My neighborhood in Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel

1 My street MR 032016MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Some images from the little town in the Negev where I spend my nights. I like being based here because my students and I are central to all of our diverse geological localities. It is also my friend Yoav Avni’s home. Plus, it reminds me of my hometown of Barstow, California, in its desert setting, diverse population, and edge-of-civilization feeling. (The architecture, though, is not at all the same!)

Hotel MR 031916I stay in the Ramon Suites hotel, which is very comfortable and reasonably priced. It is a short walk from here to the edge of Makhtesh Ramon.

2 Brooklyn house MR 032016Near the hotel is a building from Brooklyn! This is a Chabad-Lubavitch house. I’ll let this link to 770 Eastern Parkway begin the explanation. There are replicas of this house all over the world, each with the number 770.

3 Edge of town MR 032016The southwestern edge of town, with a new school and synagogue. The edge of the makhtesh is a few meters beyond the conical hill.

4 Skyline with New Hotel MROn the top of the skyline is a very fancy hotel well beyond my means. It looks cool, and strangely ancient.

5 Skyline with Makhtesh MR 032016A view to the southeast showing a wall of the makhtesh in the far background.

6 Water tower MR 032016The iconic Mitzpe Ramon water tower, visible for many kilometers. It is the most interesting thing I can see from my hotel room.

7 Childrens mural MR 032016A children’s mural on the outside of a school. Note the water tower on the left, the desert wildlife, and even a dinosaur. (No dinosaurs have been found here, alas.) This children’s view of their dry town is strangely watery.

8 Grocery store MR 032016Last and least, the town’s grocery store. Crowded and unfriendly. Always feels a bit Soviet to me, probably because as in that regime there was little choice where to shop. Still, they have kept me and my students supplied.

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is a Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.
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