The Mount of the Temptation sits 350 meters (1,150 feet) above sea level in the middle of a desert extending between Jerusalem, Jericho and the Jordan River. Its name refers to the time Jesus allegedly went off to a mountain to pray and was tempted by the devil. It is also called Jabal al-Quruntal or Monastery of the Temptation built the Byzantines in the sixth century AD. After the Crusaders occupied the monastery, two churches were built, one in a cave and another on the top of the mountain.

The West Bank city of Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world, sits 250 meters (820 feet) below sea level. Visited by Palestinians and tourists from all over the world, it is home to many archaeological sites, including Hisham’s Palace, which boasts a huge mosaic floor and several monasteries, including Deir Hajla and Deir Wadi Qelt.

Mohammad Jaradat, director of archeological sites at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told Al-Monitor, “The mountain is considered a unique architectural masterpiece, as it includes corridors, rock caves deep inside the mountain and the monastery, part of which hangs in the air while the other part is carved into the mountain.”

He said that the Monastery of the Temptation is religiously important to Christians, who believe that Jesus stayed in a cave located under the monastery. The Christian narrative says that after John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the nearby Jordan River, Jesus went off to this mountain and Satan followed him. The events are detailed in the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus told Satan, “Man shall not live on bread alone.”