Bethlehem · Judean Desert · Palestine

Mar Saba Monastery

monasteryByzantinedesertgoogle verified

moderate

10/10

best: morning, afternoon

spiritual, remote, dramatic

A local would say...

Monks have lived in this cliff-face monastery since 483 AD without interruption — the oldest continuously inhabited monastery on earth.

Clinging dramatically to the steep Kidron Valley banks above the Judean Desert, the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Mar Saba is one of the oldest continuously inhabited monasteries in the world, founded by St Sabas in 483 AD. The architecture — honey-coloured stone towers, domed churches and cave hermitages cascading down the cliff — is among the Holy Land's most spectacular.