Dead Sea - The Lowest Place on Earth

Date of Issue - 30 June 2009

Hi ! I am back after a short break...yesterday I could not get time to write for my Blog but now have returned with the info about a beautiful stamp, sent by my friend Mr. Eli Moallem of Israel. The stamp was issued recently on 30th June featuring 'The lowest placew on Earth - ' The Dead Sea'.The name of 'Dead Sea' sounds a bit scary but The name 'Dead Sea' is actually a kinder, gentler translation from the Hebrew name 'Yam ha Mela', which means, "Sea of Salt ". It is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets.
The design of the stamp has attracted me very much . The scenic beauty shown on the stamp is wonderful. The special thing about Israeli stamps is that the design runs upto the margins and these have inscriptions on it. Sometimes it has different pictures on the margins which makes it special !! On the stamp a person can be seen reading newspaper while actually floating in the Dead Sea. " As the name suggests it's not deadly ! Humans are remarkably adaptable. You can swim in the Dead Sea, just like you can swim in the ocean. Well, people don't really "swim" in the Dead Sea - they just "hang out". That's what's so cool about the Dead Sea. Because of the extremely high concentration of dissolved mineral salts in the water its density is way more than that of plain fresh water. What this means is our bodies are more buoyant in the Dead Sea - so you bob like a cork. In fact, people are so buoyant in this water, it makes it kind a tough to actually swim. Most people like to just kick back in the water and read. It almost looks as though this guy is sitting on an air mattress that has sunk below the surface, but he's not. He's really just floating, without having to hold is feet in that position! If you think this is easy, try floating like this in a freshwater swimming pool......This is all about dead sea, a great attrcation for the tourists !....and its wonderful stamp....Till Next Post...Have a Nice Time !

Health effects and therapies at Dead Sea

The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and treatment for several reasons. The mineral content of the water, the very low content of pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component of solar radiation, and the higher atmospheric pressure at this great depth each have specific health effects. For example, persons suffering reduced respiratory function from diseases such as cystic fibrosis seem to benefit from the increased atmospheric pressure.

Sufferers of the skin disorder psoriasis also benefit from the ability to sunbathe for long periods in the area due to its position below sea level and subsequent result that many of the sun's harmful UV rays are reduced. Thus, the region's climate and low elevation have made it a popular center for several types of therapies:

Climatotherapy: Treatment which exploits local climatic features such as temperature, humidity, sunshine, barometric pressure and special atmospheric constituents.

Heliotherapy: Treatment that exploits the biological effects of the sun's radiation.

Thalassotherapy: Treatment that exploits bathing in Dead Sea water.