Atop the mountain we stopped to photograph a "Welcome to Jordan" sign. We had left Aqaba at sea level and now we were high on the mountain pass at 860 metres and about to descend to -390 metres. As the crow flies we were only 25km from Jerusalem and a sign nearby pointed to a road leading to the site on the Jordan where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. so much Biblical history in this country.
Ken and I watched an altitude app on his I-phone as we descended towards the Dead Sea. It was weird to watch the numbers on the screen go below sea level. This is the lowest level we had ever been at and contrasts with our high altitude treks in the Himalayas where we once stood at 1800 feet- ( equal to Xxx metres)
We arrived at our destination spot in the Dead Sea area. It was a very modern resort hotel and sport complex which overlooked the Dead Sea. The complex was on several levels with conference rooms, several restaurants and accommodation suites. We had come here to swim in the Dead Sea but first we were treated to a wonderful middle-eastern smorgasbord. The choice was endless. Soup, breads of all descriptions, a fantastic array of salads, soya bean savoury dishes, spicy cardamom and turmeric rice, chicken and fish dishes, thinly sliced barbecued lamb steaks and several flavours of humus dips. To follow we had a huge range of fresh fruits, dates and tiny samples of many delicate cakes and slices. It was a banquet "fit for a King" and we savoured every morsel - one thing we didn't do was to over eat since we were going to swim in the sea.
We headed outside to walk to the sea side. There before us was the pool complex where families were enjoying the cooling off in many of the pools which varied from lap pools to waterslide and splash pools. Our guide assured us that we would not get sunburnt even though the sun felt warm. He stated that because we were so far below sea level the sun' s Ray's would not harm our skin. Umph! We were not sure this was scientifically accurate so we still downed cream. Will have to check this notion out some time in the future when we have Internet connection. 
Looking out across the pools we spouted the Dead Sea. It lay way down below the resort's pool area and were we flabbergasted to learn that in 2000 the Dead Sea shoreline was only 5 metres from the pool area. Sine 2000 Israel has been draining water from the Jordan which feeds into the Dead Sea. Through a process of desalination water from the Jordan provides fresh water for drinking and watering crops in Israel. The effect on the water level of the Dead Sea result is dramatic. When we asked our guide what can be done, he shrugged his shoulders and replied," what can we do, Israel does what she wills" we have a similar problem with our river system where some farmers have been withdrawing water for their cotton crops at the expense of farmers lower down the river course.
Our government is looking at fining these farmers but again Australia being a dry continent needs to take care to share water resources responsibly and to ensure that our rivers are not compromised in the future. In this part of the world tensions run high over many international issues and water is but one of them.
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