Taken from 'The Bible Educator' (vol 3) Printed in about 1870

From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea there is one deep depression, filled up to a certain level with alluvial deposit, forming what is often called the "upper plain" of the Jordan valley; and in this the river has hollowed out for itself, during the course of long ages, a "lower plain," varying in width from a quarter of a mile to a mile, and from 50 to 100 feet below the general level of the valley. The banks of the "upper plain" are ragged and irregular, and wherever tributaries join the Jordan, they present a most curious appearance; this is especially the case in the lower portion of the valley, where streams not six feet wide have washed out for themselves beds nearly a mile in width, and left in their irregular course quaint isolated hills to mark the existence and level of the original plain. There are thus two distinct and well- defined plains in the Jordan valley: the "upper," generally sterile and only capable of cultivation in those places where springs or perennial streams afford the means of copious irrigation; and the "lower," through which the river pursues its tortuous course, keeping by its occasional overflows certain small tracts under cultivation.

In January, February, and March there are frequently heavy falls of rain, and then for a brief period the plain is clothed in scarlet and green, and is covered with a profusion of wild flowers only equaled on the great prairies of America. Soon, however, the hot breath of the south wind passes over it, scorching and withering all vegetation, and leaving nothing but a barren waste behind. The temperature of the valley varies with the direction of the wind; during the winter months the north wind often brings intense cold, and there is a great difference between the night and day temperature; whilst with a south wind the heat becomes almost insupportable, and the sun’s rays strike down into the deep chasm with a force and power hardly equaled in any part of the world.

On either side of the Jordan are a number of artificial mounds or "tells," oval in shape, front 100 to 150 ft long, 50 to 100 ft broad, and about 50 ft high, which have frequently attracted the notice of travelers. The mounds are for the most part isolated, and, if we may judge from their position, at the foot of mountain passes, were erected for purposes of defence. Some of the mounds near Jericho were excavated for the Palestine Exploration Fond by Captain Warren, R.E., but the results he obtained did not give any clear indication of the object for which they were made.

Before proceeding to a detailed account of the Jordan valley, we must briefly notice three remarkable attempts during the present century to explore the river between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The first was in 1835, by Mr. Costigan, who succeeded in descending the Jordan in a small boat, and in reaching the southern end of the Dead Sea, but who died soon afterwards at Jerusalem; the second was in 1847, by Lieutenant Molyneux, R.N., who was also successful in accomplishing his object, but died soon after his return to his ship; the third was in 1848, by the American Government expedition, under Lieutenant Lynch, U.S.N., who descended the river with two boats, and spent some time in making a survey of the Dead Sea. To the last expedition we owed, till quite recently, most of our knowledge of the Jordan valley; but in 1868, Captain Warren, RE., made an important journey up the western bank of the Jordan, which produced valuable results; and during the winter of 1873-74 a complete survey of this part of the country has been made by Lieutenant Conder, RE., for the Palestine Exploration Fund.

The right or western bank of Jordan. — The Jordan commences its course like no ordinary river, for on leaving the lake it runs in an opposite direction to that which it has ultimately to follow; this is partially caused by the silting up of the stream under the old Roman bridge at Taricheae, which throws the river so much to the south as to leave the greater portion of the bridge high and dry. A little lower down are the remains of a second and third bridge, and nearly opposite the latter is the month of the valley that drains the plain Ard el-Hnma, behind Tiberias. About six miles below the Sea of Galilee is the Jisr Mejamia, a bridge with one large pointed arch and three smaller ones, in good preservation, over which ran the great road from Bethshan through Gadara to Damascus. A little south of the bridge, the Wady Birch, which drains the country south and east of Mount Tabor, descends into the Jordan valley, and on the brow of the hills above, commanding a magnificent view for many miles in every direction, are the ruins of the old Crusading fortress of Belvoir or Belvedere, now called Kaukab el-Hawa, which was captured by Saladin in 1188 AD.

From the lake to Jisr Mejamia the Jordan valley presents the appearance of a broad open plain, and from thence to Beisan, the next point of interest, about eight miles, the valley is some thee miles wide. Beisan, the Bethshan of the Bible, was one of these towns from which the Canaanites were never driven out, and after the fatal battle of Mount Gilboa, the corpses of Saul and his sons were fastened to its wails, whence they were stolen by the "valiant men" of Jabesh.

Under the Greek dominion, after the Captivity, the place was called Scythopolis, a name perhaps derived from the incursions of the Scythians or nomads of the north in the reign of King Josiah. Beisan is prettily situated on the brow of the descent by which the beautiful meadow. like plain of the valley of Jezreel falls to the lower level of the Ghor, and the town itself, well watered by springs and the streams from Ain Jalud and its tributaries, and intersected by deep ravines, must have been extremely picturesque. The ruins cover a large area, but they are not of much importance; the principal are those of two theatres, one with vomitories and passages in a perfect state, a temple, a city gateway, several J bridges over the stream, fragments of the city wall, and the acropolis which rises lathe centre and forms a conspicuous object in the landscape.

