Dreamily drifting on the Dead Sea

Dead-Sea-view

A trip to Jordan has long been on my bucket list so I used the fact that the boy is living in the Middle East as an excuse to organise a short trip while I was out there visiting.  Thinking that Jordan must be a hop, skip and a jump from Dubai I swiftly booked onward flights only to realised that Jordan is actually pretty equidistant from Dubai and the UK…clearly I’m not as geographically-minded as I thought!  Having made this slight error I set about being more organised about our time there and planned a full itinerary…first stop the Dead Sea.

We flew into Amman and promptly rented a car with a view to getting out of the capital.  I may be doing Amman a disservice but followed the advice of others in giving it a miss. We arrived at the Dead Sea just in time for sunset.

We spent the first night in the Holiday Inn Resort, one of the many luxury hotel spa resorts right on the banks of the Dead Sea. Most of the hotels boast their own stretch of beach on the banks of the Dead Sea and the Holiday Inn Resort was no exception.

Dead-Sea-beach-Holiday-Inn-Resort

First thing in the morning we wandered down to the shores for a dip.  The Dead Sea, at 423 metres below sea level, is the lowest place on earth and the landscape is truly spectacular.

Dead-Sea-banks-at-Holiday-Inn-Resort

As the water has a salinity level of 33.7% splashing about in the water is a truly surreal experience…And you really do float!

Dead-Sea-floating

The traditional method of ‘taking the waters’ is to bob around for ten minutes turn to dry land to cover every inch of exposed skin in Dead Sea mud and then another stint in the water to wait for the mud to wash off naturally. 

The minerals in the water are meant to have numerous health benefits, and I’m sure that the whole experience did us a world of good but the main things I took away were that everyone looks particularly ridiculous covered in black mud and that very salty water is actually quite painful (I would definitely moisturise thoroughly for a few days before!)

Dead-Sea-salty

While we were in the Dead Sea area we made sure to head to the Panorama Complex which boasts a mind-blowing view of the whole lake.  The road up to the complex is very windy and steep so I’d take a travel sickness tablet or two but it is so worth it!

Dead-Sea-drive-along-the-banks

The complex has a restaurant which serves up a wide array of Middle Eastern food.  While not particularly gourmet, our lunch was among the tastiest we had in Jordan and given the fact you are eating against the amazing backdrop of the deep blue lake and the banks of Israel, the restaurant within the complex and its spectacular view are not to be missed.

Dead-Sea-panorama

Later in the trip we returned to the Dead Sea and stayed at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea; definitely among the nicest hotels I have ever been to. 

Dead-Sea-Kempinski

The hotel boasted wonderful views over the Dead Sea, numerous pools

Dead-Sea-Kempinski-infinity-pool

And, most importantly given the supposed health benefits of the sea waters, a renown spa. I cannot recommend the detox body treatment which I opted for enough…I left feeling so relaxed and my lower back problems, which had been going on for months, were completed solved. 

Dead-Sea-kempinski-sunbathing

As well as amazing the detox options on offer, the Kempinski also offers some indulgent retox options! The breakfast buffet, with free-flowing champagne, was the perfect way to end our holiday.

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