This picture was taken on 4/11/19 at kfar hanokdim of the camel I rode there.

This picture was taken on 4/11/19 at kfar hanokdim of the camel I rode there. We had a very interesting tiyul in the Negev desert that lasted over three days. The first thing we did was we visited Ben Gurion’s desert home in Sde Boker. We learned a little about him and we also learned about the importance of the Negev Desert. It is important because of minerals, space, an area for military and training bases, agriculture, solar energy, and the historical connection. After completing our tour there, we moved on to have a 2 hour or so hike in the Makhtesh Hagadol. It was a nice but sort of challenging hike. At the top we learned that it was a rare geological formation an what we thought were mountains were actually inverted. It was a little confusing. After our hike we went to Kfar Hanokdim, a touristy place that was made to look like a Bedouin community. There we had a short ride on the camels before having the opportunity to buy some things at the shop. We ate a Bedouin dinner where everyone sits on the ground and everyone eats from the same plate. It was very beautiful and relaxing there. We also talked with a Bedouin and drank some tea. We learned about his life and traditions as a Bedouin. That night, we slept in huge tents. The next day, we met with some more Bedouins and learned about their stories. The first one was a lady that no matter what, she didn’t give up. Her story was very interesting and eventually she created her own line of Bedouin products, and there we had the opportunity to buy some of her products. We also talked to another man who despite being born in Israel didn’t identify as Israeli, he identified as Bedouin and Arab. We then had lunch in a park in Arad where we spent Shabbat. We listened to the mayor of Arad speak that day. Also that day we had our Shabbat service in the desert, had dinner, and then had oneg Shabbat at Aubrey’s house. We got to sleep in and have a lot of free time on Saturday and at the end of the day we walked around Arad and had havdalah. It was an interesting and enjoyable tiyul and it was really interesting to meet people in Israel’s society that I don’t know much about. - Roni