The Arab World, Heritage and Civilization

i left-hand years for the Orient and the land of the Setting Sun and discovered with the lands of the east and the west learned from each other I followed my destiny living by the famous hadith of the Prophet search for wisdom all the way to China for 28 years I made this voyage my life going from region to region according to the will of God that is how leaving my hometown I discovered a composite and diverse land the intersection of Africa Asia and Europe a land with a community of cultures that crossed fertilized to give birth to great civilizations oh good people find some entertainment in this retelling of my wanderings in the Arab lands I crossed Roman Africa and made a first stop at velu ballast in the heart of the country velu palace is backed with the mountains of zaroon and home of vast plains it was an important berber site probably one of Juba to's royal residences when Rome annexed the region in 42 ad velu Billis became one of the principal cities of the Empire and the Roman officers made it their home velu Billis reached its climax in two and three ad these ruins are a testament to its vast prosperity and I spent long moments sensing what life must have been like in those ancient times I returned to the Mediterranean where it bathes the remains of te pasa there I felt life to be gentle the city offers itself to the sea the alleys opened towards the shore stone and sea are in harmony that's how one can explain the magic of a place I plunged into the ancient kingdom of new Mead and discovered fascinating team guide an arch constructed by Trajan dominates the ruins there I discovered the severity and military coarseness of the cities of the Roman Empire in contrast to te pasa Tim God is austere built by Legendary's the city had the same spirit as its founders the city and its columns as if petrified by time left a strong impression on me and resonated strangely with me even further east I arrived at the site at dusk its ruins were grandiose and is if softened by the surrounding countryside the network of roads connected the towns and plowed through the countryside which was irrigated and rich with olive groves and wheat fields according to historians and chroniclers this countryside fed the entire Roman population at El Djem in the centre of the country how could one not be awed by this impressive colosseum its size equalled the one in Rome constructed in the same manner the surrounding country is flat and makes the ruins even more impressive this country of olive groves is the richest of all the Roman provinces as these magnificent soft Jude mosaics testify the Carthage region was the most prosperous of the Roman Empire it was called Africa that's how Roman Carthage gave its name to the rest of the continent proud of its history Carthage dominates the sea virgil tells us it was founded by the queen didn't who came from Phoenicia in 814 BC the city dominated Mediterranean commerce until its destruction by Rome in 146 BC it was on the Libyan coast that are prolonged my voyage into the ancient lands the sights of Leptis Magna subrata and CLN rang the Mediterranean coast and dazzled the traveller in me every city was a little Rome heavily populated the temples and theatres the forums and edifices of the city backed by the sea allows one to imagine what social life must have been like urban and intense during four centuries of Roman occupation the empire erected nearly 500 cities populated by more than 5,000 souls and the ampere Trajan still watches over their majestic ruins I left the coastal road and I continued east joining a noble caravan that thank God was kept safe from attacks and bandits so we went deep into the Libyan desert nothing can rival the pyramids that dominate the visa plane key ops Katherine and me kirino's seem to be eternally watched over by the colossal edifice known as the Sphinx going down the Nile I arrived at Luxor a city built on the site of ancient Thebes and immortalized in song by Homer Luke's R with its forest of Collins its obelisks and Palace of Giants a humble traveler I felt crushed by stone and the weight of the centuries further on I went down into a valley surrounded by mountains and queries to discover the tombs of dignitaries and so Verne's the valley of beauty is what the Egyptians call it and in the valley of the queens on the western bank of the Nile the funeral temple of queen hatshepsut has its back against the rock as if emerging from its entrails everything began with King Mena's who unified upper and lower egypt this mythic King founded the first of 30 dynasties that descended down to the 4th century BC one has to travel far back into memory to find traces of the first voyages in the land of the Pharaohs I remembered my reading it was said that on seeing these frescoes Herodotus was fascinated by the hieroglyphic writings and the cult of animals Plato completed his voyages of exploration in these temples as if traveling back to the font of wisdom the Nile has the sweetest water of all rivers without it nothing would exist humans have always