From MICHAEL ORTH
I have only just seen your article titled ‘Satellite uncovers ancient
Arabian river’ (This Week, 3 April). It struck me because several years ago
I began an article on the role of the Sumerian legends of the land of
Dilmun in the origins of utopian thought. I put this theme aside in favour
of an easier piece on utopian thought in the city laments of Mesopotamia.
And then, recently, I took the students in my ‘Great Books’ series through
Genesis and pondered again with them the mystery of the missing river of
Genesis 2:11.
Given the persistent legends in Sumeria 6000 years ago that the Blackheaded
People (Sumerians) came to the Land of the Two Rivers from the south, and
their affection in their myth and legend for the mysterious delights of
Dilmun, their Eden, which archaeologists today identify in Bahrain, I think
your Farouk El-Baz has found the River Pishon for us. After all, if you were
Yahweh and wanted to hide paradise from sinful descendants of Adam, what
better place than under the sands of Kuwait?
I think the Kuwaiti tourist ministry should begin plans for floods of eager
visitors, and perhaps contact Disney to plan a theme park. That is, unless a
big guy with a flaming sword shows up to stop the bulldozers.
Michael Orth
San Luis Obispo, California
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