Shivta

I woke the family around 6am. They were miserable and grumpy. For some inexplicable reason I had decided to invite the whole crew (including blacknephewo) along, as after visiting Shivta we were to go lunch at friends who live on a Kibbutz that's so close to Gaza you can smell their humus.

Shivta was originally one of the largest Nabataen settlements in the Negev, although this fact is somewhat disputed currently. It may actually have been a Byzantine colony and a way station for pilgrims on the way to Santa Catarina (supposed site of Mount Sinai). It's a big place and there are many building remains among the rubble. Because it is so out of the way, there is no guards and the entrance is free. We were as usual the only people on the site. So we had the whole of the ruined city to ourselves. It was cool. The majority of the building took place during the 4th century, the churches were built then. Interestingly, unlike Mamshit, there is no city wall, the outer ring of houses all faced in and formed a protective barrier around the city. We saw there were numerous cisterns dug into the rock indicating that water conservation was very important (not surprising, it's in the deep desert).
This is the happy family before leaving home. Note the look of joy on the boy's face.
As soon as we arrived we we made coffee and ate juchnun, and pita cheeses lovingly prepared by the unappreciated father. You can see the ruins of Shivta in the background. It's quite far, about two hours drive not counting the toilet stops.
This is one of the churches. There are three in all, this is the South Church. There is a lot left standing.
The architecture is awesome. Lots of impressive arches and stonework.
The wife takes much better pictures than you usually find on this blog. The stonework, empty space and complete silence, lets you really taste the lost splendor of the city. You really feel you need to be respectful and introspective.
There are still a lot of arches that have not fallen. Its interesting how some places were totally destroyed while other buildings were still in relatively good shape.
A lot of the site looked like this. Walls, surrounded by rubble. It's a big site and we never explored it all. It was still cool in the early morning, and the breeze was refreshing, but it got hot as the day wore on.
At the start of the 6th century CE, the city was struck by a large earthquake. The results of which are evident everywhere. There are many crushed rocks that have been completely fragmented, like the one above. The power of the quake must have been enormous and must have wreaked havoc in the stone built houses. We tend to forget we live on a serious faultline in our stone houses.
These are the remains of the wine press. Serious one at that. The grapes were pressed on the higher section to the left and the juice ran down into the big round basins. There are remnants of many of the city's industries. Including a potter's kiln and stables as well a cross shaped baptistery.

had a great time. It was especially good having the whole family along. We laughed a lot and generally had fun. Read the wife's blog for her view of events between her bathroom trips.