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Published: January 28th 2009
Tunnels of Karak Castle
Back in the 12th century it would've been full of Western European Crusaders410m below sea level is where we’re going- the lowest point and the saltiest sea on earth. At eight times saltier than the ocean it’s uninhabitable thus giving it its name…the Dead Sea. We’re told as we depart Amman that the temperature typically rises by 1 degree for every 150m of decent so we’re looking forward to a swim and some relief from the cool temperatures of Amman. As we round a bend in the road we get our first glimpse of the Dead Sea which, given the windy conditions, looks more like a choppy lake than a sea.
Our guide tells us in amazement that it’s usually dead calm (pun intended) and she has never seen it like this before. We pull off the highway into a flash looking resort and we’re really keen to make the most of our swimming time before lunch so we immediately get changed and head down to the water.
Being a private beach we would be able to swim in peace if it weren’t for the choppy conditions and masses of rubbish being swept in our direction from the building site next door. We are noticeably floating but the waves mean we
still have to work to keep the strong salty water from stinging our eyes and so we end our swim (less than impressed) vowing to get back here before our holiday is over in order to enjoy the relaxing Dead Sea experience we have heard so much about.
We all do our best to get the salt out of our swimwear, hair and skin but it seems to stick to us like spilt drinks on a nightclub floor and stays with us all the way to our next stop, Karak Castle. Looming high above the Kings Highway Karak was built by the Crusaders in 1142 as a strategic base from which to tax the trade caravans along their route from Egypt to Syria.
It was such a formidable fortress that it was never successfully breached but instead was taken by siege in 1183 by the leader of the Arabs, Saladin. We chuckle at the thought that some of the Crusaders who set out from England may have stopped at Ye Olde Tripe to Jerusalem in Nottingham on the journey and we wonder how many of them made it to Karak.
Heading inside, we find a selection of
Karak Castle
Never breached, apparently... battlements, underground passageways, wells, kitchens and everything required to keep an army warm, safe and fed on top of a hill. There are also the remains of one of the only western facing churches in the world - we’re told that it faces west towards Jerusalem as opposed to all others, which apparently face east (towards Jerusalem).
Karak has been tonnes of fun but it's time to jump back on the bus to continue south for the next leg of our journey in southern Jordan. Tonight we’ll be at Wadi Musa, the base for our time at Petra.
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To read about our time in the South of Jordan including Petra and Wadi Rum, check out the next of our Roaming Byzantine blogs…
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Lot's Wife
Person to salt. Salt to rock. Rock to person? - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -
Heading north from Jordan’s southern port city of Aqaba it’s not long before we spot the clear blue waters of the Dead Sea out the left window of the bus. Out the right window there is row upon row of healthy green plants and on the road ahead of us there are heaps of brightly painted trucks transporting their round red cargo (minus the few dozen they lose at every speed bump). This is tomato country. We can’t help but imagine that in some other corner of Jordan there is cucumber country - with their own fields upon fields and brightly coloured trucks.
Anyway from the highway we turn off and start heading up the steep hillside with our guide commentating in amazement at the skill of our driver- apparently in 10 years of guiding groups around Jordan, she has never seen a driver attempt to climb up this narrow, winding,
Holy Land directions
The sign at the top of Mount Nebo dirt road dug into the side of the mountain. Thankfully he makes it to the top and with a round of applause from the group we pile out to find ourselves in front of Lots Cave.
According to the bible God allows Abraham’s nephew Lot, his wife and daughters to flee Sodom to safety on the condition that they don’t look back at the destruction. Lot’s wife can’t help herself and does and is instantly turned into a pillar of salt while Lot and his daughters continue to safety. The bible describes the location of Lot’s cave, but it was the mosaic map on the floor of St George’s church in Madaba that allowed archaeologists to find it here high on the hillside overlooking the Dead Sea. We figure that Lot must’ve enjoyed the view from here too.
We’re keen to get to Mt Nebo before sunset and continue up a winding road with the view of the Dead Sea expanding behind us to include Jericho and the edge of the Promised Land. Mt Nebo is the memorial site for Moses and as such is of religious significance for Muslims, Jews and Christians. A grand cross, now the
symbol of Mt Nebo, stands with a copper snake wrapped around it thereby allowing people who use the site from all three faiths to find a connection to its symbolism. As you can imagine, many places of worship have been built on the site over the hundreds of years since Moses’ death and in the small Mt Nebo museum we examine the mosaic tiles from one of the churches that was built here. Little did we know at the time, but this is one of many historic mosaics we’d have the privilege of seeing over the next two days.
After one of the best night’s sleep of the tour, we spend the morning touring Madaba (our final destination in Jordan). With 40% of the population of Madaba being Christians we’re overwhelmed by the number of churches in the area, mostly of Greek Orthodox faith.
As we tour around town it seems that each time we stop, we’re greeted with yet another historic mosaic - most of which are around 1500 years old! One of the more interesting ones that we come across shows an image of John the Baptist dancing with his brother’s wife - a relationship for
Jesus was here
Baptism site, East Bank of Jordan River which he was apparently beheaded in a city 66km west of Amman.
Whilst the John the Baptist one was interesting the mosaic we have been waiting to see all trip is the last on our journey around Madaba and found on the floor of St George Greek Orthodox Church. It’s the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land. Created in 560AD it includes all the major holy sites including Jerusalem giving us proof of the actual locations of the places we have visited so far (Mt Nebo, Lots Cave) and are about to visit this afternoon, for we’re off to none other than Jesus’ baptism site!
