NOTES REGARDING HISTORICAL SITES
JORDAN
 2008 H.G. HARKER
November 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.D.A. CHURCH Office................................................................................................ 2
Amman Adventist Secondary School ....................................................................... 2
VISAS .......................................................................................................................... 3
ACCOMMODATION .................................................................................................... 3
TOUR ASSISTANCE ................................................................................................... 3
RENTAL CARS ........................................................................................................... 3
AMMAN ....................................................................................................................... 3
The Roman Theatre ................................................................................................. 3
The Citadel............................................................................................................... 3
Amman Archaeological Museum .............................................................................. 3
The Basman Palace ................................................................................................. 4
NORTH FROM AMMAN .................................................................................................. 4
RIVER JABBOK........................................................................................................... 4
JERASH ...................................................................................................................... 4
Places of Special Interest ......................................................................................... 4
SOUTH FROM AMMAN .................................................................................................. 4
MADABA ..................................................................................................................... 4
MOUNT NEBO ............................................................................................................ 4
HESHBON ................................................................................................................... 5
DIBON ......................................................................................................................... 5
MACHAERUS (MUKAWIR) ......................................................................................... 5
KERAK ........................................................................................................................ 5
SODOM (BAB EDH-DHRA) ......................................................................................... 5
NUMEIRA .................................................................................................................... 5
PETRA ........................................................................................................................ 5
History ...................................................................................................................... 6
The Village Wadi Mousa (or El Ji) ............................................................................ 6
The Siq..................................................................................................................... 7
Al Khazneh or the Treasury ...................................................................................... 7
The High Place......................................................................................................... 8
The Roman Theatre ................................................................................................. 8
The Palace Tomb ..................................................................................................... 8
The Urn Tomb .......................................................................................................... 8
Mt. Seir (Um El Biyara) ............................................................................................. 8
The Museums .......................................................................................................... 8
The Monastery (El Deir) ........................................................................................... 9
The Little Siq ............................................................................................................ 9
Little Petra (El Baird) ................................................................................................ 9
S.D.A. CHURCH OFFICE
Phone: +962 (6) 515-5570
Amman Adventist Secondary School
Address: P.O. Box 2404, Amman, Jordan
Phone: +962 (6) 625 345
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VISAS
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A visa for this Hashemite Kingdom is necessary.
It can be obtained prior to leaving (preferable), or at the Amman airport on arrival.
If intending to travel via the Allenby Bridge (King Hussein Bridge) into Israel,
make arrangements through a travel agent – or visit the Ministry of the Interior.
Permits usually take two or three days to issue.
Visas for Jordan have not been obtainable in Israel.
ACCOMMODATION
 Sometimes available in the Adventist Care Home (P.O. Box 2404, Amman) and
situated in the Ibayla District near Jordan University Hospital. Phone 62 5345.
 Tourist police at the airport will assist in finding accommodation.
 The Jerusalem Jewel Hotel, adjacent to the main bus station, has been found to
offer excellent rates.
 The Middle East Hotel (P.O. Box 19224, Sheneisani, Amman) is in the medium
price range. Phone 66 7159 or 66 7169.
 The City Hotel (Prince Mohammed Street – Phone 64 2251) and just below the
Hotel Intercontinental, is on the cheaper side.
TOUR ASSISTANCE
 Guiding Star Tours, Prince Mohammed Street, P.O. Box 2768 Amman – Phone
64 2526 or 64 6526 – is very helpful for tour assistance in Jordan or with crossing
into Israel to Jerusalem.
RENTAL CARS
 Amim Jarrar Rent-A-Car P.O. Box 6925, Amman – Phone 67 0498 or 60 3500.
AMMAN
 In Old Testament times, Amman was the capital of the Ammonites and called
Rabbah Ammon.
 In the time of Jesus it was a Hellenistic city belonging to Decapolis and named
Philadelphia.
 Use taxis as the city is well spread out.
The Roman Theatre
 It is located behind the Philadelphia Hotel.
 It dates from the 2nd or 3rd century AD.
 The stage is destroyed, but rows of seats and hallways are preserved.
The Citadel
 Is built on the forum site of the temple to Hercules.
 A Byzantine Gate remains.
 Outside the Roman walls is a rock carved cistern.
