DEAD SEA – health treatments as old as the pharoahs

Salt formations on the shores of the Dead Sea.

One word of advice: don’t attempt your usual freestyle or breaststroke when swimming in the Dead Sea. It’ll end in tears. Within a stroke or two, you’ll capsize and be floundering on your back with some the world’s saltiest water in your eyes. Unless you wish to test your pain threshold, gently enter the water and float on your back.
People in search of better health and longevity have been soaking in the Dead Sea for millennia. By the time the tribes of Israel crossed the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s army, the Egyptians had been using the salt to embalm their kings for centuries in the hope of giving them eternal life.
If you arrive on the road from Wadi Rum, you’ll pass Lot’s wife – the poor soul who God turned into a pillar of rock for looking back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Have some hard-boiled sweets on hand as at 427 metres below sea level, the shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and the rapid descent from the desert plateau will have your ears popping.
Not far from the forlorn figure of Mrs Lot is the ruin of the great fort of Machaerus, where Herod beheaded John the Baptist. There’s nothing biblical about the row of lakeside resorts around the next bend in the road. These are palaces dedicated to pampering. Equipped with spas, fresh water pools, palm gardens and Dead Sea beachfront, visitors cover themselves in therapeutic mud from head to foot before soaking away their sores and sorrows in the salty sea.
The 5-star Swiss-run Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea looks like a Tuscan village and has rooms from $212 a night. Perfect for families and children.
TIP: Normal ocean water has between three and five per cent salt; the Dead Sea has 36 per cent so before you take a plunge, ensure you have a bottle of fresh water close at hand to wash salt from the eyes. Young children should always wear goggles in the Sea.