May 13, 2003

Jericho

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Jericho has a legitimate claim to being the oldest city on earth, the lowest city on earth and the hottest city on earth. From first appearance, it doesn't seem to be a city of extremes. It's just a small Palestinian town -- a stone's throw from the country of Jordan. (I didn't mean that quite like it sounded. I mean that it's darn close to the Jordan River, the Allenby Bridge Border Crossing, and the Dead Sea.) Anyway, our good American Secretary of State Colin Powell recently visited Jericho to talk to the good Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen. I was there the day before the dignitaries arrived.

A checkpoint in the Wadi Nar on the way to Jericho

Bedouin village on the way to Jericho

Tourist Camel -- You can pay the guy $5 for a great photo of an old camel all decked out in colorful coverings. Or you can just snap a shot (and hope that the camel is in the photo) while speeding by at 60mph. Hey, I'm on a tight budget.

Real (non-tourist) camels

Short guy climbs big tree in Jericho to see Jesus. Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, come down -- for I am going to your house today." This is the tree.

The walls of Jericho. Or some stones sort of piled on each other in a rubble heap. It dates back about to about 8,000 BC. (That's older than your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother.) Evidently these walls are a real Biblical historian's treasure. They prove something. But I don't need any dadburn walls to prove to me that God exists. (And by the way -- you are his creation and he loves you. Contact him for more details.)

The city of Jericho -- lowest city on earth, oldest city on earth, and probably the hottest city on earth. When I was there it was a mere 122 degrees F.

Looks like this building was used for target practice.

Famous window in Hisham's Palace.

Temptation Mountain -- the spot where Satan tempted Jesus.

Jericho checkpoint