The Dead Sea Works Visitor Centre and Metsoke Dragot

Mister Handmade in Israel and I recently spent a few days in the area of the Dead Sea. The war is still raging here in Israel - not long ago we buried another young soldier who grew up in the city where I live and who was in fact in the same battalion and special unit that Gadi was in. But sometimes you need to take a little time to breathe, so I persuaded my other half to take some time off work.

For our first day I booked tickets for a tour of the Moshe Novomeisky Visitor Centre, an open-air museum located at the site of the original Palestine Potash Company plant and workers' camp in Sodom, a town commonly known as the location of the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Palestine Potash Company was founded in 1929 by Moshe Novomeysky, with the support of British engineer Thomas Gregory Tolock. The first plant was established in 1930 at Kalia, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea, followed in 1934 by a larger facility at Sodom, on the southern shore.

The company quickly grew into the largest industrial enterprise in pre-state Israel, at its peak accounting for more than half of Mandatory Palestine's exports. Its operations relied on evaporation techniques, creating shallow pools lined with waterproof salt soil. As the salty water dried, it produced potash - a pinkish-orange, potassium-rich salt formed from ancient seabeds that had evaporated millions of years ago. Output from the Sodom plant was shipped north by boat to Kalia, and from there transported by truck to Jerusalem and the port of Haifa for export.

The plant complex also developed into a small community. By 1940, around 300 people lived on-site, including 40 women and 20 children - making it the southernmost permanent Jewish settlement in Mandatory Palestine. At the time, the only way to reach the southern plant was by boat across the Dead Sea.

During the War of Independence, the Kalia plant was destroyed and the Sodom plant shut down. In 1952, the Dead Sea Works was established as the government successor to the concession, and a year later a road was built linking Be'er Sheva to Sodom. With improved access, a new plant was constructed, and production resumed in 1955.

The Visitor Centre, spanning the original workers' camp area including the dining hall and workers' accommodations, highlights the vision and determination of those who transformed the Dead Sea. Our guided tour used modern technology, such as virtual reality goggles, to transport us back in time and show us what life was like for the potash workers in the 1930s and 40s.We learnt about the geological processes that created the Dead Sea (the formation of the Syrian African rift valley), the process of mineral extraction from the Dead Sea, and the heroic story of the pioneers who established the original Potash Company site, overcoming harsh living conditions in an isolated region. It also addressed the ongoing balancing act between environmental conservation and economic development.

Afterwards we stopped briefly at the shores of the Dead Sea to take some photos. An ecological wonder located at the lowest place on Earth, the Dead Sea sits at 439 metres degrees below sea level and is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.
We then continued north along Road 90 before turning onto the winding road that leads to Metzoke Dragot, the travellers village where we planned to stay. Metzoke Dragot is located on a cliff 21 metres above sea level and overlooks the magnificent view of the Dead Sea on one side and the rugged Judean Mountains on the other. 'Metzoke' means 'cliffs of' in Hebrew, while 'Dragot' is the name of the area near the Dead Sea, named after Nahal Dragot (Dragot Stream), a nearby desert stream that gives the area its name.

We chose to stay in a "tent" perched on the cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea. The views were spectacular! Our boutique tent was rather more upscale than a basic tent. It was spotlessly clean and very comfortable, and came with air-conditioning, a double bed, TV, electricity/charging stations, and private bathroom facilities! Two sunbeds were placed outside the tent, next to our own private dipping pool. I spent hours sitting in the pool reading an excellent book, 'The Lion Women of Tehran'. There was also Wi-Fi available at the site. It was not luxury hotel standard, but definitely much more pleasant than basic camping and we loved the experience!

We ate dinner in the Metzoke Bar, a café-bar overlooking the Dead Sea. On the first evening I enjoyed a veggie burger, then the next day I tried the vegetarian schwarma made from seitan. I loved the cold Metzoke Beer, though sadly it seems that it is only available at the bar there. The Israeli breakfast included eggs, bread, labane, tehina, vegetables, and hot and cold drinks. It was very good.

Nubian ibex, a desert-dwelling goat species, wander through the site and I jumped up from my chair several times to take photos. Metzoke Dragot's cliffs, wadis (ravines), rocky slopes, and limited water sources make it suitable for ibex. They are very comfortable with people and we saw them often.

This isn't a paid post - Metzoke Dragot simply turned out to be the perfect place for a short stay, with just the right balance of comfort, sweeping Dead Sea views, and a peacefulness that made it hard to leave.

