From: lucia@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Subject: where I live
Beer-sheva is quite flat, slightly rolling, desert. It's between
90-100f
most days right now, with almost no humidity (don't know the exact
figure).
alot of sandy soil and small clusters of trees and shrubbery dot
the
countryside. there has been no rain since March? and there probably
will not
be any again until December. as hot as it gets during the day, it
gets
quite cool at night when there's no sun.
Beduin Arabs are native to the country here and they live in the
surrounding area in tiny settlements. as former nomads, they are
settling
down in order to claim their right to the land. They have large
sheep and
goat herds, and camels. their settlements or towns are a mixture of
various stages of development from tents, to tin shacks, to stone
villas.
Most houses still have a tent in the yard alongside it - for those
members of the family that get claustrophobic in a house with walls
that "don't move".
The name Beer Sheva means literally seven (sheva) wells
or swearing an oath (shvu'a) at a well. There is an old well
where
they say Abraham made oaths recorded in the Bible.
For many
years, there was
a little restaurant built around it. The old part of the city has
a
certain charm - the buildings are low, sandy looking things, with
inner
courtyards, like desert architecture. But most of the city is not
particularly pretty. It's not near a beach or rolling hillsides.
there's a
dried up creek that flooded with the winter rains and the small
bridge was
washed away. The surrounding desert is quite beautiful in its own
way
though. Its a very stony desert with some impressive canyons and
some
archeological sites of ancient civilizations.
The population of Beer Sheva is about 140,000. One third are
recent immigrants, so there is a sprawling, ungainly
look and feel to the place. One of tthe places I like best
is the "shuk" -- the daily, municipal market.
The market is shared by a mix of ethnic groups - Israeli old
timers, local
Bediuns, new Ethiopians and Russians. They sort of have their
sections,
but it's not strict and that's part of what I like, the mingling
that
occurs. It is loud and dirty, and the fruits and vegetables are
local and
ripe and really great. The only thing is I can't find good celery.
But the
oranges are great right now. there
are also household goods, plastics, cassettes with local pop music,
clothes, and staples like wines, bread, and meat. You can pick out
a live
chicken and have it slaughtered while you wait....You can sit in
little
restaurants and drink strong, sweet coffee. Oh, and there's a
section for
second hand furniture, tvs, refrigerators, sewing machines....
some people don't like places like this. Because everybody is
yelling at
the top of their lungs and jostling you. I find the flood of
impressions
uplifting. Oh, and on Fridays they sell tons of flowers. I always
get a
bunch of roses that come from nearby kibbutz greenhouses. I will
always associate this town with roses.
![[Zehava and Roses]](images/colluc4.jpg)
But most cats live in and around the neighborhood garbage dumpsters --
LARGE containers that are picked up and replaced by special
trucks once a week. so all week long, the cats jump in and out of
these things, getting their noses all grimy and grey. They lie
around on top of them, sunning themselves, and stare at you when you pass
by.