What is Negev?
[[File:Zin Valley in the Negev Desert of Israel 2.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The Zin Valley in the Negev.]] [[File:WV Negev & Southern Judean Mountains & southern Judean Desert regions in Israel.png|thumb|250px|right|The Negev (dark red), Israel's parts of the [[Judaean Mountains]] (red) and [[Judaean Desert]] (pink) on a map of Israel.]] The '''Negev''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɛ|ɡ|ɛ|v}} {{respell|NEG|ev}}; {{langx|he|הַנֶּגֶב|hanNégev}}) or '''Negeb''' ({{langx|ar|النقب|an-Naqab}}) is the southern region of [[Israel]]. It is a [[desert]] that covers about 60% of the current state of Israel. Only about 10% of the people that live in Israel live there. The Negev has borders with [[Egypt]] and the [[Gaza Strip]] to the west, the [[Arabah]] in the [[Great Rift Valley]] in the east, and a line connecting [[Gaza city]] to [[Ein Gedi]] near the [[Dead Sea]] to the north. [[Beersheba]] and [[Eilat]] are the main cities of the Negev. The '''Negev incense route''' was a trade route in the Negev. It connected [[Arabia]] to the [[Mediterranean]] in the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]]-[[Roman Empire|Roman period]].<ref>That is, from the death of Alexander through the Roman Empire.</ref> The trade led to the development of ancient towns, [[fort]]s and [[caravanserai]] en route, and agricultural development. It was proclaimed as of outstanding universal value by [[UNESCO]] in 2005.<ref name= Desert>{{Cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1107|title=Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev|accessdate=26 November 2015|publisher=UNESCO Organization}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} == Other websites == {{Commonscat|Negev}} *[http://www.boker.org.il/english/ Sde Boker archive of articles on the Negev] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628060440/http://www.boker.org.il/english/ |date=2018-06-28 }} *[http://www.netonegev.co.il Israel's Negev Information Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812071258/http://www.netonegev.co.il/ |date=2018-08-12 }} *[http://www.mapisrael.info/negev Photos of Negev]