Avdat, an ancient city at the heart of the Israeli Negev dating back to 7th century BC was built by the Nabataeans – the world famous traders based in Petra (one of newly announced wonders of the world) who built magnificent thriving cities in the middle of the bare desert. Since the Nabataeans it’s also been used as a trade post by the Romans and the Byzantines till it was destroyed by an earthquake during 7th century. Relatively recently it was dug up, and even declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, exposing a magnificent site. Visiting there recently I couldn’t believe I’ve never heard about it before. What ignorance.
But in a way I was a bit too late. It pained me greatly to discover that the site was recently vandalized by two local Bedouins as a payback for the destruction of structures in their local village. The Israeli government, UNESCO and others are trying to restore things back to how they were, but restoration requires millions in funding that no one has and most likely that even with that it would never be quite the same again.
Yet, even so, it’s still a remarkable place to visit if you’re venturing across the Israeli Negev, full of history and mystery.
The Nabateans traders…
… were quite an interesting bunch. They knew how to adjust to the local desert environment when no one else would or could, and they had a sense for picking strategic locations that make for some really spectacular sites.
There are quite a few important historic artifacts to see, like this Greek-Nabataean stone inscription on top of the entrance to one of the structures…
The view extending to the desert, is breathtaking…
And you can get a feel of what living in a city could have been back then…
The nearby museum offers a model and an introduction movie…
And to wrap things up… a panorama.
If you’re in the area – a must visit.
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