Ancient way towards Sbeitla Photo

Photographer’s Note

Ancient way towards Sbeitla

Sbeitla or Sufetula (Arabic: سبيطلة‎) is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia. The ancient town, then held by the Byzantine Prefect Gregory was captured by Rashidun Caliphate's Governor of Egypt, Abdullah ibn Saad and his General Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr in 647AD and briefly served as capital of Ifriqiya.

The ancient site of Sufetula is partly incorporated into the town of Sbeitla which, almost a thousand and a half years later, succeeded to it as one of the main towns of the Higher Steppe.
Even if the place name Sufetula indicates a more ancient foundation, the vestiges so far excavated do not date back beyond the lst century AD.

The city seems to have experienced great prosperity under Septimus Severus (IInd-IIIrd century) and into Diocletian’s reign (285-305). Most of the buildings visible today date to that period : houses, forum, temples, baths, triumphal gate, theatre etc.
In the absence of inscriptions to shed light on the different phases of the city’s past, the discovery of later vestiges, from the late Empire or the Vandal and Byzantine periods, reflect the great vitality of the Christian community in the city. It gained even more importance on the eve of the Arab conquest, in 647, which put a stop to Africa’s membership in the Christian world, signalling its adhesion to the Islamic empire, after the defeat of the Patriarch Gregory who ruled the kingdom that had distanced itself from Constantinople and had made Sufetula its capital instead of Carthage. (Source: patrimoinedetunisie.com)

BeBeHooker, JanD, besnard, jlbrthnn, portmanndominic, ChrisJ, danos, vasilpro, saxo042, Cretense, amaryllis has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

BeBeHooker (6246) 2009-10-01 1:46

Hi George!
Amazing shadoooooow. Wonderful composition. Good idea and very original shot.
Cheers!

gildasjan (24235) 2009-10-01 1:54

Bonjour George
Bien réalisée avec l'ombre du photographe qui dirige notre œil vers cette architecture baignant dans une bonne lumière.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
gildas

JanD (15273) 2009-10-01 2:14

Howdy Budapestman!
Very original idea and very original image. Interesting ruins. Very fine Your shadow. Perfect capture. Good contrast and sharp. Good black frame.
Regards.

besnard (31348) 2009-10-01 2:37

Bonjour George
Tu as tout d'un géant avec ton ombre qui conduit le regard vers cette architecture intéressante aux chaudes couleurs.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

snunney (35840) 2009-10-01 2:44

Hello George,
A fine composition of this ancient roadway and background ruins. The photographer's shadow is an excellent bonus and makes a fine point towards the ruins. Very good light with fine tones and textures.

john1 (2583) 2009-10-01 3:03

Hello George,

Very nice shadow of the photographer,
Done with the sunset, a beautiful symmetry and a good depth of field.
Beautiful presentation of this historical site of Sbeitla.
Good day.
john

jlbrthnn (39501) 2009-10-01 3:47

Hello george,
It is a very beautiful discovery, enthralling. the image of your arrival on this site is the beginning of a captivating report. Beautiful image quite made up with the disproportionate shade of the photographer. Cheer.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

npecanhuk (15182) 2009-10-01 4:33

Hello George!
Interesting and beautiful picture!
The vertical format, the architectural details and your long silhouette on the ground are superb details in this image!
Sharpness, exposure, dof and colors are all excellent too!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

portmanndominic (2390) 2009-10-01 4:36

Bonjour Georges

d'abord je suis attiré par cette belle lumiére de l'aube ou de la fin de journée , ensuite l'attention se porte sur ton ombre qui nous montre le chemin
Bravo
regards
Dominic

francio64 (12162) 2009-10-01 5:06

Ciao George,
bella composizione con l'inserimento della tua ombra.
Idea originale in una foto dal grande DOF.

TFS!
Francesco

ChrisJ (70521) 2009-10-01 6:46

Hi George

I love the long shadow here. Good textural details in the fg, with superb sharpness & framing. Nice yellow ochre vs blue colour contrasts. Tfs!

danos (33730) 2009-10-01 7:17

Hi George,
a very nice perspective and POV with the shadow of the photographer to completes the scene.I like the alley which lead the eye to the ancient temple, as the warm afternoon light that floodlight the scene.Well done.

Have a nice afternoon,Danos

vasilpro (9805) 2009-10-01 7:53

Hello George,
Excellent composition, great light management very good clarity and sharpness, I like the POV with your shadow portrait, a very nice idea.
My kind regards, Vasilis.

saxo042 (16576) 2009-10-01 8:00

Hi Georg,
A very long man has stepped into your picture here :-)) A very fine POV anyway with a very warm and golden light. Beautiful architecture!
Kind regards
Gunnar

Cretense (57564) 2009-10-01 8:08

Hello George!

Great photo, excellent long shadow, excellent "selfportrait! Great capture of this ancient way and the beautiful structures in the background, under a beautiful evening light! Congratulations!

Hercules

ifanik (20694) 2009-10-01 12:08

Very nice self portrait my friend
You have nice shadow hahaha
Beautiful photo
Best regards
Nick

mauro61 (16638) 2009-10-02 0:37

ciao George,
il piacere di includerti nello scatto con sullo sfondo l'immagine dei ruderi mi piace.
Buona la gestione della luce e l'inquadratura è ben riempita dall'ombra.
buona giornata
maurizio

delpeoples (7008) 2009-10-02 17:08

Hi George, self-portraits in shadow must be catching :) Great use of the vertical here to lengthen the shadow, the pathway and lead the eye to that magnificent architecture. The light off the ruins is spectacular, you have captured it flawlessly. TFS and enjoy your weekend, Lisa.

amaryllis (17998) 2009-10-04 9:01

Bonjour Georg
encore une photo superbe de ta série avec cette lumière douce et cette ombre géante, une perspective magnifique
bravo pour cette excellente composition
juliette

Tue (25608) 2009-10-14 13:17

Hi George,
You made perfect use of the road in the foreground and the inclusion of your shadow was a great idea. Beautiful capture of the ruins in this wonderful warm light. Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars