Shivta National Park

Together with its sister-cities, Avdat and Mamshit, Shivta, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, began as a caravan stop in the Negev for the Nabatean masters of the Incense Route, and flourished after Christianity came to the Negev in the fourth century. Shivta's people were mainly farmers, who carefully collected every rare drop of rain.

its two churches, still visible (along with a cruciform baptismal font), were magnets for pilgrims.

A modern-day orchard north of the site utilizes ancient methods to raise various fruits.

Image credit: Avishai Teicher. From a PikiWiki.