Dead Sea visit and our arrival at Kibbutz Ketura

Wednesday morning August 17th we all headed out (11 of us) heading to the Dead Sea and Kibbutz Ketura.  Dead Sea was the first stop of our day - The surface of the Dead Sea is over 1,300 feet below sea level. The very bottom of the sea, in the deepest part, is over 2,300 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea has some of the most saline water on earth; as much as 35% of the water is dissolved salts! That's almost six times as salty as the ocean! The Dead Sea is completely landlocked and it gets saltier with increasing depth. The surface, fed by the River Jordan, is the least saline. Down to about 130 feet (40 meters), the seawater comprises about 300 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater. That's about ten times the salinity of the oceans. Below 300 feet, though, the sea has 332 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater and is saturated. Salt precipitates out and piles up on the bottom of the sea.

There are no fish or any kind of swimming, squirming creatures living in or near the water. There are, however, several types of bacteria and one type of algea that have adapted to harsh life in the waters of the Dead Sea. What you'll see on the shores of the Sea is white, crystals of salt covering EVERYTHING. And this
is no ordinary table salt, either. The salts found in the Dead Sea aremineral salts, just like you find in the oceans of the world, only in extreme concentrations. The water in the Dead Sea is deadly to most living things. Fish accidentally swimming into the waters from one of the several freshwater streams that feed the Sea are killed instantly, their bodies quickly coated with a preserving layer of salt crystals and then tossed onto shore.

Unfortunately Bruce gave me the responsibility of taking his picture floating in the Dead Sea and believe me when I tell you the only reason you would float in the Dead Sea is for the picture.  Hopefully someone else in our group took a better picture than I did!

We arrived at the Kibbutz late in the afternoon and it was 105 degrees - but as everyone says it is dry heat ! but I can tell you for sure that is was very warm - we are staying in guest houses and there is air conditioning! - In the evening was a pre wedding bbq - delicious!!!  The bride and groom were thrown in the pool - and we are relaxed and got to bed early!  

The name of the Kibbutz is Kibbutz Ketura which was founded by a small group of young North Americans, graduates of the Young Judaea Year-In-Israel Course, at the close of the Yom Kippur War in November 1973. The first years of the kibbutz's existence were marked by great difficulties and frustrations, leading many of the founders to leave. In time, the core group of these who remained were joined by other Young Judaeans, a variety of immigrants, and graduates of the Israeli Scout movement. As Ketura grew, a more stable lifestyle was created, and the members began raising families in this, their new home. Today, Ketura has grown to be the second largest settlement in the region, with 140 members and candidates and over 147 children. One-third of the members are native Israelis; the majority of the immigrants come from English-speaking countries, with a smaller number from Europe and the former USSR.