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"Christmas Eve"
 St. Catherine Cathedral

Bethlehem

Tuesday, ‎December ‎24, ‎2013

Fourth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"It was an unforgettable, blessed day in Holy Land"

Bethlehem

Ararat Hotel

153, Beit Sahour Road

Bethlehem. Palestine

It was an unforgettable, blessed day in Holy Land.

24 Dec, 2013. I reached back in my room about 7.30 PM. It was an exhilarating, and also a tight scheduled day, visited many places than other days. After the dinner, I sat there in the lobby, connected with my best, dude. She asked me about my Christmas. “I don’t feel anything different than other days”, I said. I know I’m in the Christmas-eve, but I felt nothing. I really had only one feeling, “alone among the crowd”. She told me, “You will see, I say this Christmas will be “unforgettable one” for you”.

I just laughed, and walked to the main door of the Hotel, opening to the chilling other than beautiful illuminated Christmas night. I lit a cigarette, stood there outside the door, looking into the street. It was reinforced by Palestinian guards, since the presidential visit of Nativity Church, tonight. About a ten foot away from me, a patrol vehicle was parked and fortified soldiers talking in their traditional language.

Small groups of tenants are walking hurriedly to the Nativity church to celebrate their Christmas Eve. In the other end of the street, after the small round about, Joseph- a Palestinian Christian- was standing in front of his shop. Suddenly I heard a group of pilgrims coming from the hotel to go to the church, and somebody asked me to join with them.

I went back to my room thinking of go to church, changed dress and came out. I walked hurriedly, alone through the extremely ascending road. Palestinian army patrol vehicles were moving impulsively to both directions of the street. Climate was freezing and blustery and I felt that my jacket and muffler was not sufficient.

Suddenly a black suburban passed hurriedly piloted and escorted by a fleet of army vehicles, the famous Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas.

I was achieving way to the church. Crowd started to increase while reaching to the church. Finally I reached near to the army check point in the Manger Square. Nativity church was circled by Palestinian army. I remembered that what the guide told me, “You can reach up to the army check point. You can’t go inside the church”. Because according to the tradition, the holy mass of December 24, the Christmas Eve mass, leading by the Jerusalem Latin Patriarchies, and the believers register and get their entry pass months before to attend the mass, and the Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas also attending the mass. So, nobody can enter the church without entry pass, especially because of the security reasons.

I stood near the check post, and asked to a soldier that there is any chance to get a pass or enter to the church. He looked at me lightheartedly and replied, no way. I could see a display of cctv screen from far, but not much clear. My only wish was attend the holy mass, but I realized the situation and quiet my wish. But still I am just standing there. Weather is getting colder; I kept my hands inside the jacket, but still freezing. Crowd is increasing. Believers asking, begging, slightly shouting but force were rigid and unkind.  

After a while, somebody asked me, “Are you Christian?” I said, “Yes”. I looked at him, a tall, thin man, with imprecisely cared hair and beard, and asked me again, “do you wish to go to church?” I said, “yes, but I don’t have the entry pass”. Then, he endowed with a gate pass and said, “Go and pray, and wish you a Merry Christmas.”

I really stunned, and didn’t get any words for a while. I felt my tongue dropped down. Anyhow, I managed to tell him thanks, and I asked his name too, before he disappeared in the crowd.

Afterward, I hadn’t even a moment to stay in the cold breezy weather for naught. I showed my entry pass to the guard. He shockingly looked at me and smiled.

…at the moment, I am attending the Christmas Eve holy service in the basilica of Nativity (St. Catherine Cathedral) as an invited guest, by child Jesus Christ. More than a hundred priests were there to lead the Holy Mass with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal. All the believers were from several parts of the world as well as Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, Mr. Stephen, (The man who given the pass) I am using this occasion to thanking you again from the bottom of my heart, for making my Christmas Eve as an unforgettable event. It is really etched in my heart. And I am dedicating this page to my strange and wonderful friend Mr. Stephen, from Italy. 

The Entrance Card which is Mr. Stephen given me:

Manger Square encircled by Palestinian security force. A 55 Foot Christmas tree towers above the revelers outside the Church of the Nativity, West Bank town of Bethlehem:

A Palestinian vendor sells balloons to visitors at Manger Square, near the Church of Nativity, on Christmas Eve:

A traditional soldier standing in the corridor ahead of St Catherine Church entrance, next to the Cloister of St. Jerome, near the Church of the Nativity Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine:

People waiting for the security check in front of the entrance of the Franciscan Monastery next to St Catherine Church, near the Church of the Nativity Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, Christmas Eve at St Catherine's Church in the West Bank town of Bethlehem:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, leads the midnight Christmas mass at St Catherine's church, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attending the service:

Nuns follow the Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal,St Catherine Church, Bethlehem:

Pontifical announcement   of Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, leads the midnight Christmas mass at the Church of St Catherine, next to Nativity Church:

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, pictured centre, Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at the Church of St Catherine, in Bethlehem:

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, pictured centre, Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at the Church of St Catherine, in Bethlehem:

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal leads the service at the Church of the Nativity to mark Christmas in the little town where many believe Jesus Christ was born:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine:

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal leads the service at the Church of the Nativity to mark Christmas in the little town where many believe Jesus Christ was born:

Worshipers celebrating Christmas Eve service in St Catherine Church, Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine:

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal leads the Christmas Eve service at the Church of St Catherine, Bethlehem:

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal leads the Christmas Eve service at the Church of St Catherine, Bethlehem:

Latin Patriarch holds the infant Jesus in St Catherine's Church at the end of Christmas Eve Mass and leads the procession to the Grotto, the birthplace of Jesus:

Latin Patriarch holds the infant Jesus in St Catherine's Church at the end of Christmas Eve Mass and leads the procession to the Grotto, the birthplace of Jesus:

Members of the clergy leads the procession to the Grotto after the Christmas Eve, the birthplace of Jesus which is connected to the Church of Nativity:

"Dead Sea, a Wonder of Nature"

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"Dead Sea, a Wonder of Nature"

Israel 

Tuesday, ‎December ‎24, ‎2013

Fourth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Dead Sea, a Wonder of Nature"

Israel

A Panoramic view of Dead Sea:

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth in any land mass (417 meters below sea level, to be exact). The quantity of water that evaporates from it is greater than that which flows into it, such that this body of water has the highest concentration of salt in the world (340 grams per liter of water).

On the way to Dead Sea, Jericho:

It is called the Dead Sea because its salinity prevents the existence of any life forms in the lake. That same salt, on the other hand, provides tremendous relief to the many ailing visitors who come here on a regular basis to benefit from its healing properties. All these and more make the Dead Sea so fascinating, so different and so interesting.

On the way to Dead Sea, Jericho:

The Dead Sea which is also known from its other names such as the Plains Sea, the Salt Sea and Primordial Sea, all of which are included in many old texts in historic documents, specifically those pertaining to different religions. It has always held its own importance dating back to the biblical time period and to the current times, where it still holds not only a religious importance but also a historic one. The Bible, being one of the religious books and also a historic one, contains many passages which tell about the important events that took place near or at the Dead Sea.

A sign board of general information about the Dead Sea:

The Dead Sea in the Bible states some very important events, and many the Dead Sea is already known for, being that Jesus was baptized in the Dead Sea by the Baptist, John. And how a war was fought by Abraham there, of how David took refuge in this area while hiding from the King Saul and the place where visions were witnessed by prophet Ezekiel to many other countless.

The shore of Dead Sea:

However the Dead Sea in the Bible is portrayed in various events such as:

The war of Sodom and Gomorrah

In the Genesis, it is told that a war was conducted by four kings in opposition to five, the Dead Sea being the location. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was taken as one the captors in this war, and so Abraham went out to the Dead Sea to release him and bring him home.

The Dead Sea in the bible states that the Kings Sodom and Gomorrah, fell into pits in this area and the rest that were left, ran away to hide in the mountains near the Dead Sea. 

The shore of Dead Sea:

David finds refuge from King Saul Another important event of the Dead Sea in the Bible is of David, and when he ran away from the King Saul, the ruling king of the time, and came to find refuge in the Dead Sea. Also, a cave in this area is where King Saul was asleep later, where David cut off a portion of the king’s clothes, to prove that he was not interested in harming the king. 

A wooden walkway to the bank of the Sea:

The visions of prophet Elijah and Baptism of Jesus A very important incident that took place in the Dead Sea in the bible, and other religious books also, is that the prophet Elijah received his visions in this area, and is said to have soared away to heaven from this spot as it is stated in the bible in reference to the place where John baptized Jesus. The two are interlinked in terms of the location for these two important events occurring, thus increasing the importance and symbolic significance of Jesus and Heaven

The shore of Dead Sea:

The Dead Sea, unlike the Sea of Galilee to the north, does not figure prominently in the biblical narratives.  It’s most important role was as a barrier, blocking traffic to Judah from the east. An advancing army of Ammonites and Moabites apparently crossed a shallow part of the Dead Sea on their way to attack King Jehoshaphat.  Ezekiel has prophesied that one day the Dead Sea will be fresh water and fishermen will spread their nets along the shore.

The shore of Dead Sea:

The Dead Sea is located in the Syro-African Rift, a 4000-mile fault line in the earth's crust.  The lowest point of dry land on earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea at 1300 feet below sea level.  That the lake is at the lowest point means that water does not drain from this lake.  Daily 7 million tons of water evaporates but the minerals remain, causing the salt content to increase.  Figures for the Dead Sea's salinity today range from 26-35%. 

The shore of Dead Sea:

Nearly ten times as salty as the world's oceans and twice as saline as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, the Dead Sea is rich with minerals.  The Dead Sea Works company on the southwest side of the lake employs 1600 people around the clock to harvest the valuable minerals from the water.  Potash is the most valuable of those extracted today and is used in the manufacture of fertilizer.  The best article on the minerals in the Dead Sea is in the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The other side shore of Dead Sea is Jordan:

The unique concentration of the Dead Sea waters has long been known to have medicinal value.  Aristotle, Queen of Sheba, King Solomon and Cleopatra were all familiar with this and modern doctors as well often prescribe patients with skin ailments to soak in the waters of the Dead Sea.  Because of the dropping level of the Dead Sea, the southern end is no longer under water, except for that which is channeled by aqueducts for the purpose of extracting minerals.

The other side shore of Dead Sea is Jordan:

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 981 texts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. They were found inside caves about a mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name. Nine of the scrolls were rediscovered at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in 2014, after they had been stored unopened for six decades following their excavation in 1952. The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible canon, along with deutero canonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism.

The Dead Sea Scrolls:

The texts are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean, mostly on parchment but with some written on papyrus and bronze. The manuscripts have been dated to various ranges between 408 BCE and 318 CE. Bronze coins found on the site form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (135–104 BCE) and continuing until the First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE).

The scrolls have traditionally been identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups.

Halite deposits along the Dead Sea coast:

Due to the poor condition of some of the Scrolls, not all of them have been identified. Those that have been identified can be divided into three general groups: some 40% of them are copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible, approximately another 30% of them are texts from the Second Temple Period and which ultimately were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible, like the Book of Enoch, Jubilees, the Book of Tobit, the Wisdom of Sirach, Psalms 152–155, etc., and the remaining roughly 30% of them are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule, the War Scroll, the Pesher on Habakkuk and The Rule of the Blessing.

Panorama of the Dead Sea from Mount Sodom:

Remarkable Finds

In early 1947 (or late 1946) an Arab shepherd searching for a lost sheep threw a rock into a cave in the limestone cliffs on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Instead of a bleating sheep, he heard the sound of breaking pottery. When he investigated, he found seven nearly intact ancient documents that became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Mount Sodom, Israel, showing the so-called Lot's Wife pillar (made of halite like the rest of the mountain):

Three of the scrolls, including the Book of Isaiah, were acquired in Bethlehem by Eleazar L. Sukenik of The Hebrew University just as the United Nations voted by a two-thirds vote to partition Palestine, thus creating a Jewish state for the first time in 2,000 years.

Sunset on the way from Dead Sea:

The other four scrolls were acquired by the Metropolitan Samuel, the Jerusalem leader of a Syrian sect of Christians. When he was unable to sell them in Jerusalem, he took them to the United States, where they were displayed in the Library of Congress. Still unable to sell them, he placed a classified ad in The Wall Street Journal offering them for sale. Through fronts, they were purchased for Israel by war hero and archaeologist Yigael Yadin, Sukenik’s son.

A special museum, The Shrine of the Book, was built in Jerusalem to house the scrolls.

Jerusalem, on the way from Dead Sea to Bethlehem:

 Jerusalem, on the way from Dead Sea to Bethlehem:

In the shore of Dead Sea to Bethlehem:

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"Jericho"

The Oldest City in the World

Tuesday, ‎December ‎24, ‎2013

Fourth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Jericho"

The Oldest City in the World

Christ Healing the Blind:

Jericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Governorate. In 2007, it had a population of 18,346. The city was occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, and has been held under Israeli occupation since 1967; administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back 11,000 years (9000 BC), almost to the very beginning of the Holocene epoch of the Earth's history.

A Panoramic view of Jericho:

Jericho is described in the Hebrew Bible as the "City of Palm Trees". Copious springs in and around the city attracted human habitation for thousands of years. It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the decisive Battle of Jericho which secured the Israelites' return to the Promised Land from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses.

The Sycamore Tree which is Zacchaeus:

Zacchaeus was a chief tax-collector at Jericho^] A descendent of Abraham he was a poster child for Jesus' personal, earthly mission to bring salvation to the lost. Tax collectors were despised as traitors (working for the Roman Empire, not for their Jewish community), and as being corrupt.

Because the lucrative production and export of balsam was centered in Jericho, his position would have carried both importance and wealth. In the account, he arrived before the crowd who were later to meet with Jesus, who was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. Described as a short man, Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore fig tree so that he might be able to see Jesus. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up into the branches, addressed Zacchaeus by name, and told him to come down, for he intended to visit his house. The crowd was shocked that Jesus, a Jew, would sully himself by being a guest of a tax collector.

The Sycamore Tree which is Zacchaeus, was climbing to see Jesus:

Moved by the audacity of Jesus' undeserved love and acceptance, Zacchaeus publicly repented acts of corruption and vowed to make restitution for them, and held a feast at his house.

The Sycamore Tree which is Zacchaeus, was climbing to see Jesus:

The story of Zacchaeus is used by some to illustrate the saying of Jesus: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God" Matthew 5:8, because the name Zacchaeus means pure. Zacchaeus also becomes a contrast of character with the Rich Young Ruler Luke 18:-23. Both Zacchaeus and the Rich Young Ruler were wealthy men, but one felt self-righteousness and would not give up his possessions, the other gave half his possessions to feed the poor.

The Sycamore Tree which is Zacchaeus, was climbing to see Jesus:

Jericho is a green oasis in the Jordan Valley which lies 7 km west of the River Jordan, 10 Km north of the Dead Sea and 30 Km east of Jerusalem. It lies 250 meters below sea level and thus it is considered to be the lowest city in the world.

The origin of the name "Jericho" is Semitic. To the Canaanites it meant "The Moon". In Syriac the name meant "Scent and odour". The city is called "The city of Palm" and "The Garden of God".

Jericho Today, the oldest city in the world:

Jericho is the oldest city in the world. The ruins of the oldest civilization discovered in Jericho are 10,000 years old. There are a lot of important and beautiful historical places to visit in Jericho, such as Old Jericho, River Jordan where Jesus Christ was baptized, Mount of Temptation, Hisham Palace, Ein Al-Sultan (Elisha) spring, Sycamore tree, Monastery of Saint George (Wadi Kelt), Hasmoneans (Herod) Palace, Monastery of Dier Hajlah, Kumran Caves, Dead Sea, and a lot more. The nice climate of the city is conducive to tourism both domestic and International.

The average temperature in January is 8.5 degrees and the lowest average annual temperature is 17 degrees. The average annual temperature is 23.5 degrees and the highest average annual temperature is 30.5 degrees. The average annual amount of rainfall is 150 millimeters, and the average annual humidity is 52%.

Jericho Municipal Office:

The amount of rainfall in the Jericho area is less than that of the surrounding mountains and the coastal regions, thus Jericho area relies entirely for drinking and irrigation on subterranean wells and springs such as the Ein Al-Sultan spring. The source of this water is situated in the distant mountains. Ein Al-Sultan spring in considered being the main source for agriculture. It has an output of 680 cubic meters an hour and a salinity of 600 fractions in one million. It provides a steady output throughout the year. It is used equally for drinking water and for irrigating.

In addition to its tourist sites, Jericho is considered to be an important area for agriculture. It is famous for its citrus fruits, dates, bananas, flowers and winter vegetables.

The area within the municipality limits is about 45 square kilometers, and the population of the city of Jericho alone is 17,000. If we include the population of the surrounding villages and refugee camps the number goes up to 25,000 inhabitants.

The origin of the name, "Jericho" is Semitic. The common people pronounce it "Riha". To the Cananaites it meant "the moon". The word is derived from the verb "yerihu", and "Yarah". Al-Yarah in the language of southern Arabia means "a month" and "moon". In Hebrew "yarihu" is the most ancient known city in the Jewish Bible. "Riha" in Syriac means "scent and odor".

Jericho Municipal Office:

The Battle of Jericho is a battle in the biblical Book of Joshua, (Joshua 6:1-27) the first battle of the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan. According to the narrative, the walls of Jericho fell after Joshua's Israelite army marched around the city blowing their trumpets.

Before crossing into the land west of the River Jordan, Joshua sent two spies to look over the land. The king of Jericho heard that two Israelite spies were within his city and ordered them to be brought out to him. The spies were tasked with ascertaining where the guards were placed, whether anyone disliked the king and could help them, what weaponry and armor the guards had, when the guards changed shifts, how much food, water, and other supplies the city had, and the height and width of the walls so as to determine how to overcome the city.

Jericho City, the oldest city in the world:

The woman with whom the spies were staying was named Rahab and she protected them by hiding the two men on her roof. She tells them how the citizens of Jericho had been fearful of the Israelites ever since they defeated the Egyptians via the Red Sea miracle (some 40 years prior), and agrees to cover for them on condition that she and her family are spared in the upcoming battle. The spies agree provided three conditions are met:

She must distinguish her house from the others so the soldiers will know which one to spare

Her family must be inside the house during the battle, and

She must not later turn on the spies.

Rahab agrees to the conditions: she hangs a scarlet rope outside her window to distinguish her house from the others.

Safely escaping the city, the two returned to Joshua and reported that the "whole land was melting with fear."

Inter Continental Hotel, Jericho, on the way to Dead Sea:

The biblical account describes the Israelites being led by Joshua and crossing the Jordan into Canaan where they laid siege to the city of Jericho. There, God spoke to Joshua telling him to march around the city once every day for six days with the seven priests carrying ram's horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and the priests were to blow their ram's horns. And Joshua ordered the people to shout. The walls of the city collapsed, and the Israelites were able to charge straight into the city. The city was completely destroyed, and every man, woman, child and animal in it was killed by Joshua's army by God's command. Only Rahab and her family were spared, because she had hidden the two spies sent by Joshua. After this, Joshua burned the remains of the city and cursed any man who rebuild the city of Jericho would do so at the cost of his firstborn son. It is generally accepted that the biblical date for the fall of the walls is the 28th of Nisan, according to the Hebrew calendar.

On the way to Dead Sea, Jericho:

The Book of Joshua or Book of Jehoshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land. Joshua forms part of the biblical account of the emergence of Israel which begins with the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, continues with the book of Joshua, and culminates in the Judges with the conquest and settlement of the land. The book is in two roughly equal parts. The first part depicts the campaigns of the Israelites in central, southern and northern Canaan, as well as the destruction of their enemies. The second part details the division of the conquered land among the twelve tribes. The two parts are framed by set-piece speeches by God and Joshua commanding the conquest and at the end warning of the need for faithful observance of the Law (torah) revealed to Moses.

