1. Shivta
Shivta (ancient Subeita) is home to the astonishingly well-preserved ruins of a 5th- and 6th-century Byzantine city, with three monastic churches, dwellings, water cisterns, and paved streets all visible.
It was first built and used by the Nabataeans during the 1st century BC and later rebuilt by the Byzantines. Although the ruins are all from the later Byantine stage, Shivta earns its UNESCO World Heritage Site status from its earlier Nabataean habitation, as part of the Desert Cities Incense Route in the Negev.
On entering the site, you first come to the three-aisled basilica of the South Church. Built against the church is a mosque dating from the 7th century.
A little way north of the church is the Council House, which stands at the intersection of two streets.
2. Nitzana
This Nabatean trading post, about 17 kilometers southeast of Shivta, was first founded in the 3rd century BC and was an important pit stop on the incense trading route between Gaza and Eilat.
Due to its location, near Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, it gained prominence during the early Byzantine era, when pilgrims used Nitzana as a stop along the way to or from St. Catherine’s Monastery. The sparse ruins at the site today date from this period.
Archaeological excavations carried out in 1935 revealed two church ruins (one with a mosaic pavement) and a fort.
There are also ruins from the modern era here, including an Ottoman-era hospital, train station, and well.
