Wandering in the Desert
When we first signed up for Birthright, those of us who hadn't been to Israel before mostly imagined a dry desert absent of any life except a few wandering camels... Well, today we saw that side of Israel. We started off by driving "a short 40 minutes" south to David Ben Gurion (Israel's first Prime Minister)'s grave over looking the beautiful Negev desert. Ben Gurion is the only Prime Minister buried outside of Mount Hertzel per his own request and famously yearned to make the desert bloom. We learned that Israel is about 2/3 desert and that Israel had no choice but to make the land productive in some manner or they would not have a chance at survival.
Shortly after paying our respects to the man who led Israel through the first parts of its history, we began the Ein Ovdat hike. The hike began at a geographical low point with running water and rare pools in the desert. We climbed and climbed but as we got higher we were rewarded with the most spectacular views. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves but suffice it to say we had a great time and enjoyed wandering in the desert like our ancestors.
The rest of the day was spent at one of the most looked forward to parts of our trip: the Bedouin tents! We arrived at the tents and spent the first part of our time there learning about the Bedouin people and how they survive in the desert. They showed us how to create heat using magnifiers, how to create electricity through wind and kinetic energy, and how to start a fire using a flint. They explained to use how technology is still such an important part of their lives, and even though they live in such a remote location, they can still live a somewhat modern life.
After this was the moment a lot of us were waiting for, camel riding!! It was a good thing we had all found out camel buddies beforehand, because we quickly met up with them and ran to our desired camel. This was so much fun and made for an awesome picture taking time (so many selfies with camels)!
Dinner was an experience unlike any other. We sat around on cushions and a low table where our food was served to us on one platter, filled with couscous, chicken, meatballs, potatoes, tomatoes, and pita tortillas that were made right in front of us. We had no plates to eat on, so we used our hands and took right from the platter and shared the meal with our entire table. It was the kind of fun and communal activity that we all loved but that we won't be bringing back our own homes. After hand washing and purell we enjoyed a cup of tea as we left the camp to enjoy the stars together. With almost all of us coming from a city with tons of light pollution, none of us were used to seeing this many stars in the sky and it was breathtaking. Taking the time to appreciate this beautiful sight that we can hardly ever see was so refreshing and it even provided that "Kotel moment," the ability to connect with something higher, for some of us. We ended the night early with a bonfire and some calm songs near our tent. We won't sleep much tonight for two reasons. First, there are 50 of us together in 1 massive tent and second, because our alarms are set for 4:15am, so we can climb to the top of Masada in time to watch the sunrise! Each day has seemingly gotten better and better and today was no exception! We really are having the time of our lives.
