Around The World

We had a good sleep last night, rising around 8:00 am this morning. It took some time to locate the restaurant for breakfast, such is the size of the hotel. And when we got there, we discovered that there was no shortage of choice.

We finished breakfast at about 10:30 am and headed back to the room. The weather was a bit gloomy but, nonetheless, we decided to head down to the beach (although it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a beach!) and go for a swim in the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea (technically a lake, not a sea) is the deepest hyper-saline lake in the world. It is bordered by Jordan to the east, and the West Bank and Israel to the west. It covers an area of about 600 square kilometres and its surface is 430 metres below sea level, making its shoreline the lowest land-based elevation on Earth.

The Dead Sea is referenced in the Bible as early as the time of Abraham. Many archaeologists and scholars believe that a number of cities referenced in the Bible (including Sodom and Gomorrah) are located under the surface of the Dead Sea. The story of Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah lends some weight to the argument for these towns having been very close to this area.

With a salinity of more than 34%, the Dead Sea is about ten times saltier than ocean water. It is so salty that no life form survives in it; hence, its name. The salt level results in a density that means that you don’t really swim in it; rather, you just float around.

Dead Sea mud is revered for its skin-improving properties. The mud is very high in salt and magnesium. Also, it has been shown to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, making it a useful ingredient in cosmetic products. We decided to put this to the test by covering ourselves in the mud to see if it worked. The recommended process is to spend about ten minutes in the water, come out and cover yourself in mud, wait for the mud to dry, and then return to the water to wash it off. Our skin was certainly smoother afterwards!

We got back to our room around 12:30 pm and showered off the remaining remnants of mud. The lake water was not especially cold, but it was raining on and off, so we were pretty cold by the time we got back to our room, so a hot shower was just the ticket.

Feeling very refreshed, we decided to relax in the room for the remainder of the afternoon. By late afternoon, we started to think about dinner. We decided on room service, since it was raining outside, and we really couldn’t be bothered making an effort to go out again in the rain to one of the hotel’s restaurants. (Our room is in a villa down by the water and since it is not connected to the main hotel building, heading to anywhere else in the hotel means going outside in the weather.)

We ordered a few traditional dishes for dinner, as well as our travelling staple, spaghetti bolognese. When it arrived, it was clear that we had ordered far too much food!

While we were eating, the weather cleared to reveal a beautiful early evening sky. When we finished eating, we opened the door to our verandah to go outside and take in a magnificent sunset.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room. Tomorrow we will be up early (again!) to drive back to Amman for a midday flight to London.