View from Mount Nebo
The young boy and his ride
Jerusalem from Panorama Point
Mahmud (محمود الرمامنة) told me that in the mornings, you could get a clear view of Jerusalem and Bethlehem from where we stood. There was a map nearby showing the direction of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jerusalem was only 36 km (20 miles) from where we stood.
I took a picture from my phone in that direction (I am not carrying my DSLR), zoomed it and then edited to make it a little darker. And lo and behold! The silhouette of Jerusalem showed up!!
North View from Panorama Point
West View from Panorama Point
South View from Panorama Point
That is one hot dry sauna
A few steps up from the Ma’in Hot Spring is a cave. The inside is sweltering hot. The water on the ground is so hot that you cannot step in it. I did. And I scowled and jumped back immediately. There are mats laid there where you can step on and sit on the rocks.
I have not yet figured out what the rich green coloration comes from. They are not algae/lichen etc. It is too hot for that. That is the color of the rock itself. Perhaps copper oxide?
One of the rare selfies from me
Hammamat Ma’in
Imagine this… all around you see barren steep cliff mountains. And in the middle of that dryness, there is a waterfall.
So far so good. Then you dip your feet in the water and you realize that it is scalding hot. I mean from 113F to 140F hot!!
Completely unexpected. One thing that fools you is that you think you are very high. Actually you are nearly 900 feet below sea level.
The heat comes from veins that go deep into the magma. The whole Dead Sea lies on aa fault line (the larger African tectonic plate and the larger Eurasian tectonic plate)