Etzion Gever - Eilat

	Eilat was built about 50 years ago on a wasteland called Umm Rashrash. The first attempt at civilian settlement in Eilat was attempted in December 1949 when the United Kibbutz movement set up a camp on shore. Pictured to the left are the municipal offices in Eilat in 1950.
	Eilat is located several kilometers west of the ancient site of Etzion Gever, the location of the port used in King Solomon's time for his trade and mining industries (Kings I 9;26). Eilat was built about 50 years ago on a wasteland called Umm Rashrash. The first attempt at civilian settlement in Eilat was attempted in December 1949 when the United Kibbutz movement set up a camp on shore. Pictured to the left are the municipal offices in Eilat in 1950. Eilat is located several kilometers west of the ancient site of Etzion Gever, the location of the port used in King Solomon's time for his trade and mining industries (Kings I 9;26).
	During the 1948 War of Independence, Eilat was siezed without a fight. The Israeli flag was hoisted over Eilat on March 13 1949. According to the United Nations partition plan, Eilat was to be the southernmost tip of the fledgling Jewish state. Eilat in 1995: Today Eilat has 37,000 residents, its own airport, seaport, and is visited by over one and a half million tourists per  Sea Fortress in Eilat year. Within forty years one can see the incredible metamorphosis from wasteland to thriving tourist resort