Mar Saba is located about 30 minutes outside of the town I live in, Beit Sahour. A few miles outside of Beit Sahour, you are immediately in desert, with a few tiny villages nearby. About 20 of us took a bus out there, and then spent last night hiking around and enjoying the absolute beauty of the desert. There is definitely something to cities like New York, Seattle and London. But there is definitely also something to the extreme isolation and nothingness of the desert and the affect that it can have on you. It’s amazing. There are times that I wonder if I could live in a desert-area - I definitely loved my time in Idaho, where I worked for 2 years as a youth pastor - the barrenness was amazing at times (although kind of depressing at other times). But it was just wonderful to get out of the ‘city’ and be in the desert last night.
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What beautiful photographs of Mar Saba. The sheep stomach, I’m not so sure I could have eaten that.
Karen
Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos in blogworld. I am getting an education and trip to the Middle East on the price of your ticket. Thanks.
That looks awesome!
Are there any monks still living in the monastary? That looks like a great movie set.
I’ve been to Mar Saba once too, and it is unforgetable. Do you know their address or e-mail? The name of their abbot? I’m a brazilian orthodox and I’m looking for a monastery where to live.