Culture

National Treasure Burnt

By on Saturday, June 23, 2007

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life symbolises Bahrain to me much more than any other symbol. It has been around for hundreds of years and has become known throughout the world, justifiably, as one of its wonders; a tree right in the middle of a desert with no water in sight not just living but flourishing in its harsh location.

So why would anyone wish to burn this national treasure?

This is totally inexcusable.

We should protect this national treasure, not just for us, but for the world’s future generations.

It would be nice to border the whole knoll it is on and not allow anyone to approach it and strict rules should be put in place to penalise vandals and litterbugs.

It shouldn’t take too much to establish an unobtrusive guard post in that location and provide a few guides to educate people about this natural wonder. Hopefully when people know its fantastic story and what it signifies to us, it will be respected and left it alone.

30
Related Posts

Comments

  1. The Traveler

    Thats very sad.. I love Bahrain vey much and what happened just make me sick.. this is a crime against history and against a creature..

    The tree should be protected.. I dont know what will the Australian Tourist who saw the fire will say about this country..?

    THE TREE SHOULD BE PROTCTED>> THIS IS A NAIOAL TREASURY

  3. mashtan

    Don’t you think all the BHD being made by the government and businesses presently from the boom in Bahrain someone could pay a few dinar an hour and protect this National Symbol?

    This makes me sad.

    The first time I went there I was amazed that it just sat there unprotected while most tourists I have known to come to Bahrain drive out to visit it.

  4. Proud Bahraini

    This tree has been there for a long time, what happened to the tree is a shame but after all it is just a tree.

  5. nibaq

    What is the extent of the damage? Is it totally gone?

    Now I regret not seeing it last time I was there.

  6. Simon Columbus

    I think it shouldn’t be protected, if protect means to install restrictions, may it be a guard or a even worse a fence.

    If you try to protect live (isn’t the tree symbol for it?), there must not be protections. Or would you like to be protected by a fence around you, so that nobody may hurt you? Always be surrounded by guards who watch every single move you do?

  7. mahmood

    How do you claim to be a “Proud Bahraini” when you show no pride in national heritage and symbols? By your logic, those little hills we call burial mounds are just piles of dirt; hence, it’s okay to just raze them. What about those old forts? They’re just a pile of stone, remove them and replace them with much needed housing. What about those fashts? What about those natural springs?

    They’re all just things, right?

    What is pride to you and how dare you attach such a noble description to your name? Oh it’s just a name?

  8. Salman

    Mahmood

    What about the roundabout by the Hilton hotel? It had landmarks on it. The tree on the roundabout next to the Ras Romman mosque? That tree stood there for over 30 years, it got uprooted when we had the storm (in 2002 i think). Instead of replanting it, they removed it.

    Its only a matter of time till they even remove the pearl roundabout.

  9. can we talk

    there is a difference between when things that are destroyed by nature, or things that are removed to make life easier for residents (even though all possible solutions should be investigated) and when things get destroyed because criminals attempted to destroy them. this is a national treasure and SHOULD have been guarded at all times.

    This is typical of the attitudes that have been passed down from forefathers who were good and decent and harmless and honest and there was no need to protect anything.

    Times have changed.. people have changed.. there are also strangers among us now, there is injustice and there is envy and as a result there is evil.. it is time to think like the rest of the civilized world does and act accordingly.

    i am surprised how the fire engine got to it fast enough to put it out. it wouldn’t have taken long at all for it to burn to the ground, so did someone call them? and the perpetrators couldnt have got very far, they can surely be apprehended.

  10. Dibujante

    couple of years ago there was a policeman always there to guard the tree….. and also a new fence was build which did nothing as its very close to the tree. i wonder where this policeman is …. haven’t seen any from the last 2 years…. heritage in Bahrain is getting damaged badly… and the sad thing is .. the reaction is not that great from the ppl about it 🙁 …. and the gov is not doing a good job …. since the new developments will generate more money “hence its more important” and the heritage doesn’t …..

    sad sad world

  11. Proud Bahraini

    How do you claim to be a “Proud Bahraini” when you show no pride in national heritage and symbols?

    What i meant to say is that this tree is just a tree in the desert, how important could it be?

    And how does it relate to each and every Bahraini?

    Plus there is too many other monuments that are worth preserving in my opinion, as you mentioned the forts or the coral reefs (fashts) because people relate to those maybe on daily basis (fishermen), when did you last see the tree of life? how does it relate to my heritage bare in mind that Bahraini from Manama?

    Well preserving the water front and saving it from being buried in order expand the land is more important to many people.

