Dead Sea Excursion

10 Nov: Aqaba Port – Dead Sea Beach – Aqaba Port  We arrived in port and took these photos of Israel just three miles away as we docked.  It was almost 10:30 am before we got off the ship because we waited to get our passports back (which we ended up not needing, but we were safe rather than sorry).  The Petra Nights Tour representative was waiting pier side and the tour started as soon as the 16 of us boarded the mini bus.  It was a long 4 hour drive to the Dead Sea but oh-so-worth-it to us.  As you may know the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth.  When we arrived we had a marvelous buffet lunch but we personally rushed through it since we only had a short time there to enjoy the water, then we had to head back.  We floated in a way never before experienced.  I took no photos of us because we, of course, were in the water but some friends took photos and will send them to us later.  We applied Dead Sea mineral mud and had a marvelous time.  The water is so salty a single drop got in my mouth and it was horrible, then a drop got in my eye, and trust me, I was much more careful after that!  They say it is 10 times saltier than typical ocean water.  Anyway, our time was not wasted on the drive here.  The countryside was outstanding, just amazing.  Here is a photo of a canyon where Moses stood in the old testament. As you can see they have a bridge built over it and a pathway hanging on the wall for visitors to walk back in.  Our guide said the water was much different here at Moses’ time and he was trying to go up this canyon to get to the mountain to see the Promise Land.  I do need to verify that in the Old Testament, but not tonight, I am too tired.  Other prestigious visitors to the Dead Sea including: Jesus, John the Baptist, King Herod, and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, among just a few.  After our beautiful swim and use of the facilities at the Holiday Inn we made a brief stop at a shop that sells Dead Sea bath products but really, I have no room for such things that are heavy in my suitcase.  I can probably get some online when home.  I must say our skin feels silky soft after the experience. We left the hotel just as the sun was setting.  What a wonderful day.  Sadly we have the 4 hour drive back now, but again I will say it was worth it.

Our guides told us a bit about the culture and life here in Jordan.  Christians comprise only 7% of the population, the rest are Muslim. However, they live side by side in peace, neither trying to convert the other to their way of thinking and they feel they are “brothers.”  I don’t really understand that but when I asked this is what Mohammed told me.  He also said students come here to learn English.  He speaks English and Arabic fluently, English to us and Arabic to his driver, who also speaks both languages.  Aqaba has natural springs and water so agriculture is one of their main resources. That seems hard to believe since 95% of the country is desert but it is second only to tourism.  Their main meal always has meat or chicken with rice, if not it is not considered a meal, and it is eaten in the middle of the day.  Breakfast is humus and falafel along with coffee or tea, perhaps coffee or tea again in the morning.  The meal late in the day would typically be eggs and “hard” yogurt, different from the more liquid version we have seen around.  

Arabs call it the Sea of Lot (the profit) or some times the Stinky Lake in conjunction with mineral smell that can not be avoided once you are there, but we really didn’t notice that. During our drive our guide pointed out the “meeting of the waters” where the supposed “sweet water” from the Jordan River is totally ”mixed” with the most salty portion.  We never noticed the smell but we did noticed to organic fertilizer used this time of year, but not too much. 

I am sure there is much more to write about but it is after 11pm now and we are to meet at 6:45am tomorrow for our trip to Petra!  

More about the Dead Sea:  It is fed mainly by River Jordan in the north and by perennial springs and streams from the east and west. Having no outlet, the Dead sea is a "terminal lake" which loses huge amounts of water by evaporation into the hot dry air. This results in high concentration of salts and minerals in a unique composition that is particularly rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, bromine and various others. The Dead Sea brine's chemical composition reflects erosion, as well as the recycling of older deposits. Leaching of minerals from the geological strata also contributes to the Dead Sea brine and to a number of thermo-mineral springs along its shores. In addition, alluvial deposits form the much valued Dead Sea mineral mud, also known as Dead Sea therapeutic black mud. The uniqueness of the Dead Sea has been known for centuries. This is the only place in the world with this particular combination of exclusive spa benefits: peculiar sun radiation and climatic conditions, enriched oxygen atmosphere, mineral-rich salt sea, thermo-mineral springs, and mineral-rich mud.