A necropolis in the middle of the Dead Sea
Yarauvi is a symbol of international tolerance and reconciliation built over time by people of good will who choose it as their final resting place.
Death and our response to it has long held the power to bind cultures together and create places that transcend time and custom. Our collective respect for the dead and where they are laid to rest reaches across cultures like no other human experience. It is the commonality of this reverence that guides the creation of Yarauvi, a necropolis at the center of the Dead Sea.
Yarauvi is a place where any person regardless of nationality, race, religion, age or affluence can be laid to rest. By choosing this site as a final resting place, anyone can contribute to a growing symbol of tolerance and reconciliation.
The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, holds significance as a historical space between cultures, both literally and figuratively. The location of the project at the center of the Dead Sea, exactly on the border between Israel and Jordan, demarcates this threshold while questioning the spatial polarization represented by national borders in general.
Individual’s benefit from the capacity Yarauvi would have to give a voice to their commitment to reconciliation and tolerance. In a world where there is a growing dissatisfaction that the beliefs of one common person are not measurable or effective, Yarauvi offers the opportunity for that voice to be added to others in a physical and unforgettable way.
Society also benefits from this collection of like-minded citizens making the statement that it is time to break with our habit of letting colloquial differences define us. Instead these individuals collectively point a way forward towards a world defined by tolerance and reconciliation.
By following the example of the dead, the living can enjoy a world that is less fearful, less hostile and more united.
Two people willing to be laid to rest is all that is required to start Yarauvi. This sounds too simple, but it is all that is necessary to plant the seed.
We also need the people of Jordan and Israel to embrace the idea that their border on the Dead Sea is the ideal location for Yarauvi. It is an ancient land where Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were born. It is the lowest place on earth, in an empty desert of calmness and quiet beauty. Politically, it is a place that embodies the sense of dispute and conflict at the heart of the most persistent struggle in the world.
Into this context Yarauvi is a place where people of good will can elect – in death – to mark their commitment to the reconciliation of these conflicts by adding to a growing symbol of tolerance and unity.
The idea would continue to grow naturally and exponentially. As more and more individuals elect to be laid to rest at Yarauvi, the symbol grows in two distinct ways. First, since the monument enlarges to accommodate new occupants, the symbol physically grows offering a visual reminder to the rest of the world of the increasing commitment it represents. Secondly, and even more significantly, the influence of Yarauvi expands as more and more individuals are affected by the commitment of their friends and family. Each time their thoughts turn to the deceased, they cannot help but be reminded of that individuals commitment to tolerance and reconciliation.
