The Dead Sea Was One Of The World's First Health Resorts
The Dead Sea is famously the lowest place on Earth - and is getting around 1 meter lower every year as the salty lake evaporates. It has been famous for thousands of years as a health resort - in fact, it would seem it was one of the world's first health resorts dating from the time of Jesus.
The Dead Sea is bordered by Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank and lies in the Jorden Rift Valley - an extension of the Great Rift Valley running up from Africa. A trip to the Dead Sea is not only visually stunning, but it is also good for the health of the visitors.
The Dead Sea in Antiquity
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from far and wide across the Mediterranean Basin for thousands of years. It seems that Herod the Great (the King of Judea who built the Second Temple and is recorded as having tried to kill baby Jesus) had a health resort here.
- Herod The Great: Had A Health Resort Here
- Egyptians: Used The Dead Sea For Mummification
- Romans: Valued it For Its Precious Salt
The Dead Sea with its minerals and salt has been used for a wide variety of products by the ancients. Asphalt from here was used in Egyptian mummification, potash was used for fertilizers, and it was valuable to the Romans for its large amounts of salt.
Health Benefits of The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea has become an area of interest in health research in modern times. It is notable for its mineral content in the water, the low content of pollens, reduced ultraviolet, higher atmospheric pressure (from being below sea level), and other attributes.
- Dead Sea Mud: Has A Unique Combination of Minerals
One study published on the governmental website National Library of Medicine states in their abstract:
"We found bona fide evidence that Dead Sea treatments are especially effective in psoriasis due to both the special characteristics of solar ultraviolet radiation in the Dead Sea and the Dead Sea water balneotherapy."
hey conclude:
"Dead Sea treatments are beneficial in several rheumatologic diseases and psoriasis [an autoimmune disease] and have a good safety profile."
The silt and the mud of the Dead Sea is a unique combination of minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium. People come to the Dead Sea for a range of conditions from psoriasis to back pain and according to Healthline.com, the Dead Sea mud can relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and more. One experiment that saw people using heated packs of Dead Sea mud had a marked decrease in arthritis symptoms lasting up to three months.