Madaba, Mount Nebo, Baptism Site, and the Dead Sea

Big catchup post here.

The Saturday after the night of the three weddings was the date of our planned excursion to Madaba, Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea.

First up, Madaba, a Biblical and early Christian and Byzantine city that was rediscovered and resettled in the 1800s.  Madaba is known for its early Christian churches, which contain beautiful mosaics.

Church of the Map

The map in the Church of the Map - a mosaic depicting a map of the ancient world

Frankfurter Supermarkt!

From the road to Mount Nebo - Jordanian countryside

Mount Nebo is where the Bible says that God let Moses see the Holy Land before he died.  

View of the Dead Sea

On the way to Jesus' Baptism Site

Knocked out

Jesus' baptism site was the next stop.  It is located in the Bethany region, on the River Jordan near the border with Israel.

Map of the Baptism Site

The River Jordan - or what's left of it.

The river is mostly dried up due to water being diverted for irrigation.

Here's the original baptism site. 

There's a "new" baptism site about 1/2 km away where the river still flows.

Various Christian denominations have built churches near the site

I'm going down to the River Jordan...

at the new baptism site (and international border with Israel)

These next two pics sum up well the relative economic conditions of the two countries.  

First, Israel...

and here's Jordan...

The last stop was the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.  The air was scorching (probably around 105 degrees).

Amman Beach is the public beach.  Along the Dead Sea are a lot of resorts, with more currently under construction.  Bananas are also grown here on farms, together with the ubiquitous olive trees.  Amman Beach has a great buffet.

The sign seems to say that the water is 95 degrees?!

In the Dead Sea - I tried tasting the water - 

it tastes BAD, like how you'd imagine battery acid to taste - 

not my brightest idea

Buoyance

Some of the students layered on the Dead Sea mud, which is supposedly therapeutic.  It definitely helps with the heat and keeps the salt from inflaming every little nick on your body.

We ended the afternoon spending a couple of hours by the pool, where the water temperature was a more refreshing 85 degrees or so.

Another busy and fun day.