Traditional Experiences with the Bedouin tribes of the Negev Highlands
Traditional Experiences with the Bedouin tribes of the Negev Highlands
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“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”: During this exciting workshop you will experience first-hand how to make bread from scratch. You will grind wheat grains yourselves with millstones and turn them into flour. Knead the dough, maintain the fire, and of course bake the pita bread on the saj, and the libbe – traditional Bedouin bread – inside the embers.
For a closer encounter with traditional Bedouin life and the magic of the desert, you are invited to stay overnight with one of our host families, inside the community. Dinner, conversation with hot tea around the campfire, silent night around and sky full of stars above… In the morning you will witness how the desert and the community wake up to a new day. In the accommodation tent you will receive a mattress and you must bring your own bed linen or sleeping bags. You can also place your own camping tent. Overnight stay includes a full dinner and a light breakfast with tea and coffee. Accommodation features basic toilets and showers.
For a group of up to six participants
Additional participants: 60 ILS PP
The activities we offer last 1.5-2 hours
(not including meals, if booked).
If you are interested in more extensive activities or excursions, please tell us and we will find those that suit you!
Mansaf and Maqluba (“Magluba” in the Bedouin dialect) are staple dishes of the traditional Bedouin cuisine. Each is a full meal, rich with flavors, and each Bedouin family specializes in a dish with a unique way to prepare it. The dishes can be booked as lunch or dinner, vegetarian or vegan version available. Mansaf: A mountain of rice is laid over a layer of freshly baked pita bread, with cooked & seasoned meat on top (we serve chicken), seasonal vegetables on the side, and other surprises according to the host family’s taste. Magluba(“upside down” in Arabic): Vegetables and meat (chicken) are cooked on the bottom of the pot, with a layer of rice above them to absorb the flavors from below. The pot is turned upside down on a round tray when served, creating a mountain of rice with the meat and vegetables on top.
When moving around the pasture with the goats or camels, meals are simple, light, and modest.
Our shepherd’s meals include libbe (bread baked inside the fire embers and hot sand) or fresh pita bread straight from the saj with labaneh or afik (dried goat cheese), tahina, fresh vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, olive oil and za’atar.
We recommend adding this meal to the plant-gathering or tracking excursions.
