Amman – The ancient city of Petra is the most famous tourist attraction of Jordan, but is certainly not the only one. The country, bordering Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and with just a small exit into the Red Sea, presents surprises to all visitors, from those who love historic sites to pilgrims seeking holy places and those after beauty treatment.
It all begins in Amman, which surprises those expecting a traditional Arab city, like Cairo or Damascus. The capital of Jordan is modern, although the human presence in the area is quite ancient. The mountainous topography guarantees beautiful views from the highest points.
The most prominent monument in Amman is a Roman theatre placed on a hill in the centre of the city. Built in the 2nd Century a.C., the structure, with a capacity for an audience of 6,000 spectators was part of the nucleus of the ancient Philadelphia, the name granted by the Greek governors of Egypt – the Ptolemaic dynasty – when they dominated the region in the 3rd Century a.C.
Apart from the theatre that has been redone, the site also includes a smaller theatre, for 500 people, the Odeon, and a row of columns – what remained from the Roman Forum. Beside the theatre there are two small museums that show typical Jordanian objects, especially artefacts produced by Bedouins, who are strongly present in the country.
On a hill right in front of the roman theatre is a citadel, a site inhabited by different civilizations since the Bronze Age. It is possible to see some of the structures, like the ruins of a roman temple dedicated to Hercules, from several points in Amman, as the hill is the highest in the capital. The citadel is the site of the biblical city of Rabbath-Ammon, of the Ammonite people.
Baptism
The sites mentioned in the scriptures do not cover Jordan, which shares with Israel and Palestine the so-called Holy Land. Close to Amman, for example, is Bethany, as well as the River Jordan, the site where, according to the New Testament, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
It is a tourist site and one of relatively new pilgrimage, as it is very close to the border between Jordan and Israel and the Palestinian Territories. According to engineer Rustom Mkhjian, the assistant director of the committee responsible for the site, before the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, in 1994, the site was a military zone and before it was opened to visitors, the removal of land mines was necessary.
Today, according to Mkhjian, who was also the guide to Pope John Paul II when he visited the site in 2000, the idea is to maintain the site “as natural as possible” so that it may recall the environment of the ancient Christian times. Ancient ruins mark the site of baptism. The area is currently dry, but in antiquity, the River Jordan reached it.
To arrive at the river itself it is necessary to walk a little to the West. The River Jordan is currently much narrower than in the times of Jesus due to the construction of dams and irrigation projects. To give an idea, the volume of water that the river supplies to the Dead Sea, further south, is currently not enough to compensate for evaporation.
Despite being smaller, the River Jordan receives many people seeking blessing in its waters. To get the full service, however, it is necessary to take a priest or to be lucky enough to find one during your trip. At the site in Bethany there is a wooden structure that grants access to the river. On the other side, very close, is the West Bank.
What Moses saw
Another well visited site in the region is Mount Nebo, where, according to the Old Testament, Moses saw the Promised Land for the first time. The visits to the top of the hills are spectacular and, to the West, a plate shows the direction of the Red Sea, the River Jordan, Jerusalem and Jericho. Although it is all very close, you must be lucky to see it, as the arid climate of the region commonly generates a haze that covers the horizon.
At the site there are ruins of an ancient Byzantine church built in homage to Moses. Little has remained standing, but the mosaics that covered the floor are still in reasonably good state of conservation. The temple is currently closed, as it is being redone, but the part with the mosaics may be seen under a tent that has been put up.
The mosaics are a symbol of the region, which concentrated a great number of Byzantine churches. The city of Madaba is the main hub for this kind of art. One of the most famous examples is in the church of St. George, which contains a map of the Holy Land made in mosaics in 560 a.C. As the inscriptions are in Greek, it is a good idea to have a guide at hand who may identify the different points.
Dead, but not (yet) dry
Further South, but not much, is the Dead Sea, also known for its high salinity, which causes people to float in its waters.
Currently, on the Jordanian side, several hotels and resorts are being built and, to solve the problem of evaporation, which threatens the existence of this salty lake, is a study of the possibility of supplying it with water from the Red Sea, much further south.
More than a resort, the Dead Sea is a source of raw materials for the fertilizer and cosmetics industries. Famous in the country are skin and hair products made with salt and mud from the Dead Sea. It is also the lowest point on the planet, 400 metres below sea level.
Read more about the Holy Land and Jordan on ANBA today and tomorrow.
*Translated by Mark Ament
