Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Thomas Cook (firm), Cook's Tourists' Handbook for Palestine and Syria , bahai-library.com.
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COOK'S

TOURISTS' HANDBOOK
FOR

PALESTINE
AND SYRIA.

Jonbon:
THOMAS COOK & SON, LUDGATECIRCUS,E.C.;
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & Co.

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MICROFILMED
ATHARVARD
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PREFACE.

TRAVELLRRS in Palestine pass through the land in the
saddle, and by night sleep in the tent. Neither tent nor
saddle is conducive to close reading, and, if the traveller be
only a Tourist, his object is to fill his mind with general
impressions, and to leave the minute study of details for a
more convenient season.
The present volume is intended as a Handbook for
Tourists ; it does not, therefore, attempt to give exhaustive
information, or to unravel the multitudinous threads of controversy woven around nearly every sacred site. It points
out all that is to be seen, and endeavours to give concise
information upon all subjects in which the Tourist may tind
interest.
The special raison d'etre of the present volume is, that a
work is required that shall be so clearly printed as to be
read without difficulty, either on horseback or in the dim
light of the tent; shall be arranged in such a manner, that
in a moment any information may_be ascertained; and shall
contain the full text of áScripture references, so as to avoid
the inconvenience of having to tum to the passage in the
Bible.
Nearly all Palestine travellers have complained of the
inconvenience of reading from a double-columned or closely-

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iv PREFACE.
printed book, and of having to carry a guide-book in one
hand and a Bible in the other. The Editor, has, therefore,
endeavoured to incorporate into this Handbook not merely
the references to the passages of Scripture descriptive of
places of interest, but the words of the sacred text also.
Others regret their inability to carry with them a stock
of books; but apart from the inconvenience of their heavy
freight, there is the impossibility to find time for much
reading. And yet, who would not like to refresh his
memory with some glowing passages from Stanley or Robinson, or to know exactly the manner in which Captain
Warren or Captain Wilson has expressed in scientific language the true description of certain remarkable sites ?
The Editor has endeavoured to supply this want by
adding to his own personal observations and the contributions áspecially prepared for this work, by travellers who are
his personal friends, extracts from the copious literature of
the Holy Land in the words of eminent writers who have
contributed valuable and reliable information, and have made
the study of sacred geography so deservedly popular.
The Editor will be grateful for any information derived
from the personal observations of Tourists which may
serve to correct errors or supply deficiencies in this Handbook ; such communications to be addressed, "Editor of the
Tourists' Handbooks,. Messrs. Cook and Son, Ludgate
Circus, E.C."

LONDON, Octoherut, 1876.

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,

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS.
PAGE
Season for Eastern Tours, I; Benefits of Associated Travel, I;
Money, 1 ; Money-Table, I; Passport~, 3; Dress, 3;
Miscellaneous Articles, 4; Health, Diet, etc., 4 ; Postage, 5 ;
Backsheesh, 6 ; Camp Life, 7 ; Travelling Arrangements of
Messrs. T. Cook & Son, 9 . 1-9
Routes to the East, (1) Routes for Independent Tours, II ; (2)
• Routes of Personally-Conducted Tours, 12 ; (3) Routes from
America to the East, 13; Nile Tours to the First and Second
Cataracts, 14; Trips to the Pyramids, 15; Tour to the
Great Desert and Palestine, 15 11-15

PALESTINE ITINERARIES.
I. For a Ten Days' Tour in Judea 16
2. Combining the Land of Judea with Palestine 17
3. Comprising a Greater Extent of Philistia with the Land of Judea 18
4 First Tour going North of Jerusalem 19
5. Including all of the Fourth, and Extending to the Sea of
Galilee, Nazareth, and Carmel 20
6. As above, including the Coast Route by Tyre and Sidon to
Beyrout 21
7. The Beaten Track of a Thirty Days' Tour in Palestine 22
8. As above, including Sidon, Tyre, and Carmel to Jaffa 24
9. First Tour in Moab 25
10. A More Extended Tour East of the Jordan 26
11. Tour from Damascus to the Hauran 27
12. Tours to Palmyra 28

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vi CONTENTS.

PALESTINE AND SYRIA.
PAGE
Geographical Features,29-35; History, 35-49; Flora, 49-55;
Palestine Explorations, 55-57 ; Religions, 57-66 29-6!>
FROM JAFFA TO JERUSALEM 67
JAFFA 67
The Plain of Sharon . 75
Ramleh 76
Jaffa to Ramleh, by Lydda 78
Ramleh to Jerusalem So
Latn1n 83
Amwas (Emmaus) 84
Abou-Gosch 85
Kirjath-Jearim . 86
~~~h. ~
FROM LYDDATO JERUSALEM go
JimzG go
The Beth-Horons 91
El-Jib (Gibeon)- •. 94
Neby Samwil (Mizpeh) 97
JERUSALEM.
History, 102 ; Bible Events and Allusions, 110; Situation of, 1 I 1 ;
Modem Jerusalem, 112; Excavations in, 114; Present Size
and Aspect of, 115; Population, Religions, etc., 117;
Health of, 120; Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 121-133 ;
The Temple (Haram esh-Sherif), 133-143; TOURSWITH-
IN THE CITY, 143 ; Tomb of David, 145; Mount Sion,
149 ;á Robinson's Arch, 150; Wailing Place, 152; Tour of
the Walls of the Haram, 154; Ophel, 157; The Via Dolorosa, 158; Hospital of St. John, 16o; Monasteries, 161 ;
OUTSIDETHE WALLS, 163; Birket es-Sultan, 164 ; Valley
of Hinnom, 164; En-Rogel, 167 ; Siloam, 167 ; Fountain
of the Virgin, 168; the Mount of Olives, 170-176;
Bethany, 176; Gethsemane, 177; Tomb of the Virgin, 178;
Tombs of the Kings, 179; Tombs of the Judges, 181á; Subterranean Quarries, 182 . 102-184
From Jerusalem to the Monastery of the Cross and' Ain Karim 184
FROMJERUSALEYTO BETHLEHF.~l. 185

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CONTENTS. vii
PAGE
BETHLEHEM 189
Bible Associations, 190 ; the Church of the Nativity,
193; Well of Bethlehem, 196; MilleGrotto, 196; Shepherds'
Field, 197 • . 190-197
Jerusalem to the Pools of Solomon, Kareitun, the F~k Mountain, and Bethlehem . 198
._. JERUSALEMTO HEBRON(by the Pools of Solomon) , 201
u~ ~
Ramet el Kalil . 205
HEBRON . 2o6
History, 2o6; the Two 'Pools, 208; Cave of Machpelah,
209; Oak of Mamre, 212 • • 206-212
From Bethlehem to Mar Saba, the Dead Sea, and the Jordan 213
Mar Sabaá . 214
Neby Musa 217
THE DEAD SEA 220
Description, 220; History of, 223 ; Bathing in, 224 220-224
THE RIVER JORDAN . 225
History, 226; Pilgrims' Bathing Place, 228; Banks of the
River, 229 • 226-229
From the Jordan to Jericho, Bethany and Jerusalem 230
Wady-el-Kelt 230
Riha. 231
JERICHO 2 33
'Ain es Sultan, 234 ; Quarantania, 235 2 34, 235
En-Shemesh 237
Bethanyá 238
From Jerusalem to Bethel, by Anathoth,. Michmash, and Ai 238
Michmash 240
Ai 240
From Jerusalem to Samaria 242
Nob. 242
Gibeah 243
Bethel 244
Shiloh 247
Lebonah 249
Jacob's Well 250

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viii CO.NTENTS.
PAGE
NABULUSOR.SHECHEM 252
Mount Gerizim 256
Mount Ebal 262
SAMARIA 263
FROM SAMARIATO NAZARETH 266
The Plain of Esdraelon 267 ,I)
Fuleh 270
'AinJalud . 271
Bethshean, or Scythopolis 274
Shunem 275
Nain 276
Endor 277
NAZARETH 279
From Nazareth to Tiberias 285
I. By Mount Tabor . 285
II. By Kefr Kenna 289
Mount of Beatitudes 290
TIBERIAS 293
THE SEA OF GALILEE 295
From Tiberias to Tell-Hum 298
Land of Gennesaret 301
Et-Tabigah 3o5
Tell-Hum 3o7
From Tell-Hum to Safed, Meiron, and Kefr Birim 310
TIBERIASTO BANIAS,by Safed 314
Hazor 314
Kedesh-Naphtali 315
Huni'n 316
Tiberias to Banias, direct 316
'Ain Mellahah 317
Lake Huleh 317
Dan 319
BANIAS,or Cresarea Philippi 321
Source of the Jordan 323
Castle of Subeibeh 325
Mount Hermon 326

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CONTENTS. ix
PAGE
From Baruiisto Damascus 329
Kefr-Hauwar . 330

DAMASCUS.
History, 333 ; Situation, 335 ; Biblical Allusions, 337 ; Population, 337 ; Bazaars, 338; the Great Mosque, 341 ; the
Christian Quarter, 347 ; Story of the Massacre of 186o, 347 ;
Gates, 351 ; Suburb of Meidan, 352 . . 333-352
ENVIRONS OF DAMASCUS • , 353
Johar, 353; Salahiyeh, 353; Kasufo, 353; Saidnaya and
Helbon, 354 ; the Meadow Lakes, 354 353, 354
Damascus to Beyrout, direct 354
Chalcis 355
Shtora 356
Damascus to Beyrout, via Ba'albek 356
'Ain Fijeh 357
Abila 358
Zebedany 359
Surghaya 359
BA'ALBEK
Ba'albek to Beyrout, direct
BEYROUT,
History, 368 ; Protestant Institutions, 369 ; Environs of
Beyrout, 371 368-371
Ba'albek to Beyrout (by the Cedars and Tripoli) 373
Lebanon and the Cedars 373
Tripoli 378

THE COAST ROUTES.
Jaffa to Ascalon and Gaza 38o
Ashdod 383
Ascalon 385
Gaza 389
Gaza to Hebron 392
Beit Jibrin 394
Gaza to Jerusalem 397
Valley of Elah 400

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X CONTENTS.
l'AGE
Hebron to Jaffa 401
Beth-Shemesh 402
Jaffa to Haifa, for Mount Carmel 404
Cresarea 405
Mount Carmel 4o8
Haifa to Acre ('Akka) 413
Acre .
Acre to Tyre
416 '
Tyre . 416
Tyre to Sidon 422
Sarepta 423
Sidon 424
Sidon to Beyrout 428
THE HAURAN 429
The Lejah . 432
Burak 432
El Musmeih 434
Dama 435
Shuhba 436
Kunawat 439
Hebran 442
Kureiyeh 444
Bosrah 445
TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN(MOAB) 449
Heshbon 450
Mount Nebo 451
Elealah 453
Rabbath Ammon 453.
Jerash (Gerasa) . 455'
Es-Salt (Ramoth Gilead) 4Sf
EXTENDEDTOUR IN MOAB 459
Jabesh Gilead 4S9
Um Keis 46o
Gamala 46o
Bethsaida Julius 46o
LIST OF WORKS ON PALESTINE 461
LIST OF EUROPEANAND EASTERNHOTELS 465
INDEX 475

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I MAP OF
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EGYPT. THE NILE.

I PALESTINE.
/ TURKEY. GREECE.ITALY kc.
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COOK'S
HANDBOOK
FORPALESTINE
AND
SYRIA.
--
,JntrodudorJ!.

PRACTICAL
INFORMATION
FORTRAVELLERS.

SEASON FOR EASTERN TOURS.
SPRING is the best time for a tour through Palestine. Tra•
vellers who are intending to visit Palestine as well as
Egypt, cannot do better than select December, January,
or February for their Nile journey, and March or April, the
most genial months of the year, for Palestine. If this is inconvenient the months of October and November are considered
by many travellers to be very favourable for Palestine, in which
case the Palestine Tour should be commenced at Beyrout and
terminate at Jaffa, and the Nile trip might be made on the return
journey in December.
BENEFITS OF ASSOCIATED TRAVEL.
Apart from the question of expense, travelling in the East,
either alone, or with only one or two companions, is not desirable. In Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, the mode of life, language, and customs of the country are altogether different
from anything to which the European traveller has been
accustomed ; the modes of travelling arc novel, and the difficulties

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2 INTRODUCTORY.

to be encountered greatel' than in any part of Europe. Of course
these difficulties are not insurmountable even if persons go alone,
or with, perchance, only another ; but there is no doubt that in
no other country is the pleasure of a tour so much enhanced by
being associated with a party of friends and acquaintances, or
even of strangers with no other bond than that of being fellowtourists in strange and novel scenes, than in Palestine. It must
be remembered that the Tour of Palestine is made on horseback, and that the only comfortable way of travelling is by
talcing tents and all the necessaries for camp-life. In no other
country in the world are there so many associations which link
together those who visit it; and in no other country, perhaps,
is the tourist so dependant for the pleasure of a tour on fellowtravellers. The most enjoyable way of visiting Palestine is
by joining a party. The interest of camp-life is thereby much
enhanced (seep. 7); moreover, as a question of expense, it will
often happen that certain costs which would have to be borne
by a single traveller would not be any greater for a party.
MONEY.
Any money deposited at the offices of THOMASCOOKand
SON, will be repaid to the traveller in the currency of the
countries, as required. English gold or French gold is better
than paper in the East. Their circular notes of £5 or £10 are
better than Bank of England notes-safer and less liable to
depreciation.
MONEY-TABLE, ETC.
An English sovereign is worth 97 piastres 20 paras Egyptian tariff.
,, ,, 195 piastres ,, currency.
A Na pol eon is worth 77 piastres 6 paras ,, tariff.
,, I 54 piastres currency.
An Egyptian sovereign ,, 100 piastres ,, tariff.
200 piastres currency.
A Turkish sovereign 87 piastres 30 paras tariff.
An English shilling is equal to 4 piastres 35 paras tariff.
crown-piece ,, 22 piastres 20 paras tariff•
A five-franc piece ,, 19 piastres Io paras ,, tariff.

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PASSPORTS-DRl!SS.
It will be observed that the Egyptian and Turkish moneys
of the same denominations, do not correspond in value. In
Turkish money-
An English sovereign is equal to 121 piastres.
An English crown-piece ,, 30 ,,
An English shilling ,. 6 ,,
A Napoleon (20 francs) ,, 97 ,.
Five-franc-piece ,, 24 ,,
A franc ,, 5 ,,

English and French gold and silver will be accepted in all
chief places in the East. Egyptian money does not pass in
Syria, and should therefore be changed into French or English
by travellers before leaving Egypt.

PASSPORTS
With Turkish visa, are absolutely necessary for visiting
Turkish dominions ; and they are useful in order to procure
admission to certain places of interest ; to obtain letters from the
Poste Restante ; and to establish identity whenever required.
Messrs. COOK & SON will obtain passports with the necessary
visas of foreign ambassadors or consuls, on receipt of the usual
letter of identification, signed by any magistrate or justice of
the peace, or by any minister of religion of whatever denomi•
nation, physician, surgeon, solicitor, banker, or notary, resident
in the United Kingdom. The total cost, including visa of the
Turkish Consul, is 5s.

DRESS.
It is always desirable in travelling to dispense with
unnecessary luggage, at the same time it is necessary to be
well supplied, especially if the journey is to be prolonged for
months. For gentlemen, light tweed suits, and a flannel suit,
with a suit of darker material for wearing on particular occasions ; this latter is of course not absolutely necessary, but some
prefe~ when attending divine service, or making any special

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4 INTRODUCTORY,

visit, to wear garments of this kind. Woollen stockings and
strong boots, flannel or cotton shirts ; slippers, and light shoes, a
mackintosh suit, white umbrella lined with green, felt hats, or
" helmets" with puggeries. Ladies are recommended to take a
good woollenácostume, not heavy ; one or two of light texture ;
and a serviceable dark silk. Among the

M.ISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES
which it may be found advantageous to take, may be mentioned,
leather drinking-cup, and a pocket filter, leather straps, small
strong writing case, with writing materials, a ball of twine, a
good serviceable pocket knife, green spectacles, if the eyes are
at all weak; needles, thread, tape, buttons, artu other similar
an;icles which will suggest themselves to every traveller ; soap, a
pocket compass, a blue or green veil, as a protection not only
against the glare of the sun, but also the dust ; a botanical case,
or if this cannot be obtained, a tin canister, in which roots, etc.,
may be preserved. Magnesium wire or torches should be taken
to supplement the lights provided at the dark tombs, temples,
etc. Any special "hobby" that the traveller may have should be
provided for before starting, such as sketching blocks, botanical
presses ; provision should be made beforehand, if the traveller
intends to prosecute geological or entymological researches, etc.
A good field or opera-glass should be taken.

HEALTH, DIET, ETC.
DIARRH<EA may sometimes be guarded against by keeping
the abdomen warm ; the usual remedies applied at home may
be resorted to here; concentrated tincture of camphor, arrowroot, rice-water, etc., may be taken, while fruit, meat, and all
fatty substances should be abstained from.
HEADACHE is generally the result of exposure to the glaring
sun. A wam1 bath, if it can be obtained, and if not, then cold
compresses, are the best remedies. It is always well in the

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HEALTH-POSTAGE,
East to protect the neck and head with a good broad-brimmed
hat, and flowing puggerie, as sunstrokes are not uncommon.
OPHTHALMIAis exceedingly prevalent in Egypt, and to
some extent in Palestine. Some consider that it is produced
by the fine dust-sand wafted from the deserts, and the glare of
the sun. It is more probable, however, that it is to be attributed to other causes, such as damp night air. The first remedy
to apply is constant washing of the eyes with warm water; if
this is not successful, zinc lotion must be resorted to, or a solution
of nitrate of silver.
All travellers will do well to take special precautions to avoid
exposure to damp, or cold night air.
If any MEDICINESare taken, the traveller should select those
to which he is accustomed. In addition, it may be well to cal
attention to the following :-
Quinine; the best thing for intermittent fever.
Zinc eye-wash.
Pyretic Saline; or,
Seidlitz powders.
' A roll of sticking plaister.
A bottle of chlorodyne.
A pot of cold-cream.
Eau-de-Cologne,
and any speciality that the traveller may be in the habit of
using, such as Bunter's Nervine, for tooth-ache, etc.
EUROPEANPHYSICIANS may be met with in Jerusalem (p.
101), Damascus (p. 332), Beyrout (p. 367). •

POSTAGE.
For Egypt, which is included in the General Postal Union,
mails are made up in London for Alexandria, Cairo, Suez., etc.,
via Brindisi, every Friday evening.
Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, etc., by French packet, via Marseilles, every Tuesday, morning and evening.

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6 INTRODUCTOllY.

For Smyrna, via Trieste, every Tuesday, morning and
evening.
For Slnyma, via Marseilles, one week Wednesday, morning
and evening ; and the alternate week Thursday eveningá and
Friday morning. (Enquiry should be made at the Post-office
as to the dates on which the mails "ViaMarseilles leave.)
For Smyrna, via Vienna, every Friday evening and Saturday
morning.
For Jaffa, Syria, and Jerusalem if specially addressed, by
French mail, every alternate Tuesday, see Postal Guide.
Letters by Brindisi to Alexandria take seven days in transit,
by Marseilles nine days.
There are daily mails from Alexandria to Cairo, Suez,
Ismailia, and Port Said. Letters for Upper Egypt are forwarded
daily.
For the Syrian Coast and Palestine, the French mails take
from twelve to fifteen days.
To most of the above-named places letters can be registered
at a charge of 4d.
Money Orders are issued for Alexandria, Suez, Smyrna, and
Constantinople at the following rates-for l,2, one shilling; for
/,5, two shillings ; for £7, three shillings; for £10, four shillings.

BACKSH EESH.
Everywhere, from J.'llOrningtill night, the traveller will be
tormented with applications for backsheesh, which has been
called the alpha and omega of Eastern travel. It is the first
word an infant is taught to lisp ; it will probably be the first
Arabic word the traveller will hear on arrivingá_in Palestine, and
the last as he leaves it. The word simply means "a gift," but
is applied generally to gratuity or fee, and is expected no less
by the naked children who swarm around the traveller when he
arrives in a village, than by the enlightened officials of the
Custom House, or other public institutions. If each traveller
would make it a rule never to give backsheesh, except for some

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CAMP LIFE.
positive servjce rendered, worth tlte sum givm, he would confer
a boon upon the people and upon future travellers. It should
be remembered also that to most applicants a piastre or two
represents an enormous sum of money.

CAMP LIFE
When the camp arrangements are as they ought to be
-and this is always guaranteed under the management of
the dragomans engaged by Messrs. COOK & SON--camplife is delightful. Friends make up little select parties of their
own, and share the same tent or tents. Each tent is designed
to accommodate two or three persons, and is well furnishedthat is to say, it has an inner lining of chintz, which gives it a
gay and bright appearance, and Turkey or Persian carpets are
laid over the floor ; it is fitted up with neat iron bedsteads, with
the cleanest of clean linen, and good comfortable beds ; round
or against the tent-pole is a table, with washing-basin; and on
the pole are strapped pegs for holding clothes, etc.
In the centre of the encampment the Saloon is pitched-a
spacious tent, constituting the salle amanger and drawing-room
of.the " travelling hotel."
Each tent bears a number or zome distinctive sign, and the
traveller's luggage i~ marked with a corresponding number or
sign, so that every day, when he comes to the camping-place,
he finds his tent pitched and all his belongings to hand.
The daily arrangements are generally as follows :-Early
in the morning the dragoman's whistle is sounded to summons
the can1p-followers,and then two or three men go round to all
the tents, beating a tattoo on a tray, ringing a bell, etc., to
make noise enough to thoroughly rouse the heaviest sleeper.
In half an hour dressing and packing must be finished, and in
that time breakfast is ready, and the attendants are at work
taking down tents, folding up beds and bedding, and getting
ready for the start. However early the start may be made
there is always a good breakfast ready, and plenty of time

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8 INTRODUCTORY.

allowed to do justice to it. The 11tem, includes tea, coffee, and
milk, with boiled eggs or omelette; then follows a course of hot
chicken, and another of cutlets. After breakfast, everr cup and
plate is washed and packed in large cases. Every thing needed
for the journey has to be carried on mules-tents, poles, cords ;
stores for the four or five weeks' provbions ; plate, glass,
knives and forks, tent furniture, the cooks' stoves and fuel,
the treasure chest - all has to be packed on the backs of
mules, and carried over some of the most rugged and difficult
roads in the world. The alacrity with which the work of
packing and unpacking is done will astonish the traveller the
first time he sees it, and will be a continual source of amusement day by day.
After breakfast the start for the day's journey is made ;
and, each day's programme having been announced the day
before, travellers generally spend any leisure time in reading
up the places they will visit. At some convenient and interesting spot,_previously fixed upon, luncheon is served; this has
been specially conveyed on mules, and consists of hard-boiled
eggs, cold chicken and lamb, sardines, bread and cheese, and
a plentiful supply of oranges.
An hour and a half to two hours is generally allowed for
luncheon time which can also include a "nap" if needed.
About six or seven in the evening the journeying for the
day is over, and every day the traveller has the unexpected but
extreme satisfaction of finding tents all pitched, and the cooks
busy at work beside the glowing camp-fire. There is time to
have a leisurely "wash-up," to unpack the portmanteau, and
then the dinner-bell rings. The table of the saloon is generally
gay with flowers gathered en wute, and the general aspect of
the social l:>oardis such as might be expected in the neighbourhood of the Italian Lakes, but not in the wilds of Syria. The
bill of fare usually comprises soup, fish, mutton, or lamb, goose
or wild boar, chicken or turkey, a capital pudding, and dessert.
After dinner travellers :i.muse themselves according to the
bent of their inclinations ; the muleteers gather round the

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MESSRS. T. COOK & S01''3 TOURS.
camp-fire and smoke their narghilies ; and about ten or eleve
o'clock there is quiet in the camp for the night.

TRAVELLING ARRANGEMENTS OF MESSRS.
COOK & SON.
The travelling coupons issued by Messrs. COOK& SON are
now so well known and universally used, that it is unnecessary
here to enter into particulars about them. Suffice it to say
that they have been found to be advantageous to all European
travellers, and in the East, where travelling is under greater
difficulties in every respect, their system is indispensable to
those who are unable to grapple with the obstacles presented by
not being acquainted with Oriental languages, and with having
to deal with dragomans and others, whose demands are invariably exorbitant.
In Palestine, more than anywhere else in the East, it is
desirable, for the comfort and pleasure of a trip, that all
arrangements respecting contracts with dragomans, tents, and
equipments, backsheesh, Bedouin escorts for unsafe districts,
charges for visiting mosques and sacred places, etc., should be
undertaken on behalf of the traveller, and this Messrs. T. COOK
and SONare prepared to do. They have made such arrangements
in the East, that the most inexperienced travellers may avail themselves of them without fear of not being able to get on as well
as in the beaten continental routes. They issue tickets for
individ11als,or for small or large parties, and every season they
organize parties who travel under the personal superintendence
of one of their admirable staff of conductors.
It will be only necessary here to indicate some of the
arrangements which they have successfully carried out in past
seasons, and will be impro,•ed as each fresh season ensues.
Every year they publish a little book (price 6d.), giving details
of their Personally-Conducted, and Independent Eastern tours,
and to this the traveller is referred, as the cost of a tour varies
according to circumstances, and general arrangements are liable
to variation.

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IO INTRODUCTORY.

Any person or persons contemplating a Tour to Palestine
including Egypt and elsewhere or not, should make out
a programme, or name the places they wish to visit, and
Messrs. COOK& SON will send them, without delay, a quotation
which will be 2.s low as it is possible the journey can be
accomplished for, and including all charges.
HOTEL COUPONSare issued not only for . the countries
passed through in reaching the East, but in the East also, and
at such a rate as to ensure economy with every comfort.
It should be remembered that in Palestine and Syria the
only good hotels are at Jaffa (p. 67), Jerusalem (p. 101),
Damascus (p. 332), and Beyrout (p. 367). While the following remarks apply more particularly to hotels 'to which the
traveller may resort en route to the East, they are also applicable to hQtels in the East for which special coupons are
provided.
The advantages of taking Hotel Coupons may be briefly
summed up as follows :-
1. Time, expense, annoyance in bartering, and ultimate
dissatisfaction, are :saved by going to a well-recommended
Hotel.
II. It is a great drawback to pleasure to arrive in a Foreign
town beset by porters and commissionaires and rabble, a perfect
stranger, and without any definite idea where to go.
III. Letters from home, or telegrams, may be found upon
arrival at the Hotel, thus saving trouble or expense in sending
for them to the Post Office or Consulate.
IV. The charges are all fixed, thus obviating the chance of
imposition, and the disagreeable task of having to drive a
bargain at each stopping place.
V. The charges being fixed at the lowest sum to ensure good
accommodation at one uniform rate, the tourist is enabled to
count the cost of his tour before starting.
VI. Travellers with coupons, bespeaking accommodation by
letter or telegraph, are always provided for even in the busiest
seasons if they inform the hotel-keeper that they have coupons.

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ROUTES TO THE EAST, II

A LIST OF EUROPEANAND EASTERNHOTELSat which
these coupons are available, will be found at the end of
this book.

ROUTES FROM LONDON TO THE EAST.
In connection with Eastern Tours the routes from London
may be ciassified under two heads, as follows :-

(1) ROUTES FOR INDEPENDENT TOURS.
Individuals in small or large parties, can be provided for by
any route they choose to select, either from London, Paris,
Brussels, Berlin, Switzerland, the South of France or Italy.
Travellers from any point, can have tickets to travel when they
please and how they please, with hotel coupons for days, weeks
or months.
Taking London as the starting point for the East, the
following, amongst other routes, can be provided for:-
London to Paris, vid Dover and Calais, or by Dieppe ;
London to Brussels, by Calais, Ostend, Antwerp or Flushing.
Paris to Italy by Macon and Mont Cenis, or by :Marseilles,
Cannes, Nice, Mentone and Genoa.
Paris to Italy by Geneva or Basie, through Switzerland and
by any Alpine road.
London or Paris to Brussels, Cologne and up the Rhine to
Heidelberg, Strassburg, Basie, and over the Spliigen or St.
Gotthard to Milan, or from the Rhine to Munich, and over the
• Brenner to Verona and through Italy.
Italy may be traversed in going out or in returning, and
travellers may tarry as long as they like in any Italian city.
All steamers from France or Italy are available. From
Marseilles the Messageries Maritimes, which also take up at
Naples. From Genoa, Leghorn, or Naples the Rubattino
steamers to either Alexandria or Port Said. From Venice,
Ancona or Brindisi the mail steamers of the Peninsular and
Oriental line to Alexandria, which line is also available from

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12 INTRODUCTORY.

Southampton to Port Said. From Venice, Trieste, Brindisi or
Corfu the Austrian Lloyds, which encompass the circle of the
Levant, and the steamers of which line are most practicable for
Palestine tours. All Messrs. COOK& SON'S personally-conducted parties for long tours go by that line.
On the Syrian Coast, a choice of Austrian, French, Russian
or Egyptian steamers is offered. Thus the entire steamboat
accommodations of Italy, France, and the Levant are offered for
selection, and tickets can also be issued to go through Algiers,
Sicily and other islands of the Mediterranean, in connection
with Palestine, Egypt, the Nile and the Desert.

(2) ROUTES OF PERSONALLY-CONDUCTED TOURS.
FOR LONGTOURSthe usual course is to cross the English
Channel by either the Calais route, (the shortest sea passage,)
or by Dieppe, (the shortest distance to Paris). From Paris
direct to Turin by the Mont Cenis Tunnel, and from Turin by
Bologna and Ancona to Brindisi; thence by steamer to Corfu,
and then to Alexandria ; after visiting Lower Egypt or going up
the Nile, cross the Land of Goshen to Ismailia, and there take
steamer on Suez Canal for Port Said ; from Port Said sail to
Jaffa and land there ; make the tour of the country, as shown
in the Itineraries (pp. 16-28), and re-embark on steamer at
Beyrout for Constantinople; thence to Athens, and complete
the tour of the Mediterranean and Adriatic by landing at
Trieste; returning through Italy by Venice, Milan and Turin,
and back to Paris and London.
Whilst this is the general course of the conductors, many
modifications, extensions or abridgments may be made to suit
the convenience and meet the wishes of the travellers, who may
go through Italy and meet the conductor at Brindisi, or may go
round by Nice, Mentone, etc., and meet the party at any practicable point. The route from Palestine may be varied by going
direct from Smyrna to Athens, then to Constantinople and up
the Danube to Vienna, or from Trieste ; any who choose can go
direct to Vienna.

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ROUTES TO THE EAST. 13
From other parts of Northern Italy the Alps can be crossed,
so as to return by Bavaria or Switzerland and the Rhine, or
other deviations from the beaten track can be provided for if
desired.
The ROUTE FOR SHORT TOURS to Lower Egypt and two or
three weeks in Palestine, is usually from London to Turin, as
described above, then to Genoa and take steamer there for
Alexandria, calling at Leghorn, Naples and Messina. Proceed
through Lower Egypt to Ismailia and Port Said, and thence to
Jaffa. Return from Jaffa, or Caifa, to Alexandria, and then to
Naples, and by railway to Rome, Florence, Bologna, Turin, or
round by Venice and Milan to Turin en route for Paris. This
is the cheapest and most popular route to Palestine. But this
can be modified, extended, or abridged in many ways. It
can be reversed through Italy, and other lines of steamers can
be taken from French or Italian ports. In all cases of personallyconducted tours it is necessary to define the route the conductor
will take, and those who keep with him will fare the best, as all
baggage, omnibus and other incidental charges are paid by him ;
but if any leave him it is not possible to control these expenses,
and the travellers must then take their own course and pay the
extras. Tickets can be provided for travelling by any line of
railway or steamboat.

ROUTES FROM AMERICA TO THE EAST.
All the very best routes are under the arrangement of
Messrs. T. COOK& SON. There is not a line of steamships
crossing the Atlantic by which they cannot secure passages.
The managers of the best lines are their firmest friends, and
from both Liverpool and Glasgow they have connection with the
best railroad service of the United Kingdom. They can offer to
American travellers Pullman cars by day or night, or the b~st
class of select compartment-carriages.
If Americans wish to go to the East by the Western Route,
tickets can be issued either by San Francisco, Japan, China and
INTRODUCTORY,

India to Egypt, or by the route of New Zealand, Australia,
Ceylon and India.
Tickets to return to America by the south course of the
Atlantic, from Gibraltar direct to New York, without returning
through Europe can be issued ; or arrangements made for
visiting Scandinavia either before or after the Palestine tour.
Spain is also re-opening to travellers since the cessation of the
war.

NILE TOURS .TO THE FIRST AND SECOND
CATARACTS.
For eight years the agency for Nile Tours has been committed to Messrs. COOK& SON by the Khedive Administration.
During that time constant improvements have been made in
the service; steamers have been fitted with deck saloons and
the sleeping berths greatly improved. The food supplies have
been under their control to a great extent, and will be emphatically so in (the future, as they intend to exercise more rigid
regulations for the interest and comfort of voyagers. Contractors,
dragomans, and servants of ev~ry grade will be most vigilantly
watched and rigidly dealt with if any incivility or inattention is
shown to passengers. The extension of arrangements for the
Second Cataract will be improved, and no doubt, ere long, a
class of steamers will navigate the Nile that will ensure a large
passenger traffic.
The service of each season will begin about the second week
in November,~or by the first of December, and NILE TRIPS
MAYPRECEDEOR FOLLOWTRIPS TO PALESTINE(p. 1), as
most convenient to the travellers who wish to embrace the two
objects in one visit to the East. The trips to the First Cataract
and back occupy twenty days, and fourteen more are allowed
for trips to the Second Cataract.
DAHABEAHScan also be secured on the best terms for all
who desire them, and dragomans and other necessary servants
and food supplies can be arranged by them on the best terms.
Me&srs.COOK& SON'Soffice at Cairo, on the grounds of Shep.

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TOURS IN THE DESERT. IS
beard's Hotel, affords excellent facilities for the management of
this business. Early application is necessary to secure the best
boats and the best men.

TRIPS TO THE PYRAMIDS
constitute a feature of all Tours to Egypt. Personally-Conducted Tours always include a full week in Lower Egypt,
with special arrangements for carriage trip to the Pyramids of
Ghizeh.

TOUR TO THE GREAT DESERT AND
PALESTINE,
The general route is from Egypt to Sinai, Petra, Mount Hor,
and Palestine.
Forty days are required for the journey from Cairo to Sinai,
Petra, and by Mount Hor, to Hebron and Jerusalem. Without
attempting here to mark out the various routes that may be taken,
or to define exact itineraries, it may be said generally and briefly
that all necessary camp equipments for Tours through the desert
can be supplied ; and in every engagement of this kind none but
the most trustworthy dragomans will be employed, who will
do justice to the travellers as well as to the firm of Messrs.
COOK& SON. A graduated scale of charges according to the
number included in party is adopted, and engagements can be
made for Desert travelling at nearly as cheap a rate as for
Palestine. But the details and conditions of such tours are
best settled by private negotiation (p. 10).
For full particulars as to Tours in Egypt, with Itineraries of
the Nile J oumey to the First and Second Cataracts, see Introductory Chapter to Cook's Tourists' Handbook far Egypt, Ike
Nile, and the Desert.

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16 INTRODUCTORY.

PALESTINE
ITINERARIES.
The following Itineraries commence with the shortest of
Messrs. T. COOK & SON'S Tours, and extend to the longest,
embracing the Desert and the Country east of the Jordan.
FIRST ITINERARY.
FOR A TEN DAYS' TOUR IN JUDEA,
Land at Jaffa, and after stopping a day there, go by carriages
or riding horses to Jerusalem, crossing the Plains of Sharon by
Yasur, Beit-Dejan, to Ramleh, Valley of Ajalon, Kirjath-Jearim,
Kolonieh (the traditional Emmaus), 10 hours to Jerusalem by
carriage in one day; 12 hours on horseback in two days.
Carriages will be provided at the Jerusalem Hotel, Jaffa, for as
many as possible. Jerusalem to Mar Saba, seven hours' riding,
by Rachel's Tomb, Solomon's Pools, Bethlehem, Shepherds'
Field, and over the hills of the Wilderness of Judea; encamp in
the Kedron Valley; near by the convent of Mar Saba. Second
day from Jerusalem, ride O\áer the hills of Judea to the Plain of
the Dead Sea, tarry there about an hour, giving time to bathe,
and then ride to the Jordan, lunch on its banks, bathe in its
stream, and then ride across the plain to the site of Jericho and
encamp near the Fountain of Elisha at foot of the Mountain of
Temptation, eight hours in the saddle. On the tltird day travel
back to Jerusalem, ascending the hilly road by the brook
Cherith, Enshemesh, Bethany, Mount of Olives, and by the site
of Gethsemane, and across the Valley of Jeho~haphat to
Jerusalem. The stay at Jerusalem can be regulated by the time
of sailing from Jaffa. The tour may occupy from 10 to 14 days.
The return journey to Jaffa may be either by the direct road via
Kirjath-Jearim and Ramleh, or by Mizpeh (Neby Samwil),
Upper and Lower Beth-Horon, Gimzo, Lydda and direct over
Plains of Sharon, or round by Ramleh, to Jaffa. The Beth-Horon
road will occupy two days of moderate travel. The direct
journey can be made in a day, either by carriages or by tolerably

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ITINERARIESOF TOURS. 17
good riders on horseback. The descent of nearly 3000 feet from
Jerusalem to the sea is favourable to the rider in that direction,
whether by carriage or in the saddle. At Jaffa the returning
traveller is subject to the caprice of winds, waves and irregular
steamboat sailings, which frequently render embarkation a
matter of great uncertainty. Nevertheless it is necessary to be
there at the time appointed for sailing, and if the steamer is seen
to go past in the distance, wait patiently for the next.
SECOND ITINERARY.
COMBINING THE LAND OF JUDEA WITH PHILISTIA.
Jaffa to Jerusalem, by carriage or riding horse, as shown in
the First Itinerary. Make the stay at Jerusalem to correspond
with the time required for the following seven days' trip.
IST DAY.-Jerusalem to Jericho, by the Mount of Olives,
Bethany and down the hilly road by the brook Cherith to the
Plain of Jericho, a ride of about six hours. Encamp near the
Fountain of Elisha.
2ND DAY.-Ride across the plain, about 4 miles to the
Jordan, and from thence to the Dead Sea. After lunch proceed
across the plain and through zig-zag mountain passes to Mar
Saba. After viewing the Convent, encamp for the night in a
valley of the Kedron. Day's ride about eight hours.
3RD DAY.-Proceed from the camping ground to Bethlehem,
crossing the Field of the Shepherds. Several hours may be
spent in examining the church, grottoes, and other places of
interest in Bethlehem, after which proceed to Solomon'~ Pools
by way of Rachel's Tomb, and encamp near the upper pool.
This is not a heavy day, the iide being but about six hours.
4TH DAY.-From Solomon's Pools to Hebron, by the course
of the ancient royal road and through the valley of Eshcol,
passing near to Abraham's Oak. Encamp at Hebron, and see
there all that may be seen of the Cave of Machpelah. The ride
is from four to five hours.
5TH DAY.-From Hebron to Beit Jibnn, passing at a short
distance from the Caves of Eluetheropolis, which may be
:t

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18 INTRODUCTORY.

partially visited in the day, the ride being not more than about
six hours to the camping ground.
6TH DAY.-Pass through the famed Vale of Elah, where the
Philistines, with Goliath, defied the armies of Israel, and where
David gained his signal victory over the giant. Proceed by
Bethshemesh to Gath and encamp there ; a moderate day's ride
of six to seven hours.
7TH DAY.-Complete the tour from Gath to Jaffa, a journey
of six to seven hours; stay at the "Jerusalem Hotelt delightfully situated on the eminence overlooking the orange groves
and the sea, till the arrival of steamer.

THIRD ITINERARY.
COMPRISING A GREATER EXTENT OF PHILISTIA WITH THE
LAND OF JUDEA.
This is a tour of about ten days, by carriage or riding horse,
from Jaffa to Jerusalem ; camping arrangements from Jerusalem
to Jericho, the Jordan, Dead Sea, Mar Saba, Bethlehem,
Solomon's Pools, Hebron, etc., to Beit Jibrin, same as described
in the Secorid Itinerary, requiring to that point six days, and
from thence taking the following course :
7TH DAY.-Beit Jibrln to Gaza, p~ssing 'Ain Lachish and
Eglon. Encamp at Gaza, and if possible spend Sunday there.
Gaza is a considerable city, with schools and other Christian
agencies in operation.
8TH DAY.-Of actual travel, take the course by Migdol,
Gad and Ashdod to Askelon, where the camp must rest for
the night.
9TH DAY.-Completing the tour by Ekron to Jaffa, passing
en route the Jews' model farm and colony. This tour will
occupy about fifteen days, giving four or five days to Jerusalem.
These Itineraries, Nos. 2 and 3, had better not be attempted
in wet weather, as the low lying lands of Philistia are frequently
rendered impassable by storms and floods.

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ITINERARIES OF TOURS.

FOURTH ITINERARY.
FIRST OF THE TOURS GOINGNORTH OF JERUSALEM.
IST DAY.-Jaffa to Jerusalem by carriage or riding horse, as
in the three previous tours. The stay at Jerusalem to be
governed by the sailing of steamers, and the six days required
for travelling after leaving the holy city.
2ND TRAVELLINGDAY.-Jerusalem to Mar Saba, by way
of Rachel's Tomb, Solomon's Pools, Bethlehem, the Shepherds'
Field, and over the hills of the wilderness of Judea. Encamp
in the Kedron Valley, near Mar Saba Convent.
3RD DAY.-Over the hills and through winding valleys and
deep ravines to the Dead Sea ; bathe in its waters, and then
resume the journey to the banks of the Jordan. Lunch there;
bathe, with careful avoidance of its dangerous current ; afterwards ride to Jericho, where the camp will be pitched for the
night. About seven hours in the saddle.
4TH DAY.-Proceed over the hills by a rough way to Bethel;
cross the frontier line which divides Judea and Samaria, and
ride forward through one of the best cultivated districts of
Palestine to the valley of the Robber's Fountain. Encamp in
the valley or on the high land of Sinjil. A day's ride of about
eight hours.
5TH DAY.-Pass over the valley and gentle slopes of Shiloh,
and from thence to the great and fruitful plain of Beulah ; visit
Jacob's Well, and the Tomb of Joseph, and then ride through
the interesting valley, .on the sides of which rise the mountain
ranges of Ebal and Gerizim. Encamp al N ibulus, the ancient
Shechem, the home of all that remains of the sect of the
Samaritans, where old copies of the Pentateuch are sacredly
kept in a poor little building occupied as their "temple." The
ride of the day about eight hours.
6TH and 7TH DAYS.-Travel from Nibulus to Jaffa, the
camp stopping for one nigl)t by the way. The ride of the two
days must occupy fourteen or fifteen hours. The road between
Nibulus and Jaffa has been '' improved" after the Turkish

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20 INTR.QDUCTORY,

fashion, but is not yet available for wheels. This is the last of
Messrs. COOK & SON'S series of itineraries that begin and
terminate at Jaffa.
FIFTH ITINERARY.
INCLUDINGALL OF THE FOURTH,AND EXTENDINGTO THE
SEA OF GALILEE,NAZARETHAND CARMEL.
For five days the programme is identical with the Fourth
Itinerary, and then the northerlr course to Samaria and other
places, commences as shown below :
6TH TRAVELLINGDAY.-Leave Nabulus by well-watered
and well-cultivated grounds and orchards in the direction of
Samaria. The site of the Ivory Palace of Ahab; interesting
ruins of a Crusader's Temple, associated with legends of the
tombs of John the Baptist, Elizabeth and others will be seP.n
here. Beautiful slopes on the northern side of the hill, and a
rich plain with broken granite columns lying about in all directions. Pass near to the village of Dothan, where Joseph was
sold to the Ishmaelitish merchants, and halt for the night at
J enin, after a ride of about eight hours.
7TH DAY.-Leaving Jenin, enter on the great Plain of Esdraelon, pass by Jezreel, the Fountain of Gideon, Shunem and
other interesting localities, to the foot of Mount Tabor, and
encamp there, at a short distance from Nain and Endor. A
day's ride of about seven hours.
8TH DAY.-Travel from Mount Tabor to Tiberias, and halt
for the night on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where a day or
more may be spent at the discretion of the travellers. The
journey from Tabor to Tiberias need not exceed about five
hours.
9TH DAYOF TRAVEL.-Ascend from the shores of the lake,
by the Mount of Beatitudes, to Kefr Kenna, or Cana. of Galilee,
to Nazareth, a journey of about six hours. Contrive, if possible,
to spend Sunday here. A beautiful edifice has been erected for
Protestant worship.
10TH DAY.-Travel from Nazareth to Carmel, crossing the

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ITINEllAR.IES OF TOt'R.S. 21
river Kishon, and passing near to the place of sacrifice. Haifa,
at foot of Mount Carmel, is being rapidly brought under cultivation by a colony of Germans who ha,re built a hotel and a
number of cottages. Here a day or two may be pleasantly
spent if the travelling and steamer arrangements are carefully
calculated. The Austrian Uoyds steamers call at Haifa on
their passage both ways between Alexandria and Constantinople. The tour should be arranged to harmonize with the
steamboat service, which is fortnightly both ways.

SIXTH ITINERARY.
EMBRACINGALL OF THE FIFTH AS FAR AS HAIFA,AND IN-
CLUDING THE COAST ROUTE BY TYRE A!'lD SIDON
TO BEYROUT.
After the ten days of travel described in the Fifth Itinerary,
the Sixth may be accomplished by four additional days as shown
below:
11TH DAY.-Travel from Haifa to Acre and encamp there
near the ancient fortress-not a heavy day if the weather is
favourable. Five or six hours in the saddle.
12TH DAY.-Ascend the Ladder of Tyre-a rough and
difficult way, greatly improved-to the city of Tyre. Ancient
fountains, the reputed tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre, and submerged ruins engage the attention of travellers he~, where the
camp will be stationed for a night, after a ride of perhaps six to
seven hours.
13TH DAY.-Travel by Sarepta to Sidon, another moderate
riding day of six or seven hours, to the camping ground at
Sidon, the city so frequently associated in sacred history with
Tyre.
14TH DAv.-From Sidon to Beyrout is a coast journey of
seven to eight hours, and this daycompletes our Sixth Itinerary.
Beyrout is a delightful place to rest after a journey through
Palestine, and there is more certainty of embarking than at
Jaffa.

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INTRODUCTORY,

SEVENTH ITINERARY.
THE BEATENTRACK OF A THIRTY DAYS' TOUR IN
PALESTINE.
In the late autumn it is better to travel from north to south,
thus going with the season. In the spring the contrary way is
preferable, as the route by Lebanon and Mount Hermon is
frequently snowed up in the early part of the year.
Seven travelling days are shown in the Fifth Itinerary to
Jen1n, and from that point travel on the
8TH DAY.-To Nazareth, crossing the Plain of Esdraelon
by Jezreel, Gideon's Fountain, Shunem, leaving to the right,
Nain, Endor, Mount Tabor, etc., and going by Shunem, across
the plain to the foot of the Galilean Hills, the ascent of which
to Nazareth requires great care, it being very precipitous, and
moderate riders must not expect to accomplish the journey from
Jen1n to Nazareth in less than seven to eight hours. Again we
advise the spending of Sunday at this place of sacred memories.
9TH DAY.-The journey from Nazareth to the Sea of
Galilee, by Kefr Kenna, or Cana, occupies about six hours in
the saddle, or more if the camp is stationed at the head of the
lake. If possible two days should be appropriated to this
locality, so rich as it is in historical reminiscences, in addition
to its pleasant natural attractions.
IOTH DAY.-Two ways present themselves from the head
of the lake-the site of the ancient Chorazin and Capemaum,
to Banias-Cresarea Philippi. The way by the waters of Merom
occupies two days, and that by Safed and Kedesh-Naphtali takes
three days. The latter is the more interesting, and is free from
the swamps and damp of the lower road. The choice of these
two ways is generally left to the travellers who may be guided
by the state of the weather and the time at their disposal.
Assuming that the high road is preferred, three days will be
consumed between the Sea of Galilee and Banias, and to that
section of the Itinerary we allot the
1 ITH, 12TH,and 13TH DAYSof travel, arriving at Banias on

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ITINERARIES OF TOURS.

the 13th day of actual travel (not including the time spent at
Jerusalem and the Sunday at Nazareth), to attain which the
start from Jerusalem should be not later than Wednesday
morning.
14TH DAY.-Starting from Bani!s there is a sharp rise up
the slopes of Hermon until an elevation of about •5000 feet
from the sea level is reached. It is a rough way at best, and in
stormy weather the most disagreeable part of the journey, often
blocked with snow and then difficult to discern the outlines of
the track. Eight hours of uninterrupted travel bring the riders
to Kefr I-iauwar, a camping ground still too elevated and exposed to the rude blasts from Hermon to be very agreeable. It
is always pleasant to get safely on the way to the great plain on
which Damascus is located, and the
15TH DAY is generally a pleasant ride of about six hours to
Damascus, where a Sunday and about a couple more days are
required to get a good view of the peculiarities of the city.
16TH, 17TH and 18TH DAYS are spent in traversing the
heights and depths of the Anti-Lebanon, following for a day or
more the course of the Barada (the Abana of Scripture), which
is crossed and recrossed at several points. The ride altogether
is very fine in good weather, and the day's work not very heavy.
The traveller generally gets into Ba'albek a little after mid-day
on the third day from Damascus, and a long afternoon and
evening, and pleasant early morning are consumed amid the
ruins of the famed group of ruined temples, which still present
features of great beauty and strength.
19TH DAY.-A comparatively easy ride of about eight hours
down the fertile valley of the Lebanon brings the traveller to a
convenient camping ground adjacent to the diligence road from
Beyrout to Damascus. It is interesting to deviate a little from
the beaten track, and pass through the Christian village of
Zahleh, wherethe good effects of Christian education are seen in
the marked decorum of an apparently thriving population.
20TH DAY.-The journey to Beyrout is continued over an
excellent coach road rising to an elevation of 5000 feet, and then

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INTRODUCTORY.

descending by winding slopes, with magnificent scenery on either
band, to Beyrout, the best built and most prosperous city
in Syria.
From Beyrout, the usual course is to take steamer along the
coast to Cyprus, Rhodes, Smyrna and Constantinople. From
thence to Syra and Athens, and back to Italy or Austria (p. 12).

EIGHTH ITINERARY.
COMBINING ALLTHAT IS INCLUDEDIN THE SEVENTH,WITH
THE ADDITIONOF THE COASTROUTE BY SIDON, TYRE,
AND CARMELTO JAFFA.
Forty days are required to do justice to this extended tour,
which should commence at Beyrout, and be taken in the
following course to Jaffa, from which point the whole of the
Seventh Itinerary-may be taken, as given above:
1ST DAY.-Start with the Camp from Beyrout,cross a sandy
plain and get to the coast as soon as practicable, continuing
near the sea to Sidon. Seven to eight hours will be required
for this section.
2ND DAY.-Pass on to Tyre, and stop there a night. Six
or seven hours in the saddle.
3RD _DAY.-Descend the Tyrian Ladder to the Valley of the
Kishon, halting for a night at Acre. A day's ride of about
six hours.
4TH DA:Y.-Pursue the course from Acre to the foot of
Mount Carmel, and encamp there. It will be interesting to
visit the Monastery, and get the commanding view which its
position affords of the great sea and the Carmel range, which
are full of interesting Scripture memories.
5TH AND 6TH DAYS should suffice for the journey by the
coast, past Caesarea,the seat of Roman power and.(magnificence,
and the scene of various events and incidents recorded in the
Acts of the Apostles. There is not much left to indicate the
magnificence of the Palace that existed here.
As shown above, having arrived at Jaffa, the route already
described may be taken just as it stands in the Seventh

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ITINERARIES OF TOURS.

Itinerary, or deviations may be made at discretion. Either way
by Kirjath-J earim, or Beth-Horon, may be taken to Jerusalem, or
it would be practicable to go southward to Philistia, reversing
one or other of the Itineraries, already given, round by Gaza, or
Gath to Hebron, and thence to Jerusalem. In forty days this
might be accomplished.
The foregoing eight Itineraries cover the chief districts of
interest West of the Jordan and in the Lebanon. We now
propose to cross the Jordan, and show a couple of practicable
routes in the Land of Moab, and one in the Hauran to the East
of Damascus.
NINTH ITINERARY.
FIRST TOUR TO MOAB.
Jaffa to Jerusalem, as already described, by carriage or
saddle horses in one or two days. Allowing two days for the
journey, begin on the.
3RD DAY.-And take trip, already described, by Solomon's
Pools and Bethlehem to Mar Saba.
4TH DAY.-From Mar Saba to the Dead Sea and the
Jordan, encamping on the bank of the river after a journey of
about seven hours.
5TH DAY.-From the Jordan, crossing the river above its
outlet into the Dead Sea, and making the journey of about
seven hours to Heshbon.
6TH DAY.-To Mount Nebo and back, the camp remaining
at Heshbon.
7TH DAY.-From Heshbon to Rabbath Ammon, via Elealeh,
a seven hours' journey.
8TH A.~D 9TH DAYS.-From Rabbath Ammon to Jerash
(Gerasa) by the course of the River Jabbok. This journey will
require two days of about seven hours each, the camp to be
fixed where most convenient for water.
10TH DAY.-A rather long ride of eight and a-half hours
from Jerash to Es Salt (or Ramath Gilead).
IITH DAY.-Es Salt to Jericho, nine hours.

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26 INTRODUCTORY.

12TH DAY.-Jericho to Jerusalem by the road already described {p. 16). Deducting the two days allowed for the journey
from Jaffa to Jerusalem, this tour to Moab will be accomplished
in ten days of actual travel, taking the circuitous route from
Jerusalem to Mar Saba and the Dead Sea. A longer route is
given in the .j
TENTH ITINERARY.
A MORE EXTENDED TOUR EAST OF THE JORDAN.
I
Taking the course descr~bed in the Ninth Itinerary as far asá
Jerash, would require eight days of travel from Jaffa, or six
days from Jerusalem, from which point we will take our calculations, and begin on the
7TH DAY.-From Jerash to Wady Ya.bis (Jabesh Gilead),
via Suf, a journey of seven hours.
8TH DAY.-From Wady Ya.bis to Um Kei:; (Gadara), via
Pella, seven hours.
9TH DAY.-From Um Keis to Bethsaida of the Desert, via
El Husn (Gamala), seven hours.
10TH DAY.-From Bethsaida of the Desert to Tiberias, via
the Jordan, Chorazin, Bethsaida of Galilee, Capemaum, and
Plain of Genessaret, seven and a-half hours.
11TH DAY.-From Tiberias to Safed, by the Mount of
Beatitudes, Beth-Arbel and Wady Hamman (Valley of the
Pigeons), eight hours.
12TH DAY.-From Safed to Mes-el-Jebel, via Hazor and
Kadesh-Naphtali, seven and a-half hours.
13TH DAY.-From Mes-el-Jebel to Banias (Cresarea Philippi), via Beth-Rehob and Dan, about six hours.
From Banias to Damascus, the route has been already described in a journey of two days, halting for a night at Kefr
Hauwar (p. ). Three days more from Damascus to Ba'albek ;
and two days from Ba'albek to Beyrout. The foregoing is a
tour of twenty days of actual travel from Jerusalem, but with
necessary stoppages such a tour ought to have forty days allotted
to it, though with hard work it might be got over in thirty days.

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ITINERARIES OF TOURS. 27
These tours to the East of the Jordan would require the
special protection of the local sheikhs, and would involve costs
for this protection varying in amount in proportion to the
numbers of the parties. This would have to be arranged by
special contract at the time, as no fixed charges can be satis-
•, factorily arranged (p. 10).

ELEVENTH ITINERARY.
TOUR FROM DAMASCUS TO THE HAURAN.
Taking Damascus as the starting. point of this extension to
the Hauran, we will simply show the number of days required
from that city, instead of repeating any of the routes leading to
Damascus.
1ST DAv.-From Damascus to Burak in eight hours' ride
via Nejha and the river Awaj.
2ND DAv.-From Burak to Dama via EI Musmeih
(Phaeno), Sh'aira and Semah, seven and a-half hours.
3RD DAV.- From Dama to Um ez Zeitun via Deir el Dama
(ascend Tell 'Amarah to view the land of Bashan), eight
hours' ride.
4TH DAv.-From Um ez Zeitun to Shuhba via Bathanyeh
(Batanrea) and Shuka (Saccrea), seven and a-half hours.
5TH DAv.-From Shuhba to Hebran via Suleim, Kunawat
(Kenath) and Suweideh, seven hours.
6TH DAv.-From Hebran to Saleh via El Kufrand Sehweh,
eight hours.
7TH DAY.-From Saleh to Busrah via'Orman (Philippopolis)
and Sulkhad (Salcah), eight hours.
8TH DAv.-From Busrah to Der'a by Ghusan1 and Adraha,
., seven and a-half hours.
9TH DAY.-From Der'a . to Mujeidel via Mezarlb and
Edhr'a (Edrei), seven hours.
IOTH DAV.-From Mujeidel to Kesweh via Es Sunamein
(£re) and Denun, seven hours.
IITH DAv.-From Kesweh to Damascus via Ashrafijeh and
El Kadem, six hours. •

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18 INTRODUCTORY,

To make this tour, a fortnight would have to be added to a
Palestine tour which would include Damascus.

TOURS TO PALMYRA
can be made from Damascus in twelve days for the double
journey. But Palmyra is under the power of .rapacious sheikhs,
and great care has to be observed in arranging for a tour to that
city of grand ruin~. 1

,J
I

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faltstint anh ~uria.
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
SYRIAis that mountainous province of the Turkish Empite
lying to the east of the Mediterranean Sea and including
Palestine or the Holy Land.
The name Palestine (Heb. Pelesheth) to the ancient
Hebrews only meant Philistia, and it was from their early
acquaintance with this part of the country that the Greeks
gave its designation to the whole land. At various epochs,
the country has been called by various names.
The Land of Palestine, as in Joel iii. 4, Exod. xv. 14,
Isa. xiv. 29, 31, always in the Bible means Philistia.
Canaan is the oldest name of the country, and owes its
origin to the son of Ham, whose descendants settled in the
land (Gen. ix. 18, x. 15-19).
The Land of Promise, used once in the New Testament, is a term which has become familiarized by writers
on prophecy, etc.
The Land of Jehovah (Hosea ix. 3).
The Land of Israel first occurs in I Sam. xiii. 19, and
is most frequently used by Ezekiel.
'• Judaea, or Judah, originally meant the territory of
Judah. After Solomon's death it meant the southern kingdom. When the northern kingdom went into captivity and
did not return, Judza became equivalent to the Jewish
Nation, i.e., all Palestine. The Romans applied the term
only to the southern province.

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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.

