Arad - a lovely but stark place in the desert

Arad borders on the Judean and Negev Deserts. It is 48 km East of Be’er Sheva and 24 km west of the Dead Sea. It's location near these more desolate areas (Masada), and the very commercial south end area where the high rise Dead Sea hotels are located give the tourists (namely us) an alternative location to stay when visiting the area - especially since the start of AirBnB made spaces available.   We stayed in an unmemorable but comfortable apartment in Russian neighbourhood.  No English speakers here - mostly Russian or Hebrew.  The city was founded in 1962 as the first planned city in the State of Israel, and it offers its residents "a high quality of life and a vibrant, lively community".

Looking back toward our neighbourhood above and below, 

the view looking away.

The surrounding area includes forests, vineyards and an equestrian centre, plus an artists' area with galleries and shops.  We only had time to visit the vineyard and hiking area at the end of a day when it was cooler.   It is known as a safe city and an ideal place to raise children.   There is a large orthodox Jewish community in residence as evidenced by busloads of children at the end of the school day.

Many vineyards are in the hills overlooking the town, along
with bike and hiking trails.  Town temperatures are very hot (>44C)
where woodland temperatures dip to under 34C during the day.

Our little Fiat 500 sits next to a vineyard near where we 
watched a busload of tourists inspecting a ruin.  

A litter of boxer pups behind our building - seven weeks old - total of ten!

IDF troops waiting along with local residents for transport to?

DW at Muza Sportsbar where we ate twice (and watched everyone enjoying
World Cup Soccer).  If there were other eateries serving veggies we never found them.
Many army troops were in here eating dinner the second night we visited - they were
heavily armed and enjoying soft drinks.

The night we arrived, we took a walk to a "place with a view" - we drove fairly close and wandered around.  A friendly neighbour directed us saying, "Go down the road until it ends at a park bench with a big view."  We did, and it was.  In the background, without haze, the Dead Sea was visible but this night we arrived just after sunset and it was hazy.