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Beer-Sheva

​​​​​Home to BGU's Main Campus
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Beer-Sheva is recognized as Israel's leading "college town," home to some 30,000 students at the city's institutions of higher education. The city's vibe is very much student-oriented. Beer-Sheva is a "young" city – with 50% of the population under 40 years old.

The varied immigrant communities that have immigrated to Israel throughout the decades have made Beer-Sheva the multicultural city it is today. Within Beer-Sheva, you can find a wide range of cuisines, street festivals, cultural centers, performing arts institutions, and attractions for all ages.

Join us on a virtual tour of student life in Beer-Sheva

About Beer-Sheva

Main Idea
Cyber Security Hub
​Beer-Sheva is considered the Cyber Capital of Israel. ​Ben-Gurion University is a partner in the initiative and establishment of the Gav-Yam Advanced Technologies Park located next to the Marcus Family Campus. This hi-tech and biotechnology park is populated by pioneering scientific and technological companies from around the world.
Eliat3
History in a Nutshell
Beer-Sheva has an extensive history, covering over 6,000 years. The modern city was built by immigrants who came to Israel from over 70 countries throughout the world, and to this day it is populated by a broad variety of different communities. Beer-Sheva was first declared a city in 1906, and in 1977 it was granted its municipal status.
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Metropolitan City of Beer-Sheva
Beer-Sheva, the Negev's capital, is the fourth largest metropolis in Israel. Beer-Sheva is home to 220,000 residents and provides services to approximately 750,000 residents living in the metropolitan area.
Knowledge
Impact of BGU
City residents benefit from a thriving and developing university population, with roughly 30,000 students, including 8,000 undergraduates in the field of engineering, the highest rate of students studying engineering in the entire country.

Beer-Sheva Culture

What does Beer-Sheva have to offer?
Chinese Student At Bar
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Restaurants & Pubs
The different communities living in Beer-Sheva brought many multicultural restaurants to the city. In the Old City, you can find authentic Moroccan, Ethiopian, Yemen, Georgian, and many more special cuisines. And with the influx of young students, Beer Sheva is also a vegan-friendly hub.
Negev Museum
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Museums & Attractions
Home to the Fringe Theater, the Negev Museum of Art, the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures, Carasso Science Park, and so much more!
Fringe Festival
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Street Festivals
Beer-Sheva is known for its active city council, which creates events throughout the city all year long - including the Smilansky Street Festival, the annual Night Run, the Wine Festival, and more!
Rock Climbing 2
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Sports & Recreation
Aside from the brand new University Sports Center, you can also find yoga & pilates studios, running groups, dance classes, and more! Beer-Sheva is home to a skate park, as well as an extreme rock climbing center.

Tell me more!

Beer-Sheva is a very walkable, pedestrian-friendly city and easily traversable by foot, bike, or scooter.  Additionally, Beer-Sheva has a reliable network of public transportation that runs all week outside of the hours of Shabbat (Friday sunset-Saturday sunset).

Bus:

To ride the bus in Beer-Sheva, you'll need a Rav Kav card—you can refill this card as needed at a bus station or via the mobile application Rav-Kav Online, which you can download straight to your phone. You can also pay on the bus using the Moovit app.

Aside from Google Maps to see bus routes, you can also use the app Moovit to navigate accurate times of the buses in the city.

Taxis:

Taxi service is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.  Just keep in mind that this will be more costly than other modes of transportation and that most taxis will only take cash.

If you wish to pay with a credit card, we recommend downloading the app Gett to your phone, so that you can order a taxi to your location, track your ride, and pay with a credit card.

