Negev in 2005. The $600 million project hopes to continue Israel's past environmental successes in 'making the desert bloom' and attract 500,000 new Jewish residents to the Negev by improving transportation infrastructure, establishing businesses, developing water resources and introducing programs to protect the environment. A planned artificial desert river, swimming pools and golf courses raised concerns among environmentalists. Critics oppose those plans, calling instead for an inclusive plan for the green vitalization of existing population centers, investment in Bedouin villages, clean-up of toxic industries and development of job options for the unemployed. A major Israel Defense Forces training base is being
Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev caravanserai towards the west of the site. Soft clay stones and burnt clay bricks have been used in its construction. Apart from the living rooms, it has chambers for cooking, washing and workplaces. It is also in ruins with only about high walls. Large area of agricultural land formed in terraces surround this caravanserai. Agriculture practiced by the Nabateans in the arid desert conditions where the annual precipitation is of the order , is through a well developed irrigation system consisting of hundreds of small dams, channels, cisterns, and reservoirs which collect flood water. The agricultural fields have been noted