Efqa Spring

Efqa
Afqa
Nabʿ Afqa
Ain al-Afqa
Efqa-Quelle
إفقا
Efqa, dry (2009)
Map
Coordinates34°32′55″N 38°15′33″E / 34.5486°N 38.2593°E / 34.5486; 38.2593
TypeSulphured, warm[1]
Temperature33 °C (91 °F)[2]

Efqa Spring (Arabic: إفقا) is an ancient artesian spring in the Syrian Desert that was first developed between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE.[3] Once upon a time the spring fed a natural stream that drained eastward into a brackish wetland.[4] The ancient city of Palmyra developed around the oasis created by the spring water.[5] Efqa comes from the Aramaic word meaning source.[2]

The spring emerges on the west side of modern Tadmur,[6] "opposite the modern building of the Cham Palace hotel, situated on the road to Damascus beyond the ruins of the ancient city."[7] The spring flows out of the limestone inside al-Mintar Mountain via nine hand-dug wells that feed into a 400-meter-long cave, or underground irrigation channel, known as a qanat.[8][3] A recent restoration project sought to undo some of the damage done by ISIS attacks in the area.[9] The spring went dry in 1994,[7] due to a combination of drought, over pumping, and neglect, but has been rehabilitated as the result of a joint Syrian–Russian restoration project and is flowing again as of 2019.[3] Water from the spring is channeled into the 420 hectares (1,000 acres) of date palm and olive orchards surrounding the spring.[8]

  1. ^ Gawlikowski (2021), p. 23.
  2. ^ a b "Efqa Spring and oasis". IZI Travel. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  3. ^ a b c "Palmyra's historical spring flows again after 25 years of drought". Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  4. ^ Gawlikowski (2021), p. 18.
  5. ^ "A Trilogy of Tragedy: The Burning of Palmyra Oasis". The Aleppo Project. 2020-05-29. Archived from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  6. ^ Princeton Encyclopedia (1976).
  7. ^ a b Southern (2008), p. 18.
  8. ^ a b fedaa (2022-12-19). "Afqa spring returns to flow in the center Syrian al-Badia". Syrian Arab News Agency. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  9. ^ "Archaeological Experts Began Restoration of Historic Afqa Spring in Syria's Palmyra (+Video) - World news". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 2024-07-09.