Beersheba Attractions
Beersheba (Be'er Sheva), famed in the Old Testament as the city of the Patriarchs, has developed within a few decades into the "capital of the Negev" and one of the largest cities in Israel, lying on the boundary between the arid pastureland to the south and the arable land to the north. It is a university town and an important industrial center. Beersheba has no outstanding tourist attractions to offer. Visitors come here mainly to see the great Bedouin market held every Thursday.
History
The earliest settlement in the Beersheba area (Tel Sheva) lay on the Wadi Be'er Sheva, in the eastern outskirts of the modern city. Excavation on the banks of the river has brought to light a Chalcolithic settlement of the fourth millennium B.C. occupied by semi-nomads who constructed cisterns and underground dwellings entered from above. During the dry season they left these dwellings and moved northwards with their flocks and herds. A number of finds from the site are displayed in the Municipal Museum, and a fertility idol carved from bone can be seen in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The Horites encountered by Abraham also lived in underground dwellings. The Old Testament tells how Abraham and Abimelech of Gerar made a covenant at the well of Beersheba under which Abraham was to have unimpeded use of the well which he had dug (Genesis 21,32): an agreement which was repeated in the time of Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26,33). In the time of the Judges Beersheba, which lay within the grazing lands of the Amalekites, formed the southern boundary of Israelite territory, which extended "from Dan even to Beersheba" (Judges 20,1). Around 1100 B.C. an Israelite town was built on Tel Sheva, 6km/4mi east of the present city. The site was excavated in 1969 by Yohanan Aharoni, who brought to light an Israelite fort and material of the Aramaean, Edomite, Persian and Hellenistic periods. Later Beersheba became a garrison town, successively occupied by Maccabean, Roman and Byzantine forces. Thereafter for many centuries the town was abandoned, though the well was still frequented by the Bedouin and their flocks and herds. A new era in the history of Beersheba began around 1900, when the Turkish authorities made it the administrative center for the Bedouin tribes of the Negev. A new town - now the old town - was laid out in 1907, with straight streets and the Bedouin market. In 1915, during the First World War, a railroad line was constructed to supply the Turkish and German forces and a mosque (now occupied by the Municipal Museum) was built. Beersheba was the first Palestinian town taken by General Allenby, and a police fort was built here. During the period of British rule which now began the "Hunger Road", an asphalted road from Beersheba to Gaza, was built in order to provide employment in the region. The first Jews settled in Beersheba around 1900, but during the Arab disturbances in 1929 they left the town. After Israel became independent in 1948 there was a fresh influx of Jews. At that time the town had a population of 3000. Beersheba is now a purely Jewish city, its inhabitants coming from countries all over the world.
Beersheba has the air of a young town, which still preserves a little of the "Wild West" character of its early days. The hub of the city's life is the old town of the Turkish period with its rectangular street grid, numerous shops, modest restaurants and snack bars. To the north of the old town are extensive new residential districts. To the east are the industrial installations, which use raw materials from the Negev.
History
The earliest settlement in the Beersheba area (Tel Sheva) lay on the Wadi Be'er Sheva, in the eastern outskirts of the modern city. Excavation on the banks of the river has brought to light a Chalcolithic settlement of the fourth millennium B.C. occupied by semi-nomads who constructed cisterns and underground dwellings entered from above. During the dry season they left these dwellings and moved northwards with their flocks and herds. A number of finds from the site are displayed in the Municipal Museum, and a fertility idol carved from bone can be seen in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The Horites encountered by Abraham also lived in underground dwellings. The Old Testament tells how Abraham and Abimelech of Gerar made a covenant at the well of Beersheba under which Abraham was to have unimpeded use of the well which he had dug (Genesis 21,32): an agreement which was repeated in the time of Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26,33). In the time of the Judges Beersheba, which lay within the grazing lands of the Amalekites, formed the southern boundary of Israelite territory, which extended "from Dan even to Beersheba" (Judges 20,1). Around 1100 B.C. an Israelite town was built on Tel Sheva, 6km/4mi east of the present city. The site was excavated in 1969 by Yohanan Aharoni, who brought to light an Israelite fort and material of the Aramaean, Edomite, Persian and Hellenistic periods. Later Beersheba became a garrison town, successively occupied by Maccabean, Roman and Byzantine forces. Thereafter for many centuries the town was abandoned, though the well was still frequented by the Bedouin and their flocks and herds. A new era in the history of Beersheba began around 1900, when the Turkish authorities made it the administrative center for the Bedouin tribes of the Negev. A new town - now the old town - was laid out in 1907, with straight streets and the Bedouin market. In 1915, during the First World War, a railroad line was constructed to supply the Turkish and German forces and a mosque (now occupied by the Municipal Museum) was built. Beersheba was the first Palestinian town taken by General Allenby, and a police fort was built here. During the period of British rule which now began the "Hunger Road", an asphalted road from Beersheba to Gaza, was built in order to provide employment in the region. The first Jews settled in Beersheba around 1900, but during the Arab disturbances in 1929 they left the town. After Israel became independent in 1948 there was a fresh influx of Jews. At that time the town had a population of 3000. Beersheba is now a purely Jewish city, its inhabitants coming from countries all over the world.
