We left Amman and headed towards southern Jordan. Our first stop was the small city of Madaba, which is known for it's mosaics. We went to St. George church which has an enormous mosaic on the floor that shows a map of the entire Middle East. Next we stopped at a small museum with a number of artifacts and some more mosaics. On the way out of town we visited a mosaic workshop and got to see how they make these beautiful works of art. The queen of Jordan has started an organization which teaches disabled people this art form.
Our next stop was Mount Nebo, the location of the death of Moses. From here there was an amazing view of the Jordan valley, Israel (you could see the city of Jericho), and the Dead Sea. We made our way down the mountain and went from 800m above to 400m below sea level in a very short distance. We arrived at our hotel, the Holiday Inn Dead Sea Resort, which is an amazing 4 star hotel right on the Dead Sea. They have 3 swimming pools, a spa, and a few different restaurants and our room was amazing. We changed into our swimsuits and headed straight to the beach. Getting into the water the first time was a challenge because the water is 9 times saltier than normal salt water which makes you extremely buoyant. It is amazing to just float around with no effort whatsoever. The water is very strange because it has an almost oily feel to it and it sticks to your skin. The Dead Sea is also known for the therapeutic properties of the mud. They have clay jars along the beach filled with mud from the shores of the sea. We covered ourselves with the thick, gooey mud, baked in the sun for a bit and then got back in the sea to rinse off. Then we went back up to the hotel to lay by the pool to chill...unfortunately there was a wedding going on at the outdoor lounge by the pools and the blaring music made it difficult to relax. That night we went to one of the restaurants and had a bottle of red Jordanian wine and an amazing steak dinner.
The next morning we went for another float, mud "bath" and swim in the pool before getting packed up and checked out of the hotel. We left the resort and drove along the Dead Sea stopping briefly at the entrance to the Mujib Nature Reserve and a spot along the sea where the salt crystalizes on the shore (also, according to the bible, the spot where Lot's wife was turned into a pilar of salt). We climbed up into the mountains and visited the city of Karak. This is the location of a huge crusader castle which we got to spend some time exploring. We drove the modern desert highway before heading onto the scenic King's Highway. Just as the sun was setting we stopped at Bedia, also known as Little Petra, but didn't spend much time there as it was starting to get dark. We finally arrived in Wadi Musa, the town located next to Petra, and checked into our hotel. We had some supper and then went to go visit Petra by night. The entire pathway (about 2km) leading to Petra was lit by candles. It was a very nice walk...except for all the chatty people who wouldn't shut up. We arrived at the Treasury, sat on the ground, drank some tea and enjoyed some traditional Bedouin music...it was really nice.
The next morning we set off to explore Petra in the daylight. We had a tour guide that took us from the main entrance, through the sik (canyon path) and to the Treasury. The first view of the Treasury through the sik was pretty amazing...I felt like Indiana Jones. Our tour guide gave us a brief tour through the site and then left us to explore on our own. We hiked up to the monastery which was really good because it is very impressive like the Treasury but far less crowded. Also, because it is higher up in the mountains, there are some amazing views of the surrounding countryside. We came back down, checked out the huge mosaic floor from the old church and then grabbed some lunch. We climbed up and explored some more of the tombs before heading back to the Treasury to take some final pictures.
That night we decided to do a cooking class at Petra Kitchen. We got to prepare a number of traditional dishes, including baba ganja, galaya bandura, and sawani dijaj. It was only the two of us but another couple joined us at the end. The chef was a lot of fun and we had a great time...not to mention the wonderful wine and fabulous food!