"On to Jericho and Modern Day Walls"

We never did give our bus a name, but after we toured Beit Shean we jumped on “Old Faithful” and headed to Jerusalem. From Beit Shean, we headed south towards Jericho, and for the first time entered territory under the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction as we neared Jericho. We went through a check point without slowing down much as the real security issue is Palestinians going back into Israeli controlled areas. Nevertheless, we headed to Jericho for lunch on the outskirts of the city. Geographically, Jericho is below sea level and frequently is one of the hottest places on earth outside of the usual “hot spots”. This factoid being something I had learned as a kid in 7th grade or something like that and I mention this because all the way down from Beit Shean we saw unusually green landscapes. March is the end of the short rainy season in Israel and Yoni had mentioned something about a very wet season and thus the green hue to the otherwise and brown Jordan Valley Basin. Oh, one can see hundreds of green fields from drip irrigation, but this was rain supported greenery and I just couldn’t stop staring at the very pretty green hills along the way!

The Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction over Jericho and as a result it has been isolated by the Israeli government to the point that tourists are not allowed to visit and a new highway has been built to bypass the city. Therefore we were only able to see the outskirts of Jericho as we drove around it to our lunch stop. Our lunch stop did have a bit of a view of Jericho and it was even close enough that we could hear many noises clearly. Some heard a few “pop-pops” and later we found out that there had been some protests there and tear gas has been used or something like that. Our stop was very much a tourists stop but pleasant nonetheless, what with the camels waiting nearby for tourists to ride on, the little shops and western grade restrooms. I discovered some very good ice-cream and at the time didn’t even notice that dairy was allowed to be served with meat making it technically a non-kosher eating place. That could have been the Arab influence, I don’t know.

Jericho, considered the oldest city on earth and yet Scripture indicates very clearly that it was to remain destroyed. Jericho was mentioned frequently in the New Testament and is the location of such stories as the ones about Zacheus and the blind man. Jesus passed through Jericho on his last trip to Jerusalem. I mean Jericho is one talked about place in Scripture. Today it is isolated from tourists and most non-Palestinians.

There are some new walls around Jericho…I just don’t know what they mean. Something is going on spiritually also, I don’t know what that is exactly either…but something simmers….