Down to The Dead Sea

After leaving Petra the afternoon of November 13, 2017, surrounded by desert and passing through a few small towns and ruins, Bob and I drove east toward the southern shore of the Dead Sea and then followed the shoreline north until we reached our destination.  We passed through one fertile nature reserve that seemed to be a misplaced oasis along our route.

The drive was quite interesting as we traversed the Abarim mountain range that runs east and southeast from the Dead Sea to the desert in the south and includes Mt. Nebo (which we will review later).  There were some view points which slightly resembled a very barren Grand Canyon.

 

 As we neared the Dead Sea, we began to see patches of green, and then I feel like I was back in Utah, driving through fertile farmlands and small communities between Utah Lake and the Rocky Mountains.

 However, the green quickly faded away and we were back to sand dunes and barren rock.

The Dead Sea, one of the world's most salty bodies of water, is bordered by Jordan on the east and Israel and Palestine on the west.  It is fed by the Jordan River and has no water outlets.  It's shores lie 1,412 ft below sea level, which is earth's lowest elevation on land.  We reached it's north shore at dusk, where we enjoyed dinner and a relaxing evening at the posh Dead Sea Marriott Resort.  Don't worry, no "hubbly bubbly" for us!

The next morning, we walked down to see and enjoy the Dead Sea. Although we had limited visibility, the blue water and white mineral coated red rocks created a beautiful shoreline.  Giving in to "the thing to do", we covered ourselves in the thick black oily Dead Sea mud and gave it 30 minutes to work it's skin softening magic.  Then, carefully, we traversed the rocky shoreline and washed in the medicinal mineral rich water. It's high mineral content transforms swimming into a "floating" experience and the density of the water literally makes it hard to remain in an upright position when emerged.

Good times!  Now to get cleaned up and drive to the Baptismal Site of Jesus Christ.