Wadi Qelt

Last Saturday, March 21, I set off for an adventure with my friends Janneke and Audra. We decided to hike through Wadi Qelt to Jericho. Wadi Qelt is a valley that goes from Jerusalem to Jericho through the Judean desert. It is also the path along which the story of the good Samaritan occurred. Our plan was to either start at a drop off point called Ein Kelt or at St. George's Monastery. Our mode of transportation, however, was hitch hiking, which sometimes led us along a different path. The first person who picked us up, said that he lived over top Wadi Qelt, so we could simply hike down into the valley and begin from there. It was also interesting that the town of this man was a settlement and he was an engineer for the Israeli Defense forces. Settlements are the biggest obstacle to a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, especially since many lie well into the West Bank (internationally recognized Palestinian land), as did the settlement of this man. It was, nonetheless, interesting to encounter someone I normally would not have encountered.
He was very kind, showing us exactly where to go to hike down in the Wadi. As we hiked down, we thought that this would be the hardest part. Little did we know, that we would get off the beaten path a couple of times.
A couple times we had to back track. One time, we expended a lot of effort climbing over and down large boulders. We discovered that this was not the right way, when we ended up with two options: turn back or jump in a pool of water and swim across the river for a little. Needless to say, we turned back. After that we were very adamant about looking for the signs painted on rocks that indicated the path to follow. It was quite an adventure! The views along the way were well worth it. The lush green of the valley contrasted with the rolling hills of the desert around us. Both were incredibly beautiful!
In the end, however, we did not make it to Jericho. It had been 6 hours by the time we made it to St. George's monastery, where we had thought we might start in the first place. I was so tired that I could not continue any longer. The monastery was a good ending reward, however. It is an ancient monastery of desert monks, who had previously lived in caves. It is beautifully built along the side of a cliff, overlooking the Wadi. The beautiful structure is surrounded by palm trees and running water.