The Holy Land is now perhaps the most familiar name
of this country. It occurs in Zechariah : " The Lord shall
inherit Judah his portion in the holy land" (ii. 12). It
was a favourite term with the Jewish Rabbis, and almost
superseded all other names of the country, when, during the
Crusades, all Europe was fevered with excitement about the
sites of Sacred History.
The Holy Land, or Palestine, is bounded on the north by
the mountains of Lebanon, east and south by the Deserts
which separate it from Arabia and Egypt, and west by the
Mediterranean. Its length is about two hundred miles, its
average breadth about sixty miles : its area twelve thousand
square miles. The estimated population of Syria is 2,740,000.
Whilst occupying a very central position, Palestine is thus
a remarkably isolated country. The only direct communication with what the Rabbis called "the land out of Israel,"
was with Syria to the north, and this only by the narrow
pass of the Valley of Coele Syria. The deserts, the mountains, and the sea were " the natural fortifications of that
vineyard which was ' hedged round about ' with tower and
trench, sea and desert, against the' boars of the wood' and
the 'beasts of the field.' ''
The face of the country has peculiar yet simple features.
Four plainly-marked belts run from n~rth to south; the
Maritime Plain along the sea-coast ; a central belt of mountains ; a broad valley through which flows the Jordan ; and,
lastly, a belt of table-land east of the last-mentioned river.
The Maritime Plain scarcelyexists north of the Ladder of
.,,
Tyre (p. 417), or at least is only represented by a narrow slip
about two miles wide, on which, however, once flourished
the great cities of Phrenicia. South of the Ladder of Tyre
the true boundary between Phrenicia and Palestine, the Maritime Plain fairly commences. Cornfields and pasture lands

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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 31
stretch inland for miles from the low sandy coast. Acre
(p.414) stands on the shore, and the Belus and the Kisbon fl.ow
across the plain to the sea. Beyond the Klshon the plain is
broken by the bold ridge of Mount Carmel approaching very
near to the sea, but allowing a good road round its base. The
portion of the plain traversed by the Kishon is the Plain
of Esdraelon, the great battle-field of Jewish History.
South of Carmel the great plain opens out and stretches
away to Gaza. As far as Jaffa it is the Plain of Sharon,
south of that town it is Philistia. A broad belt of sand forms
the border of this plain along the shore. This sand is year
by year advancing on the cultivated land, and nothing seems
able to stay its progress. In some places the sand has raised
hills two hundred feet in height, and at Gaza the belt is four
miles in width. The plain is mostly bleak and uncultivated,
except the rich orchards and groves round Jaffa and a few
other places, and the abundant corn-fields in a portion of
Philistia. Innumerable Wadies, or beds of mountain torrents, cross the plain, which varies in width from about eight
miles at Ciesarea to twelve at Jaffa and twenty at Gaza.
The central range of mountains running from Lebanon
southward through Palestine, is intersected in the middle by
the Plain of Esdraelon. The northern portion of this range
consists of the Hills of Galilee. The ridges of Gilboa and
Little Hermon traverse the Esdraelon plain, which is also
overlooked by Mount Tabor (1800 feet).
South of the Plain of Esdraelon stretches an unbroken
tract of mountains, about thirty miles in breadth, and rising
in height towards the south, till near Hebron it attains an
elevation of three thousand feet above the sea. The northern part of this region comprised Samaria and Southern
Judiea. The principal mountains of Samaria are Ebal and
Gerizim, rising to the height respectively of 2700 and

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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.

2600 feet. In J udza the bills are mostly moderate elevations of barren rock, though their general height above
the sea is from two thousand to three thousand feet. On
the east side they descend abruptly to the great valley of the
Jordan, their general slope being furrowed by steep and
narrow gorges, forming the beds of winter torrents. The
precipitous descent from Jerusalem to Jericho (p. 236) is
notorious for its difficulty and danger, and may be cited as
an example of the lateral valleys descending towards the
west bank of the Jordan. On the western side, the J udzan
hills slope more gently and gradually, but the passes are
mostly difficult. Thus the central heights of Palestine are a
series of strong natural fastnesses. Armies, both in ancient
and modem times, have often traversed the coast from Egypt
to Phamicia without disturbing the inhabitants of the hill
country.
'' But by far the most remarkable feature of Palestine,"
says the Rev. J. S. Porter in Dr. Kitto's Cyclopa!dia of
'Biblical Literature, " is the Jordan Valley, which runs
through the land from north to south straight as an arrow.
There is nothing like it in the world. It is a rent or chasm
in the earth's crust, being everywhere below the level of the
ocean. This deep valley produces a marked effect upon the
ridges which border it. Their sides towards the valley are
far more abrupt than elsewhere in Palestine ; the ravines
that descend from them are deeper and wider ; and towards
the south, along the shores of the Dead Sea, there is a look
of rugged grandeur and desolation such as is seldom met
with. The valley is of nearly uniform breadth, about ten
miles from brow to brow, expanding slightly at Tiberias and
the Dead Sea, as if greater breadth had made some enlargement of the lateral boundaries necessary. This valley forms
a very striking feature on every map of Palestine.''

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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
The Jordan, which flows along the valley is described as
the only important river of Palestine. Its sources are
mainly on the southern and western slopes of Mount
Hermon. Its various feeders unite and form Lake Merom,
now Lake Huleb, from which the river flows for a short
distance, turbid and sluggish. After depositing its mud on
a rocky bed, it rushes through a narrow valley of volcanic
origin, and re;iches the Lake of Gennesaret, thirteen miles
from Merom. The level of the Lake of Gennesaret or
Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee, is between six hundred and
seven hundred feet lower than that of the Mediterranean.
Leaving the lake at its southern extremity, the Jordan next
passes along a valley of varying width; the river descends
twenty-seven rapids, and in consequence of its constant
winding, traverses two hundred miles in a course of sixty
miles in direct length. It finally enters the Dead Sea at a
level of about thirteen hundred feet below that of the Mediterranean. The other rivers of Palestine are mostly mountain
torrents, only flowing for a part of the year. The Kishon
is only in constant flow for the last seven miles of its
course.
East of the Jordan lies the belt of table-land which
bounds the eastern prospect from any point in Judrea,
Samaria, or Galilee. Its elevation above the level of the
Jordan is from three thousand to four thousand feet. This
is the district anciently known as Gilead, with Bashan to
the north, and Moab to the south. It was called by the
Romans the province of Perea.
To the north of Palestine are two great mountain chains_.
Libanus and Anti-Libanus, usually comprehended by the
Jews under the one name of Lebanon. Between these mountains lies the valley of Coefe-Syria, where stand the ruins of
Ba'albek, and the ancient Palmyra. Here flow the Orontes

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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
and the Litany. The Orontes passes by Antioch mto the
Mediterranean, near Seleucia; the Litany rises near Ba'albek,
winds through the romantic gorges of Lebanon, and reaches
the Mediterranean near Beyrout. The two parallel chains
between which the Jordan has been described as flowing,
may be looked upon as continuations of the ranges of
Libanus and Anti-Libanus.
" Small as the Holy Land is on the map, and when contrasted either with modern states or with the two enormous
empires of Egypt or Assyria between which it lay, it seems
even smaller to the traveller as he pursues his way through
it. There are numerous eminences in the high lands, which
command the view of both frontiers at the same time-the
Eastern mountains of Gilead, with the Jordan at their feet,
on the one hand ; on the other, the Western Sea. Hermon,
the apex of the country on the north, is said to have been
seen from the southern end of the Red Sea; it is certainly
plain enough from many a plain near the centre. It is
startling to find that from the top of the hills of Neby
Samwil, Bethel, Tabor, Gerizim or Safed, the eye can embrace at one glance, and almost without turning the head,
such opposite points as the Lake of Galilee anp. the Bay of
Akka, the farthest mountains of the Hauran, and the long
ridge of Carmel, the ravine of the J abbok, or the green
windings of Jordan, and the sand-hills of Jaffa."-(Smith's
Dictionary of the Bible.)
The general character of the scenery of Palestine is stern
and sombre. It is no longer what it was before eighteen
centuries of war and ruin and neglect had passed over it.
"Above all other countries in the world," says Dean Stanley,
"it is now a land of ruins. In Judea it is hardly an exaggeration to say that, while for miles _and miles there is no
appearance of present life or habitation, except the occasional

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HISTORY.
goatherd on the hill-side, or gathering of women at the wells,
there is hardly a hill-top of the many within sight which is
not covered with the vestiges of some fortress or city of
former ages. The ruins we now see are of the most distant
ages : Saracenic, Crusading, Roman, Grecian, Jewish, extending perhaps even to the old Canaanitish remains before
the arrival of Joshua."
The present inhabi.tants of Palestine are a mixture of
several different peoples. The dominant and most numerous sect are the Mahomedans, consisting of a few Turkschiefly in high official positions of authority, and the great
body of the people who. are of mixed Arab, Greek, and
ancient Syrian ancestors. They are "noble-looking, graceful, and courteous, but illiterate, fanatical, and indolent."
The Christians are almost entirely descendants of Syrian
occupants of the country at the time of the Mahomedan
conquest. The Syrian Christian Church is a branch of the
Greek Church, having a patriarch at Jerusalem. The
Maronites have settlements near Beyrout, and there are
some Roman Catholics in the large towns. About ten
thousand Jews, chiefly from Spain, Poland, and Germany
reside in Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed.

HISTORY.
The country to which the foregoing description refers,
was peopled soon after the Flood by some of the tribes descended from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham.
Four hundred years passed away, and then by Divine
command came to this land Abram, the son of Terah, a
descendant of Shem. To Abram and his descendants, as
a chosen people of God, the land was promised for an
inheritance. As rich sheikhs, with their flocks and herds
and bands of followers, Abram (afterwards Abraham) and

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HISTORY.

Isaac and Jacob, dwelt in Canaan till famine drove them into
Egypt.
Of the Egyptian history of the Children of Israel it
needs not here to speak. The time of deliverance came.
Moses brought the people through the desert, and then
Joshua headed them in the Conquest of the 'Land of
Canaan.
In the year of the world 2553, at the head of six hundred
and six thousand men, and a great host of women and
children, Joshua crossed over Jordan, and was engaged for
sixteen years in the conquest of the inhabitants of the
country. Twenty-one petty kingdoms were vanquished,
and the people, to a great extent, exterminated. A few tribes
were permitted to remain " to prove Israel.''
Amongst the tribes of Israel the land was now portioned
out, Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and Dan, were in the south;
Ephraim, half Manasseh, and Issacbar the central portion ;
Zebulon, Naphthali, and Asher, the north; and Reuben,
Gad, and the other half of Manasseh, on the east of the
river Jordan.
The Elders ruled the country for a few years after
Joshua's death. The Judges next succeeded, whose rule
from the rise of Othniel to the time of the sons of Samuel,
lasted about four hundred and fifty years ; to this period
belong the stirring histories of Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah,
and Samson. •
As Samuel, the last of the Judges, grew old he made his
sons co-helpers with himself in ruling Israel. Misgovernment and scandal ensued-the people (through the elders)
demanded a King. Samuel, after opposition and protest,
acceded to their request.
By divine command, Samuel anointed Saul, the son of
Kish to be King of Israel, 1091 B.c.. After the death of

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HISTORY.
Saul in battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, David
succeeded in 1051. His reign was long and glorious, and,
at his death, Solomon succeeded to a peaceful throne over th~
largest extent of territory ever subject to the Israelitish power.
His successor Rehoboam was insolent and tyrannical, and
under the ambitious Jeroboam Ten Tribes revolted from the
House of David.
The Separation into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
dates from 672 B.c.
The Kingdom of Israel lasted for 250 years. Between it and the sister kingdom there were very frequent wars.
Struggles with surrounding nations were also incessant, till
in 721 B.c., Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, extinguished the
Israelitish monarchy, and carried the people captive. He
and one of his successors, Esarhaddon transplanted to Israel,
tribes from the region of the Euphrates; these settlers,
who grafted Israelitish ideas on their own, and intermingled
with the remnant of the Israelites left in the land, developed
into the mixed race long known as the Samaritans.
The Kingdom of Israel was now extinct, and the Ten
Tribes as such completely disappear from history. Such of
them as returned to their own country or joined the com•
munities of their compatriots in other lands were henceforth
simply known as Jews-a word derived from the Kingdom
of Judah.
The Kingdom of Judah lasted about 380 years.
Their history was very chequered with triumph and affliction,
four times they went into captivity-the last, a bondage of
seventy years' duration, commenced in the reign of their King
Zedekiah, in 583 B.c. On this occasion Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem and carried the people
away to Babylon.
In 513 B.c. the Persians, under Cyrus, conquered

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HISTORY.

Babylon. He ordered the Jews to return to their own
country, and supplied means for rebuilding the Temple.
Thus was Jeremiah's prophecy fulfilled. The governor of
Judah, as a Persian province, was Nehemiah, and so long as
he lived the nation prospered. A Temple was again reared
in Zion, and soon after, another by the Samaritans on Mount
Gerizim. Judah was now made portion of the Persian
province of Syria, and the priests, who were also commissioned to act as civil magistrates, were chosen by the Syrian
authorities; this was a se-rere blow to Jewish feelings, and
the sanctity of the ancient laws.
When Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, the territory of the Jews became a Macedonian
province. Many national privileges were granted, and every
seventh year the imperial taxation was remitted.
At the death of Alexander (324 B.c.), and the subsequent
partition of his vast Empire, Coele-Syriaand Palestine devolved
to Laodemon. Between him and bis successors on the one
hand, and the Ptolemies of Egypt on the other, frequent
wars ensued, and Palestine was handed to and fro as either
side was victorious.
Ptolemy Lagus seized Palestine in 3n ll.c., he assaulted
anci.took Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, when the Jews
scrupled to resist. He deported large numbers of the Jews
to Alexandria, Lybia, and Cyrene, and gave them such privileges that many more voluntarily followed, and Egypt
became an important seat of the Jewish population.
In -the year 205 B.c., Ptolemy Epiphaoes, a child of five
years of age, succeeded to the throne of Egypt. By this
time the Seleucid~, or descendants of Seleucus had established a kingdom of Syria, extending from the Euxioe to
the borders of Arabia, and from the Mediterranean toá the
Indus. The capital towns were Seleucus, on the Tigris, and

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HISTORY.
• 39
Antioch, on the Euphrates. Antiochus the Great was
now king of this country; many Jews had been attracted
to new cities built in the Syrian dominion by special privileges similar to those granted in Egypt. Antiochus seeing
Egypt ruled by an infant determined to add Palestine to his
dominion; he succeeded, and the Jews welcomed his rule.
Antiochus visited Jerusalem, confirmed old privileges
and conferred fresh ones, repaired the Temple, and otherwise
conciliated his new subjects. For a time, under Antiochns
and his successor Seleucus Philopator, the country enjoyed
comparative rest.
During this period Greek literature, and manners, and
religion largely influenced the Jews. Many were ready to
renounce all the characteristics of Judaism, others were
zealous for the ancient faith; disputes arose between the
parties, especially when Hellenized Jews, like Jason or
Menelaus bought the High Priesthood from Antiocbus
Epiphanes, 'and then sent gifts to the Tyrian Hercules, or
sold the Sacred Vessels from Zion. Antiochus, returning in
169 B.c. chagrined from an unsuccessful expedition, chose
to consider one of these faction struggles as a revolt. He
gave up the city of Jerusalem to his soldiers for three days,
slew 4000, sold as many more, rifled the Temple of its
treasure, and offered up a hog on the altar.
In the following year Antiochus, in attacking Egypt,
came in contact with Roman power, and was commanded
to retreat; baffled and enraged, he wreaked his spite against
the Jews. He sent Appollonius with an army to Jerusalem,
multitudes were slain, IO,ooo taken captive, the city plundered and set on fire, its walls destroyed, and entrance into
the Temple prevented by a Syrian garrison. It was consequently in June, 168 B.c., that the daily sacrifices of the
Temple ceased, and the City of Jerusalem became deserted.

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HISTORY.

The mad tyrant now commanded the establishment of
Greek idolatry throughout his dominions, specially forbade
the worship of Jehovah, or the obsenáance or even public
reading of the Mosaic Law. Fearful persecutions ensued,
cruel tortures and death were the lot of the recusants. Antiochus himself repaired to.Jerusalem to superintend these
horrors.
For six months the reign of terror lasted when Mattathias and his sons, the renowned Maccabees, of the noble
family of the Asmonreans, raised theá standard of revolt.
At the end of the first year the Jewish leader was the
renowned Judas Maccabeus, the eldest and bravest of the
fiv~ brothers. The young leader, with his resolute little
army of ten thousand men, " routed the troops of Antiochus
in several engagements, slew thousands of the Syrians, re-
I
gained possession of the city and Temple of Jerusalem,
purified them from every vestige of heathenism, and restored
the daily sacrifice and the services of the Temple, after they
had been interrnpted for a period of three years."
Antiochus, warring unsuccessfully in Persia, heard at
Ecbatana of the Jewish revolt. In rage he denounced vengeance, but died of a loathsome disease. The war of
independence continued for a time, but in 163 B.c., Judas
Maccabeus was recognized as Governor of Judrea, and
founded the dynasty of the Asmomean princes, who ruled
for 126 years. It was a time of war and rebellion, and
crime and bloodshed. During the latter part, Roman influence became mixed up in Judrean politics; and when
Antigonus, the last of the Asmonrean princes, was taken in
.chains to Antioch and put to death, Herod the Great was
placed upon the throne by the power of Roman swords.
With Herod the Great commences the ldum"reandynasty,
in 37 B.c. He was a valiant prince, of large and liberal

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HISTORY. 41
ideas, but at the same time ambitious, passionate, and cruel.
To please the Jews he rebuilt the Temple, and the nation
"saw, with the utmost joy, a fabric of stately architecture
crowning the brow of Mount Moriah with glittering masses
of white marble and pinnacles of gold.'' He built magnificent palaces, and carried on great public works, but he
was notorious for savage cruelty, in which he did not spare
his nearest and dearest relations. •
In the thirty-third year of Herod the Great, and about
the four thousandth year of the world, the Birth of Our
Saviour took place in Bethlehem of J udrea. The Massacre
of Bethlehem followed, and.failed of its object. Soon after,
Herod was smitten of a loathsome disease, and died. To
his son Archelaus he left J udrea, Samaria, and Idumea; to
Antipos he left Galilee and Perrea.
Archelaus was deposed for maladministration after nine
years' reign. J udrea was made a Roman province, and
governed by procurators direct from Rome. Pontius Pilate
was appointed in 29 A.n., and presided at the trial of Our
Saviour. The Herodian family continued to reign, however,
in Galilee, and after a time in J udrea also.
Under their various Roman governors tyranny of every
kind and spoliation increased, and the Jews grew more
and -more impatient of the yoke. Under the rapacity and
insolence of Cestius Gallus the people broke out in revolt.
Cestius Gallus marched to Jerusalem, but was defeated and
routed at Beth-Horon with great slaughter. The Roman
Emperor Nero now sent Vespasian to restore tranquillity in
Syria. He was accompanied by Titus, who in 71 A.D.
accomplished the Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem.
This notedá siege was a carnival of famine and disease,
and fire and slaughter. The city was crowded for a great

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42 HISTORY.

festival,and it.is computed that 1,100,000 persons perished,
and 97,000 more were made captives. The Temple was set
on fire, "and while the :6.ames," says Josephus, "were
consuming this magnificent structure, the soldiers, eager after
plunder, put to death all that fell in their way. They spared
neither age nor rank, the old as well as the young, priests as
well as laymen were put to the edge of the sword. All were
involved in the general carnage ; and those who had recourse
to supplication were not more humanely treated than such as
had the courage to defend themselves to the last extremity.
The groans of the dying were intermingled with the crackling of the flames, which continued to gain ground ; and
the conflagration of so vast an edifice, together with the
height of its situation, led those who beheld it at a distance
to suppose the whole city was on fire. Such were the magnitude and violence of the conflagration, that the hill upon
which the Temple stood seemed to be on fire to its very
foundation. The blood flowed in such abundance, that it
seemed to dispute with the flames which should extend
farthest. The number of the slain surpassed that of those
who sacrificed them to their vengeance and indignation; the
ground was covered with carcases, and the soldiers walked
over them to pursue, by so hideous a path, those who fled.''
For fifty years Jerusalem now disappears from history,
till Adrian rebuilt it as a fortified place, to overawe the
Jews, and after overcoming a brief though brilliant revolt
under the mysterious Barochba, " Son of a Star," in which
half a million perished, the Emperor founded at Jerusalem
his Oolonia /.Elia Capitolina, and on the spots afterwards
chosen as the sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, he
set up statues of Jupiter and Venus. The land of Juda:a
became a desert. The Jews were forbidden to approach
Jerusalem. Vast numbers scattered themselves over the

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PILGRIMS ,AND PILGRIMAGES. 43
empire, and settled down into peaceful and prosperous subjects.
Early in the fourth century the Princess Helena came to
Palestine, and erected grand churches on the more or less
authentic sites of Christian events. Pilgrimages grew
fashionable. In 384, Saint Jerome came to Bethlehem,
and at this time Palestine was swarming with monks, nuns,
and hermits. Julian the Apostate, in order to falsify the
prophecies, tried to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem, but
failed.
"Pilgrimages to the Holy Land," says E. de Pressense,
" became, from the time of Helena, more and more numerous.
The most illustrious of pilgrims was St. Jerome. The Cave
of Bethlehem became the scene of his conflicts and labours.
The star which had guided the Magi to this place arose
upon him 1n the stormy night of his youth. It led him,.ts it
had led them, to the Cradle of the Holy Child, there to offer
incessantly the treasures of his rich intelligence, the frankincense and myrrh of his ardent adoration. From the depths
of this obscure retreat he takes part in all the great conflicts
of the Church of the fourth century, sends forth the swordthrusts of his impassioned words, and gathers round him
great Roman ladies whom he teaches to be humble servants
of Christ. . . The example of Jerome was followed by
many pious anchorites. The caves near the Kidron, on the
banks of the Dead Sea, were the favourite retreat of these
new ascetics. They found on those arid sands, and amidst
that devastated nature, at once those grand. religious associations which elevate the soul, and that aspect of external
severity which their austerity demanded. About the year
6oo, twenty monasteries had risen in these countriesmore than ten thousand monks peopled the solitudes of
Engedi.

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44 HISTORY.

"The course of pilgrimages now continued unbroken.
The object was not merely to visit consecrated spots, but to
find relics. If a pretended fragment of the holy cross was
not to be met with, the pilgrim could at least bring away an
olive branch, a phial of Jordan water, a garment dipped in
the holy stream, and thereby rendered an invulnerable
panoply against demons ; or sometimes he would content
himself with a handful of earth picked up at Jerusalem, a
rose or a palm branch -cut in the oasis of Jericho. The
pilgrim's staff was bung up over the hearth on his return, as
a family relic. . . Pilgrimages did not cease with the
invasion of Islam, they did but become more meritorious as
the danger increased.
"Then came a time when the whole of Christian
Europe went on pilgrimage ; but this pilgrimage was made
under arms, and with the firm resolve of conquering from
the Infidels, the tomb of Christ, and the country which had
been consecrated by his presence."
In 61-l, the Persians under Chosroes II., invaded Palestine,
and, assisted by the Jews to the number of 26,000, captured
Jerusalem. The clergy, monks, consecrated virgins, and
other inhabitants, to the number, it is said, of 90,000, were
massacred by the Jews, and every church demolished. The
city was regained by the Roman Emperor Heraclius, who
carried back into Jerusalem the "true cross,'' which the
invaders had stolen. ,
About a quarter' of a century passed, and then the Mabomedan Arabs, under Caliph Omar, came upon the scene.
Jerusalem was taken, and the Mosque erected which still
crowns the hill of Moriah. For the next two centuries, Palestine was the scene of civil war between the Ommiyade, the
Abbasside, and the Fatimite Caliphs. From the middle of
the ~ighth century, it was a province of the Abbasside Caliphs
THE CRUSADES.
uf Bagdad till 969, when it fell under the power of the Fati•
mite Caliphs of Egypt. In 1076-7 it was conquered by the
Seljuk Turks, but in 1096 it was regained by the Egyptian
Sultans, who were in possession of the country when it was
invaded by the Crusaders in the following year.
The Crusades must be treated of very briefly. Peter
the Hermit, moved by the cries of the pilgrims, and the sight
of their sufferings, had fired all Europe with his vehement
eloquence, and every class and rank seemed only anxious to
rush to Palestine and rescue the Holy Places from the
Infidels. For centuries, Christians had endured the growing
tyranny of Islam, and the moment had come to stay the
barbaric eruption that threatened the civilized world.
Crusade I. (1097, A.».)-An undisciplined mob,
under Peter the Hermit and other incompetent leaders,
perished on the way to Palestine. Then a grand host under
Godfrey de Bouillon, Robert of Normandy, Boehmond,
Raymond, etc., followed; took Antioch after a nine-months'
siege, defeated opposing armies, and stormed Jerusalem, July
15th, 1099. Fearful was the carnage. The victors are said to
have boasted that "in the Mosque of Omar, whither they
pursued the fugitives, they rode in the blood of Saracens up
to the knees of their horses."
Four Christian states were now formed in Palestine.
Godfrey de Bouillon reigned at Jerusalem, and other princes
at Antioch, Ede&~, and Tripoli.
The Christian kingdom of Jerusalem lasted eightyáseven
years. Many churches and convents, and other buildings
were reared. The Knights Hospitallers and Knights
Templars rose into power.
Crusade II. failed in its objects-the recapture of
Edessa, (which the Saracenshad taken,) and the capture of
Damascus.

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. HISTORY,

Crusade III.-The brave and chivalrous Saladin
captured Jerusalem in u87, and then wrested from the
Christians almost all their possessions in the Holy Land
except Tyre. Philip of France, Richard Creur de Lion, and
the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa headed a crusade in 1190.
The Emperor died in the north of Palestine ; Richard and
Philip together captured Acre. Philip retired to France, and
Richard seized Ascalon and J atfa and marched to Bethlehem.
Eventually a truce-ptace was concluded; the Christians to
hold their sea-coast fortresses, and freely perform their
pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
Crusade IV., 1202, under Henry- Vf., Emperor of
Germany, led to no decisive result.
Crusade V ., 1204, simply placed a Latin Prince on the
throne of Constantinople.
Crusade VI., 1216, an armament of Hungarians and
Germans. Little. was done in Palestine; the war was prosecuted chiefly in Egypt.
Crusade VII., 1228.-Frederick II., Emperor of
Germany, led this expedition, and by treaty with the Sultan
of Damascus, procured the restoration of Jerusalem and
other places.
Crusade VIII., 1234.-At first some success attended
this effort, as much by force of diplomacy as by open war.
At length the Kharismians expell~d by Genghis Khan came
down from the interior of Asia and swept all before them
-Turk and Christian. In 1247 these savage hordes were
driven back toáthe Caspian shores by a combined force of
Syrians and Memlooks. •
Crusade IX. was.only a fruitless attack on Egypt by
Louis IX. in 1249 A.D.
Crusade X.-Louis IX. again set forth to chastise
Sultan Bibars, who was committing great cruelties in Pales-

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HISTORY.
tine. The expedition sailed to Tunis, andá took Carthage ;
but here Louis IX. died of pestilence.
Prince Edward of England spent a few months in Palestine, gained some victories, and then concluded a truce. In
12 7 4 the attempt of Gregory IX. to send out another Crusade
failed. Meanwhile the Christians in Palestine did not
refrain from hostilities during time of truce. Fierce war
ensued. Tripoli was taken, and the Christians found at
Acre their last refuge. In 1291 this place was besieged and
taken by the Infidels, and so ended the Crusades, in which an
immense amount of treasure and myriads of human lives had
been squandered.
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Palestine
became of very secondary importance in the eyes of Europe.
In the sixteenth century the Turks showed more toleration,
and permitted Christian rites and Christian Church-discipline in the Holy City. In r517 Sultan Selim. tooká
possession of Syria and Egypt, which have ever since continued to form part of the Turkish Empire. New walls
were built to the seventeen-times-captured city of Jerusalem
by Sultan Suleiman. •
In 1799 Palestine was again prominently brought under
notice. Djezzar, the Pasha of Acre, had offended Napoleon
Buonaparte. The latter marched ten thousand men across
the desert from Egypt, took El Arish and Gaza easily, but
met great resistance at Jaffa. A fearful vengeance was
taken; not only was the town given up to rapine and
slaughter, but four thousand prisoners were murdered in
cold blood, after life had been promised to them. Napoleon
next attacked Acre; but after sixty days' fruitless efforts,
was obliged to retire through the arrival of Sir Sidney Smith
with a squadron.
Syria became subject to l\Iehemet Ali in 1832. In 1840

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HISTORY.

Britain intervened on behalf of the Turkish Empire against
its vassal, cannonaded Acre, and so aic!ed the Porte in regaining possession of the country.
Syria is now ruled by four viceroys, called Pashas, the
seats of whose governments are respectively Damascus,
Aleppo, Tripoli, and Acre. Jerusalem is under the Pashalic
of Damascus.
'' The Holy Land,'' says a modem traveller, "although
no longer an object of bloody ambition, has lost none of the
deep interest with which it once inspired the most vehement
Crusader. The first impressions of childhood are connected
with that scenery; and infant lips in England's prosperous
homes pronounce with -reverence the names of forlorn
Jerusalem and Galilee. We still experience a sort of
patriotism for Palestine, and feel that the scenes enacted
there were performed for the whole family of man. Narrow
as are its boundaries, we have all a share in its possession.
What a church is to a city, Palestine is to the world.
"Phcenician fleets once covered those silent waters;
wealthy cities once fringed those lonely shores; and during
three thousand years, war has led all the nations of the
earth in terrible procession along these historic plains. Y e-t
it is not mere history that thrills the pilgrim to the Holy
Land with such feelings as no other spot on the wide earth
inspires ; but the belief that on yonder earth the Creator
once trod with human feet, bowed down with human
suffering, linked to humanity by the Divinest sympathythat of sorrow ; bedewing our tombs with his tears, and consecrating our world with his blood. Such thoughts will
influence the most thoughtless traveller on his first view of
Palestine, and convert the most reckless wanderer into a
pilgrim for the time ; even the Infidel, in his lonely and I
desecrated heart, must feel a reverence for the human
I

I
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FLORA.
character of one who lived and died like Him of Nazareth.''

THE FLORA OF PALESTINE.
It may be well to give a short account of some of the
numerous forms of vegetation which the remarkably fertile
soil of Syria produces, and the following enumeration (taken
chieflyfromDr. Tristram's papers upon the Flora of Palestine)
while not professing to be by any means exhaustive, may be
useful to the non-scientific.
The Desert efJwkea is covered in times of drought with
dwarf herbs and shrubs, mostly hightly aromatic; dull in
colour, with the exception of the Salicornia, or soap plant.
All afford plentiful food for camels. After rain there is
temporarily a great increase in the vegetation; the dwarf
bushes throw out scented labiate flowers, and cotyledons and
bulbs make. their appearance, with several species of mignonette (Reuda), sweet stock (Mathiola odoratissima)~the
desert astragali (akin to our furze and broom), garlic, and
saffron (a small species of crocus). A few palm trees may
be seen beside the wells, and occasionally the Thuya, a kind
of juniper, probably the thyme tree of Rev. xviii. 12. Heath
bushes, and the.savin juniper bush (:funiperus sabina) are to
be met with. Locusts and bees abound in this region.
The undulatimg downs near Beersheba are devoid of trees
and bushes, but covered with brightly-coloured plants, such
as the malva, marigold (Chrysanthemum coronarium), asphodel, grape hyacinth, calendula, purple scorzonera, blue
anchusa, stocks, and Star of Bethlehem.
The South Country or "Negeb efJuda!a" is well covered
with grass and a profusion of dowers, among which are
several crocuses, ixia (lxolirion montanum), narcissus, scilla,
fritillaria, iris, Tulipa Gesneriana (?), Eryngeum, Lotus

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so FLORA.
Arabic,u, probably the pheasant's-eye (Adonis), ranunculus,
and anemone; a creeping plant used by the Arabs as a substitute for tea, Paronychia argentea. There are no trees but
a few oaks and terebinths.
The HiU Country of Jud<ea is rich in wild -flowers. Various bulbous plants ; garlic and ixia, such as are found in
Southern Europe ; Oyclamen lati,folium, brilliant anemones,
pheasant's-eye, several kinds of flax (Linum), lychnis, soapwort (Saponaria vaccaria), pimpernels, and pinks (Dianthus
and Silene). These latter species grow in the olive-yards.
The prickly oak, terebinth, lentisk, carob or locust-tree,
myrtle-tree, strawberry-tree (Arbutus andrachne), and broom
are common. Fig andmulberry-trees are cultivated together
with the vine. The maiden-hair fem (Adiantum capillusveneris), Ceterach officinarum, and the dwarf Cheilanthus
fragrans, are to be found, and many wall-plants, such as
ranunculus, reseda, and onosma.
The PaUey of the Jordan and the neighbourhood of the
Dead Sea show a marked change of vegetation, and trees
become more abundant; a few palms and sycamore (or
sycamine) fig-trees, many small jujube or thorn-tree! (Zi%yphus Spina Christi, the Nuhk of the Arabs), and its larger
variety the Dom-tree, often covered with the parasitii.:Loranthus indicus; tall poplars, willows, and tamarisks along the
banks of the river; old acacias (.A. Seyal), the Salvadora
persicaor mustard-tree; the wild olive, balsam, castor-oil
plant, the false apple of .Sodom (Solanum sanctum), and also
the Osher, the true Sodom apple( Calotropisprocera), oleander,
with which the Piter agnus castus mingles itself; rose of
Jericho (Anastatica Hierochuntina), the true hyssop (Cap,paris
..IEgyptiaca), colocynth, camphire ( Lawsonia alba), the kind of
broom called Retem (Retama monosperma), salicomia,
salsola, inula, and a large number of small plants common

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FLORA. 51
in Nubia and Abyssinia. A number of birds frequent the
shrubs on the banks of the Jordan; warblers, white-throats,
bulbuls, nightingales, sun-birds, Indian turtle-doves, etc.
Leopards still linger near the fords, and wild boars may be
found here, as in other parts of Palestine.
The Lands of Moab and Gilead, with the intervening
country, present no very different botanical features from the
last-named districts; the centaurea, gladiolus, malvie of different kinds, scorzonera, ranunculus, and pheasant's eye are
conspicuous among the numerous flowers ; butcher's broom
and cane-brakes abound ; wild roses, myrtles, and bay-trees
grow amongst the deciduous oaks ( Quercus czgilops), prickly
ever-green holm oaks ( Q. pseudo-cocrifera), elms, walnuts,
arbutus, and hawthorn all over the district, also the jujube
tree, oleander, acacia, palm, oriental plane, olive, and fig,
with an occasional lotus-tree (Celti,s australis). The highest
peaks of the hills of Gilead are covered with pine-trees.
The flora of Mount Carmel again resembles that of Gilead,
and also of the south country, though later in season here.
These plants, however, should be specially mentioned : the
pomegranate, rose-flowering cistus (Rose of Sharon, Ci.stus
villosis and salvijolius), valerian, convolvulus, antirrhinum,
cyclamen, hollyhock, several species of orchis, and the mandrake. The beautiful and fragrant storax (Styra:r otficinalis)
is very abundant. There are not many evergreen trees, but
strongly-perfumed°deciduous shrubs, among which the Judas
tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is conspicuous. Oaks of both
kinds, a few chestnut, Oriental plane, ash, and elm trees ;
the locust, terebinth, etc.; linden, guelder-rose (Viburnum
tinus), lentisk, tree-broom, wild olive, service-apple, bay,
myrtle, and.wild almond.
The cultivation of the Plains of Sharon and Esdraelon is
prejudicial to the indigenous flora. The principal plants to

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FLORA.

be found are the Papyrus Syriacus, tamarisk and willow,
marsh orchis and gladiolus; interspersed with the cultivated
portions of the land are wildernesses full of tall thistles, artichokes, knapweed (Centaurea), hollyhocks, and other tall
plants; Prasium majus,Acanthus spinosus, Ononis antiquarum,
etc. The gazelle and wild boar find shelter among them.
The Hill Country of Galilee is very similar in its natural
productions to that of Judrea. Labiate and leguminous
plants abound. The mandrake is common; anemone, tulip,
grape-hyacinths, many species of arum and of iris; and in
the basin of the Lake of Gennesareth and the swamps of
Huleh (Merom) we find tropical or semi-tropical plants;
Fagonia, Zizyphus, Astragalus, Ipomea (convolvulus), castoroil, wild rose, oleander, tamarisk, and the true Egyptian
papyrus. Yellow and white water-liles grow plentifully in
Lake Huleh. Cotton is cultivated here. The wild olive
disappears in Galilee, the storax becomes rare, and the oak
predominates over other trees; the woodbine (Lonicera implera) is common, and the oriental misletoe grows in the
olive-yards, and the European species on the poplars ascending towards Mount Hermon. The walnut takes the place
of the wild olive, and the wild pear flourishes on the high
ground. Rare kinds of ducks and herons, as the white
egret, abound in Lake Huleh, and the purple gallinule, or
great water-hen, may often be seen. .
The Slopes of Hermon and Lebanon are clothed with a
partially Alpine vegetation. Astragalus, the sm.all poppy,
Papaver rhmas, Glaucium vitellinum, Rosa spinosissima, cress
(Lepidium sativum), .Alsini juniperina, galium of various
kinds, the Persian goat's-beard, an alkana, forget-me-not,
speedwell, several kinds of salvia or sage, Fumaria, Draba
t•esicariaand D. villosa, Geranium tuberosumand Bierberstenia
multijida, the primrose Androsace t'illosa, anchusa, lxolirion

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FLORA.
montanum, tulip, fritillaria, common berberry, and Daphne
oleoidesgrow mostly above the height of 4000 feet. Several
species of fern, and a very large number of plants of all sorts,
are to be found in the valley of the Leontes. The fine evergreen oak-tree of Libbeiya must be noticed, between Hasbeiya and Raskeiya. The oak, ash, cypress, pine, juniper,
and cedar grow to various elevations on the slopes of the
mountains, and the dwarf cherry Cerasus-prostrataat a great
height.
A few additional words must be given to the description
of those trees which take a prominent position among the
natural features of Palestine.
The Olive, so interesting from sacred associations, and
so valuable as forming in large measure the wealth of the
country, produces only poor and worthless fruit in its wild
state, and to make a wild olive-tree profitable, its natural
branches must be cut otf, and a graft fro:n a good tree inserted. All the branches above this graft will bear good
fruit. (A graft from a wild olive tree is never grafted into a
good tree; such a process would be "contrary to nature,"
see Rom. xi. 24.) The olive-tree may also be propagated by
cuttings or by natural shoots. It attains a fruit-bearing
maturity in ten years, and often lives for five centuries or
more (tradition says that the ancient trees on Olivet were
there prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus), so that
the trunk, in which the formation of fresh wood continually
replaces the decay of age, attains an enormous size. It is
not uncommon to see three, four, or more stems springing from one root. Nevertheless it is a sensitive tree,
subject to severe injuries from cold, and from a blight produced by the poison of a small insect, which often causes
the fruit to fall when yet unripe, and unfit for the production
of the best oil. Its grotesqnely•twisted stems, misty greyish-

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FLORA.
green foliage, and hard beautifully-veined wood, are alike
singular and easy of recognition.
The Vine is much less cultivated than in past times.
There are a few vineyards in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and more near Bethlehem, and on the slopes of
He~on and Lebanon; but in the Valley of Eshcol the vine
still attains its greatest size and productiveness ; the grapes
here being the property of Muslims, who drink no wine,
are used only for raisins and syrups. Wine and brandy are
frequently made from raisins in Syria, but fresh grapes are
also now used for the purpose.
The cultivation of the Fig-tree is generally combined
with that of the vine. Its large leaves and thick foliage
give a deep and welcome shade; it thrives even on stony
ground and in waste places. The fruit is produced at three
or four periods of the year. First there is the bocor, or
early-ripe fig, which precedes the leaves, and ripens generally
towards the end of June; then the karmouse, or summer fig,
seldom ripe before August ; and the winter fig, which hangs
and ripens on the tree even after the leaves have fallen.
The wild fig (Ficus sycamorus) is a sort of banyan, and its
leaves slightly resemble those of the mulberry. It propagates itself by seed or spores.
The .Almond-tree is the earliest in blossoming, and is
covered with its white flowers in January or February; the
green leaves appear later ; the fruit, in the meantime, is
formed while the flowers are yet on the tree, so that buds,
blossoms, and almonds may be seen on the same branch.
Its very name in the Hebrew signifies haste.
The stately and symbolical Palm-tree is becoming very
scarce in Central Palestine, and there are but few even
around Jericho, to which city they formerly gave their
name. They are still planted in the courts of convents and

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EXPLORATIONS. •
mosques, ai of old in the temples and sacred places and
palaces.
Both species of Acacia are interesting : the Acacia Seyal,
as having probably produced the shittim-wood so much used
by the Israelites; while the Burning Bush of Moses seems
to have been the wild acacia, Seneh or Senna.
It is now very generally believed that the frequentlyoccurring Terehinth-tree, tall and wide-spreading with dark
evergreen foliage, represents the so-called "oak " of Mamre,
and some of the other oaks mentioned in Scripture.
The Cedarr of Lebanon, so famous from their intrinsic
grandeur, the magnificence of their situation, and the old
Biblical associations connected with them, consist of about
four hundred trees disposed in several groups, upwards of
six thousand feet above the sea-level. Some ten or twelve
of the trees are of extreme age, but it bas not been found
possible to calculate how many centuries old they may be.
Y ouog trees are continually springing up from seeds or from
old roots, but there is much destruction in the forest from
storms and wild animals. The species is allied to the cedars
of the Himalaya and Atlas mountains.-(F. H.)

PALESTINE EXPLORATIONS.
First in the field of Palestine explorers, who determined
to make a scientific and systematic effort to identify Biblical
sites, were Drs. Robinson and Smith, the celebrated American
scholars. In 1838 they made their first exploration, which
was attended with so many important results, that it gave
the impetus to fresh forms of discovery, which ultimately
culminated in the establishment of the Palestine Exploration
Fund.
After Robinson and Smith came De Vogiie, Stanley,

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PALESTINEEXPLORATIONS.

. Tristram, Porter, Burton, Bonar, and a host of others less
generally known, but in their sphere enterprising and useful,
to carry on the work.
Some ten years ago a number of gentlemen interested in
Biblical research met together to compare notes as to their
knowledge of the Holy Land. It was found that the amount
of available information as to this country was amazingly
small. From that meeting originated the Society known as
The Palestine Exploration Fund.
To the explorations in Jerusalem reference has been
made elsewhere (p. t 14). The more recent labours of the
agents of the Society have been directed to the carrying on of
a trigonometrical survey of the whole country. Of this
work 4430 square miles are completed, and it is now
promised that "a complete and exhaustive map of the whole
of Western Palestine-including, that is, nine-tenths of the
scenes of the Bible narrative-will be brought to England
in the autumn of 1876, and given to the world a year later.'"
Meanwhile, Moab and the country east of the Jordan are
being surveyed by an American Association.
But whilst an accurate survey of the surface of the ground
and the correct location on the inap of existing towns and
villages is at present the main object of the Society, its agents
have used the opportunities afforded by their labour for the
'I
identification of sites rendered memorable by sacred narrative.
Among the more important identifications of the past year,
we may mention Gezer, the Hall of Hachilah, the Rock of
Maon, Zanoah, Arab, Maarath, Chozeba, Beth Zetho, the
Levitical City of Debir, the City and Cave of Adullam, the
Tower of Ader, the Forest of Hareth, the Wood of Ziph, the
Altar of Ed, the Ford of Bethabara, etc.
For details as to the philological, topographical, or other
reasons for deciding upon these localities. See the reports of

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RELIGIONS. 57
the Society. From these, and also from two works published
by the Society, namely, The Recovery <ifJerusalem and Our
Work in Palestine, several extracts are given in the following pages.
These Quarterly Reports, and the admirable Association
of whose operations they treat, are commended to the notice
of all Palestine travellers; this opportunity i1,taken of saying
that funds are urgently needed to carry on the important
work of the Society. The Secretary, Walter Bessant, Esq.,
9, Pall Mall East, London, will thankfully receive subscriptions, and give all information as to the Quarterly Statements, etc.
RELIGIONS, ETC.
Mahomedanism and its Customs. The religion of Mahomed, or El Islam, as it is termed by the faithful, is based on two fundamental principles, There is hut one
God, and Mahomed is his Prophet. The Mabomedans in
Palestine are divided into four sects, differing on minor
points, but all acknowledging each other as orthodox in
important matters.
Mahomedans believe that God sent six great prophets
into the world, viz., Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus,
and Mahomed. Of these they consider Mahomed as the last
and greatest. They hold that each of these prophets represented the will of God for a certain dispensation, each in
turn being superseded. Therefore the Jews, they acknowledge, were true believers in the time from Moses to Jesus.
They deny the existing versions of the books of Moses, Psalms,
Gospels, etc., to be authentic. Only the Koran has come
down unaltered from its first composition.
Muslims accept the doctrines of the immortality of the
soul, and future rewards and punishments, and do not deny

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58 RELIGIONS.

that women have souls. The more enlightened among them
receive in a figurative sense the poetical descriptions of the
joys of heaven contained in the Koran. Admission to Paradise is asserted to be won, not by merit, but by the mercy of
God, and also by his absolute decree. Predestination, however, is differently taught by different schools of Mahomedans,
as by different schools of Christians; all Muslims, howe\áer,
hold that there are some elect to eternal happiness, called
welees.
"Influenced by their belief in predestination," says Mr.
Lane,'' the men display, in times of distressing uncertainty,
an. exemplary patience, and, after any afflicting event, a
remarkable degree of resignation and fortitude, approaching
nearly to '.apathy, generally exhibiting their sorrow only by a
sigh, and the exclamation, ' God is bountiful ! ' ''
The. Muslim officers of religion attached to the Mosques
are first the Warden (Na'sir), who is the trustee of all the
endowments of the Mosque, and appoints all the other
officers. Two ministers (lmaums) are employed to keep up
the Mahomedan services. The Koieeb publicly prays and •
preaches on Fridays (the Mahomedan Sabbath); the Ra'tibrecites certain prayers at stated times daily. The call to
these prayers is chanted from the galleries of the minarets by
officials called Muezzins.
Prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage, and also
frequent purifications by washing, are scrupulously enjoined
upon the followers of Mahomed.
Prayer must always be preceded by washing, as from a
person not clean prayer is not accepted. The dress should
also be clean, and it is proper to cover the ground with a piece
of carpet.
On entering a Mosque, the Muslim leaves his shoes with
the door•keeper (how'wah), performs his ablutions at the tank,

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MAHOMEDANISM,
if not already purified, and then, turning towards Mecca,
goes through his various orisons and prostrations.
On the Sabbath-day Mabomedans may transact worldly
affairs in the intervals of prayer. On that day the reading~
chair and pulpit are brought into use. Portions of the Koran
are read or recited, and a sermon preached byan Imaum, who
sits on the top step of the pulpit stairs.
Almsgiving is the second duty of Muslim faith. Certain
alms are compulsory, others voluntary, but highly meritorious.
The third duty, of fasting, is chiefly in the month of Rama-á
dan, when, with cruel severity, the practice is carried out from
sunrise to sunset. The fourth great duty is the pilgrimage
to Mecca and Mount Ararat, which all good Mahomedans
should accomplish once in their lives.
Boys are sent to school to read the Koran, but there are
few who really understand the grammar of their own language, nor is any knowledge in arts and sciences deemed
essential. Girls are not sent to school, nor is their attendance at Mosque, or public worship of any kind, considered
essential. They are commanded, however, to visit the
tombs tf their deceas~d relations, to keep them in repair,
and to whitewash them. It is believed by Mahomedans
that the spirit of every true Muslim goes to a place of happiness to await the resurrection, when, re-united to the body,
it will enter into Paradise, and that, in the meantime, the
soul visits the grave of its body every Friday. Many Mahomedan females are therefore to be seen on those days in the
cemeteries, and they converse with the spirits as though they
were actually present, informing them of all family news and
topics of the day.
It is, as bas been stated, a misapprehension that the
Mahomedans believe women do not possess souls, and are
excluded fromá Paradise. On the contrary the Koran ex-

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60 RELIGIONS.
presses the following, "Qui bona opera agit, sive vir, siv~
[<8mina,et credit inhabit paradisum.'' Whosoever performs
good works, men as well as women, shall enter Paradise.
40 Surat, 43 verse. See also 16 Surat, v. 99; 13 Surat, v. 23 ;
48 Surat, v. 5, etc.
The Caravan of Pilgrims bound for Mecca starts from
Damascus annually, with gr~at display of ceremonial and
rejoicing.
The Mosques are the buildings, as before mentioned,
in which the Muslim rites of worship are conducted. The
principal Mosques in Palestine wiM be found fully described
under Jerusalem, Damascus, etc. The first Mosque was
built at Medina, Mahomed assisting in the work with his
own hands. It was situated in a graveyard, planted with
date-trees, and was a square, capacious structure, with brick
and earthen walls, the trunks of the palms forming columns
to support the roof, and a thatch of palm-leaves covering
the whole. It had three doors. A portion of the edificewas
given to the houseless poor. Here Mahomed was buried.
The first building was long ago rt-placed by a larger edifice,
but it is still called Mesjid-en-Neby ('' The Mosque of the
Prophet"), and has been the modd for. all Muslim temples
throughout the world. But the Arabian simple elegance
beCllme in Spain highly ornate, in Turkey florid, in India
effeminate. The cupola and minaret became adopted in
Mosque building about a century after the Hegira, acd gradually the Saracenic style of arcbitecturc:: predominated
throughout the Mahomedan world. The chief Egyptian
Mosques are Saracenic.
Islamism is an enemy to plastic art ; in the Mosques are
found no pictures, no statues, no representations of living
creatures. Inscriptions from the Koran, a single readingchair, a pulP,it, and numerous praying mats, are all that

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MAHOMEDANISM. 61
adorns the interior of these immense edifices. Most of the
Mosques have considerable endowments in connection with
them, for purposes of education, piety, or benevolence.
Although the Mosques contain almost nothing in them
except the worshippers, and none of the paintings or sculpture so common in European cathedrals, yet it must be
admitted that the Muslim artist does all he can to attain
elegance of form and harmony of colour, without infringing
his religious scruple. The subject is well commented on
in the following passage from Mr. Ruskin's Stones qj
Venice:-
" It was contrary to the religion of the Arab to introduce
any animal form into his ornament; but although all the
radiance of colour, all the refinements of proportion, and all
the intricacies of geometrical design were open to him, he
could not produce any noble work without an abstraction of
the forms of leafage, to be used in his capitals, and made the
ground plan of his chased ornaments. But I have above
noted that colouring is an entirely distinct and ii;adependent
art; and in the 'Seven Lamps' we saw that this art had
most power when practised in arrangements of simple geometrical form; the Arab, therefore, lay ~oder no disadvantage
in colouring, and he had all the noble elements of constructive and proportional beauty at his command ; he might not
imitate the sea-shell, but he could build the dome. The
imitation of radiance by the variegated voussoir, the expression of the sweep of the desert by the barred red line upon
the wall, the starred inshedding of light through his vaulted
roof, and all the endless fantasy of abstract line, were still
in the power of his ardent and fantastic spirit. Much he
achieved ; and yet, in the etfort of his over-taxed invention,
restrained from its proper food, he made his architecture a
glittering vacillation of undisciplined enchantment, and left

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RELIGIONS,

the lustre of its edifices to wither like a startling dream,
whose beauty we may indeed feel, and whose instruction we
may receive, but must smile at its inconsistency, and mourn
over its evanescence.''
It is only within a few years that Christians were at
liberty to enter mosques. The restrictions have now, however, been removed, and some of the principal mosques
which bold travellers of an earlier date risked their lives to
enter, may be visited by any one who makes the proper
application to the consul, and pays the proper fees.
It is unnecessary to remind the visitor, that although he
may not believe in the religion of the Muslims, he should
respect their institutions so far as to adopt those customs
which are deemed by them to be due to their religion. For
example, he will put on slippers before entering the sacred
places; and refrain from laying _unholyor infidel hands on
relics which they regard as sacred. It will be well to observe these things, not only as a matter of good taste, but
also from prudential motives, as there is still a strong feeling
against this invasion of holy places by infidels-asá the Christians are called-and Mahomedan fanaticism is a passion
which it is.as unsafe as it is unwise to arouse.
The Jews of Palestine are a mixed multitude-that is
to say, they belong to two distinct bodies, and these are subdivided into communities. The Sephardim are Spanish and
Portuguese ; and the Ashkenazim, those who bave emigrated
from various parts of Germany, Poland, Russia, and other
places, to Palestine. These two great bodies are divided again
into the Perooshim(Pharisees) and the Chasulim(Pious).
The following remarks, although they relate primarily
to the Jews in Jerusalem (p. 117), may be taken as pertaining to the Jews in Palestine generally.
The Jews keep five public fasts, namely-1. The Fast

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JUDAISM.

Gedaliah,celebrated on account of the murder of Gedaliah
(2 Kings xxv.), and kept about the middle of September.
~. The Fast Asaar-Bedebeth, 10th of Debeth, corresponding
with 23rd December, on which day Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem. 3. The Fast of Esther (see the Book of
Esther). 4. The Fast of Sheba-Asaar Betamoos, 17th of
Tamoos, corresponJing with 25th of June, on which day
Moses broke the tables of the Ten Commandments ; on the
same day the sacrificesceased in the First Temple, the walls
of Jerusalem were scaled before the destruction of the
Second Temple, and Antiochus Epiphanes burnt the Book
of the Law, and placed an image in the Temple. 5. The
Fast of Tischa-Beab, 9th day of Ab, about the middle of July,
because on that day it was decreed that the generation which
left Egypt should die in the wilderness; the First and
Second Temples were destroyed ; Bither was taken, and .
thousands of Jews put ~odeath, and Turrus Rufus ploughed
up Mount Moriah.
The Chasidim have one more fast day-viz., on the 9th
day of the month Adar (March), because Moses died on
that day.
The Festivals kept by the Jews are Passover, Pentecost,
New Year, Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles,
the Feast of Purification, and Dedication of the Temple
(celebrated in commemoration. of their deliverance from the
great persecution under Aniiochus Epiphanes), and the
Feast of Esther.
Every Sabbath sermons are preached in the chief synagogues, and the Psalms are read between the Afternoon and
Evening Services. A short portion of the Law is also read
publicly in the synagogues every Monday and Thursday, theá
reason given for choosing these two days being that, according to tradition, Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the

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RELIGIONS.

Ten Commandments on Thursday, and descended on
Monday. •
The Greek Church.-The Greek Church has spread
farther and wider than: any other established church. It is
dominant in the whole Russian Empire, Greece, the Grecian
Isles, Wallachia, Moldavia, Egypt, Lybia, Syria, Siberia, and
many other places.
The Greek Church separated entirely from that of Rome
in 858, when Photius was elected Patriarch of Constantinople
by the Emperor Michael. They have no articles of faith ;
but have adopted the Nicene and Athanasian, Creeds, with
the following alteration :
"I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
Life, who proceedeth from the Father, and with the Father
and Son is worshipped and glorified."
The Holy Scriptures and the decrees of the first seven
General Councils are acknowledged by the Greeks as their
rule of faith, viz. :-
I. The Council of Nice held 325 A.D. against Arius.
II. The First Council of Constantinople, in 381, against
Macedonius, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Ghost.
III. The Council of Ephesus, in 431, against Nestorius,
who denied the Humanity of Christ.
IV. The Council of Chalcedon, in 451, againstEutychus,
who denied the Humanity of Christ. : •
V. The Second Council of Constantinople, in 553,
against the doctrine of Origen.
VI. The Third Council of Constantinople, in 680, against
the Monothelites (p. 65), who held that Christ had but one
nature and one will.
VII. The Second Council of Nice, in 787, against those
who condemned the use of pictures and images.
As the traveller in Palestine and the East will be brought

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GREEKS-LATINS-COPTS.

into contact with many members of the Greek Church, and
will visit the sacred places belonging to them, it may not be
uninteresting to briefiy summarise here some of their tenets
and customs.
Images are not tolerated in their churches, but pictures
of a stereotyped style are introduced. They invoke saints as
intercessors, and pray for the dead, but do not hold the
Roman Catholic belief as to purgatory. They do not believe in the doctrine of supererogation or infallibility. They
acknowledge the seven Sacraments; baptize by immersion,
and believe in Transubstantiation, and mix the Communion
wine with warm water. They do not forbid marriage
among the priesthood.
The dignitaries and clergy of the Greek C!:iurch are
ranked in the following order: Patriarchs, Archbishops,
Bishops, Archimandrites {directors of convents), Abbots,
Arch priests, Priests, Deacons, U oder-Deacons, Chanters,
.Lecturers.
The Latins, or Roman Catholics-the deadlyenemie!>
of the Greeks-are making way in Palestine, where the
priests have privileges they do not possess in Europe, as for
instance, that they may be married men, if married before
ordination.
The Marionites have since u8o belonged to the
Romish Church. They number in Lebanon, it is said,
nearly two hundred thousand souls. Before their affiliation
with the Romish Church, they were Menothelites (p. 64).
The Copts are poorly represented in Palestine, yet they
have a share in the church of the Holy Sepulchre (p. 126),
and are found among the clerks and other employes in
mercantile and public offices. They derive their name from
Coptos, now Kobt, in Egypt, and are the sole representatives
of the ancient race that built the Pyramids. They are

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66 RELIGIONS.

Christians ; and by guarding their faith in the hostile presence of •Mahomedanism, have doubtless preserved their
race and name. Baptism is practised by them ; children are
generally circumcised. Confession is required of all mem-.
hers of the Coptic Church, and is indispensable before
receiving the Sacrament. They fast on Wednesday and
Friday, and observe the seven great Feasts-viz., Nativity,
Epiphany, Annunciation, Palm Sunday, Easter, Ascension,
and Whit Sunday. The Copts are not allowed by their
Church to intermarry with persons of any other sect.

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JAFFA,

FROM JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.
Jaffa (Yafa).

Hotel Jerusalem.-About ten minutes' walk from the
landing-place. It is a comfortable hotel, overlooking
the sea, and adjoining the German colony. Proprietor,
Mr. Hardegg, who acts as American Vice-Consul.
British Vice-Consul.-M. Amsalek.
Carriages may be obtained at Jaffa for the journey
to Jerusalem.
Approaching Jaffa from the sea, the traveller
will be struck with the singular beauty of the scene upon
which he gazes, and will experience what so many travellers
have expressed-the strange sensation of gazing upon a
land sacred above any earthly place. "It is the Holy Land
on which we gaze-the country of Jacob and David, of
Rachel and Ruth ; the scene of our sweetest fancies, of our
childish prayers, and of our household psalms. Amongst
yon hills the prophets of Israel taught, and the Saviour of
all men lived and died. That stony hillock of a town is the
Joppa to which Hiram sent the cedar-wood. This roadstead
is the port from which Jonah sailed on his tempestuous
voyage. Down by the shore to the south, hides the flat roof
on which it is said that Peter slept. The stretch of sand,
with its dunes and crests blown over from the Nile, backed
here and there by a palm, a fig-tree, or a pomegranate, is thti
forepart '.of that plain of Sharon on which all the roses of
imagination bloom and shed their scent. Yon towering
chain of earth-dark, swelling, ridge-like-flushing into pink
and amber, growing out into your grasp as you stand peering
towards it, is that mountain home of Judah, Benjamin, and

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68 JAFFA.

