The oldest city in the world

Jericho is the oldest city in the world

Jericho is a Palestinian Arab city that is considered the oldest city in the world, as it originated before ten thousand years BC, and is located geographically in the Qalt Valley, and it is 36 km away from Jerusalem from the eastern side, and its land area is 45 km², and it is below sea level 275 It is called the Moon City, and it has twinning with several cities such as Calipatria, Yash, Alessandria, Imperial, Elio, Campinas, Lyon, Nantes and Pisa.

Jericho residents

According to statistics from 2016, the population of Jericho reached 20,000,000, and its inhabitants speak the Arabic language, which is considered an official language in Palestine. As for the religion, most of its inhabitants believe in the Islamic religion and minorities who believe in the Christian religion.

Jericho’s economy

• The agricultural sector, such as planting bananas, palm trees, olives, grapes, tobacco, and grains such as barley, corn, wheat, and sesame.
• The industrial sector, such as textiles, pottery, carbonated water and inventory.
• The sector of extracting minerals and salts from the Dead Sea water, such as sodium, magnesium, potassium chloride, and calcium.
• Tourism sector because it contains many tourist attractions such as:
  • Jericho Tourist Cable Car.
  • The Dead Sea is one of the world’s most salty seas.
  • The Latin Monastery, which was built by the Franciscan community in 1925 AD near the city, and includes the Church of the Shepherd Saleh, a statue of the Virgin Mary, a place for the baptism of children, and a statue of Jesus and the Child Jesus.
  • Abul Al-Alaq lies at the southern entrance to the city, specifically at the meeting point of the Jericho Plain with Wadi Al-Qelt. The ritual is from the copper age but its old ruined remains date back to the Romen or Hellenistic era.
  • Islamic mosques such as Ghor Nimreen Mosque, Aqabat Jabr Mosque, Hisham Palace Mosque, and Prophet Moses Mosque.
  • Tal Al-Sultan, located in the northwestern part of the city, on the spring of Ain Al-Sultan, includes the oldest circular defense tower and the oldest wall in history in the world.
  • Hisham’s palace built in the rule of the Umayyad state by King Hisham bin Abd al-Malik, located in Khirbet al-Mafjar on the northern side of the city, and was restored during the days of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi’s rule.
  • The shrine of the Prophet Moses, whose construction was completed in 1269AD during the reign of Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars, the Mamluk.
  • Monasteries such as Deir al-Rum, Deir al-Miskub, Deir al-Qallat and Deir Hijleh.

General information about the city of Jericho

• The city is an important transit point for commercial caravans since ancient times, as it is a western corridor for the Dead Sea and the Jordan River.
• Its climate is mild in winter, and hot and dry in summer.
• The city’s lands are divided into three types: the northern Jordan Valley, the Southern Valley, and the Middle Valley.