Editing Ein Gedi

{{Short description|Oasis and archaeological site in Israel}}
{{About|the spring, ruins and nature reserve|other uses|Ein Gedi (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name         = Ein Gedi Nature Reserve
| alt_name     = עֵין גֶּדִי
| iucn_category = 
| photo        = PikiWiki Israel 4281 Waterfall in Ein Gedi.jpg
| photo_alt    = 
| photo_caption= The David Falls, Ein Gedi
| map          = Israel
| map_alt      = 
| map_caption  = Location of Ein Gedi in Israel
| location     = [[Judean Desert]], [[Israel]]
| nearest_city = [[Masada]], [[Dead Sea]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|31|28|0|N|35|23|38|E|region:IL|display=inline,title}}
| area         = {{convert|14000|dunam|ha|abbr=on}}
| established  = 1971
| governing_body = [[Israel Nature and Parks Authority]]
}}
[[File:"The Window Dry fall", Ein Gedi, Israel (2).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|"The Window Dry Fall", overlooking Ein Gedi and the [[Dead Sea]], Israel]]
	
'''Ein Gedi''' ({{langx|he|עֵין גֶּדִי|ʿĒn Geḏi}}, {{Langx|ar|عين جدي|translit=ʿAyn Gidī}}), also spelled '''En Gedi''',<ref name=sinkholes/> meaning "[[Spring (hydrology)|spring]] of the [[goat|kid]]",<ref>{{cite book|title=The survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English name lists collected during the survey |author=Conder, C. R. |author2=Kitchener, Horatio Herbert |translator=Palmer, Edward Henry |date=1881|page=416|url=https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/416/mode/1up |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> is an [[oasis]], an [[Archaeological site|archeological site]] and a [[nature reserve]] in [[Israel]], located west of the [[Dead Sea]], near [[Masada]] and the [[Qumran Caves]]. [[Ein Gedi (kibbutz)|Ein Gedi]], a [[kibbutz]], was established nearby in 1954.

Ein Gedi is a popular tourist attraction and was listed in 2016 as one of the most popular nature sites in Israel.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.717128 Israel nature spots draw 2 million visitors], [[Haaretz]]</ref> The site attracts about one million visitors a year.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/.premium.MAGAZINE-nature-reserves-spot-booking-reveals-israelis-can-actually-plan-ahead-1.9126739 What Israel's nature reserves booking system reveals], [[Haaretz]]</ref>

==Etymology==
The name ''Ein Gedi'' is composed of two words (In both [[Arabic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]): ''ein'' means spring or a fountain and ''gǝdi'' means goat-kid. Ein Gedi thus means "kid spring" or "fountain of the kid". The Hebrew name is also transliterated as 'En Gedi, En-gedi, Eggadi, Engaddi, and Engedi; the Arabic name as 'Ain Jidi and 'Ein Jidi.<ref name=BP>[https://www.bibleplaces.com/engedi/ En Gedi] at bibleplaces.com. Accessed 11 March 2024.</ref> The archaeological mound ([[tell (archaeology)|tell]]) is known in Hebrew as Tel Goren and in Arabic as Tell el-Jurn or Tell Jurn.<ref name=BP/> The site has been identified with the biblical Hazazon Tamar<ref name=BP/> (חַצְצוֹן תָּמָר ''ḥaṣṣōn tāmār'', "portion [of land] of [[date palm]]s"), on account of the palm groves which surrounded it.<ref name=Smith>Sir William Smith (1914). ''A Smaller Dictionary of The Bible'',  John Murrey, London. Page 169.</ref> It is also written Hazazon-tamar,<ref name=ASV>e.g. [[American Standard Version|ASV]], [[NRSV]] and [[Common English Bible|CEB]]</ref> Hazazontamar,<ref name=BP/> Hatzatzon-Tamar,<ref name=CJB>e.g. [[Complete Jewish Bible|CJB]]</ref> Hazezon Tamar,<ref name=NKJV>e.g. [[NKJV]]</ref> and Hazezontamar.<ref name=Smith/>

==History and archaeology==
===Neolithic to Iron Age===
{{main article|Ein Gedi (archaeological site)}}

