Tel Avivian students complain that Be’er Sheva has all the problems of the desert—unremitting heat, little grass, plenty of isolation—without any of the perks. The beauty of the landscape is obscured by the concrete strip mall that dominates Be’er Sheva. It’s certainly true that there’s been some urban development since Abraham built a well and made a home for himself here. But not much really happened in Be’er Sheva for 11,900 years after that, until the Ottomans decided to make something of this barren stretch of Bedouin camps. They built an infrastructure: a police station, a large governor’s mansion, a garden,and what is today melodramatically called the Old City. The town became a flashpoint in WWI, but development skyrocketed afterward thanks to Ben-Gurion’s attempts to make the Israeli deserts bloom.

Unfortunately, it seems that development has been more focused on quantity of buildings rather than quality, and life in Be’er Sheva is more urban than urbane. Regardless, it’s still the first place that travelers, especially students, should visit in the Negev. Not only does Be’er Sheva boast a burgeoning restaurant scene and the Negev’s only state-recognized museum, but it’s also most prominently home to Ben-Gurion University, one of the most popular and advanced universities in Israel. And where there are students, there are parties—everything from dive bars where the staff drink along with patrons to weekday live trance DJ bashes. And the town is only growing; residents speak animatedly of what might be here in 20 years, once the university’s place has been solidified in Israel and the young professionals start having families. There is no historical or religious monument of dramatic stature, nor is there yet a vibrant culture scene, but the seeds for both lie in this concrete oasis.