Jesus Wuz Here

The morning after our Petra adventure, we decided to take the day to drive to the Dead Sea. I don't think we knew at the time what we were getting ourselves into. Thankfully, my friend Heather is crazy about seeing everything remotely possible. I owe most of what we saw to her! We drove across the Wadi Majib which is basically the grand canyon of Jordan.

 You can see the dam in the middle of this picture. We got to drive across it. The pictures don't do this place justice. It really was breathtaking. We hit it at the perfect time of day, just as the sun was setting.

The roads were super curvy, especially as we got closer to the Dead Sea.

We got to the Dead Sea around 9:00. We had reservations at the Hilton but once we got there, the hotel staff was very rude, wanted to charge us extra, wanted us to pay for a cot, etc. We decided to try another hotel. Man are we glad we did! We went next door to the Marriott and seriously, they treated us  so well. We basically were like, "Look, it's late. It's not a weekend. We need a room. We need breakfast included. We can't spend tons of money. The guy offered to show us the room before we agreed to book it. It wasn't cheap, but it was better than the Hilton. Our room was amazing! Three huge beds, massive balcony overlooking the pools and Dead Sea. We were shocked. They even included a wonderful breakfast. Seriously, I need to write them a letter. They saved us.

 The view from our balcony: Several heated pools, hot tubs, etc. There was even a 'no kids allowed' pool. Guess which one we chose ;) Straight out in the distance is the Dead Sea!

Beach on the Dead Sea

Our Balcony

This looks like a normal picture....but we are floating in the Dead Sea! Just like Jesus! LOL ok, so I don't know if Jesus actually did that but it was awesome. You always hear how you can't sink in the Dead Sea....and you really can't. It's the weirdest feeling. Actually, it's hard to keep our legs under water. They keep getting pushed back up. You can literally sit Indian style and not move. It's so awesome. We met some Asian guys who had all the props taking pictures with them. They were reading a newspaper and drinking coffee while floating around, haha. We borrowed their newspaper and took some pictures but they are on Laura's camera. I'll get them soon. 

Also, a lot of the large rocks at the bottom are completely encrusted in what looks like rock salt. So strange. This was really one of the coolest things I've ever done. It's just such a bizarre feeling not being able to sink.

After laying by the pool, we went to see Jesus' baptismal site before we drove to the airport. Apparently  this site has only been open to the public on the Jordanian side for 10 years or so because it literally borders the Israeli side and was considered a military zone. It certainly feels like one. You have to go through a checkpoint and then you buy a ticket (lol) and a creepy guy takes you on a tour. We met an American family that actually lives in Dubai on our tour which was cool. There are a lot of churches near the site. I think there was a Russian Orthodox one and of course the John the Baptist one. It's not a built up area at all, just churches and the Jordan River. You have to walk on a little path through some trees to get there.

The absolute coolest thing is that once you reach the actual spot where Jesus was baptized, you are literally 6 feet from Israel. You feel like you're at the DMZ. This is what it looks like:

So here we are facing Israel. Bizarre. This is where Jesus was baptized. Unreal. We saw some people fully submerging in the water.

Me touching the water... Apparently it's 50% sewage....But you still have to touch it of course!

That about sums it up. I'm sure I've missed something but it was just an incredibly surreal feeling being there at all. I would highly suggest going there if you ever get the chance. It's incredible.

We flew out of Amman that night at midnight. We go back to Dubai at 5:00 am and we were all at work at 730. It was a looooong day but so worth it!!! Also, big shout out to Laure for driving basically EVERYWHERE on this trip. We couldn't have done it without you!!

PETRA and other magical things ;)

Two weekends ago I went to Jordan with two other teachers. I will never be able to explain to you how freaking incredible it was. It was like a live tour through the bible. The pictures just don't do it justice. I took almost 200 so if you want to see more, just ask ;)

We flew into Amman and drove to Petra, arriving around 1:00am. Shhhh don't tell our mothers. They would not be happy. Living in Dubai, I didn't think it would be that much different....I was wrong. Jordan is a very poor country from what I saw. The roads are awful. We saw people living in tents in the middle of the desert. It's really sad. We got up the next day and went to see the Treasury....aka the thing at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, haha. You have to walk down this very large hill (definitely hard coming back up!) to the bottom. The whole time you are winding through this massive crador. It's actually really cool down there. I honestly cannot explain it so I'll just show you:

The entire place is completely covered in tombs. At first you would think these were all dwellings, but they were all completely hollowed out for graves. These first 3 pictures are at the top of the hill as you start to descend into the crevace. 