At Mikveh Cave archaeologists found [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic A]] (PPNA) [[flint tool]]s and an arrowhead.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} A Chalcolithic temple (ca. mid-fourth millennium BCE) belonging to the [[Ghassulian]] culture was excavated on the slope between two springs, Ein Shulamit and Ein Gedi. More Chalcolithic finds were made at the Moringa and Mikveh Caves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gošić Arama |first1=Milena |title=Temples in the Ghassulian Culture: Terminology and social implications |journal=Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology |date=2016 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=872–874 |doi=10.21301/EAP.V11I3.11 |url=https://www.academia.edu/29291192 |access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> No traces of Bronze Age settlement have been found at Ein Gedi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Porath |first=Yosef |date=2021 |title=The Synagogue at En-Gedi |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27123172 |journal=Qedem |volume=64 |page=3 |issn=0333-5844 |jstor=27123172}}</ref> The remains of the Iron Age settlement at Ein Gedi are located at a [[tell (archaeology)|tell]] on the north bank of Wadi Arugot, known in [[Arabic]] as Tell el-Jurn (grid position 187/097 [[Palestine grid|PAL]]) and in [[Hebrew]] as Tel Goren. The first permanent Iron Age settlement was [[Kingdom of Judah|Judean]] and was established around 630 BCE. The site was destroyed or abandoned after the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonian]] [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|destruction of Jerusalem in 587/86 BCE]].{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

===Hebrew Bible===
In {{bibleverse||Joshua|15:62|HE}}, Ein Gedi is enumerated among the wilderness cities of the [[Tribe of Judah]] in the desert of [[Betharaba]], and in {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|47:10|HE}}, it is prophesied that one day, its coastal location will make it into a fishing village, after the water of the Dead Sea has been made sweet:
:''Fishing nets will be spread from En-gedi to En-eglaim''.<ref>[[Jerusalem Bible]]: Ezekiel 47:10</ref>

Fleeing from [[King Saul]], [[David]] hides in the strongholds at Ein Gedi ({{bibleverse|1|Samuel|23:29|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb|1|Samuel|24:1-2|HE}}) and Saul seeks him "even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats" ({{bibleverse|1|Samuel|24:2}}). [[Psalm 63]], subtitled ''a Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah'', has been associated with David's sojourn in the desert of En-gedi.<ref>[[Joseph Lightfoot]], ''Works'', vol. 1. p. 58, referenced by [[John Gill (theologian)|Gill, J.]] in [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/1_samuel/23.htm Gill's Exposition of the Bible] on 1 Samuel 23, accessed 24 May 2017</ref>

In {{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|20:2|HE}} Ein Gedi is identified with ''Hazazon-tamar'',<ref name=ASV/> ''Hazezon Tamar'',<ref name=NKJV/> ''Hatzatzon-Tamar'' <ref name=CJB/> or ''Hazezontamar'' (חַצְצוֹן תָּמָר ''ḥaṣṣōn tāmār'', "portion [of land] of [[date palm]]s"), on account of the palm groves which surrounded it,<ref name=Smith/> where the [[Moabites]] and [[Ammon]]ites gathered in order to fight [[Josaphat (king)|Josaphat]], king of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]. In {{bibleverse||Genesis|14:7|HE}} ''Hazazon-tamar'' is mentioned as being an [[Amorite]] city, smitten by [[Chedorlaomer]] in his [[Battle of Siddim|war against the cities of the plain]].

The [[Song of Songs]] ({{bibleverse|Song of Solomon|1:14|HE}}) speaks of the "vineyards of Ein Gedi". The words of [[Sirach|Ecclesiasticus]] 24:18, "I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades" ('en aígialoîs), may perhaps be understood as the palm trees of Ein Gedi.

===Persian, Hellenistic, and early Roman periods===
The settlement at Tel Goren is a rare example of a town which reached its zenith during the Persian period, probably during the late 5th century BCE.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Ein Gedi receives a fortress under Hellenistic rule and becomes a royal Hasmonean estate.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} According to Jewish-Roman historian [[Josephus]], Ein Gedi served as the capital of a [[Toparches|toparchy]], and there were excellent palm trees and [[balsam]] growing there.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: a multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad |publisher=[[de Gruyter]] |editor=Hannah Cotton |editor2=Leah Di Segni |editor3=Werner Eck |editor4=Benjamin Isaac |display-editors=etal |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-11-022219-7 |volume=IV: Iudaea / Idumaea |location=Berlin |page=249 |oclc=663773367}}</ref> The date palm's fruit and the [[balsam]] plant's fragrance were essential to the village's economy. The balsam plant also served as a source for expensive medications.<ref name=":1" />