    When was the last time you ate a shrimp that was bigger than 2 cm ? (caught in Bahrain’s water).

    I’m not saying the tree is not important and it is not a piece of Bahrain but I’m just saying that a tree can be replaced but how can you replace a beautiful sunshine when it is GONE.

  12. mahmood

    1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8910.

    Phew, that was close!

    Okay, live in your own dreams and I would highly encourage you to think about them once you have woken up.

  13. Bonsaimark

    PB

    The TREE OF LIFE is a national symbol of YOUR country and one I am very fond of as well. This symbol cannot be replaced. It has taken several hundred if not a thousand or more years to grow and deserves the respect off all. I am sorry that you don’t seem able to have the level of appreciation that most have for a true natural wonder that has grown in your nation.

    I am deeply saddened but this act of vandalism/terrorism on a national treasure and I will offer what ever help I can in restoring and protecting the tree in the future.

  14. Pingback: Global Voices Online » Bahrain: National Treasure Burnt

  15. IFF

    pround Bahraini sorry for the personnal attack but you are a dipshit to the worst extent. The tree of life is a natural wonder.

  17. Desert Island Boy

    :shock:Hang the ba$tards!

    Idiots are always replacable. There is an unending supply, and hardly any demand, which is why they show up for free.

    The Tree of Life CANNOT be replaced. Cement embellishments can always be replaced. But a natural tree that survives on its own in an environment unnatural to it and still thrives, needs no further adversity.

    Barring stupidity like this, that tree will outlive us all, while we turn into the dust that surrounds her. She MUST outlive us all.

    PB, yes it is pathetic that our shorelines are disappearing, and that our overfished, hydrocarbon choked waters will no longer bear fruit. These are large problems that while no on will take responsibility for, are by-products of “progress”. I’m not excusing it or explaining it away, it’s just that it is a complex problem that requires complex highly coordinated solutions.

    But outright vandalism, that’s something we can all get behind. We can all take care of this by having some very basic security, and I am sure it will be done.

    Which actually opens up another question. Is it actually vandalism? Maybe I needed to read between the lines, but I don’t think Al-Wasat mentioned anything about a suspect. (Of course, I am forgetting that news in Bahrain comes more reliably over the grapevine and the media exists merely to paint the story absurd with a straight face.)

    Nevertheless, securing our national heritage must be a TOP TOP priority. After all, she is our own Mona Lisa.

  19. BB

    The tree is fine, I paid it a visit today, other than the usual vandalism, garbage, and tourist wear and tear, still holding-up strong

  20. The Traveler

    Hi again..

    LOVE BAHRAIN.. I LOVE IT TELL BONE MARROW..
    A tree, a roundabout or a street what ever.. I LOVE IT.. I KISS THE SAND of it..

    The one who destroy something in this country doesnt deserve to live in it.. LOVE BAHRAIN even if u feel down with the community or the political situation.. No country if u dont have symbols, heritage or history

    see the surronding countries – BAHRAIN IS RICH with LIFE.. I dont believe my self living without Sunies or without shie people.. I miss the muharraqawi, sitrawi and manami spoken words..

    At the END.. LOVE BAHRAIN.. BAHRAIN LOVES YOU..)

  21. The Traveler

    Ash..
    Dude.. the website looks really unbelievable.. but the latin names are difficult despte i studied latin and greek..
    Anyway good luck in ur interest

    And by the way dude bahrain have a history going back to 3000 years.. and there r alot of ambigous things in this history in my opinion
    Good Luck

  22. Anonymous

    Traveller, dude, your years spent studying Latin and Greek won’t help you much because the names on that site are actually in Old Norse … 😉

  24. Barry

    Proud Bahraini:

    That is quite a sad attitude to have dude. But, it’s the same exact attitude which would have the Bristlecone Pines here cut down for firewood because they are “just trees”, even though some have been around for 4,000 years.

    That would put them as seedlings in the middle of Bahrain’s Dilmun era (Third Dynasty of Ur). Until the parks service protected the trees, the oldest pine found was cut down in 1964. Just like that. In one instant, a tree which has survived for four millenia was cut down and killed.

    Just because the tree of life is “just” a tree, how is something as special as that not worth protecting? It may be a tree in the desert, but it IS a vestige of the remnants of wild space Bahrain has left.

  25. Green Bahraini

    There used to be a guard on duty a few years ago. What happened to him?

    A very angry Green Bahraini

  26. MoClippa

    Mahmood when did you last go to see the tree? I’m in no way surprised that some asshole burned it at this point, seeing as all the damage they’ve been doing to it over the past few years isn’t enough.

