All language subtitles for Nabataeans and the Magi Wise Men visiting Jesus Avdat.eng.eng

(Sergio) In the heart of the Negev Desert,

on the top of a steep hill

lie the ruins of an ancient
mysterious and lost civilization.

We are in the ancient
Nabataean city of Avdat.

(Sergio) In this episode, we will explore
an ancient Nabataean city,

untouched since the 7th century.

It is the home to the burial caves.

Byzantine church
with Greek inscription slabs

and an incredible cross-shaped
baptismal place.

This is so, so cool
because we knew nothing

about Nabataean culture
and it is absolutely fascinating.

(Sergio) The Nabataeans
are a very mysterious group

of nomads who knew
the secret trade routes

through which only they were able
to trade precious spices, get rich,

and build themselves an entire empire.

Their kingdom's capital: Petra.

But here's the problem.

The Nabataeans appeared only
for a few centuries

in the human history.

In the 4th century,
they magically vanished,

leaving only ruins behind them.

This left historians with great questions:

Who were they and could they be related

to the wise men that came
to visit Jesus after his birth?

And more importantly, what had caused
their disappearance?

So come and join us on this
little walkthrough of Avdat,

an ancient Nabataean city,
starting from the parking lot

down there all the way up here.
Hope you enjoy it.

- (Rhoda) Wow, babe, look.
- (Sergio) Wow, babe.

- See the green down there?
- Yeah.

- It's so great.
- In the desert,

like a really green patch.

This is very steep, I don't know
about you, this is pretty steep.

Not looking there.
(laughs)

- (Rhoda) That's chiseled.
- (Sergio) Yeah. You want to walk there?

- take a look?
- (Rhoda) Sure.

(car door opens)

This is so cool.

There's lots to do this walk
in the middle of nowhere.

Together with you.
This is awesome.

♪ (tense music) ♪

Do you see how symmetrical
their rocks are?

Look how good they are.

Wow.

Oh! This is what we saw in the video.

Wow.

Burial Mansions.

[inaudible]

Babe, look there's--
you see those grooves?

So that means there's like a slab
that goes in between.

(Sergio) It's kind of the same rock
as they used--

It's the same as like limestone rock,
it's very soft, it's almost like the chalk

- that you write with.
- And this would have been

[inaudible] one too.

One, there's space for four I think.

Alright, let's keep driving up the hill
and check out their city.

Yes.

♪ (intense music) ♪

(car horn)

Wow.

Welcome to Avdat.

♪ (upbeat music) ♪

(Rhoda) Okay. Let's see.

(Rhoda) So you want to go to the pillars?

- (Sergio) Let's do it.
- Think we can just continue

walking on this path.

(Rhoda) Look at that [inaudible]

This is the Nabataean settlement.

Do you see all these ruins over there?

The little ones like you see
very poor looking and over here.

(Sergio) Right so, that's the Roman
fortress right there, right?

That's the newer part that's been rebuilt
once the Romans kind of occupied

this territory

and these would have been
the Nabataean side,

althought they're still ruined

and never been reconstructed
since they lived here.

But as far as I understood,
some of these structures here

where the Romans were,
they've kind of improved

upon the Nabataean citadels was here.

So which we'll still be able to see
some of the original stones

from the Nabtaens time,
all the way up to the Byzantine times

when they built churches here.

- (Sergio) See. Two different layers.
- (Rhoda) Yes. That's true.

So they have a Roman army camp
down at the end of it.

- Mm hmm.
- End of it. Down there.

- Doesn't it remind you of Masada...
- (Sergio) Yes. Yes. Yes.

... where Masada came through
they mountain and they have a ramp

and they have a Roman camp.

(Sergio) Wow, look this is like a place
where they would sell the spices.

It's like a marketplace.

♪ ( music) ♪

(Rhoda) Oh, I think it's a town fortress.

Wow.

♪ (dramatic music) ♪

This is massive.

Do you see that pipe, the clay pipe?

The Roman piping system?

(Sergio) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

(Rhoda) And look down there.
It goes into a water reservoir

or something, right?

So cool.
What do you think of all this place?

Very cool.

We've never been to
a Nabataeans-like place.

This one is missing a roof.

Look at this.
You got a cross here, a vivid cross.

(Rhoda) Beautiful.

So cool, so this was a church
in the 4th century.

Can you just imagine people here?

Almost 1,600 years ago.

Hey, look at that.

Wow. Look how cool this is.

You got a menorah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Six candles and the 7th one.

There's the biblical menorah
and a cross right next to it.

Okay, guys, if you speak Greek,
if you can read Greek,

take a snapshot, what does this say?

I have no idea but this is fascinating.

4th century Byzantine Church,
what does this say?

It's incredible.

♪ (music) ♪

Oh, look, there's more.

♪ (intense music) ♪

It says that this is a Nabataean temple,

number 21.

You got to see this, look.

You can see vaguely
the traders' route to Gaza,

like you see the modern street

and it's right behind it.

So, you can see it here on the map too,

and there they have it here to Petra.

(Sergio) I see it, so these
are the ancient trade routes

that the Nabataeans

has established to build their empire.

