72 -Friday, August 15, 1980
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Ancient Nabatean Cities Show Potential o
By ARHEY LOUV
Israel Government
Tourist Office
The Negev desert is a
spectacular expanse of
rocky mountains, craters
and ravines covering one-
half of the area of Israel.
The landscape is majestic,
at times inhospitable. Be-
douin barely manage to
scrape together an exist-
ence, moving north when
the season or a particular
year is too dry.
Modern settlements and
new Negev cities are depen-
dent either on scarce water
springs or on the national
water system. And yet,
2,000 years ago people lived
here in an • organized
society, building cities and
growing crops . . . till they
disappeared in the Sixth
Century.
Originally a nomadic
people, the Nabateans made
their appearance in the
Negev in the Fourth Cen-
tury BCE. During the fol-
lowing centuries, they con-
trolled the trade routes be-
tween Arabia and the
Mediterranean, transport-
ing highly valuable ship-
ments of spices and
frankincense as well as
myrrh for cosmetics and
medicines.
They built cities to con-
trol the caravan trails
and to provide services
for the camel drivers and
their beasts of burden.
And when their territory
became part of the
Roman empire, com-
merce passed into other
,,hands.and the Nabateans
switched to agriculture.
In the Negev desert the
Nabateans built — as far as
we know from various his-
torical documents — about
half a dozen cities. Since the
end of the 19th Century,
they have been the object of
searches and excavations by
historians and ar-
cheologists eager to dis-
cover more about these des-
ert people.
Six cities have been lo-
cated and identified and
three of them completely
excavated and partly re-
stored. These three — Av-
.dat, Subeita and Mampsis
— are part of the network of
historical sites run by Is-
rael's National Parks
Authority, which has con-
ducted the excavations and
posted clear, explanatory
signs throughout the cities,
so that visitors can get a
clear picture of what went
on there in ages past.
A walk through these
desert ghost towns is an un-
usual experience. We are
instantly transported 2,000
years back into history. We
pass from dwellings to
churches, from stables to
bathhouses. Everything is
as silent as the desert
around us. And yet the mute
stones are testimony of
bustling activity, of vital
communities.
Two of the cities,
Mampsis (Mamshit in
Hebrew) and Subeita
(Shivta), are compact
enclaves whose buildings
huddle together against
the heat and sand of the
desert. Avdat, the third
city, sprawls on a moun-
tain ridge; its acropolis
looks down on the pre-
sent . highway from
Beersheba to the Red Sea
at Eilat, or, in keeping
with the period, from
Gaza to the Nabatean
capital Petra.
The Nabateans built in
stone, which they could
quarry in unlimited quan-
tities. They were among.the
firstin this part of the world
to use the arch to support
ceilings and roofs, since
wood for beams was not
available. The thick walls
had three layers of stone
and rubble, plastered on the
inside, to keep the heat out,
and windows were placed to
provide maximum ventila-
tion.
In matters of religion, the
Nabateans moved with the
times. Starting out with
their own astral religion,
Shown are the excavations of the ancient Naha-
tean city of Avdat which attract visitors from
throughout the world to the middle of the Negev des-
ert.
they built temples to Jupi-
ter and Venus when the
Romans took over. When
Christianity became the of-
ficial religion of the Empire
in the Fourth Century, they
tore down the temples to
make room for churches, of
which we find a number in
each city, along with
monasteries.
Various details of these
earliest churches in Chris-
tianity, built between the
Fourth and Sixth Cen-
turies, allow us to trace the
evolution of church rites.
An unexpected find in
each of the three cities
are large stables in some
of the houses. Horse
breeding was an impor-
tant source of income
from the First Century
on. The Nabateans
crossbred the small,
sturdy Asian horse with
the fast North African
steed, thus producing the
Arabian mount which
was in demand for rac-
ing.
Also, camels were raised
and supplied to caravan
traders and to the army. A
sizeable part of the city of
Avdat, still visible, was set
aside as a camel-pen.
Each city has remains of
wine presses.. How could
they grow grapes in this
desert area, which has only
about four inches of rain a
year? The amazing thing is
that- they grew not only
grapes, but also barley as
camel fodder, as well as
fruit trees.
Israel's agronomists have
invested years of work in
finding out how the Naba-
teans did it and in trying to
reconstruct their methods.
They have succeeded, and
two flourishing . farms out-
side Avdat and Shivta now
produce bountiful crops of
grapes, pistachio, peaches
and apricots, without a drop
of artificial irrigation.
The secret of Nabatean
farming was channeling
the sparse rainfall from a
large area to a smaller
tract where crops were
grown. The ratio between
the drainage area and the
tilled fields was 20 or
even 30 to one. Thus, if a
certain area had two in-
ches of rainfall a year, the
tilled fields would get 75
inches.
This canyon at Ein Avdat, in the "Wilderness of
Zin," contains ice-cold water throughout the year.
The cultivated fields were
arranged terrace-wise on
mountain slopes, and the
Water would be carefully
channeled through each
level before being allowed to
run down to the lower
levels. One of these recon-
structed farms is clearly vis-
ible from the acropolis at
Avdat.
