The legend has some saying that it never existed but many ancient texts, religious and otherwise, state that there is indeed such a place, but the location has been eluded by all who have written or heard about it.
Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century, wrote about it. It appeared in the Alexander Romances — chronicles of the life and travels of Alexander the Great — and also in the stories written by Prester John. Similar legends also appear among the natives of the Caribbean who believed that such a spring existed in a mythical land called Bimini.
In the Herodotus version, there was such a fountain in the land of the Ethiopians, while in the eastern version, Alexander the Great and his servant find the spring of the 'water of life' while crossing the Land of Darkness. This servant (also termed as a sage), is referred to as Al-Khidr or Khawaja Khizr, also referred to in the Holy Quran, as the same sage who met Moses.
In an epic tale Shahnama by Persian poet Firdausi, Alexander sets out to find this fountain in the Land of Darkness — a land beyond the place of the setting of the sun. Throughout this journey, Alexander was guided by the knowledgeable Khizr. Somehow it is Khizr who came upon the legendary spring and was the only one who drank from it.
There is also the mention of a dead fish, which the soldiers in Alexander's troupe brought for their meal which, when touched by the waters, got back to life. The soldiers also picked up some stones in the darkness which they later on found to be precious. Restorative waters also appear in Biblical references as a pool in Bethesda, from which Jesus heals a man.
Coming back to the Caribbean, the natives believed that the mythical land of Bimini that contained the spring or fountain of life was around the Bahamas.
According to later interpretations however, such an island was never found. Though there are stories that an Arawak chief from Cuba, by the name of Sequene, set out to search for the legendary land of Bimini. He got a few men together and left but never came back. The men belonging to his tribe asserted that he had found the land and was living there happily.
When the Spanish conquered Puerto Rico, Juance Ponce de Leon also heard about Bimini from the locals in the 16th century and set off on a great voyage to search for the curative waters. The result was that he became the first European who arrived in America by discovering Florida in 1513, and found a fountain which is now a national park by the name of St Augustine Fountain of Youth Park and is open to visitors who enjoy drinking from its waters but are not awarded eternal youth. There is a more detailed account of this legend in Iskandarnama.
On the other hand, according to deeper philosophy, the Fountain of Youth is not an actual spring or water but a fountain of knowledge that is eternal and never gets old or dies. As Al-Khidr or Khawaja Khizr, the only person believed to have had access to the Water of Life or Aab-i-Hayat, it is believed by cultures that he still lives on a remote, unknown island; he is sometimes seen by people dressed in green as “a man of God” and helps those in distress. There are also temples devoted to him by Hindus and shrines by Muslims who pay homage to this living saint.
On a lighter note, David Copperfield, the famous magician, announced to the media that he had bought a cluster of islands in the Bahamas in 2006, and paid 50 million dollars for them. He claimed that he had found the legendary Fountain of Youth where he noticed that dead people who fell into it were alive again. He has asked scientists to conduct tests. But the results of the tests including rights of admission to this precious property are strictly reserved. Whether this is just one of David's tricks remains to be seen.
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