You know, I don't think I know of any other attraction I feel so conflicted about. On the one hand, the Novomeisky Visitor Center is a spectacular achievement as a multi-media exhibition center. The videos, presentations and atmosphere are remarkable and worth visiting just to have the experience.
Similarly, the site does a remarkable job of explaining the history and industrial use of the Dead Sea. The second presentation center with the amazing model of the Dead Sea basin is truly brilliant. I've never seen a multimedia display used so effectively to teach something that can be so dry. Really cool
On the other hand, the center is a thinly veiled way for a very successful industrial manufacturer to excuse itself for the ongoing natural catastrophe that is the modern Dead Sea landscape. While, it's not entirely clear to me exactly what can be done, the Dead Sea is disappearing at a staggering rate of 1 meter per year. In addition to the loss of the massive lake itself, the area around the sea has become pockmarked with thousands of sink holes, massive collapses of land around the Dead Sea basin. I have not heard of specific fatalities related to the sink holes, but it's hard to imagine that no one has been at least seriously injured.
To give an idea of the severity of the sink hole situation, the main highway that runs from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea has been diverted at least once in the last 10 years(?) because of a spontaneous collapse of the road itself. In other words, the street literally melted away without warning.
Explanation from Asher Altshul is that the evaporation of the sea has caused fresh water to mix into areas of soil with high salt concentrations. As the water washes in, dissolves the salts, and then flows elsewhere or evaporates, the remaining soil is left with pockets which once contained salt, but now contain only soil and air. With time and gravity, the soil condenses to fill in the air pockets. The result is thousands of randomly occurring sink holes which dot the area around the Dead Sea.
I can't envision coming for a tour of Israel and missing out on the Dead Sea, but tourists should be mindful to hire experienced drivers and guides who know how to navigate this rapidly and dangerously changing landscape.
