Here we see the ruins of an early Christian monastery in the desert. Monasticism began as a movement within Christianity in the late third/early fourth century. The reasons for this movement are complex; what concerns us here is the way the monks prayed. The aim of monastic life was for the monk to maintain the thought of God silently in his mind and heart as constantly as possible whatever he was doing, but monks also gathered to pray aloud at regular times during the day and night. They prayed together at dawn and dusk and these services consisted of the recitation of psalms in common, followed by readings from the Old and New Testaments.

So here we see the desert monks, one reading from the book of the scriptures, while the others send their prayerful meditations like birds flying up to heaven. The harsh desert setting mirrors the simple way the monks prayed.