* This post has been shared on Saturday's Critters, Nature Notes, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Tuesday Turn About.

Flamingo Watching in Eilat’s Salt Pools

Photo credit: Eilat Birding Center - IBRCE

Eilat, Israel's southernmost city, is located in a central location along the migration route from Africa towards Europe and Asia. During the migratory seasons, autumn and spring, you can enjoy the amazing experience of watching hundreds of thousands of pink flamingos and other birds in their natural environment. We took some time during our stay in Eilat to visit the salt pools, just a few minutes drive north of the city, where Greater Flamingo, waders, raptors and many other birds come to "refuel".  About one million birds pass through the region during the migratory seasons.

Eilat's salt pools are an industrial site for the production of salt for both the domestic and international market. The Salt of the Earth salt plant uses the pools, which cover a total area of around 180 hectares (440 acres), to extract Red Sea salt from the sea water by evaporation. An experimental solar evaporation salt production plant was already operating in Eilat between the years 1954-1959 and the current plant was set up in 1976. Over the years, the plant's manufacturing processes became more sophisticated, doubling and even tripling the plant's production and processing output. During the early years, when the pools operated only with water sourced directly from the sea, annual production reached about 150,000 tons. Salt harvest progressed from collection by tractors and carts to laser-guided equipment used today that preserves salt purity and prevents damage to pool infrastructure. Over time, new processing and drying equipment was added, improving the salt quality to superior levels.

The salt pools serve as a very special haven for flamingos since they are loaded with algae as a result of the evaporation. The flamingos feed on the algae, which are rich in beta-carotene, which causes the pink colouration in the flamingos' wings.

The first few years after the salt company built the ponds, only 10s of flamingoes came in the autumn and left in the spring. In the mid-1990s a change was observed. Adults that wintered in Eilat between September and March brought their young and after the adults left for the subsequent breeding season in March, the young, which can be identified by their black and white plumage, stayed back for the summer.

There are several observation posts overlooking the salt pools and the flamingos. The one we visited, after a short bumpy ride off-road, allowed us wonderful views of the jagged peaks of the Edom mountains in Jordan and of Israel's Mount Amram, which is notable for its dark colour. Opposite us was Jordan's Aqaba International Airport, above. A peace agreement in 1996 between Israel and Jordan included arrangements for Israel to use the runways and for passengers to proceed from their aircraft directly into Israeli territory.

The salt pools are constantly under threat. In 2020 a plan to build a visitor centre for marine and ancient agriculture with a large campsite for 750 people, on the shores of the pools, was put forward for approval. Because the pools are an industrial site for the production of salt and not a nature reserve, protecting the birds and habitat is a constant fight.
In addition, visitors using drones to film flying flamingos and ATVs racing through the habitat in the past has scared the birds away. The flamingoes leave for the day to a protected but foodless site and only come back to feed at the pools when the crowds leave. Signs now enforce against the disturbance of the birds and on the day we visited it was very quiet.

Photo credit: Tiuli

Near to the pools is the ancient site of Evrona, which we will check out on a future visit. Evrona is mentioned in the Bible as one of the stations that the Israelites stopped at on their long journey in the wilderness. "They journeyed from Jotbathah (Yotvata) and camped at Abronah (Evrona). They journeyed from Abronah (Evrona) and camped at Ezion-Geber (Eztion-Gaver)." (Numbers 33: 34-35).
Over a thousand years ago, farmers constructed an elaborate underground water system at Evrona and turned it into Israel's savanna. The location was excellent, on the route called Darb el-Haj - Road of the Celebrants. Although it had been used by traders for millennia, after Islam was established, Darb el-Haj became the main pilgrimage trail to Mecca. Thousands of travelers from North Africa and Spain took the route every year, stopping to buy their provisions in Evrona.
The farmers, who were probably Muslims who came from the surrounding Arab countries, dug to reach fresh underground water and transport it to the fields. Every 10 meters, a shaft was dug so that air could circulate. Today you can descend a ladder down a six-meter shaft, crawl about 20 meters through the tunnel, and surface through another shaft. Apparently it's cool down there and a great way to get out of the heat!
Nearby are the "Doum Palms", a group of rare and impressive Egyptian palm trees. This is the most northerly point in the world where this species of palm trees grows. They are more commonly found in Sudan and the tropical regions of Africa and they don't grow any further north than Evrona. Unlike date palms, whose trunks are tall and straight, those of the doum palm (also known as gingerbread trees) split into V-shapes that open to the sky, with tufts of large fan-shaped leaves at the ends of the branches. Their presence here for thousands of years indicates that the weather in the past was far different than it is today.

