Day 7 – Tuesday, September 9: Mt. Nebo, Petra
Today was a fabulous day in every way! We saw the best of Jordan today, starting with a great view from Mt. Nebo and then visiting Petra. The skies were sunny, with a nice breeze and highs around 80. We left the hotel at 7 a.m., reading Deuteronomy 31 on the way.
Mt. Nebo
After a good night’s stay here in Madaba (with a great “home-made-tasting” dinner last night), we drove west about 15 minutes to the Pisgah Range. High above the Plains of Moab, there is an individual peak called Mt. Nebo. While the “traditional” Mt. Nebo (with a Byzantine Church and now the newly-renovated Greek Orthodox Church) wasn’t open yet, we choose an adjacent hill with even a better view. We walked about five minutes where we could look across and see the “Promised Land.” The visibility was fairly good, allowing us to see the west side of the Jordan River and the area of Jericho, as well as the northern tip of the Dead Sea. We read from Deuteronomy 34 and Joshua 1 about the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. As we considered the Israelites crossing into unknown territory, we know that God is in control of our unknown journeys of life, and He never leaves us too! It was a great way to begin the day!
Petra
From here we drove back around Madaba and turned south to Petra, using both the Desert and King’s Highways. We stopped once on the way for restrooms. Around 11:15 we arrived at our hotel in Wadi Musa. Dropping off our luggage here, we then walked together to the entrance of Petra and spend the entire rest of the day within this remarkable red-rose ancient city. We are in the heart of the Seir Mountains and the land of the Edomites, as mentioned in the Bible. The highest peak of these mountains is Aaron’ Peak, the traditional burial place of Moses’ brother Aaron (Mt. Hor also could be in Israel near the Zin Desert, see Numbers 20). This ancient Nabatean city was built within the Seir Mountains, the land of the Edomites (Deuteronomy 2, 33; Ezekiel 35). We all thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular scenery and tombs/ruins of this red-rose ancient city.
Once we entered the site, we all walked through the Siq (canyon) which brought us to the first monument, “The Treasury” (“Al-Khazneh”). This well-preserved monumental tomb appeared in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” It was the tomb of the Nabatean King named Aretas III (Paul mentions his son, Aretas IV in 2 Cor. 11:32). His daughter (or granddaughter – depending on dating) was the former wife of Herod Antipas, see Matthew 14).
“Today was an amazing day! We started on Mt. Nebo early in the morning. This was Moses’ view of the ‘Promised Land.’ Then we drove south about 3.5 hours to Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. What an incredible site! The beauty of God’s creation was stunning!”
From the Treasury we now began our walk into the city. Besides passing by many of the Nabatean tombs, we walked by a 3,000-seat theater carved into the sandstone, one of the largest theaters in Jordan. From here, a number in the group walked to the Monastery Tomb at the far west side of Petra (about 900 steps with an ascent of about 600 total feet), while others explored on their own (e.g. the Royal Tombs). The Aravah and Negev of Israel could be seen in the haze to the west from the area of the Monastery.
We all walked back down the trail to where some explored more of Petra on their own, while others took the shuttle bus back to the hotel. Ten in the group continued the adventure with a hike up the back side of the High Place. This trail was scenic yet more challenging with its steep climb towards the top. We all made it to the High Place, with the view from here being remarkable.
We all returned back to the hotel at our own pace. An amazing dinner was served at 7 p.m. up on the rooftop of the hotel. We all who to rest well tonight after a long but incredible day of walking and hiking!
Day 8 – Wednesday, September 10: Return into Israel, Red Sea (Coral Beach), Timnah, Dead Sea
