Sunrise in Jericho
Hoping my memory holds up, as we’re almost 2 months away from the trip at this point. On Day 6, we left Jericho and traveled to Petra, in Jordan. It was mainly a travel day, through the desert lands that once belonged to Edom.
We visited the “Mount of Temptation,” place where tradition says Jesus was tempted. There’s a monastery at the top which is said to be at the place where Satan took Jesus to see the nations of the world.
Mount of Tempation
Our guide, Nedal, sharing information with the group on the bus
Tony Fernández with a camel. (That’s Tony on the left :-)
Carolina and a new friend
Bedouin shepherd boys. Ray Vanderlaan thinks that the shepherds that visited baby Jesus were probably young children like these.
Before leaving Jericho, we visited the archaeological site there. Probably not the site of the Jericho where “Joshua fit the battle,” but an interesting site.
One of the ancient cities of Jericho
Many of us ignorant Texans didn’t realize that the palm trees in Israel provide dates for eating
We stopped at Mount Nebo on the way, looking out on the land as Moses once did. He must have been blessed with an extremely clear day (and divinely aided sight), for the Bible says that he saw far more than we did. Still, it’s quite a view.
Panoramic view from Nebo
Panoramic view from Nebo
At the border, we had to leave two of our group behind. Tony Fernández, from Cuba, and Isaac Unda Torres, from Venezuela, didn’t have visas that assured them of re-entry into Israel if they exited the country. To be on the safe side, they went to Jerusalem and toured on their own while we went to Jordan.
We visited a mosaic factory. Very interesting place, though well out of our price range. The employees are Christians. The ones doing the actual art work are disabled women who would find it hard to find a job anywhere else.
Creating mosaics
Mosaic factory
This mosaic dining room set had a price of over $50,000
For lunch we stopped at a wonderful restaurant in Jordan. One time when the group was there, the prime minister’s wife was dining. We didn’t see anyone famous, but enjoyed the lunch.
Lunch in Jordan
From there, it was on to Petra. We saw many Bedouins on the way. Desolate landscape, but still very interesting.
We saw many pillars of stone on the way, set up as monuments to some event. Reminded us of how people put crosses by the side of the road here in the States.
Sundown at Petra