Jericho

DAY 5: STOP 3

We entered the Palestinian controlled West Bank and thankfully did not get stopped for an onboard inspection.

The Mount of Temptation is said to be the hill in the Judaean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil. The exact location is unknown.  Notice the incredible Greek Orthodox monastery embedded in the side of the mountain about halfway up.  The mountain is about 1,200 feet high.

Typical me looked like an American sucker and got talked into overpaying for a turban (Keffiyeh).

Entering Jericho (means city of palms), which is said to be the oldest city on earth.  The Israelites supposedly brought down its walls with a great shout and trumpet blasts.

Here Jesus healed Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and dined with Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector. And both Cleopotra and Herod coveted this place as an oasis - however I don't see the oasis part but I hear spring is amazing with abundant flowers, fruit and and spices.  Jericho was settled in 9000 BC.

Jericho was on a normal route from Galilee to Jeruselem through Samaria and Jesus passed through it several times.

We stopped at the centuries-old sycamore tree symbolic of the tax collector Zacchaeus, too short to see over the crowd, climbed a sycamore in order to see Jesus (Luke 19:4)

Lunch in Jericho below.  We sat next to a Palestinian Muslim family.  The dad was smoking hookah and they had a 13 month old girl who kept smiling and waving at us.  I guess hate is learned and not born.  We don't care about our differences until we are spoiled by adult prejudices.

Below are pics from an amazing store in Jericho - ceramics, Hebron glass, tear jars and many other beautiful crafts.  Our driver Ahmed is a Palistinean Muslim who has driven Father Peter and his tours for 28 years.  He keeps us safe and only lets us shop and legitimate businesses.