Holy Land Travelogue Part 3

by Jose Kurian Puliyeril

In search of the Foot prints of the Savior of the World - In the ancient Jericho city of historical importance. 

On the second day we started our journey in the bus towards Jordan’s boarder with Israel, after our morning prayers and breakfast. On our way we were enjoying the sights of the natural beauties on the sides of the road. The sight of multi storied buildings in lines of equal distance from one to another, on the sides of mountains, from the ground level to the peak was very attractive, impressive and informative. The High Way was passing near the spot where Prophet Moses hit the rock and enabled the Israelites to have fresh sweet water. The spot is popularly known as the springs of Moses. The water from this source is used for irrigational purpose of a very large area of Jordan, in addition to the usage of the same for drinking and other purposes by thousands of inhabitants. When we saw the bunches of healthy and attractive grapes, moving ahead and back in the pleasant breeze, from the vines in the courtyards of the neighboring houses as well as the fields of mass cultivation, made us think that they were inviting us to its nearness to whisper some or other secret talks. The plantations of the date palms and banana trees, which were planted in equal distance, keeping the beauty and style of agriculture, were disappearing from our sights so soon. As soon as we reached the boarder of Jordan, our guide Mr. Bassel collected our Passports and took them to the concerned immigration office and got the formalities finished within a short time and returned our Passports. There are two bridges in between the real boarder in between Jordan and Israel. The bridge on the side of Jordan is known as King Hussein Bridge and the other on the side of Israel is known as Allenby Bridge. As soon as we would cross the bridges, we would reach the Customs, Immigration complex of the Israel Govt. The buses and other vehicles from Jordan are permitted to enter to the door step of the above complex. As soon as the passengers are disembarked, the vehicles have to return immediately. As soon as we got down from the bus, with our luggage, the bus returned to Jordan. Immediately we submitted our luggage for the customs inspection, and joined the queues for our physical examination and immigration formalities. We experienced a sort of very hard and strict inspection for one and all alike. Due to the excess influence of Very Rev. Sleeba Chor Episcopos, a special counter was opened for us and we could cross the boarder so soon. When we reached there, there were hundreds of Palestinian families, with ladies and children, who had reached there from the different parts of the Middle East by road and they were struggling in the long queues to cross the boarder to reach their houses in Palestinian state. The sufferings of those people were so sympathetic. They could enter their own “state” only with the knowledge, approval and permission of the Israel Govt. A large number of Palestinians are living in the areas occupied by the Israelites. Immediately we gained back our bags and luggage from the large heaps of thousands of similar and almost same looking such stuff, though it was a tedious job. As soon as we occupied seats, after loading our bags and luggage in the luxury coach arranged for our further journey, we started our journey through the blessed holy land. A new guide Mr. Gassan, a Palestinian national and a Christian by birth, started his explanations soon about the history, customs and traditions of the land, which was described as the land of milk and honey. The sights of the healthy, wealthy agriculture on both sides of the road were quite good enough to prove that the attribution of the land of milk and honey was well suited. The color of the leaves were so dark green, the fruits also seemed so attractive and good looking. The thick forest like agricultural fields remained in pride in our eyes. We all felt a sort of exciting feeling as soon as our bus entered the Jericho city, which could boast the history of thousands of years together. The understanding that the Jericho city is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East made us a thrilling feeling once again. 

We read about the Jericho for the first time when the Judge and Prophet Joshua sent two spies to Jericho as mentioned in the book of Joshua chapter 2 Verse 1. In Joshua 6:20 we read that the Israelites have conquered Jericho. We could see the remains of the Jericho wall which fell down when the Israelites marched around it seven times. In Joshua 6:26, we find the words of curse of Joshua upon the city. In I Kings 16:30 we read that King Heel had renovated the city.