As a Roman battering ram stood poised to breach the walls of their redoubt, ending a months-long siege, Masada's defenders famously chose suicide over enslavement. Masada, a mesa overlooking the northern basin of the Dead Sea, served as a place of refuge for about a thousand Jews following the destruction of Jerusalem. Paris' Arc de Triomphe was inspired by the monumental Arch of Titus in Rome, built to celebrate the victory of the Roman legions against a Jewish rebellion that engulfed Judaea in 66 CE and was definitively ended seven years later at the Dead Sea. Ride the cable car to the top of the Masada plateau © Nitr / Shutterstock Masada Within Israel, the only accessible beach along the northern basin – where the water level drops by about a metre a year – is at Ein Gedi Spa its shuttle takes you down to the shoreline. Because they can open up without warning – and have been known to swallow unsuspecting passersby – only a handful of seashore sites are safe to visit. In recent years, the land around the Dead Sea's northern basin has been plagued by sinkholes, created when fresh water dissolves underground salt deposits. At some places, including Ein Gedi Spa, you can coat yourself with invigorating black mineral mud scooped from the floor of the Dead Sea. The spas inside Ein Bokek's hotels offer freshwater swimming pools, saunas, mineral baths, and health and beauty treatments most have day rates for non-guests. Spending a few hours being pampered at a mineral spa makes a fine complement to a soothing dip.
Slather on mineral-rich Dead Sea mud at a spa or from the floor of the sea itself © ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock
#Dead sea naked models free
Given a complete makeover a few years back, this wide public beach, sandy and spotless, has lifeguards and offers a variety of free amenities, including shade shelters, changing booths, open-air showers, toilets, a paved promenade and nighttime lighting. On the Israeli shore, the best place to take a dip is Ein Bokek Beach, along the sea's turquoise-hued southern basin.
Part of the Great Rift Valley, the lake is fed by the River Jordan, but it has no outlet. The highlight of a visit to the Dead Sea is the cobalt-blue lake itself, whose waters – shared by Israel and the Palestinian Territories on the western side and Jordan on the east – have a salt concentration of 34%, 10 times more than ocean water. Get ready to take a soothing dip in water so saline it's slimy, spot wild ibexes at spring-fed oases and climb Masada, where ancient Jews made a dramatic last stand against the legions of Rome. Meanwhile, the south part was fed off by Dead Sea Works, a company that converts raw materials mined from the lake.The Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth at 434m below sea level, beckons visitors with healing mineral waters, air so rich in oxygen it protects you from sunburn, oases teeming with rare animals and world-class historical sites that (almost) bring the Roman Empire to life. Its shoreline has been progressively receding due to the diversion of incoming water from the Jordan River in the northern part of the lake, which is a part of the National Water Carrier scheme, Israel’s largest water project. The Dead Sea is the deepest salt lake in the world. He also pointed out how the lake has exponentially shrank over the years and the beach he first started his project at has disappeared due to sinkholes. In an interview with BBC, Tunick explained how this installation is his exploration of the water level issues as well as life and death. It is as if the nude bodies are mirroring what is going on with the Dead Sea. This explored the idea that a nude person is powerful, but at the same time vulnerable to external forces, such as weather or disease.
The 200 volunteer models were painted white to the likeness of the salt columns around the lake. This project is part of his live art installation that aims to draw the world’s attention to the environmental issues that have been eating up the lake. Photographer Spencer Tunick on 18 October took pictures of 200 people in the vicinity of the Dead Sea in Israel.
0 kommentar(er)