    There are broken branches and bark which people have quite obviously forcibly pulled down… the tree is covered top to bottom in thick graffiti and carvings all over the wood. Nobody gives a crap about it, and its actually quite sad that thats the case.

  27. mahmood

    The pictures were all taken a couple of nights ago; I tend to visit the old lady at least once a year and it had deteriorated quite a lot especially over the last two years.

    Now that the main Durrat Al-Bahrain highway is passing almost right next to it, I can expect that it will disappear very soon, if not by building a new highway right through it, it will be destroyed by the increased (and uncontrolled) visitors be they tourists or locals.

    I think at least the hill and the surrounding area to the gas well should be declared a national heritage site.

  28. Hana Hussain

    It seems that the Bahraini government just doesn’t care about the environment. Look at all the examples: the dead fish of Tubli bay, destroying the reef off Manama to create Bahrain Bay, turning Fasht Al Adham into a housing project, and tiling Adhari pool so it becomes a swimming pool, the dying palms of Nabi Saleh… Where are the Parlimentarians??? I was extremely saddened to see the graffiti on the tree of life, but unfortunately this has been happening for a while.

  29. bilady al bahrain

    تطوير المنطقة المحيطة بشجرة الحياة
    إعداد مشروع تطويري يتلائم وعمر الشجرة

    أكدت الوكيل المساعد لقطاع الثقافة والتراث الوطني الشيخة مي بنت محمد آل خليفة أن الوزارة وضعت نصب أعينها تنفيذ مشروع متميز للمحافظة على شجرة الحياة وتطوير المنطقة المحيطة بها بما يتواءم مع طبيعة وروح الموقع. وقالت إن شجرة الحياة أصبحت رمزا للطبيعة في البحرين واسما يشد اهتمام محبي البيئة والسياح من الداخل والخارج مما يدفع بالقطاع لإدراج موقع الشجرة ضمن مشاريع القطاع الطموحة في مجال الاستثمار في الثقافة.

    وأكدت الشيخة مي أن تطوير الموقع سيتم بناء على الدراسة التي سيعدها أحد الباحثين المختصين في النباتات التي سيتم دعوته من الخارج للاطلاع على الشجرة ودراستها عن قرب للتعرف على عمرها الحقيقي، موضحة أن هناك آراء متضاربة حول عمر الشجرة، حيث يؤكد البعض أن عمرها أكثر من 400 عام في حين يؤكد بعض المقيمين والضالعين في المنطقة بأنها زرعت في القرن الماضي. وأضافت أنه أيا كانت الحقيقة فإن شجرة الحياة أصبحت رمزا للبحرين وأن الوزارة ستعمل على حمايتها والمحافظة عليها وتطوير الموقع المحيط بها إلا أن المشروع الذي سيجري تنفيذه سيتم بناء على عمر الشجرة حيث إنه من الضروري بمكان وضع مشاريع تتوافق مع العمر الزمني للموقع أو المادة. وكانت شجرة الحياة، التي يطلق عليها محليا شجرة الكسايا أو العوسج، قد اكتشفت في البحرين منذ عدة سنوات وبعد التحليل والمعاينة وجد أن عمرها الحقيقي يمتد إلى 450 سنة وقد لقبت بشجرة الحياة لكونها عاشت وسط الصحراء ونمت وكبرت من دون أن تمسها يد الإنسان وظلت تمتص حاجتها من الماء من التربة نفسها التي تخزن ماء بداخلها رغم حرارة وجفاف الطقس. لقد شغلت الشجرة أذهان العلماء والباحثين لكونها نمت في أرض جرداء قاسية وجافة وظلت لوحدها على مدى 450 عاما شامخة وصامدة ولم تنحن أو تذبل إنما زادت جمالا وضخامة حيث تمكنت على مدى الأعوام الماضية من تجذب الزوار إليها من جميع أنحاء العالم وحتى المقيمين في البحرين من الأجانب يحرصون على زيارتها والاستمتاع بمنظرها الجميل وإن كان البعض يقوم ببعض الطقوس التي تعكس مدى إعجابه بهذه الشجرة التي امتد عمرها كل هذه السنوات. وتقع شجرة الحياة على تلة كبيرة وجذورها تمتد إلى أعماق الأرض مما يجعلها تنعم بالحياة الدائمة لكونها تمتص مياه التربة الداخلية، كما أنه يوجد بجانبها بقايا غرف يعتقد أنها كانت موجودة قبل مئات السنين وقد أقام فيها العسكر لرصد أي تحركات من أي جانب حيث إن الرؤية تبدو واضحة ودقيقة.

Comments are closed.