Description of the attraction
Timna Nature Reserve is a desert valley north of Eilat, surrounded by sheer cliffs. Legend has it that it was here that the famous mines of King Solomon were located.
The valley lies in a tectonic fault, which exposed the outcropping to the surface of minerals containing copper, iron, sulfur. Iron stains rocks red, copper green, sulfur yellow. One hundred million years ago, this arid land was the bottom of an ancient sea, thick sedimentary layers were formed here. The properties of the rocks are different, and over millions of years water, wind and sun have sculpted a truly alien relief. The reserve is full of natural sculptures of the most bizarre forms. There are huge stone "Lion" and "Sphinx", soaring in the air "Mushroom" on a thin leg, many miraculous arches. There is a Spiral Hill, surrounded by a real spiral staircase. The Solomon Pillars, colossal natural columns of red sandstone, make a strong impression. As high as a twenty-storey building, they rest, as on pillars, on relatively small boulders.
The ancient Egyptians knew Timna well. Ancient images of camels, chariots, warriors with axes and shields, ibex, ostriches, and deer were found on the rocks. At the Solomon pillars, an image is carved on the rock: Pharaoh Ramses III makes an offering to the goddess Hathor. Nearby - the ruins of the temple of the celestial, which is thirty-five centuries old.
The appeal to the patroness of miners Hathor is not accidental: Timna is famous for the world's oldest copper mines. Copper is the first metal used by man to make weapons and tools. In the thirties of the last century, archaeologist Nelson Gluck suggested that it was here that King Solomon mined it (X century BC). Whether it is true or not, the name - King Solomon's mine - stuck. Metallurgy originated in Timna six thousand years ago and reached its peak during the time of the pharaohs from the XIV to XII centuries BC. NS. The Egyptians, skilled engineers, cut through narrow tubular shafts with leg supports. They mined ore from a depth of up to 30 meters. There are thousands of such mines in Timna. You can see the original tools used by the ancient miners, their ovens.
Copper is not Timna's only wealth. Eilat stone has been mined here since ancient times, a semi-precious mineral, to which copper compounds give an amazing blue-green color.
The flora and fauna of the reserve are not rich. Here, wavy acacia grows with fruits in the form of twisted pods, small desert wolves and mountain goats live.
You need to come to Timna by car: you can't walk a lot in the sultry desert, and asphalt roads for cars are laid throughout the park. The routes are marked with many signs. In addition to natural attractions, it makes sense to look at a copy of the Tabernacle - a sanctuary in which, according to the Bible, the Jews kept the Ark of the Covenant during their forty-year wandering in the desert. At the end of the route, tourists can relax in an oasis near an artificial lake (you cannot swim, but there are pedal boats) and fill a plastic bottle with the colorful sands of Timna as a keepsake.
