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(Sergio) Today, we are headed south to see the world's largest erosion crater.
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(Sergio)
and its depth, 1,600 feet.
We will visit three major destinations in the Ramon Crater,
that are located alongside one of the most scenic roads in Israel.
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(Sergio)
a city that sits on the edge of the crater and is the only city in this remote area.
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Mitzpe, Ramon, is located in the deep south of Israel,
in the Negev desert,
about two and a half hours drive from Jerusalem.
This city was once a camp constructed in the 50s
for the workers that were paving Highway 40.
This highway connects Be'er Sheva to Eilat.
Since then, the camp grew into a city, which became a major tourist destination
due to its incredible first row view of the Ramon Crater.
It's actually not a crater.
Believe it or not, it's a mistranslation.
This is an erosion cirque.
What that means is it once used to be the same level
and it eroded
with certain geological processes.
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(Sergio)
explaining the theory behind the formation
of this crater.
And they all come to the conclusion that a river that still flows
through this desert slowly swept the soft sandstone away
and over a long period of time, carved out the world's largest bit.
And if looked from above, it resembles the shape
of the heart symbol.
Whoa, guys, look at this!
- (woman) Aw, it's a bird. - (Rhoda) Okay, babe, enough.
(Sergio) Wow, this is quite the drop, my feet are tingly.
(Rhoda) Come back. Come back.
- (Rhoda) Come back. - (Sergio) Very cool.
In a hot summer's day, this place gets to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Really hot, which is about 40 degrees Celsius.
But in the nighttime, it drops 30 degrees to a 70 Fahrenheit.
It's pretty chilly, which is like 20 degrees Celsius.
So you'd better be equipped when you come here in the summer,
it gets really hot in the daytime with the sun
but it's kind of chilly at night.
(Sergio)
down to the bottom of the crater.
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At the end of the descent, we were supposed to take
an immediate right turn, but of course, my superior navigational instinct
tells me to take the left.
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With us today are our very dear friends, coming all the way from Russia,
Dr. [Szhuvalo] and his wife, Victoria.
- Wow! - Hello.
Hello.
It looks like we're in the wrong place.
We drove 20 minutes into the desert crater.
What do you guys think about this place?
- Oh, it's so beautiful. - Yes.
It's the best place in Israel.
- This? - Yeah.
Please tell us who brought us here.
So, Rhoda says we should go here and I was saying, "No, no..." Aaah... ay!
Yeah, it was my fault.
Because we're from a cold piece of land.
- Green. A lot of forests. - Oh, it's warm.
Yes, and this is the desert.
This is why I think it's the best spot in Israel for us.
- Oh, it's not usual for you. - Yes, for you, it's not the best.
Why? Because you like green but for us, we're always in a green place.
- Right. Yup. - So the desert is unusual for us.
(Sergio) What are those things?
It's like white.
- (Rhoda) Yeah. - On the-- do you see it?
(Rhoda) I see it, maybe it's salt.
Sergio) Foam or something.
(Rhoda) It looks like salt, but I don't know.
What about you, Victoria, what is your favorite place?
I don't know, I like green.
You like green.
(laughter) Yes, green.
Why would there be salt in the desert?
- Let's take a look. - (Rhoda) I have no idea.
There are some over here.
(Rhoda) Well?
Tell us about your experience.
It tastes like salted sand.
You think I'll be poisoned?
(Rhoda) We'll keep a watch on you.
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(Sergio)
I hope we can make it before sunset.
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(engine running)
So this is so cool, we're in the middle of the Ramon Crater.
And in the middle of it, there's this mound of black stones
with square shapes and hexagonal shapes.
It's just bizarre, what is this?
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Apparently, this used to be a volcano that exploded
and the magma melted the sandstone and crystallized it
into these black stones that now are like squares.
Look at this. Isn't that cool?
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This could be like a handle for something, so see, this is sandstone,
while at the top it's black because it got crystallized by the magma.
Look at that.
(Rhoda) Wow.
(Sergio) What are you doing?
You never know when you need some.
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(Sergio)
the colorful sands of the Ramon Crater.
(Rhoda) Ah, do you see this?
It's a pink rock by the water, it looks like pink sand.
And here it's purple.
(man 1) The Ramon Park workers collect colored soil
from around the crater and placed them here
for the visitors to see.
This is a great experience for children but also some adults.
So I got here the stone that has this purple color.
And we got this harder, I think crystallized limestone
or something like this, I'm going to try to rub the two against each other
and see if we get any of the purple color.
Oh, my goodness, look at that.
Perfect.
And now you can use this for desert [masqueration].
(Rhoda) So, it has a few layers.
And this one, it's beautiful, like it's purplish on top
and then it's black grey, and then it's like sandy pinkish color.
It just has beautiful layers.
I like it.
Alright, is it better?
(laughter) Why are you laughing?
(Victoria) Not really.
Oh, my goodness! What's happening?
Okay, now it's gone to my eyes, that's not good.
It's a big stone.
There are some small-- Try.
In fact, the water is in my eye.
And now it's in my mouth.
It's salty.
It's in my mouth, it's in my eye.
Salty.
(Rhoda) What did you do to your face?
Is it still visible?
(Victoria) It's all over you.
(Rhoda) Alright, are we ready?
Yes.
With us today are our very dear friends, Dr.--
With us today are our very dear friends, Dr. [inaudible]
(laughter)
Take number three!
With us today-- (laughter)
With us today are our very dear friends, Dr. [inaudible] and Victoria, his wife.
- Hey. - Hi.
Take number--
With us today are our very dear friends coming all the way from Russia,
Dr. [Szhuvalo] and his wife, Victoria.
- Wow! - Hello.