A must-see on any journey through the Holy Land is Mar Saba Monastery, a bleak and beautiful 20km drive east of Bethlehem (beyond Beit Sahour). This phenomenal cliff-clinging copper-domed hermitage, founded in 439 CE, is best seen from the opposite slope, but men can exercise their privilege by going inside and getting a tour with one of the 15 monks still in residence. Women can get a bird’s-eye view from the Women’s Tower, a rather squat structure opposite the monastery itself.
Also residing here (rather more eternally) are the remains of 5th-century ascetic St Sabas, whose body lies in the church’s second chapel, and the skulls of some 120 monks massacred here in 614 CE. Entry to the monastery is only until sunset, and it is completely closed Wednesdays and Fridays.
For those who are driving, the monastery is well signposted from Beit Sahour. Otherwise you’ll need to take a private taxi out to Mar Saba from Bethlehem; plan on around a three-hour journey, costing around 120NIS to 150NIS.
