Tomb of Eve, Jeddah

Did you know that Eve, that same Biblical Eve whom God supposedly created out of Adam’s rib, remains buried in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? Some Muslims believe so. They claim that the city’s name comes from Jaddah , which is an Arabic word meaning grandmother—a reference to Eve, the ‘grandmother of everyone’. The alleged tomb of Eve in Jeddah. Photo: George Richards The Quran, like the Bible and the Torah, tells the story of Adam and Eve and how they were expelled from Paradise after disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit. The Bible doesn’t mention where they ended up on earth, but according to Arab tradition, it is believed that Adam and Eve led separate lives. Adam was exiled to Mecca, where God ordered him to build the Kaaba, the sacred black rock that Muslims around the world face during their five daily prayers. Eve was sent away to Jeddah, where she lived the rest of her life and was buried there. “There is no definite way of knowing where exactly the tomb is, as some say it is somewhere in Palestine and others say it in Saudi Arabia, who knows," said Frauke Heard-Bey, a German-British historian. Also read: The Tomb of Jesus Christ in Japan The earliest documented mention of Eve’s tomb (or the Tomb of Hawa) is by the Arab historian and cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in the mid-12th century. Later, Ibn Jubayr, writing in the late 12th century, states that in Jeddah there is a place with an ancient and lofty dome, which is said to have been the lodging place of Eve. Historians Ibn Al-Mujawir and Ibn Khallikan (both from 13th century) makes clear reference to the Tomb of Eve in Jeddah, but famous traveler Ibn Battuta (14th century) never mentioned it when he visited Mecca. Historians like Tabari, Masudi, and others also state that, according to tradition, Eve is buried in Jeddah, but fail to give any detail of her tomb. Tomb of Eve.