As-Salaam-Alaikum
After a long flight from Zurich to Amman via Cairo, we arrived in the capital of Jordan just after sunset. Hence we did not see much of what passed by in a speed-of-light drive to the Marriott hotel at the Dead Sea - oh yeah, don't make any mistake, the Jordanians know how to drive fast!
Lobby of the Marriott at the Dead Sea, 406m below sea level :)
The following day was pampering-day for Suze: as one (!) part of the farewell gift from her office, she got a voucher for the 'signature treatment' at the Ma'in Hot Springs Hotel & Spa. What bliss: steam-bathed, body-scrubbed, mud-packed, head- and body-massaged for 3 hours, followed by a 6 course dinner with Jordanian wine - what a treat! A big thank you to my ex-colleagues from BC!
On our drive back we met Fadi, a driver from the Marriott hotel. It was his charm, wit and most of all his humour that convinced us to go on a day trip with him the following day to visit:
The Baptism Site of Jesus
It is a humbling and impressive experience at the same time to visit this important site.
Baptism Site
Looking at the Jordan River.
Next stop was Mount Nebo, where according to the final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Israel - the holy land - which God had said he would not enter, but die there.
The cross on top of Mount Nebo.
On our way from Mount Nebo to Madaba, we visited a mosaic workshop. Suze was very tempted to buy one of those fantastic little side tables with the tree of life on it. They were sooo beautiful - and also beautifully heavy, costly with a bizarre import tax... so we moved on to Madaba without having bought our first souvenir that was really REALLY nice...
We went to Madaba to see the oldest mosaic map of Palestine which provides many historical insights into the region. It's in the modest Greek orthodox church of St. George. Crafted in AD 560, the map has 157 captions in Greek depicting all the major biblical sites of the Middle East from Egypt to Palestine. Although much of the original mosaic has been lost, enough remains to get a sense of it's total complexity - and it's importance.
