The Dilmun Civilization
In Bahrain, a
visitor is always surprised by the thousands of graves and burial
mounds that extend over 18 miles in successive swells of knolls
along the roads here. The tombs lie peacefully between the districts
of many new towns. And, in an odd juxtaposition of past and present,
oil pipelines -- which are always built above ground level in Bahrain
-- edge their way alongside the burial mounds.
Although throughout the centuries robbers have stripped
the tombs, archaeologists have still been able to find arms, carnelian
jewels from the Valley of the Undus, bronze and copper objects.
Their contents were the same as the cooper used in Magan in the
Sultanate of Oman during the third millennium B.C. Seals from Dilmun
were also found, which were imprinted with tales of the merchants'
everyday life of the time.
These discoveries confirmed that trading existed
as early as the end of the fourth millennium (3200 B.C.) between
Mesopotamia, Dilmun (Bahrain), Magan (Oman), Melukhah and Harapah,
the capital cities of the Valley of the Indus, Mesopotamia and the
Valley of the Indus - each country had already reached a high level
of civilization at that time.
Thousands of years ago sailors brought pearls, tortoise
shells, coral, palm fronds and coconuts here before sailing off
to agan or the Indus Valley.
When the caliphs of Baghdad founded Basra at the
mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Bahraini merchants
put out to sea once again and sailed to China, whose routes had
been opened by the Omani navigators in the 8th century. Again, Bahrain
was used as a port of call, and a large number of Chinese celadons
and porcelain have been found here. In the wall of Qal-at Al-Bahrain,
archaeologists found a wide variety of Indian, Chinese and Arabian
coins with Kufic inscriptions.
Some archeologists believe that Bahrain minted its
own money from the 10th to the 13th centuries.
On one ancient tablet dated 3100 B.C., Dilmun is
described as an "Elysium" where the inhabitants were eternally young
and suffered no illnesses, "where the raven did not croak and wolves
and lion did not devour their prey."
The name Dilmun is associated with that of Enki,
the god of wisdom and water, and the Gilgamesh, King of Uruk in
Mesopotamia, whose saga recounts a wonderful mythological tale -
a combination of 'A Thousand and One Nights' and images from the
Bible.
Archaeologists from the United States, Great Britain
and Denmark have been able to put together pieces of this saga,
and have concluded that 'The Saga of Gilgamesh,' written long before
the Iliad and the Odyssey, is the first-ever written piece of preserved
literature.
Dilmun cats - a rare Bahraini breed Bahrain is best known for its pearls and ancient heritage, but it has a secret few people know about. Ten thousand years ago, when Bahrain separated from Saudi Arabia and formed an archipelago, its isolation caused differences, especially with mammalian wildlife. This unique history, its geographical location and the element of isolation contributed to the creation of the Dilmun cat, a rare breed found only on these islands. According to Adele O'Shea, secretary of the Cat Club of Bahrain, the local Dilmun cats have evolved over the centuries to adapt to Bahrain's extremely high summer temperatures, and are quite different from the domestic American cat. "When I first came to Bahrain I worked at the local animal shelter and would always marvel at the elegant, fine-boned, beautifully marked local cats that came in. I wrongly called them 'Oriental cats" because I felt they deserved a title."
