The Monastery of the Temptation or "Sarantario" is a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery located in the West Bank, along a cliff overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Today, Monk Gerasimos is the only living soul living at the monastery and life at Sarantario is difficult, but he has dedicated his life to preserving the monastery, the Greek Orthodox Church as well as preserving the Greek flag which proudly waves there.
It is built upon the summit of the Mount of Temptation, rising 350 meters above sea level and serves as a tourist attraction. Its land is under the full jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, but the monastery is owned and managed by the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.
The earliest monastery was constructed by the Byzantines in the 6th century CE above the cave traditionally said to be that where Jesus spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditating during the temptation of Satan, about three kilometers northwest of Jericho. The monastery receives its name from the mountain which the early Christians referred to as the "Mount of the Temptation". The Monastery of the Temptation was identified by Augusta Helena of Constantinople as one of the "holy sites" in her pilgrimage in 326 CE.
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