6 Best Sights in Around Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, Israel

Known as Khirbet al-Mafjar in Arabic, this restored palace has exquisite stonework and a spectacular mosaic floor. Hisham was a scion of the Umayyad Islamic dynasty, which built the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Although the palace was severely damaged by the great earthquake of 749 AD, the surviving mosaics and stone and plaster reliefs attest to its splendor. A huge canopy, added as part of a Japanese-funded restoration effort, provides shade as you tread on catwalks above the stonework, including the renowned "Tree of Life" mosaic. Fragments of ornate stucco reliefs are still visible on some of the walls. The site is about 4 km (2.5 miles) north of central Jericho, and the restaurant just beside it serves tasty Palestinian salads and meats, along with fresh juices and coffee.

The sandy caves in the cliffs north of the Dead Sea yielded the most significant archaeological find ever made in Israel: the Dead Sea Scrolls. These biblical, apocryphal, and sectarian religious texts were found under extraordinary circumstances in 1947 when a young Bedouin goatherd stumbled upon a cave containing scrolls in earthen jars. Because the scrolls were made from animal hide, he first went to a shoemaker to turn them into sandals. The shoemaker alerted a local antiquities dealer, who brought them to the attention of Professor Eliezer Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Six other major scrolls and hundreds of fragments have since been discovered in 11 of the caves, and some are on display in Jerusalem's Israel Museum.

Scholars believe that the Essenes, a Jewish separatist sect that set up a monastic community here in the late 2nd century BC, wrote the scrolls. During the Jewish revolt against Rome (AD 66–73), they apparently hid their precious scrolls in the caves before the site was destroyed in AD 68. Others contend the texts were brought from libraries in Jerusalem, possibly even the library of the Jewish Temple.

Most books of the Hebrew Bible were discovered here, many of them virtually identical to the texts still used in Jewish communities today. Sectarian texts were also found, including the constitution or "Community Rule," a description of an end-of-days battle ("The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness"), and the "Thanksgiving Scroll," containing hymns reminiscent of biblical psalms.

A short film at the visitor center introduces the mysterious sect that once lived here. Climb the tower for a good view, and note the elaborate system of channels and cisterns that gathered precious floodwater from the cliffs. Just below the tower is a long room some scholars have identified as the scriptorium. A plaster writing table and bronze and ceramic inkwells found here suggest that this may have been where the scrolls were written. You shouldn't need more than an hour to tour the basics of this site, but there are also hiking trails starting from here, including one that stops at the caves where some of the scrolls were discovered. There is also a large and clean cafeteria offering simple food (falafel, chicken schnitzel, salads) and large windows with panoramic views of the Dead Sea and surrounding desert. 

This lush green park has paths and lookouts over the Ella Valley as well as archaeological sites, including an ancient synagogue and village and numerous caves that historians say Jewish rebels used for hiding, storing goods, and burials during the second century Bar Kokhba revolt against the ruling Roman empire. In addition to walking trails, there are also off-road-vehicle and bicycle trails.

The 250-acre site of the biblical city of Arad (to the northwest of the modern city) contains the remains of a major metropolis from the Bronze Age and the Israelite period. The lower city, with its meticulously planned streets and plazas, was inhabited in the Early Bronze Age (3150–2200 BC), when it was one of the largest cities in this region. Here you can walk around a walled urban community and enter the carefully reconstructed dwellings, whose style became known as the "Arad house."

After the Early Bronze Age, Arad was abandoned. The book of Numbers (21:1–3) relates that the Canaanite king of Arad battled the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt but that his cities were "utterly destroyed." The upper city was first settled in the Israelite period (1200 BC). It's worth the trek up the somewhat steep path to see the Israelite temple, a miniature version of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

At the entrance, pick up a free pamphlet explaining the ongoing excavations and purchase a map of the Canaanite city of Arad, with its recommended walking route and diagrams of a typical Arad house. Tel Arad is 8 km (5 miles) west of Arad. At the Tel Arad Junction on Route 31, turn north on Route 80 for 3 km (2 miles).

This low-profile archaeological site has fine views of the fields of Nahal Soreq, where Samson dallied with Delilah (Judges 16). When the Philistines captured the Israelite Ark of the Covenant in battle (11th century BC), they found that their prize brought divine retribution with it, destroying their idol Dagon and afflicting their bodies with tumors and their cities with rats (I Samuel 5). The Philistines rid themselves of the jinxed ark by sending it back to the Israelites at Beit Shemesh. The stone ruins of the tell—including the oldest iron workshop in the world—are hard to interpret without an archaeologist on hand. Families enjoy visiting in early spring, when the area is carpeted with wildflowers.

Also called Tel es-Sultan (Sultan's Hill), the archaeological site of Tel Jericho covers the legendary ancient city. Nearly 200 years of excavations have still not uncovered the walls that fell when Joshua stormed the city in the mid-13th century BC. The most impressive ruins unearthed are a massive tower and wall, remains of the world's oldest walled city. Little is known about these early urbanites, who lived here in the Neolithic period between 7800 and 6500 BC, or why they needed such fortifications thousands of years before they became common in the region.

Across the road is Ain as-Sultan, or the Sultan's Spring. The name comes from the prophet Elijah's miracle of sweetening the water with a bowl of salt (II Kings 2:19–22). The waters are still eminently drinkable if you wish to refill your bottles. To the east in Jordan are the mountains of the biblical kingdoms of Ammon and Moab, among them the peak of Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised Land before dying at the ripe old age of 120.

To get to Tel Jericho by car, drive along Old Route 90, the main road through Jericho, and turn left at the traffic circle onto Ain as-Sultan Street. The parking lot is about 2 km (1 mile) down the road.