The Dead Sea: In Search of King Herod's Baths

Headed out the the Dead Sea today - the lowest point on earth. It is well below sea level. We set out to find the pools of King Herod the Great - the man who killed all the boys 2 years and under after the birth of Jesus. It was reported to be just below Macaurus where John the Baptist was executed.

One strange sight along the way was boys around 8-10 sliding down the hill on a glossy piece of wood. It is a lot like sledding, but I can foresee many more accidents in this sport than sledding. I can imagine bare knuckled ripped open as a boy tries to steer his way down a paved hilly road. Ouch.

I didn't get much sleep last night because I had a full day of Arabic tea and coffee. I finally went to bed around 3:00 a.m. and was up by 7:00 a.m. Oh.

On the way to the Dead Sea, the mountainsides are much like the Badlands in South Dakota. They are beautiful in their desolation.

After a good day of rain, the hillsides of much of Amman and its suburbs are turning green. I like it. I like colors and water and snow and rain. Jordan lacks these. I felt good to have a whisper of it. The place would look really nice if it could get 5 more inches of rain per year.

When we arrived at the Dead Sea, there were signs for the Baptism site of Jesus and the the Caves of Lot. Lot's wife is said to be near the road next to the Dead Sea, but there is no marker. I'll have to make a return trip.

I saw a fast-food restaurant called Chili-ways. A friend of mine owns that franchise. It was the first fast-good restaurant introduced to Amman way back in 1985. On a return trip, I'll stop in there for a meal.

Many hotels dot the sea's coastline. Large chains like Marriott and Day's Inn are there, plus some Jordanian chains. It looks very inviting. On a return trip, I'll come to take photos of the resorts and walk along the extensive coastline. Jordan is trying to capitalize on the resort nature of the town. I can see it working out fine. It is exciting to see the progress.

We never found the spot we were seeking. We made a good effort as we pulled over to several different inlets. We traveled as far as the Mujib Bridge and turned back. We were very close. We'll return in a week or two. We were looking for Roman ruins to indicate where the baths were.  The Romans had their recreation there before they went further up the mountainside to the King's special palace.

We went into this one inlet where water was dammed. The hot springs made the water very temperate and it was clear. Aside from the trash, it seems like a great place to pass some time. Since it is off-peak, we were the only ones there. The sound of the birds were great. They were whistlers and their sounds echoed through the canyons.

We tried to imagine what the place looked like during Roman times because much evaporation has occurred. The sea is 1/3 smaller than during those times. More water must have come from the springs to nourish the sea. Now, most of the sea is dead. The depth of the sea is extreme. It will take a while for the sea to disappear because of its depth. We tried to imagine the landing spot of the king and his entourage.

I wondered about the camels. They are out at the sea for tourist rides. I'll take on some day, but we saw a lot of camels on the way there. The gestation period for a young camel is about four months. I can't wait for the calving season. I bet the young camels look very awkward. So do the older ones.

This is way off topic, but one things that dawned on me was that I have more parishioners than the Arabic speaking parishes. Maybe 40 will be the most number of parishioners at an Arabic-speaking Mass while I have several hundred. I'm grateful for the pastors' hospitality, but I think they like that we fill the place.

To see photos of The Dead Sea panorama and photos of sheep, goats, and donkeys, click on the link below:

Pics of the Dead Sea.