Photography: Eyal Shapira Editing: Maya Ben Nissan
Cold, cloudy, nature only ours.
complete silence.
We sit down on the side of the terraces, not far from the Ein Khandak spring and pull out a cup of coffee. Fun. Peaceful. Suddenly, out of the tangled forest, a young yeshiva boy, dressed in black, jumps out in a panic. Where the hell did he get here?
He shouts at us: rhinoceroses! Three rhinoceros passed by me now!".
- Maybe these were wild boars?" I ask.
- "Maybe", he answers excitedly. "But they were huge rhinos!"
So here, these are exactly the ingredients that turn just a nice trip into a really fine trip, one that is remembered for many years. But Even without the rhinos, this is an easy family route full of surprises. And why do we even leave the house, if there is no chance of encountering surprises?
After parking the car, we start walking north on a wide road marked with a green marker. This is one of the most boring roads you've encountered in a long time. Yes, boring, what Happened? If it won't be boring, how will we appreciate the fascinating? Treat this road as a device for burning calories, and everything will be fine. Much more than fine.
Just pull out the coffee mug and rest. Ein Khandak/Walla system! NEWS, Eil Shapira
The wall of the end of the world
This is a good opportunity to look up at the Steph, which rises beside you, and also recognize familiar places, beautiful terraces and winding paths.
On the mountain, which rises to a height of 788 meters, people cultivated their plots already 4,000 years ago.
Some of the terraces that are visible today are restored, ones that pay respect to the rich farmer's past.
If you arrived on Saturday, you will notice frenetic spots of color moving on the bark of the mountain.
These are families, just like you.
The difference is that you are about to experience a much more worthwhile trip.
And much less crowded.
Another 750 meters on the wide road and here appears a pine grove, which will signal to you that things are about to change from here.
Now the road is much narrower, and it will take you inside a water transfer, under road 386. You leave on the other side of the transfer and discover a real magical forest, one that welcomes the winter and washes the view with intense and rich green.
how green
Like someone turned the color knob all the way up.
The forest will envelop you, mysterious and full of secrets, and will lead you between rock steps.
You are now walking in a nameless channel, but since humans don't like a vacuum, some people call this place "Wadi Yusuf".
Either way, this is one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the area.
A few hundred meters more, and that's it - the end of the world.
There is nowhere else to go.
wall.
A huge, mighty wall, built of monstrous gas stones that block the way.
We promised surprises, didn't we?
This wall is informally known as the "Little Wall" and it rises to a height of about 10 meters.
Black, mysterious and frightening.
All the mystery disappears when you understand the essence of the huge element: it is a retaining wall built to stabilize the terraces that are in the area above it.
that's it.
This is a great resting point, full of nooks and crannies between the pine trees and also quite a few trees that have fallen and are now lying balanced over the gorge.
If you are one of those who are always looking for the amusement park effect in nature, get a beauty of balance walking training.
It's like tightrope walking, only thicker.
Don't be afraid of falling - an orthopedist on call is waiting just for you at the "Hadasa" emergency room, a 20-minute walk (with a limp) from here.
More in Walla!
The 15 most beautiful family trips in Israel
To the full article
The stones pay respect to the past of the rich farmer.
Agricultural terraces in the Steph area/Walla system!
NEWS, Eyal Shapira
Built in order to stabilize the terraces in the area.
"The Little Wall"/Walla system!
NEWS, Eyal Shapira
Our rotten society
continue
Not on the wall and not inside it, but around it, according to the green trail marking (which appears together with the Israel Trail marking).
Continuing along the narrow path towards the south, you encounter more terraces and also a round, small and dim ruin, which provides a suitable hiding place if it suddenly starts to drizzle.
Then the beautiful Ein Handak spring appears further down the path.
This spring was used by the farmers of the past to water the terraces, and it is hidden under a large and multi-branched fig tree.
You can't go inside, because of the risk of collapse, but that's okay, because in any case the water is still a bit cold now.
But to sit next to the deep holes and look at the water for a long time - they haven't taken that away from us yet.
In one of the puddles that we climbed out of the hole we found something small and cute that moved in a funny way.
So we connected with him, because there really weren't many travelers here.
It was probably a leech, but let's not be picky.
Now pay close attention to the road: stand with your back to Ein Khandak and look towards the northwest, towards the settlement of Ibn Sapir.
A clear but unmarked path goes up to the settlement, and passes by two impressive stone pillars.
Walk in it, with the columns on your right (don't pass between the columns but beside them).
Climb a few tens of meters along the path, turn right and reach a narrow road.
Walk slowly a few hundred meters and discover a sign leading to the Yohanan monastery in the desert.
This is the European dessert that awaits you.
Looks like an oil painting.
The goldfish pool in the Yochanan monastery in the desert/Walla system!
Follow the cat to the fish pond
Iron gates and stone walls tend to hide good things behind them.
In the case of the Yohanan monastery in the desert, the good things are the landscape, orchards and also a small and loud spring that flows into a goldfish pond that looks like an old-fashioned oil painting.
It's so beautiful here.
And in between, you will find here staircases that overlook the surrounding woods, a structure topped with a dome and a bell, a small church, and also a red-haired cat who will accompany you like a faithful guide, when he occasionally poses next to a painting or a statue of Jesus.
Such a hermit cat.
According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist, who was born as a Jew and baptized Jesus as an adult, stayed within the boundaries of the monastery, which today belongs to the Franciscan order.
The main building, which you are invited to enter, was built a little less than a hundred years ago, but it is interesting to discover that monks lived in this complex as early as the sixth century AD.
Either way, you can't ask for a more beautiful dessert than this.
To get back to the car (which you can see from the top of the monastery), you need basic plus navigation skills: leave the monastery gate, walk a little west and turn to an unmarked path that will lead you north and down - through a small forest - to road 386. You reach the road, turn left and walk carefully Raba next to it, until you reach the lower Steph parking lot.
Monks lived here already in the sixth century AD.
Yohanan Monastery in the desert/Walla system!
NEWS, Eyal Shapira
According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist stayed here.
Yohanan Monastery in the desert/Walla system!
NEWS, Eyal Shapira
Peace intelligence
How many walk:
the route is easy and is about 3.5 kilometers long.
Arrival:
drive east from the direction of Ein Kerem on road number 386. After the 13th km stone, turn north, to the Steph Tahton parking lot.
When open:
The Yochanan monastery in the desert is open daily in the winter from 17:00 to 08:00 (in the summer until 18:00 00). Please note: the last (and shortest) section of the route, next to road 386, requires great caution. It is recommended to go even beyond the security fence of the road.
Don't give up:
on the way back, stop at nearby Ein Steph and Ein Bichura (a short walk from the Steph High School parking lot) A beautiful place for a winter picnic.
Make an impression on the guys:
a small cave is hidden above the fish pond in the monastery, and some believe that Yohanan hid in it from Herod's soldiers, who feared the expected birth of a new savior. This is based on the predictions of astrologers and other sorcerers. It turns out that they They were right...
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