tried to tame it to make it beneficial south of Aswan in Nubia in the heart of deep Africa lies the ground temple of Abu Simbel erected by ramses ii for seated columns including one representing Ramses the great watch over the sanctuary not far away's the temple of his spouse Nefertari never before had a woman been shown on a temple exterior beyond always going east I crossed the Red Sea and steered by generous breeze I hastened to land on the banks of a happy Arabia I arrived in the royalty of Sabah under inclement weather the monsoon rains turned the mountainsides green the genius of the ancient Yemenites showed in the clever use of runoff water creating an opulent land out of their country it has been said that a millennium before IIRIRA the rains diminished bit-by-bit valley started looking like deserts intense deforestation created devastating floods it was all these climatic changes as well as demographic and economic ones that overturned southern Arab civilization large hydraulic works contained the river water a series of dikes and canals thus allow the development of network of irrigated land across the entire country there are still hundreds of important remains dating from the earliest centuries before our time such as these constructions unwrought pedestals it is said that these constructions were doubtlessly the homes of important people tribal chiefs or rich traders the basis show that they were indeed fortresses these ruins tell us that the cities of the Hammar kingdoms were opulent because they combined irrigation incense and spice production with their commerce outside the country I went further always deeper into the Arabian Peninsula after several days of walking a little tired I arrived in the heart of the dajia region but I had been told about mountaha which concealed strange necropolis 'as dating from the 3rd millennium before Christ my curiosity helped me overcome my fatigue I saw in effect hi Shay blooms of dry stones history links them to the shining luminar civilization which flower during this ancient Arabic park but civilizations are like humans they are born they flourish and then they die and leave us traces that describe their history like these inscriptions carved in rock the most ancient inscriptions of the sabaean kingdoms that go back to early 7th century BC I headed north towards the center of the arab peninsula between the mountainous barrier of hedges that lines the red sea and the coast of the gulf where there is nothing but sand and rock at the site named Raja Jian I questioned myself about the Enigma of these traces of rock carefully arranged in the desert in actuality the entire region is rife with pre-islamic remains like these rocks resembling al tars raised to praise the gods here - carved inscriptions indicate that life has existed for thousands of years the desert always was a passage for caravans from Yemen headed for Mediterranean ports and the extremely arid conditions made the desert the kingdom of the dromedaries as these carvings reveal it seems that dromedaries were not domesticated until 1,500 years before our time and the first caravans appeared in 12 BC I to follow the incense road that crosses the Arabian Peninsula from south to north it would become the spice road than the Silk Route linking the Indian continent with the Mediterranean coast I lingered in mada insulate to try and discover the mystery of these Novation tombs the work of a people from the northwest corner of the peninsula the tombs are carved directly in the rock and take on the colors of the Sun violet at dawn blinding with the sun's brightness at midday and pink at sunset domain of sand and rock these immense spaces that sometimes become steps are the home lands of a nomadic Bedouin in the summer the need for pastures was critical by following the dry river banks the nomads went searching for water one tribe could thus be made up of nomads tending their herds and those who remained at an oasis created in part from the wind according to the words of the Prophet the horse is one of Arabia's beauties and a large part of its culture the pure blood Arabian has a reputation of being particularly Hardy they were the privileged of the aristocracies of the Oasis are the steps around the edges of the Fertile Crescent the Arab people knew how to develop the vast echoing culture intellectuals and savings wrote a series of treaties and poetic works because equestrian craft is a military art of high spirituality and the north I headed towards the generous banks of the Tigris in search of ancient the sore Basara the point of departure for the fabulous voyages of Sinbad the sailor the city was a fortified town since the Mesopotamian era brick architecture proliferated and revealed this cultures genius this strong place was transformed in 636 during the time of caliph Omar its influence reached beyond Mesopotamia thanks to two great rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates all of Sumerian Mesopotamia was irrigated and possessed the riched agricultural character palm date trees cover the entire bazaar region