DEAD SEA

Bathing in the Dead Sea is a unique experience, well worth trying, despite the high cost of access to the beaches. The very high salinity of the water (almost 10 times higher than in other seas around the world) ensures better buoyancy. Even non-swimmers can bathe without risk, as it is impossible to sink or swim. On the other hand, salt is very aggressive to the skin, and you won't be able to stay in the water for long. What's more, the heat is often overpowering and the sun is scorching. It's essential to rinse off thoroughly with fresh water when you leave the beach. All beaches have showers, whether public or private.

Clay. Private beaches provide visitors with jars or pots filled with mud, a mineral-rich Dead Sea clay that is incredibly skin-softening. Coat your body and, if you have a shower nearby, your face, avoiding the eye area. You'll soon feel dry and cracked under the sun like a reptile. Now's the time to get in the water and gently remove the mud. For the face, rinse off in the shower of course, but don't try it in the sea - it burns the eyes.

Bathing. After the clay, the bath. Don't try to swim, you won't make it! Instead, float, drift a little (but not too far), taking care not to get your face wet - bathing is corrosive to the skin and especially the mucous membranes! Go carefully into the water and rinse thoroughly on your way out.

The death of the Dead Sea? The Dead Sea lies between Lake Tiberias and the Jordan Valley to the north, and the Red Sea to the south. Its extreme salinity began around 40,000 years ago, when rainfall became less abundant, leading to very strong evaporation of water and, consequently, a regression of the lake and a constant concentration of salt in the water. The water level in the Dead Sea continues to fall: it is so suffocatingly hot during the summer months (the mercury sometimes registers 50°C) that over 20 mm of water disappears every year. At this rate, the Dead Sea will be completely forgotten by 2050. The cause? Overuse of the Jordan River, which is now little more than a trickle. Pumped and diverted by the Israelis, but also by the Jordanians, it is no longer able to supply the Dead Sea sufficiently. The catastrophic effects of an industrial complex exploiting the marine mineral wealth (potash) are also worth noting.