From the Dead Sea with love

Some 398 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, and a natural therapeutic storehouse rich in minerals.

By DAVID BRINN
dead sea tourist 88 224 (photo credit: )
dead sea tourist 88 224
(photo credit: )
Before there were Dead Sea skin-care carts in American malls, there were just Dead Sea products. A section of the handbooks that all cart salespeople receive and are required to memorize includes variations on the history of the Dead Sea's therapeutic properties. Some 398 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, and a natural therapeutic storehouse rich in minerals. Its waters contain the highest concentration of minerals (32%) to be found anywhere, 10 times higher than that of any other ocean, and contain elements like magnesium, calcium, potassium, strontium, boron and iron that are essential to maintaining healthy skin. The ancient Romans and Jews built bathhouses utilizing its water and the mud on its banks, and Jewish historian Josephus Flavius wrote that King Herod himself visited the Dead Sea's hot springs. And of course, more recently, thousands of tourists from around the world trek here each year to float in the Dead Sea's waters, slap mineral-rich mud masks on their face and bodies and plunk their money down on multitudes of skin care products, most made by Ahava. Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), the company that manufactures Ahava products, was established in 1988 by three kibbutzim in the Dead Sea area. Easily the most well known and established company that manufactures skin care products containing minerals found in the Dead Sea, Ahava ("love" in Hebrew) is everywhere. Any tourist can't help but be bombarded by the displays at the airport, at every tourist shop and at its own six stores throughout the country. The name also enjoys an international recognition factor, due to exports to more than 30 countries, flagship stores in Berlin, Singapore and London and a robust on-line marketing campaign featuring Sex and the City star Kristen Davis.