Transjordan 3: Moshe Rabbeinu, in memoriam

Today is 7 Adar, the anniversary of Moses's death. This week (and every year during the week of 7 Adar) we read Parshat Tetzaveh, the only portion in the last four books of the Torah in which Moses is not mentioned. So it was a highly appropriate week to visit Mt. Nebo, Moses's place of death (but not his place of burial -- no one knows that!).

This willow tree made us ponder whether arvot Moav has a second meaning.



This mountain is where Moses looked out and saw the whole land of Israel.
















The Mt. Nebo site is currently run by the Franciscans. There is a church at the top of the mountain, which was closed when we were there, but that was so not our priority.

This sculpture represents the copper serpent that Moses made in the desert (Numbers 21 strikes again!).



It's there because of John 3:14-15 :

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Which (leaving aside the cross element) is the same basic idea as Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:6 :

"God said to Moses: Make yourself a serpent..." And does the serpent kill and revive? Rather, any time that Israel looked upwards and dedicated their hearts to their father in heaven, they would be healed, and otherwise, they would be crushed.

Transjordan 2: Burninating the countryside

Israel isn't the only biblical country. Jordan includes the territory of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, as well as other nations such as Edom, Moab, and Ammon (now generally spelled Amman).



We visited Madaba, known from the inscrutable Numbers 21 as one of the cities of Sihon Melech Ha-Emori.

Madaba is best known for the Church of St. George.






Yes, the church contains a mosaic map, but let's not forget the legend of St. George himself!





But yes, it's all about the map. This map of the Holy Land dates back to the 6th century CE, and sadly much of it is missing (including most of Israel north of Jerusalem; we know from one intact fragment that the map once went all the way up to Lebanon). The map may have been a guide for visiting pilgrims.

Here is Jerusalem:



The map is oriented with east at the top, so you're looking at the Old City from the west. Jaffa Gate is at the bottom, Damascus Gate is at the left, and the horizontal thoroughfare is the Cardo, which was rediscovered with the aid of this map.

The Dead Sea:



Ashdod:



Bethlehem: (The Church of the Nativity is there, but Bethlehem otherwise gets relatively short shrift given its importance in Christianity. Does this mean the mosaicist was Jewish??? Unfortunately we have no idea how the mosaic dealt with other Christian sites such as Nazareth.)



Judah: (Don't miss the terebinths of Mamre to the right)



Gaza: (Insert your own political joke about what happened to the other half of it.)



Madaba is also home to some secular mosaics. Here are personifications of Rome, Gregoria, and Madaba, with sea monsters:





Scenes from the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus. I use a word that don't mean nothing, like looptid.

Transjordan 1: The many faces of King Abdullah

(Or: זקנה ביום דין ובחרות ביום קרב)

On the way back from Qatar, we hung out in Jordan. It didn't take long to notice that King Abdullah's picture was everywhere. But then we started to realize that he had a different appearance for each occasion. Collect the whole set!

Suit and tie:



Be all that you can be (or, "Central American dictator"):



King Abdullah and family wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year:




I started taking these pictures late in the game, so I didn't get one of King Abdullah in a kaffiyeh, or in military officer uniform (the kind with all the medals, not to be confused with the camouflage one above). And oddly enough, this picture was nowhere to be seen.

Also, King Hussein was fairly ubiquitous as well, even though he has been dead for 9 years, which seems to depart from standard monarchical practice of ignoring all but the current monarch ("The king is dead! Long live the king!"). But since Hussein and Abdullah appear together, this makes sense from a PR perspective, like Augustus linking himself publicly to Julius Caesar, or every Republican presidential candidate claiming the mantle of Reagan.

Comparison of currencies in the three Middle Eastern countries we've visited this year:

Turkey: Same dude on every denomination. Not only that, but the same exact picture of him.

Jordan: Different king on each denomination, covering all the kings in the Hashemite Kingdom's short history.

Qatar: No human images on the money, perhaps reflecting Wahhabi stringencies.