Ein Gedi
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Ein Gedi (עין גדי) is an oasis located west of the Dead Sea, close to Masada and the caves of Qumran. Location .
It is known for its caves, springs, and its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Ein Gedi is mentioned several times in biblical writings, for example, in the Song of Songs; "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of Ein Gedi" (1:14). Accorded to Jewish tradition, David hid from Saul in the caves here; "And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds of Ein Gedi" (Samuel 1 24:1).
A kibbutz, founded in 1956, is located about a kilometer from the oasis. It offers various tourist attractions and takes advantage of the local weather patterns and the abundance of natural water to cultivate out-of-season produce. Prior to the founding of the kibbutz, the Ein Gedi area had not been permanently inhabited for 500 years.
[edit] Ein Gedi National Park
Ein Gedi National Park was founded in 1972 and is one of the most important reserves in Israel. The park is situated on the eastern border of the Judean Desert, on the Dead Sea coast, and covers an area of 6,250 acres. The elevation of the land ranges from the level of the Dead Sea at 418 meters (1,371 ft) below sea level to the plateau of the Judean Desert at 200 meters above sea level.
Ein Gedi National Park includes two spring-fed streams with flowing water year-round: David Stream and Arugot Stream. Two other springs, the Shulamit and Ein Gedi springs, also flow in the reserve. Together, the springs generate approximately three million cubic meters of water per year. Much of the water is used for agriculture or is bottled for consumption.
The park is a sanctuary for many types of plant, bird and animal species. The vegetation includes plants and trees from the Tropical, Desert, Mediterranean and Steppian regions, such as Sodom apple, acacia, jujube and poplar. The many species of resident birds are supplemented by over 200 additional species during the migration periods in the spring and fall. Mammal species include the ibex and the hyrax.
In the summer of 2005, nearly two-thirds of the oasis burned to the ground after a tourist dropped a lit cigarette onto the park grounds.
[edit] The botanic garden
In the kibbutz area, a botanical garden was established covering an area of 100 dunams (100,000 m²). There you can find more than 900 species of plants from all over the world. It became a formal botanical garden in 1994.
[edit] History
The oldest archeological finds at Ein Gedi include a temple and hundreds of copper and ivory ceremonial vessels dating from the Chalcolithic period (4000 years BCE).
The remains of a pool and living quarters indicate that members of the Essene sect may have inhabited the area above Ein Gedi during the first century CE. This is supported by the writings of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder.
Other finds, as well as writings by Pliny, Simon Bar Kokhba and Josephus Flavius, indicate that the first Jewish settlement began in the seventh century BCE and lasted until some time after the destruction of the First Temple by Nebuchadrezzar of Babylonia in 586 BCE. The colony was reestablished in the fifth century BCE and again during the Second Temple period in the second century BCE. This period of Jewish habitation lasted intermittently for 700 years, until the end of the Byzantine empire around 550 CE, when the settlement was destroyed by fire and abandoned. Ein Gedi was developed extensively during this time and the remains of agricultural terraces, cisterns and aqueducts can still be seen.
The ruins of an ornate synagogue dating from the Byzantine era and mosaics with Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions have been extensively restored and can be viewed in the Ein Gedi National Park.
Between the 13th century and the Israeli War of Independence, Ein Gedi was inhabited at various times by both Jews and Bedouin Arabs.
In April 1849, Captain William Lynch led an American expedition down the Jordan River. Upon "discovering" Ein Gedi, he renamed it George Washington Spring.
