One of the Best Meals I've Ever Had

Recommended for people 21+

Content Warning: Language & Profanity;, Religion & Religious Views

A meal in the Negev Desert

During my senior year of college, I had an opportunity to travel to Israel for free because of a program called Birthright. This program allows American Jewish people aged 18 to 26** to experience Israel alongside Israeli citizens typically enrolled on the trip as part of their military requirements. Israel is considered a sacred, ancient and historical place.

I like to say that I am a "culturally Jew-ish" person, not a religious Jewish person. Growing up, I was primarily agnostic, and it wasn't until I was older that I described myself as an atheist. In fact, traveling and seeing Israel even while traveling with other Jewish Americans further solidified my atheist views. However, despite my lack of religious belief, I went on this trip to see the Holy Land for myself; Israel is holy because of its historical and cultural impact. Not to mention its influence on many other religions.

This is how I viewed my birthright trip, not necessarily through my Jewish identity but through a lens of appreciation for culture and "ancient" history. In the same way, some people study the Bible or Torah, sometimes for purely academic purposes.

I digress, enough about religion. I'm here to talk about FOOD.

This particular birthright trip was 10 days long; we did many things and traveled to many different parts of the country. But my favorite part happened right after my least favorite part. My least favorite part of the trip was climbing Mt. Masada, an ancient fortress about 950 feet tall with a VERY steep path called the Snake Trail. We got up at 4 am to climb it, and it was ROUGH.

Luckily, later that day, we spent some time in the Dead sea, floating and relaxing. After, we spent the night with Bedouin Arab Nomads. They are an ethnic group of Nomadic Arabs who have historically inhabited the desert regions. This one was specifically located in the Negev desert in Israel. This group of Nomads is known for herding camels in the Negev Desert south of the Dead Sea.

It was here that I had the most delicious Middle eastern/Mediterranean meal of my life. I think about it all the time. I think about how I would go about going back just to get it again.

Our traveling birthright group and a few more birthright groups stayed overnight in the Nomadic Camp. They had community-style bathrooms, fireplaces, benches, and big tents set up all over. Each group had its own tent to stay in for the night. We each claimed spots on the ground with provided sleeping rugs. We were packed on top of each other like sardines, separated by gender with an opaque divider. Once we picked a carpet and a space, we left our clothing and required packing item: our pillow, and headed into another giant tent.

In the United States, we make a point of sitting in chairs specifically to sit around a table to share a meal with others. Like many Asian & middle eastern cultures, it is custom to sit on the floor or on a soft bench. There were rows of benches for every large group to sit on. There were soft, short-end tables between the benches to place the trays of food. Instead of eating with your own plate or utensils, these giant silver circular platters were stacked with food. The people sitting closest to a platter form sitting semi-circles on each bench side to share.

The platter had traditional Mediterranean cuisine, with grilled chicken cut and cooked gyro-style. It was served with the softest and warmest pita bread I have ever eaten; it was so fresh! There were also fresh vegetables like tomatoes & cucumbers with hummus and rice. Everything is served deconstructed like this because the point is to make your own "pita-sandwich." You can either dip the pita in some hummus, or you can open it. We added rice and chicken, then the vegetables, and topped it off with hummus or what I think was homemade tahini. I love Mediterranean flavors. Personally, I can't remember when my family didn't have some hummus in our fridge. These ingredients are so simple, and yet together, they were so effortlessly delicious. I dream about going back to this place and eating this meal again.

We had all kinds of hummus and Mediterranean cuisine while traveling all over Israel. Still, something about this particular meal struck a chord. Maybe it was the entire Nomadic Desert experience, or perhaps it was because we got up at 4 am to climb a steep mountain that made us work up an appetite. It was my first time in a desert (that I could remember, I used to see my grandparents in Phoenix, Arizona, but I don't remember that at all) and it is true what they say, the desert is freezing at night. We also were here during the Winter of 2018-2019 and the seasons were pretty similar to the Midwest but still warmer in the south of Israel compared to the Northern part.

After we finished stuffing ourselves with pita bread, we went outside the campsite border, on a small little sandhill. The night sky in Israel was beautiful, and we could see all the stars twinkling. There was not as much light pollution or pollution in general since we were out in the middle of nowhere in the Negev desert. We went up there to reflect on the day because it was the longest day we had had so far and recited some kind of prayer in Hebrew. After staring at the starry night sky and quietly reflecting on a long day, we went back to the campsite, lit up some fire pits and all just hung out before going to bed.

Typically, there would be no chance in hell where I could just lie down on the floor to get a good night's rest. But since I had scaled a mountain, swam in the dead sea, and ate a full (delicious) meal, I was able to pass out without any difficulty. Even as the ladies near me stayed up a bit more to talk. This whole day was very out of my comfort zone, but I am so glad that I did it. The next day we got up and rode camels in the morning. I was not nearly prepared for just how tall camels really are. My fuckin ass hurt afterward, but luckily the camels (all hard-workin' ladies) were all very lovely.

Traveling is very neat.

**If you're interested in going on a Birthright Trip, Read Below to See if You Qualify

https://www.birthrightisrael.com/eligibility

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