Offers for Competitors, Families, Tourists and Guests
 

You can enjoy the event even if you are not a competitor.

Israel - The Holy Land is ONE OF the best tourist destinations in the world.
 

An authorized local tourist agency will be available for you with offers such as:

  • Accommodation
  • General tourism offers
  • Discounted full 8- day entry passes
     

We will publish the link direct to the Agency Page by August 2008

Visitors can also purchase a one day pass or a multi pass:

Purchase on line general purchase PON
(Prices will be updated later on)

If you purchase the 8-day pass, you will receive a free ticket to the Air Show
 

Attractions For Competitors’ Families:

Here are some suggestions:

  • Local daily & day tours
  • Extreme desert tours
  • Flying over Mezada
  • Using the Spa facilities
  • Visit to the Dead Sea cosmetics factories
  • Visit to the Bedouin guest tents in the desert
  • Camel riding

And much more – more updates and attractions will be published soon
* All tours and offers need to be paid for separately

Visit to the Israeli Air Force Museum:

http://www.iaf-museum.org.il 
http://ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=158

  • Only 40 Minutes from the hotel area
  • Special prices

To book any of the family attractions or activities, please send an Email Reservations@2009JWM.COM 
 


Ministry Of Tourism

 

The Living Dead Sea Tourist Site

The tourist destination called the Living Dead Sea occupies a peninsula protruding into the salt lake at the foot of the Judean Desert mountains. Visitors arriving from Jerusalem, 107 km away, drive along all of the eastern shoreline's length from north to south. The alternative is to travel from Tel Aviv to Arad (145 km) and then drive down the 30 km serpentine mountain road from Arad to the region's heart of Ein Bokek/Neve Zohar. (see below).
 

Ein Bokek & Neve Zohar

A 3 km long promenade on the Dead Sea shoreline connects between the two hotel areas, Ein Bokek with 12 hotels and Neve Zohar with 3. The former area features an assortment of shops and restaurants.
A promenade stroll at sunrise or sunset is a wonderful time to deeply inhale the rich air and to view the ever-changing colours of the Moab mountain chain across

the lake and of the sky behind it. Hikers and joggers use it for their outdoor work-out, but they too take time to marvel at the occasional salt formations on the salty water's edge.
An old-time farmhouse is situated a stone's throw away from the Ein Bokek hotels. By an easy ten minutes' walk over a footpath, one reaches an ancient Roman customs house that overlooks Wadi Ein Bokek, the local, natural sweet-water spring.
500 meters south of the main service road to Ein Bokek, at the entrance to that wadi are the beginning and the end of a two-hours' circular desert path.Marvel at the colours of the Moab mountain chain across the lake and of the sky behind it.

Unique Elements of Nature

Thanks to its unique elements of nature, life and quality of life at the Living Dead Sea are unlike any other place in the world. People of all countries and of all wakes of society make frequent "health and well being pilgrimages" to this region. The climate and the mineral qualities are major features in the variety of its therapeutic qualities, of its beauty treatments and of the menu of bodily pleasures to choose from.

Minus 400
The only place on the globe where the crust of planet Earth recedes to an "in-depth low" of minus 416 meters below sea level.

Sun
330 days a year of sun that caresses sunbathers through atmospheric filters with the least chance of sun-burning.

Air
The air that is miraculously dry, unpolluted, pollen-free, the air that purifies respiratory systems also filters and softens solar radiation.

Water & Springs
The Living Dead Sea is the only un-drownable lake on earth. Travellers from afar make the distance just for the sensation of reclining into its salty water, floating in armchair, reading position and leaving the worries of the world behind them. An assortment of mineral waters of various qualities is used for therapeutic and cosmetic treatments, as well as for manufacturing of the famous Dead Sea cosmetics lines. Drinking water comes from underground aquifer reservoirs by hydro-energy.
Mineral-rich springs, predominantly sulphur, rise from deep down into little ponds along the Dead Sea shores.