"The main focus of the cat club is the welfare of the local Bahrain cats. They are a breed in their own right and we aim to give them a higher profile and level of appreciation (among the people of Bahrain)," said Ms. Kanoo. Mrs. O'Shea says the Dilmun cats' coats feel as soft as a silk Persian carpet, but that may be the only soft thing about them. Built to survive the hot desert climate, the cats have an Oriental build with slender, long bodies, high haunches and long, narrow legs and tails. Their faces are also unusual; most have a wedge-shaped heads and ears that are wide at the base and oval tipped. The nose has a slight dip in its profile, and their eyes slant toward the ears, and are usually green or gold colored. The color of Dilmun cats is also unusual. Although some are solid-colored, many are what are called "spotted tabbies." The spotted tabby variety has the M-shaped marking on the forehead that all tabbies have, but they also have a dusky blush on the nose, and dark bars on the base and tip of the ears. The tail, according to the CCB, is always ringed, and they have 'bracelets' on the their necks and legs. CCB says this spotted tabby gene occurs only in Middle East cats, and notes that paintings in the tombs of the ancient Egyptians, dating back to 1400 BC, depict similar spotted cats. While cat books and magazines claim that the Egyptian Mau cat is the only naturally occurring recognized breed of cat, and that all other spotted tabby cats (Oriental, Bengal and Occicat) are genetically manipulated man-made breeds, the CCB insists this is incorrect, as the Dilmun cat of Bahrain is also a natural spotted tabby cat. "Dilmun cats 'breed true,' which means that they have distinctive traits that they pass on to their offspring," said Ms. Kanoo. "We believe the unique and dominant genes of the Dilmun cat are due to the fact that Bahrain remained an isolated archipelago of islands for thousands of years," Mrs. O'Shea said. "The Dilmun cat has evolved to suit the climatic conditions of Bahrain. As svelte cats with short, sleek coats they are able to dissipate the heat of the summer months and their spotted markings were developed to blend into the sandy gravel landscape." "Throughout the world interesting breeds of cats have spontaneously occurred due to their geographical locations, we believe that the Dilmun cat is a natural treasure of Bahrain," added Ms. Kanoo. The CCB is currently requesting official recognition to register and pedigree the Dilmun cats. It is also seeking help from zoologists in determining the genetic makeup of the cat. Mrs. O'Shea maintains urgent action of classifying the Dilmun cat is necessary, as the Dilmun cats are rapidly becoming an endangered species. She attributes this to it being currently fashionable in Bahrain to own Persian cats as pets, and many of these Persians end up as unwanted strays and inevitably interbreed with the local Bahraini cats and produce mixed-breed kittens. "It is really a tragedy for this beautiful unique breed of cat to come close to extinction in its country of origin," says Mrs. O'Shea. "Not only are the Dilmun cats very elegant, they are also very entertaining. All Oriental types of cats tend to be very people-oriented and the Dilmun cats are no exception. Once they have decided to adopt you there is no stopping them."
The Jews of Bahrain: Visitors to Bahrain are always surprised to learn that Jews and Arabs live, and work, together here; but Bahrainis consider it odd that people think their situation is unusual. "I know nowhere but Bahrain. I was born here, and my friends are here. I spend my nights with them, I spend my days with them, and I do my business with them. Religion is not an issue. When my friends come to my house, at prayer time they go to a room in my house and pray. They don't say, "This is a Jewish house, I will not pray in it." This is just an example. People see it as a big deal, but for us, it's not a big deal," says Rouben D. Rouben, 46, sole distributor of Sharp Electronics in the country. The Jewish community began to settle in Bahrain in the early 1900s, most of them came from Iraq, Iran and India -- traders who found Bahrain the ideal place to live. "My family moved to Bahrain in 1914. Nothing happened to make us leave Iraq. My grandfather was a trader and when he came here, he just decided he wanted to live here," says Rouben.
"Nobody has ever made any unwelcome remarks to me and we feel comfortable here - this is our home. We really feel that we are Bahrainis, and I'm not saying this because I'm speaking to a journalist. We are Bahrainis. Business wise, we provide services to everyone in the community. W feel very comfortable here, this is our home," says Meir Nonoo, 58, managing director of the Bahrain Financing Company. When waves of protest rose throughout the Arab world over Israel's creation 1948, some Bahrainis held demonstrations in the streets, but no Jewish businesses were vandalized, or destroyed. And, according to Rouben, it was not Bahrainis who destroyed their synagogue in 1948. "The problems didn't come from the Bahrainis, but from a few foreigners. At that time, there were a lot of pearl divers and Iranian merchants coming here to trade. There were a few problems, but none of the Bahrainis were involved. When riots broke out in the streets protesting the creation of Israel, many of the Jewish families took refuge with Bahraini friends and their families. Most of the Jews stayed in Muslim houses until things settled down," says Rouben. "In 1948 these foreigners raided the synagogue, and I think a house was burned. But nobody was hurt. Some people decided to leave, but not because anything happened personally to them," says Rouben.
