in the middle east

We got the chance to take a tour of the Judean hills and Jericho. Because of the Israeli military occupation, Jericho is not always a welcome place for tourists, but we found a guide who would take us for the day and it was well worth it. We saw a number of cool places in the desert hills on the way to Jericho, some very old monestaries and mosques. The most memorable thing was Jericho itself. It is one of the oldest cities on the planet; humans have settled in this area dating back to 8,000 BC. It's significance in the Bible is well-known: the battle of Joshua and Jericho, the tax-collector Zaccheus climbs a tree to see Jesus. However, the modern city is under quite alot of duress due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli military has trapped the city's population by road blocks and demolitions, and controls the only entrance in and out. The city's inhabitants are allowed to leave into the West Bank (their own country) only under limited permission. This has created what is practially a large ghetto within the city limits. It was very clear driving around that life is hard here, for the economy has little room to grow, and work is limited due to the conflict. It was hard to be there and know that there was nothing immediately relevant I could do for these people. Their hope lies in the international community awaking to the serious oppression taking place here by the Israeli government. I will be showing more about this in other places we've been recently, but for now, take a look for yourself at the wonders and tragedies surrounding Jericho. Click Here.