Tagged: Dead Sea Scrolls

Dazzling Dead Sea Delights: Bob like a Cork, Smear on Salt and Mud [45 PICS]

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October 16th, 2011 Permalink

The Dead Sea is one of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. It is a salt lake between Palestine and Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. At almost 1,378 feet (420 meters) below sea level, its shores are the lowest point on Earth that are on dry land. In the deepest part, at the very bottom of the sea, it is over 2,300 feet below sea level. The ‘Salt Sea’ has 30% salinity which is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean and people can float in it with no effort required. In fact, people don’t ‘swim’ in the water; instead they tend to bob like a cork and may be inclined to kick back and read while they float. It’s also a place where people delight in smearing on mud and salt for health and beauty reasons. The Dead Sea is 1,237 ft (377 m) deep, making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It has attracted visitors for thousands of years . . . including being a place of refuge for the King David from the Bible. [45 Photos]

A rough Dead Sea, with salt deposits on cliffs

A rough Dead Sea, with salt deposits on cliffs. Although the sea is called “dead” due to its high salinity which prevents fish and aquatic plants from living in it, the same salinity can treat several health conditions. The Dead Sea is also known by many other names such as ‘Sea of Salt’ and ‘Sea of Death’; and in Arabic ‘Sea of Lot’ and ‘Sea of Zoʼar.’ The Greeks called it ‘Lake Asphaltites’ and ‘the Asphaltite Sea.’ The Bible also refers to it as ‘the Eastern sea’ and ‘Sea of the Arabah.’ Photo #1 by Disdero

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