Jericho is one of those places where you excitedly arrive to see what the fuss is about and leave thinking,“Well, everything has really gone downhill since the second millennium BCE.” The local economy relies on such a mindset, which attracts more tourists than professionals and subsequently pours funds into the ancient sights rather than commercial or cultural growth. Today’s Jericho is highly decentralized, with little urban life connecting the scattered sights that attract all those European and Russian Christians along with some curious backpackers.

However, vibrant local life does exist here—you just have to know where to look. The best place to find modern Jericho is in the Spanish Garden on a Thursday, when it can become packed with argilah-toting teenagers and picnicking families. It can also be interesting to walk around Aqbat Jaber, a neighborhood and refugee camp that was flooded with fleeing Palestinians in the wake of the 1948 War. While it can get eerily dark and potentially dangerous at night, during the day Aqbat Jaber is a place where service taxi drivers feel compelled to say hi to everyone on the street and inquisitive restaurant owners ask detailed questions about life abroad. This is a sight in itself, a glimpse into Palestinian life today just as Hisham’s Palace and Tell es-Sultan provide a window into the distant past.