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Our first stop was Bet Shan. It was on the walls of this city that Saul's body was hung after his defeat by the Philistines as recorded in I Sam. 31:12. As we entered into the city my thoughts turned to Jonathan, who also died with Saul on that fateful day. If only he had gone into the wilderness with David instead of remaining with Saul, he would not have died, but could have ruled with David. (see I Samuel Chapter 20, and for a further discussion of this topic see our on-line book Closer Walk.) Here are the remains of the Roman theater in that city.

The ride from Bet Shan south to Jericho paralleled the Jordan River. That portion of the Jordan valley which lies between these two cities is filled with well irrigated groves of date palms and vineyards such as can be seen in these shots

As we got closer to Jericho the scenery changed to a more desolate landscape. Here is a good example which shows the meager vegetation the further south you go, and also the flocks of sheep & the caves they use for shelter at night.

     Jericho's presence on the horizon is telegraphed first by the palm groves which appear out of nowhere. It truly is an oasis in the desert.

While not exactly claiming that this is the very Sycamore tree Zacchaeus climbed in order to get a better view of Jesus, the Palestinian Tourism Department comes very close to saying so in the sign they have posted in front of it  In addition to this type of hyperbolae, commercialism was quite prevalent throughout our trip. For example, here is the 'Temptation Restaurant' where we ate lunch. It is located near the cable car which takes tourists to the top of the mountain which tradition says is the mountain Jesus went to after His baptism in order to be tempted for 40 days. The camel was stationed outside the restaurant for anyone who wanted a picture taken of them 'riding' a camel.

On our way to visit the ruins of ancient Jericho we passed this picturesque corner market. 

The picture below is of the excavation of ancient Jericho which reveals the collapsed walls of Joshua's time near the bottom of the trench. 

     While there is a certain amount of controversy concerning the time frame of Joshua's conquest of Cannan, there is sufficient archeological evidence to support both the 1450 BC date of Israel's exodus from Egypt, and the destruction of Jericho some 40 years later. (For those of our visitors who may be interested in digging a little deeper into this subject click here to be taken to Bible Misteries.com for a more detailed discussion on this topic. Be sure to look at the previous 5 articles on this topic. It will take you a while to read them, but they are well worth the time.)

     From Jericho we drove southeast towards the Dead Sea. Before taking a dip in the lowest body of water on the face of the earth, we stopped first at the ruins of Qumran. The inhabitants of Qumran were responsible for copying the manuscripts which became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and then hiding them in the surrounding caves.
The first picture is looking toward the Dead Sea from Qumran, and the second is of one of the caves in which the ancient scrolls were found.

     While I won't point us out, Alice and I are in the water. It really is true, you can't sink in the Dead Sea! I should point out however, that the mineral content which increases your buoyancy, also has a down side. You see, the mineral content is so high, that drinking a cup full would prove fatal if immediate attention were not provided. Not a single form of life, not even bacteria live in the Dead Sea! However, merely touching your wet finger to your lips while wading is enough to convince anyone that they won't want to drink even a capful of this water.

     Rather than head directly for Jerusalem, our guide had the bus driver return to Jericho so we could take the old road to Jerusalem. As it turned out, for me this was one of the highlights of the trip. While I was not aware of this fact, there really is a 'Valley of the Shadow of Death.' As we drove along the road and looked down into this desolate valley, the promise of protection given every believer in the 23rd Psalm seemed to resonate in my spirit more profoundly than ever before. The buildings which can be seen half way up the wall on the left side of this picture are of a monastery located about midway in the valley.

A little further up the road our driver stopped in order to give us the opportunity to step out and walk along the edge of the valley for a few moments. As we stood there I believe the thing that affected me the most was the fact that this place had probably not changed hardly at all since caravans traveled the valley floor 2000 years before. Viewing the many caves which dot the walls of the valley I could easily see how bands of thieves would hide and then prey upon innocent travelers. This simple fact alone heightened my appreciation of that familiar Psalm.  But then as I turned to go back to the bus, there up ahead on an adjacent hillside was a shepherd and his flock. While he had on a pair of jeans instead of a robe, he did have a staff. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

     This brought us to the end of our day of touring. In about a half hour we arrived in Jerusalem. We stayed at the Olive Tree Hotel for the next 5 evenings. When we arrived that first night we were a little tired from the past 3 days of sightseeing. After dinner we took a short walk from our hotel and then went to bed. Tomorrow would be our first day in Jerusalem itself.