Day before yesterday we visited a castle on a hill overlooking the incense route, also called the spice route, that went through the Negev Desert and finished at Gaza. Here’s wikipedia: Avdat is the site of a ruined Nabataean city in the Negev desert in southern Israel. It was the most important city on the Incense Route after Petra, between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century CE.
The ruins are visible for miles. It seemed to be in very good condition, so I wanted to see it..The road up was hard, but the site was amazing. There were the ruins of a Roman villa at one end, with a great view.
Further up on the top of the hill was a large compound with well preserved walls, columns, and arches. 365° views, plenty of rooms, even a wine press.
And we ended the day high up on another hill, at Mitzpe Roman. The views here are what you see if you look down into the vast valley. You can see the road we took out of town dropping down into the valley.
The desert can be so beautiful!
