Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.
Deuteronomy 1:19
The Negev began to look lush and green as we continued south into the Negev highlands. The farther south we went, the fewer plants we could see growing. No one survives in this region unless they’re prepared. Driving a car makes life much easier, especially with the air conditioning cranked up. The ancient Israelites had no such luxury. This is the region they wandered for forty years – it’s no wonder they complained about it.
We stopped at Avdat, a Nabatean city along the spice trade route. Petra is the capital of Nabatea, almost directly to the east. Despite not receiving adequate annual rainfall, its citizens constructed an ingenious series of dams to channel water from the surrounding hillsides toward the city, thereby giving it the resources it needed to survive and allowing them to grow some crops.
Not far south of Avdat is a large landmark: Makhtesh Ramon. It’s a giant dinosaur footprint-shaped crater. Formed by erosion (not an asteroid), it is a breathtakingly beautiful site. We spent the night in the small town of Mitzpah Ramon perched on the northern end of the makhtesh.
The next morning we drove down the switchback road into the crater to continue our journey south. We stopped just south of the crater for a short hike, getting a feel for the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. As a special treat, our trail led to what is known as the “Ammonite wall”. Don’t confuse these ammonites with the Ammonites of the Bible. These are fossils of ancient nautilus-like sea creatures, cemented into a large wall in the middle of nowhere. Obviously the area has not always been so dry.
Finished with the fossils, we continued south into that vast wasteland…