יריחו: צליינים, תיירים ויהודים בעיר התמרים משלהי התקופה העות'מאנית ועד סוף המנדט הבריטי בארץ־ישראל

Until the mid-19th century, the village of Jericho, the southernmost section of the JordanRiver, and the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea were viewed by the Western world as anundeveloped region within the declining Ottoman Empire. The few travelers who visited thearea were motivated by scholarly or religious interests and were mostly Christian pilgrims. By the end of the century, the Jericho area was becoming more accessible and attractive, due tothree main factors: The Ottoman authorities improved security for visitors; the emissaries ofthe Russian Church in the Holy Land established the first accommodation facility in Jerichofor political and religious purposes; and Thomas Cook’s company provided Western-styletourist services to its clients traveling in the Middle East. The British occupation of Palestineat the end of World War I dramatically changed the Jericho region even further. WealthyArabs replaced Western travelers and masses of Russian pilgrims from the Jerusalem area,who built vacation homes there. At the same time, the number of Jewish travelers to Jerichogrew, only to decline with the outbreak of the Great Arab Revolt in the 1930s. AlthoughJericho continued to develop as a resort town, it now mainly attracted an Arab crowd ofvacationers. As a Jewish destination, Jericho was replaced by the western coast of the DeadSea, with its developing tourist services. The Arabs had Jericho, the Jews the Dead Sea.