Page 1 The Epic Discovery of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon By Teddy Curran
Page 2 “Go pack your bags!” yelled Mrs. Gold to Rafi while helping their large 8 person family get organized. The Gold family was making a trip to Dubai. Their plan of how their trip was going to go already got off to a bad start, when their airplane had to stop in Babylon because of engine problems. The Gold family did not know how their trip would end up. “What will we do here for 2 days?” asked Rafi “I think that we will rent a hotel room and explore the ancient city of Babylon,” answered Mr.Gold.
Page 3 Once the Gold family settled into their room, Rafi, his father, and his younger brother decided that they would first explore the city by taking walk on the banks of the Euphrates. “Whoa, my shoes are all wet now!!” yelled Rafi. “What happened?” asked his father in surprise. “I think I stepped in an old irrigation line,” answered Rafi. The three boys became interested in the old irrigation line and decided to follow it until they came to a massive sand dune.
Page 4 “I wonder what’s in that giant dune?” said Rafi’s younger brother. “Well, I see a stone that looks like it was carved into a corner, so let’s check it out,” answered Rafi. The three boys dug and dug until they could have an idea of what the massive object was. “I think that this is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” said Mr.Gold. “Do you want to hear a quick fact about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?” asked Rafi. “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was thought to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar for his homesick wife in 605 B.C.,” said Rafi before Mr.Gold could have any time to say anything.
Page 5 The three boys decided to jump into the car and drive on the sandy roads of southern Iraq to bring an expert to the site to see if it really was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon because the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were not proven to be real.
“In school, I learned that the Euphrates river is longer,wider, and slower than the Tigris ,” said Rafi’s younger brother. “A quick fact about the Euphrates River is that it is about 1740 miles long,” said Rafi. “The facts are kind of bothering me so can you please stop with the facts?” asked Mr.Gold as Rafi and his brother immediately shut their mouth. Once the three boys drove to the National Museum of Babylonian History, they contacted the person at the front desk.
Page 6 “How may I help you?” asked the person at the front desk. “I think we have found an ancient artifact on the banks of the Euphrates River and I was wondering if we could bring an expert to it to check it out?” asked Mr.Gold. “Someone will be with you in a second,” said the woman at the front desk. In just a few seconds, the three Gold boys were out the door with the expert right behind them.
Page 7 “Okay, so what do we have here?” said the history expert. “I think we have found the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. We have brought you here to see if it is what we think it is,” answered Rafi. The man walked over to the giant structure and started to stroke his mighty beard like something great had just popped into his head The man gasped with excitement when he said “Oh my, you have actually found the Hanging Gardens of Babylon!!! This will make history!” “This is so exciting, I can’t believe it!” hollered Rafi.
Page 8 “I know this is exciting in all, but what are we going to do with it?” asked Mr.Gold. “Well, I have called over a team to dig up the gardens and the irrigation lines that fed an estimated 8,200 gallons of water into the Gardens each day and after that, it is your decision about what to do with this ancient Garden,” answered the expert. In just a hour, the crew had already arrived and started to dig. The three Gold boys jumped in the car and decided that they would come back tomorrow when the day was new. When the three boys arrived back to the hotel, they were spreading the news about The Hanging Gardens like a wildfire spreads through the forest. The next day, at the crack of dawn, everyone awoke excited to know that they be seeing a priceless piece of history.
Page 9 When the Golds arrived at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, they were amazed to see that many different broadcasters ,including FOX news, were filming at the site. “I think we have had a good time with this but, our flight to Dubai leaves today so we have to do something with it,” exclaimed Mr.Gold . “Well, I think keeping it might be a good idea, but we most likely won’t see this 320 ft long, 80 ft tall, and 80 ft wide structure ever again so, I think that we should donate it to the National Museum of Babylonian History for them to keep,” said Rafi. “That is so sweet of you honey, that is the perfect idea,” said Mrs.Gold in a sweet voice. The gold family all shook hands with the kind expert and then signed a sheet that said that the museum would have control over the Gardens. On the plane flight to Dubai, Rafi said “I am happy that we did not find a ziggurat instead of the Hanging Gardens because the Hanging Gardens have never been found before and Ziggurats have.” “Oh yeah, and here is something about a Ziggurat, a Ziggurat is a huge mud brick temple built by the ancient Sumerians. Finally found a fact for you,” said Mr.Gold in voice had never heard from his dad before. The Gold family will never forget their lucky find of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and their kind donation to an old museum.
Page 10 Picture links http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Etihad.airways.1.750pix.jpg http://www.myfourthirds.com/files/0663/57086582sanddunereflections.jpg http://ghettothinker.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/dan20nebuchadnezzar.jpg http://www.personal.psu.edu/amp5364/HangingGardens2.gif http://media1.web.britannica.com/ebmedia/30/173000420208AF4.jpg http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/images/PicforFranksNewsetterJORDANbrokenroad2.jpg http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/china/images/desert.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon.jpg/3 50pxHanging_Gardens_of_Babylon.jpg http://www.blueorienttravelandtours.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/10/BurjAlArabHotelDubai EmiratiArabiUniti3960x1280.jpg