Arabah

Date palms plantation in the Israeli Arava

Southern tip of the Arava withKing Hussein International Airport,Aqabaand theGulf of Aqabaseen from Israel

TheArabah/Araba(Arabic:وادي عربة,romanized:Wādī ʿAraba) orAravah/Arava(Hebrew:הָעֲרָבָה,romanized:hāʿĂrāḇā,lit. 'dry area') is a loosely defined geographic area in theNegev Desert,south of theDead Seabasin,which forms part of the border betweenIsraelto the west andJordanto the east.

The old meaning, which was in use up to around the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called theJordan Rift Valley,running in a north–south orientation between the southern end of theSea of Galileeand the northern tip of theGulf of Aqabaof theRed SeaatAqaba–Eilat.This included theJordan River Valleybetween theSea of Galileeand the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone.

Geography

Nahal Barak,in Israel'sSouthern District,is part of a system of streams draining the Arava desert.

The Arabah is 166 km (103 mi) in length, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea.

Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From the Gulf of Aqaba northward, the land gradually rises over a distance of 77 km (48 mi), and reaches a height of 230 m (750 ft) above sea level, which represents thewatershed dividebetween the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. From this crest, the land slopes gently northward over the next 74 km (46 mi) to a point 15 km (9.3 mi) south of the Dead Sea. In the last section, the Arabah drops steeply to the Dead Sea, which is 417 m (1,368 ft) below sea level.

The Arabah is scenic with colorful cliffs and sharp-topped mountains. The southern Arabah is hot and dry and virtually without rain.

Flora and fauna

There are numerous species of flora and fauna in the Aravah Valley.Notably thecaracal(Caracal caracal) is found on the valley'ssavannaareas.

Important Bird Areas

A 15,000 ha (37,000-acre) tract of the northern Arava Valley, from the Ne'ot Hakikar Nature Reserve in the north to the Hazeva and Shezaf Nature Reserve in the south, has been recognised as anImportant Bird Area(IBA) byBirdLife Internationalbecause it supports populations of both resident and migrating bird species, includingsand partridges,garganeys,common cranes,blackandwhite storks,Eurasian spoonbillsandbitterns,black-winged stilts,desert tawny owls,lappet-faced vultures,Levant sparrowhawks,sooty falcons,Arabian warblersandbabblers,Tristram's starlings,hooded wheatearsandDead Sea sparrows.

Furthermore, a 60,000 ha (150,000-acre) tract of the southern Arava Valley, fromYotvatain the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, including the western (Israeli) half of the valley floor and the ridge of theEilat Mountains,has also been recognised as an IBA, with additional significant species beingLichtenstein's sandgrouse,grey herons,great white pelicans,slender-billed curlews,marsh sandpipers,black-winged pratincoles,white-eyed gulls,white-winged terns,pallid scops owls,European honey buzzards,Egyptian vultures,eastern imperial eagles,lesser kestrels,lanner falcons,Arabian larks,Sinai rosefinchesandcinereous buntings.On the eastern (Jordanian) side of the southern Arava Valley is the corresponding, 17,200 ha (43,000-acre), Wadi Araba IBA, about 160 km (99 mi) long by up to 25 km (16 mi) wide. An additional species recorded there is thevulnerableMacQueen's bustard,in very small numbers.

History

Wadi Arabah and theEdomMountains in Jordan, seen from Israel

Bronze and Iron Ages; Nabatean period

In theBronzeandIron Ages,the Arava was a center ofcopperproduction.King Solomonis reported in theHebrew Bibleto have had mines in this area. Copper mining at theAshalimsite predates his reign in the 10th century BCE.The Arabah, especially its eastern part, was part of the realm of theEdomites(called "Idumeans" during Hellenistic and Roman times). Later the eastern Arabah became the domain of theNabateans,the builders of the city ofPetra.

View over Wadi Arabah from peaks of Wadi Musa

Archaeology: Kingdom of Edom

The existence of the biblical Kingdom ofEdomwas proved by archaeologists led byErez Ben-Yosefand Tom Levy, using a methodology called thepunctuated equilibriummodel in 2019. Archaeologists mainly took copper samples from theTimna ValleyandFaynanin Jordan's Arava valley dated to 1300–800 BCE. According to the results of the analyses, the researchers thought that PharaohShoshenk Iof Egypt (the Biblical "Shishak"), who attackedJerusalemin the 10th century BC, encouraged trade and production of copper instead of destroying the region.Tel Aviv Universityprofessor Ben-Yosef reported, "Our new findings contradict the view of many archaeologists that the Arava was populated by a loose alliance of tribes, and they're consistent with the biblical story that there was an Edomite kingdom here".

