Wadi Qelt ( ar, وادي القلط; Qelt is also spelled Qilt and Kelt, sometimes with the Arabic article, el- or al-), in Hebrew Nahal Prat ( he, נחל פרת), formerly Naḥal Faran (Pharan brook), is a valley, riverine gulch or stream ( ar, وادي ', "
wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
"; he, נחל, "nahal") in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, originating near
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and running into the
Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
near
Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
, shortly before it flows into the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
.
The wadi attracts with a number of natural, biblical, and archaeological highlights: a well preserved natural environment with a rich wild bird population.
Geography
The stream flowing eastwards down the valley that cuts through the limestone of the
Judean Mountains
The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...
, has three perennial springs, each with an Arabic and Hebrew name:
'Ayn Farah/En Prat, the largest one at the
head of the valley
The head of the valley or, less commonly, the valley head, refers to the uppermost part of a valley.Leser (2005), p. 935.
Description
The head of a valley may take widely differing forms; for example, in highland regions the valley often ends i ...
; 'Ayn Fawar/En Mabo'a in the centre; and the single-named Qelt spring a little farther down.
In Hebrew the entire stream is called Prat; in Arabic though, each sections has its own name: Wadi Fara for the upper section, Wadi Fawar for the middle one, and Wadi Qelt for the lower section.
[
]
Environment
Wadi Qelt is home to a unique variety of flora and fauna.
Important Bird Area
The 15,000 ha site has been recognised as an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because it supports populations of Eurasian eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
s, griffon vulture
The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...
s, Bonelli's eagle
The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...
s, and lesser kestrel
The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer bird migration, migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometim ...
s.
Religious relevance
Hebrew Bible
mentions Adummim
Adummim ( he, אֲדֻמִּים) is a place-name mentioned in the biblical Book of Joshua in connection with the ascent of Adummim.
Location
Adummim was apparently on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho in the Judaean desert, today in the W ...
in connection to an ascent leading up from Jericho towards Jerusalem. The ascent of Adummim, or its lower part, is identified with Wadi Qelt.
The stream Chorath
Cherith, Kerith ( he, נַחַל כְּרִית ), or sometimes Chorath (; from the Septuagint's gr, Χειμάῤῥους Χοῤῥάθ ), is the name of a wadi, or Intermittent river, intermittent seasonal streamFrederick Fyvie BruceThe Gospe ...
or Cherath, mentioned in as one of the hiding places of the prophet Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...
, has been identified by some with Wadi Kelt at St. George's Monastery. Other identifications have also been proposed.
The Wadi has sometimes been identified with the biblical Perath mentioned in .
It's possible that the Psalmist had Wadi Qelt in mind when he wrote .
Christian tradition
A tradition holds that this is the place in the desert where Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
, the father of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, has prayed to be blessed with a child and received the promise from God's angel, as narrated in the apocryphal
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
Proto-Gospel of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, a ...
. A Cave of St Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, inhabited by hermits until a few decades ago, is connected to this tradition.
St. George's Monastery,[ also connected to the Marian tradition, is built into the wadi cliffs a short distance upstream from the Cave of St Anne.
]
History
Bronze Age and Iron Age
Qubur Bani Isra'in
Qubur Bene Isra'in or Qubur Bani Isra'il (''lit.'' "Tombs of the Children of Israel"), are four, formerly five, huge stone structures dated to the Middle Bronze Age, which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt in the West Bank, about 3.5 ...
are very large Bronze-Age stone structures, which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt.
Hellenistic and Roman periods
Several aqueducts have been found along the stream, the oldest dating to the Hasmonean period (2nd century BCE).[ The aqueducts transported water from three main springs, down to the plain of Jericho.
The winter palaces of Hasmonean kings and ]Herod the Great
Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...
stood at the lower end of the valley, where it reaches the Plain of Jericho. A structure within the Hasmonean royal winter palaces, identified by its excavator, Ehud Netzer
Ehud Netzer ( he, אהוד נצר 13 May 1934 – 28 October 2010) was an Israeli architect, archaeologist and educator, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of a s ...
, as a synagogue, is now known as the Wadi Qelt Synagogue
The Wadi Qelt Synagogue is the name given by some to a building controversially identified by its excavator, archaeologist Ehud Netzer
Ehud Netzer ( he, אהוד נצר 13 May 1934 – 28 October 2010) was an Israeli architect, archaeologist a ...
, is believed to be one of the oldest synagogues in the world--[Israel's Oldest Synagogue]
''Archaeology,'' Volume 51 Number 4, July/August 1998, Spencer P.M. Harrington although its identification as a synagogue is contested by many scholars.
During the First Jewish war
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
with Rome, insurgent leader Simon bar Giora
Simon bar Giora (alternatively known as Simeon bar Giora or Simon ben Giora or Shimon bar Giora, arc, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר גִּיּוֹרָא or he, שִׁמְעוֹן בֵּן גִּיּוֹרָא; died 71 CE) was the leader of one of ...
is said to have held out in caves in this valley, known formerly as the Pharan brook.
