Dead Sea towns around the lake. These towns had drinking water from the Ein Feshcha springs and other sweetwater springs in the vicinity. Intimately connected with the Judean wilderness to its northwest and west, the Dead Sea was a place of escape and refuge. The remoteness of the region attracted Greek Orthodox monks since the Byzantine era. Their monasteries, such as Saint George in Wadi Kelt and Mar Saba in the Judaean Desert, are places of pilgrimage. In the 19th century the River Jordan and the Dead Sea were explored by boat primarily by Christopher Costigan in 1835, Thomas Howard Molyneux in
Dead Sea Works the Dead Sea by mining them directly, the company makes use of solar evaporation with 2-meter deep evaporation ponds. Dead Sea Works has been blamed by conservationists for polluting the environment and contributing to the Dead Sea's slow evaporation. Dead Sea Works The Dead Sea Works (, "Mif'alei Yam HaMelakh") is an Israeli potash plant in Sdom, on the Dead Sea coast of Israel. The company was established in 1930 by Moshe Novomeysky. It was known then as the Palestine Potash Company. From 1936, it was a profitable enterprise despite attempts by the German potash cartel to strangle the business