Camping in the Bedouin Tents and Riding a Camel!

Eating like a Bedouin

Since we didn't get enough of the Negev during our Tiyul earlier in the week, Heather, Becca, Keren, and I decided to go  back and stay in a Bedouin tent. So, we rented a car (yikes! driving in Israel!) and road tripped back to the Sde Boker area. It took us over an hour to get the car and then we had to figure out how to navigate through Tel Aviv to pick up Keren at the bus station. Heather and Keren did a great job getting us out of Tel Aviv and on our way to Han Sharot, the Bedouin village we stayed in. As we drove, we watched the sun set over the desert, which was amazing. Shortly after sunset, we reached the turn-off for the village, and although we didn't see any tents, we drove along a dirt road, hoping we were going the right way. Eventually, we decided to call Yotom- our host at the Bedouin village- and ask for directions. Our landmarks, aside from a vague street sign, included a lot of dirt and two "shadow camels" which were flat cut-outs of camels on the side of the road. When Heather asked Yotom if the tents were near the camels, we were sure he would say, which camels? they can move, you know! So she explained that we were looking at "shadow camels" but that didn't help us much. Finally, we pulled into the parking lot and were greeted by Yotom. We got our own large section of the tent, which was divided into thirds and heated! We set up our mattresses and played cards in the tent until dinner.
Bedouin meals are delicious! A large serving tray of salad, vegetables, hummus, tahini, and a big plate with a whole chicken on top of rice that we sat around and ate from. We started by cutting the chicken, but Yotom told us the Bedouin way is to take a flat pita, reach into the chicken, and pull out your piece! Becca tried it and said it tasted better- more flavor! After stuffing ourselves with dinner, we moved to the other side of the dinner tent and had some delicious Bedouin tea.
When we were able to move again, we went with Yotom to set up a campfire. We chose a campsite right next to where the camels live! We visited the camels before making our fire, which Keren pretty much built from scratch! Yotom and his friend brought wine and marshmallows, and we sat around telling stories, drinking wine, and roasting marshmallows. The fire kept us warm well into the night! It was still going strong when we put it out so we could go to bed.
Saturday morning we woke up early for an Israeli breakfast, then headed to the camels for a ride in the desert! Getting onto a camel is no easy feat. A camel saddle is for two people, one in front of the hump and one behind it. So, when you get on, both people have to go at the same time. The camel stands up as soon as it feels the weight on its back. Camels have an extra joint in their legs, so as they stand up, we were rocked forward, almost tipped over, rocked backward, almost tipped over, and finally horizontal. We rode the camels, took pictures, and enjoyed the view of the craters and desert rocks around us.

Our Camel!

Since we had a car and it was only 11am on a beautiful Saturday, we decided to drive back north and stop wherever looked interesting. The first place we found was a desert winery, but there was a private party going on so we couldn't stay. We came across some sand dunes, which Becca and I climbed and explored. We wrote Shalom in the sand and took pictures climbing up the dune. We drove around a bit more and came across an oasis/ lake. We got out of the car, walked around, hiked, and chilled by the lake for a bit in the afternoon sun. It was a great find! Satisfied with our day, we headed back to Tel Aviv, navigated to a parking spot, and went to take a nap in good 'ole Beit Leni. It was an incredible weekend and we really enjoyed getting out of the city for a bit and relaxing Bedouin style.