Finally at the Dead Sea. Today was a long day. We left the Hyatt in Amman at 8.00 am and checked into the Movenpick hotel at the Dead Sea at 5.00 pm.
On the last trip our guide Zuhair said next time we should visit Jerash, Bethany and the Dead Sea. So this was a first for Ken and me today. We first visited Jerash and I think everyone loved it. One of the largest ancient Roman cities I have ever seen and you get a great sense of the entire town.
We had lunch at a nice restaurant in Jerash of course full of onions and they made me a pasta with no onions very quickly.
We visited the Citadel and discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls we saw on the first NILE are being moved to a new museum and are not on display anywhere at this time.
Next stop was Bethany and this is the place where it is believed that Jesus Christ was baptized by John by the Baptist. What I like about this site is that they are keeping it “commercial free†with no vendors or shops of any kind. Many faiths are building churches in this area, Roman Catholics, Coptic Christians, Greek Orthodox and a Mosque so far. It appears that there is a consensus that this is indeed the site. We stood on the Jordan river on the Jordan side and looked across about 30 feet of the river to the Israeli side. Some German tourists on the Israeli site were singing a hymn. This is NOT the area we visited on Cleo. Right now you cannot reach the batismal site from the Israeli side only the Jordan side.
Finally we reached the Movenpick at the Dead Sea. A huge resort the rooms are acceptable and the grounds are nice. At the Movenpick at Petra on Nile they had lamb chops I have my fingers crossed I will see that tonight. I am in lamb withdrawal.
Tomorrow we do not leave until 10.30 am so that gives those that want to go floating time in the morning.
We all miss our Hossam, Henry and Hany and the wonderful treatment we received. Leaving from Cairo airport we were treated like Royalty, whisked through passport control through the crew area to a private lounge so absolutely a piece of cake. No lining up anywhere I have no idea how they get all this handled but certainly enjoy the whole experience.
We have a GREAT bus this time. I insisted on a 40 person bus for the 16 of us and it is great. Smooth ride and tons of space this will make all the bus rides much more comfortable. There is no other way to get around. Zuhair is in good form and there is no doubt this man is a wealth of knowledge.
Looking forward to tomorrows trip down to Petra. Time is flying fast. I am sure Leslie will have some pictures soon they were even able to charge her phone on the bus that was great.
Our tables for card playing on the long ride home will work perfectly.
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