You can see that the square tomb has been completely chipped away from the mountain. 

Starting to descend....

Almost there!!!.....

The Treasury: OMG AMAZINGGGGG. There was a little cafe down here too. I say cafe, I mean a shack that sold Pringles and Fanta.  I seriously have a million pictures of this. It was incredible. The coolest part is that you are at the bottom of what feels like an open cave. You're surrounded by high rock walls all the way around. 

Once you get to the bottom and see the Treasury, there is soooooo much more to see. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of tombs hollowed out of the rock. Our guide told us that Bedoin (native) tribes lived in these toumbs until 1984 when the government built them homes close by. Apparently 6 families still live in the tombs. Here's just a few pictures of the area around the Treasury. All of this stuff dates back to the time of Christ. Imagine!

 Inside a tomb

Inside a tomb looking out

Laura holding up a tomb. Check out the colors of the rock.

Tombs Everywhere!

Inside Tomb

Inside Tomb

So, after you reach the bottom....you have to go back up...wayyyyyy up to another tomb that looks like the Treasury, which was later used as a monesetary. OMG this hike....was insane. It was compiled of over 800 steps carved out of stone. I reluctantly decided to join my friends and ride a mule to the top. Lots of people do it and I didn't think much of it until I saw the winding cliff/stairs to the top. We are talking drop off cliffs into the abyss. There is no way this hike would be legal in the US before they put up some railings....which there were NONE! It was terrifying. So, here I am on this mule. We were supposed to have a guide on a mule with us but the sketch ball fell behind and sent his son on foot in stead...who was 10 years old! My mule was not having it. He kept wanting to go back and the boy had to keep hitting him with a stick. So, we go about 10 minutes in and I'm staring up the winding, rocky, fall off a cliff to your death stairs and I want off this mule.....but I decide to just stay on. About 10 seconds later, my mule falls off probably a 2 foot ledge and I get thrown to the ground on top of rocks! My friend Laura said she was absolutely sure they were going to have to take me to the ER after seeing me fall. I had sand allllll over me, in my ears and mouth and eyes. That night, my butt (sorry) had the biggest, blackest, purplest, most disgusting bruise I've ever seen. It was at least the size of 2 tennis balls. I had to show Laura to make sure I wasn't going to die, haha. I still have scratches and bruises on my arms and legs. It was seriously the scariest thing ever! A US marine saw me fall and came running over to help me. Those good ole Marines, always ready to help a fallen American, lol. Other passers by were so nice and one guy on a mule offered me a free ride...no thanks.

So, we obviously decide to finish the hike on foot....which was somewhat painful and scary, but sooooo worth it. 

Laura and Heather on the hike

Imagine going up that on a mule......no

When you get to the top, you are greatly rewarded with this!

It's almost cooler than the Treasury because it's so high up on a mountain. We sat and had mint lemonade at the cafe up there. It was absolutely magical.

A little farther up

We also saw a guy who was definitely a local, not climb but RUN up this mountain and sit on the center thing at the top! It was ridiculous!

So, you get to the top and everyone is all "Go a little farther and you will see some amazing views." We were all like, "Are you kidding me?" but we did it. It was cool, but it was hazy up there so we couldn't see much. The coolest thing is that there was a little cafe at the peak too, with a guy and his camel, haha.

On the way down, we realized that the 'girl falling off the mule' story had spread, lol. Several people asked me if I was ok and a couple local boys went by us laughing and saying, "Never go up on a mule. Always donkey! Always donkey! Everyone knows that!" Apparently donkeys are better, lower to the ground, more stubborn and all that. Who knew? Another little local boy was like "How was the mule ride, hahahaha." One of the ladies selling trinkets on the hike asked if I was ok....turns out he was the mother of our little boy guide. Thanks lady. Apparently I'm a celebrity in Petra. Drop my name if you ever visit.

We went to a cooking class that night with about 30 other strangers and it was so much fun. We drank wine and learned how to make some arabic food. We met an American girl who we hung out with again while at the Dead Sea. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip. Dead Sea, Jesus's Baptism spot, and more to come!!!