Incense Route: Nabatean Cities of the Negev

The Incense Route was the network of trade roads that carried frankincense and myrrh from the kingdoms of southern Arabia (modern Yemen and Oman) across the Arabian desert, through the Negev, to the Mediterranean ports of Gaza. At its peak during the 3rd century BCE through the 1st century CE, camel caravans covered roughly 2,400 kilometers from the harvesting grounds to the coast. The route was one of the most profitable trade networks in the ancient world, and the Nabatean cities of the Negev, Avdat, Mamshit, Shivta, and Haluza, were the stations that made the crossing of the desert possible.

Frankincense, Myrrh, and Profit

Frankincense and myrrh were among the most valuable commodities in the ancient world, sometimes worth more than gold by weight. Frankincense was burned in temples across the Roman Empire, consumed in enormous quantities for religious rituals, funerals, and daily offerings. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder estimated that Arabia exported 3,000 tons of frankincense annually. Myrrh was used in embalming, medicine, and perfume. The resins came from trees that grew only in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa, and the overland route through the Arabian and Negev deserts was the primary means of transport. Spices from India, including cinnamon and cassia, joined the caravans as they moved north. The Nabateans controlled the critical desert crossing and grew fabulously wealthy from the tolls, taxes, and services they provided to merchants who could not cross the waterless stretches without their expertise.

Nabatean Cities of the Negev

The Nabateans built a series of cities across the Negev, each roughly a day’s journey apart, to serve the caravans. The cities provided water (collected through ingenious desert engineering), food, lodging, and protection from bandits. Avdat is the most dramatically situated, on a hilltop overlooking the desert with views stretching to the horizon. Mamshit is the best preserved, with intact street plans, buildings standing to their second stories, and frescoed walls. Shivta is the most atmospheric, a ghost city in the deep desert with no modern development around it. And Haluza, largely unexcavated, was likely the largest and served as the regional capital. After the Nabatean kingdom was annexed by Rome in 106 CE, the cities transitioned from caravan stations to agricultural towns, using their water expertise to farm the desert.

UNESCO Recognition

In 2005, the Incense Route and the Negev cities were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognizing the Nabateans’ extraordinary achievement in making the desert habitable and profitable. The designation covers the four cities and the connecting routes, including sections of the original road that are still visible in the desert landscape with milestones and roadside structures intact. UNESCO recognized both the trade route itself and the sophisticated agricultural and water systems that allowed permanent settlement in one of the world’s most arid regions. The inscription acknowledged the sites as an outstanding example of the way desert peoples adapted to extreme conditions and engaged in long-distance trade that connected civilizations.

Frankincense, Myrrh, and the Magi

For Christian pilgrims, the Incense Route carries a direct connection to the Nativity story. The Gospel of Matthew records that Wise Men (Magi) came from the East bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Frankincense and myrrh were the signature products of the Arabian incense trade, harvested from trees in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa and transported north along this very route. The gifts the Magi brought to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem had traveled hundreds of kilometers through the Negev desert, passing through the Nabatean cities whose ruins visitors walk through today. The connection between the Christmas story and the desert trade route is one of those moments where the biblical narrative and the physical landscape come together in an unexpected way.

Visit with Hoshen Tours

The Incense Route is a UNESCO World Heritage trail through the Negev. Hoshen Tours guides you through Avdat, Haluza, and Nitzana, connecting them to the wider story of the Nabateans and the desert landscape around Sde Boker.