3 June 2015: Along the Dead Sea Shore

3 June 2015: Along the Dead Sea Shore

Mt Nebo

"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, that is Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan."

(Deuteronomy 34:1)

According to the biblical account quoted above, it was at Mount Nebo that Moses was shown the Promised Land. The view from the top is breathtaking.

View from Mt Nebo.

When the fourth-century pilgrim Egeria visited Mt Nebo, she was shown the tomb of Moses inside the church. During my visit the Moses Memorial Church was closed for restoration.

Moses Memorial Church. The fourth-century building is contained within a new enclosure.

Church of SS Lot and Prokopios, Mukhayyat

Not far from Mt Nebo is the church of SS Lot and Prokopios, named after early Christian martyrs. The church was built under Bishop John in the mid-6th century. It is located at Mukhayyat, reputedly the location of the Old Testament town of Nebo.

Church of SS Lot and Prokopios (looking northeast). A dedicatory inscription dates the well-preserved floor mosaic to 557.

Detail of the floor mosaic showing a fisherman hooking a fish.

The floor mosaic at the west end of the church shows pairs of animals (hares, stags, and bullocks) between four fruit trees. The inscription quotes Psalm 51: 19: "Then shall they offer bullocks upon thy altar." In the early liturgy this psalm was often sung as the offering was taken up to the altar, and the bullocks in the mosaic are facing an altar.

Baaras & Mukawir (Machaerus)

Baaras

The road to Machaerus, winding its way through the desolate mountains, took us by the hot springs at Zarqa Ma'in.

The contrast between the rocky mountains and the green valleys is striking.

The location of the hot springs at Zarqa Ma'in (ancient Baaras).

Baaras is only 8 km east of the hot springs at Kallirhoe, where Herod the Great built a baths complex. He went there in search of a cure for his fatal disease: "a slight fever, an unbearable itching all over his body, constant pains in the lower bowel, swellings on the feet as in dropsy, inflammation of the abdomen and mortification of the genitals...difficulty in breathing...and spasms" (Josephus).

Mukawir

Herod the Great, Roman-appointed king of Judaea from 37 to 4 BCE, built a fortress at Machaerus. According to Josephus it was here that Salome danced for Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, and asked for the head of John the Baptist.

The setting of the archaeological site, located at the top of the conical hill, is stunning.

The archaeological remains of the fortress of Machaerus.

The ruined state of the archaeological site can be explained partly by its violent history. The Jews overtook the Roman garrison stationed here during the revolt of 66 CE. Six years later the Romans retaliated, and the fortress was destroyed.

View from the fortress of Machaerus, with the Dead Sea in the background.

After descending from the mountains, we took a closer look at the shrinking Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

The Baptism Site of Wadi Kharrar

"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

(John 1: 26-28)

A little way of the east of the Jordan river is the archaeological area. A stairway leads down from the Church of John the Baptist to the baptistery.

The archaeological area with a stairway leading from the church to the baptistery.

The Baptism of Agnes on the east bank.

The narrow and murky Jordan river is the border between Jordan on the east bank and Palestine and Israel on the west bank.

Sanctuary of St Lot (Deir 'Ain 'Abata)

Unfortunately, the elevated site of the Sanctuary of St Lot, which includes Lot's Cave, the associated church, and the monastic complex were closed. A visit to the nearby Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth was well worth the trip though.

The mosaic pavement from the diakonikon of the Church of St Lot shows a vine growing from an urn with an inscription dated to 572/3. Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth.

2 June 2015: Jericho & Jerusalem

2 June 2015

Jericho

Jericho, a town in the West Bank, is one of the earliest continuous settlements in the world, dating perhaps from ca. 9000 BCE. According to the biblical account, it became the first town attacked by the Israelites under Joshua after they crossed the Jordan River. Later, Herod the Great established a winter residence in Jericho.

Jericho (أريحا).

Jericho became a winter resort after the British mandate over Palestine was established in the early 1920s. It was incorporated into Jordan in 1949. Two enormous camps of Palestinian refugees, formed in Jericho after 1948, were dispersed in the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967 that resulted in the Israeli occupation of the city. Jericho was evacuated by Israeli forces and turned over to Palestinian administration following the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Khirbat al-Mafjar (Qasr Hisham)

Khirbat al-Mafjar. Carved detail.

Khirbat al-Mafjar (flowing-water ruins), attributed to Caliph Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik, is located approximately 5 km north of Jericho. Dimitri Baramki excavated the site from 1934 to 1948. The main components of the palatial complex include palace (qasr), audience hall with a thermal bath, mosque, and monumental fountain (for site plan see http://www.jerichomafjarproject.org/site-setting/full-site-plan).

Palace (Qasr)

Qasr. View from the southeast.

Qasr. East entrance.

Qasr. Inside the east entrance. The fallen hoods of the niches are now resting on the benches parallel to the entrance passegaway.

Qasr. Central courtyard.

The palace had two stories. Some of the rooms on the upper floor were painted.

Qasr. Stairs leading to living quarters.

