By Nicole Sivan
You’ll often hear Israelis complaining about lack of space. The majority of the country’s population is concentrated in the center and Israelis live tightly packed together in high rise buildings and apartment complexes. Mornings and evenings are wasted away battling aggressive yet excruciating slow moving traffic as each commuter fights to lose as little time as possible trapped on the highway. Israelis are well aware that this isn’t a healthy existence and they balance their lives in the urban jungle by prescribing themselves a weekly dose of wide-open spaces, clean air, and the smells of nature. On Saturday, the country’s official day of rest (the Sabbath), secular Israelis pack up the car, fight weekend traffic out of the cities, and head out to the wilderness for a day of fresh air, hiking, and good old-fashioned outdoor fun.
Israeli nature reserves, national parks, and beaches are packed to the brim each Saturday as an entire nation takes to the country’s elaborate network of hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and soft white sand. Israelis are a unique population who, despite their urban lifestyles, are addicted to anything in nature. The smell of Eucalyptus and the promise of a breathtaking view is enough to motivate an entire population up off the couch and out into the open.
In the springtime you may see hundreds of cars pulled along a highway as onlookers venture out to field where wildflowers are in bloom. Pictures of springtime in Israel will invoke images of the Tuscan countryside complete with fields of red poppies, anemones, and wild mustard. But, instead of throngs of tourists snapping photos, locals will be reveling in the land’s delight. Israelis take it slow through nature and you will often come across a well prepared family fully equipped with a portable gas canister, a cooking pot, and fresh ground coffee. An outing in nature is the perfect place for a quality cup of freshly brewed coffee. Pull up a rock and welcome to nature’s café.
During the rainy season, Israelis will travel by the thousands to the desert to witness the effects of a rain storm on the arid land, and perhaps observe, from a safe distance, a flash-flood moving through a wadi (a dry riverbed). On the occasion of a rare winter snow storm, Israelis pile into a 4-wheel drive vehicle and head to any elevated peak where they can play in an inch of two of fresh white powder, a real novelty for this desert nation.
Summer time is beach time and Israelis populate the nation’s pristine Mediterranean beaches, splashing in the waves and feasting on chilled watermelon slices. Many even set up camp on the beach for weeks at a time and enjoy a summer of outdoor beach living far away from the heat and oppression of a Middle Eastern summer in the city. The Israeli coast receives a glorious cool evening breeze and it is the perfect place to escape to if you are an unfortunate soul who suffers from apartment living without the modern luxury of air conditioning.
No, Israelis do not waste a beautiful weekend day watching television. Saturdays are the day to become one with the land, for Israelis to reconnect with their ancestors’ farming heritage and to enjoy the natural beauty of Israel far from their concrete enclosures in the cities. Saturday is adventure day, Saturday is nature day, and most of all, Saturday is the perfect day for a family tiyul (trip).
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