JORDAN - MOUNT NEBO

MOUNT NEBO

Mount Nebo, just 10 minutes west of Madaba by car, was the final station in Moses’ historic flight from Egypt to the Holy Land. Moses and his people camped “in the valley near Bethpeor”, a place long associated with the site known today as Ayun Musa (Springs of Moses).

Mount Nebo’s windswept promontory overlooks the Dead Sea, the Jordan River Valley, Jericho and the distant hills of Jerusalem. From here, Moses viewed the Holy Land of Canaan that he would never enter. He died and was buried in Moab, “in the valley opposite Beth-peor”, but his tomb remains unknown.After consulting the Oracle, Jeremiah reportedly hid the Ark of the Covenant ,the Tent and the Altar of Incense at Mount Nebo.

Joshua,Moses’successor, crossed the Jordan River with his people at a point directly opposite Jericho. Today, this ford is known as Bethabara, oor Beit’Abarah( house of the crossing) .It is believed this may be the same ford known in the Bible as Beth-Barah,Beth-arabah and Bethany- Beyond the Jordan. 

This has long been identified as the place where, centuries later, the prophets Elijah and Elisha divided the Jordan’s waters “to right and to left” and crossed to the eastern bank of the river.

Mount Nebo became a place of pilgrimage for early Christians from Jerusalem and a small church was built there in the 4^th century to commemorate the end of Moses ‘life. Though the church was expanded in the 5^th and 6^th centuries , some of the original stones remain.

But Madaba’s real masterpiece, located in the Orthodox Church of Saint George, is the 6^th century AD mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land –the earliest religious map of the Holy Land in any form to survive from antiquity. Accordingly, Madaba is dubbed “The City of Mosaics”.

In keeping with Jordan’s commitment to restore and preserve its mosaic masterpieces , Madaba’s extensive , Madaba’s extensive Archaeological Park and  Museum complex encompasses the remains of several Byzantine churches , including the outstanding mosaics of the Church of the Virgin and the Hyppolytus Hall ,part of a 6^th century mansion.

The Serpentine Cross, which stands just outside the sanctuary, is symbolic of the bronze (or brazen) serpent taken by Moses into the desert, as well as the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. The curative serpent wrapped around a pole, designated to spare the Israelite followers from death, would later become the symbol of the pharmaceutical industry.

In the year 2000, the late Pope John Paul II commemorated the beginning of the new millennium with a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, starting his visit with prayers in the basilica at Mount Nebo. The viewing platform erected for Pope John Paul’s visit remains and is used by pilgrims to enjoy the same panoramic scene.

Mount Nebo was designated as a Jubilee Year 2000 pilgrimage site by the Catholic Church in the Middle East, along with Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Mukawir ,Tall ar Elias and Anjara.