Last Hurrah!

If I haven't mentioned previously, my "little" bigger brother Sam has been here the past 10 days or so, which is why I've been mostly absent online.  We've had fun showing him around Jordan, and it's served as a good time for the kids and I to say "farewell, Second Home!" and get a bunch of cultural cravings out of our system one last time.  Harried traveling is always a great way to rid oneself of those pesty nostalgic feelings that make it hard to move on. 

So today, we made a last dash to the Dead Sea for a little float time.  The weather was perfect, the sea was warm and buoyant, the shore trashed (as one would only expect, by now!) but the water crystal turquoise and beautiful.  The air smelled of sulfur, but it was very pleasant.  We all bobbed up and down in the creature-less water (which makes it extra relaxing, if you don't have to worry about hungry sea creatures sneaking up on you).  I kept wondering to myself if it was a regrettable mistake to bring the kids in on the experience, but I'm happy to report that--other than a mouthful of sea water for Safita and of course some sand and rocks--everyone came out unscathed and delightfully crusty with minerals!  I was worried about the kids rubbing their eyes with their hands, or something of that nature, but they did well. 

Safita, tasting the dirt; Jack, checking out her reaction before digging in himself

the swirls of all the minerals

salt/mineral formations on rocks on the sea bottom

Desert Wanderings (Part 2)

Following are some highlights from the rest of our weekend-past excursions:

Look at the people packed in there!

We started the day off fresh with Jack throwing up all over the car...I'm not sure if we ever seriously considered going home after that happened (the poor boy!), but pressed on, assuming he was simply carsick.

As mentioned in the last post, our first stop was an impromptu side-trip down to a beautiful beach on the Dead Sea.  It was interesting, because while we were there, 2 soldiers came hurriedly over the hill from a nearby outpost and were staring at the sea with their binoculars.  There was something out there, which we also saw & thought was a swimmer, that they were fairly concerned about.  After a bit, they noticed our camera's nice telephoto zoom lens, and warmly greeted us and asked if we might zoom in to take a picture for them to see.  Always nice to be of service to the local military.  As we scaled back up the rocky incline, we noticed they had a truck sitting up at the top armed with a fairly substantial machine gun, and another soldier manning the gun, ready to fire at notice.  I wish we could have taken a picture, but it didn't seem worth the trouble we may have faced for trying.  The "thing," on closer inspection, seemed just to be some sort of floating buoy.

"Salt drifts"

salt rock

Next, we traveled down to the very southern end of the Dead Sea to a "quaint ghetto" (similar to "shabby chic"?) village called Ghor es-Safi (just "Safi" to the locals), just to do a drive-thru photo shoot.

Then it was on to the main event: Early Bronze Age (3000 BC) site Bâb edh-Dhrâ‘.  The main attraction to this site is its expansive cemetery which has been heavily looted...thus lots of leftover treasures to potentially be found.

pock-marks of looted cemetery

We didn't find much of anything, sadly.  We spent a long time looking, though.  Jack had a great time finding his own little treasures of rocks and pottery and playing in the numerous looting-holes--endless acres of robbed graveyard fun!  Safita slept in the pack until the wind became too much for her--she HATES wind with a passion.  A dark storm passed by, which made the sky a rich, dark, purply-blue...so beautiful! 

Owen is pointing to the buried gravestone and looting hole underneath

stormy sky

We traveled back north from there to Machaerus, and what a gorgeous drive!  We followed a narrow, winding road up through the hills, past some natural hot springs, through various geological layers to the impressive fortress where John the Baptist is said to have been imprisoned and beheaded by Herod Antipas.  There was an amazing view of the Dead Sea as we ascended, with the sun gleaming magically through the clouds.

We passed a lonely donkey on the road, traveling by itself to somewhere...

 And just as we were arriving at the site, Safita evened the score and concluded our day by throwing up prolifically, all over me.  It was an impressive spout for such a small girl, and her ready smiles post-deed indicated she was reasonably proud of herself.  I fortunately had the foresight to bring extra clothes for the kids, but not for myself!  Sometimes we learn the hard way.  Needless to say, we decided to skip the long hike to the top--a cold, steep, hungry, tired, covered-in-throw-up hike was simply NOT the ticket for that moment in time.  Instead, we snapped some pictures of the majestic mound, tucked ourselves snugly back into the car, and whisked away to Madaba for a late dinner-on-the-run.  Poor Jack, who had waited so patiently & hungrily for his shawarma, fell asleep just minutes before we arrived.  He ate it as a late-night snack hours later. 

