Desert time

‘Weekends in the Negev’ offer activities for the whole family: agricultural tours, Beduin hospitality and sandboarding.

By MEITAL SHARABI
It’s difficult to truly understand how complicated it is to cultivate crops in non-fertile loess soil. Agriculturalists use 100 percent brackish water that is pumped from underground. (photo credit: REUTERS)
It’s difficult to truly understand how complicated it is to cultivate crops in non-fertile loess soil. Agriculturalists use 100 percent brackish water that is pumped from underground.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Whenever I want to slow down the pace of life and breathe some fresh air, I hop into my car and drive south. Every nature-lover I know agrees with me that the desert has healing properties. Something about the open spaces and the endless sand makes everything seem simpler and helps us clear our heads. The Beduin call this “desert time,” and I am a true believer.
As soon as you pass Beersheba, it’s like time slows down and our thoughts begin to flow. This is how I felt last week when I took part in a program called “Weekends in the Negev” that organizes social activities, bicycle tours, hiking trips, jeep rides and attractions for the whole family in the Negev.
I began my trip at the Ramat Negev Agricultural Research & Development Center located near Nahal Habesor, which encourages the development of agriculture in peripheral areas using only natural resources.
I’ve heard quite a lot about agricultural advancements that are taking place in the Negev, and this was a great opportunity to view agricultural innovations firsthand.
Although we often hear slogans such as “making the desert bloom,” it’s difficult to truly understand how complicated it is to cultivate crops in non-fertile loess soil. Only after you have walked through the greenhouses, tasted the bell peppers and sweet cherry tomatoes, wandered among the olive trees and heard a guide explain how agriculturalists use 100 percent brackish water that is pumped from underground at the site do you begin to understand.
The tour is jam-packed with interesting information for adults and children who enjoy learning about how the vegetables they eat are grown. Tours are held every day of the week, including weekends, and require pre-registration.
From here, I continued to another attraction in the Negev desert, sandboarding, with Dror Ben-Or, who lives on Kibbutz Ashalim with his wife and three daughters. Sandboarding is done on natural sand dunes near Shivta, and uses special boards. No prior experience or skill is required – anyone can get on a board and glide down the hill. This is a great way to expend your energy. The only drawback is that if you want to slide down, you first have to climb up the hill; I was very sorry I had devoured so many cherry tomatoes beforehand.
So, after one trek up and slide down, I found a comfortable seat in the shade and enjoyed a tasty coffee and short chat with Ben-Or, who informed me that he and his wife Dalia also prepare scrumptious meals out in nature (including a vegetarian poyke – a slow-cooked pot of stew). The hour-and-a-half of sandboarding, along with herbal tea and sweets, costs NIS 550 for a family of up to six people.
And of course no visit to the Negev can be complete without Beduin hospitality, so I schlepped my aching body back to my car and drove to the Yahlo Camp just west of Ein Avdat. At the entrance of the site, we were met by Salem al-Waj, who served as a tracker in the IDF and was eager to tell us stories of the desert and the Beduin who lived in the area.
Yahlo sits at the top of a hill from which you have a panoramic view of the Nabatean city of Avdat and also of Ramat Divshon. You can sit on cushions around a bonfire upon which sits a kettle filled with sweet tea. Salem leads tours to an area where you can view ancient rock paintings from the Nabatean period, and his many stories wonderfully connect the past and present.
Location: Ramat Hanegev.
Type of hike: Easy, appropriate for the entire family.
Season: All year long.
Level of difficulty: Easy, appropriate for families with children.
Length: Full day.
Directions: Drive south on Route 40 and follow signs to Ramat Hanegev.
For details: www.gonegev.co.il.
For more information, contact Salem at 054-351-0824.
Translated by Hannah Hochner