Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, Hammamat Ma’in, and Sunset at the Panorama

Thursday, December 13th

Today was to be a fun-packed day.

We arose early and hired a cab, through the hotel, to visit a number of sights around the Dead Sea and the King’s Highway. There are a plethora of places you can visit from Madaba, so we decided to split them over a period of two days before heading to the Dana Nature reserve to some hiking. Luckily our driver for the day did not appear to be mentally unhinged: bonus! We told him the places we would like to visit and he suggested for the first day – Mount Nebo (the mountain from which Moses was purported to have first looked down on to the promised land), the Dead Sea (the lowest ‘sea’ in the world, and a place with the highest saline concentration), Hammamat Ma’in (a swimming pool complex, built on top of a natural thermal springs and cataracts,) an the Dead Sea Panorama (a bar and restaurant with an amazing view over the Dead Sea) – in this order. This all sounded a bit good.

… We are watching, and fervently photographing, the last vestiges of the setting sun over the serene valley in which Madaba sits. We are all standing on piles of rubbish. The smell is overpowering. Behind us lies the dead rat we clambered over, as we slipped and slid down the bank through the trees, to a place with a view over the town, in order to catch the sunset. If I try not to breathe through my nose I can appreciate, at length, this gorgeous evening. Every now and then, though, I catch a whiff. Merryl is standing beside me. “You really know how to show a girl a good time, don’t you?” I return her smile: “Wait until I take you to a Mars-bar party” …

We reached Mount Nebo pretty quickly. It is only Nine kilometres south of Madaba. This, as I have mentioned already, is reputedly where Moses was to have seen the Promised Land for the first time, as he led his people out of the slavery of their Egyptian oppressors. I really have to check my atlas, but it seems he took a rather roundabout route (Moses, not the taxi-driver) as Israel lies west of the mountain, and beyond that Egypt. I know they came south via the Red-Sea, but he led them on a bit of a scenic route. Atop of the mountain is a fantastic memorial dedicated to John Paul II’s visit to Jordan in 2005. Further up from this is the Memorial Church of Moses. It has actually been around since the 6th Century AD. It fell into disrepair for many centuries but has recently been rebuilt and is very beautiful. What is most impressive is the huge mosaic on the church floor; I think think one of the largest, if not the largest, mosaics found in situ in the western world. The imagery within it is amazing. In depicts all sorts of colourful people and creaturs interacting with the local fauna, and even has a strange looking creature that appears to be half giraffe, half zebra. From outside of the church, you can stand on the perimeters of the church and take in the spectacular panoramic view of the holy land. I could see why Moses got so excited about the whole thing, you can see all the way to the Dead Sea, the spires of Jerusalem, even clear down to Wadi-Rum. There was a steady stream of tourists here – such a contrast to Syria – so we had to vie for a spot for photos with a bunch of Japanese people.

… Merryl, Marcus, and I are being covered from head to foot in mud. We are standing on the shore of the Dead Sea. We are starting to look like characters from a Mad Max movie. The mud is thick and cool and is remarkably odourless. The attendant covering me is very thorough. He is taking huge handfuls of the stuff from a barrel by his beach hut and dolloping it on me. I keep laughing and messing up my face-pack. Marcus and Merryl are beginning to look like they are victims of an oil-tanker disaster. We waddle down to our deckchairs and stand around, flapping like penguins. We are in the a Dead Sea resort beach. Above us is a concreted area with a cobalt-blue, fresh water swimming pool. In front of us is the Dead Sea. It falls away westward from us all the way across to Israel. It is very clear. No fish, seaweed, or algae swim in the water. Nothing lives here. The salinity of the water is 30% (8 times higher than in the rest of the world's oceans) and it starts to do strange things to exposed tissue areas - like your nasal passages - after a short period of time. We have been laughing at our attempts to swim in this strange body of water. As you are unable to sink it makes swimming very difficult; being in the water feels like you are trying to swim on your living-room carpet. The LP warns against having open cuts when you enter the sea. It even advises against shaving. Marcus and I have both already got water in our eyes and have been blinded for several minutes. The mud is rapidly drying in the warm sunshine. Our skin has taken on a wizened, and leathery look, and everytime we smile our face-packs start to flake off…

From here we headed on to the Dead Sea (in Arabic Al-Bahr al-Mayyit). I must say I had been excited about this experience ever since I got to Jordan, if not much before. It lies upon what is known as the Dead Sea Valley, or rift, along a great fissure in the Earth's surface. It was once fed by waters directly from the Red Sea. Due to climate change, though, it settled down into a lake. It has gone through dramatic fluctuations over the last 16,000 years. It has currently shrunk again in the last 20 years. There are several theories as to why, but they are centred around tectonic activity. TheI have always wanted to visit this place; as much as I wanted to see Petra. So being in Jordan is a dream come true for me. The Dead Sea earns its name from, among other things, the extremely high concentration of minerals and salts in its waters, in the form of vastly increased levels of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. It also has a bromide ion concentration higher than anywhere else on earth. These cornucopia of salts are all reputed to be very beneficial for one’s health – although I wouldn’t recommend skulling a mouthful of them. The lake, fed by the river Jordan, lies 400 metres below normal sea-level. It is a melting pot of geo-physical chemical reactions, and reads like a perpetual scientific experiment. It is known to burp up large chunks of Asphalt, especially after earthquakes, the Nabateans harvested bitumen from it for the Egyptians to use in their mummification processes. It is considered, in Islamic tradition, the place created by Allah for sinners, the Dead-Sea Scrolls were found here, at Qunram, in an extensive ancient Hebrew library. It also boasts the World's lowest highway. Highway 90 (323 metres below sea level).

