‘Ayn al Munammirah

Happy Leap Year!

We awoke in our tent in the desert - I was surprised how very toasty I was under all the Bedouin blankets, even though the temperatures were near freezing last night. And the morning dawned clear and sunny, with gorgeous morning light on the canyons.

We had breakfast in the camp, then our guide drove us out of the desert to Wadi Rum Village, where we had parked our rental car. The car was due back in Amman, the capital, at 7pm, and the drive from Wadi Rum was about four to five hours. So we decided that this was going to be a cross-country road trip.

We drove north for two hours through more unscenic, scrubby desert. At 11am, we arrived at the ruins of Shobak Castle, a 12th century castle built by the Crusaders. We were going to just drive by and take a photo, but someone had set up a most perfect viewpoint, so we couldn't resist joining the tableau (go see the photo!).

We got back on the road for a ninety-minute drive to Kerak Castle, another 12th century Crusader castle. Unlike Shobak, however, it was possible to explore the seven storeys of Kerak and take photos from its astonishing viewpoints. Kerak is huge- it was much larger than the castles built in Europe at that time, and includes barracks, a prison, a kitchen, a mosque and a church, tower fortifications, and an underground marketplace. I didn't expect a castle ruin to be as well presented and well-lit; Kerak Castle even had a tiny museum, where I pretended to mull the exhibits so that I could use the bathroom.

We had parked our car in a tiny café's lot in exchange for promising to buy something when we returned. So after successfully conquering two castles, we shared some hummus, Arabic salads, and mint tea on the small terrace.

By now, it was past 1pm, and we drove another hour over a mountain pass to the lowest place on the planet- the Dead Sea. At 430 meters/1412 feet below sea level, it's an astonishing place. And after seeing purely desert landscapes since our arrival, the stunning blue of the Dead Sea as we crested the mountain pass was a welcome change.

We were told that we could buy a day pass at a fancy-pants Dead Sea resort for about €50 each, or we could go to the public beach for about €20, which includes showers and locker room access. But we discovered there is another option- many locals create their own "beach park," with a free car park and access the beach, with the expectation that you will buy a (ice cold tank) shower and a beverage afterwards at a MacGyver-like setup. This was our obvious choice, as I adore both "cheap" and locals who creatively exploit the tourism economy for their own benefit.

The Dead Sea is so called because of its 34% salinity level, which is nine and a half times the saltiness of the ocean. You physically can't swim in it because the salt makes you so buoyant that you can only float on top of it. And it is impossible to sink. So as a swimmer, this was definitely something I wanted to experience. We parked the car, scrambled down the gravel cliffside, and found ourselves on a weird, white, deserted rock-salt beach.

Given the cold, icy-breeze morning, we hadn't expected it to be warm enough to enter the water. But at 3pm, the temperature had skyrocketed to 23 C°/75F°, so this was now a Real Beach Day. So we took off our shoes and coverups, and left our bag on a lone bench.

Taking our shoes off was a mistake. The hardened salt beach and surf floor was dried into pointy, painful spikes, and walking out into the water punctured our feet and hands...and the sea literally poured salt in our wounds. But when we got far enough out to float, I'm not gonna lie...it was fabulous. The water was as warm as bathwater, the sky was a cerulean blue, and we just floated. No arm stroke or kick was needed- it felt like I had an inflatable swim ring underneath myself. But the salty water began to itch and sting after a few minutes, so we walked back over the painful spikes to the beach, where we proceeded to bleed onto our PackTowls.

We hiked back up the gravel path, and enjoyed a cup of mint tea while we stared at the sea. If it weren't for the thick, stiff salt crust drying on our skin and swimsuits, we could have been in Barcelona. (Although we'd probably be drinking wine instead of this tea nonsense.) And Matt assured me that chefs use salt crusts to tenderize and preserve the juiciness of meat, so I expect to be quite flavorful and tender tomorrow.

We got back on the road at 4:30pm, and began the winding, switchbacked drive up to Mount Nebo. Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Old Testament; this is where, after dragging the Israelites around the desert, Moses finally saw New Canaan, or the Promised Land. According to the legend, God let Moses SEE the Promised Land, but wouldn't let him actually GO there, because Moses hurt God's little feelings and apparently the Old Testament God is a petty b*tch (I'm paraphrasing here). Moses died soon after, and his grave was never found- though it's assumed to be on the other side of the sea, in Israel. (Also: You can see Israel from here!) Today, there's a Musa Museum (Moses is called "Musa" in Jordan) atop Mount Nebo, with a fabulous view over the Dead Sea, and parts of Israel and Palestine. Given that Moses is revered as a prophet in all three Abrahamic religions (Judiasm, Islam, and Christianity), it's quite an elaborate, beautiful museum and park.

It also closes at 5pm, and we didn't arrive until 5:15pm. So much like Moses, we were allowed to SEE the Promised Land Museum, we just weren't allowed to ENTER the museum. We decided that this was a more authentic experience, took a few photos, and left.

We returned our rental car, hailed an Uber to Amman's city center, and after checking into our hotel, attempted to shower the desert dust and sand and Dead Sea salt off our filthy selves.Read more