Discover Jordan: Day 3 – Dead Sea
The highlight for today was to enjoy the dead sea. I want to float in the sea with little to no effort. Let’s see if it is worth it.
Table of Contents
Destinations:
1. Jordan Trail in Umm Qais
We woke up at 8 am to hike the Jordan trail in Umm Qais. Hiking boots are a necessity in Jordan. Something that I overlooked when I decided to travel here. Within 5 minutes of walking, I slipped on loose rocks. The trail we took was only 4km one way but the trail stretches from the mountains to the sea. The view was breathtaking with greenery everywhere, and a variety of plants from almond, lemon, and guava trees. Once we hit our destination, our host called us for a ride to go back up the hill.
2. Dead Sea
Location: 8PGG+3X Ajloun, Jordan Time Spent: 30 mins
After washing up after our hike, our driver picked us up at our host’s home at 11am. We drove to the Dead Sea which was about a 2 hour and 10 minute drive. We drove through the busy roads and markets. Our driver took us to the Grand East Hotel to enjoy their spa package. First, we had the lunch buffet and then headed downstairs to the sea. We had to walk down three levels of stairs passing the swimming and playground area.
The Dead Sea is a must for anyone traveling to Jordan. The sea was mildly warm and quite salty. It’s so salty that you do not want to get it in your eyes or mouth. I saw someone trying to escape the water but it splashed in her eyes. She had tears rolling down her face and her party had to wash her eyes out at a nearby shower.
It is easy to get into the water and float but I found it difficult to get out since you are floating and trying to avoid getting any water in your eyes. Because the sea is quite salty, any open wounds will sting. I would avoid shaving at least 2 days before visiting the Dead Sea. I have extremely dry skin and the water irritated it. There was a pot of clay on the beach that was free to use for guests. I slapped some on and it helped with the irritation a little bit and made my skin feel smooth. We only stayed here for 2 hours but would dedicate at least half a day here next time.
3. Mosaic Map Church
Next, we went to the city of Madaba. We stayed at Moab Hotel located across from the Mosaic Map Church. The Mosaic Map Church contains a floor mosaic of the oldest surviving original geographic representation of the Holy Land. It appeared that the mosaic was hidden for some time. You can see the flooring pulled back to reveal the mosaic. The mosaic is said to date back to the sixth century AD.
Where to Eat:
Breakfast:
Since we were staying with a host family and it was Ramadan, we did not have breakfast.
Lunch: Buffet at Grand East Hotel
The buffet had a large variety of Mediterranean food. The food tasted like any generic buffet.
Dinner: Haret Jdoudna
For dinner, we stumbled into Haret Jdounda. The food was average. We ordered hummus (2.95), fried potato (2.25), falafal (2.25), haloum cheese (3.95), chicken potato and herbs, and a few glasses of wine.
Where to Stay:
Moab Hotel
Moab Hotel is a quaint hotel. We spent some time talking to the manager. He had an interesting life. He was born in Jordan and raised in England. He was transparent to us and disclosed more information than we would ever want to know. But I enjoyed our conversations.
