Good Friday in the Holy Land-Who would have ever thought!!

I had hit the sack late on Thursday night knowing that more than likely we wouldn’t be doing anything in the morning. It was nice to sleep in and then go to the gym for a quick workout on the elliptical machine. Speaking of which my left hip is a lot better as of late with the exercises I am doing plus not running on the roads, but instead on the elliptical trainer.

At 1315 Major Sanders, Col Alberto and I linked up with Saad, Tala, Zoorah, and we headed off to the Dead Sea which is located about one hour south of Amman. The drive was beautiful as you could really appreciate the geography of Jordan, lots of hills, valleys, terraced farms, olive trees, sheep, etc. We arrived at the Dead Sea and opted to go to the right and see the where Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

Baptism Site Map

We had to get on a lorry with seats and they drove us to the site of the baptism. After a good 500 meter walk toward the River Jordan we finally came upon the site, according to the tour guide, it was discovered in the 90’s and like many sites located by rivers, nature took its course and the River Jordan no longer flows at the exact site. Here I was a Roman Catholic on Good Friday the day that Jesus was crucified standing at the exact site where 2000+ years ago Jesus was baptized. It was definitely something I will never forget.

Actual Baptism Site

We were able to continue to walk towards the River Jordan and there several of the folks in the tour had their baptism gowns on and jumped into the river. Most of us were content touching the river as if to say we were here. The River Jordan is only 7 meters wide at that location and on the other side is the Holy Land Israel and the “West Bank”. Up the hill on the West Bank you could see the Jew’s had several buildings and temples and the Israeli flag seemed to wave slowly in the wind.

The West Bank

What was somewhat out of place were the Jordanian Army guard posts along the River Jordan protecting Jordan from Israel. I could not see any Israeli guard posts from where we were at, but am sure not too far away from that location they exist. We hiked back to the lorry stop and then took the bus lorry to the start. From what I gathered they are starting to build up the tourism at this site. The Greek Orthodox Church completed building a Church at the drop off site, the Roman Catholic Church is currently under construction. There were several tour buses while we were there and with this being Holy Week what better time to visit the Holy Land, still Jordan could definitely improve their tourist infrastructure at this location which is one of the most coveted locations for Christians through out the world.

We then headed toward the Dead Sea resorts about 15 kms south of the baptism site, and stopped off at a Moveinpick Resort to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening. The resort reminded me of the resorts in Marbella or Santi Petri in Southern Spain. The swimming pool was huge and the ladies stayed there enjoying the view of the Dead Sea and the shade while us guys decided to swim or float in the Dead Sea. We changed into our swim suits and made our way down to the shore and it is very rocky and the footing is all stones, but after getting knee deep one only has to turn around and lay on your back and presto you’re floating big time. It felt weird being able to float without any effort, as ones feet stick out of the water while laying on your back.

Major Sanders and I Floating in the Dead Sea

The water is so salty I wet my mouth and it was awful. I still remember rinsing with salt water when I was a kid and had an infection in my mouth, that tasted nice compared to this. Lots of people put on some mud before getting into the Dead Sea, I preferred not to. We must have spent about 30 minutes enjoying the scenery and floating along. Before changing we headed into the pool just above the shore and were able to witness a beautiful sunset on the West Bank.

Later we got a chance to walk around the resort and check out the various sites and activities, they have 3 or 4 swimming pools, spas, cafes, etc. We then enjoyed an excellent buffet dinner of Middle Eastern cuisine and some Amstel Light on tap. Our table was on the terrace and it was so nice none of us wanted to leave as the conversation and company was perfect and time seemed to stop. But all good things must come to an end and we had to head back to the hotel knowing that the following morning we’re heading to the US on our tour.

The Colonel