During the [[First Jewish–Roman War|First Jewish-Roman War]], the [[Sicarii]], who fought the Romans until their defeat and mass suicide at [[Masada]], [[Pillage of Ein Gedi|plundered]] local villages including Ein Gedi. At Ein Gedi, they drove out the defenders, and killed over seven hundred women and children who could not run away.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2850/2850-h/2850-h.htm#link42HCH0007 The Wars of the Jews, or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem, by Flavius Josephus], translated by William Whiston, Project Gutenberg, Book IV, Chapter 7, Paragraph 2.</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0147%3Abook%3D4%3Awhiston+chapter%3D7%3Awhiston+section%3D2 Flavius Josephus, De bello Judaico libri vii], B. Niese, Ed. J. BJ 4.7.2</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ancient-battle-divides-israel-as-masada-myth-unravels-1275878.html Ancient battle divides Israel as Masada 'myth' unravels; Was the siege really so heroic, asks Patrick Cockburn in Jerusalem], The Independent, 30 March 1997</ref> Pliny claims that Ein Gedi was destroyed during the war, although the [[Babatha]] archive shows that Jews lived there once again during the reign of [[Hadrian]] and probably earlier. The Babatha archive mentions Ein Gedi as a crown property; the [[Cohort (military unit)|Cohors]] I Milliaria Thracum is attested there, indicating the presence of Roman soldiers there at the time. The Babatha archive also refers to Ein Gedi as "a village in the territory of Jericho in Judaea". This evidence led researchers to believe that Ein Gedi was no longer a toparchy in its own right following the First Jewish-Roman War and had instead become a village inside the toparchy of [[Jericho]].<ref name=":0" />

===Late Roman and Byzantine periods===
[[File:Ein Gedi synagogue057.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Mosaic from ancient [[Ein Gedi synagogue]]]]

Ein Gedi survived the catastrophic results of the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] and continued to exist until the sixth or seventh centuries.<ref name=":1">Hirschfeld, Y. (2004). Ein Gedi: A Large Jewish Village1. ''Qadmoniot'', ''37'', 62-87.</ref> [[Eusebius]] described Ein Gedi as "a large Jewish village" in his early fourth-century ''[[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|Onomasticon]]''.<ref name=":1" /> In the early third century CE, a [[Ein Gedi synagogue|synagogue]] was built in the center of the village. Its remains include a Hebrew and [[Judeo-Aramaic languages|Judeo-Aramaic]] inscription mosaic now on display at Jerusalem's [[Schottenstein campus|National Archaeology Campus]] warning inhabitants against "revealing the town's secret" – possibly the methods for extraction and preparation of the much-prized balsam resin, though not stated outright in the inscription – to the outside world.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |last= Bar-Am |first= Aviva |title= Ein Gedi, A Streamlined Approach |publisher= Jerusalem Post |date= 2010-01-26 |url=http://www.jpost.com/IsraelGuide/TopTours/Article.aspx?id=166822 |access-date= 24 November 2011 |archive-date= 16 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316233346/http://www.jpost.com/IsraelGuide/TopTours/Article.aspx?id=166822 |url-status= dead}}</ref>

Ein Gedi was destroyed in a fire during the late [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period. According to the archaeologists who excavated the synagogue, the village was destroyed during the early 6th century by Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I| Justinian]] as part of his persecution campaign against Jews in his empire. Others claim that the village was destroyed in a [[Bedouin]] raid that occurred before the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628| Persian invasion]], probably around the late 6th or early 7th century.<ref name=":2" />

After Ein Gedi was destroyed, the cultivation of balsam around the Dead Sea ceased, and it is believed that its Jewish residents, who were now refugees, took the knowledge of cultivating the balsam with them, causing this knowledge to be lost forever.<ref name=":2" />

===Late Ottoman period===
In 1838, [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] reported that the whole area was covered with gardens, mainly cucumbers, all belonging  to the [[Palestinian Bedouin#West Bank Bedouin|''Rashaideh'' tribe]].<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n234/mode/1up 212]</ref> In April 1848, Lieutenant [[William Francis Lynch]] led an American expedition down the [[Jordan River]] into the [[Dead Sea]], that stopped at Ein Gedi (Ain Jidy).<ref name= Lynch>{{cite book|author=William Francis Lynch|title=Narrative of the United States' expedition to the river Jordan and the Dead sea|url=https://archive.org/details/narrativeunited04lyncgoog|access-date=10 November 2010|year=1852|publisher=Blanchard and Lea|pages=[https://archive.org/details/narrativeunited04lyncgoog/page/n322 282]–296}}</ref>

===Israel===
===="Essenes site"====
In 1998–99, the archaeological expedition of [[Yizhar Hirschfeld]] at Ein Gedi systematically excavated what has been called "the [[Essenes]] site", first discovered by [[Yohanan Aharoni]] in 1956.<ref>Jesus and Archaeology, page 389, James H. Charlesworth, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4880-2}}</ref>

