The Dead Sea
When we visited Jordan, we ate lunch in what was then one of the lowest restaurants on earth. But, it wasn’t low in the sense of being cheap, or because not very nice people eat there. Jordan’s Dead Sea Spa hotel is 400 metres below sea level, which is as low as you can get on the surface of the Earth.
However, since our visit, another hotel and restaurant has been built, even closer to the sea shore, which beats the Dead Sea Spa’s record.
The price of the lunch included use of the hotel’s private beach and facilities.
We were driving from Amman, the country’s capital to the ancient rock city of Petra, and had options of taking the main road, or that running along the banks of the Dead Sea. It was an easy choice, really!
The Dead Sea is an inland sea, surrounded by land on all sides. The River Jordan flows into it, as do several others. But, nothing flows out, because water can not flow uphill. It just evaporates away in the sun, leaving the water many times saltier than the oceans are. Most visitors like to bathe in the waters of the Dead Sea, because there is so much salt in it that it’s impossible to sink.
Floating in the Dead Sea
It makes it difficult to swim in, but easy to float. Many people like to be photographed floating in the sea, reading their favourite magazine. There are no fish, and very little can grow on its shores. That is why it is called the Dead Sea. We were warned we must be very careful not to swallow any water because it is poisonous. I got a little splash on my lips, and certainly would not want a mouthful!
It stung a little bit, too, where I nicked myself shaving that morning … but that nick healed in record time.Some doctors recommend bathing in the Dead Sea because the waters are said to be able to cure some skin complaints. We bought a packet of Dead Sea salt to take home and put in the bath
Salt Crystals
A lot of people like to take the ‘mud treatment’, and say that does feel good; whether it actually does you good, I am not qualified to say. Most of the beaches have a ‘mud man’ but he was not around. So, we applied the mud ourselves. You can not mistake it; it is the stuff that feels like wet talcum powder.
If you feel like a hot tub after swimming in the salt or mud, there are naturally heated hot springs and pools, and even a hot waterfall not far away. The showers at the hotel were closer, but not so much fun.
We were told that the lowest point on earth is getting lower. Jordan is a desert country, and needs a lot of water for the farmers’crops. They take the water they need from the rivers that flow into the Dead Sea. When we went on our way again, we saw a new dam being built on the Moujib River, which is one of the best known for its spectacular wadi; the narrow canyon cut through the rocks.
This means that the level of the sea is dropping. Even the Jordan River itself, with water taken from it by the Lebanese and Israelis before it even enters Jordan, is almost stagnant, and contributes little. Scientists say that, if something is not done soon … they suggested building a canal from the Red Sea … the Dead Sea will be completely dried up in about 50 years.
