St. Georges Monastary in Judea Desert Near Jericho

This Greek Orthodox monastery was built in the late 5th century A.D. by John of Thebes. He became a hermit and moved here from Egypt in 480 A.D. The monastery was named St. George after the most famous monk who lived at the site Ð Gorgias of Coziba. Destroyed in 614 A.D. by the Persians, the monastery was rebuilt in the Crusader Period. It fell into disuse after the expulsion of the Crusaders. In 1878 a Greek monk, Kalinikos, settled here and restored the monastery, finishing it in 1901.