On Saturday 18 January 2025, accompanied by a team from the ÉBAF, around twenty participants took to the desert road to the lowest and oldest city in the world: Jericho.
The group spent the day in this arid area, which was home to both the Old and New Testaments, alternating between sites in the city centre and monasteries carved out of the mountainsides.
Thanks to the explanations of Dr. Christophe Rico, Professor of Linguistics at the ÉBAF and Dean of the Polis Institute, the participants were able to compare the biblical texts on the places where these passages of Scripture are said to have occurred.
Along the way, we were able to examine remains with writing in Hebrew, Greek and Arabic, all translated by Dr Christophe for everyone’s understanding.
|
|
Photo: ÉBAF, Ordo Prædicatorum.
Photo: ÉBAF, Ordo Prædicatorum.
The highlight of the expedition: the road leading to the Greek Orthodox monastery of Saint-Georges-de-Koziba, between Jerusalem and Jericho, has finally reopened after months of closure! ‘I’ve been to Jericho before, but this is a first!
Known for its unique architecture, this monastery, dug out in 476 AD in the dry area of Wadi Qelt, evokes Psalm 23: ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me’.
|
|
Photo: ÉBAF, Ordo Prædicatorum.
Photo: ÉBAF, Ordo Prædicatorum.
Initially launched by Fr. Marcel Sigrist, o.p., the Saturday visits are a convivial opportunity to discover the riches of the Holy Land, accompanied by researchers from the ÉBAF.
If you would also like to take part in the Saturday visits, please register by sending an email to lesvisitesdusamedi@gmail.com.
You can find this proposal and many others on our website and on our social networks.
Do you appreciate the work of the ÉBAF? Make a donation to support its activities.
