[from FB post: July 23, 2017]
A Pilgrimage of Sorts:
The day started with traffic. I think there was no traffic in the days of pilgrimages long ago, but these days, pilgrimages definitely start with traffic and GPS and detours and stopping and asking... oh, and I was wearing my lucky green Camino de Santiago t-shirt from Burgos, Spain to put me in the right mood.
Madaba
Finally we were in Madaba. Madaba is an ancient town with an old Christian community here in Jordan. Its claim to fame is the lovely mosaics of ancient churches that were uncovered as the modern city was built. The most famous of them holds the "Madaba Map" which is one of the oldest maps surviving of this region. There were other mosaics in other churches and museums that were equally amazing, but incredibly dusty which diminished a lot of the "wow" factor. Nonetheless, they were quite old and quite beautiful. (NB: most of the mosaic restorations were funded by USAID)
Madaba mosaics
On the topic of "things you learn along the way" -- it is exactly these lovely mosaics that caused a stir simultaneously in Christianity and Islam about depiction of humans in religious spaces. Authorities in both camps felt things had gone way too far -- so all icons were prohibited which led to a lot of those exquisite images being destroyed or at least defaced (literally). Christians later rescinded the edict while Muslims continued it and made it even stricter.
Mt Nebo
Next we drove out into rolling hills in a decidedly upward direction until we came to the edge of a huge drop off which looked out upon the desert and the narrow band of green which was the Jordan Valley. This was Mount Nebo with a pinnacle called Pisgah where God took Moses to view the Promised Land. Even though Muslims believe in Moses and the stories of the Exodus, they do not believe this event happened. Hence, this place has been purchased and is run by the Franciscans. There is a church/museum with FABULOUS mosaics that are well preserved and displayed (they were made by Madaba artisans of course). It is amazing what unlimited wealth can do for presentation.
Maintained by the Franciscans, it has been a pilgrimage spot for over 1000 years.
You look out over the haze and see the end of the Dead Sea and dark splotches of green along the river valley. In the distance, the tiny squares of buildings are actually Jericho. There were a lot of tourists here from all over and the place didn't feel all that "religious". I perhaps expected too much or maybe I was just bummed out that it was so hazy. In clear weather, you can see Jerusalem. I spent a lot of time looking over the edge and thinking about that those verses of Deuteronomy which have led to so much modern day turmoil.
Baptism Site
Finally we began the descent into the furnace - the long, long winding road down to the valley. It is a dangerous road without guard rails that just goes down and down and down until your ears pop. We were going below sea level. We passed through a checkpoint as travelers must do coming and going from the Jordan Valley. I was a little nervous as I only had my university ID with me (who carries their passport around casually as if it were a drivers license or something?). The bored guards didn't even care.
So again GPS, road signs, asking people and we were at the "Baptism Site". It was hot...I mean STINKING hot. Way over 40C (over 100F) and it was humid. We parked the car and got the tickets. My Jordanian friends paid 3 dinars and I paid 12. That is pretty much par for the course here in Jordan but I felt particularly gouged this time. My companions reminded me how much they must pay for pilgrimages to Mecca and it did put a little perspective on the price for me. In fact, 12 dinars was somewhat of a bargain.
Our tickets included a bus ride down to the riverside "site" and a guide. He explained that by agreement with the Israelis, they did not want private cars near the border. I guess that made sense. The buses were on a schedule and I waited the longest 20 minutes of my life in that heat for the deliciously cool bus to take us - me and three Jordanian friends, a couple of Irish women, a French guy, and some Jordanian Christians - to this very special place.
After another checkpoint we passed church after church on the way to the river. Coptic, Armenian, Russian, Lutheran, and Greek. Not to mention there are many other churches in ruin spread around the area. There used to be a holy pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Jericho to the Baptism site to Nebo, and churches were built all along the way. These must be "ego" churches or something. I think they are barely (if ever) used.
Then we stopped at a monument where Elijah was taken to heaven. Obviously, God wanted later tourists to get value for their 12 dinars so Jesus was baptized close to where Elijah was taken to heaven. It is plausible though... Elijah left Jericho, parted the river, and was taken to heaven on the other side of the river and this location matches all those criteria. Maybe in the winter, when the Jordan Valley is not a scorching plain, visitors can get out to see this place, but we just continued on in the coolness of the bus.
Finally, we arrived at the Greek Orthodox Church (which is lucky enough to be closest to the ever-shrinking Jordan River) and walked down to a wooden terrace with some shade. This was the place if you elected to take a dunk and be "baptized". The water was rather fetid and uninviting. Just a few feet away there was a lovely modern complex with stone stairs leading down to water's edge. We all wondered what ticket you needed to get to that part of the Baptism Site since we obviously were in the "budget location". Our guide told us "That is Palestine". Everyone's jaws dropped simultaneously (even the Jordanians). The River Jordan has been so tapped by Israel and Jordan for agriculture (fabulous fruits and veggies here in Jordan btw) that what is left is just a murky puddle by the time it reaches this site. In fact, I would describe it more accurately as a swamp.
Yup that is me, the Jordan River and the West Bank behind me. Everyone asked the guide... "this is the Jordan River"?
Across the way, there was a raucous group of black Americans being baptized. It was like something from a film -- in fact, my Jordanian friends said, "oh they are Southern Baptists, we've seen it in the movies". I did stick my feet in the water at least, but all of us were soon ready to go. It was just too hot. I told my friend that if Jesus were to have been baptized in the summer, I think Christianity might never have happened. He might have just said, "Screw this heat, I am going back to Jerusalem". No joke, it was just that hot.
We were not finished though. Our impatient guide (who was Muslim and much more knowledgeable about Jewish and Christian scriptures than any of us on the tour) marched us to a ruined church and a flight of marble stairs which led down to a puddle. This site was quite old and was the "generally agreed upon spot" of the actual baptism. It has been visited by a bevy of Popes and dignitaries. For the significance of the place, it was quite underwhelming. Maybe I was just dying of heat stroke?
Finally we were back to the delicious AC bus and then soon on our way to wonderful, cool Amman. I never thought I'd see these places, but since I was in Jordan, I felt obliged. I guess such sites must be approached with the right attitude to create the experience. From a purely "tourist on holiday" perspective, I liked the ruins in Jerash or the lovely views of Umm Qais much more than all this religion-related stuff. As a pilgrim though, how does one evaluate such an experience no matter how hot, brief, and somewhat absurd?
Thus ends the tale of "Matt's Most Excellent Pilgrimage in Jordan".
Retrospectively, it was one of the best religious experience days of my life - not about being holy, but about seeing a lot of religiously significant stuff with my own eyes. Spirituality is an inward journey - religion is history.
Comments