"For me, Israeli is a nationality and not a religion. The religion is Jewish, but they are mixing this with that. Okay, it's a Jewish state, but Israel is not Judaism," Rouben says. "Our showroom is on the main street of Bahrain, with the name Rouben written in large letters on the outside. This showroom has been here for 16 years, before that, we had different showrooms but always with the same name since 1958. And before that, my grandfather's sign used to read 'Meir Daoud Rouben and Sons,' from 1920 on - and nothing ever happened to us. No one ever vandalized our shops, or broke our windows. Not once in all these years," says Rouben. Meir Nonoo 58, is one of the Bahraini Jews that decided to give another country a try, only to come back home. "Because of the sluggish economy in the '60s, I left here to live in Great Neck, Long Island. But I returned to Bahrain as soon as the economy picked up. I lived there for 11 years and got a really good job. I actually ended up being the vice president of a major bank in New York, doing foreign exchange. Then, with the advent of the oil boom, my brother asked to come back to look after the family business, which I did, and I can say that we've built up a nice family business." And the Jews of Bahrain aren't worried about anyone try to get a piece of their "family business." Rouben said he has had the Sharp dealership since 1965. "No one would ever try to do such a thing here. All Bahrainis have equal rights, and the government would protect us. "My brother is the director of some companies here that are on the stock exchange here in Bahrain. And another brother, who recently passed away, was the managing director of Bahrain Cinema Company." Rouben says the Bahraini Jews all have successful positions: "For us, we started our businesses from nothing. My father was working as a cashier chief for 35 years, and now, thank God, we are okay. If there were any 'ifs' or 'buts', we wouldn't have reached this stage.
"I have a partnership with a Bahraini Muslim in another business, but that was my choice. And that's a completely different business. We own properties, houses, buildings, land; we trade on the Bahraini stock market. There is absolutely no difference between me and anybody on the street here," said Rouben. And Rouben points out that the Bahraini government has taken good care of them. "When the late Amir (Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa) passed away last year, the present Amir (Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa) called the Jewish community together and told us there was nothing to worry about, the government would continue with its same policy. He assured us nothing would change." "Every single one of us went to meet him," Rouben said. "Shaikh Hamed told us that any Bahraini, born in Bahrain, who has emigrated elsewhere, has the right to come back to Bahrain, and get a Bahraini passport anytime they want," Nonoo explained. "And the Crown Prince also told us that the government is prepared to give us land to build a synagogue, since we did not rebuild the old synagogue and now it is not in a good part of town now," says Nonoo. Like their Arab counterparts, the Bahraini Jews feel a lot of problems are due to inaccuracies reported in the media. "People think it's strange that there are Jews in Bahrain. For me, I am proud that I am in Bahrain. I don't mind it, but everybody seems shocked that there are Jews in Bahrain. But once they know the local community, the Bahrainis, then they form a different idea. It's because of propaganda and the media, they exaggerate things. Many countries, including the U.S., has taken notice of Bahrain's evenhanded policies. In 1999, the U.S. State Department released a report complimenting Bahrain's policy of religious tolerance. The report, which examined religious tolerance throughout the world, noted Bahrain's constitution provided for freedom of worship for both Muslims and non-Muslims. The report said the Bahraini community set an example to many other countries regarding religious tolerance and freedom of worship. "I think most of what you hear on the news is all, excuse me, B.S. I'm sure there are Jews and Arabs living next door to each other in Israel who are friends," says Rouben. Rouben said many American Congressmen and British MPs have come to visit them, seeking assurances that the Jewish community is well treated. "Many people assumed that Jewish people would not feel comfortable living with Muslims, but they don't know anything," says Meir Nonoo. "This is something that a lot of Western Jews don't understand. We don't have a 'problem' here between Jews and Arabs. The problem is an Arab-Israeli problem, not an Arab-Jewish problem," says Meir's nephew, Abraham Nonoo, 31, director of Bahrain Financing Company, who believes it's too easy to generalize about this subject