 To the north of the Citadel is El Qasr (the Castle).
Amman Archaeological Museum
 Is situated on Citadel Hill.
 It has Nabataean pottery and some Dead Sea Scrolls.
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The Basman Palace
 This palace of King Hussein has Circassian soldiers on guard in red and black
uniforms.
NORTH FROM AMMAN
RIVER JABBOK
 Is situated about mid-way between Amman and Jerash.
 This river from the east flows into the Jordan.
 It is remembered for Jacob’s fight with the Angel.
JERASH
 Is about 48 km north of Amman.
 It can be visited by hire car or bus.
 It is one of the most complete ruins of a Greek-Roman city.
 It was founded by Alexander the Great in 352 BC.
 Jerash was invaded and partly destroyed by Muslims in 635 AD.
Places of Special Interest
 The Triumphal Arch nearly 12 m high and built in AD 129 to celebrate Hadrian’s
visit.
 The Temple of Zeus
 The Cardo Maximus or The Street of Columns – the main street with 75 columns
leads from the Forum to the North Gate.
 The South Theatre with seating for 5,000.
 The Nymphaeum – a fountain and the Temple of the Nymphs.
 The Temple of Artemis (Diana). It was built in the 2nd century AD and is the most
impressive of the ruins.
 Jerash had a drainage system. There is evidence of drain-holes along the street.
 Thirteen Byzantine churches have been excavated. The Cathedral Church of the
4th century AD being the oldest. Note the large baptistery. There is a baptistery
in at least one other church.
SOUTH FROM AMMAN
MADABA
 Madaba is about 35 km south of Amman towards Petra - by way of the Kings
Highway.
 The village is a Christian village.
 In the Church built on the ruins of an earlier church a mosaic map of Palestine
has been discovered.
 It dates from the 6th century AD and is the earliest map of the Holy Land.
MOUNT NEBO
 Is located some 40 km from Amman and about 10 km northwest of Madaba.
 It is the highest point of a ridge (Pisgah) in the Abarim Range.
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Views westwards over the Dead Sea to northern Judea may often be hazy.
Here there are ruins of a Byzantine church built in the 6th century AD in honour of
Moses.
HESHBON
 Andrews University conducted archaeological excavations here.
 A rolling stone tomb and lead-ball whips used by the Romans have been
discovered.
DIBON
 It was a Moabite stronghold in the time of the Hebrew kings.
 It was here that the Moabite Stone was discovered by F.A. Klein in 1868.
 The Moabite Stone is dated 830 BC and corroborates the Old Testament. It is
now in the Louvre in Paris.
 The Canyon of the River Arnon is panoramic.
 Here Roman milestones may be seen.
MACHAERUS (MUKAWIR)
 Travel south from Madaba for 12 km. Then turn off past an isolated hill called
Libb and travel for 14 km to the ruins of Herod’s fortress.
 This is the place where John the Baptists was imprisoned and beheaded.
 There are good views of the Dead Sea from here – and on a good day –
Jerusalem can be seen.
KERAK
 This is the old Moabite capital known as Kir-Hareseth.
 It is situated on the top of the escarpment with views westwards to the Dead Sea.
 The ruins of the Crusader fort are worth seeing.
SODOM (BAB EDH-DHRA)
 Travel west (down) from Kerak towards the Dead Sea.
 Most now identify Bab edh-Dhra as the site of Sodom.
 Permission is often necessary from the authorities in Kerak.
 The excavation of Sodom was from 1973 to 1979.
 It is not a large town but it is one of five sites found on the south-eastern end of
the Dead Sea identified by most as the Cities of the Plain.
 Note the cemetery at Bab edh-Dhra with shaft tombs. Some 20,000 graves have
been found.
 The site has strong fortification remains on the eastern side (facing Kerak).
 It is covered by a layer of ash.
 There is a natural spring near the site.
NUMEIRA
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Turning south from Bab edh-Dhra less about 10 km away are the ruins of
Numeira.
Again there is a spring nearby.
Again the ruins have a layer of ash.
This is thought to be the site of ancient Gomorrah.
PETRA
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Travel to Petra from Amman can be by either the King’s Highway (a longer route)
or by the Desert Highway.
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It is around 230 km south of Amman and 80 km south of the Dead Sea.
