From: “The Transformation of Beersheva”
Source:Â https://israel21c.org
Link to full article:Â https://israel21c.org/travel/beersheva-capital-of-the-negev-and-soon-israels-water-city/
“Hard hit during the recent conflict with Gaza, Beersheva is nonetheless developing into one of Israel’s newest tourist destinations.”
Future Water City
It may sound counter-intuitive, but Mayor Ruvik Danilovich has a master plan to brand this desert capital as Israel’s “Water City†by installing public fountains and a manmade beach. (Hey, it’s already got the sand, so why not add surf?)
Israel’s largest, and “greenest,†shopping mall is now under construction in Beersheva. The 115,000-square-meter facility will have pools for collecting rainwater and lighting generated by solar panels on the roof. An enclosed Farmers Market and new central bus station/shopping center are also planned.
As part of its Blueprint Negev project, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) is completing the final stages of the 900-acre Beersheva River Walk, to include hiking and biking trails, a botanical garden, sports arena and amphitheater, promenades and eateries, and a boating lake filled with purified wastewater from the river.
Meanwhile, the new Round Be’er Sheva Trail made headlines for winning third prize in the European Ramblers Association’s 2012 ECO-Award competition.
This ring trail, Israel’s only hiking and biking path built on an urban-environmental model, brings walkers and cyclists past residential neighborhoods, business areas and tourist spots such as the Negev Brigade Monument, the Negev Zoo, the Beersheva River and the Beit Eshel historical site, as well as Tel Beer Sheva National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people can explore archeological finds going back to the fourth millennium BCE.Beersheva Negev Brigade Monument. Photo courtesy of Israel Tourism Ministry
