ים המלח ועין גדי | Road Trip!

Ashley, Brittany, Sarah, Matt, and I rented a car yesterday (or, more accurately, Matt rented a car) and took a day trip to the Dead Sea. And it was awesome!

For anyone interested in the infrastructure details, we took the brand new Highway 431 from Ramla, then Highway 1 east through Jerusalem, passing by the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Jericho (but not getting close to them, of course, because it's too dangerous and we're not allowed). Then we took Highway 90 south along the Dead Sea coast to Ein Gedi. Highway 1 is fascinating for me because it follows a trading route that has been used for centuries, and because I'm a nerd.

Ein Gedi is a nature preserve in an oasis next to the Dead Sea. It is located immediately south of the "border" between Israel proper and the West Bank area, or what will probably be a border in an eventual two-state solution. (See map here.) Most of that area is a barren landscape of rocky peaks and dried river beds. But Ein Gedi has two running streams year-round, which enable a variety flora and fauna to exist there. Nachal David, or David's Stream, runs down through the gorge, over a series of beautiful waterfalls. At the bottom of each waterfall there is a freshwater pool in which wading and swimming is allowed and encouraged. In addition to the valley itself, one can hike up to the top, where there are magnificent views of the Dead Sea and of the Jordanian mountains on the other side. If you have a chance to visit Israel, make sure Ein Gedi is one of the stops along your trip.

After a post-hike lunch, we drove down the road a little bit to "A Public Authorized Swimming Zone" (also known as Ein Gedi Beach, if you can read the Hebrew on the sign). I'm sure everyone knows this, but just in case: The Dead Sea has 33.7% salinity, which means that there is very high buoyancy, and it is basically impossible for one not to float. It is a slightly bizarre experience to not be able to stand on the bottom, despite the water only being shoulder deep. At the place where we entered the water, the sea bed slopes very quickly, at an almost 1:1 rate. The Dead Sea is one of Earth's deepest lakes, and its shores have the lowest elevation in the world. There are some interesting theories regarding how the Sea came to be so salty on its Wikipedia entry.

After the Dead Sea, we were going to visit Masada, but everyone was too tired after that afternoon's hike, so we went home instead. The trip was definitely worthwhile anyway.

Pictures from the trip are up here.