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The Dead Sea اﻟﺑﺣر اﻟﻣﯾت ים המלח

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The Dead Sea اﻟﺑﺣر اﻟﻣﯾت ים המלח © Lonely Planet 326 The Dead Sea ﺍﻟﺒﺤﺮ ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺖ ים המלח It’s the ultimate Israeli cliché, the picture of the swim-suited bather lying in – almost on – the water, feet up and newspaper open, like a Sunday morning in bed. But this is one Middle Eastern cliché well worth indulging in. Floating in the Dead Sea is a sensation that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world. Beyond the obligatory float, soothing mud bath and soak in the sulphur, the approximately 65km-long shoreline is one of the most mythic places on earth. Believers say that Jesus was baptised where the Jordan River meets the Dead Sea. It’s where the biblical cities of Sodom THE DEAD SEA and Gomorrah are thought to have been located and it’s where the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest copy of biblical texts, were found in a mountain cave. But the premier attraction is Masada, a solitary monolith rising from the desert and the fortress in which Jews martyred themselves and their families rather than become slaves of the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. This Unesco World Heritage site is one of Israel’s most fabled locations and watching the sun rise over the Dead Sea from the ancient ruins at the top is an experience not to be missed. Ein Gedi’s nature reserves are excellent for beginner hikers, with their refreshing pools, endangered animals and antiquities. For adventure seekers there’s a wide range of walking trails that offer stunning coastal views and the chance to explore the spectacular canyons of the Judean Desert. After so much activity it’s time to head south to Neot Hakikar, a remote desert moshav, and the perfect place to laze around for a few days at the lowest point on earth. HIGHLIGHTS Finishing your holiday book while enjoying a long float in the Dead Sea at Mineral Beach ( p331 ) Appreciating idyllic plunge pools after a sweaty hike through the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve ( p332 ) Mineral Indulging in a sulphur soak and a soothing Dead Sea Ein Gedi Beach Nature mud wrap at one of the many day spas at Ein Bokek Reserve ( p337 ) Marching up the snake path to Masada ( p336 ) before Masada dawn, which leads to humbling views, incredible sun- rises and a haunting history Ein Bokek Taking on the Judean Desert – up hill, down wadi – by jeep from Neot Hakikar ( p342 ) Neot Hakikar 16-dead-sea-isr6.indd 326 9/12/2009 5:25:43 PM lonelyplanet.com THE DEAD SEA •• History 327 History THE DEAD SEA Awareness of the Dead Sea’s unique quali- 0 20 km 0 12 miles ties goes back to at least the 4th century Allenby/King BC; luminaries such as Aristotle, Pliny and 449 Hussein Bridge Galen all made mention of the sea’s physi- Border Crossing 458 449 cal properties. The Nabataeans also knew a 60 Jericho Almog good thing when they saw it and collected 90 Junction the bitumen from the surface of the water 1 90 JERUSALEM Almog Suweimeh and sold it to the Egyptians, who used it for Kibbutz Kalia Kalia Beach embalming. Records show that this indus- Qumran Biankini in Siesta Beach try continued well into the Roman period. Bethlehem National Qumran Neve 60 Park Midbar Beach Despite scientific interest and small-scale THE DEAD SEA Ein Feshkha commercial activity, the sea was largely re- W E S T Judean B A N K Wadi Darja garded as an unhealthy thing (common Desert (Bethlehem Metzoke Metzoke wisdom had it that no bird could fly over Wilderness) Dragot Dragot its waters) and shunned. This made the area Junction Ahava Factory Mineral Beach a favoured retreat of religious ascetics and & Outlet Store Mineral Wadi Beach al- political fugitives – the future King David, Dead Sea Mujib King Herod, Jesus and John the Baptist all Wadi David Ein Gedi took refuge along its shoreline, and in its Nature Ein Gedi Beach mountains and caves. Reserve Ein Gedi Wadi Arugot Because of its ‘Sea of the Devil’ tag, the Cape ὄὄEin Costigan area remained desolate and untouched until Gedi Sound 90 Spa & Light it was finally explored by the US Navy in To Show Masada 1848. Still, it wasn’t until the arrival of the Be'er Sheva Masada Tourist (44km) Masada Complex British in Palestine that any real activity Junction around the sea began. They set up two Arad Lashon Peninsula plants to tap the abundant mineral wealth Ein Bokekὄὄ and during the 1920s the Dead Sea provided 31 half of the British Commonwealth’s potash 258 needs. One of the plants was destroyed in Neve Zohar T H E the 1948 Arab–Israeli War but the other, at 90 Sodom, is still working. N E G E V Mt Sodom Arava J O R D A N The luxuries of modern roads and air- Junction Sdom Kikar Junction Evaporation Ponds conditioned vehicles make it easy to over- 25 ὄὄDead Sea Safi To Dimona Works look the fact that the region is a barren (15km) To Eilat desert with an inhospitable climate. The (164km) Neot Hakikar heat and aridity, the recent environmental crisis, as well as political factors – half the half of it is now under Israeli control, with area is in the Palestinian-controlled West the border between the West Bank and Jor- Bank – have meant that other than in Ein dan running virtually down the middle. Bokek, the Israelis have been slow to exploit The Dead Sea is fed mainly by the Jor- the enormous potential here for money- dan River, and is supplemented by smaller spinning tourist and health facilities. rivers, underground springs and floods. With no outlet, the inflow is balanced by Geography a high rate of evaporation caused by the Known in Hebrew as Yam HaMelah (Sea hot climate. The water arrives with nor- of Salt), the Dead Sea is the world’s lowest mal mineral concentrations (mainly mag- point, lying at 411m below sea level. The nesium, sodium, calcium and potassium sea is approximately 65km long and 18km chlorides), but evaporation causes the levels across at its widest point, although its water of minerals to rise dramatically. Ten times level fluctuates, dropping about 1m a year. more salty than the ocean, the Dead Sea’s After the 1948 War only about a quarter of salt concentration is about 30%, making it the Dead Sea fell to the new State of Israel, easy to sit up in and comfortably read this but as a result of the Six Day War, almost book (see A Salty Tale, p330 ). Contrary to 116-dead-sea-isr6.indd6-dead-sea-isr6.indd 332727 99/12/2009/12/2009 55:25:47:25:47 PPMM.
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