A prehistoric site in the old city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank has given Palestinians hope for an increase in tourism after UNESCO designated it a World Heritage site.
Fewer than a dozen people braved the midday sun to explore Tell al-Sultan, where archaeologists discovered signs of community life from around 10,000 years ago.
The unassuming mound hidden away on the outskirts of Jericho may go unnoticed by onlookers, but in September it received widespread attention when it was inscribed to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Residents lit off fireworks in celebration, well aware that such acknowledgment might turn their fortunes around.
“For the first time, I felt that there was justice in the world,” said Jericho mayor Abdulkareem Sider.
“Hopefully it will have a significant positive impact on the number of tourists,” he added at his office in city hall, where paintings of Jericho’s heritage adorn the walls.
The enormous mosaics of Hisham’s Palace, an early Islamic structure that Palestinian officials hope will be the next to receive a UNESCO listing, are only one of the many historic sites in Jericho.
Other historical places are strewn throughout the countryside, and a monastery clings to the Mount of Temptation, where Christians think Jesus battled Satan for 40 days.
But despite these cultural gems, there aren’t many people visiting.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, there were 32,535 hotel guests in the Jericho region during the first half of this year.
In contrast, Bethlehem, a town in the West Bank revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, has a population of 221,377.
A Chinese visitor outside Tell al-Sultan acknowledged she knew nothing about the historic location and told AFP she had simply been brought there as part of a bus trip.
