TheArabah/Araba (Arabic:وادي عربة,romanized: Wādī ʿAraba) orAravah/Arava (Hebrew:הָעֲרָבָה,romanized: hāʿĂrāḇā,lit. 'dry area'[1]) is a loosely defined geographic area located south of theDead Seadrainage basin and north of theGulf of Aqaba in southeasternIsrael and southwesternJordan.
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 Galilee and the northern tip of theGulf of Aqaba of theRed Sea atAqaba–Eilat. This included the Jordan Rift Valley between theSea of Galilee and theDead 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.
The Arabah is 166 km (103 mi) in length, from theGulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea.
Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From theGulf 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 divide between 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, dry and virtually without rain.[2]
There are numerous species of flora and fauna in the Aravah Valley.[3] Notably thecaracal (Caracal caracal) is found on the valley'ssavanna areas.[4]Acacia trees (genusVachellia) support several species of large herbivores, includingNubian ibex (Capra nubiana),Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx),Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus),Dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas), and arelict population ofArabian gazelles (Gazella arabica), locally known as acacia gazelles.[5][6][7] They are predated and scavenged upon by carnivores includingArabian wolves (Canis lupus arabs),striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena), andgolden jackals (Canis aureus).[8]
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 International because it supports populations of both resident and migrating bird species, includingsand partridges,garganeys,common cranes,black andwhite storks,Eurasian spoonbills andbitterns,black-winged stilts,desert tawny owls,lappet-faced vultures,Levant sparrowhawks,sooty falcons,Arabian warblers andbabblers,Tristram's starlings,hooded wheatears andDead Sea sparrows.[9]
Furthermore, a 60,000 ha (150,000-acre) tract of the southern Arava Valley, fromYotvata in 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 rosefinches andcinereous buntings.[10] 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.[11]
In theBronze andIron Ages, the Arava was a center ofcopper production.King Solomon is reported in theHebrew Bible to have had mines in this area. Copper mining at theAshalim site predates his reign in the 10th century BCE.[12] 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.
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The existence of the biblical Kingdom ofEdom was proved by archaeologists led byErez Ben-Yosef and Tom Levy, using a methodology called thepunctuated equilibrium model in 2019. Archaeologists mainly took copper samples from theTimna Valley andFaynan in Jordan's Arava valley dated to 1300–800 BCE. According to the results of the analyses, the researchers thought that PharaohShoshenk I of Egypt (the Biblical "Shishak"), who attackedJerusalem in the 10th century BC, encouraged trade and production of copper instead of destroying the region.Tel Aviv University professor 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".[13][14]
TheIsrael–Jordan Peace Treaty was 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 Sea to theDead Sea through 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.
The Israeli population of the region is 52,000,[when?] 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).[citation needed] Eilat is acity, while all other towns arecommunal settlements of thekibbutz,moshav andcommunity settlement type.
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.
The total Jordanian population in the region is 103,000, of whom 96,000 live inAqaba[when?] (95,048 as of 2021).
In 2004, the Jordanian administrative district of Wadi Araba had a population of 6,775.[15]
Five majorBedouin tribes comprise 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.[citation needed] The main economic activities for these Arabah residents revolve aroundherding sheep,agriculture,handicrafts, and serving in theJordanian Army.[citation needed]
Below is a list of Jordanian population clusters in Wadi Araba:
Timna Valley Park is 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 Feynan by theRoyal Society for the Conservation of Nature in 2005.
השם קדום (דברים א 1 ועוד) ומשמעו אזור שומם ויבש
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