The unknown Christians of the Middle East

in the heart of the Middle East Hidden between the bazaars and the desert lies the birthplace of the world's biggest religion Christianity traveling across Jordan I decided to ReDiscover the main sights events and legends to make up this Millennial faith come with me [Music] Amman is the capital of Jordan in any meaning it's the economic political cultural capital of Jordan it's very chaotic there's a lot of people beeping everywhere [Music] a man first became wealthy under the Roman Empire which turned what was a minor Town into a vibrant Regional hub bustling with Splendid theaters white streets and a fortified Citadel later on with the arrival of the byzantines in the 4th Century A.D the city became one of the centers of Christianity a strategic post from won't spread the faith to a far away lands inspired by the events and stories characterizing the region this area in between the four capitals of Jordan Israel Syria and Lebanon is one of the holiest places in the world so we have in between Jerusalem Damascus a man it's one of the holiest places in the world this is where a lot of events of both the Old and the New Testament happened so we're here in the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized and a few kilometers on the other side of the border with Palestine which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and then just over the mountain there is Jerusalem and it's it's just fascinating how despite the borders which make it very hard to travel this is where a very large part of the events of one of the major religions in the world happened and I mean you cannot really tell because the climate is just pretty much dry and there's a few Stones here and there so it doesn't really give you the idea but it's still fascinating not far from a Man Lies the border between Jordan and Israel a river where over 2 000 years ago a man revered by many has the Son of God asked the preacher to baptize him right there together with the common folks [Music] who then stood up and began a journey that would have changed the world to come let's follow its choices [Music] [Music] hey [Music] I'm in the city of karak in southern Jordan I think it's the biggest city in southern Georgia and it's famous for its Castle which pretty much sums up the history of medieval Jordan the castle was built by the Crusaders and it served a very strategic purpose because it was located in the middle of Jordan and in the middle of the trading routes starting from Mecca from the Europe Peninsula and moving northwards towards Syria and Lebanon and Baghdad in Iraq so by building food here the Crusaders could control not only trade routes but also of course the possible military rebellions coming from the Arab peninsula many crusaded castles are scattered through Jordan has a proof of the long struggle between Muslims and Christians over the control of the region anyway since I got bored with all this history I decided to move on and see how locals live in this more rural part of the country and the results were quite interesting later [Music] [Music] I like it you're always fighting with Napoli Roman Napoli yeah because the pizza [Music] the rural part of Jordan feels much more it feels very different you can find way more people wearing a traditional clothes or a shamas you know the typical scarf from the Middle East so it has a different text compared to your mom while walking down the streets of karak I would meet with shop owners offering me food asking me where I was from or just trying to take pictures with me and chat further despite feeling like celebrity I knew that I had to continue with my trip and reach the last stop madaba the city of mosaics I am in the lower chambers of a Catholic Church in madhava the music that you hear I didn't put in myself it's just somewhere in the walls I don't know um as I said the other time Jordan is a very important country for the Catholic tradition a lot of historical sites within the country are some of the most important in the Bible the Jordan River for example Mount neba where Moses received the Commandments and so on madaba is one of them it's called the city of mosaics and this is because when I was part of the Byzantine Empire it played a very important role in the trade between the lower and the upper part of the of the Middle East and it became very wealthy and this is where the Byzantine let's say um built it and shaped it according to their tastes and built a lot of churches with many beautiful mosaics all around it Jordan tells the story of Christianity from the river where Jesus was baptized onto the early Roman Christians the churches of the Byzantine Empire and the Crusaders castles and in the middle of all of this people thank you [Music]

Channel: Davide Gobbicchi

Views: 353

Keywords: Jordan, Christianity, Middle East, travel, youtube, Kerak, Al Karak, travelvideo

Id: ple80nGYUjc

Length: 8min 7sec (487 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 24 2023