Solo cycle touring through Israel and Palestine as I cycled out of the Negev Desert and pedalled towards Tel Aviv, I encountered a diverse array of cultures and communities, including rural Palestinian Bedouin in Bir Hadaj, Orthodox Jews celebrating Sukkot and Shabbat in Shuva, and Bedouin who have been pressured to move to cities in Rahat. This route also took me past the border between Gaza and Israel one year before the war began. Along the way I took the opportunity to learn about Bedouin culture, and Jewish culture as I made my way to Israel’s largest coastal city; Tel Aviv.

Cycle touring in the Negev desert, also known as the Naqab by Palestinians, was a massive adjustment. Solo desert cycling was far more challenging than anything I’d experienced before. But the diversity of cultures made all the heat and pedalling worthwhile.

Filmed a year before the ongoing conflict, this video offers a glimpse into what cycling through Israel and Palestine was like before the war.

00:0001:31 Cycle Touring the Negev Desert: Intro
01:3203:14 Disclaimer
03:1511:09 Cycling to a Negev Bedouin Village
11:1014:36 Cycling the IsraelGaza Border
14:3718:18 Pedalling to a Jewish Sukkot Festival
18:1922:32 Cycling to Rahat | The World's Largest Bedouin City
22:3329:03 My Longest Day EVER | Back to Tel Aviv