Hebron

From the picturesque village of Tuqu, walkers to Hebron make their way into the desert and can spend a night sleeping under the stars before turning East to climb past a series of crumbling monasteries along an ancient ascent into the mountains. In the high country overlooking the Rift Valley to the east is Bani Na’im, home to a grave and shrine dedicated to the prophet Lut, nephew of Ibrahim.

This region continues to echo with the memory of Ibrahim, from the pastoral setting of the country hills on the edge of the desert to the route’s climax: a huge shrine in the center of Hebron that houses the symbolic tombs of Ibrahim and his family built atop the cave where tradition says they were all laid to rest.