====Kibbutz====
[[File:EinGedi ST 06.jpg|thumb|right|200px|upright|The inhabited botanical garden in  [[Ein Gedi (kibbutz)| Kibbutz Ein Gedi]]]]

[[Kibbutz]] [[Ein Gedi (kibbutz)| Ein Gedi]], founded in 1953, is located about a kilometer from the oasis. It offers various tourist attractions and takes advantage of the local weather patterns and the abundance of natural water to cultivate out-of-season produce.{{cn|date= October 2024}} Part of the kibbutz's inhabited area is landscaped as an internationally acclaimed [[Ein Gedi (kibbutz)#Botanical garden| botanical garden]], covering an area of 100 [[dunam]]s (10 [[Hectare|ha]], 24.7 [[acre]]s) and holding more than 900 species of plants from all over the world.It is the only populated botanical garden in the world.<ref name= BGCI>[https://tools.bgci.org/garden.php?id=2258&ftrCountry=IL&ftrKeyword=&ftrBGCImem=&ftrIAReg= "Dead Sea Ein Gedi Botanic Garden"], [[Botanic Gardens Conservation International]]. Re-accessed 16 Oct 2024.</ref> The kibbutz is also home to the Ein Gedi Eco Park, which functions as both a zoo and an environmental education center, demonstrating sustainable technologies such as [[solar cooker]]s, [[greywater]] systems, mud buildings, and [[compost toilet]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

==National parks: an antiquities park, and a nature-reserve-cum-antiquities==
===Antiquities National Park===
{{anchor|Ancient synagogue}}
{{main|Ein Gedi (archaeological site)}}

The Late Roman- and Byzantine-period synagogue and the village remains around it is run as a separate, archaeological park, distinct from the nature reserve and the antiquities contained therein. The Antiquities National Park centered on the synagogue was declared in 2002 and covers an area of 8 dunams ({{convert|8|dunam|acre|disp=out}} or {{convert|8|dunam|m2|disp=out}}).<ref name=list>{{cite web |title= List of National Parks and Nature Reserves |language=he |publisher= Israel Nature and Parks Authority |url= http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf |access-date= 2010-09-27 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091007095221/http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf |archive-date= 2009-10-07 }}</ref>

===Nature reserve: natural and archaeological sites===
Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, declared at the end of 1971 and expanded in 1988,<ref name=list/> is one of the most important reserves in Israel. It is situated on the eastern slopes of the [[Judean Desert]], bordering to the east on the Dead Sea, and covers an area of 14000 [[dunam]]s ({{convert|14000|dunam|acre|disp=out}} or {{convert|14000 |dunam|km2|disp=out}}).<ref name=list/> The elevation ranges from the level of the [[Dead Sea]] at 423 meters (1,388&nbsp;ft) below sea level, to the plateau of the Judean Desert at 200 meters above sea level. The nature reserve includes two streams flowing year-round and each fed by a perennial spring: [[Nahal David]] with Ein David ('David's Spring'), and [[Nahal Arugot]] with Ein Arugot ('Terraces Spring'). Two further springs, the Shulamit and Ein Gedi springs, also flow in the reserve. Together, the springs generate approximately three million cubic meters of water per year. Much of the water is used for agriculture or is bottled for consumption.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

[[File:Two Nubian Ibexes, Ein Gedi nature reserve, The Judean desert, Israel.jpg|thumb|200px|Two Nubian [[Ibex|ibices]] at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve]]
The reserve is a sanctuary for many types of plant, bird and animal species. The vegetation includes plants and trees from the tropical, desert, Mediterranean, and steppian regions, such as [[Sodom apple]], [[acacia]], [[jujube]], and [[Populus|poplar]]. The many species of resident birds are supplemented by over 200 additional species during the migration periods in the spring and fall. Mammal species include the [[Nubian ibex]] and the [[rock hyrax]].

====Archaeology====
Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, administered separately from the Ein Gedi archaeology park (see above), features several archaeological sites including a rare [[Chalcolithic Temple of Ein Gedi |Chalcolithic shrine]], but also Tel Goren, an [[tell (archaeology) |archaeological mound]] with [[History of Israel#Iron Age |Iron Age]] remains corresponding to Hazazon-tamar, a city mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and inhabited on and off till the Byzantine period, two water-powered flour mills from the [[Mamluk Egypt |Mamluk period]], etc.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

