Jericho is the oldest known continuously inhabited city in the world, with evidence of settlement dating back over 10,000 years. The city sits in the Jordan Valley, 258 meters below sea level, the lowest city on earth, an oasis of date palms and balsam trees surrounded by the barren hills of the Judean Desert. In the Bible, Jericho is the first city the Israelites conquered upon entering the Promised Land, the city whose walls fell at the sound of trumpets and shouting (Joshua 6:20).
Tel es-Sultan
The ancient tell (mound) of Jericho, Tel es-Sultan, contains the remains of the earliest permanent settlement discovered anywhere in the world. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic town, dating to approximately 8000 BCE, was surrounded by a wall and a tower that are among the oldest monumental structures on earth. The Neolithic tower, still visible, stands 8.5 meters high and was built 10,000 years ago, part of a history stretching back approximately 10,000 years. The skull of a human with plaster features modeled over the bone, found at Jericho, is one of the most famous archaeological objects in the world.
The Walls
The question of whether the biblical account of the walls “falling down flat” (Joshua 6:20) is supported by archaeology is one of the most debated topics in biblical archaeology. Kathleen Kenyon’s excavations in the 1950s concluded that the city had no walls at the time of the Israelite conquest (around 1400-1200 BCE). Other archaeologists, notably Bryant Wood, have challenged her dating. The debate continues, but the archaeological importance of the site is beyond dispute.
Hisham’s Palace
North of the ancient tell, Hisham’s Palace (Khirbet al-Mafjar) is a magnificent 8th-century Umayyad palace complex. The palace features one of the most spectacular mosaic floors in the Middle East: the Tree of Life mosaic, depicting a tree with a lion attacking a gazelle on one side and gazelles grazing peacefully on the other. A new museum, opened in recent years, protects and displays the mosaics in stunning fashion.
The Mount of Temptation
The cliff above Jericho is the traditional site where Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness: “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8-9). The Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation clings to the cliff face, and a cable car takes visitors up to the monastery from the city below.
Zacchaeus and the Blind Man
Jericho appears in two beloved Gospel stories. The first is the healing of blind Bartimaeus, who sat begging by the roadside as Jesus left Jericho. When he heard that Jesus was passing, he shouted: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tried to silence him, but he shouted louder. Jesus stopped: “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (Mark 10:46-52).
The second is the story of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector who was wealthy and short. When Jesus entered Jericho, Zacchaeus wanted to see him but could not because of the crowd. “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him” (Luke 19:4). Jesus looked up and said: “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” The crowd muttered that Jesus was going to be the guest of a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood up and said: “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus responded: “Today salvation has come to this house… For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:8-10). A sycamore tree in the center of Jericho is traditionally identified as Zacchaeus’s tree, and while the current tree is only about 500 years old, sycamores of the right species still grow in Jericho.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Jericho combines deep prehistory, biblical drama, and Islamic splendor. Hoshen Tours visits the ancient tell, the monastery, and Hisham’s Palace, connecting 10,000 years in a single stop.