Israel takes longest salt cave title from Iran

Israeli cavers say a salt cave with striking stalactites near the Dead Sea is the world’s longest, beating the record-holder in Iran.

Efraim Cohen of the Israel Cave Explorers Club, and of the Malham Cave Mapping Expedition, shows journalists salt stalactites in the Malham cave inside Mount Sodom, located at the southern part of the Dead Sea in Israel on March 27, 2019. - Israeli spelunkers announced on March 27 that a salt cave near the Dead Sea was over ten kilometres long, beating Iran's N3 cave in Qeshm to make it the world's largest. The cave, named Malham, is a series of canyons running through Mount Sodom, Israel's largest mountain, and spilling out to the southwest corner of the adjacent Dead Sea. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli cave explorers said yesterday a salt cave with striking stalactites near the Dead Sea is the world’s longest, beating the record-holder in Iran.

The cave named Malham, stretching over 10km, runs through Mount Sodom, Israel’s largest mountain, and spills out to the southwest corner of the Dead Sea. Pale salt stalactites hang from the ceilings, and some of the walls sparkle with salt crystals. Drops of salty water are visible at the tips of some of the stalactites.

Malham became known through the work of Amos Frumkin, founder of Hebrew University’s Cave Research Centre, who in the 1980s mapped about 5km. But in 2006, researchers mapped over 6km of the N3 cave in southern Iran’s Qeshm island, granting it the status of the world’s longest salt cave. Two years ago, Israeli spelunker Yoav Negev decided to complete Frumkin’s work. The founder of the Israel Cave Explorers Club joined forces with the university’s Boaz Langford to ­organise a delegation of eight ­Bulgarian spelunkers and 20 ­locals. They spent 10 days mapping the cave last year. A second 10-day expedition this year with 80 local and international spelunkers completed the measuring and mapping of the cave with ­lasers, finding it was over 10km long.

Mount Sodom is a salt block covered by a thin layer of cap rock. The rare desert rains find their way through cracks in the cap and dissolve the salt to form small caves that flow down toward the Dead Sea.

Mr Negev pointed to its vast network of “caverns, passageways, piers, plateaus, one over ­another”. He called it “the most impressive and complex in Israel … and one of the most beautiful and fascinating ones I’ve been in”.

He downplayed the significance of retaking the title from Iran saying he had “excellent ties” with Iranian spelunkers. “The political rivalry creates a desire to connect and mutual curiosity. “They’re really excellent spelunkers. I wish I could visit there.”

AFP