Enveloped in serenity, Père Benoit strolls the grounds of the St. Étienne monastery complex near the Damascus Gate. Built in the 1880s by French Dominican fathers, the compound includes a church erected on the site of the fifth-century A.D. church of St. Stephen; a convent; and the French school of archaeology, the École Biblique et Archéologique Française. Cloisters and high exterior walls ensure scholars and students uninterrupted pursuit of their studies.
A few hundred yards away, street vendors noisily hawk their wares outside the Damascus Gate.