Ein Feshkah by Miguel Nicolaevsky

Last winter I and my family visited Ein Feshkha or Einot Tzukim in Israel, it is a so beautiful oasis in the northern beach of Dead Sea in Judea Desert. A freshwater spring, whose waters tumble down from the hills, provides a refreshing alternative to the heavy waters of the Dead Sea and brings life to the barren surroundings, creating pools of lush vegetation.

And despite its name, the Dead Sea helps support one of the world’s most complex and vibrant ecosystems. Fed by fresh water springs and aquifers, a half-dozen oases along the shore harbor scores of indigenous species of plants, fish and mammals, including ibex and leopards.

About 500 million birds representing at least 300 species, including storks, pelicans, lesser spotted eagles, lesser kestrels and honey buzzards, take refuge here during a biannual great migration from Africa to Europe and back again.

Ein Feshka, a lush expanse of tamarisk, papyrus, oleander and pools of crystal water, was used by the late king Hussein of Jordan as a private playground in the 1950s and early ’60s. But as the Dead Sea recedes, the springs that feed the oases are moving along with it; many experts believe that Ein Feshka and other oases could wither away within five years.

Read more about Dead Sea and Ein Feshkha here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/deadsea.html?c=y&page=2