April 2023 – rene bauer photography

Israel – Eilat, beach town at the Red Sea

After a long drive trough the Negev desert along the Jordan border, the road ends in Eilat at the Red Sea.

It appears as holiday destination like so many others on this world. Israeli and tourists all over the world coming here for some relaxing days, parties or a foodie weekend at the sea.

There’s not much more than the beaches in front of big hotels, food courts and bars. The landscape around is stunning tho. If you get on an elevated point you can overlook the Red Sea and its riparian states, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. All within a coastline of approximately 35 km.

April 9, 2023April 8, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: food, gastronomy, HOPE, humansofplanetearth, landscape, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travel, Uncategorized, urbanlifeTags: beach, beachlife, egypt, eilat, fun, holiday, hotel, israel, jordan, middleeast, negev, palmtree, party, redsea, renebauerphotography, roadtrip, saudiarabia, sea, Travel Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Tsukim, the art village in the desert

Nothing else better than a good coffee for starting a new day. Even better in beautiful or interesting surrounding.

It’s happened i got an overnight stay just in Tsukim, just near the gate to the art village. And it’s just happened i woke up there on a Friday morning, the day when the art village is open for public, as they told me.

The Artists‘ Colony of Tsukim, also know as Zuqim, lies in the Negev desert, far away from a bigger settlement. A perfect place to follow your inspiration and create artsy stuff, as also more handy ones, like roasting coffee.

And coffee i got in the gallery, where beautiful landscape pictures of winterly Turkey were displayed. Ironically i did travel in Turkey just before and was fleeing the cold, while i enjoy the pictures here in the desert now.

Later i roamed trough the little shops, talked with a few artist and admired their art work. Paintings, pottery, fairy puppets, jewelry and wonderful creatures and things made from natural materials. And this coffee roastery, owned by a nice guy and his father. A good reason to stop by for another espresso.

April 7, 2023April 7, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: culture, food, gastronomy, HOPE, humansofplanetearth, landscape, Middle East, portrait, reportage, tradition, travel, UncategorizedTags: art, artcolony, artstuff, artvillage, coffee, Desert, isreal, jewelry, landscape, middleeast, nature, negev, painting, people, pottery, renebauerphotography, reportage, roastery, shops, Travel, tzukim, zuqim Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – Floating in the Dead Sea

„There must be a place to access the Dead Sea, isn’t it?“ I asked the nice young lady at the entrance of En Gedi. I had that experience of floating in the highly saturated salty sea twice when i traveled Jordan in 2014 (click here). Since i’m so close to that unique waters, i wanted have at least another short dip on this side of the sea.

„There’s a spa at seaside nearby, but it costs a fortune to get in“ she replied. „Better drive south to En Bokek. There’s a public beach without an entrance fee.“ she advised me. Thankfully i drove along the coast. The sun already was near the horizon when i arrived at that beach. The town provides changing rooms and fresh water shower at the sandy beach. Behind the beach are a few big, modern hotels and even a shopping mall. People enjoying to float on the water or sunbathing in the late afternoon sun.

Quickly i got myself into the water, and once again felt that strange sensation of the strong buoyancy. Literally lying on the water surface and looking over to the reddish mountains of Jordan, it felt like being on another planet, where gravity is different and light shines from an another sun. That thought carried on when i traveled into the night, followed by a cloud shaped like a space ship.

April 5, 2023März 30, 2023 by Rene Bauer Categories: humansofplanetearth, Middle East, nature, reportage, roadtrip, travel, waterTags: beach, beachlife, deadsea, Desert, enbokek, holiday, hotel, israel, jordan, landscape, middleeast, mountain, nature, people, renebauerphotography, reportage, saltlake, saltysea, saltywater, sea, Travel Hinterlasse einen Kommentar

Israel – En Gedi, The Oasis

There’s not just one En Gedi, i found out when i approached the area. My quick research earlier learned me about a kibbutz and a nature reserve, an oasis, with the same name. It’s not exactly the same spot, as i expected. The nature reserve lies not inside the kibbutz, as i thought, but a few kilometer up north of it. So be aware of it if you want visit it.

There’s a parking lot and big picnic area with some shops and cafe in front of the entrance. A friendly young lady at the booth explained me about the ways and activities within the UNESCO heritage nature park. I was poorly prepared about this spot and already bit late on the day. I was happy to learn, there are some shorter walks along a creek. So i followed the ‚wet trail‘ upstream. Beautifully along the green bushes inside a deep valley with incredible views over the Dead Sea. On some rocks i found to my surprise a couple rock hyrax glaring to wandering tourists. These cute mammals are seen often in Southern Africa, known also as rock dassies.

Along the way are several small waterfalls. Day visitors use the chance to have a dip in the tiny pools to cool off or just having a rest there. My walk ended on the higher and more famous David waterfalls. A cool rest under the spray of the falls, a couple pictures taken and the joy of the view for a few minutes longer. Too soon i had to walk back, but on a slightly different route to enjoy the view over the Dead Sea bit more.