Tree of Life

This is the Tree of Life (Shajarat-al-Hayat) located near Jebel Dukhan Bahrain.  It's 400 years old and stands about 32 feet tall.  This Prosopis cineraria tree is extremely well adapted to living in an extremely arid environment, the desert.   This type of tree has one of the world's deepest root system.  The tree has become quite the tourist destination in the area with about 50,000 curious visitors each year.  Unfortunately,  it's being damaged by carvings and graffiti. The tree has an unknown history, but ancient artifacts found near the tree have lead archeologists to believe the tree was used in religious ceremonies of the Divmun civilization.