Monastery landscape of El-Bariyah
The monastery landscape El-Bariyah (Arabic برية barrija "wilderness") is a region in the Judean Desert east of Jerusalem . It is located in the Palestinian Territories and was put on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2012 .
description
It is a treeless, arid limestone plateau with a thin layer of humus, in which deep wadis have cut through erosion, which drain their water towards the Dead Sea . Located in the rain shadow of the central highlands, there is little rainfall here: from west to east it decreases between 400 mm and 150 mm annually. On the other hand, there is plenty of local water from springs that are active all year round. This is how diverse vegetation developed in a desert habitat.
El Bariyah is recognized by BirdLife International as a particularly important stage stop on the migration route of many bird species, as well as an important breeding area. The Palestinian Authority, as the applicant, refers to an area of 500 hectares designated by Bird Life International as “Mar Saba-Kidron Valley”. The following breeding and resident birds are highlighted: the red chalk falcon Falco naumanni (around ten breeding pairs), the Arabian sand grouse Ammoperdix heyi, the tristram star Onychognathus tristramii, the Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus and the Jericho nectar bird Cinnyris osea.
Traces of human settlement have existed since prehistoric times (caves of 'Iraq al-Ahmar, Umm Qal'a and Umm Qatafa'). The inhabitants of these caves lived 100,000–10,000 BCE in what was then a forested mountain area above a river. In Umm Qatafa ' , an examined in the 1930 Fund's Square from the Acheulean , are the earliest traces of prehistoric fire usage in Palestine.
The palace fortress Herodium from Roman times visually dominates the landscape of El-Bariyah. It was created on an artificially raised hill and has a highly developed water supply. Therefore, in the Byzantine period (6th - 7th centuries) monks settled here. They converted the fortress into a monastery and built churches at the foot of the hill.
The landscape of El Bariyah was in different periods of history a retreat for people who wanted to turn their backs on civilization, as the tale of Jesus' temptation in the desert , which was localized by tradition here, stands for. This becomes visible in the traces that Byzantine hermits left on the landscape. A central figure for the desert monkhood in Palestine was the holy Chariton . The monasteries Mar Saba , the Georgskloster and the Theodosioskloster bear witness to the once blooming monastic landscape with 73 monastic settlements .
In Islamic times, shrines ( maqams ) were built like Chan el-Ahmar (" Chan of the red rocks", the former Euthymioskloster destroyed by Saladin in 1187) and Maqam an-Nabi Musa (a "mighty complex with high protective walls, numerous domes and a white minaret ”), because this is where the Muslim pilgrimage route to Mecca ran.
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World Heritage Candidate
To justify the fact that the monastery landscape deserves World Heritage status, the following is given in accordance with the World Heritage criteria:
- Criterion I: From prehistoric times (Umm Qatafa ') through antiquity (Herodium) to the Byzantine period (desert monasteries), the landscape of El-Bariyah has outstanding evidence of how people were able to adapt to a hostile environment.
- Criterion II: Monasticism was a significant politico-religious movement in Byzantine times, and the El-Bariyah landscape was one of the most important monastic centers in the world.
- Criterion III: The Mar Saba Monastery in the Kidron Valley was built in the 5th century and is inhabited by monks until the 21st century. It is an outstanding example of continuous development, which can also be seen in the architecture.
The monastery landscape of Bariyah is characterized by the proximity to the holy places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and thus has its own color compared to other monasteries that have a similarly long history, namely the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai and the Studio Monastery in Istanbul.
The Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh sees the possible upgrading of the region as a world cultural heritage as an opportunity. The tourism in the autonomous areas, which has hitherto been focused on Bethlehem, has development potential through opening up the hinterland. Israel has long used the designation of scenic and historically significant sites to steer tourism there, but also to deepen the identification of its own people with the historical heritage.
Web links
- UNESCO tentative list: El-Bariyah: wilderness with monasteries
- Emek Shave: The role of ancient sites in the political struggle in the Bethlehem area (“Gush Etzion”) and their economic and educational potential
- Hamdan Taha: Al-Bariyah - a Unique Habitat Zone. A Potential World Heritage Site
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mar Saba - Wadi Qadron PS004. In: BirdLife International. Retrieved June 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Robin Dennell : The Palaeolithic settlement of Asia . Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 285 .
- ↑ Othmar Keel, Max Küchler: Places and landscapes of the Bible . tape 2 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1982, p. 472 .
- ↑ Othmar Keel, Max Küchler: Places and landscapes of the Bible . tape 2 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1982, p. 477 .
Coordinates: 31 ° 42 ′ 18 ″ N , 35 ° 19 ′ 51.6 ″ E
Coordinates: N31 20 42 - 31 50 20 E35 19 07 - 35 30 13