(Rhoda) Yeah, and they traded like,
incense, spices, and gold.

Actually, if you look
right along the trade route over there,

there are ruins.

Do you see them down there
where the green is?

- (Sergio) Yes.
- (Rhoda) Do you see them?

(Sergio) The lost civilization
of the Nabataeans seem to appear

a few centuries before Christ,

and then a few centuries later

disappeared from the face of the earth.

They left almost no written
records behind them

making it really hard on the historians
to figure out their origins, practices,

history, and the reason
for their disappearance.

But their disappearance wouldn't be
as noticed have they not built an empire.

♪ (music) ♪

They developed trade routes
in the Northern Arabia,

connected places as far as India,
to Israel and Egypt.

They held the knowledge
of secret water reservoirs

that no one else have,

so they could transport the spices
and silk through a deadly desert.

In the span of their existence,
they had aggregated a great fortune.

They have built a magnificent hidden city
of Petra carved out of the bedrock

inside a hidden canyon.

But who are they
and where did they come from?

Desivius Flavius, a first-century
Jewish historian

and also 4th-century Christian historian
Eusebius or Jerome suggested

that the Nabataeans originated
with the Nebayot,

the first born son of Ishmael,
a grandson of Abraham.

Unfortunately, modern historians
reject this claim.

But whoever they are, they do seem to play
an interesting role in the land of Israel.

They appear in the land right after
the Jews are taken into Babylonian exile,

and then they disappeared from the land
around the 4th century

and that many of them
convert to Christianity.

But why? What had caused this?

There is one very interesting theory.

According to this theory,

this group of people is
much more famous than we thought.

This theory states that
the famous wise men

who visited Jesus after his birth
were the Nabataeans.

And this theory actually
makes a lot sense.

After all, the wise men
came from the east

which is the direction
of the Nabataean Kingdom,

and they brought gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.

These are the very items
that the Nabataeans traded

and possessed in excess.

And this theory fits right in
the prophecy about Jesus

mentioned in Isaiah 60.

"A multitude of camels shall cover you,
they shall bring gold and frankincense,

and proclaim the praise of the Lord,"
and Verse 7 mentions Nebaioth.

So, could it be that the wise
were the Nabataeans

and could this also explain
their disappearance?

Could they have been anticipating
the coming of the Messiah

and when he came, their entire culture
would have then had fulfilled

its very purpose.

(Sergio) Wow.

This is a crossed-shaped baptismal.

(Sergio) Wow. It's renovated,
restored obviously.

- (Rhoda) Yeah.
- (Sergio) But this is so cool.

This is just like the one
they have in Shivta.

So there was one here too
but theirs preserved better,

this one is not as well preserved
so they had to restore it.

But it's the same thing,
just as they had it there.

- Yes.
- (Sergio) Incredible.

Think about the view they had.

♪ (music) ♪

(Rhoda) Look, this is a huge wine press.

There is-- I don't know if this is where
they pressed it and it would go down

- from here, ends up right there.
- (Sergio) Wow.

- But this is huge.
- (Sergio) Oh, my goodness.

Isn't it awesome?

(Sergio) So, they would press
it right there or here

so, there would be something here
and it would go down

into this channel right there.

Come out in there and be stored in here?

But I'm not sure if this is where
they pressed it, if they used feet or not.

I mean it looks [tight] so, it doesn't
look like a place to hold liquid.

(Sergio) Wait a second.

Wouldn't this be the bath
where you step on them

with your feet?

No. This is probably storage or something

because the floor has to have that--
what do you call... [shapua]

- You guys want the word she said?
- [Shapua.]

By the way, [shapua] is an angle
or what it means decline.

So, they'll be pressing it here
then the liquid will have to go down

and since there's no angled floor
it cannot be a pressing floor.

So, very good thinking.

♪ (music) ♪

Look how cool.

It's this pottery that are like decorated.

They have these grooves
or those linings that go around.

We should keep them
in their place though.

Where did they put them?

So much of it has been destroyed.

Wow, just kind of crumbled down.

What's cool about this entire city,
that no matter what they're doing,

whether in church,
or they're pressing wine here,

they have an incredible view,
think about it.

I mean, you're doing something,

whatever you're doing,
whatever your occupation is,

the view is just stunning.

You're on top of the hill
and it's all valley around you,

it's so beautiful.

Well, this was awesome.

It's beautiful, and I don't think
we even scratched the surface

about the Nabataeans or the settlers,
there's so many unknowns.

Gorgeous views and a lot to look at here,
I didn't expect it to be so nice.

- It's beautiful, isn't it?
- Yes. I'm glad we stopped.

- Me too. Ready to go?
- Yes. Let's go.

Look.

Somebody asked if this is from--
about Kibbutz of Ben-Gurion

but it shows that he was here
in 1960, 15th of April,

- so not very far from today.
- (Sergio) And yes, wow,

and 15th of April!
Today is the 15th of April!

- Yo. This is so cool.
- (Rhoda) It's the 14th of February.

(Sergio) Oh! (laughing)
It's terrible.

Wow, that was way off.

(camel bleat)