Karim Elgendy
Most cities have a good reason for being located where they are. The major Palestinian cities of the WestBank are excellent regional examples of rational city location. The old cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin, and Nablus are all located on the flat ridges of the West Bank mountain range, benefiting from mild climate and significant rainfall – unlike locations only 15 miles to the east such as the oasis city of Jericho.
In addition, the six cities are almost perfectly stringed along the central watershed line separating the mountain range’s eastern and western slopes, which flow into the jordan river basin and the mediterranean sea respectively, thus protecting the six cities from flood events while freeing up valley land for economic activities such as agriculture.
Furthermore, the ridge locations provided an opportunity for a north-south ridge road connecting these cities. The historic route which extends further to the north to Afula and south to Dhahiriya has historically played a major role in encouraging trade between those cities. The historic ridge road is reported to have been traveled by Abraham (Ibrahim), Yitzhak (Ishaq), and Yaakov (Yaqub), and roughly followed by the modern Highway 60 which is also partially aligned with the watershed line.
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