Floating the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea: Notorious worldwide for being both the lowest point on earth and the saltiest lake on earth (nope, not a Sea) it is without a doubt one of the most amazing places on earth.  Dropping down to more than 420m below sea level (1,312 ft) the water that flows down into the Dead Sea from the River Jordan has no outlet and becomes landlocked with no place to go.  Thus, the water evaporates leaving behind a rich cocktail of salt and minerals.* But those aren't the only interesting facts about the Dead Sea...here are a few you might not have known:

1. It is known as the Dead Sea because nothing can survive in its hypersalinated waters which are 34.7% saline vs. the oceans 3.5%.

2.  The Dead Sea burps up asphalt. It regularly spits up pebbles and asphalt stones but occasionally it also gives us figurines and skulls from the Neolithic period.  The Egyptians used the asphalt in the mummification process.

3.  It was the World's first Health Resort.  Herod the Great and King David both came here for the healing benefits of the Sea.  It is now a health research and treatment center for many diseases.

4.  It's almost always dry and sunny here.  With less than two inches of rain per year, you can almost always count on the weather being just right for a dip.  And, since the UVB rays are very weak here, you can almost forget the sunscreen while still soaking up your vitamin D.

5.  It's deep - 377 meters (1,236 feet) at its deepest point - making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.

6.  The Dead Sea Scrolls were found hidden in a cave here.  It has been cited as the greatest archeological find of the 20th century.

7.  We had a ridiculously great time here!  Photo proof below...

The view from our hotel balcony! (Still super hazy from that sandstorm)

Getting in and floating without splashing around and getting it in your eyes is not as easy as it looks.  But once you are in everything is super easy, except getting your feet back under you.

You would think it would just taste like table salt.  You would be wrong.  It is SO MUCH SALTIER!

The shoreline is salt, the cliffs are salt, underneath your feet is...wait for it...salt.

After about 10 minutes of floating, we headed back to shore for our "spa" treatment of slathering mud from the bottom of the lake all over our bodies.

 

Once we were covered we had to wait for the mud to dry - some of us more patiently than others...

Faces cracking?  Time to rinse off.

Stinkerbell preferred to shower it off as the salt was bothering some old cuts on her legs.  The rest of us headed back in to float and wash off.  And even find huge chunks of salt at our feet.

Spa treatment done and our skin feeling as smooth as a baby's bottom we headed back to the resort and a dip in the pool as we watched the sun set over the lake.

Like I said - a ridiculously great time!

*Sadly, the water has been evaporating at a pace faster then it can be refilled by its tributary and the surface area is receding at a rate of about 1-meter per year.  Thankfully, it will probably never dry up completely because as its water level drops its density and salinity rise and, as it finds a new equilibrium, it will stop evaporating so quickly.  But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be alarmed.

History Uncovered

 The ancient city of Jerash has been continuously occupied for more than 6,500 years though for a few of those centuries the remains of the now excavated ruins were hidden under the sand.  Conquered by general Pompey in 63 BC, the town came into its golden age under his rule to become one of the 10 greatest Roman cities.  It is still considered the best-preserved example of a provincial Roman town in the world and even though they have been working for over 70 years there is so much more to be discovered.

The site is large and spread out so the best way to see it is to get a guide at the entrance and let them walk you around for a few hours.  Yep, hours.  But it didn't seem so long while we were doing it - even the girls didn't get bored (though Stinkerbell swore the hot sun was trying to kill her).  We learned about its architecture, the soaring hilltop temples and its spacious public squares and baths.  We walked the remains of the colonnaded streets, listened to some singing in the grand theatres and saw how two hugely powerful cultures - Graeco-Roman and Arab - meshed and coexisted for so many years.

 The South Gate (1st-century a.d.)

Just beyond the South Gate is the Hippodrome where they used to race chariots in front of 15,000 spectators.

 The spectacular forum.  Unusual because of its shape and size (oval, not round, and well over 90 m long and 80 m wide) with 56 Ionic columns surrounding it.  It leads you directly up to the Temple of Zeus.

Built in 162 a.d. this temple was built over another temple and gives the best views of the site below.  It's also a great spot for a photo...

 The South Theatre.  It seats about 5000 and the acoustics are still fantastic.  We could hear the singer below from the very top and he was not singing very loudly.

 You exit the theatre and pass by the cardo maximus, or the colonnaded street which was the main thoroughfare back in the day.  The street stretches 800 meters to the North Gate and is still paved with its original stones.

 The remains of a Christian church (there were 13 in all) and its mosaic floor.

