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Week 19
Damascus, Syria
As we make our way south through the Syria, we pass through many areas with Biblical significance. It is believed that the first murder took place in Syria. Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother, Abel, on Mount Qasioun, near Damascus.
The city of Damascus is forever attached to Christian beliefs because the New Testament preaches that the conversion of Paul the Apostle happened on his way to Damascus. Paul the Apostle was on his way to Damascus when he had a vision that changed his life: according to Galatians 1:16, God revealed his Son to him. More specifically, Paul states that he saw the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1), though Acts claims that near Damascus he saw a blinding bright light. This revelation convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah.
The Umayyad Great Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is one of the largest mosques in the world, and one of the oldest sites of continuous prayer since the rise of Islam. Abd al-Malik's successor, al-Walid initiated construction of the Grand Mosque of Damascus (known as the Umayyad Mosque) in 706. The site originally had been the Christian Cathedral of St. John and the Muslims maintained the building's dedication to John the Baptist
A long day of trekking has made us hungry, so we visit the Damascus Gare Restaurant, the world’s largest restaurant. Including both indoor and outdoor seating, the Damascus Gate Restaurant has 6,014 seats and covers 215,277 square feet!
Jordan
As we exit Syria and enter Jordan, we come to the Shouting Valley which is the meeting point of four countries: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. It is an “echo point,” and people often use it to communicate with their relatives on the other side.
After we finish shouting echo messages to our friends in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, we make our way into Jordan. True to rumors, we find Jordan to be an extremely friendly country as we are continually greeted wity Ahlan wa sahlan! or “Welcome!”. In addition to friendly people, Jordan is home to many biblical sites such as the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Mount Nebo where Moses died.
Our first stop in Jordan is Amman, the capital, which was built across seven hills (again with the seven hills!), known as “jabals”. Over time, it's grown to now cover 19 of these jabals.
Right in the middle of Amman, we find the Temple of Hercules, thought to be the most significant Roman structure in the Amman Citadel.
In addition to the temple, constructed in AD 162-166, the site also contains fragments of a colossal partly stone statue, identified as Hercules, and estimated to have been over 39 feet tall. Likely destroyed in an earthquake, all that remains are three fingers and an elbow. You can the size of the fingers in the above photo which give a sense of the size of the statue.
After the hustle and bustle of the cities of Aleppo, Damascus and Amman, we need to decompress and head to the Dead Sea. Known for many things, the Dead Sea, at 20 times saltier than seawater, is practically a natural spa and many people use it for just that.
In addition to being able to float on the water effortlessly, we follow the lead of others and grab a handful of the mud that lines its banks, smear it on our bodies before wading into the intense blue water, and upon washing off the dry oil brine we found our skin was amazingly soft. Adding to our overall relaxation, is bromine, a natural sedative, which evaporates from the Dead Sea.
After some chill spa time at the Dead Sea, we head to the ancient capital of the Nabataean kingdom, Petra was once a crossroads for camel caravans traversing the Silk Road trading spices and perfumes. Dating to around 300 B.C., Petra is accessed via a narrow canyon called Al Siq and contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the "Rose City." Perhaps its most famous structure is 45m-high Al Khazneh, a temple with an ornate, Greek-style facade, and known as The Treasury.
We are able to join the “Petra by Night” walk and follow the pitch-black canyon trail guided only by the light of candle. Cell phones and talking are banned, and the atmosphere is pure magic as the crowd reaches the iconic Treasury illuminated by even more candles flickering against the façade where a local musician played the pipe, sweet tea is served, and a Bedouin guide regaled us with stories.
After our Petra walk, we settle down for a nice meal of mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. This distinctive option for a meal is made of lamb cooked in a sauce with fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur in a large platter.
We discover in Jordan that it's considered polite to refuse a meal three times before accepting it, so as hungry as we are, we politely refuse until our host insists. We also learn that when you're having coffee as a guest in Jordan, you need to shake your cup from side to side to let the host know when you've had enough. Otherwise, they'll just keep refilling it.
As the week comes to an end, being a bit wired from the copious caffeine consumption while learning Jordanian customs and recognizing we have a couple of weeks before we need to be in Bethlehem, we decide to forego even attempting sleep and decide to head for Egypt!
We covered over 500 miles this week and continue to be on track to get to Bethlehem by Christmas. Energized by the caffeine and the excitement of almost arriving at our destination, we'll take a slight detour and make our way to Egypt this coming week. Keep up the great work!