What is "nitzana"

Nitzana (; transliterated at the site as "Nizana", Byzantine Greek Νιζάνα) is an ancient Nabataean city located in the southwest Negev desert in Israel close to the Egyptian border. It may have been a camel caravan station on the eastern branch of the ancient Incense Route, serving pilgrims and merchants travelling to Sinai or central Egypt. The Nabataean towns of the Negev were typically founded around the first century BC, conquered by Romans two centuries later, who garrisoned the site, and inhabited by Byzantine Christians from at latest the fourth century until the invasion and the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. Relatively few stones remain on the site because most were recycled into buildings in Gaza in the early 20th century.

Nitzana may refer to:

• Nitzana (Nabataean city), a city of the ancient Nabataeans located in the Negev desert in Israel
• Nitzana, Israel, a communal settlement near the ruins of the Nabataean city
• Nitzana Border Crossing, a border crossing between Israel and Egypt
• Nitzanei Sinai, a communal settlement also known as Kadesh Barne'a after the Exodus station of that name.