The old Turkish town, as run down as it might be, has a very distinct feel and a is hugely underrated: it is the only planned Ottoman city in the entire region, erected in 1900 for strategic reasons in order to secure the Negev region and to control the restive Bedouin population. However, Beer Sheva can be of interest for any traveller who wishes to experience Israel off-the-beaten-track and there might be no better place to do this, since not even most Israelis are aware that Beer Sheva can be much more than only a stopover on the way to Eilat. As one enters the city, the oversized avenues and partially run down residential building blocks from the fifties and sixties make for an unwelcoming first impression. Today, this is found mostly in government and public buildings, including the Ben Gurion University and Soroka Hospital buildings.īeer Sheva is at first sight highly disappointing for any visitor.
In Beer Sheva itself, some modern/experimental architecture was built in the 1960s. Some feature tribal attractions which are worth a visit, including Rahat, Tel Sheva, Hura and Laqiya.
A few Bedouin villages surround the city as well. While Beer Sheva is mostly middle class, it does have three wealthy satellite suburbs with manicured landscapes, private villas and a Palm Springs feel to them: Omer, Metar and Lehavim. The city is spread out by Israeli standards, as there is no shortage of land in the desert, and there isn't much of a downtown, except for a few streets in the old Turkish quarter. It is the sixth largest city in the country and is very much the gateway to the Negev region of Israel. They were built to serve as support walls for the ceiling after the reservoir was quarried out, and the plaster and the fingerprints of the plasterers can still be seen.Be'er Sheva (also spelled Beersheba, Hebrew באר שבע) is a desert city of approximately 200,000 inhabitants in southern Israel. The water system fell out of use at the end of the Hellenistic period, apparently because of an earthquake that blocked the channel.
The water system is in three parts: a 20 m deep stone-faced shaft, with a flight of stairs set into its wall a 700 m³ reservoir hewn in the chalk rock and a feeder channel carrying the floodwaters from Hebron Stream to the reservoir. The water system: a large and impressive water system, incorporated in the fortifications of the city.The storerooms are divided into long halls, which were found to contain hundreds of pottery vessels. The storehouse: one of the largest buildings in the city, with three storerooms, on an area of 600 m².The “Governor’s Palace”: a prominent building with an entrance corridor, paved ceremonial halls, residential units, a kitchen and a storeroom.The towers have not been preserved, but the remains of the first floor of a watchtower can be seen, with stone benches inside. The city gates: the outer gate stands next to the well, and behind it is the main gate. The well was dug outside but close to the city gate. The well: one of the deepest in Israel (69 m), going down to the level of the groundwater.According to the finds, archaeologists attribute dismantling the altar to the time of Hizkiyah, king of Judah at the end of the 8th century BCE. The altar was apparently taken apart at a time of religious reform. Today, the original altar (with its four horns) is on display in the Israel Museum, and a reconstruction stands at the entrance to the national park. The altar was found during the excavation, in pieces, its stones incorporated in the walls of the storehouse. The altar: a stone altar used for making sacrifices.
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