The Oldest and Lowest City in the World - Jericho, Israel

Jericho is the lowest permanently inhabited site on earth. It is also believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world. Want to join?

What about some serious history, which you can not find in a book, but just in front of your eyes. Trust me, when I visited Jericho, I did not realize that this place is so mysterious. The desert, near which it is situated has got the places, where your mind and body can rest. What is more, it is very interesting to be here, because this place is actually very low regarding the sea level – it is the lowest in the world.

Our group leader told us, that this city is also the oldest, but it’s not the city itself, but the city’s area that attracts us. The desert has got a secret – a totally unique monastery, which is built on the cliffs. There are only several monks at a time, which have got the silence and calmness of the place. What is more, if they need even more freedom for their mind (just do not like to be near other 5 monks), they go up the cliffs, find an empty spot, and live there for several days, meditating and freeing one’s thoughts.

The others come to this place every day, they bring food and drinks to the basket, which is attached to a rope, that the left monk could grab the goods. If after 5 days, the goods haven’t been taken, the monks get up to the “room” and if they find the monk dead, they just close the cliff hole and do not remove the body. What is more, the desert is full of Bedouins – the local people, who travel on donkeys, offer you some hand crafted goods, try to attract the girls (especially blond) with their speeches about their own hotels outside the desert and so on.

Jericho is the oldest, but that can not be seen or photographed – you just feel it, when you get up to the other hill, where it is believed that the devil tried to provoke Jesus himself. Well, in Israel the religion theme is very strong, but this place, Jericho, has got even more. If you can, visit it for sure, as there are some really nice souvenir shops and cafes in the town itself, which is very normal, like any other little town with people living there, without any WOWs about the thing, that they live actually in the oldest city of the world :)

written by jogintas on 2009-07-08 #places #travel #history #religion #town #desert #monastery #top #monks #location #city #palestine #oldest #sea-level #lowest #bedouins