Licensed since 1966
English & Français
Negev
Rarely does one find a country so small with landscapes as varied as in
Israel. In this tiny country of approximately 8,000 square miles (a little
smaller than the state of New Jersey), it takes a few hours to drive from
the snow-capped mountains in the north to arid desert expanses in the south.
Ein Gedi
"Negev" in Hebrew means south. Israel's Negev Desert, where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob tended their flocks, comprises 66%, over 6,700 square miles, of Israel. Triangular in shape, with the resort town of Eilat at its southern end and Beer Sheva as its northern apex, the Negev has an arid and semi-arid climate, defined according to average rainfall (2 - 6 inches), type of soil and natural vegetation.
Arava
Masada
Located on an isolated cliff in the Judean Desert, Masada's steep slopes
and precipices rise more than 400 meters above the Dead Sea. The combination
of cliffs and escarpments in the desert area provide Masada with the
perfect natural defense system.
Herod's plan for the mountain was fantastically ambitious. Masada was not
designed merely as a fortress, but as a royal stronghold with spacious
palaces, a bathhouse with the all conveniences available at the time, and a
number of smaller palaces, apparently for housing the monarch's relatives.
Although the mountain had natural fortifications, Herod built a casemate
wall around the entire summit. This was a tremendous undertaking, since the
summit was 600 meters long and 300 meters across at its center.
Had the attackers not blazed routes to the
top, there would have been no way for them to reach the summit.
Masada
Beduines
Beduines