without thinking of specifics. Abraham, who left Bahrain at the age of 11 to be educated in England, returned to Bahrain when he was 23. "I've traveled the world enough to realize that it's not worth being small-minded over someone's religion. At the end of the day, we're all people, and religion should not be a barrier for friendship in any way." "Sorry to say this, but there are lots of Americans who are totally ignorant about the Arabs, about who the Arabs are and what they really are all about. It's important for Americans not to judge Arabs by newspapers and other propaganda. If they lived with them, as we do, they would know what good people they really are," said Rouben. "I would like to tell Americans that Bahrain is a very clean and open society, and it's also very cosmopolitan." adds Meir Nonoo. "As for business opportunities, they've amended the laws and now foreigners can open companies in Bahrain, which you can't do anywhere else in the Gulf. And there's a lot of red tape in other (Gulf) countries, which you don't have here." It is clear that both men are proud of their country, and happy to talk about its advantages. "Bahrain is the best place in the Gulf, believe me, there is no question about it," says Meir. "If any company doing business in the region thinks about establishing themselves anywhere but here, they would be really silly, because Bahrainis are well-educated, they speak excellent English, there is good local manpower, the cost of living is not exorbitant, and you can find good housing and offices." "I'd tell Americans to please come here; it's a wonderful society," Meir continues. "It's a hundred times nicer than New York; and there are no crimes here. You can walk down the street with billions of dollars in you pocket without anybody questioning you or bothering you. We consider ourselves very fortunate to live in Bahrain." "Nobody looks at religion here," says Meir. "There are Bahraini Christians here, and there are 13 churches in Bahrain. There is even a Hindu temple here. It's an open society." "When I die, I hope to be buried here," says Meir. "Our Jewish cemetery is very well kept, and it's been here for over one hundred years. It is right next to the Christian cemetery, and the Shi'as cemetery is across the street from us. We live together and we rest in peace together, just the way it should be."
|
Bahrain
is one of the world's largest necropolises with an estimated 170,000
graves, most of which date back to the third and second millenniums
B.C. Some people believe that the ancient Egyptians buried their
dead here, but archaeologists have discovered vases and jars from
Mesopotamia and the Valley of the Indus in the royal tombs of A'ali
and in Sar.
And,
in a tradition that is still carried on today, boats that set off
from the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates have always stopped here
to get fresh supplies in sweet water and vegetables. Cuneiform texts
reveal that Dilmun was located a two-days sailing distance from
Mesopotamia.
Many
archaeologists and geographers, who have closely cross-checked all
the findings on Bahrain, not only believe that Bahrain was the center
of a flourishing civilization, but that the Dilmun empire may have
even extended as far as Arabia and Iran.
It
was not long before Mrs. O'Shea teamed up with another Bahraini
cat lover Hana Kanoo, and with a small group of like-minded people,
they set up the Cat Club of Bahrain(alhajeb@batelco.com.bh).
Before
the creation of Israel in 1948, 600 Jews lived in Bahrain. But after
each Middle East war, some Bahraini Jews would leave the country,
most went to the U.S. or England. Today only 30 Jews live in Bahrain,
but the Jewish community is on the rise. "My brother has five children,
and many of the others that live here all have a couple of children,
so we are getting bigger, not smaller," says Rouben, a confirmed
bachelor.
"I
remember 1967 very well; there were also demonstrations on the streets.
I was 10 or12 years old, and we were standing in our shop and my
brother wanted to close the shutters. A policeman told him not to
do it. "We are here, you have nothing to worry about," he said.
The demonstrations weren't violent, they were just shouting against
Israel. They never touched any of our shops or homes, and I don't
think they would have -- even if the police weren't there."
"Everyone
here has their niche," Rouben continues. "We are involved in electronics.
Next to us is the Ambassador Store; they're the agents for Seiko,
Akai and Pioneer. They are also Jews, but they live here and in
London, and go and come back. His brothers are the agents for Rolex
and Longuines, and Westinghouse. They all have houses here. Then
there's Bahrain Financing Company, that's the Nonoo family. The
Cohen family has had their sign up for 55 years and no one has ever
taken it down, or marred it."