Machaerus, with Dead Sea beyond

 Our final adventure did not take place in the desert, but in the hills...Sunday, after the beautiful sunrise service on Mt. Nebo, we went in search for the elusive Tulul adh-Dhahab, which means "hills of gold" in Arabic.  For a more in-depth discussion on this site, click here to see my archaeologist husband's blog on the subject!  In brief, the site is actually 2 sites, twin tells on either side of the Wadi Zerqa, tucked very much out of the way on a winding back road.  This was our third attempt, I think, to find it.  And success!  Its beauty was striking, with the wadi (i.e., river), small waterfalls, and an abundance of blooming oleander...We strapped on the kids and hiked the steep slope, to find at the top some hard-working looters--complete with pick-axes, shovels, and metal detector!  It was sad to see them butcher the history in the dirt for a handful of Roman coins.  And there were sheep.  Jack had never been able to get so close to the sheep before, so he was thrilled. 

And that concludes our whirlwind weekend whoopee!

Desert Wanderings (Part 1)

We rented a car this past weekend (sweet freedom!!), and frantically used every spare second of it.  Friday, we wandered the desert...probably my favorite geographical area in all of the Middle East (whether Israel side or Jordan side, both are equally amazing).  The desert...it reminds me of God, in that it cannot be captured or described, but its raw power leaves you gaping in awe and wonder, and its stunning beauty encompasses you in loving warmth so that all you can think about is its very self.  Words escape me for describing this amazing place; and unfortunately, words must escape the camera too, since it simply cannot capture the majesty. 

Here's an attempt, anyway.

Every time I visit the desert, I cannot help but ruminate over the ancient Israelites wandering around the very same region and what it must have been like for them.  Things are very different today, with roads and vehicles and frequent rest areas with food and refreshments.  I'm sure the landscape has changed some, too, but much of it also is similar to those long-past days.  I find the desert to be beautiful and welcoming, probably primarily because I know that I don't have to face its harshness: food and water are plentiful, I can travel by air-conditioned car, and when I am tired of it, I can return to my comfortable home.  I don't have to deal with inescapable, suffocatingly hot days, or worry about the lack of life-sustaining water, or the hazards of scorpions or snakes, or unwelcoming people groups, or the lack of food, or inhospitable environment, or any number of things they must have faced. 

Not to mention that they had left a rather comfortable home in Egypt where everything they could need or want was abundant, and out here, they were essentially homeless.  They had been in Egypt for 430 years--it was all they had ever known.  Sure, they were heading to the Promised Land, and sure, their extended wanderings were their own sinful fault...but I tend to think, if I were in their shoes, I would have complained just as severely.  Even though they were slaves in Egypt, they had gotten comfortable, and it's hard when you're comfortable (even if it's in a bad place) to have to move on to a new place.  While they traveled and wandered, they were aliens in a foreign land, so God reminded them frequently, "Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens..." (Ex. 23:9).  I myself have felt a deepened compassion for foreigners and immigrants in my own homeland after being one myself; it's hard to not belong.

So, that was a long introduction to get to my main thought...Along our drive we found a beautiful beach on the northern shore of the Dead Sea, and I wondered:  After wandering for generations through THIS...

 ...what must it have felt like to trudge over yet one more summit, and see THIS...

It must've felt too-good-to-be-true, life-saving, angels-singing-Hallelujah miraculous!  Even up close, doesn't the water just draw you in like the Sirens of ancient Greek lore?  I, for one, wanted to throw all to the wind and immerse myself in the crystal waters!  And then how their hearts must have sunk when they realized how brackish the water really is, and how it stings and burns any orifice.  Maybe it didn't happen like that, I'm just musing...but it reminds me of a similar story in Exodus 15:22ff. 

I have said too much, and only covered one stop along our travels.  More to come tomorrow...