Most visitors to the Living Dead Sea do not look back upon its prehistory and do therefore not realize that its unique landscape was created (together with the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River) by the great Syrian-African geological rift dated 1.64 million years ago. In more contemporary terms, many spectacular chapters of history have been played out within a few kilometres from your hotel area. One can virtually walk 4000 years back into the Bible era and return within an hour or two.

Abraham
Prominent among Dead Sea travellers is Patriarch Abraham, great-grandfather of Jews and of Arabs. Minutes before the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah two angels sped away his nephew Lot and his family from the infamous city. Mrs. Lot, too curious for her own good and in disregard of the angels' warning, turned around to see the fiery spectacle. She was instantly transformed into a pillar of salt (Genesis). Legend has it that the lake had there and then become the saltiest on earth. One of the many protruding rocks on the Mt. Sodom ridge is named "Lot's Wife".

King David
In the hazardous transition time between the reigns of King Saul and King David, the young king-to-be and his reckless entourage fled envious King Saul's persecution (Samuel B). He found shelter in the lofty cliffs north of the Ein Gedi oasis. In his Psalms, No. 63 he writes: "Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judea…I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee…in a dry an thirsty land …But those who seek my soul to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth…".

Massada
A heroic saga was played out on the Rock of Massada in the year 72 CE, when 960 men, women and children withstood an extended siege by the Roman Empire. Rather than suffer enslavement at the hand of Roman Governor to Palestine, Flavius Silva and his 10th Roman legion, they committed mass suicide. Massada, now a world-renown and a well developed tourist attraction are but half-an-hour away from the Dead Sea tourist area.

Qumran
Most of the precious Dead Sea scrolls, including the monumental Prophet Isaiah scroll and that of the "War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness", were unearthed from caves at the archaeological site of Qumran. Ruins of that 200 BCE town, on the north-western tip of the salty lake, feature excavations, caves and an ancient cemetery. The scrolls are on display in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum of Jerusalem.

The Jordan River
The southern end of the Jordan River flows into the northern tip of the Living Dead Sea and is the lake's sole source of water. Kasr el Yahud, on the western bank of the Jordan a few kilometers to the north, is said by many to be the true baptismal site.