Mitzpe Gvulot is situated next to Kibbutz Gvulot in the western Negev Desert. The site offers you a trip back in time to the first Jewish Settlement in the Negev in modern times. The Mitzpe (Lookout in Hebrew) was founded in 1943 as an agricultural research station in order to establish the possibilities of founding agricultural settlements in the Negev. The buildings are built of mud and straw bricks and have recently undergone a process of reconstruction and renovation in order to adapt the site to an activities center for visitors. The center is not a museum but offers the visitor the opportunity to experience the everyday life of the settlement.
Your visit can include the following experiences:
* A guided tour for groups, adapted to the special needs of the group, including tales from the past, hospitality "Beduin Style" and lots more...
* The building of mud bricks - like the old days !
* Backing of bread in the original oven from which the Negev was supplied with bread in the days of the War of Independence.
* Working the unique water collecting system which was built to supply water for agriculture and daily needs.
* The site is especially beautiful at night and can be available for a variety of activities with prior arrangement.
All group visits and activities by prior arrangement only
The site includes:
Car Parking * Toilets * Cafeteria * Picnic site
The site is open:
Weekdays (Sunday to Thursday)
09.00 - 15.00
Fridays and the evening before holidays
09.00 - 13.00
Saturdays and holidays
10.00 - 16.00
* Entrance by payment
* Opportunity exists of overnight accommodation in hostel or motel rooms, meals in the Kibbutz dining room or packed meals to take away.
* The site is suitable for a variety of events and gatherings either in the compound of the "Mitzpe" or in the surrounding area.
Further details and information: Tel: (972)-54-7919043 (972)-8-9983195
Fax: (972)-8-9987900
Address: Kibbutz Gvulot, D.N. Halutza 85525
Mitzpe Gvulot - additional information
A symbol of the rebirth of Jewish settlement in this region.
A JOURNEY BACK TO THE PAST
Gvulot is in the middle of nowhere, on the way to nowhere. Even the Egyptian army bypassed it in its attempt to go north to Tel-Aviv in 1948. However, its very isolation is the charm of this kibbutz in the northwestern Negev and which has made the reconstruction of the Old Gvulot Outpost a particularly moving site. Near Nahal Besor, the watercourse that drains the entire Negev area, the kibbutz is built on loess soil some 30 kilometers from the sea and 35 kilometers from Beer-Sheba. The outpost, about a kilometer from the kibbutz itself, may be reached by following the signs at the kibbutz entrance.
It is a reconstruction of the first buildings of the kibbutz, set up in 1943, when a small group was sent to set up a settlement on land belonging to the Jewish National Found. The aims of the group were to hold on to the land and to learn whether it was suitable for agriculture. In fact, the settlers found, the soil was very suitable, but the lack of water was a major difficulty, as it is today.
In contrast to other such reconstructions, which are usually in the heart of flourishing agricultural areas, the first buildings of Gvulot are still surrounded by desert. Trees planted over the years by the JNF are visible in the distance, but one can still feel the utter loneliness that must have enveloped those first settlers.
The feeling is intensified by the fact that the buildings are constructed of mud bricks, making them seem as if they are almost part of the desert itself. Upon entering the compound, there is a small adobe building that originally stood just outside the settlement, for receiving guests, known as the "Madafa". This place served also as a clinic, where the local physician, Dr. Diamant, who lived among the settlers, would treat local Beduin. They would seek his services and even summon him to their tents to treat urgent cases. There is even a peg where a skirt would hang, so the women of the kibbutz, who normally wore shorts, could greet the Beduin in more modest apparel.
Gvulot, unlike other restorations, has no collection of old implements or furniture. There is, however, the bakery, which was constructed during the Independence War and served as a regional bakery during the siege. Yeast supplies were dropped onto the outpost grounds by a light plane each day. Groups of children can now prepare bread, which is ready to eat by the time they finish their tour.
Outside is the cistern as well as the water channels. The meager rains, of 100 to 130 millimeters a year, provided enough drinking water, and the remainder, when mixed with sewage water, was used in experimental farming. One channel now leads to a reconstruction of the area in which mud and straw are used to make bricks. The largest building at the site, built of solid bricks, was the security headquarters and watch tower. The rooftop offers a panoramic view of the Negev's expansive plains. In the silence of night one could hear the Cairo-Rafiah train rattling along the tracks; during the winter floods, the sound of rushing waters sweeping up stones.
The sole contact kibbutz members had with the North was the supply van that once a week also brought mail and visitors. It would arrive at Gvulot in the evening after a five to six hour drive via Gaza and Rafiah and return the following morning.
Thanks to JNF and Jewish Agency leaders who foresaw the importance of the Negev for the future of the state-in-the-making, three mitzpim were established: Gvulot, Revivim and Beit Eshel. The determination and patience of their founding fathers enabled the subsequent establishment of a dense network of settlements in the northwestern Negev -- whose extensive agriculture contributes to Israel's economy.
This page was built by Zohar Bar-Yehuda.
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Last update: April 27, 2005
Near Nahal Besor, the watercourse that drains the entire Negev area, the kibbutz is built on loess soil some 30 kilometers from the sea and 35 kilometers from Beer-Sheba. The outpost, about a kilometer from the kibbutz itself, may be reached by following the signs at the kibbutz entrance.
The largest building at the site, built of solid bricks, was the security headquarters and watch tower. The rooftop offers a panoramic view of the Negev's expansive plains. In the silence of night one could hear the Cairo-Rafiah train rattling along the tracks; during the winter floods, the sound of rushing waters sweeping up stones.
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