16. Dead Sea

We had a last swim overlooking the Red Sea in an infinity pool so as I stroked I "swam" to Egypt!

Everyone was in good spirits and celebrating this morning because it's Eid Il-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. The breakfast room was filled with Jordanians who were spending the week long Eid holiday here. Eid Mubarak!

 We drove for 4 hours along the Dead Sea Highway. It's interesting to see the different desert landscapes and the changing rugged barren landscape to the Dead Sea

Phosphates are mined and are a major export of Jordan. In fact, phosphates, potash and asphalt are all exported and have been for years - for fertilisers today and for Egyptian mummification. 

Our first glimpse of the Dead Sea - the lowest elevation on Earth. It's 400 metres below sea level. We felt our ears popping as we drove towards it. It's got higher atmospheric pressure and more oxygen because it's below sea level. 

The Dead Sea only gets water from the Jordan River, and a few tiny tributaries, but it doesn't lead to the sea. The only way water can get out is from evaporation. So the water evaporates, especially with the high temperatures, and the disolved salts and minerals stay. These photos are when we stopped before the hotel, and the salt could be seen clearly. 

I collected salt later, but it and the minerals are also exported for cosmetics around the world. 

The sea is sinking a metre a year because its only tributary is the Jordan River, and Israel, Jordan and Syria have been harnessing the water for irrigation and domestic use. Jordan has a plan to channel water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, desalinate some to reduce the chronic water scarcity. But there's also plate tectonics that is causing the Dead Sea to sink. There are two crustal plates spreading apart - the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. The transform fault is also a reason there have been many earthquakes in the region. Scientists estimate the Dead Sea is sinking 13 years a year. 

 

As soon as we arrived, about 6pm, we went for a swim. It was 40 degrees but the water was hot, so I think it was even more than 40. It was actually too hot, but it was fun floating except for where Mum and I discovered cuts on our skin that we didn't know were there - ouch, the salt stung!

It's actually possible to drown in the Dead Sea, even though the high density salty water makes you float. Non swimmers who thought they could lie in the water have drowned because they somehow turned over and their head was in the water, and they couldn't turn their bodies over!

Dead Sea Day 2: 

This is what we woke up to! We actually slept in because we didn't need an alarm today, it was such a relief! So we had breakfast and then headed to the sea. 

The weather forecast for today is here. Because there's no wind, the temperature feels hotter. At 2pm today it will be 40 degrees but will feel like 53 degrees. Just as well we'll be having a spa treatment then!

Before we lathered ourselves in Dead Sea mud I explored the salt. It lined the water's edge and varied from salty biscuit-like crusts, to salt chunks and some were almost like huge crystals.  

This time the backdrop is Israel!

Then we had a swim when the colours looked so different to yesterday because the sun was reaching its zenith .. almost time for the call to prayer!

That's Mum out there!

Because of the extremely high concentration of dissolved mineral salts in the water its density is way more than that of plain fresh water so our bodies are more buoyant in the Dead Sea which actually makes it hard to actually swim. 

This is Mum trying to do breastroke! (right)

We just had to paste the therapeutic mud on ourselves. The healing properties have been known for thousands of years from King Herod to Cleopatra. It's supposed to draw out toxins, soothe stress and exfoliate the skin of impurities. So we did!

The mud dried and we creaked our way to the sea to wash it off before we lay on the bench to soak in the view of Israel (and send snap chats!)

A Jordanian family watched us. Then others in vibrant burkinis went for a swim. 

Back to WW1 for my History lessons. In 1917, when the Arabs with the British/Australians (and Lawrence) were fighting the  Ottoman Turks, the Turks were boating grain to their troops over the usually un-navigable Dead Sea. The Australian Flying Corp successfully bombed the Turkish boats – but not from the air! Squadron Leader Williams instructed his mechanics to remove the wings and tail and replace the wings with floats .. to create an effective ‘catamaran’ forcing the Turks to traverse by land.

We had lunch in the room, we bought pita bread and hummus and tomatoes from a local shop yesterday. Then we went to the Dead Sea Spa. I had a massage which was glorious, it was the first one I've ever had and it won't be my last. Mum had a mineral salt hydro bath. That's Mum in the photo on the right. 

After 45 minutes we went to the hydropools, just for fun. I loved the water spray on my head, and Mum liked having her feet pummelled. 

Before dinner we went back to the room, I loved the bath and I put in Dead Sea salt crystals and did a facial mud mask! 

One last sunset walk. We've walked so many different sunsets in the last week and every one has been amazing. Mum was wanting to get to dinner because Ramadan ended yesterday which meant she could get a glass of wine!

This photo doesn't show what we saw very well. On the way back from dinner we stopped to look at Israel. We could see the lights of Jerusalem which is only 40 km away. Mum checked google maps and we could also identify Jericho and Bethlehem.