Israel. Dead Sea

  The most fascinating place on our trip to Israel was the Dead Sea... Islands of salt and the utterly unusual structure of the water transported us to another reality. The mere fact of being at the lowest point on Earth's land added uniqueness to our stay...

  The route map...

 We arrived at the Dead Sea after visiting the Masada fortress, taking a bus to the town of Ein Bokek, which is only 15 kilometers from the fortress. This is probably the best place to stop at the Dead Sea... The best beaches and service, and next to the large hotels, there is also a free campsite. Access to the beaches is free, and most importantly, from here you can easily reach various salt islands, which for us was probably the main reason for choosing this place...    

The Dead Sea is a tectonic, endorheic lake, with a water level 435 meters below sea level, falling at a rate of about 1 meter per year. The lake's shore is the lowest land point on Earth...

  The most impressive were the salt islands and piers, as well as the water structure - extremely salty and "oily," you float as if in some kind of oil...  

  The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, with salinity ranging from 300-310 ‰, reaching up to 350 ‰ in some years...

  We stayed overnight at the campsite, for which we had brought a tent...

  The next morning, we headed along the beaches to the salt islands, which are slightly beyond the hotel zone...

  Passing beyond the hotel infrastructure, we reached a place where most of the salt islands are concentrated... And although the shore was quite "dirty" due to ongoing construction work and bulldozers building a new promenade, reaching the nearby islands by wading and launching a drone revealed very interesting views...

 We settled here and swam a bit in the salty waters of the lake...

  Moving a bit further, we reached the next group of islands...

  The lake's water is so buoyant that you can lie on it like on a couch...

  Overall, when entering the water, you walk on crystallized salt, and to avoid injuries, we wore neoprene socks with soles... But there are places where the bottom is covered with salt like sand...

  After bathing in the Dead Sea, you must immediately take a shower to wash off the salt, which otherwise starts to eat into your skin... We spent two days at the Dead Sea, and that was more than enough for us... Bathing in the salty lake is quite specific and unlike a seaside vacation. However, this place is very picturesque... Salt islands in the middle of a large lake in the Judean desert surrounded by mountains make this place truly unique...