Wadi walking

MAY 28—We got up early to go monastery visiting and wadi walking. By 7 a.m. we were in the hills above Jericho, walking the Judean desert on an asphalt road that was inexplicably closed. About 40 minutes of walking later, we arrived at the descent into the Wadi Qilt, home of the cunningly tucked away St. George Monastery.

A steep and winding walk downhill brought us between towering cliffs to the bottom of the wadi, where it was surprisingly green and water flowed through an open aqueduct. After a steep climb uphill, we were denied entry to the monastery, although monastic hospitality did provide us with cold water to drink.

Then we set off down the canyon in self-imposed silence. For more than an hour we wended our quiet way along a hardscrabble path that hugged the edge of the incline. The wadi bottom fell away beneath us; the mountainsides rose high above us. The scenery was spectacular, the environment desolate and foreboding.

We walked and looked and sat and pondered. The desert is a hard place, full of rocks, dust and dryness. And then Jericho became visible below us. The path gentled and we found our way to a meeting place with the bus. A vendor mysteriously appeared with fresh oranges and a squeezer in hand.

A short bus ride and rest stop later, and the group of nearly 30 piled onto cable cars, opting for the easy way up the steep Mountain of Temptation to a Greek Orthodox monastery carved into the side of the cliff. It’s a beautiful place dedicated to the memory of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness.

These are the kinds of places where Jesus and countless other prophets forged key elements of their character and message. In places like these, humanity shrivels to nothing and the divine looms large.