 The Temple of Artemis is the most memorable spot in all of Jerash.  The remains tower over the city and still dominate the landscape.  Named after the patron goddess of the city, Artemis.  Eleven of the twelve original columns are still standing which is a testament to the ancient Romans building prowess.

 The smaller North Theatre.

 The North Tetrapylon.

 Walking down the cardo maximus you come to the Nymphaeum, the main fountain of the city.

Having spent all morning in the hot sun touring we took a small break on our way to our next destination to watch some talented artists at work.  Part of the Queen Noor foundation, these women (mostly unable to work in outside jobs) are taught a trade/skill and are financed by the foundation.  In this instance, the women were making mosaics out of precious stone.  We were particularly entranced by this piece, and though it was out of our budget, we did find a piece that we loved by the same woman that we took home as a souvenir of our time in Jordan.

 This will take Hannah about 3 months to finish (it is not done yet) and will help her pay living expenses.

 Rested and a bit lighter in the wallet, we walked up the hill to our next stop, Mt. Nebo.  Well known to Christians worldwide as the spot where God showed Moses the Holy Land just before his death.  It is rumored that Moses is buried nearby but no grave has been found.

On a clear day, you can see all the way to Jerusalem but we were not so lucky.  It was still overcast from the sandstorm that had kicked up that day but we did get a chance to stand just where Moses stood and survey the valley before us.

 The serpentine cross sculpture just off the viewing stand is symbolic of the bronze serpent Moses created in the wilderness and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

 Coming down from the mountain we drove down down down to the lowest point on earth to spend the afternoon floating, swimming and enjoying a bit of downtime!

It's a long and winding way down to the lowest point on earth.

From the Dead Sea to the Red Sea...

Living in Europe affords us the unique opportunity to travel to places that we might not get to if we were based in the U.S.  For many of the places we choose, the plane ride from the U.S. would be more than the entire trip costs us.  But plane fare in Europe, in general, is much more affordable than it is in the U.S. and if you are already based here, even better.  Add in all of the long weekends, Fall Break, Christmas Break, Ski Week and a full two weeks for Spring Break it may seem to everyone that we are always on vacation somewhere.  It seems that way to us too sometimes.  But while we are based abroad, we will continue to take advantage of our location to explore parts of the world we may never get to see otherwise.  Which is how we ended up in Jordan this past week.

Each year the family plans one BIG trip.  I know it seems like they are all BIG trips, but in reality, many of our trips are no farther away than traveling a few hours by car and they are essentially weekend jaunts.  Ridiculously awesome weekend jaunts but quick getaways nonetheless.  Usually, we go on our long trip during summer vacation but this year we already have a huge family trip planned with Nana and Grampa for their anniversary so Spring Break seemed the best choice as it gives us the most time.

We ping-ponged on locations.  When we started planning our year of travel (yes, we make a list of locations we want to see and slot them into the days we have off) we were dead set on visiting the Imperial Capitals of China and Japan.  But then we realized that if we moved back to the U.S. this still might be a trip that we would take if we had to travel from that base.  So we started talking about places that we might have missed a little closer to home but we may not want to pay thousands of dollars on airfare just to get to. That gave us several locations but ultimately we decided that Jordan fit the bill perfectly.  And did it ever!

I am not sure what I expected from our week-long tour of the country but I can say, now that we are home, that it exceeded everything I could have imagined.  It was so incredible I am not sure I have the words yet to explain all we saw, experienced and learned.  I will try to do best in the posts that follow but I assure you that nothing I write will ever come close to what it was like being there.

We arrived at our hotel in Amman at 4 am.  Sleepy but excited.  We had chosen to sleep late on the first day and just wander around the city on foot before starting our journey the next morning.  I didn't even take the big camera out of its bag that afternoon so all I have is some snapshots from my cell phone.  Which is fine, as you will be inundated with photos for the next several posts.  I give you Day 1...

After midnight at the Bucharest airport.  Tired but so excited to be there.

Our lunch spot.  It overlooked the city and was perfect in every way.

 Snickers milkshakes - yes, please.

 My fatteh.  Fatteh is a base of stale, crispy flatbread covered with other ingredients. In this case, chickpeas, yoghurt, garlic, spices and almonds.  I may or may not have overeaten at lunch this day...

 Pepsi products took me back to my childhood with these pull tabs.

   Our hotel view of the King Abdullah Mosque (the blue dome).

Also from our hotel room, something you will find in all of the windows - the arrow points the way to Mecca and allows Muslims to know which way to pray.

 Afternoon pool time.

 Dinner overlooking the city.