On my second day from Amman I decided to take a day trip to the Dead Sea. My other option was Jerash- an amazing, well preserved Roman City, but I didn’t fancy trekking around an ancient site in the heat particularly as I’m off to Petra next. After a stressful month or so at work I felt the healing properties of the mineral rich Dead Sea was exactly what I needed.
I’d read online that a lot of five star hotels offer day passes however I couldn’t find out much online about the current prices and offerings. After e-mailing, the Hilton replied saying they don’t offer day passes, and none of the others replied in time. However, I saw a tweet from the Marriott offering a day pass for 30 JD. Bearing in mind the public beach is 20JD I didn’t think this was too bad and so decided to go there for better facilities and options regarding cocktails – yep that’s how my mind works!
Although busy it wasn’t crammed full of people. I walked straight past the family pool (screaming kids err no thanks) and onto another which was playing music but I couldn’t see any spare sunbeds- I did arrive relatively late – around 12.30, I walked further along to the infinity pool which still had plenty of spare sunbeds and so plonked myself down on one.
After chilling there for a bit I went to get a cocktail from the bar and an ice cream. I sat and enjoyed the views. I then got some food from one of the restaurants- I went for a veggie quesadilla with fries. After that I headed down to the beach to swim in the Dead Sea!
Pots of mud and fresh water showers were available. Basically you’re supposed to cake yourself in mud, allow it to dry in the sun and then enter the dead sea to wash it off. After all this you’ll be the picture of health!
As I entered the Dead Sea I felt a wash of calm come over me. The water really is super buoyant- I wasn’t actually expecting to be able to float so easily! It’s a really strange feeling. I laid on my back watching the clouds for a while, and then looked over to the other side of the Dead Sea over to Jerusalem and Israel/Palestine which seemed remarkably close. The rich history of this region really does add a little magic. En route to the Dead Sea we passed by the baptism site of Jesus, and nearby Mount Nebo mentioned in the Bible as the place Moses was granted a view of the promised land. Coming from Dubai where the history stretches back a mere 50 years or so, being in a county with such a rich history really does feel rather special.
I read somewhere that it’s recommended you stay in the salty dead sea for around fifteen minutes. Well I was in there around an hour- I can’t explain how amazing it was to just view the mountains directly opposite and the ancient lands of Jerusalem, a place I really want to visit some day. Why is it called the Dead Sea you ask? Because due to its high salinity content nothing can survive apparently. That actually enabled me to relax more knowing nothing was going to come up from the depths of the ocean and attack me!
Aftery hour or so floating around, I headed up to the top for another cocktail and to enjoy the sunset views.
Overall, I highly recommend going to the Dead Sea if you’re in Jordan. I can’t speak for other hotels or beaches but the Marriott had exactly what I needed- pools, private beach access, stunning viewpoints, towels and alcohol! It was a great day and one I will always remember!