On The Road to Eilat

I thought today was going to be an easy-paced one, with a few stops on our way to the town of Eilat, Israel’s southern most city, located on the northern tip of the Red Sea.  It started out simple enough with a fascinating visit to Kibbutz Lotan, an eco-friendly Kibbutz! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a tour of the prototype village, with environmentally friendly residences, built to withstand the extreme heat and cold temperatures of the Arava Valley. 

 

These building use as little as 1/8th the energy of a standard building!  They showed us solar ovens, an environmental theme park and an organic herb garden. 

 

We got to try our hand at making earth bricks out of dirt, straw and water - that was a big hit with kids of all ages in our group! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a rich experience at the Kibbutz, Arie, our tour  guide, not being one to pass up an opportunity, made a stop along the way for some of the "best ice cream in Israel!"  We'd have to agree!

As we continued our trek south, we were in awe of the towering rock formations at Solomon’s Pillars in the Timna Valley.  Originally an ancient copper mine, these statuesque pillars were created naturally by centuries of water erosion and wind. 

Who could resist climbing these ancient rocks?  Not us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that we’d burned off our lunch, we were ready for one more site before heading to our hotel - Mt. Yoash.  From the top of this mountain you can see four countries - Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Thing is, the bus only gets us so far.  We had to hike the rest of the way up, and it was pretty steep! 

I don’t think we were expecting that, and being at the end of the day, it was a bit of a challenge - but we accepted that challenge, and made it to the top! 

Not only did we have an incredible view, but we witnessed a magnificent sunset on the way back down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we pulled up to our hotel in Eilat, we were amazed by the beauty of this port resort city!  I would have loved to explore more, but I was exhausted - and tomorrow is a day-long journey into the historical and archeological city of Petra in Jordan!

Comments

[Pam Schlossman]

Loved the beauty of the rock formations and the magnificent sunset! Looking forward to seeing some more great pictures! Love you!

[lunettes de soleil pas cher]

It was the end of winter, and the weather was very cold. A small group of colonists began throwing rocks and pieces of ice at soldiers guarding a public building. They were joined by others, and the soldiers became frightened. They fired their guns.