Travelling in Israel. Winter 2013

While Prince Harry with other participants of the Commonwealth expedition was storming the South Pole, and Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov was crossing the Pacific Ocean in his row boat “Turgoyak”, we did not waste our time either, and decided to make use of the invitation of our Israeli guide and make a journey to Israel – to the Negev desert to see one of the most fascinating natural phenomena of Israel – “the Burning Bush,” and climb up Mount Karkom, which is presumably the place, where the Lord entered into the Covenant with the sons of Israel, and, of course, – with us as well.

On December 12 of 2013, we arrived in Tel Aviv. Israel welcomed us with the cold and rainy weather. At that time our planet was struck by extreme weather cataclysms. The east coast of USA was hit by freezing temperatures, even the Niagara Falls had frozen, and Israel was in the grip of cyclone Alex.

At the airport we were met by our guide Slava Kim. As we finished all customs formalities, we got into a car and headed for the south of Israel – to the Negev desert. We decided to spend the night in one of the hotels located on the verge of an erosion crater, Makhtesh Ramon, which is one of the world wonders; it is also a nature reserve of the starry sky, and Mecca for all stargazers.

While we were driving – and we needed to drive for about three hours, we were followed by the rain. Rain is a rare thing in Israel, and it is considered to be a blessing.

Makhtesh Ramon met us with a shocking cold weather and a strong wind. Although we came from wintertime, but it seemed to us that in Israel it was much colder, than in our homeland. That night we found rescue from the cold at the fireplace in our hotel’s bar.

After all, we were not able to see the starry heaven. We did see some of it, but it was far from being a “wondrous” sky in the nature reserve, since it was halfway “curtained” by the constantly migrating clouds and mist. Under such conditions it is very difficult to observe, much less to count, the stars. I remembered the starry sky, which we studied last year in Australia. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, and it also has its own natural reserves where you can see the starry heaven. One of such places is indeed the sky over MountUluru. Although you will not find above Uluru our Great and Little Bears, and the Polar Star, but you can clearly see the constellation of the Southern Cross; plus, there are no clouds there.

In the morning, our guide Jonah came to pick us up – he specializes in the Negev desert and its tourist attractions, including Makhtesh Ramon and MountKarkom.

Jonah has his own cross-country vehicle, which is equipped and supplied with everything necessary for the survival in the desert. As it turned out, Jonah is a former military officer, as well as a passionate traveler and enthusiastic expert of the Negev desert and its centuries-old history.

First, we came down to the crater’s bottom and travelled in the crater. There is enough space to do it – the crater’s size staggers one’s imagination. The crater’s width is nine kilometers, and it stretches lengthwise for no less than forty kilometers. We came to see the “Carpentry Shop.” This is the name of the place where solidified lava streams are crystallized to form peculiar shapes that look like wooden bars and stacks of wood. After that we visited the “ammonite wall.” The ammonite wall is a part of a small hill, exposed by the erosion, and entirely covered by shells of the extinct inhabitants of the ancient ocean Tethys. But we were impressed most of all by the crater’s landscapes of an amazing beauty, as well as by the large variety of animals and birds inhabiting this virgin and carefully protected patch of the desert.

After we got acquainted with Makhtesh Ramon, we went on further, deep into the Negev desert. We had to drive through military ranges and by sunset make our lodging in the desert.

When we found an appropriate place, which was more or less protected from the wind, we decided to pitch our camp. The day was nearing its end, and the night in the desert falls instantly. We pitched our tents. We set up a table and arranged the lights. As Jonah was building a fire, Andrey, Slava and I were peeling vegetables for the dinner. It was very cold and windy. From time to time we had to warm ourselves with Scottish whisky that Slava took upon himself to bring along.

Although all of us can cook in one way or another, still Jonah promised to make for us a real camp dinner. First, Jonah warmed up the potjie pot. The potjie (pronounced poikie) is a cast iron African pot on short legs. Later, we renamed the potjie into mandelka as a sign of respect for the recently deceased president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. Into the warmed up mandelka Jonah poured some oil and added sliced onion and garlic. Then he added chicken meat and the entire selection of Israeli vegetables and roots: potatoes, carrots, celery’s root and sprouts, parsnips, squashes, eggplants, fennel, bell peppers, ground black pepper, salt, dry white wine and little water, and covered it all with a lid, and left it on the fire for one hour.