We spent a pleasant morning here. We swam in the sea and got covered in salt. The bouyancy is unbelievable. It is like trying to submerge yourself in your living room carpet. After a while you just give up and float. I would love to go water-skiing here - boats are banned, apparently. Once you have got over the novelty of not being able to drown, you then get sloppy and let water get in your eyes. Well. Yes. Not something I would advise. Both Marcus and I did it. It was not a pretty sight. Once we had had enough of the floating, we got ourselves covered in dead-sea mud. I lost the pictures unfortunately, but I do have one of Marcus with just his face-pack left. We washed them off in the water but we didn't want any to get in our eyes.

After this, we headed off to Hammamat Ma'in. This is a collection of thermal springs that have been channelled into a series of pools and baths. It is an amazing place - although the manky sandwiches we got given on arrival as part of the entrance fee left much to be desired. Herod himself was believed to have bathed under the waterfalls, and John the Baptist was supposed to have been beheaded here (yes here too). The road down is a little precarious, but well worth the trip. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, luxuriating under a 30 metre cascade of thermally heated water, complete with its own sauna bubbling up from within the mountain. Our driver even stuck on a pair of Bobby Charlton shorts and joined us.

... I am standing under the waterfall. A torrent of water is cascading onto me. The sheer noise of it blocks my hearing, the volume of it blocks my sight, and places such force on my shoulders that I can barely stand upright. It feels amazing. I have my hands outstretched, absorbing the tunnel of water and warmth falling down from high up above. I finally, if not somewhat reluctantly, step out of the wall of water. There are people all around me. Sitting in pools of steaming water. The sun shines into the valley and is warm on my skin. A hundred metres to my right, away from the concrete mezzanine leading to this enclosure, another waterfall tumbles down, mist rising from it and quickly condensing. I wade over to Merryl and Marcus, and sit in the water beside them. They are both looking very amused. I follow their gazes to the object of their attention. Lying underneath the waterfall - in what can only be described as a Ricky Gervais signed photo position - is our taxi driver. He is decked in a pair of white, knee-length, shorts, and striking a pose that Da Vinci would have wept over. He tosses us a wave, and we all wave back...

We finished up at the baths just as the sun was going down. We had one more place to visit: The Dead Sea Panorama. This complex was only recently finished and boasts a museum-cum-educational facility and a very overpriced restaurant. It also affords the most amazing views over the Dead Sea. Especially at sunset. We got there in time for a brief look around the Museum. We were very soon booted out though, and then we wandered over to the restaurant and got ourselves a something very alcoholic and sat, and sipped, and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I can't even begin to describe it. I have included a picture, although it doesn't do it much justice. It was a memorable experience though. It was only spoiled by the arrival of a group of Japanese and Americans who shouted a lot. We took it as our cue to leave.

... I stumble into the room and slam the door. I drop the key. I can't stop my hands from shaking. I am trying to recall any medical symptoms I can for how I am feeling. For some reason, I get viral meningitis in my head. I started looking for red-dots to press a cold glass onto. I can't find any on my arms. I vividly remember seeing a couple on my thigh today so I tear my pants down and grab a glass off the shelf - and drop it: I am still shaking violently. I pick it up and press it on red mark on my leg. Nothing happens. It suddenly hits me that I am acting like a complete twat as I have no idea of what I am doing. I start laughing and nearly bite my tongue off. I stumble over to the wrought-iron, manky, bed and start a emergency procedure. I take off the two fleeces I am wearing and put on both my long-sleeved tops. I put on both fleeces and take an extra blanket from the wardrobe and climb into bed. I am freezing, shaking, and my teeth will not stop chattering...

We drove back in twilight to Madaba. It was a lovely end to a perfect day. We decided to eat in the same restaurant complex as the night before because a) it was nice and b) there wasn't much else available. We got there at the same time as a single European woman. The waiter thought we were all together and tried to seat us as a table of four. On the way home, I had started to feel very odd. As I got to the restaurant it was becoming worse. I was coming with something and it was pretty heavy. We ordered food and I had just water. By the time the food came I was shaking uncontrollably. I ended up wearing mine and Merryl's fleeces, and being wrapped in Marcus's coat. It got so bad I had to leave early and go straight to bed. I was up all night with a raging temperature. I was also unable to sweat so the fever wouldn't break. It was only thanks to Merryl covering me in wet, damp, towels, that it finally did at 6am. Although we were both pretending it was fine, we were really worried. I was particularly worried as I was the one dying. Luckily, whatever it was, passed.