Negev Desert Cistern

The desert does not necessarily have to be deadly, if you know how to survive in it.  Water is of primary importance, and so wells and cisterns, or pits dug to catch water, are of primary importance.  The first-century Arabs of the Negev, the Nabateans, knew this, and built cisterns throughout the Southern Highlands.  Desert creatures like camels and wild donkeys still come to these cisterns for water today.

Wilderness of Zin

Within the Negev’s Southern Highlands is the beautiful Zin Valley, also known as the Desert or Wilderness of Zin.   The wilderness offered one of the few roads through the mountainous highlands, including the winding Scorpions Ascent (Ascent of Akrabbim) along the Bozrah-to-Gaza Spice Route.  As the valley approached the Jordan Valley, it becomes desolately arid with stifling heat.