Be’er Sheva Attractions

• The Museum of Bedouin Culture

  

  Type:Speciality Museums

  The bedouin tribes, scattered throughout the Negev and sinai deserts, have undergone radical changes tn recent years as they move from a nomadic to a modern lifestyle. These changes are expressed tn the material culture, such as sources of income, types of housing style of dress, and more. As a result, many traditional bedouin ways of life are disappearing, creating the urgent need to collect, preserve and document this unique culture before it vanishes. The present collection was amassed simultaneously in two separated places: Kibbutz Lahav, and bedouin museum in southern Sinai,set up by Orna and Avner Goren. After the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai in 1979, the two collections were united, creating the museum for bedouin Culture at Joe alon center.

  Staff members of the museum – collected, and continue to collect, much ethnographic material, photographing and documenting bedouin ways of life in different parts of the Negev and Sinai, and displaying in the museum a rich collection of bedouin artifacts, which recaptured an almost-extinct way of life. This collection is on permanent display in an impressive building designed by architect Tzvi Lissar of Tel Aviv. The exhibit was designed by David Gal, of the Israel Museum. Orna Goren, an archaeologist, anthropologist, and museologist, served as the first curator.

• Tel Arad

  

  Type:Ancient Ruins

  Tel Arad, northwest of the modern city of Arad in the northern Negev, consists of a lower and an upper city. The lower city was inhabited only in the Early Bronze Age (3150–2200 BCE). At approximately 100 dunams (25 acres) Arad was one of the largest cities of its day in this country, and surrounded by a strong 1,200-meter wall. The city’s streets, plazas, and buildings were meticulously planned, including a reservoir in the lowest part of the city to which surface runoff was channelled.

  The upper city was first settled in the Israelite period (1200 BCE). A number of fortresses were built one on top of the other there until the Persian period (fourth century BCE). A highlight of the visit to Arad is the Israelite temple, which included a large outer sacred area, the hechal, and a smaller ‘holy of holies.’ The temple in Arad was a miniature version of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. A meter-high, stone monument, painted red, was found on the paved bamah of the holy of holies. An altar was found in the courtyard in front of the hechal. Another famous find at Arad are inscribed potsherds bearing the names of priestly families.

• Zin River

  

  Type:Bodies of Water

  The Zin river begins on the slope of Ramon Crater and ends in the Dead Sea. The Zin river terminates sharply the cliffs of Avdat Plateau and in many places the Zin springs are sprouting out. This includes the springs of: Ein Ovdat, Ein Mor, Ein Zik, Ein Akev, and Ein Hava. Its the scene of water in the desert that makes this jeep tour a miracle.

  The Zin desert is the Biblical desert from which the 12 spies were sent by Moses to tour the promise land. The Zin River marks the historical border of Israel in biblical times.

• Bedouin Market

  

  Type:Flea/ Street Markets

  On the south side of Be’er Sheva, in Elat Road (Derekh Elat), the Bedouin market is held every Thursday. It is frequented by Bedouin from far and wide, and its colourful bustle of activity attracts many tourists. The main wares of interest to visitors are carpets, finely embroidered cushions and camel saddles, copperware and numerous other craft products; the local people, on the other hand, come to buy articles of clothing, domestic requisites, skins and also live goats and hens.

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