The Holy Land – the birthplace of great religions – is also an environment of unique flora and fauna. Encompassing a vast, ancient region-lying between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, from Syria in the north down to Egypt in the south-the Holy Land has been home to an array of wildlife, some of which remain today, others of which have vanished for all time. The sacred stories of Noah's Ark filled with such animals, and the Garden of Eden exemplified the diversity and cohabitation of the natural world. This AUC Press Nature Foldout explores some of the most beloved wildlife revered as sacred and special in the Holy Land, past and present.
Dominique Navarro is an Emmy Award winning art director, natural history artist, and writer. In 2014, she won an Emmy for her work as art director on the History Channel (H2) series Big History. She has collaborated on environmental projects producing posters, books, and field guides for museums, schools, and tourism and ecology programs in California. As a trained forensic artist, she produces illustrations and sculptural reconstructions of unidentified persons and ancient archaeological remains.
Sherif Baha El Din, with a PhD in ecology, is senior technical advisor at BirdLife International, Florida, and environmental consultant to the UNDP. He is the author of Common Birds of Egypt (AUC Press, 1984) and A Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Egypt (AUC Press, 2006).