Abdullah, my driver for the next few days picked me up from the hostel for our journey to the Dead Sea, Petra, and Wadi Rum. As we drive down the mountains to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on Earth), I feel my ears pop and appreciate the beautiful contours of the landscape. We went from mountains and deserts, to valleys along the sea. I’m not much of a beach person, but I found myself not wanting to leave the Dead Sea. As you walk into the water, there is no sand, but hard minerals that line the banks, followed by sand, mud, and rocks. When the water is about waist length, I try to float. After a couple of seconds, I hear a *pop* sound. That is the sound of my legs popping up out of the water, against my will of course. The Dead Sea is 8 times more salty than the ocean, thus coining its name. There is no life, and everything floats due to this excessive salinity. The salt water stung my lips (baked from the sun) and my eyes as I accidentally got a few drops in them. This is the only place in the world that you can recline and read a book or newspaper as you float. There is an oily layer over my skin from the salt and minerals.
After a while of trying to swim and just floating around, I get out to plaster myself in the mud from the sea, which is known to have healing powers and is also good for the skin. As I bake in the sun and wait for the mud to dry, I start thinking of crazy ideas of what kind of super hero I could be..emerging from the sands of the Middle East, covered in oil, ready to save the world. But, I more or less look like Swamp Thing. After another few hours, I force myself to get out of the water as it is now stinging my skin from the abundance of salt and minerals. One thing to note, the Dead Sea is shrinking quickly..so get there before its gone, I promise it’s an experience of a lifetime.
As we drive along the Dead Sea Highway to Petra, I intently stare at Israel (my next stop) across the sea and the striking mountains. There is a thick crust of white salt lining the mountains along the water, the color combination is stunning, sea green and blue, foamy white salt, and terra cotta mountains. My thoughts are lost in the scenery, towns, and sea…and suddenly..3 hours later, we are in Petra. As I walk around the city after iftar, I become aware of that familiar discomfort of walking around alone, especially at night. Again, the shop keepers keep hassling me to buy things and men make inappropriate comments. My blood is BOILING. If I were not a woman, this would not be a problem. I keep telling myself to look past it, to be understanding..tourism is down over 30%, the main tourists from neighboring countries such as Syria and Egypt are not coming since hell has broken loose in their homelands…these people have no money. Here it is, the overarching effect of the Arab Spring on all surrounding countries. I then think of a solution; headphones whenever I walk around. Hear no evil; sometimes ignorance is bliss.
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