Eventually, I gave up.
I got out of the bus, didn’t collect the fare I’d paid, and went looking for food. A nice young man who spoke excellent English sent me in the right direction for shawarma. He also ran a gift shop. In Israel and the rest of the world, the area of the Holy Land is divided into Israel and West Bank/Palestine. However, in West Bank/Palestine, the entire area is called Palestine. There is no Israel. This visit is the first time that I ever heard about this geographical situation. The shop had a lot of souvenirs that reflected this statement. It was something new to witness.
I continually have to rely on the kindness of strangers who speak English in order to manage everything I do. They guy at the gift shop, the men who prepared my shawarma, another young man who guided me to the proper bus for a return to Taybeh, and a woman on the bus all made the day so very pleasant – even if I didn’t get to Jericho.
The right guide for the City of Palms
Part II One of my connections in Beit Hanina, location for Mural 5, asked for a favor. Would I have time to design a book cover for them? It was a project for the students in the Helen Keller School. Of course, I would gladly help them. But, I had a favor myself. Could he help me figure out a way to get to Jericho? I was looking for bus connections. There were complications because Jericho is in Palestine and Beit Hanina is in Israel. Crossing the border has been a challenge since the war. On top of that, Ramadan (Islam’s holy month) complicated matters with early closures or businesses not opening at all. Not to worry, Fadi was man answer man. He promised a solution, and it was better than anything I could imagine. He hired me a personal guide!
The Terra Sanctus School in Beit Hanina wanted me to know I was appreciated!
My guide, Michael Jackaman, was worth every shekel that was spent on him. He had a wealth of knowledge to share about where we drove through and he knew all of the Bible locations that I was interested in seeing. It was a win for me.
Remains of a wall and tower in Ancient Jericho
The city was first settled about 9,000 BC. Of course, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area was first identified as the location of the ancient city in 1868 by British engineer Charles Warren, who also worked in the discovery of the location of the City of David in Jerusalem.
By 8,000 BC, the population of Jericho was between 2,000 and 3,000 people. The hunter/gatherers had learned to grow crops of wheat and barley because Jericho had a warm climate, fertile soil, and plenty of fresh water. And, they built a massive wall around their community for protection. Despite the massive walls, the city has been destroyed and rebuilt about 23 times over its long history.
In the Bible, Jericho is called the “City of Palms”, and those date palm trees are still growing in the area. Ancient Jericho boasted walls 13 feet tall and watchtowers that were 28 feet tall. The walls and towers didn’t intimidate Joshua and the Children of Israel when they crossed the River Jordan and entered into Canaan. Jericho was the first city to fall after Joshua and his army marched around the city for seven days. When the priests finally blew their horns, the walls came a tumbling down.
Jericho is mentioned many times in the Bible. During the days of the prophet Elisha, the residents said they lived in a good location, but they had bad water. They were unable to grow their crops. Elisha asked for a new jar with salt. He threw the salt into the spring and the water became fresh. Today you can see Elisha’s Spring in Jericho if you visit the Temptation Center.
Elisha's Spring
What on earth is the Temptation Center?
This tourist destination next to Ancient Jericho has a restaurant with wonderful Palestinian food as well as souvenirs to fit any budget. It gets its name from my next destination.
Serving up Maqluba at the Temptation Center
A View of the Mount of Temptation and a closeup of the Monastery
Mount of Temptation According to tradition since at least the 4th century, Mount Quruntul, which towers over Jericho, is the site where Jesus fasted for 40 days before his three temptations by Satan. Of course, there is a monastery up on the mountain. How it was built, I will never know. But, you can visit the Monastery of Temptation either by automobile or cable car. It is a Greek Orthodox Church.
Over the centuries, multiple buildings have been built on the site. The Orthodox Church purchased the location in 1874 and began construction in 1895. The monastery wraps around the side of the mountain. There are two sights to see when you recover from climbing too many steps to get there. A chapel in a cave is believed to be the location where Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days. A little further away, in another chapel, a stone is encased in glass and under the very watchful eye of a priest living in the monastery. That stone is traditionally believed to be where Jesus sat when he was tempted to turn stones into bread. The actual mountain is thought to be the “high place” where Satan took Jesus to show him all the kingdoms of the world.
The traditional cave where Jesus fasted and a stone with a story
A Monastery with a View -- Goats and Landscape
Hisham’s Palace, an Unexpected Bonus My goal for this trip was the ancient city walls and the Mount of Temptation. Anything else is considered extra dessert in my mind. And, Hisham’s Palace, an early example of Islamic architecture built during the Umayyad dynasty (which stretched from India to France), was dessert. Some archaeologists have called it the “Versailles of the Middle East”. So very close to the Ancient Jericho, it was built in the 700s AD. The palace is thought to have been built by Caliph Hisham Ben Abd el-Malek and decorated by his heir, el-Walid II. As beautiful as it must have been, it was not a primary residence. No, it was a winter palace. The 150-acre grounds contained the palace location, a mosque, a fountain, two main gates, and a retaining wall around the agricultural estate, but people come to Hisham’s Palace to see the audience hall / thermal bath complex.
The floor of the 9,000 square foot (30 meters by 30 meters) bathing hall is covered in mosaic patterns. With more than five million stones (primarily in red, green, blue, yellow, and orange), it is one of the largest floor mosaics in the world. The floor is divided into 38 mosaic carpets, separated by 16 cluster columns in rows of four. The bathing hall was a pretty amazing until I saw the communal latrine. Yep, back in the day, as you sat to do your business, there was no need for privacy. You and your friends could sit in a row and discuss other business, politics, the weather, constipation, diarrhea, or anything else that came to mind.
The most famous mosaic is the “Tree of Life”. Since that was the theme of my most recent mural, I was particularly interested. Of course, the central object is the tree bearing fruit. But, under the branches to the left are two gazelles at peace, and on the other side, a gazelle is being ripped to shreds by a lion. There is debate over what the gazelles represent. It could be the peace the caliph brought with his military strength. Others suggest it represents the struggle of good and evil, peace and war, or good verses bad governance.
Alas, there is no evidence that the caliph ever stayed on these grounds. Before it was completed, much of the work was destroyed by an earthquake in 743 AD.
The Ruins of Hisham's Palace with its iconic Stone Rosetta
Sixteen Columns and a Mosaic Closeup
A Little More Dessert One more stop was necessary before leaving Jericho. It is required (well, it should be) to see an old sycamore tree. It isn’t THE sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed so he could see Jesus, but it looked old enough to be the one. Yes, a photo was in order.
On the return to Bethlehem, we passed a sign for The Good Samaritan. My guide, Michael, had never visited the place. It was in Israeli territory and he needed a permit to visit, which he didn’t have. But, he had information that I’d never heard before. This site was not in the direction headed towards Jerusalem. When Jesus talked about the man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, before he could even tell his parable, everyone knew it was a dangerous route to take. Nobody walked it unless they absolutely had to do so. It was a road laced with thieves and murderers. In fact, it was called the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”. If you’ve never heard of it, you need to read the 23rd Psalm. I’m glad I didn’t have to walk through it. Instead, I had a wonderful drive with a very knowledgeable guide from Bethlehem.
The Tree of Life and another Tree in Jericho
Check off another Bible destination from my bucket list. Shukran, Fadi and Michael.