La Mer Morte

The Dead Sea at Sowayma in Jordan lies at 430 metres below sea level, the lowest point on the earth's surface, where the extreme concentration of chloride, magnesium, and sodium minerals in waters ten times saltier than the ocean creates the natural buoyancy that makes sinking physically impossible, and where the famous black Dead Sea mud has been enjoyed since antiquity, when Cleopatra reportedly commandeered the first cosmetics workshop on its shores for the production of beauty preparations from its mineral-rich resources. The extraordinary mineral concentration of the Dead Sea, combined with the unique atmospheric conditions of the lowest point on earth where the thicker air column filters part of the solar radiation, has established the Jordanian Dead Sea coast as a world-renowned destination associated with skin comfort and well-being within a long bathing tradition of sun, mineral bathing, and mud application. The biblical and historical associations of the Dead Sea shore, including the ruins of Herod's mountain fortress at Machaerus and the Byzantine mosaics of the Madaba Map depicting the Holy Land visible nearby, complete the cultural context of this extraordinary geological phenomenon.