Ben-Gurion University of the Negev the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, and the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism. Ben-Gurion University was established in 1969 as the University of the Negev with the aim of promoting the development of the Negev desert that comprises more than sixty percent of Israel. The University was later renamed after Israel's founder and first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who believed that the future of the country lay in this region. After Ben-Gurion's death in 1973, the University was renamed Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In 2016, long-time friends, the late Dr. Howard and
Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev on the river banks and hill slopes in Avdat and central Negev where a very large number of water collection cairns built in stone are present. Twenty-two milestones have been found in the Nafha Highlands and the Ramon Makhtesh areas between the Makhmal Fort and the Saharonim Fort. They are cylindrical in shape with square bases made of stone. Field stones are also seen set in different patterns at road crossings, or as religious sites. One stretch of such arranged stones is in length. Road sections are also discerned in several stretches of the route. Incense Route – Desert Cities