We said our farewells to the magical city of Petra, giving thanks for the Nabateans and their unknown history, but their wonderful legacy.
We started on the road to Amman . Mike was in a lot of pain, but trying to hide it as usual. The bus is hell for him. I don't know how he bears it, but he foes. No choice I guess.
We drove past an old castle dating back to the crusades. We didn't stop there because the real treasure on this route is Abu-Ali, an eccentric man who lives in a cave and collects business cards. They are hung up all over his place. He sleeps in an old VeeDub on the side of the road. He LOVES people to stop and have a chat. He makes tea for everyone and sells a few little souvenirs. He asks where you are from and then points out various cards from that country. My camera died before I could take pictures in the cave :( .Apparently he is married and his wife lives in the village nearby, but he prefers his cave most of the time.
After our visit with Abu-Ali we continued on our way to Karak Castle, another from the crusades. We had a walk through there and learnt a bit about its history.
As we left the town of Karak we drove through a street demonstration . Lots of yelling and a few scuffles. It was a bit intense.
Onwards we drove to the Dead Sea which is actually a lake. A big lake. The Dead Sea is the lowest land point on a Earth, at 429 metres BELOW sea level. From here, the only way is up!
It was lovely and warm, which is helpful when you get smothered in mud and need to dry it out before heading into the water to wash it off. This sea is almost ten times as salty as the ocean. It really stings if you get the water in your eyes and the taste is foul. Any mucous membranes sting and tingle. Israel and Jericho are soooo close! Mike was floating away, I thought he was going to end up in Jericho!
The level of the Dead Sea continues to drop by about a metre per year. Both Israel and Jordan 'harvest' potash which reduces the water level. There are concerns by the Jordanians about the drop.
The floating was the weirdest thing. It is impossible to sink, you just keep bobbing up like a cork. When you try and swim, you actually are on top of the water so it's hard to kick and propel your self .
Then there is the mud! There is this massive red bucket of mud. You pay 3 dinar (about $6AUD) to get coated in the stuff. It must be the most coveted job on the beach I reckon! There are meant to be lots of health benefits for soaking in the sea and the mud, so it's sad that the women who wear full nicab (full black gown and face covering with eye slits) , or even just the hijab (keep arms and legs covered too) can't participate. The most they can do is get wet.
After the mud bath, we rinsed off and had a swim in the pool. Nice.
We drove on to Madaba where we would be spending the night. It was a quaint little hotel but the showers were complicated! Madaba is a predominantly Christian town. Yes. Christian. About 60% of the population here is Christian. There are three main Christian centres in Jordan and this is one of them. There is no animosity between Muslim and Christian here at all.
Madaba is the site of St George's church which contains a very special mosaic which is situated on the floor in the middle of the church. It is a map of holy sites which showed pilgrims where to go. I nearly had a stroke when Julia stepped onto it to take photos. A man had to come over to tell her to get off it!
We then had dinner and on the walk back to the hotel we stopped at a bakery to buy some sweets. I bought some kunafah for everyone to share - it's a lovely goats cheese dessert - the cheese layer is sandwiched between two crispy layers, then has a honey syrup and a sprinkle of crushed pistachio on top. It was delicious.
Bedtime, then the drive to Amman was next on the agenda.