Monastery of Christ in the DesertA remote Benedictine monastery situated below a cliff face on the Chama River near Abiqui, New Mexico

The Monastery of Christ in the Desert is a Benedictine monastery located in a remote area (at the end of a 13 mile one lane dirt road) about 30 miles Northeast of Abiquiu, New Mexico. It's on a section of the Chama River that has been designated a Wild and Scenic River. Abiquiu is where Georgia O'Keeffe lived and worked in the 1940's and 50's.

The monastery was designed by a Japanese architect in the Santa Fe style. That means the building and the sandstone behind it are almost the same color. The building just blends into the background. This black and white image has been processed in a way to better segregate the building from the background.

Currently there are around 15 monks at the monastery. It also has overnight guest facilities. The monks generally observe silence except during services. Guests are expected to similarly observe silence. I was recently there for 5 days of solitude, which was nice.