  • The Fringe Theater: Hosts plays, concerts, exhibitions, master classes, and enrichment workshops. A place that allows creative minds to explore and promotes local creativity with a unique social agenda.
    https://www.fringeb7.co.il/en
  • The Negev Museum of Art: Municipal museum that has a collection of mostly modern Israeli art, from local and regional artists. During summers the museum hosts open-air musical events in the courtyard.
    http://negev-museum.org.il/?lang=en
  • Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures: Presents a variety of historical and contemporary works of material Islamic culture, which emphasize the richness and beauty of the culture. The museum is located in an impressive Ottoman Mosque, which formerly housed the city's Archaeological Museum.
    http://ine-mu​seum.org.il/en/
  • The ANZAC Memorial Center in Beer-Sheva: The Center is a unique place in Israel that tells the story of the ANZAC soldiers and the conquest of Beer- Sheva in an experiential manner. Visitors to the center will journey to another continent, another time, and discover themselves in the process.​https://anzac.co.il/about/storyline/?lang=en
  • ​Kamea Dance company: A dance company based in Beer Sheva that performs in the city, and tours extensively in Israel and abroad.  Recognized for its unique style that combines strong dramatic themes and intense virtuosic movement. https://www.kameadance.com/en/
  • The Palmach Negev Brigade Memorial: A monument designed by Dani Karavan in memory of the members of the Palmach Negev Brigade. The monument is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Beer-Sheva from the east. The place is known as a great point to watch the beautiful sunsets.
    https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/Tourism/Pages/NegevBrigadeMemorial.aspx
  • Beer-Sheva River Park: Offers expanses of green lawns, groves of trees, footpaths, and bicycle paths next to the riverbed. The park also has historical sites, bridges, a sports area, and a botanical garden based on desert flora.
  • http://www.kkl-jnf.org/tourism-and-recreation/forests-and-parks/beersheva-river-park.aspx
  • The Qatar - Turkish Train Station: A historic old Turkish train station that has been restored and developed, with its buildings undergoing authentic restoration. In the restored compound there's an interactive mini-museum of the Israel Railway, a gallery for changing exhibits, an original locomotive steam engine, authentic train carriages, and many festivals and activities are held on the compound. 
    https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/About/Projects/Lists/projects/CustomDispForm.aspx?ID=64
  • Gateway to the Negev visitor center: Provides information about the Negev using advanced technologies, and offers interactive tours about the past, present, and future of the developing Negev region. https://negevisit.org.il/english/
  • The Artist's House in the Negev: Exhibitions of works by artists of the "Association for Negev Artists" located in a British-mandate period structure in the Old City.  In this place, you can view and purchase paintings, sculptures in varied materials, embroidery, and more. https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/Tourism/Pages/ArtistsHouse.aspx​
  • Abraham's Well International Visitors' Center: An innovative heritage site featuring the story of Abraham and the famous well of water.  According to the belief of the three monotheistic religions, this is the well that was dug by Abraham and provided the name for the city of Beer-Sheva.  The visitors' center presents an audio-visual experience and an exciting 3D presentation showcasing the life of Abraham. https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/Tourism/Pages/AbrahamsWell.aspx​
  • “Ha'reshet" (The network): A project run by young adults from Beer Sheva who are organizing special community events in the city, holiday celebrations, local parties, and social networking. 
    https://www.facebook.com/hareshet.br7/
  • “Colboynic – community equipment storeroom": A community storeroom with equipment that people can borrow when they need it.
    https://www.facebook.com/hakolboynik
  • Midbarium (Desert Zoo): The zoo is home to 150 different species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects from Israel and around the world, and is located in a natural environment at the western outskirts of Beer-Sheva.
    https://midbarium.co.il
  • The Palmach Negev Brigade Memorial: A monument designed by Dani Karavan in memory of the members of the Palmach Negev Brigade. The monument is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Beer-Sheva from the east. The place is known as a great point to watch the beautiful sunsets.
    https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/Tourism/Pages/NegevBrigadeMemorial.aspx
  • Beer-Sheva River Park: Offers expanses of green lawns, groves of trees, footpaths, and bicycle paths next to the riverbed. The park also has historical sites, bridges, a sports area, and a botanical garden based on desert flora.
  • http://www.kkl-jnf.org/tourism-and-recreation/forests-and-parks/beersheva-river-park.aspx
  • The Qatar - Turkish Train Station: A historic old Turkish train station that has been restored and developed, with its buildings undergoing authentic restoration. In the restored compound there's an interactive mini-museum of the Israel Railway, a gallery for changing exhibits, an original locomotive steam engine, authentic train carriages, and many festivals and activities are held on the compound. 
    https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/About/Projects/Lists/projects/CustomDispForm.aspx?ID=64
  • Carasso Science Park: A science museum with a scientific garden full of exhibits and activities for all ages, laboratories, and a 3D printing fabrication laboratory. Offers interactive exhibitions in various fields of Science including Genetics, Communication, Microelectronics, Nuclear Energy and more.
    https://museums.gov.il/en/museums/pages/carasso_science_park.aspx/%7Blink%7D
  • Abraham's Well International Visitors' Center: An innovative heritage site featuring the story of Abraham and the famous well of water.  According to the belief of the three monotheistic religions, this is the well that was dug by Abraham and provided the name for the city of Beer-Sheva.  The visitors' center presents an audio-visual experience and an exciting 3D presentation showcasing the life of Abraham. https://www.beer-sheva.muni.il/Eng/Tourism/Pages/AbrahamsWell.aspx​

