Roadtrips, Deserts, & the Dead Sea

May 13, 2014

Roadtrips, Deserts, & the Dead Sea

On my first weekend in Israel, I met up with Nikilesh and Shubham for a roadtrip to the Dead Sea. As roadtrips go, we had many spontaneous stops, found ourselves in a different country suddenly, stopped at camel Xings, stayed in the coolest artist loft-converted hostels, and had a crazy time overall.

Once we got out of Tel Aviv and started driving our rental Mazda, the scenery was splendid. It was a long winding road through the Negev Desert for kilometers on end.

Bethlehem, Palestine

Our first stop was in Bethlehem, Palestine to visit the Church of Nativity, where Jesus Christ was born. Apart from driving through the absolute scariest Palestinian village ever, the city of Bethlehem itself was charming and quaint, with tons of pilgrims from all over the world paying their respects in the Church. Since Palestine is a predominantly Muslim country, the Church was literally squashed between tons of mosques on every side. In fact, I experienced the oddest phenomenon of listening to namaz (Muslim call to prayer), while standing inside one of the world's most important churches.

We saw these roadsigns on our drive into Palestine. Israelis are forbidden by law to enter Palestine...

Driving on the border between Israel and Palestine was a fascinating experience. The cultural and lifestyle differences between the two countries were in plain view. For instance, Israeli infrastructure is far more developed than Palestine's. In Israel, the plumbing system is quite westernized and there are water pipes within the buildings, but Palestinians do not enjoy the same privilege. While driving on the border, the Israeli households on the left had flat rooftops, while Palestinian households on the right had black water tanks lining every building. Also, all the buildings in Palestine are painted in ONE color...no idea why. But the whole country looks beige.

Within the Church of Nativity...

Long line of pilgrims waiting to climb down the stairs to see the Christ's birthplace within the church.

The exact spot where Jesus Christ was born. Pilgrims touch the soil on which he was born and pray. Too crowded to get a good picture...

Crowd.

Goodbye Palestine...

Desert Vision Hostel

After a long drive out of Palestine and through the desert, the three of us were exhausted by sundown. We found a random hostel in a town called Arad and stopped there for the night. At first, the place seemed super duper shady and there was no one else in the hostel. It was kind of scary, but it was late at night, cheap, and we had no other choice.

However, I really should learn not to judge a book by its cover, because it is one of the coolest places I have ever stayed at. An old man and his wife, both artists, converted their huge warehouse studio into a makeshift hostel. The place is filled with character, unfinished art, and a really cozy vibe. We got to know the owners a little more in the deserted hostel and they are such an inspiration.

Sorry for so many photos of the place! There was just SO much to capture!

Dead Sea

We headed out early the next morning to visit the much coveted Dead Sea in the city of Ein Bokek. The natural miracle that is the Dead Sea has such a high salt and mineral content, that you float automatically with absolutely no effort. It's really quite amazing. The minerals in the mud are supposed to do wonders for your skin and there are literally a billion products for facials, mud masks, mud baths, etc. claiming to make you glow. We saw tons of people rubbing down their entire bodies with the mud from the beach, but it smelled absolutely terrible. Not for me. The three of us basically chilled in the sun, floated around in the water for a bit, and grabbed lunch on the beach.

Ein Gedi

After visiting the Dead Sea and eating lunch, we stopped by at Ein Gedi, an oasis with springs and waterfalls in the middle of the desert. It was a short hike up to the top and the sun was blazing. The waterfall at the top was beautiful and made the sultry hike totally worth it.