Ephraim, which boasts of havin~ Hebron, Zion, Bethel, and
Gerizim for its most eminent and holy peaks.''
Landing at Jaffa. If the traveller has come from
Egypt and has landed at Alexandria, he will know how to
act when he arrives at Jaffa. If he has not, he is hereby
advised to keep himself perfectly cool and unperturbed
by the noise and bustle, the gesticulations, and the patent
frauds which will surround him. If travelling under the
auspices of Messrs. CooK & SoN, he will merely have to
ask for their representative, and station himself beside his
own personal luggage and see that nobody runs away with it.
Messrs. CooK & SoN's boatmen will be recognized by the
name on their jackets. If travelling independently, let him
have some French or English money in his pocket (not
Egyptian) ; let him associate himself with two or three
others, and get into one of the swarm of boats around the
vessel._ The fare ought not to exceed six francs for the party,
except in bad weather, when from two to three shillings for
each passenger is scarcely an equivalent for the risk and labour
of landing. If this sum has been agreed upon, he may rest
assured that he will be asked double before he lands; but the
only course is to turn a deaf ear to all solicitations of the kind.
Landing at Jaffa is at all times rather unpleasant, and
sometimes a little bit dangerous, as the boats are all rocking
by the side of the vessel, and there are awkward waves to
encounter before foot is set on terra firma. Travellers are
advised to place themselves implicitly in the hands of tho!=e
who arrange for their debarcation, and however portly the
traveller may be, he will do well to trust himself to the
strong arms of those who assist him. When the boat
journey is over he will be carried ashore, and will then
proceed to the Custom House, where all luggage is examined.
If the weather be rough; landing at Jaffa is impossible,

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JAFFA.

as there is no harbour, the sea is boisterous, and the coast is
dangerous. In this case the traveller must proceed to
Haifa (p. 404) or Beyrout (p 367).
Jaffa, or Ya.fa, is the Joppa of Scripture. Some say it
is named after Japhet, son of Noah, and ancient geographers
affirm that a city existed here before the_Flood; others derive
it from Yafeh, meaning "beautiful.'' Some classic scholars
claim the derivation to be from Iopa, daughter of .tEolu~,
Jaffa being the reputed scene of the legend of Andromeda.
(In Pliny's time the chains were still shown with which she
was bound to the rocks by the cruel monster afterwards slain
by Perseus.) In Joshua xix. 46, it is called Japho; elsewhere in the Authorized Version it is Joppa. In the
.Apocrypha it is Joppe (1 Esdras v . .55).
The Biblical history of Jaffa is this. It is described in
Joshua xix. 46, as in the boundaries of Dan. In Solomon's
time, when Hiram, King of Tyre, sent the cedar and pinewood áfor the building of the Temple, he said in his contract,
"We will cut wood out of Lebanon as much as thou shalt
need, and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa ''
-" and will cause them to be discharged there'' (1 Kings
ḥ. 9)-'' and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem'' (2
Chron. ii. 16).
The materials for the re-building of the Temple under
Zerubbabel were also brought " from Lebanon to the sea of
Joppa" (Ezra iii. 7). Jonah, fleeing" from the presence of the
Lord, went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish '' (Jonah i. 3). The succeeding circumstances are referred to by our Lord as typical of himself (Matt. xii. 40).
Here Peter raised Dorcas to life (p. 7 1), and here the
Apostle had that remarkable vision, showing him that
the distinction between Jew and Gentile was for ever abolished
{p. 71).

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iO JAFFA.

During the stormy period that elapsed between the last
of the prophets and the coming of our Saviour, Joppa was a
place of great importance, and was considered a key to the
district. It was under foreign rule at the time of the
Maccabean Wars, a Jewish minority being tyrannised over
by the Greeks, Syrians, and Egyptians, who were continually
reinforced from their fleets. I Mace. x. 75 and xiv. 5-34
show the steps taken by Simon to improve and defend the
place. A large number of Jews were drowned by the
foreigners ruling in the place, and in revenge Judas Maccabeus attacked the town, and burnt the shipping with all on
board. Other allusions to Joppa in connection with Maccabean politics, will be found at I Mace. xii. 34, xiii. 2,
xiv. 5, etc.
When Pompey ill-vaded Syria, in B.c. 63, Joppa was
annexed to that province. It was subsequently part of the
possessions of Herod the Great and Archelaus, until, with
all Palestine, it became a part of the Roman province of
Syria.
Since that day, Joppa has had various vicissitudes. In
the last Jewish War, Josephus states that 80,000 inhabitants
were slain by Cestius. The city was rebuilt by pirates,
who ravaged the neighbouring coast from Cilina to Egypt.
For this, Vespasian again destroyed the town. In the time
of Eusebius, Joppa had again revived, and had a bishop.
For a thousand years it has been the principal landing-place
for pilgrims going to Jerusalem. During the Crusades,
Paynim and Christian took and re-took, fortified, destroyed~
and re-built Joppa as occasion served. After the Crusades,
desolation set in, and in thirteenth-century-travels the town
is described as a mere collection of tents, no habitablehouse remaining. During succeeding times it again revived,
and resumed a portion of its old importance. In 1797the--

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JAFFA.
French took the place, and shot on the strand 4000 Albanians,
who had surrendered on solemn promise of safety. Here
also Napoleon, when obliged to retreat, had 500 sick soldiers
poisoned in the plague hospital.
In the time of the apostles, a considerable number of
Jews dwelt in Joppa. The remaining population was a
mixed multitude of Egyptians, Phcenicians, Syrians, and
Greeks, with a few officials of the Roman Government.
Amongst the Jews, a few disciples of Jesus of Nazareth
were found, and when Dorcas died, "full of good works
and almsdeeds," her fellow converts sent to Lydda (p. 78),
where Peter had just restored Eneas to health, and besought
his aid. Peter came, restored Dorcas to life (Acts ix.
31-43), and lodged at the house of one Simon a Tanner,
a house to be henceforth memorable in the world's history
as the spot where divine command was given to include the
Geatiles in the fold of Christ (Acts x. 9-23).
The House of Simon the Tanner is still shown,
and Dean Stanley considers that the circumstances are all
in favour of the site having been truly identified.
" The rude staircase to the roof of the modern house,
flat now as of old, leads us to the view which gives all that
is needed for the acco~paniments of the hour. There is the
wide noonday heaven above; in front is the long bright
sweep of the Mediterranean Sea, its nearer waves broken by
the reefs famous in ancient Gentile legends as the rocks of
Andromeda. Fishermen are standing and wading amongst
them-such as might have been there of old, recalling to the
Apostle his long-forgotten nets by the Lake of Gennesareth,
the first promise of his future call to be ' a fisher of
men.' ''-Stanley's Sinai and Palestine.
The town of Jaffa is beautiful from the sea, but the
reverse of beautiful in the midst of its streets, which are

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JAFFA. .

dirty, narrow, and winding. The houses are built promiscuously, and although looking picturesque from a distance.
command no admiration from a nearer view. Donke}S and
camels may be met with in the streets, but not vehicles
The population has been variously estimated from 8000 up
to 16,000. There are about a thousand Christians, a few
Jews, and the rest are Mahomedans.
There are three convents at Jaffa-the Greek Convent,
near the landing-place, the Latin Convent (the house
of Simon the Tanner), and the Armenian Convent,
where the sufferers by the plague were poisoned by order of
Napoleon.
The Bazaar is insignificant, and would not be worth
Lh-' trouble of visiting, but that it presents a very animated
scene, and is frequented by e curious crowd of all nations.
Near ihe Bazaar is a Gateway and a Fountain, at which
many women congregate to gossip and draw water. The
money-changers, and the large vegetables and fruit, especially oranges, will attract attention.
Tee city was, until recently, surrounded by a high
wall, but it was taken down by order of the Turkish
Coyernment, and the stones sold for building purposes.
Several merchants have boqght pieces of the wall, and have
commenced building houses and shops in the outskirts of
the town.
There are three Mosques io Jaffa, but none of them
present any remarkable features.
The most interesting thing in J alfa for the sight-seer is
the Orange Groves. They are extensive, 1:asily accessible, and the fruit is exqusite ; on some of the trees hunddreds of ripe luscious oranges may be seen, oval in shape, and
some measuring from ten to fifteen inches in circumference.
The traveller must by no means omit to visit here; the

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JAFFA.
aroma in the evening and early morning is deliciou~, and
every sweet scent should be cou,tcd in Palestine. 0Lher
fruits-lemons, pomegranates, water-melons, etc.-also comto great perfection here. For miles round the scene is one
of luxuriant beauty. These orchards, or gardens, are prctected by rows of the prickly cactus, forming an impent'-
trable hedge. There are, in the vicinity, over 300 of these
gardens, var} ing in size from three or four acres to ten or
twelve acres; about a hundred of the gar~ens have two wells
each, the remainder only one well each. Oraogec;are sometimes sold in the streets of Jaffa at the rate of eight or kn
a penny, and about 8,000,000 are produced annually in the
neighbourhood.
As nearly every traveller in Palestine is interested in
the work of Christian education in the East, a visit to
Miss Arnott's School may well be included among the
things to be done in Jaffa, more especially if the day be
Sunday. This school is not under the auspices of the
Society for Promoting Female Education in the East, but is
the result of Miss Arnott's individual exertions; assisted
by various societies and private individuals. Not being
under the patronage of any society it has a special claim
upon the passing traveller, and every one who pays a visit
will be wdl rewarded for his pains. There is nothing in
the East which excites the wonder and arouses the indignation of the Western traveller more than the degradation to
which the women arc subjected and the lamentable ignorance in which they lháe, and it is to grapple with this evil,
amongst others, that the school has been established.
In March, 1863, Miss Arnott gathered fourteen little
girls around her; in the summer of the same year the
numbers increased to fifty; in 1869, she commenced to take
in boarders in order to train them as teachers. Her efforts

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74 JAFFA TO JERUSALEM,
have been so successful, that a piece of land has been purchased on which a large, substantial house has been erected,
suitable for the requirements of her work. Already there are
from fifty to sixty pupils in the day-school, about sixty
persons assemble every Sunday for Protestant worship, and
there are thirteen boarders in training as teachers. 4€10 per
annum is the cost of maintaining and thoroughly educating
a girl in the house. .
Just outside Jaffa, to the north, or left of the gate, is a
miserable Mahomedan cemetery, and beyond this, close to
the Jerusalem Hotel, is the German Colony. A colony
was founded here, in the first instance (1866), by some
Americans, but their scheme was unsuccessful, and when
the Quaker Ci.tvvisited Jaffa it took away the bulk of the
colonists to Egypt, from whence they were assisted back
again to America; a party of Germans then took possession
of the spot and continue there to this day. They number
about forty families, and although, withthe many unfavourable
circumstances around them, they make slow progress, it is a
fact that they make progress. The tourist who is interested in the question of what Palestine is capable of becoming (see p. 118) will do well to visit this colony, and extend
his journey to Sarona, a little to the north.

JAFFA TO JE.RUSALEM,
(Distance 40 miles. A 12 hours' ride.)
It is usual to break the journey at Ramleh, where, if the
traveller is not provided with tent and dragoman, he can stay
at the Convent (p. 76) ; the road is perfectly safe.
The journey may be made on horseback, by carriage, or,
by the infirm, in a palanquin.
There are two routes. ( 1) From Jaffa to Ramleh direct

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PLAIN OF SHARON, 75
-time 3 hours. (2) From Jaffa to Ludd (Lydda} and
to Ramleh -time 4½ hours.
Both r, ,ads are good in dry weather, but in the rainy
season the one to Lydda is very muddy, while the direct road
to Ramleh is good at all times.
Leavin, ~ Jaffa, for half an hour the road is through
orange, lei non, pomegranate, and other fruit gardens; on
the left is a Fountain with several large sycamore trees in
front and. 1 few cypress trees behind (this is pointed out by
some drag, ,mans, who seek to make capital out of everything,
as the Tor ab of Dorcas, or, if it be preferred, the spot where
she was ra Jsed to life). Emerging from the gardens, the
Plain of ' Sharon is entered; it extends from Jaffa to
Ciesarea, ; md from the central hills to the Mediterranean,
and is tl 1e northern extremity of the Sephela. It was
celebrated for its fertility and its suitableness for pasturage (1 Chron. xxvii. 29, xxxiii. y; Isa. xlv. 10), and now
it product :s grass and flowers in profusion, and is capable of
much bet ter cultivation.
It is interesting to remember that this has been the
great tho, mughfare to Jerusalem in all ages. The materials
for t':ie • femple were all carried along this road ; Prophets
and Apo stles have ridden across this flowery plain, and the
feet of n 1yriad Crusaders have trodden it. It has been sung
in the p -0etry of sorrow and of joy. The voice of despair
has crie• d, " The earth mourneth and languisheth ; Lebanon
is asban 1ed and hewn down ; Sharon is like a wilderness••
(Isa. xx xiii. 9) ; but the voice of hope has been heard saying,
"The, Nilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; the
excelle ocy of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of
the Lo -rd and the excellency of our God" (Isa. xuv. 1, 2 ).
The Rose of Sharon (Song of Sol. ii. 1) is supposed
~y mi my to be a species of mallow; others contend that it

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JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

is the narcissus, meadow saffron, anemone, Iii.> r, asphodd,
"Saviour's blood drop,'' etc., all of which are fo 11Ddhere in
abundance. \Varburton says the plain '' is sp, inkled with
the iris, wild tulip, and almost every flower exc ept its own
peculiar rose." Thomson says he has "seen ti LOusandsof
Solomon's roses on Sharon,'' but he regards tl ie rose as a
species of mallow.
The greatest profusion of.flowers is seen in A1 nil or May,
in autumn the whole plain is like a wilderness.
Soon after entering the plain a small village , viii be seen
on the right, owned by a society called the Jewish , ~gricultural
School; the president, Mr. Charles Netter, is a 1 rrenchman.
In less than half an hour from this spot Yaz ur, an old
village, is passed (ptrhaps the site of some HaZ< ,r; Hazorshual, to wit, Joshua xix. 3). Near this village is a Wely
which some dragomans point out as Abraham's F ountain.
Here the road to Lydda branches off to the lef i: (p. 78).
Proceeding on the direct road, fields and lo, ir hills are
passed, and in about twenty minutes Beit-Dejan i s seen on
the left hand (p. 78). It was doubtless one of the many
Beth Dagon's, i.e., House of Ua){on, the dei1 y of the
Philistines (Joshua xv. 41 ). Half an hour before , reaching
Ramleh the modern village of Surafend will be , seen on
the right hand surrounded by cactus hedges ( cactus opuntia) ;
and on the left the olive trees surrounding Lydda.

RAMLEH
[There is a small Hotel here where from 10 to 1:2 persons
can be accommodated. At the Latin Monast ery the
accommodation is good, and every attention is I oaid to
travellers. Ramleh is usually only a halting-pla ce, for
luncheon and rest, on the way to Jerusalem.]

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RAMLEH,
Ramleli . (sancl) is tolerably well-built, and has a population of ab4 •ut 4000, of whom nearly a third are Christians.
There is 2 tradition that Ramleh corresponds with the
Arimathaea of the New Testament, where dwelt that disci_ple
who gave t he grave wherein never man lay, for the burial of
our Lord , (Matt. xxvii. 57), and that the Latin Convent
stands on 1 he site of the house of Nicodemus; there does
not appear, however, to be any historical evidence for these
traditions. It was here that in ancient times the great
caravan ro1 1te from Damascus to Egypt crossed the route
from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The town was probably of Saracenic origii 1, being attributed to Solyman (eighth century).
It was a ha }ting-place of the Crusaders, and it suffered in the
wars betwe en the :Franks and Saladin. Io the time of the
French ia vasion Napoleon made this town his headquarters.
Round- about Ramleh the senses are gratified with the
loveliness : md fragrance of gardens and orchards, but the
sights and smells encountered in .the narrow, dirty streets
of the tow n are very objectionable. Ophthalmic diseases,
part!y attril ,utable to the sand that sweeps along the lanes,
rage amona • the populace.
There : are a few soap factories in Ramleh, some
churches, c onvents, mosques, and minarets, but none of any
particular i nterest. By far the most interesting thing in
Ramleh is1 he Great Tower, a short distance from the
town. Vat fous theories have been entertained as to the
origin of th is tower and of the ruined building around itsome allegii 1g that it was a mosque built by the founder of
the town; , :>thersthat it was a khiln ; and otheB that it was
a Christian Church built by the Crusaders. The architecture is clear ly Saracenic, and an inscription assigns its origin
to a Muslin , chieftain. But this inscription, it is contended

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JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

by some, in accordance with a practice by no mt •ans infrequent, has been placed on an erection of an earlier date.
The tower is square, and of great beauty. Every traveller should niake a point of ascending to the gallery by
the I 2.0 well-worn, but perfectly safe, steps. 'I 'he View
from the summit áis very fioe,á and is thus de: ;cribed by
Thomson:-" The view from the top of the toá wer is inexpressibly grand. The whole plain of Sharon, from the
mountains of Judea and Samaria to the sea, and from the
foot of Carmel to the :::andydeserts of Philistia, I áiesspread
out like an illuminated map. Beautiful as vast, : md diversified as beautiful, the eye is fascinate~, the in 1agination
enchanted, especially when the last rays of the St ~tting sun
light llp the white villages which sit or hang uponá the manyshaped declivities of the mountains," To speci fy,,with a
little more precision, the places comprehended in the view;
the traveller can see Ashdod (p. 383), Askelon (p. 385), and
Gath (p. 398) ; also from Gaza in the south, to C resarea in
the north, and from the Mediterranean on the we !St to the
Mountains of Samaria on the east.

JAFFA TO RAMLEH,BY LYDDJ \.
The route from Jaffa to Lydda is the same as i n the previous route until the Wely, sometimes called i .1.braham's
Fountain, is reached (p. 76). The road then tur ns to the
left; a small village is passed on the left, and t hen Beit-
Dejtm (p. 76), from which place, if so minded, th, ~ traveller
might proceed by a path on the right hand to Ra11 1leh.
The route to Lydda lies forward, and the , olive-trees
around the town clearly indicate its whereabouts.
Lydda (the Greek form of Lod, called by th e Romans
Diospolis, and now Ludd) was one of the ancien t cities of

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LYDDA. 79
Palestine (1 Chron. viii. 12). After the Captivity, it was
occupied by the Benjamites (Ezra ii. 33; Neb. vii. 37). In
the time of Cassius Longinus, after the death of Julius
Czsar, the whole of the inhabitants were sold into slavery.
Here, under the secoQd Gamaliel, a famous Rabbinical
School flourished. Bishops of Lydda figure in early eccleá
siastical history, and in 415 a Council at this place welcomed
Pelagius as a Christian brother. In 1191 Saladin completely
destroyed the town. Its greatest interest to the traveller
will probably be its New Testament associations "It
came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters,
he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.
And then he found a certain man named Eneas, which
had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the
palsy. And Peter said unto him,. Eneas, Jesus Christ
maketh thee w1l_ole .:.l!rise, and ámake thy bed. And he
arose immediately, and. all that dweltá at Lydda and Saron
(Sharon) saw him, and turned to the Lord" (Acts ix.
3z-35). •
The principal thing to see in Lydda is a very fine
Church, dedicated to St. George, who, according to some
traditions, was born and buried here. Justinian, it is said,
reared a church to his memory, which edifice was destroyed
by the Saracens in the eighth century. It was rebuilt by
the Crusaders, destroyed by Saladin, and rebuilt by Richard
Creur de Lion (?). The church is now in the possession of
the Greeks, and is shown by one of the monks from the
monastery. It will be seen that the present church is made
up of much ancient material from the former churches on
this spot.
Leavingthe church and the mosque, the road to Ramleh
is on the left. Passing amongst olive gardens and palmtrees, the road improving as we proceed, the town of Ramleh

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80 JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

(p. 76) is seen in the distance, and serves to mark out the
route unmistakably.
RAMLEHTO JERUSALEM.
[By taking the direct route, hereafter described, it is possible
to reach Jerusalem in eight or nine hours, but for a first
day it is too fatiguing, and it is uninteresting to enter
Jerusalem at night. Travellers under the arrangements
of Messrs. CooK & SoN tarry for the night close by
the Valley of Ajalon (p. 84). Persons travelling inde•
pendently may, if so disposed, halt for the night at Babel-Wady (p. 84), but this plan is not recommended.]
A few minutes after leaving Ramleh, a burial-ground is
crossed. Away to the left is seen JimztJ., the ancient •
Gimzo, taken from the Israelites by the Philistines in the
time of Ahaz (z Chron. xxviii. 18).
Supposing that the traveller is enjoying his first day of
Palestine travel, he will, during the journey from Jaffa to
Ramleh, have become accustomed to the saddle ; have
obtained some knowledge of his horse, and will be prepared,
after his luncheon, to look about, and enter into some of
those peculiar pleasures which are to be enjoyed only in the
Holy Land. Every hour's march will furnish him with
subjects of thought connected with the Bible. Perhaps this
will be, therefore, a fitting place to call attention to some of
the Illustrations of Scripture which are to be gathered by
the observant at every point.
"Look, for instance, at that man ploughing yonder field.
His plough is of two poles, which cross each other at the
ends next to the ground. One pole is fastened to the yoke,
and is used for drawing; the other is used by the driver, as
a ploughshare at one end and a handle at the other. Only one
handle; and one thinks of that saying, 'No man having

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ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE. 81
put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of heaven' (Luke ix. 62). In his other hand he
carries a long spear or goad, with a sharp point, for touching
up the oxen. It is seven or eight feet long, with a sort of
spade at the other end for scraping the dirt off the plough. It
is no use £or the refractory oxen to raise their heels when
the goad touches them ; the driver is safely behind the plough
and out of reach. One thinks of that saying of Saul of
Tarsus, 'It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,' that
is, the goads (Acts ix. 5); and of 'Shamgar, the son of
Anatb, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with
an ox-goad; and he also delivered Israel' (Judges iii. 31).
"Look at the land which the man is ploughing. It has
no hedge or fence ; a few heaps of stones mark out his
boundary. I would gharantee to scatter all those stones in
an hour, but I should bring down upon my head this crushing penalty-' Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's
landmarks:' and all the people should say,' Amen' (Deut.
xxvii. 17).
"When Ruth went gleaning in the field after the reapers,
she had no hedges or ditches to scramble over, she only
passed the boundary of stones in a large field, similar to
those in the plain of Sharon, 'and her hap was to light on a
part of the.field belonging to Boaz' (Ruth ii. 3).
" This is but a specimen of the trains of association
which are started by the merest incidents and circumstances
of travel, and time would fail to tell of a tithe of such scriptural associations as a day's journey in Palestine will call to
mind." -(Hodder.)
In about three-quarters of an hour from Ramleh a small
mud village on the right is passed, named Bareh, and beyond
this, in about one hour, a village near the road on the left,
El-Kubab, with a Muslim population of about 400. Like

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JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

many of the villages hereabout, it is on a tell, and is surround~d with the cactus hedge.
A few rods beyond the village, and before descending
the hill, stop an!l take a view over the Valley of Ajalon,
where that wondrous scene occurred (Joshua x. 12) when
Joshua obtained the victory over the five kings of the
Amorites, and the inoon stood still until the conquest was
complete. " Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou,
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon ! And the sun stood still, and
the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves
upon their enemies." Ajalon (Yalo) was a city of the tribe
of Dan (Joshua xix. 42).
From this spot a dragoman well up to his work will
point out the two Beth-Horons (p. 91) to the left, in a
north-easterly direction, and the recently-identified site of
Gezer (see below) on the right. There are extensive ruins of
this place, which was a Canaanitish royal city on the southwestern border of Ephraim. The king of Gezer was
defeated by Joshua (Joshua x. 33, xii. 12). The city, with
its .suburbs, was given to the Kohathite Levites (Joshua
xxi. :u). The city, not being dispossessed of its original inhabitants, remained a strong fortress of the Philistines for
many centuries. It was invaded by David ( 1 Sam. xvii. 8).
It was captured and burned by Pharaoh, who gave it "for a
present to his daughter, Solomon's wife" (1 Kings
ix. 15-17); and it was rebuilt by Solomon. It is often
referred to in the times of the Maccabees ( 1 Mace.
xv 28, 35).
M. Clermont Gann.eau has found on this spot previously
indicated by him as the site of Gezer, not only the name
Tell-el-Gezer still existing, with traces of the foundations of
houses, but two inscriptions, exactly alike, in Hebrew and
Greek, the Hebrew words being translated " the boundary of

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LATRUN.

Gezer.'~ We have thus new data for many important points
of dispute. There are, for instance, the boundaries .of a
Levitical city (Nam. xxxv. 4, 5); the direction of the
square, which is now seen to have lain ~ith its four. angles
at the four cardinal points; the exact length of '' two
thousand cubits," and therefore of one cubit. The measurements, however, are not yet completed. The inscri'ptions
will be engraved when these, with the memoir promised by
M. Ganneau, are sent home.
In addition to these two places the dragoman should also
point out the route which the Amorite kings took to Makkedah (p. 95). "And it was told Joshua, saying, The
five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah " (Joshua
x. 16, 17).
After descending the hill, the valley of Ajalon is crossed
on the way to the village of Latrt1n (robber), about
three~quarters of an hour from Kub~b. It is on a hill to the
right of the road. There are a few ruins and cisterns of
very recent date. It is the traditional native place of Dimas
the penitent thief. The medireval legend says that he was
in early life associated with the impenitent thief, and, when
Mary fled into Egypt with the Holy Child, and passed this
way, the two thieves fell upon the party, and demanded
a heavy backsheesh for ransom. But Dimas, "touched
by the grace of the Divine Infant, protected Him from the
brutality of his accomplice." This incident it is affirmed
was remembered on the Cross, when the thief threw himself
on the protection of the Divine Man.
There seems reason to believe that Latrun may be identified with Modin, of the Maccabees, so often referred to in
the Apocryphal Book recording the struggles of that renowned family. Here the deputy of Antiochus Epiphanes, set up the idol altar, and called upon the Jews to

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JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

come and worship, when old Mattathias and his five sons
burst upon the scene, scattered the idolaters, and fled to the
hills. Then commenced the long and glorious struggle of
the Maccabean _War, resulting in new national life, new
modes of thought, and an entirely new phase of Judaism.
On this mound were buried Mattathias and his son, the repowned Judas Maccabeus, Lion of Judah, and others of the
Asmonrean family.
Very near Latrun is the village of Amwas, or Emmaus (not the Emmaus of St. Luke's Gospel), with the
ruins of a church and a fountain, which is said to have had
almo~t miraculous properties for healing all manner of
diseases. This small village wasá an important town in ancient times, although it does not receive any mention in the
Scriptures. Here Judas Maccabeus gained a victory over
Georgias (1 Mac. iii. 40-.57, iv. 3, ix. .50). The Roman
General Varus burned the city in 4 A.D. It was rebuilt in
:no A.D., by Julius African us, and by him named Nicopolis.
It is utterly impossible to reconcile this Amwas, or Emmaus,
with the town of that name in the Gospel, although curiously enough it was regarded as that site for nearly ten
centuries (third to thirteenth).
This town and Beit Nuba (a little to the north) are prominent in the story of Richard Creur de Lion's last weeks in
Palestine, before concluding a peace with Saladin.
One hour from Latnin, passing Bir Eyyflh (Job's Well)
and Deir Eyyllh (Job's Convent), the traveller arrives, at the
foot of the mountains, at a place called Bab-el-Wad-y (the
door or entrance to the valley).
[Travellers under the arrangements of Messrs. CooK and
SoN generally make the first day's journey an easy one, and
camp for the night in this neighbourhood. They will be
surprised to see the tents all pitched, and a "canvas town''

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ABOU-GOSCH.

ready for them to occupy. Persons travelling independently
sometimes stay at an inn kept by a Jew, at Bab-el-Wady.
But as the lower part of the house is a stable, and there are
only two sleeping rooms and a" parlour," nothing but grea
necessity should detain the tourist.]
Proceeding towards Jerusalem, the traveller pursues his
course along the Wady 'Aly, a narrow, steep, winding defile,
where on every hand" bill rises upon hill, gray, bald, and
rugged.'' Furze and heath, and a profusion of wild flowers
grow among the rocks, but trees are stunted and spare. In
other parts adjacent, desolation reigns supreme. "Not a
blade of grass nor a leaf of tree to be seen, a wild region,
such as you might look for in Iceland; so desolate that one
instinctively buttons up the coat as if it ought to be cold; so
desolate that one feels for weapons of defence, although not
a sign of life is in view."
At the top of this first mountain of J udrea there is a fine
view of the sea, Jaffa, Ramleb, the Plain of Sharon, and
the sandbills of the coast.
Near this place on the right, in a large olive grove, is the
small village of Saris. This is another of the places which
some have erroneously sough( to identify with Emmaus,
without the slightest foundation. In an hour from Saris we
reach the village of Abou-Gosch, named after a notorious
ruffian who, with a band of relations equally ruffianly, were
the terror of the neighbourhood, and especially of travellers.
On one occasion it is said they, fell upon a band of Franciscan monks, and stifled them to death in an oven. About
thirty years ago they were seized and transported, but their
descendants still live in the village, and are perhaps as honest
as the villagers round about, which is not saying much,
however, for their respectability.
The former name of the village of Abou-Gosch was a

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86 JAFFA TO JERUSALEM.

m\lch pleasanter one. It was Kuryet-el-'Enab, or the
Town of Grapes ; and this is comparatively a recent name
for it, as in the far away ages it was Kirjath-Jearim, theá
City of Woods. (The identification was made by Robinson.)
Kirjath-jearim was one of the four cities of the Gibeonites (Joshua ix. J 7) ,on the north boundary of Judah (xv. 9),
and the southern one of Benjamin (xviii. 14, 15). Urijah,
the prophet, was born here (Jer. xxvi. 20). After the exile
this was one of the ancient cities again inhabited (Ezra ii.
25; Neh. vii. 25).
The principal event narrated in Scripture about Kirjathjearim will be remembered with interest here.
The ark of God was at Bethshemesh (p. 40:l). " And
the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of
the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the
hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the
Lord. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long ; for it was twenty years :
and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord " ( 1 Sam.
vii. 1, 2). At the end of that time, "David gathered all Israel
together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of
Hemath to bring the ark of God to Kirjath-jearim '' (1
Chron. xiii. 5). The traveller may perhaps realize the
scene as he approaches the village, and settles in his mind
,some house "in the hill'' as the starting place. Never
was there such a day in the picturesque village before. It
was the beginning of Israel's glory. No wonder therefore that, '' David and all Israel played before God with all
their might, with singing and with harps, and with psalteries
and cymbals and trumpets.'' Perhaps as the vast procession
moved down the steep hill the refrain of this song might
have been heard :-

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KIRJATH-JEARIM.

" Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah :
We found it in the fields of the wood.•
We will go into His tabernacles :
We will worship at His footstool.
Arise, 0 Lord, into Thy rest;
Thou, and the ark of Thy strength."
Ps. cxxxii. 6, 8.

The principal thing to see here is a ruined Church,
sometimes called the Church of St. Jeremiah, on the supposition that Kirjath-jearim was the same as Anathoth (p. :i.38),
where the prophet was born. The church is massive, consisting of nave and aisles, and at the east end three apses.
Traces of frescoes may still be seen on the walls.
It sometimes happens that a party of tourists enter the
church on horseback (it is only used as a stable), and the
effect of a large party in such place and circumstance is
very curious.
There is a crypt under the church, but it is not accessible.
The church is in possession of the Latins. Few will care
to visit the tomb of Abou-Gosch, which is north of the
church, beside a small mosque.
Descending from Kirjath-jearim (Kuryet-el-'Enab, or
Abou-Gosch, whichever name may be preferred), in a quarter of an hour we pass o~ the right an Arab coffee-shop,
beside a spring, named' Ain Dilb. About here may be seen
several karoob trees (the Ceratonia siliqua of botanists),
which bear pods with a kind of bean in them, very sweet
when ripe. The prodigal son "would fain have filled his
belly" with tht>sehusks or beans (Luke xv. 16).
To the right of 'Ain Dilb is a high hill with the village
of Soba, and a ruined castle on the top, not satisfactori~y
identified with any scriptural site. In three-quarters of an
• Kirjath-jearim; i.e., City of Woods.

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t

88 JAFF~ TO JERUSALEM.

hour we reach the top of a hill, where there is a ruined
castle called.Kustal, probably from castellum, castle. From
here there is a good view, including Neby Samwil, the traditional burial-place of the prophet Samuel, and the ancient
Mizpeh (p. 97).
From Kustal a descent of half an hour brings the traveller into the Valley of Kolonieh, by a zig-zag road.
To the right is a beautifol little village, called 'Ain Karim;
it is situated in the midst of olive, fig, and other fruit trees,
and has a population of about 800, mostly Christians. Tradition makes it the birth-place of St. John the Baptist; the
arguments being that as Zacharias, his father, was a priest,
he would live near Jerusalem, and in Luke i. 39, his residence is described as " in the hill country in a city of Judah."
Kolonieh (Colonia) is about a quarter of an hour further
on; it is a pretty little place, with orchards, gardens, and
groves. This has been considered by many to be the Emmaus
of St. Luke's gospel; but so has Nicopolis (p. 84), Kirjathjearim {p. 86), Saris (p. 85), and Kubeibeh, three miles west
of Mizpeh (p. 97). There is nothing but conjecture to
go upon, and therefore each traveller will probably decide the
point, in his own imagination at least, for himself. St. Luke
says Emmaus was " threescore. furlongs from Jerusalem "
(Luke xxiv. 13), and Josephus mentions a village of the same
name at the same distance from Jerusalem. Kolonieh, the
site favoured by Mr. Grove, is as much too near Jerusalem as
Saris is too far.
In the valley of Kolonieh is a bridge, crossing the bed of
the valley, and here travellers have been in the habit of
gathering "smooth stones out of the brook,'' in memory of
the conflict between David and Goliath, which tradition has
located here. The site does not, however, agree with the
Scripture narrative (p. -100).

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APPROACHING JERUSALEM. 89
From Kolonieh to Jerusalem is a journey of one
and a half hours-about four and a half miles-and is nearlv
all the way up hill. Near to the top the village of Lifta, is
seen in a deep valley on the left. As the wild high tableland in the neighbourhood is approached, the traveller may
well reflect on the associations connected with the road he is
traversing. Along it the ark of God was borne in triumph
to Mount Zion; somewhere along the route Christ joined
the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. From age to
age thousands of Israelites have gone up here to the solemn
feasts at Jerusalem. And in after times these desolate
regions have echoed to the tramp of Roman legions, and the
war cry of the Crusaders.
After reaching the top of the hill, the Mount of Olives
will be seen on the east, and Scopus the northern range of
Olivet. In a few minutes more a large building on the right
is passed; it is the Convent of the Cross, which the
Greeks say is over the spot where the tree grew from which
the Cross was made. To the left is another large building,
the German Orphanage.
When the hill in front is reached the traveller will behold
Jerusalem, but he must bear in mind that the view will be
sure to disappoint him; he will only see the western wall
and a few houses of the city, and he will be vexed to see a
mass of ugly buildings erected by the Russians, principally
for the benefit of their pilgrims. Some travellers prefer
turning off by the road to the right, and making their way
to Bethlehem, and leaving Jerusalem until they shall make
their entry by way of Jericho-that is unquestionably the
finest view, and the sight is o,áerwhelming. But it is
tantalizing, too, to be within a stone's throw of the Holy
City and not to visit it at once.
From the hill top there is a good view of the Moun-

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LYDDA TO JERUSALEM.

tains of Moab and the "mountains round about Jerusalem.''
Io Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered he thus describes the
emotions of the Crusaders on their first view of the Holy
City:-
" With holy zeal their swelling breasts abound,
And their winged footsteps scarcely print the ground,
When now the sun ascends th' ethereal way,
And strikes the dusty field with warmer ray.
Behold, Jerusalem in prospect lies I
Behold, Jerusalem salutes their eyes !
At once a thousand tongues repeat the name,
All hail Jerusalem with loud acclaim.
" At first transported with the pleasing sight,
Each Christian bosom glowed with full delight ;
But deep contrition soon their joys opprest,
And holy sorrow saddened every breast.
Scarce dare their eyes the city walls survey,
Where clothed in flesh their dear Redeemer lay;
Whose sacred earth did once their Lord enclose,
And where triumphant from the grave He rose."

Descending towards the city, we have on our left the
Russian buildings (p. 184), on the right, in the valley, a large
reservoir, the Upper Pool of Gihon, in Isaiah's time the
"upper pool in the Fuller's Field," and then before us is the
J aJfa Gate (p. 144).

FROM LYDDA TO JERUSALEM.
By the Beth-Horons and Neby Samw1l (Mizpeh).
The route leads through pleasant groves and past cactus
hedges for a short distance, and then the hill on which
Jimzd stands {p. So) becomes visible, and towards this the
traveller bends his way.

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THE BETH-HORONS.

Jimzu is the ancient Glmzo (p/.acefertik in sycamores).
It was captured by the Philistines with Ajalon and other
places in the rei~ of Ahaz (2 Chron. xviii. 18); it is
situated on the spur of the hills of Judea, and stands " like
a fortress above the lower hills, as if to defend the passes
beyond.''
From Jimzu the path to the left is followed, and soon
"the hill country of Judah" is entered. The ascent is long
(about 26 hours) and somewhat tedious as the road is rougb,
although not rougher than that from Ramleh to Jerusalem
(p. 80). At the top of the hill there is a village, Umm
Rush, after passing which the road descends to the village
of Beit 'Ur-el-Tahta(Beth-Horon the Nether). An hour
of steep up-hill work brings the traveller to Beit 'Ur-el-
Foka (Beth-Horon the Upper).
These two sites occupy an important place io Biblical
history and geography. They formed the boundary between
Judah and Benjamin (Joshua xvi. 3, 5, xviii. 13, 14), and
they are referred to over and over again in the Scripture
narrative; they are chiefly famous, however, as the scene of
one of Joshua's greatest battles. The account of the battle is
so admirably given by Stanley that we insert here an extract
sufficient for the traveller to follow the main incidents of the
story recorded in the Scriptures. If the traveller will make
his way to the Sheikh's House in Upper Beth-Horon
and take his stand on the roof, he will read Joshua x.,
and then the admirable commentary given below. .Jt must
be remembered that the route comprehended in this tour
includes El-Jib (Giheon) and Neby Samwil (MiT.peh),
from both which places incidents of the battle will be recalled
with interest.
"The suJQmons of the Gibeonites to Joshua was as
urgent as words can describe, and gives the key-note to the

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92 LYDDA TO JERUSALEM.

whole movement. ' Slack not thy hand from thy servants;
come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us ; for all the
kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathere<l
together against us.' Not a moment was to be lost, As
in the battle of Marathon, everything depended on the suddenness of the blow which should break in pieces the hostile
confederation. On the former occasion of Joshua's visit to
Gibeon it had been a three days' journey from Gilgal, as
according to the slow pace of Eastern armies and caravans it
might well be. But now, by a forced march, ' Joshua came
upon them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.'
When the sun rose behind him he was already in the open
ground at the foot of the heights of Gibeon, where the kings
were encamped (according to tradition) by a spring in the
neighbourhood. The towering hill, at the foot of which
Gibeon lay, rose before them on the west. The besieged
and the besiegers were alike taken by surprise. As often
before and after, so now,' not a man could stand before' the
awe and the panic of the sudden sound of that terrible shout
-the sudden appearance of that undaunted host, who came
with the assurance not ' to fear, nor to be dismayed, but to be
strong and of a good courage, for the Lord had delivered their
enemies into their hands.'
"The Canaanites fled down the western pass, and 'the
Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them
with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them
along the way that goeth up to Beth-Horon.' This was the
first stage of the flight. It is a long rocky ascent, sinking and rising more than once before the summit is
reached. From the snmmit, which is crowned by the village
of Upper Beth-Horoo, a wide view opens over the áv11lleyof
Ajalon, of ' Stags' or 'Ga%elles,' which runs in from the
plain of Sharon. Jaffa, Ramleh, Lydda are all visible beyond.

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THE BETH-HORONS. 93
" ' And it came to pass, as they fled before Israel, and
were in the going down to Beth-Horon, that the Lord cast
down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah.'
This was the second stage of the flight; the fugitives
had outstripped the pursuers, they had crossed the high
ridge of Beth-Horon the Upper, they were in full flight to
Beth-Horon the Nether. It is a rough, rocky road, sometimes over the upturned edges of the limestone strata, sometimes over sheets of smooth rock, sometimes over loose
rectangular stones, sometimes over steps cut in the rock.
"It was as they fled down the slippery descent, that, as
in the fight of Barak against Sisera, a fearful tempest,
'thunder, lightning, and a deluge of hail,' broke over the
disordered ranks; 'they were more which died of the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the
sword.'
" On the summit of the pass, where is now the hamlet
of the Upper Beth~Horon, looking far down the deep
descent of the western valleys, with the green vale of Ajalon
stretched out in the distance, and the wide expanse of the
Mediterranean Sea beyond, stood, as is intimated, the
Israelite chief. Below him was rushing down, in wild confusion, the Amorite host. Around him, were 'all his people
of war and all his mighty men of valour.' Behind him were
the hills which hid Gibeon-the now rescued Gibeon-from
his sight. But the sun stood high above those hills, ' in the
midst of heaven,' for the day had. now far advanced, since
he had emerged from his night march through the passes of
Ai ; and in front, over the western vale of Ajalon, may have
been the faint form of the waning moon, visible above the
hailstorm driving up from the sea in the black distance.
Was the enemy to escape in safety, or was the speed with
which Joshua had' come quickly, and saved and helped' his

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LYDDA TO JERUSALEM.
defenceless allies to be rewarded, before the close of day, by
a signal and decisive victory ? It is doubtl8$ so standing
on that lofty eminence, with outstretched hand and spear, as
on the hill above Ai, that the hero appears in the ancient
song of the " Book of the Heroes."
"Then spoke Joshua unto Jehovah,
In the day 'that God gave up the Amorite
Into the hand of Israel' (lxx. ),
When he discomfited them in Gibeon,
• And they were discomfited before the face of Israel' (lxx.)
And Joshua said,
' Be thou still, 0 sun, upon Gibeon,
And thou, moon, upon the valley of Ajalon !
And the sun was still,
And the moon stood,
Until th~ Nation (or, lxx., 'until God') had avenged them upon
their enemies.
And the sun stood in ' the very midst ' of the heavens
And hasted not to go down for a whole day. '
And there was no day like that before it or after it,
That Jehovah heard the voice of a man,
J.•orJehovah fought for Israel.
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp in
Gilgal."
The route from Beit-'Ur-el-Foka to El-Jib is at first very
rocky and' rough. It follows for some distance the course
of a Roman road, which may be traced at intervals. In a
little less than two hours the summit of the hill is attained,
and then there bursts upon the view El-Jib and Neby
Samwil. A plain lies below us, and having crossed it, in
less than half an hour we are at El-Jib, the ancient
Gibeon.
Fine as th~ view is from Gibeon, that from Neby Samwil
is much finer, and takes in a wealth of historical pictures
second to hardly any in Palestine.

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EL-JIB (GIBEON).
Gibeon (belonging to a hill-i.e., a hill city) was one of
the most important cities of the Hivites (Joshua ix. 7, x. z,
xi. 19). It lay within the territory of Benjamin (Joshua xviii.
z.5).
From this place went the cunning townsfolk to obtain a
league with Joshua. They went with "sacks upon their
asses, and wine-bottles old, and rent, and bound up, and old
shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon
them, and all the bread of their provision dry andámusty."
In this way they journeyed to Joshua at Gilgal, representing
that they had come from " a very far country."á . Joshua's
heart was touched, and he made a league with them to let
them and their people live. He was entrapped, for he
soon discovered them to be near neighbours ; yet for his
oath's sake he let them live; but he made them " hewers of
wood and drawers of water" (or slaves) to the whole congregation thenceforth for ever (Joshua ix.)
Joshua came to the defence of the Gibeonites when they
were besieged by the five kings of the Amorites (p. 9z)
and in the great battle which followed, "the sun stood still
upon Gibeon •• (Joshua x. u).
Afterwards Gibeon became a city of the Levites (Joshua
.xviii. z5); and here came the tabernacle after its wilderness
journey, and here it stayed until the completion of Solomon's Temple, while the ark was at Jerusalem. There is
much controversy as to whether the "high place of Gibeon"
is this hill of El-Jib, or the more commanding site of áNeby
Samwil ; the weight of ;vidence seems in favour of the
latter. Stanley places Mizpeh on Scopus (p. 175).
Here came "Zadok the priest, and his brethren the
priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place
that was at Gibeon, to offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord
upon the altar of the burnt-offering continually morning and

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LYODA TO JtRUSALEM.

evening, to do according to all that is written in the law of
the Lord, which He commanded Israel " ( I Chron. xvi.
39-40. See also xxi. 29; 2 Chron. i. :1.).
It was here that one of the most interesting religious
ceremonies was ever seen in Judrea. "The king (Solomon)
went to Gibeon to sacrifice there ; for that was the great high
place ; a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon
that altar•• (1 Kings iii. 4-15). And "in Gibeon the
Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ; and God
said, Ask what I shall give thee." And "the 'wise and
understanding heart " was chosen, and given together with
'' riches and honour."
Several tragic incidents occurred at Gibeon. On one of
the hill slopes there is a large reservoir,'' the Pool of Gibeon."
This was, no '.doubt, the spot where Abner and Joab met,
" and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool,
and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner
said to J oab, Let the young men now arise and play before
us. And J oab said, Let them arise. And these arose and
went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained
to lsh-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of
David." All these athletes were slain, for "they caught
every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his•
fellow's side; so they fell down together. Wherefore that
place was called Helkath-hazzurim'á (i.e., the field of strong
men). And that same day the bloody action was avenged,
for Abner was totally defeated, and his brother Ashael, '' as
light of foot as a wild roe," met his death" (:1.Sam. ii. 12-
24).
Here, too," at the great stone which is at Gibeon" (and
which may, perchance,be the huge stone on the pathway
leading to Jerusalem), where Amasa was murdered by Jcab.
" And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother,

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NEBY SAMWIL.
and Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to
kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was
in Joab's hand, so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib
... and struck him not again, and he died " (:2 Sam. xx.
9-1:2).
And here came the retribution for both these tragedies.
Joab, in the hour of his despair, fled" unto the tabernacle of
the Lord, and caught hold of the homs of the altar,'' and
while there, by order of Solomon, " Benaiah, the son of
Jehoiada, went up and fell upon him and slew him" (Kings
ii. 28-34).
Neby Samwil,
(the ancient Mizpek, according to Robinson, Porter, and others),
towers immediately above the town of El-Jib. It stands on
a solitary mountain peak over 600 feet above the plain of
Gibeon, and :2650 feet above the sea level. It is one of the
highest points in Palestine, and commands, perhaps without
exception, the finest view in the land.
Before giving any account of the history of Mizpeh, the
view must be"explained, as this will first attract the attention and excite intense interest. Let the traveller proceed at
once to the mosque on the summit of the hill, and make his
way to the roof--or, better still, to the top of the minaret.
There are Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives to the
south-east, and further to the right, Bethlehem !
Tens of thousands of pilgrims have gazed upon Jerusalem for the first time from here. Here Richard Cceur de
Lion first beheld it, and, covering his face with his hands,
cried aloud, it is said, as he knelt, " 0 Lord God, I pray
Thee that I may never see thy holy city, if so be that I may
not rescue it from the hands of thy enemies ! "
No one will need to be told which is Jerusalem, or which

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LYUDA TO JERUSALEM.

the Mount of Olives, or the Frank Mountain, or Bethlehem.
The hills of Moab form a striking feature in the landscape,
but the Dead Sea is hidden. The Jordan Valley, too, is
hidden, but the W adies leading to it may perhaps be discerned.
From. here, as from the Wely above Nazareth (p. 284),
the smallness of the land must impress itself upon the mind
of every traveller. Dr. Norman MacLeod, referring to this,
says, " We saw across it. On one side was the great sea, on
which sails were visible; on the other, the range of Moab,
which is beyond the eastern boundary of Palestine. To the
south we saw within a few miles of Hebron; while to the
north we discovered the steep promontory of Carmel, plunging its beak into the sea. It is difficult to conceive that the
Palestine of the Patriarchs-that is, the land from the inhabited 'south' to the great Plain of Esdraelon, which like
a green strait sweeps past Carmel to the steeps above the
Jordan, an<lseparates the old historical land of Canaan from
Galilee-d<>'!s not extend further than the distance between
Glasgow and Perth, and could be traversed by an express
train in two or three hours. But so it is. The whole land,
even from Dan to Beersheba, is not larger than Wales. We
saw not only the entire breadth, but almost the entire length
of the Palestine of the Patriarchs from the heights of Neby
Samwll."
Looking westward, the down:s of the sea-shore may
be traced for a great distance ; on a mounrl is the site
of Ashdod; to the left of that is Ekron; Ramleh and
Lydda will be seen on the plain, and in the further distance
Jaffa. Southward is seen Bethlehem and the Frank Mountain; below the spectator, Tuleil-el-Ful, the Gibeah of Saul;
while in the immediate foreground will be seen the Plain of
Gibeon, the scene of the Beth-Horon battles. There are

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NEBY SAMWIL.
many places which a dragoman will point out, such as
Azotus (Ashdod), whither Philip was conveyed by the
spirit; Ekron, where the ark abode ; Yalo, the ancient
Ajalon; and numerous other places of more or less interest.
Neby Samw11,the Mizpeh of the Old Testament, was
a city in Benjamin (Joshua xviii. 26), and here the great
national assemblies of Israel were held in the time of the
Judges. "Then all the children of Israel went out, and
the congregation was gathered together as one man, from
Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the
Lord in Mizpeh" (Judges xx. 1).
When Samuel mourned over the sins of Israel, he said,
" Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto
the Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh '•
(1 Sam. xii. 5, 6). One of the most remarkable scenes
in Mizpeh was when a young man was brought hither,
and " when he stood among the people he was higher than
any of the people from his shoulders and upwards . . . and
all the people shouted and said, God save the king'' (1 Sam.
x. ~4, 25), and Saul became their king. It was between Mizpeh and Shen that " Samuel took a stone . . . . and called
the name of it Ebene-x.er,saying, Hitherto :the Lord hath
helped us" (1 Sam. vii. 6-12). The town was fortified
. by Asa ((Kings xv. 22). Gedaliah was assassinated here
(i Kings xxv. 23-25); and when, in the time of Nehemiah,
the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, the men of Mizpeh joined
with the men of Gibeon in rebuilding one portion of the
wall (Neb. iii. 7, 15, 19).
The modem village has not anything of great interest
for the traveller. A Mahomedan tradition makes this the
birth-place of Samuel, but there is strong evidence to the
contrary. They also affirm that it is the place of his burial,
and with a good backsheesh they will show his sarcophagus

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100 LYDDA TO JERUSALEM.

and winding-sheet. By the Crusaders, Neby Samw11was
regarded as the ancient Shiloh (p. 247), and the present
mosque, which was formerly a Latin church, was built by
them.
The distance from here to Jerusalem is a little under
six miles, and will be traversed in less than two hours. The
route descends the hill-side, passes two reservoirs cut in the
rock, and enters the valley of Beit Hanina, with a village
on the left, from which the name of the valley is derived.
Soon after crossing the valley, a steep ascent has to be made;
the Tombs of the Judges (p. 181) are passed, and in about
twenty minutes Jerusalem comes in view.

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•

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.HAP TO COOKS PALESTINE TOT.:-RS

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JERUSALEM. IOI

Jtmsaltm.
(Hotel Mediterranean, near the Jaffa Gate.)

I (Formerly the camps of Messrs. T. CooK & SoN were pitched
outside the Jaffa Gate, but as travellers always like to make a long stay
in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and in case of bad weather camp

'
I
life in one locality is not agreeable, they have made arrangements for
their travellers to stay at the Mediterranean Hotel, the best in Jerusalem.
When that Hotel is full, travellers are sent to the Hotel de !'Europe,
both houses being under the proprietorship of the Brothers Hornstein.
Messrs. CooK & SoNhave also secured a large new house, with
two immense water-cisterns of great value, and land sufficient for a
large private camp. As a depot for ástores and camping equipments,
and to afford shelter for horses, they have now most excellent provision
at Jerusalem, within less than five minutes' walk from the Jaffa Oate.)
For independent travellers there are several places where fair
accommodation can be obtained, either at Hotels, in Apartments, or
in the Hospices.

Bankers.-Mr. Bergheim, of Christian Street, is a
well-known and much-patronized banker and moneychanger. There is a Branch of the Ottoman Bank here
(Messrs. Frutiger and Co., near the Jaffa Gate).
Consulates.-The British Consul,Noel Temple Moore,
Esq., is known by every Palestine traveller for his courteous
attention and his willingness to impart practical advice in
case of need. The .AmericanConsul is Dr. de Hass, who has
only recently been appointed to the office. There are also
in Jerusalem French, German, Italian, and Russian Con-
I
sulates.
I Those who wish to visit the Mosques must obtain the
requisite permit from one of the Consulates.

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102 JERUSALEM.

Post-Office.-It is better for letters to be addressed to
the Consulate or Hotel than poste restante.' Letters may be
posted at the Hotels.
Physicians.-English, Dr. Chaplin; Austrian, Dr.
Schwarz; Gree~, Dr. Mazaraki, and others, besides chemists
and druggists.
Olive-wood Ornaments, and other souvenirs, may
be obtained to the best advantage at Vester's, in the Via
Dolorosa, :md Photographs at Bergheim's, in Christian
Street.
English Service is performed every Sunday at ten
o'clock in Christ Church, on Mount Zion; frequently by the
Right Rev. Dr. Gobat, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem.

HISTORY.
The natural situation of the City of Jerusalem, not only
conveniently central, but protected by the surrounding ravines,
above which it rises like a mountain fortress, doubtless led
to its pre-eminence over the other cities of Palestine from
the earliest times. We first hear of it as Salem (Gen. xiv.
18), the city of Melchizedek; then as Jebus, the stronghold
of the Jebusites (Joshua xviii. 28). It is probable that the
Aniorites and Hittites, whose territories joined that of the
Jebusites, where the city stood, shared its possession with
them. After ineffectual attempts to dispossess this people,
the Benjamites were obliged to leave the stronghold of
Mount Zion in their hands, and themselves inhabit only the
•lower part of the city, until King David and his warriorsall their energies aroused by the over-confident defiance of
the Jebusites-captured the citadel, which thenceforth took
the name of the" City of David," and Jerusalem became the
civil and religious centre of the united kingdom of Israel and
Judah. Solomon adorned and fortified it with splendid

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HISTORY.

buildings and strong walls and towers, and erected the
Temple on Mount Moriah, where tradition laid the scene of
Abraham's sacrifice. Hither the ark was transferred from
Mount Zion, where David had placed it.
Io Rehoboam's reign, after the ten tribes had revolted,
Jerusalem was besieged and plundered by Shishak, King of
Egypt. This was the beginning of a long series of losses and
sufferings in which the city was involved, both through its
constant struggles with the revolted tribes constituting the
kingdom of Israel, and its repeated attacks from the great
nations whose territories almost surrounded Palestine-
Syrians, Assyrians or Chaldeans, and Egyptians-and which
the sacred historians. attribute to the gross idolatry which
under many of the kings had usurped the place 6f the
worship of the one God who had promised to defend áthe
city while it was true to Him. After it had been pillaged by
the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram; by the
King of Israel in that of Amaziah; and the Temple despoiled.
of its treasures at other times to avert impending disasterthe city was threatened with utter ruin by the Assyrian
army under Sennacherib ; and during the siege, and after the
miraculous deliverance, Hezekiah fortified and beautified it
once more, and drew the water of Gihon into it. His son,
Manasseh, was overcome by the Assyrians, and carried captive to Babylon. On his return, however, he also repaired
the city, and added to its defences. Josiah having been
slain while warring against Pharaoh Necho, King of Egypt,
while the latter was on his way to besiege the Assyrian city
of Carchemish, Necho visited Jerusalem on his return,
took the King Jehoahaz to Egypt, and exacted a tribute
from the city. Soon afterwards, Nebuchadnezzar, King
of Babylon, in his turn, took and pillaged Jerusalem three
times. On the last occasion the Temple and palaces were

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104 JERUSALEM,

burnt down, the walls levelled to the ground, and King
Zedekiah and all the people yet left there (for many had been
already taken), carried captive to Babylon. This was in the
year B,C. 587.
After the return of the Jews from their seventy years'
captivity, the city and Temple were slowly rebuilt-not without great opposition from the rulers of the now mixed races
in Samaria and the surrounding regions; they were jealous
of the reviving prosperity of the Jews; and it was only by
dauntless energy on the part of Ezra, Nehemiah, and others,
that the work was at length accomplished.
In the year 332 B.c. the city passed, without a siege, into
the hands of Alexander the Great, who respected its sacred
character, and conferred benefits upon it. Some years later,
Ptolemy Soter, King of Egypt, besieged it on the Sabbathday, when the people, in their reverence for the day, would
not resist, and a large number were carried away into captivity. Again it was wrested from Egypt by the Seleucidae
of Syria, and one of them, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated
and oppressed it with such unendurable tyranny, that the
insurrection of the Maccabees broke forth, 166 B.c., leading
to a national revolution and the restoration of the Jews to .
independence under the sway of the Maccabean princes.
The Tower of Antonia, at first called Baris, was built by
Simon Maccabeus 1n the early part of the contest.
In the year B.c. 63, Jerusalem was taken by the Romans
under Pompey, made tributary to Rome, and part of its
fortifications destroyed. Crassus again plundered the Temple,
and it also suffered from a Parthian army which Antigonus,
the rightful heir to the throne, had called in to help him
against Herod, son of Antipater, whom the Roman influence
had raised to a position of authority. Herod obtained a decree
of the Senate appointing him king, and by aid of a Roman

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HISTORY. 105

army took the whole city, put his enemies to death, built a
new palace, and his splendid Temple, and otherwise adorned
the city (a great part of which had been destroyed, together
with several thousand persons, by an earthquake, in the year
B.c. 3 I), and enlarged the Baris, calling it Antonia. Shortly
before his death, the Saviour was born.
Herod's son Archelaus was deposed before he had
reigned long, and J udrea now became a Roman province
within the prefecture of Syria, governed by a procurator,
~ho resided at Cresarea and left Jerusalem to be governed
ordinarily by its own High-priest and Sanhedrim. Coponius
and Pontius Pilate were the two first procurators. The latter
built the aqueduct crossing the valley of Hinnom (p. 164).