Several Hebrew learning opportunities are available to you in Beer-Sheva for the BGU International community!

Language Exchange

Another excellent opportunity to learn and practice Hebrew is through the Beer-Sheva Language Exchange community.  This group, very popular with Beer-Sheva’s international community, meets once a week and offers speaking practice in a variety of languages, including Hebrew.  It is a relaxed, social way to practice a language, meet friends, and build a community of both internationals and Israelis.  To learn more about this group, you can visit the Beer-Sheva Language Exchange pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Alternative Options

Volunteering within the community is both a good opportunity to practice Hebrew and also a meaningful way to engage with the city.  Feel free to ask at the Welcome Center about opportunities for volunteering around Beer-Sheva.

In addition, there are several online resources such as YouTube channels and blogs that can offer you support in independent, at-home study of Hebrew.

The University Sports Center is located on the northeast corner of Arlozorov and Ben-Gurion Boulevard. The Sports Center is open seven days a week, and the hours vary (closes early on Friday and Saturday, and opens at noon on Sunday). The center has two 25-meter lap pools, one indoor and one outdoor, a leisure pool, a sauna, and steam rooms. It also boasts basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, locker rooms, an equipment/clothing shop, and a gym with exercise machines. You will need to swipe your BGU ID card to enter the facility.

Entrance to all facilities, except the gym, is free with a BGU student card.

Gym membership- If you want to use the weight room, you need to get a membership. Please ask the International Office for the forms and the exact procedure.

“Positive" is BGU's affordable exercise studio. It is located on the basement floor of the Zlotowski Student Center (on the main campus) and offers all sorts of classes, such as spinning, Yoga, Pilates, dance, and aerobics. Classes usually take place in Hebrew, but it is a great way to acquire language skills while exercising.  For some popular classes, you need to register in advance. There is an online registration system (in Hebrew) where you can see the schedule and the remaining room in each class and sign up for your class of choice. If you have any problem signing up, call- (08) 647-2340 or 0544644463, email: b-positive1@aguda.bgu.ac.il

https://www.facebook.com/BGU.Positive​​

Borrowing sports equipment

How does it work? Go to the Student Union offices in the Student House with a form of ID. You will leave your card and sign a declaration that you will return the equipment. Equipment that is not returned, or returned with heavy damage will result in a fine. When you are finished using the equipment, return it to the Student Union offices. You may also borrow equipment in the evening and return it the next day, by no later than 11:00.

What can you borrow? Basketball, a pair of tennis rackets and 6 tennis balls, a volleyball, and a Ping pong set (rackets, net, and balls).

ASA - Academic Sports Teams

You are welcome to represent BGU in one of the many sports teams we offer. The sports include Volleyball, Squash, Bowling, Chess and many more.

For more information contact BGU's sports director: sport@aguda.bgu.ac.il , Student house- building 72, room 163. https://www.facebook.com/BGUASA

Want to Learn More?

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