I spent this week in the Negev Desert at Sder Boker.  This is where Ben Gurion (the founder and first Prime Minister of Israel) spent the last few decades of his life.  He believed the future in Israel was in the desert.  I stayed at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, a graduate school of Ben-Gurion University.  I learned about the amazing agriculture technology, desalinization processes, and necessary water technology to live in a dry climate. During my trip, I traveled to Masada and the Dead Sea and spent some time with the Westtown group!  They are currently on their flight back to the US, but they had a very powerful trip.  I really enjoyed my time in the desert, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and they give you a sense of the vastness of the Negev!

The landscape as I was driving south to the desert.

The base of Masada the evening before we hiked it.

Hiking up Masada with Westtown as the sun rose

Top of Masada at sunrise

Rainbow at sunrise on top of Masada

Top of Masada at sunrise

Top of Masada at sunrise

Top of Masada at sunrise

The Dead Sea

WT covered in Dead Sea mud

Advisory group in Israel

There was water in the Negev Desert. The water is slightly salty.

Negev Desert

A fresh spring in the middle of the Negev Desert. This one is deep enough to swim in.

Negev Desert

Negev Desert

Negev Desert

Negev Desert

The desert is THIS big!

Standing in the ruins of a church in the ancient city of Avdat

Mitzpe Ramon: the largest erosion crater in the world.

The sunsets over the Mediterranean and I am back in Tel Aviv.

Much love,

Hannah