==Sinkholes==
Ein Gedi has been subject to a large number of [[sinkhole]]s appearing in the area, which have even damaged the highway built in 2010 which was supposedly built to a "sinkhole-proof" design. The sinkholes are due to the decline in the water level of the Dead Sea, {{as of|lc=yes|2021}} at an annual rate of more than a metre, which is attributed to the battle for scarce water resources in the very [[arid region]]. The sinkholes form as a result of the receding shoreline (with the surface of the Sea having shrunk by about 33 per cent since the 1960s), where a thick layer of underground salt is left behind. When fresh water arrives in the form of heavy rains, it dissolves the salt as it sinks into the ground, forming an underground cavity, which eventually collapses under the weight of the surface ground layer.<ref name=sinkholes>{{cite web | last=Tlozek | first=Eric | title=The Dead Sea is disappearing, leaving behind a landscape shattered by sinkholes | website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]| publisher =[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=9 June 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-10/the-disappearing-dead-sea-sinkhole-science-en-gedi/100123858 | access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref>

Tourism has been affected by the receding shoreline and the sinkholes, and the amount of water from the rains reaching the sea has diminished since [[flash flood]]s started pouring into the sinkholes. Huge cave systems called [[karst]]s convey water underground between the sinkholes. Scientists in the [[floodplain]] area south of Ein Gedi have been using cameras, [[water testing]], videos using [[drone (aircraft)|drones]] and [[satellite monitoring]] to map the area for safety.<ref name=sinkholes/>

==See also==
* [[Ancient synagogues in Palestine]]
* [[Archaeology of Israel]]
* [[En-Gedi Scroll]], oldest Torah scroll found in a Torah ark
* [[Hiking in Israel]]
* [[Tourism in Israel]]
* [[Wildlife of Israel]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1883|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=3}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/384/mode/1up 384]-386)
* {{cite web |editor-last= Hirschfeld |editor-first= Yizhar |url= http://mushecht.haifa.ac.il/archeology/ExhibitionC_eng.aspx?id=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625042753/http://mushecht.haifa.ac.il/archeology/ExhibitionC_eng.aspx?id=6 |archive-date=2011-06-25 |title= Ein Gedi – A Very Large Village of Jews |website=Hecht Museum |date= 2006}}
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=http://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838|  location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=2}} 
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=http://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838|  location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=3}} (Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.  [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/116/mode/1up 116])
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
*{{cite journal | author = Warren, C.| author-link=Charles Warren| title = Remarks on a visit to 'Ain Jidy and the southern shores of the Dead Sea in mid-summer 1867 | journal = Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund | volume = 1 | pages = 143–150 | url =https://www.archive.org/details/quarterlystateme01pale | year = 1869}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme01pale/page/n148/mode/1up 143]-150)  
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{commons category}}
* [http://3disrael.com/ein_gedi/promenade2_ein_gedi.cfm Virtual Tour of Ein Gedi] - View from the Ein Gedi Promenade
* [http://www.inisrael.com/eingedi/en_Map.html Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea Map] - Bird's-eye view in [[Adobe Flash|Flash]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130304140556/http://www.parks.org.il/parks/ParksAndReserves/Pages/En-Gedi.aspx The Israel Nature and Parks Authority - Site page]
* [http://www.arzaworld.com/israel-travel-guide/israel-travel-destinations/ein-gedi.aspx Ein Gedi Travel Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206081105/https://arzaworld.com/israel-travel-guide/israel-travel-destinations/ein-gedi.aspx |date=2019-12-06 }}
* [http://holyland-pictures.com/tag/jordan-valley/ein-gedi/ Pictures of Ein Gedi synagogue]
* [http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~dhershkowitz/pic292b.jpg Ein Gedi mill, 1893]
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 22: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8384  IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.22.jpg Wikimedia commons]
*[https://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk/pages/collections_featured.php?parent=6318 Photos of Ein Gedi synagogue] at the [[Manar al-Athar]] photo archive
* [https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/nature-of-ein-gedi-a-photo-essay/ Times of Israel - Nature of Ein Gedi - a Photo Essay]
{{Nature reserves of Israel}}
{{National parks of Israel}}
{{Towns depopulated during the First Jewish–Roman War}}

{{authority control}}
[[Category:Nature reserves in Israel]]
[[Category:National parks of Israel]]
[[Category:Oases of Israel]]
[[Category:Springs of Israel]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1972]]
[[Category:Botanical gardens in Israel]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Southern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Tells (archaeology)]]
[[Category:Canaanite cities]]
[[Category:Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible places]]
[[Category:Israeli mosaics]]
[[Category:Dead Sea basin]]
[[Category:Judaean Desert]]
[[Category:Pre-Pottery Neolithic A]]
[[Category:Ghassulian]]