Ancient Ruins
I believe history is very important to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Because of my work in the Middle East, I have had the privilege of seeing many ancient ruins, all with their own stories to tell us if we are willing to listen. So much work has been done by civilizations before us, contributing to where we are today. Enjoy this selection of places from another era.
Some of the many houses at Petra, carved into the cliffside. These are roughly 2,000 years old.
The famous Treasury at Petra. It was much larger than I expected!
Its incredible that this much detail has survived in the carvings after thousands of years.
I think exploring ancient desert ruins with my wife is my favorite thing to do. She's amazing!
The scale of what the people of Petra carved out of the cliffs was on a level I was not ready for. The sheer amount of will and work it would take to literally form cliffs to your vision of reality is something I had a hard time imagining.
One of the temples in the city of Petra.
A Roman theater in Amman, Jordan, from about 100 years after Jesus. It's quite steep and originally could have accommodated 5,000 people.
The Citadel, in Amman, Jordan. It sits atop one of the seven original hills in Amman, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited places. It was part of many great civilizations; these ruins are from the Roman era.
This is the oldest map of Palestine in existence. It is a mosaic that is part of the floor at S. George's Church in Jordan, and is from roughly 560AD.
Assyrian carvings in northern Iraq. These are roughly 2,600 years old, and feature some of their gods.
This god is believed to have something to do with power over natural elements; note him holding lighting bolts. The level of preservation is amazing, considering this is not a protected site and is open to the weather and vandals.
The thought that someone climbed this mountain 600 years before Jesus came to earth, intricately carved these animals, and here we are today still admiring them is fascinating to me. I love history.
This is Sennacherib, a prominent figure in various Biblical prophecy passages, notably Isaiah. The Assyrians invaded Israel and the captives were taken back to this part of northern Iraq, forever becoming lost in history.
These stones once formed an aqueduct from the mountains of Iraq, taking the water down into the plains and to the city of Nineveh. There are hundreds of thousands of stones, and much of the aqueduct remains unexcavated to this day.
Despite being 2,600 years old, the cuneiform is still very clear. Archeologists have translated this, and the text is the king of Assyrian bragging about how he's basically the greatest thing ever. Typical tyrant.
An ancient monastery in northern Iraq, overlooking the Nineveh Plains and the village where Nahum the prophet is said to be buried.
The monastary has many rooms carved straight into the side of the mountain.
