They were harmonious with other peoples' gods; they were nomads and travellers and master builders and expert at conserving rare winter rains. Some history of the Nabateans, forerunners alongside the major religious groups and we people we know today in the Middle East. What they teach us? Why can't we all just get along?
The transition between paganism and three major monotheistic religions in the southern Levant is one of themes that intrigues Professor Robert Schick from the University of Mainz in Germany. Pagans were very connected to the cycles of the earth, and like all ancient people reckoned with nature to understand why they exist and how to survive.
The Romans loved them some stinky fish sauce. Vats and vats of it. With wine. Vats used to produce fish sauce (garum) that are among the few known in the Eastern Mediterranean, were recently uncovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Ashkelon. The excavation was done before building and Eco-Sport Park, has revealed evidence of […]
The history and legends of the noble olive.
Khirret is still made in southern Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, but it's appreciated for its rarity, rather than a sweet that stands in competition with commercial candies.
A curious physicist revived 5000-year-old yeast and baked delicious bread from it.
Conventional thought among archaeologists was that Neolithic people didn’t settle in the area around the Judean Hills. Yet Motza, 5 kilometers west of Jerusalem, was always within easy distance of fresh water from the Sorek river, and near good agricultural ground. A trail coming from the southern foothills allowed access to traders and emigrants. All […]
Terracotta vats and vessels stained purple from the fabulous dyes of the Bible era were excavated 50 years ago at the site of Tel Shikmona, south of Haifa. But no further studies were done on the Iron-Age findings. The pottery sat gathering even more dust on storehouse shelves at Haifa University. History waited to be […]
What would Tutankhamun say? Remember when mummies starting floating up in sewage? This story is even better. Security officials at the Cairo International Airport foiled a plot to smuggle ancient mummified limbs out of the country in a couple of loudspeakers. On a plane to Belgium, the X-ray technicians noticed something fishy and looked deep […]
We’ve all heard about the Good Samaritan. What about the Wealthy Samaritan? And did you know that two small groups of native Samaritans still live in Israel protecting their customs as they did in biblical times? A 1,600 year old estate of a wealthy Samaritan covered in Central Israel at Zur Natan. The estate, discovered in […]
It takes grit to pursue a dream, and for Dutch carpenter Johan Huibers, a literal dream drove him to recreate Noah’s Ark. Convinced that he’d received a sign from God after a nightmare in which epic storms flooded Holland, the devout Christian determined to teach the world about coming end times, using as an evangelical […]
When wandering in the streets and piazzas of Rome, it is always a surprise to encounter Egyptian obelisks and Pharaonic monuments, reminders of the ancient links between Egypt and Rome. However, it is even more exciting to visit the prestigious Egyptian Academy, a cultural facility established near Rome’s Villa Borghese, next to a group of […]
Here at Green Prophet we support the use of cannabis as an alternative medicine. Cannabidiol, one of the molecules of cannabis, tends to be a natural remedy that is used and effective for some common ailments. It is regarded as a chemical compound that is present in the cannabis/marijuana plant. When it comes to tetrahydrocannabinol […]
Though we might want to add any kind of agriculture performed more than 100 years ago to the list worth protecting, we’ll take what the UN”s FAO is offering: Traditional ginseng farming in the Republic of Korea and olive tree groves in Italy’s Umbria region have been recognized on the register of Globally Important Agricultural […]
You can get thrown in jail in Saudi Arabia for making out on the beach, but with its new leader’s mission to modernize the ultra-conservative Islamic society, Saudi Arabia may become one of the top 10 beach destinations in the world. Maybe even topless? Well, let’s not go that far. But it is located on […]
The Australian government is investigating the case of a 95-year-old Perth woman accused of looting artefacts from Middle Eastern countries including Egypt. Joan Howard – now dubbed “Indiana Joan” – lived in during the 1960s and 70s with her husband, a senior official with the United Nations.
The oldest evidence of food storage rituals has been found by researchers from the University of Haifa and the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin during excavations at the prehistoric site of Tel Tsaf, in Israel. An unusual pottery vessel illuminates how people climbed social statuses fast. The vessel, which is over 7,000 years old, reveals […]
Petra’s pink city was built by water smart Nabateans. Ancient Jewish prayers still recited today include special mention of dew in the summer and rain in the winter. Survival of Israelites back then, and of the Israelis in modern times, rests largely on how much water is available for agriculture. While Israel has answers to […]
Palmaculture is a new name for an old concept – one which helped green the Middle East with traditional palm gardens called bustans For centuries now date palm groves have been present in the hot deserts of MENA stretching from Morocco in the west to Yemen in the south. Indeed these man-made ecosystems have been […]
