Day 15 - We rented a car and along with V, O, Paulina, Makazi and 3 of her children and 1 grandchild had a very busy, but fantastic day. Our first stop was St. George's Monastery located in Wadi Qelt, which is in the hills between Jericho and Ramallah. The Israelis have put a "forbidden to enter" sign and a pseudo-roadblock on the road there to deter tourists from giving business to the monastery. After a 10 minute drive on a windy, narrow, ancient road we found the entrance which was manned by a few bedouins and their donkeys. The hike down the valley was so beautiful, but very, very steep!! Allegedly the area, which is a desert oasis, has been a stop for travelers and pilgrims for hundreds and hundreds of years. You can see the evidence of what was once a decent sized river running through the valley. All that is left now is a man made irrigation system that the Israelis have built to deter the water away from the valley and to their settlements in the West Bank. The monks of the monastery, who are from Greece, were so friendly and seemed pleased to have visitors. They let us into all the closed areas and gave us sweet date juice to drink that they had made themselves. Knowing how ridiculously steep and lengthy the journey back up to the car would be, the bedouins had followed us down and brought their donkeys along with them in case we wanted a ride. As we started to make our way back up, I was followed by one of the bedouins, Fadi. He insisted that I hop on his donkey and hitch a ride. After a little persistence from Fadi, I agreed. It wasn't as bad as my first donkey ride (I must be getting better); however I was able to hold on to Fadi's shoulder to keep my balance. Wadi Qelt was absolutely stunning and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Israel/Palestine. Completely a hidden gem that the Israelis don't want people to discover.


On our way to the next stop, we pulled off at "Sea Level." I have passed by it a number of times, but never actually stopped there before. The camel that I have always seen when passing by is owned by a man who is the only person licensed to work on that spot. This camel is the most beautiful and sweet animal that ever existed... there is nothing much more to it.


We then went to Al-Nabi Musa, where a shrine has been erected on the spot that Muslims believe Prophet Moses to be buried. It is a beautiful green and white domed complex in the middle of the Judean desert between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. Historically, Muslim pilgrims used to come here as their last stop before Jerusalem and it is also well-known for an annual festival, which is actually occurring this week.

Next we went to Jericho where we saw the remnants of the "oldest city in the world" before taking the cable car up to the Mount of Temptation. The view overlooking the Jordan valley and off into the hills of Jordan was spectacular. It was extremely peaceful and the only people there at that time of day were locals. It would be the perfect place to watch the sunrise or sit and read a book while sipping some wine -- if only it didn't cost so much to get up there (55 shekels for tourists, 25 shekels for locals).

Our last stop was Hisham's Palace located in north Jericho. It dates from the early 8th century and is a very good example of Umayyad architecture. It is home to one of the best and most well-preserved mosaics I have ever seen.