camels in negev desert
camels foraging in the negev desert The Negev covers more than half of Israel It forms an inverted triangle shape whose western side is contiguous with the desert of the Sinai Peninsula, and whose eastern border is the Arabah valley. The Negev has a number of interesting cultural and geological features. Among the latter are three enormous, craters which are unique to the region; Makhtesh Ramon, Makhtesh Gadol, and Makhtesh to the Hebrew Bible, the northern Negev was inhabited by the Tribe of Judah and the southern Negev by the Tribe of Shimon. The Negev was later part of the Kingdom of Solomon and then part of the Kingdom of Judah The 4th century BC arrival of the Nabateans resulted in the development of irrigation systems that supported at least five new urban centers: Avdat, Mamshit, Shivta, al-Khalasa & Nitzana. The Nabateans controlled the trade and spice route between their capital Petra and the Gazan seaports. Nabatean currency and the remains of red and orange potsherds, identified as a trademark of their civilization, have been found along the route, remnants of which are also still visible. Byzantine rule in the 4th century AD introduced Christianity to the population. Agricultural-based cities were established and the population grew exponentially. Nomadic tribes ruled the Negev largely independently and with a relative lack of interference for the next thousand years.] What is known of this time is largely derived from oral histories and folk tales of tribes from the Wadi Musa and Petra areas in present-day Jordan[ The Bedouins of the Negev historically survived chiefly on sheep and goat husbandry. Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land required them to move constantly. The Bedouin in years past established few permanent settlements, although some were built, leaving behind remnants of stone houses called In 1900 The Ottoman Empire established an administrative center for southern Palestine at Beersheba.
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Photo credit: © moris kushelevitch / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: al, arava, arid, avdat, camels, cities, crater, desert, elusa, great, israel, judah, kingdom, makhtesh, mamshit, naqab, negev, nomadic, ramon, , rift, semi, settlements, shivta, solomon, southern, tribes, valley
