We left the hotel at 4 on Monday morning to drive to the airport (it is not very far from the hotel - about 15 minutes - but being in Dubai, who knows how long it can take us). We flew from Dubai to Amman, Jordan in about 3 hours. We got picked up by a driver who took us to Madaba, which is known (I didn't really know) for its mosaic map of the Holy Land. We visited one very old christian church, then drove to Mount Nebo, the place where Moses died. From the top of the mound, we could see the "promised land". It was kind of neat to think that we were less than 50 km from Bethlehem and Jerusalem. There is a bit of history that happened in this part of the world!
We then went to take a dip in the Dead Sea. It was amazing to see how easily you float in the water compared to normal ocean water or fresh water. The normal percentage of salt in an ocean is about 3 - 6% whereas the Dead Sea is at about 28 - 34%. It tastes awful if you get some water on your lips, and you really need to shower when you get out of the water! It was however a very cool experience!
We then proceeded on the King's highway to Petra, and saw some amazing landscapes. Once in Petra, we went to the Turkish baths. It was pretty nice - the hot and cold water, the steam room, the massage, the tea at the end; it was a cool experience.
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| Part of a mosaic map of the Holy Land in a church in Madaba |
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| Where they have the mosaic map on the floor |
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| Inside the Greek Orthodox Church |
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| View from Mountain of Nebo |
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| For Toronto Maple Leafs fans, this is what the "promised land" looks like! |
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| Road map |
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| Julie at Moses Memorial stone |
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| At the Dead Sea |
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| Floating in the Dead Sea |
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| Salt on the rocks |
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| Lot's wife, turned into a pillar of salt; take it with a grain of salt! |
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| The Dead Sea |
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| The King`s highway |
my gosh! awesome! what an experience.
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