\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs24 Legend has it that, while flying over the desolate lands of the \b \cf2 \ATXht10202 Bedouin\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , King Solomon û a s
acred and magical figure for Muslims û took pity on the thirsty people and ordered a host of \i jinn\i0 , spirits over whom he had power, to create the \i aflaj\i0 , a thousand canals of water a day for the space of ten moons....\par
In reality, the com
plex network of canals for the collection of water was based on a system introduced by the Persians. In the oases of the Jabal al Akhdar, the \b \i \cf2 \ATXht10601 falaj\i0 \cf1 \b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 is still indispensable to the rural economy. An undergrou
nd channel runs for kilometers from the spring, with wells that serve as vents set at intervals along its length, and then splits into a thousand rivulets near the oasis. These are controlled by a register that determines their flow and use. Pools conta
ining water for drinking, purification, washing, and irrigation are kept strictly separate. For the men who created these paradises of water, however, it was forced labor. Hundreds of slaves were employed in the excavation, working bent over, undergroun
d in short shifts, so that they would not suffocate.\par
