Faith Bible Church

Cedar Rapids, IA

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Day 21

Very long day traveling from Israel to Jordan. It took us 4 hours to get across the Jordanian border. We drove through Amman to get to Jerash. Then we saw the Jabbok River and then to Petra.

Entering into Jordan – entering the border crossing facility. Crossing the border took 4 hours. We took our Israeli bus to the Israeli side of the border. Then we get off the bus and went through customs. Then we got on a Jordanian bus. Then we went through another checkpoint. Then we were joined by an official Jordanian guide. The Jordanian guide took all of our passports and got them cleared and got our visa. Evidently there was some holiday and people were waiting for 3 days for the border to open. Frustrating.
Finally made it into Jordan. See less
Dolmen, a tomb 
Amman Jordan
Evidently these two towers in Amman can be seen from Jerusalem
Artemis restaurant in Jerash
So good! Served right out of the oven
Not a lack of salads
Egg plant dish and chicken
Middle eastern sweet dumplings served with watermelon
White camel taking a little rest in the sun at Jerash
Arch of Hadrian at Jerash – built for Roman Emperor Hadrian in 129 AD. Built by the locals as a gift to Hadrian. He did not kick out the locals and Hadrian treated them nice. Jerash is one of the Decapolis Cities, one of ten Hellenistic cities on the eastern side of the Roman Empire. This is one of the best preserved sites of Roman architecture outside of Italy.
Tomb at Jerash carved in limestone
Hippodrome at Jerash – place of the chariot races
Ancient Jerash had around 30,000 residents in the 2nd century AD.
Peppercorns
Pepper tree
Coliseum at Jerash – ceramic pipes under the floor and seating transmits sound – phenomenal sound – built in 91 AD
Jabbok river and canyon. Looking west to the Rift Valley. Joshua 12:2 records that the Jabok divides two peoples. Also, the Jabbok divides the tribes of Gad and Rueben. Jacob wrestled with God along the Jabbok in Genesis 32.
On the way to Petra
Muslims are gathering sheep to sacrifice fo Eid al-Adha this July 09-10. Muslims do this to celebrate what they believed to be Abraham’s willingness to offer Ishmael to Allah. The Bible teaches that Abraham was willing to offer Isaac, not Ishmael, to God.
Phosphate mining in Jordan heading south toward Petra.