The name of Jericho quite possibly means “place of fragrance”, and the area surrounding this ancient city is prized for its verdant nature. While in Jericho, we tour a church at the site of the sycamore tree which St. Zachaeus climbed in order to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). A portion of this ancient tree is seen behind glass in the courtyard of this tiny church. We sampled sycamore nuts and dried fruits and enjoyed a lunch of local dishes al fresco. This is the site of the epic battle of Jericho where the wall came tumbling down with the power of God manifest in Joshua’s hands. Joshua 6:12-21
We continued to the Mount of Temptation, where Christ was tempted by Satan three times. Matthew 4:1-11 We were given the opportunity to climb or take a cable car to the top of the Mount in order to visit a Greek Orthodox monastery there, but with so much left to see on our itinerary that day we chose to stay closer to sea level!
Kathy S. was also tempted at this site. She succumbed to the temptation to ride a camel! What an experience!
She succumbed to the once in a lifetime chance to ride a camel!
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