Since times of old people have been coming to the Dead Sea to rejuvenate. While no creature can live in the salt sea, it has provided humanity with a source of rich minerals, building materials, and healing salts and mud for thousands of years. The sea was of such great economic importance that wars were fought for its possession, as when Mark Anthony conquered the Dead Sea area for Cleopatra.

The concentration of salt and minerals in the Dead Sea is greater than that of any ocean. You can't swim in the Dead Sea, but you can float all day long while the waters heal and refresh you! Perhaps the most famous natural health product of the Dead Sea and its region is Dead Sea Black Mud, loaded with minerals and skin-healing properties. Medical research and multiple studies have proved beyond all doubt the efficacy of these minerals in treating and preventing various diseases such as psoriasis, acne, and rheumatism. This mud today is shipped around the world for people to enjoy in the comforts of their own homes.

How did all this come to be? The Dead Sea lies some 400 m (1300 ft) below sea level at the lowest point on the earth's surface, and is a part of the Syrian - East Africa Rift Valley, flanked by the Judean Mountains to the west and the Moab mountains to the east. Approximately three million years ago the Mediterranean Sea penetrated the area, emptying sea water into the region. Enormous amounts of salt were deposited, and over time, the early lagoon that had formed became separated from the nearby lakes as the Mediterranean Sea withdrew. Since then, the Dead Sea has been continually fed water from the rivers and streams coming down off the mountains that surround it, but the waters do not drain out. Instead, the extreme heat of the region causes immense evaporation, leaving behind concentrated amounts of chloride salts, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, bromine and various other materials. The combination of these minerals and others give the Dead Sea salts and mud their healing properties.