UGARIT - CRADLE OF URBAN CULTURE

Trip Start Sep 26, 2010

Trip End Oct 03, 2010

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Where I stayed

Rotana Hotel and Resort

Flag of Syria Latakia, Latakia, Syria
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Forgotten until 1928 when an old tomb was opened accidentally discovering the necropolis of Ugarit, finding the oldest alphabet in the world, said to belong to the bronze age of civilisation (6000BC) . Most important piece to be recovered from Ugarit was the Baal Cycle - describing the base for religion and cult. At the end of the Bronze Age it was unfortunately burnt to the ground in and around (1178BC), although it remains to be confirmed whether Ugarit was burnt prior or after Hattusa

The Oldest Alphabet

Originated here around 1400BC inscribed on clay tablets the alphabet is similar to that of the Phoenician alphabet, the alphabet is classified as a Northwest Semitic Language with similar grammatical features of Hebrew and Aramaic and are of great significance to the biblical scholarship

Places of Interest

Royal Palace - 90 rooms laid out around enclosed courtyards
Temple of Baal - the king son of El
Temple of Dragon - the god of fertility and wheat
Royal Cave Tombs

Smith, Mark S., 2001. Untold Stories ; The Bible and Ugaritic Studies in the Twentieth Century

Slideshow