For those of you waiting with baited breath for the next episode of our travelogue ...
We're now up to Monday, March 2. We had a beautiful 3-hour drive through the Arava Desert to Eilat. I'm a desert person, and I love hot weather. I would be very happy living in a desert community, be it a kibbutz or one of the new suburbs near Beersheva. Sid is a water person so we live on the lake. When we come here I get as much desert as possible, and it always amazes. The amount of agriculture is astounding - primarily date groves, but other fruits and vegetables as well. All those stories about making the desert bloom are true. In addition there is a lot of solar energy research going on.
Eilat is where the mountains meet the Red Sea. It's a tax free zone, so the shopping is wonderful, and the hotels are spectacular. It's a resort town with a large commercial port. There are some very cool desert activities (camel treks, ATVs, hiking) and it's the easiest gateway to Jordan. We took a long walk along the seashore and found a great restaurant for dinner.
The next morning we went on our side trip to Petra. The border is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel and the crossing is very easy. Ahmad, our guide for the 2 days we were there, met us on the other side of the border and we headed for Petra, about 2 hours away. The site is a necropolis and shrouded in mystery because no one knows for sure where the Nabateans originated. No written records have been found, and the petroglyphs at the site haven't been translated. It's generally recognized that Petra was at the crossroads of the Silk and Spice Routes, and its heyday was about a century, from 50BCE to 50CE. The town had 25-30,000 residents, but was leveled by an earthquake, and no remnants have been uncovered. I was skeptical because of the archaeological work that goes on in Israel where they always find evidence of prior civilizations. The Jordanians don't have a big budget for archaeology, and according to Ahmad, being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the funds for exploration and research have to come from the UN. But since they are so busy pouring billions into the corrupt pockets of dictators from Gaza to Zimbabwe, that doesn't leave them much to allocate for projects that might actually advance civilization.
We spent about 4 hours at the site, which is quite large (covering about 4 miles), then returned to the hotel for a rest and some much-needed Aleve. We walked almost the entire time; the only break was the 1/2 km we did on horseback on the way out.
The following morning we got an early start and went to Wadi Rum, which is a very large valley whose claim to fame is where the train wreck scene in the movie Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. It's actually a very impressive place to visit, which we did by jeep. Beautiful rock formations, camels and interesting vegetation ...
We had to be back in Eilat by 2 in order to make it to our next destination before sunset ... So onward to Mitzpe Ramon, the so-called Grand Canyon of Israel.
We stayed overnight in a modest hotel, The Mitzpe Ramon Inn, which was originally built as an absorption center (a place where new immigrants stay for their initial 6 months in Israel). The rooms are junior suites and the place is decent. But next time we will stay at the very new and deluxe Beresheet Hotel, which overlooks the canyon and is reported to be the best hotel in Israel right now.
We're now up to Thursday, March 5, for anyone who is keeping track. We had breakfast at the hotel and then went on a 2 hour jeep tour of the canyon. We had a wonderful guide who explained the geology, which is fascinating. The correct name for the canyon is a makhtesh, and he assured us that if you look up the word in a geology dictionary you will see that by definition the only place on this planet where you can find a makhtesh is in Israel, where you will find not one, but three. The reason for the specific name has to do with how they were formed - a combination of erosion and tectonic plate movement. The rock formations are amazing, and there is a vantage point at which you can actually see how the mountain that preceded the valley collapsed in on itself.
Straiations formed by minerals in the limestone: red iron oxide, yellow sulfa
And then it was time to return to Jerusalem ... to celebrate Purim.
Being a walled city, Jerusalem celebrates Purim one day after everyone else. It's a big holiday here. Everyone hears the megilla (the Purim story) and lots of people (adults and kids) dress in costumes. It's a day off work and school and it seemed like everyone in the city was out celebrating.
That's it for this installment.
More to come ...
BTW, I know someone is reading this blog and I appreciate any and all comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment