The Good Samaritan and
Jericho
A recent week was quite
interesting,quite interesting indeed. We kicked off Monday by hopping
on the delightful contraption known as the bus and blasting off east
into the Judean Wilderness in the West Bank.
A note about the climate
here: The prevailing winds come from the west to the east, much like
in Salt Lake City. As the humid ocean air travels inland from the
Mediterranean, it is forced upward by the rising hills leading up to
Jerusalem. The easternmost portion of Jerusalem—and the highest in
elevation—lies along the north-south ridge that contains both the
Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus, where the Jerusalem center is
located. Once the cooling air passes this ridge, a great deal of
water has already been lost. The air that finally descends into the
Judean Wilderness where the Dead Sea resides is parched and brings
little water.
The hills we traveled
through, therefore, are much like you would imagine them. Brown, dry,
and apparently lifeless. Upon closer examination, it can be seen that
many dried plants coat the ground, their spines and prickles almost
daring someone to approach them barefoot. Streambeds and dried out
river gulches cut through the rocky landscape every so often, carving
out rills, valleys and canyons in the harsh topography. We visited
one of the largest of these, Wadi (River) Qilt. Steep slopes and
cliffs slide into its depths, reminiscent of the Virgin River canyons
in the Nevada-Utah area, but with less water at the bottom. There,
the dry streambed rests, but with date palms and incongruous greenery
hinting at hidden moisture beneath the surface. The dried-out beds of
the wadis have long formed natural highways through the desert, and
continue to be used as such today. Wadi Qilt was historically used as
the road in between Jerusalem and the low-lying city of Jericho, and
was the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan. Not much wider
than a slot canyon in places, any traveler through here would have
had little option but to get through as quickly as possible. It is
full, however, of rocky outcrops, caves, and even ancient aqueducts
that provide ample places for would-be ambushers to hide.
I would go on, but I think
you get the idea. Here, more than anywhere else, the story of the
Good Samaritan came alive.
Jericho was pretty cool as
well. It has been identified as one of the oldest cities in the
world, and if the information has been assessed right it is some
9,000 years old—kids, that's almost as old as Rosie O' Donnell! Or
Rosie O'Donnell jokes, for that matter. On the way back, we saw a
bunch of date palm plantations. I'll take some pictures in a few
weeks whilst we pickle in the Dead Sea.
