2009 Tour leaders

  • Pastor Meghan Aelabouni
    Pastors and lay leaders of the Holy Land Journey. (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Travel and Arrival

  • Tiberius from the hotel
    The wearying trip to the Holy Land (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

North to Lebanon and back to Caesaria Philippi

  • Caesaria Philippi column
    On the first day of touring, the group heads north (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

The Mount of Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee, tour end

  • Sunset in Galilee
    Returning south toward Tiberias, more sites are visited, (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Nazareth

  • Ailabounis in Tiberius
    Pastor Said's family home and church, tour of Nazareth.(Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Mt. Tabor and Sepphoris

  • Visit in Eilaboun with Archbishop and priest
    Site of the Transfiguration and an archeological dig. (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Jerusalem - day 1

  • Holy Land Day 5-29
    The first day of seeing Bethlehem and Jerusalem. (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

On the Mount of Olives

  • Holy Land Day 6-40
    Augusta Victoria Hospital and olive picking on the hospital grounds (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Sunday in Bethlehem and the Old City

  • Roman street level in Old City 2
    A trip to Bethlehem for Sunday service at Christmas Lutheran Church -- return to the Old City to visit more sites (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

The West Bank - Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jala

  • Abraham House 7
    Educational facilities and missions around Bethlehem and olive tree planting. (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Down to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Bethany

  • Old vs new transportation
    The last day in Jerusalem - the Dead Sea, Jericho and Bethany on the way back to Jerusalem (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

Petra, Mount Nebo and Madaba

  • Mosaic map of Jerusalem from Madaba church
    Petra, the view from Mount Nebo and the mosaic tile map at Madaba (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

The Jordan River and Jerash

  • Jerash 7
    The last day of the trip at the Jordan River and Jerash (Click on an individual photo to see it larger.) Click here to go back to the Journal.

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« Entering into Jordan | Main | Journey's end »

11/19/2009

An awe-inspiring day in Jordan

     Today's tour was absolutely awesome. 

     We started with an early visit to Petra, the national treasure of Jordan. It is included as one of the New7Wonders of the World. (Only one of the original seven wonders of the world - the Great Pyramid of Giza -  has not been destroyed.) This impressive city was carved in the red rocks of the beautiful hills of the region. Click here to see photos of Petra or Google Petra, Jordan to explore its wonders.

     We then drove to Mount Nebo which was the last spot from which Moses saw the "promised land". Because of his disobedience to God earlier in the wilderness wanderings, the Bible tells us that Moses would only get to see the land from a distance but not enter it. We saw Jericho and the mountains of Jerusalem from afar as Moses did, and remembered that he was buried on that mountain, although no one knows the exact spot.

     We then went to Madaba and there we visited the Greek Orthodox Church where we viewed the finest Byzantine mosaics in the world, especially the 6th century mosaic map of Palestine. 

     We ended the day by checking into our hotel in Amman where we had a pleasant dinner and an opportunity to rest a bit before we would embark on our last day of this life-changing journey.

     Since our time will be short tomorrow before we have to get to the airport, we will not be reporting, very likely, until we get back to Chicago.

     Tomorrow, we are scheduled to visit the traditional baptismal site at Bethany beyond the Jordan where we will remember our baptism by making a sign of the cross on the forehead using water from the Jordan.

     We will then visit Jerash, an amazing Graeco-Roman city north of Amman which has a vast Roman Forum, an impressive theater, a mile-long street of Columns, and other archaelogical treasures.

     Our next stop will be a visit to the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Amman to learn about the special ministries of this congregation which belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. 

     At day's end. we will return to the hotel to pack, and get ready for our trip home. We will have to report to the airport by about midnight local time.


Blessings to you all,

Pastor Said

Posted at 03:32 PM in November 19, 2009 |

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