Toto

http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/eden357918.shtml

The first chapter of From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible (or via: amazon.co.uk) by Eric H. Cline.

gdeering

Noted Biblical scholar Donald Rumsfeld had this to say about the location of Eden: "We know where it is. It's in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

ApostateAbe

If our only source on the matter locates the Garden of Eden around and about the rivers of Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates, then that is probably the first place to look. I saw an episode of 60 Minutes last weekend that filmed the southern marshes of Iraq around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (dehydrated by Saddam's canals and reflooded a few years ago), where there were people who seemed to be Marsh Arabs living primitive tribal lives weaving the walls of their homes with reeds. It looks positively idyllic, and it probably looked much more so to nomads of the surrounding desert, who were forbidden from living there by territoriality, reflected in the Genesis story.

show_no_mercy

So the original Hebrews were Arabs kicked out of their homeland? That sounds familiar!

ApostateAbe

Adam and Eve were supposedly kicked out, but I think maybe the Genesis myth reflects wishful thinking more than an actual historical expulsion.

avi

Well, apart from the mosquitoes, and malaria, and encephalitis...
Umm, let's omit reference to various poisonous serpents, and vicious reptilian predators....

ApostateAbe

You are right, I didn't think about that. I imagine that may be why a serpent is chosen as an evil character in the myth.

neilgodfrey

Malaria, yes. But encephalitis? Vicious reptilian predators? The only snakes in the marshes are food for the birdlife.

Check wikipedia for a more accurate picture of the Marsh Arabs. The closest connection to a garden of Eden there today is the handful of remaining Mandaeans who still have a special place of honour for Adam (alongside John the Baptist). Most of them now live as refugees beyond Iraq's borders.

Neil

ApostateAbe

Yes, but I think avi is right. I found a blurb in USA Today:

As if ongoing bombings and drought weren't enough, Hassan al-Asadi, a member of the Dhi Qar provincial council in southern Iraq, said that a few months ago, water snakes that had lost their natural habitat along the rivers started to show up around houses near al-Chibaiysh marshland.

"The snakes were looking for food and dozens of people were bitten," he said, adding that for a time, Iraqi soldiers and policemen were shooting about 70 wayward snakes a day.

And Memri Economic Blog:

Life in the Marshes

Life in the marshes was never easy. High temperatures, high humidity and seasonal flooding, often severe, in addition to the daily struggle with a variety of insects, poisonous snakes and sudden attacks by wild boars turned the life of the marsh dweller into a constant struggle for survival. Government presence was minimal and tribal laws ruled supreme. The marsh dwellers never paid any taxes and they received hardly any government services. Medical services were minimal and, like many traditional societies, marsh dwellers resorted to herbs to treat ailments. Schools were difficult to build because of the dispersion of the marsh dwellers in large areas separated by bodies of water. Potable water was not available and the marsh dwellers drank the marsh water, and it is not surprising that many of them were afflicted with dysentery, diarrhea and bilharzias. Electricity was but a gleam on the horizon.

avi

Israel releasing crocodiles in Iraq
again, this time a couple of years later...
Encephalitis:
Hmm. Do you read, at all, prior to posting?
mosquitoes serve as major vector of encephalitis.