I got up at 4:30 this morning, and by 5:00 I was already out walking. After going up my street, I crossed Harim Road and entered the desert. I followed a bicycle trail which was barely visible in the moonlight. When I got to the first little peak, I stopped to take some pictures. First, here's a panorama of most of Eilat and Aqaba, long before the sun came up:
The next one, below, is the view a little more to the south. Here, you can see the intersection of Argaman Road (my street) and Harim Road, the bypass road around Eilat, in the lower right. In the background is most of the city of Aqaba, Jordan.
I took this photo just a little later and a little further up the trail, just before I entered a small valley from which the cities were mostly hidden:
When I got to the end of the small valley, I came to a pass, and this was the view I saw:
I took the next two photos at a couple of spots a little further down the trail. Now, the approaching dawn is more obvious, but the lights of the two cities and still very beautiful:
As I continued on the bicycle trail, I crossed a dirt road (which follows some kind of pipeline, I think) in a broader valley. The trail then again ascends via another small valley and up to another pass. By this time, it was getting noticeably lighter out.
The next three pictures show views of White Mountain from that area:
I then turned right and went on a short loop for a clear view of the cities and the Gulf, as shown in the following photo. The sun is still some time away from appearing over the distant mountains, but it's much more obvious now, and the city lights are barely visible.
After going around the small loop, I began heading west. The next 5 pictures show views of the north end of White Mountain and another, smaller, one of a similar color, which I call "Little White Mountain", as I made my way to Nakhal Shakhamon.
I couldn't resist taking a selfie in this beautiful scenery!
When I reached Nakhal Shakhamon, I began following it down and back into town. Here's a view looking roughly south-southeast. You can see the gravel road quite clearly.
I took the next 4 photos looking back towards White Mountain on the right and Little White Mountain on the left, with part of Har Shlomo (Mt. Solomon) visible between them.
The next two photos show the direct sunlight hitting some of the hills on the southwest side of Nakhal Shakhamon:
In this view, you can also see Little White Mountain and Har Shlomo behind it:
Here's a rather dramatic view of the south end of White Mountain, lit by the early morning sunlight:
I took this shot a little further down the nakhal, looking back up it. Little White Mountain and Har Shlomo are near the center, and the south end of White Mountain is visible to the right of them:
This was my final photo as I approached civilization again. I'm still in Nakhal Shakhkamon, but the sun is just hidden behind a couple of high-rises the other side of Harim Road.
