Sabil Abu Nabbut () also known as Tabitha's Well is a public fountain (" sabil") in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, built in 1815/16 CE during the Ottoman period in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Sabil Abu Nabbut
Archnet Digital Library. Its main purpose was to facilitate the journey between Jaffa and Jerusalem.

History and architecture

The sabil was built by the Governor of

, Muhammad Abu Nabbut in about 1815. It was intended to facilitate the journey between Jaffa and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and was part of Abu Nabbut's rehabilitation efforts in the city. It was seen by numerous travelers, merchants and pilgrims on their journey between the two cities. Despite the fame of the sabil, very little is known about its origin and design. During inquiries in Jaffa in the 1870s,

Clermont-Ganneau Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau (19 February 1846 – 15 February 1923) was a noted French Orientalist and archaeologist. Biography Clermont-Ganneau was born in Paris, the son of Simon Ganneau, a sculptor and mystic who died in 1851 when Clerm ...

encountered a master

mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

named Ali Sida of whom he wrote: "This man, now of advanced age, directed all the works that were set on foot at the beginning of the century by the legendary Abu Nabbut, Governor of Jaffa, the same that gave his name to the pretty fountain, or Sebil Abu Nabbut..." AbuNabut3

The building is a small rectangular stone structure with three

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

s with a sabil (fountain) in the middle. At each corner of the building is a cylindrical

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

with projecting domed finials (now missing). The principal building material is

kurkar Kurkar ( /) is the term used in Arabic and modern Hebrew for the rock type of which lithification, lithified sea sand dunes consist. The equivalent term used in Lebanon is ramleh. History Kurkar is the regional name for an aeolian quartz sands ...

stone, with some reused

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

blocks incorporated into the masonry, and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

used for decoration.Petersen, 2001, p
170
/ref> The principal

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the sabil is its western side, with the fountain contained within a large shallow niche framed with

cyma reversa Moulding (British English), or molding (American English), also coving (in United Kingdom, Australia), is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid ...

moulding. The fountain is surrounded by four white flat marble

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s set against a background of red marble. Above the two central columns is a plaque commemorating the construction of the sabil in 1236 H (1815-1816 CE). On either side of the sabil are windows. These windows were blocked up in about 1960.Kark, 1990, Pl. 19. Cited in Petersen, 2001, p
171
/ref> There are three-ridged domes that crown the building, as well as the multitude of finials on the domes and the small pinnacles that refine the building's silhouette. AbuNabut6

The entrances are at the north and south sides of the building. Although now blocked, each entrance had an open

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

facing outwards. The arches are decorated with a band containing diamond-shaped lozenges.Petersen, 2001, p
171
/ref> The east side has a pair of windows, now blocked. In the centre of the east side is a doorway opening into the domed room at the back of the sabil. The interior of this room is undecorated, and is now used as a park keeper's hut.

"Tomb of Tabitha/Dorcas"

The fountain was pointed out to Western travellers as the "Tomb of

Dorcas Dorcas (), or Tabitha (), was an early disciple (Christianity), disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (, see discussion Acts 9#The healing of Tabitha (9:36–43), here). She lived in the port city of Jaffa, Joppa, today absorb ...

" (aka Tabitha, a

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

figure), or more precisely as a Muslim fountain built at the burial place of Tabitha/Dorcas, as shown for instance by the caption of a photo taken around 1900 (see photo).

Sculpture garden

In 2000 a

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...

by the

i painter and sculptor

Yigal Tumarkin Igael Tumarkin (; 23 October 1933 – 12 August 2021) was an Israeli painter and sculptor. Biography Peter Martin Gregor Heinrich Hellberg (later Igael Tumarkin) was born in 1933 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. His father, Martin Hellberg, was a G ...

was established next to the sabil.

References

Bibliography

* Cited in Petersen, (2001). *Kana`an, Ruba (2001),
Waqf, Architecture, and Political Self-Fashioning: The Construction of the Great Mosque of Jaffa by Muhammad Aga Abu Nabbut.
' In Muqarnas XVIII: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Gülru Necipoglu (ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill.
.htlm link
* (Cited in Petersen, (2001)) * *

External links

Sabil Abu Nabbut
archnet.org *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 13
IAA

Wikimedia commons
{{coord, 32, 02, 50.00, N, 34, 45, 59.20, E, region:SY_type:city, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1815 Ottoman architecture in Israel Buildings and structures in Tel Aviv Fountains in Israel