SHIVTA - שבטה

Shivta, the amazing ancient Nabatean city can be found totally off the beaten track in the south of Israel, about 40 km southwest from Beer Sheva in the Negev Desert. The location was cleverly chosen by its founders, the "Lords of the Desert" the early Nabateans. It was built along the famous Perfume and Incense Road which stretched almost 2500 km, over Oman and Yemen through Saudi Arabia till the Port of Gaza.

Shivta is located between the magnificent Nabatean capital Petra in today's Jordan and the port town of Gaza and connected to other Nabatean cities throughout the  Negev Desert, like Mamshit and Avdat. All three cities, Shivta, Mamshit and Avdat are honored to be on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Precious perfumes and spices, their use already mentioned in the Bible, were transported along this road, through deserts of rock, granite and sand,  on the backs of camels  forming long caravans, often changing the route a bit to avoid robbers. This trade road flourished for hundreds of years, providing the items needed for body cosmetic and for rituals, and gave wealth and power to many merchants.

Shivta, called by the Arabs Isbeita, was build in the 1st century BC as a small farming community by Nabateans, the inhabitants of North Arabia, and mainly served as a caravan stop for the Nabatean traders of the Incense Route. When Christianity came to the region in the fourth century, churches were built and it began to prosper as an important and large Byzantine town.  Most of the dwellings at the site of today are Byzantine.

A protective wall around the city is formed by the outer ring of houses, facing all inside the town.

The ancient water system built by the Nabateans, is quite amazing, collecting every drop of rain in canals and leading them to big reservoirs. The city was spared destruction by the Moslem invaders and never faced an earthquake. Therefore the ruins are very well preserved.

I have been two times in Shivta before, each time in summer and in the middle of the day. That is almost unbearable because of the immense heat and I never got to enjoy the place thoroughly. Yesterday we were clever and have been there at seven o'clock in the morning. 

The air was fresh and the sun just warming, but not grilling us, so we could really concentrate on Shivta's wonders. Another added benefit of the early morning: no one but us was there! And even Dafi, who does not take the heat easy anymore, now that she is already more than ten years old, was smiling!

We strolled through the many streets, visited the houses and churches, discovered a lot of chiseled and embellished stones, delighted in the arches and columns, all under a blue sky with the desert mountains around us - the view breathtakingly beautiful!

Many of the houses had their own wells, water basins and ovens. The walls were built double with rubble stones filled in between them. There are signs that horses were raised or at least stabled there. We found wine presses with storage rooms, lovely rounded entrance stones, remnants of arches for bearing the roofs in many buildings, streets paved with big quarter blocks of stones.

In the churches christening pools in forms of crosses, hewn out of one slab of rock, are to be seen,  and the two rows of columns leading to the altar and apse can be admired.

Pigeons love the place and are models for some nice and awesome  pictures.

Oh yes, and I brought a crocheted bag and pillow. I thought we'll make some unusual photos - and well, I think we succeeded!

In the 7th century due to the Moslem invasion of the area and the lesser demand of perfume and spices the trade route had died out, and the cities along it where gradually deserted. Shivta was completely abandoned by the 9th century. 

Shivta, Subeita, Sobota, Isbeita, is a marvelous enchanted place, never destroyed, with so much to explore and to appreciate - and far far away from civilization - quiet and peaceful!
Enjoy our day with us - zoom in to see the details!

I crocheted the bag some time ago with torn fabric strips, adorned with yoyos, little handmade felt balls I brought back from a craft market in Hungary, and from beads, I  had rolled with painted tyvek paper strips, wrapped with yarn, and incised with a soldering iron.

Some weeks ago I found a wonderful blog on the net, called "Grossmuetterchen" (Grannies). A  group of women in Germany participated in a project of crocheting granny squares, exchanging them and joining them together as pillows. I really did like and admire that and it inspired me to make this pillow. Have a look at their lovely creations at the blog.

http://grossmuetterchen.blogspot.com/

All photographs by Uri Eshkar