On the way to Dead Sea, Jericho:

Almost all scholars agree that the book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel and most likely reflects a much later period. Rather than being written as history, the Deuteronomistic history – Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings – was intended to illustrate a theological scheme in which Israel and her leaders are judged by their obedience to the teachings and laws (the covenant) set down in the book of Deuteronomy.

Although tradition holds that the book was written by Joshua, it is probable that it was written by multiple editors and authors far removed from the times it depicts. The earliest parts of the book are possibly chapters 2–11, the story of the conquest; these chapters were later incorporated into an early form of Joshua written late in the reign of king Josiah (reigned 640–609 BCE), but the book was not completed until after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586, and possibly not until after the return from the Babylonian exile in 539.

On the way to Dead Sea, Jericho:

The first scientific investigation of the site of Jericho was carried out by Charles Warren in 1868, but amounted to no more than a site-survey (Warren's prime interest was in establishing the modern equivalents of Biblical locales). In 1907-09 and again in 1911 digging was carried out by two German archaeologists, Carl Watzinger and Ernest Sellin. Watzinger and Sellin believed that they would be able to validate the Biblical story of Jericho's destruction by Joshua and the Israelites, but concluded instead that the city was unoccupied at the generally-accepted time of Joshua, ca. 1400 BC

Jericho - The most excavated site in Israel:

These results were tested in 1930-36 by John Garstang, at the suggestion of William F. Albright, the doyen of Palestinian archaeology at the time. Garstang discovered the remains of a network of collapsed walls which he dated to about 1400 BC, the time he believed the Israelites were on their conquest that had apparently fallen in a dramatic fashion as opposed to being ruined by abandonment or decay from natural forces. Garstang's work thus reversed the conclusions of the earlier diggings.

Elisha Spring Fountain, Jericho:

In 1990, biblical archaeologist (with a particular focus on Canaanite pottery), and Research Director of the inerrantist Associates for Biblical Research Bryant G. Wood proposed that the pottery recovered during the excavations of Garstang and Kenyon pointed to a destruction date of the city ca. 1400 BC rather than 1550 BC, as concluded by Kenyon. Wood's main argument was that Kenyon's conclusion was based on the expensive, imported Cypriot pottery that was not found at the excavation site and that she ignored the vast amount of local pottery that was recovered. In addition to the ceramic data, Wood appealed to stratigraphy, a scarab series uncovered by Garstang, and a carbon-14 sample of a single charcoal piece found in the destruction debris as further evidence in favor of the later 1400 BC destruction date. Wood's proposal did not settle the debate and he was forced to defend his argument against direct criticism, specifically from Piotr Bienkowski

The Tower of Jericho is an 8.5-metre-tall (28 ft) stone structure, built in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic a period around 8000 BC. It is among the earliest stone monuments of mankind.

The Wall of Jericho was discovered by John Garstang during the excavations of 1930 to 1936, which he suggested were those described in the Book of Joshua in theBible and dated to around 1400 BCE.^[3] Kathleen Kenyon discovered the tower built against the wall inside the town during excavations between 1952 and 1958, in trench I. Kenyon provided evidence that both constructions dated much earlier, to the Neolithic stone age, and were part of an early proto-city. The tower highlights the importance of Jericho for the understanding of settlement patterns in the Sultanian period in the southern Levant.

The Tower of Jericho:

The tower was constructed with an internal staircase of twenty two steps and is almost 9 metres (30 ft) in diameter at the base, decreasing to 7 metres (23 ft) at the top with walls approximately 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) thick. The construction of the tower is estimated to have taken 11,000 working days.

Jericho by Night - The oldest continuously occupied city in the world - At the background the Dead Sea and Jordan:

In front of the Sycamore Tree which is Zacchaeus, was climbing to see Jesus: