Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), (, "Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev") is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the Marcus Family Campus, Beer Sheva; the David Bergmann Campus, Beer Sheva; the David Tuviyahu Campus, Beer Sheva; the Sede Boqer Campus, and Eilat Campus. Ben-Gurion University is a center for teaching and research with about 20,000 students. Some of its research institutes include the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research with
Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev 300 BC to 200 AD, four towns which prospered in the Negev Desert were Avdat, Haluza, Mamshit, and Shivta. These were linked directly with the Mediterranean terminus of both the Incense Road and spice trade routes. During the peak period of prosperity the route included cities, Qanat irrigation systems, fortresses, and caravanserai The east–west "incense route", which operated from 400 BC to 200 AD, brought economic progress to the Nabataeans; the trade diminished when Romans occupied Petra which was then Jordan's capital of the Nabataean Empire. The Nabataeans had occupied this territory in the 6th century BC following the Edomites