In the third century BCE, the Nabateans began to dominate the spice trade. They were nomads who founded a prosperous civilization with the fortunes they made leading camel caravans on secret routes in the desert. The Nabatean kingdom flourished in the Negev for a thousand years in which time they developed a unique desert agriculture.

The secret Nabatean camel route that crossed the Negev has been recently rediscovered. On its way from Arabia to the Mediterranean shore, the 1 600 kilometer-long route passes through Petra, a city carved in the red rock of the mountains of Edom, and descends the serpentine Wadi Mussa to the Arava Valley. After crossing the Arava, it enters the canyon of Nahal Nekarot and climbs through the passes hewn out of the rocky cliffs to the Nabatean city of Avdat. Here, the camels and their drivers rested before the last leg of the track.