Wikipedia Trail: From Oases to the West Bank

An oasis in the Libyan part of the Sahara Desert

(Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Oasis:

While I know that an oasis is almost like a pond of water, I have never looked into the official definition of the word. According to Wikipedia, "an oasis is an isolated area in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source, such as a pond or small lake." I never knew that the actual water itself wasn't what was called an oasis! The word oasis came into language from Latin, derived from Ancient Greek( ὄασις óasis), which borrowed the word from Demotic Egyptian. Throughout history, oases have been important to traveling caravans, as mapping your route to follow oases allows travelers to replenish on water and food. Because oases are found in desert regions, you see them more often in places in the world that have more desert, such as the Sahara Desert, unlike North America.I actually wrote a story for my storybook about a caravan coming across a oasis if you would like to read it! 

Ein Gedi

I looked into Ein Gedi because it is an oasis in Israel. "Ein Gedi" is composed of two Hebrew words which mean "spring" and "goat-kid". In 1971, Ein Gedi was declared as a natural reserve, and is a home to many animal and plant species. The national park is also home to the Chalcolithic Temple of Ein Gedi, which is a public building that dates all the way back to 3500 BCE. Every year, a running event called the Dead Sea Half Marathon actually starts all of its races in Ein Gedi! That might be something that I have to put onto my bucket list!

The Dead Sea

I was led to the Wiki page of the Dead Sea, since it is in Israel and Ein Gedi is located along the coast of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is 9.6 times saltier than the ocean and it is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world! The Dead Sea has a density of 1.24 kg/litre which makes swimming in it feel like you are floating! The Dead Seas waters are receding at an alarming rate and this is partly because rainfall levels are about 2-4 inches per year in the region of the sea. This will take cooperation between the two countries that border the Dead Sea, Jordan and Israel, to address the issues of a loss of water in the sea.

West Bank

I was led to the West Bank page because it borders the Dead Sea. is the territory that borders Jordan to the east and Israel on the south, west, and north. It was annexed by Israel in 1967. It is considered illegal for Jewish settlers to settle in the West Bank, according to international law, but it is under Israeli occupation. This occupation has brought the West Bank to an economic depression, according to the World Bank. One reason for this is because major roads are off limits to the Palestinians that make up a majority of the population in the West Bank, stifling their ability to conduct business. Another reason is that Palestinians in the West Bank also have poor access to clean water and constant electricity.