When visiting the world’s saltiest body of water, you wouldn’t expect to find a tree that appears to be sprouting out of a pristine white salt island in the middle of the Dead Sea, but that’s just what you’re presented to at the beach of Ein Bokek.

Given that the Dead Sea has nearly ten times the amount of salt in it as the ocean, how is it possible for any kind of plant or animal to survive there, let alone have a tree grow on an island composed entirely of salt? Immersed in blue sea, the famed Dead Sea Salt Island is a strange natural creation made of sparkling white salt, and it’s located within swimming distance of the beach at Ein Bokek, an Israeli resort near Arad. A tree that doesn’t belong there and a shallow, enticing pool of water are located in the middle of it. Still, though…

The tree of the Dead Sea is such an amazing sight that I’m surprised it hasn’t received more attention on Instagram and other travel-oriented social networks. Seeing a living thing surviving, thriving even, in the middle of a body of water famous for its inability to sustain life is quite surreal, even though everything isn’t quite as it seems.

It’s not a guarantee that the tree started and flourished there, even though a detailed examination will reveal buds on the branches and roots extending into the island’s salty crust. It was carried and “planted” on the salt island as a work of original art by a local artist. It seems that he has been going to the tree every day and covering its base with mud to make sure it receives all the nutrients it needs to thrive in this highly hostile environment.

The Dead Sea itself is dying, with the shoreline encroaching on the water every year, and maybe the so-called “tree of life” is a metaphor for that, or maybe having something grow in the middle of the Dead Sea is the metaphor. No one really knows for sure, but then again , no one really cares. The tree exists, and it makes a great prop for Instagrammable photos…

So if you ever find yourself visiting the Dead Sea, and pass by Ein Bokek, make sure to check out the tree of life and the beautiful sea island it “grows” on.