Bordered by the Judean Hills, the Wadi Arabah, the Sinai peninsula, and the narrow Mediterranean coastal plain, the 5,000-square-mile Southern rock desert receives little more than two inches of rain annually. Yet it's a resilient area - hardly sterile, hardly lifeless. In fact, its southernmost tip, the resort town of Eilat, teems with life.

Make no mistake, the Negev is not a theme park. It's the desert at its most fascinating.

Three thousand years ago, Nabatean trade routes ran through Negev between the ports of Gaza and Eilat and the Nabatean capital at Petra (in what is now Jordan). And now, it's a favorite destination for travelers seeking history, camel and jeep rides, hiking, scuba diving, bird watching, and climbing.

The capital of the Negev is Beersheva, the fourth largest city in Israel and known as the birthplace of Isaac and Jacob. The name means 'Well of the Seven,' a reference to the seven lambs that Abraham gave to Abimelech as part of their peace settlement. It was here Abraham was called by G-d to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It isn't difficult to envision scenes from the Bible as cloaked nomadic Bedouin shepherds roam hillsides with their sheep, goats and camels. For a taste of the Bedouin lifestyle, visit Beersheva's marketplace, where you can haggle with vendors over the price of baklava, incense, brassware and, yes, even camels. Two miles east, cave dwellings of 4000 B.C.E. and an Israeli town of 1100 B.C.E. have been found at Tel Sheva.

The tomb of David Ben-Gurion, one of Israel's founding fathers and first prime minister, is in Sde Boker, a hard-working kibbutz community south of Beersheva. Ben-Gurion and his wife, Paula, who lived in an unassuming hut in the kibbutz, are remembered with a small museum and stone memorial on a bleached cliff top with eucalyptus trees overlooking the Wilderness of Zin.

For a superb view of the Negev, visit the walled, ruined hilltop city of Avdat, carved out of the desert in Second Century B.C.E. by the Nabataens and abandoned in the Seventh Century. It was here that a spectacular irrigation system was devised in which enough rain could be collected in 30 minutes to provide water for three years. Monks used Avdat as a meditative retreat during the Byzantine period, and one of its bath houses is the best preserved in Israel. Nearby is Ein Avdat National Park with a waterfall and ibex, rock pigeons and Egyptian vultures providing unique subjects for shutterbugs.

In the middle of the Negev is Mitzpe Ramon, a tiny town home to Israel's largest nature reserve with rugged hiking trails and observation decks showing off Makhtesh Ramon, an astonishing canyon-like crater gouged into the earth. Makhtesh Ramon, generally regarded as Israelis most spectacular natural site, displays layer upon layer of multi-colored rock beds containing fossils of shells, plants and trees. Geologists gather to view strata at the bottom of the canyon dating back 200 million years and its peaks of ancient volcanoes.

Twenty-five miles to the east is Kadesh-Barnea, known in Genesis as Enmishpat, the center for the tribes that wandered in the Negev and Sinai during the time of Abraham. It was from Kadesh that Moses sent 12 men to spy on the land of Canaan (Numbers). And it was in Kadesh that Moses smote the rock and got water (Numbers) and also in Kadesh where his sister, Miriam, died and was buried.

Archaeologists will thrill at the site where excavations have unearthed the fortresses built on top of one another, guarding the southern border of Judea. The earliest dates from the early Tenth Century B.C.E.; the latest existed until meeting its fate at the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E.

The surprise of the desert: the Dead Sea, the saltiest lake on earth and located 1,300 feet below sea level at the lowest point on earth. The blue lake with its snow-white blocks of salt, on the same location where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located, provides the optimum of fun for tourists who can float like a cork in the water reading newspapers or magazines. Just as Cleopatra, Herod and Solomon visited the Dead Sea for its mineral-rich waters and black mud, so do modern-day visitors seeking the warm waters' benefits for skin and rheumatic problems.

Historians and climbers will not be disappointed with Masada National Park, a ruined mountaintop fortress in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea. The fort assumed its present form under King Herod (40-4 B.C.E.), who constructed the palaces and fortifications as a desert retreat. In 66 A.C.E., the knife-bearing Sicari, or Zealots captured Masada from the Romans stationed there at the start of the First Jewish Revolt. Eventually, the Romans besieged Masada with 15,000 men; when they breached the wall, they found 967 Zealots and their families dead, all committing suicide at the urging of their leader Ben-Yair.

Today, Masada stands as a symbol for the state and people of Israel. Israeli soldiers are sworn in on this mountain wedge with the words, 'Masada shall not fall again.' Visitors can choose a quick cable car ride or an hour-long climb up the demanding narrow Snake Path to fully appreciate the magnificent historic view from atop.

A must stop is the 23-square-mile Timna Valley Park, site of the ancient copper mines worked by Egyptians and later by King Solomon's slaves. Its spectacular limestone, sandstone arches, and red rock formations include the phenomenal King Solomon's Pillars, two gigantic columns famous for their Egyptian rock carvings, and a small temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Hathor. Another popular snapshot site: the coveted Mushroom, a boulder resting on a column of sandstone formed by desert erosion. Timna also offers tumbleweed, isolated acacia trees with red-berried mistletoe jutting from solid rock, and caper bushes hanging from granite.

The southern star of the Negev and 220 miles south of Tel Aviv is Eilat, the Red Sea resort town known as Israel's French Riviera because of its beaches for sunbathing and swimming, luxury hotels, cafes and restaurants, and nightlife. The port of Eilat, which boasts sunshine nearly every day of the year and hot pink bougainvillea, has awe-inspiring sunrise and sunset views of the reddish Edom Mountains and Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

It is believed the Queen of Sheba landed at Eilat when she visited Jerusalem to see Solomon, but it was pretty much a dormant area when Lawrence of Arabia stopped, but didn't stay long. Its port became a lifeline and it became a boon town when the State of Israel was founded.

Sun-drenched Eilat is a palm-lined water paradise, with marinas at Coral Beach and North Beach offering waterskiing, parasailing, sail boating, snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. An underwater observatory and rides on glass-bottomed boats and cruise ships provide indescribable glimpses of Technicolor tropical fish and coral reefs in clear waters. Trained bottle-nosed dolphins cavort at Dolphin Reef, one mile south of Eilat.

Jeep safari and camel rides under the hot sun or starry desert skies are available on the outskirts of Eilat, also known as an important stop for more than 150 different species of birds that pass through Israel on their migration route.

There's little wonder why the Negev seduces its visitors with its endless expanse of desert; the unparalleled beauty of its dramatic canyons, cliffs and mountains from dawn until dusk; its history dating back thousands of years; its marine life, coral reefs, birds and bougainviillea; and its modern-day luxury hotels, spas, and nightlife. Israel's Negev indulges something for everyone.