Khirbat al-Mafjar Museum. Reproductions of the painted plaster fragments that had fallen from the upper floor of the qasr.

The palace was equipped with an underground cool room that is now closed to visitors, because the floor is covered with mosaics.

Stairs leading to the underground cool room.

Sculpted detail of the large fountain in the forecourt of the palace.

Audience Hall

To the north of the palace (qasr) is a large audience hall (main hall) that includes a reception room (diwan), water pool, and bath installations.

Sculpted niches in the main hall.

Diwan (reception room). Northwest corner of the main hall.

Water pool. South side of the main hall.

Bath installations to the north of the main hall.

The University of Chicago (Donald Whitcomb) and the Department of Antiquities investigated the north estate area between 2010 and 2014. (In April 2015, I had the pleasure to present a paper at the Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt in the panel chaired by Dr. Whitcomb.)

Khirbat al-Mafjar. Umayyad wine press in the north estate. The crushing floor with white mosaic floor and stone base for a screw press in the middle.

Khirbat al-Mafjar. Umayyad wine press in the north estate. Settling pit and one of two vats.

Khirbat al-Mafjar. Abbasid mosque in the north estate. The mihrab niche indicates the direction of qibla. The floor was covered with reused burnt brick tiles.

Further reading:

Taha, Hamdan and Donald Whitcomb. The Mosaics of Khirbet el-Mafjar: Hisham's Palace. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2015.

http://www.jerichomafjarproject.org/

Jerusalem

After visiting Khirbat al-Mafjar, Tareq and I went to Jerusalem. On the way there, we saw some of the fortress-like Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Palestine. On the road from Jericho to Jerusalem.

We only had a couple of hours in Jerusalem, but it was worth it. The views from the Mount of Olives of the Temple Mount and the surrounding areas were breathtaking.

View from the Mount of Olives.

Jewish cemetery.

Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. According to tradition, this was the scene of Christ's agony and betrayal.

After descending from the Mount of Olives, we headed towards the Old City.

Golden Gate in Jerusalem's Old City walls.

Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City walls. Sun burnt, disheveled, and very happy.

Jerusalem's Old City market.

T-shirts for sale in Jerusalem's Old City market. My favorite is the one with the Google search for Israel -- did you mean: Palestine?

Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Jerusalem's Old City.

The 1915 Armenian genocide memorial at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Jerusalem's Old City.

Dome of the Rock. This is where the guards turned me around.

The Holy Sepulchre was our last major stop for the day.

Main entrance to the Holy Sepulchre.

The intricate architecture sculpture of the main entrance to the Holy Sepulchre.

Stone of Anointing in the Holy Sepulchre.

The Holy Sepulchre. Aedicule.

After a brief but marvelous time in al-Quds (Jerusalem), we took a cab back to the border and then a bus to cross the Allenby Bridge to Jordan.

Tareq and I were the last people crossing the Allenby Bridge before the border closing for the day.

1 June 2015: Iraq al-Amir & Qasr al-Abd

1 June 2015

Iraq al-Amir (Caves of the Prince)

Iraq al-Amir.

The site's name derives from the nearby cave system. Two caves feature the Hebrew inscription TBWH (Tobiah) that connects this place with the Tobiad dynasty mentioned in the Old Testament. The Tobiad family were supporters of the Ptolemies. When Hyrcanus of the Tobiads returned from Egypt at the end of the 3rd or in the early 2nd century BCE, he built a palace called Tyros. Today the palace is known as Qasr al-Abd.

Iraq al-Amir. Modern village on the right. Stairs leading to the caves on the left.

Cave entrance. Hebrew inscription on the right.

The scale of this cave is impressive.

Qasr al-Abd (Fortress of the Servant)

Qasr al-Abd.

The focal point of Iraq al-Amir is the Hellenistic palace that was part of a large estate. It stood at the center of a walled court, of which little remains. Around it was an irrigated area and artificial lake. The name Qasr al-Abd (Fortress of the Servant) may come from a reference in 2 Nehemiah 10:19 to Tobiah, the servant. The palace building is constructed of massive white limestone blocks.

Qasr al-Abd. East wall.

Qasr al-Abd. West wall.

The exterior of the palace was decorated with relief and architectural sculpture. At ground level, the limestone breccia leopard fountains project from the building's long sides (west and east walls). The upper facade supports lion carvings. The half-column and pilaster capitals are nicely sculpted as well.

Qasr al-Abd. Leopard fountain.

Qasr al-Abd. Lion carving. 

Qasr al-Abd. Half-column and pilaster capitals. North entrance.

The pairs of columns, half-columns, and pilasters frame the north entrance to the palace. The colonnettes are perched on top of the south wall.

Qasr al-Abd. North wall.

Qasr al-Abd. North entrance.

Qasr al-Abd. Interior.

Qasr al-Abd. South wall.

The death of Hyrcanus in 175 BCE may have interrupted the construction of the palace. The fourth-century earthquake afflicted much damage on the building, but French archaeologists restored it in 1980.

Further reading:

Will, Ernest. 'Iraq al-Amir: le chateau du tobiade Hyrcan. Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1991-2005.