Winding Down to the Dead Sea
Dead Sea, Jordan
November 10, 2008
Dead Sea, Jordan
November 10, 2008
A day trip from Madaba took me through some terrific winding roads up Mount Nebo, across to Bethany-across-the-Jordan and finally down below sea level to the Dead Sea.
Mount Nebo is rather unimpressive as mountains go but it makes up for it with historic views and admittedly impressive biblical credentials. This is assumed to be the spot where God revealed to Moses the ‘Promised Land’ for the Jews. The city of Jericho can be seen in the near distance not far from the banks of the Dead Sea. Hidden by the mountains in the mid-distance sits Jerusalem. Not long after the revelation Moses passed on and is said to have been buried in the area. Although the exact location remains a mystery, a small church built around 450 AD sits atop Mount Nebo in commemoration. The church was closed for renovation on the day I visited but I did get a glimpse of some of the ancient mosaics excavated from the nearby area.
Rivaling Mount Nebo in biblical relevance is the nearby site of Bethany-across-the-Jordan which makes a strong claim to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was baptised by none other than John-the-Baptist. The site is noticeably well-managed – probably having as much to do with it’s significance as to it’s proximity a few kilometers from the Israeli border. Consequently, visitors aren’t allowed free access and instead we were chaperoned at all times by a mandatory guide who turned out to be remarkably informative and well-spoken (simultaneously delivering his pitch in English and Spanish). When we respectfully noted that the stagnant stream before us didn’t quite live up to to our expectations of the mighty River Jordan we learned that part of the site’s claim for authenticity is based on an assumption that the river isn’t what – or where – it used to be two thousand years ago. The theory is that the flow of the river has drifted and ebbed over the years and therefore the seemingly contradictory historic references to the baptism site being only “a stone’s throw” away from the banks don’t dispute the claim. While I find the debates over the “validity” of biblical fact a bit irrelevant and tiresome I couldn’t help but find something compelling about the remarkably intact stone steps and the historical enormity of an event that marked the beginning of Christianity. It’s a testament to the charm of the place that the spell wasn’t even broken by the large billboard showing a modern mosaic reproduction of the site incongruously subtitled with www.baptismsite.com.
The final stop of the day was the Dead Sea. I’m sure it claims equably impressive biblical relevance but for me the attraction was all about the chance to experience one of the world’s wierdest swims. As anyone who’s browsed the Dead Sea soap aisle at their local bed and bath shop knows, this is the place to make your skin glow and your achy joints sing. The sea (really a small lake) does have some very odd geoligical properties notably a very high salinity (over 30%) and banks located some 400 meters below sea level. The end result is that it’s virtually impossible to submerge yourself. Instead I floated around giggling like a 4-year old with my feet sticking fully out the water and my head not even getting wet. The comedy of the event was only enhanced by my ‘swimming’ companions – middle-aged Koreans in floppy hats, rich Russian’s in speedos and Jordanian ladies fully clothed. I think my visit to the Middle East was made complete by the site of a lady in a burkha bobbing past me with a childish gleam in her eyes that matched mine exactly.
