Three Bridges - Three Eras

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:51:00 GMT

Photos by FoEME

By Tala Bassam Momani

My Grandmother told me how she had once visited my grandfather many years ago whilst he was serving in the British army in Samakh (a village south of Lake Tiberius - west of the Jordan River). She went by train, crossing the Jordan River, but for some reason she missed her stop and ended up in Jaffa. She could not go back to Samakh as there was no trip back, so she ended up returning in the next train back to Jordan. She told my grandfather that she had changed her mind about visiting; she was actually embarrassed to tell him that she had missed her stop!

Fifty years ago that was possible and something common - not missing your stop but crossing the river by train. The Jeser Al-Majame'a/Three Bridges site serves as a visual example of the Jordan Valley's historical crossing point and is of major cultural importance. The first bridge was Roman, built over 2000 years ago, and erected by Roman rulers to connect the cities of that period; Biesan (in Palestine), Pella and Um Quais (today in Jordan). In later periods the bridge was used by the crusaders to link the fortress of Belvoir in Palestine and Ajloun castle in Jordan; both castles overlook the Jordan Valley. An old Khan (inn) from the Middle Ages stands at the site and is where merchants and travelers would stop to rest and feed their animals whilst travelling between east and west. During the Ottoman Empire a railway bridge was built to serve a line connecting the Mediterranean port of Acre with Damascas. The Ottoman Turks also later built a custom's house and police station at the site. In the 1920s, the British Mandate authorities added a third bridge, for motor vehicles, linking the area with the city of Tiberias [located on the shores of the lake of its namesake] and Damascus in Syria.

By train, my grandmother once crossed the River Jordan, reached the Mediterranean and came back in the same day!

Treks and Trails of Jordan: Al Majame Bridge

Three Bridges - Three Eras