Ten Things About Camels in the Negev


  • On our way to the Red Sea, we decided to stop for a night in the desert at the Negev Camel Ranch near Dimona.
  • Dromedary camels are found throughout the region and are still a major part of Bedouin culture, including in Israel's Negev Desert.
  • The Israeli-owned, Bedouin-run ranch offers rides and Bedouin-style stays in huts, with dinner, breakfast and generous servings of sweet tea.
  • The camels are well-treated by regional standards, with plenty of fresh hay, modern equipment and a light walking schedule.
  • Lena also made friends with an adolescent she named Charlie, who followed her and enjoyed neck scratches.
  • Camels move slowly, but do play, especially juveniles, who frolic, wrestle (with their necks) and chase each other in circles.
  • We took a morning ride near the Nabatean ruins of Mamshit (real place), where our guide told us many, many camel facts.
  • All our riding camels were female, as the males are more aggressive, particularly during mating season.
  • Dromedaries have many amazing adaptation to desert life and the finest can walk 150km/day-and-night non-stop for 72 hours without drinking.
  • Most interestingly, a camel never forgets: our guide in Jordan recounted the story of a mistreated camel. Years after being sold, when it encountered its old master, it killed him. So be kind to your camel...
Location: Jerusalem

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Woe To Me After Eating: Shopping With Google Translate

Image
A daily challenge in Jerusalem is grocery shopping. Most products are made in Israel with Hebrew packaging. Imported products typically have a sticker listing the ingredients in Hebrew, usually slapped over the English list. This leads occasionally to bad purchases: Maleaha bought a beetroot dip based on its beet-oriented packaging. It also included a picture of sliced horseradish (quick: what does sliced horseradish look like?). Her sandwich was inedible. To prepare, Mike learned some basic Hebrew, including the alphabet, so he can sound out a lot of products. For example: ש ו ק ו ל ד is shukulad , so chocolate. Maleaha, on the other hand, relies on Google Translate. She takes a picture of a label and it instantly translates the text. It is amazing that a phone app can bridge linguistic divides. However, the algorithm still needs work. For example, what appears to be an iced coffee translates to High Caffeine Rainbow Grease Mouthfeel. We have also checked ou...
Read more

The High Holidays

Image
Autumn brings the Jewish High Holidays, which are spread out over the span of a month. Long weekends bring Israel to a standstill. Stores, transportation and public services are closed for extended periods. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, announced by the blowing of the shofar (a ram’s horn). We did not hear one.   Treats include apples dipped in honey and Honey Cake - great from the bakery, but terrible from the supermarket. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year. How solemn? Even radio stations do not broadcast. No planes, trains or unnecessary vehicles run on this day. In Jerusalem, major roads are blocked off with fences and actual concrete roadblocks (to dissuade non-observant Palestinians). With nothing else to do, we took the opportunity to stroll down the main boulevard to downtown.  The following week was the start of Sukkot, the harvest festival and a reminder of the 40-year sojourn in the desert, ending on Simch...
Read more