Jordan is a unique and blessed land of the Old and New Testaments and the early years of Islam,The litany of ancient place names reads like a biblical gazetteer-Edom,Moab,Ammon,Gilead,Gad and Peraea.
The Medeba of the Bible,is today the small town of Madaba,only 30Kilometers south of Amman.
Ten kilometers west of Madaba is the hilly district of Mount Nebo,on the western edge of the plateau with a spectacular view across the Jordan Valley and the Dead sea.On a clear day,the spires of the churches of Jerusalem are visible,and at night the lights of the city.According to the Bible,this is the very Mountain Yahveh told Moses to climb so that he could see the promised land before dying.
Mount Nebo is believed also to be the tomb of Moses,it is a lonely,windswept hill,Protecting the ruins of a 4th and 6th Century church whose floor is still covered with marvelous mosaics,is a building constructed by the Franciscans who started excavating the site in 1933.