making it the largest palm grove in the world here to a tight network of irrigation canals made good use of the rivers water the city was in the very center of a watery web I disembarked and one of the euphrates I wanted to reach babylon babylon at last the kingdom of the Chaldeans the pearl of cities whose name means door of the gods all the Tsar's and travelers spoke of it It was as if I already knew it the city was founded 24 centuries before Christ by an American a people of Semitic origin Babylon reminds us that Mesopotamian life grew around cities that were real city-states the city would reach a high level of civilization well before the Greek and Roman eras the restored ruins date from about 600 BC from the time of the Kings nabo polis are a Nabucco dinossaur today this mythic city offers a mix of ruins and beautiful restorations reminding us that Musa potamia is the oldest known civilization the civilization influenced all of the Semitic Near East and the biblical world as well as the Greeks by way of the hit T DS the city is born from clay and a mix of Acadians and Sumerians and the 4th century BC one can still find it's faint traces in all of today's cultures in fact the Cimmerian civilization gave humanity its most significant contribution cuneiform writing I was in admiration almost moved before these ideograms I was told these signs were traced in what clay using wood still it's in this way the world of the gods and humans left traces that survived all the way down to our era I felt a great debt towards these men because this is the way I understood the origins of our great mythological literature such as the epic of gilgamesh which inspired much of the Bible between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea I got back on the road and traveled to the Nabataean region discovering what was called Patriot Arabia however forgetting about the time I lost myself in the ruins of the Citadel in Amman these columns marked the site of the Temple of Venus which became a church in the 6th century AD close by the temple dedicated to Hercules built in the second century BC under the Emperor Marcus at the height of the hill an arab palace decide I found myself projected into the time of oh my god architecture the stones are superimposed over time and the styles blended blurring the eras I sought refuge inside in the shade of the stone to rest you you jarash is built on the banks of the dry stream that carries its name here our founder of stunning ruins of an ancient town that reached its apex in three ad leaving the forum I went up the Roman Road and walked among immense columns arcades surprising oval squares no less than three theaters and numerous temples further to the south to reach Petra the sumptuous city of the caravanners I had to penetrate the chaotic rockiness of Jebel oshawa and plunged through a gorge hemmed in by a rotted cliffs then I had to scuttle down a narrow rocky passage and follow channel dug into the rock it was the road that the great Explorer Burkhardt followed in 1812 he discovered Abu Simbel the first European to penetrate this natural labyrinth to my great amazement at the end of the scramble appeared what the bedouins called the treasure of the Pharaohs Kazon a completely carved from the rock the mortuary monument has colossal proportions 32 meters high a marvel of stone architecture and Hellenic refinement it held the tomb of the Nabataeans Auvergne and this enormous room was made for festivals that reunited the deceased family the stonework and Hellenic art blended elegantly one can assume that the ghandar and richness of this mausoleum reflected the fortune and rank of the deceased here it is the dead who speak of the people the Nabataeans of aramean origins who founded the city prosperous Nabataean civilization lasted five centuries originally this was merchandised tipo an immense cosmopolitan area dedicated to trade the town was overflowing with riches from Caravan trade the rock of Petra where numerous tombs were dug looked in some areas like wood polished by time rock veined with soft colors that range from rose to ochre an earthquake partially destroyed the town in 363 ad it wasn't until 1260 that an arab chronicler accompanying the sultan baybars to Carrick sang a tale of a city in ruins lost in the sands bit-by-bit the desert reclaimed its own and for nearly six centuries Pedro disappeared from human memory I took a long rest in the Setter woods part of the Lebanon Forest the Y's know that these sacred trees are mentioned no less than 300 times in the Bible according to scripture this is the only tree that God planted proud and robust these trees are for the most part several centuries old I followed the abundant sources that rushed through the rocks descending the other side of the mountain I discovered the rich plain of Becca and tasted the generosity of its earth this plain extends between two mountains barriers Mount Lebanon and anti Lebanon in ancient times wheat was grown here Rome aided the city granary olive trees grapevines and fruit trees grew abundantly there IRA memorized