While the main dish was being cooked, Jonah prepared a soup from the remaining vegetables and chicken, and brewed an amazing “desert” coffee for the dessert – with sugar, a pinch of salt, and cardamom. Our first impression of the dinner would not be complete without mentioning an absolutely astonishing tea, made by Jonah from some kind of herb that he picked up along the way. The name of this herb is Star of Fragrances. The tea tasted fantastically good, with the aromas of ripe peaches and fragrant honey.

After having a substantial dinner, we went to our tents. Jonah warned us to bring all our things inside the tent, because the mist and dew outside would make it very humid. We slept in our clothes and in sleeping bags. As soon as we lay down, an icy drizzle began. Rains can sometimes cause mudflows. And mudflow – is a real natural disaster. But fortunately, the rain stopped quite soon. Our neighbors in the tents ripped the air with their thunderous snoring that resembled the roar of some sinister mythical animals, which was not bad after all, because it made us confident that no beast would dare to approach the tent.

The morning started with a dawn, and a roll of toilet paper that had been accidentally left outside the tent turned into a cellulose lump by soaking in the moisture. It was a proof of what had been said concerning high humidity in the desert at nighttime.

After having breakfast and drinking our “desert” coffee, we packed up quickly. Ahead of us there was the ascent to MountKarkom, as well as the most entertaining stories related to that place that we would hear from Jonah; and Slava would translate and complement his stories for us.

MountKarkom met us in all of its splendour. The risen sun illuminated MountKarkom. After looking at the mountain’s foothills we started the ascent. The ascent to the mountain top took only 20-30 minutes and was almost childish in terms of difficulty.

The Karkom Plateau mainly consists of flintstone. At its top, the mountain also splits into two little hills that look like tumuli. Upon these very hills the Tablets were given.

On the way to the hills there is a river bed of a seasonal stream. On the bottom of it there are several hollows filled with water that look like baths. Next to the river there are small natural caverns. It is believed that here the elders were waiting for Moses to come back.

There are many rock paintings on the mountain. Mainly, they portray animals, but some of them are pictures of people and scenes from their lives. I was impressed with a rock painting that depicted a scene of childbirth. There are also pictures of space ships and extraterrestrial beings.

When we finished examining the mountain we went on to the spot where the stone was lying, which was called by Jonah “the encyclopedia of rock art.” Indeed, on this relatively small stone there were images of all characters of the rock paintings that can be seen in this area. From the “encyclopedic” stone we went to the place with the picture of the Tablets of the Covenant. On a little stone there is a drawing of a rectangular with two protruding parts at the top that looked like the “horns” of the altar. The rectangular is divided into ten sections – two in the upper projections, six in the middle and two at the bottom. There were exactly ten Commandments of God engraved on the Tablets.

After looking at the Tablets we had to hurry up to see one of the most interesting natural phenomena – the Burning Bush.

On the cliff of the mountain there was already sitting a little group of travelers, who, just like us, came to see this natural wonder.

The Burning Bush can only be observed in winter, during a few days, when the Israeli sun descends very low over the horizon; its rays go through a small open-ended cave in a rock, and, as they are reflected by the wall, they illumine the entire cave with the light that looks like fire. The burning bush was the final culmination of our journey in the Negev desert.

This is how the first part of our winter journey in Israel ended. After receiving new impressions and positive emotions, feeling a little tired and cold, we were returning back to Makhtesh Ramon. The road was long and ran through some countryside, sometimes crossing military firing ranges. We had to hurry up before the Israeli armed forces would start their military practice.

I will try to tell about MountKarkom and its attractions in more details. This place is really interesting and mysterious.

Then in our program there was a master class from a vegetarian chef, visiting the city of David in Jerusalem; tasting Israeli wines, cheeses and olive oil; visiting ancient Nabataean cities and caravanserais, and attending the tomb of the first prime-minister of Israel – David Ben-Gurion.