Monastery of St. John in the Wilderness

No tour to the Holy Land is complete without stopping at some of the most famous monasteries, such as the Monastery of St. John in the Wilderness. A Franciscan monastery built on a forest-covered southern slope of Jerusalem around a spring, the monastery pays homage to the wandering of John the Baptist during his younger years in this area. According to tradition John was born in Ein Karem and "grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly in Israel (Luke 1:80). Though Luke often refers to John's wandering to have been in a desert, this area is clearly anything but with its flowing water and abundant plant life. The reason for this is because one of the common biblical names for uncultivated land is "midbar", which is often translated as "desert" when it actually means pastureland. For those who wish to wander the natural beauty of this area as John did, it would be a mistake not to stop here on a pilgrimage to Israel.