KKL- JNF Southern Arava R & D Center Yotvatah

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

Our first stop of the second day of touring with CAARI 2012 was the KKL-JNF Southern Arava Research and Development Center at Yotvatah. Amnon Greenberg, a member of Kibbutz Yotvatah and General Manager of the facility showed us some of the more impressive experiments that have yielded great results and improved the yields of garlic, pomegranites and dates. The bottom picture shows Amnon explaining to CAARI 2012 about the pomegranite trees in the background that are evergreen all year round and do not loose their leaves. Amnon has the green hat on and is shown in the bottom picture as CAARI listens attentively. This was the first facility in the 1960's to develop the drip irrigation and now it has developed a system which the plants use water only when they demand it using a uniquely devloped system of feedback and control and sensors that react when the plant needs to be watered.

Yotvatah Dairy and Kibbutz Tour

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

Our next stop was the Yotvatah dairy that is famous for its chocolate milk and dairy products from the early 1960's. It was the first kibbutz in the Southern Arava. Our guide Danny, explained about the kibbutz and how it has adapted to the needs of today. The first picture shows the first CAARI arrivals taking a well deserved break at the Pundak (Inn) at Yotvatah for shopping lunch and washrooms, posing with the local cows.

The bottom picture shows the dairy in the background and CAARI finished seeing the cows being milked. The middle picture shows the CAARI group in Eilat above them the cows tushes on the carosel that rotates slowly while the cows are hooked up to milking machines that imiditely process the milk into the many of the well know Yotvatah dairy products in Israel.

Timna Park Visit

Written and photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

Our last site for the day was Timna Park where we saw the audiovisual special effects of the circular bleachers that rotate and the special effects of the different screens that explain the copper deposits and the history of the park. Next we went to see the ancient mining site called The Arches that are snadstone arches where copper was mined as early as 6000 years ago. We then went to the smelting site where the copper ore was transported and smelted to pure copper ingots. You can see two CAARI participants from Ottowa, Judy and Simi, enjoying the mushroom formation in the smelting site in the bottom picture. In the middle picture, Elliot from Toronto is mining copper the old way in hopes to make a great trade when he smelts it and takes it to market in Canada. The top picture shows CAARI hiking up to the most ancient mines and galleries that have been dug and connect underground to each other.

Timna Park Visit

Written and Photographed by Nahum Eisenstadt

The last site in Timna Park we saw was Solomon's Pillars, which really have nothing to do with Solomon. In the bottom picture we are seen in front of these Precambrian Sandstone Pillars that are impressively lit at dusk, next we hiked up to see the rock inscription showing a local Canaanite leader who worked his way to be the Pharoh's most trusted Minister making an offering to Ramsis III. It is located above an impressive mining temple in use for close to 4 millenia continuously discovered by accident. You can see the great motivation of the CAARI active retirees hiking up to the rock inscription.