Photos: Israel and the next Silicon Valley

Welcome to Israel, at the Tel Aviv airport

From the moment you arrive in Israel you start seeing young people on their smartphones, like this guy in the Tel Aviv airport. That's fitting since elements of the first cellphones were created by Motorola's R&D lab in Israel.

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The walls of Jerusalem

The walls of the Old City of Jerusalem have seen so much history and destruction and triumph that it is remarkable to consider everything that has happened here and all the people who have shared in that history.

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Image credit: Jason Hiner

The stones of Jerusalem

The smoothness of the giant old stones you walk on in Jerusalem make you realize how many hundreds of millions of people have walked these same paths before you stepped foot there.

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Image credit: Jason Hiner

The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock

The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock are sacred sites to Jews and Muslims, respectively, and they sit so close together.

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David Street

Even the street signs in the Old City impress how old this place is.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

The markets in the Old City

The markets that crowd the Old City have a strange mix of the modern and ancient.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Shalom Y'all

My friends from the southern United States will appreciate this nod to them from one of the open air shops in the Old City.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Jersulem street vendors

These were some of the most vibrant colors among the street vendors in the Old City.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Clever young Palestinian

This young guy was taking advantage of the Old City's hills to glide his cart of produce down to a shop nearby.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Interesting nook in the Arab quarter

This was one of many interesting little nooks beside or behind the shops in the Old City. This one in particular was in the Arab quarter. It looks like it's someone's residence or office behind their shop.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

A splendid dome

This is the inside dome of one of the sections of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

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New playground in the Old City

This is looking out of the Old City to the hills of Jerusalem. I like the modern contrast of the the kids' playground set.

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Ancient cave in Jerusalem

I discovered this ancient-looking cave while walking through the middle of a park on the way to the Old City. 

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Modern residences in Jerusalem

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley

Intel in Israel

The pioneering Intel researchers in Israel designed the 8088 processor in the first PC, the Pentium processor that helped popularize PCs, the Centrino process that helped launch laptops, and the multicore processors that have fueled Intel's growth in recent years. The building above is Intel's LEED certified research center in Haifa, one of several Intel research centers in Israel. Other tech giants including Cisco, Microsoft, Google, Apple, IBM, Oracle, SAP, EMC, Motorola, HP, Facebook, and eBay also operate research centers in Israel. 

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Major S and the UAV

Major S of the Israeli air force stands with one of the UAVs from the squadron he commands. You can learn his story in my article.

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Ben Gurion University

This is one of many palm trees on the campus of Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Israel, which is where Israel is pinning its future hopes of a technology epicenter.

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Entrance to Ben Gurion University

Here's the entrance to the main campus of BGU.

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Signature buildings at BGU

The official name of the school is Ben Gurion University of the Negev, since Be'er Sheva is the cultural and administrative capital of the Negev desert in southern Israel.

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Palm trees on BGU campus

Despite being in the desert, the BGU campus has fertile signs everywhere.

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Campus stream at BGU

Israelis are master water conservers. They re-use over 70% of their waste water, more than any other country in the world (Spain is second at about 20%). 

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BGU's blooming campus

Most of Israel's waste water is re-used for growing crops, but you can see evidences of at least a little bit being put to use to beatify the BGU campus.

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BGU's experimental autonomous jeep

BGU's award-winning Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) is completely self-contained and automated with technology that goes beyond Google's famous driverless cars. In fact, the Israeli government has already taken the concept and used it to build 8-10 of these vehicles with high-end cameras. They are being used to help patrol the country's borders.

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Building #1 of the Advanced Technology Park

BGU's proudest new creation (and the central subject of our special report) is the Advanced Technology Park, which is going to connect academia, the technology industry, and the Israeli Defense Forces into a symbiotic ecosystem to enhance the future of cybersecurity. This photo is of Building #1, which opened on September 3.

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The ATP under construction

Here's a photo of the ATP under construction. Notice the high-speed train station that runs right between the campus and the ATP and can whisk students, faculty, and IDF members to other parts of Israel.

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Future rendition of the ATP

This future rendition of the ATP shows the rest of the future commercial buildings and also provides a good look at the walking bridge that connects the ATP to the main campus of BGU.

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The glory of the Negev

I never got tired of the many different gorgeous views of the Negev desert from BGU's satellite campus at Sde Boker. This satellite campus is especially known for its work in solar energy.

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Solar energy research in the Negev

One of the things that BGU is already known for is its research on solar energy. Here, Dr. David Faiman explains some of that research to journalists. The solar dish on the left was once the largest solar panel in the world.

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The Negev desert

These sun rays shining down on the Negev provide an indication of why solar research is such a big deal here.

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Trees in the Negev

Despite all of the sun and heat, there are still touches of green in the Negev.

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Journalists admire the Negev

Here in Sde Boker, the journalists in my small group couldn't help but snap lots of photos of the scenario in the Negev.

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A slice of green in the Negev

Due to a mixture of high-tech and low-tech advances, the Israelis have turned the Negev into the only desert in the world that is currently receding. They are sharing this knowledge with other countries that are concerned about desertification.

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Sunset in Mitzpe Ramon

Another one of the wonders of the Negev is Ramon Crater, which is south of Be'er Sheva. This is a view of it at sunset from Mitzpe Ramon on the northern edge.

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Looking out into Ramon Crater

Here's another view of the Ramon Crater during daylight, from the hotel that sits on the crater's edge.

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Roadside in the Negev

The Negev desert is not like the deserts you see in the movies. It's more like an ancient gravel driveway.

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Beware of Camels

This is one of those signs that reminds you that you're not in the U.S. anymore. 

Read the special report: How Israel is rewriting the future of cybersecurity and creating the next Silicon Valley