In
the Negev desert you will find an enchanting and unforgetable middle eastern
arid landscape.
In
this desert you will discover rocky and mountainous regions.
In
the Negev you will discover the magnificent three craters -a unique
phenomenon, only in this area.
This
desert has deep canyons in which one can hike.
You
can experience in the Negev the warm hospitality of the beduins in their
authentic tents.
The
desert offers well preserved Nabatian sites. |
The Negev
was a living place for Neolithic, chalcolitic and bronze age
man. These ancient people left their houses and gravesites scattered
in terrain suggesting a lunar landscape.
The Kings of
Judea built fortresses in the desert routes to transport incense and perfumes
to the north. In the year 586 B.C.E. the Jews went on
exile to Babylon. The
Edomites penetrated to the Negev using evacuated land in south Judea.
The
Nabatians replaced the Edomites and established prosperous trade
with the ancient markets of Europe, by camelback, they brought goods
from India and Arabia, on what is known as the perfumes or spice road,
to Gaza for sale on its port. The Nabatians built several cities
in the Negev and those ruins can be viewed today. Under the Romans the
Nabatians replaced the trade with agriculture and work for the empire as
border soldiers. With the advent of the Byzantine rule they
serviced the pilgrims on their way to mount Sinai.
The
Moslems conquered the area in 636 C.E. new Moslem villages were built ,
the Negev inhabitants lost their jobs as soldiers as there was no more
border to defend and the area fell into a longstanding decline.
The Turks built the city of Beer-sheba as an old
/new Capital of the Negev.
Under the
British the Jews built new settlements , laid a water pipe
and as a result the United nations gave the Negev to the new state of Israel. |
