Feb. 27th- Mt. Nebo and Bethany Baptism Site

 We had a lazy start to the day before checking out of our hotel in Amman.

Today's tours shifted focus from ancient Roman and Byzantine eras to early Christianity. Our first stop was Mt. Nebo. At the end of his life, Moses climbed Mt. Nebo to view the Promised Land. He died on the mountain and was buried somewhere nearby. Although he led his people to the Promised Land, Moses never made it there.



Once again, stunning scenery from the viewpoints- Jericho, Jerusalem, and the Jordan Valley. 


Our next stop was very structured in a strictly guarded site, where Jordan and Israeli-occupied West Bank meet in the center of the river that is a very popular and holy baptismal site.

There are two attractions here. The first, the Bethany Baptism site is where John baptised Jesus. There have been other places (in Israel) proposed to be the location, but UNESCO and Pope Francis have deemed this is be the one. The Bible describes the location and, in particular, mentions the marble steps down to the baptismal pool.



It is also a short walk from a river which is the border of Jordan and Israel. On both sides of the river, tourists flock to be baptized or to dip rosaries or crosses into the water. (We met a nun originally from Edmonton who bought a number of religious items to be blessed by putting them in the holy water.) I just put my feet in.

You can see how narrow the river is at this point. There are lots of guards around on both sides to make sure that no one attempts a crossing. 

On the Jordan side, no one was being baptized when we were there and there were only about a ten of us, but it was a very different story across the river. Dozens of people were there- we think about three tourbus loads- and most were going for full immersion baptisms. One group seemed to be an evangelical Christian group and another to be Catholic. 



After this brief stop, we continued on our private tour and soon reached the Dead Sea and our luxurious hotel with multiple pools and restaurants and a private beach. 

obligatory hotel room view


We went down to the beach to have a swim- impossible! The Dead Sea's salinity is so high that everyone floats on top of the water. There are no boats, either, as they bob along the surface and cannot use a rudder or propeller.

We did take part in a mud mask (for the whole body). The Dead Sea mud is also quite salty and is a wonderful exfoliant. Once the mud dries and you wash it off, your skin feels amazing!





Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 5, 2023 at 4:49 AM

    Your feet have been blessed...as have you with this amazing journey!

    ReplyDelete

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