The road to Jericho

I wasn’t sure, until I was back at home for a few weeks, but the highlight of my trip (if I had to pick one) was walking the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Actual miles between the two cities are reported to be between 15 and 17. We probably only walked the last 3 or 4, but that was plenty to get a flavor for what the trip must have been like two thousand years ago. It was on this part of the trip that I felt most like I had stepped into the shoes of one of the disciples of Jesus.

This first picture is where we broke into the trail which ended in Jericho.

Looking at it, I can’t help but remember Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 7:13 to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”

The road was, indeed, broad at this point, but it quickly got much narrower.

Below is an example of what the trail really looked like for much of the way.

On the left was the mountain wall...

On the right side--way down below--was a wadi (or creek bed) full of rushing water.

Something that surprised me was finding a Bedouin shepherd grazing a flock of goats. I would have otherwise reported that the place was devoid of vegetation...

but in fact, upon closer inspection, not only was there grass to graze on, but also flowers.

You can see how we were spread out along the trail. It was pretty much impossible to "bunch up".

[just a side note] The woman in the photo above with the brown shirt and walking stick spent 15 years in a wheel chair unable to walk. I was privileged to hear her story of recovery. It was amazing.

Just to prove I was really there!!!

Another really interesting thing to see along this trail was a number of hermitages. A hermitage, for the uninitiated, is simply a place where a hermit lives. In the middle ages, literally hundreds of religious hermits used the natural caves in this area to make places for themselves where they could live and pray and keep themselves unspoiled by the world. Any that we saw, were long since abandoned.

How they accessed these places is a mystery to me, but if you wanted to be alone...well, this would get you there.

The picture below shows a place that was used to store supplies.

Below is another hermitage that looks a little more accessible.

Can you see it? It's almost dead center in this picture.

Finally, below you will see two pictures of an ancient sheep fold or sheep pen. If you don't know what you're looking for, it's hard to see, but, again, it's close to the center of the picture and it is circular in shape. Shepherds would build these places and herd the sheep (or goats) into them at night. Then the shepherd would lay down across the opening, insuring that the sheep didn't get out and that preditors and thieves didn't get in.

Here's a closer picture.



In the gospel of John, chapter 10, Jesus uses the sheep fold as an amazing  metaphor. It's probably one of the most tender and loving passages in all of the gospels and the more you know about sheep and shepherds, the more meaningful it becomes. Just imagine laying down and becoming a human "gate" for your sheep.

OK, so one more picture...this is a picture that was taken almost at the end of our walk. In the distance, you can see the city of Jericho between the two mountains. I was tired and a little sore at this point, but I can honestly say, I really didn't want it to end. It was an amazing day.

We had a bit of an unplanned adventure at the end of the walk. In years past, because of the dry conditions, groups would get back to the bus by walking across the dry creek bed. Well, this year with all the rain, the creek bed was not dry, but full of rushing water. Fortunately, a small group of Bedoudin boys came to our rescue and farther down the trail they showed us a foot bridge that we could use to cross the wadi and get back to the bus. I know some of my fellow travelers got pictures of this and, if I ever get a hold of one, I'll include it. I just remember it being very narrow and very scarey.