The Dead Sea, despite its location which is very much located between Jordan and Israel is not really mentioned much in the Holy Book (but it was mentioned when God described the land to Moses – a few more times after). A little bit of browsing on the Google Earth had led me into discovering that the Jordan River – which is mentioned so many times in the Holy Book, both in the Old and New Testaments – flows right into the Dead Sea. I can only assume that Joshua, who was made Moses’s successor by the Lord himself, entered the Promised Land by land off the south tip of Dead Sea, and missed it entirely.
We went there after taking a dip at Jordan River. I couldn’t help but getting wowed by the beautiful scenery along the way. The bus took us on the world famous Highway 90 which is said to be the lowest road in the world. I could feel my ears deafen, probably due to the drastic change in pressure. The world’s highest motor-able road is said to be at a place called Kardung La in the Ladakh region of North India – which is very much in my #bucketlist so it’s going to be interesting to have had traveled on both the world’s highest and lowest motor-able roads. Heh.
Well, the Dead Sea is a not really listed as a Holy Site so it was more like a detour to what was intended to be a pilgrimage trip. But then I gotta say it was a much needed break too. LOL. The Dead Sea is such a beautiful sea that looks more like a lake than a sea. I could see the beautiful mountains on the Jordanian side so if there was something that could qualify it to be called a sea it is probably the saltiness of the water.
Quite true to its name, the Dead Sea is 400 m below the Sea level and is said to be 20 times saltier. Of course I wouldn’t let chance of doing what everybody would do when going to the Dead Sea slip away just like that – which is to float freely in the water. Perhaps, that is the closest to doing what Jesus did when He walked on the surface of Galilee Sea as described in the Holy Book.
Since the water is very salty, it has enough buoyant force to let you stay afloat. You can’t even dive in. So, while my mom was busy collecting solidified salt to be brought back to Malaysia – whatever it was for – there I was playing tourist and floating with so many other tourists. It really was such a relaxing moment. I could not believe I was doing something that I had always wanted to do for such a long time.
I also joined the others to cover my body with the black mud which is said to be full of minerals that soften the skin. I’m not really sure about that skin-softening part but it really was fun to do. It reminded me of those childhood times when I used to play in the mud during rainy season in my village back in Sabah. What a great experience it was and I left with a refreshed and probably a softened skin too. LOL.
It was such a perfect ending to such a memorable trip. Jordan River and the Dead Sea – finally ticked off from my bucketlist.
Yippies!
