We walk in real time the entire incredible route of the Joseva Monastery! Thursday 09/03/2023. Visit to the Holy Monastery of St. George of Josevitos, better known as St. George's Monastery in Wadi Kelt or simply Joseva Monastery, is a monastery located in Wadi Kelt, on the eastern West Bank. The cliff-built complex emerged from a monastery founded in 420 and reorganized as a monastery around 500 AD. with its ancient chapel and irrigated gardens, it is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. It is accessed by a footbridge across Wadi Kelt, which many believe is the 'valley of the shadow of death' of Psalm 23. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan. The monastery is open for pilgrims and visitors. It was founded during the Byzantine period, destroyed by the Persians in 614 AD, rebuilt in the 12th century during the time of the Crusaders, abandoned after their defeat and rebuilt again by Greek monks in the late 19th century. The place is associated with the life of the Prophet Elias and the parents of the Virgin Mary, and preserves the relics of three Eastern Orthodox saints, making it, for this reason, a place of intense pilgrimage. Accessible from Highway 1 between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem by turning onto Mitzpe Jericho and following signs for the monastery. There is a 3-hour hiking trail through the wadi and other trails up and along the wadi, or alternatively a parking lot across the wadi from the monastery with an adjacent lookout point. From the parking lot, it's a fairly short hike, about 1km, but very steep downhill to the monastery. Sometimes due to intense heat hiking can be very difficult for some people. There are young men with donkeys to transport people to the monastery or back to the parking lot, for a negotiable fee. The monastic life in the area of ​​the Monastery began around 420 AD. as a laura, with some monks who sought the experience of the prophets in the desert and settled around a cave where they believed Elijah was fed by ravens ( 1 Kings 17:5-6 ). The hermits who lived in caves on nearby cliffs would meet at the monastery for a weekly service and meal. Between 480 and 520/530 the laura was reorganized as a monastery by John of Thebes, also known as Saint John the Josebite, who had moved to Syria Palestine from Egypt. In its time it was dedicated to the Mother of God. The monastery became an important spiritual center in the sixth-seventh century under Saint George the Josevite (died about 620). The monastery was eventually renamed in his honor. At the end of the 8th century, the monastery begins to be associated with the parents of Saint Mary, Saints Joachim and Anna. A monk from that period mentions the "House of Joachim". The Romanian monk-priest, Father Ioan (Ioannis), born Ilie Iacomb in 1913, left the Romanian hermitage on the Jordan River where he had been abbot since 1947 and moved in 1952 to the Monastery of Saint George together with his assistant and disciple, Ioannis Parayala. After the summer, the two retired to the nearby cave of Agia Anna, which Father John never left again. Affected by illness, he died after seven years in 1960. In 1992 he was declared a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate and in 2016 he was officially recognized as such by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. His name was added to the official name of the monastery. Father Germanos arrived at the Joseva Monastery in 1993 and lived there until he was killed by Arab terrorists during the second Intifada in 2001. For many years he was the sole resident of the monastery, of which he was named abbot in 2000. Emulating the Wadi Kelt monks of in late antiquity, Father Germanos offered hospitality to visitors, improved the stone path used by pilgrims to climb the monastery, repaired the aqueducts and improved the gardens and olive trees. Traditions associated with the monastery include a visit by the Prophet Elijah on his way to the Sinai Peninsula, and Saint Joachim, whose wife Anna was barren, weeping here when an angel brought him the news of Mary's conception. Relics of the three saints closely associated with the Chozeva monastery - John of Thebes, George the Chozebite and John the Romanian - are kept in the main church of the monastery. The Monastery of Panagia tis Hozoviotissa in Amorgos is associated with the Monastery of Chozeva, where according to tradition an icon of Panagia tis Hozivitissa arrived by sea during the Iconomachia period.