Minus 400 - Mud pack
For improved blood circulation, to relieve tensions of mind and muscle, for cosmetic and therapeutic benefits, indulge in a natural black mud pack. This outdoor do-it-in-twos experience is the most hilarious fun of the Living Dead Sea. Having it administered by your tender, firm hotel masseurs' hands is different but no less delightful. An important added value of both ways is the indispensable photo opportunity. Your folks will like it.

 

Millennia of History

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 is 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.
 

Leisure & Spa Packages

The following tourism packages & touring programs will assist you in suggesting the right product to the right customer. For more information and for rates, please contact your Israel correspondent or the individual hotels.

We give you hereunder samples of group and individual packages of the Living Dead Sea experiences. For the renewal of your client's body and soul, combine a variety of exhilarating bodily indoor spa pleasures, with cultural and environmental enjoyment of sights and outdoor activities. Sunbathing without fear of harmful ultraviolet rays, floating leisurely in the Dead Sea, desert walks, treks and interesting day tours.

Packaging in cooperation with your hotel
Most Dead Sea hotels offer Leisure & Spa packages from a few days up to a week and more. These include a combination of overnights, meals and items you will choose from the menu offered in this brochure.

A Living Dead Sea Spa features:
In- and/or outdoor pools of pure Living Dead Sea water, thermo-mineral pools, Jacuzzi, dry sauna and steam baths, fitness and other sport instruments facilities. A variety of treatments: mud wraps, massages, traditional Far Eastern treatments, facials etc.
All treatments are administered and supervised by skilled professionals whose credo is personal care and guests' satisfaction.

Winter De-freezing Packages
During winter, when Europeans and North Americans are freezing, the Living Dead Sea boasts a sunny climate with warm pleasant swimming temperatures. Exchanging winter blues with the “Living Dead Sea Experience”. This is when your customers will enjoy the least harmful tan on earth.

Anti-Stress Holidays

  • A quiet and serene environment.

  • Oxygen-rich sea air, rich in bromide - known to be a natural nerve relaxant.

  • High barometric pressure lowering blood pressure slightly.

  • Floating sensation in the Dead Sea.

  • Relatively safe outdoor sunbathing.

  • Dead Sea in-house spas in most hotels.

  • Spa pleasures and treatments such as peeling, massage and thermo-mineral baths

The Living Dead Sea as part of your Israel tour
For an out-of-the-ordinary enrichment and high satisfaction of your group and individual Israel program customer, in body as well as in spirit, instruct your Israel tour correspondent to build into all programs a Living Dead Sea visit.

"Minus 400" Overnights
Even a one-night/one-day stop at the Living Dead Sea, en-route between Jerusalem and anywhere, will prove to be a celebration. We'll help you make it so by an excellent dinner, a moonlight drive across the lunar landscape, or a stroll under the starry skies; a pre-breakfast “float” on the lake, then the unmatched "Minus 400 Breakfast Buffet". To complete a heavenly stop-over, all that is needed is an hour or two of relaxed pampering at the health and beauty spa of your hotel.
Perfection. No less!

A special Massada Overnight
This world famous archaeological site is but a short 18 km ride from your hotel. There exists almost no Israel program without it. The advantage of Dead Sea overnighters is that they have the site
and the cable car to themselves, before the crowds arrive by tour buses from Jerusalem and from Tel-Aviv. For the fit, consider building into the "Minus 400 Overnight" (see above) the spellbinding option of "Sunrise on Massada". The one-hour uphill climb at dawn over the Trail of the Serpent is a tale for one's grandchildren. Descending by cable car, guests will be back at their hotel for late breakfast.

Dead Sea cruises - For groups only
“Lot’s Wife”, a wooden double-deck vessel with bar, music and toilets. The boat sails to the point over the lake’s deepest spot of 300 meters. Capacity up to 100 passengers.

