Sheba: Through the Desert in Search of the Legendary Queen

by Nicholas Clapp

3000 years ago, a dusky queen swept into the court of King Solomon. From then to the present, her tale has been told & retold. Who was this queen? Did she really exist? In a quixotic odyssey that takes him to Ethiopia, Arabia, Israel & even a French village, Clapp seeks the underlying truth behind the multifaceted myth of the queen of Sheba. It's an eventful journey. In Israel, he learns of a living queen of Sheba--a pilgrim suffering from "Jerusalem Syndrome". In Syria he tracks down the queen's tomb, as described in the Arabian Nights. He investigates the Ethiopian shrine where Menelik, said to be Solomon & the queen's son, may have hidden the Ark of the Covenant. Then the "worst train in the world" (according to the conductor) takes him to the Red Sea, where he sets sail for Yemen in an ancient dhow & comes close to being shipwrecked. As in his search for the lost city of Ubar, he uses satellite images, this time to track an ancient caravan route that leads to the queen's winter capital in present-day Yemen. The quest is bolstered by carbon-14 datings & by the discovery of an Arabian Stonehenge in the sands of the Rub' al-Khali. Finally, at the romantic & haunting ruins of Sirwah, the pieces of the queen of Sheba puzzle fall into place.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Archaeology, Ethiopia, Africa, Middle East

372 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"desperately seeking Sheba"

Everybody has a fantasy or a passion and some people develop fantastic passions ! Nicholas Clapp seems to have been one of the latter, chasing any and all references to the Queen of Sheba around a good part of the world---think medieval literature, the Qur'an, French wine labels, Hollywood. Well, it's a good thing he did because this is a most interesting book. Did the Queen of Sheba actually exist ? Nobody really knows. We don't have her tomb, we don't have any memoirs, there are no references to her on the inscriptions of half the world. We only have the Bible stories, plus the Ethiopian legend that Solomon and Sheba produced a son who became the first Ethiopian emperor. And what's more, did Solomon really exist ? According to Clapp, there isn't much proof. No ruins or inscriptions have been found in Israel/Palestine with his John Hancock. There aren't even archaeological remains from his time. What about that fabulous temple ? Clapp concludes that 'mighty' King Solomon might have been a hilltop chieftain in a good position to tax traders. The Queen of Sheba might have wanted to make a trade deal with him. But as the author warns, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
SHEBA is Nicholas' Excellent Adventure but with solid archaeological and historical observations. He starts in Jerusalem, looking for any clues to the will o'the wisp queen, and proceeds to northern Saudi Arabia where the kingdom of Midian once flourished. From there he investigates sites in Yemen, just before it became too wild, woolly, and well-armed for even hardy seekers like him. With valuable incense and spices and an old civilization built upon trade with the Mediterranean world, the ancient kingdoms of Saba, Qataban, and Hadramawt prove the most likely points of origin for a Queen of Sheba (Saba ?) if she ever existed. Clapp goes over to Ethiopia too, to Aksum and Lalibela, but their time charts don't match the rest of the story. He sails back to Yemen in a local craft in one of the less comfortable trips of our times. It's all with a good sense of humor, all really well-written. I don't think the conclusions are earth-shaking, but it's a hell of a read. Definitely one for the reading list.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun book to read. I work with a lot of folks from Yemen and enjoyed reading the author's on the ground experiences. Also, the story of the Queen of Sheba evokes curiousity. The author covers this story well -- it's trajectories and variations and keeps you wondering.

[Jack Tracy]

There is some worthwhile and interesting material here, but you have to wade through too much fatuous filler to learn it.

[Siffy Torkildson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author becomes obsessed with learning all he can about the queen of Sheba and goes on a quest throughout the Middle-East as well as Europe and the U.S. to find out all he can about her. Part archeology, part adventure travel a fun read as we follow along on his travels as well as learn about Sheba. Highly recommended!

[michael conduit · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice read

It was an interesting read - combination of travel and inquiry. Would have been better if the person transcribing it to kindle had not made so many spelling mistakes!

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was OK. A combination travel book and history/archaeology. Did Sheba exist? Well, if you accept that Solomon existed, then she probably did. And after traveling to several sites (Ethiopia, Syria) searching for evidence of her existence, it seems the most likely location for her was Yemen. Which has historically been unavailable for any kind of excavations. Clapp’s an OK writer, nothing special. I learned about Sheba AND that I probably don’t want to travel to Yemen if I want to come back.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book interesting (although I'm not in love with the writing) regarding the history and archeology in and around Arabia. However, I found the "Sheba" hunt to be a little dramatic and overbearing. Clapp is aware of his obsessiveness on the subject and seems to have convinced himself of a favorable outcome, but aside from uncovering and piecing together amazing archeology history, I am unconvinced of the link to Sheba - nor did I find it particularly important. Unlike Road to Ubar, with a fairly clear discovery and outcome, this seemed forced.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those popular travel cum history books where the author goes 'in search of', telling of his adventures and occasionally noting this, that or the other 'discovery' about the ostensible object of the quest. Don't expect to learn much about the Queen of Sheba. We don't know much. You'll learn more about legends about the Queen than about the person herself--and considerably more about the author, primarily known as a film-maker, but an amateur archeologist as well.

[Sharon Buchbinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great journey through history, geography, religions all focused two main questions: "Was the Queen of Sheba real? Or was she a symbol of trade opening in Israel under the reign of Solomon?" The author physically travels to the parts of the world that have the Queen of Sheba aka the Queen of the South aka Balkis/Bilqis/Makena as part of their cultures. An in-depth, thoughtful examination of a legendary female that took me along for a great ride.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details a twenty-year quest to find the historical Queen of Sheba; if she even existed.

Part detective story, part religious scholarship, part archaeology, part linguistics, and a good dose of adventure make this trip through the ancient lands an enjoyable read. If you enjoy a good history yarn, this is one you will enjoy.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but I just did not connect with it all. I think the problem for me was that the book really did not know what it wanted to be when it grew up. Did it want to be historical detective novel in search of the mysterious Queen of Sheba or did it want to be a travel guide? Not bad but just not something I could get into.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An archeologist goes on an expedition in search of the truth behind the story of the Queen of Sheba. This historical and archeological information is fascinating, but far too much of the book is filled with anecdotes from the author's personal travelogue, which were not at all what I was reading for and ought to have been left for a different article.

[Hurayrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!
I'm a history freak and when I read SHEBA I also fell in love with anthropology!
The writing is amazing and the journey itself sounds so fun and educational.
Made me want to go visit Yemen and see the old shrines and monuments!

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting travelogue about trying to search for archeological clues concerning the Queen of Sheba, but far less about the findings than I had expected, mostly because Nicholas Clapp wasn't able to investigate as much as he would have liked.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book, but got a bit bogged down in the archeology for me. Tudor Parfitt's books on searching for The Ark of the Covenant were more interesting.

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

History, legend, religion, and Geography!

[Tekuamwork · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book. It cleary illustrated the story of queen of Sheba!!

[M.S. Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a lot slower than I expected. I was particularly interested in the Ethiopian connection and Clapp spent very little time on that.