Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev route in the Negev Region of Israel, which included towns, forts, caravanserai and the irrigation system in desertic areas with links to the Mediterranean, has been inscribed as a cultural heritage site of the UNESCO's World Heritage List under Criteria (iii) as confirmation of the economic, social and cultural importance of frankincense to the Hellenistic-Roman world, and Criteria (v) for development along the route in severe desert conditions. The site was inscribed on 15 July 2005 in the meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. The network of the Incense Route consisted of trade routes that encompassed towns and
Negev 13,000 km² (4,700 sq mi) or at least 55% of the country's land area. It forms an inverted triangle shape whose western side is contiguous with the desert of the Sinai Peninsula, and whose eastern border is the Arabah valley. The Negev has a number of interesting cultural and geological features. Among the latter are three enormous, craterlike makhteshim (box canyons), which are unique to the region: Makhtesh Ramon, HaMakhtesh HaGadol, and HaMakhtesh HaKatan. The Negev is a rocky desert. It is a melange of brown, rocky, dusty mountains interrupted by wadis (dry riverbeds that bloom briefly after rain) and