Here in America: Living It Up at the Dead Sea

Jun 28, 2022

Living It Up at the Dead Sea

Living my best life at the Dead Sea

Friday is the Muslim day of worship, and that means the weekend for us! We didn't go out to the dig site on Friday, June 24 and were free to do what we wanted for the day.

I decided to join Dr. Stacie and Mr. Aaron Hatfield, and two of the Andrews University college students, Christen and Isabel on a jaunt to the Dead Sea.

We stopped off first at the Memorial Church of Moses located on Mount Nebo, the place where the Bible says the Lord took Moses to see the Promised Land before his death.

Moses had to hike. We just drove right up.

The view from Mount Nebo. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure you are not looking at the Promised Land. I think I took this photo facing east instead of west. But I could be wrong.

My rudimentary knowledge of Latin leads me to believe the inscription on this sculpture reads:
One God
Father of All
Above All

It was really cool to see these pottery vessels that looked similar to the types of sherds we'd been finding the day before at Hisban.

A Roman mile marker found near Hisban. Here we see the marker itself and the transcription in Latin. Below is the English translation

Some of the floor murals at the Memorial Church of Moses. The bottom one is my favorite.

This is an artist's interpretation of the image of the serpent on a pole that Moses made for the people of Israel when they were plagued by deadly snakes in the wilderness. All who looked at the image were healed.

This is the Promised Land as seen from Mt. Nebo

After visiting we Mount Nebo, we continued on to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is lined with high-end resorts and we decided our best bet was to find what we hoped was the cheapest option among them to access the beach. In the end we settled on the Oh Beach Resort on the Dead Sea. The fee was $20 JD (Around $30 US) and included access to the changing and shower rooms, the resort pools, and of course beach access. For $10 JD more we could have had lunch included as well, but we decided to hunt for cheaper eats when we were done for the day.

Technically the Dead Sea is "under the sea."

The Dead Sea was amazing! You've heard that you can float easily in the Dead Sea. Well, I can report that is false. It's not that you can float in the Dead Sea; it's that you must float in the Dead Sea. You have no choice; it's literally impossible to sink. It's to the extent that when I tried to float vertically, my body tended to tip over, either forward or backward. The reason you see people joyously showing themselves floating with ease on their back isn't because they are showing off--it's because that's all you can really do.

The water feels normal when you first get in--it's not cold at all. But you soon notice that it has a somewhat viscous quality--to me it's kind of like Jello that hasn't quite begun to set yet. It tastes terrible. I got just a few drops in my mouth and it had a strong taste that I liken to batteries (although I've never tasted batteries). Any cut, no matter how slight will sting like the dickens. I was fortunate not to have any wounds and I've been vigilant about trying to avoid any scratches this week since we'll be going back there this Friday. However, even without wounds, you may experience what I call a "sting-y, sting-y" sensation at the openings of your private areas. I heard that women in particular experience this, but I can attest that men can experience it also (although I have talked to some guys that say they haven't felt anything). You don't feel it at first, and while it is a bit uncomfortable, it's not unbearable. I find the stinging sensation is actually worse when you get out. But as soon as you wash off in fresh water, you're fine. Thankfully they had showers right on the beach so we didn't have to suffer too long.

The salt left behind by the evaporated water of the Sea leaves a briny coating that has the look and feel of hardened cake frosting. If you zoom in on the picture above you'll notice a green beach towel on one of the rocks, left behind and now encrusted with a glaze of salt. Below, if you zoom in you'll see little droplets of a salt on the shorter strands of Isabel's hair.

Once we'd had our fill of the Dead Sea, we rinsed off and headed to the pools, where we lolled about in luxury for a few hours. The Oh Beach Resort reminds me so much of the Mandi Resort and Spa where Barbara and spent so many idyllic hours during our Saipan years. From the multitude of infinity pools to the spaces for quiet relaxation, to the richly appointed (but also somewhat musty) changing rooms and showers, the Oh sparked a lot of memories.