Passing Through the West Bank

I passed through the Palestinian Occupied Territories, more precisely the West Bank, during my Tour in the Middle East. I was travelling, aboard a tourist bus with a friend, on the transfer from the Southern Dead Sea to Jerusalem. The road, which by the way is in good condition and lightly trafficked, enters the Territories without you noticing, because in this area there are no Palestinian towns and the checks are limited. The wall that separates the Territories from Israel is further north. In the first stretch the road climbs northwards along the Northern Dead Sea, practically a lake of highly salty water and devoid of significant forms of life, lying in a deep depression that here reaches more than 400 metres below the level of the Mediterranean.

We're at the lowest point among the world's landmasses, and even the rocky mountains surrounding the lake, completely bare, have their summits below sea level. It's hot and rainfall is extremely rare. The Dead Sea, whose waters evaporate continually, is fed only by the river Jordan, which in itself is little more than a stream. The guide accompanying us, a young Jew, points out a line on a mountain wall: it's the level the lake reached in the middle of the last century; if this drying up continues, the Dead Sea is destined to disappear. At the end of the western shore the road turns right; as we move away it's possible to appreciate the contrast between the lake's almost turquoise water and the arid mountainous desert around it. On the road to Jerusalem the mountains give way to rocky hills and wider valleys.

You notice some Bedouin camps with their poor tents, Jewish settlements, and in the distance the biblical Jericho, considered the oldest city in the world. We're also shown the supposed site of the parable of the "Good Samaritan", a recently restored inn. Meanwhile the new quarters of Jerusalem appear; the city also spreads beyond the border with Israel. The frontier is very similar to one of our motorway toll booths and we pass through it easily, entering Jerusalem. The eastern part of Jerusalem is claimed by the Palestinians as their capital, but the Israelis have annexed it to their territory, unified it with the western city and unilaterally proclaimed it the capital of the country. In fact we are therefore in Israel. At the end of our visit to the Holy City we'll retrace the same road back. (for Israel see the relevant itinerary).