A few days ago we were talking about aqueducts and the very cool engineering associated with them. There are also some incredible aqueduct tunnels.
Tunnels
Aqueducts sometimes run for some or all of their path through tunnels constructed underground. A version of this common in North Africa and Central Asia that has vertical wells at regular intervals is called a qanat. One historic example found in Syria, the Qanat Firaun, extends over 100 kilometers.
Wikipedia
Pharaoh’s Watercourse / Qanat Fir’aun
Gadara Aqueduct / Qanat Fir’aun
The Gadara Aqueduct, also called Qanatir Fir’awn or Qanat Fir’aun (Pharaoh’s Watercourse), was a Roman aqueduct supplying water for some of the cities of the Decapolis. It serviced Adraha (known today as Dera’a in Syria), Abila (at Wadi Queilebh in Jordan), and Gadara (modern-day Umm Qais in Jordan). The aqueduct has the longest known tunnel of the Classical era.
Wikipedia
Semi-Sequitur: The Sea of Galilee
Qanat Fir’aun is less than 20 miles from the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, Arabic: بحيرة طبريا) is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a salt lake), at levels between 215 and 209 metres (705 and 686 ft) below sea level. It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 metres (141 ft). The lake is fed partly by underground springs, but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south and exits the lake at the Degania Dam.
Wikipedia
WLBOTT featured a pretty cool video about life at the time of Jesus. The Sea of Galilee featured significantly in Jesus’ life.
By Davidbena – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
By LMorland – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Peter’s Fish (tilapia), populating the Sea of Galilee, is a fascinating subject, perhaps BLOTT-worthy on it’s own.
Back to the Qanat Fir’aun Tunnel
Some interesting engineering analysis can be found on Ancient Pages.
Nearby City of Daraa
Daraa (Arabic: دَرْعَا, romanized: Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: [ˈdarʕa], also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera’a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means “fortress”, compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate, historically part of the ancient Hauran region.
According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics, Daraa had a population of 97,969 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiyah (“sub-district”) which contains eight localities with a collective population of 146,481 in 2004. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Daraa became known as the “cradle of the revolution” after protests at the arrest of 15 boys from prominent families for painting graffiti with anti-government slogans sparked the beginning of the 2011 Syrian Revolution.
The city of Daraa played an important role by the start of the 2011 uprising against the government led by President Bashar al-Assad as part of the Arab Spring protests with hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the city. The uprising was sparked on 6 March 2011, when at least 15 youths were arrested and tortured for scrawling graffiti on their school wall denouncing the Assad regime. The family and friends of the detained youths and tens of thousands of locals marched on the streets on 15 March, demanding their release. According to activists, this protest was faced with Syrian security forces opening fire on the protesters killing four people. Protests continued daily.
Wikipedia
Pictures from Daraa
Whenever there is suffering, chaos, evil, corruption, brutal dictators, violence…. why do you always see the Russian flag?
A Quick Look at Syria
Being ranked third last on the 2022 Global Peace Index and 5th highest in the 2023 Fragile States Index, Syria is one of the most violent countries in the world. The country is amongst the most dangerous places for journalism and is ranked 6th worst in 2023 World Press Freedom Index. Syria is the most corrupt country in the MENA region and was ranked the second lowest globally on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index. The country has also become the epicentre of a state-sponsored multi-billion dollar illicit drug cartel, the largest in the world.
The Syrian civil war has killed more than 570,000 people, with pro-Assad forces causing more than 90% of the total civilian casualties. The war led to the Syrian refugee crisis, with an estimated 7.6 million internally displaced people (July 2015 UNHCR figure) and over 5 million refugees (July 2017 registered by UNHCR),[24] making population assessment difficult in recent years. The war has also worsened economic conditions, with more than 90% of the population living in poverty and 80% facing food insecurity.
Wikipedia
Great job, Bashar.
Nearby city of Irbid, Jordon
Irbid (Arabic: إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of Irbid Governorate. It has the second-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 2,003,800. As a city, Irbid is Jordan’s third-largest, after Amman and Zarqa.
Wikipedia
Olive Trees
Back to Qanat Fir’aun. It’s hard to verify, but it appears that Qanat Fir’aun is surrounded by olive orchards.
Growth and propagation
Olive trees show a marked preference for calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags, and coastal climate conditions. – Wikipedia
They grow in any light soil, even on clay if well drained, but in rich soils, they are predisposed to disease and produce poor quality oil. (This was noted by Pliny the Elder.) Olives like hot weather and sunny positions without any shade, while temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F) may injure even a mature tree. They tolerate drought well because of their sturdy and extensive root systems. Olive trees can remain productive for centuries as long as they are pruned correctly and regularly.
Allergenic potential
Olive tree pollen is extremely allergenic, with an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10. Olea europaea is primarily wind-pollinated and its light, buoyant pollen is a strong trigger for asthma.
Wikipedia
By Neptuul – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Age / Size
There seems to be some controversy over the world’s oldest and world’s largest olive tree, but there are claims of olive trees being over 4,000 years old.
Olives seem to be a very worthy topic for a future BLOTT.
Our minimal research turned up this…. but we suspect it is not an actual olive.