Wadi Qelt, St George Monastery & Lazarus Private Tour

Tour OverviewThe Wadi Qelt, St George Monastery and Lazarus Private Tour follows the ancient road from Jerusalem to Jericho, visiting the cliffside monasteries of the Judean Desert with a licensed local guide. Pickup is from your hotel, and the day traces a journey from the raising of Lazarus to the desert of the Temptation at a private, unhurried pace. Tomb of Lazarus, Bethany (al-Eizariya) St George of Choziba Monastery, Wadi Qelt Mount of Temptation above Jericho (cable car optional) Jericho, the oldest city on earth The day begins at the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, where Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, with the Greek Orthodox Church of St Lazarus beside the tomb. The road then drops into Wadi Qelt, the valley traditionally read as the valley of the shadow of death, to the Monastery of St George of Choziba, which clings to the cliffs above a 5th century hermit settlement. Here pilgrims venerate the relics of St George and St John of Choziba and the incorrupt relics of St John Jacob the Romanian, the Chozebite, a draw for Romanian and Orthodox pilgrims. The tour continues to Jericho, near the deepest point on earth, where the Mount of Temptation rises above the city and recalls the forty day fast of Christ and his victory over temptation. A cable car up the mountain is available as an optional add on, and there is time in Jericho to see the old city and the sycamore of Zacchaeus. The itinerary is a proposal and can be customized for your private group.