Desert Safari & Adventure
Desert Tourism for the adventurous traveler
may include:

  • Pre-dawn hike uo to the rock of Massada for a glorious sunrise,

  • Stimulating trails along desert paths,

  • Desert tours in all-terrain vehicles,

  • Mountain biking on desert trails,

  • Meeting the Bedouin in their encampment,

  • Camel riding and desert safaris with qualified guides,

  • Rappelling on the cliffs of Metzoke Dragot,

  • Driving dune buggies.


The Living Dead Sea - An unusual Stay-put Destination

qualities of the Dead Sea region make it an unusual but ideal holiday destination. Nothing here is comparable to any other resort in the world, especially its secluded hideaway atmosphere. This special aura lends itself to rapidly establishing contact with people from many different origins. The local tourism peoples' eagerness to greet visitors is best expressed by their own style of open-hearted, outgoing service.
A variety of optional Day Tours for groups and for individuals is available from your Israeli correspondent or through the hotels.

Qumran - Jericho - Jerusalem
Drive to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. See below. Then on to Jericho, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlement. See the ruins of the Walls of Jericho and the 7th century Hisham Palace. Thence to the Old City of Jerusalem for visits to the Via Dolorosa, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and other holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths. Visit the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book to view a selection of the original Dead Sea Scrolls. Optional addition: A visit to the St. George Monastery in Wadi Kelt, off the Dead Sea-Jerusalem road.



Mt. Sodom - Massada – Ein Gedi
Discover the Flour Cave and ascend to a superb lookout point overlooking the Dead Sea area. Continue on to Mt. Sodom to view the fascinating salt formations. Drive north along the Dead Sea shore and ascend Massada by cable car to marvel at King Herod’s awe-inspiring desert palace and fortress. Visit the stronghold of the zealots’ community dating back to the 1st century AD. Continue to the Ein Gedi oasis and nature reserve (waterfalls, brooks, lush greenery, animal life). The garden of the Song of Songs and the place where King-to-be David hid from King Saul.


Sea of Galilee – Tiberias - Nazareth
Drive north through the Syrian-African geological depression along the Jordan Valley, via the dramatic site of Beit Shean to the city of Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Visit the historical sites of Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached his Sermon of the Mount.
A special feature at Kibbutz Ginnosar is a one-of-a-kind, restored 1St-century fishing boat, discovered in the Sea of Galilee. Continue to Nazareth, visit the Church of the Annunciation and the Arab bazaar before returning to your Dead Sea hotel.


Arad - Beer Sheva - Sde Boker - Avdat - Mamshit
Over the uphill serpentine road, drive west to the modern desert city of Arad and to Tel Arad. Visit the archaeological site that traces history from the Calcolithic Age to the Byzantine period. The classical Canaanite altar is well worth photographing. Continue to Beer Sheva, capital of the Negev, thence to Avdat a beautifully restored Nabatean site with superb views of the Negev desert. There you'll find the foundations of what may possibly be the world’s oldest church. Drive on to Kibbutz Sde Boker, David Ben-Gurion's home and burial site. Wind up your day at the restored ancient town of Mamshit, a stopover on the Secret Spice Caravan Route of the desert, featuring camel rides, outdoor activities and special artefacts.


Eilat, from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea
From the Dead Sea drive south, traversing the Negev Desert and the lunar landscape of the Arava to Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city on the Red Sea. Enjoy a Blue Bay of Eilat cruise, try your hand at some shallow-water snorkelling in the colourful Coral reef of Eilat, a guided jeep adventure or a bouncing camel trip.
 

Beauty and Cosmetics

Dead Sea cosmetics are not just a by-product of the multitude of nature's blessings, but a whole line of beauty and cosmetics products based upon them have made important inroads on the shelves of international markets.
The interest to use the Living Dead Sea minerals and to produce exclusive formulae for home use of these minerals began some fifty years ago. Today, over 80 Israeli beauty and cosmetics exporters feature products based on- or containing Dead Sea minerals.

