Avdat restored

SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE NABATAEAN (NABATEAN) SITE OF AVDAT:

Ancient Site Restored after Modern Vandalism
Nabatean King Obodas, revered as a deity, built the southern Negev city of Avdat 2000 years ago. Vandals tried to destroy it three years ago. Now it has been restored.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu (The Jewish Press)
Published: January 30th, 2013

Six different Israeli ministries invested nearly $2 million to repair damage, much of it irreversible, after unknown vandals in October 2009 assaulted the site, designated by UNESCO (United Nations Science and Culture Organization) as a world’s cultural heritage.

[...]

[District official Raviv] Shapiro is pleased that the site now has been re-opened for visitors after massive rehabilitation efforts have actually made the site “look a lot better than it was before the vandalism.”

However, the archaeological value of many fragile artifacts has been lost forever, adds Nature Authority official Orit Bortnik.

[...]

The Nabatean city of Avdat, named after King Obodas who was known in Arabic as Abdah, is located in Avdat National Park, which includes hiking trails, springs, groves and wildlife. The city is on the “Spice Route” along which merchants traveled with perfumes and spices from East Africa and Arabia.

[...]

Background on the vandalism inflicted on Avdat in 2009 is here and links.