Middle East Trip-Amman Jordan

by Darris McNeely

Submitted October 22, 2005

Blogging continues from Amman Jordan for a few days while here for the United Church of God observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. Our presence here as a church resumes after several years absence. More than 200 members from around the world are here for this year's service.

On this trip we'll be visiting a number of Biblical sites in Jordan, Egypt and Israel. Along on this trip is Scott Ashley, Managing Editor of The Good News magazine, our sister publication to World News and Prophecy. We will be gathering background material for church publications and making a contact in Jerusalem with Yair Davidy. Davidy has written extensively on the modern identity of the tribes of Israel.

Today we had a tour of Amman. We began at the citadel, the original site of the ancient city Rabat Amman that later, under the Romans, was named Philadelphia. The site is excavated to reveal the remains of the Temple of Hercules and an former Byzantine church that ended it's useful days as a Muslim Mosque.

The site overlooks the well preserved Roman amphitheater which still sees use by modern concert stars. From the crest of this hill one looks out over the large Palestinian refugee camp home of those uprooted  from Palestine in 1948. This is the site of the September 1970 uprising , called 'Black September', when Palestinians attempted to overthrow King Hussein. It failed and led to Arafat's Fatah Party's expulsion from Jordan. Ironically, Jordan has placed the world's tallest flag pole with a large Jordanian flag on a hill overlooking the camp. Perhaps a reminder to Palestinians who runs the country.

Tomorrow we are off to Petra, the rose red city "half as old as time".