Wadi Auja

The gorge of Wadi Auja, 2016
Wadi Auja, 1919

Wadi Auja (Arabic: وادي العوجا‎‎ is a valley or stream (Arabic: وادي‎‎ wādī, "wadi") in the West Bank, originating near the Ein Samia spring and flowing to Al-Auja near Jericho before it runs into the Jordan River.

Name

"Al-auja" means "the meandering one". This should not to be confused with the other river called in Arabic by the same name, Nahr al-Auja, and known by its biblical and Hebrew name as the Yarkon River. During World War I this coincidence led to the term of "the line of the two Aujas" referring to a strategic line connecting the two river valleys.[1]

Geography

Wadi Auja is a deep gorge historically running from the Ein Samia spring to the Auja spring, before flowing into the Jordan River. Ein Samia has been diverted to provide water to Ramallah, some 20km away, providing around 30% of the city's needs, and leaving most of the Wadi dry throughout the year.[2] The Auja Spring produces an estimated 9 million cubic metres of water annually, which creates a small oasis that attracts thousands of tourists a year, as well as providing for the farmers of Auja village.[3]

History

The area was occupied by Israel in 1967.

Today, Wadi Auja is a route used by Palestinian hikers. It is quieter and more isolated than the popular routes hiking routes such as Wadi Qelt.[2] The wadi is used by many Bedouin shepherds.

See also

References

  1. ↑ H. S. Gullett (1923). The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914-1918 (PDF). Sydney: Angus & Robertson Ltd. p. 487. Retrieved 16 September 2015. Allenby did not hesitate. His original objective had been the "line of the two Aujas" from the Nahr Auja, which falls into the Mediterranean above Jaffa, to the Wady Auja, a little stream which, bursting from springs in the desert foot-hills above the Jordan valley, flows eastwards to the Jordan River about ten miles north of the Dead Sea.
  2. 1 2 Szepesi, Stefan (2012). Walking Palestine: 25 Journeys Into The West Bank. Oxford: Signal. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-908493-61-3.
  3. ↑ "Auja Environmental Center". EcoPeace Middle East. Retrieved 5 December 2016.

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