Beersheba has the air of a young town, which still preserves a little of the "Wild West" character of its early days. The hub of the city's life is the old town of the Turkish period with its rectangular street grid, numerous shops, modest restaurants and snack bars. To the north of the old town are extensive new residential districts. To the east are the industrial installations, which use raw materials from the Negev.
Abraham's Well
At the southeast end of Ha'azmaut Street in Beersheba, where it joins Hebron Road (Derekh Hevron), is an old well (restored) known as Abraham's Well, though it probably dates only from the Turkish period. Even the name, however, has commercial value: round the well a restaurant has set out its tables and there is a profitable trade in souvenirs.
Bedouin Market
On the south side of Beersheba, in Elat Road (Derekh Elat), the Bedouin market is held every Thursday. It is frequented by Bedouin from far and wide, and its colorful 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.
Lahav Kibbutz - Joe Alon Center and the Museum for Bedouin Culture
In the kibbutz of Lahav, 20km/12.5mi northeast of Beersheba, is a Bedouin Museum (in the Joe Alon Center) opened in 1985. The exhibits (clothing, domestic equipment, tools and implements, jewelry, etc.) are well presented and give a good impression of the art and culture of the various Bedouin tribes of Sinai and the Negev desert.
Known officially as the Museum for Bedouin Culture, the museum is part of the Joe Alon Center
Known officially as the Museum for Bedouin Culture, the museum is part of the Joe Alon Center
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 14:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 |
Municipal Museum
The main artery of the old town of Beersheba is Ha'atzmaut Street, in which is the Municipal Museum, housed in a mosque of the Turkish period. The collection includes material ranging right back to the early settlement on Tel Sheva (fourth millennium B.C.). From the minaret of the former mosque there are fine views of the city and surrounding area.
Negev Brigade Memorial
The memorial to the Negev Brigade, which distinguished itself in the War of Independence, is reached by leaving Beersheba on Hebron Road and soon after crossing the railway taking a road on the left.
Beersheba Surroundings
Nizzana
17km/10.5mi southeast of Shivta is the site of Nizzana, another Nabataean town which continued to exist in Byzantine and Arab times until the ninth century. Excavations here in 1935 brought to light churches and other buildings. One of the churches has a mosaic pavement. Near the Bedouin well of Auja el-Hafir the Turks built a frontier post in 1907, and during the period of the Mandate the British authorities sited a prison camp here. In 1948 the Egyptian army used Nizzana as a base for an attack on Beersheba.
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Tel Sheva, Israel
Southeast of the Negev Brigade Memorial (some 4km/2.5mi northeast of modern Beersheba) is Tel Sheva, with the remains of ancient Beersheba (defensive walls, water channels). There is a small site museum on the theme "Man in the Desert". Near the site is a Bedouin settlement established in 1969 to rehouse Bedouin who had hitherto lived as nomads. At first the Bedouin were reluctant to live there, and it was only after they were allowed to build their own houses that they became reconciled to this new way of life. The settlement has one of the country's few Bedouin schools, and now also a secondary school.
