We set up camp in the dark with a single-AA-battery-powered flashlight near Ein Avdat, the hike we were planning to do the next morning. The next morning we saw that while the highway ran about 700 meters away to the east, a wide expanse of desert bordered us on the west.
Campsite in the morning.
Tree in the campsite.
Ayalon in the tent.
Desert to the west.
Unfortunately, even though we drove 3 hours south for the explicit purpose of completing the reputedly stunning Ein Avdat hike, the park rangers at the entrance informed us that the park was filled with 15-20 busloads of Israeli students-- approximately 700 kids. 700 kids is an intimidating number; 700 Israeli kids is a destructive figure with the power to deter even the most committed hiker.
Instead, we pulled over in the parking lot to the nearby site of the graves of Ben-Gurion (Israel's first prime minister) and his wife, Paula. The graves sit on a steep cliff overlooking the Zin Valley and the Avdat plain.
Instead, we pulled over in the parking lot to the nearby site of the graves of Ben-Gurion (Israel's first prime minister) and his wife, Paula. The graves sit on a steep cliff overlooking the Zin Valley and the Avdat plain.
Ben-Gurion's grave.
The Zin Valley.
Having made the considerable (by Israeli standards) trek to the South, Ayalon and I were determined to have our hike. Poring over our options in the Negev, we decided upon the ancient isolated Nabatean village of Shivta, located on the ancient incense and spice routes from south Arabia to the seaport of Gaza. Shivta, and its sister Nabatean strongholds of Mamshit and Avdat, were declared UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2005.
Shivta is considered an agricultural village because it was not a fortified town. It was founded in approximately the 1st century BCE, during the early Roman period. The village includes both early Roman and Roman-period ruins. However, the majority of the excavations feature ruins from the Byzantine period (4th - 7th centuries) when Shivta rose to prosperity because of highly developed agriculture and economic activities connected to Christian pilgrimage. During this period it was also an important site along the Egypt-Anatolia caravan route. The ruins of Shivta include three churches, residential areas, public squares and courtyards, well organized streets, and administrative buildings, which indicate that it was a complex urban network.
Shivta deteriorated after the Arab conquest in the 7th century, and is estimated to have been abandoned in the 8th or 9th centuries.
Shivta is located in the middle of nowhere. We drove about 10 km off the highway through military training grounds and past a military base to this isolated village. The emptiness and isolation of Shivta combined with a developing sandstorm made for an eerie atmosphere.
Shivta is considered an agricultural village because it was not a fortified town. It was founded in approximately the 1st century BCE, during the early Roman period. The village includes both early Roman and Roman-period ruins. However, the majority of the excavations feature ruins from the Byzantine period (4th - 7th centuries) when Shivta rose to prosperity because of highly developed agriculture and economic activities connected to Christian pilgrimage. During this period it was also an important site along the Egypt-Anatolia caravan route. The ruins of Shivta include three churches, residential areas, public squares and courtyards, well organized streets, and administrative buildings, which indicate that it was a complex urban network.
Shivta deteriorated after the Arab conquest in the 7th century, and is estimated to have been abandoned in the 8th or 9th centuries.
Shivta is located in the middle of nowhere. We drove about 10 km off the highway through military training grounds and past a military base to this isolated village. The emptiness and isolation of Shivta combined with a developing sandstorm made for an eerie atmosphere.
Entering Shivta.
Walls of homes?
More Roman-era ruins.
7th century Byzantine church.
Christening bath?
Dome of the church.
Ayalon on the village walls.
View of church from outside the village walls.
The vast expanse of uninterrupted desert surrounding Shivta.
