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Places of Interest in Israel
NEGEV

Main City- Beersheva (Be'er Sheva)
Beersheva, Israel's 4th largest city, is known as the "capital of the Negev", and lies between the southern Negev prairies and the cultivated fields to the north.
Be'er Sheva means both "well of the oath" and "well of seven" in Hebrew. The Arabic name, Bir As-Sabe, also means, "well of seven". Apparently, Abimelekh's servants seized a well that Abraham claimed to have dug. The dispute ended with a covenant in which Abraham offered to give seven ewes to Abimelekh in exchange for recognition as the well's rightful owner. You can still see what many claim is Abraham's well today.
The Ottomans proclaimed modern Beersheva a city in 1906 upon establishing a seat of government, a mosque, a school and the governor's residence. The precise pathwork of the old city's streets offers tastes and glimpses of immigrant communities from Morocco, Syria, Russia, Argentina, and Ethiopia, as well as the largest Albanian Jewish community in the world.

Masada
Masada (Metzada) is a huge fortress that was built as a refuge from marauding Greeks and Syrians. In 40 CE, King Herod fled to Masada to avoid being massacred by Parthian-backed Hasmoneans.
Masada was also used in 66 CE, when a small band of Jewish rebels, known as the Zealots, captured the outpost and used it as a stronghold against the Romans. With years' worth of food, water, and military supplies stashed behind its two defensive walls, Masada was ideally suited for resistance. The 967 men, women, and children held off thousands of Roman legionaries through a five-month siege.
The Romans then proceeded to construct an enormous stone and gravel ramp up the side of the cliff, using Jewish slaves as laborers in order to prevent the Zealots from shooting them down as the ramp was built.
When the defenders realized that the Romans would soon conquer the fortress, they committed mass suicide to prevent their enemies from achieving victory.
When the Romans finally broke through the wall, they were greeted by a deathly silence. The only survivors, two women and five children, told the story of the martyrs of Masada and Josephus Flavius, a Jewish - Roman general and chronicler, recorded the story.
Regardless of its political significance, tourists flock to this impressive fortress to catch the spectacular view of the Dead Sea, and experience the impressive ruins.

Eilat
Eilat is a 5km strip of coastline on the Negev's sand bottom. It is the precarious intersection of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia and at night one can see the lights of all four. The city is divided into three sections, the town itself on the hills, the hotel area and Lagoon Beach to the East and the port to the South.
Eilat also has a brilliant underwater world that is filled with marine creatures, from blubberfish to emperorfish.

Dead Sea
At 394 meters (1,182 feet) below sea level the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the surface of the planet. The Dead Sea lies in a great fault, or fracture, in the earth's crust, which forms part of the Great Rift Valley. The Dead Sea is really a large lake, 65km (38,7 miles) long, 18km (10,7 miles) wide, and 400m (1200 feet) deep.

There is no outlet for the lake's water, but the intense sun used to evaporate just enough to keep the water level constant.

Recent Israeli and Jordanian water diversion projects have caused the Dead Sea to shrink - so much so that a sand bar has emerged, cutting off the southern tip of the lake.

The Dead Sea has an extremely high mineral content, and next to Lake Van, in Turkey, is the most mineral-laden body of water in the world. It is a clear, blue-green color. The presence of magnesium chloride gives the water a nauseous, bitter taste. The water also feels oily to the touch because of the presence of calcium chloride.

Commercially valuable products, such as common salt, potash, which is used in making fertilizer, and bromine, which is a chemical element, are derived from the waters of the Dead Sea.

Dead Sea mud is supposed to do wonders for the skin - and one can often see terrifying dark brown creatures sunbathing on the shore.

In the 1950's a health and vacation resort was developed by Israel at En-gedi, on the west central shore of the Sea. En-gedi is noted for it's hot springs.

Mitzpeh Ramon
Mitzpeh Ramon (Ramon Observation Point) actually sits on the rim of Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater), the most impressive of the Negev's four craters. Ramon is the largest natural crater in the world, at 400m deep, 9km wide and 40km long. The Crator was found while the young Israeli government was exploring the potential of the Negev. Today the crator is a national park and it has well-marked trails which lead one through mazes of stunning geological phenomena and breathtaking cliff veiws.

The rock formations in the crator are said to be millions of years old and the vegetation spans four distinct climatic zones.

Passing bizarre insects and wildlife along the way, one can trek uphill towards incredible views of the desert expanse.