Wadi Qelt - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Wadi Qelt or Nahal Prat is a valley ("wadi

Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...

"; ) or stream ("nahal"; ) running west to east across the Judean desert

Judean desert

The Judaean Desert is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan...

in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, originating near Jerusalem and terminating near Jericho

Jericho

Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...

, near the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

. It is home to a variety of fauna including hyrax

Hyrax

A hyrax is any of four species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. The rock hyrax Procavia capensis, the yellow-spotted rock hyrax Heterohyrax brucei, the western tree hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis, and the southern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus live in Africa...

es to gazelle

Gazelle

A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...

s, to the Greek Orthodox Monastery Saint George

St. George's Monastery

St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Koziba is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank, . The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. It is reached by a pedestrian bridge...

, and to the oldest Jewish synagogue in the world

Oldest synagogues in the world

The designation oldest synagogue in the world requires careful definition. Many very old synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs. Some synagogues have been destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site, so, while the site or congregation may be ancient, the building may be...

and has been identified with the biblical "prat" mentioned in Jeremiah 13:5.

Archaeology

The Wadi Qelt Synagogue

Wadi Qelt Synagogue

The Wadi Qelt Synagogue, part of the Jericho royal winter palaces complex west of Jericho, is the oldest known synagogue that has ever been found...

was built as part of a Hasmonean

Hasmonean

The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...

royal winter palace and is the oldest synagogue in Israel

Oldest synagogues in Israel

The designation oldest synagogues in the Land of Israel requires careful definition. Many very old synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs...

. The site was home to the winter palaces of Hasmonean kings (a Jewish priestly dynasty of the 2nd to 1st centuries BC) and thereafter of King Herod

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

. Parts of the wadi were declared a nature reserve by Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

and given the name Nahal Prat. Wadi Qelt is visited by Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

is and Palestinians alike.

Kubur Bani Yisra’il

Kubur Bani Yisra’il

Qubur Bani Isra'in , are huge stone structures which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt, about 3.5 miles northeast of Jerusalem along Highway 437 near Pisgat Zeev.-Dimensions:...

("Tombs of the Children of Israel"), are huge stone structures which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt.

History

On December 20 1968, the Israeli lieutenant-Colonel Zvi Ofer (Tzvika Ofer), commander of the elite Haruv unit, former Military Governor of Nablus

Nablus

Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...

and recipient of the Israeli medal of valour, was killed in action in Wadi Qelt, while in pursuit of militants which had crossed the Jordan.

Wadi Qelt was the site of a number of high profile Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israelis after the 1993 Declaration of Principles peace agreement between Israel and the PLO. These include attacks on Dror Forer and Eran Bachar (shot to death on October 9, 1993), Ori Shahor and Ohad Bachrach (shot to death on July 18, 1995), and Hagit Zavitzky and Liat Kastiel (stabbed to death on April 25, 1997).

Wadi Qelt was the home for the Kibilewitz strain of Balady citron

Balady citron

Balady Citron , is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel for Jewish ritual purposes. Balady is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.The Balady...

, which was obtained from here by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld the founder of Edah HaChareidis and a close disciple of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin

Yehoshua Leib Diskin

Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin , also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk and finally Jerusalem, after moving to Eretz Yisrael in 1878....

External links

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