… Mahmoud promised me that if I came tomorrow morning and let him guide me thru the Dead Sea salt treatment, I will be a completely different person.

We will see about that!

Right in the middle of the water is the 1994 Treaty line. On the other side of the water is Israel.

Mrs. Bowmick was the first one to introduce me to this place called the Dead Sea. She was our Geography teacher. It was 1980. My eigth grade. I was fascinated by the facts she had taken us thru. The lowest point of the earth. The saltiest water – so much so that you would float in it.

Every unsuccessful swimming attempts much later in my life would bring back wishful thoughts that all swimming pools were a Dead Sea for me.

Today, for the first time in my life, I saw what the Dead Sea looks like. Whatever the imaginations of that eighth grader was (I am too old to recollect) certainly met reality today. And what a great reality it is!!

This picture was taken when I was at the lowest land elevation on earth!! 1350+ feet below sea level.

That is me. Behind me is the Dead Sea. Behind that is the West Bank. And behind that is the sun!

Given the depth of the Dead Sea shores, the conflict in the West Bank and the beauty of it all, my friend Anusuya describes it best – “Swargo, Morto, Patal!” (Heaven, Hell and Earth!”

“Mahmud, what are those plants? They look like banana trees”
“They are banana trees.”
“What? I thought Jordan is mostly a desert.”
“It is.”

Apparently, there is this area called the Central Jordan Valley that we were driving thru that is an exception to the rule. This valley grows banana, various citrus fruits, strawberries and what have you.

Bananas in a desert!! I had no idea!

Any one of you half knowledgeable about this part of the world will know that tea and welcoming guests go hand in hand. You may remember the uncountable glasses of tea my dad and I used to drink sitting on the patio without saying anything to each other.

I remember my friend Ed who was on active duty in Afghanistan and how surprised he was that any place he would go to, invariably he would be offered tea and then once he was done, would be politely asked to leave to keep himself safe.

Just before the pandemic, you may remember my trip to Muscat. The driver who took me around – we still talk on his birthday (Mohammed Mubarak Khamis Humaid al-Jabri) had insisted on treating me to a glass of tea. “Karak Chai”, he had told me.

Today was no different. Mahmud – my new driver friend for life – insisted that he welcome me to Jordan by treating me to “Karak Chai”. He just would not let me pay for it.

For folks from India, you probably remember “Kadak Chai” in certain parts of northern India. It is essentially the same milk tea spiked with cardamom, clove, sugar etc. Tastes heavenly.

The young gentleman in the picture is Bilal. He is from Egypt. While making tea for us, he gave me a lesson on the short stretch of water in Aqaba that separates Egypt from Jordan.

Country #47 : Jordan
Airport #150: Queen Alia International Airport
Airlines #36: Royal Jordanian

Highlight would be to see the Dead Sea