The Desert in Israel

Here is a little update and some pictures from my trip to Israel. After spending about a week site seeing, I hopped on a bus from Tel Aviv to the Arava Desert which is in the south of Israel. The desert is like no other place I have seen before. In the north, Israel is lush with rolling green hills, but in the south, the desert is dry and barren. For the next few weeks, I lived on a Kibbutz, which is a small agricultural community. Kibbutz Lotan has only one hundred residents and a few dozen volunteers so it is a very small community. I worked as an eco-volunteer, learning about the Kibbutz's environmental initiatives. With so little water (it only rains one day a year), people have to conserve water and resources. 

The mud huts we lived in. These huts were built by people on the kibbutz, using mud made from straw, clay, sand and water right from the ground.                        

The desert climate is quite different from Williamstown. There was no humidity, but during the day, temperatures would reach 115 F. But at night, it would cool down, so the best time to workout was early in the morning, when it was light out but just before the heat of the sun. I enjoyed many runs watching the sun rise over the mountains.

Sun rise over the Jordanian mountains on a run. The Kibbutz was on the border with Jordan so I had to be careful not to by accident cross the border.

I spent most of my time working with and living with other volunteers who were from around the world. They were really nice and interesting people, so despite the hot sun and often smelly mud we had to build with, volunteering was very fun! We also had plenty of time to explore.

Hiking in the Israeli mountains. There are no trails, which was really fun because we could choose any route to reach the ridge! 

Here's a picture of the Red Sea from Eilat, the southern most city of Israel. From the sea, you can see four countries--Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt which was super cool!

The Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem. It was the largest market I have ever seen, and quite an experience with so many people yelling and bargaining. This market was filled with all sorts of Middle Eastern spices, nuts, fruits and olives...yum! 

Before my trip, I was nervous that the desert would be way too hot to handle. But after my time in Israel, I found what a magical place the desert can be. There was a feeling of calmness and beauty, with the large mountains, the starry nights, and an appreciation of every plant that grows!