Jericho
Jericho was (and still is) a city about 6 miles (10 kilometres) north of the
Dead Sea. Jericho was built around several fresh water springs which were used to irrigate the desert and turn it into useable, fertile land. As a result traders often passed through
Jericho.
Just before the time of Jesus, Herod the Great rebuilt several old Roman palaces there as well as building 3 new ones, complete with swimming pools and extensive gardens. However, not everyone in Jericho was wealthy and the contrast between the wealth of the Romans and the poverty of the blind and the lepers would have been very obvious in Jericho.
Jericho is mentioned several times in the Christian Scriptures. Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-8) was a tax collector there and Bartimaus was healed there (Mark 10:46-52 and Matthew 20:29-34).
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