ANCIENT WELL ... : 無料・フリー素材/写真
ANCIENT WELL ... / mrbill78636
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Our Flickrfriend, Hmood who lives in Duba, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is on a photoshoot now at some historical sites in Arabia. Most of what I will post is in the same vicinity. Some findings here go back four centuries. Here' is the pertinent information. The well is described in the very last paragraph.Here's Hmood's photostream and I see he's posting them at large sizes. I'll start turning them into paintings now and then refer you back to the originals. This is really great stuff.www.flickr.com/photos/33724967@N04/These are relatively small files, I'm not sure if Hmood zips them before he sends them, or if my software zips them upon receipt, but at any rate they get zipped and I open them at about 400 pizels height. I can only effectively enlarge them to 800 pixels and then I simplify them for better visuals. You go on ahead, I really don't need to climb all the way to the bottom of the well...ok?Passing Through Al-JoufIbtissam Al-Sahli Umar Mosque ASSYRIANS, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Nabataeans, and Muslims — they all passed this place, no matter where they were from, and this should suggest some importance. Al-Jouf, the heart of the northern Saudi region, was once the gateway to the north and to Iraq and sometimes the site of fierce conflicts between ancient nations. Al-Jouf is strategically located at the junction of many main roads. Some tales say the Queen of Sheba passed through Al-Jouf on her way to visit Suliman ibn Dawood. The Shebans themselves often traveled the road stretching from the south of the Arabian peninsula to Syria.In the first millennium, the road was of the utmost importance to the civilization and political history of the Arabian peninsula. The road began in Yemen, passing north, parallel to the Red Sea continuing on to Madinah, Ula, Madain Saleh, and then to Petra in Jordan.Another road went west to Gaza and Asqalan on the Mediterranean and a third went from Petra to Damascus and on into Asia Minor, modern Turkey. A fourth road went from Madain Saleh to Taima and then to Iraq or Al-Jouf and from Al-Jouf to Wadi Sirhan and on to Syria. These roads were important highways for Arab civilizations such as Sheba between the tenth and fifth centuries B.C., Qatyan between the fourth century B.C., and the fifth century A.D. and Najran between the fourth century B.C. and the fifth century A.D. In the Islamic period, the region received the attention of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh ) and the caliphs who came after him. Al-Jouf region consists of several cities and villages, the most important of which, from a historical point of view, are Doumat Al Jandal, Skaka, Al-Tuwair and Qara. The area is located beyond the Al-Nufud Desert which covers the area like a reddish-yellow carpet. Arriving by air in Al-Jouf, the Al-Nufud looks even more beautiful than was reported by the 19th century British traveler, Lady Anne Blunt, the granddaughter of the famous poet, Lord Byron, and wife of the British poet and politician, Wilfred Blunt. Lady Anne made her journey to Najd in 1878 in search of Arabian horses and she wrote her story in a book published in 1881. She recorded, " It looked at first instance like a total chaos of sand dunes moving here and there but after hours of traveling, we began to discover more striking properties. Large sand cavities from one acre to 200 acres in size in horseshoe shapes." Marid FortressMany remains, such as the old city in a circular area surrounded by the Al-Jouf mountain range are found in Doumat Al-Jandal, 55 kilometers from Sakaka, the capital of Al-Jouf. The mountain range is 152 meters high and in the center of the circle is Marid Fortress which overlooks the entire Al-Jouf valley. The age of the fortress has not yet been accurately determined but it is certain that the lower part was built before the 3rd century A.D. Sheikh Hamad Al Jasir in his book, "North-Eastern Peninsula" said that Doumat Al-Jandal was first mentioned in the 3rd century A.D. during the reign of Zenobia (267-272 A.D), the famous Arab queen of Tadmur- Palmyra in modern Syria. Al Jasir said that evidence indicated that Zenobia invaded Doumat Al-Jandal but the city resisted successfully and the queen returned home with no booty.Doumat Al Jandal appears again in history in the 5th century when it was conquered by the Arab King Imro'al-Kais, who lived in Iraq but moved later to Doumat Al-Jandal. In the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Imro'al-Kais became very strong and he controlled the area known today as Jordan, taking the island at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba from the Byzantines.In the Islamic period, Doumat Al-Jandal resisted three attacks but fell to the fourth. Much destruction occurred to the outer wall of the fortress and the towers when the fortress was attacked by Sattam bin Sha'alan in 1853.According to Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudairi in his book, " Al-Jouf Wadi Al-Nofakh", Talal ibn Rashid conquered the fortress later but Nawaf Al-Sha'alan managed to hold it despite a 10-month siege. A local story has it that Nawaf asked Syria to supply him with special mountain-climbing tools to help his men climb the fortress walls.Al-Twair FortressThe archaeological mission to Al-Jouf in 1976 discovered the old city of Al-Twair which was built over an area of 500 by 250 meters but is now covered by sand dunes. Remains of an old wall were found in addition to containers and dishes made of blue and green ceramics. Such remains may date as early as the first century B.C., which is supported by the Greek geographers who said that the region was inhabited at that time. Above a large group of rocks is Al-Twair Fortress at an elevation that permits control of a wide area and allows observation of movements in all directions. On the rocks, there are Thamudian and Nabataean inscriptions in addition to drawings of seven ostriches.Za'abal FortressOn the top of a steep sand hill northwest of Sakaka stands Za'abal Fortress. It is an irregular building with a tower at each corner; one tower is still in good condition.The fortress was built on the ruins of an old building. The new building is 150 years old; however, the people of the area argue that the building might be as much as 300 years old but all agree that it was built on the remains of an older fortress. People from Al-Jouf say that the grave of a companion of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is at the foot of the hill. No one, however, knows who the companion was. Near Za'abal Fortress, there is a cave called Hadhra and though the origin of the name is unknown, it might be named after someone who once lived in the area. Another fortress is on one of the hills near Za'abal Fortress. It is said that the fortress was the castle of Mursal Al-Dwaihi Al-Khalidi of Sakaka and that it is 200 years old. The presence of so many fortresses indicates the importance of Al-Jouf to those who once lived there. The absence of natural barriers such as mountains or deep valleys was the reason for building fortresses which could protect the locals from enemy attacks. Al-Jouf not only possesses fortresses but many other archaeological sites, such as the Mosque of Omar ibn Al-Khatab, built in 638 A.D. as Omar marched to Jerusalem. At Prince Mountain near Za'abal Fortress, there are drawings featuring female agricultural workers performing traditional activities. There is also the Sysra well, 200 meters southwest of Az'abal Fortress. The well is drilled in a semi-conical shape in the rocks with a ladder excavated on the sides of the well to the bottom which is 15 meters from the surface. There are openings in the rocks under the ladder. One of them leads to a tunnel in the well. At Al-Rajajil, 10 kilometers southeast of Sakaka, there are 50 groups of columns called Al-Rajajil, most of which are broken, laying on the ground. |
| 撮影日 | 2010-05-15 16:07:27 |
| 撮影者 | mrbill78636 , PFLUGERVILLE TEXAS, USA |
| 撮影地 | |
| カメラ | Canon EOS REBEL T1i , Canon |
| 露出 | 0.005 sec (1/200) |
| 開放F値 | f/6.3 |
| 焦点距離 | 18 mm |