The Nabateans main-
tained their desert exist-
ence throughout 10 or more
centuries by adapting
themselves to changing re-
gimes and circumstances.
When trade routes shifted
to other areas and other
peoples, they made agricul-
ture their mainstay. With
changing overlords they
changed their faith. But
when the Moslem rulers
made their life too difficult
through--excessive taxes,
they pulled up their stakes
and moved awayi we know
not where.
They left their cities,
their houses, their public
buildings and their farms.
Nobody took their place.
Nobody even bothered to
traverse the desert sands to
take away the valuable
stones of their buildings.
Slowly the cities were
covered by sand, to re-
emerge only in the 20th
Century.
Of the three cities, Avdat
has the most visitors, being
on the road from Beersheba
to Eilat and a popular place
to break the journey, at the
site's restaurant. Avdat
boasts a magnificent rock_
pool in a sheltered creek,
whose icy water refreshes
on even the hottest day. Vis-
itors can also take in the
small museum. Shivta and
Mamshit are not on the
main highway, but are
nevertheless well worth the
detour.
- Housewife and Spy Tale of Shula
By HEIDI PRESS
To eliminate boredom
some housewives play ten-
nis. Others go back to
school. Some find jobs out-
side the home. Shulamit
Kishak-Cohen became a spy
for Israel. -
The fascinating story of
Mrs. Cohen is recaptured in
a new Delacorte Press-
published book, "Shula:
Code Name the Pearl."
Written by Aviezer Golan
and Danny -Pinkas, "Shula"
tells the tale of the Israeli-
born mother of seven who
riske&a death sentence to
serve as an aide to Israeli
intelligence operations.
"Shula" is a story of in-
trigue, adventure, fear,
bravery, bribery and
backstabbing — all ele-
ments involved in providing
for the security of Israel.
It is a fast-paced story,
but read it carefully so
not to confuse the cast of
characters who became
part of the network of
which Mrs. Cohen be-
came an important link.
The authors offer a dis-
claimer to readers. Inside
the back jacket flap appears
this explanation: "For rea-
sons of security, the authors
have disguised the iden- -
tities of many of the people
and places appearing in its
pages, and have been _selec-
tive in their inclusion or
omission of information and
incidents. In a few cases
they have deliberately fic-
tionalized events."
The story centers around
Jerusalem-born Shulamit ,
Cohen). who was betrothed
to a wealthy Lebanese
Jewish merchant for the
dowry it would bring when
her father's financial situa-
tion deteriorated. The older
balding Joseph Kishak was
hardly the man of the young
Shula's dreams. Yet, de-
spite Shula's misgivings at
first and espionage activi-
ties throughout their mar-
riage, the couple retained a
happy relationship.
During tier years as a spy,
Shula helped smuggle Sy-
rian and Iraqi Jews to Is-
rael. She also passed along
military and political in-
formation.
, Although Joseph was
against her activities, he
soon acquiesced and
often provided assis-
tance (mostly money) to
his wife. What is ironic is
the fact that it was by
means of her husband
that Shula's career be-
gan. It was outside of her
husband's shop that she
overheard a conversa-
tion between some
peddlers about an im-
pending attack on Israel.
After having passed
along that information to
Israel, she was asked by
Israeli intelligence
authorities to join the
network.
That decision led her into
a lifestyle that often drew
her away from her family,
but allowed her to maintain
relationships with
Lebanese "top brass." The
"top brass" were not neces-
sarily in the government;
they were usually persons
who could get anything
done at any price. Money
plays an important role in
the spy activities, and many
palms were "schmeared" to
-
gain the results Shula
aimed for in her efforts on
behalf of Israel.
Journalists Golan and
Pinkas present an exciting
story and in an afterword
they point out that Shula
and her family were finally
brought to Israel after she
suffered a nearly-
devastating trial and in-
carceration in Lebanon. To-
day, she manages an an-
tique shop near the King
David Hotel.
Reading "Shula: Code
Name the Pearl" is an ad-
venture that is sure to ap-
peal to all. -
Maccabia Games Set for
NEW YORK — The 11th
Maccabia Games will be
held in Israel July 6-16,
1981. Since the first Mac-
cabia Games in 1932,
thousands of Jewish
athletes from around the
world have taken part in the
games, recognized by the
International Olympic
Committee and the Interna-
tional Sports Federation as
one of only six such interna-
tional events equivalent in
stature to the Olympic
Games.
Some 3,000 athletes and
contestants from 30 coun-
tries will take part in the
10-day games, participating
in 30 different sporting
events. The games will be
1
an
held mostly in Ran:
and the Tel Aviv metropoli-
tan area.
Fifty thousand spectators
at Ramat Gan Olympic
Stadium are expected to
watch Israel's President
Navon declare the games
open.
A concert in honor of the
games is set for July 4, 1981,
given by the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra,
conducted by Zubin Mehta.
A festival of gymnastics and
folklore will be held July
11-13 in Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem and Haifa, with
Israel and international
folklore groups performing
with the games' competing
gymnasts.