The Garden of Eden
In his new book
Legend: The Genesis of Civilisation David Rohl goes to northern Iran to search for the Garden of Eden. According to the Bible, four rivers flowed out of Paradise: the Pishon, the Gihon, the Hiddekel (Tigris) and the Euphrates (Genesis 2:10-14). In Persian rugs these four rivers are often depicted schematically. In the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra four streams flow away from the central fountain with the lions. The garden of the Taj Mahal also represents Paradise.
The Tigris and the Euphrates present no problems; the other rivers are more difficult to find. But according to the historian the river Aras in the Zagros Mountains used to be called the 'Gaihun'. That can be the Gihon. (There was also a Gihon near Zion.) In the vicinity there is also a river called 'Uizun' - the Pishon. According to Salibi, the Garden of Eden was an oasis in the Arabian desert.
Ubar
In 1992 the lost city of Ubar (ca. 2800 BC - 300 AD) was found with the aid of space photographs taken from the Space Shuttle. A photograph of the land around Ubar is now available on the Internet, together with a recent radar image (see below). Other images, e.g. of Angkor Vat, are also available. Ubar itself is invisible, but the caravan paths that led to it can be seen.
Oman is apparently active in the field of archaeology. It also sponsored
Tim Severin's voyage in the wake of Sinbad the Sailor. Ubar was found by the British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and a team of American experts. Sir Ranulph thinks that Ubar was the same as Omanum Emporium (=trading place) and Irem, which is mentioned in the Koran. On queen Hatshepsut's reliefs of the expedition to Punt 'chiefs of Irem' are depicted. Irem is also mentioned on a list of Thutmoses III.
Did the Bible come from Arabia