How is Geology Related To Me - A Salty Yet Soothing Experience
How Geology is Related To Me
A Salty Yet Soothing Experience
I was thirteen when I visited Israel for the first time in April 2008. My father was born in Israel and immigrated to the United States about thirty years ago. We were traveling to Israel to visit his family and celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover. Over the years I would come to learn that one of the places my father would never fail to visit when visiting his homeland was the dead sea. During this visit, I would get to join my dad and see the place where I have heard people can float effortlessly for as long as they desired.
The Dead Sea is located in the South-East of Israel (relative to central Israel where Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem are located). I remember the morning when we set out for the Dead Sea. After getting off the main highways exiting the Tel-Aviv area where we were staying at my grandparent’s home, we encountered a series of very windy narrow roads. Driving down these roads felt like sliding down an endless swerving roller-coaster. In addition to the constant warnings for sudden sharp turns along the way, there were many signs indicating that we should “be aware of falling rocks, especially when raining.” My dad explained that when it rains there can be rocks that fall suddenly into the roads that we were on which were often in between mountains.
Even though the road to the Dead Sea was quite dizzying, the scenery was extremely unique and appealing, especially for a regular city boy like myself. We were smack in the middle of desert mountains that had all sorts of shapes and layers. It was early morning while the sun was still rising. The changing view as we drove made it seem almost like the sun was continuously playing games with shadows and shades of brown and gray desert hills and rocks all around us.
As we neared our destination, we passed the famous Masada fortress. This place is known as the mountain where a small group of Jews managed to escape from the Roman Empire and live freely for many months. I remember learning about the story of this fortress when I was younger and being so excited when I was finally able to see the mountain in real life on the way to the Dead Sea. As we drove, my father, who is very religious, reminded me of the biblical story behind how the Dead Sea was formed. According to the Jewish tradition, before the area of the Dead Sea turned to salt, it was the location of two evil cities, Sedom and Amora. Since the people in these cities have become extremely evil and immoral, God decided to destroy them by burning the two cities down. Only the uncle of Abraham named Lot and his family were spared. As Lot and his family were running away from the city and the destruction had already begun, they were instructed (by angels) not to look behind them at the punishment of their neighbors. When Lot’s wife turned around to look at what was happening, the scripture says, she turned into a pillar of salt. Until today there is a large pillar of salt near that Dead Sea that many believe to be the remnant of Lot’s wife. Naturally, as we drove by the pillar of salt my dad made sure to point it out and tell me more about that particular biblical story.
We arrived at the area where we can actually go into the water. The water looked very dense and murky from up close. I couldn’t tell if the people that were in the sea were floating or not, I had to try it for myself. My dad told me not to go too far into the sea. He said that in the past there was someone who fell asleep and floated all the way to the other side of the Dead Sea into the country of Jordan which was distantly visible from where we were. My dad also said not to touch my eyes after going into the water unless I wanted them to burn for a really long time afterward. We checked to make sure that I didn’t have any open wounds since they would burn badly if I went in with them, and then I was free to go.
The first thing that I realized when trying to get to the salty water was that this was not like a regular beach. Not having brought any appropriate footwear, my feet hurt every step I took towards the water. Not knowing that there wouldn’t be regular sand by the Dead Sea, I was essentially walking barefoot on large sharp salt crystals. I thought that this situation would improve as I got into the water but it only got worse. Additionally, as I walked into the water there were random large protrusions of salt rocks that I kept bumping into. After much effort navigating this strange terrain, most of my body was covered in the strange water of the Dead Sea. It felt like I was bathing in some sort of oil. The water had this smooth soothing feeling to it. When I was far enough in, it finally happened, I was floating. To me, it felt more like swiveling on some sort of weird axis. It took a bit of getting used to but suddenly it occurred to me, there was indeed no doubt that I was floating and experiencing one of nature’s most amazing wonders. I managed to make sure not to touch my eyes almost all of the time that I was there, but as I was exiting the water I forgot and touched my eyes a bit. They burned pretty badly for a while but I was fine by the next day.
After leaving the water my skin felt different. I finally began to understand why there are so many skin products that have elements of the Dead Sea in them. It almost felt like I had received a newer smother version of skin within a matter of just a few hours. I knew about relatives who would spend many days at the dead sea to help with psoriasis and other skin conditions. Now that I have visited the Dead Sea I can see how this could be healing for them. When further exploring the things and ways that the Dead Sea had been used, I found it very interesting that there appears to be significant evidence that Dead Sea bitumen has been used in mummification balms for ancient Egyptian humans and animals. It was also apparently considered to be a rather precious commodity. One study states that “Apart from its use for mummification purposes, Dead Sea bitumen was obviously considered as a precious material for it was discovered at Toukh el-Qaramous, Egypt in a monetary treasure from the Ptolemaic period associated with gold Egyptian figurines and statues, silver dishes, etc.” (Łucejko 11) This clearly indicates that the Dead Sea has been a valuable resource of rich minerals and materials not only in recent years but for many centuries prior. After this semester and the general knowledge that I have amassed in the class, I very much look forward to exploring more about the uniqueness of this singular body of water in the Middle East.
On our way back through the desert, there was a sudden slow down on the road. When we got closer we could see that there was an animal blocking the road. It was a light brown gazelle, the most magnificent and prestigious animal I have ever seen. It had a few dark brown strips on its face and body, and long round bumpy horns extending from its forehead. We waited there for a few minutes while taking in the sight of this breathtaking desert animal. For the next while, I thought a lot about how lucky I was to be able to have the experiences that I did that day. My time in the Dead Sea and the surrounding desert will remain one of my most fond and remarkable memories. I hope one day to be able to pass on to my children the experience that I had and the appreciation that I have gained for the wonder and neverending beauty of nature and the Earth as a whole.
Works cited
Łucejko, Jeannette, et al. “Chemical Analyses of Egyptian Mummification Balms and Organic Residues from Storage Jars Dated from the Old Kingdom to the Copto-Byzantine Period.” Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 85, Elsevier Ltd, 2017, pp. 1–12, doi:10.1016/j.jas.2017.06.015.