"And Moses said unto them, I am 120 years old this day; I
can no more come in and go out, so the Lord has said I
shall not go over this Jordon." Moses died in Moab, and was
buried in the valley opposite Beth Peor." Deu.31;2.
The words Beth (river)Peor (gap or opening) become
Bandipore in Kashmir (there are over 300 place names
identical between Kashmir and the Holy Land). Moses'
grave is in Bandipore, on a hillside between two mountains
and through the gap the Jhelum River passes through. One
can sit on the edge of the grave and gaze down at the river
far below. To enter this remote place involved leaving the
vehicle in the valley next to the river, crossing a wooden
bridge at the lower levels, then climb into the forest high
above. Here is a large opening (oriented east to west)
surrounded by rocks, monkeys scamper about as
guardians. One rock slab is planted deeply on end, with just
a small end visible above the dirt (typical of Hebrew graves
in the Himalayas).
This is Moses' grave. On one edge of the grave are wind
horses, also called prayer flags, which indicate that local
people still make their way up here, say prayers, and tear a
piece of their clothing to leave as an offering. I did this too.
This is just a few miles from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
and Taliban use the trails up here as a remote crossing
between countries. Fifteen years ago,five European visitors,
two women and three men, were killed when trekking here.
I was the first foreigner to return since then. It's still a very
dangerous troubled area as militants and Taliban sneak
through the forested trails. Even the locals aren't safe here
anymore.
If we didn't hire a local guide, we would never have found
the right place, but once there, I realized it matched the
Biblical description exactly. It was pure magic up there, but
the illegal logging gets ever closer and endangers the
future of this site. If measures aren't taken to document and
preserve it soon, it will go the way of the other desecrated
graves.
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