"After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased." (John 6: 1-2)
"One should praise the Dead Sea…Its waters float any heavy object; it is difficult to drown in it, even if considerable effort is made…In many places the sea spits out masses of salt…This salt brings healing to the human body and it is therefore mixed into many drugs." (Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War)
The Bible calls them seas, and so they are known and listed on maps. Geologically, however, the Holy Land's two most famous bodies of water - the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea - are actually sister lakes formed five million years ago as part of the Great Syrian-African Rift Valley. Linked by the Jordan River along Israel's eastern border, they lie just seventy-five miles apart. But the Galilee's fertile plains and the Dead Sea's desert cliffs are about as different as two lake regions can be. As are their waters: The Sea of Galilee is pure and sweet, making it Israel's primary source of drinking water. In contrast, the Dead Sea, where the Jordan River empties, contains the saltiest water on earth. Drinking a mere cupful can be deadly.
With all their differences, the two seas possess blessings in common that tend to overshadow everything else. Each boasts an abundance of natural hot springs, special mud, and balneo-climatic (water and climate) conditions uniquely therapeutic in all the world.
World leaders from Jewish kings to Roman emperors, Byzantine noblemen, medieval physicians, Arab sultans, and an ongoing procession of travelers through the ages have praised the healing powers of Israel's inland seas. Still, it wasn't until some twenty years ago that the seas' long-standing therapeutic legacy began undergoing serious scientific investigation. A growing body of evidence confirms that although these traditional remedies may not be fully understood, they definitely work.
To meet increasing international demand, Israel's health spas and spa/hotels have expanded, remodeled, and added several new five-star establishments. Along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea (and with mineral waters and mud being transported to deluxe Jerusalem-and Herzliyya-based spa-hotels as well), visitors to Israel can now enjoy all the luxuries and amenities of a world-class resort.
Other Worldly Vistas
It's only an hour's drive form Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (or fifteen minutes from Masada via a shuttle flight), but one might as well have left civilization for another planet. The jutting crags of the Judean Hills evoke all the starkness of a lunar landscape. All you meet along the way is a long robed Bedouin patiently leading his camel back to camp - a couple of tents like those encountered by Abraham when he first arrived in Canaan. But then a stone marker proclaiming "Sea Level" in English and Arabic becomes a signpost of reality. And suddenly, incongruous as a mirage in the mist below, you spot a serene blue lake frosted by whitecaps that appear to be waves but are, in fact, hardened mineral deposits.
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