//
Photo: Abuaviv68, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Another Nabatean city, but in a much worse state of preservation.
The ancient city of Halasa, Elusa (Ἐλοῦσα) in the Byzantine period, was a city in the Negev near present-day Kibbutz Mash'abei Sadeh that was once part of the Nabataean Incense Route. It lay on the route from Petra to Gaza. Today it is known as Haluza, and during periods of Muslim habitation it was known as al-Khalūṣ and Al-Khalasa.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
One of the first kibbutzim in the Negev, founded in 1938. In 1947 an international commission visited, and they were so impressed by what they saw that they decided to grant the Negev to Israel in order to "make the desert bloom". Thus, in the 1947 partition plan, the mostly uninhabited Negev was included in the planned borders of the Jewish state. Mitzpeh Revivim, a lookout point with the original kibbutz building, is now a museum worth visiting.
Sobota
An archaeological site with impressive Byzantine remains of a city in the heart of the desert, where usually there are no natural water sources around – astonishing churches, homes and streets. Many interesting details about the site can be found on the park official website. The location is quite remote – a long drive, and the closest bus stop is 5 km away.
Ruins of the Byzantine city Futis (Φώτις).
Midreshet Sde Boker
A large midrasha (educational center) with Institute for Solar Energy Studies, the Ben Gurion Heritage Institute, the tomb of Ben Gurion, Institute for Desert Research, High School for Environmental Education and a pre military Mechinat Hanegev (preparatory program).