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The Israel Ministry of Tourism, www.goisrael.com
Tourism
By David e. Kaplan
Is the Dead Sea
a Dead Cert?
It’s up against some
stiff competition
“Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea.” Pythagoras (580 BC - 500 BC).
There was great excitement back in 2009 when
the Dead Sea made the list of candidates for the new
“Seven Natural Wonders of the World”.
It had not been easy sailing. The Dead Sea campaign
was nearly dead in its tracks until Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas finally agreed to support the
initiative. Contest rules required that all the countries in
which a nominated site is located must form an Official
Supporting Committee (OSC). Israel and Jordan had
both done so for the Dead Sea, which they share, but
the Palestinian Authority was holding out its support.
Finally, realizing it was in their best interest, they agreed.
This unique sea was one of the 77 sites nominated for
the prestigious honor, along with such contenders as
the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon and the Great
Barrier Reef.
Now the results of the final contenders are in the hands
of the people of the world to vote on-line. To vote, visit
the Ministry of Tourism Website at http://votedeadsea.
pionet.com/
The results will be announced on the 11th November
2011. It’s expected that over one billion people will vote.
One local resident who has cast her vote is Heather
Shamir from kibbutz Ein Gedi. For this former South
African, who has lived on the edge of the Dead Sea
The Inbal Jerusalem Hotel
Spring-Summer 2011
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for the past 33 years, “This place is heaven on earth.”
Irrespective of how the voting goes, “the Dead Sea for
me is truly one of the natural wonders of the world.
Having this great expanse of water before our eyes and
being surrounded by majestic mountains that nearly
each minute of the day seems to change color as the
rays of the sun make contact, is a beauty to behold. I
could think of living nowhere else.” She asserts as well
the health aspect. “Our air is free of pollution, over 330
sunny days annually, dry, high oxygen levels, low UV
rays all add up to a healthy way of life. This place gives
me such energy. I don’t know if it’s the combination
of its unique beauty and the special air we breathe but
whatever - this place may be called the Dead Sea – but
for me, it’s a cocktail of life.”
By popular vote
The commonly known Seven Ancient Wonders of the
World were all man-made monuments, selected by
Greek engineer, Philon of Byzantium in around 200 B.C.
His choice of wonders was essentially a travel guide