Day 260 – Madaba
Holy sites and the Dead Sea
Today we left Madaba Hotel after the very average included breakfast. We moved down the road to Pilgrim’s Guest House. Here they actually allowed us to check into a room in the morning, which was really nice. It turned out we were next door to our friend.
We woke him up and told him that we may need to leave for Sri Lanka in a moment’s notice, so we would not rent a car. He was very understanding. However, we had to readjust our plans. We decided to try go on a tour with a driver. We asked the hotel, and they called a driver who came to talk to us. After some very heavy negotiations that took around an hour, we agreed on 10 JOD / $20.52 AUD per person, for a car full of 4.
Views along the way
Mount Nebo
Our first stop was Mount Nebo, which is actually another holy site. It’s said to be where Moses died after he saw the promised lands. And yup, from Mount Nebo, you can see Jerusalem, Jericho and the Dead Sea.
Left: Dead Sea, Middle: Jerusalem, Rightish: Jerico
Entrance to the site is 2 JOD / $4.10 AUD per person. We spent around 45 minutes here. The largest building is a former Byzantine Church called the Basilica of Moses. The Basilica is full of nice mosaic floors and walls.
There is also a small interpretation centre, that has some information about the site.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Baptism Site)
Our next stop was the Baptism Site of Jesus. Entrance is 12 JOD / $24.63 AUD when you buy it the gate. However, you can buy it online at the same time you purchase the Jordan Pass for only 8 JOD / $16.42 AUD. Looking on a map, it looked far away so we thought it would be difficult to get here. However, from Madaba, its quite easy so I recommend getting the additional Baptism Site ticket online.
After purchasing the tickets we had to wait for a shuttle bus to arrive. All the tourists got on and after a short bus ride, we were at the entrance. The bus stops near the gift shop where we were allocated a guide.
You can actually purchase a change of clothing if you want to get into the River (Note: its more of a religious experience than swimming around). We decided against it. Here the entire bus load of people were allocated a English and Arabic speaking tour guide, who took us to all the sites by foot, including the actual spot Jesus is believed to have been baptised by John the Baptist.
Baptism Site of Jesus
Once at the River we could see the other bank of the river was a lot more crowded. Upon asking the guide, he told us that it’s Palestine. However, after seeing the military guards on each side and the net separating the river, we did some research. It’s actually an annexed part of Israel!
River Jordan
St. Elijah’s Hill (Tal Mar Elias)
The Jordan Pass attraction list includes St Elijah’s Hill. The sign age at the Baptism Site shows the hill, but when I asked the guide, he told us that its “not allowed.”
Dead Sea
We drove towards the dead sea. Before taking a dip, we stopped at a Kebab shop and had some food. Next we went to the Dead Sea. Most tours will take you to a resort that will cost around 20 JOD / $41.04 AUD per person, for access to the beach and showers.
We opted to take bottled water for showers and went to a stretch of beach after the resorts. Here the driver was a little nervous to wait, as its meant to be a no stopping area. Approximate GPS location is 31.695236, 35.580265 or click link to open in Google Maps.
The beach is not maintained, so was full of rubbish and dangers to your feet, so watch out! However, it was empty, and the water is so clear. I assume the salt kills everything and doesn’t let any rubbish sink to the bottom. The shore has salt built up that looks like snow. It’s a sublime sight, only outdone by the water itself.
Build up of Salt
I honestly wish I was floating in the Dead Sea right now instead of writing this. It’s such an amazing experience. It’s impossible to sink. The experience is something you must try. Stop reading this and buy tickets to Jordan right now! You have to do this.
Every part of your body feels like it’s wearing an invisible life jacket. Just to stay up right you have to constantly fight the upward forces. You might be able to tell, I loved the Dead Sea.
Until, I got some water in my eye! OMG it burns. After using up most of my shower rations to wash the salt water out of my eyes, I got back in and was way more careful. The water also tastes dangerously salty in case your wondering. I would be careful if you have any cuts because I can imagine it will burn like crazy.
After an hour, we unfortunately were called by our driver to leave. After a quick water bottle shower to get the salt out, we got back into the car to continue our journey. All four of us were buzzing after the amazing experience.
Sunset views of Jerusalem
We then headed uphill and stopped at two viewpoints. The first we had nice views of the region including the Dead Sea.
The final stop was a little further along the road. Here we stayed until sunset. The sun sets right behind Jerusalem in the distance. My photos don’t show it, but as the sun backlit the city, and we could see a nice silhouette of the city.
Back in town
Once back in town, we all had a tasty dinner at Del Amor, which was recommended by our driver for some traditional Jordan food. It was very nice.
My mother’s flight in Australia was delayed due to aircraft technical issues, by a half a day so we were still unclear about my grandmother’s situation. With this in mind, we planned our next day with our companions unsure about what would happen.