Memorial to Moses, Mt Nebo
Part of Ma’daba Mosaic Map, Ma'daba
After breakfast we left the Bedouin campsite at 7.30am and drove back to Wadi Rum Visitors’ Centre half an hour away where our bus was waiting as pre-arranged.
We then commenced a four hour bus ride north on the King’s Highway headed for Amman but with the intention of a couple of stops along the way.
The first stop was at the mosaic city of Ma’daba which is set amid fertile rolling plains of red soil much of which is now showing evidence of a recently planted wheat crop. The expanse of green around us was a very pleasant change and the township of Ma’daba looked to be quite prosperous.
Ma’daba traces its origins to biblical times but it is as the centre of Byzantine mosaic production that it’s become prominent.
At the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George we encountered the 6th century Ma’daba Mosaic Map portraying the physical boundaries of the Eastern Byzantine world from the eastern Mediterranean to the Nile Delta and Red Sea. The map is made from tiny natural coloured stones (tesserae) and shows in vivid form, rivers, valleys, The Dead Sea and has Jerusalem with its Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the centre piece. It is the oldest surviving map of Palestine. What is on display in the St. George Church is a small remaining fraction of the original which is thought to be up to 25m long and to contain two million tesserae.
After a prolonged stop at a shop selling mosaic tiles and other souvenirs we eventually moved on a short distance to Jabal nibu (Mount Nebo) which according to the Old Testament is where Moses went up from the plains of Moab and was offered the ‘promised land’ by the Lord. Moses then died supposedly at the age of 120. His grave is said to be on this mountain and it has subsequently become a place of pilgrimage since the early days of Christianity.
The view out across the ‘Promised Land’ to the west covers the Jordan Valley and the ancient city of Jericho. The hazy conditions prevented us seeing Jerusalem and Bethlehem as we’d hoped. The Marriott Hotel where we’d stayed six days earlier was also below us on the shores of the Dead Sea but not visible through the dusty gloom.
On display there are a number of mosaics decorations that were discovered by a team from the Franciscan Biblical Institute of Jerusalem in 1933. The 6th century basilica nearby is presently being refurbished but was originally the first century little Church of Moses discovered by the Roman Pilgrim Egeria in 394 AD. A bronze snake on a cross outside the church symbolises the serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert and Jesus on the Cross.
NOTE: We’ve heard a great deal of biblical information today that may be better described as ‘mythology’ and certainly not fact. It was pointed out that even the existence of a single man called Moses is doubtful despite what is proposed in the Old Testament (Deut. 34:1, 4-5).
The remaining part of the day saw us find our way into Amman and being Friday the beginning of the Islamic weekend, there were lots of families having picnics and barbecues on the side of the main highway in amongst all the litter. Our guide said that they are the ones who create this unsightly mess. We eventually arrived at our hotel where hot showers and cold beer were welcome changes to our routine from the last few days. Our evening meal in the hotel was a bit of a disaster with the whole event being like an episode of Fawlty Towers.