Israelis risk the 'Sea of Death' in search for lost kingdom

More than 2,500 years ago, ancient Jewish settlers dug the well that brings life to Amir Dromi's farm in the foothills outside Jerusalem. They cut stone blocks to build the home where Mr Dromi lives with his wife and seven children and terraced the hillsides where he grows olives and organic vegetables. He hopes to return these favours by finding out if their descendants disappeared into the sands of China's Taklamakan Desert 300 years ago.

'These people built my home and the farm we live on. They dug a well that has lasted thousands of years. Finding them would be a dream come true for us,' he said.

Mr Dromi and another farmer, Oran Benron, were dispatched to China by a group of Israeli rabbis who believe people from one of Israel's lost tribes ended up in Tibet or Xinjiang almost 2,000 years ago. Their belief is supported by records of strangely dressed Jewish traders appearing in Europe over the centuries saying they came from the east, along the ancient Silk Road which traverses Xinjiang, circling the Taklamakan.

In the 1700s - around the time Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) conquered Xinjiang - all contact with these mysterious Jews stopped. The Israeli rabbis hope Mr Dromi will find evidence of their kingdom, or perhaps even their descendants, hidden in the region.

'It is a Jewish custom to take care of people who are lost or in need,' said Mr Dromi. 'For me, that is a good enough reason to search.'