A short taxi ride back down Mt Nebo we find ourselves paying one of the most expensive entry fees of the entire trip before being loaded in to some vans and taken another five minute journey down towards the edge of the Jordan River.
After a short walk we find ourselves in front of the baptism site itself and a reconstructed hall through which people would have walked to get down to the river to be baptised. Another short walk through the site and we reach a beautiful Greek Orthodox church
Greek Orthodox Church
East Bank of Jordan river beside the Jordan River, just across from which stands a grander, albeit still under construction, temple flying the Israeli flag on the West Bank. It is truly incredible to think that we are standing where Jesus may have once stood and pause a moment to take it all in.
On our way back up Mt Nebo, one of the many tomato trucks we had seen on our journey north flies past us at top speed. Lachlan chuckles that the same truck will probably be going really slowly up not too far ahead and we’ll end up overtaking him. Our driver, despite having limited English, laughs along with Lachlan as if he understands what was just said and sure enough, we over take the same truck now trundling up the hill a few bends ahead.
Back in Madaba, we confirm arrangements with our driver to meet him at the hotel the next morning before heading in to the Madaba town centre in search of souvenirs. Yussef’s shop had been recommended to us by our tour guide that morning, so following her advice we find him a short walk away from our hotel.
A small smiling man greets us
Mosaic
One of the many in central Madaba with a very warm welcome in to his shop. Speaking to us in the most beautiful English we have heard all trip, he immediately invites us to take a seat and join him for traditional Jordanian tea. How can we refuse? We each take a seat and watch with interest as he boils up the tiny teacups in a pan of water sitting over a portable gas burner and brews the sweet tea with just enough to make the right strength tea for the four of us.
He talks to us about his life in Madaba, his work, his family, his life’s travels and experiences. We find him to be incredibly fascinating and enjoy the conversation as we sip our tea. Eventually our curiosity stirs and our eyes wander over the beautiful display of rugs, cloths, cups and ornaments filling his tiny shop. He is honest about each and every item telling us exactly where it is from and who made it. Which items are of good quality and which are not. His prices are fair and reasonable and we happily browse around his store selecting a few favourites to take home. It’s soon time to meet up with
Rules
Dead Sea Beach our tour group for our version of the ‘last supper’ and we bid Yussef farewell promising him we’ll return tomorrow.
Meeting our fellow travellers in the lobby of our hotel we walk on mass towards the local pizza restaurant. When we arrive it is already half full and we’re not sure how they can possible fit us all in to this tiny space with insufficient chairs or tables, but, as if by magic, tables are pushed together and chairs are brought to us from over the road and lifted across from the back kitchen and after much awquard manoeuvring, we’re all in!
With too many people for the small kitchen ovens to cater for, the members of our group at one end of the table are finished long before those at our end are served but nobody seems to mind and we enjoy spending our last night together as half the group are due to depart early tomorrow morning.
The next morning, we’re fortunately able to enjoy a brief sleep in and head straight back to Yussef’s shop after breakfast to continue looking through the hand made cushion covers we had had our eyes on yesterday. We’re
Salt
Rock fished out from the shores of the Dead Sea. The white layer around the outside is salt. generously offered more tea but have to politely decline this morning as we’re running late to meet our driver for our final journey to the Dead Sea. We say goodbye hoping we’ll get the chance to see him again before we leave Madaba and hurry back to the hotel to grab our swimming gear.
Despite having already passed Mt Nebo and taken this road down towards the Dead Sea many times already, we do not tire of gazing at the herds of goats, sheep and the odd camel scattered up and down the hill. Our driver notices our curiosity and intuitively pulls over each time he sees Lachlan eyeing off a good shot.
By now it’s the third day of bombings in Gaza and security seems to be tighter today with each of the check points stopping us to ask for ID. We reach the Dead Sea and are rewarded for making the effort to come back as today it’s calm, clear and blue. Our driver agrees to wait for us for three hours and we hurry down to the beach to enjoy every minute of our time.
Lachlan doesn’t take long to jump straight in and spends a good hour relaxing in the water enjoying its buoyancy while Sally and Ariana chill out on beach towels soaking up some last minute sun before heading back to cold Europe tomorrow. Eventually Sally also jumps into the water and by not towel drying afterwards finds a fine crust of salt quickly forming on her skin.
Ariana’s the last to get in and is surprised by how warm the water is despite still being winter. It’s surprising how buoyant you find yourself. You can sit, as if on a chair, without the need to move your arms or legs; you can of course lay on your back with your arms and legs out of the water; and you can even stand vertically, straight as a pin with you feet hovering in mid air. Just incredible! Apparently the sea is continuing to reduce each year and we wonder how much longer it will be here.
We savour our last journey up Mt Nebo taking in every camel and goat siting as if it could be our last. Our holiday here is almost at an end, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time in Jordan, a fantastic place full of amazing sights, sounds, and tastes. It has also made us ponder what other great destinations lie in the Middle East. Maybe Syria?
Back in Madaba, we’ve time for one more dinner then it’s off to the Amman airport for our last leg of our journey around the ancient empire of Byzantine - Istanbul!
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If you missed our Roaming Byzantine South Jordan blog, including Petra and Wadi Rum- check it out!
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