It’s been more than a month after returning from Jordan, but memories of that lovely place continually haunt me. As soon as I returned we had a book discussion at the Interfaith Women’s Initiative in New Jersey on Abraham, a book written by B. Feiler. Having seen all the biblical lands so recently, it was a delight to discuss another person’s perspective, experience and explore the meaning with my friends with my own fresh experience. After heading north to Jarash on Day1, we went south to the Dead Sea on Day 2. It was another sunny beautiful day. The bright sunshine made us miss the marker for “you are at sea-level” alongside the highway, so we decided to visit it on the way back! As we continued driving, the beautiful blue shimmer of the Dead Sea suddenly appeared taking my breath away. It looks amazingly beautiful, quiet and sad. There is desert on all sides, and no visible sign of Israeli settlements on the other side, at least from where we were driving. We passed one resort after another on the Jordanian side, all Western resort chains. We kept going until we reached Wadi Mujib and we stopped there for a few hours. Wadi means a riverbed, as I recently learned from another book “The First Muslim”, by Lesley Hazleton, another beautifully written book! Wadi Mujib is the lowest nature preserve on the planet. It falls along the Great Rift, a crack in the earth from Turkey to Africa. During spring and fall, millions of birds fly south or north alongside this rift and rest at Wadi Mujib, making it a great birdwatching place. We saw many adventurers booking tours that take people on difficult hikes across gorges, mountains, waterfalls, etc. Many were Europeans of course, and there were even huts one could rent for overnight stays. I waited with my uncle near the base station, while the rest of our family went down into the Wadi and walked along the beautifully carved sandstone rocks cradling the lovely riverbed, with water flowing into the Dead Sea.
Then we headed back up north to enjoy the Dead Sea and stopped at Amman Beach, a beautiful public resort with many infinity pools and a restaurant. We quickly changed into our bathing gear, and while my uncle and aunt rested under an umbrella, we walked into the Dead Sea. It was the strangest feeling, not being able to do anything but float! It is as if the water is one big buoyant hammock, soft and warm and healing every cell of your body. Even swimming seems impossible, the water is so heavy. The feeling of floating in the most mineral rich water on planet earth is just sublime. One does not want to leave it at all. I got some bitter salty water on my lips, and ran out to the pools to escape the burn! My daughters and son-in-law stayed in for a long time and enjoyed this most unusual treat. It was hard to leave the Dead Sea after our half-day sojourn, but we left reluctantly to drive back north to Amman to get ready for another full day of adventure, going to Jerusalem, not knowing it would be a 2-day adventure!
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