Arad, Israel

On my first journey to the Holy Land I never even realized we had passed through Arad on our way to the Dead Sea. I was on a Taglit trip to visit and explore Israel through my Jewish roots. During the trip We passed by this small town where they explained What and who the Bedouins were in Israel. That's what I remember from my short encounter with Arad. Then of course for most of those passing through we were headed to the Dead sea.

After spending some quality time with this little town I would love to call it home.

I spent a weekend enjoying the things that Arad and their people have to offer

The first night was in this boutique hotel name Yehalim. The owner was there to greet us at our evening arrival. His name is Gili and was also our tour guide for the hike the next morning. the room was beautiful. I shared the room with 3 of my cohorts for our adventure. with two connecting rooms we were in the family suit.

As we sat there waiting for sleep to find us we relaxed on the balcony and watch the bunny running around and the place next door. Our first thought was why are there bunnies running around in the desert.

As we sat and chatted we enjoyed the view from the balcony, a valley in the desert. The next Morning we were preparing for the long hike ahead of us. Gali there head of the kitchen was an amazing cook. Very friendly and lively. Their homemade pesto and olive spread were so good. the morning meal was something unforgettable.

Our hiking guide Gili was taking us to the Kina River. As we started there was this set of ruins at the top of a ridge. and we started down toward the river. During the hike he stopped to show us makeshift wells that people use throughout the desert. When the rainfall comes the wells fill and the desert dwelling people or visitors can use the water for themselves or their animals.

The Hike was a lot of fun. Lasted about 7 hours. We climbed over ridges and stopped in the shadows of the canyons for tea. Our tour guide Gili was always excited to see the plants growing through the rocks. Along the way we were climbing up one side of a mountain and saw a herd of camel just grazing the hillsides.  

Once we got don with the hike we headed of to Michal’s guest house Desert Bird. she greeted us at the door and chatted about our hike.. but our exhaustion lead us all to a shower and naps. sleeping outside in the yard is where I found myself while my friend was in the hammock. while we were there a group from Nepal showed up. But it being Shabbat we had dinner plans.

Shabbat dinner was spent at Muza. Then back to Desert Bird for sleep. The next morning was probably my favorite part I stepped outside to have a smoke and some coffee. The air was crisp and the yard with its big tree hid me from the rising sun. The other guests came out slowly one by one. we chatted and had our coffee while we talked about life and Arad. After breakfast we were met by Giora the jeep tour guide. A friendly man with a big smile. The jeep tour brought us around the desert we drove through a bedouin village. The tour was nice. We ended up on the plateau the gave us a view to the Dead Sea and the Jordan border. The view was incredible. The jeep tour was bumpy and fun and his company was great.

Overall Arad though it’s a quaint little town carries so much personality. The people you walk by and stop to talk to are so friendly and always have so many questions for the visitors. If you are confused they're always someone who is willing to help. The city is small and full of life.