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Isreal Tours » Travel to Dead Sea
The Therapeutic Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, draws wayfarers in search of a rejuvenating dip, a cure, or just some fun.
There was a grand inevitability about the landscape. The Dead Sea (a lake really) in Israel is the lowest point on earth and seemed as though it had been deliberately planted amidst hostile terrain, for relief. Twenty-five kilometers east of Jerusalem and 84 km from Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea lies 400 m below sea level, and draws long-staying tourists and day trippers alike, from all over the world. The wayfarers come in search of a rejuvenating dip, a cure for chronic ailments, pampered ease or just some fun. For along the Dead Sea coast, from the Jordan river at its northern point to Sodom at the southernmost end, a variety of spas abound, ranging from the luxurious to the not so luxurious.
Driving east of Jerusalem, we had traversed the Judean Desert, a biblical landscape of enduring enigmatic beauty, where one occasionally sees Bedouins leading flocks of sheep to greener pastures. The bleak vista of the desert has in the past sheltered refugees and hermits. And in ancient times, before the Jewish Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, symbolically bearing the sins of the people, was driven into oblivion, amongst its snarling crags and wide skies.
We then descended 24km to the Dead Sea, after maneuvering one sharp curve after another. Soon, stark, sterile stretches with the magic of a moonscape, clefted with canyons and cliffs and green leafy oases, were behind us and we arrived at Ein Bokek, at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. Here we were at the bottom of the world-1,292 ft below sea level—we were told, and in this parched desert country, a startling sight greeted us—a complex of multi-level hot white hotels ensconced amidst waving palm trees. As we sipped an ice-cold welcome drink at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel and sank into the marvelous feeling of having arrived at last, we felt that we were in a charmed space.
Sacred as well, for it was here, along these shores, that according to the Bible, the Lord rained fire and brimstone on the sinning people of Sodom and Gomorrah and later turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt. And salt there is aplenty. For at dawn, the next day, we (a group of journalists hosted by El Al and the Ministry of Tourism) dove into the most saline of all natural lakes which is saltier than any ocean, and found ourselves being thrust upwards.
One can't swim in the briny Dead Sea, one can only float. And as we did so, we could see the salt-caked bed through the gin-clear waters and nothing else; not even a glimmering hint of marine life.
But the incredible mineral concentration in the Dead Sea and mud, the natural warm mineral springs and the oxygen-rich atmosphere at the lowest point on earth were relaxing. In the month of February, the water was at its coldest, as low as 19°C. From July to September the temperature of the water is around 30°C.) A float, this unique sea's moods and light and its melting colors and felt encased in a separate silence. The feeling of being awash in quietude was short-lived.
A Health Retreat
The Dead Sea is in fact recognized as one of the world's primary health retreats, Even the movers and shakers of yore such as King Herod and Cleopatra would come to the Dead Sea, for since biblical times, it was viewed as a place for miraculous cures. Its salt content (six times denser than that of the Mediterranean), high content of special minerals (bromine, for example, which has a calming effect on the nervous system) and viscous, black mud were traditionally sought out for their curative and beautifying properties.
The Ein Bokek resort area with its cluster of impressive hotels (each with its own state-of-the-art spa), a public solarium-spa, all linked with a palm fringed promenade, is the site of sulfur rich hot springs as well. This water is used along with Dead Sea water and mud to treat rheumatic and arthritic problems even tennis elbow and a sore back. The heady cocktail of sunshine (it's sunny 320 days a year), Dead Sea water, and mineral-rich mud works wonders on skin problems such as psoriasis, we were told. Harmful sun rays are filtered out by the haze that floats over the Dead Sea so one can tan in a more healthy way.
Today, cosmetics and skin-care products are again being exported from the area. Several companies have refined a large range of products based on minerals from the waters and the elements and from the desert vegetation, said our guide, including bath salts, mud for facials, soaps, creams and lotions.
And there is also the Dead Sea mud pack. A friend who tried it, at the hotel spa, described how a bucketful of hot slimy black mud was smeared all over his body. He was then encased in a plastic sheet and towels and left to simmer in this concoction, hovering between sleep and wakefulness and lulled by soft piped music. It seemed that he lay there for eternity, but in reality it was 20 minutes. He was unwrapped, photographed in the mud pack and finally hosed down with a hand-held shower in a small cubicle. (One has to pay extra for this treatment.)
HOW AND WHERE
In ancient times, those seeking spiritival solace could walk to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem. Today, it takes two hours by car or bus. View it either as an excursion from Jerusalem or part of a larger package tour of Israel that would include Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Dead Sea, Haifa, as well as Bethlehem and Nazareth. The best time to visit is from October to April.
There are a number of hotels and hostels in the Dead Sea region such as the
Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dead Sea
Hyatt Regency Dead Sea Resort and Spa Hotel,
Caesar Premier Hotel, Dead Sea Post
There are kibbutzim and guest houses as well. For eg, Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel, Dead Sea Post Kibbutz Kalia Guest House, M.P. North Dead Sea, Kibbutz Almog Holiday Apartments, M.P. North Dead Sea etc.