Accommodation may be arranged prior to visiting from tourist offices or travel
agents.
Many modern hotels await travellers at Wadi Mousa the village at the entrance to
the Siq that leads to Petra.
Take plenty of water if walking to the heights and fare areas.
Probably two days is best if you wish photographs of the sun on both sides of the
valley, and to see all places.
History
 This Edomite city has always fascinated travellers since its discovery in the 19th
century.
 The Edomites – descendants of Esau would not permit the Israelites to pass
through their area en route to Canaan.
 The city was at the crossroads of ancient travel routes – westwards to Cairo,
south to the Red Sea and Arabia, east to the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia,
and northwards to Jordan, Syria etc.
 The Nabataeans inhabited the area after the Edomites and most of the houses
excavated in the rock date from their times.
 The Nabateans were expert at digging cisterns in rock to retain any sparse
rainfall – this they did at Petra, making it the capital of their kingdom. Petra grew
to 30,000 inhabitants at its peak.
 Emperor Trajan of Rome ordered the occupation of Petra in 106 AD and Petra’s
importance diminished. Jerash and Palmyra became the trade route towns.
 A large earthquake in 551 AD was followed in 663 by the Arab conquest.
 Crusaders briefly occupied it during the 12th century AD calling it “Li Vaux Moise”
– the Valley of Moses.
 Saladin conquered this Crusader outpost in 1189 and the city fell into oblivion for
over 600 years.
 Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was born in Lausanne in 1784. The British Foreign
Office wanted information on the Arabian Peninsula and sent him to Cambridge
to learn Arabic and medicine and astronomy.
 Burckhardt became Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah a scholar of the Koran and
Islamic Law.
 In 1812 he was in Amman and then came to Shawbak and the remains of the
Crusader Castle.
Declaring he wanted to offer a sacrifice on Mount Hor where Aaron died, he was
led through Petra and then wrote of his discovery.
 Burckhardt died in Cairo in 1817 and was buried according to the Islamic rites.
 His account of his explorations entitles “Travels in Arabia” was published after his
death in 1829.
 In 1818 two British Royal Navy Officers Charles Irby and James Mangles came to
Petra with the painter William Bankes.
 In 1828 two Frenchman Maquis Léon de Laborde and Louis Linant de Bellefonds
spent a week in Petra and painted all of the major buildings in rock.
 An American John Lloyd Stephens visited Petra in 1836 and published a travel
journal.
 The poet John William Burgon coined the famous words to describe Petra as “the
Rose-red City, half as old as time”.
The Village Wadi Mousa (or El Ji)
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This village was first an Edomite settlement – called Gaia – then a Nabatean
village.
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In the upper part of the village is the Ain Mousa spring.
This is where Moses struck the rock (Exodus 17:1-7).
The Siq
 This long narrow gorge nearly 2 km long narrows to 2.5 m in places.
 The journey into Petra may be made on horseback or by foot.
 The red sandstone cliffs rise up to nearly 100 m from the Wadi floor.
 On the rare occasions when it rains, the stream from the spring, fed by the run-off
from a tremendous area becomes a raging torrent. In 1967 this happened and a
party of tourists drowned. Now an embankment at the mouth of the Siq diverts
any water and repeat of this event.
 Different effects with photography may be obtained depending on late afternoon
or early morning as the sun shines on the different parts of the rock buildings at
different times of the day. Some take the whole day to capture the best pictures.
 Near the Visitors Centre note the Nabataean tombs near the road into the wadi or
“Siq” – called Wadi Mousa (the Valley of Moses). They look like small caves but
are what is left of the Edomite graves of Gaia.
 One tomb Al Khan is part of the Petra Forum Rest House and was used as a
stable for a long time.
 In the hotel area are the remains of Al Birka – a huge Nabatean resevoir from
which water from the spring was channelled into Petra using baked pottery
channels.
 Entering the Siq, on the right hand side, there are three huge reddish coloured
massive square towers called Djhin Blocks that date to the 1st century BC.
Behind the Djin Blocks (there are some 23 similar cubes in Petra) is the remains
of the water channel from the spring into Petra.
 A Snake Monument is then on the left.
 Going a little further there is the Obelisk Tomb on the left – actually two tombs
one of top of the other
 The Bab al Siq Triclinium is right beside the Obelisk Tomb.
