Wadi Qelt
The Friday walkers meet again in Minara Square at 7.00 am. We wander over to the coffee cart for a shot of the thick, sweet brew. The little coffee cart still bares the marks of the IDF’s visit to town on 4 January (see Blogs 9 and 10) in the form of three bullet holes – the damage is superficial and the coffee is still addictive.
This week there are 10 of us and we manage to just squish into one Service – we’re headed for the Wadi Qelt and Jericho.
Half an hour later the Service pulls off the main highway that leads to the Dead Sea and drops us off at three ruined Arab houses in the middle of some pretty arid country. We walk to the top of the nearest hill and see far down in the valley below, the Wadi Qelt. This is one of the main wadi’s in the West Bank which runs from Jerusalem to Jericho. Whether it has rained or not, this Wadi contains water and the strip of land either side is green, lush and dotted with Date Palms. The view at the top of the hill is so spectacular we decide to stop and have our second cup of coffee for the morning.
After a short break we wander down the hill and into a side wadi which will lead us, eventually, into Wadi Qelt. Along the way we pass goat herds and Arab boys; donkeys and Bedouin. The side wadi is stony and dry as it twists and turns down towards the valley floor. We pass through a tunnel of rock and then into a larger side wadi which is traversed by a ruined aquaduct, which some say is Roman. Under these ruins we come across a Bedouin family, father, mother, two small children and a couple of donkeys. They’re out on a family day trip. We say our “mahabas” and move on through the ruins and continue our descent.
Eventually we hear the sound of running water and come out amongst some Date Palms by the banks of a clear stream. To the left and up the hill is a waterfall and rock pool, to the right is an old stone Arab house surrounded by palms, linen drying in the warm air, little children and chickens. The whole scene looks like something out of a nineteenth century etching. We go left to the rock pool, brew up some tea, go for a wade and eat some brunch.
At the rock pool, the stream divides in two; one part runs down the valley floor whilst the other part is channeled into an irrigation channel about a meter deep and one and half meters wide. The irrigation channel runs parallel to the valley floor, but higher. After brunch we follow the irrigation channel which will take us all the way to Jericho near the Dead Sea. We expect the trip to take us about six hours.
Along the way the lush valley floor provides stark contrast to the rocky arid hills where nothing seems to grow. We see a couple of Herons, a number of Eagles and plenty of goats. Every now and then caves dot the steep sides of the gorge either side of the Wadi. This land induces a strange sensation – it is harsh and arid but hypnotically appealing.
After about four or five hours, large wooden crosses start to appear on the hill tops and embedded into the side of the gorge – we are approaching the monastery of St George, a Greek Orthodox affair. The first sight of the monastery is from the top of a hill looking down into an incredibly deep gorge. Clinging to the side of the gorge, about half way up is the monastery with its blue domed church. Various other buildings dot the gorge, along with a stone bridge spanning the two sides and a little terraced orchard on the far side. Further down the gorge are a number of caves that are clearly lived in, probably inhabited by contemplative monks hermiting. The odd donkey and rider crosses the stone bridge from time to time and large black clad monks with flowing beards are sprinkled photogenically around the place. The whole scene looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings.
Not too far from the monastery the Wadi widens out and enters Jericho, the oldest town in the world according to some. Somebody receives a phone call that there are bloody clashes between Palestinians and the IDF at the Qalandia checkpoint and possibly Ramallah, so we decide to stay in Jericho for dinner. The clashes are over excavation work that is being carried out in Jerusalem on the ramp that leads up from Tzahal Square to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. The Israelis say the work is being done to stabilize a dangerous structure and will be replaced with a new ramp. The Palestinians say the work is undermining the Mosque and is another attempt by the Israelis to find ancient artifacts from the first and second Temple period in order to undermine muslim claims to the site which is home to both the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. We eat dinner outside as the temperature is very mild in Jericho, even at night and only 40 km from Ramallah.
After dinner we squeeze back into a Service for the trip back to Ramallah. We have to take a long and winding back road as Palestinians can’t use the main highway when traveling in the direction of Jerusalem – only settlers and Israelis are permitted to use this road in that direction.
The Wadi Qelt is a memorable and truly great walk. Probably the best thing about the day though was the total absence of soldiers, shooting, explosions, the Wall, checkpoints and sadness.
