Jericho: A Day Trip

Now that Zach is officially on Pesach (Passover) break for the next two weeks or so, we have the opportunity to travel around the country a bit.  Today we took a day trip to Jericho, and it was quite the experience. It is only about 17 miles east of Jerusalem, but because we took buses and shared taxis, it took 3-4 hours of travel each way to get there! Ultimately, though, it was worth it.  We had a wonderful day.

This is a Russian museum (no idea why it's in Jericho), but we were just amazed at how green everything was! We have not seen grass this green since we left Oregon.

Jericho residents claim that this is THE sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed up to see Jesus.  Remember that song? "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he..."

Spring has certainly arrived in this desert oasis town.  These were some beautiful flowers that we passed on our way to our first destination.

Just some sheep in the road. Something you see basically every day.

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This was our first real "touristy" stop.  This is a Muslim palace from the 8th century, and the remains are incredibly well-preserved.  It was extremely hot but worth the walk. By the way, you can see in the picture that Charis is staying shaded under a nice black cloth.  That was given to her by a shepherd we walked by who thought she needed something a little more than her sun hat. :)

The detail is so intricate, and it does not look like it is 1,300 years old!

This mosaic was pretty incredible... essentially every tile was still intact. I wish the picture showed it better, but the detail was pretty amazing.

A camel just chilling in a parking lot. 

This is the spring from 2 Kings 2 that Elisha purifies.  The Bible says that he gets a bowl with salt and then throws the salt into the spring.  That actions purifies the water, and it also says that the "water has remained wholesome to this day." It is still extremely clean, and after a quick drink, we can affirm that Elisha's word is true. :)

This is the spring from an indoor cavern.

Jericho is a true oasis in the desert.  It is pretty fascinating to see palm trees growing so closely to sandy desert (in the distance). 

This is not the best picture, but the tower remains there (tilt your head right) were literally built in 8,500 B.C. -- 10,500 years ago.  They are the some of the oldest ruins ever found. 

This was our view out the window as we left Jericho in our shared taxi. Let's just say we were winding around these mountains on the edge of  cliffs with a very aggressive Arab driver. I would not recommend that trip for the faint of heart (or stomach). 

Our baby girl on the trip back. Long, full day for all of us, but we really enjoyed the exploration. More to come tomorrow as we celebrate Palm Sunday in Jerusalem!