the verses of the poet Gibran admirably sung by the Deva firuze sitting at Twilight among the vine stalks and the grapes hang like golden lamps curiosity prompted me onto the Phoenician city of Baalbek the city the Greeks called helya palace Phoenicia was incorporated by the Romans in 64 BC as a result its destiny was tied to the Roman province of Syria the ancient city was dedicated to the cult of the Sun God after being taken over by Rome the Emperor adjust erected sumptuous temples one dedicated to Jupiter together to Bacchus they were then embellished by his successors judging from the size of the ruins one can guess at the monuments magnitude which leaned over the plane then Roman Baalbek passed under Byzantine Persian and finally Arab rule I once again took the caravan road towards the south to complete my pilgrimage to Mecca like all Muslims nothing foreshadowed the rule the city plays it is entirely dedicated to prayer and Iran Kaaba a mingled with millions of believers the profit from the karate tribe professed a new religion Islam from the word Salaam meaning peace when Muhammad died in 632 both stationary nomadic Arabs used the same language writing and religion that of the Quran the Arab world and burst onto the historical stage you conquests launched by the prophets successors inaugurated grand cycle of building religious construction notably mosques this is the most ancient one it is called the umar mosque built between 634 and 644 in the north of Arabia I took it in fervor because prayer is in an engagement a slump signifies peace clemency and serenity I heard of another mosque known for being the oldest in Barren erected in the 10th century these runes are piously preserved because they remain in spite of the passage of time a place that preserves the memory of millions of faithful not far from the Euphrates the shining goal of the Karbala mosque Coppola's are visible from far away the encircling laws and mosque walls are covered with blue mosaics with the excerpts of the corne written on them rich ornaments and bright colors dress up the entire interior Oh pilgrims came to meditate in the sanctuary where Hussein rests Muhammad's grandson decapitated during the Battle of Karbala in 680 giving his name to the city the coffin is sealed in a silver catafalque a silver screen also protects it from the fervor of the faithful every year millions of them gather here I arrived in the Holy Land Palestine here lies Jerusalem which after Mecca and Medina is the third holy place of Islam according to Alma TZ historian of the 10th century Jerusalem is a city that unites the advantages of this world and the world beyond it is the place that will receive the judgment from it will start the resurrection towards it or converge the crowds for the gathering in Christian Bethlem pilgrims enter the Church of the Nativity by bending down in memory of the fact that Jesus was born in a grotto an imposing basilisks was erected here with a choir just above the grotto and pilgrims come to pray on their knees on the paving stones Islam spread all the way to the confines of the deserts towards the rising and Setting Sun into deepest Africa during stops I met the rich and the humble of this world and I humble traveler among the humble rich however with everything my eyes had seen was always received with generosity water precious and rare is thus shared with passing visitors according to the laws of hospitality did not one of the prophets hadith recommend quenching the thirst of any creature blessed with life I headed once again for the high dunes in search of open spaces and infinite freedom I like these long camel trips where one would walk for weeks between two points of water sedentary life developed around the wells waters divided according to very ancient and precise rules that maintain and regulate social life and in this way life persists against the sand a constant battle even in the desert one can meet many people like this elegant woman and her children going to visit a family in a neighboring town I followed them to Shin Getty a holy city situated between the dunes of McTeer and Warren I found that the town possessed the only mosque whose minaret was crowned with triangular maryland's but Shin Gettys greatest glory remains its libraries 13,000 fabulous works bound in leather and pressed gold carried by pilgrims from northern Africa Egypt Assyria these old Illustrated currents and books of science and poetry remind us that Shin Getty was a university town and that savings and czars like books I set down my meager bags here to feed my animals and camp in the shade of the stone walls explorers traders conquerors and navigators hostile or benevolent have crossed these lands some of them traded others waged war still others went simply for the pleasure of knowing the world I myself pursue this pleasure my sole happiness here on earth and I arrived in Oman which faces the sea backed by desert the country possesses more than 2,000 kilometers of coast as a result since ancient times almonds history has been tied to maritime adventure the Portuguese