The Friday walkers meet again in Minara Square at 7.00 am. We wander over to the coffee cart for a shot of the thick, sweet brew. The little coffee cart still bares the marks of the IDF’s visit to town on 4 January (see Blogs 9 and 10) in the form of three bullet holes – the damage is superficial and the coffee is still addictive.
This week there are 10 of us and we manage to just squish into one Service – we’re headed for the Wadi Qelt and Jericho.
Half an hour later the Service pulls off the main highway that leads to the Dead Sea and drops us off at three ruined Arab houses in the middle of some pretty arid country. We walk to the top of the nearest hill and see far down in the valley below, the Wadi Qelt. This is one of the main wadi’s in the West Bank which runs from Jerusalem to Jericho. Whether it has rained or not, this Wadi contains water and the strip of land either side is green, lush and dotted with Date Palms. The view at the top of the hill is so spectacular we decide to stop and have our second cup of coffee for the morning.
After a short break we wander down the hill and into a side wadi which will lead us, eventually, into Wadi Qelt. Along the way we pass goat herds and Arab boys; donkeys and Bedouin. The side wadi is stony and dry as it twists and turns down towards the valley floor. We pass through a tunnel of rock and then into a larger side wadi which is traversed by a ruined aquaduct, which some say is Roman. Under these ruins we come across a Bedouin family, father, mother, two small children and a couple of donkeys. They’re out on a family day trip. We say our “mahabas” and move on through the ruins and continue our descent.
Eventually we hear the sound of running water and come out amongst some Date Palms by the banks of a clear stream. To the left and up the hill is a waterfall and rock pool, to the right is an old stone Arab house surrounded by palms, linen drying in the warm air, little children and chickens. The whole scene looks like something out of a nineteenth century etching. We go left to the rock pool, brew up some tea, go for a wade and eat some brunch.
At the rock pool, the stream divides in two; one part runs down the valley floor whilst the other part is channeled into an irrigation channel about a meter deep and one and half meters wide. The irrigation channel runs parallel to the valley floor, but higher. After brunch we follow the irrigation channel which will take us all the way to Jericho near the Dead Sea. We expect the trip to take us about six hours.
Along the way the lush valley floor provides stark contrast to the rocky arid hills where nothing seems to grow. We see a couple of Herons, a number of Eagles and plenty of goats. Every now and then caves dot the steep sides of the gorge either side of the Wadi. This land induces a strange sensation – it is harsh and arid but hypnotically appealing.
After about four or five hours, large wooden crosses start to appear on the hill tops and embedded into the side of the gorge – we are approaching the monastery of St George, a Greek Orthodox affair. The first sight of the monastery is from the top of a hill looking down into an incredibly deep gorge. Clinging to the side of the gorge, about half way up is the monastery with its blue domed church. Various other buildings dot the gorge, along with a stone bridge spanning the two sides and a little terraced orchard on the far side. Further down the gorge are a number of caves that are clearly lived in, probably inhabited by contemplative monks hermiting. The odd donkey and rider crosses the stone bridge from time to time and large black clad monks with flowing beards are sprinkled photogenically around the place. The whole scene looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings.
Not too far from the monastery the Wadi widens out and enters Jericho, the oldest town in the world according to some. Somebody receives a phone call that there are bloody clashes between Palestinians and the IDF at the Qalandia checkpoint and possibly Ramallah, so we decide to stay in Jericho for dinner. The clashes are over excavation work that is being carried out in Jerusalem on the ramp that leads up from Tzahal Square to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. The Israelis say the work is being done to stabilize a dangerous structure and will be replaced with a new ramp. The Palestinians say the work is undermining the Mosque and is another attempt by the Israelis to find ancient artifacts from the first and second Temple period in order to undermine muslim claims to the site which is home to both the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. We eat dinner outside as the temperature is very mild in Jericho, even at night and only 40 km from Ramallah.
After dinner we squeeze back into a Service for the trip back to Ramallah. We have to take a long and winding back road as Palestinians can’t use the main highway when traveling in the direction of Jerusalem – only settlers and Israelis are permitted to use this road in that direction.
The Wadi Qelt is a memorable and truly great walk. Probably the best thing about the day though was the total absence of soldiers, shooting, explosions, the Wall, checkpoints and sadness.
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