Wadi Qelt is a rocky canyon located in the Judaean Desert in the West
Bank, originating near Jerusalem and terminating near Jericho, near the
Dead Sea. In this isolated and barren valley a 4th-century monastery
clings precariously to the rock walls. Originally built around a cave,
the monastery grew in the 5th century under Greek Orthodox when its most
famous monk and namesake Gorgias of Koziba inhabited the place.
St.
George's Monastery began in the 4th century when a few monks seeking
the desert experiences of the prophets settled around a cave where they
believed Elijah was fed by ravens. The Greek Orthodox monastery was
built in the late 5th century A.D. by John of Thebes, who became a
hermit and moved from Egypt to Syria Palaestina in 480 A.D. The
monastery was named St. George after the most famous monk who lived at
the site – Gorgias of Koziba.
The
monastery was destroyed in the year 614 by the Persians who swept
through the valley and massacred the fourteen monks who dwelt there. The
bones and skulls of the martyred monks can still be seen today in the
monastery chapel. After the Persian invasion, the monastery lay
abandoned for nearly 500 years until restoration attempts were made by
bands of Crusaders in the 12th century. But after they were expelled,
the monastery fell back into disuse. In 1878, a Greek monk, Kalinikos,
settled here and restored the monastery, finishing it in 1901.
Today,
the monastery is unique in its acceptance of female pilgrims and
visitors, a precedent set through the tradition of a Byzantine
noblewoman on a monastic tour who claimed that the mother of God had
directed her there for healing from her incurable illness.
The
monastery is located 20 km from Jerusalem along the historic road from
Jericho to Jerusalem, which runs parallel to the valley. A pedestrian
bridge across the Wadi Qelt connects the monastery to the road.
Sources: Wikipedia / Abraham Path
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