Dead Sea Fun

AHAVA Closes London Store Over Threats

The London branch of Israeli cosmetics company AHAVA, which has attracted many loyal buyers over the years, has also become the center of mass pro-Palestinian protests, prompting the company's management to give in and shut it down.

The Dead Sea is considered one of the State of Israel's most remarkable symbols worldwide. The AHAVA company has been taking advantage of this unique branding for years, with skincare products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.

ynetnews.com

Colorado Spa Uses Three Tons of Dead Sea Salt

Dry salt aerosol therapy, or halotherapy. The Salt Spa Colorado in Boulder claims to be Colorado's "first holistic respiratory treatment center" that is 100 percent natural, safe and drug-free.

The floors, walls and steeple-shaped window frames are all covered in a blizzard of three tons of white Dead Sea salt. The air is filtered outside and cleansed every 45 minutes, kept between 40 and 60 percent humidity and infused with tiny particles of crushed up salt.

The spa is the only dry aerosol therapy facility in the state and one of fewer than a dozen in the nation [United States].

The premise is simple: Inhale the salt particles, and you'll breathe better.

Read the full article at DailyCamera.com

Scientists Discover New Life in the Dead Sea

Deep beneath the sea bed of a body of water long believed incapable of sustaining life, scientists have discovered new micro-organisms.

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev announced Wednesday they have found deep fresh water springs on the floor of the Dead Sea. These secret springs are apparently providing fresh water to the rapidly shrinking lake.

Meanwhile, a parallel study being conducted by German scientists has found new life forms in the mineral-laden waters. The micro-organisms were discovered growing around the fissures in the sea floor.

Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com

Side Trip: Moshe Castel Museum of Art - Ma'aleh Adumim

On your way to or from the Dead Sea, we recommend a side trip to the Moshe Castel Museum of Art in Ma'aleh Adumim.

The museum houses the artwork of Israeli artist, Moshe Castel (1909-1991), a very nice café, gift shop, meeting rooms, and event venue.

Dead Sea Scrolls on View in Manhattan

A new exhibition of more than 500 ancient artifacts from Israel - including 20 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, four of which have never been made available for public viewing - is set to make its world premiere on Oct. 28 at Discovery Times Square in Manhattan, the producers announced.

Ten scrolls at a time will be displayed in "Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times," which has been assembled by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The producers describe the show as one of the most comprehensive of its kind ever mounted; it will also include an in-scale re-creation of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, with a three-ton block of stone from the wall itself.

Gender Separation at Dead Sea

Only two days after a thousand naked bodies mingled at the Dead Sea, Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) inaugurated a gender-separated beach along the same body of water on Monday, his office announced that day.

Creation of the beach will allow the country's religious population to enjoy the natural resource just like other inhabitants of Israel, a right that has thus far been denied to this community, the Interior Minister declared in a statement.

An inaugural event for the beach on Monday was attended by Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger, Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom (Likud), Tamar Regional Council head Dov Litvinoff, Interior Ministry Southern District director Avi Heller and members of the public, according to the ministry. --Sharon Udasin

Spencer Tunick: Dead Sea Hosts Mass Nude Photo Shoot

Dawn over the lowest spot on earth illuminated a Dead Sea very much alive on Saturday, as more than 1,000 floating nude Israelis posed for a mass shoot by U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick.

The Naked Sea project, Tunick's first in the Middle East, is part of a bid to boost Israel's campaign to have the salt-saturated feature recognized as one of the world's seven natural wonders in a global online vote in November.

Read the full article at DiscoveryNews.com

More coverage at TheJerusalemPost.com

A personal story at Haaretz.com

Photos at mailonline.com

Please vote for the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea Spits Out Asphalt and Other Fun Facts

The Dead Sea constantly discharges asphalt, a feature very unusual to any lake. It spits up small pebbles of the black substance from its deep cracks. Asphalt coated figurines and bitumen coated Neolithic skulls from archaeological sites have been found. It is believed that this asphalt had been used to mummify Egyptians.

Read more fun facts at Trifter.com

Sweets from the Lowest Place on Earth

The world's first date harvest of the year has begun in the Dead Sea region. What is a date harvest? What makes Dead Sea dates so special? And why are dates so special, anyway?

Dates are one of the Seven Species of plants with which the Bible says Israel is blessed. Dates are one of the oldest crops of the Dead Sea region, and the regional Majhul strain has been considered the finest in the world since the time of Christ. Today, date plantations cover thousands of acres in the Dead Sea region, and constitute one of the local residents' most important and stable sources of income.