Shortly after the crucifixion of our Lord, Pilate was banished
from office, on account of his tyrannical' misgovernment, and
Herod Agrippa succeeded to the entire kingdom over which
his grandfather, Herod the Great, had ruled. Upon his
death, however, his son being too young to reign, a procurator was again appointed, and seven in succession ( of
whom Felix and Porcius Festus were the fourth and fifth),
aggravated and enraged the Jews by their oppressions. At
length the standard of revolt was raised. A success gained
over the Governor of Syria encouraged the Jews in their
resistance, and compelled Titus to bring his legions from
Egypt. In the year A.D. 70 occurred the siege and utter
destruction of the Holy City, accompanied by scenes of unparalleled horror and suffering (p. I 07) ; the Jews themselves
distracted by internal dissensions, yet uniting in a desperately
heroic effort of self-defence up to the last. The slaughter
was frightful, and the Temple and whole city were burnt
down, with the exception of part of Herod's palace, and his
three towers, Hippicus, Phesrelis, and Mariamne. A Roman
garrison occupied these towers, and the Jews soon began to

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106 JERUSALEM.

return to inhabit the ruins. But upon their ra1smg a
rebellion under Bar-chochebas, against Hadrian, the latter
expelled them all, and building palaces, temples, a theatre,
etc., transformed it into a Roman city, under the name of
.tElia Capitolina. A temple was erected on Mount Mo,;iah
to Jupiter Capitolinus.
Constantine and his mother Helena transformed it into
a Christian city. Julian gave permission to the Jews to
rebuild the Temple, but they could not accomplish it. In
the year 614 they came in great numbers with the Persian
king Chosroes, destroyed the churches, and massacred the
Ohristians. The Emperor Heraclius afterwards occupied it,
but in the year 637 it surrendered to the K.halif Orr,ar, and
became a Mahowedan sacred city, the Mosque of Omar
taking the place of the Jewish and pagan temples on Mount
Moriah.
In 1076 Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Turks, who
practised such outrageous barbarities upon the Christians that
the indignation of all Christendom was roused. The first
Crusade was organized, and in 1097 the Christian host,
commanded by Godfrey de Bouillon, entered Palestine. One
by one the chief towns were taken. After two years, J erusalem itself was besieged and captured, the garrison and
inhabitants massacred, and the Crusaders attained the end
of their laborious warfare in the possession of the Holy
Sepulchre. Godfrey was elected King of Jerusalem, and
was succeeded by his relations and descendants until the
year u87, when the reigning king, Guy de Lusignan, was
taken prisoner in a desperate battle with the Saracen Emir
Salaclin,and the city fell again into the power of the Muslims.
Saladin erected strong fortifications around it, but these were
afterwards demolished.
Richard I. of England, and Philippe Auguste of France,

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HISTORY. 107
who headed the third Crusade, were unable to retake the
city, though they appointed nominal kings over it. The last
of them, John de Brienne, obtained the aid of his son-in-law,
Frederick II. of Germany, against the Muslims. The city
was yielded to the Emperor, through a treaty with the Sultan
Meledin of Egypt, in the year 1229, on condition that the
walls should not be rebuilt, but the Christians disregarded
this stipulation.
In 1239 Jerusalem again fell under Mahomedan rule,
being taken by the Sultan of Damascus ; but four years later
his successor yielded it to the Christians, with other cities,
to purchase their assistance in a war which he was meditating
against the Sultan of Egypt. In the year 1244, a Tartar
horde, the Kharezmians, took it by storm, and treated the
inhabitants with great cruelty. Shortly afterwards they
were dispersed by the Mahomedans of Syria, and it has
been a Muslim city ever since that time. In the year 1517,
the place was taken, with the rest of Syria and Egypt, by the
Ottoman Sultan Selim I., and in 1542 its present walls were
built by Soliman the Magnificent. Napoleon planned the
siege of the city in the year 1800, but gave up the idea. In
consequence of a revolt, induced by over-taxation, it was
bombarded by the Turks in 1825. In 1831 it submitted to
the Pasha of Egypt, Mahomed Ali, but by European
interference he was deprived of his possessions in Syria, and
in 1840 Jerusalem agained owned the Turkish sway, under
the Sultan Abdul Mejid.-F. H.

It may assist the traveller to give an account of the city as
it appeared in the time of our Lord, and to refresh his memory J
with the story of the Fall of Jerusalem, and we do so in the
graphic words of the late Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Fall of Jerusalem.-" It was now the 13th

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108 JERUSALEM.

April (A.D. 70), and the city, even at this time of mortal
conflict, was crowded with worshippers, who had come
from distant countries to adore the God of their fathers in
bis holy and beautiful house, to which the heart of every Jew
turned with longing as his home. . •
As Titus drew near, he stationed the tenth legion at the
foot .of the Mount of Olives. The third or •outer wall,
erected by Agrippa, and the suburb, soon fell into his hands.
But more than one tremendous sally of the infuriated
defenders soon taught him the danger of an assault upon the
more ancient prec}ncts of the town. Taking up his station
about a quarter of a mile from the wall, he cast a trench
about the city, and compassed it round and kept it in on
every side. And soon famine began to do its work more
effectually than the sw9rd of the Romans. All this time,
the mad party-spirit of the defenders made them war with
one another at every moment they could spare from their
warfare with the Romans. Now, two well-known parties of
robbers and fanatics, under Eleazer and John of Giscala, were
in the Temple, ~bile another, under Simon, occupied the
upper part of the city. Assa~sins prowled through the
streets, and in every house there was a death. Meanwhile,
famine rages, and the well-known story of Mary of Bethezor
fulfilled the most melancholy page of Old Testament prophecy-' the tender and delicate woman' of Jeremiah xix.
8, 9 (cf. Deut. xxviii. 53-56; Lam. iv. 10, cf. 2 Kings
vi. 28), the i,arallel to which in 2 Kings vi. 28, is mentioned
as the lowest misery in the siege of Sa,naria. Between the
14th of April, when the siege began, and 1st of July, it is
said that u5,ooo bodies had been buried in the city at the
public expense ; and the Roman general wept as he saw the
misery, calling heaven to witness that not his enmity, but the
madness of the Jews themselves, was the cause of these

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FALL OF JERUSALEM. 109
unheard-of sufferings. At length, by the latter weeks of
July, the Antonia was stormed. The daily sacrifice had
ceased ; no hope seemed left, and the defenders of the
Temple were exposed to an irresistible assault from the fortress, which commanded its courts. But their furious zeal
made them defend the holy precincts inch by inch. Titus
himself watched the assault, and urged on his soldiers, but to
little purpose. It was not till the 10th of August, the day,
it was remarked, on which the King of Babylon had
destroyed the first Temple, that all was lost. Titus, it was
well known, was anxious to save the magnificent building,
hallowed by the religious associations of so many centuries;
and this may account, in part, for the slow progress of his
victory. But on this fatal evening, a soldier, against orders,
cast a brand into a small gilded doorway on the north side,
and in a few moments the whole Temple was in a blaze. A
loud shriek of horror from the defenders announced the
catastrophe to Titus, who had retired to rest, intending to
begin the assault the next morning. Wildly rose the uproar;
blazing rafters lighted up the darkness, while all around the
crackling of the flames and the crashing of the falling roofs
mingled with the shouts of• the victors and the death-cry of
the Jews. Titus rushed forth, and in vain gave orders to
stay the conflagration. His soldiers were in the Holy of
Holies; they seized upon the treasures, which were scattered
all around ; not even Roman discipline could restrain them
and ' the abomination of desolation ' took possession of the
holy place. When the flames subsided, nothing was left of
the Temple but a small portion of the outer cloister.
" Even in this hour of horror the wild fanaticism of the
Jews was scarcely quelled. The Messiah had been looked
for as a deliverer by many, even in this last extremity. The
small remnant of the cloister was now burned by the Roman

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soldiers, and 6,000 unarmed people, with women and children, were destroyed in it, who had been led up to the
Temple shortly before by a false prophet, confident that a
great deliverer was at hand. But the actual destruction
of the Temple-not one stone left upon another-was a
death-blow ; the spirit of the wildest was now effectually
broken. The upper city (the stronghold of Zion) still,
indeed, resisted. There Simon had been joined by his rival
John. Some time was necessarily lost before the Romans •
could raise their works against the steep bank of the valley of
the Tyropreon. When they did commence the as,sault, they
found that the defenders had lost their wonted courage ;
when, on the 7th of September, the Romans burst, with
shouts of triumph, into the last stronghold of their enemies,
they found little but silent streets, and houses full of dead
bodies; while John and Simon long baffled all search,
being concealed amidst the ruins and in the subterranean
passages.
"Thus Jerusalem was utterly cast down. A portion of
the western wall and three great towers (p. •144) were left
standing, to shelter the Roman soldiers ; but all the city,
Zion, Akra, and the Temple, was left in a mass of scarcely
distinguishable ruins.
"The fearful catalogue which Josephus has preserved of
those who lost their lives in the siege and the massacres which
had preceded it in this war, tells us that they exceeded
1,300,000. And even if this be supposed to be an exaggeration, no one can read the account of the horrors of the
-war, and especially of its last struggle, without seeing that
it well called for that terrific imagery with which its approach
had been announced in our Lord's prophecy."
The Bible events and allusions in connection
with Jerusalem are so numerous, that it is impossible in the

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SITUATION' OF JERUSALEM. Ill

limited space of a Handbook to enumerate them. " The name
Jerusalem is used eight hundred and eighteen times in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments" (Osborn).
Moreover, most of the principal events are still associated by
tradition with ~ertain spots pointed out to the traveller, and
they will be referred to in the descriptions of those places.
No one reading the brief summary of the history of Jerusalem,
or the pathetic details of its fall, can help recalling some of
those touching voices of prophecy which, like a long wail
through the ages, have mourned for Zion. This is the burden
of the Olrl Testament :-
" How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!
how is she become a widow ! she that was great among
the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she
become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her
tears are on her cheeks She dwelleth among
the heathen, she findeth no rest and from the
daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed.
Zion spreadeth forth her hands and there is none to comfort
her" (Lam. i. 1, 3, 6).
And this, more pathetic still, is the burden of the New
Testament :-
" 0 Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, .how
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate."
Situation of Jerusalem.-David describes it thus:
"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together,
Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within
thy palaces" (Ps. cxxii., cxxv.) And of Zion he says:
"Walk about Zion and go round about her; tell the towers
thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ;

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11 Z JERUSALEM.

that ye may tell it to the generations following" (Ps. xlviii. 12).
Solomon can find no metaphor stronger than, " Comely as
Jerusalem" (Sol. Song. vi. 4).

MODERN JERUSALEM.
Most travellers have a feeling of disappointment on first
seeing Jerusalem, its magnitude is so much less than the
imagination had pictured. Associated as it is with the
grandest and most sacred events of history, it is difficult to
feel that this little town, around whose walls you may walk
in an hour, is the Holy City. And, indeed, it is not; for
the city whose streets Jesus trod was vastly larger. Then
Zion, a large part of which is now a ploughed field, was
covered with palaces; and on every side, where now the husbandman pursues his toil, or desolation reigns, were magnificent structures befitting a great capital.
One is surprised, also to find how little remains of the
ancient city. The present walls were built in the sixteenth
century-only a few courses of stone in them belonged to
the ancient walls. Its buildings are all new, except that here
and there a foundation course indicates the ancient period.
The ancient rock crops out in the Temple area, at the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre, and on the brow of Mount Zion. But
the gorgeous City of Solomon lies buried under the debris of
sixteen sieges and captures of Jerusalem. You must dig
from thirty to a hundred feet to find it. Jerusalem that was,
is "on heaps," "wasted and without inhabitant.'' Excava;
tions have shown that the foundations of the ancient walls
are, in some places, 130 feet below the surface. In digging
for the foundation of new buildings, the workmen sometimes dig through a series of buildings, one above another,
showing that one city has literally been built upon the ruins

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SITUATION OF JERUSALEM. Il3
of another; and the present city is standing upon the accumulated ruins of several preceding ones (p. u4).
All this throws great doubt on many of the sacred places
of Jerusalem ; the real localities lie buried far beneath the
surface of the present city. But the natural features of the
country remain substantially unchanged. " The mountains
round about Jerusalem," which were of old her bulwarks,
are still there. Here are Olivet and the brook Kidron ;
and the city still crowns Zion and Moriah. Kings and
prophets and holy men looked on these scenes, and the feet
of the Son of God trod the very ground on which we here
walk. Somewhere in the buried city under our feet He did •
bear his cross; and these hills we tread trembled by the
earthquake's power when He expired.
Jerusalem stands on four hills, once separated by deep
valleys, which are now partially filled by the debris of successive destructions of the city. Zion, th6 most celebrated
of these, is on the south-west, rising on its southern declivity 300 feet above the valley of Hinnom, and on the southeast 500 feet above the Kidron. The Tyropreon sweeps
around its northern and eastern bases, separating it from
Akra and Moriah. Zion was the old citadel of the J ebusites,
and "the city of David." Mount Moriah is on the southeast, separated from Zion by the Tyropreon, and from Olivet
by the deep gorge of the Kidron. This is much lower than
Zion. It was the site of the ancient Temple, and is now
crowned by the Mosque of Omar. On the north-east is
Mount Bezetha, a hill higher than Moriah, which was enclosed within the walls, after the time of Christ, by Herod
Agrippa. Mount Akra, the highest point of the city, is on the
north-west. It is separated from Zion by the Tyropreon, and
from Bezetha by a broad valley running northward into the
Tyropreon, as it sweeps around the foot of Zion south ward. It

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114 JERUSALEM.

will be seen,therefore,that.th~ city~lopes down from the northwest to thP.south-east; and ~tan~~t~n. !he oorth-wes~ angle
of the wall, you are at the highest "J>dtnt,and see Moriah far
below on the south-east, with theá Tyropreon on the west of
it, running down between it and Zion to the junction of the
Kidron with Hinnom. The wall of the city is irregular,
conformed to the hills over which it passes, but substantially
"the city Jieth foursquare." • A walk around the_ outside of
the wall commands a view of all the exterior objects of
interest (p. 163).
EXCAVATIONS IN JERUSALEM.
The difficulties connected with exploration in Jerusalem are enormous, and it is impossible to sufficiently praise
the unparalleled labours of Captains Wilson and Warren,
Lieutenant Condor, and others, through whose undaunted
courage and untiring effort so many important discoveries
have been brought to light. See " Palestine Exploration
Fund" (p. 56). •
The accumulation of the rubbish of ages has had to be
dug through, so that in one part-the north-east wall of the
Temple-the debris was 125 feet in depth. It must be
remembered that the Jerusalem of to-day is built upon a
heap of buried cities. "One city literally lies heaped upon
another. For Jerusalem stood no fewer than twenty-seven
sieges from Jebusites and Israelites, Egyptians and Assyrians, Greeks and Romans, Mahomedans and Christians.
The last, and twenty-seventh, siege took place in 1244 at the
hands of the wild Karezmian hordes, who plundered the
city and slaughtered the priests and monks. The explorers have thus to do not with one city, but with many.
The Jerusalem of our day may be considered the eighth,
for even before the time of David there was a city there.

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PRESENT SIZE AND ASPECT. IIS
The seQOndwas the city of Solomon, from B.c. 1000 to
B.c. 597, a space of 400 years. The. third, that of Nehemiah,
which lasted for some. 300 years. Then came the magnificent Cjty of Herod ; then the Roman city, which grew
up on te ruins Titus had made; it again was followed by
the Mfiomedan city; and that again by a Christian city ;
and now, for six hundred years, the modern city bas stood
on the ruins of those that pre~ejled it." So. we can well conceive what good ground the CommitteeJt~\re Jo writ~ thus : •• ,
"Rubbish and dJbris cover every foot. of tlieá gro~ •
where the rock crops up at intervals. The rubbish is the ': . <á
wreck of all these cities, piled one above the other. If we
examine it, we have to determine at every step among the
ruins of which city we are standing - Solomon, Nehemiah, Herod, Hadrian., Constantine, Omar, Godfrey,
Saladin, Suleiman-each in tum represents a city. It bas
been the task of the Fund to dig down to the rock itself, and
lay_barethe secrets of each in succession."-(E. CondorGray.)
Among many other difficulties which the Explorers have
had to encounter may be mentioned the looseness of the
debris,causing much danger to the excavators; the-impure
state of the soil, saturated with the sewage of ages ; the
opposition of the Muslims, the interference of the Pasha
and local authorities, the indolence of Oriental workmennotwithstanding all this, the results have been most satisfactory, and will be referred to in their proper places in the
description of the City.

PRESENT SIZE AND ASPECT OF
JERUSALEM .
."The town itself covers an area of more than two
h;ndred and nine acres, of which thirty-five are occu-

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u6 JERUSALEM.

pied by the Haram-esh-Sherif; the remammg space is
divided into different quarters, the Christian Quarterincluding the part occupied by the Armenians-taking up
the western half; the Mahomedans have the north-east
portion; the Jews the south-east. The whole population is
now about 16,000.* The circumference is very nearly two
and a quarter miles, while the extent of the city (small as it
is, it now seems too large for the population) may be illustrated by the fact that it would nearly occupy the space
included between Oxford Street and Piccadilly on the north •
and south, and Park Lane and Bond Street on the east and
west."-(Our Wor.k.in Palestine, p. 28.)
Jerusalem stands on a bald mountain ridge, surrounded
by limestone hills-glaringly white. It is enclosed by
walls averaging about thirty-fiv.e feet in height, and,
although massive in appearance, far from being substantial.
Around the walls are thirty-four towers, and in the
walls are seven gates, five open and two cloi:ed. The open
gates are-
(1.) The Jaffa Gate, called by the Arabs Bdh-el-'KhalU
-Gate of Hebron, or "The Friend "-on the west. It leads
to Hebron.
(2.) The Damascus Gate, called Bdh-el-'Amad, or
Gate of the Columns, on the north between the two ridges of
the city, and leading to Samaria and Damascus.
(3.) The Gate of the Tribes, Bdh-el-Ashdt, or, according
to the Franks, St. Stephen's Gate, the reputed site of
the stoning of Stephen (p. 179), leading to Olivet and
Bethany.
(4.) The Dung Gate, or the Gate of the Western
Africans, Bdlá-el-MughdriheA, leading to Silwan (Siloam).
* Seep. 117.
POPULATION. 117
(5.) Zion Gate, or Gate of'the Prophet David, Bdb en-
Neby Daud, on the ridge of Zion.
The closed gates are-
(6.) The Golden Gate, Bab-ed-Dahariyeh, i.e., the
Eternal Gate, in the eastern wall of the Haram (p. 141).
(7.) The Gate of Herod, called by the Arabs Bib es-
Zahery, i.e., the Gate of Flowers, open now occasionally for
the benefit of the soldiers, who drill just outside it.
Streets. The principal are-" The Street of David,"
leading from the Jaffa Gait: to the Haram ; "The Street of
the Gate of the Column," runs from the Damascus Gate
until it is joined by the " Street of the Gate of the Prophet
David,'' under which name it continues to Zion Gate.
" Christian Street " runs from the Street of David to the
Churc;:hof the Holy Sepulchre. The Via Dolorosa begins
at the Latin Convent and terminates at St. Stephen's Gate.

POPULATION. RELIGIONS.
The population of Jerusalem is variously stated. In
Our Work in Palestine, quoted above (p. I 16), it is given as
16,000, but more recent estimates give it as at least 20,000.
The Muslims are for the greater part natives. There
are also a considerable number of Dervishes connected with
the Haram, and also a colon} of Africans.
The Jews number about 8000 to 9000, and are divided
into two sections-the Sephardim, of Spanish origin, and the
Ashkenazim, chiefly of German and Polish origin (p. 62).
The Jews in Jerusalem are mainly sustained by charity,
Jews everywhere having sent contributions to their poor
brethren of the Holy Land. Many, perhaps the majority,
have been drawn hither from idle and worthless motives,
although some have gone as a pious act, and among devout
Jews, burial at Jerusalem has been looked upon as the great

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desideratum, There is "The Rothschild Hospital," founded
in 1855, which has done much good service. Sir Moses
Montefiore's mission has been to assist the Jews, not by
indiscriminate charity, but by giving them means and scope
for labour. In January, 1875, being in the 91st year of his
age, he resigned his position as President of the Board of
Deputies of British Jews, and a testimonial to him having
been resolved upon, he requested it might take the form of a
scheme for improving the condition of the Jews in Palestine
generally, and Jerusalem particularly. About £11,000 only
has been as yet contributed to the fund, although the amount
anticipated was £200,000. The reason of the smallness of
the contributions was that a rumour went abroad that the
scheme was only to continue idle Jews in idleness. Sir
Moses Montefiore, at the age of ninety-two, went to Jerusalem, in company with Dr. Lowe, to investigate the real
state of the Jewish community. He considers the people
are eager, and physically able, to work-:-that they have only
lacked opportunity, and states that they are" more industrious
than many men even in Europe, otherwise none of them
would remain alive." He proposes colleges, public schools,
houses with plots of ground for cultivation, etc., and proceedings are in. progress to purchase land and build houses
for this purpose, in and around Jerusalem. It is to the
young that this will be a special boon, the habits of the older
members of the community being too deep rooted to allow
them to fall at once into the radical changes proposed. The
express object of the " Montefiore Testimonial Fund " is
"the encouragement of agriculture, ail.d1 other mechanical
employments, among the Jews of Palestine."
There are several institutions already in efficient working
order for the Jews in Jerusalem-The House of Industry,
Girls' Work School, etc.

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RELIGIONS. 119
The Greek Church (p. 64) flourishes in Jerusalem,
having at its head the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who resides
here, in the convent beside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Fourteen sees are subject to him. The Greeks have about
twenty monasteries in the neighbourhood. •
The Armenians number about 300. Their patriarch,
who is styled'' Patriarch of Jerusalem," lives at the monastery next Zion Gate.
The Copts (p. 65) have two monasteries, at one of
which their Bishop resides.
The Latins (p. 65) number about 1800. They have a
Monastery, an Industrial School, two Girls' Schools, and an
Hospital. • •
The Protestants have but a small, though exceedingly
useful community in Jerusalem. A Mission of Enquiry
was instituted in 18zo by the Society for Promoting
Christianity among the Jews. Dr. Dalton, the first missionary, came to reside here in 1824. In 1841 the Governments
of England and Prussia entered into an agreement to establish
here a Bishopric of the Anglican Church, the Diocese to
embrace Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and
Abyssinia. The church is on Mount Zion. In connection
with it are two good schools, in and outside the city. The
first Bishop was Dr. Alexander, the present is I>r. Gobat.
The evangelicalwork at Jerusalem presents many features
of interest. The Krishona of Basie, a kind of lay mission,
which seeks to propagate Christianity by means of artisans
and tradesmen, whose callings give them ready access to the
people, occupies several points in Palestine. and bas its centre
at J erusa!em and branches at Jaffa and Bethlehem. The
Deaconesses of Kaiserswerth have opened a real " Good
Samaritan " Establishment, which is open to every suffering
human creature, of whatever faith. An orphanage and

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120 JERUSALEM.
schools are in connection with this noble institution. lo
connection with the Anglican Church there is a little Arab
community, under the direction of a pastor from Alsace,
whose chief mission-field is among the Jews.
Health of Jerusalem.- Speaking of the healthiness
of Jerusalem as a place of permanent residence, Sir Moses
Montefiore, in the narration of his late tour (1876), says:-
" I had some conversation on the subject of general
drainage in Jerusalem with a gentleman of authority; he
told me that all the refuse of the city is now carried into the
Pool of Bethesda, which, strange to say, I was informed is
close to the house intended for the barracks, and the soldiers
now living there appear not to experience the least inconvenience from its vicinity. If arrangements could be made
to clear that pool entirely, to admit pure water only, and
to dig special pools for the purpose of conducting there
the city drains, Jerusalem might become free from any
threatening epidemic. All the doctors in Jerusalem assured
me that the Holy City might be reckoned, on account of
the purity of its atmosphere, one of the healthiest of places."
The mean temperature, from 1851 to 1855, was, according to Barclay-
Fahr. Fahr.
January. 49á4• July 79á10
February 54á4• August . 79á3•
March 55á7• September 77á0•
April . 61á4° October . 74á2°
May . 73á8° November 63á8°
June . 75á2• December 54•5•

Plan of ,Description.-As there is no difficulty in
finding one's way about in Jerusalem, and the whole city is
"compact together," it is considered undesirable to describe
certain "walks,'' especially as it is impossible to make such

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. UI
a division correspond to the various tastes and inclinations of
travellers. We shall therefore describe-I st. The Church
of the Holy Sepulchre ; 2nd. The Temple, or. Mosque of
Omar ; 3rd. All the principal places of inter€St within the
City, starting from the Jaffa Gate; 4th. A Tour round the
outside of the City; 5th. The Environs.

THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
[The church is in the Christian Quarter, in a street
sometimes called Palmer Street.]
No one can approach this spot without a very reverential
feeling. It is the shrine at which millions have worshipped
in simple faith, believing that here our Lord was crucified,
that here His body lay, that here He revealed Himself after
His resurrection. The question, which is now the great
question of controversy, is this: The Calvary and Holy
Sepulchre stand now in the very heart of the city, far within
the present walls. Could the site ever have been outside the
walls? If it ever was, then this may be the very spot where
the cross stood on Calvary, and the Sepulchre may be that
which Joseph of Arimath~a gave," wherein never man lay."
It is a pity to disturb the mind of the traveller on the
threshold of such a sacred spot, and we have no intention of
giving an elaborate epitome of the various sides taken in the
controversy. The Scripture account is as follows: -
" The bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into
the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin are burned without
the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify
the people with His own blood, su_fferedwithout the gate-''
(Heb. xiii. 11, 12). He was taken from the Judgment Hall
" unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a
skull" (Matt. xxvii. 33). The place where Jesus was
crucified was" nigh unto theiity'' (John xix. 20), and appears

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to have been beside some public thoroughfare. "They that
passed hy reviled Him'' (Matt. xxvii. 39).
The story of the removal from the cross and the burial in
the sepulchre is given thus minutely in St. John's Gospel:
"And after this, Joseph of Arimath~, being a disciple of
Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that
he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him
leave. He came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to
Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body
of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices,as the
manner of Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He uáas
crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus
therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day ; for the
sepulchre w~ nigh at hand" (John xix. 38-42). In the
Gospel of St. Mark the additional information is given that
they "laid Him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a
rock, and rolled a stone into the door of the sepulchre "
(Mark xv. 46).
There is no historical evidence that the site of the Holy
Sepulchre was determined until the third century, when it
appears, from Eusebius, that over the Sepulchre had been
erected a Temple of Venus. In the fourth century, the
Empress Helena had a vision, in which she recognized the
site, and by :means of a miracle discovered the true cross
(p. 128). Constantine thereupon built a group of edifices
over the sites, A.n. 326. These were destroyed by the Persians
in 614; rebuilt, 616. In 936, fire partly destroyed the
church; and the Muslims indicted damage to it in 1010.
The present church was built by the Crusaders, and has
undergone a long series of disasters and rebuilding.

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 123
The history of the church has been so often recorded,
and is such a lengthened story of vicissitudes, that it is out
of the province of this book to enter minutely into it. The
reader is referred to Fergusson's works, Smith's Dictionary ef
the Bible, Barclay's City ef the Great King, Besant and
Palmer's City ef Herod and Saladin, etc.
It must be remembered that Fergusson has expounded a
theory that the Sepulchre of Christ is the Dome of the Rock
(p. 137), a theory which has been amply exploded.
Dean Stanley has an interesting note which may throw
some light on the controversy as to the site of the Sepulchre.
Every traveller will ask, "Is there any good argument in
favour of the Tomb of Christ having ever beeri within the
site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?'' Dr. Stanley
says, " In the topographical question, the <'pponents of the •
identity of the Sepulchre have never done justice to the argument first clearly stated in England by Lord Nugent, and
pointedly brought out by Professor Willis, which is derived
from the so-called tombs of Joseph and Nicodemus. Underneath the western galleries of the church, behind the Holy
Sepulchre, are two excavations in the face of the rock,
forming an ancient Jewish sepulchre, as clearly as any that
can be seen in the valley of Hinnom, or in the Tombs of the
Kings. That they should hal'e been so long overlooked,
both by the advocates and opponents of the identity of the
Holy Sepulchre, can only be accounted for by the perverse
dulness of the coventuaálguides of the church, who point the
attention of travellers and pilgrims, not to those sepulchres,
but to two graves sunk into the floor in front of them, possibly, however, as Dr. Schulz suggests, dug at a later time to
represent the graves, when the real object of the ancient
sepulchres had ceased to be intelligible ; just as the tombs of
j
I
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124 JERUSALEM.
some Mussulman saints are fictitious tombs erected over the
rude sepulchres hewn in the rock beneath.
"The traditional names of Joseph and Nicodemus are probably valueless. But the existence of these sepulchres
proves almost to a certainty that at some period the site
of the present church must have been otltsil1ethe walls of the
city, and lends considerable probability to the belief that the
rocky excavation, which perhaps exists in part still, and certainly once existed entire, within the marble casing of the
chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, was at any rate a really ancient
tomb, and not, as is often rashly asserted, a modem structure
intended to imitate it."
As the traveller enters The Court, which is:a little lower
than the street, he will notice first the vendors of rosaries and
relics, and a miscellaneous collection of beggars, more or less
deformed; then, if any special service is going on, a guard of
Turkish soldiers, stationed here to keep the peace between
the rival sects; if no special service demands that they should
be drawn up in the courtyard armed, they will be seen in the
porch or vestibule of the church. Then he will look at the
south fa9ade of the church, which is generally disappointing to travellers even though they have been long
familiar with it from photographs.
[The best Time to Visit the church is early in the
morning. It is generally closed from 10.30 to 3:P.M.; but
admission can be obtained during those hours on payment of
a fee. The morning light is the best for seeing the
~w~J •
Entering by the door on the left of the church-the
principal entrance-the first of the many places of interest
pointed out in this wonderful building, or series of buildings
-is the Stone of Unction, where the body of our Lord
was laid for anointing, when taken down from the cross.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 125
The stone, "'.hich so many thousand pilgrims l..iss, is not
the stone which tradition calis the Stone of Unction, th1t
being buried beneath the present slab, which was placed
here in 1810. Lamps and large candelabra hang over and
surround the stone, and these belong to Armenians, Latins,
Greeks, and Copts, although this portion of the church is the
property of the Armenians.
A few steps to the left is a stone enclosed with a railing.
This is the Station of Mary, marking the spot where she
stood while the body of Jesus was being anointed, or where
she stood watching the tomb. A few steps further on, to the
right, and we enter The Rotunda. The dome is sixtyfive feet in diameter, and is decorated with mosaics. It is
open at the top like the Pantheon at Rome ; and is supported
by eighteen piers.
The Holy Sepulchre stands in the very centre of the
Rotunda. It" lies within a small chapel, twenty-six feet
long by eighteen feet broad, built of the Santa Croce marble.
A long, low doorway leads to the Sepulchre itself, the western
chapel. It is very small, being only six feet by seven feet,
or forty-two square feet in area, of which space nineteen
square feet are taken up by the marble slab shown as the
Tomb of the Lord. The slab is cracked through the centre,
and much worn by the lips of adoring pilgrims. The chapel,
marble-cased throughout, so that no rock is anywhere visible,
is lit by forty-three lamps, al ways burning."-( Our Work in
Palestine.)
The Sepulchre has two chambers, one, the vestibule,
being the Angel's Chapel, in the centre of which is the stone
which the áangels rolled away from the mouth of the tomb.
Then, through a low door, the Sepulchre itself is seen ; the
lamps belong to the different sects, four being the property
of the Copts. The reliefs in the wall are, in front, the

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Greeks' ; right, the Armenians' ; left, the ~tins'. Every
day mass is said here.
Whatever may be the emotions of the traveller, as he
enters this most remarkable place in the world, he should at
least tarry here awhile to observe, respectfully, the feelings
of others ; and no one can witness the passionate devotion of
pilgrims without emotion.
Coming now into the Rotunda, it will be well to make a
tour of all the notable plaoes, and the following order is
recommended :- Just at the back of the Sepulchre, the west
end, is the Chapel of the Copts, a very meagre affair,
but their property since the' sixteenth century. Near to this
is the Chapel of the Syrians, beside which is a rocky
grotto, with tombs, to see which a candle is necessary. Two
of these are said to be the tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph
of Arimathrea (p. u3).
Returning to the Rotunda, we find on the north
of the Sepulchre an open court with slabs of marble inlaid,
and radiating from a central stone, where Jesus stood when
He said to Mary Magdalene, who stood in the marble ring
a short distance off, "Woman, why weepest thou ? And
she, supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, Sir
if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou bast laid
Him, and I will take Him away'' (John xx. 15). This spot
.is the property of the Latins.
Ascending now by three steps to the church of the
Latins, we enter the Chapel of the Apparition, from a
fourteenth century legend, that here our Lord appeared to
Mary after his resurrection. On the left is a painting of the
Last Supper. On the right, an altar, and on it.a stick, called
the Rod of Moses ; by putting one end of the stick int.oa hole
over the altar, a stone is touched called the Column of the
Scourging, to which Christ was bound when scourged by

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 127

order of Pilate. This column was formerly exhibited in the
reputed house of Caiaphas.
From the door of the Latin Church, turn to the left into
The Sacristy, where the sword, spurs, equipments, and
other memorials of the gallant Godfrey de Bouillon are shown.
It is said that his tomb was once here, and also that of his
brother Baldwin. The sword is one that was a favourite of
Godfrey's, and with which he is said to have cloven a giant
Saracen in twain; it is the same sword with which the
Knights of St. John are girt, when invested with that honourable order. Leaving this place, we tum to the left, past
several columns, and come to an altar, under which are two
holes in the stone ; it is called the Bonds of Christ.
Near it is a small chamber, called the Prison of Christ,
where, it is said, He was incarcerated prior to the crucifixion.
Continuing a few steps eastward along the aisle, we have, on
our left; the Chapel of Saint Longinus, the Centurion,
who said, "Truly this was the Son of God." The stone is
pointed out on which it is said he was beheaded for preaching
the Gospel. Others say that Longinus was the soldier who
pierced the side of Christ with a spear. Near to this chapel
is The Chapel of the Division of the Vestments.
'' And when they had crucified Him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them what every man should take "
(Mark xv. 24).
Near this chapel there is a flight of twenty-nine steps
leading down into the Chapel of Helena, one of the
most interesting of the many buildings of the church, inasmuch as it-is where the basilica of Constantine once stood.
The massive substructions date from the seventh century,
the pointed vaulting from the time of the Crusades. Here
is an altar to Dimas,' the penitent thief, and another to
Helena. Near it, to the right, is a niche in a low wall over-

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128 JERUSALEM.

looking the cave below, and called the Chair of Helena; said
to be the place where she sat when search was being made
for the true cross.
Descending thirteen steps more we reach the Chapel
of the Finding of the Cross. The legend will be
remembered of how the Empress was divinely directed to
• this spot ; how she watched the digging until eventually the
three crosses, with naiis, crown of thorns, superscription,
and other relics were found. How it was difficult to ascertain which of the three was the true cross, and at last a
noble lady on the point of death was sent for, and as soon
as her body touched the third cross she wa15immediately
cured of her otherwise cureless malady, and thus the identity
of the true cross was established. The commemoration of
this event is called in the calendar," The Invention of the
Cross." In this chapel, which belongs (left) to the Greeks,
and (right) to the Latins, will be seen, in a slab, a beautiful
cross; a bronze statue of Helena ; and a Latin inscription
on the wall. It will be observed, too, that the steps which
we reascend are cut in the rock, and yet sound hollow.
It is supposed to be an old cistern.
Returning to the aisle at the head of the steps we find at
a few feet to the left, the Chapel of the Crown of
Thorns. Here is a greyish column on which tradition
says our Lord sat whiie "the soldiers platted a crown of
thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on Him a purple
robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote Him
with their hands" (John xix. 2, 3). A few paces west of
this altar is a door on the right, through which we enter the
Greek Church, larger and more gorgeously decorated
than the chapels of any of the other sects. Here is the seat
of the patriarch, and reserved places for other dignitaries of
the Church (p. 65). In the centre of the marble pavement

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• CALVARY.

is a short column marking the centre of the earth;
from this spot the earth was procured from which Adam
was made. It was also part of the Garden of Joseph of
Arimath~.
In front of the Greek Church is the Holy Sepulchre.
Returning therefore to the aisle by the same door through
which we entered, and then to the right, we have before us a
flight of eighteen steps, which we ascend and arrive at
Calvary. It is fourteen and a-half feet above the level of
the chapel of the Sepulchre. '' And when they were come
to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified
Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the
other on the left '' (Luke xxiii. 33). In the eastern end of
this chapel is an altar, under which is a hole through a
marble slab to the solid rock. This was where the Cross
of the Saviour was planted ; two other holes, or sockets, right
and left are pointed out as the place of the crosses for the
two thieves. Visitors are permitted to put their hands into
these sockets. This is called not only Calvary, but the
Chapel of Golgotha-Golgotha signifying in Hebrew a
skull-and a curious tradition affirms that Adam was buried
here. "The legend has more poetry in it than many, for
one cannot but think that the idea in it is, that the blood of
the atonement was destined to fall upon the head of the
first transgressor.'' Near the Altar, to the right, is a long
brass cover over a Rent in the Rock, said to have been
made at the time of the Crucifixion. "The earth did quake,
and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened; and many
bodies of the saints which slept, arose" (Matt. xxvii. 51, 52).
A little farther to the right is an altar with a picture of the
Virgin, set in diamonds. All the adornments of this place
are of the richest and most profuse description. It is a
question of taste whether, supposing this really is the actual

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Calvary, it would not have been a thousand times better to
have left it as the bare rock in the Temple:has been left;
strikingly significant in the beauty of its simplicity. To the
south is a small Chapel which we can see through a window.
It is the Chapel of St. Mary, said to be the spot where
the mother of our Lord, and the beloved disciple, stood at
the time of the Crucifixion, when one of the most touchingly
pathetic incidents in the gospel history occurred: "Now
there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his
mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and
the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His
mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to theá
disciple, Behold thy mother ! And from that hour that
disciple took her unto his own home'' (John xix. 25-27).
Opposite this window, on a column in the centre of the
chapel, is a good painting of the Virgin and Child.
Descending now the stairs at the south-west end near
the great door of the church, we turn to the right and enter
a chapel under the Chapel of the Crucifixion, where used
to be the Tombs of Godfrey de Bouillon and
Baldwin I. In the eastern end there is an altar standing
over-it is alleged-the Tomb of Melchizedek. The
Rent in the Rock, which we saw in the Chapel of
Golgotha, could also be seen from here by moving the brass
which covers it. Latterly, however, a door has been placed
here which can only be opened for backsheesh, and an additional inspiration for paying it is that a tradition has recently
sprung up that the Tombs of Adam and Eve are just behind
the closed. door.
In order to visit the Church of the Armenians
from this chapel, we tum to the west a few paces, past the
Stone of Unction, and, behind the Station of Mary, is a flight

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CHURCH OF.THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 131
of steps leading up to the small church, divided by pillars
into three chapels or compartments.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the joint property
of the Greeks (who have the lion's share), the Latins
(Catholics), Armenians, and Copts. The latter hold the
least property here. Each of the sects take their turn in
making processions to all the holy places, and worshipping
at the sacred shrines. Of course this is done at discretion,
and some places, held in great esteem by some sects, are
ignored by others ; for instance, the Chapel of St. Longinus
(p. 127) belongs to the Greeks, and they do homage there,
but the Latins ignore the tradition, and so pass it by when
making their processions.
The Holy Fire.-In one of the walls of the Holy
Sepulchre is a hole, and every year, on Easter Eve, thousands
of Greeks assemble from all parts of the world to witness
the most monstrous piece of imposition that ever disgraced
the Christian name, and to take part in scenes which have
no precedent elsewhere in the Christian Church. Formerly
the Latins took part in the festival, but ever since the
sixteenth century they have withdrawn from it. It is said
that on Easter Eve, when the patriarch enters the sepulchre,
fire descends from heaven and lights the candles on the altar.
The patriarch, who is alone in the sepulchre, passes out the
fire through the hole. A bundle of burningá tapers is
handed to the priests; and the pilgrims, in wild excitement,
rush round with their tapers and candles to have them
kindled from the sacred flame. Large sums are paid to have
the candles lighted speedily by the priests, and these are
passed on from one to the other until the whole church is
illuminated. But the scenes which occur almost every year
are such as to be deprecated by all who bear the Christian
name. Never, perhaps, in a religious edifice, did such a scene

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132 JERUSALEM.

occur as that recorded in Curzon's Monasteries of the Levant.
In 1834 the seething crowd came to a disturbance, the finale
of which is thus graphically described by an eye-witness:-
" The guards outside, frightened at the rush from within,
thought that the Christians wished to attack them, and the
confusion soon grew into a battle. The soldiers, with their
bayonets, killed numbers of fainting wretches, and the walls
were spattered with the blood and brains of men who had
been felled like oxen with the butt-ends of the soldiers'
muskets. Every one struggled to defend himself, and in the
meleeall who fell were immediately trampled to death by
the rest. So desperate and savage did the fight become, that
even the _panic-stricken and frightened pilgrims appeared at
last to have been more intent upon the destruction of each
other than desirous to save themselves. For my part, as
soon as I had perceived the danger, I cried to my companions
to turn back, which they had done, but I myself was carried
on by the press till I came near the door, where all were
fighting for their lives. Here, seeing certain destruction
before me, I made every endeavour to get back. An officer
of the Pasha, equally alarmed with myself, was also trying
to áreturn. He caught hold of my cloak and pulled me down
on,the body of an old man whoáwas breathing out his last
sigh. As the officer was pressing me to the ground, we
wrestled together among the dying and the dead with the
energy of despair. I struggled with this man till I pulled
him down, and happily got away upon my legs (I afterwards discovered that he never rose again), and, scrambling
over a pile of corpses, I made my way back into the body
of the church. The dead were lying in heaps, even upon the
Stone of Unction ; and I saw full four hundred wretched
people, dead ,nd dying, heaped promiscuously one upon
another, in some places above five feet high."

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THE HARAM ESP..SHERIF. 1 33
The traveller is recommended to go again and again to
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as opportunity occurs.
There is always some religious ceremony, or festival going
on; and whatever may be the religious opinions of the visitor,
there must always be a peculiar significance in the
observance of these ceremonies within this building, to
which the footsteps of ten thousand times ten thousand
pilgrims have tended.

THE TEMPLE.
Where once stood the Temple designea by King David
and executed by Solomon, rebuilt and restored by Zerubbabel
and Herod, is now the Mosque of Omar, called also the
"Dome of the Rock,'' or Kubbet es-Sukhrak. It occupies a
part of the spacious area known as the Haram esh-Sherif;
"The Noble Sanctuary." •
It is needless to say that nearly every inch of ground in
this sacred enclosure, and almost every stone upon it, has
been the subject of controversy. Many important points in
the controversies have been recently cleared up, through the
indefatigable efforts of the members of the Exploration
Fund (p. I 14), and no doubt-now that so many scientific
travellers visit the Holy Land, and the restrictions upon
visiting the holy places of the Muslims are gradually being
relaxed,-more light will be shed from time to time on the
vexed questions which have arisen, for the most part, from
mere surmises.
Without giving an epitome of the questions at issue,
the various arguments of those who have brought much
learning and research to the study and identification of the
holy places, will be referred to as the description proceeds.
The Mosque of Omar stands upon the summit of Mount
Moriah; tradition says upon the very spot where Oman had

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134 JERUSALEM,
his threshing-floor; where Abraham offered up Isaac ; where
David interceded for the plague-stricken people, and where
the Jewish temple, the glory of Israel, stood. No one can
stand before this magnificent building, with its manycoloured marbles glistening in the sunlight, as once the
" goodly stones of the Temple " shone before the eyes of the
disciples, and not be moved with a strong emotion. One's
thoughts rush away to the past when psalmists wrote, and
patriots sung, of the Temple's glory. Hither the tribes
came up ; here shone forth the light of the Shekinah ; here
was the centre of the religious, the poetical, and the political
life of God's chosen nation. And then one thinks of the
defeats and disasters consequent upon disobedience; how
glory after glory vanished, until alien powers desolated and
utterly destroyed the holy place. One thinks of devout
Jews in every land, oppressed and burdened, turning towards
this sacred site, and remembering it with tears as they
pray for restoration to their land. Above all, the Christian
thinks of the little Child presented there by the Holy Mother,
of the Youth, asking and answering questions ; and of the
divine Man, "teaching and preaching the things concerning
himself."
These, and not the controversial points, will probably be
the kinds of thought in which the traveller will indulge as
he stands for the tirst time in the precincts of the Haram.
[There is now no difficulty in obtaining access to the
Mosque except on great festivals. Application should be made
to the Consul, who will send a Kawass. The fees for admission
are regulated by the size of the party, and it is a saving in
expense to join, or form, a party.]
The Haram esh-Sherif is surrounded by a wall 1601 feet
long on the west, 1530 on the east, 1024 on the north, and
922 on the south, and is entered by eight gates on the west,

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THE HARAM ESH-SHERIF. 1 35
the principal being the Bab-es-Silsileh, or the Gate of the
Chain.
Entering by this gate we have on the right hand the
Mosque-el-Aksa, and before us are steps leading up to the
Dome of the Rock, or Kuhbet-es-Sukhrah. The building
has eight sides, each sixty-eight feet long, and the whole
covered with richly coloured porcelain tiles, and a frieze of
tiles rannir;ig round the whole building upon which are
written passages fromá the Koran. There are four gates, or
portals, facing the cardinal points of the compass.
Tradition states that when the Caliph Omar took
Jerusalem his first inquiry was for the site of the Jewish
Temple. He was conducted to this spot, then a huge mound
of filth and rubbish, and here he built the mosque which
bears his name. Others claim that the present mosque was
built by Abd-el-Melek in A.n. 686.
The interior is gloomy, and sometimes so dark
that one has to wait until the eye grows accustomed
to it. The interior has two cloisters, separated by an
octagonal ácourse of piers and columns ; within this, again
another circle of four great piers and twelve Corinthian
columns, which support the great dome. The fifty-six
stained glass windows are of great brilliancy and beauty.
The walls are cover~d with tiles, on which are inscribed
portions of the Koran, as on the oater walls of the building.
The Dome is ninety-eight feet high and sixty-six in
diameter, and is composed of wood. The pavement is of
marble mosaic.
There are many things to see in this building, but all
pale before the Sacred Rock immediately beneath the
Dome ; it is a bare, rugged, unhewn piece of rock about
sixty feet long and forty-five wide. "The rock,'' says Captain
Wilson, "stands about four feet nine and a half inches above

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.

the marble pavement at its• highest point, and one foot lat
its lowest; it is one of the 'missz' strata, and has a dip of
twelve degrees in a direction of eighty.five degrees east of
north. The surface of the rock bears the marks of hard
treatment and rough chiselling; on the western side it is
cut down in three steps, and oo the northern side in an
irregular shape, the object of which could not be discovered.
Near, and a little to the east of the door leading to the
chamber below, are a number of small rectangular holes cut
in the rock, as if to receive the foot of a railing or screen,
and at the same place is a circular opening communicating
with the cave."
A hundred Legends hang about the rock, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Here, according to the Jews, Melchizedek
offered sacrifice, Abraham brought his son as an offering,
and the Ark of the Covenant stood ; on this rock was
written the unutterable name of God, which ooly Jesus
could pronounce. Some claim that the Circular Hole is the
place through which the blood of the sacrifices poured, and
was carried by way of the Brook Kidron outside the
city. And the Muslims have strung together some of the
wildest and most absurd of the many legends in connection
with it.
•Descending by eleven steps, we enter the Cave below
the rock. "The entrance to the cave is by a flight of steps
on the south-east," says Captain Wilson, "passing under a
doorway with a pointed arch which looks like an addition of
the Crusaders ; the chamber is not very large, with an
average height of six. feet; its sides are so covered with
plaster and whitewash that it is impossible to see any chisel
marks, but the surface appears to be rough and irregular."
The Mahomedan legend of the rock is that when
Mahomed ascended to heaven from here on his good steed

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THE HARAM ESH-SHERIF.

El-Burak, the rock wanted to follow, and started for that
purpose, but was held down by the Angel Gabriel, the
prints of whose fingers in the rock are still shown. Ever
since then the rock, according to the same authorities, has
been suspended in the air, and the hollow-sounding wall is
one that was placed there because pilgrims who passed
under the suspended rock feared lest it should fall and
crush them!
In the cave will be shown the praying-places of Abraham, Elijah, David, Solomon, and Mahomed. In the
centre of the floor is a slab covering the Well of Spirits,
as the Muslims allege, into which all spirits descend, and
from whence they will be brought up at last by the tufts of
hair on their heads. Others affirm that this was where the
blood offered in sacrifice on the rock above, poured forth into
the Kidron. Mr. Fergusson's theory is that this is none other
than the very tomb in which the crucified body of our Lord
lay.
Many Mahomedan legends will be told and Sacred
Places shown by the guide who conducts the visitor round
the Mosque. It will probably be more than sufficient if
they are briefly indicated here. The shield of Mahomed's
uncle ; the footprint of Mahomed; his banner ; hairs from
his beard, etc. ; a slab with three nails and a half standing
in it, originally there were nineteen, but the Devil knocked
them into the stone; when the three and a half disappear
the eod of the world will come. Several old copies of the
Koran are kept in the Mosque.
The next building of importance in the Haram is the

MOSQU E-EL-AKSA.
There is some doubt as to the origin of this building, or
group of buildings, but it is generally supposed to be iden-

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138 JERUSALEM.

tical (in site, at least) with the magnificent Basilica founded
by the Emperor Justinian in honour of the Virgin. De V ogiie
affirms that the present structure is entirely Arabian, but
that its form of a Basilica, its cruciform plan, and the existence of certain ancient remains, prove that it was a Christian
church, and has been converted into a ~osque. Others, led
by Mr. Fergusson, deny that it ever was a Christian church,
or that Justinian had anything to do with it, and affirm that
it was built by Caliph Abd-elsMekel, in the end of the seventh
century. The Porch has seven arcades leading into the
seven aisles of the Basilica. Captain Wilson has so minutely
described the interior of the Mosque, that we quote his
words:-
" The porch in front, from two niches for statues still
remaining in it, would appear to be the work of the Templars
when they occupied the building. In the interior four styles
of capitals were noticed ; those on the thick, stunted columns
forming the centre aisle, which are heavy, and of bad design ; those of the columns under the dome, which are of the
Corinthian order, and similar to the ones in the 'Dome of
the Rock'; those on the pillars forming the western boundary of the women's mosque, which are of the same character as the heavy basket-shaped capitals seen in the Chapel
of Helena; and those of the columns to the east and west
of the dome, which are of the basket shape, but smaller and
better proportioned than the others. One of the small
basket capitals was broken, and, on examination, proved to
be made of plaster; the others of the same series seemed to
be of similar construction, whilst the Corinthian ones were
all of white marble. . . . . The columns and piers of the
Mosque are connected by a rude architrave, which consists
of beams of roughly-squared timber, inclosed in a casing of
one-inch stuff, on which the decoration, such as it is, is

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THE HARAM ESH-SHERIF. 139
made ; the beams are much decayed, and appear older than
the casing. All the arches are painted. Some of the
windows in El Aksa are very good, but hardly equal to
those in the ' Dome of the Rock.' . . . . A great part of
El Aksa is covered with white.wash, bnt the interior of the
dome, and the portion immediately under it, is richly decorated
with mosaic work and marble casing. The arabesques and
mosaics are similar in character, though of different design
to those of the ' Dome of the Rock.' During the restorations made in the present century some paintings of a very
poor order were introduced.''
The principal objects of interest in the Mosque are-
The Tombs of the Sons of Aaron ; a stone slab
• in the pavement near the entrance. It probably marks the
resting-place of some distinguished Knight Templar. The
Pulpit at the southern end is exquisitely carved in wood,
and is inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. It was made
at Damascus by a native of Aleppo, and was brought here
by Saladin. The wood is cedar of Lebanon, and the work
was ordered by Nureddm. Near the pulpit (west) is the
Praying-place of Moses; and at the back of the
pulpit, is a stone which is said to bear the imprint of áthe
footstep of Christ. Close by here are two Pillars,
tolerably close together-so close, that only medium-sized
people can pass between them. But every pilgrim is supposed to try; those who succeed are sure of a place in
heaven ; but for those who fail the case is doubtful ! In
the eastern end of the Mosque is the so-called Mosque of
Omar, a tradition affirming that he prayed there when
he first entered the city.
In the Mosque there is a cistern called the Well of
the Leaf, the water of which is pure and bright. A curious
Muslim legend attaches to this well. It is said that Mahomed

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JERUSALEM.

delivered a prophecy that one of his followers should, while
alive, enter Paradise. During the caliphate of Omar, a worshipper, one Sheikh ibn Hayian, came to this well to draw
water, when his bucket slipped from his hands and fell in.
He went down after it, and, to his infinite surprise, came to
a door, which he thrust open, and found it led into a beautiful garden. He wandered about in it for some time, and
then returned, but not until he had plucked a leaf, which he
brought with him for a token. The leaf never withered,
and the words of the prophet were fulfilled; but the door
)las never since been found. Devout Muslim!' still look
upon the Well of the Leaf as one of the entrances to
Paradise.
Leaving the Mosque by the eastern door (to which place
the boots of the visitors will have been taken by an attendant),
we proceed to the south-eastern corner of the Haram, and
descend by thirty-two steps to the so-called Cradle of
Christ, a small vaulted chamber, to which many legends
attach. It was here the infant Saviour was brought to be
circumcised; here dwelt Simeon; here the Virgin was entertained for some days as his guest, etc. From this room we
descend to Solomon's Stables, a vast succession of
pillared and vaulted avenues, bearing, as some suppose, all
the marks of the builders of the first Temple ; the bevelled
stones corresponding with the sculptured representations of
the stones used in the construction of Solomonás Temple.
Others think that the drafted stones are but an imitation,
and that the work is Arabian, but an imitation of similar
structures of a much older date. Here, better than anywhere else, will be seen how the valleys were levelled up to
make the vast platform for the Temple. Whether King
Solomon's stables were here or not cannot now be ascertained. It is stated in 2 Kings iv. 26, " Solomon had forty

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THE HARAM ESH-SHERIF.

thousand stalls of horses for his chariots " ; and there can
be no doubt his palace must have been somewhere close to
this place, which was used as stables by the Knights
Templars. The rings to which their horses were attached
may still be seen.
Returning to the Haram, and proceeding along by the
east wall, we come to a stairway, and, ascending the wall, get
a remarkably fine view. Below is the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
a mass of graves and memorial stones-the dead of all generations filling up the valley. It is .the wish of all devout
Jews to be buried here, for to this place will the Messiah
come when the prophecy of Joel is fulfilled (iii. z) : " I will
gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people
and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among •
the nations, and parted my land.'' "Let the heathen be
wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there
will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." A good view
is obtained of the Kidron, Absalom's Pillar, the Tombs of
St. James and Zachariah, the Mount of Olives, Garden of
Gethsemane, etc. Close by is a broken column, protruding from the wall like a cannon. Muslim tradition says
that when Mahomed comes to judge the world he will sit
on this wall, and when a thin cord has been attached to the
column and stretched across the gulfto the hill of Olivet, all
who would reach Paradise must cross it. It will be as thin
as a hair in some parts, and each one who passes will have to •
carry the burden of his sins as fetters. The guilty will fall
from the cord into the gulf of hell; the just, supported by
angels, will cross in safety.
A little to the north is the Golden Gate-or, according
to tradition, the" Beautiful Gate" of the Temple, where Peter
and John cured the lame man (Acts iii. 1-11). There is,

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JERUSALEM.

however, much more reason to suppose that it corresponds
with the Gate Shushan, referred to in the Talmud. If so,
" on it was portrayed the city Shushan. Through it one could
see the High Priest who burnt the heifor, and his assistants
going out to the Mount of Olives." There appear to have
been steps on arches leading down from this gate into
the Kidron towards the east, and leading up again past the
southern end of the present Garden of Gethsemane. It was
through this gate, according to tradition, that our Saviour
1mtered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It is now walled up,
a tradition being extant that, when the Saviour returns to
earth a second time, it will be through this gate He will
make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and wrest it
from the Muslims.
Continuing by the east wall, a small Mosque is seen,
called The Throne of Solomon. It was here, says a
legend, that King Solomon was found dead. Looking
westward, near the northern wall, is a small chapel, with a
white dome, marking the spot where Solomon gave thanks
upon the completion of the Temple. By going out of the
gate at the north-east comer of the Haram, about half way
between it and St. Stephen's Gate (p. I 79) may be seen
through a breach in the wall the traditional Pool of
Bethesda (p. 15.5).
There are a great many other objects of lnterest that will
be pointed out to the traveller as he makes the tour of the
Haram.
Various Prayer Niches, to which marvellous legends
are attached. The foundations of a wall, probably belonging
to the Fortress of Antonia. The most beautiful structure in all Jerusalem is probably the Kubbet es Silsileh, or
Dome of the Chain, said to have been the model for the
Mosque of Omar., It is also called the Tribunal of David.

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TOUR OF THE CITY. 143
The tradition attached to it is that a chain was suspended
from heaven and stood on this spot, and when two disputants
could not settle a quarrel, the chain moved towards the one
who had the right on his side, and so the litigation would
be settled. Another tradition is that every witness in a great
trial was brought here. If he could grasp the chain, his
evidence was true; if a link broke otf, he was a perjurer.
The Kubbet-el-Miraj, or Dome of Ascension, marks
the spot where Mahomed ascended on his wonderful
journey to heaven.
One very interesting spot between the Dome of the Rock
and El Aksa is a marble fountain called El Kas, or The
Cup, beneath which are vast reservoirs, into which the water
from the Pools of Solomon (p. 202) was conveyed. They are
hewn in the solid rock, and are approached by a staircase, also
hewn in the rock. Was it here that Solomon placed the
Brazen Laver ? The cisterns are called the Cisternsqf theSea,
or the .King's Cisterns. Solomon'' made a molten sea,of ten
cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and four cubits
the height thereof. . . . . And the thickness of it was
an hand breadth, and the brim of it like the work of a brim •
of a cup . . . . . and it received and held three thousand baths" (2 Chron. iv. 1...:..5).

WITHIN THE CITY.
[ In Jerusalem, the places ofinterest are so close together
that it is almost unnecessary to indicate any special "walks/'
as the traveller will in all probability stroll on from place to
place, and find that in a few such strolls he has compassed
the city and its sights. For the sake of those who wish to
make a systematic tour of the city, the following descriptions
are given in the order in which they may be visited with the
least trouble and loss of time.]

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144 JERUSALEM.

