October 27th, 2019 – Before I talk about Biblical Jordan, I have to share some photos from the coolest museum in Amman: the Royal Automobile Museum, which houses the collection of the Royal Family’s classic cars. Most of the cars belonged to the late King Hussein, who was an avid collector of vintage cars.
On Friday, CIEE gave us the opportunity to take a tour through Biblical Jordan. The day began with a stop in Madaba to see the mosaic map in St. George’s Orthodox Church (I visited this map earlier in the semester. Check my post on Madaba to see pictures of it!). After Madaba, CIEE took us to Mt. Nebo, which is only about 20 minutes from Madaba. Mt. Nebo is the site where Moses looked out over the promise land, and, according to some interpretations, was buried (Deuteronomy 34). Somewhere near Mt. Nebo, supposedly, is where Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant (2 Maccabees 2). However, this story conflicts with other stories about the Ark’s location in the Old Testament (compare with 1 Esdras 54*; Note that Esdras is considered non-canonical by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants).
Side note: we were informed by our guide that Mt. Nebo was completely closed 20 minutes before we arrived because former President George W. Bush was there!
“This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’” (Deuteronomy 34:4).
After Mt. Nebo, we traveled 45 minutes towards the Dead Sea to the Baptism Site. The Baptism Site lies on the border between Jordan and Israel-Palestine, as the Jordan River serves as the natural border. The baptism site was thought to be lost after the churches built on the site were destroyed centuries of earthquakes and destructive conflicts. The only clue archaeologists had about its location came from local legends of what the site looked like and John 1:28, “This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” It wasn’t until the Mosaic Map was uncovered in Madaba that a structure near the Dead Sea that fit the descriptions of local histories was confirmed to be the Biblical Bethany.
After leaving Bethany, we headed to the Dead Sea for the remainder of our evening (You can also read about the Dead Sea in my earlier Madaba post). Before we left, I was able to take a photo of the most beautiful sunset over the Dead Sea.
In other news, it is starting to get cold in Amman. For the past week I have been wearing long-sleeves and sweatshirts to class and sleeping under blankets at night. The average daily high is about 71 degrees (which is still cold because of the lack of humidity and constant breeze) and average lows about 57 degrees. I also think I’m starting to come down with a cold (I guess it was good that i was forced to bring cold medicine by my mother), but that won’t stop me from pursuing more adventures! Thanks again for reading!
-Matt
Reports and Reflections from Life Abroad 
Well, I’m now on WordPress. I’m glad you posted these pictures, especially those antique cars of King Abdallah I and Hussein. I just got a call from Phelim, whom I haven’t seen since Omar I’s visit to Penn State. He went to Chicago this last May to be with a girl friend, but she has since moved on to San Francisco. Nevertheless, Phelim is happy in Chicago and has a job with a company that does a lot of international business, some of which has involved his using Arabic. He doesn’t want to go to law school, at least not right away. Future is rather vague. He asked about you.
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