Read the full article at VoteDeadSea.com

Visit Enot Tsukim Nature Reserve (Ain Feshkhah)

How about a side trip to Enot Tsukim or En Fashkha, as it is also known (Fashkha means split or broken). It is the lowest nature reserve in the world and one of the most beautiful in Israel. This oasis of green lies between the brownish barren fault scarp to the west and the blue Dead Sea. Enot Tsukim is divided into three areas: the northern "closed reserve," the central "visitors reserve," and the southern "hidden reserve."

Salty Tip: The "hidden reserve" is open for guided tours September–June.

Get tour details at Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Israel's Tycoons Can Survive a Fairer Division of Profits

An opinion issued Sunday by the Attorney General's Office with regard to Dead Sea Works may prove to be an important milestone in setting principles for the proper and just division of natural resources that belong to the public as a whole.

The document deals mainly with the question of who should pay for the action needed to prevent the hotels at the southern tip of the Dead Sea from being flooded by the rising water levels caused by DSW's evaporation pools. It states that the requisite action, harvesting the salt, should be financed largely by DSW, as it is the party that created the danger.

Read the full article at Haaretz.com

Audio Accessible Travel Guides to the Dead Sea Region

Accessibility travel - here are 26 audio accessible travel guides about the Dead Sea region. Give a listen! The videos also feature gorgeous photos and maps.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea Fault

Jordan Rift Valley

Israel's Deputy A-G Recommends Raising Dead Sea Works Royalties

Deputy Attorney-General Avi Licht issued a recommendation on Sunday to the Finance Ministry stressing the need to raise the royalty fees that the Dead Sea Works company pays.

Green groups praised the move as a step forward in achieving public interests.

Licht's report follows a May study commissioned by the Tourism Ministry's Dead Sea Preservation Government Company, which advocated dredging all 20 million tons of salt from the southern Dead Sea Basin as the most effective method of combating the dangerously rising water level.

Read the full article at The Jerusalem Post

Martha Stewart Tweets her Way Around Israel

Media personality Martha Stewart arrived in Israel last Thursday for a trip funded by the Tourism Ministry, and has been tweeting her way around the country.

Stewart's travel itinerary includes trips to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Galilee, Masada, and the Dead Sea. She is expected to support the Dead Sea's candidacy to win in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

Follow Martha Stewart on Twitter

More about Martha Stewart's visit

Please vote for the Dead Sea.

Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal Project Would Pay Off, Finds Study

The planned canal between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea is financially worthwhile, found a survey conducted for the Regional Development Ministry.

The survey was conducted by the World Bank and is scheduled to be published soon.

The canal would channel water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea by means of a series of dams that could be opened and closed, in order to raise the Dead Sea's water level and make water available for desalination in the Arava desert and Jordan. It is expected to cost billions of dollars to build.

Read the full article at Haaretz.com

World leaders to Meet in Tel Aviv on Israeli-Arab Cooperation

Hundreds of world leaders, government officials and businessmen will descend upon Tel Aviv next week for an international conference aimed at boosting Israel's cooperation with the Palestinians and other members of the Arab world.

The Ministry of Regional Cooperation has sponsored several initiatives to improve Israel's regional standing, including its "Peace Carrier" (water canal) project, a joint international project between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. The project's goal is to preserve and raise the water levels of the Dead Sea, supply desalinated water to the region, aid the development of agricultural and tourist sectors and maintain regional stability.

Read the full article at Haaretz.com

Spencer Tunick Nude Photo Shoot on September 17th - A Personal Story

On September 17th I [Raffe Gold] will be car-pooling with others down to the famous Dead Sea to pose naked for a Spencer Tunick nude photo. The purpose of this, largely for the thrill of the idea, is to show that currently Israel is the only country in the region that could possibly get away with such a brazen display of flesh.

Tunick is well known to Australians and the world. He has taken photographs of mass nudes in Sydney, London, Barcelona, New York, Switzerland and scores of other countries. The models are all unpaid and in many cases Tunick's photographs are meant to convey a message to the world.

Read the full article at J-Wire.com

Martha Stewart to Visit Israel, Back Dead Sea World-Wonder Bid

Despite the fact that the coming month appears laden with the threat of potential diplomatic turmoil as well as social unrest, lifestyle guru and all-around mogul Martha Stewart has confirmed she will be visiting Israel as soon as later this week.

Stewart's trip, organized and funded by Israel's Tourism Ministry, will take the lifestyle high priestess to Masada, the Galilee, Tel Aviv, as well as the Dead Sea, where she is expected to support the Dead Sea's candidacy to be included as one of the world's seven natural wonders.

Read the full article at Haaretz.com