D is for Dead Sea

Have you ever been in waters that are impossible to drown in?

Well, I have been into one –  the Dead Sea!

Technically the Dead Sea is a saltwater lake located between the borders of Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. The surface of this lake is way below sea level making it one waterbody – that is at the lowest elevation of the Earth! Also, it is the world’s deepest and saltiest lake. Because of the high salt content in this waterbody, it is impossible for aquatic life to thrive and hence it’s termed as the Dead Sea!

It is impossible to drown in its deep waters because it just doesn’t allow anything to stand ground let alone sink in! Technically, the high salt concentration makes this salty water denser than a human body and that is why once you step into these waters you automatically float!

Me being an aquaphobic but always stubbornly bold (see post) always wanted to float on sea! Tried and tried to go afloat several times but couldn’t manage to calm those nerves and thus failed to master the floating technique that even non-swimmers do. And so when I happened to visit the Dead Sea I was overjoyed to finally be floating in deep waters!

I visited the Dead Sea while on a pilgrimage tour to the Holy Lands in mid October 2022. It was an amazing site where tourists from all over the world were present – most of them covered with dark grey clay mud and marinating, while some coolly floating in these waters.

Our itinerary had about an hour to spend at the beach spot of the Dead Sea and so we hurried to change into swimwear water wear and headed to this beach called the Kalia beach.

Our guides informed us to remove any jewellery and metal ornaments – expect 24 carat gold, before stepping into the waters since the salt would react with the metal and would instantly tarnish or corrode it. And only pure gold would survive and not react. “This is a good opportunity to test the chain that I bought from the famous Mahek Chowk”, I thought to myself. I was fascinated with this market place and the Gujarati vendors that I bought this dainty looking my-kinda styled neck chain in the wink of an eye and later started doubting whether it was indeed pure gold or not! So yes this was a good chance to finally accept that I was not cheated. And truly it turned out the be real gold and not any mix of yellow metals.

Coming back to the Dead Sea, I as always having slight fear of waters, hesitated to set in the deep waters of the lake and remained on shore playing along with the soft but somewhat gross clay mud. I was hesitant to get the mud on my skin and body too thinking that the salt would tarnish my sensitive skin. Yes, sadly I have sensitive skin which reacts at the touch of an ant!

But seeing my fellow travelers turned friends already applying generous amounts of that mud on their bodies and face I also thought I should do the same with the fear of being missed out! At the back of my mind I had this thought that my body will definitely itch and remain sticky all through the journey until we reach our hotel rooms. After all my home state being on the coastline of the Arabian Sea has umpteen beaches which have always left me with the sticky-salty feel!

So feeling the excitement of the others, I applied some clay on my hands, legs and neck and stepped into the lake slowly. And as I took steps deep and further into the lake, I realized I just could stand on the sand/ mud bed. It was like this invisible force underneath my feet pushing me upwards and not allowing me to step foot. I tried with all my force to stand firm, but alas it plonked me down and set me afloat!

Slightly panicky, I stepped away from my friends and other tour companions who were floating happily and calmly and I came towards the shore, pretending to apply some mud on my face and hands which had washed away, whilst thinking of what just happened. I knew the theory behind this and all but the experiment was only for a brave heart.

And as I was dreaming, one of my tour companion – an Australian lovely lady coaxed me into stepping in the deeper zone, trusting the process of being automatically lifted up and just enjoy the floating. And I did just that – as I semi-bravely stepped into the waters, lifted my body while she held my arms and kept encouraging me to ease my shoulders, to trust, to let go of taking control, to let go of all the fears and unnecessary thoughts and just to simply float. And thanks to her, I did just that! I am glad I finally floated on sea!

One advice, “Do not dip your head in the waters – unless you want stinging eyes and salty lips!” The water taste terribly salty that you would not want to add salt to your next meal. Another advice – “Do not rub your eyes – if you have applied the mud pack onto your face!”

But let me tell you the feeling of floating felt awesome and the mud pack was not at all sticky or salty, but what was disappointing was that my friends and me didn’t realize that time was running out and that all our other companions had vanished from the beach.

We had just an hour to spend remember and now it was past more than an hour and we have to wash up, change, head to our tour bus to meet our guide and reach the other designated spot.

After washing our bodies under the provided showers, our skin felt as soft as a baby’s butt. My sensitive skin was clear – no redness, no rash, no itchiness. I kid you not! – skin was soft and glowing. “I wished I had put a generous amount of mud on my face”, I thought – it would kill all of that pesky acne.

Anyways, rushing and changing into dry clothes within seconds was clearly an achievement I must say – we didn’t want to be left out by the tour company. Finally, we made it just in time before they could figure out that we were missing. It was indeed an amazing – must do experience.

Now, I can clearly tell you that the Dead Sea mud indeed has healing properties – many people with skin infections, rashes, even Psoriasis have got healed in these waters they say mainly because of the umpteen minerals found in the clay. In ancient times the queens would use this mud as facial treatments. There are several shops that sell Dead Sea mud, salt and skincare products that claim to have these Dead Sea minerals. But, I would recommend you not to purchase the products from the beach vendors here just because their authenticity cannot be guaranteed.

While, there are some prestigious stores in the city area sell genuine products (containing the Dead Sea minerals) which can be purchased and I have tried and tested them out. They are just awesome and work wonders on the skin.

I had purchased a face serum from Premium brand and a body lotion from the brand Ahava (roughly translated as Love) is a bomb product which heals the skin and it does cost a bomb too! But, hey, it is definitely worth the money. The serum soaked into my skin and felt like a cloud and did wonders for my acne prone skin while the body lotion which smells like the ocean, heals any allergic rashes and is an amazing moisturizer which I use sparingly. So, I highly recommend to buy products from this brand whenever you get a chance to. I regret not buying the dead sea salt and the clay mud packs though.

Sadly, this lake is truly dying, as confirmed by the locals, who see a decline in the water level year after year due to human greed and so called development. So, do plan your visit to this amazing creation and I will too definitely make another visit to the Dead Sea!