Page 41 - Holyland Magazine - 2010 Edition
P. 41
crossroads. Its sprawling cities, crowned world culture that the Negev segment of an intricate wine press, containing a treading
with elaborate churches, boasted busy the “Incense Route,” as it is called, has floor where “new wine” (Mark 2:22) was
markets where the aroma of spices and the been inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO made (later taken to be aged in wine cellars
fragrance of perfumes filled the air, while list of World Heritage Sites. located in the city’s cool natural caves).
colorful displays of fruits and vegetables
against the sturdy stone walls tempted In 106 CE, the Nabatean kingdom was How could grapes grow in such an arid
travelers and merchants. The cities declined annexed by the Romans and became part environment? Ancient farmers utilized even
and were forgotten after the Muslim conquest of the defense network of the Roman the dew of the desert night to irrigate their
in the 7th century and silence reigned in Empire. When Christianity became the plants. They also built dams across even
the region for centuries thereafter. But empire’s official religion after three centuries the smallest valleys and channels through
Ben-Gurion believed the land could be as an underground faith, the cities that had which desert flood water could reach the
fruitful again. grown out of the caravan stations embraced reservoirs they dug. Below Avdat is an
the new teachings. Replacing the pagan experimental agricultural station where
Those cities – Avdat, Mamshit and Shivta temples were churches adorned with Israeli agronomists from Ben-Gurion
by name – were not originally Christian. multicolored mosaics depicting birds, University in Beersheba are trying to unravel
A mosaic cross, over 1,500 years old. Pomegranates, symbols of wisdom, adorn the floor. This ancient mosaic mentions Nilus, “lover of Jesus.”
Their founders were a desert people known animals and Christian symbols. There were the secrets of the ancient farmers. Over
as the Nabateans, masters of the caravan also fonts in which to baptize the new the past decade, vineyards have again begun
route bringing priceless frankincense and members of the faith. Agriculture, which to dot the Negev, along with olive and
myrrh from Arabia to their capital, the the Nabateans had introduced by learning citrus groves, and fields of vegetables.
legendary rose-red city of Petra (in present- how to collect, channel and preserve every
day Jordan). From there, the goods were drop of rain, flourished even more, with The gateway of Avdat’s city fortress leads
taken across the Arava Valley and the Negev grape vines and fruit trees greening the to its two grand churches. A tomb,
to the Mediterranean port at Gaza, bound dun-colored hills. containing the remains of church leader
for points west. Thousands of camels bore Theodorus, was discovered in the southern
treasures across the desert from way station Your visit to the Negev churches might best church. The northern church, attached to
to way station, three months in each begin at Avdat. There, at the visitors center, the ruins of a Nabatean temple, contained
direction, led by men who spent their lives you can learn about the inhabitants of the a marble-lined baptistery. Its balcony affords
growing wise in the ways of the wilderness. desert in ancient as well as modern times. a magnificent view of the surroundings,
So significant was this road to regional and Then you’re ready for a tour of the ruins, framed by ancient pillars, now undergoing
crowning the hill above. First you come to reconstruction. Continuing the tour, you’ll
