heights (yep, we drove right by a corner of Syria) and we were walking where Jesus walked. Jesus walked on this Sea. And here I am holding it in my hand. Wahoo!
Next up we went to Ghadera. The story of the demon possessed man in scripture, the one where Jesus sent the demons into the pigs? Yeah, that happened here. A relatively amazing thing to know that this city was around and thriving back in the day, and now we get to walk in its ruins. Here are Sean and Scottie acting like wanna be archaeologists in the middle of Ghadera.
And here is one of the amphitheaters on the site. It was amazingly well maintained, and had great acoustics. Note the modern road in the background. Historical sites aren't sacred I guess. Unless they are located in Israel and called "The Dome of the Rock". Irony, I believe we call it.
Our final stop for the day is one of the most well preserved sites in the Middle East. Jerash is amazing. The site covers about 200 acres of land and has some of the best of everything. Temples, mosaics, streets, arches. And the Jordanian government is taking great pride in restoring parts of it for posterity. Here is my favorite shot from the temple of Artemis (aka Diana).
And here is a fortuitous shot of some locals walking through one of the main gates in Jerash.
Our first stop was a site that had been excavated by a group from Norway. Dier Alla is the place where the Ba'laam stone was found. An entire wall was covered in red and black writing on plaster detailing the life of a prophet. Apparently the prophet was sent to curse a group of people known as the children of God and instead wound up blessing them. Three times. Sound familiar? Yep.
Second stop for the day was at a site called Pella. It was here that some of the first Christians settled when forced to leave Jerusalem. They has a breeze on top of this hill, and a spring at the bottom, and a nice view of the Jordan valley. There is also a ruin of an old mosque up on the top of the hill. One of the first known mosques in the area.
Third stop...lunch. And our first real view of the Sea of Galilee. The SEA OF GALILEE!!!! It was amaaaaaazing to know that here, on Sabbath, we were hanging out by the Golan Heights (yep, we drove right by a corner of Syria) and we were walking where Jesus walked. Jesus walked on this Sea. And here I am holding it in my hand. Wahoo!
Next up we went to Ghadera. The story of the demon possessed man in scripture, the one where Jesus sent the demons into the pigs? Yeah, that happened here. A relatively amazing thing to know that this city was around and thriving back in the day, and now we get to walk in its ruins. Here are Sean and Scottie acting like wanna be archaeologists in the middle of Ghadera.
And here is one of the amphitheaters on the site. It was amazingly well maintained, and had great acoustics. Note the modern road in the background. Historical sites aren't sacred I guess. Unless they are located in Israel and called "The Dome of the Rock". Irony, I believe we call it.
Our final stop for the day is one of the most well preserved sites in the Middle East. Jerash is amazing. The site covers about 200 acres of land and has some of the best of everything. Temples, mosaics, streets, arches. And the Jordanian government is taking great pride in restoring parts of it for posterity. Here is my favorite shot from the temple of Artemis (aka Diana).
And here is a fortuitous shot of some locals walking through one of the main gates in Jerash.
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