“It is really a demanding hike, what we have seen around us just repays all of the efforts,” stated Nasser Kaabneh, our bedouin guide in the section of Jericho. I searched me, consuming the distant landscapes of grayish-blue hillsides merging using the dusty sky. I Then looked under my ft, realizing golden lizards squeezing in among desert rocks. I possibly could only accept Nasser’s words.
The silence and solitude from the backwoods between Jericho and Bethlehem encourages spirituality. I observed fellow hikers closing their eyes, letting a enjoyable gust of November’s wind to awesome their faces. This can be a place where any little bit of shade, cave or rock is really a sanctuary where one could sit, relax and meditate.
We’re only some of the ones. This atmosphere has lengthy attracted religious leaders trying to find exclusion, settling the region and creating spiritual centers of numerous faiths. Our path today raises a couple of these: Nabi Musa, a 13th century Islamic shrine focused on Prophet Moses and Marly Saba, a fifth century Christian monastery initiated by St. Sabas.
Once we left the domes of Nabi Musa behind, we prepared ourselves for that nearly twenty kilometers of desert trail ahead. However the landscape around us gave a lift of the souped up that helped us walk faster and additional, always interested in the views waiting past the next hill. Every time we showed up to the peak, the enjoyable sense of accomplishment was apparent on everyone’s face, specially when i was rewarded with the view of the desert fortress of Hyrcania. We explored the fortifications, examined the scattered cubes of the ancient mosaic floor. Some people were even brave enough to go to fortress’ subterranean chambers.
Finally, the astounding sight from the Marly Saba monastery met our eyes. We stopped close to the valley, admiring the breathtaking sight of jagged coves, a narrow river gorge and . a clustering of ancient monastery structures huddled precariously across the opposite gorge wall. The boys were permitted to understand more about its intricate roads. Regrettably the ladies could only benefit from the thoughts about the outdoors – legend states that the lady disguised like a man once entered the monastery’s threshold and caused a serious earthquake. We prefered to respect monks’ ancient rule.
Whenever we arrived at our destination, a bedouin tent in the center of the desert, we’d an opportunity to enjoy our reward: a tasty meal including a red sunset and also the rising from the night’s first star – another perfect place and here we are at a spiritual contemplation.
Author and Photo Credit: Beata Andonia/API
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Resourse: http://abrahampath.org/blog/the-sanctuary-of-backwoods/
