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Friday, November 4, 2011

Amazing



Daily Photo Stream posted a picture similar to this a while back and of course I had to research it......

St. George's Monastery - Wadi Qelt

St.George's Monastery is an ancient retreat hollowed out of the sheer rock wall in the deep and narrow Wadi Qelt gorge. The monastery was founded in 480CE around a cluster of caves where, according to tradition, St. Joachim learned from an angel that Anne, his sterile wife and mother-to-be of the Virgin Mary, had conceived.

In 614CE invading Persians massacred the monks and destroyed the monastery. It was partially reoccupied by the Crusaders in the Middle Ages but only fully restored at the end of the 19th century. Some attractive 6th-century mosaics remain, and there is a Crusader-era church with a shrine containing the skulls of the martyred monks.


The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks.


 It is reached by a pedestrian bridge across the Wadi Qelt, which many imagine to be Psalm 23's Valley of the Shadow, and where shepherds still watch over their flocks, just as Ezekiel 34 and John 10:1-16 describe. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).
The ringing of the bells at the monastery.....


The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors.


If I had a bucket list.......this would be on it.

8 comments:

Inger said...

What an interesting post, thank you. It would be on my bucket list too, if I had one.

Chatty Crone said...

That is amazing - imagine the work involved into digging into a mountain like that. Gorgeous. Sandie

Bev said...

Wow..amazing the work they did way back when!! And to visit it would of great!

Granny Annie said...

That place appeals to me also and I wonder why that is?

Granny Annie said...

That place appeals to me also and I wonder why that is?

Michelle said...

I would love to go there and must read/research more about it. Thanks for posting this.

Lady Di Tn said...

This is a very informative post and I am glad to have an inquisitive blogger to read. Thanks for sharing. I do have a bucket list but will not put this one it. My list has only one out of the states activity. Peace

Catherine said...

Hello, I am new to your blog. It is simply beautiful. I enjoyed to music to go along with my reading. This monastery is quite amazing. I don't like to use that word too often, since I think it is used much to much these days, but it perfectly describes this monastery. I hope that you will visit my blog and we may be blogging friends. Blessings, Catherine