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Mount
Nebo, the alleged burial site of Moses overlooking the Jordan
Valley and the Dead
Sea. Referring
to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Mount
Nebo is where the Hebrew
Prophet Moses was given a view of the Promised Land that God was giving to the
Israelites. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount
Nebo, the top of Psigah, which is opposite
Jericho." According
to Judaism and Christianity Moses was buried on this mountain by
God Himself, and his final resting place is unknown. However, scholars continue
to dispute whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the
mountain referred to in the Torah . On the
highest point of the mountain "Syagha" the remains of a church
and monastery were discovered in 1933. The church was first constructed in the
second half of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. Its' design
follows a typical basilica pattern. In the late fifth century A.D. the church was
enlarged and rebuilt again Six tombs
have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor
of the church. Remnants
of mosaic floors from different periods can be seen in the modern chapel "Presbytery"
that was built to protect the site and provide worship space. The
earliest of these is a panel with a braided cross presently placed on the east
end of the south wall. The
serpentine cross sculpture "the Brazen
Serpent Monument"
atop Mount Nebo was created by an Italian artist
symbolizing the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness, and the
cross upon which Jesus was crucified Mount
Nebo; being one of the most important Christian sites in Jordan, Pope John Paul
II visited the site during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000, when he planted
an olive tree beside the Byzantine chapel as a symbol of peace. Also,
Pope Benedict XVI visited the site on May 9, 2009, gave a speech, and
looked out from the top of the mountain in the direction of Jerusalem.
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