A hike down the eastern half of Wadi Qelt is enough to restore anyones enthusiasm for desert hiking. The hikes around Eilat have some interesting features and was a great escape from the snowfall a couple hundred miles away, but it doesn't compare to the beauty of the valley that heads eastward from Jerusalem to Jericho. Wadi Qelt has plants at reasonable intervals as well as some man made scenery, including a few monestaries, to go along with interesting rock formations.
At the end of the hike is Jericho. An ancient city that came under Palestinian control in the 1990s. There, the group enjoyed a typical Palestinian lunch featuring the Arab Salads that I love so much. After lunch, we walked through town to Tel Jericho--the ancient city whose wall miraculously fell down in the Bible story.
Ancient Jericho was a disappointment. I had visited the site years ago while it was still under Israeli control. Now, under Palestinian control, it has completely gone to pot. There was virtually no information and most of the fences to keep people from walking around on the ruins were laying on the ground. I imagined that the PA would have put up their own signs that omitted any mention of Israel and emphasized other eras of history but was surprised to find that there was very little signage and that which existed was run down. Still, there were a couple of noticable features such as Rahab's Tower and the city's fallen wall.
Ancient Jericho was a disappointment. I had visited the site years ago while it was still under Israeli control. Now, under Palestinian control, it has completely gone to pot. There was virtually no information and most of the fences to keep people from walking around on the ruins were laying on the ground. I imagined that the PA would have put up their own signs that omitted any mention of Israel and emphasized other eras of history but was surprised to find that there was very little signage and that which existed was run down. Still, there were a couple of noticable features such as Rahab's Tower and the city's fallen wall.
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