Page 32 - Holyland Magazine - 2022 Edition

Avdat National Park.
Photo: Ron Peled

novel technology designed to produce preserved in the new structure. I request for the Nabatean caravans that traveled the
energy without burning fossil fuels that are that after my death, my home, including the ancient trade routes across the Negev en
harmful to our environment. library and the items that it holds, be made route to the Gaza port. The Nabateans were a
accessible to the public." tribe of Arab origin who dominated the incense
Our next stop is Sde Boker, located just trade (especially myrrh and frankincense)
south of the research center. This was the And indeed, David Ben-Gurion home in the ancient world for hundreds of years,
home of Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister remains precisely as he left it, offering a from the Hellenistic period (4th century BC)
of Israel, who chose to join the young, wonderful opportunity to see how the first until the end of the Byzantine era (7th century
pioneering kibbutz in 1953. Sde Boker was Prime Minister of Israel lived, and to learn AD). These valuable spices were carried on
founded by young, idealistic shepherds in about Israeli and kibbutz culture during the camels' backs in convoys that made their
1952. Ben-Gurion embraced and admired early decades of Israel's existence. Other way through the desert from South Arabia to
these young pioneers who settled in the interactive exhibitions were constructed the ports of the Mediterranean Sea, towards
desert. He decided to realize his own dream around the hut, which demonstrate Ben- their final destination in the pagan temples of
by moving to this kibbutz in the Negev to live Gurion's vision of inhabiting the desert and the Mediterranean region (Greece, Anatolia,
alongside the people he admired so deeply. tell the moving story of the establishment Rome, and other ancient kingdoms that used
He lived in a simple, modest home in Sde of Sde Boker, a kibbutz that contributed incense for pagan worship).
Boker with his wife during the first years significantly to future settlements in the
following the establishment of the state. After Negev region. Ben-Gurion's last will and Important trade centers appeared alongside
their death, this humble home was converted testament continues as follows, "I ask to these ancient trade routes, some of which
into an interactive museum that allows be brought for interment in the burial plot at developed into flourishing cities. When the
visitors and guests to experience, first-hand, Midreshet Sde Boker, alongside the grave Roman Empire converted to Christianity in
the challenges faced by the first pioneers to of Paula, of blessed memory. I ask that no the early 4th century AD, the pagan temples
settle in the Negev. Ben-Gurion moved to the eulogies be delivered at the funeral or at my were destroyed and magnificent churches
Negev in 1953. He made the decision while grave, nor that any gun salute be sounded." were built in the heart of the desert in their
serving as Prime Minister and resigned in place. These churches, some of which are
order to become a full member of his beloved Due to his unique request, Ben-Gurion considered the most ancient ones to have
kibbutz. Ben-Gurion settled in Sde Boker at was not buried with Israel's great leaders remained intact until this very day, can be
age 67, after dedicating his life to establishing on Mount Herzl. Instead, he was laid to seen here in the desert, serving as a moving
the State of Israel and shaping Israeli society. rest alongside his wife amid the desert testimony to the birth of Christianity in the
He was quoted as saying, "Not everyone who landscape, overlooking the biblical Zin Holy Land and in the entire world.
is insane came to Sde Boker, but there is no River. Ben-Gurion's burial site offers
doubt that anyone who came to Sde Boker a breathtaking view of the Israeli desert, Saying a short prayer or taking communion
must be insane." which sprawls over more than 60% of the in one of these ancient churches can be
total area of the modern state. This barren one of the most moving experiences for an
Ben-Gurion lived in Sde Boker for 20 years. desert receives less than 100 mm of rain Evangelical Christian visiting the Holy Land.
During that time he resumed his role as per year, but has nevertheless become a These magnificent churches can be found in
Prime Minister, but still remained a member rare residential, industrial, agricultural and various ancient Nabatean cities throughout
of the kibbutz and maintained close contact tourism accomplishment. the Negev, including Avdat, Shivat, Mamshit,
with the community during those eight years Halasa and Nitzana. The ancient biblical
in office (1955-1963). Before his death, Ben- Our tour continues from Sde Boker to a desert retains its primeval appeal and awaits
Gurion left the following legacy, "I ask that fascinating, ancient Christian heritage site, the visitors who choose to tour its inviting
the structure that was my home in Sde Boker which takes visitors back in time to the early trails and wonders.
until my dying day be preserved in its current days of Christianity, as it took its first steps
form, including the furniture, books and within the desert landscapes among the For more information about Negev tourism
manuscripts it holds. The furniture, books, people of the Negev. We will now visit Avdat opportunities, see www.friendlydesert.com
manuscripts and other items in the hut may National Park, a site so special and unique
be removed to a permanent structure, if a that it was added to the UNESCO World
structure of this kind is constructed near Heritage List. Avdat was first constructed in The author is a historian and tour guide, specializing
the hut, provided that the original style is the 3rd century BC as a modest way station in desert tourism.

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