Day 7 – The dead Dead Sea

Before dawn, we exchange our jeeps for a caravan of camels. As soon as the ship of the desert hoists its legs, we leave for our own journey through Wadi Rum. A Laurence of Arabia moment. Our morning walk at a leisurely pace over bars of sand makes us cross a piece of desert into the sunrise.

The silence, the rolling movement of our means of transport and the unique environment ensure an intense moment of inner peace. Slowly it becomes lighter and our symphony changes its color pattern. Gray becomes red, yellow, orange, ... Our camels get a little rest while we enjoy the sunrise. 

The sun rises higher and higher and provides a soft glow. Time to start our way back to our tented camp. The sun embraces us with all its warmth. You can feel the temperature rise. That promises for the rest of the day. 

Our camels are not bothered by it. They are happy that they are out and about. Great to spend the first hours of the morning like this. No traffic jams, no crowds, no stress, no glance at the clock. Just me, my camel, the immeasurable Wadi Rum, the creations of God and nature and the warmth of the sun. I spontaneously think back to the words of Laurence of Arabia. You simply cannot be closer to the essence of life.

The Dead Sea. And you can take that literally. As dead as can be. Not even a pickled herring 😀to be found. Not to mention a few micro-organisms that have adapted. It is the extremely high salinity of more than 30% that causes the illiveability of animals and plants in the sea. Sea is actually high praise. The Dead Sea is in fact a lake, located between Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, supplied by the river Jordan. The lake is more than 400 m below sea level, making it the lowest area in the world. In recent years, the water level of the Dead Sea has fallen alarmingly fast, more than one meter per year. This is mainly because a lot of water is extracted from the Jordan before it reaches the Dead Sea. In order to save the Dead Sea, urgent action must be taken. The countries concerned are therefore working on a project to construct a water channel from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.

The high salinity makes it easy peasy for humans to float on the water. Floading does not take a lot of effort, but that does not make things easy. I love life on the water (I have sailed and waterskied) but in the water I do not feel like a non-existent fish in the Dead Sea. If man is made for swimming, he should be able to breathe under water and have fins, is my motto. Our brains are set up that water is dangerous, that you can drown in it. My brain is so conditioned that only a well-tied life jacket can save me from a certain death. I only swim if my impressive figure of no less than 1.60 m can stand carelessly with both feet on the bottom. After all, you never know what dangers lurk in a swimming pool. For example, a life-threatening cramp in a small toe, an all-destroying torpedo attack by an underwater swimmer or the total devastation that playing children can cause with a ball. Problem: the Dead Sea quickly gets deeper from the shore, so I can only stand the first few meters. An additional problem: floating is easy, but getting in and out of the water is more difficult than it seems. It is a fight from G against VSS: center of gravity against very salty seawater. Because walking around the Dead Sea is not really possible. In the shallow water, man  just wins from the lake, but as soon as it gets deeper, you fall forward because your feet no longer touch the bottom. You can't drown but getting the very salty water in your eyes is not the most pleasant experience. So as soon as you enter the water, it is best to immediately take a sitting position and fall backwards. You float automatically.

The first time it feels a bit strange, but you get used to it quickly. Next problem :  you drift quickly towards the unknown, horrible depths and dark forces of the Dead Sea. The result : panic with hilarious situations as a result. Because the idea that you are going to drown any moment is of course the most ridiculous thing you can have in the Dead Sea. So getting out, but that's the hardest part because you have to get back on your feet from your floating back position. That center of gravity, you remember. This usually results in windmill-waking tourists who make uncontrollable movements with arms and legs. It is therefore important to stand up at the right time (read in the shallow water). So forget about those iconic photos of people who read a book or newspaper while floating. Without assistance you end up with a lot of wet pages.

In addition to easy floating, the water has another important quality: it would have a beneficial effect on a number of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. This is thanks to the salty and also mineral-rich water, with high concentrations of potassium, magnesium and iodine.

Do not forget to take your mud bath when you are at the Dead Sea. Meanwhile, a booming business has been established in Dead Sea skin products for a few years now, one of Jordan's most important export products and one of their largest sources of income.

Already in the ancient times people knew about the healing power of the Dead Sea. Our friends Nabataeans were already selling minerals to the Egyptians at the time. David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba built spa palaces on the shores of the lake and the largest diva of them all, Cleopatra herself, was allowed to build pharmaceutical and cosmetic factories with raw materials from the Dead Sea in exchange for a lot of money.

A nice place to stay at the Dead Sea is the Movenpick Dead Sea hotel. In addition to the wonderful facilities, the hotel also has its own access to the Dead Sea. The pot of mud is ready for use, and there is staff available to clean you with fresh water afterwards. And from the infinity pool you have a beautiful view of the Dead Sea and of Jerusalem by night. 

The Dead Sea may be dead, the surroundings live all the more.