In the East, in Eden

In the East of Eden

Where was the Garden of Eden? This question, if put in the hypothetical idiom, would seem to be a never-ending quest since the Bible offers no tangible proofs but mere allegories posing various degrees or point of interpretations as to where the Garden’s true location. Much has been said about the creation story in varying versions handed down from generations to generations, in different languages, people or religions and yet only few have taken efforts to find the exact location of its paradisiacal garden. Was it really in the Mesopotamian region, in a land called Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates? Or was it somewhere else already found bearing the salient signs where only the skeptic minds will refuse to acknowledge?

If we take geography as reference to support the pre-delude stories it will be more confusing rather than shedding light to the mystery of the story in itself the fact that the earth was and is in constant change and its features is far different from what it looked like before and after the flood. Besides, the names of the places used in the ancient times were so different from their names we used today. Except of course when it comes to directions that north is always in the north, and south is always in the south. So, where to start first and foremost?

Many, if not most of writers, have missed Eden in their descriptions of the Garden of Eden and only touched on to the garden itself. Their interpretations mislead everyone away from the real picture, as described by Moses in his Torah, thus limiting their views on it. Let us read, in Genesis 2:8-9, it says:

“Now, the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.”

First and foremost, the Garden of Eden was just a portion or a place east of Eden. And second, Eden was the First Earth or referred to its mainland called Pangaea when the whole world wa not divided yet. By the way, gaea in pangaea meaning “all-land” in Greek, and pan or gan edhen in Hebrew means “garden of eden”). Again, let us read, “Now, the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden.” Here, three important words are the clues: garden, east, and Eden. The garden was planted in the east, in Eden. Let us continue, In Genesis 2:10-11:

“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is Pishon, it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.”

Further down to Genesis 1:25, we can read that when God closed the gate of the Garden of Eden he assigned cherubs with the fiery sword to guard the gate, in the east, to prevent Adam and Eve from coming back.

The garden in the story of creation in the land called Eden is no other than the lost paradise, the garden outside the City of Mu created by the Muians for their new creations, the Maharlikans, Adam and Eve, the first humans, male and female. Many believed it was in Mesopotamia as the biblical story mentioned of the four riverheads, Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon and Gihon. Tigris and Euphrates were identified as to this days being in Iraq (Mesopotamia) but Pishon and Gihon were not. No evidences so far have been discovered to conclude that Pishon and Gihon were also in Mesopotamia. It is not also clear how wide the Garden of Eden was and how far its extent. The only evidences we can consult were the remnants of the garden and the book bearing its records.

“A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is Pishon, it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold at that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is Gihon: it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the forth river is Euphrates.” (Gen. 2: 10-14).

The land of Havilah is already forgotten in our times but its gold being the treasure of the land must still be there as silent evidence to its extra-ordinary past. But where is Havilah now? Where is its gold?

Coincidentally, the legendary King Solomon’s land of gold, which often claimed as the main source of the famous king's gold as depicted in the biblical story of the construction of the First Temple of King Solomon and in many stories told where he obtained treasures by the ships, was located in the east, the location of present-day Philippines Islands.

Not satisfied yet? How about some physical evidences?

When God vanished away the Garden of Eden from the face of the Earth, He intelligently designed monuments in memory of the first humans He created and put in the garden. These monuments are mountain-forms bearing the features of a man (Adam) and a woman (Eve) perfectly lying down as if they are sleeping, in a place once called the Garden of Eden. These mountain-forms are called by the inhabitants there as the Lalaking Bukid (male mountain) and Babaeng Bukid (female mountain). Both these mountains are located in the Province of Dinagat Islands in the northern part of Mindanao, south-east of the Philippines.

Adam's Monument, Dinagat Province

Eve's Monument, Dinagat Province

And since this article is about the Garden of Eden itself, this said Garden must be a real garden in a way that landscaping and cultivation as its features must be obviously distinct to be called as such. The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Mt. Province is considered to be the one of the world’s largest man-made wonders, a landscape, hence a garden. The soil taken from it was dumped in now the so-called Chocolate Hills in Bohol because the entire Philippine Islands was once the Garden of Eden.

Rice Terraces of Ifugao, Mt. Province 

Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Have you ever wondered what is the hidden meaning of this line "Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!" in Rizal's Last Farewell?