Sun tan
Imagine going home in mid winter superbly tanned to everyone's envy. True, world medicine warns against undue exposure to the sun. Not here. Through the benefits of the filtered ultra-violet spectrum, sunshine is much less intense. A healthy and beautiful tan is best achieved by gradual exposure to the rays of the Living Dead Sea sun and by regular use of sun-tanning oils. The filters that soften radiation intensity and reduce sunburn risks are a result of the region's low altitude, the rapid evaporation and the enhanced layer of ozone.

Skin and body care
The Living Dead Sea water minerals are acclaimed for nourishing your skin and giving it a glorious glimmer. Indulging in a black mud body wrap has both cosmetic and therapeutic benefits. It is known to cleanse and stimulate the skin. Yes, it also relieves muscle and emotional tension and improves blood circulation, all of which make the skin surface look considerably better and the body will enjoy a newly found well-being.

Hair care
The cosmetics industry takes advantage of the lake's minerals to create formulae of quality hair care products.

A Dead Sea bath take-away
Entering a scented perfume shop here or in many countries of the world, one will surely find an assortment of the Living Dead Sea bathing salts. Once the consumer tries such indulgence in her home bathtub, once that sensation of well-being penetrates the pores, you will be sure to find her mind open to the idea of travelling to the Dead Sea for the real thing.
 

 

 

Sights & Sites

One can come to the Living Dead Sea for a great many reasons. Whatever the motive, one should never forego the delight of the great tourist attractions so generously spread around the region. History, nature – especially desert nature, eco-tourism and outdoor activity centres.

Nature
The Living Dead Sea region is a natural phenomenon of unique characteristics. Life and vegetation adapt to an almost complete absence of precipitation.

The Dead Sea
The lake, a one-of-a-kind body of water, lies 416 meters (1,373 ft.) below sea level. It is also one of the world’s true natural wonders and a unique tourism destination. Its globally acclaimed mineral-rich waters and mud flow promise natural health qualities and beauty benefits.

Judean Desert
Nowhere – other than here – can a visitor find a compact, naturally preserved desert, that features all desert characteristics and yet can be traversed and explored from end to end in less than a day. There is no place like a desert to give you an ex-territorial sensation, as if you have taken virtual leave of the planet for a while. The Judean Desert and that sensation are next door. Few westerners know the thrill of a few hours on a desert nature tour. Within half-an-hour's drive you are surrounded by lunar landscape, where everything – sun, air, life, vegetation, water, vistas – all are stunningly different from everywhere else. A little familiarisation trip or some outdoor desert action are sensational experiences.

Desert Springs
Some of the few sources of natural fresh water are springs that well up in the rocky hills of the nearby Judean Desert, flowing down through the shaded wadis (Arabic for canyons or riverbeds) to the Dead Sea basin. The trails into these canyons attract a great many hikers and mountain bikers for a day of active fun.

Waterfalls
In the otherwise sun-swept landscape of rock and sand, the oasis of Ein Gedi with its waterfalls and pools are a cool surprise to the eye.
Winter rains in the Judean hills up north hurl down to the Dead Sea region huge quantities of water, creating sudden one-day rivers and lofty waterfalls. These powerful waters traverse the area and reshape completely the landscape of hills, sand pillars and canyons. And then the water vanishes overnight.

People
The local people of the Living Dead Sea region are a colourful part of its environment. Their nomadic life style stems from their ancestry of many millennia. Their wanderings are directed by the seasons. Living in mobile goatskin-insulated tents, the dwellers are shielded against desert night chills and kept dry from rare but intense rains. Camels, donkeys, cattle and sheep, an occasional Arab stallion, are as desert adapted as their masters. They live off the ground. Being an important item in Culture and Eco-tourism programs, visitors do enjoy playing anthropologists for a day.