Start from the Jaffa Gate for Bab-el-Khulil (i.e., The
Gate of Hebron, or The Friend, p. 208). This is on the
west side of the city, close to the north-western angle of
the citadel. It consists of a massive square tower, the
entrance to which from without is on the northern side, and
áthe exit within on the eastern. Entering Jerusalem by this
gate, a large open space is reached, where a kind of fair is
alwl!ysgoing on ; vendors of fruit and sweetmeats vieing with
dealers in more substantial articles of food. On the left is a
line of shops, cafes, etc., and on the right is the Tower of
David, called by Josephus the Tower of Hippicus, and
forming part of the citadel, a strong and conspicuous structure. The upper part of this tower has been often rebuilt ;
but the town is evidently ancient, the stones being of immense size, and bevelled after the manner of the Jews. Here
David erected a fortress which was the stronghold of Zion in
all after ages; and it is probable that these immense stones
belong to the earliest period of its history, and may have been
laid by David. If it be the Tower of David, or the Tower
of Hippicus, built by Herod, or both, it was standing here
when our Saviour was a visitor in Jerusalem, and His shadow
may have rested upon it as He walked in Zion. Josephus
says that Titus, when he destroyed Jerusalem, left the three
Towers built by Herod standing ; the two others were called
Phasrelisand Mariamme, and have since been destroyed. The
Tower of Hippicus remains, and many travellers regard it as
one of the most interesting places in Jerusalem. "There is
not one house standing on which we can feel certain that
our Lord ever gazed, unless it be the old Tower at the
Jaffa Gate.''-(MacLeod.)
There is a fine view from the top.
Zion Street passes by the east side of the tower, running
north and south. We follow it south to the Gate of David,

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THE TOMB OF DAVID.

or Zion Gate, on the summit of the ridge of Zion. This
height was held by the Jebusites until David took it by
storm, and " David dwelt in the Fort, and called it the City
of David" (2 Sam. v. 9). It was the highest point within
the limits of the city, being 2540 ft. above the Mediterranean.
Here, or hereabouts, David's house was built, the household
for his families was here, and here was the place for the
Ark of God before the Temple was built. " And David
made him houses in the City of David, and prepared a place
for the Ark of God, and pitched for it a tent'' (1 Chron.
xv. 1, 29; 2 Chron. v. 2, etc.) Opposite the gate is the
Armenian Convent, one of the richest and largest in the
city, with several large tamarisk-trees in front, said to have
been planted by Herod. Within the Convent is the Church
of St. James, the place where, according to tradition,
St. James was beheaded. •• Herod the king stretched forth
his hands to vex certain of tbe church, and he killed James,
the brother of John, with the sword" (Acts xii. 2). The
convent is capable of accommodating about 3000 people.
The monks are industriou!;, and are adepts in all kinds of
trade. They have _in the convent a printing-press, a photograpl;lic establishment, carpenters' shops, etc.
Just outside Zion Gate is a modern ruin called the
Palace of Caiaphas. It contains the tombs of the
Armenian patriarchs. According to tradition, the prison of
Christ is here, and the stone which was rolled away from
the mouth of the sepulchre (seep. 125). It is also the place
where Peter stood when he denied the Lord ; and a small
pillar is shown on which the cock stood when he crew to
warn him!
A little south of this ruin is a small mosque, known as
Nehy DiifU, or The Tomb of David. It cannot well
be doubted that this memorial marks the place, or at least

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JERUSALEM.

the vicinity of the place, where the Hebrew kings were
bu.ried. That they were interred on Mount Zion is known
with certainty. for it is said of the successive Kings of Judah
that " they slept with their fathers, and were buried in the
City of David,'' which is only another expression for Mount
Zion (see I Kings xi. 43, xiv. 31, xv. 18, etc. The notice
in Nehemiah iii. 16 represents the sepulchre of David as
opposite a certain pool, and the present tomb stands exactly
against the Lower Gihon, on the west of Jerusalem (p. 164).
The Apostle Peter speaks of the place of David's burial as a
matter of general notoriety. "His sepulchre,'' he says, "is
with us unto this day." No reason can be assigned why
the locality in that age should have become a different one
from that which Nehemiah mentions. Josephus furnishes
testimony to the same effect. From that time to the present,
as often as we hear any Jewish witnesses on the subject, we
find them connecting the national tradition respecting
David's Tomb with this spot, and the Mahomedans and
Eastern Christians regard it with the same veneration.-
(Hackett.)
Learned travellers have, however, placed the Tomb of
David in various other places, within and without the
walls. In the fifteenth century, Benjamin of Tudela gives
this legend :-
" Fifteen years ago, one of the walls of the place of
worship on Mount Zion fell down, which the Patriarch
ordered the priest to repair. He commanded to take stones
from the original wall of Zion, and to employ them for that
purpose, which command was obeyed. Two labourers who
were engaged in digging stones from the very foundation of
the walls of Zion, happened to meet with one which formed
the mouth of a cavern. They agreed to enter the cave, and
to search for treasure, and in pursuit of this object they

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THE TOMB OF DAVID. 147
penetrated to a _large hall supported by pillars of marble,
encrusted with gold and silver, before which stood a table
with a golden sceptre and crown. This was the sepulchre
of David, King of :Israel, to the left of which they saw that
of Solomon, and of all the Kings of Judah who were buried
there. They further saw locked chests, and desired to enter
the hall to examine them, but a blast of wind, like a storm,
issued forth from the mouth of the cavern, and prostrated
them almost lifeless upon the ground. They lay in this
state until evening, when they heard a voice commanding
them to rise and go forth fromá the place. They proceeded,
terror-stricken, to the Patriarch, and informed him of what
had occurred. He summoned Rabbi Abraham el-Constantine, a pious ascetic, one of the mourners of the downfall of
Jerusalem, and caused the two labourers to repeat the
occurrence in his presence. Rabbi Abraham hereupon informed the Patriarch that they had discovered the sepulchres
of the House of David, and of the Kings of Judah. The
Patriarch ordered the place to be walled up, so as to hide it
effectually from every one, to the present day."
That is one version of the story, and here is another.
"The so-called Tomb of David was originally a convent of
Franciscan monks, who believed it to be the site of the
Crenaculum, and their tradition mentions nothing of an
underground cavern, such as is now said by the Mahomedans to exist. The tradition which makes it the Tomb of
David is purely Muslim in its origin, and does not date
back earlier than the time of El Melik ed Dha'her Chakmak,
1448. Oral tradition in Jerusalem says that a beggar came
one day to the door of the monastery asking for relief, and,
in revenge for being refused went about declaring it was the
Tomb of David, in order to excite the Muslim fanatics to
seize upon and confiscate the spot."

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JERUSALEM.

In 1839 Sir Moses Montefiore was permitted to visit the
mosque, and Miss Barclay, the daughter of the celebrated
American missionary, at a much more recent date, was
allowed to sketch the tomb. She says, "The tomb is
appar1:ntly an immense sarcophagus of rough stone, and is
covered by green satin tapestry, richly embroidered with
gold. A satin canopy ot red, blue, green, and yellow stripes
hangs over the tomb, and another piece of black velvet
tapestry, embroidered in silver, covers a door in one end of
the room, which they said kads to a cave underneath. Two
small silver candlesticks stand before this door, and a little
lamp hangs in the window near it, which is kept constantly
burning."
No doubt, as fresh privileges are granted to travellers,
the truth will be hr.ought to light.
Adjoining the Tomb is the Camaculum, or Chamber
of the Last Supper. It is a plain room, divided into two parts
by two columns in the middle, and with pointed vaulting in
the ceiling. The place where the table stood, and where our
Lord sat, is pointed outto the visitor. The room is5oft. by
,30 ft. In one part is a screen where Mass is celebrated by
Christians; in another is a praying-place for Muslims. On
the wall which separates the Crenaculum from the Tomb
of David many prayers have been written in many languages,
the burden being," Shalum,á• or Rachel, or Mahmoud" begs
the prayers of David for his or her soul."
It is stated that when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, this
building, with a few others near it, escaped, and that the
earliest travellers to the land found it identified as the scene
of the Last Supper. "If it really is the place where our
Saviour met with his disciples, it is indeed a holy place, and,
on the bare supposition, it cannot be contemplated without
a feeling of reverential awe. Nor can we wonder that the

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MOUNT ZION. 149
Christians in the city flock here on Maundy Thursday to
see the Franciscans wash the feet of pilgrims in memory
of Him, who in that place taught His disciples how, in love,
they should serve one another.''
" And He sendeth forth two of his disciplP.s,and saith
unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a
man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house,
The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall
eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you
a large upper room furnished and prepared : there make
ready for us'' (Mark xiv. 13-16). •
It is supposed that in this room the disciples were gathered
when the Holy Ghost came upon them, and the significanceof
St. Peter's reference to the adjacent Tomb of David will be
readily seen, " Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto
you of the patriarch DJvid, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulchre is with us unto this day" (Acts ii. :29).
Re-entering the city by the Zion Gate we pass close to the
south wall, where formerly were the wretched huts forming
the Lepers' Quarter. A more awful spectacle than is presented by these poor creatures cannot be conceived ; they
are cut off from association with the outside world, they are
literally falling to pieces with disease, limb after limb becoming shapeless, or altogether lost. Some of the faces of
these poor creatures are knotted so as to resemble bunches
of grapes ; in some the features are scarcely discernible.
The disease generally attacks the throat, and causes them to
make the peculiar sound which has such a heartrending
sadness (p. 256). It is only within the past two years that
this Quarter has been demolished. Doubts are entertained
whether the present form of leprosy is at all like the disease
ro often referred to in Scripture. The Leper Hospital was

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JERUSALEM.

established in 1 867. For an account of the law relating to
Lepers, see Levit. xiii.
From a watch tower a short distance from the Lepers'
Quarter, there is a celebrated view which will give the
traveller the best idea of the former positions of buildings,
public places, and general outlines, than from any other spot.
He will see the whole of the Mount of Olives, the valley of
Jehoshaphat, and the Kidron, separating Olivet from the
city; the vallies of Gihon and Hinnom running into the
Kidron, north of En-Rogal. South of Hinnom the Hill of
Evil Counsel, with a modern house on the top, and a tree
just beyond, on which it is said that Judas hanged himself
(p. 166), and, immediately below, the Tyropreon, or Cheesemongers' Valley, the subject of acres of paper and rivers of
ink ( see below).
Following the course of the South wall, and descending
towards the Cheesemongers' Valley, we reach a small gate
in the south wall, called the Dung Gate (Neh. iii. 15).
A pathway leads from here to Siloam (p. 167); the modern
name of the. gate is BAb-el-Mugbaribeh, or Gate of the
Western Africans. Passing through a jungle of cactus we
reach the south-west wall of the Haram, where we see some
of the colossal blocks of stone used in the building of that
wonderful structure. In the corner is i stone seventy-five
feet above the foundation, thirty-eight feet four inches long,
and three and a-half feet ~igh, and seven feet wide. Captain
Warren sunk a shaft at this corner, to the foundation of the
wall. A few steps north, and we see the celebrated spring
of the arch which connected the Temple with the city of
Zion. It is called Robinson's Arch, after the name of
the great American traveller who discovered and described
it, and rendered immense service in the elucidation of Scripture by his Biblical researches.

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ROBINSON'S ARCH.

The fragment consists of immense stones projecting from
the wall near what is now the level of the ground, and it
forms the spring of what he considered to be a spacious
arch. The wall extends in an unbroken line from the
Wailing Place to the arch, though it cannot be followed
because of the houses which are built up against it; and,
respecting the arch, it is curious to notice that the second
course of the spring contains two stones, which seem to be
two halves, split asunder, of one original stone of enormous
dimensions. Whether Robinson's conclusion was correct
remained a disputed point, which the result of the Exploration has decided in his favour. Captain Warren sunk several
shafts in a line west of this projecting masonry, and came
upon a pier which supported what must have been the west
side of the arch. Beyond all :question, at one period there
must have been a bridge here, connecting the Temple with
the south-west part of the city, and spanning the valley
between. The exoavations also disclosed, at a distance of
sixty feet under the present surface of the soil, fragments of
voussoirs, or bevelled stones, lying where they fell, when, by
some means or other unknown, the bridge was destroyed.
The place on which they now lie scattered in confusion,
once formed the level of a street running under the archlike the street in Edinburgh under the North Bridge, or that
in London under the new Holborn Viaduct. The excavations also laid open a vast conduit running under this ancient
street, at a further depth of twenty feet; and, what is very
remarkable, brought to light an opening into it, through
which:, in all probability, water was once drawn from the
conduit as from a well. Through this opening, water would
be obtained when the bridge was perfect, when people passed
under it to and fro in the days of Herod, for it must have
existed then, if not before.

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JERUSALEM.

Antiquaries are apt to give as ancient a date as possible
to the remains they examine and describe, and one writer
observes :-" Imagination has to stop at the date of Solomon
as '.the time when the Temple, the Haram wall, and the
bridge were built, but this cistern may have existed before
that time. Scandals whispered by the mouth of this well
may have echoed round .its rocky sides as far back as the
time when the Jebusites and Canaanites ruled in the land."
"For my own part,'' says Dr. Stoughton," I am quite satisfied
to confine my imagination, respecting such a well in one of
the streets of Jerusalem, to the era of the Herodian Temple,
to the days when our blessed Lord and His Apostles might
have drunk of its waters ; when their shadows might have
fallen on the pavement, or their forms have been watched
passing under the great arch by the "people looking down
from the parapet above.''
By following for a few moments a narrow crooked lane
to the north, and then turning to the right, the Jews'
Wailing Place is reached. There is a low wall on the
west side, and on the east the.celebrated wall of the
Temple. It is composed of enormous blocks of marble,
fifteen feet long and three or four feet deep, with a rough
panelled surface, and a smooth bevelled edge ; five or six
courses of this masonry at the bottom bear smaller stones
higher up. Some of the lower may have been disturbed, but
many are as they were first laid. A strange congregation
gathers here every Friday afternoon from three to five o'clock,
from whence they go to their synagogues. " It is a strange
place to stand in, the walls towering up so loftily, flowers
growing in the crevices, creeping plants swaying to and fro
lazily in the idle wind, and at the foot; are the wailing Jews.
Old men, with black turbans or caps, dressed in dingy, greasy
gabardine, ... the Hebrew Pslater, or some other. sacred

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THE WAILING PLACE. 1 53
book in hand, the body waving to and fro, the lips muttering
and wailing out lamentation after lamentation." It is a libel to
call this scene a " show prepared for the benefit of visitors."
Jerome makes an affecting allusion to the remnant of
mourners in his day who paid the Roman soldiers for allowing them to go and weep over the ruins of the Holy City,
and they were not less sincere then than those who weep
now over their "holy and beautiful house'' defiled by infidels.
There is a very beautiful litany sometimes chanted here,
a fragment of which is as follows :-

FIRST CHOIR.

Reader. Because of the palace which is deserted-
Peupk.: We sit alone and weep.
Reader. Because of the Temple which is destroyed,
Because of the walls which are broken down,
Because of our greatness which is departed,
Because of the precious stones of the Temple ground to
powder,
Because of our priests who have erred and gone astray,
Because of our kings who have contemned God-
People. We sit alone and weep.

ANOTHER CHOIR.
Reader, We beseech Thee, have mercy on Zion!
People. And gather together the Children of Jerusalem.
Reader. Make speed, make speed, 0 deliverer of Zion.
People. Speak after the heart of Jerusalem.
Reader. Let Zion be girded with beauty and with majesty.
People. Show favour unto Jerusalem.
Reader. Let Zion find again her kings.
People. Comfort those who mourn over Jerusalem.
Reader. Let peace and joy return to Jerusalem.
People. Let the branch of Jerusalem put forth and bud.

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154 JERUSALEM.

Continuing a short distance north, the Street of David is
reached, and turning to the left it leads straight to the Jaffa
Gate, from whence we started.
From the Wailing Place, if so minded, the traveller may
make a Tour of the Walls of the Haram.
The first place of interest is but a step or two beyond
David Street, and is known as
Wilson's Arch. This arch springs from a wall which
seems to be a continuation of the wall at the Jews' Wailing
Place. Beneath the accumulated soil at the bottom has been
found a good piece of pavement. The wall has been
cemented at the joints of the stones, for twelve feet and
upwards, to make a chamber within it serve as a cistern. It
was supposed that this arch was a viaduct running parallel
to Robinson's Arch, connecting, perhaps, the Temple and the
south-west of the city at this more northern point. But the
complete researches of Captain Warren have dispelled this
supposition ; he pronounces it to be modern. If his theory
is correct, Wilson's Arch did not exist in Old or New Testament times, and cannot therefore be connected with Scripture
scenes; but it might have been connected with the Christian
buildings of the Haram executed in the days of Justinian
(p. 138). The chamber, however, to which reference has
been made, and which is designated by Captain Warren the
'' Masonic Hall," has walls of square stones, and pilasters
with capitals in the corners, also entrances with jambs and
lintels, and he says has "every appearance of being the oldest
piece of masonry visible in Jerusalem with the exception of
the Sanctuary walls, and perhaps as old as they." • Here at
least there is a connection with early Biblical scenes.
In connection with both Robinson'sand Wilson's Arches
there exist relics of roads. One, the more ancient, consists of hard, well-squared marble paving stones, on the south-

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POOL OF BETHESDA. 1 55
west of the áHaram wall. " A point of contact this," says
Dr. Stoughton, "with memories of our BlessedLord and His
Apostles, who may often have issued from the city by this inlet,
and come out from the crowded streets into the open country of
the Hinnom Valleyand the opposite sloping hills. . . . It is no
wild stretch of fancy to think of these stones as having received
shadows from groups composed of Jesus and the twelve as
they passed by." Another roadway led under Wilson's Arch
to the Dung Gate (p. 150). This brings us into contact
with the Jerusalem of the Middle Ages-the Jerusalem of
the Crusades. The pavement is twenty feet abov~ the
other, and twenty-three feet below the present suiface-another instance of the vast amount of dehris accumulated
above the ancient level of the Holy City (p. u5). Under
this second pavement was dug up "the signet of Haggai the
son of Shebanieh,'' and other interesting relics, for particulars
of which see Recovery of Jerusalem, pp. 132-4.
Below the arch is the El Burak Pool, named after the
steed upon which Mahomed made his miraculous journey.
Here is the- Bab-es-Silsileh, the principal entrance to the
Haram (p. 135).
From here a visit can be made to the Healing Bath, supposed to be the Pool of Bethesda (see below), and then,
traversing the Bazaar of the Cotton Merchants, turnings
to the right lead to the Bab-el-Kattanin and the Bab-el-
Hadid respectively, two of the Gates of the Haram.
Continuing north, the Serai, the residence of the Pasha,
the Old Serai, now a state prison, and the barracks are
seen.
Reaching the Via Dolorosa and turing to the right, the
next place of interest is the Birket lsrail, commonly called
the Pool of Bethesda, situated to the north-east of the
Haram, indeed the wall of the so-called pool-for it is now

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JERUSALEM.

dry-is the north wall of the sanctuary enclosure close to
St. Stephen's Gate. It is 360 feet long, 130 broad, and
50 deep. Through a wall Captain Warren penetrated into
large vaulted substructions. Much doubt has been cast upon
the tradition dating from the time of Srewulf (uoi A.D.),
that this is the true Bethesda, and modern opinion is now in
favour of the Healing Bath, Hammam-esh-Shefo, near to
the Bazaar of the Cotton Merchants (Sak-el-Kattanin)
(p. 1 ss).
The Gate of St. Stephen (p. 179) is then passed, and the
tour of the eastern wall is made ; the principal place of
interest being the Golden Gate, which well deserves a close
inspection (p. 141). •
Proceeding to the south-east angle of t be Haram, where
the Single, Triple and Double Gates are situated, we reach a
locality which has been much explored by the Palestine
Exploration Fund, and has yielded important results; one
being the discovery of the amazing extent of the wall of the
Haram, from top to bottom. Josephus, in his Antiquiti.es, makes the following statements as to the walls
of the Temple at this part, which, l>t-forethe recent explorations, perplexed readers of the Jewish historian, and
strengthened their suspicion of his having greatly exaggerated the magnificence of the Holy City : "Solomon
also built a wall below, beginning at the bottom, which was
encompassed by a deep valley ; and at the south side he laid
rocks together, and bound them one to another with lead,
and included some of the inner parts, till it proceeded to a
great height, and till both the largeness of the square edifice
and its altitude were immense." He also speaks of the
south front of the Temple as '' deserving to be mentioned
better than any other under the sun; for, while the valley
was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen if you looked

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OPHEL. 1 57
from above into the depth, this farther vastly high elevation
of the cloister stood upon that height, insomuch that if any
one looked down from the top of the battlements, or down
both those altitudes, he would-be giddy, while his sight could
not reach to such an immense depth" (Antiquities <if the
Jews, B. XV., c. xi. 3, 5). '' I remember very well," says
Dr. Stoughton, '' when standing by the south-east angle of
the Haram wall, and admiring the beautiful massive stones,
'polished after the similitude of a palace,' that I thought
Josephus had much exaggerated the tmth when he spoke of
the height of the building at this point as so immense, that
if any one looked down from the top he would be giddy; yet
this turns out to be literally the truth.''
Another important discovery has been made in connection with this south-eastern part of the Haram wall. In
z Chron. xxvii. 3, J otham is described as having built much
"in the wall of Ophel.'' Other references are made to
Ophel as near the Water Gate (Neh. iii. 28), and as the
residence of the Levites (Neh. xi. 21). Jo<;;ephusalso refers
to Ophla-no doubt, the same place--as near the Kidron
Valley. Ophel, as the name indicates, is a swelling declivity, and slopes otf on the southern side of the Haram
down into the Valley of Hinnom, forming a spur or promontory between the Tyropreon and the Valley of J ehoshaphat. Here Captain Warren sunk fifty shafts in search of a
wall-such a wall as Jotham is said to have built-and with
complete success. The line of wall is ascertained to extend
southward of the vaults known as Solomon's Stables (p.
140) to a distance of 700 feet along the eastern ridge of
Ophel. A tower has been discovered at a distance of ']6 feet
from the south-east angle. About 200 feet further south it
is believed by Captain Warren, another tower existed. While
its date cannot be exactly determined, it is probable that this

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JERUSALEM.

wall is at least on the site of the old wall built by Manasseh,
and mentioned in Nehemiah. This discovery shows how
the suburb of Ophel lay under the Temple wall (see 2 Chron.
xxvii. 3, xxxiii. 14).

The Via Dolorosa.
The Via Dolorosa of pilgrims, called by the residents
'' The Street of the Palace,'' leads from the Serai, or Palace
(p. 155), near St. Stephen's Gate, to the Church of the Holy
. Sepulchre (p. 1:u). ~tis a narrow street, roughly paved, but
in some places remarkably picturesque, with arches and
pleasant studies of ancient houses and very old masonwork. No one can traverse its curious zig-zags and look at
its " holy places" with indifference, as it is sacred with the
tears of many generations of pilgrims, who, according to
their faith, strove to follow in the footsteps of the Lord. As
a mere hard and dry matter of fact, however, there is no
historical evidence whatever for the sacred sites ; the street
was not even known until the fourteenth century.
Starting from the Serai, or residence of the Pasha (p. 155),
we will visit the Stations of the Cross.
1. Pilate's Judgment Hall.-The holy steps (Scala
Santa) that led to the Hall, and were trodden by the feet of
Christ, were removed to Rome, and now may be seen in the
Church of St. John Lateran. The spot from whence they
were taken is, however, pointed out. The Turkish barracks
are now here, and they stand on the site of the ancient
Castle of Antonia (p. 142). At the foot of the steps is-
(2.) The place of the Binding of the Cross upon the
shoulder of Christ. Close by here is a Roman Catholic
School, "The Sisters of Zion.'' A few steps further on,
where a modern arch spans the street, we enter, on the

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STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 1 59
right, thP- Church of the Sisters of Zion-first by an iron
gate, and then by a wooden door. By turning to the right,
we see, behind a very neat little altar, a part of the Ecce
Homo Arch. Here we undoubtedly see some of the
natural rock ; and it has been ascertained that vast rocky
vaults are below. The arch is said to have been connected
with the Judgment Hall. "Then came Jesus forth, wearing
the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith
unto them, Behold the man" (John xix. 5). Descending
now into a street running north and south, and turning to
the left, is-(3.) The place where Christ sunk under the.
cross. Pilgrims are not agreed as to this Station. The
columns in the corner are said by some to mark the spot
where they compelled one Simon, a Cyrenian, to carry the
cross (Mark xv.á :21 ). Turning south to where another
street joins, we bend sharply to the right, and in the corner
of the wall, to the left, see an indented stone, marking-
( 4.) The Impression of Christ's Shoulder, as He leant
there for support. A few steps west, on the left,)s-(5.) The
House of St. Veronica, who wiped the brow of our
Saviour, and His features became imprinted upon her handkerchief. On the left is the Russian Hospital, said to be
over-(7.) The spot where Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves and your children''
(Luke xxiii. 28). From here we follow up the street to
where a minaret stands on the left, and by turning into a
narrow lane on the right, a few steps brings us to one of
the stones that would have cried out if the people had held
their peace ! A few paces west of the minaret a street comes
in on the left, which we follow to where it is spanned by an
arch. Here, in the wall to the left, was the old entrance to
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here ends the Via
Dolorosa. The remainder of the street is Christian Street ;

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160 JERUSALEM
the remainder of the Stations are within the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre.
There are two stations omitted in the foregoing list,-the
spot where Jesus is said to have met His mother, and the spot
where He leaned a second time and left the impression of His
hand. Also in the Via Dolorosa may be seen the House of
Lazarus, the poor man of the parable, and the House of
Dives, the rich man.

. The Hospital of St. John.
A short distance to the south-east of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, on the right of the street running east, leads
to a handsome woodenwdoor under a Gothic portal, through
which we enter the Hospital (M11ristan)of St. John. Here,
in the eleventh century, were erected two Hospitals for Pilgrims, one dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and the other to
St. John of Alexandria; the former for females, the latter
for males. From these institutions grew the famous order
of Hospitaners or Knights of St. John; St. John the Baptist
being then the patron saint. The traveller may here refresh
his memory concerning the three military orders which sprung
up during the wars of the Crusaders.
1. These Knights of St. John, who subsequently (i.e.,
1187) went to Cyprus, then to Rhodes, and finally to Malta;
2. The Knights Templars, who had their quarters in the
Temple Haram, where now stands the Mosque El Aksa
(p. 137) ; 3. The Teutonic Knights of St. Mary of Jerusalem. Their duties were various : to combat the infidels, to
protect the pilgrims, to succour the sick and destitute, and
to guard the highways, which were infested with robbers.
The Portal at the entrance is enriched with symbolical
representations of the months. The Church is in ruin.
An old refectory has been repaired, and is turned into a

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MONASTERIES. 161

German Protestant Chapel. Service is performed
here every Sunday morning. Excavations, made at the
expense of the Crown Prince of Prussia, to whom the
Sultan in 1869 gave half the Hospital-the whole occupies
about 180 square yards-have been carried on for some years,
and visitors are allowed to descend to the foundations and
inspect the vaulted cisterns and other objects of interest. The
rubbish accumulated here was enormous, and was emptied
into the valley of Gihon, near the Jaffa Gate.

The Abyssinian Monastery
is close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; from the Dome
in the Court we can see into the Chapel of St. Helena {p. 12 7).
Here is an olive tree, which the monks point out as marking
the spot where Abraham found " the ram caught in the
thicket," and was offered in sacrifice in lieu of Isaac. The
dwellings of these poor people are in the south-eastern part
of the court. Their áchapel is modem and uninteresting.
The Abyssioians are a devout body of Christians, passionately
attached to the Sacred City, and they seem to know of no
higher felicity than to live and die where their Lord lived
and died.
The Coptic Monastery
is much finer than the Abyssinian, to which it is adjacent.
The priests reside here, and there are many cells arranged for
the accommodation of pilgrims. Two Coptic priests are day
and night shut up in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
(p. 126), to perform service there. Here is kept the key
of the Cisterns of St. Helena, hewn in the solid rock,
and having a balustrade by the cisterns, also rock-hewn.
They are well worth visiting, and the small fee paid will
b~ well employed.
"
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16z JERUSALEM.

The Greek Monastery
is a large range of buildings in Christian Street. It contains
five churches and a valuable libr3lj'. The Patriarch and a
hundred monks reside here. At the time of the Easter
Festivals, the Monastery is crowded with Pilgrims, who
are also accommodated at other times.
[For other Monasteries, outside the city, seep. 184.]

The Bazaars.
The Bazaars of Jerusalem have nothing about them to
call for special remark, especially if the traveller has been in
Cairo, or is going to Damascus. The Corri Market is
in David Street, and it is said they gháe Scripture measure, as
they always shake the measure, press it down, and cause it
to run over. "Give, and it shall be given unto you, good
measure pressed down, and shaken together, and mooing
over" (Luke vi. 38). Near the Coro Market are the principal bazaars, but there are no special objects of attraction in
them.
The Pool of Hezekiah.
From an Arab Cafe in Christian Street the best view can
be obtained of this pool, which is situate a little south of the
Greek Monastery. It is an immense reservoir, z50 feet long
and 150 wide,and is supplied from theMamilla Pool (p. 184)
at the end of the Valley of Hinnom, the conduit passing
underneath the city wall near the Jaffa Gate. It is called
Birket Hamma.m, or Pool of the Patriarch, as it supplies the
Bath of the Greek Patriarch. There is no definite evidence
as to this being, as tradition points it out to be, the pool
which Hezekiah made.
I
A fine view of the pool is obtained from the roof of the
Mediterranean Hotel. I

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OUTSIDE THE WALLS.

The Church of St. Anne
is one of the "Holy Places" of Jerusalem, and deserves a
visit on various grounds ; but a permit must be obtained from
the French Consulate. It is situated at the eastern end of
the Via Dolorosa,"near to St. Stephen's Gate (p. 179). It
was founded in the seventh century, was rebuilt in the
twelfth century, converted by Saladin into a school, and in
1856 was presented by the Sultan to the Emperor of the
French (Napoleon Ill.) at the close of the Crimean War.
It has been so many times altered and ~epaired, that it is
difficult to understand the plan or style of any part of the
building. It is said to mark the dwelling-place of St. Anne,
the mother of the Virgin ; to have been the birth-place of the
Holy Mother; the burial-place of her father Joachim, etc., etc.

The Synagogues
of the Jews are in the Jewish Quarter of the town,
which is situated to the east of Zion. Can be reached from
David Street by turning into the Street of the Gate of the
Prophet David. There is nothing remarkably interesting in
this Jewish Quarter, except the people; the Synagogues,
are used respectively by the Sephardim and Ashkenazim
(p_.6~), and are singularly devoid of interest.

OUTSIDE THE WALLS.
For a tour round the city, the start may be best made
from the Jaffa Gate (p. 144). We descend into the valley
of Gihon, memorable as the scene where Solomon was
crowned and proclaimed King. Said King David, "cause
Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring
him down to Gihon : and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the

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JERUSALEM.

prophet anoint him their king over Israel: and blow ye with
the trumpet, and say, God save King Solomon" (1 Kings i.
33, 38, 45). Hezekiah "stopped the upper watercourse of
Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city
of David" (1 Chron. xxxii. 30). Manas~h "built a wait
without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the
valley, even to the entering in at the Fish Gate" (1 Chron.
xxxiii. 14). Proceeding down the valley, we come to a wall
crossing the valley from east to west, on which is an old aque-
•duct, built to convey water from the Pools of Solomon to the
T1::mple. The wall forms the northern end of
The Birket es Sultan, or Lower Pool
of Gihon.
It is 170 yards long and 70 wide. The depth varies from 35
ft. to 41 ft. This immense reservoir may probably date from
the time of Hezekiah; its history is, however, involved in
much obscurity. It is thought to be the lower pool of
Isaiah xxii. 9: " Ye have seen the breaches of David that they
are many, and ye gathered together the waters of the lower
pool." (See also the passage quoted above.) A tradition is
attached to this pool that it was here David beheld Bathsheba
bathing.
Continuing down the Valley of Gihon on the west side of
the city, we come to where it turns eastward, and is then the.
Valley of Hinnom,
a deep and narrow ravine, with steep rocky sides, situate
on the south.and west of the city, and separating Mount
Zion to the north from the Hill of Evil Counsel and thE>Plain
of Rephaim (p. 185) on the south. It formed the boundary
line between Judah and Benjamin, which is thus described
in Joshua xv. 8, as passing along the bed of the valley ; "The

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VALLEY OF HINNOM.

border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the
south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the
border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before
the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the
valley of the giant<; northward.'' It is even more clearly
defined in Joshua xviii. 16: "And the border came down to
the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son
of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the
north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom to the side of
Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel" (p. 167).
In this valley, or rather on the southern brow overlooking
it on the eastern end, Solomon built the high places to
Molech. "Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before
Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children
of Ammon'' (1 Kings xi. 7). Other idolatrous kings followed up the practices commenced by Solomon, so that Ahaz
and Manasseh did not spare their own sons," but made them
to pass through the fire according to the abominations of the
heathen'' (2 Kings x.vi.3 ; 2 Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6). In
the time of Josiah these hellish practices of infant sacrifice
were put down with so strong a hand, that they were never
revived here. "He defiled Topheth (or Tophet, place of fire),
which is in the valley of the Children of Hinnom, that no
man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire to Molech '' (2 Kings xxiii. 10) .. And "he took away
the high places that were before Jerusalem.''
So odious was the place made by the horrid practices of
the idolaters, and by the pollution to which J o~iah subjected
it, by making it a cesspool and a charnel-house, that later
Jews called it Ge Hinnom, or Gehenna, making it symbolical
of the place of eternal torment. Its present name is Wady
Jehennain, and the lower half of the valley, Wady er Rubib.

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166 JERUSALEM.

"There is something in the scenery of this valley and
the hill above it; its tombs hewn in the rock, long since
tenantless; the grey gloom of its old fig and olive-trees
starting from the fissures of the crags; the overhanging
wall of Zion, desolate almost as in the time of her captivity,
that forcibly recalls the wild and mournful grandeur of the
prophetic writings. Within it, too, is the traditionary
Aceldama, or Field of Blood of the traitor Judas ; a
small plot of ground, overhung with one precipice and looking down another into the glen below, on which is a deep
chamel-house, into which it was formerly the custom to
throw the bodies of the dead, as the earth was supposed to
have the power of rapidly consuming them. The place was
selected as the burial-place of pilgrims who died at J erusalem in the Middle Ages. Such are the scenes that have
passed in Hinnom; it is like the scroll of the prophet,
' written within and without with mourning, lamentation,
and woe.' "-(Bart/,ett's Walks ahout Jerusalem.)
Aceldama is on the southern face of the valley at the
eastern end. There is, however, no historical proof of this
being identical with the " Potters' Field,'' and it is known
that various sites have, at different times, been pointed out as
the spot where Judas met his death. When the traitor took
back the thirty pieces of silver, and "cast them down in the
Temple, and wen~ and hanged himself, the chief priests took
the silver and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the
treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took
counsel, and bought with them the Potters' Field, to bury
strangers in, wherefore that field was called The Field of
Blood unto this day " (Matt. xxvii. 3-10; Acts i. 18, 19).
There are many tombs all round about, some of them
of hermits, who dwelt here in very early times; some
of Crusaders, and some of recent date. Many of the tombs

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SILOAM.

have beaotifolly-decoratedeotnoces, and some bear inscriptions. There is ooe tomb called The Apostles' Cavern,
from a legend that when the disciples "all forsook Him aod
fled." they came and hid themselves here.
This hiD is also called the Hill of Evil Counsel,
&om a tradition that io the coootry house of Caiaphas the
high priest met the Jews, aod took. counsel bow they might
put Him to death. The tradition ooly dates from the fourteenth centmy.
En-Rogel
is situated in one or two places. according to the sides
taken in various controversies. Grove places it at
Bir E!f"b, below Siloam; others at the Fountain of the
Virgin, a few hundred yards further off ; others at &
Zehwde, corresponding with the stone of Zobeleth ( 1 Kings
i. 9). If this latter be the site-and the balance of evidence
seems io its favour-it is on the western face of the rocky
plateau which &lightlyoverhangs the valley of the village of
Siloam. Along this troublesome and almcst dangerous
pathway of rudely-cut steps, the women of Siloam pass and
re-pass continually oo their way to the Virgin's Fountain
for water.
At En-Rogel, Jonathan and Ahimaaz waited for intelligence to convey to David in the time of his trouble, " For
they might not be seen to come into the city " (, Samuel
xvii. 17). When Adonijab "exalted himself, saying I will
be king," be celebrated bis coronation feast here. "And
Adonijab slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of
Zobeleth, which is by En-Rogel" (1 Kings i. 9).
Siloam.
The modern Arab village is called SilwAn, which: is
a miserable place, some of the huts being old sepulchres

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168 JERUSALEM,

hewn in the rocks. Near here, as the name indicates,
must have stood that Tower of Siloam, of which we
read that it" fell, and slew eighteen persons'' (Luke xiii. 4).
At the base of Ophel, where it rises to the height of forty or
fifty feet, in a slight channel cut in the rocky bottom for the
purpose, runs the rill described by Milton a~,
" Siloah's brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God ;"

identical with the rill described by Isaiah ( viii. 6), "The
waters of Siloah, that go softly." Following the stream
north-west, the Pool of Siloam is reached. It is 53 feet
long, 18 feet broad, and 19 feet deep. Some broken columns
and other fragments show that an edifice-probably a church
-was formerly built over the pool. It was to this place that
the blind man was sent by the Saviour, " He anointed the
eyes of the blind man with clay, and said unto him, Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam;á he went his way and washed,
and came seeing'' (John ix. 6, 7). Here, oo doubt, was
the "King's Garden,'' of which Nehemiah speaks as "near
the pool of Siloah" (iii. 15). Josephus makes frequent
reference to this place: "Now, the valley of the Cheesemongers, as it was called, and that which we told you before.
distinguished the hill of the upper city from that of the
lower, extended as far as Siloam ; for that is the name of a
fountain which hath sweet water in it."-(Wars, Book I.
chap. vi. 1).
The Fountain of the Virgin, on the left, is an artiá
tidal pool cut into the side of Ophel, as the projecting part
of Moriah is named. Two flights of steps-the first sixteen,
the second thirteen, with a plane of twelve feet between
them, lead down to the water; The basin is eleven and a
half feet long, and eleven feet wide. Robinson and Tobler

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TOMB OF ABSALOM.

descended on hands and knees through an aqueduct to the
pool of Siloam from here. Captain Warren made another
curious discovery, namely, a passage from this passage, leading into a. chamber, where many relics were found. It is
supposed to have been constructed as a place of refuge for
Jews in times of persecution.
The fountain rises and falls at frequent intervals. This
well has had a dozen different names: the Dragon's Well,
Well of the Sun, Spring of Gihon, King's Pool, and the
name, Virgin's Fountain is from a legend that here the
Virgin Mary washed the swaddling clothes of the infant
Saviour.
Up the valley north of Silwan, on the right, is the
Jews' Cemetery. The ground is covered with tombstones from the Kidron, half-way up the mount of Olives.
On the right of the path are three well-known buildings in
the Valley of Jehoshaphat; erected in the Grreco-Roman
style, popularly called the Tombs of Zechariah, St.
James, and Absalom. That of Zechariah is a square
structure of stone, with four pilasters on each side, and
a roof of pyramidal shape. "To caH this building,''
as Fergusson justly remarks, "a tomb, is evidently a
misnomer, as it is absolutely solid, hewn out of the
living rock by cutting a passage round it. It has no
internal chambers, nor even the semblance of a doorway.''
The Tomb of St.James is composed of a verandah or screen,
cut out of the rock with two Doric columns supporting the
entablature; at the back of which are extensive excavations
containing loculi. • The Tomb of Absalom is an elaborate
building, square, with columns, in partial relief, standing out
against the wall. There is a smaller square of masonry
above the Ionic cornice, and over that is a circular block,
with a singular round tapering roof. The inside is now

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JERUSALEM.

blocked up with stones, thrown in, according to an Arab
fashion, of execratingthe memory of David's ungrateful son;
and by the same means a sepulchral cavern behind, styled
the tomb of Jehoshaphat, is hidden from view. The date of
these structures is unknown. Their architecture, however,
indicates that they belong to the period of the Roman occupation of Judaea. No one can reasonably suppose that the
tomb which bears his name is identical with the pillar of
Absalom's grave, in the King's Dale. Still, it is not impossible that it may stand on or near the site of that memorial ;
for by the King's Dale probably is meant the valley in
which this remarkable structure is placed.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
Those who have made the tour thus far can continue by
foot-path beyond the Pillar of Absalom, up the Mount of
Olives, and near the top tum to the right a few steps, and
visit the Tombs of the Prophets. They are on the
western part of the Mount of Olives, and constitute catacombs, winding in a semicircular form, with numerous
loculi on the sides. Probably the catacombs here were at
first natural, and were then extended an4 adapted by art ;
and, like some of the catacombs at Rome, they have been
left in an unfinished state. The place must have been disused before completed, and is perhaps of comparatively
modern date; still, it appears to be essentially Jewish in its
arrangements. It has no sarcophagi, or shallow loculi, nor
any architectural mouldings. Indeed, it has nothing to
indicate a foreign origin.
We do not propose to detail here every traditional site on
the Mount of Olives, the holiest of all holy places round
about Jerusalem.

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THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.

Assuming that the traveller will continue his walk as
far as to Bethany, he will find the following extract
from Stanley to give a vivid description of the sacred scenes
around him, and take him back to the days of yore:-
" In the morning He set forth on His journey. Three
Pathways lead, and very probably always led, from Bethany
to Jerusalem; one, a long circuit over the northern shoulder
of Mount Olivet, .down_ the valley which parts it from
Scopus; another, a steep footpath over the summit ; the
third, the natural continuation of the road by which mounted
travellers always approach the city from Jericho, over the
southern shoulder, between the summit which contains the
Tombs of the Prophets and that called the Mount of Offence.
There can be no doubt that this last is the road of the Entry
of Christ, not only because, as just stated, it is, and must
al ways have been, the usual approach for horsemen and for
large caravans, such as then were concerned, but also because
this is the only one of the three approaches which meets the
requirements of the narrative which follows. Two vast
streams of people met on that day. The one poured out
from the city, and as they came through the gardens whose
clusters of palm rose on the southern comer of Olivet, they
cut down the long brat;tches, as was their wont at the Feast
of Tabernacles, and moved upwards towards Bethany, with
loud shouts of welcome. From Bethany streamed forth the
crowds who had assembled there on the previous night, and
who came testifying to the great event at the sepulchre of
Lazarus. The road soon loses sight of Bethany. lt is now
a rough, but still broad and well-defined mountain track,
winding over rock and loose stones ; a steep declivity below
on the left ; the sloping shoulder of Olivet above on the
right; fig-trees below and above, here and there growing out
of the rocky soil. Along the road the multitudes threw

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172 JERUSALEM.

down the boughs severed from the olive-trees through
which they were forcing their way, or spread out a rude
matting, formed of the palm-branches which they had already
cut as they came out. The larger portion-those verhaps
who had escorted Him from Bethany-unwrapped their
loose cloaks from their shoulders, and stretched them along
the rough path, to form a momentary carpet as He
approached.
"The two streams met mid-way. Half of the ,áast mass,
turning round, preceded; the other half followed. Gradually
the long procession swept up an<lover the ridge, where first
begins' the descent of the Mount of Olives,' towards Jerusalem. At this point the first View is caught of the southeastern corner of the city. The Temple, and the more
northern portions, are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right,
what is seen is only Mount Zion, now for the most part a
rough field, crowned with the Mosque of David and the
angle of the western walls, but then covered with houses to
its base, surmounted by the Castle of Herod, on the supposed site of the palace of David, from which that portion of
Jerusalem, emphatically 'The City of David,' derived its
name. It was at this precise point, 'as He drew near, at
the descent of the Mount of Olives' "-may it not have been
from the sight thus opening upon them ?-that the hymn of
triumph, the earliest hymn of Christian devotion, burst forth
from the multitude, ' Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the
kingdom that cometh of our father David. Hosanna . . .
peace . . . Glory in the highest ! ' There was a pause
as the shout rang through the long defile ; and, as the
Pharisees who stood by in the crowd complained, He pointed
to the ' stones ' which, strewn beneath their feet, would immediately' cry out_if these were to hold their peace.'

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THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 1 73
"Again the procession advanced. The road descends a
slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening ridge of Olivet. A few
moments, and the path mounts again ; it climbs a rugged
ascent, it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant
the whole city bursts into view. As now the dome of the
Mosque El-Aksa rises like a ghost from the earth before the
traveller, so then must have risen the Temple-tower; as
now the vast enclosure of the Mussulman sanctuary, so then
must have spread the Temple-courts ; as now the grey town
on its broken hills, so then the magnificent city, with its
background - long since vanished away - of gardens and
suburbs on the western plateau behind.
" Immediately below was the Valley of the Kidron, here
seen in its greatest depth as it joins the Valley of Hinnom,
and thus giving full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only on its eastern side-its situation as of a city
rising out of a deep abyss. It is hardly possible to doubt
that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the
exact point where the multitude paused again, and He,
'when He beheld the city, wept over it.'
"Nowhere else on the Mount of Olives is there a view
like this. By the two other approaches above mentioned,
over the summit and over the northern shoulder of the hill,
the city reveals itself gradually; there is no partial glimpse,
like that which has been just described, as agreeing so well
with the first outbreak of popular acclamation ; still less is
there any point where, as here, the city and Temple would
suddenly burst into view, producing the sudden and affecting
impression described in the gospel narrath•e. And this precise coincidence is the more remarkable, because the traditional route of the Triumphal Entry is over the summit of
Olivet, and the traditional spot of the lamentation is at a

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1 74 JERUSALEM.

place half-way down the mountain, to which the description
is wholly inapplicable, whilst no tradition attaches to this, the •
only road by which a large procession could have come, and
this, almost the only spot of the Mount of Olives which the
Gospel narrative tixeswithexact certainty, is almost the only
unmarked spot-undefiled or unhallowed by mosque or
cburch,chapel or tower-left to speak for itself, that here the
Lord stayed His onward march, and here His eyes beheld
what is still the most impressive view which the neighbourhood of Jerusalem furnishes, and the tears rushed forth at
the sight.
" After this scene, which, with the one exception of the
conversation at the Well of Jacob, stands alone in the Gospel
history for the vividness and precision of its localisation, it is
hardly worth while to dwell on the spots elsewhere pointed
out by tradition, or probability, on the rest of the mountain.
They belong, for the most part, to the 'holy places• of later
pilgrimage, not to the authentic illustrations of the sacred
history.''-(Stanley.)
A short distance north of the Tombs of the Prophets, on
the Centre Summit of the Mount of Olives, is a
small modem village. The large building, belonging to the
Mahomedans, stands on a site which, from the earliest date,
has been shown as the place from whence Our Lord ascended to heaven. There is a large courtyard, and in the
centre a small octagonal chapel, with a footprint of .Christ.
There is a remarkable echo in this chapel, and a hymn sung
softly with the proper harmonies, produces an extraordinarily
beautiful effect. The great interest, however, of the place is
the View from the Minaret, which ought to be seen
again and again.
Very briefly ~e chief items of the view may be thus
summed up :-The Holy City lies like a map before us. In

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THE MOUNT OF, OLIVES. 1 75
the south-east quarter is the Mosque of Omar, standing in the
centre of the raised platform, or Haram, where Solomon's
Temple on.:::estood. To the south of it i.sEl Aksa, once a
Christian church built by Justinian. At the north-west
comer of the Temple are the Turkish barracks, where the
Castle of Antonia stood. North of the Temple, or the southeastern quarter of the city, is the hill Bezetha ; and on it,
near St. Stephen's Gate, theáChurch of St. Anne. West of
Bezetha is the hill _ofAkra, which is the north-west quarter
of tbe city, and on its eastern slope stands the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre; a little to the south-east of it are the ruins
of the Hospital of the Knights of St. John. The hill west of
Mount Moriah, or the south-west quarter of the city, is
Mount Zion; the tower of David, or Hippicus, stands near
the Jaffa Gate, and over it waves the Turkish flag. Sout1'ieast of the tower is the English Church, and south of that
the Armenian Convent, with a white dome. East of the
Convent is the Jewish Quarter, with the two synagogues,
one with a green and one with a white dome. On the top
of Zion, south of the wall, is a cluster of buildings, in the
midst the black dome marks the Tomb of David. Turning
eastward we see the mountains of Moab and: Gilead, and
the Jordan Valley, the course of the river marked by the dark
line of vegetation. South, is seen in the distance, the roundtopped Frank Mountain; nearer, almost below, is the Hill of
Evil Counsel ; to the west of it is the Valley of Rephaim.
Near the north-west corner of Jerusalem are the Russian
Buildings, gaunt and ugly, and beyond Neby Samwil
(Mizpeh) (p. 97). The northern ridge of Olivet is Scopus,
beyond which is a small village among olive-trees named
Shafat. To the right of it is a hill, the ancient Nob, and
two miles beyond, Gibeah, the home of Saul ; three miles
further north is Ramah, the birthplace of Samuel, and

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JERUSALEM.

three miles beyond that, Bireh, the ancient Beeroth
(p. 244).
Such is a brief catalogue of the view, the most wonderful
and interesting in all the world.

South of the summit is the traditional spot where Our
Lord taught his disciples to pr3r. A French princess (the
Princess Latour d'Auvergne) has caused a curious ~ew
building to be erected here. In the court are thirty-three
tiles, with the Lord's Prayer written in thirty-three languages. Here is also her future tomb.
It,is an easy and pleasant walk from the top of Olivet
to Bethany, but the better plan is to turn off by the road
on the right (p. 171) before ascending to the summit of
Olivet, and then ascend to the summit after leaving Bethany
(p. 174). It is a dirty, but prettily situated village, with
glorious views of the distant hills of Moab, and the glittering waters of the Deadá Sea, and the green line of Jordan
running through the valley. Vines, figs, and olives cluster
on the nearer hill slopes, and the luxuriant gardens and cornfields form a pleasant contrast to the sterility of the hills
nearer Jerusalem.
The traveller will see here an old Tower, called the
Castle of Lazarus, and near to it is the so-called Tomb of
Lazarus, in a vault reached by descending twenty-five
steps. There is also pointed out the House of Martha
and Mary. No one should fail to read the eleventh
chapter of St. John here.
Both in Bethany and on the Mount of Olives there are
numberless places pointed out to tourists which are hardly
worth mentioning here. Such as the place where Martha
met Jesus; the place where the Apostles wrote the

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GETHSEMANE. 177
" Creed,'' etc., etc. Those who care for such• things should
take a guide with them, and he will point out any number
of traditional sites if he is up to his work.

In order to continue the Tour of the places of interest
outside the Walls of Jerusalem, we will descend,
from the Mount of Olives by the northern road (p.171), the
way which David ascended when he fled from Absalom.
"And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and
wept as he went, and had his head covered, and he went
barefoot" (2 Sam. xv. 30).
On the western slope of Olivet, near the Brook Kidron,
is the
Garden of Gethsemane.
The tradition which places it here is of considerable antiquity. Eusebius, Bishop of Cresarea, speaks of the garden
as well known; Jerome repeats the same testimony. The
space enclosed is about one-third of an acre, and is surrounded
by a wall covered with stucco. It is entered by a gate kept
under lock and key, under the control of the Franciscans.
The eight olive-trees are undoubtedly of great age, and
may have sprung from the roots of those which were here
in the time of our Lord. In the garden is a reservoir which
supplies water for moistening the ground and cultivating a
few flowers. A series of rude frescoes on the walls represent
scenes in the life of Christ.
The monks point out the Chapel of the Agony, in
a cave; the rocky place where the disciples slept; the spot
where Judas gave the kiss of betrayal.
For a franc a little bouquet of flowers grown in the
garden can be purchased, and a prettier souvenir cannot be
obtained in Jerusalem.

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JERUSALEM.

"Jesus went over the Brook Kidron with his disciples,
where there was a garden into the which He entered '' (Matt.
xxvi. 36; Mark xiv. 32).
A writer, who looks upon this as the veritable scene of
the agony and betrayal,-an opinion which is shared by
many eminent travellers and writers,-says : " Over there in
Jerusalem His body was crucified; but here was the scene
of the crucifixion of His soul. There the letter of the law
was executed, but here the awful weight of its spirit was
borne. There He drank the dregs of sorrow, but here the
'full cup ' was wrung out to Him. Here the enemy who
had departed from Him for a season, returned with all the
powers of hell to overthrow the Son of Man. Here his
'own familiar friend' betrayed Him. Here the Captain of
our Salvation was made perfect through suffering, and from
this place, broken hearted as He was, with the Cross before
Him, and a heavier cross upon Him, He rose up from the
garden and went forth to die. 'Take off thy shoes from off
thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground.'"
In the bed of the Kidron, north of the road, is the

Tomb of the Virgin.
A handsome flight of forty-seven steps leads to the church,
which, according to some traditions was erected by St.
Helena. The whole place, which belongs now to the
Greeks, is full of legends, and many sacred spots once here,
have been transferred elsewhere, and vice versa. Here
are the Tombs of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the
Virgin (p. 163), the Tomb of Joseph, the husband of the
Virgin, the Tomb of Mary, and the Grotto of the Agony
(p. 177). Here, t90, are praying-places, oraltars, for Greeks,
Armenians, Abyssinians, and Muslims.

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TOMBS OF THE KINGS. 1 79
The Greeks claim that this is the oldest Christian
church in the world. They perform a service here every
morning from 7 to 8.30 a.m., and it is open all day on
Festivals. At other times, visitors should knock at the little
iron-door, on the south side of the church.
From the Kidron we ascend the hill to St. Stephen's
Gate (p. l 16), passing the traditional spot (at the foot of
the hill where the road turns to the right, and on a ledge
to the left), where St. Stephen was stoned.
The View from St. Stephen's Gate is remarkable.
Across the narrow valley rises the Mount of. Olives,
stretching so far from north to south as to intercept entirely
the view towards the east. The top is not level, but is
notched with three summits, the middle one of which is the
highest, on which stands the Chapel of the Ascension.
Three paths, deeply worn, lead over the Mount (seep. 171).
The enclosure of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount, is
well seen from here (p. 177). On our left, under the wall,
is a large reservoir, the Hammam Sitti Mayam, or Bath of
Our Lady, where people come to draw water and to bathe.
On the right is the Mahomedan Cemetery, covering a great
part _ofthe eastern slope of Moriah.
Continuing past the north-east comer of the city walls
and striking off to the north-north-west, a journey of about
half an hour brings us to the

Tombs of the Kings (or Helena).
Three classes of excavated tombs are found in Palesttne:-
t. Those consisting of deep loculi cut in the face of
soft limestone, and closed up by rough stone slabs.
2. Those formed into square or oblong chambers cut in

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180 'JERUSALEM.

the rock. Deep loculi are ranged along the sides, "their
mouths, closed by neatly dressed stone slabs, fitting closely
into reveals made to receive them. The entrance to the
chamber is by a low square opening, fitted with a slab in
the same manner, or with a stone door, turning on a sockethmge, and secured by bolts on the inside. In this kind
of tomb there .is usually a bench, running in front of the
loculi, and elevated from a foot and a half to three feet above
the floor of the excavation.''-(Palestine Exploration, i. 67.)
There are tombs on Mount Ebal with benches without
loculi, the benches being the resting-place for the corpse.
3. Those in which one entrance leads into a number of
chambers. The Tombs of the Judges (p. 181), the Tombs
of the Prophets ( 170), and the Tombs of the Kings are all
of this class.
"The Tombs of the Kings are the most interesting of
all these remains. They lie to the north of Jerusalem,
about half a mile beyond the Damascus Gate. It was a
pleasant afternoon when I walked towards themá, and
found myself at length on the edge of a large square excavation sunk in the earth, with a marble fa9ade on the face of
the rock to the west. This excavation in front was
sufficiently large to enable me to have a good view of the
fai;ade, and the place derived an additionally romantic
appearance from the picturesque fems and plants which
draped and dappled the side. The architecture of the fa9ade,
according to Fergusson, exhibits the same ill-understood
Roman-Doric arrangements as are found in all these tombs.
They are ornamented with bunches of grapes, which first
appear on Maccabean coins, and foliage which is local and
peculiar, and so far as anything is known elsewhere, might
be of any age. On the left side, at the end of the portico
formed by the architectural fa9ade, there is a very low door,

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TOMBS OF THE JUDGES. 181

which one must stoop to enter, and by it is áa large stone,
which may be rolled so as to close the opening. It reminded
me of a large mill-stone, and would certainly require a good
deal of strength to move it along the groove cut for its
reception. Having entered within the low door, I found
myself in a spacious chamber forming a square, whence
passages led into other square chambers, round which were
numerous deep loculi, with inner and very small chambers
beyond them, or at their side. Turning out of the large
principal ante.chamber to the west, and passing through a
second chamber, I ascended a flight of steps which led to a
higher chamber on the north. There lies the broken lid of
a sarcophagus, and a sarcophagus taken from this chamber
is now preserved in the Louvre at Paris. I noticed, connected
with the loculi, ledges to support slabs for closing them in,
after the dead should be deposited there. What I have said
as to the architecture of tombs will apply in this instance;
where, though the tombs are true:: and proper rock tombs,
yet they are externally adorned by architectural work. The
architecture points to Roman times, and it seems pretty clear
that the catacombs bearing the name of the kings, never
could have been prepared for the ancient princes of Judah.
Not here are we to look for the Tomb of David and his
descendants. Mr. Fergu~son considers that they belong to the
time of Herod."-(Dr. Stoughton.)
The opinion is now very generally entertained that this
is the Tomb of Queen Helena of Adiabene, a convert to
Judaism, 48 A.D., and who, according to Josephus, was
buried here.
About a quarter of an hour to the north-west are the
so-called Tombs of the Judges, which have in front
an architectural fa~ade with an ornamental pediment, and in
the angular space beneath is a pedimented doorway.

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JERUSALEM.

Through this you enter into spacious Catacombs, with deep
loculi ranged along the sides in three stories ; the upper
stories with ledges in front, to facilitate the introduction of
bodies into the narrow cells, and to support the stones which
close up the cells. This arrangement may be regarded as
characteristically a Jewish one.
Returning towards Jerusalem, there is, a little before
reaching the Tombs of the Kings, a road to the right, which
leads past the Hills of Ashes and the Russian Buildings
(p. 184) to the Jaffa Gate.
We will continue, however, by a road between that to
the right just referred to, and the one by which we came
from the south-eastern corner of the city. This middle road
'leads direct to the Damascus Gate.
Near the Damascus Gate (p. 116), is the Grotto of
Jeremiah, where a tradition, dating from the fourteenth
century, says the Prophet wrote the Book of Lamentations,
and was subsequently buried. The rocky tombs, cisterns,
and other excavations are extremely interesting. The place
belongs to the Muslims, and the traveller need not hesitate
to drive a hard bargain with the custodian, who sometimes
demands absurdly high fees for admission.
Opposite the Grotto of Jeremiah, and close to the Damascus Gate, are the
Subterranean Quarries.
The entrance is through a hole, only large enough to creep
through. Then a vast succession of mighty aisles and
mammoth chambers are reached, and the traveller can journey
on through cavern after cavern, and aisle after aisle, till he
seems to have gone the whole length and breadth of the
city. The exploration should not be attempted without a
guide, or a reliable compass, and a large ball of twine to be

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SUBTERRANEAN QUARRIES.

