Into The Negev Part 1

"Doubt cannot override a certainty."

-The Talmud

Our last trip before I sojourn my way to Arad was to visit the area I will be living in for the next five to ten months.

I was kind of surprised. It's quite a daunting venture to try to turn the desert green. I have always been an avid fan of the Dune series by Frank Herbert. I actually brought three books very important to me to Israel; the Old Testament, The Book Of Five Rings which I consider the bible of martial arts, and God Emperor of Dune, my personal bible. Turning a desert planet into a forest, an Eden, is something that strikes me as exactly what is being attempted in the hottest and among the most desolate places on Earth. It is so dry, and so low, that one of the most hypersalinated lakes exist.

So I thought it pretty cool.

Our first stop was in a series of caves devoted in the 3rd century B.C. to the growth of pigeons for sacrifice at the temple of Solomon. In this region it is pretty common to find these pits, but this one was of particular note because of how well it was preserved. In fact, I would say it is near completely intact to the point that pigeons descended from those raised millenia ago still live there. When you build a farm and the animals raised there are still using the location even without people still there, you know you have built something well.

I apologize for the footage; my device to take pictures with tends to have issues when we go underground;

What was really surprising was this was a medium sized complex for pigeon cultivation.

Each of these holes is a roost for the birds.

Thereafter a 'Tel' was explained to us, using me as a prop. I'm aspiring to get my masters degree in archaeology while in Israel, and since I'll be what is called a 'lone soldier' here, I can get extra 'help' from the government in making that happen. I know that seems irrelevant, but I didn't mind being a prop.

Each hat represents a layer of history. The striped shirt is kind of fitting.
 It is unfortunate that a baseball team ended up being the current layer though, since it's on top and the most recent.

After this we spent the rest of the day schlepping around the cave system in the surrounding hills. Of particular note we traversed to an ancient winery, where our tour guide revealed she had been one of the excavators at one point. I enjoyed this because she was there when a twelve year old found one of the oldest documents preserved and written on clay that recorded a betrothal agreement where the future husband would trade over a 1000 camels for her hand. I'm not going to lie, back then, that was one rich dude.

Moving on we traveled to Bet Guvrin. It's a massive cave complex. One of its coolest features was the constant sound of bats. I made constant jests about this was the Batcave for the Jewish Batman, who I named Shlomo Rothschild. I'm sure that's not really politically correct, but to me its hilarious.

What was particularly cool was this one opening in the cave complex was me getting to go divine for a few minutes;

After that we went to the Bedouin camps. There I got to drink what they call coffee, but I learned was really just a straight cup of coffee. The Bedouins have pretty strict hospitality rules, but their life revolves around coffee traditions. Using an elaborate pestle they make a specific set of sounds, very much like drumming, to alert neighbors that somebody new has come to camp. This new person will be treated very well; even if a pot of fresh brew was just made, when this person arrives a new pot must be made.

There are three cups that are poured, one to welcome the traveler, one to acknowledge they will be taken care of, and another for the sake of having fun. It's pretty strong coffee. Even if you like the coffee, do not ask for a full cup. If they pour you a full cup, that means you need to leave. You've offended them somehow. They live off a strict, if you respect me, I will give you everything, if you don't go back to the desert.

So yeah, asking for a full cup, not a good idea.

 I did get to ride a camel, which I might add is not the best experience. It's better than riding a horse, they're softer, but they are quite awkward animals to say in the least. They don't like their heads or necks touched, and you will end up with your crotch really chaffed. Like really chaffed, which since most of our group was Jewish, meant that since we're rather hairy in the nether regions, meant most were suffering when we later went to the dead sea.

Hebrew Hulk Doing His Thing.

This was Day 1 of the desert. I will post Day 2 to segment the post, because most people do not enjoy reading. Not sure why, but hey, works for me.

Hope you enjoyed!

And go see the Negev, it has a certain beauty only a desert can offer.