MAMSHIT (KURNUB)

The traders and skilled water-conservationists known as the Nabataeans built this city in the 1st century CE. It was later taken over by the Romans (who called it Memphis) and expanded vigorously under the Byzantines before being deserted after the Moslem conquest of 636 CE.

Much of the strong city wall built by the Romans still stands. The impressive remains of the 6th-7th-century Byzantine churches have large, colourful mosaics over parts of the floors. As you wander around the ruins of Nabataean constructions that were added to, and used, by successive occupiers, make sure to walk down towards the part near the entrance booth. Here you will find one Nabataean room that was plastered and painted over by the Romans. The frescoes - which are unique for their period and place - include a representation of Eros and Psyche sitting on a couch, and identified by their Greek names.

A few metres left of this room was the scene of a sensational find during the excavations from 1965-67. A bronze jar hidden in a stairwell contained more than 10,000 silver Roman coins from the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. They are now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Other sites to see at Kurnub (Arabic for what is known in modern Hebrew as Mamshit) include reservoirs, baths, a Nabataean palace and Nabataean and Roman graves one kilometre north of the town. Open daily. Entrance fee.

Return to the main road and turn right, soon passing the turn-off left to Arad and Massada. The road rises and then, while descending, you are treated to a cineramic vision of the Arava, the Mountains of Moab and a part of the Dead Sea Works to your left. Turning right at the junction, you now begin to drive along Road No. 90 through the 180-km.-long Arava Valley. Here and there are kibbutzim and moshavim where men and women are braving the scorching sun and defying the saline soil to bring the land back to life. Twenty-four kilometres later, you come to En Hazeva, a settlement with a gas station and refreshment facilities, as well as a serpentarium.

At En Yahav, some 18 km. further south, there is also a restaurant and a gas station.
Thirty-three kilometres further you will come to Moshav Paran. It takes its name from the biblical Wilderness of Paran and the Paran Brook close by. Ten km. later, you get to Kushi's Village or Kilometer 101, with its desert recreation facilities. Forty km. from Paran you come to the Qtura junction. (From here there is a new road to Elat. Ten km. to your right you arrive at Shizafon junction. You then take the new road to your left (south) through Biqat Uvda and Biqat Sayyarin to Ein-Netafim and Elat.) Do not miss this unique opportunity to learn about the kibbutz way of life in the heart of the desert. Meet the people of the kibbutz and hear why they left the city and what draws them to the desert. How does modern man build a successful life in the desert? Tours in English every Thurs. 8.30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Fee.

Five km. after the Qtura junction, the road (No. 90) leads close by a hill, on the left, on top of which is Kibbutz Grofit. The settlement's orchards stand out like rays of hope in the Arava. (See end of Route No. 24.)

Five kilometres later, you're at the turn-off to Yotvata, a kibbutz which has a milk bar. Elatites rely heavily on Yotvata for their milk supplies. Near the main road here are the recently excavated remains of a Roman fort. (See Route 24.)

Nearby: Hai Bar, a nature reserve a tourist centre that provides information about the flora, fauna, archaeological sites and history of the area and the Ye'elim camping site.

Continue for another 13 km. before following the sign-post right to Timna Park and King Solomon's Pillars, reached at the end of a 7 km. tarred road.

These 50-m.-high pillars of Nubian sandstone brood over the Negev like strange sentinels. Polished by wind and sand, they are tinted with subtle shades of pink, cream, yellow and white. They are splendid reminders that nature can surprise even the most blas¨e of travellers.

Just around the right-hand corner you can see the stone outlines of a former Egyptian-Kenite temple, dating from the 13th century BCE, at the time of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Entrance fee. Back on the main road there is a turn-off right, a few kilometres later, to the Timna Copper Mines, close to where King Solomon is believed to have mined 3,000 years ago.

You are now 25 km. north of Elat and should read the tail-end of Route No. 24 for a description of the remaining part of your journey.