The Phoenician Theme
The Phoenicians were Semitic people whose colonies were spread all over the coastline of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa, what is nowadays referred to as the Arabic countries. They were very well travelled, good traders, inventors, and created the first organization similar to the world trade organization.
The Bahrain World Trade Center is a 240m high, 50-floor, twin tower complex located in Manama. Designed by the British multi-national architectural firm Atkins, construction on the towers was completed in 2008. It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. The two towers are linked via three sky bridges, each holding a 225 kW wind turbine, totalling to 675 kW of wind power capacity. Links to Phoenicians: The Phoenician used the Wind power for their Sailboats and sailing ships, it was used to grind grains and pump water from the ground.
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Kuwait Towers is a group of three slender towers that symbolizes modern Kuwait and also World cultural as well as touristic landmark. The design was done by Swedish architects Malene Björn and Sune Lindström of Vatten-Byggnadsbyzan (VBB). Kuwait towers were built in March 1979 with two major towers and a minor tower. The height of main tower is 187 meters (614 ft) and consists of the Ground Floor, Main Sphere and the Viewing Sphere. The main tower is also home to Kuwait Towers’ signature restaurants, cafés and reception halls; the lower sphere holds in its upper half a restaurant for 90
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Established as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans. Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved. Al-Khazneh, the Treasury is one of the most elaborate temples in the ancient Arab Nabatean Kingdom city of Petra. It was originally built as a mausoleum of the Nabatean King Aretas IV Links to Phoenicians: 1- The Phoenicians of the Iron Age (first millennium B.C.) descended from the
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The island of Pharos was a major port having two huge harbors. The Fort was built in the 1480's by Sultan Qaitbey, on the site of Alexandria's ancient lighthouse. One of the seven wonders of the ancient World, The lantern at the top of the lighthouse remains a mystery. Some say it contained a polished steel mirror that reflected light by day, and fire by night. Others say it was made of transparent glass. The lantern and the top two stories fell around 700 AD according to many reports, and the rest of the lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake around 1100. In its place a Mosque was built,
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2016 is Al Zubarah in Qatar. Al Zubarah, is a district located on the north western coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Madinat ash Shamal municipality, about 105 km from Doha. It was founded by merchants from Kuwait in the mid-18th century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. It was once a successful center of global trade and pearl fishing positioned midway between the Strait of Hormuz and the west arm of the Persian Gulf. It is one of the most extensive and best preserved examples of an 18th–19th century settlement
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2015 is the Nabataean Kingdom in Saudi Arabia. Nabataean Kingdom in KSA , Al-Hijr lies in northwest of Saudi Arabia, between the cities of Medina and Tabuk, 22 kilometers north of the city of al-Ula. It dates from between the second century BC and the second century AD. The site becoming Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage Site consists of four necropolis, with its 111 monumental tombs and water wells. The site is an outstanding example of the Nabataeans’ architectural accomplishment and hydraulic expertise. It is located at a meeting
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2014 is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is believed that they have been built in the ancient city of Babylon, meaning "Gate of the Gods”, present-day Hillah, Iraq. One legend says that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were created by Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, to please his wife, Amyitis. Some stories indicate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon towered hundreds of feet into the air. There is some controversy as to whether the Hanging
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2013 was the Burj Khalifa, which is better known as Burj Dubai. Standing at 829.8m it is currently the tallest man-made structure in the world. The construction of the Burj Dubai took around five years to finish, from 21 September 2004, to 1 October 2009. The building officially was opened on the 4th of January 2010. The total cost of the Burj Dubai is estimated at US$1.5 billion. Burj Dubai has 163 floors, 49 of which are office space. Burj Dubai houses 1044 residential apartments. Burj Dubai has a floor area of 334,000 square meters.
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2012 was the Cedar tree. Cedar trees are evergreen coniferous trees that usually grow to a height of up to 16 meters. These species are commonly found in areas with heavy rainfalls, and prefer moist soil with limestone. The nice smelling feature of cedar wood that is derived from the secretion of toxic natural oils, also provides this wood with the ability to resist diseases. The Cedars of Lebanon was important to various ancient civilizations, especially the Phoenicians for building ships and houses. The Egyptians also used its resin in
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2011 was the Phoenician vessel. The Phoenicians were known to be the best sailors, boatmen and ship builders of the ancient world. They built their vessels from the famous Cedar trees that cover the mountains of the native Phoenician lands. The Phoenicians had been at sea for some time before the Greeks and were already well established and experienced sailors, as they were traders rather than warriors. Therefore, the types of ships used by them incorporated features to assist them in trading. The Phoenician ships that traded timber were
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2010 was the phrase God Bless our Firm in the Phoenician alphabet. The Phoenician alphabet was a non-pictographic consonantal alphabet, or abjad made of 22 characters. These alphabet were used to create the Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia. Phoenician alphabet became one of the most widely used writing systems, as it spread by the Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean region. The direction of writing was from right to left in horizontal lines. The Phoenician alphabet is the mother alphabet of all
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2009 was “Ba‘alat” la Dame de Byblos- 'Lady of Byblos', Baalat, or Ba'alat, is a title, referring to “Mistress", "Lady", or "Queen". During the Phoenician Era, she was considered the main deity of the city of Byblos, known today in Arabic language as Jbeil. A city on the coast of Lebanon, a few kilometers north of Beirut. Many statues in many different forms, of the Phoenician goddess, Baalat were left as votive offerings in sanctuaries and shrines as prayers for good harvest, for children, and for protection and tranquility in the home.
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2008 was a Phoenician soldier with a book that has the Phoenician letters on it. During the 4th and 3rd centuries BC Carthage was the most powerful nation on the Mediterranean. Carthage, which is called today Tunisia, was originally settled by the Phoenicians in the 9th century BC. By the 3rd century, they had control of Northwestern Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, and large parts of Spain. Carthaginian citizens did train for battle, but only fought if there was an immediate threat to their homeland. Therefore, they hired many mercenaries to
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The collector’s item gifted by the Alyafi IP Group in 2007 was a Phoenician coin with the Statute of Byblos. Phoenician merchants were among the first people to barter, and adopt the metal currency. The Phoenician region was divided into several cities and territories ranging from: Tyre, Sidon, Arados, Byblos, Tripolis etc. Each city cast its own silver or bronze coins engraved with figures/figurines of different rulers, gods, local patterns, and local symbols, like ships and cedar trees. Papyrus received its early Greek name (byblos, byblinos) from the fact that it was exported through
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