The Day I Should Have Jumped Into the Dead Sea in Jordan

The Dead Sea, the Salty landlocked lake between Israel and Jordan is situated at the lowest point of the earth.

Our senses were still fully satiated by the archaeological visit to the Amazing City of Jerash the previous day and a long hike through the Lost City of Petra. The rest of the sites left for us to explore seemed pretty laid-back as we were all inside the bus, with a rough idea of our itinerary from the crumpled program printout tucked in front of the seat pocket. Like any perceiver, I wanted to surprise myself and just went along with everyone's plan.

Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond Jordan"

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as Al Maghtas we visited the baptismal site of Jesus Christ on the eastern bank of the Jordan River.

It was quiet when we alighted the bus. Following the group, we made our way towards steps that led down a small body of water.

As a child, the Bible was our bedtime story. From Genesis to Revelation, I grew up listening to the Bible stories which were heavily inculcated to us in the Catholic School that I attended. Mind you, I am nowhere near-religious and I'm neutral when it comes to this subject.

However, as I stared at the Bethany site, I remembered my childhood and the bible story that I heard of as a child. We were all silent and listened to the tour guide recount the history that took place. There were murmurs that bounced back from the still waters.

We walked past the St. John the Baptist Romanian Church, towards the Jordan River Crossing. A spot right across Qasr Al Yahud which was where the border of Israel running along the narrow river was literally a stone throw away. There were armed military men marching about the walls. The whole setting felt intimidating.

The Jordan and Israel Border

Jordan River

We all posed for pictures and touched the water in a fountain protected under a canopy from the scorching summer heat. We sat there caressing this cat.

Mount Nebo

We continued on with our journey until the bus pulled up on the side of the road at an elevated ridge. I heard two words from the tour guide, "Moses" and "Promised Land" For some reason, I couldn't remember Mount Nebo from the stories I heard. I made a mental note to google the bible later on and I found my colleagues taking pictures on the said site. I did the same not knowing what the significance of this place was.

View at Mt. Nebo

Later on the bus, I learned that this was where it was revealed to Moses the view of Israel as the Promised Land.

I watched our MD's executive secretary who was tasked to be the tour director arguing about something with our tour guide. I assumed it had to do with lunch taking place much later than planned. It was then that the tour guide's voice boomed on the microphone that we were stopping by an ancient city called Madaba, southwest of Amman.

Madaba, the City of Mosaics

We hopped out of the bus a few minutes later and admired the towering Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George. The most fascinating thing about it is the 6th-century mosaic art made up of 2 million pieces of colored stone, hence its name "The Church of the Map."

We walked and visited the Madaba Visitors Center and the Madaba Archeological Park where we were treated to well-preserved mosaic art and its history.

Madaba Mosaic School

We visited a mosaic art school, The Institute of Mosaic Art and Restoration which was founded in 1992 and funded by the Italian Government. We entered a huge room where the teacher and his students demonstrated how they create mosaics and how they select different hues of marble and form them.

I remember buying the Tree of Life, a piece of mosaic tile art here. and gifted it to my Mother-in-law where she displayed it in her home in France.

"With deep and sacred meaning, the “Tree Of Life” became a spiritual icon in many of the world’s cultures and religions. The tree was associated with both the negative and the positive or duality, even in Christianity. It first appeared in the book of Genesis, as being planted with the tree of knowledge. The Tree of Life” symbolized wisdom and harmony with nature." - Art And the Ancient Secrets of the Tree of Life

The Dead Sea

For the last stop of the day, we were told that we will be having our late lunch at the Movenpick Resort on the lowest point on earth, right on the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea, in Arabic, Al-Baḥr Al-Mayyit translated as “Sea of Death.” A salt lake right between Israel and Jordan.

I heard they have a Dead Sea Mud Treatment at the 5-star Movenpick Resort and Spa. My female colleagues and I planned to sneak out away from the group to get to the luxurious spa after lunch. We wanted to soak ourselves in the healing waters of Zara Spa for a therapeutic experience.

4 of us women disappeared from the group and made our way to the Spa reception, excited to be in robes but unfortunately, we failed to book in advance and there was no available spot for us.

Disappointed, we descended down the lush garden-lined steps towards the Dead Sea where all of our co-workers were half-naked heavily covered in black Dead Sea mud. It was funny to watch department heads running around the beach chasing each other like kids. They pushed each other and easily floated due to the water's high salinity.

We stood there and debated whether I should change into swimming clothes and join them? I darted as soon as I found a colleague about to throw a handful of mud towards us. 4 of us women ran upstairs to a coffee lounge where we spent the entire afternoon drinking coffee and later cocktails while talking.

As much as I enjoyed hanging out at the bistro, this remains as one of my regrets. I should have just welcomed that handful of mud thrown at me. I should have just jumped into the salty lake water.

Tant pis, alors. (Too bad, then)

What would you have done? Would you have ducked and run upstairs? Or welcome the mud and jump in the water?

Thank you for reading the final part of my Jordan series and for reaching this far in my post.

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References:
Al Maghtas - Baptismal Site of Jesus
Madaba Wikipedia