Jericho, Qumran and Ein Gedi

Jericho

Amidst the turmoil which is making the headlines around the world, Jerusalem and its surroundings are a haven of normality and peace! On Saturday morning, we still did not know what’s going to happen. So we were slightly in angst! However, we decided to give a try and if we perceive something awkward we return back to base! We were five in all: the United Nations of Priests: a Chinese, a Japanese, a Filipino, a Mexican and a Maltese! The first three are Franciscan Friars, the fourth a Missionary of Charity Father and myself, a diocesan priest! Throughout the day, we experienced a great sense of calm and peace … absolutely no sign of the turmoil elsewhere!

The Tree of Life Mosaic in the Hirsham's Palace: the good and the bad governance

We took the Arab bus 63 to Al-Azariya (Bethany) and then from there we took the Service (kind of a public bus service – you have to negotiate the price before!) to Jericho. The ancient city is found slightly away from the modern city of Jericho. We went to Tel-el Sultan, where the remains of some of the world’s oldest manmade structures are to be found. Jericho presents itself as the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city. Archaeological evidence has brought to light evidence of the existence of a city some 10,000 years ago! It is believed that around 9400 BC some 1000 people lived together in this city.  It is also claimed that it is the lowest town on earth (at around 250 meters below sea level). This city is located close to the perennial spring of Ein es-Sultan. While it is surrounded by the Judean desert, this piece of land is quite fertile made of alluvial soil. Excavations have still to unearth many interesting findings. We did not see any signs of excavations being continued. Apart from that the site is not excellently kept by the Palestinian Authority.

Jericho from the Mount of Temptation

From there we took the cable car to go up the Mountain of Temptation where Jesus is said to have spent 40 days of fasting at the end of which he was tempted by Satan. There is a Greek Orthodox Monastery (of the Qurantol – Forty) which clings to a cliff-side. The account of the temptation of Jesus is to be found in Mark 1,12-13, Matt 4,1-11, Luke 4,1-13.

The Monastery clinging to a cliff-side of the Mount of Temptation

From here we walked the two kilometers to visit Hirsham’s Palace. It is an amazing site where today we could see the remains of this palace from the time of the Umayyads (built around 743-4 AD). It was called as “Versailles of the Middle east”, even though its life was cut very short by an earthquake (749 AD) soon after its completion. It is full of baths, mosaic floors and pillars. The architecture is remarkable. Two things which really struck me were the “window”, which in reality was an ornament for the roof of the courtyard, and the exquisite “tree of life” mosaic in the Diwan (audience hall) of the bathhouse. It bears an image of a lion bringing down a deer beneath a tree of red oranges. Some interpret this mosaic as representing good and bad governance (the deer to the left grazing peacefully and the brutal lion to the right respectively).

The Hirsham's Palace Window -- typical of Muslim Architecture

Jericho is particularly famous in the Bible for the story of Joshua and the Israelites conquering the city a short while after crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, becoming the first city they conquered (Joshua 6,1-20). Archaeologists, however, believe that at the time of this venture by Joshua, Jericho was not inhabited. So it remains a mystery as to what the Bible refers.

Jericho (but here we need to speak rather of the ‘modern’ city) is mentioned a number of times in the New Testament: the cure of the blind man (Mark 10,46-52; or as we find it in Luke 18,35-43 – today’s Gospel) and the story of Zacchaeus, the short tax collector who climbs a Sycamore tree to be able to see Jesus and the resulting meal at his house (Luke 19,1-10). A very old (some give it 2000 years!) sycamore tree is there in the new city to remind us of this event.

The Sycamore tree in the center of modern Jericho

Qumran

This place became famous in 1947 when some Bedouin shepherds found seven ancient scrolls in a local cave. Later additional scrolls were found by a French Dominican Priest, Fr R. de Vaux, together with a team of French archaeologists. These scrolls included all the books of the Old Testament (except Esther), the Apocrypha and other community writings.  For a possible explanation of why is the book of Esther missing from Qumran, I refer you to this short but interesting article: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=20&num=2&id=110. The scrolls are held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. From time to time part of some scroll is put on display at “The Shrine of the Scroll”.

One of the caves at Qumran where the scrolls were found in 1947

The Essenes, who lived here, were a community of Jewish ascetics who paid great attention to ritual bathing and purity. They lived a communal life in a settlement that was constructed to make them as self-reliant as possible. The Essenes arrived at Qumran towards the end of the second century BC. They abandoned the site in 31 BC after an earthquake badly hit the area. However, they returned there a quarter of a century later, rebuilding the site. In 68 AD, the Romans conquered Qumran and dispersed the sect. The caves served the Essenes in time of need as hiding places for their library.

Ein Gedi

The Ein Gedi nature reserve is located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, on the shore of the Dead Sea, some 35 kilometers south of Qumran. Two valleys run through the reserve: Wadi David and Wadi Arugot. As my guide book says, Ein Gedi is “one of Israel’s most magical desert oases”. This oasis is fed by four springs, thus making it a haven for wildlife. Hiking in Wadi David, we encountered the Nubian ibex, the rock hyrax, the dragonfly, the blackstart (a bird) and the fan-tailed raven. In Psalm 104,18 we read: “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies”.

David's Waterfall

The Blackstart

The Ibex -- they were saved from extinction

Ein Gedi is also famous for its dates: “I rose like the date palm in Ein Gedi” (Ben Sirach 24,4). It is also known for the cultivation of aromatic plants, like the henna plant which produces a yellowish-red aromatic dye used to color hair, teeth and nails: “a cluster of henna in the vineyards of Ein Gedi” (Song of Songs 1,14). Together with Jericho, Ein Gedi was also famous for the persimmon.

The Wadi David after we climbed on the Southern slope

David fled to Ein Gedi to escape the wrath of Saul (1 Sam 23,29).

We spent three hours exploring this beautiful natural reserve, with its idyllic waterfalls, pools, and caves. The Dodim Cave (lovers’ cave) was closed for fear of abrupt flooding. Oh yeah, I have to say it: it was my second time to the Dead Sea area – both these times I had rain (this time a drizzle) as well as both times I did not manage to swim in the Sea! Well, for next time!

Rain in the desert ... with the sun returning