HOLLY LAND LAST VISION
Mount
Nebo is a ten-minute drive from Madaba.From the Visitors's Centre,take Palestine
Street and follow the signs to Siyagha (Nebo's name in Arabic).
Possibly
the most revered site in Jordan,Mount Nebo is the location of Pisgah,where
Moses is presumed to have died and been buried.
A
small church was built on the spot by early Christians at least as early as 393
AD, and this was gradually expanded.
By
the 7th Century, it was a vast Bezantine complex, to which pilgrims
came from far and wide. The pilgrimage route started in Jerusalem and passed
through Jericho,Ayun Moussa (the springs of Moses) and Mount Nebo,ending
with a restorative bath in the natural
hot springs at Hammamat Ma'in – a tradition today's visitors can repeat and
will find well worth while!
Of
the 4th-Centuray structure,only a few limestone blocks remain
(outside the present building), along with some mosaic floor. Most not-able is
a cross near the altar, which marked the spot where the death Moses was
commemorated.
Since
1933, the sanctuary has been under continuous excavation and restoration work
by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.It is from the old baptistry
(completed in 531 AD) that the most beautiful mosaic floor was retained.
Its
stunning design features hunting and
pastural scenes, with a number of exotic animals including lions, a panther and
a bear,a zebra and a humped ox or zebu, a spotted camel, and what appears to be
an ostrich – all present in Jordan until hunted to extinction in the early part
of this century.
Most
of the mosaics from the centre aisle of the basilica are displayed on the walls
of the modern building constructed to shelter the sanctuary. A small modern monastery today houses the
Franciscan community and an archaeological team.
محول الاكوادإخفاء الابتساماتإخفاء ركن الاسئلنة