Madaba and other Adventures

September 7, 2019 – This past weekend I traveled down South from Amman to the city of Madaba. Myself and five friends, Tess, Ben, Sarah, Chris, and Jack, left right after class on Thursday and caught a bus at the Northern Bus Station that would take us to Madaba. Once we arrived in the city, found our Airbnb, and got settled, we went off to see some of Madaba’s famous mosaics. Out of all the mosaics, one stands out among the rest: the Madaba Map. The map dates back to the 6th century CE, when pilgrims would use the mosaic to orient themselves while in the Holy Land. The map was thought to be lost, but was rediscovered when foundations were being dug for houses in Madaba. The map now sits in a Greek Orthodox Church for tourists from around the world to see.

After we saw the map we went to the Madaba Archaeological Park, which has many more recovered mosaics, including part of the King’s Highway, the Church of the Virgin Mary, a Roman home, and the famous Tree of Life mosaic.

The next day we went to Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea. Wadi Mujib is a hiking trail up a river near the Dead Sea. When I say “through a river”, I really mean it. This is not a relaxing hike along a babbling brook, Wadi Mujib is a large, mostly slow moving river through a canyon that leads to a waterfall. On the trail, I had to use ropes to cross deep waters and fast currents, climb up small waterfalls via ladders or rock formations, and swim against the current. The reward for my effort was a stunning waterfall and rocks that can be used to jump into the deeper waters (don’t worry mom, they made me wear a life jacket the entire time and the rocks weren’t that high). Then, to get back to the trail head, I was able to just float back down the river. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of the trail because of the water. I used my GoPro to record the hike and hopefully I will be able to upload some of that video soon.

As a way to relax after Wadi Mujib, we all went to the Dead Sea. The last time I was at the Dead Sea was in Israel-Palestine in 2013, so I was excited to visit the Jordanian side of the sea. At the Dead Sea, you can literally pick up large pieces of salt from beneath the water. The Dead Sea mud is also supposedly full of minerals that are amazing for your skin. Despite the heat, it was still a relaxing afternoon at the beach.

When we got back to the Airbnb I nearly collapsed into my bed I was so tired. The next day we got up bright and early to go to the Ma’in Hot Springs. These beautiful hot springs are located in the middle of the desert. These hot springs are HOT, reaching up to 65 Celsius (149 Fahrenheit) in September! Maybe it wasn’t the best choice on a hot day, but it was such an amazing experience we couldn’t pass up.

I’m currently sitting in my room in Amman. I returned to the city around 4:30 PM, went to mass, ate dinner at home, and now plan on going to sleep because I still have classes tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

-Matt