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Friday May 28, 2004

Flowers in the desert

From spas to sculpture gardens, the Negev Highlands offer unusual getaways

by aviva bar-am
the jerusalem post

jerusalem | You know when you just need a vacation, when life has more frustration than satisfaction.

That’s why our trip south a week later, hosted by the Negev Highlands Regional Council, was such a breath of fresh air. Over a two-day period my husband and I stopped in at all kinds of new Negev enterprises where people were enthusiastic about the future, and radiated hope.

Several were part of a Negev Highlands project called the New Wine Route, a series of private farms on large wilderness plots along part of the ancient Nabatean Spice Trail. The new farmers are young couples and families who have started life anew by returning to the land in a region that in the past produced superior wine as well as olive oil.

Other projects breathing life into the Negev sands range from a unique sculpture garden to a desert spa. These are rather pricey, so when you visit you might want to combine them with other well-known attractions that are free like the Ramon Crater, Mitzpe Ramon Sculpture Walk, Golda Park, Ben-Gurion National Park and Shivta National Park.

Utilizing water from area drillings that reach all the way down to an immense underground aquifer, the Neveh Midbar spa opened its doors four years ago. Three of its relaxing pools are situated inside a quiet, light and airy space where the smell of sulfur — so prevalent at the Dead Sea — has been eliminated through good air circulation. Outside, in a fourth pool, spa-goers can enjoy the sun as well as popular music.

Before I lowered myself into the warmest pool — actually a giant hot tub — I asked spa manager Mordecai Munin about the water’s saline content, and whether its minerals would help my various aches and pains.

“The salt content is about six times that of the water we drink, but far, far less than that in the Dead Sea,” he told me, adding that it is probably the warmth of the water, rather than the minerals, that makes your body feel so good.

Having found the pools enormously soothing, I wished I had the time to unwind there for a while — or maybe even take advantage of the spa’s on-site alternative therapies (for which there is an extra charge). But we had a full schedule and had to move on.

Fortunately, it was my day for relaxation. I had been invited to try “harp therapy” — whatever that was — in a large empty lot across the street from the spa. Anna Lev Or, an ageless woman with snow-white hair, met us at the gate. Originally from Argentina, Anna lives in a Bedouin-style tent. She moved to the Negev Highlands a few months ago from an isolated spot in Mitzpe Ramon and calls her enterprise “Light in the Desert.”

I confess to being something of a square, and I become slightly uneasy when people talk, as she did, about “energy” and ethereal communications. But I love classical music and was rather hoping a harp concert was in store. Instead, I found myself lying on a mat on the floor of the treatment tent listening to Anna pluck strings and sing notes and tones that weren’t necessarily in harmony.

Yet, incredibly, it didn’t take long before my muscles had completely relaxed and I let myself flow with the sound. My incessantly aching back felt better and even my husband, who was taking pictures, seemed somewhat more mellow. Anna insists that harps, gongs and bells can be used to create a balancing effect in the listener, and she also runs workshops in a variety of alternative therapies, including silent meditations. On her property are several basic yet charming tents for people who want the whole desert experience (outdoor cooking, bathrooms under the stars, etc.). She charges per-couple rates for lodging, with discounts on treatments, workshops and the adjacent spa.

Kibbutz Revivim, home to a well-known museum of early settlement (Mitzpe Revivim), recently opened what it calls the Chai-Negev. Entrance to the Chai-Negev includes several attractions: a small zoo with desert animals, birds of prey, a petting corner with turtles and rabbits, and a pool for water fowl; an “African village” composed of a few round adobe huts where you can work with mud and participate in other activities; and two highly unusual sculpture gardens.

Until very recently there wasn’t a good place to eat in the Negev Highlands — and that was especially true if, like me, you prefer vegetarian food. Although we didn’t taste the homegrown vegetarian delights at Matnat Hamidbar, a brand-new farm owned by a young couple along The New Wine Route, we did get a delectable whiff of what they have to offer.

South of Matnat Hamidbar, the rounded buildings at Beit Hayayin on the Nahal Boker Ranch look suspiciously like wine barrels. Negev farmer Moshe Zohar built the structures himself out of wood and covered them with a basic, ground-colored plaster.

Originally from Eilat, Moshe says he wanted a farm but his wife, Hilda, wanted to move to the south of France.

“Some day I will have a winery, wine cellar — even a chateau — right here,” he says.

Light meals with local cheeses and the Zohars’ organically homegrown wines are available at Beit Hayayin. According to Moshe, the Negev’s special climate makes pesticides unnecessary.

Israel in the Ballpark

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