Israel’s Negev Area Among Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘7 Reasons To Visit The Mideast In 2020’

The Negev, the arid desert and semidesert region that covers some 13,000 square kilometers (4,700 square miles) of southern Israel, was highlighted among other Mideast locations in Conde Nast Traveler’s (CNT) 7 Reasons to Visit The Middle East In 2020 feature.

Editors of the American luxury and lifestyle magazine said that they chose areas like the Negev, alongside locations like Qatar, Dubai, Kuwait City, and Ras Al Khaimah of the United Arab Emirates, because they “provide new reasons to go, from Airstream trailers in the desert and groundbreaking museums, to innovative food scenes and impressive conservation projects.”

While CNT contributor Karen Burshtein notes that previous travelers to the Negev used it mainly on a pit stop on the way to Tel Aviv or the Red Sea beach town of Eilat, the expansive area, which makes up at least 55 percent of Israel and includes the Dead Sea, the Ramon Crater, and the largest city in the region, Beersheba, is now drawing “a young, adventurous pack, who drop in at the InDNegev music festival in October and linger to watch meteor showers before heading to the Carmey Advat Winery,” which is part of the ecological farm of the same name. She also mentioned the opening of the Six Senses Shaharut resort located in the Arava Valley south of the Negev desert.

The feature also highlights futuristic museums like the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar and Dubai’s Museum of the Future, Kuwait’s vibrant food scene, and Bedouin-style tents and camping (in luxury!) in the Sharjah desert at the new Al Badayer Oasis as well as the Sedr Trailers Resort outside of Dubai where guests stay in Airstream-style trailers with thatched-roof terraces.