Gem of the Middle East
This June, I had the chance to experience the Dead Sea for the first time in my life when I travelled to Israel and Jordan. As a non-swimmer, it was pretty cool floating on the water without fear of sinking! But you’re so buoyant on the water that it’s kind of difficult to stand back up, hence the handles around the beach area leading into the water! My favorite time to take a dip in the water is definitely right in the morning before things start getting hazy in the scorching heat and right before sunrise. With Israel and Jordan bordering its sides, you can enter the Dead Sea from either countries. At a density of 1.24kg/L, or about 34% salinity, nothing survives for long in this body of water, which explains the name, but at the same time, it is also a magnificent resource especially for the cosmetics, agricultural and tourism industries. I can tell you from my first hand experience that my skin felt super smooth after soaking in the water just for less than a minute. The whole idea of thalassotherapy is all about using Dead Sea water to bathe to heal health problems such as allergies and osteoporosis. There are even entire cosmetics companies, such as the well-known Ahava built around Dead Sea products. Not surprisingly, the Dead Sea has been a shrinking resource, going from a depression of 395m in 1970 to 418 in 2006, at a drop rate of 1m per year. From the production of potash for fertilizers, to extracting mud for the cosmetics industry, this is definitely a very valuable resource that is disappearing fast!
This June, I had the chance to experience the Dead Sea for the first time in my life when I travelled to Israel and Jordan. As a non-swimmer, it was pretty cool floating on the water without fear of sinking! But you’re so buoyant on the water that it’s kind of difficult to stand back up, hence the handles around the beach area leading into the water! My favorite time to take a dip in the water is definitely right in the morning before things start getting hazy in the scorching heat and right before sunrise. With Israel and Jordan bordering its sides, you can enter the Dead Sea from either countries. At a density of 1.24kg/L, or about 34% salinity, nothing survives for long in this body of water, which explains the name, but at the same time, it is also a magnificent resource especially for the cosmetics, agricultural and tourism industries. I can tell you from my first hand experience that my skin felt super smooth after soaking in the water just for less than a minute. The whole idea of thalassotherapy is all about using Dead Sea water to bathe to heal health problems such as allergies and osteoporosis. There are even entire cosmetics companies, such as the well-known Ahava built around Dead Sea products. Not surprisingly, the Dead Sea has been a shrinking resource, going from a depression of 395m in 1970 to 418 in 2006, at a drop rate of 1m per year. From the production of potash for fertilizers, to extracting mud for the cosmetics industry, this is definitely a very valuable resource that is disappearing fast!
