Trip to the Holy Land (Part 4 - Petra & Mt. Nebo)

Crossing borders is a nightmare.  We left Mt. Sinai and drove along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (aka Gulf of Eilat if you are in Israel) which happens to be a gulf off the Red Sea.  At one point close to Eilat, it is possible to see four countries (Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia).  In order to get into Jordan from Egypt, we had to cross into Israel which took 2 hours, spend the night in Eilat, then spend another 3 hours leaving Israel to get into Jordan.  I hate standing in lines.

After several hours traveling though pretty rough country in a bouncy, bouncy bus we arrived at Wadi Musa (which is translated as the Valley of Moses).  From the city, the view is spectacular.  

The Bible tells us that Moses did not take the direct route into Israel from Mount Sinai, similar to us.  Moses was almost to Israel and did not receive permission to travel through the land of Edom (border crossing issues in that day I presume) so he back-tracked through present day Eiliat and up through Wadi Musa headed for Mt. Nebo.

If you look in the bottom right side of the panoramic photo, you will see a winding trail which is the entrance to Petra that leads into the narrow canyon of rose colored rock.  Petra was at the center of a trading route and was influenced by many cultures.  The "city" is carved out of rock and the buildings take on a look of Greek and Roman buildings.  These structures where not homes, but rather tombs.

One could spend several days exploring deep into the canyon and wander in many different directions.  Unfortunately we had only a few hours and every step we took toward the center of the canyon was down a gradual slope.  Unfortunately that also meant we had to retrace our steps back up hill to return.  It was possible to rent a horse taxi for the journey, but we chose to walk.  One of the hazards was that the horse drawn carriages yielded to NO ONE... so you had to jump out of the way.  Whenever you heard the clopping sound echoing through the canyon over the Roman roads, it was time to hug the walls.  While along the wall, it was time to admire the handiwork of carved water channels that directed fresh water to the center of the city.   Each side of the canyon wall had a 12" wide trough carved into it which was covered with stone slabs to keep the water fresh.

One of the most famous tombs is called the Treasury.  Many people know it from Raiders of the Lost Ark since the building was used in some of the scenes.  

The photo on the left was the first glimpse of something spectacular we were about to see as the narrow canyon was opening in front of us.

And a few moments later the sight on the right was visible until the rock opened to reveal the entire "building" in the photo below.  

This section was the main attraction and a gathering point prior to exploring more of the canyon.   All the tombs were hand carved and not sure how long one of these would have taken to finish.  Here the Greek influence can be seen from the style, but our guide pointed out that other buildings are copied from all around the Mediterranean.  When these were carved, someone had to develop plans from various buildings they had seen, sketch them and instruct the workers to carve the intricate ornamental features.

After exploring, we drove another few hours along western Jordan through the desert headed toward Mt. Nebo.  At this point I can see why the Israelites were disappointed and impatient.  They had almost reached the Promised Land, yet they were still walking through this miserable desert and rough country... we had it easy in a bouncy, bouncy bus yet I could see their point.

We know at about this time the Israelites started complaining against God and Moses that he had brought them all the way from Egypt only to die is this desert.  (We weren't quite to that point, but indeed it had been a long day for us too).  Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among the people and many died and soon they realized they had sinned against God so Moses prayed for the people.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.'"  Numbers 21:8

To the left is a sculpture of the bronze snake at the top of Mt. Nebo. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake (sin) and looked at the bronze snake (Christ), he lived.  God is the master at foreshadowing.


The picture below is the top of Mt. Nebo where God showed Moses the whole Promised Land before him.  On a clear day, it would be possible to see all of Judah from here, but on this day it was hazy and we could barely make out the Jordan River.  The mountain is also where Moses died since God would only allow him to see Israel and not enter it.  However, we would be in Israel by night fall... that is after passing through one more border crossing which took another 2-3 hours.  Should've brought one of those venomous snakes to get people motivated to stamp a passport.