The first group photo (taken at Citadel Amman).
We rented a 8-seater MPV for 2 days (US$260). It had been quite a few years since I drove a right-hand traffic environment. The last time was back in the US, and I took some time to get used to it. Singapore and a few commonwealth countries are the last few countries still using the left-hand traffic.
"John the Baptist preached a baptism for the forgiveness of sins and in so doing he was preparing the way for the Lord.[2] Jesus came to the Jordan River where he was baptized by John at a site traditionally known as Qasr al-Yahud (the Jews' Castle).Many scholars believe Jesus was baptized by John at the Jordan River, just south of what is now the Allenby Bridge, near Qasir al-Yahud on the West Bank. "
River Jordan
We were a bit disappointed, as it looks like any other murky canal to us. My reaction was "So this is it".
The Site where Jesus Christ was baptized 2000 years ago.
Information about the site.
Many different denomination of churches set up their presence in this holy place.
Ceiling Painting
Wall Painting
We had a conversation with our guide who told us that Jesus never explicitly said that he was the Son of God. According to the guide, the claim was inferred by Jesus' disciples. Since I was not Theologists Scholar nor Christian, I probed a few more questions to the guide and accepted it. I was surprised that none of the Christians in our tour group challenged the guide.
The guide was quite delighted to know that we were from Singapore. He said that Jordan aspires to be the "Singapore of Middle-East". This made me proud of my country. Finally, someone knows where Singapore is!! =)
As this site has little historical and religious significance to me, the most interesting thing was seeing Israelis guards smoking across the River Jordan. I would expect to see Palestinian forces, as it was part of West Bank.
"The Dead Sea also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point."
Dead Sea !!!
Elevation: 400m below sea level
The lowest point on Earth!!!
The classic reading a paper on Dead Sea picture.
Group Floating Photo! =)
I could not swim breaststroke in the Dead Sea because the buoyancy would cause my legs to kick above the water. On the other hand, it was a joy swimming freestyle, as I could glide through the water easily without kicking. The only challenge was preventing the salty water from entering my mouth.
The magical moment was when I was in the upright position. My feet could not touch the ground, yet the water level was only at my chest. I was literally floating vertically in the dead sea. It was AWESOME!!!
What is the best job in the world?
Being the Dead Sea's life guard, as everybody floats and nobody drown.
The life guard was collecting money for the mud bath - quite a relaxing job.
Dead Sea Mud - supposedly good for the skin.
Yes! I have a big heart (inspired by carebear!). Haha..
I can't see you, so please SMILE!
=)
Sunset @ Dead Sea (around 4pm)
Soon, it was dark and we were dependent on our GPS to guide us to Petra. We named our GPS PY so that our dear friend (PY) could join us during this trip even though she could not join us physically. The GPS-PY is very smart and accurate (just like the real PY), but GPS-PY tends to show us the shortest route instead of the fastest route. Quite often, we would drive away from the main highway, and ended up in small dusty roads. The way to Petra was the same as well. We were driving in small roads with no other cars, it was dark and we had no idea where we were, and we just had to trust PY.
Driving at night
Decided to relief ourselves and do some exercise in the middle of nowhere.
We knew that we were driving in some hilly areas (away from the main highway to Petra), as we could roughly see the surroundings under the moonlight. We had a clearer view of the landscape after I took the photo below (25s shuttle-speed).
Imagine driving in this landscape at night.
It was quite a scary experience, especially the road was no good. If anything happens, I do not know how to get help. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.
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