Jericho (Ariha) City
Jericho is a green oasis in the Jordan Valley which lies 7 km west of the River Jordan, 10 Km north of the Dead Sea and 30 Km east of Jerusalem. It lies 250 meters below sea level and thus it is considered to be the lowest city in the world.
The origin of the name "Jericho" is Semitic. To the Canaanites it meant "The Moon". In Syriac the name meant "Scent and odour". The city is called "The city of Palm" and "The Garden of God".
Jericho City History
Jericho is the oldest city in the world. The ruins of the oldest civilization discovered in Jericho are 10,000 years old. The Canaanites were among the first folks that emigrated from Arabia to physical Syria, and Jericho was one of their most important cities ( 1400 BC ). The name " Jericho " to them meant " the moon ". Their houses were built near the site of Al-'Ain where the fortress gate stood. The area of the city was six acres in their time, and its walls reached a height of twenty one feet. Their type of architecture followed this model : every building consisted of one room having side doors and elevated platforms and was surrounded by asphalted black soil. Their walls were built on the Babylonian style. The grandeur of their buildings was evident from their monuments which included stone columns on both banks of the Jordan River, from the inside of the Temple of Jericho, and from the buildings erected round a courtyard in the middle of which there was a wide arched gate which led into it. This Canaanite style still prevails in the Palestinian rural areas as well as cities, and in the circular type of the architecture of the dome which appears in the villages of 'Ain Malaha,' Ainat, Jericho and Wadi An-Nutuf. It is one of the most prominent characteristics of Canaanite architecture.
The Canaanites excelled in the sculpture of statues and in pictorial sculpture which appears in the layers of gypsum covering the skulls, and which are similar to a head cover. It is exactly similar to the contemporary head dress worn by Palestinian women. It is known by its popular name, "Al-Wiqahyah" ( The protector ), or " As-Samada" or " Al- 'Usabh al-kan'aniyyah "( The Canaanite Turban ). Weaving looms, clothes, bedding, mats, tables, chairs, mineral pins for binding clothes and for adornment were found. |