made no mistakes here in the 16th century they seized so hard the ancient capital then Muscat to keep a closer watch over the Strait of all moves a strategic run on the road to India as great navigators do minions traded towards Asia on one hand and the East Africa coast on the other fax to their savoir faire these navigators knew how to place their country at the heart of exchanges between the continents for all of time the islands of the barren archipelago which means two seas have been targeted by conquerors situated on the road to India the country was also a crossroads taken over by Portuguese navigators who in 1507 established an important commercial center at valle Meuse and in the sixteenth century the Portuguese erected this fort on the remains of the ancient capital of Bo Ryan kala at alberene they maintained their dominance for nearly a century entrenched behind their walls protected with their cannons which can still be found along the pirate coast because these sovereigns of the world loved pearls and the Portuguese cannons stood guard over the banks of pearl oysters in the middle of the Gulf waters as in all islands and the brine archipelago consists of 33 both construction is an activity dating back several thousand years thanks to these sun bugs that can carry up to 15 people first contact with India was made via coastal trade this Perl boat being worked on by carpenters and joiners will be ready for the fishing season which extends from May to September captain divers dive crew and cooks stay on board for the entire season as it has always been the organization of the work is crude but the moment when the men opened the oysters for the flourish always remains a marvel this tale of my journey is told after my own fashion and I must be excused for jumping from place to place and from time to time crossing these innumerable mountainous and desert country sides one forgets that he's LOM gave the world and essentially urban civilization beautiful ground cities here are some the destiny placed in my path Bala which was medieval city in the 12th and 13th centuries dominated by its fort this town has torturous roads and tall rough cast houses it lost a number of its ancient monuments but the bow shaped squares vaulted passages and cellars testified to the activity that reigned here and here it's shabam in the province of harem out with its splendid houses that resemble seven to eight story towers made of dog clay they are regularly restored according to tradition and a centuries-old model the no less famous son our broad capital of old buildings that have also stood for centuries clinging along the rocky peak the facades are made of brick or cut stone Under the Sun Sana's houses show their range of colors from gray to rose decorated with whitewash in northern Saudi Arabia not far from the city of Riyadh I visited the site called Aldea for nearly five centuries these carefully decorated ramparts protected the ancient home of the saved family for a long time their residence was a model very vanity for the country's other cities a long careful restoration shows the grand interior courtyard and the double storied corridor just as they existed in the past an entire collection of fortifications each more imposing than the last permeates the OU Manian countryside these fortresses and Citadel's evoke the existence of the military aristocracy proud of its power faithfully restored today this architecture shelters palaces administration and vacation areas in the Oise azad region earth replaces stone the ancient residence of the Pasha of marrakech rises in the heart of the Kasbah here two fortified towns are built on rocky summits these houses are jewels of berber architecture decorated with Zelig and multicolored mosaics far towards the southwest voila tower architecture is unequaled this big village built on the slopes of the DAR has houses that are connected at the upper storeys over the streets it's like going into a new world that blends Maghreb and Sudan a world of red earth and symbols the house decorations are redone every autumn after the rains the edges of the windows and doors are whitewashed then designs and ash and SAP are traced on it the furniture and decorative clay objects blend well into the surroundings the mud dome walls are thick a material that can withstand bad weather as long as it is renewed regularly not far from the Umayyads mosque in the heart of Damas the as Impala's this palace States from 1749 an era when dammuz existed in tranquillity under the authority of allah some governors the residence of one of the most illustrious assad pasha al azim this sumptuous private home has been admirably decorated to its fullest advantage today its gardens marble columns sculptures and precious woodwork housed the Museum of full guard and tradition this immaculate courtyard under the Sun was the residence of the country's founder ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa the heavy doors armed with locks open onto the coolness of a veranda and a succession of vestibules this architectural model became very