I’m thinking about the Negev. The Negev covers some 13,000 km² (4,700 sq mi) and makes up more than 55% of Israel’s land area. Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and statesman, saw the Negev as the key to a viable Israel. He joined Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev in 1970, lived the last 3 years of his life there and is buried overlooking Nahal Zin.

There are some remarkable sites in the area for hiking and photography : Ein Avdat, white cliffs, reflection pool and Griffon vultures (like angels) soaring overhead and a hike across a high plateau to a spring, Ein Akev, in a stream bed. This part of the Negev is a rocky desert, a melange of brown, rocky, dusty mountains interrupted by dry stream beds, in Hebrew nahal, in Arabic wadi. The photographs below are the view across the plateau from an early morning hike with Bonna in August 2013. This week, Rosh Hodesh Tammuz, we celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary.

In the first photo, there is a lot of foreground, brush, rocks, sand stretching to the distant horizon. In the second, there is little foreground and a lot of sky. The shift in the horizon line creates a dramatically different effect. I hope they capture some of the barrenness, expanse and spiritual power of the Negev.