Bethany

Yesterday, between the hotel not allowing us to access the carts to the beach at 0700 (beach is supposed to open at sunrise) and the time our failing bodies required to climb down to the beach and up from the beach (it is a significant vertical drop), CJ missed the rendezvous time for the group trip to Bethany.

Mo is incredible. He has decided it is not something we should miss. Since most of our group is departing the hotel across the night for their flights, he plans a private tour with golf carts this morning for us.

CJ was not happy to have missed it yesterday but consciously made the decision that the Dead Sea experience was more important than this religious experience. He is thankful to Mo for having righted that wrong minded thinking.

In archeological terms, this site is relatively new. This mosaic documents six people who described the site where John the Baptist conducted his baptisms. The accounts were detailed and self-collaborating. No one could excavate the suspect site because the land was disputed and mined by Israel and Jordan. 

A peace treaty in 1994 between Jordan and Israel resulted in demining the area and excavation of the area suspected to be the site where John performed baptisms. Archeologists unearthed the precise buildings described in the mosaic.

This mosaic depicts the visit of Pope John-Paul to dedicate the site. Pictured are the King and Queen of Jordan, the Crown Prince, and the sheik responsible for uncovering the site.

Carol is performing a self-baptism from the water of the site.

We are standing at the edge of the site in Jordan. The Jordan River is just behind and below us. That is the occupied West Bank in Israel on the other side of the Jordan River.

Carol is thinking about dipping her foot in the Jordan River.

This is the Greek Orthodox Church of John the Baptist located on the site.

Several churches have been constructed in the immediate area. The pope also order that a mosque be built nearby.

Following the visit, we return to the Kempinski to shower and check-out. Mo accompanies us to Amman where we part company. His cousin Hisham is our driver and will be our guide tomorrow. He drops us for lunch at a Mo-recommended restaurant. It is both elegant and excellent.

It's been a long day. Thankfully we have a bottle of the Lebanese Old Vine Carignan to enjoy with simple Jordanian room service.