fastened as a clue. It is not yet known how far these
quarries extend. That they are of very ancient date is certain ; and there is great probability that they yielded the
stones used in the building of the Temple ; for " the house
when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before
it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer nor
axe, nor any tool of iron heJrd in the house while it was
building" (1 Kings vi. 7).
Many a poetical passage has been written by travellers
who have explored this underground Jerusalem, discovered
in 1852 by Dr. Barclay.
The author of On Holy Ground says : "There was a
strange feeling of awe in walking through these subterranean caverns, for there in the rock we could make out the
marksá of chisellings just as they were left centuries and
. centuries ago. There was the hole where once a spring of
water trickled, and at which the weary workmen slaked
their thirst ; there were the niches for the lamps of the
quarrymen, and there were huge blocks partially cut from
the rocks, and pillars partially shaped and left unfinished.
And for ages and ages the darkness and silence have dwelt
together in these dreary caverns, while overhead, in the city,
generations have come and gone ; its streets have been
deluged with blood, and its glories have been levelled with
the dust. And here silence and darkness dwelt when the
cry of 'Crucify Him, crucify Him ! ' rang through the busy
streets above, and a shudder ran through these gloomy
regions when the cry went forth,' It is finished!', and a
great earthquake shook the solid earth, while darkness
enfolded the land.''
From the Damascus Gate, the finest in Jerusalem, the
traveller can return by the Street of the Gate of the Columns
to the Mediterranean Hotel, or continue round the walls to

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I 84 THE MONASTERY OF THE CROSS.

the Jaffa Gate. We continue, in this description, by the latter
route, so as to complete the circuit of the city.
North of the Jaffa Gate-the busiest in Jerusalem-on
the road to Jaffa (p. 90 ), are the Russian Buildings,
very ugly, but doubtless very useful, including a capital
hospital, schools, cathedral, accommodation for a thousand
pilgrims, etc. There is a fine view from the Church,
and on the west side near the door is an immense
column, perhaps intended for the Temple, and broken in
the endeavour to raise it.
In this neighbourhood are two very ifi\1erestingand deserving philanthropic institutions, the Talitha-Kumi (" which
is, being interpreted, Damsel I say unto thee, Arise,'' Mark
v. 41); an orphanage for girls, founded by the deservedly
popular Rhenish - W estphalian deaconesses; Schneller's
Orphanage for Boys, where over seventy boys are well
educated and taught some useful branch of industry.
Near here is the Mamilla Pool, or Upper Pool of
Gihon (p. 164).

FROM JERUSALEM TO THE MONASTERY
OF THE CROSS AND 'AIN KARIM.
This is an easy and pleasant journey ; passing through
the Jaffa Gate we proceed as far as what was the Leper Quarter
{p. 149). Then descend the valley, and in half an hour from
this point the Monastery of the Cross is reached; it is
supposed to have been built by the Empress Helena upon the
site where grew the tree from which the Cross was made. It
is an enormous building, and belongs to the Orthodox Greeks.
There is a good library, and a seminary in which languages,
ancient and modern, are taught.
In about an hour and a quarter from the Monastery the
village of 'Ain KAr.im is reached. It is supposed to have

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JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM.

been the residence of Zacharias and Elizabeth {Luke i. 39).
Here is the celebraterl Monastery of St. John, in
honour of the place where St. John the Baptist was born.
It is one of the finest modern churches in the Holy Land,
and is well worth visiting. The traveller should notice
specially the picture of St. John in the Wilderness by
Murillo, and the exquisite bas-reliefs in the crypt, representing scenes in the life of St. John.
From here the Terebinth Valley may be entered, and the
village of Kolonieh (p. 88) easily reached. The journey
thence to Jerusalem is by the Jaffa road (pp. 88-90).

FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM,
(This is a journey of 1 ¼ hours' riding, or may be easily
walked in a little over two hours.)
Leaving Jerusalem by the J atfa Gate, we descend into the
Valley of Gihon, and cross it at the upper end of the lower
pool; then ascend the hill on the south-west side tq the
"Valley of the Giants,'' leaving on the left the traditional
tree on which Judas hanged himself, and the country house
of Caiaphas the High Priest. This plain has been called
the Valley of Rephaim, the boundary-line between
Judah and Benjamin (Joshua xx. 8). It was here that the
Philistines were defeated by David. Before reaching the top
of the long rise, the traveller will be shown a well, which
is called the Well of the Magi, tradition stating that the
Wise Men,,after leaving the presence of Herod, knew not
whither to go, and being weary with their journey, stooped
to draw water, when they saw the star reflected in the well,
and under its guidance they followed till it stood over where
the young child was. On the top of the hill, to the left,
is a large building belonging to the Greeks {Mar-Elyas,

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186 JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM.

Convent of Elijah). In a smoothá piece of rock, opposite
the gate of the convent, may be seen certain depressions. It
is alleged that these were made by the Prophet Elijah, as he
lay here after fleeing from Jezebel. It would appear,
however, that the convent was built by a certain Bishop
Elias, and that the introduction of the prophet is altogether
gratuitous and uncalled for. At this point Jerusalem is
visible behind, and Bethlehem in front.
Descending the hill, in about twenty minutes from
Mar-Elyas, the Tomb of Rachel is reached. It is a
small modern building, with a dome. (The traveller may,
perhaps, see here how the hateful practice of scribbling upon
the walls of even sacred buildings is persisted in by ignorant
persons.) There can be no doubt whatever that this site,
which is. revered by Christians and Muslims, as well as by
the Jews, is the scene of the touching story of Rachel's death.
She had journeyed from Bethel to this place, on the way
to Bethlehem. "And there was but a little way to come to
Ephrath •• (Bethlehem) ; not more than a mile, and within
full sight of the spot. Here she was delivered of her son.
"Aod it came to pass, as her soul was in departing (for she
died), that she called his name Ben-oni (i.e., son of my
sorrow) : but his father called him Benjamin " - i.e., the
son of my right-hand; "and Rachel died, and was buried in
the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set
a pillar upon her grave : that is the pillar of Rachel's grave
unto this day'' (Genesis xxxv. 16-20). It will be remembered that in wooing her, seven long years " seemed to Jacob
but (few days, for the love he bore her." And as the old
man, long weary years after her death, was himself drawing
to the grave, he repeats, with tender memory, the story of
his loss. " And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel
died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet

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APPROACHING BETHLEHEM.

there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath ; and I
buried her there in the way of Ephrath ; the same is Bethlehem" (Genesis xlviii. 7) .
. About a quarter of a mile to the west of Rachel's Tomb
is a village named BeitJala, the residence of the Latin and
Greek Patriarchs. It has a population ('If 3000, mostly
Greeks, and all Christians~ It is possible that this village
may be the ancient Zelyah, where Saul was met by the
messengers of Samuel, saying, " The asses which thou
wentest to seek are found, and lo thy father hath left the care
of the asses, and sorroweth for thee, saying, What shall I do
for my son" (1 Sam. ix. 10). Others make Beit JMa
as identical with Giloh, the birthplace of Ahithophel ( 2 Sam.
xv. 12). At this point there are two roads, that to the left
going direct in about fifteen minutes to Bethlehem ; that on
the right in about one hour to Solomon's Pool.
The views of Bethlehem, as the ancient city is approached,
are extremely picturesque, and will doubtless suggest many
pictures to the mind's eye in connection with the stories of
Ruth, David, and others. Here is a specimen of the pictures:-
" There are so many events connected with Bethlehem
that it is hard to single out cases ; but one cannot look upon
that group of women in their white robes, standing over
there on a terrace just under the town (as it appears from
our view, gesticulating to one another in earnest conversation), without thinking of the group that once surrounded
Naomi, the sorrow-stricken widow, returning to her native
town, and hearing the people say, as they looked at her
pale, haggard face, ' Is this Naomi ? '
"Nor can we look upon the corn-fields, with their green
blades waving on the morning air, without thinking of the
time of harvest, when Ruth gleaned in the field a,fter the

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188 JERUSALEM TO BETHLEHEM.

reapers, and Boaz saw her and loved her for her love, so that
by and by she became his wife, and when a child was born
to her in process of time, she became the grandmother of
David the king, and the ancestress of Christ. It is a charming story, and I know not that I ever read a romance with
a tithe of the interest that I read the story of Ruth that
morning on the way to Bethlehem.
" But see! over there, coming down the steep pathway
on one side o{ the town, is a shepherd leading forth his
sheep. He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him.
He is leading them out to green pastures; they know him,
and follow whithersoever he leadeth; the foremost of them
are not more than a foot behind the shepherd's heels.
It was upon one of these hills that David, the youth, 'ruddy,
and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look
to,' kept his father's sheep. It was in these glens and
valleys that he rang out those glorious songs which have
echoed through the world, and been the key-notes to new
melodies in every believer's heart. It was here that the
rocks and the hills, the sunshine and the shadow, the poetry
and the music of the little world around him, became God's
instruments to create that mighty world within him whose
treasures have enriched all ages. It was from those terraces
yonder that he would see the starry heavens declaring the
glory of God, and cry out in humility and faith, ' What is
man that Thou art mindful of him ? ' Truly, Bethlehem is
still the 'City of David' (Luke ii. 4); and every hill, and
valley, and field recalls some story of his life. Now we see
him coming from that wild glen, bearing the trophies of his
battles with the lion and the bear ; or we see him hurrying,
with eager heart and wondering countenance, to meet the
prophet who had sent for him from the fields, and who
anointed him in the midst of his brethren. Again, we

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BETHLEHEM.

watch him coming down that steep hill with the ass laden
by his father, on his way to Saul, and we note the tender
care with which he holds the harp, that friend of his solitude and minister of his joy-that instrument which shall
be in his hand as powerful over the giant Saul as the sling
and the stone (his boyhood's toys) shall be over the giant
Goliath."-(Hodder.)

BETHLEHEM <BEIT-LAHM>.
Bethlehem (House of Bread), or Beit-Lahm, is situated
six miles from Jerusalem, on an elongated hill, well cultivated in terraces round the sides, and with fertile com-fields
in the valley below. On the terraces, vines and fig-trees
are in abundance. The wine of Bethlehem bas considerable local celebrity, but does not appear to be appre•
ciated by all travellers.
The town consists of about five hundred houses, mostly
substantial, and the fortress-like buildings of the Church
of the Nativity and the three adjoining convents. The
streets are narrow, steep, and slippery. From the Convent of Mar Eyas and other neighbouring points of view,
Bethlehem forms a pleasing picture-the square, solid-built
houses, with a good sprinkling of cupolas rising above each
other in terraces, like the gardens and groves just below them.
The population is about 4,000. The inhabitants of
Bethlehem have always been celebrated for their ruddy
beauty, and also for their fierce turbulence, inclined, like
David, to be " men of war from their youth," and, it is said,
always conspicuous in the frequent religious disturbances at
Je~salem. Bethlehem is the most Christian town in
Palestine; the Muslim Quarter was destroyed by Ibrahim
Pasha after a rebellion in 1834.

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BETHLEHEM.

The inhabitants are largely employed in the manufacture
and sale of bracelets, rosaries, beads, crucifixes, cigar-holders,
and various other small articles, chiefly made of olive and
Dead Sea wood and mother-of-pearl.
BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS.
The allusions to Bethlehem in the Scriptures are very
numerous. It is sometimes spoken of as Ephrath, or
Bethlehem-Ephratha, a Hebrew term expressive of the fruitfulness of the locality. This fruitfulness, especially in contrast with the barren wilderness of J udrea, almost in sight,
is still remarkable.
The first mention of the place is when the favourite wife
of Jacob died after giving birth to the child whom she named
Benoni (Son of my sorrow), but whom Jacob named Benjamin (Son of my right hand). "And Rachel died, and
was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem "
(Gen. xxv. 19) (p. 186).
The scenery of the pastoral story of Ruth is laid in
Bethlehem and the surrounding fields. The return of desolate Naomi, the interview of Boaz and the fair Moabitess in
the harvest-field, the -quaint procedure in the city gate in fulfilment of Mosaic law-all happened here. And here Ruth
became the wife of Boaz-the mother of Judah's Kings and
the World's Redeemer (p. 192).
The next event of importance in connection with Bethlehem is the anointing of David by Samuel to be King of
Israel (1 Sam. xvi. 13). In the adjacent hill country, the
shepherd boy, the great-grandson of Ruth, had spent his
youth in tending sheep ; there he had encountered wild
beasts (1 Sam. xvii. 37), and composed bis earliest Psalms.
From Bethlehem he was sent for by Saul, to " minister to a
mind diseased" with his melodious harpings (1 Sam.

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BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS.

xvi. 19). Returning from the courts of Saul to his native
place ( 1 Sam. xvii.), he thence goes forth to see his brothers
with the army, and slays the giant champion of Philistia, as
recorded in the same chapter.
There were other members of the family of Jesse who
attained to celebrity, and displayed the fighting character of
the Bethlehemite in all their actions. These were Joab,
Abishai, and Asahel, the sons of David's sister Zeruiah, and
Amasa, the son of David's other sister Abigail ( 1 Chron.
ii. 16), When Asahel, "light of foot as a wild roe" (2 Sam.
ii. 18) outstripped his companions in the pursuit of Abner,
and met his death at the hands of that chieftain, the servants
of David "buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which
was in Bethlehem" (2 Sam. ii. 32). Well might the little
town take as one of its titles the appellation of "the City of
David" (Luke ii. 4), for Bethlehem and its neighbourhood
was the scene of his earliest associations, and exploits and
spiritual exercises, and the home of his nearest kindred.
Passing on from the reign of David, we find Bethlehem
mentioned as one of the strongholds fortified by Rehoboam
after the division of the kingdom (2 Chron. xi. 6). In Jer.
xii. 17, "the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem," is mentioned as the gathering-place of the rebellious
remnant of Judah who persisted in going down into Egypt,
against the advice of the prophet. After the captivity, we
find the record, in Ezra ii. 21 and Neh. vii. 26, of the little
band of about six-score Bethlehemites who returned to their
ancient dwelling-place.
From the able arguments of Hepworth Dixon there seems
good reason to believe that through all these long years of
peace and war, of captivity and restoration, there was a continuity of possession on the part of the family of David, of
their ancestral lands on the hill of Bethlehem. And more,

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BETHLEHEM.

there seems no reason to doubt, that on the patrimony of Boaz,
and Jesse, and Cbimham, there had been erected, by one of
the heads of the family, in accordance with eastern custom, a
caravanserai or inn, representative of the primitive hospitality
of earlier days; so that when '' Joseph went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judiea, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the
house and 1-ineageof David), to be taxed with Mary his
espoused wife (Luke ii. 4, 5), he was, in coming to the inn,
not only literally complying with the Roman edict, that every
one should go to his own city, but was probably going to
his own house. For the full working out of this deeply
interesting subject we must refer our readers to the abo,•e
mentioned author.
And now there came to pass the wondrous events recorded in detail by the Evangelists Matthew and Luke, in
the second chapters of their respective gospels, and succinctly
summed up by St.John in the statement that, "The Word was
made flesh and dwelt amongst us." It is these events which
make Bethlehem a household word wherever Christianity is
professed, and cause the thoughts of millions to be turned
towards this J udiean village, as year by year Christmas-tide
comes round. "And thou, Bethlehem-Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee
shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ;
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting"
(Micah v. z).
It is in commemoration of the great event thus foretold
by Micah, years before its occurrence, and the kindred
associations linked with that event, that the principal object
of attraction in Bethlehem, about to be described, was
erected.

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BETHLEHEM. 1 93

THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY.
The huge fortress-like pile of buildings at the eastern
extremity of the village of Bethlehem comprises the
Church of the Nativity, and the three contiguous
convents belonging respectively to the Latin, Greek, and
Armenian Churches
The Nave of the Church, which is the common property of all Christians, and w~rs a very desolate and
neglected aspect, is the " oldest monument of Christian
architecture in the world." It is the sole remaining portion
of the grand Basilica erected here by the Empress Helena,
the mother of Constantine, in 327 A.D. In this edifice, once
brilliant with gold and coloured marbles, Baldwin was
crowned, and the last repairs were executed by Edward IV.
of England.
The Church is still a fine building. It (contains fiye
rows of marble columns, of the Corinthian order, each of a
single stone (Pressen..fe),some of which are said to have
once formed a part of the Temple at Jerusalem. The
mosaics on the walls, considered to date from the original
construction of the edifice, are mostly faded, but here and
there are in good condition. The roof is formed of beams
of rough cedar from Lebanon.
The Chapel or Grotto of the Nativity is a cave
in the rock, over and around which the Church and Convent
buildings are reared, and for the sake of which they exist.
It is twenty feet below the floor of the church, and is approached by two spiral staircases.
Descending by either of these staircases, the visitor
enters a vault 33ft. by I Ift., encased with Italian marble, and
decorated with numerous lamps, figures of saints, embroidery
and various other ornaments.

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BETHLEHEM.

On one side of the grotto is a recess where a silver
star on the pavement indicates the spot where our Saviour
was born. Around it is the inscription
RIC DB VIRGINB MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS BST.

Above this spot sixteen silver lamps are perpetually burning
(six belonging to the Greeks, and five each to the Latins and
Armenians). Close by there is a plain altar, which each of
the three sects use on their special festivals, and decorate
according to their own ideas.
The other recess, the Chapel of the Manger, is
said to be the place of the discovery of the wooden manger,
or przsepium (shown now at _the church of S. Maria Maggiore at Rome).
The Altar of the Magi, the property of the Latins,
is said to mark the spot where the Wise Men of the East
presented their gifts. The painti~gs are by Maello.
In proximity to the Grotto of the Nativity, various
chapels, tombs, pictures, etc., are shown.
The Chapel of St. Joseph is described as the spot
to which Joseph retired at the moment of the Nativity, and
where the angel appeared, commanding the Flight into
Egypt.
The Altar of the Innocents is overlooked by a
wretched picture. Twent}' thousand(?) victims of Herod's
cruel massacre are alleged to be buried here.
The so-called Tomb of Eusebius is of more than
doubtful authenticity.
Whatever may be thought of some of the above-named
altars, it seems extremely probable that the Grotto of the
Nativity may indeed be the actual place of Our Lord's
birth. That a cave, or caves, in the hillside adjacent to the
inn, were utilized as stables for the cattle, especially when

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CHURCH-OF THE NATIVITY. 195
the inn was crowded, and that in such a cave the Redeemer
was born, is a tradition of very high antiquity. It was
commonly accepted as early as the time áof Justin Martyr,
about a hundred years after the facts occurred. But for the
evidence for and against the authenticity of the Grotto as the
place of our Lord's nativity, tourists must refer at their leisure
to the numerous writers who have treated on the subject.
Of one ardent believer in the Grotto as his Saviour's birthplace, lasting memorials are seen in the Chapel and Tomb
of St. Jerome. The chapel is the cell where that illustrious
champion of the church spent the greater part of his life.
The following eloquent passage, from Dean Stanley's Sinai
and Palestine, graphically describes those long years of
vigil and toil :-
,, If the traveller follows the windings of that long subterranean gallery, he will find himsel~, at its close, in a
rough chamber hewn out of the rock; here sufficiently clear
to need no proof of vindication. In this cell, in all probability, lived and died the most illustrious of all the pilgrims
attracted to the cave of Bethlehem, the only one of the many
hermits and monks, from. the time of Constantine to the
present day, sheltered within its rocky sides, whose name has
travelled beyond the limits of the Holy Land. Here, for
more than thirty years, beside what he believed to be
literally the cradle of the Christian faith, Jerome fasted,
prayed, dreame_d,and studied ; here he gathered round him
his devoted followers in the small communities which
formed the beginnings of conventual life in Palestine; here
the fiery spirit which he had brought with him from his
Dalmatian birthplace, and which had been first roused to
religious fervour on the banks of the Moselle, vented itself
in the flood of treatises, letters, and commentaries, which he
poured forth from his retirement, to terrify, exasperate, and

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BETHLEHEM.

enlighten the Western World ; here also was composed the
famous translation of the Scriptures which is still the " Biblia
Vulgata •• of the Latin Church; and here took place that
pathetic scene, his last communion and death-at which aU
the world has been permitted to be present in the wonderful
picture of Domenichino, which has represented in colours
never to be surpassed, the attenuated frame of the weak and
sinking flesh,-the resignation and devotion of the spirit
ready for its immediate departure.''
Before leaving this wonderful group of buildings, comprehended under the general title of " The Church of the
Nativity,'' the visitor should. after ascending the stairs of the
Crypt, visit the Latin Church of St. Catherine, handsomely decorated, and then pass into the Franciscan
Monastery, with very pleasant gardens. From the roof
of the Armenian Monastery there is a fine view, as
also from that of the Latin Monastery.
The Well of Bethlehem, or David's Well, may be
visited on the way from Jerusalem, and before entering the
town, or it is an easy and pleasant walk of about fifteen
minutes. It is the traditional sp,:,t referred to in :a Sam.
J.xiii. 13-17, and I Chron. xi. 15-19. When David
and his men were in the Cave of Adullam, and Bethlehem
was garrisoned by the Philistines, David expressed the longing desire, " Oh, that one would give me to drink of the
water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the .gate! " Three
mighty men heard the wish, brake through the Philistine
hosts, and brought their lord the cooling draught he had
longed for. But David would not drink that for which the
lives of his followers had been hazarded, and poured it out
before the Lord.
A short distance south of the Church of the Nativity is
• the Milk Grotto, the traditional scene of the seclusion of

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THE SHEPHERDS' FIELD.

the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus before the flight into
Egypt. It is alleged that a drop of the Virgin's milk having
fallen upon the floor turned the whole cavern white, and that
to this day the cavern has the curious property of increasing
the milk of women who visit it in their need. Those who
cannot visit it are supposed to derive benefit from eating a
kind of biscuit in which the dust of the rock is mixed.
A short distance east of the Milk Grotto is the so-called
House of Joseph, and beyond this the village of Beit Sahur,
where the shepherds of Luke ii. are supposed to have
resided. In about fifteen minutes, the Shepherds' Field
is reached. A very ancient tradition makes this the spot
where the shepherds were watching their flocks by night,
and received" the good tidings of great joy." "And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo ! the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them ; and they were sore afraid. And
the angel said, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto
you : Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.''
A wall encloses this field, in which there are some fine
olive trees. The Grotto of the Shepherds is in the
neld-a dark subterranean chapel belonging to the Greeks.
When the eye becomes accustomed to the darkness, it will
be found that the Grotto is fitted up as a church, and contains a few paintings. It is alleged that this is the identical

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THE CAVE OF ADULLAM.

spot where the shepherds beheld the vision of the angel-a
tradition which has no authority, and only dates from the
time of the Crusaders.
It is not necessary to return by way of Beit Sa.bur to
Bethlehem. That village should be passed on the left, and
the easier slope (north-east) pursued to Bethlehem.

JERUSALEM TO THE POOLS OF SOLOMON,
KHAREITON, THE FRANK MOUNTAIN ..
AND BETHLEHEM.
This may be, made an excursion of one day from
Jerusalem, provided the start be made in good time in the
morning. From Jerusalem to the Tomb of Rachel, one
hour ; thence to Pools of Solomon, two hours ; to
Khareitun, two hours ; the Frank Mountain, forty minutes ;
Bethlehem, one and a quarter hours.
From Jerusalem to the Pools of Solomon and Urtas
(p. 201).
Descending the valley, beyond the village of UrtA.s, a
somewhat circuitous journey of about an hour brings the
traveller to the Spring of Khareitun, in the village of
the same name. The scenery here is about as wild as that
in the neighbourhood of Mar Saba (p. z 14). Heaps of fallen
rock are strewn about the deep, precipitous gorge. On the
right bank will be seen the ruins of Khareitun, and below~
the entrance to the cave which since the twelfth century
has been identified as the Cave of Adullam.
The cavern is rather difficult of access, and the tempe.
rature is exceedingly high. The large chamber, which
can only be reached by creeping uncomfortably along
a serpentine gallery, is abouti 130 feet long and 40 broad.
It is quite dark, and its arches and curious gables can only be
seen to advantage when lighted by a magnesium torch or

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THE CAVE OF ADULLAM. 199
some dozens of candles. From this hall several passages
diverge hither and thither. One passage is much longer than
any of the others, and leads into another large cavern, which
can only be reached by jumping or dropping a depth of ten
feet ; ancl from here another passage has to be crawled
through in order to reach the third chamber, which is not
worth the trouble of visiting, as it involves so much dis,
comfort.
In some of the passages, sarcophagi and funereal
emblems have been found; also inscriptions now illegible.
The principal thing for visitors to see is the great cave, as
here according to tradition,. David took refuge. David
" escaped to the cave Adullam : and when his brethren and
all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to
him. And every one that was in distress, and every on~
that was in debt, and every one that was discontented,
gathered themselves unto him ; and he became a captain
over them: and there were with him about four hundred
men" (1 Sam. xx.ii. 1, z).
It was from the Cave of Adullam that David's mighty
men, breaking through the garrison of the Philistines, went
to Bethlehem to satisfy the desire of their chief, when he
cried, " Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of
the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! " (z Sam. xxiii.
15-17) (p. 196). And it was from here that he went to plead
with the King of Moab for protection for his parents, and
afterwards took them from the cave through these winding
glens, crossed the Jordan with them, and left them _under
the protection of the king. "And they dwelt with him all
the while that David was in the hold" (1 Sam. xxii. 4).
In the quarterly statement of the Palestine Exploration
Fund, July, 1875, .there will be found an exhaustive statement by M. Clermont Ganneau, in which he seeks to prove

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200 THE FRANK MOUNTAIN.

that the Cave of Adullam is not the cave which has been
marked out by tradition, but that the true site is at Ed-~1-
Mlye. From the consonantal similarity of the names, and
from the legendary and topographical evidence brought forward, there seems little doubt that the latter is the true site.
The traveller will now go back to the W ady UrtAs, and
crossing it, ascend for about thirty minutes a road to the
right which will bring him to the Frank Mountain, or
Jebel Fureid1s (Hill of Paradise). It is a cone, about four
hundred feet in height, and has all the appear~ce of having
been built by the hand of man; the summit is circular, and
has upon it a few ruins, only part of the walls of the castle
which once stood here remains, its existence being indicated
by remnants of towers, one of which contains a chamber
with a mosaic pavement. There can be no reasonable doubt •
that the Frank Mountain corresponds with the Castle of
Herodium, founded by Herod the Great. Josephus describes
that place as being sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and, although
there is a little discrepancy here, as the Frank Mountain is
eighty stadia (ten miles), in other respects the particulars
are in exact agreement. He speaks of the castle being
reached by two hundred steps, of the mound being artificial,
of the aqueduct, traces of which may still be seen, and its
enormous cost. It was here, therefore, that Herod was buried,
his body having been brought hither from Jericho. The
story of his last illness and death at Jericho is known to all,
and how, in his dying moments, while the cries of the
slaughtered innocents were still beingwrung out, he gave orders
for all the nobles who had attended him to be put to death,
" that so at least bis death might be attended with universal
mourning."
The View from the summit of the Frank Mountain is
remarkably fine, overlooking all that wilderness which was

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JERUSALEM TO HEBRON. 201
the theatre of the exploits of David. It is a vast, howling
wilderness, utterly treeless and barren ; and beyond, through
the wild ravines, may be seen the glittering waters of the
Dead Sea. About two miles off, on the south-west, will be
seen the ruins of Tekoa, the birthplace of the prophet
Amos, to the north-west is Bethlehem, and to the north
Neby Samwil ; besides numerous other places of interest;
which the dragoman will point out.
From the Frank Mountain to Bethlehem we have to pass
the village of Beit Tamar, on a height, then among glaring
rocks, and through a wild, uncultivated region for about an
hour, when, as a pleasant relief, there come in sight the
green trees, and fruitful fields, and terraced vineyards of
Bethlehem (p. 189).

JERUSALEM TO HEBRON•
• I
(By the Pools of Solomon.)
The road from Jerusalem is the same as that described
in the previous route as far as Beit Jala (p. 187), here it leaves
Bethlehem on the left and branches off to the right, the distance to the Pools is about one hour. Until within a year or two
ago the road was exceedingly rough, but a new one has now.
been made, and it is proposed to carry the improvement
forward as far as to Hebron (under Turkish rule it is impos~
sible to fix any date as probable for its completion). AI~
though the immediate surroundings of the road are barren,
the views reveal pleasant cultivations in the neighbourhood
of Bethlehem, and evidence what Palestine is capable of
becoming under proper government and cultivation.
Pools of Solomon. There is near the Upper Pool a
huge building, with castellated walls of uncertain originthough obviously Saracenic. It has been called a castle, but

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JERUSALEM TO HEBRON.

probably always was, what it now is, a khan. The campiQg
ground of tourists and pilgrims is just outside the walls of
the khan, and here a mixed multitude may generally be seen.
A short distance to the right of the castle is the Sealed,
Fountain of Solomon (Song Sol. iv. 12) which, it is said,
regulated and secured the constant supply of water for the
Holy City. To visit it candles must be taken, as it is
approached by a flight of twenty steps leading into a dark
vaulted chamber. In the dry season this spring supplies the
Pools with water.
The Pools are three enormous cisterns of marble
masonry, and their measurements are:-
"Lower Pool. Length, 582 feet; breadth, east end, 207
feet, west, 148 feet ; depth at east end, 50 feet." (Dr.
Thomson says that " when full it would float the largest
man-of-war that ever ploughed the ocean.")
" Middle Pool. Distance above Lower Pool, 248 feet;
length, 423 feet; breadth, at east end, 250 feet, west, 160 feet;
depth at east end, 39 feet.
" Upper Poot. Distance above Middle Pool, r6o feet;
length 380 feet; breadth, east end, 236, west 229 feet; depth
at west end, 25 feet."-(Robinson.)
From the admirable state of preservation these basins
are in, it is difficult to realize that they are more than
a century old ; it is most probable, however, that they date
from Solomon's time, although they were restored by Pontius
Pilate. Formerly water was supplied to Jerusalem from
these pools, at the present time water is only conveyed
as far as to Bethlehem, although the course of the
acqueduct can be traced all the way to the Haram, or
court of the Temple, a distance of twelve to fourteen miles
(p. 143).
The name of Solomon's Pools is taken from a passage in
URTAS.

Eccles. ii. 6, " I made me pools ef water to water therewith
the wood that bringeth forth trees.''
Good swimmers, when the pools are pretty full, sometimes indulge in a plunge here. Botanists will be well rewarded
for an exploration among the masonry of the Pools, and a
pleasant memento of ~he place is to bring away specimens
of maiden-hair ferns, which abound here.
A short distance below the Pools, in a valley, is the
village of Urtas (population 200), with a few ruins-probably those of Etham, a town fortified and garrisoned by
Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 16). Josephus states that this
city was fifty stadia from Jerusalem, and thither Solomon
was "in the habit of taking a morning drive." If this be
Etham, which is more than probable, then the beautiful
valley, rich in cultivation, corresponds with the Gardens of
Solomon, to which he referred when he wrote, " I made me
great works ; I builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards ;
I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted in them of all
k'ind of fruits: I made me pools ef water, to water therewith
the wood that bringeth forth tree3 '' (Eccles. ii. 4-6). The
scenes in that curiously enigmatical Song of Songs are
laid in these gardens, and among these pools of water. It is
beautiful now ; in Solomon's time, " in the day of the gladness of his heart,'' it must have been exquisite, filled "with
pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and
saffr<?n; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankin.
cense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices ; a fountain
of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from
Lebanon'' (Song Sol. iv. 13-1.5).
There is a small European colony here, and the people
are succeeding in making the "wilderness to blossom as the
rose." Mr. Meshallum, a Christian colonist, has done much
for the neighbourhood. Fruit and vegetables are raised here

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204 JERUSALEM TO HEBRON.

by the colonists, and supply the market of Jerusalem. It
would, probably, be a good spot for the Syrian Colonization
Society to look after.
The road from the Pools of Solomon to Hebron is rough,
and the traveller will be struck with the few signs of
human habitation, notwithstanding the fact that he will
pass much land under cultivation, with vineyards and figgardens.
For three hours there is nothing to describe on t-bejourney ; valleys and spurs of hills are crossed ; traces of terraces
are visible; merchantmen with their camel trains will probably be passed; the vegetation will attract attention, especiallr the hills wooded with small oaks, terebioths, and
arbutus.
Theo on a hill-top will be seen some ruins, called Beit
Stir, supposed to correspond with Beth Zur, House of the
Rock (Joshua xv. 58). It was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron.
xi. 7), and its ruler is mentioned as assisting in building up
the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. iii. 16). Not far from the
ruins are the remains of a town: on the right, and further
on a ruined village. The town belonged to a mosque, Neby
Yu.nus (Jonah), from a tradition that the Prophet was
buried here. Several other places, however, with equal probability,are named as the burial-place of Jonah. The village
of Hulhul corresponds with the Halhul (trembling) of
Scripture (Joshua xv. 58).
In half an hour more an extensive ruin is seen on
the left. It is called by the Jews the House or Abraham,
from a tradition that it stands on the spot where the Patriarch
pitched his tent. "Then Abraham removed his tent, and came
and dwelt in the plain (i.e., under the oak) of Mamre, which
is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord" (Gen.
xiii. 18). The true site of the oak of Mamre is shown else-

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HOUSE OF ABRAHAM. 205
where, and the spot answers to the biblical description much
better than this place (p. :212 ).
There is no satisfactory evidence as to the origin of the
ruins at this place, which is called by the Arabs,
Ramet-el-KhalH.
Constantine erected a magnificent basilica about fifteen
stadia north of Hebron, and it is supposed by some that these
ruins mark the site,. It will be observed that they consist
chiefly of the massive foundations of walls, and a few fragments of columns and pavements. In a little over an hour
from Ramet-el-Khalil, Hebron is reached. The journey has
been thus graphically described :-
" At length our course lay over a stony, dangerous road,
a long lane of slippery slabs; and here our thoughts were
diverted from camels, and Arabs, and the trifling things
which even in the Holy Land engage one's thoughts. We
were on the old road to Hebron-perhaps on the oldest
road in the world. Along it Abraham passed on that
journey of faith to sacrifice his son on Moriah; along it
David led his veterans to conquer the stronghold of the
Jebusites on Zion ; and along it, perhaps, the Saviour
was borne in his mother's arms on the way to Egypt.
A crowd of thoughts rushed through the mind as we
looked around upon the scenes of fertility and desolation.
We needed not to have the ruins of convent-walls, or the
legends of monks and bookmakers, to impress us with the
wonders of the locality. These hills, and roads, and valleys
are sacred to the memory of Abraham, the Father of the
Faithful and the Friend of God. Here, in the bitterness of
his sorrow, after Sarai was 'buried out of his sight' in the
Cave of Machpelah, no doubt be wandered, and looking up
at the bright stars in the cloudless sky, which had beeJ)

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206 JERUSALEM TO HEBRON.

typical to him aforetime of the power and goodness of God
iná the days of his prosperity, he looked at again through
. his tearful eyes, and read in them a pledge still of the goodness and faithfulness of the Almighty. Here Isaac, and
Jacob, and David, and Solomon walked, revolving in their
minds the destiny of that nation which might have been at
this day the centre of universal empire ; but the scattered
tribes are spread through the nations of the world, and for
the present take least root in their own native soil."-
(Hodder.)
HEBRON.
[There is no Hotel at Hebron. Travellers who are not
in large parties can be accommodated at one or two
Jewish houses in the town, or at the old Lazaretto.
If the start has been made, as is frequently the case,
from Solomon's Pools in the early morning, it is not
too long a day's journey to return there for the night.
This is the plan adopted under Messrs. CooK & SoN's
arrangements.]
Hebron (Alliance-Friendship) is the oldest town of
Palestine, and one of the oldest of the world. Its name in
the first instance was Kirjath-Arba, so named from Arba,
the father of Anak, the giant (Joshua xx. 1-11, xv. 13, 14).
It was ''built seven years before Zoan '' (Niim. xiii. 22), i.e.,
Tanis in Egypt, and when Josephus wrote, it was 2300 years
old. In the time of Abraham it took the naine of Mamre,
doubtless after Mamre the Amorite, the friend and ally
of Abraham (Gen. xxxiii. 19, xxxv. 27). It was at that
time a walled city, for when Abraham bought tl?-efield of
Machpelah, it was" in the presence of the children of Heth,
before all that went in at the gate of his city" (Gen. xxiii. 10).
Damascus was a city at the same period (Eliezer of Dam~cus

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HEBRON. 207
was Abraham's servant-Geo. xv. 2); but whether Hebron
or Damascus can claim seniority is not known.
The tourist will probably not care to know every minute
detail connected with Hebron, but rather to have before him
an epitome of some of the great events which have made
the place memorable.
It was here that grand old sheikh lived-the Father of his
people, and the Friend of God (p. 212). From thjs place
the lad Joseph went forth to seek his brethren in Shechem,
And here came back the sons, bringing the blood-stained
garment. "And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth
upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days á•
(Geo. xxxviii. 34).
It has witnessed many fierce struggles, notably when
"Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him unto
Hebron; and they fought against it ; and they took it and
smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof
and all the cities thereof, and all the souls therein ; he left
none remaining, but destroyed it utterly" (Joshua x. 37),
Afterwards, in answer to Caleb's prayer," Joshua blessed
him, and gave unto Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, Hebron
for an inheritance Hebron therefore became the
inheritance of Caleb unto this day . . because that he
wholly followed the Lord God of Israel" (Joshua xiv. 13, 14).
It was, later on, made a city of refuge, unto which the pursued
manslayer might flee (Joshua xx. 7).
Another set of associations, equally interesting, attach to
Hebron. It was here that David had his residence for seven
and a half years, when he reigned over Judah alone
(2 Sam. ii. 1). Here Absalom was born; and here Abner
was treacherously murdered by Joab, who "took him aside
in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there
under the fifth rib, that he died . . and they buried

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zo8 HEBRON.

Abner in Hebron; and King David himself followed the
bier. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave
of Abner, and all the people wept. And the king said,
Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen
this day in Israel?" (2 Sam. iii. 27-38).
Hither came Absalom, under the pretext of performing a
vow, and "he sent spies throughout all the tribes of
Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet,
then ye shall say Absalom reigneth in Hebron ( 2 Sam. xv. Io).
The other remaining events of importance are associated
with places yet pointedá out in Hebron, the Cave of Machpelah, and the Pools (see below).
The modem name of Hebron is el-KhalU, the Friend.
It is situated in the narrow Valley of Eshcol, still abounding with vineyards. There are no walls to the town, but one
or two somewhat superfluous gates. The streets are dark and
dirty ; the houses are for the most part substantial, and, being
nearly all built of stone, and covered with cupolas or small
dorues, give a curious and interesting effect. The population
has been variously estimated, but it is probable there are
about xz,ooo inhabitants, many of whom are occupied in
the manufacture of rings, bracelets, and many other kinds
of gla~ trinkets. There are no Christians in Hebron, but
about 600 Jews, who still attract attention by their pale faces
and long ringlets. The Muslims of Hebron are strangely
superstitious and fanatical, and travellers should always be
upon their guard, so as not to say or do anything which
will provoke their animosity.
In the valley there are two Pools of very ancient date,
which still supply the town with water. To one of these
Pools, probably the southern, a story attaches. Rechab and
Baanah, sons of Rimmon, thought to do King David a
service by slaying Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and therefore a

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CAVE OF MACHPELAH.

rival, They brought the head of lsl\bosheth to Hebron,
expecting an expression of his favour, but David said unto
them, '' As the Lord liveth who hath redeemed my soul out
of all adversity, when one told me, saying, Behold Saul is
dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of
him and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have
given him a reward for his tidings ; how much more when
wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house
upon his bed ? shall I not therefore now require his blood of
your hand, and take you away from the earth ? And David
commanded his young men, and they slew them and cut off
their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the
pool in Hehron" (2 Sam. iv. 9-12).
The chief i_nterest in Hebron centres in the Cave of
Machpelah. It is no longer a cave in the midst of a
tield, but a mosque-a large building of massive stones, but
not of a pleasing appearance. Unfortunately, the traveller
can only stand a short way off from the entrance; he dare
not enter, the place being guarded with most jealous care by
the Muslims. He may walk by the side of the Haram, and
the dragoman will point out where he may put his hand into
a reft in the wall and touch the rock of the cave(?), or he
may ascend to the top of the hill and obtain a better view of
parts of the building, but that is all.
However little there may be in Hebron to see, there is
much for the mind's eye to dwell upon, and no one can
stand beside this spot-sacred alike to Jew, Christian, and
Mahomedan-without recalling some of the most touching
of Old Testament scenes.
Sarah, the beloved wife of Abraham, " died in Kirjath-
Arba, the same is Hebron, in the land of Canaan ; and
Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake

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HEBRON,

unto the sous of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a
sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place
with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." The
contract with the sons of Heth was made in the gate of the
city, and in the presence of all the people; and the details of
the contract were such as are entered upon to this very day,
as shown in The Land and the Book.
The field, the cave, the trees in the field, all were
" made sure unto Abraham for a possession." And after this,
" Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelah " (Gen. xxiii .)
Mighty prince as Abraham was, " very rich in silver and
in gold,'' founder of that great nation which was to possess
the land for ever, this was the only spot in all Palestine that
was his own, and for this he weighed out the silver unto
Ephron. God "gave him none inheritance in it, no not so
much as to set his foot on, yet he promised that he would
give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him,
when as yet he had no child" (Acts vii. 5).
In process of time" Abraham gave up the ghost, and died
in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was
gathered to his people; and his sons Isaac and Ishmael,"
the Jew and the Arab, "buried him in the cave of Machpelah" (Geo. xxv. 8, 9). As Jacob lay a-dying, his thought~
turned to this quiet resting-place, and he gave a summary of
its sacredness, when he charged his sons with so much
explicitness, saying, " I am to be gathered unto my people :
bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of
Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which
Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a
possession of a burying-place. There they buried Abraham
and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his

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CAVE OF MACHPELAH. 211
wife; and there I buried Leah" (Gen. xlix. 31). Probably
there was never a grander funeral than that of Jacob, when
Joseph, " with all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his
heuse, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the
house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house;
and chariots and horsemen'' carried the embalmed body from
Egypt into the land of Canaan, to the cave of Machpelah
(Gen. I. 7, 14).
The accounts of visitors who have been permitted to
enter the sacred precincts of this Mosque cannot be transcribed here. It will be remembered that the only Christian
visitors who have ever crossed the threshold of the building
are the Prince of Wales (1862), the Marquis of Bute (1866),
the Crown Prince of Prussia (1869), and their respective
attendants. An admirable account is given by Stanley, who
accompanied the Prince of Wales, and also by Fergusson.
Visitors who walk beside the wall of the Mosque will
find cracks and rents there where devout Jews-who are
denied access to the building as well as Christians-often
place written prayers to the Father of the Faithful. The
following is a copy of a letter found in one of these chinks,
which has been translated by Mr. Shpira, of Jerusalem :-
" The place is Calshe. Widow Passey Gittal, the daughter of
Keziah Sarah, prays for health, good living, and prosperity;
that the fabric of tabithin that she makes shall be so prosperous as to enable her to pay her husband's debts. Her
daughter, the betrothed Deborah Nachama-O that she be
a good companion ! Her daughter, the virgin Tobiah
Rebekah, to educate her to every good action. Her deaf
son Moses Jacob-that he shall be healed, through the
mercy of the Lord, and by the privileges and .virtues of the
religious man, that he may begin to hf',ar and speak aright,
and that he may be brought up to every good thing. Her

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212 HEBRON.

son Isaac-to bring him up to prosperity, and to complete
the healing of his body. Her daughter, Esther Eutar, to
bring her up to prosperity. That they may all be delivered
from all evil ; that' they may be privileged to every good
action, that they may be spared from all epidemics and sicknesses that are going round the world, to all good things."
Referring to the Cave of Machpelah, Norman MacLeod
says-
"This is the only spot on earth which attracts to it alf
who possess the one creed, 'I believe in God.' The Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem separates Muslim, Jew, and Christian; here they assemble together. The Muslim guards
this place as dear and holy. The Jew from every land draws
near to it with reverence and love, and his kisses have left
an impress on its stones. Christians, of every kindred, and
tongue, and creed, visit the spot with a reverence equally
affectionate. And who lies here ? a great king or conqueror ?
a man famous for his genius or his learning? No; but an
old shepherd, who pitched his tent 4000 years ago among
these hills, a stranger and a pilgrim in the land, and who
was known only as El-Kha/U-' the Friend.' By that
blessed name Abram was known while he lived; by that
name he is remembered where he lies buried ; and by that
name the city is called after him."-(Nonnan MacLeod.)
Next in interest to the Cave of Macbpelah, is the Oak
of Mamre, a journey of about half-an-hour, and those who
are returning to Solomon's Pools will find this a pleasant
detour on their way back. The road is somewhat difficult
and slippery, being paved; vineyards abound. A gateway
on the right is passed, and the grand old terebinth tree
comes in view. The evidence for this being the true site
where Abram pitched his tent is infinitely stronger than that
which places it at Ramet el-Khalil (p. 205). The tree is

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BETHLEHEM TO THE DEAD SEA. 213

very old. Tradition affirms that Abram's oak was standing
here in the time of our Lord, and that this tree was then in
its comparative youth. If the trees we see now in the Garden
of Gethsemane (p. 177) were standing there in the time of
our Lord, it is quite possible that this tree stood where it now
stands at the same date. The tree is nearly 33 ft. in girth, it
has four magnificent branches which divide at about 20 ft.
from the ground.
If this be the site of the dwelling place of the great
patriarch, it is indeed a sacred spot, for here "the Lord
appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre : and he sat in
the tent door in the heat of the day ; and be lift up bis eyes,
and lo! three men stood by him : and when he saw them, he
ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to
the ground.'' Then he bade Sarah make ready the cakes
upon the hearth, while he ran to the herd and fetched "a
young calf tender and good,'' and when the repast was
spread Abram received the announcement that be should
have a son. It was as they rose up from this place that the
Lord said, " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I
do? " and then told him of the impending doom of Sodom
and Gomorrah, which, at his intercession, the Lord said He
would spare for the sake of ten righteous men (Gen. xviii.)
In about twenty minutes from here the road to Jerusalem
is gained, and the return journey to Solomon's Pools is identical with that already described (p. 201 ).
FROM BETHLEHEM TO MAR SABA, THE
DEAD SEA, AND THE JORDAN.
From Bethlehem to Mar Saba is about three hours'
journey. The rou~e is past the Field of the Shepherds (p.
197); then in about three-quarters of an hour a hill is
ascended, from which the last View of Bethlehem is obá

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214 BETHLEHEMTO THE DEAD SEA.

tained ; it is exceedingly picturesque from this spot. The
road then lies over hill and dale, and by the side of a ridge,
where nothing is seen but barren hills, glaringly white in the
noonday sun. It is not very rough and not very dangerous,
but iu one or two places, as the valley of the Kidron is
approached, it wears the appearance of danger.
The Convent of Mar Saba isá in the midst of grand
and wild ~enery, utterly barren and desolate. It is a lofty
and gigantic structure, built in terraces in a kind of amphitheatre in the side of a mountain. Whether viewed from
without or within, it is one of the most weird places in the
world, and it is difficult to distinguish which is the natural
rock and which the building upon it.
Visitors, who have previously obtained an introduction
from the Superior of the Greek Convent at Jerusalem have
to knock at a small, strong gate, VI-hereformerly a basket was
lowered, in which the letter of introduction was placed, and
after careful inspection the traveller was allowed to pass. On
entering the gate, there is a steep descent by stairs to a second
gate, and another to a third. By entering the lower door of
the Convent, one of these flights of steps is saved.
No lady is, under any circumstances, permitted to enter
the Convent.
The effect of this extraordinary mass of buildings is at
all times exceedingly strange and wild, but travellers are
unanimous in asserting that on a moonlight night it is one
of the most wonderful sights in the world,
Ha,•ing entered, we find ourselves in one of the strangest
places that human ingenuity ever contrived for a dwellingplace. It is a serie~ of precipices with walls of natural rock,
and artificial battlements. You look down at buildings, and
courtyards, and labyrinths of passages, and up at curious

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MAR SABA.

holes in the walls-with ledges in front-where are the cells
and dwelling-places of monks. The place is foll of mystery.
You see men walking upon these ledges of rock, and tnrning
into these holes in the walls ; and you look upon a little
garden hanging in the air, as it seems, with a solitary palmtree looking wonderingly down into the chasm, in which are
more buildings, and chapels, and cupolas. None but the
• initiated could !':Verfind his way through these mysterious
labyrinths, and once within these strong walls, woe to him
who would force his way out! •
The fonnder of this remarkable Convent-which can
never be described by pen, or word of mouth, and must be
seen to be believed-was one Sabas, who was born in
Cappadocia, A.D. 439. He was famous for his sanctity, for
his learning, and for his power of working miracles. The
devout gathered round him in great numbers, and the
Patriarch of Jerusalem made him abbot of all those who
were named after him, Sabaites. He died in the year 532.
Many fierce struggles have been witnessed here. Its
wealth being considered enormous, it was a tempting place
to the Persian hordes, who plundered it in 614; and in succeeding centuries it was attacked for the same purpose. It
was plundered as late as 1835, but in 1840 was made additionally safe and well protected by the Russians.
There are some curiosities to see, and the monks take
pleasure in pointing them out to visitors.
The Tomb of St. Sabas is in the centre of the paved
court at the foot of the steps by which the descent from the
entrance is made. The tomb is empty. The Chapel of
St. Nicholas, is a grotto or cave, where, behind a screen,
may be seen several hundreds of skulls of monks who were
slaughtered by the Persians. The Church of the Convent,
contains a few pictures worthy of examination. The

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216 BETHLEHEM TO THE DEAD SEA. •
Tomb of John of Damascus, an eighth century theologian, of great repute in the Greek Church. The Monks'
Quarter, not over clean and very plain, are at the back of
the church. There are about seventy monks at present in
the Convent. Their principal occupation appears to be the
manufacture of souwmirs for travellers, and their principal
pleasure the companionship of birds-gay, yellow-winged
birds many of them are, that seem peculiar to the place, and
are their sole remaining joys.
On the south-western side of the monastery is the Cave
of St. Saba, where the saint first took up his abode when
the place was ~ore desolate than it is now. A legend says
that the cave was at that time inhabited by a lion, and that
the saint and the lion lived together for a while, but the
latter not having those gifts and graces which would make
him a suitable companion for long, the saint ha.dehim leave,
and he left accordingly.
Every traveller should journey through the labyrinth oi
lanes, alleys, etc., in order to get different points of view,
and especially to look down from the turrets into the awful
ravine of the Kidron.

FROM MAR SABA TO THE DEAD SEA.
The road or path is undoubtedly rough, but the interest
of the five hours' journey will well repay the fatigue.
Soon after leaving the Convent, the road passes through
scenery so wild and savage, and so near to the edge of the
chasm, that a feeling of unsafety is generally experienced,
although the road is perfectly safe.
It is an easy ride of about three hours from the Convent of Mar Saba, up the Valley of the Kidron, to
Jerusalem.
Proceeding along the west bank of the gorge for about

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NEBY MUSA.

three-quarters of a mile, then turning to the right, we cross
the Kidron. Before us is a long and tedious ascent, but
when the top is reached, a fine view bursts upon the sightthe vast wilderness of Engedi. Then a long descent, and,
after crossing the valley, we enter a narrow ravine called
Wady-el-Nar (Valley of Fire).
Soon after leaving the ravine, while winding round the
northern end of a mountain named El-Runeiterrah, a heap
of small stones w.ill be seen directing the attention of pilgrims to the Minaret of Neby Musa (Tomb of Moses),
which can be seen about a mile and a half to the left. Here
Muslim tradition has transferred the grand story of Holy
Writ, which distinctly states that Moses was buried "in a
valley io the bod of Moab, over against Beth-peor, but no
man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day" (Deut. xx.xiv.
6). As there is not the slightest authenticity or reason in
the legend, few travellers will care to make a detour to visit
the tomb, although it is the spot which thousands of Muslim
pilgrims visit annually. A few minutes from here, and one
of the grandest Views in all PJlestine comes in sight.
Before us is the great chain of the mountains of Moab, like
a huge blue wall ; beneath it is that "great and melancholy
marvel," the Dead Sea; at our feet stretches the Valley of
the Jordan, the long line of dark foliage running through it
marking the course of the river; away in the distance,
Mount Hermon, a hundred miles off, can be seen distinctly
when the air is clear. A hundred notable sights can be indicated from this spot. Among them will be pointed out Jebel
Seba (Mount Nebo) (p. 4_,p). "And Moses went up from
the Plain of Moab unto the Mountain of Nebo, to the top of
Pisgah that is over against Jericho" (Deut. xxxiv. 1). The
supposed Peak of Pisgah is a little north of east from the
northern end of the Dt"ad Sea, and Wady HesbAn (the Val-

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218 BETHLEHEM TO THE DEAD SEA.

ley of Heshbon) passes down by it on the north. The
Scripture account of the death of Moses is as follows:-
" So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land
of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried
him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor,
but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day " (Deut.
xxxiv. 5, 6, 7). It will be interesting to recall here the wellknown lines of Mrs. Alexander :-
By Nebo's lonely mountain,
On this side Jordan's wave,
In a vale in the land of Moab,
There lies a lonely grave.
And no man knows that sepulchre,
And no man saw it e'er,
For the fingers of God upturned the sod,
And laid the dead man there.
That was the grandest funeral
That ever passed on earth,
Yet no man heard the trampling,
Nor saw the train go forth.á
Noiselessly, as the sunlight
Comes back when night is done,
And crimson streak on ocean's cheek
Grows into the great sun.
So without sound of music,
Or voice of them that wept,
Silently down the mountain's crown
The great procession swept.
Perchance the bald old eagle
On grey Beth-peor's height,
Out of his lonely eyrie
Looked on the wondrous sight.
Perchance the lion stalking
Still shuns the hallowed spot,
For beast and bird have seen and heard
That which man knoweth not.

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MOUNT NEBO. 219
But when the warrior dieth,
His comrades in the war,
With arms reversed, and muffled drum,
Follow his funeral car.
Among the noblest of the land
We lay the bard to rest,
And give the sage an honoured place,
With costly marble drest.
In the great minster transept,
Where lights, like glories, fall,
And the organ rings, and the sweet choir ~
.Along the emblazoned wall.
This was the greatest warrior
That ever buckled sword-
This the most gifted poet
That ever breathed a word.
And never earth's philosopher
Traced with his golden pen
On the deathless page, truths half so sage
As he wrote down for men.
And had he not high honour-?
The hillside for a pall-
To lie in state while angels wait,
And stars for tapers tall.
And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,
Over his bier to wave,
And God's own hand, in that lonely land,
To lay him in the grave.
In that strange grave without a name,
Whence his uncoffined clay
Shall break again-oh, wondrous thought!-
Before the judgment day,
And stand with glory wrapt around
On the hills he never trod,
And speak of the strife that won our life
With the incarnate Son of God.

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220 THE DEAD SEA.
0 I lonely grave in Mcab's land I
0 I dark Beth-peor' s hill I
Speak to these curious hearts of ours,
And teach them to be still.
.God has his mysteries of grace,
Ways that we cannot tell;
He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep
Of him He loved so well.

About ten miles down the Dead Sea, south of Pisgah,
will be noticed a round-topped Tell, the site on which the
Castle of Mach~rus once stood, where John the Baptist was
beheaded-not, as some say, in Samaria. (See p. 265.}
See Josephus (ant. book xviii. v. 2). "And he sent and
beheaded John in the prison" (Matt. xiv. 10). • We can also
see the deep valley a little north of Mach~rus, called Wady
Z'urka Ma'in (Callirhoe), in which are the warm baths that
Herod resorted to in the time of his last illness. "He went
beyond the river Jordan, and bathed himself in warm baths
that were at CaJlirhoe, which water runs into the lake called
Asphaltites."-(Josephus, ant. Book XVI., vi. 5.)
An easy descent through rich vegetation-in which it is
said game abounds-brings us to the northern end of the
Dead Sea.

THE DEAD SEA
is called in Scripture the Sea of the Plain (Deut. iv. 49), the
Salt Sea (Deut. iii. 17), the East Sea (Josh. ii. 20). In the
Talmud it is spoken of as the Sea of Sodom, and in Josephus,
Lake Asphaltites. Owing to many wild legends as to its
deadly character, it was named by the Greeks the "Dead
Sea,'' by which name it is now generally known, although the
Arabs call it Bahr-Lut (the Sea of Lot). According to the
most reliable measuremen'.s, the sea is 46 English miles in

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THE DEAD SEA. 221
its greatest length, and nine and a half in the greatest width,
at 'Ain Turabeh, about fifteen miles south of the Jordan.
In the rainy seasons the sea is extended southward for some
miles; the measurements, therefore, differ according to the
season of the year ; those given above were made by the
American Expedition in the month of April, at which time
it may be considered at its maximum. The area is about
250 geographical miles; its mean depth is 1,080 feet; in
the south bay the depth does not exceed eleven feet.
Lying, as it does, 1,300 feet below the level of the
Mediterranean, it is the most depressed sheet of water in the
world. One of the most singular features of the lake is the
tongue of land running into it from the land of Moab, and
six miles across its narrow neck. Into this lake the waters
of the Jordan empty themselves, and are lost. It receives
also, from the east, the Z'urka Ma'in, the Mojib (supposed
to be the Arnon of Scripture), and the Beni Hemad; from
the south, the Karaby ; and from the west, 'Ain Jidy, beside
a considerable number of other springs.
The nauseous and malignant character of the water of the
Dead Sea is " owing to the extraordinary amount of mineral
salts held in solution. The analyses of chemists, however,
show very different results. Some give only seventy parts of
water to the hundred; while others give eighty, or even more.
I account for these differencesby supposing that the specimens
analysed are taken at different seasons of the year, and at
different distances from the Jordan. Water brought from
near the ,nouth of that river might be comparatively fresh,
and that taken in winter from any part would be less salt
and bitter than what was brought away in autumn. One
analysis show~Chloride of sodium, 8 ; potassium, 1 ;
calcium, 3. The very last I have seen gives-Calcium, 2};
chloride of magnesium, 10½; of potassium, 1}; of sodium,

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222 THE DEAD SEA,

6½, The specific gravity may average about u.oo, that of
. distilled water being 1000. This, however, will vary according to the time and the place from whence the specimens
are taken."-(Thomson.)
On the w~t and east, the sea is bounded by high and
precipitous mountains rising from the water. At.the southwest is the curious Jebel Usdum, consisting almost entirely
of pure crystallised salt.
There have been, from the earliest ages, a variety of wild
and extravagant legends about this mysterious sea. Many
of them, however, have been exploded by the narrative of
the American Expedition, aml the interesting accounts of
Lieutenant Lynch. Soundings were taken 11llover the lake,
and a variety of wild theories were set at rest on this and
many o$er subjects, too numerous to enter into hece. It
will be enough to say that the old notions that no bird
could fly over its deadly waters, that no person could
breathe its poisonous exhalations, that in its centre is an
abyss into which the accumulated waters of the Jordan and
other rivers descend, etc., are myths.
