The Negev Highlands region has some unique geological formations known in Hebrew as a maktesh (literally “mortar grinder” since they’re bowl-shaped a like a mortar). Often known in English as “craters”, these were not formed by meteor impacts, but instead by erosion.
While I’ve seen the largest of these geological formations before (tune in next time for more), I got to see a new makhtesh (the Makhtesh Gadol) on this trip. Driving through, we saw on our map a stop labeled “Colored Sands”, which sounded like it could be worth stopping at.
Given how remote the site is, we figured we would basically have the area to ourselves. We were wrong! The parking lot was packed with buses, catering to students on an evening field trip. Have you ever been kept from fully enjoying an experience because of a distraction? It was like we had all been dumped into this large mortar, awaiting the grinding process. Nevertheless, we were still able to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation in this multicolored mixing bowl.
