Tour of Sde Boker

I started taking some pictures around Midreshet Sde Boker (the town where I'm living), to give a sense of what things are like around here. (The photo above is of the house where I'm staying in.) I'm intending to add a bunch more photos (there are a lot of crazy experimental buildings and weird outdoor labs that might be interesting to see) but at least this is a start.

To view the photo tour (in progress) in Picasa click here.

In a nut shell, Midreshet Sde Boker (a.k.a Midreshet Ben Gurion) was inspired by the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, who envisioned a community that would bring scientists and educators to live and work in the Negev. (The Hebrew word "midrasha" comes from the term beit midrash, meaning "house of study;" it is a cognate for the Arab word "madrasah," but lacks the loaded connotations.) Famous quote from Ben Gurion: "We seek to build a scientific research and teaching center which will be a source of moral inspiration and courage, rousing people to a sense of mission, noble, creative and fruitful." Sounds good, huh?

To see what Wikipedia has to say about where I'm living, click here.