Enroute to Ein Gedi

The long weekend for Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday provided the perfect opportunity to head south for a two-night stay in Ein Gedi, situated near the Dead Sea and just north of Masada. There’s not much in Ein Gedi save the Ein Gedi Kibbutz Resort Hotel, where we stayed, and the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the Ein Gedi Spa run by the Kibbutz Hotel and the public beaches on the shores of the Dead Sea. The Ein Gedi Kibbutz, founded in the mid-195os, is a sprawling complex comprising a variety of accommodations, residences and facilities for the kibbutzniks, a swimming pool, a cactus garden, a couple of dining facilities, and, making the most of its situation in the proverbial oasis in the desert, a botanical garden featuring plants and trees from all over the world.

It was an interesting journey from Tel Aviv, west through Jerusalem and then south along the Dead Sea and through the West Bank. The scenery changed dramatically as we approached our destination and we passed many interesting sights along the way. Our accommodations in the “deluxe” rooms were clean and comfy, though not as luxurious as you would expect from a European deluxe hotel room. The food at the dining facilities was quite good and we enjoyed exploring the botanical garden and the views from different areas of the kibbutz.

We spotted a caravan of camels along the Dead Sea.

Ein Gedi Nature Reserve as viewed from our patio.

A Nubian Ibex from the nature reserve next door has come for some nibbles in the kibbutz botanical garden.

Cacti at Dusk