The oldest city in the world
There are many differences about the oldest city in the world due to the difference of historians in its definition. Some say that the oldest inhabited city is the city of Damascus, and some say it is a mountain, and some of them said that it is Aleppo, but the largest percentage of them said that it is the Palestinian city of Jericho, and this difference is still Standing to the present. In this article, we will talk about one of the previously mentioned cities, Jericho.
Jericho (City of the Moon)
Jericho is one of the oldest cities in Palestine, dating back to the Stone Age; that is, ten thousand years BC. This city is located on the West Bank near the Jordan River and at the north of the Dead Sea, and is about sixteen kilometers away from it, and Jericho is considered the lowest area In the world, it lies approximately 258 meters below sea level.
Jericho is an important agricultural region, as it produces vegetables and fruits throughout the year, and is famous for its production of bananas, citrus fruits, and dates, as it is considered one of the most important Palestinian cities in the tourism field, due to its enjoying tourist characteristics, the most important of which are: Moderate climate in the winter season, and its contain of five And seven hotels, and in 2010 Jericho was considered the most popular city among tourists.
Jericho tourism attractions
Jericho includes many monuments, including the following:
- Hisham’s Palace: This palace is located in the middle of a desert area, five kilometers north of the city of Jericho, built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik in the year 743 AD, and restored at the time of Salah al-Din Al-Ayyubi. The palace contains bathrooms, mosques, buildings, and halls filled with columns.
- Latin Monastery: It was built by the Franciscan congregation in 1925 AD near the area of Jericho, and the monastery contains the Church of the Shepherd Saleh.
- Monastery of Qarnatl: It was built by Archimandrite Ephremius in 1892 AD, and Jericho contains a group of other monasteries, including: Monastery of the Spit, Monastery of Hijla, Monastery of Kult, and others.
- Sugar mills: It is located in the middle of the road between Jabal Al-Qarnatl and Tal Al-Sultan. It was built by the Crusaders to expand sugar production and export it to European countries.
- Na’ran (the small Byzantine city), located four kilometers northwest of Jericho, where traces of a Jewish temple were found at the bottom of a Palestinian house, and the temple dates back to the fifth or sixth century AD.
Jericho also contains:
- The shrine of the Prophet Moses.
- Mountain of Experience.
- Hill of Sultan (ancient Jericho).
- Wadi Qallat.
