Trifter

When working on the Kibbutz in the 80s they would take the volunteers on camping trips to touristy sites around the country. This trip was to the fortress of Massada near the Dead Sea.  We camped beside the bus, so that we’d be ready to climb the mountain the next day. 

The morning sun cut a nice silhouette on the old fort

We climbed up to the ramparts of Massada thanks to the earthen ramp that the Romans would have used.  Actually this one was built by the mini-series producers but it workesd just as well.

By Israeli law at the time each group of twn people had to have an Israeli accompanying with a weapon, in this case an UZI sub-machine gun. There were 22 of us so her dad, the volunteer leader, had his captured Kalashnikov assault rifle as well.

Looking down from the summit of Massada one can see rebuilt for the mini-series, the square encampments where the Roman Legions bivouacked during the siege

Further South near our Kibbutz was the city of Be’ersheva, first settled by Abraham during the Patriarchal days of Genesis.  Abraham dug many wells in search of water when he was in the area, he found water here at the 7th well he dug.  ‘Be’er’ means ‘Well’ in Hebrew, and ‘Sheva’ means ‘Seven’.

A view of the plaque on the well.

Our Kibbutz, Nirim, is located near the border check point between Gaza and Israel. This is a trouble-plagued crossing today seen here back in simpler, more peaceful times.

On the Kibbutz we volunteers used to earn our keep by picking in the citrus and avocado orchards, while driving what we dubbed ‘Yellow Monsters’.

This is the road at the rear of our Kibbutz which runs along the fence with the Gaza strip. On Israel’s Independence Day we all congregated 18klm (10mi) at the site of the old Nirim and ran, walked, and rode back to a barbecue at the new site of Nirim.

On another camping trip through the Negev desert this time we saw many awe-inspiring natural rock formations.  This one shows 3 similar formations called Solomon’s Pillars

A close up shot of Sol’s Pillar

There were many beautiful and incredible rock formations. I call this one Mushroom Rock for obvious reasons.

It is amazing how wind and sand can erode rocks.

This is Yam Kinneret, or the Sea of Galilee

On our camping trip the Golan Heights, we stopped at Jalaboon and Dvorah Waterfalls that had crystal clear water. Swimmers who were brave enough climbed the cliff and jumped into the deep pools below.