When one thinks of the geography of Israel, desert might be
the type of land that comes to mind.
Sure, every birthrighter gets to enjoy a camel ride in the Negev desert
after enjoying a night in a Bedoin tent, but is that really Israel?
For only 7,992 square miles of land, Israel sure is
diverse. Starting in the north, there
are the mountains and the forests, yes forests.
Although forests only make up 3.5% of Israel, it feels like more when
hiking or driving through it.
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| The Golan Heights |
Traveling south you have the major cities, Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv, and you have the desert in the south.
But for a land in which the water needs to be conserved for the lack of
a lot of rain, there sure is a lot of water.
I was blessed to travel throughout Israel and discovery some
of these bodies of water. I don’t
consider myself a water creature, but after visiting these places, I could find
myself swimming all day (warning: do not forget to reapply sunscreen or else
you will get burnt). Here are some of
the bodies of water I visited over Passover break, and boy do they put the
Jersey Shore to shame.
Banias
Banias in the north is an archaeological site of the City of
Caesarea Philippi. More importantly, it
encompasses a huge spring that rushes into the Nahal Hermon stream. Banias is a great place to take the family on
a hike, see the archaeological sites, and of course to marvel at the clearness
and freshness of the giant spring.
Rosh HaNikra
Arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth (thanks
to my cousin Lehe), Rosh HanNikra is a chalk cliff into which grottoes have
been eroded. It is on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. In order to get down
to the cliff, one has to take a ski lift.
I have never seen water so turquoise in color, truly beautiful.
The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)
The Kinneret is Israel’s largest freshwater lake. The end of a 3-day hike I did (called Sea to
Sea) ended in the Kinneret. It was
refreshing to swim in a large body of water that didn’t contain salt.
The Dead Sea
However, the Dead Sea is a special place to see. The Dead Sea
is the lowest place on Earth. My friends
and I camped on the beach, so you can imagine that the hike up from the beach
in the hot sun was a workout. It is one
of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, so salty that you float in the
water. The Dead Sea is also famous for
the mud formed alongside it. Loaded with
minerals, the mud and other products are sold all over the world. But if you get a chance to go to the Dead Sea,
you have an unlimited supply of it. A
little hesitant at first about putting mud on myself, I soon was lathering the
soft mixture all over myself.
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| Exfoliating our skin with the Dead Sea mud. |
Eilat
My favorite body of water was the northern tip of the Red
Sea, in Eilat. Eilat is the Southern-most
point of Israel, so you can imagine that having water to cool off is completely
refreshing. What surprised me the most
was simply the translucence of the water. I could put my feet in the water, and
actually see my feet! I also loved Eilat
because I got to go snorkeling at the Nature Reserve and at a Cave right nearby. Both times I saw coral and really cool
fish. No octopuses or sharks, but maybe
next time.
These are only a few of the many types of water in
Israel. I was shocked by its variability
for such a small country in the Middle East, but that’s what makes it a truly special
place.
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