Negev Museum of Art & Museum of Islamic & Near Eastern Cultures


Housed in the elegant Ottoman governor’s mansion (1906), the art museum hosts temporary exhibitions that change three times a year (see the website for details). Nearby, an elegantly proportioned Ottoman mosque (1906), its arches inspired in part by the architecture of Germany (the Turks' allies at the time), puts on year-long exhibitions focussing on Islamic cultures.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Negev Artists’ House

0.21 MILES

This grand Mandate-era villa (1933) is now a four-room gallery featuring compelling works by artists from the Negev.

2. Commonwealth War Cemetery

0.35 MILES

This dignified WWI cemetery, its gardens and grave markers neatly tended, is the final resting place of 1241 Commonwealth soldiers, including 174…

3. Be'er Avraham

0.36 MILES

According to the Bible, Be'er Sheva is where God appeared to Abraham (Genesis 26:23–25) and where Abraham made his covenant with Avimelech (Genesis 21:25…

4. Turkish Railway Station

0.36 MILES

Built in 1915, the train station compound now houses a fascinating photo exhibit on Ottoman- and Mandate-era Be'er Sheva, including the town's capture by…

5. Tel Be’er Sheva

3.17 MILES

Declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2005 (along with two other ancient cities in the Galilee, Hatzor and Megiddo), Tel Be'er Sheva was an important…

6. Israeli Air Force Museum

5.18 MILES

Parked on the tarmac, about 120 historic aircraft – including a Spitfire used in the 1948 war, captured Syrian and Iraqi MiGs, fighter jets and attack…

7. Sidreh – Lakiya Negev Weaving

7.46 MILES

Established in 1991 to provide income for Bedouin women and to preserve traditional wool spinning and hand-loom weaving techniques, this social enterprise…

8. Museum of Bedouin Culture

10.53 MILES

A good introduction to Bedouin life in the Negev. Exhibits include traditional clothes, household utensils, carpets, tools and jewellery as well as…