Hostels such as the Ein Gedi Field School; Fin Gedi Youth Hostel, tel and Masada Youth Hostel, are other options.
There was a grand inevitability about the landscape. The Dead Sea (a lake really) in Israel is the lowest point on earth and seemed as though it had been deliberately planted amidst hostile terrain, for relief. Twenty-five kilometers east of Jerusalem and 84 km from Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea lies 400 m below sea level, and draws long-staying tourists and day trippers alike, from all over the world. The wayfarers come in search of a rejuvenating dip, a cure for chronic ailments, pampered ease or just some fun. For along the Dead Sea coast, from the Jordan river at its northern point to Sodom at the southernmost end, a variety of spas abound, ranging from the luxurious to the not so luxurious.
Driving east of Jerusalem, we had traversed the Judean Desert, a biblical landscape of enduring enigmatic beauty, where one occasionally sees Bedouins leading flocks of sheep to greener pastures. The bleak vista of the desert has in the past sheltered refugees and hermits. And in ancient times, before the Jewish Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, symbolically bearing the sins of the people, was driven into oblivion, amongst its snarling crags and wide skies.
We then descended 24km to the Dead Sea, after maneuvering one sharp curve after another. Soon, stark, sterile stretches with the magic of a moonscape, clefted with canyons and cliffs and green leafy oases, were behind us and we arrived at Ein Bokek, at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. Here we were at the bottom of the world-1,292 ft below sea level—we were told, and in this parched desert country, a startling sight greeted us—a complex of multi-level hot white hotels ensconced amidst waving palm trees. As we sipped an ice-cold welcome drink at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel and sank into the marvelous feeling of having arrived at last, we felt that we were in a charmed space.
Sacred as well, for it was here, along these shores, that according to the Bible, the Lord rained fire and brimstone on the sinning people of Sodom and Gomorrah and later turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt. And salt there is aplenty. For at dawn, the next day, we (a group of journalists hosted by El Al and the Ministry of Tourism) dove into the most saline of all natural lakes which is saltier than any ocean, and found ourselves being thrust upwards.
One can't swim in the briny Dead Sea, one can only float. And as we did so, we could see the salt-caked bed through the gin-clear waters and nothing else; not even a glimmering hint of marine life.
But the incredible mineral concentration in the Dead Sea and mud, the natural warm mineral springs and the oxygen-rich atmosphere at the lowest point on earth were relaxing. In the month of February, the water was at its coldest, as low as 19°C. From July to September the temperature of the water is around 30°C.) A float, this unique sea's moods and light and its melting colors and felt encased in a separate silence. The feeling of being awash in quietude was short-lived.
A Health Retreat
The Dead Sea is in fact recognized as one of the world's primary health retreats, Even the movers and shakers of yore such as King Herod and Cleopatra would come to the Dead Sea, for since biblical times, it was viewed as a place for miraculous cures. Its salt content (six times denser than that of the Mediterranean), high content of special minerals (bromine, for example, which has a calming effect on the nervous system) and viscous, black mud were traditionally sought out for their curative and beautifying properties.
The Ein Bokek resort area with its cluster of impressive hotels (each with its own state-of-the-art spa), a public solarium-spa, all linked with a palm fringed promenade, is the site of sulfur rich hot springs as well. This water is used along with Dead Sea water and mud to treat rheumatic and arthritic problems even tennis elbow and a sore back. The heady cocktail of sunshine (it's sunny 320 days a year), Dead Sea water, and mineral-rich mud works wonders on skin problems such as psoriasis, we were told. Harmful sun rays are filtered out by the haze that floats over the Dead Sea so one can tan in a more healthy way.
Today, cosmetics and skin-care products are again being exported from the area. Several companies have refined a large range of products based on minerals from the waters and the elements and from the desert vegetation, said our guide, including bath salts, mud for facials, soaps, creams and lotions.
And there is also the Dead Sea mud pack. A friend who tried it, at the hotel spa, described how a bucketful of hot slimy black mud was smeared all over his body. He was then encased in a plastic sheet and towels and left to simmer in this concoction, hovering between sleep and wakefulness and lulled by soft piped music. It seemed that he lay there for eternity, but in reality it was 20 minutes. He was unwrapped, photographed in the mud pack and finally hosed down with a hand-held shower in a small cubicle. (One has to pay extra for this treatment.)
HOW AND WHERE
In ancient times, those seeking spiritival solace could walk to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem. Today, it takes two hours by car or bus. View it either as an excursion from Jerusalem or part of a larger package tour of Israel that would include Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Dead Sea, Haifa, as well as Bethlehem and Nazareth. The best time to visit is from October to April.
There are a number of hotels and hostels in the Dead Sea region such as the
Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dead Sea
Hyatt Regency Dead Sea Resort and Spa Hotel,
Caesar Premier Hotel, Dead Sea Post
There are kibbutzim and guest houses as well. For eg, Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel, Dead Sea Post Kibbutz Kalia Guest House, M.P. North Dead Sea, Kibbutz Almog Holiday Apartments, M.P. North Dead Sea etc.
Hostels such as the Ein Gedi Field School; Fin Gedi Youth Hostel, tel and Masada Youth Hostel, are other options.
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