Blogs from South District, Israel, Middle East - page 3

A two-day family camping trip to the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert with Yoel Oren (http://yoeloren.com/). My daughter and I drove down to the Dead Sea to join a group of families on a desert camping trip. We met up with the other families at the entrance to the Salvadora stream, about 4.5 km South of Mitzpeh-Shalem on the Dead Sea coast. Soon after, our guide Yoel arrived with the eternal Jean-Pierre. Those who have travelled with Yoel (much recommended) know that Jean-Pierre, Yoel’s beat-up old pink Renault Express, has been all over Israel, both on and off-road. We all got organized, sun screen on, backpacks, water, snacks and kids, and started the day’s hike. We walked back up the road a bit to where the Salvadora stream crosses under the road and climbed down ... read more

The reason I got up so early this morning was that today is a day for rejuvenation and learning! I booked a tour to visit Masada and the Dead Sea. Visiting the lowest point on Earth at 1400 feet below sea level was worth it on so many levels (pun intended). The bus picked us up at 7:30, and then ran through Jerusalem to pick up a few more people, before heading towards the Jordanian border and the Dead Sea. On the bus ride, I met a great group of people: 2 other Vermonters, a Houstonian, 2 Canadians, and a couple Californians. I spent the day bouncing between them for conversation and entertainment. First we stopped at a private beach on the north shore of the Dead Sea where we dropped off a few people that ... read more

Today we visited Tel Be’er Sheva, or Beersheba as it is referred to in the Bible. According to Genesis 21, Beersheba was granted its name in commemoration of a covenant made between Abraham and Abimelech regarding a dispute over a well. Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26; 46) are also associated with the well at this site; it is no wonder here at the northern tip of the Negev Desert that the patriarchs are connected with a reliable source of water. Our ancestors in the faith have created many stories, dietary practices and rituals to remind us of the omnipresence of God in our lives. In solidarity with their efforts to remind us of God’s presence in our lives, I invite us to select one of our daily routines (i.e., brushing teeth, loading the dishwasher, making coffee) ... read more

You can't claim that you are trying to dive everywhere, if you don't go to these places in the first place! So here I am on my way to Eilat. I spent few days in Aqaba years ago....it was around the Christmas holidays, and even Leslie did dive the Red Sea. You can see Eilat from Aqaba, and obviously the opposite is true too. This time I'm taking the Egged bus from Jerusalem. That was a good 4 hours drive, beautiful specially once you drive next to the Dead Sea! Hotels in Eilat are crazy expensive, and few of them even have a minimum stay of few nights...so I ended in the Eilat Youth Hostel. The hostel is central...and be ready, a room with breakfast is 140usd per night! Yes, the most expensive hostel I ever ... read more

This morning we met our guide Dina and Bus driver Eli and left for Mitsvah Ramon Crater the only crater in the world formed by erosion rather than a meteorite and it is at the top of a mountain range but Im not convinced scince there are 3 dormant volcanos which I presume at some stage they may have erupted and caused the crater at the top of the mountain and then erosion did the rest. this is an amazing sight and will next year be a international world heritage zone because of its significance geologicaly we were driven through it in landrovers we then went to have lunch yiros made with turkey meat and then to beersheba where Abram lived and a well he dug is still there today the significance of this is great ... read more