Amman Daytrip

I got a haircut today from a guy whose only English was “Obama Good (followed by thumbs up) and Bush Bad (followed by thumbs down)”. It only cost 2 JD and was probably the best haircut I’ve ever gotten. The only downside of it was when he put alcohol on my neck and it burned like hell.



The next day a couple of us from the hostel are taking a day trip to visit the many historic sites around the Amman area. We get up at 7am to catch a minibus that will take us to Madaba which is known as the mosaic city. There we visit a church that has some of the oldest mosaic artworks. After viewing several of these masterpieces I am bored and not all that impressed.



Our next stop is Mount Nebo where Moses died after seeing the Promised Land. Below is a picture of the valley that overlooks the Promised Land and I have to say that it not that impressive. On top of the viewpoint the Jordanians have erected a tourist attraction where there are many statues.



Bethany is the next stop. We all unload next to the River Jordan. Here is the supposed baptism site of Jesus. The funny thing is that there is a temple much like the one we are visiting on the Israeli side where there Israeli are claiming is the actual baptism site. Near the base of the River Jordan where thick mud like fluid moves steadily across the banks, a line of people wait to be baptized like Jesus at the same location.



The highlight of the trip was the last stop which is the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has some of the highest salt concentrations found on earth. Because of this fact it is effortless to float in this body of water. Swimming in the Dead Sea is said to cure almost any kind of skin aliment. As I get to about knee deep in this salty water I start to the feel the buoyancy force pushing me up. When I get to about waist deep I can effortlessly float and it is one of the strangest feelings in the world. Below is a sign describing how to swim here. I actually got some salt water in my eye and it immediately shut and started to burn. Luckily I was able to rush out to the freshwater showers.