* This post has been shared on The Hearth and Soul Link Party, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), My Corner of the World and Wild Bird Wednesday.

International Birding and Research Centre Eilat

This post was written a year last December, when we took a short break in Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. With everything going on here in Israel at the moment, we currently have no plans to travel anywhere, but hope that one day soon we will be able to go out and discover new and interesting places in our beautiful country.

Israel's Arava region, the desert valley that extends from the Dead Sea to Eilat, is an important bird migration route between Europe and Africa. Millions of birds pass through the region during the migration seasons. En route many of them stop over in Eilat. In the autumn, on their way to Africa, the birds pause to rest and regain their strength before crossing the foodless and hostile Saharan desert that lies before them; and in spring, on their journey to Europe, they stop to recuperate after their desert adventures. The International Birding and Research Centre Eilat (IBRCE), located at the northern entrance to the city, is the perfect place to observe all these birds.

The IBRCE lies on what was once a salt marsh, before it was turned into an industrial waste site. The area around Eilat was once home to extensive salt marshes where plants provided flowers and fruits to feed the migrating birds. But as the resort city expanded, the salt marshes were replaced by urban sprawl. During the 1970s and '80s developers built shopping malls, hotels, housing and restaurants that used the salt marshes of Eilat as a landfill for all their rubbish. Residents strolling through the city streets would find hundreds of dead birds at their feet. The poor creatures had searched in vain for their natural habitat, trying to find the indigenous plants and the salt marshes that had fed them so wonderfully in the past.

Something had to be done.
In 1993 the ground was leveled, the rubbish dumps were covered up, pools were created and trees that could provide the birds with food were planted. The park is now run by the KKL-JNF (Jewish National Fund), together with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Nature and Parks Authority, Eilat Municipality and Ben Gurion University, all of whom oversaw the transformation of the rubbish dump into an environmentally friendly venue and bird watching park.

Now the migratory birds can enjoy resting in a tranquil spot that extends over about one tenth of the original area of the salt marsh and which is well provided with food. Israel's national water company Mekorot has also become involved in the project and it supplies water for the lake in the park, which has become a wonderful habitat for a variety of aquatic species. 

The park includes a number of paths flanked by hides that enable visitors to observe the birds without disturbing them. Ponds offer different water conditions and quantities of light and shade. A salt marsh has been recreated to serve warblers, rare species of sparrows and shrikes, while a freshwater lake thickly lined with foliage attracts waterfowl, herons, kingfishers and waders. Salt pans are populated by flamingos and gulls, and reed beds by crakes and reed warblers. The Asian Green Bee-eater is a common visitor. All in all, more than 480 species of birds have been recorded in the Eilat area. Foxes, shrews, hyenas and snakes are all regular visitors too, but you have to go there really late at night or way before dawn to see them.

The IBRCE is also involved in nature conservation work and campaigns throughout the Southern Arava region, making sure the desert skies are clear from hazards and the stop-over sites are safe and welcoming for the birds. Centre staff visit local kibbutzim to explain the importance of birds and encourage them to become more bird-friendly. They also conduct research and monitor migrant birds. During the spring and autumn it is possible to watch bird ringing and see many incredible species up close and in the hand. About 25,000 birds are caught each year in Eilat for monitoring purposes. Using a special ring placed on the bird's leg, they track their migration patterns.

The IBRCE also has a small hospital designed to give immediate care to birds that arrive too exhausted and hungry and need to be injected with fluids and fed manually. Birds that arrive wounded are flown to the safari in Ramat-Gan for treatment.

The park staff organize a variety of activities for the general public and provide guided tours for groups and individuals. Guiding takes place in the mornings but a visit at any time of the year is recommended. I couldn't help but think how much Gadi, a bird-lover, would have enjoyed it.

Tomorrow night the festival of Pesach or Passover, the Jewish Festival of Freedom, begins. It is celebrated to mark the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. This year it will be less of a celebration and more a marking of the holiday. 133 Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza and are not free to sit around the Seder table with their loved ones. Celebrating the Festival of Freedom frankly feels impossible.

* This post has been shared on Sundays on Silverado, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Wild Bird Wednesday and My Corner of the World.