DAY 12 – THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14: CROSSING INTO JORDAN – MT. NEBO, MACHAERUS, PETRA (or ARRIVAL BACK HOME)
On another sunny and warm day (70s), 58 in the group would cross into Jordan. Others in the group arrived back home after their night flight home.
Allenby Bridge Crossing
We checked out of our hotels today in Jerusalem. We drove to the Allenby Bridge border where we crossed into Jordan. The procedure went fairly smoothly. On the Jordanian side we were greeted by our guides (Sammy & Awad). They took care of our passports & visas for us while we waited at the crossing. Once this was finalized, we began our tour of this Hashemite Kingdom.
Mt. Nebo
From the Jordanian border we drove and ascended to the top of Mt. Nebo. This was where Moses died, but not before handing the leadership baton to Joshua. While Moses did not cross into the land here, perhaps he did in Jesus’ day (Mt. 17). We read from Dt. 31-34 and Joshua 1 (we also referenced Numbers 21 and John 3 about the Bronze Snake as well as Hebrews 11). While the view looking westward wasn’t perfect from here, we still could see the area of Jericho and the Dead Sea. The eventual crossing by Joshua (Josh. 3-4) and the Israelites took place a little north. Jericho would be the first Canaanite city taken!
“We crossed into another land of the Bible today – Jordan! It’s almost all a desert! This surprised me. The ancient lands of Edom, Moab, and Amman were located here. We stood on top of Mt. Nebo too where Moses’ viewed the land of Israel. Pretty awesome!” -Tour Member-
Machaerus
Following a brief stop at a mosaic factory, we drove southeast to Machaerus. This was where Herod Antipas cut off the head of John the Baptist (Mt. 14). Many in the group hiked to the top of this palace-fortress, one of several built my Herod the Great. The site was first established by Janneaus in 90 BC. The Romans would take over the city in 72 AD. On top we saw the palace area, a few ritual baths (miqveh), and a few pillars. Because of the haze in the sky, we unfortunately could not see the Dead Sea and the area of Engedi on the others side.
Drive to Petra
The drive to Petra took a total of about 3:30 hours. Traveling on the Desert Highway as well as the King’s Highway (Numbers 21), we stopped once for restrooms and snacks for tomorrow. About 7:45 p.m. we arrived at our hotel in Wadi Musa (Petra). After a great dinner, we retired early for the evening. We are all looking forward to seeing the ancient site of Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world! Some plan to rise early for a 6:30 a.m. departure tomorrow while others will start the day at 8 a.m. Should be a fantastic day!
DAY 13 – FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15: PETRA, WADI RUM