Holy Land Travelogue Part 2

by Jose Kurian Puliyeril

Apostles’ Church

The Apostles Church constructed on the right hand side of the entry from the King’s High way to Madaba was excavated in 1902. This church was also constructed on the ruins of a Byzantine Church of AD 578. The mosaic of the floor of this Church is very beautiful and it is known as Thalassa. In Greek language ‘Thalassa’ means Sea. A lady’s picture, which rises from the sea, is arranged on the floor. The message of the picture is as follows: One true God, who created the heaven and earth, we worship thee’. More over the names of the artists are also written.

The Martyrs’ Church

Even though the Church building originally erected in the sixth centaury is in a ruined condition, continuous efforts are rendered to regain the art work of the original church. The authorities behind the current efforts are keeping full faith that they could have success. The art work of the floor is like a spread carpet and it has three divisions. In the first part hunting of animals and birds are illustrated. In the second part vine branches with bunches of grapes are illustrated. And in the third part, flowering plants, fruits and birds are illustrated.

Moses the Great and the highest Mountain of Nebo

Moses who was the leader of the liberation of Israelites from the bondage of captivity in Egypt and he only guided their journey through the deserts to the Promised Land. On the way he had to raise the Brazen Serpent, as per the instruction of Lord God and it was on top of the Mount Nebo. Kindly read Deuteronomy 32: 1-52. In the first verses of the referred portion we could find a song, that was taught by Moses and the same is being sung by the modern faithful. In the last portion of the reading, we find Moses viewing the Promised Land at a distance from the highest Mountain of Nebo, as a result of the punishment from God for his disobedience. (God forbid Moses from entering the Promised Land) It is believed that the brazen serpent was raised on top of the Nebo Mountain, which is 700 meters above the sea level. The brazen serpent which is available now on top of the mountain, in the size and shape of the original one is really impressive and attractive. The ancient Church dedicated to the memory of Moses stands adjacent to the site of the brazen serpent. The Church as a whole creates an impressive memory of the life and faith of Moses. The inside of the Church was extended twice and hence the size of the original Church has been increased measurably. The remains of the previous walls are kept as it is inside the Church as a memory of the renovation and re-construction. On one side of the Church we could find the beautiful floor Mosaic. This art is providing a wonderful meaning and informative idea. The pictures are nicely arranged to exhibit the steps of progress in the human civilization. The wonderful arrangement of the pictures of human beings, animals, flowers and fruits, as identical means of certain ideas are rich in meaning, educational, and above all they are impressive and creative. When there was a rumor that all art works with the shapes of human beings or animals would be destroyed, as a result of the new religious thoughts, the efficient local artists made similar floor mosaics without the images of human beings and animals and placed just above the original ones. The way in they protected the original floor mosaics are generally known as political correction. It is said that the teams which had set apart for the destruction of the floor mosaics had gone away from the base of the mountain, without try to climb up. So all the art works in this Church were not at all disturbed. The art works which were created in haste for the political correction were removed without damage and were placed on the wall close to it. Now we could see them on the walls. The place from where Moses (who was known as the Friend of God Almighty), who is often revered as the head of all Prophets witnessed the Promised Land is close by. (Refer Deuteronomy 32: 49) When we look, we could see the mountains of Jerusalem, which are as high as Mount Nebo, at distance. So also we could see the Dead Sea, fertile Jordan valley, river Jordan etc in different directions. No sooner we saw them; thoughts of many of us went backwards soon. Our minds were struggling hard to find an answer for the disturbing thought: what would have been the mentality of Moses the Great when he saw the Promised Land from far distance. As far as Prophet Moses is concerned, his entire hope and desire was to reach the Promised Land. How much he might have longed to occupy the land promised by Lord God. We were simply trying to analyze what would have been our attitude, if one of us were in the Saint Moses’ place. It is believed that Moses the Great entered his heavenly abode while being on top of this Mountain and he was buried somewhere here. Now nobody has an exact idea of the position of his tomb. It is said that there was a very strong earth quake in AD 749. In 1950 an organized excavation and search was conducted and it was proved that human settlement on a large scale was there on the slopes of the mountain. Many ruins of the buildings and water supply systems and storage systems were excavated. Now also we could see the ruins of houses constructed with very big stones are visible here and there when one might view from top of the mount. Prior to entering the Mountain Moses had beaten the black rock with his staff, when the Israelites complained and murmured for water. When Moses did beat the rock, plenty of sweet water came out in abundance. The same spring is a great treasure and blessing for modern Jordan too. We could see this position also from the top of the mountain. The water from the spring are systematically pumped for drinking needs of thousands and for the agricultural needs of mango, grapes, oranges and wheat fields of multi acres. The wide Jordan valley, is just 27 kilometers away from Jerusalem. In AD 2000, H.H. the Pope visited here and a monument remains there as a memorial of the Papal visit. It is worth seeing as it is very cute and attractive. The Museum adjacent to it is equally informative for the research Scholars and students of history.