 A steep track from here leads across the hills to the left and comes out near the
High Place and the Khasneh. Originally it led to a suburb of Petra.
 After about 300 m there is the Interior Siq with a dam built in 1963 and again in
1991 that any water in the Wadi would be diverted into a tunnel to the right hand
side. It is called the Muthlim and is a complicated piece of hydraulic engineering.
 The Siq itself is almost a mile long (1.5 km) and is in a natural fault scoured out
by the water in the Wadi.
Al Khazneh or the Treasury
 As the narrow Wadi comes to the Petra Valley the first thing sighted is The
Treasury or Al Khazneh.
 It is fascinating to see the rock-hewn building emerge from the narrow winding
track.
 This is one of the great wonders of antiquity – unequalled anywhere in the world.
 It is best to see this between 8.30 and 10.30 am when the colours are the best.
 The construction in this rock dates to 300 BC and was later used as the Temple
of Isis around 100 BC.
 The dimensions are some 39 m high and 27.5 m wide
 Originally the forecourt – now filled with debris – was 4 m lower.`
 The central figure on the front face of The Treasury is Isis or Ishtar, also called
Astarte or Diana.
 The second story has a central Tholos – a round templet with a conical roof.
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The High Place
 Immediately on coming out of the Wadi turn left and proceed up the heights.
 The heights are called Jebel Attuf and is around 1025 m high.
 Here on the top of the mountain, the high place was where the Nabataeans made
sacrifices– both human and animal.
 Note the place for the blood of sacrifices to collect etc.
 There is also a platform some 15 cm high called the “Mensa Sacra” where
offerings to the gods would be placed.
 Nearby is the remains of a water tank for washing or purification ceremonies.
 Here are two Obelisks left by removing the stone around them. They were also
symbols of worship, and are almost 7 m high.
 From the High Place not far to the west Mount Hor is visible. It is the traditional
place of Aaron’s death. Its elevation is around 1410 m high and has a mosque
on the top marking the site of Aaron’s tomb.
The Roman Theatre
 A short distance northwards – or proceeding further into the valley are the ruins of
the Roman Theatre.
 It had seating for around 6000 or more.
 Originally dating to the early 1st century AD, it was later extended by the 3rd
century.
 Façades of old tombs were cut away to provide seats high in the cliffs.
 It was probably in disuse before the great earthquake of 363 AD and certainly
The Monastery destroyed by it.
The Palace Tomb
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Is one of Petra’s largest buildings.
It is on the right past the Roman Theatre as you walk down the Procession Street
and the Triumphal Arch.
It is three storeys high.
In this and other tombs the rich red colours of the stone is visible.
The Urn Tomb
 Is located just to the right of the Palace Tomb.
 It opens onto a courtyard.
 A Greek inscription says it was used as a Christian Church in 447 AD.
Mt. Seir (Um El Biyara)
 This is the Edomite Acropolis.
 It is well worth the 300 m climb,
 It is to Petra what Masada is to Israel.
 King Amaziah cast down 10,000 Edomites here (2 Kings 14).
 Obadiah 4 calls it an eagle’s nest.
 It was the capital of the Edomites (Jeremiah 49:16).
 On the top are several rock-hews tanks and ruins of ancient buildings.
 From here as at the High Place, Mt. Hor is visible not far to the west.
The Museums
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The New Museum was built in the 1990’s and has a restaurant.
It has pottery, coins, and other finds – some of which were kept in Amman
previously.
The Old Museum is just past the refreshment area up a series of steps.
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It has bas reliefs, friezes, carvings and a good view.
The Monastery (El Deir)
 It is the largest of the rock buildings of Petra.
 It is 45 m high and 50 m wide.
 It dates from the 1st century AD.
 It was at one time used as a Christian Church.
 There are crosses carved into its walls.
 Climb around the left side to the top.
The Little Siq
 Not often visited, the difficult trek is well rewarded through a very narrow small
siq.
 It is known as Wadi Muthlim and passes the Eagle Monument
Little Petra (El Baird)
 It has rock-cut walls and elaborate façades.
 There are also huge water cisterns here.
 It is accessible only by two passages so narrow that only one person can pass at
a time.