The Crater

We spent the last two days at Mitzpeh Ramon, overlooking the “Machtesh”. I always thought that meant crater and that it was formed as a result of a meteorite hitting the earth. Our jeep tour guide corrected me and explained the geological origins of this amazingly beautiful moonscape. The gold and red and green and white layers of the cliffs, the brownish rocks the consistency of dark chocolate all add to the surreal landscape. If I were really good at all of this, I could remember why and how the area became what it is; having something to do with tectonic plates, water, erosion, time and heat. But that’s as good as it gets right now.

But the highlight of the day was our Bedouin lunch with camel ride. Although they aren’t camels, we were reminded. Camels have two humps; these are dromedaries with one. They are taller and can run faster than camels and are found in Africa and the Middle East. Two hump camels live in Central Asia. Getting on the dromedary was its own challenge, but I surprised Noam (our guide) that I could do it on my own. But I digress.

He made us a great lunch. Sitting on cushions with pillows in front of round tables our common plates were filled with the most moist and delicious chicken over rice with roasted onions, potatoes, sweet and regular. I would have loved the recipe but I’m not sure the Landmark would let me dig a hole 3 feet deep, add hot coals to the bottom, cover the dish wrapped in foil, and fill it so that the heat of the earth and the embers cooks it for four hours. 

I really wanted to write about our Bedouin host. He is one of 300,000 Bedouin’s who live in the Negev and most if not all are loyal to the State of Israel. He chooses to live a traditional Bedouin lifestyle but is proud of the contributions the Bedouin community makes to the IDF. He was and is appalled by what Hamas did on October 7th but echoed our prayers that together with strength and hope we will find a common future.

The day ended with star gazing and a bonfire – (with s’mores minus the graham cracker and chocolate bar). Not everything is about the war. Sometimes it’s roasting marshmallows as you look at the night sky.