the Dead Sea is incapable of sustaining any plant or animal life
With a salt concentration over 10 times that of the ocean, the Dead Sea is incapable of sustaining any plant or animal life , so come there’s a tree growing there, and on an island made of salt, of all places? Within swimming distance of the beach in Ein Bokek, an Israeli resort near Arad, lies the iconic Dead Sea Salt Island, a surreal natural formation made of dazzling white salt and surrounded by turquoise water. At its center are a pool of shallow, inviting water, and a tree that has no place being there. And yet the tree of the Dead Sea is such an amazing sight that I’m surprised it hasn’t received more attention on Instagram and other travel-oriented social networks. Seeing a living thing surviving, thriving even, in the middle of a body of water famous for its inability to sustain life is quite surreal, even though everything isn’t quite as it seems. Even though a close inspection of the tree will reveal buds on the branches and roots stretching into the salty crust of the islan...