Sabil Abu Nabbut ( ar, سبيل أبو نبوت) also known as Tabitha's Well is a public fountain (" sabil") in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

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

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. 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 (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, 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 Cler ...

encountered a master

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

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 image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

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

kurkar Kurkar ( ar, كركار / he, כורכר) is the term used in Palestinian Arabic and modern Hebrew for the rock type of which lithified sea sand dunes consist. The equivalent term used in Lebanon is ramleh. haron Horowitz. ''The Quaternary of ...

stone, with some reused limestone blocks incorporated into the masonry, and marble used for decoration.Petersen, 2001, p
170
/ref> The principal

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

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

cyma reversa Moulding (spelled molding in the United States), or 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 milled woo ...

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 ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) 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 ( el, Δορκάς, Dorkás, used as a translated variant of the Aramaic name), or Tabitha ( arc, טביתא/ܛܒܝܬܐ, Ṭaḇīṯā, (female) gazelle), was an early disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (, see discussi ...

" (aka Tabitha, a

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

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 a ...

by the

i painter and sculptor

Yigal Tumarkin Igael Tumarkin (Hebrew: יגאל תומרקין; 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 fa ...

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