prized made entirely of native materials everything is kept up its refinement is admirable and one can imagine life of earlier times the collections and restorations of the National Museum of Qatar allows visitors to understand and feel the subtleties of an ancestral mode of living here our Socratic and elegant is the home of a rich pearl trader today the interior is magnificently restored and testifies to the importance of the pearl trade for the archipelago the windowed facades let light into the main room the paneled ceiling and painted wood covers everything pearl marker took place in the courtyard negotiations and trade of the harvest happened here under the attentive eye of the master of the house burr an pearls had the reputation to be the most beautiful on the Pearl bags soft water saucers bathed the oysters and modified their secretions these water sources created particularly symmetrical pearls with a rosy hue both of which made them valuable I read in several books that Islamic culture created beautiful and new cities while respecting those that already existed revisiting sidi bou saeed under the bleach Sun I remembered that Islamic art is not just religious far from it Islamic art designates an entire epoch in the history of art one of the greatest spiritual adventures that for the 8th to the 19th century borrowed from conquered people's this art developed a known savoir faire that consequently spread as in Hispanic Marche Art introduced in the 11th century by the Almoravids many residences were inspired by it like that of the Tunis Medina the arch the chapel the cupola all the architectural elements were adopted as were decorative elements the epitaph the arabesque and the flower door geometric motif certain materials were abundant and lent themselves to the styles tradition ceramic plaster sculpted or painted wood and that has remained to our era according to contemporary tastes and fashions we no longer reproduce but adapt architectural II something new and the voyage continued curious about all that I discovered listening to everything that was said I above all loved lounging for long hours meeting simple or exceptional people because after all what would be the glory of all these places if it weren't for the people who created them I liked finding my contemporaries where life was in full swing in the markets I'm Engel dwith active and industrious men observing the slightest little event that satisfied my deep curiosity as a good observer I felt like taking some sparse notes like a sketchbook here's what my hand captured setting down these circular gestures that came from the depth of time and I have only mentioned a few examples from the large palette of trades that comprise the pride of the people to work earth that first noble material one must first have infinite knowledge and especially in a man's respect I captured the slightest gesture his skill and precision his tireless repetition weathered concerned pottery wheel baking the pottery a named Ling or decorating all these gestures have withstood the test of time because of rules these rules gave birth to craftsmanship but knowing the materials the how-to and manufacturing isn't enough the art of transmitting from father to son master to disciple is what makes these gestures live today I admired each gestures importance making the artisan a preserver of heritage and a creator of beauty Oh Potter Taylor coppersmith or glassblower each of these trades live on traditions that cross time and countries for example this goldsmith patiently engraving that no boost element gold from Mecca after years of these pilgrimages I felt rich with meetings and new knowledge I learned a lot from these people who unconsciously transformed me but soon if I may be forgiven the memory of my native land haunted me the sounds and sense of the Medina's I felt the vague and incessant nostalgia and wanted to deafen myself with the music and the dances as if to forget Oh i pridefully wanted to be the greatest traveler of Islam at some point or another after seeing all these wonders and many more every traveler is beset with a deep abiding nostalgia I returned home my memory retained so many splendors so many emotions linked to them as everyone knows the great people of the world loved great stories the king a Bowie nun ordered me to dictate my memoirs to his secretary even news I I was flattered and did so with pleasure during the telling I seize the opportunity to remind the prince that the world had grown apart from the ancient East to decipher it revived its past sources would that not be to give everyone a common heritage Oh you

Channel: UNESCO

Views: 95,654

Rating: 4.7700653 out of 5

Keywords: arab culture, arabia plan, arab heritage, world heritage, arab, documentary, unesco, history, heritage, civilization, plan arabia, unite4heritage, #unite4heritage

Id: gg-oyrOFosY

Length: 53min 54sec (3234 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 10 2014

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[u/khoderzzz]

Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city.