Israel and Jordan, 20th-21st c.

TheIsrael–Jordan Peace Treatywas signed in the Arava on October 26, 1994. The governments of Jordan and Israel are promoting development of the region. There is a plan to bring sea water from theRed Seato theDead Seathrough a canal (Red–Dead Seas Canal), which follows along the Arabah. This (long envisioned) project was once an issue of dispute between Jordan and Israel, but it was recently agreed that the project shall be constructed on and by the Jordanian side.

Population and localities

Israel

Demography

The Israeli population of the region is 52,000,of whom 47,500 live inEilat(52,753 in 2021), and just over 5,000 live in 20 small towns north of Eilat, the largest of which isYotvata,with a population (as of 2019) of 717 (735 in 2021).Eilat is acity,while all other towns arecommunal settlementsof thekibbutz,moshavandcommunity settlementtype.

Localities

Below is a list of Israeli localities in the Arava, from north to south. They belong to onecity council,Eilat, and threeregional councils:Tamar(a),Central Arava(b), andHevel Eilot(c), all part of theSouthern District.

• MoshavEin Tamar(a)
• MoshavNeot HaKikar(a)
• Ir Ovot,community settlement(b)
• MoshavIdan(b)
• MoshavEin Hatzeva(a)
• MoshavHatzeva(b)
• MoshavEin Yahav(b)
• Sapir,community settlement (b)
• MoshavTzofar(b)
• Tzukim,community settlement (b)
• MoshavParan(b)
• KibbutzYahel(c)
• KibbutzNeot Smadar(c)
• KibbutzNeve Harif(c)
• KibbutzLotan(c)
• KibbutzKetura(c)
• KibbutzGrofit(c)
• KibbutzYotvata(c)
• KibbutzSamar(c)
• KibbutzElifaz(c)
• Be'er Ora,community settlement (c)
• KibbutzEilot(c)
• Eilat

Jordan

Demography

The total Jordanian population in the region is 103,000, of whom 96,000 live inAqaba(95,048 as of 2021).

In 2004, the Jordanian administrative district of Wadi Araba had a population of 6,775.

Five majorBedouin tribescomprise eight settlements on the Jordanian side: Al-S'eediyeen (السعيديين), Al-Ihewat (الإحيوات), Al-Ammareen/Amareen (العمارين;see alsoPalestinian Bedouin), Al-Rashaideh/Rashaydeh (الرشايدة;see alsoPalestinian Bedouin), andAl-Azazmeh(العزازمة), as well as smaller tribes of the Al-Oseifat (العصيفات), Al-Rawajfeh (الرواجفة), Al-Manaja'h (المناجعة), and Al-Marzaqa (المرزقة), among others.The main economic activities for these Arabah residents revolve around herding sheep, agriculture, handicrafts, and serving in theJordanian Army.

Localities

Below is a list of Jordanian population clusters in Wadi Araba:

• Aqaba
• Feifa
• Safi
• Al Mazraa

Landmarks

Timna Valley Parkis notable for its prehistoric rock carvings, some of the oldest copper mines in the world, and a convoluted cliff called King Solomon's pillars. On the Jordanian side isWadi Rum,famous among rock climbers, hikers, campers, and lovers of the outdoors. There is the Jordanian copper mining area ofWadi Feynan,including the site ofKhirbat en-Nahas,corresponding to the one from Timna Valley in the west.

Feynan Ecolodge was opened inWadi Feynanby theRoyal Society for the Conservation of Naturein 2005.

See also

• Arava Institute for Environmental Studies,academic program in Israel
• Nahal HaArava,a wadi in the northern part of the Arava
• Negev
• Sands of Samar,an expanse of sand dunes in the southern Arava
• Southern District (Israel)
• Wadi Araba Crossing,southernmost border crossing between Jordan and Israel

External links

• WadiFeynan Eco-Lodge
• The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
• Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature
• Wadi Araba Archaeological Research Project:Integrating Investigations of the Cultural Landscape of Wadi Araba since 1996. For Publications, seehttp://wadiaraba.tripod.com/waarpubs.htm
• Wadi Arabah Project: Crossing the Rift
• French Institute of Oriental Archaeology
• Photos of Wadi ‘Arabaat theAmerican Center of Research