NATIONAL PARK TIMNA VALLEY (ISRAEL)
After the fall of Egyptian rule over the region in the middle of XII BC, the temple of Hathor was forsaken along with the mines of Timna. Nevertheless, cult activities in the temple were reestablished by Midianites who stayed in Timna for a short period of time after the Egyptians left. They destroyed traces of Egyptian cult and erased Hathor’s images and Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions on the walls. Other changes were also made: a row of steles was installed and “pews of offerings” were put on both sides of the entrance. Remains of a wool cloth found along the walls of the yard prove that Midianites turned the Egyptian temple into a tent camp in a desert. Among the findings in this Midianite temple there were found many religious items and those of everyday life brought directly from Midian including beautiful decorations of ceramics and metal. Finding of a brass serpent with a gilded head was especially significant. This reminds of the brass serpent described in Numbers, “The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9).
In the park there are drawings on the rocks (petroglyphs) made at the time of Egyptian presence in the region. As part of a project of preservation of rock drawings, some of which are drawn on not quite stable walls, the Ben Gurion University in Negev together with the Israeli Antiquity Authority Service started a project of studying and preserving those parts of the park with rock drawings. As part of this project, one of those walls was equipped with special gadgets to detect whether the wall is moving and if there is a danger of its collapse. The project was started in 2010; for one year that data will be gathered, and then based upon that, a decision will be made as regards future actions.
The park abounds with masterpieces of architecture produced by nature itself. These include arches and spiral hills and mushrooms and are made of rock formations of different colours; together these things create an atmosphere of mysteriousness and majesty in this place.
A spiral hill received its name because of a spiral staircase girdling it diagonally and shaping it into a form of a screw. It is a vivid illustration of a great variety of unique shapes and forms created by erosion operating in different ways in different layers of one and the same rock. That is why these layers are often at different angles to one another. From the spiral hill walkways are paved leading to the “Mushroom” rock and the valley of rock drawings.
The “Mushroom” is a fantastic rock formed as a result of erosion of red sand rocks. Since erosion of lower layers happened more rapidly, a “head” was formed above that reminds in its shape a big mushroom. Nearby is a visitors’ center, where one can get acquainted with the history of a settlement of Egyptian miners that was once built at the foot of the rock.
On the park’s territory there is the Timna Lake. It is an artificial lake formed by underground waters resting among the layers of sand rocks. In “The Timna Mines” where copper was mined these waters were pumped out until 1980s so that they would not drown the miners; now waters are drawn to fill in the artificial lake. It serves as a constant source of water both for animals and tourists like an oasis in a desert. The space of the lake is 1.4 hectares; the volume of the lake is 20 thousand cubic meters. The water of the lake is not good for drinking and swimming.
Not far from the Timna Lake a life-size copy of the Tabernacle is located. Tabernacle was built by prophet Moses on God’s command with a purpose of storing and carrying holy items at the time of the Exodus from Egypt and journey to the Holy Land. “And they will build Me a Holy Place and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).
The main and most important purpose of the tabernacle is based upon the name “Mishkan” that is the Tabernacle is the place where God’s glory abides on the earth among the people of Israel. According to Exodus, prophet Moses received the command to build the tabernacle on Mount Sinai before receiving the tablets of the covenant. This command is quoted in the Bible in full, with a big number of details and occupies several chapters in Exodus.
For the building of the Tabernacle and its constituent parts 15 different materials were needed, “These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.” (Exodus 25:3-7).
The copy of the Tabernacle in Timna even though not made of the materials mentioned in the Bible, but is built in its life-size and matches Biblical description in all other regards. Inside the Tabernacle there are different items of religious worship: mikveh, menorah etc. Also in the Tabernacle there is an imitation of the Ark, in which there are the Tablets of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments – the Holy of Holies of the Jewish nation. In the Timna Valley and its vicinities a big variety of mammals, birds and reptiles of many kinds dwell. Nevertheless, the flora of the region is poor because of harsh climate conditions and insufficient quantity of moisture.
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