The scientific results of Lieut. Lynch's expedition were
most valuable and varied. The geographical position of the
Dead Sea was determined, its depths sounded, the temperature, width, depth, and velocity of its tributaries ascertained;
specimens of all kinds collected; winds, currents, changes
of weather and atmospheric phenomena noted. In his
narrative, he says:-
" Everything said in the Bible about the Dead Sea and
the Jordan, we believe to be fully verified by our observations. The inference from the Bible that this entire chasm
was a plain sunk and 'overwhelmed' by the wrath of God,
seems to be sustained by the extraordinary character of our
soundings. The bottom of the sea consists of two sub-

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THE DEAD SEA.

merged plains, an elevated and a depressed one-the former
averaging thirteen, the latter about thirteen hundred feet
below the surface. Through the northern and largest and
deepest one in a line corresponding with the bed of the
Jordan, is a ravine which again seems to correspond with the
Wady-el-Jeib, or ravine within a ravine at the south end of
the sea. Between the Jabbok and this sea we unexpectedly
found a sudden break-down in the bed of the Jordan. If
there be a similar break-down in the watercourses to the
south of the sea, accompanied with like volcanic characters,
there can scarce be a doubt that the whole Ghor has sunk
from some extraordinary convulsion; preceded probably by
an eruption of fire, and a general conflagration of the bitumená
which abounded in the plain."
History of the Dead Sea.-Tt was here that Lot
chose for himself a home upon its borders (Gen. xiii. 12).
The important battle of the four kings against five took place
" in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. . . And the
vale of Siddim was full of slime-pits ; and the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; " and Lot was
taken prisoner. Here were those cities of the plain which
were so full of wickedness that "the Lord rained upon
Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the
Lord out of heaven ; and he overthrew those cities, and all
the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which
grew upon the ground" (Geo. xix. 24, 25). Here Lot's
wife, looking back; became a pillar of salt; and early travellers who went as far as to Jebel Usdum (Sodom), claim
to have seen the remains of Lot's wife. From the extraordinary nature of the salt-hills, many pillars of salt may be
seen there to this day. In Num. xxxiv. 2, 12, the sea is
made one of the borders of the land, and the eastern boundary
of Judah (Joshua xv. 1-5). In Ezek. xlvii. 6-12, there is

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224 THE DEAD SEA.

a marvellously vivid picture, the scene of which is supposed
to be the Dead Sea.
Bathing in the Dead Sea.-Every traveller should
try the curious effect of bathing in the Dead Sea, unless he
is suffering from any abrasure of the skin, in which case he
would suffer excruciating pain. The specific gravity of the
water, varying from ro21 to r::a56, is lightest at the mouth
of the Jordan. A spot should, therefore, be selected for
bathing some little distance from the river. The water is
so buoyant that it is possible to stand in it with h~d and
shoulders above the surface, or to lie upon the surface •
almost as on a couch. It is somewhat difficult to swim, as
the feet always fly up. After bathing, the effect is extremely
unpleasant, the oily nature of the water being disagreeable at
first, and subsequently becoming caked in white flakes upon
the skin. It is, therefore, desirable to proceed to the Jordan,
and there bathe in the fresh water. If the traveller is making
his journey in the rclverse direction-that is, from the Dead
Sea to Jerusalem-he is advised not to bathe in the Dead
Sea, as, unless he can procure a fresh-water bath, irritation
of the skin is likely to ensue.
Those who do not bathe will amuse themselves by
gathering sea drift, and probably procuring water to take
home in bottles, a habit of most travellers. Many different
impressions have been made upon the minds of travellers
visiting this end of the sea. We give the following, from a
trustworthy source, as a specimen :-
" I looked in vain for the awful gloom and deathliness
of the place. The shore was not strewn with masses of
dead and whitened trees, the water looked bewitchingly
bright and beautiful, and reflected every minute detail of
the surroundings, as in a burnished mirror. But this was a
first impression. After an hour or so upon its áshore I

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THE JORDAN.
experienced its awful stillness, became &ware of the total
lack of vegetation, pined for, if only one yard, of shadow,
and felt the absence of life. I can believe that on a moonlight night] the scene would be as exquisite as any of our
English lakes, and yet there is a sometlting about it besides
its historical associations, which makes one feel awed.
"In Norway, when the midnight sun is shining, the
traveller who bas taken no thought of time, and does not
know for a fact that it is not mid-day, is yet aware of an
awfulness even in the midst of profound beauty. So at the
Dead Sea, there is a something peculiar to it which you feel
more than you see."
Few will care to linger long on the margin of the sea, as
the heat is intense, and one ceases to wonder that the six
millions of tons of water, which it is calculated fall daily
into the sea, need any other outlet than that which is caused
by evaporation.
From the Dead Sea to the Jordan, or rather the
Pilgrims' Bathing Place, is about an hour's journey. For some
distance from the shore, the mounds and hillocks are white
with salt. The heat is overpowering, but the sight of the
green line of foliage edging the river, and the large trees in
the distance by the Bathing Place, urge the traveller forward,
and if he has been bathing in the Dead Sea, there will be a
longing desire to plunge into the pure, fresh streams of
Jordan ..
THE RIVER JORDAN.
The Jordan takes its rise in the fork of the two
ranges oqAnti-Libanus, and flows through that part of
Palestine which extends from the southern extremity of
Ca:le-Syria to the Dead Sea. It crosses the rich plain of
Huleh, lying between the last slopes of Anti-Libanus and

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226 THE JORDAN,

the mountains of Galilee, and terminating in the beautiful
plateau of Bas9an. Here it forms the Waters of Merom
(Lake Huleh), from whence, increased in volume and force,
owing to the depression of the valley, it flows into the Lake
of Galilee. Emerging from this lake, it plunges in twentyseven rapids down a fall of 1000 ft. through what is the
lowest and final stage of its course.
"The only known instance of a greater fall is the
Sacramento River in California" (Stanley). Finally, after
being enriched by the waters of Jabbok, made illustrious by
Jacob's mysterious conflict, it falls into the Dead Sea, from
whence it does not emerge again.
The length of the river, in a straight line from its source
to the Dead Sea, is not more than 120 miles ; its course,
however, is so remarkable that between the Lake of Galilee
and the Dead Sea, 60 miles of actual length is increased to
200 by its corkscrew windings. The river varies in width
from So to 160 ft., and in deFth from five to twelve feet.
For the sources of the Jordan (see pp. 319-323).
For the best account of the river the traveller should
consult Lieutenant Lynch, and Rob Roy on the Jordan.
Every stage of the river is sacred with Historical
Associations. "Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all
the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere,''
and was" even as the garden of the Lord'' (Gen. xiii. 10).
After the forty years' wandering, the Israelites "crossed
over it on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean
over.'' The passage occurred.in the time of hanáest, i.e., the
beginning of April, when the waters were at their highest,
from the early rains, and the melting snows, " for Jordan
overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.'' "And the
waters which came down from above stood and rose up
upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside

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THE JORDAN. 227
Zaretan : and those that came down toward the sea of the
plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut otf: and the
people passed over right against Jericho•• (Joshua iii. 14, 17).
Jacob, Gideon, Abner, David, Absalom, and many others,
crossed this river, and here came down those two holy men,
one of whom was soon to pass into the other world. "And
Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote
the waters, so that they two went over on dry ground ''
(2 Kings ii. 8). Elisha as he returned from parting with
his friend, taking the mantle which had fallen from his
illustrious predecessor, smote the waters, so that they
parted hither and thither, and he too passed over on dry
ground. In the waters of Jordan, Naaman was cured of his
leprosy, "and his flesh came again, like unto the flesh of a
little child, and he was clean'' (2 Kings v.)
These incidents of the Old Testament pale before the
memories ~f the New. Here rang out the " voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Repent ye: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand." It has often been suggested that the
place of baptism was in the very place where Elijah his
great forerunner passed over; where he finished his course,
the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elias, commenced his.
"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judrea, and all
the region round about Jordan; and were baptized of him
in Jordan, confessing their sins" (Matt. iii. 5. 6). Most
sacred of all is the memory, that to this place came our
Lord Himself, and was baptized of John, "and, lo, the
heavens were open unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him : and
Io, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased" (Matt. iii. 13, 17). Sites on the
Jordan are difficult to identify, but there seems no reason
to doubt that the passage of the Israelites, who went straight

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THE JORDAN.

towards Jericho; the passage of Elijah, and Elisha, who
came from Jericho; the baptism of our Lord, who was led
up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil ''-all occurred in nearly an identical locality. Tradition has placed them at the Pilgrims' Bathing
Place. Dr. Tristram places the departure of Elijah, th~
preaching of the Baptist, and the Baptism of our Lord, at
the Upper Ford, known as the Ford of Nimrim (i.e., of the
Leopards), the name being identical with Beth-nimrah (the
House of the Leopard), a town "int he valley" (Jm,hua xiii.
27), fortified by Gad (Num. xxxii. 36), and called Nimrah
in Num. xxxii. 3. "The waters of Nimrim" (Isa. xv.
6; Jer. xlviii. 34) are considered to be in the same locality.
The name lives in its present form of Nahr-nimrin, at
the lower end of the W ady Shaib. The city must once
have been important, for it commanded the great thoroughfare from Judrea and the south of Gilead. Hence, the
ancient road led up to Ramoth Gilead. By the Wady
Shaib must have passed all the commerce between Jericho
and Ammon, as well as Gilead. It was the ordinary place
of passage for those who travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem
by the Jordan route.'' In the Septuagint version Beth-
Nimrah is named as identical with Bethabara, where John
baptized. "Fords do not change in a river like the Jordan;
roads are never altered in the East; and this must always
have been, as it is now, the place of passage from Jericho
to Gilead . . . . the Lower Ford was only used for
the passage to Moab.'' (Tristram.) (Seep. 449).
At Easter, the bathing-place of the Greeks is the resort
of thousands of pilgrims, who come in a body from Jerusalem to Jericho, and assemble in multitudes in the neighbourhood of Riha (p. 231). Early in the moming,at a given
signal, the pilgrims leave their resting-place and proceed

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THE JORDAN.

to the river, when old and young, rich and poor, without
much regard to propriety, plunge into a promiscuous bath.
The scene has been variously described by many travellers,
who itffirm that the Greeks attach deep religious significance
to the ceremony, which is to them the source of many
blessings. The Latins have a bathing-place further to the
south.
Travellers who have come from the Dead Sea should
make a point of bathing in the Jordan, and, in fact, all
travellers who can, doubtless will. Great care must be
taken, however, as the river at this part is exceedingly rapid,
and, near the east bank, is in some places deep.
The Banks of the River, all about here, are rich in
varied foliage; oleanders stand in thick masses, beautiful in
early spring, with the irrose-coloured blossoms; the jujubetree, the crimson-flowered loranthus, the osher-tree, and a
variety of others (seep. 50).
Here the lion in olden times had his lair, here the
leopard still lurks, and wildá boars find a home among the
reeds. Birds abound in the neighbourhood, the kingfisher,
the sun-bird (remarkably like a humming-bird), turtle doves,
nightingales, bulbuls, and a host of others.
While the traveller is resting on the banks of Jordan, he
will probably be interested in reading the following extract
from Mr. MacGregor's work, Roh Roy on the J<Jrdan:-
« Jordan is the sacred stream not only of the Jew, who has
• Moses and the prophets; ' of the Christian, who treasures
the memories of his Master's life upon earth; of the cast-out
Ishmaelite, who has dipped his wandering bloody foot in
this river ~ioce the days of Hagar, but of the Muslim
faithful also, wide scattered over the world, who deeply
reverence the Jordan. No other river's name is known so
iong ago and so far away as this, which calls up a host of

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230 THE JORDAN TO JERICHO.

past memories from the Mahomedan on the plains of India,
from the latest Christian settler in the Rocky Mountains of
America, and from the Jew in every part of the globe. Nor
is it only of the past that the name of Jordan tells, for in the
more thoughtful hours of not a few, they hear it whispering
to them before, strange shadowy truths of that future
happier land that lies over the stream of death.''

FROM THE JORDAN TO JERICHO, BETHANY,
AND JERUSALEM,
From the Ford of the Jordan the route is over the level
plain, and the ,time occupied in the journey to Jericho is
usually about two hours.
On the right, as we proceed, will be seen an old square
ruin, called Kasr el-Yehudi, or Castle of the Jews. A church
once stood here, on the site where tradition affirms St. John
the Baptist had his dwelling.
A long distance to the left there is a ruin called Kasr-el-
Hajla, the Castle of Haglah ; it marks the site of Beth-
Hogla (Partridge House), a town of Benjamin on the border
of Judah (Joshua xv. 6, xviii. 19-:21). There is a large fountain here, and the Greeks from the Co~vent of Mar-Saba
have been utilizing the ruins of the old castle for the pu!Pose
of raising a convent. One hour from the Jordan, we pass
the Wady-el-Kelt (the Valley of Achor), where Achan
and his family were stoned, and in consequence of the
trouble brought by him upon Israel, was named after him.
"Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall
trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with
stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned
them with stones. . . . . So the Lord turned from the
fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place

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RIHA. 231
was called the Valley of Achor-i.e., trouble-unto this
day" (Joshua vii. 24-26). This ravine corresponds also
with the "Brook Cherith, which is before Jordan," where
Elijah was fed by ravens (1 Kings xvii. 1-7).
Riha.-One of the most filthy spots in the Holy Land,
the town consisting of a mere heap of rubbish, into which
the inhabitants seem to have burrow~d holes-a town so
degraded by the most loathsome iniquities, as to merit the
doom of Sodom and Gomorrah-is nevertheless full of interest, although few travellers will care to pause long within
its polluted atmosphere. The houses are full of vermin, the
people are thieves to a man, and the town is inclosed with
an impenetrable hedge of cactus. Riha, however, is the
site of the ancient Gilgal, and of the modern Jericho.
It was here that the Israelites first pitched their camp west
of the Jordan, and set up twelve stones which they had
taken from the bed of the stream (Joshua iv. 19, 20). Here
the people celebrated their first passover in the Promised
Land, and the rite of circumcision was performed on those
who had been born in the wilderness. "And the Lord said
unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of
Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is
called Gilgal (i.e., rolling) unto this day" (Joshua v.9). Here
" the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of
the old com of the land ; neither had the children of Israel
manna any more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of
Canaan that year"á (Joshua v. 12). During all the early part
of the conquest the camp remained here (Joshua ix., x.) And
it has been assumed, from Joshua xiv., xv., that Joshua
continued to reside here. At this place Joshua saw the
vision of " a man over against him with his sword drawn in
his hand, and Joshua went to him and said, Art thou for us
or for our adversaries? and he said, Nay, but as Captain of

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231 THE JORDAN TO JERICHO,

the host of the Lord am I now come.". And Joshua was
bidden, "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy."
1n later times the solemn assemblies of Samuel and Saul
were celebrated here. Here the latter was made king; and
when David came back from exile, the whole tribe of Judah
assembled to welcome him, and to conduct him over the
Jordan, after the death of Absalom (2 Sam. xix. 15).
Another interesting set of associations connect this place
with the history of Elisha, who healed the poisoned pot
(2 Kings iv. 38-41), who received Naan:ian the Syrian, and
effected his cure, and Gehazi's disease (2 Kings v.)
Riha is most probably the site of the Jerichoá of the
New Testament (seep. 234). The traveller will not fail to
observe a large tower, which has been called the House
of Zacchreus; but the tradition marking this out as the
site only dates from the fifteenth century.
[It is usual for parties travelling under the arrangements
of Messrs. CooK & SoN to pitch their tents on the site of
ancient Jericho. Here, in the evening, the villagers from
modern Jericho come up in a body for the purpose of performing dances accompanied by songs; the steps of these
dances are few, and the beauty of the dance, such as it is,
consists in the graceful swaying of the body, posturing, and
facial expression. The music to which the dance is performed consists in clapping of hands, and chanting slowly,
or rapidly, according to the theme ot the dance; that is to
say, whether it be representing love or war, etc. As honesty
is an unknown thing at Jericho, travellers-will do well to
keep a sharp eye upon any loose property in their tents.]
From Riha to ancient Jericho the traveller
passes through a forest, principally of thorn-trees ; of these
are Ziz.yphus Lotus and Ziz.yphus Spina •Christa, called by

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JERICHO. 233
the Arabs the Nubk. Here also may be found the Solanu11i
sanctum, whose fruit bears the apple of Sodom (see p. 50).
It will be well, therefore, that the traveller should reach his
destination, 'A in-es-Sultan, before dark, as it is obviously
unpleasant passing amongst thorn-bushes at night-time.
JERICHO.
Jericho, the city of palm-trees (Deut. xxxiv. 3), and the
scene of Joshua's victories, is not to be confounded with
modern Jericho, or Riha (seep. 231). It was the chief city
of ancient Canaan, and must ever have been fruitful from its
contiguity to the fountain of 'Ain-es-Sultan (p. 234). There
is nothing to be seen at Jericho save a few mounds of ruins.
The palm-trees have all gone, the mighty city is a heap, and
but for the fountain of Elisha, and the remnants of watercourses, and a few traces of ancient foundations, there would
be nothing to identify it. The history of its siege and capture by Joshua will be recalled by every traveller.
" It was across yonder plain that the spies journeyed ;
round here went up those great walls on which Rahab had
her house; over there in the mountains we seem as if we
could make out the very place where the spies hid the:nselves; it was here that Joshuaás army went round the
city ; and these hills echoed back the shrill blast of the
trumpets which the priests blew. And when the seventh
day had come, there went up from this spot the great shout
of the people, mingling with the blasts of the trumpets, 'and
the walls of Jericho fell down flat.' Then came that fearful
panic, followed by blood, and havoc, and death. It was
somewhere close by here that Rahab, with her kindred, sat
with tear-dimmed eyes, and saw the smoke of the burning
city ascending. And, perhaps, it was on some high standing ground near here that Joshua, in the presence of all

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234 JERICHO.

Israel, stood, and pointing to that charred and ruined mass
that had once been the strong city of Jericho, cried, ' Cursed
be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this
city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shail he set up the gates of
it' (Joshua vi. 26). Despite the curse, five hundred years
afterwards a man was found who dari::d to rebuild the city,
and who fulfilled the prediction by inheriting the curse
(1 Kings xvi. 34)."-(Hodder.)
At Jericho the last days of the Prophet Elijah were spent,
and from here he went forth with Elisha to cross the waters
of Jordan, and to witness that strange revelation of a chariot
of fire and horses of fire that parted them both asunder
when Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings
ii. 4, 5, 15). Jericho was long celebrated for its beautiful
groves and gardens, and these were given to Cleopatra by
Anthony. Herod rebuilt the city, and erected many handsome buildings. In the time of our Lord, the Jericho visited
by Him as He journeyed to Jerusalem was New Jericho.
Here the two blind men were healed, and our Lord paid a
visit to the house of Zacchams (p, 232,),
'Ain-es-Sultan, or the Sultan's Spring, is undoubtedly
the spring of water which Elisha healed. The story runs
thus :-" And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold,
I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
seeth : but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And
he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And
they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring
of the waters, and cast salt in there, and said, Thus saith
the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be
from thence any more dead or barren land. So the waters
were healed unto this day, according to the sayi1.1gof Elisha
which he spake " ( 2 Kings ii. 19-2,2,). Just above the
L__
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QUARANT ANIA. 2 35

spring, the house of Rahab used to be shown to travellers,
and some Roman pavement is still to be seen hard by.
If the traveller ascends the mound above the spring,
he will be well repaid, as he will take in at a glance all the
principal features of the surrounding country. He will see,
too, what a splendid scope there would be here for a few energetic English farmers. It is estimated that there are about
40,000 acres of land which, if irrigated from the Jordan,
would yield the finest of grain. From here the mountains
of Gilead and Moab are in full view, as well as the Dead
Sea and the whole stretch of the Jordan valley.
Among the minor reminiscences of Jericho may be mentioned that it was here that Hanun, the son of Nahash, took.
David's servants, and shaved them. "Then there went
certain, and told David how the men were served. . . And
the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown,
and then return" (1 Chron. xix. 5). It will be remembered
that this incident has given rise to a well-known English
vulgarism. In Jericho Herod died, and was buried at
Herodium (p. zoo).
Not the least imposing feature in the landscape is the
high, precipitous mountain called Quarantania (Forty
Days), the traditional scene of our Lord's temptation. "And
the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed
unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of
time." The side facing the plain is perpendicular, white,
and naked, and mid-way is burrowed by holes and caverns,
where hermits used to retire for fasting and prayer, in imitation of the ex.ample of our Lord. It is possible to reach
the summit, where there are ruins of an ancient convent,
and also to climb to the hermits' caves; but neither excursion should be attempted by any except practised climbers,
and then only with a qualified guide. The tradition as to

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JERICHO TO JERUSALEM.

this being the scene of our Lord's temptation only dates
from the time of the Crusaders, by whom it was named
Quarantania ; in Arabic, Jebel Karantel.
There is'.anotherfountain in the plain, called 'Ain Duk,
near whir.h was the Castle of Docus, the scene of the
assassination of Simon Maccabreus.
Close by are remains of buildings and mills, known as
Tawahin-es-Sukkar (or Sugar Mills). The ruins are extensive, and the cultivation of the sugar-cane is mentioned as
being in a flourishing state by William of Tyre in 1 , 74,
and Jacob de Vitry, Bishop of Akka, in 1:220. It has been
said that the hermits who dwelt in Quarantania accounted
the sugar-cane to be the honey of John the Baptist.

FROM JERICHO TO JERUSALEM
used to be an exceedingly difficult and dangerous route.
Within the past few years, however, it has been greatly
improved.
"Speaking of roads that lead to the capital of this ancient
land of promise, those who, a couple of years ago, 'went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho' will be astonished and
gratified to hear that a road has been constructed over which
a carriage might be driven, except in the more precipitous
parts, which are terraced by wide steps, the natural pavement of limestone, and jagged rocks, having been quarried
or blasted, so that horses may now tread in safety, and
pilgrims can make their way to the Jordan with less than
half the former toil. The great improvement is said to
have resulted from an accident that befell a Wallachian
princess, who, to save her poorer pilgrims from falling, has
given a thousand pounds for the making of the new road.
Princes and princesses are sometimes sadly in the way of
tourists, when they monopolize and enhance tht: cost of

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EN-SHEMESH.
travelling and hotel accommodation ; but on Saturday last
the blessings of two-score ladies and gentlemen, to say nothing of as many saddle-horses, three-score mules, and onescore donkeys, with nearly three-score muleteers, dragomans, and camp-servants, were cheerfully awarded to the
lady who honoured her title by this useful outlay of money.
Who can tell that this improvement may not lead to the
cultivation of those once fertile plains which lie between the
fountain of Elisha and the Jordan? What the Nile does
for Egypt, the Jordan on one side, and copious fountains on
the other, might do for the plains of Jericho and the Jordan,
if practicable, and every means of irrigation were adopted."-
Cook.
Looking back, several very interesting views; a few ruins
are passed on the road, and several interesting valleys are
crossed.
After riding about three hours from 'Ain-es-Sultan, we
come to an old ruined khan ; no accommodation can be
obtained here, the few buildings are uninhabited, and the
water is unfit to drink. This is the traditional scene of the
parable of the Good Samaritan, who rescued the certain man
going" @wn from Jerusalem to Jericho."
In two hours from the khan, the traveller reaches
another khan, where the water is excellent, and where
travellers usually halt for their mid-day meal. There are
now but few traces of the old khan, which once stood here,
~r of the arch covering the cistern, into which the water
flows from the spring. It has been called the Apostles'
Spring, from the legend that here the Apostles tarried on
their journeyings; there is little doubt that this fountain of
'Ain-el-Haud, or' Ain-Chot, is identical with En-Shemesh
(Spring of the Sun), a fountain on the boundary between
Judah and Benjamin (Joshua xv. 7, xviii. 17).

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JERUSALEM TO BETHEL.

When the traveller, proceeding on his journery, ascends
to the top of the hill and turns to the right, Bethany is
before him (p. 176).
From Bethany to Jerusalem (seep. 171).
FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHEL, BY
ANATHOTH, MIOHMASH,AND At.
Leave Jerusalem by the Damascus Gate, tum to the
north-east, cross the valley, and ascend to the Hill Scopus
(p. 175). Then down into the bed of another valley, and on
the ridge of the opposite hill will be seen the little village of
'Anata, corresponding with the Anathoth of Scripture.
It was a town of the Levites in the territory of Benjamin
(Joshua xxi. 18), to which Abiathar was banished by Solomon.
" So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto
the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which
he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh (1 Kings
ii. 7.6, 7,7). Here Jeremiah the prophet was born; he was
"the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were of Anathoth in
the land of Benjamin" (Jer. i. 1). Here the word of the
Lord came unto him, and he received commandment to prophecy against the men of Anathoth, who sought his life.
"Behold, I will punish them . . by famine : and there
shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the
men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation "
(xi. 21-23). Isaiah prophesying of the destruction coming
upon it,-as it stood in the direct line of the march of the
Assyrians as they advanced to Jerusalem -cried, " 0 poor
Anathoth ! " (Isa. x. 30). There are still some ruins here
dating from a very early period, amongst them traces of an
ancient wall and rock-hewn cisterns. The View from here
is very extensive. .
A sharp descent towards the north into the valley, and then

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MICHMASH. 2 39
•up to the opposite ridge, and the modern village of El Hizmeh
will be seen. A green and pleasant valley stretching at our feet
is crossed, and then, ascending another hill, we reach Jeb'a,
the ancient Geba of Benjamin, which, like Anathoth, was
a priestly city (Joshua xviii. 24). It was for some time in the
possession of the Philistines, but Jonathan took it from them.
Notwithstanding this, the Philistines soon gathered together
again at Michmash (p. 240) (1 Sam. xiii.), and the Israelites,
under Saul, took up their position at Geba, the deep ravine
called the Passage of Michmash separating the two
armies. The tr:iveller should read the whole story in I Sam.
xiii. and xiv. ; how Jonathan started out with his armour-bearer,
and the people knew not that he was gone. " And between
the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the
Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side,
and a sharp rock on the other side : and the name of the
one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Geba." To the
garrison Jonathan went," and the Philistines said, Behold,
the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they have
hid themselves." Jonathan, undaunted," climbed up upon
his hands and upon his feet, and_his armour-bearer after him,
and "-even as Horatius kept the bridge-" they fell before
Jonathan, and his armour-bearer slew after him. And that
first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made,
was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of
land. . . And there was trembling in the host, in the
field, and among all the people." The noise that was in the
host of the Philistines reached the ears of Saul while he was
consulting with the high-priest. All Israel went forward to
the battle, and the Philistines were driven before the
Israelites, and did not attack them again until in that battle

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JERUSALEM TO BETHEL.

of Gilboa in which Saul perished (p. 273). In the Authorised
Version it should be noted that Geba is written Gibeah ; it
is not so in tHe original.
The traveller will now descend into a valley, the W ady
Suweinit, and then into the narrow gorge which is the Pass
of Michmash referred to in I Sam. xiv. 4, 13 (see above).
On a hill to the north-east will be seen the deserted village
of Michmash (Mukhmas), celebrated chiefly as being the
scene of Jonathan's exploit, as recorded above. It is referred
to in I Mac. xi. 73, as the residence of Jonathan Maccabeus.
In the neighbourhood there are foundations of stones and a
few columns, as well as caverns and cisterns. On the high
plateau are some ruins, supposed to be identical with the
ancient Migron (Isa. x. 28), which, like Michmash and
Geba, lay in the route of the Assyrian army as it marched
to Jerusalem.
Passing now westward, and descending to the valley, the
next place of interest is the large village of Deir Diwan,
&ituated on a high hill, and near here the dragoman will
point out the site of Ai. The most remarkable circumstance connected with Ai was its siege by Joshua. Jericho
had already fallen before the Israelites, under his command,
and now, flushed with conquest," Joshua arose, and all the
people of war, to go up against Ai : and Joshua chose out
thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away
by night." Stratagem was used to accomplish the victory.
Liers in wait were placed in ambush ; and when " Joshua
and all Israel made as if they were beat.en before them, and
fled by the way of the wilderness," then arose the ambush,
and entered the deserted city, which was speedily destroyed,
and all the inhabitants perished at the edge of the sword.
"And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even
a desolation unto this day." The whole story is recorded in

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Al TO BETHEL.

Joshua vii. and viii., and the traveller will have a vivid picture
of the battle before him as he reads it here.
"Without any reasonable doubt, this is the site of Ai.
It corresponds exactly to the description, when we know the
site of Bethel and the site of Abraham's encampment, where
he built an altar, for we read that he pitched his camp, having
Bethel in the north and Hai in the east. There is a valley
behind the ruined heap, where Joshua placed his ambush.
There is the spot opposite, across the intervening valley,
where Joshua stood to give the preconcerted signal; and
there is the plain or ridge, down which the men of Ai
hurried in pursuit of the retreating Israelites, so that the men
in ambush rose and captured the city, and made it a' heap'
or 'tell' for ever. Mr. George Williams has pointed out
that the word which is translated ' heap ' in our version
exactly corresponds to the Arab rendering 'tell.' ''-(Our
Work in Palestine.)
. From Ai to Bethel (p. 2.44) is a journey of a little less
than three-quarters of an hour, by a lofty and pleasant plain
sacred with associations connected with patriarchal history,
as it was traversed by Abram-who reared his altar between
"Bethel and Ai"-and Lot and Jacob.
[From Ai, a pleasant journey may be made to Rimmon
(Rammun), where the last of the Benjamites dwelt (Judges
xx., xxi.), and to Ophrah, a position held by the Philistines
(1 Sam. xiii. 17). Some have sought to identify it with the
city of Ephraim, to which our Lord retired after the raising
of Lazarus; " Jesus therefore walked no more openly
among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to
the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples" (John xi. 54). From Ophrah to
Bethel is a journey of about an hour and three-quarters.]
Bethel (p. 2.44).

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

FROM JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.
Leaving Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate, and passing round
by the Russian Quarter to the Damascus Gate, or leaving
Jerusalem by the Damascus Gate, the route leads by the
Tombs of the Kings (p. 179) and the hill Scopus (p. 175).
Looking back from this point, the view of Jerusalem is
remarkably fine, and usually-as it is most frequently the
traveller's last view of the Holy City-leaves an indelible
impression on the mind. Nearly every traveller has described his emotions on leaving Jerusalem, and in the vast
majority of instances his last view has been obtained from
this spot. Here Crusaders, pilgrims of all ages, devotees of
all phases of religion, have experienced emotion ; and the
place has therefore a sacredness of its own. If it be possible, every traveller should get his first view of Jerusalem
from the Mount of Olives, as you come from Bethany, and
the last vfow from this hill of Scopus.
Passing over a broad plain, and taking a northerly direction, we see, on the left, the village of Sha.fat, with part
of a ruined church or tower, and cisterns hewn in the
rock. There are fine views from the hill of Tuleil-el-Fftl, a
short distance further on. Shafat is identified by Mr.
Porter as the site of the ancient Nob, a priestly city of
Benjamin, the place where the Tabernacle and Ark were
stationed in the time of Saul, to which David fled ( 1 Sam.
xxi. 4). Abimelech the priest, having received Saul as a
refugee, was informed against by Doeg the Edomite, and
Nob was smitten with the edge of the sword in consequence (1 Sam. xxii. 9-19).
Tuliel-el-Ftil (the Little Hill of Beans) is, without
doubt, the Gibeah of Saul, the native place of the first King
of Israel, and the seat of government during the greater part

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RAMAH OF BENJAMIN. 2 43
of his reign (1 Sam. x. 26, xiv. z). This is the place where
the seven descendants of Saul were hanged by the Amorites,
and the scene of one of the most touching stories of motherly
love on record. Two of her sons were amongst those who
were thus slain, and they " were put to death in the days of
harvest, in the first days in the beginning of barley harvest.
And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth, and spread
it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until
water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered
neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the
beasts of the field by night" (2 Sam. xxi. 10 ). Thus, for
six months, and those the hottest of the year, the sorrowing
woman watched the bodies of her sons, and proved the truth
of the saying, "love is stronger than death.'' The site of
the city is now a dreary and desolate waste, and the ruins
are not of importance.
The next site of any interest on the road is a hill on the
right, where is the villageof El-Ram, identical with Ramah
of Benjamin-from whence there is a fine view. It was
between Gibeon and Beeroth (Joshua xviii. 2.5). Here was
the scene of that terrible story of the Levite (Judges xix.)
which brought about the great war with the Benjamites. It
is not improbable that here was fulfilled the prophecy, "A
voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and bitter weeping "
(Jer. xxxi. 1.5; Matt. ii. 17, 18). It requires a little special
pleading to make this a proven site, as Ramah simply means
a highplace, or height.
Proceeding on our journey, we pass a ruined village on
the ridge of a hill, supposed to be the site of Ataroth-addar,
on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim (Joshua xvi. .5). In
a little more than half an hour we reach El-Bireh, a village
with about 800 inhabitants, an excellent spring of water,
ruins of reservoirs, and of an old khA.n.

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244 JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

On a piece of high ground are the remains of a church.
Tradition has fixed on El-Bireh as the place where the Holy
Family stopped at the close of the first day after leaving
Jerusalem, and turned back to the city, when they discovered
that the child Jesus was not with them. No great historical
value can be attached to the tradition, although it is interesting in this respect, that parties travelling northward from
Jerusalem are accustomed to spend the first night here; and
in all probability it has been the resting-place of caravans
on that journey from time immemorial. The church was built
by theá Crusaders, and the tradition dates only from the sixteenth century. El-Bireh is identified with the ancient
Beeroth (wells)-one of the four Hivite or Gibeonite
cities that made the league with Joshua (Joshua ix. 17). It
was allotted to Benjamin (Joshua xviii. 25), and is mentioned
as the birth-place of one of David's mighty men," Naharai,
the Beerothite" (2 Sam. xxiii. 37).
In about ten minutes after leaving El-Bireh, the road
divides; that on the left leads to Jifna, that on the right to
Bethel and Ain Yebrud (p. 247).
The journey frotn El-Bireh to Bethel occupies only about
half an hour, and the principal things-to be noted on the way
are a reservoir in a cavern, and a fountain, 'Ain-el-Akabah.
Then, in five minutes,

BETHEL, OR BEITIN.
Bethel is now but a poor village on a hill, with wretched
huts, and about 500 inhabitants. Everywhere round about
may be seen traces of ancient materials, even to the building
of the hovels of the people. There_ are the remains of a
tower in the highest P!lrt of the village, and near these the
walls of a church.
An old cistern, constructed of solid masonry, is in a

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BETHEL.
grass-grown field hard by, and as the '' wells of water" in
Palestine are always surrounded with memorable associations,
the traveller is advised to resort thither in order to picture
the scenes of Bethel's ancient glory. For the mere view,
however, the ruins of the tower on the top of the hill presents
a wider field.
Bethel was the place where Abraham reared an altar,
and called upon the name of the Lord, who had just gil'en
this land to him, and to his seed after him, for ever. From
here he went into Egypt, and fell into temptation, dishonouring God before the heathen king, who sent him away out of
the land. " And he went on his journeys from the south,
even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at
the beginning, between Bethel and Hai ; unto the place of
the altar which he had made there at the first: and- there
Abram called on the name of the Lord'' (Gen. xiii. 3-4).
Here Jacob, weary with his forty miles' journey, and
away from home and kindred, "took of the stones of that
place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down on that
place to sleep" (Gen. xxviii. 11 ).
Here he saw the vision-the wondrous vision of angels
ascending and descending the mystic ladder, and when he
awoke he made the solemn vow which consecrated him to
the service of God.
The name of this place was Luz, but Jacob said, "This
is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of
heaven, and he called the name of that place Bethel '' (i.e.,
the House of God). When Jeroboam sought to wean the
hearts of the people from the service of God at Jerusalem,
he set up here the golden calf, against which the prophet of
Judah was sent to cry in the name of the Lord, and, to
confirm his mission by a sign, the altar was rent in pieces
by invisible hands. and its ashes poured out. Jeroboam

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

stretched out his hand against the prophet, and it was
withered until it was restored at the intercession of the
prophet. Bethel, the House of God, was changed into
Bethaven, the House of Idols, until at length the prophecy
uttered by the man of Judah was fulfilled in the person of
Josiah, who utterly destroyed every memorial of the idolatrous
worship established by Jeroboam, and spared nothing in the
city save the sepulchre of the man of God from Judah, who
cried that day against the altar. For the whole of this
dramatic story, see I Kings xii., xiii. ; z Kings xxiii. 15-zo.
Here, or hereabouts, '' there came forth two she bears
out of the wood, and tare forty-and-two children "-little
children who said to Elisha, « Go up, thou bald head.''
After the Babylonish Captivity, Bethel was inhabited
again by the Benjamites. In later times it was captured by
Vespasian, and finally dwindled down to its present insignificance,
Bethel presents an interesting subject to the devotional
student. Here was the house of God, the place of altars,
and of visions, and vows. Here arose the alien sanctuary,
with its idolatrous altar, and here may be seen God's protest
against false worship. " The high places also of Avon, the
sin of Israel, shall be destroyed ; the thorn and the thistle
shall come up on their altars " (Hosea x. 8). " For thus
saith the Lord, Seek ye me and ye shall live, but seek not
Bethel. .... Bethel shall come to nought'' (Amos v. 4, 5).
Somewhat curiously, Bethel is not mentioned in any part
of the New Testament.
A short distance from Bethel is Ai, celebrated as the
scene of Joshua's victory (p. z40 ).
Leaving Bethel we enter at first upon rather a rough
road, but in an hour, after ascending a hill, we reach
the most fertile regions of Palestine, abounding with vine-

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SHILOH. 247
yards and orchards, and still bearing everywhere the signs of
the blessing of Ephraim (Dent. xxxiii. 14, 15). To the
left is the village of 'Ain Yebrud, one of the most fertile
spots in the fertile land of Ephraim, but the road to it is a
hard one to travel.
By and by we see Jifna, and 'Ain Sinia, and then the
village of Yebrud. One or two ruins are passed, one of
them called the Kasr-el-Berdawil, supposed to mean the
Castle of Baldwin. We are now in an exquisite valley, or
glen, called the Wady-el-Haramiyeh (i.e., Glen of the
Robbers). It is usual to camp for the night at Sinjil, some
little distance further on ; when, however, any obstacle
arises to prevent this, a good camping place is at 'Ain-el-
Haramiyeh, the Robbers' Fountain, where the water is
remarkably good, the scenery exceedingly picturesque, but
the reputation of the pl'ace bad to the last degree, as its
name implies. Leaving the glen with its caverns and
cisterns, and profusion of ferns where the water drips
down the cliff, the traveller enters on a more open valley,
which is as romantic as any in Palestine, and soon arrives
at Sinjil.
1n order to visit Shiloh the road to the right must be
taken; the direct road to Nabulus, however, is to the north
of the plain, above which Sinjil is situated.
Shiloh, Arabic SeilfJn, is now one large heap of ruins,
and the first thought of the traveller, as he beholds the
large mound covered with masses of debris, huge stones,
and pieces of broken column, will be the singularly graphic
fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, who used it as a
type of the destruction which should fall upon the house of
the Lord in Jerusalem. "Go ye now unto my place which
was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see
what I di,d to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

And now, because~ye have done all these works, saith the
Lord, and I Sfake unto you, rising up early and speaking,
but ye heard not; and I called ye, but ye answered not ;
therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my
name, wherein ye:trust, and unto the place which I gave to
you and to~your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh" (Jer. vii.
12-14). "1:will make this house like Shiloh, and will make
this city a curse to all the nations of the earth" (Jer. xxvi. 6).
The historyá of Shiloh was remarkable, and the traveller.
will peruse it amid the ruins, with the keenest interest, being
satisfied that there can be no shadow of a doubt that Seilun
is the site of Shiloh.
Here Joshua divided the land among the tribes, and here
the tabernacle was reared (Joshua xviii.) Around the ruins
of the ancient well, the daughters of Shiloh" danced in the
yearly festival (Judges xxi. 19-23). Here dwelt Eli, and
to this place Hannah came yearly to the sacrifice, bringing
with her the '' little coat" for the boy Samuel, who ministered before the Lord (1 Sam. i.) Many eventful scenes
occurred here-the sins of the sons of Eli, the sudden death
of the old man, as he heard in one breath of the desolation
of his own house, and the desolation of the house of God.
With the loss of the ark, Shiloh lost all; it was taken by the
Philistines and never returned, and from that time the city
is seldom even mentioned. Ahijah, the prophet, dwelt here,
and hither in disguise came the wife of Jeroboam to learn
• the doom of that sinful house.
Among the ruins will be seen the remains of an ancient
church. On the entablature of the doorway is sculptured an
amphora between two wreaths. The front of the ruins is
pyramidal, and four columns yet remain erect. Other fragments, denoting former greatness, are strewn about.
The plain in the spring-time presents a green and well-

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LEBONAH. 2 49
cultivated appearance, thus forming a striking contrast to
the site on which Shiloh stands.
Crossing now the cultivated fields, we descend to the
Wady-el-Lubbao, and by and by reach a fountain of excellent
water, beside the ruined Kh~n el-Lubban. This is
supposed to be the ancient Lebonah, and if so it establishes
the position of Shiloh. "Behold there is a feast of the
Lord in Shiloh yearly, which is on the north side of Bethel,
on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel
to Shechem, and OD the south of Lebonah" (Judges
xxi. 19). Some rock tombs will be found here.
We are now on a much better road, passing the village
of Es-Sawiyeh oD the left, and in a few minutes more the
khan of the same name. We rest for a while under a large
oak-tree, and then descend by a rather sharp road to the
W ady Y etma, then up hillá to a bleak plateau, where a
splendid view greets the traveller. Stretched before him is
the great plain, surrounded by the mountains of Samaria.
Before him on the left is Gerizim, and beyond that Ebal, while
far away to the north is the snow-clad Hermon. Everywhere
there is fertility, and although so many ages have passed
since the dying patriarch gave his blessing on Ephraim,á the
"good things" remain, even to the olive and the corn, the fig
and the vine, the fruitful bough by a well, and blessings
prevailing unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills.
Instead of proceeding by the road on the left, which
leads direct to Nabulus, the traveller is advised to take the
road on the right, which leads to Jacob's Well.
The plain is beautifully level, and the horses that have
for the past few days been picking their way over stony
places, will probably be as glad as the riders to have a good
canter here, and, as in Palestine the opportunities are so rare,
it is well to make the most of them.

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Jacob's Well
is a very sacred spot. Its authenticity has never been
doubted. There can be no doubt that it was here that
our Saviour sat. Around us are the corn-fields to which
He pointed when He said, '' Lift up your eyes, and
look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest''
(John iv. 35): Over there to the right is the parcel of ground
that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. There is the opening
between the two hills, with just a glimpse of Shechem
beyond; there on the left is Gerizim, to which the woman
of Samaria pointed, as she said, "Our fathers worshipped in
this mountain." "The well is not what we understand by
that name. It is not a spring of water bubbling up from the
earth, nor is it reached by an excavation. It is a shaft cut ,
in the living rock, about nine feet in diameter, and now
upwards of seventy feet deep. As an immense quantity
of rubbish bas fallen into it, the original depth must
have been much greater, probably twice what it is now.
It was therefore intended by its first engineer as a
reservoir, rather than as a means of reaching a spring.
Then again, if any wall, as some suppose, once surrounded its mouth, on which the traveller could rest, it is
now gone. The mouth is funnel-shaped, and its sides are
formed by the rubbish of old buildings, a church having
once been erected over it. But we can descend this funnel
and enter a cave, as it were, a few feet below the surface,
which is the remains of a so:all dome that once covered the
mouth. Descending a few feet, we perceive in the floor an
aperture partly covered by a flat stone, and leaving sufficient
space through which we can look into darkness."-
(MacLeod.)
" It was pleasant to sit here and think of what might,

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JACOB'S WELL.

perhaps, have been some of the thoughts of the Saviour
as He sat thus on the well, beiog wearied with his journey. Perhaps He was thinking of Abraham, who built
his first altar in the land in this opening of the plain (Gen.
xii. 6), or of Jacob, whose only possession in the Land of
Promise was. here (xxxiii. 19), and even then, bought and
paid for as it had been, it was taken from him by the
Amorites; but he reconquered it from them. 'I took it
out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my
bow,' said the dying old man (Gen. xlviii. 22), and left it
to Joseph, who, long years afterwards, gave commandment
concerning his bones, which were brought from Egypt and
buried here (Joshua xxiv. 32). Perhaps Christ thought of
Joseph, wandering in that very field in search of his brethren
(Gen. xx.xvii.15), and saw, in the persecution of the brethren,
and the final victory of the beloved son, one of the divine
pictures of the past, testifying of Himself; or, perhaps, his
thoughts were dwelling upon that first gathering of all
Israel, when first they came into the land, and there
was set before them a blessing and a curse. Perhaps
he heard again the ' Amen ' of the people, as the
curses were uttered from Eba! ; or saw the smile of joy
as the blessings on hearth and home, and land and business,
were pronounced from Gerizim, and ' sighed deeply ' as He
grieved for the hardness of the hearts of that favoured
people, who had gone in the way of evil, and brought upon
them all the full letter of awful doom pronounced upon the
disobedient (see Deut. xi. 29, 30, xxviii.; Joshua viii. 30, 35).
No wonder that, in the midst of associations such as these,
He should say,' I have meat to eat that you ka'ow not of.'
Before Him was unrolled, throughout that land, the volume
of the ages, and in every page He read the ' things concerning Himself.' "-(Hodder.)

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA,

It is but a short and pleasant journey from Jacob's Well
to Nabulus.
NABULUS OR SHECHEM.
[The usual camping-ground is on the west side of the
town, and may be reached either by turning to the right,
without entering the gate, or by the gate and through the
streets, which are wretchedly uneven and ill-paved.)
Nabulus, corrupted from Neapolis, or Flavia Neapolis, is
the name given to the town in commemoration of its restoration by Titus Flavius Vespasian. Anciently it was
Sichem or Shechem, and in the New Testament is called
Sychar and Sychem. When Abraham arrived here, the
Canaanite was then in the land (Gen. xii. 6). In Jacob";;
time Shechem was a Hivite city, under the governorship, [
Hamor, the father of Shechem (Gen. xxxiii. 18, 19). Th_
city was captured by Simeon and Levi, who murdered all
the male inhabitants, and brought upon themselves th:.,
dying malediction of their father Jacob. "Cursed be thei~
anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruelá•
(Gen. xxxiv.. xlix. 5-7). Somewhere about here Josep'.l
was seized by his brethren, and sold to the Jshmaelites (Ger.
:uvii.); hereá, too, he was buried (p. z51).
When the land was divided, Shechem fell to the lot< 1
Ephraim (Joshua xx. 7), but subsequently became a Levile
city of refoge ( 1 Chron. vi. 67).
Here all Israel assembled in the time of Joshua (p. z6z>áá
After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam and Jeroboam m1 l
here, an-1 the result was the division of the kingdon.
S:iechem being made the seat of the new government und1,
Jeroboam (1 Kings xii. 1-z5). It became the centre I I
Samaritan worship after the return from the captivity. Ou
Lord tarried here for two days, " and many believed on Hin

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NABULUS. 253
for the saying of the woman which testified, He told me all
that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto
Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them :
and he abode there two days. And many more believed
because of His own word; and said unto the woman, Now
we believe, not because of thy saying : for we have heard
Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the
Saviour of the world" (John iv. 39-42 ).
During the history of the Crusades, Nabulus suffered
considerably. From that time to the present, the people have
been noted for their extreme exclusiveness, their rigid adherence to their traditions, and for their quarrelsome spirit.
NAbulus contains about 12,000 inhabitants, of whom
about a hundred and fifty are Samaritans, the rest of the
population being made up of Jews, Christians of the Greek,
Latin, and Protestant Churches. The streets are narrow,
and not over clean. The houses are well built-of stone,
crowned with cupolas. The people have a bad reputation
for their discourteous treatment of strangers, and until
recently, Christian visitors were greeted with cries of
Nozrani ! (Nazarene!), accompanied by pelting of stone~.
The staple trade of the town is the manufacture of soap ;
the Bazaars are well stocked, and present the usual aspect
of Eastern bazaars.
For mere sight-see~s, the curiosities of the town are not
t:xtensive. There is a large Mosque, which was once a
Crusader's Church, dedicated to St. John, and probably
belonging to the Knights of St. John. A curious legend
attaches to a smaller mosque in the south-west part of the
town-namely, that it stands on the site where Jacob sat,
when his sons spread before him the blood-stained coat of
Joseph. There is nothing of interest in Shecbem, however,
so great as the Samaritan people, whose quarter is in the

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254 JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

south-western part of the town. For nearly three thousand
years they have lived here, bound up in their own prejudices,
separate from all other peoples of the earth, having their
own Pentateuch, and retaining their own forms of service,
sacrifice, and worship. While empires and dynasties have
risen and passed away, these people still -hold their own,
and retain all the marked peculiarities of their race.
The History of the Samaritans it is impossible.to
even outline in the limited space of this work. The word
"Samaritan" only occurs once in the Old Testament (2 Kings
xvii. 29), and then in a sense wholly different to that in which
it is used in the New. The origin of the people is doubtful,
but it is supposed by some that they were Assyrians; and
by others that they were a remnant of the Israelitish people
who were not carried away into captivity; and by others
that they were colonists from various foreign nations who
took possession during the Captivity. The account given
in 2 Kings xvii. 24 is as follows :-" The king of Assyria
brought men from .Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from
Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed
them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of
Israel : and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities
thereof." When the Jews returned from Babylon, the
Samaritans-who, after instruction, " feared the Lord, but
served their own gods "-desired to assist Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple, but were refused ; and then, their
anger aroused, hostility to the Jew and his worship burst
forth They determined to rival Jerusalem by a temple of
their own, and built one on Mount Gerizim, in the days of
Manasseh. Of course, the animosity was now increased
between the rival races. It became a sin on either side to
extend the rites of hospitality, and the feeling expressed by
the woman of Samaria was an index of the feeling which

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N.ABULUS. 2 55
for ages existed between the two races, and, to some extent,
exists to-day. "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest
drink of ~e, which am a woman of Samaria ? for the Jews
have no dealings with the Samaritans."
The Samaritans believe in one God ; they expect the
Advent of the Messiah ; they believe " in the resurrection of
the body, and the life of the world to come." They only
acknowledge the authority of the Pentateuch in the Old
Testament writings; and their literature, which is exceedingly meagre, consists principally in hymns and commentaries, and a one-sided history of their own nation. They
observe the Jewish Sabbath, and all the principal feasts
which were ordained by Moses-to wit, the Passover (p. ~57),
the Feast of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and
others.
In the Samaritan Quarter, in the south-west part
of the town, is their synagogue-a small, oblong chamber,
uncomfortably modem. Divine service is performed in the
Samaritan dialect, the high-priest-whose office is hereditary,
and whose salary consists of tithes-leading the prayers and
praises, after a manner not al ways agreeable to the taste of
those who hear.
The great curiosity of the synagogue is the celebrated
Samaritan Codex of the Pentateuch-a document
which bas given rise to a vast amount of discussion. It has
been affirmed that it was written in the time of Moses, and,
again, that it was the production of a grandson of Aaron.
That it is a curious, interesting, and ancient MS., there is
no doubt; nor is there much doubt that it is little, if any,
older than the Christian era. Some captious critics have
affirmed that it is not more than three hundred years old,
but it must be borne in mind that the Samaritan MS. is rarely
shown to ordinary travellers for fear of wearingá it out by

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

over much use, and that a comparatively modern copy has
to do duty for the old one.
The situation of Nabulus, every traveller will
admit, is very beautiful, and from every point of view the
prospect is pleasing. One of the best views is to be obtained
from the summit of Gerizim (p. 261), butthe neighbourhood
of the camping-ground, or any hill the traveller may ascend,
will impress him with its extreme picturesqueness. Beautiful
foliage, luxuriant vegetation, terraces upon terraces of fruit,
gardens, orchards, babbling brooks, white-topp'd houses,
pleasant hills, and deep valleys. There is everything that
can be crowded together in a limited space to make
up a perfect picture.
It is in the midst of beautiful scenes in nature that perhaps
the distress at witnessing personal misfortune is most experienced, and no traveller can stay an hour in Nabulus without
hearing the plaintive cry of the Lepers. Unhappily, these
poor creatures intrude their misfortunes before the gaze of
the stranger, who is often sorely tried at witnessing the
distorted faces and wasting limbs, and to hear the horrible
and husky wail peculiar to themselves. These miserable folk
are identical in their habits and appearances with those who
were formerly found at the Zion Gate in Jerusalem (p. 149).
They dwell apart, and marry only amongst themselves. Their
children, until the age of ten or eleven, are as pleasing in
appearance as other children, but after that age the deadly
taint exhibits itself, and they, too, dwell apart in the leper
community.
Mount Gerizim.
No traveller should omit the ascent of Gerizim (the Mount
of Blessing). The ascent is steep, especially towards the
top, and the fear of committing cruelty to animals will pro-

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MOUNT GERIZIM. 257
bably deter kind-hearted folk from using the horses which
have laboriously brought them to Shechem, as they can procure fresh ones, or donkeys, in the town. Leaving Shechem,
from the usual camping ground on the west, we pass through
the valley, and, soon after commencing the ascent, reach the
spring Ras-el-' Ain ; then the ascent becomes steeper, a
large plateau is reached, and turning to the left, the open
space, where the Samaritans encamp during .the Feast of the
Passover, is seen.
In case the traveller should have no opportunity of
witnessing this interesth1g festival, he will read with great
interest the following description :-
" On the tenth of the month the sacrificial lambs are
bought. These may be either kids of goats, or lambs ; the
latter being generally, if not at all times, chosen. They
must be a year old, males, and ' without blemish.' The
number must be according to the number of persons who
are likely to be able to keep the feast. At present they are
five or six, as the case may be. During the following days,
which are days of preparation, these are carefully kept, and
cleanly washed-a kind of purification to fit them for the
paschal service; a rite, in all probability, always observed
in connection áwith the temple service (John v. 1). Early
on the morning of the fourteenth day, the whole community,
with few exceptions, close their dwellings in the city, and
clamber up Mount Gerizim; and on the top of this their
most sacred mountain, pitch their tents in a circular form,
there to celebrate the most national of all their solemnities.
I, and the friends who had joined me at Jerusalem, had
pitched our tent in the valley, at the foot of Gerizim; and
on the morning of the 4th of May, we clambered up the
mountain.
" On reaching the encampment, friendly voices greeted us

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from several tents, and having visited those best known to
us, we rested for a while with our friend Amram. Presently
we took a stroll op to the temple ruins, and from thence
had a perfect view of the interesting scene. The tents, ten
in number, were arranged in a kind of circle, to face the
highest point of the mountain, where their ancient temple
stood, but now lying in ruins.
"Within a radius of a few hundred yards from the place
where I stood, clustered all the spots which make Gerizim
to them the most sacred mountain, the house of God. . . .
About half-past ten, the officials went forth to kindle the
fire to roast the lambs. For this purpose a circular pit is
sank in the earth, about six feet deep, and three feet in
diameter, and built around with loose stones. In this a fire
made of dry heather, and briars, etc., was kindled, daring
which time Yacub stood upon a large stone, and offered up
a prayer suited for the occasion. Another fire was then
kindled in a kind of sunken trough, close by the platform,
where the service was to be performed. Over this two
caldrons, full of water, were placed, and a short prayer
offered..... There were forty-eight adults, besides women
and children, the women and the little ones remaining in the
tents. The congregation were in their ordinary dress, with
the exception of the two officers, and two or three of the
elders, who were dressed in their white robes, as in the
synagogue.
" A carpet was laid on the ground near the boiling
caldrons, where Yacub stood to read the service, assisted by
some of the elders-all turning their faces towards the site
of the temple. Six lambs now made their appearance, in
the custody of five young men who drove them. These
young men were dressed in blue robes of unbleached calico,
having their loins girded. Yacub, whilst repeating the

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MOUNT GERIZIM.

service, stood on a large stone in front of the people, with
his face towards them ..... At mid-day, the service bad
reached the place where the account of the paschal sacrifice
is introduced : ' And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening ' (Exod. xii. 6),
when, in an instant, one of the lambs was thrown on its
back by the blue-clad young men, and the shochet, one of
their number, with his flashing knife, did the murderous
work with rapidity. I stood close by, on purpose to see
whether he would conform to the rabbinical rules; but the
work was done so quickly that I could observe nothing more
than that heimade two cuts. The other lambs were despatched in the same manner. Whilst the six were thus
lying together, with their blood streaming from them, and
in their last convulsive struggles, the young shochetimdipped
their fingers in the blood, and marked a spot on the foreheads and noses of the children. The same was done to
some of the females; but to none of the male adults. The
whole male congregation now came up close to the reader ;
they embraced and kissed one another, in congratulation
that the lambs of their redemption had been slain.
"Next came the fleecing of the lambs~the service still
continuing. The young men now carefully poured the boiling water over them, and plucked off their fleeces. Each
lamb was then lifted up, with its head downwards, to drain
off the remaining blood. The right fore-legs, which belonged
to the priest, were removed and placed on the wood, already
laid for the purpose, together with the entrails, and salt
added, _and then burnt; but áthe liver was carefully replaced.
"The inside being sprinkled with salt, and the hamstrings
carefully removed, the next process was that of spitting. For
this purpose, they had a long pole, which was thrust through

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260 JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

from head to átail, near the bottom of which was a transverse
peg, to prevent the body from slipping off. The lambs were
now carried to the oven, which was by this time well heated.
Into this they were carefully lowered, so that the sacrifices
might not be defiled by coming into contact with the oven
itself. This accomplished, a hurdle, prepared for the purpose, was placed over the mouth of the oven, well covered
with moistened earth, to prevent any of the heat escaping.
By this time it was about two o'clock, and this part of the
service was ended.
"At sunset the service was recommenced. All the male
population, with the lads, assembled around the oven. A
large copper dish, filled with unleavened cakes and bitter
herbs rolled up together, was held by Phineas Ben Isaac,
nephew of the priest; when, presently, all being assembled,
he distributed them among the congregation. The hurdle
was then removed, and the lambs drawn up one by one;
but, unfortunately, one fell off the spit, and was taken up
with difficulty. Their appearance was anything but inviting,
they being burnt as black as ebony. Carpets were spread
ready to receive them ; they were then removed to the platform where the service was read. Being strewn over with
bitter herbs, the congregation stood in two files, the lambs
being in a line between them. Most of the adults had now
a kind of rope around the waist, andá staves in their hands,
and all had their shoes on. • Thus shall ye eat it; with your
loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your
hand' (Exod. xii. u). The service was now performed by
Amram, which continued for about fifteen minutes; and
when he had repeated the blessing, the congregation at once
stooped, and, as if in haste and hunger, tore away the
blackened masses piecemeal with their fingers, carrying
portions to the females and little ones in the tents. In less
MOUNT GERIZIM.