The road from Gadara passed through the middle of the town, and as at Samaria, Gadara, Gerasa and other towns , it was bordered on either side by lofty collumns which now lie prostrate and almost concealed by the tangled mass of vegetation that has grown over them.

Proceeding Southwards from Beisan, the Ghor is from eight to nine miles wide until we reach Tell Sakut, a distance of about eight miles where it begins to contract. This section of the valley is abundantly watered by springs and by streams running down from the mountains, but they are nearly all slightly brackish an in places spread out so as to form large tracts of marshy ground.

Tell Sakut, an artificial mound about three quarters of a mile from the Jordan has been supposed by some writers to be the Succoth mentioned in the account of Jacob's return from Haran to Shechem but it is somewhat out of the direct road from the Zerka (Jabbok) to Nablus (Shechem), and the position answers better to that of the Succoth mentioned in connection with Gideon's pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges viii 5-17). On the surface of the mound are a few rude foundations, and at its foot a fine spring.

South of Tel Sakut, the Wady Malih, which rises in the neighbourhood of Teyasir south of Mount Gilboa reaches the Jordan, and here the long firtile plain of the upper Gihor terminates. The mountains throw out spurs towards the river and for six miles the Jordan passes through a gorge hardly a mile wide. Below this the valley again opens out in the rich luxuriant tract at the mouth of Wady Faria which extends to Kurn Surtabeh with a width of about ten miles. The Wady Faria drains to the plain of Mukhna near Nablus as well as that of Tubez or Thebez to the north and is exceedingly rich and beautiful well watered by a fine stream fringed with oleanders and partially cultivated.

Down the valley ran the road connecting Nablus with Giliad and Bashan and several of the arches of the old Roman bridge by which it crossed the Jordan still remain and are called Jisr Dameih; at the present day, the road from Nablus to Es Salt crosses the Jordan at aford near the bridge where a ferry has been established for use when the water is high.

At Kurn Surtabeh a peculiarly shaped mountain stretching out into the Gihor, the valley is contracted to seven miles but thence to the dead sea its average width is about twelve miles. There are a few ruins on the summit of Kurn Surtabeh and it is mentioned in the Talmud as one of the stations where signal torches were lighted and waved to announce the appearance of the new moon. South of this mountain the plain becomes a parched desert except where it is watered by the copious springs at the foot of the mountains. The first of these is Ain Fusail in the Wady Fusail which probably derived its name from the city of Fasealus near its mouth of which there are traces in the ruins of Khirbet Fusail .

Phasaelus was built by Herod the Graet and given by him to his sister Salome who afterwards conveyed it to Lyvia, the wife of the Emporer Augustus. The immediate district around appears to have been richly cultivated for the palm gardens of Phasaelus are specially mentioned in Salome's will.

Below Fusail the deep gorge of Wady el-Aujeh enters the Gihor and south of this are the ruins of Es Sumrah which have been identified with Shamor on Mount Zemaraim whence Abijah summoned his armies to meet Jereboam.

A. little further to the south the Wady Nawaimeh descends from the heights above Beitin (Bethel), and affords a ready means of access to the mountain district; it was up this valley that Joshua passed to attack and capture Ai, and again, on another

memorable occasion, when he "went up from Gilgal all night" to lend his powerful. aid to the men of Gibeon. On the south bank of Wady Nawaimeh, within a mile of the point at which it issues from the mountains, are the fountains of Ain Duk; the largest source springs up at the foot of a fine Dom tree, and its waters are led off by an aqueduct to irrigate portions of the plain on the south, whilst the waters of the remaining springs follow their natural course down the valley. The position of

Ain Duk at the foot of the pass to Bethel, with its abundant supply of water, was too

important to be over-looked during the stormy history of Palestine, and we accordingly find that from an early period it was chosen as a suitable site for a castle or fortress. In the castle of Doch or Docas, Ptolemeus treacherously murdered his father-in-law, Simon Maccabeaus, with his two sons, after entertaining them at a banquet; and under its present name of Duk it is mentioned as a fortress of the Knights Templars between Jericho and Bethel.

South of Ain Duk the great plain of Jericho extends to the margin of the Dead Sea; but before examining the many interesting questions connected with it, we must briefly notice the remaining valley on the western side of the Jordan; this is the wild glen of Wady Kelt, which by its many branches, including Wadies Suweinit and Farah, drains a large tract of country east and north of Jerusalem. The stream in Wady Kelt is without doubt the "river" mentioned in the Bible in connection with the boundary line between Judah and Benjamin (Josh. xvi. 1), and Dr. Robinson has identified it with the brook Cherith, on the banks of which Elijah hid himself during part of the three years’ famine, and was fed by ravens (1 Kings xvii. 3—5). As, however, the Bible gives no clue to the position of Cherith, except that it was eastward of Samaria and faced the Jordan, we can hardly accept the identification.

