The classic desert kites that gave these formations their name are found in an area that used to have the beautiful name "Levant". It stretches from southeastern Turkey, through Syria and Jordan, into the north of Saudi Arabia. Some of the game traps have diameters between 180 and 250 metres and their guiding fences often stretch for kilometres into the countryside, but there are much smaller ones as well. Judging by the large number of desert kites that are still visible, there must once have been an abundance of game here that is almost unimaginable today.
“Miniature” kites for educational purposes?
These strangely small desert kites in Mafraq, Jordan, with diameters of 15 to 20 meters, are only about a tenth the size of a typical desert kite, and their guide walls are also unusually short. This makes them hardly suitable for hunting, except perhaps for rabbits and mice. Are these perhaps 1:10 scale models that were used to teach kite construction or to plan kites before they were built? Or were the helpers trained on these models on how to proceed during hunting? I have no idea and would be happy to hear from anyone who knows anything about these miniature kites.
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Images courtesy of Google Earth™
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