A makhtesh (Hebrew: מַכְתֵּשׁ‎‎ ([maχˈteʃ]), plural: מַכְתְּשִׁים ([ˈmaχtəˌʃim]) – Makhteshim) is a geological landform considered unique to the Negev desert of Israel. A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley which is usually drained by a single wadi. The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora. The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon.

Although commonly referred to as "craters," these formations are "erosion cirques" (steephead valleys or box canyons). Craters are formed by the impact of a meteor or volcanic eruption, whereas makhteshim are created by erosion.

The word makhtesh is the Hebrew word for a mortar grinder (מַכְתֵּשׁ‎) . The geological landform was given this name, because of its similarity to the grinding bowl.

A hard outer layer of rock covered softer rocks. Erosion relatively quickly removes the softer minerals, and they are washed away from under the harder rock. The harder rocks eventually collapse under their own weight and a crater-like valley structure is formed. In Negev and Sinai makhteshim, the hard rocks are limestone and dolomites, while the inner softer rocks are chalk or sandstone.

Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي) (born 1974 in Mahrouna, Lebanon), is a Lebanese model, actress, and singer born to a Lebanese father and Egyptian mother who rose to fame in the Arab world as runner up for Miss Lebanon and later through the release of her debut album Houwa El-Zaman (Arabic: هو الزمن) in 2002. She is known through her music for her sex appeal, provocative mannerisms and image. She has so far released four studio albums and made her acting debut in 2008 Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars. Wehbe is one of the most well-known female singers in the Arab World and is considered one of the most successful Lebanese singers. In 2006, she was on People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people list.

Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, a small Shia farming town in Lebanon, to a Lebanese father, Nadim antar, and Egyptian mother, but shortly after her family had moved to Beirut where she grew up listening to jazz and R&B and began to work as a full-time model at a young age. Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen. Wehbe was a runner-up at the Miss Lebanon competition.