DESERT MONASTERIES TOUR

Mar Saba, St. George and Deir Hajla

7 hours
750 US dollars
Tel Aviv-Yafo|Jerusalem

Service Description

During this fascinating day, you will enjoy visiting three the most interesting and the oldest monasteries, two of them still active. Judean Desert is the smallest but one of the most famous in the World. Besides its fascinating natural beauty, it is also a home of some most Ancient Christian Monasteries. We shall pick you up at your Tel Aviv or Jerusalem hotel and will drive you to the Desert. Our first stop will be at most famous Good Samaritan Inn. Here, at the place described in Jesus's Parable, you can also enjoy a rich collection of the ancient Christian, Jewish and Samaritan mosaics. We shall further continue descending the desert and will soon turn into a wilderness. Our next visit is the St. George Monastery at Wadi Qelt. From the distance, this miracle of human creation looks like it has been carved from the surrounding rocks, and seems impossible to be real. But it is, and the monks there feel happy! And finally, after descending almost to the Dead Sea, far below the Sea Level, we shall visit St. Gerasimus Monastery, a source of some Ancient legends. This beautiful place, still full of secrets, is still full of life and visitors today, like it was 1,600 years ago, when it was built. If the time permits, we shall continue a bit further, along the Jordan Valley, to make a stop at the famous Qasr El Yahud, a traditional place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This unique site at the shores of the Jordan River is always full of the excited pilgrims, who come to immerse in the waters of Jordan River. From here, we shall turn back, to bring you to your hotel.