WARNING: these posts have not yet been proof-read. It’s difficult to find decently priced internet connections here. The actual posting time of these entries is April 22, in Jerusalem – in the Olive Tree hotel… with free WiFi!

2005.04.17

*Pilgrimage Day 8*

Day 8

I’m elated. The whole spiritual thing of this pilgrimage is beginning to get to me. But before we get to that, lets get the other things out of the way first.

Jerash

We visited the city of Jerash, which is considered as one of the most complete and beautiful ancient Roman city in the region. Everything excavated and seen in Jerash has been untouched as far as restoration is concerned – so pretty much everything you will see is unaltered, weathered due to the natural course of time. It truly is a splendid site.

• Hippodrome – horse races
• Oval plaza – connection between north and south, also a trading place
• Roman theater – 5 thousand seats
• Church of St. Damian and Cosmo (mosaic floor)
• Temple of Artemis (goddess of love) – has columns that move (rock with the wind) without toppling over.
• Cardo Maximus – heart of the city
• The Cathedral – the first church used
• Tetrapylon – where the Decamannos cross the Cardo Maximus (roads/arteries)

There are more sites such as the virgin bathing fountain, etc. etc. but there is really too many things to see to list down.

Church of St. George

The Church of St. George is built around an extremely important mosaic floor. Mosaic art obviously is the specialty of Jordan (or at least the city we visited today). The significance of such a floor is that it was basically a Christian map of the “old world.” The city has been destroyed about 7 times since, and only 1/3 of that map is now left… the other parts are considered damaged/lost beyond recovery.

El Cardo

Lunch was awesome, we had eaten in this restaurant by the Church called El Cardo. Everything was good, and it was a buffet! Being a carnivore primarily, it is worth mentioning that I prefered the fish over all the other excellent meat items (chicken, lamb, etc.) It was really good!

Mt. Nebo

This was definitely the highlight of the day, and the reason I’m elated till now. Mt. Nebo is where Moses looked down on the promised land, where his authority ended (passed to Joshua, as Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the promised land), and where he probably died. Undoubtedly one of the most holy places of Christianity.

It’s also the first place the late Pope John Paul II visits as soon as he steps in Jordanian soil. The wide-angle shot from Mt. Nebo I (will) have in the gallery is taken from the very platform the Pope used to view what is believed to be more or less what Moses saw. The area by the church is supposedly a very close approximation of the vantage point Moses had in the Old Testament. Now, is that cool or what!?

And it doesn’t stop there, we were fortunate enough to arrange a mass in the church! Father Vic mentioned that he was trying his best to stop his tears while celebrating – I cannot begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for a holy man to have the privilege of celebrating mass in such a holy place.

I was never an active Catholic – I guess I’m a Catholic by default, and I’m not quite sure if that will change anytime soon, but I can say that in that particular afternoon, I was simply in awe of where I was. I felt doubly blessed by being chosen as one of the readers. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity: to actually hear mass in such a place – a personal mass at that; and of all the times I could’ve participated, it had to be today… atop Mt. Nebo. It was simply overwhelming.

Our group was there probably for about an hour or more, hearing mass, while other tourists simply came and left. We were soooooo damn lucky to be able to do that!

Petra

After that we were off to Petra, on a 3-hour bus ride across the desert. We ended up making playing cards out of paper from sheer boredom. I ended up only playing one round of pusoy dos, where I got dizzy from facing backwards the whole time. Apparently, so did my sister.

Upon arriving on the hotel in Petra, Pia and I begged off the dinner and just stayed in our room, which is why I have time to type this entry. Now I’m off to bed, as we have yet another early wake up call for another busy day tomorrow.