Late Roman and Byzantine monasticism
Wadi Qelt contains monasteries and old Christian locations.[ According to tradition, the first monastic settlement of the ]Judaean desert
The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...
, the Pharan lavra, was established by St Chariton the Confessor
Chariton the Confessor (Greek: Χαρίτων; mid-3rd century, Iconium, Asia Minor – c. 350, Judaean desert) was a Christian saint. His remembrance day is September 28.
Life Sources
We know about his ''vita'' from the 6th-century "Life of Ch ...
towards the end of the 3rd century in upper Wadi Qelt, an area known to the Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
as Pharan Valley.
The Monastery of Saint George was founded by John of Thebes
Saint John of Choziba, originally known as John of Thebes, was a monk who was born in Egypt around the year 440–450 CE. He abandoned monophysitism around 480 and moved to Wadi Qelt, a wadi in the Judaean Desert, where he reorganized the existing ...
around 480 AD, and it became an important spiritual centre in the sixth century under Saint George of Choziba Saint George of Choziba, also called George the Chozibite or Chozebite (died c. 625), was a Greek Cypriot monk and leader of the monastery of Choziba in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Today, the monastery is named after George.
George was born on Cypr ...
. Hermits living in caves in nearby cliffs would meet in the monastery for a weekly mass and communal meal.
Another Byzantine monastery was excavated at the site known in Arabic as Khan Saliba.[ Its meager remains are located left at the left side of the T-junction of the road connecting the modern ]Highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbered ...
with the old road down the Ascent of Adummim
Adummim ( he, אֲדֻמִּים) is a place-name mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, biblical Book of Joshua in connection with the ascent of Adummim.
Location
Adummim was apparently on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho in the Judaean desert, ...
(going to the right one reaches Jericho in the plain below.)[ The 5th-century Monastery of St Adam was built there "for there he stayed and wept at losing Paradise" ( Epiphanius).] Archaeologists found fine Byzantine mosaics at the former pilgrimage site.
1948
Towards the end of the 1948 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
and from the outset of the Arab-Israeli war that followed, the springs of Wadi Qelt, which supplied much of the water for Jericho were a primary target for Israel's biological warfare
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...
programme, designed, by contaminating waters with typhus and diphtheria bacteria, to block the advance of the Arab Legion
The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...
into the area which, in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...
, had be destined for the Arab population. Some evidence suggests that a well-poisoning operation may have unfolded in this area in July of that year.
1967 and after
The area was occupied by Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
.
On December 20, 1968, Israeli lieutenant-Colonel Zvi (Tzvika) Ofer, commander of the elite Haruv unit, former Military Governor of Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
and recipient of the Israeli medal of valour, was killed in action in Wadi Qelt while pursuing Arab militants who had crossed the Jordan.
Tourism
Israel declared the upper parts of the wadi as a protected area under the name Ein Prat Nature Reserve
Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology
* Ein function, in mathematics
* Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining
* Equivalent input noise, of a microphone
* European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...
.[
Much of Wadi Qelt is a popular route for Palestinian and Israeli hikers. It is possible to hike all the way from the town of ]Hizma
Hizma ( ar, حزما; is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate, seven kilometers from Jerusalem's Old City. The town, mostly located in Area C of the West Bank, borders four Israeli settlements, Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze'ev (both offi ...
to Jericho, a journey of 25 kilometres and an 850m descent.
Israeli, Palestinian and foreign hikers use the partially marked paths along the wadi. Palestinians are generally able to visit when coming from Nablus, Ramallah and Jerusalem without having to pass through checkpoints.
Bedouin
The wadi is used by many Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
shepherds. Some Bedouin and residents of Jericho are also earning their livelihood near the Monastery of St George, by offering donkey rides to pilgrims and selling them beverages and souvenirs. Donkey tours
Hantourism, accessed 3 August 2019
See also
* Chariton the Confessor
Chariton the Confessor (Greek: Χαρίτων; mid-3rd century, Iconium, Asia Minor – c. 350, Judaean desert) was a Christian saint. His remembrance day is September 28.
Life Sources
We know about his ''vita'' from the 6th-century "Life of Ch ...
, 3rd-century founder of a lavra-type monastery in Pharan Valley (upper Wadi Qelt)
* Jordan Valley
The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...
References
External links
* The Israeli national park covers the upper part of the valley and is centered on the Ein Fara/En Prat spring; entry fee required.
Bible Places
The Way by Jericho
Hike in Wadi Qelt
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 18
IAA
Wikimedia commons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qelt, Wadi
Hebrew Bible rivers
Wadis of the West Bank
Tourist attractions in the State of Palestine
Tributaries of the Jordan River
Important Bird Areas of the State of Palestine