Sinews of rock and stone criss-cross the escarpments and box canyons of the great Negev Desert, a colossal swathe of arid hills and gorges that encompasses more than half of Israel as a whole. At first glance this beige and brown coloured land of dunes and bluffs may seem dead and empty, but the Negev is very much alive. Between its great makhteshim (deep valleys fed by lonesome wadis), the remnants of old spice and silk trader towns like Avdat and Mamashit can be spotted, windswept and covered in sand, where the caravan trails of the Nabateans can still be imagined in the dust. Then there’s Be’er Sheba, the city of Abraham, its new area bubbling with a Bedouin marketplace and the historic remains just outside of town now tagged by UNESCO and steeped in biblical stories. What’s more, Negev tour guides today offer a whole host of adrenaline-pumping activities, ranging from hiking the ridges and cliffs of the Makhtesh Ramon to desert drives and camel riding along the meandering courses of the various wadis.