A ravine begins on the East side of the Mount of Olives and grows into an impressive canyon with a Christian monastery built into a cliff near its lower end. One can walk from Jerusalem to this point near Jericho down an ancient footpath in a few hours. Here, a thousand feet below sea level, the wadi joins the flood plain of the Jordan River. On the mountain to the left, Herod the Great had a summer palace. One day when I came here I had a conversation with Israeli archaeologists who were working nearby on Roman baths; a few days later I had lunch in a Bedoin tent not far away. We ate wild greens which, unless they were putting me on, are called "baboonage."

P1. The Wadi Kelt

Near Jericho, Palestine, 1980, 35 mm Nikon F3, Nikkor lens, Kodachrome 64, Dye Transfer print 1994, ŠLuke Powell, 1996.