Jericho and Bethany Beyond Jordan

Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March round the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Make seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march round the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, make the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.’ Joshua 6:1-5

Old Jericho Ruins

Part of the ruins of old Jericho	Close-up of the ruins of the biblical city of Jericho
Looking towards the Judean Mountains from Jericho	Monastery of Temptation near Jericho
Looking over the Jordan valley and the new city of Jericho	The modern city of Jericho
A view over both old and new Jericho (360 Panorama)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. Luke 19:1-4

‘I baptise with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptising. John 19:26-28

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Matthew 3:13-17

Bethany Beyond Jordan

The baptismal site on the Jordan river at Bethany Beyond Jordan (360 Panorama)
The Jordan river at Betheny Beyond Jordan	Being baptised in the river Jordan
A group in white gowns in the river Jordan	Two girls from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF)
Another view of Bethany Beyond Jordan (360 Panorama)
The viewing gallery at the baptismal site (360 Panorama)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4: 1-4

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Matthew 4: 8-11

Judean Desert at Wadi al Qilt

The Judean Desert (click for very high resolution image)	Close up view of part of the Judean Desert
Climbing up to the view point	A little girl selling bracelets (5 Shekels each)
The magnificent view over part of the Judean Desert at Wadi al Qilt (360 Panorama)