Mar Saba Monastery

Mar Saba is a Greek orthodox monastery, and is one of the most ancient monasteries in the world/ the monastery is located on the banks of the river Kidron on north Judea desert. The monastery is 1500 years old and is named after the monk Sabas, one of the most important monks who practiced in Israel.

Sabas established many monasteries during his lifetime, although the monastery which is named after him is the largest and most famous. Following the Persian invasion to Israel on 614 BC, the MarSaba monastery was critically damaged, and quickly renovated on 624 AD, during the Byzantine ruling in Israel.

During crusader times a wall was built around MarSaba monastery and a watch tower to protect the monastery from looting and Bedouin tribes. Nowadays, MarSaba monastery is an active monastery, holding 20 monks. The monastery is not connected to any water or power supply and the monks who live there live in the customary lifestyle of ancient times.