Eusebius and Jerome place Cherith east of the Jordan, and this would seem the more probable situation, for Elijah would then have been in a manner in his own country, and more out of the way of Ahab.

Along the southern side of the valley runs for some distance the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. and near the ruins of Khan Hudhur we have little difficulty in recognizing the ascent of Adummim. At the foot of a mound on the northern side of Wady Kelt about a mile from the base of the mountains, a fine fountain of clear sweet water bursts forth, which then is every reason to believe is the scene of Elisha’s miracle (2 Kings ii. 19—22) and the site of ancient Jericho.

Except in the immediate neighbourhood there are no other springs, and it is the only natural site for a city in the surrounding country. The spring seems once to have been enclosed by a sort of reservoir of hewn stones, but this is now broken, and the water finds its way at random over the plain, covered here with a dense thicket of Zakkum and Spina Christi.

The ruin at the spring appears to be that of a small Roman temple; but there are other ruins to the north and in the thorny copse below are many foundations low mounds, &c., which may have been connected with the ancient city. There are a large number of mounds in the neighbourhood, especially towards the south, the most important of which were opened by Captan Warren, R.E., without, however, giving any definite results. Rude foundations of stone and brick an pottery were found in all, but no clue was obtained to the object for which they were erected. Two, one on either side of Wady Kelt, near the month of the pass from Beit Jabr, may represent the forts of Thrax and Taurus, mentioned by Strabo as standing at the entrance to Jericho; and one, Tell el-Matlab, is said by the natives of Er Riha to mark the site of ancient Jericho, a distorted legend of the capture of the city being attached to it.

The site of Ain es.Sultan, in close proximity to Jebel Kuruntul (Quarantania), where the spies mahave taken refuge, meets all the requirements of the Biblical Jericho, and we can only account for the displacement of the city by the perpetual curse laid upon him who should attempt to rebuild its walls.

On the southern side of Wady Kelt stood the Roman city of Jericho, but it has entirely disappeared with the exception of a few mounds, and the fine reservoir, Birket Musa, 190 yards long and 160 wide, which was fed by aqueducts from the neighbouring mountain-springs. Nothing is more extraordinary than the total disappearance of Jericho, which in the time of Herod was an important city, containing an amphitheater in which Herod shut up the principal men of the Jews with the view of having them killed at his death, and so ensuring a general mourning of the nation; in the same place also Salome, after dismissing those who were shut up, announced Herod’s death to the assembled soldiers and people, and exhorted them to receive Archelaus as king.

It was at the Jericho of Herod that our Lord accepted the hospitality of Zaecheus the publican; and it was in its vicinity that He restored sight to the blind (Matt. xx. 30; Mark x. 46; Luke xviii. 35). At the ford across the river in front tradition places the scene of our Lord’s baptism, and in the mountain behind that of His temptation; whilst Khan Hudhur, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, is pointed out as this scene of the story of the good Samaritan. The fertility of the plain round Jericho was unexampled; palms of various kinds, as well as opobalsamum, myrobalsamum, and other valuable trees and shrubs throve there, producing large revenues, which were rented by Herod from Cleopatra, to whom Anthony had given them. Even during time existence of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, the plain was extensively cultivated and laid out in vineyards and gardens; now all is desolate, and, with one solitary exception near Er Riha, the palms which once gave Jericho its title, "the City of Palms," have long since disappeared.

The remains, however, of the network of aqueducts which distributed the waters of six large fountains, including Am Aujeh, six miles to the north, over the plain, show the care once bestowed on its cultivation, and the series of arches by which they cross Wady Kelt form not the least picturesque and interesting of the ruins round Jericho. The village of Er Riha, the modem representative of Jericho, consists only of a number of wretched mud huts gathered round a castle built by the Crusaders, which is now pointed out as the house in which Zacceheus entertained our Lord.

A Christian settlement appears to have taken root at Jericho and in its vicinity at a very early date; under Constantine, baptism in the Jordan became the fashion of the day; and soon afterwards colonies of anchorites installed themselves in the caves of Kuruntul, the traditional Mount of Temptation (Mons Quarantania), and monastic buildings commenced to rise on the plain.

In the precipitous rocky face of Kuruntul is a labyrinth of rock-hewn caverns and chapels, connected by galleries or staircases, and sometimes ornamented with quaint rude frescoes; on the summit of the mountain are the ruins of a small chapel and fortress. Of the numerous monasteries there are many remains; at Kasr el-Jahud, on the banks of the Jordan are the ruins of that of St John the Baptist erected by Justinian with a great cistern once fed by an aqueduct from Ain es Sultan and the apse of the church mentioned by Arculf at Kasr Hajla, the ancient Beth Holga, those of a large monastery with a chapel and defaces frescoes; and there are others near Er Riha and in Wady Kelt. The buildings of the latter monastery clinging to the precipitous sides of the ravine like those of the great convent of Mar Saba in the lower part of the Kedron Valley.