21st Dec 2019 (extended tour) Wadi Qelt walk and Saint George's Monastery

Wadi Qelt

The Wadi Qelt, the famous road from Jericho to Jerusalem, would take up our time with too many tales to tell about almost every important character in Israel’s storied history. This was a main thoroughfare to the holy city, and everyone used it. David fled Jerusalem on this route after his son Absalom made himself king (2 Samuel 15:23 to 16:14), King Zedekiah escaped from Nebuchadnezzar’s troops on this road (2 Kings 25:1-6), Jesus walked it many times (Mark 10:46 to 11:1, Luke 2:39-50), and even the 10th Roman Legion marched on it to destroy Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The Romans actually improved the road that Jesus would have trod, making necessary improvements for it to handle their heavy siege weaponry. You can even see remnants of their handiwork in some places today. As the main road from Jericho to Jerusalem, it was a prime target for robbers, who could hide around its many twists and turns, and easily escape into the wilderness. It was probably the setting for Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan too. When you take the twisting path and see the ambush points, you’ll understand how Jesus’ hearers appreciated the tale’s accuracy.

The term going “down” to Jericho in the Bible (Luke 10:30) is somewhat confusing, because Jericho is north of Jerusalem, but it’s an elevation term. Whenever a person left Jerusalem, they dropped down from her raised height (2,500 feet above sea level) to go up north to Jericho’s deeper level (825 feet below sea level). Going north is going down (to Jericho), and going south is going up (to Jerusalem). This drastic gradient change in less than 20 miles meant more rainfall in Jerusalem (a tropical climate), and less rainfall in Jericho (more desert-like). Despite its desert climate, Jericho (“city of palm trees”) is an oasis, and that made her a famous retreat spot for the rich and famous. In the days of Jesus, it was a busy place, with Herod’s winter palace towering over the flat plain with lush gardens, an aqueduct, multiple resorts for weary Roman generals, like Pompey, who wanted to relax, and a lucrative agricultural center for date palms, spices, perfumes, and wines. This sort of industry made Herod rich, and required a reliable trade route to Jerusalem, even lasting well into the Crusader period.

Today, it is a known as a memorable tourist hike, and an opportunity to experience what Jesus and His disciples saw so many times in the heart of the Judean desert…the real wilderness and the rocky terrain of their “interstate.” A deep chasm that cuts into the rocks, with spring water running all year in the valley below you (Wadi means stream in Arabic), makes the trail extremely narrow. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, and you should be in good shape as some of the route is difficult, if not dangerous. Depending on where you start, it can be a full 18 miles long. You should plan on an all day hike of at least 8 hours. About halfway into the hike you can stop at the St George’s Monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery famous for their Good Samaritan hospitality. Their home is built into the side of the cliff, and may be the most striking building you’ll see in Israel. Almost defying gravity, it began simply enough when some 4th century hermits from Syria wanted to imitate the prophet Elijah’s cave experiences with the ravens (1 Kings 17:5-6). The eventual structure was destroyed by the Persians in 614 A.D., and then rebuilt again in 1901.