The Dead Sea

This blog is a continuation of the recent entry on the Tour of Israel in late May to early June 2014 (Read here). 

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A dip in the dead sea is not one of my bucket list. Still, that dip on 30 May 2014 in the saltiest natural water body in the world was considered once-in-a-life-time experience. Dead Sea is shared between Jordan and Israel. We accessed it from the Israelite territory.

We had a rather busy morning that day. After visiting Lazarus Tomb (Read here), we continued our journey to the Baptismal Site at River Jordan or Qasr el Yahud (Read here). After that, we proceeded to the Mount of Temptation (Read here) which is at Jericho (Ariha in Arabic). By the time we reached the Kalia Beach at the Dead Sea after our lunch, it was passed 2pm.

In Jordan, there is a sign board that shows the water surface level of the Dead Sea at 390 m (1,280 ft) below the sea level. However, with the annual receding rate of 110 cm which is 3.6 ft per year, the latest surface level is reckoned to be at least 430.5 m (1,412 ft) below the sea level. Some predicted that the sea will be dried up by 2050. With current global warming, this probably will come earlier rather than later!

The water surface area naturally is also shrinking fast. It has shrank by 42% since 1930 from 1,050 km2 to just 605 Km2 after 90 years.

This receding of water line is causing major problem to both amenity operators and visitors. Some hotels have to be abandoned because they have become too far away from the water edge. Nowadays, visitors have to walk much further from the car parks to reach the water body.

At the Dead Sea, we did all the rituals liked most visitors. We swam or rather floated at the sea which has an unusual and bizarre buoyancy.  The dip was just sufficiently long before the skin was irritated by the high concentration of salt and minerals. Then, it was plastering of the body with mud dug from the sea bed. Promotors of the mud bath list a host of benefits: soothes itchiness and inflammation, relief back pain, improve psoriasis, reduce skin dryness, smooths wrinkles and fine lines etc. It was exaggerated to be almost a perfect cure for all skin problems! Incredible!

Our tour group leader, Stephen Tee preferred to sun-bath in mud-plastered body by the sea side!

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The outlet by the Dead Sea was having a booming business with the many visitors like us. They sell many products derived from the Dead Sea - sea salt, salt body rub, mud packs and a host of others.

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Sabah too is not short of mud pond. In the 1990's when I was involved in the construction of a timber jetty at Pulau Tiga, we visited the mud pond in the island but did not venture into the pond. In those days, taking a mud bath was still at its infancy. But this has since changed and it is now one of the tourist attractions in the island.

Mud bath in Pulau Tiga.