than ten minutes the whole, with the exception of a few
fragments, had disappeared. These were gathered and
placed on the hurdle, and the area carefully examined, every
crumb picked up, together with the bones, and all burnt
over a fire kindled for the purpose in a trough, where the
water had been boiled. ' And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning ; and that which remaioeth
of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire' (Exod.
xii. 10). Whilst the flames were blazing and consuming
the remnant of the paschal lambs, the people returned cheerfully to their tents."-(Mills.)
In about ten minutes from the camping-place, the
Summit of Gerizim is reached. It is nearly three
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and consists of a
large open •space, at one end of which are the ruins of a
church or castle ; the walls are thick and of hewn stones,
probably belonging to a period anterior to "the castle,"
which was built by the Emperor Justinian. There is also a
Muslim wely, a reservoir, and a few other ruins, and part of
a pavement. Near to the castle are some massive stones,
identified by a legend with the twelve stones brought up
from the Jordan and erected at Gilgal as a memorial (p. :l31).
Near here is a piece of rock, which is stated to have been the
altar of their great temple ; •and as the Samaritans arrogate
to themselves the Jewish history, they say that Abraham
offered up Isaac here, that Jacob had the vision of the
heavenly ladder here, etc., etc. It is the sacred place of the
Samaritans; towards it they always turn in prayer; they
never approach it but with uncovered feet, and here they
celebrate their most sacred festival. ( See above.) The View
from the table-land on the summit is exquisite. In the far
west are the waters of the Mediterranean ; in the north,
the snowy top of Hermon, partly intercepted by Mount

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JERUSALEM TO SAMARIA.

Ebal; below, to the east, is the fertile plain of Makhoa, and
beyond, the mountains of Gilead.
Mount Eba 1, on the north •side of the valley of
Nabulus, is celebrated for its view, which is finer than that
from Gerizim. The ascent is by no means difficult; and the
view of the mountains of Galilee, from Carmel on the left to
Gilboa on the right, with Tabor and Safed, and a host of
memorable places, is well worth the fatigue, if time permits.
From eitherá mountain, the áscene recorded in Joshua
viii. 33, 34, will be recalled with interest, for in the valley of
Nabulus and on the hill-sides, the tribes of Israel were
assembled, while the Levites lifted up their voices, and pronounced from Gerizim blessings upon the obedient, and from
Ebal cursings upon the rebellious. "And all Israel, and
their elders, and officers, and their judges, stoo~ on this side
the ark and on that side, before the priests and the Levites,
which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the
stranger, as he that was born among them ; half of them
over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against
mount Ebal ; as Moses the servant of the Lord bad commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
And afterwards Joshua read all the words of the law, the
blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in
the book of the law." It is a curious fact that, owing to
the formation of the hills, they form, as it were, a natural
sounding-board; and many travellers have affirmed that,
standing in the plain, they have been able to hear distinctly
the utterances of friends stationed on either mountains, who
have gone there to test the accuracy of the statements of
Moses and Joshua (Deut. xxvii. 11-13).
Theá journey from Nabulus to Samaria is through
the beautiful valley, where every variety of vegetation will
be seen. There are many brooks and streams of water

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SAMARIA.

which divide in this valley; those on the east flowing to the
Jordan, and those on the west to the Mediterranean.
Several pleasant-looking villages, mostly on hills, will be
noticed on either hand ; and in the distance, standing alone
in the valley, will be seen the Hill of Sebastiyeh.
Samaria,
or Sebastiyeh, from Sebaste, the name given it by Herod,
is now nothing more than a small, dirty village, surrounded by hedges of cactus and ruins, speaking eloquently
of the former grandeur through their contrast with the
present desolation. As at Shiloh (p. 247), so here, the
burden of prophecy comes to the mind of the traveller as
he looks upon the desolate scene, and hears the word of
the Lord, " Samaria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled against her God" (Hosea xiii. 16). "I will make
Samaria as a heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard, and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley,
and I will discover the foundations thereof" (Micah i. 6).
The city was built by Omri, King of Israel, and became
the capital of the ten tribes until the Captivity. It too.kits
name from Shemer, from whom the hill was purchased. It
was the centre of idolatrous worship. Here Ahab built the
Temple of Baal;which was destroyed by Jehu. "He reared
up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had
built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove, and Ahab did
more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings
of Israel that were before him" (1 Kings .xvi. 32, 33).
During his reign the city was besieged by the Syrians ;
but Ben-hadad of Damascus was defeated by a small band of
Israelites. The story of the siege of Samaria, as recorded
in 2 Kings vi. 24-33, will be recalled by every traveller as
he walks through the ruins, and those striking incidents ( 1) of

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SAMARIA.

the compact between the starving women-" Give thy son~
that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son tomorrow ;''-and (2) of the" four leprous men who sat at the
entering in of the gate, and said one to another, Why sit we
here until we die?" and then entering into the city, found
" there was no man there, neither voice of man," for the
Syrians had fled in terror, even for their life. Again and
again the city was besieged, and ultimately it was captured
by the Assyrians, in the reign of Hosea, the inhabitants
being carried into captivity (2 Kings xvii. 24). After various
revivals, the city was taken by John Hyrcanus. Pompey
restored it to Syria, and Augustus gave it to Herod the
Great, who rebuilt it with great magnificence, and named it
Sebaste (the Greek translation of the Latin name Augustus).
It was to this Samaria that St. Philip came, preaching
the gospel. "Then Philip went down to the city of
Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people
with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip
spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. .
And there was great joy in that city'' (Acts viii. 5-8). As
Nibulus grew in importance, Sebaste began to decay, and
finally declined until it has become as a heap of ruins. " Woe
to the crown of pride . . whose glorious beauty is a
fading flower " ( Isaiah xxviii. 1).
In walking through the village of Sebast1yeh,the traveller
will not fail to notice how traces of ancient buildings are to
be found even built up into the most miserable hovels, so
that even in some bare and filthy rooms, may be seen slender
shafts of columns, or curiously wrought capitals, intended
once to please the eyes of kings. There are many interesting
(if genuine) sites pointed out, such as the gate where the
lepers sat; the palace of Ahab, the temple of Herod, the old
market, etc. The principal sight is the Church of St. John,

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a very picturesque ruin. It was a Christian church, but has
now become a mosque. There are traces of a nave with
two aisles. On the walls are crosses of the Knights of
St. John. In the. centre of an open court, there is a dome
over the traditional sepulchre of St. John the Baptist. In
order to enter the tomb, a number of steps have to be
descended, and here is pointed out the tomb of the Baptist,
the tomb of Obadiah, besides one or two others. There is
also shown a massive stone door, four feet high, said to be
the actual door of St. John's prison. It will be remembered
that Josephus states that John was beheaded in the castle of
Machrerus, on the Dead Sea (p. 220). St. Jerome is the
first writer who refers to the tradition that St. J oho was
buried here. The , tomb is called by the Arabs Neby
Yahya.
The Colonnade, or " Street of the Columns," many of
which are monoliths, mnning round the hill side, will probably present to the majority of travellers greater interest than
anything else to be seen in Samaria. "The remains of the
ancient city consist mainly of colonnades, which certainly
date back to the time of the Herods, and perhaps many
of the columns are much older. . . . . The grand
colonnade runs along the south side of the hill, down a
broad terrace, which descends rapidly towards the present
village. The number of columns, whole or broken, along
this line, is nearly one hundred,and many others lie scattered
about on lower terraces. They are of various sizes, and quite
irregularly arranged, but when perfect it must have been a
splendid colonnade. The entire hill is covered with rubbish,
indicating the existence and repeated destruction of a large
city."-(The Land a11dthe Book.)

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266 SAMARIA TO NAZAREfff.

FROM SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.
Leaving Samaria we descend the hill, where are the
columns, and enter the Valley of Barley, and in about
half-an-hour arrive at the pleasant village of Burka, where
there are some fine old olive trees, under which travellers
often camp. When the top of the hill is reached, a very
fine view bursts on the sight-an extensive plain studded
with villages. Descending into the valley, a village named
Jeb'a-supposed to be a Gibeah,of which there were manyis seen, and here the short cut from Nibul~s joins the main
road.
After passing through a pleasant glen, a broad valley is
entered. On a hill to the left stands the fortress of Sinur,
besieged in 1830 by the Pasha of Acre, and destroyed by
Ibrahim Pasha.
Ascending a rough and rocky road, a grand and impressive view is seen. 'Stretching at the traveller's feet is the
Plain of Esdraelon, with all its crowding memorial-places
round about, and in the far distance stands the white-robed
Hermon. From here, too, is seen the ruins of Dothan,
whither Joseph came seeking his brethren, and the Ishmaelites, passing by, bought him, at the instigation of Reuben,
for thirty pieces of silver (Gen. xxxvii.)
It was at Dothan that Elisha the prophet tarried during
the time that Ben-hadad was marching towards Samaria.
Fearing the prophet of Israel, who, it was said, revealed to
the king of Israel all his movements, Ben-hadad sent an
host to compass the city of Dothan with horses and chariots.
The servant of the man of God feared, but Elisha said,-
" Fear not : for they that be with us are more than they that
be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray
thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened

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~ THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON.

the eyes of the young man ; and he saw : and, behold, the
mountain ''-probably the mountain on which the trave11er
stands-" was full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha." Then were the Syrians smitten with blindness,
and were led into Samaria (2 Kings vi. 13-23).
A rocky, slippery descent into theá vaUey, where the
village of Kubatiyeh is seen, and then through a narrow
glen, famous in past days as a stronghold of robbers, and
the trave1ler arrives at the prosperous and beautifully-situated
village of Jenin.
Jenin is, without doubt, the En-gannim (Fountain of
Gardens) of Scripture. It was a town on the border of
lssachar, allotted to the Gershonite Levites (Joshua xix.21-
29). The viHage has about 3000 inhabitants, its" gardens"
are exceedingly fruitful, and the " spri,ng '' still supplies
the people with excellent water.
Josephus mentions this town, under the name of Ginea,
as one of the boundaries between Samaria and Galilee.

The Plain of Esdraelon,
on the edge of which Jenin stands, is the Plain of Jezreel,
the Hebrew form of the Greek Esdraelon (Joshua xvii. 16);
called also Esdra-Elon (Judith vii. 3). In Zech. xii. II, it
is called the Valley of Megiddo; and by the Apostle John,
Armageddon-i.e., the city of Megiddo (Rev. xvi. 16). This
plain stretches from the Mediterranean between Akka on
the north and the bead of Carmel on the south, across
Central Palestine, with an average width of ten or twelve
miles, to the river Jordan on the east. It forms a depression
between the mountains of Lebanon on the north, and
those of Samaria on the south. It is, with but few slight
undulations here and there, a level plain, exceedingly rich,
and capable of a high state of cultivation. Unfortunately,

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SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.

plundering Arabs make theá place so insecure, that gigantic.
thistles and wildernesses of weeds take the place of profitable cultivation ; and nowhere, except in some of the
eastern branches of the plain, is there a single dwelling.
Looking across the plain, as we leave Jenin, we have on
the north Tabor and Little Hermon (the former not visible
until some distance has been traversed) ; on the east, the
mountains of Gilboa, terminating in the ridge, where the
story of the death of Saul and Jonathan is localized; on the
south the mountains of Samaria. This plain has been a
battle-field from the days of Barak to Napoleon. Warriors
out of every nation which is under heaven have pitched
their tents in the Plain of Esdraelon, and have beheld the
various banners of their nations wet with the dews of Tabor
and of Hermon.-(Dr. Clarke.)
Esdraelon was the frontier of Zebulun (Deut. xxxiii. 18),
and the special portion áof Issachar. Here Barak, descending from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him,
discomfited Sisera, whose defeat was owing, in great measure,
to his having been drawn to the river Kishon-a river which
drains the plain into the Mediterranean. " The river of
Kishon swept them away ; that ancient river, the river
Kishon '' (Judges v. :21). Here Josiah the king came to
fight with Necho, the King of Egypt, and received his
death-wound (2 Chron. xxxv. 20-25). From generation to
generation Esdraelon was the scene of plunder and of war;
the Canaanites who, under Jabin, King of Canaan, had nine
hundred chariots of iron, which could work fearful mischief
on the level plain, mightily oppressed the children ~f Israel
for twenty years (Judges iv. 3). Then the Midianites prevailed against Israel ; " and so it was when Israel had sown,
that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites and the
children of the East, even they came up against them, . . .

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JEZREEL.

and destroyed the increase of the earth . for they came
up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude (Judges vi. 1-6). It was held for a
long time by the Philistines, who had a fortress at Bethshean ( 1 Sam. xxix., xxxi.), and the Syrians frequently swept
through the plain with their armies (1 Kings ix. z6).
From Jenin to Haifa, Acre, and Mount Carmel, takes
about thirteen hours.
As we proceed on our journey towards Nazareth, the
different points of interest will be more particularly mentioned.
There is a direct caravan route across the plain, but it is
exceedingly uninteresting. We shall therefore take the route
whichcombines the most interest.
After leaving Jenin, several very small villages are
passed. The dragoman will probably point out, on the left,
the village of Ta'-annuk, the Taanach of Joshua xvii. 11, and
Megiddo, Judges v. 17. Passing under the bare mountains
of Gilboa (in Arabic, Jebel Faku"a), we notice on the right a
Muslim shrine, called Neby Mezar, and soon afterwards
reach Zer'in, the ancient Jezreel. Zer'in is a wretched
little village, surrounded by heaps of rubbish, and burrowed
with innumerable holes, which are used as store-houses,
where produce and other things are garnered out of reach of
the thievish Bedouins. The view is wide and interesting, commanding the Plain of Esdraelon as far as to Carmel on the one
side, and the Jordan Valley on the other. On the north of
Zer'in is that part of the plain known as the Valley of Jezreel.
Associations crowd upon us. Here was the palace of
Ahab, not a trace of which remains. Looking down upon
the fields, we may see that one which Ahab coveted of
Naboth. "Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a
garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house." The

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270 SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.

traveller will read with interest I Kings xxi.-how Naboth
clave to the inheritance of his fathers, bow Ahab frettc,d
over the one crook in his lot, how Jezebel proceeded with
her wicked machinations, how Elijah the Tishbite came
down with the messages of wrath, and how Jezebel, as
"she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out
at a windo~," was thrown out on to the stone paving of the
court, and the wild pariah dogs came as the instruments of
destruction, fulfilling the saying, "Thus saith the Le.rd, in
the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs
licit thy blood, even thine." A writer bas well said, "God
has written in letters of blood across that field of Nabotb,
' Beware of covetousness ! ' "
It was "in the portion of Naboth the J ezreelite " that
Jehu, who came up the valley "driving furiously," put
Jehoram to death. And here Ahaziah was slain (2 Kings
ix. 15-26, 30-37). It was in the valley of Jezreel that
Gideon gained his victory over the Midianites (see below).
From Zer'in there is a road goes direct to Nazareth, but
the only place of interest passed is Fuleh. We shall take
the more interesting route.
Fuleh, which can be seen from Zer'in, means "a
bean," but what the name has to do with the place appears
uncertain. In the time of the Crusaders, there was a castle
belonging to the Templars and Knights of St. John standing here, which was taken by Saladin ; the ruins on the
mount are the remains of this castle. In 1799 it was the
scene of a great battle between the French and the Turks,
known in history [as the battle of Mount Tabor. Kleber,
with a handful of men-about 1,500-kept the Svrian host,
consisting of about 25,000, at bay for about six hours; he
was nearly being worsted, when Napoleon, with a yet
smaller handful of men-about 600-came to his aid, and

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FOUNTAIN OF JEZREEL. 271
the Turks, thinking a large army was upon them, fled, and
the French arms were victorious.
Instead of going direct across the valley to Shunem, it
will be well to make a short detour to the east, in order to
visit 'Ain Jalud, or the" Fountain of Jezreel," sometimes
called the "Fountain of Gideon." The water of the fountain is clear as crystal, issuing from a rocky cavern. It was
here that Gideon was encamped against the Midianites, and
at this fountain each of the three hundred picked men
lapped " the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth.
And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men
that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into
thine hand." While "the Midianites and the Amalekites
and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like
grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels without number, as the sand by the sea-side for multitude,"-slept,-
Gideon, who had received a vision in a dream, arose, and
dividing "the three hundred men into three companies, be
put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers,
and lamps within the pitchers." By-and-by, a cry rang
through the startled air, " The sword of the Lord and of
Gideon!"
Then every man brake his pitcher and the light streamed
forth, "and they stood every man in his place round about
the camp, and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.'' In
the confusion every man's hand was against his fellow in
the vanquished camp, the dead and dying strewed the valley,
while the remnant fled down the valley of the Jordan;
and so the sword of the Lord and of Gideon prevailed.
On this very ground where Gideon, " strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might,'' had gathered his armies
around him, close by the Fountain of Jezreel, Saul pitched
his camp, while the Phili!,tines were encamped over there

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SAMARIA 'J'O N.A,ZARETH.

at ~hunem ; the armies were in full sight of each other, and
between them lay the plain we shall shortly cross. "And
whfn Saul saw the host of the Philistine5t he was afraid,
and his heart greatly trembled.'' In the midst of his camp
he. was alone. Samuel, on whose advice he could have.
reli,d, was dead ; David, whose prowess helped him out of
an apparrntly greater difficulty than the one before him, was
estranged. He had no one to whom he could go, he had by
his sins estranged himself fro:n God: yet he sought to the
Urim and Thummim, that ancient oracle, but it was dumb.
" 'J;'he Lord answered him not by dreams, nor by U rim, oor
by, prophets.'' Suspense was unbearable ; if he could not
get an answer from heaven, could he from hell ? In his
di&tressand anxietyá be bade a messenger go seek a woman
that had a familiar spirit-the very class of impostors his
O\\'.ll d~cree, instigated by Samuel, had banished from the
land.
The messenger returned, and told him of the Witch of
En4or, and, under the cover of darkness, he set out, with
two attendants, to consult her. It was a perilous journey ;
but :what was the outward peril compared with " the horror
of great darkness'' upon his soul? The road which Saul
to~ can be unmistakably traced from here. He must have
cr.~d the plain, gone round the left flank of the enemy,
ascended the ridge of Little Hermon, and then have gone
down ~ rather steep descent to Endor. There God answered
him ; there the Father of Spirits permitted his servant
Satl).uelto speak with him from the dead ; there the strong
delusion which believed a lie was used by the Almighty as
an. instrument to his own ends ; there the proud and reckless
Saul, the godless man yet God's anointed, hea;d bis death
knell rung from the spirit world, and his doom pronounced :
'' To-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord

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MOUNT GILBOA. 2 73
also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hands of the
Philistines."
Back through the darkness to his camp, and at the
breaking of the day to arms ! The Philistines poured down
the valley, the Israelites were forced up the hill-slopes of
Gilboa. "And the battle went sore against Saul, and the
archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers."
Terrified with a great soul-terror; seeking death but finding
it not, and dreading to be made the sport and mock of the
Philistines if captured, he begged his armour-bearer to thrust
him through. Even this last boon was denied. Fixing his
sword into the blood-stained ground, with the energy of
despair he fell upon it-and so perished the King of Israel.-
( Hodder.)
In Mr. Stanley's book, this vivid passage occurs:-" The
Philistines instantly drove the Israelites up the slopes of
Gilboa, and however widely the route may have carried the
mass of the fugitives down the valley to the Jordan, the thick
of the fight must have been on the heights themselves, for it
was' on Mount Gilboa' that the wild Amalekite, wandering,
like his modern countrymen, over the upland waste,
' chanced' to see the dying king, and ' on Mount Gilboa '
the corpses of Saul and his three sons were found by the
PhiJistioes the next day. So truly bas David caught the
peculiarity and position of the scene, which be bad himself
visited only a few days before the battle (1 Sam. xxix. 2),
'The beauty of Israel is slain in thy high places. . • • .
0 Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places,' .as though
the bitterness of death and defeat were aggravated by being
not in the broad and hostile plain, but on their own familiar
and friendly mountains. And with an equally striking touch
of truth, as the image of that bare and bleak and jagged ridge
rose before him, with its one green strip of table-land, where,

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SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.

probably, the last struggle was fought-the more bare and
bleak from its unusual contrast with the fertile plain from
which it springs-he broke out into the pathetic strain : ' Ye
mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there
be rain upon you, norfields ef rJferings : for there the shield
of the mighty is vilelycast away, the shield of Saul, as though
he had not been anointed with oil' (2 Sam. i. 19-2.7)."

From the Fountain of Gideon, if the traveller bas time
and inclination, a journey may be made to Bethshean
or Scythopolis, now called Beisan. It is not a difficult
jonmey, and occupies about three hours. The situation of
Beisln is remarkable, commanding a magnificent view of
the Jordan valley. The village only contains about fifty or
sixty houses, and the people have a disreputable character.
The ruins are very extensive, occupying an area of over two
miles. Amongst them are the remains of a castle, temples
with standing columns, a theatre, a Roman arch, and all
around are traces of a massive wall. The history of Betbshean
(House of Quiet), the ancient name of Beis&n, is full of
interest. The town lay in the territory of Manasseh
(1 Chron. vii. 29), though within the original limits of
Jssacbar (Joshua :xvii. 11). The Israelites were unable to
drive out the Canaanites, but placed them under tribute
(Joshua xvii. 12, 13). When the Philistines came to strip the
slain on Mount Gilboa, after the fatal battle, " they found
Saul and his three sons, fallen on Mount Gilboa, and they
cut off his head and stripped off his armour, and sent unto
the land of the Philistines round about to publish it in the
house of their idols and among the people. And they put
his armour in the house of Ashtaroth : and they fastened his
6ody to the wall ef Beth-slum•• (1 Sam. :xx:xi.7-10).
When the S<;ythiansoverran the country, a colony estab-

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SHUNEM. 275
•fished itself here, and the name was changed to Scythopolis
á(~ Mac. xii. 29), and was the chief city of Decapolis, or
League of Ten Cities. Finally, it was demolished by
Saladin.

Leaving the Fountain of Jezreel, we make our way
across the plain, which is very swampy, after recent rains,
to the little village of Sulem, the Shunem of Scripture,
a town of Issachar. The village is a great contrast to many
the traveller will have seen in Palestine. It has a tidier and
. more well-to-do aspect, although it would not be thought
much of if found-say, in Devonshire. A short distance
from the village, which is surrounded with a thick hedge of
the prickly pear, there is an enchanting grove of orange,
lemon, and citron-trees, with pleasant grassy knolls, and a
spring of delicious water. Hither the village maidens,
bearing pitchers of water, generally follow the traveller, and
there is no pleasanter spot in which to rest and be thankful.
Shunem is where the Philistines had their encampment
when they waged war with Saul (p. 272). Another incident will be recalled with interest. Here the Shunamite
woman showed hospitality to the Prophet Elisha, andlseeing
that he was a holy man, she said to her husband, " Let us
make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us
set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a
candlestick, and it shall be when he cometh to Lus he
shall turn in thither." Her heart was made glad by a promise
-which at first she did not believe would be fulfilled-but
by aod by her home was made glad by the music of a
child's voice. "And when the child was grown, it fell on
a day that he went out to his father to the reapers. And
be said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said
to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had

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SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.

taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her
knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid
him on the bed of the man of God, and went oot." Theo,
swift as anxious love could bear, her, she drove across the
plain to tell her trouble to the man of God at Mount
Carmel. Elisha returned with her, went up unto the room
of death, " and he lay upon the child and put his mouth
upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child ;
and the flesh of the child waxed warm " ( 2 Kings iv. 8-3 7).
St. Jerome speaks of the hill on which the village stands
as Hermon. Since his days, it has gone by the name of
Little Hermon. It is probably identical with the hill
Moren (Judges vii. 1).

A short and pleasant excursion can be made from
Shunem to Nain and Endor. If any travellers of a party
are too fatigued to make this excursion, they cannot find a
pleasanter place. to tarry than at Shunem, while the more
robust of the party go oo the excursion and return ; or,
instead. of returning to Shunem, they may strike off' from
Endor into the road to Nazareth.
Skirting the hill in a north-easterly direction, a journey
of less than an hour brings the traveller to N ain. It is a
shabby little village, with many rubbish-heaps and traces of
ruins around ; but it stands in a good situation besidt'lthe
hill, and commands a fine view of the Galilean hills. Above
tbe town are holes in the face of the hill, doubtless rocktombs. The interest attaching to Nain cannot be told ~tter
than in the simple language of the Gospel narrative, which
has made the spot memorable for ever.
"And it came to pass, the day after, that He went into a
city called Nain ; and many of his disciples went with Him,

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ENDOR,

.andmuch people. Now when He came nigh to the gate of
the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only
son áof his mother, and she was a widow : and much people
of :the city was with her. And. when the Lord saw her,
He had compassion on her, and &aid unto her, Weep not.
And He came and touched the bier; and they that bare him
stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee
Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.
And He delivered him to his mother" (Luke vii. 11-15).
"What has Nineveh or Babylon been to the world in
,comparison with Nain? And this is the wonder constantly
suggested by the insignificant villages of Palestine, that their
names have become parts, as it were, of the deepest expeciences of the noblest persons of every land and every age."
-(MacLeod.)
From Nain to Endor is a ride of about fifty minutes.
There is nothing to be seen at Endor (Arabic, Endur)
-which was at one time a town of Manasseh, and, as late as
the time of Eusebius, a large village-except the caves ; and
these are the principal objects of attraction. It has been
supposed that this place was the scene of the death of J abin
.and Sisera, "Do unto them as unto the Midianites, as to
Sisera as to Jabin, at the brook Kishon, which perished at
Endor; they became as dung for the earth."
The Cave in which the Witch of Endor dwelt will be
t90intedout to the traveller ; hither came Saul, the night
before the fatal battle (p. 272). He asked that whosoever
be should name should be brought before him. "Then
-said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he
said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw
Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake
to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me ? for thou art
Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid : for what

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SAMARIA TO NAZARETH.

sawest thou ? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods
ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What
form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up ; and
he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it
was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground,
and bowed himself" (1 Sam. xxviii. II-14). Then
followed the prophecy of Samuel, declaring his death on
the morrow, on hearing which, the terrified, and consciencestricken man swooned away.
The traveller will now return by the same road to
Shunem, if he has a party to join there, or if not will strike
across the plain direct to Nazareth (p. 279).

Leaving Shunem, we descend into the plain, and have
before us Mount Tabor (p. 286), which may be ascended
now, or, if time permit, an excursion may easily be made to
• it from Nazareth, or it can be visited on the road from
Nazareth to Tiberias (p. 285), this latter route is not, however, recommended, as in that case Kefr Kenna, -thesupposed
Cana of Galilee, will have to be omitted. •
~ we approach the high hill, on which Nazareth
stands, we notice the village of Iksal, supposed to be Chisloth-Tabor (flank of Tabor), on the boundary of Zebulon
(Joshua xix. 12). Where the rocks are barren, and precipitous, a worthless tradition has given the name Mount of
Precipitation, alleging that it was from here the people of
Nazareth sought to cast the Saviour down headlong (p. 283).
Now commences a sharp ascent, through glens and gullies,
over steep and rugged places, where the well-tried Syrian
horses pick their way with manellous sagacity, and at
length the town of Nazareth is seen, and is entered in about
twenty minutes after sighting it. •!

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NAZARETH. 2 79

NAZARETH.
[Travellers who have not tents can find very good
accommodationat the hospice of the Latin Monastery.
The usual camping-ground is on the north of the town,
in a very pleasant situation.
There is an English medical man, Dr. Vartao, residing
at Nazareth.]
Nazareth is not named in the Old Testament, nor by any
classic writer. Its history dates from the time of Christ.
After that time until that of Constantine, it appears to have
attracted little, if any, attention.
The derivation of the name Nazareth is exceedingly
doubtful. Some have affirmed that it is taken fromá a
Hebrew word" Nasar "-a twig. In the time of our Lord,
the name of Nazarene was used as a term of contempt, and
to this day the boys in N!bulus and other towns of Palestine
still greet the (?hristiao traveller with cries of Nozriini I .
(Nazarene!) The modem name of the town is En-
Nasirah.
Since the events which rendered Nazareth famousá
occurred (p. z81), the town has gone through a variety of
vicissitudes. Until the time of Constantine its inhabitants
were Samaritan Jews; then it passed into the hands of
Greek, Frank, and Arab. The Crusaders built churches
here, which the Turks in later years plundered and destroyed.
Christians of various sorts endeavoured to establish themselves here, b),ltwere never positively successful until about
the eigh\eenth century. Among the remarkable things in.
the modem history of Nazareth are the circumstances that
Napoleon supped here on the night of the Battle of Tabor
(p. z70), and that a plot was laid here by Pasha Jezza.r to
murder all the Christians in his dominions as soon as the

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2-80 NAZARETH.

French had evacuated; his bloodthirsty scheme, however,
was thwarted by Sir Sidney Smith, the English Admiral
It is very difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the
population of any place under Turkish rule. It has been
recently asserted that there are in Nazareth ten thousand
souls; others make it to be not more than four thousand.
The correct estimate will probably be about five to six
thousand. Of these, certainly more than half belong to the
orthodox Greek Church; then follow United Greeks, Latins,
Protestants, Maronites, and various other Christian communities, making up four-fifths of the population, the rest
being Muslims.*
Nazareth is still, as probably it was at the time of the
angel's visit, a large village or small town, situated upon the
slope of one of the hills which enclose a hollow or valley.
This vale, which is about a mile long by half-a-mile broad,
resembles a circular basin shut in by mountains. It is a
pleasant spot, and one might almost think that the fifteen
mountains which enclose it had risen around to guard it
from intrusion. It is as a rich and beautiful field in the
midst of barren mountains, abounding in fig-trees,and showing many small gardens with hedges of the prickly pear,
while the rich, dense grass affords an abundant and refresh--
ing pasture. The town stands at the left, or western, en&
of the vale, and commands a view over the whole of its
beautiful extent. The town itself, as beheld from the
valley or from the enclosing hill, is very picturesque, ábacked
as it is by high cliffs, and approached from under the shade
of spreading oaks ; with substantial-looking houses of atone,
the square, massive walls of the church and monastery, and
• It is affirmed by some that the Muslim population is not moreá
than six hundred; others give it as over two thousand. We have no'
means of ascertaining positively which is correct.-ED.

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NAZARETH.

the graceful minarets of two mosques, interspersed with, and
here and there overtopped by, the tall, spiral forms of the
dark green cypress-tree.-(Dr. Kitto.)
The people are celebrated for their kindness and courteousness. They are a better class of people altogether than
is to be met with in any town in Palestine; their dwellings
are cleaner and their habits altogether different from those
met with elsewhere. The women are proverbial for. th~ir
beauty, although it is doubtful which carry the palm-the
women of Nazareth, or those of Bethlehem. •
Nazareth was the residence of Joseph and Mary, and the
scene of the Annunciation. " The angel Gabriel was sent
from God unto a city of Galilee,named Nazaretli, to a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph" (Lmce
i. 26, 2 7). From here Joseph went up to Bethlehem, .. to
be taxed with Mary his espoused wife" (ii. 4). After tlie
return from Egypt, this was the home of our Lord until
He entered upon His public ministry," that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, He shall be called
a Nazarene" (Matt. ii. 23). When entering upon His
public ministry," Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and
was baptized of John in Jordan" (Matt. iii. 13). Afterwards, "He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought
up " ( Luke iv. 16). And then His fellow townsfolk sought
to kill Him. They "rose up, and thrust Him out of the
city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their
city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.
But He passing through the midst of them went bis way,
and came down to Capemaum" (iv. 29-31). Henceforth,
Capemaum was His own city, and it does not appear that
He ever again visited the scene of His boyhood and early
manhood, although He must have seen it in the distance, as
He passed by on His journey to Jerusalem.

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NAZARETH.

There are many traditional places to which the traveller
will wend his way-some of them valueless so far as histo--
rical evidence is concerned, but all interesting, from the fact
that somewherein the immediate neighbourhood the actual
sites must have been.
The Latin Convent is one of the most interesting places
in Nazareth; it is enclosed within high walls, and contains
the Church of the Annunciation. The high altar is
dedicated to the angel Gabriel, and is approached by marble
steps on either side. Several fairly good pictures. adom the
church, which has also a good organ. Below the altar is
the crypt, which we descend by a broad flight of fifteen
marble steps, leading into the Chapel of the Angels, and
this again leads by two steps into the Chapel of the
Annunciation. Here a marble altar stands, with an inscription," Here the Word was made flesh" (" Hie verbum
l-'llrofactum est"). On the right and left are columns,
marking the places where the angel and Mary stood ; the
latter is only a broken column, and tradition says it was
thus destroyed by enemies who sought to destroy the
church, and was miraculously suspended.
A doorway leads from this chapel into the Chapel of
Joseph, and from this a stairway leads into the Kitchen of
•the Virgin-a mere cave, the mouth of which is pointed
out as being the chimney.
It will be remembered that the Holy House of Nazareth
is not really here, but at Loreto, in Italy. It is stated that
when the basilica erected b}' the pious care of the Empress
Helena over the Virgin's house at Nazareth fell into decay,
th~ Casa Santa, or Holy House, was brought by angels to a
spot between Fiume and Tersato, on the coast of Dalmatia,
where it rested three years. Thence it was again carried áoff
by angels in the night to the ground of a certain widow

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NAZARETH.

Laureta {whence Loreto). A church was erected there, and
round it a village soon gathered, to which Pope Sixtus V.
accorded the privileges of a town. Half a million pilgrims
resort there annually; in fact, it is one of the most frequented
sanctuaries of Christendom.
The Workshop of Joseph, in the Muslim Quarter of
the town, is in the possession of the Latins. Only a small
portion of the wall is claimed to be the original workshop.
The Table of Christ, where, it is said, he met with His
disciples, and dined both before and after the resurrection,
will also be pointed out, as also the Synagogue, in the
possession of the United Greeks, where He is said to have
taught (p. 281).
One more holy place the traveller may visit, although
he will probably not receive much edification by so doing ;
it is the Mount of Precipitation, where, it is said, the
people sought to cast our Saviour down (p. 278). It is two
miles from the town, and about as improbable a site as could
have been selected. No one will be at any loss to find halfa-dozen places much nearer the town, answer-ing all the
requirements of the gospel story.
To the minds of most, there are two places in Nazareth
sacred with the holiest associations. The first is the Fountain of the Virgin; and the second, the Wely at the top of
the hill behind Nazareth.
The Fountain of the Virgin is a plentiful spring
of water issuing from three mouths. Above it, the
Orthodox Greeks hue their own special Church of the
Annunciation. The scene at the fountain is always interesting, and especially so in the evening, when it is thoroughly
Eastern. Here the village maidens, in their white robes and
bright head.dresses, assemble, and bear away their well-filled
pitchers oo their heads. There can be no reasonable doubt

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NAZARETH.

that she who was "blessed among women" would often
come here, perhaps carrying the infant Saviour in just the
same fashion we may see mothers of Nazareth carrying their
children to-day; and no doubt many a time our Saviour, as
He came past here on His way home from rambling on
the hills, would tarry to quench His thirst at this very
stream whose waters the traveller may drink to-day as a cup
of bless.iog.
The Wely Sim'an, on the top of the high hnt
behind Nazareth, commands one of the best views in the
country, and comprehends nearly all' Palestine. "At a
glance you seem to take in the whole land, and the first
thought that strikes you is that this must have been a
favourite resort of the Saviour, and if so, He must have had
constantly spread before Him the great library of Biblical
story." On the north is Hermon; on the south, the mountains round about Jerusalem ; oh the east, the mountains of
Gilead, on the other side Jordan; and on the west, the great
sea (Mediterranean). Looking across to the west, the traveller will be able to make out the beautiful Bay of Acre;
the ridge running out into the sea is Mount Carmel, crowned
with its convent. Southward are the mountains of Samaria ;
south-east, the hills round Jenin; eastward, the mountains
of Gilead; and between them and us lies the magnificent
Plain of Esdraelon, covered with its rich green carpet, and
threaded with the silver line of "that ancient river, the river
Kishon." Northward the view culminates in glory, as
Hermon, like a great wall of white crystal, stands out against
the blue sky, with the Galilean hills below it, and everywhere
round that region, scenery varied and picturesque.
The details of this picture the traveller will fill in for
himself, and will not fail to notice the places he has recently
visited, Jenin, Jezreel, Gilboa, Litt].e Hermon, Nain, Tabor,

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NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.

andjust below his feet the picturesque town of Nazareth,
rich in gardens and flowers, and fruitful fields and
plenteous orchards.
There is in Nazareth a good field for Christian work,
and there are one or ' two places which will perhaps be
visited with pleasure. The Protestant Church is a
handsome building, standing in a very commanding
position ; it is capable of holding about 500 people, and
the clergyman is a man full of benevolence, and has won
his way to the hearts of many of the people. He labours
under the arrangements of the Church Missionary Society,
and the statistics about three years ago were as follows :
there were, including the out-stations,+50 native Christians,
66 communicants, and 26o school children.
The Girls' Orphanage in Nazareth, established by
the Society for Promoting Female Education in the East,
is in a flourishing state under the able management of Miss
Julie Rose, a lady who, with great self-denial, has devoted
her life to this good work.
The handsome new building lately erected is due to her
untiring energy, and if every traveller would withhold a little
undeserved backsheesh, and give it to this deserving institution, he wocld be helping on a good cause.

FROM NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.
[There are two routes: 1, by Mount Tabor; and, 2, by
Kefr Kenna. The latter is more direct, and the former is
only recommended if the ascent of Tabor has not been made
on the way to Nazareth, or as a separate excursion from
Nazareth (p. 278).]
I. By Mount Tabor.
Passing the Fountain of the Virgin, and turning to the

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NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.

right the path descends, and the traveller passes through .i
wilderness of stunted oaks and shrubs, which reach ah:n()St
to the base of Tabor. To the right will be seen the village
of Deb11rleh, the ancient Daberath (uncertain), a town of
Zebulun (Joshua xix. u), or. of Issachar (ui. 28). It was
allotted to the Gershonite Levites ( c Chron. vi. 77,). Th_e
ruins here consist of the bare walls of a church, and foU?dations of some structure of a much earlier date.
The ascent of Tabor is by no means difficult, the path
winding in easy zig-zags to the swnmit.
Mount Tabor stood on the frontier of. Zebulun .and
Naphtali. Among Greek and Roman writers it was called
Itabyrion, and Atabyrion, its modem name is .Jebel-et-Tur.
It is a beautiful hill, somewhat in the shape of a sugar-loaf,
flattened at the top ; it stands alone on the plain, except
where a narrow, and in some places imperceptible, ridge
unites it to the hills of Galilee; its height from the plain is
about 1350 feet, and from the sea level over 2000 feet. It is
a graceful and beautiful object from any, and every point of
view, and presents various striking contrasts, when seen in
different aspects. On the southern side, for example, it is
rough and rugged, with nothing but barren limestone visible;
northward it is covered with thick foliage, oak, terebinth, and
syringa ornamenting it from base to summit; elsewhere it
presents the appearance of a series of well-planted terraces.
It should be seen under various lights, and from different
points of view. The history of Mount Tabor may be briefly
swnmarised. It was here that Deborah commanded Barak
to gather his army, "and Barak went down from Mount .
Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with
the edge of the sword before Barak'' (Judges iv. 14, 15).
Tabor is referred to in the wars of Gideon (Judges viii.

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MOUNT TABOR.

18, 19), and in the Psalms and elsewhere it is mentioned in
poetical and figurative allusions. " The north and the south
thou hast created them : Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in
Thy name'' (Psalm lxxxix. 12). The Prophet Jeremiah,
when telling how Nebuchadnezzar, king. of .Babylon, should
come and smite the land of Egypt, utters these words : "As
I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts,
Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by
the sea, so. shall He come '' (Jer. xlvi. 18), see also Hosea
v. 1. The mountain is not referred to by name in the New
Testament ; but a tradition was universally believed for many
oenturies, that this was noneá other than the Holy Mount,
the scene of our Lord's Transfiguration. Authority for
this tradition was given by Origen and St. Jerome, but the
acuteness of the literary criticism of modem days has demonstrated the impossibility of this being the site. Immediately
before the Transfiguration our Saviour was far away from
Tabor, at Cesarea Philippi J and after coming down from the
mountain He departed thence, and passed through Galilee in
order to get to Jerusalem (see Mark viii. 27, ix. 2, 14, 30,
x. 1). But the most conclusive argument against this being
the scene of the Transfiguration is, that it is selected only
because it is a "high mountain apart," and many such may
be found in Galilee, and during the lifetime of our Lord the
top of Tabor was, without doubt, occupied by a strongly
fortified town, the defences of which .were rebuilt by
Josephus.
The true site of the Holy Mount may be looked for
with greater probability on one of the slopes of Hermon
(p. 324). As, however, Tabor was the most conspicuous
of the Galilean hills, it was only natural that pilgrims should
have regarded it as the Holy Mount, and, towards the end
of the sixth century, erect here three churches-" one for

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288 NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.

Thee, one.for Moses, and one for Elias." Here also the
Crusaders built a church and a monastery.
"If one might choose a place," says a recent writer,
spe:iking of the Transfiguration, ••which be would deem
peculiarly fitting for so sublime a transaction, there is none
certainly which wo1?ldso entirely satisfy our feelings in this
respect as the lofty, majestic, beautiful Tabor."
The summit of the mountain is a broad plateau,
covered with ruins of the buildings of all ages ; there are the
thick bevelled stones of a wall, very ancient ; and there are
the remains of towers, houses, cisterns, and vaults, probably
belonging to the age of the Crusaders. Operations are now
being carried on with a view to the erection of a churc11
here. For a long time Greeks and Latins have utilized the
vaults ; the former having converted one vault into a chapel,
with a residence for a priest ; and the latter having an altar
in another vault, where mass is celebrated every year by
priests from Nazareth. The view from the summit is
vaster than that from Nazareth (p. 284), but nothing like
so full of interesting details, although it includes glimpses
of the Sea of Galilee, and the blue chain of the Hauran,
and the curious undulations of the Galilean country.
Hermon is seen from here in as great perfection as from
Nazareth, and the Plain of Esdraelon in even greater perfection ; but as the Mediterranean is shut out almost entirely
from the panorama, as well as many spots of historical
interest, the palm must be given to the Wely at Nazareth
(p. 284).
The journey from Tabor to Tiberias occupies about six
hours, or it may be done in less, as in one part of the route
there is a fine level tract, where a good canter may be enjoyed.
Tabor must be descended by the same path as that by

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KEFR KENNA.

which the ascent is made, and then we turn into a charming
valley on the right.
At Khan-el-Tuggilr, or Caravansary of the Merchants
--so named from the market or fair which is held here every
M-onday, and presents a curious, motley scene-there are
ruins of some old fortresses and cisterns. The village of
Kefr Sabt is an Algerian colony. Passing into a broad valley
we soon fall into the route described on (p. 290).
I I. By Kefr Kenna.
Although the scenery by this route is not, in some respeds, so interesting as that by way of Mount Tabor, it has
the advantage of being much shorter. The first village passed
is Reineh, without any historical associations (as far as is
known), and nothing to attract attention save an old sarcophagus, richly ornamented, which stands by the roadside,
and is used as the common water-trough of the village. A
little further on may be seen, on the top of a hill, the village
of Meshhad, supposed to correspond with Gath-hepher,
a town on the border of Zebulun, and the birthplace of the
Prophet" Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was
of Gath-hepher" (2 Kings xiv. 2.5). Tradition locates the
tomb of Jonah here, and his shrine is the Wely on the hill.
Kefr Kenna, an insignificant village with about 500
inhabitants, was for centuries considered to be the Cana of
Galilee where Christ performed bis first miracle, at the
Marriage Feast (John ii. 1); where He healed the nobleman's
son, who lay sick at Capernaum (iv. 46-54); and where
Nathaniel, " the disciple in whom there was no guile," was
horn (xxi. 2). Oneortwohave raisedobjectionstothisbeing
the site, amongst whom are Drs. Robinson and Porter,.
and have placed it at Kina-el-Jelil near Sepphoris, about
nine miles north of Nazareth. It is by no means a
l9

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NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.

settled point which is the true site. As far as the name
goes, Kefr Kenna must yield to K!na-el-Jelil ; but, as far as
harmonizing the references to the town given in the gospel,
the balance of evidence seems in favour of Kefr Kenna.•
There is a Greek church in the letter •village, where, of
course, one of the actual waterpots used at the Marriage
Feast, may be seen.
After passing Kefr Kenna, we enter a really beautiful
plain, an arm of the fertile plain of el-Buttauf, and pass
two or three villages which have no associations of interest
attaching to them, and then reach Lllbieh, where there
'are a few ruins and rock tombs in the hill slopes. Near
here the route described on p. 289 is joined.
We have now on our left, rising up out of a fertile plain,
a curiously-shaped hill, having on its summit two peaks or
horns, from which it derives its• name of Kurlin Hatt1n,
or Homs of Hattin. In the time of the Crusaders this place
first came into notice as a holy place, the Latins having
decided that it was the Mount of Beatitudes, where our
Lord preached the Sermon on the Mount. Another tradition
makes this also to be the scene of the Feeding of the Five
Thousand (Matt. xiv. 15-21).
Stanley says, "This mountain, or hill-for it only rises
sixty feet above the plain-is that known to r,ilgrims as the
Mount of Beatitudes. ~he tradition cannot lay claim to any
early date; it was, in all probability, suggested first toáátheá
Crusaders by its remarkable situation. But that situation so
strikingly coincides with the intimations of the gospel
narrative as almost to force the inference that in this instance
the eye of those who selected the spot was for once rightly
guided. It is the only height seen in this direction from the
* See an admirable paper in Palestine Exploratwn Fund Quarterly
Statemmt, No. 3 (Oct. 1869), by Rev. J. Zelleh, of Nazareth.

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'. APPROACHING TIBERIAS.

shores of the Lake of Genoesaret. The plain on which it
stands is easily accessible from the lake, and from that plain
to the .summit is but a few minutes' walk. The platform
at the top is evidently suitable for the collection of a multitude, and corresponds precisely to the level place (Luke vi. 17,
mistranslated 'plain '), to which He would 'come down,' as
from one of its higher horns, to address the people. Its
situation is central, both to the peasants of the Galilean hills
and the fishermen of the Galilean lake, between which it
stands, and would, therefore, be a natural resort both to
• Jesus and His disciples,' when they retired for solitude from
the shore of the sea, and also to the crowds who assembled
' from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Juda,
• and from beyond Jordan.'" (Compare Matt. iv. 25, v. 1
with Luke vi. 17-20.)
Near here Saladin, in July, 1187, defeated the Crusaders.
It was their last struggle. At nightfall they gathered together
by the Horns of Hattin ;á Guy of Lusignan, with Raynald of .
Chatillon, the Grand-Master of the Knights Templars, and
the Bishop of Lydda, bearing the Holy Cross. That day,
however, was the triumph of the Muslim, and the power
of the Crusaders in the Holy Land was broken for ever.
King Guy was taken prisoner; Chatillon, to whom Saladin
owed many a bitter grudge, was slain ; and all the mighty
army of noble knights, whose deeds of valour have a charm
for all, and have been faithfully chronicled by Michaud, were
slain, or taken prisoners.
Proceeding towards Tiberias, we enter upon a ridge of
hills, beautifully level, and presenting a fine opportunity for
a canter, there being nothing particularly to engage the attention of the tourist until he comes to a spot where a magnifl.cent view is obtained of the Sea of Galilee and its
surroundings. This view has been described by everyone

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NAZARETH TO TIBERIAS.

who has visited the Holy Land, by some in terms of extravagant praise, and by others in equally extravagant terms
of depreciation. It has been affirmed that there is nothing
but a dreary and desolate waste of barren mountains to be
seen ; and it has also been affirmed that Scotland has not a
scene so fair to arrest attention. Each traveller will, of
course, draw his own conclusions. The principal features in
the view are such as to make it impossible that it shall altogether disappoint.
In the foreground are the steeply sloping and well clothed
banks leading down to the lake, which lies as in a basin a
thousand feet or more below. The whole of the lake, from
Tiberias on the right away to Capemaum on the left, is distinctly seen. Across the lake, rise the irregular hills, sloping
down more or less precipitously to the water's edge; they
are bare and barren, it is true, but they are rich and varied in
tone and tint. Behind them are the mountains of Galilee,
and away to the north Hermon rises, and, always magnificent, looks from here more magnificent than ever. Thus the
view consists of verdant slopes, a deep blue lake of considerable extent, with hills rising from it, looking like the heathery
hills of Scotland-especially in the evening light-and a
snow-clad range of mountains. It is impossible, however, to
separate from these matter-of-fact details the spirit and inspiration of the scene; for yonder. was the dwelling-place of
Christ. Upon those waters He trod, those waves listened to
His voice, and obeyed; over there, on the left, He preached
the Sermon on the Mount ; from one of those plateaus abO\áe
the rugged hills the swine fell into the lake. Every place the
eye rests upon is holy ground, for it is associated with some
most sacred' scenes in the life of the Master ; everywhere
the gospel is written upon this divinely illuminated page of
Nature, and the very air seems full of the echo of His words.

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TIBERIAS.

The descent to Tiberias is very steep, and the traveller
will be struck with the change in temperature, reminding
him of the descent into the Valley of the Jordan. The views
are interesting, especially as the old walled town of Tiberias
makes a picturesque foreground to the scenery of the lake.

TIBERIAS-
Tiberias is not mentioned in the New Testament, and
there is no reason to believe that it was ever visited by our
Lord. The only reference to it is in one or two verses speaking of the "Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias"
(John vi. r, xxi. 1). It was built by Herod Antipas, A,D.
20, and was dedicated by him to the Emperor Tiberias. It
is doubtful whether there was ever an older city on this site.
It soon became the chief city of the province of Galilee;
many handsome buildings adorned it, amongst them a royal
palace and an amphitheatre. After the destruction of Jerusalem it became the seat of the Jews. In the second century the Sanhedrim was removed here from Sepphoris, and
for a long time it was noted for its Rabbinical School. Here
the Mishna and Masorah, the principal traditional works of
the Jews, were published. Its subsequent history is merely
that of captures by Persians, Arabs, and Crusaders.
The modern town of Tiberias does not occupy so large a
space as the ancient ; it is partially surrounded by a wall,
which was shaken and ánearly destroyed in the great earthquake of 1837, wh~n half the people of the town perished.
It is a filthy town, and, but for one or two things in it, had
better be avoided. Moreover, it abounds with fleas, and has
become a proverb in this respect. The population is over
three thousand, nearly two thousand of whom are Jews.
They will be easily recognized; many of them wear immense black hats, many wear their hair in ringlets, and

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SEA OF GALILEE.

nearly all look pale and effeminate. Like the Jews in Jerusalem, they for the most ápart live on charity. They belong
to two sects, the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim ; the former
have five synagogues, and the latter two.
The Greek Church, close by the lake, dates from
the time of the Crusades, and was rebuilt in 1869.
The Jews' Burial Ground is a very sacred spot with all
Jews everywhere, as here are buried the most celebrated of
their modem men, includiQg Jochanan, and the celebrated
philosopher Maimonides, whose learning and abilities have
been universally acknowledged, both by Jews and Christians.
He died in Egypt on the 13th of December, 1204, having
founded a College at Alexandria for the instruction of his
countrymen, in which he delivered lectures on philosophy
and the Jewish law.
The Ruins of the ancient town stretch for some distance along the shore; they present, however, but few attractions to the ordinary visitor, consisting principally of rubbish
hetips. .
The.Hot Baths are about half an hour's walk to the
south of the town ; they are supposed to be an infallible cure
for rheumatism, and the traveller who has nerve to take a
bath in this filthy place deserves to be cured. The temperature of the principal spring is 131°-14.2° Fahr. The old
Castle, situated on the south side of the town, is interesting for the sake of its view. The Latin Convent is on
the sea shore, a short distance from the Jews' Quarter. Here
travellers, not provided with tents, can obtain accommodation.
Many legends are connected with Tiberias, some of them
so wild as not to be even interesting. One, specially dear to
every Jew, although, perhaps, a borrowed one, is, that when
the Messiah comes, He will emerge from the lake, gather
together his people at Tiberias, and march with them in

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SEA OF GALILEE.

triumph to Safed, where his throne will be established for
ever. The most celebrated Christian tradition is, that the
miraculous draught of fishes took place in the lake, close by
'll:herethe Latin Monastery stands (p. 294).

SEA OF GALILEE.
The scenery of the Lake of Galilee has been described so
often that it needs no description here. The traveller cannot
fail to be struck with its remarkable appearance, and he will
interpret this into its remarkable beauty, or otherwise,according to the state of his health, the circumstances of comfort
or discomfort surrounding him, or the •susceptibility of his
impressions.
It should be seen at sunrise or sunset, when the brown
hills are brilliant with colour ; at eventide, when the shadows
deepen in the water; or, best of all, by moonlight, when all
that is monotonous in tone is softened, and all inequalities
and barrenness are harmonized.
The best views are at Tiberias, looking towards Capemaum ; the most interesting part of the lake is in the
neighbourhood of Tell Hum (Capemaum), and here the views
are also remarkably striking.
DESCRIPTION.-'' The hills, except at Khin Minyeh,
where there is a small cliff, are recessed from the shore of
the lake, or rise gradually .from it ; they are of no great
elevation, and their outline, especially on the eastern side, is
not broken by any prominent peak; but everywhere from
the southern end the snow-capped peak of Hermon is visible,
standing out so sharp and clear in the bright sky, that it
appears almost within reach ; and, towards the north, the
western ridge is cut through by a wild gorge, ' the Valley of
Doves,' over which rise the twin peaks, or Homs of. Battin.
The shore line, for the most part regular, is broken on the

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SEA OF GALILEE.

north into a series of little bays of exquisite beauty-nowhere
more beautiful than at Gennesaret, where the beaches,
pearly white with myriads of minute shells, are on one side
washed by the limpid waters of the lake, and on the other
shut in by a fringe of oleanders, rich in May with their
' blossoms red and bright.'
" The lake is pear-shaped, the broad end being towards the
north ; the greatest width is six and three-quarter miles from
Mejdel-' Magdaia ' - to Khersa - ' Gergesa '- about onethird of the way down ; and the extreme length is twelve and
a quarter miles. The Jordan enters at the north, a swift,
muddy stream, colouring the lake a good mile from its
mouth, and passes out pure and bright at the south. On the
north-western shore of the lake is a plain, two and a half
miles long and one mile broad, called by the Bedouins Et
Ghuweir, but better known by its familiar name of Gennesareth; and on the north-east, near Jordan's mouth, is a
swampy plain, El Batihah, now much frequented by wild
boars-formerly the scene of a skirmish between the Jewsá
and Romans, in which Josephus met with an accident that
necessitated his removal to Capemaum. On the west there
is a recess in the hills, containing the town of Tiberias ;
and in the east, at the mouths of W adies Semakh and Fik,
are small tracts of level ground. On the ,south, the fine open
Valley of the Jordan stretches away towards the Dead Sea,
and is covered in the neighbourhood of the lake with luxuriant grass."-(Capt. Wilson,RecoveryefJerusalem, p. 337.)
Most of the hills are rounded, and the prevailing tone is
brown. This tone is monotonous in certain lights, while in
others, such as an hour before sunset, it gives an extremely
picturesque .appearance to the whole region.
The. Lake of Galilee is from 600 to 700 feet below the
Mediterranean, but the level varies with the seasons. The

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SEA OF GALILEE. 2 97
water is bright, and except in the neighbourhood of Tiberias,
where it is polluted with the sewage of the town, is good for
drinking purposes. It is still subject to violent storms, as in
the days of the Gospels, and Captain Wilson has well
described a storm he witnessed, which singularly well illustrates the Gospel narrative. (Recovery, p. 340.)
In the lake there are a number of warm springs. Earthquakes are not infrequent, and sometimes extremely violent,
as in 1837, when so much damage was done to Tiberias
(p. z93).
For Biblical illustrations and events (p. 30:i.).
Boats on the Lake.-Manytravellerswill liketo row
upon the lake, and, apart from the intense interest of the
associations of this sacred sea, it is an enjoyable way of
travelling from Tiberias to Capernaum.
There are only two boats, but these are capable of holding
ten or a dozen passengers each, in addition to the rowers.
They are rough in construction and awkward to row, but the
best view of both sides of the lake are thus obtained, and the
traveller is perhaps able to realize some of the scenes in the
Gospel history better in this way than in walking or riding
on the shore.
Enquiry should be made at Tiberias for the boats, and if
there be a party, it would be well to send one of the muleteers
ahead in order to secure them.
Fishing.-Thereare a great number of fish in the lake,
small and large, and of various kinds. They are good and
palatable. A hook and line may generally be procured of the
Arabs in the neighbourhood of the lake, and an impromptu
rod may be easily constructed. The best place for fishing is
Et Tabigah, and near the Khftn Minyeh Cliff (p. 305).

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SEA OF GALILEE.

From Tiberias to Tell-Hum.
There are two ways by which the journey may be made :
either by boat (p. 297), or by road. The latter is the more
usual, but the former, although taking a longer time, is the
more interesting, as the views on either side are better seen
from the water. Moreover, the heat by the road-way is very
oppressive, and on the water what breere there may be, is
caught. Of course if the weather is rough, a boat should not
be taken ; but as arrangements such as these are generally left
to the dragoman, he would see to it that the boats should not
be engaged unless everything was suitable.
It is unnecessary to point out that the pictures in the
Gospel story will appear more vivid when the traveller himself is "toiling in rowing," or perchance casts a line as the
boat proceeds.
The road or the lake present of course the same features,
and the places passed occur in either case, in the following
order :-,...Almost opposite Tiberias are Wady Fik, and the
ruins of Gamala (p. 46o), where once stood a fortress,garrisoned by Josephus, and taken in A.D. 69 by Vespasian with a
loss of ten thousand, half of whom leapt from thewallsdown
the precipices. On the left are some springs, known as' Ainel-Bftrideh, then on the left again is seen the village of
Mejdel, corresponding with Magdaia, where Mary Magdalene was born. It is a wretched village now, with only
twenty huts. Below it is a small plain, and with this the
traveller will associate the passage in Matt. xv. 39, where,
after recording the miracle of the loaves and fishes, it is said
Jesus" sent away the multitude, and took ship and came into
the coast of Magdaia." Probably a village named Dalmanutha adjoined Magdaia, as in the corresponding passage
in Mark viii. 10, it says, "Straightway He entered into a

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KHERSA (GERGESAj. 2 99
ship with his disciples, and came into the parts (? ports) of
Dalmanutha."
Across the lake, which here attains its greatest width,
namely, six and three-quarter miles, and nearly opposite to
Magdaia, is Khersa (Gergesa) (p. 303). "The site of the
ruins is enclosed by a wall three feet thick. The remains are
not of much importance, with the exception of those of a
large rectangular building lying east and west. On the shore
of the lake are a few ruined buildings, to which the same
name was given by the Bedaw1n. About a mile south of
this, the hills, which everywhere else on the eastern side are
recessed from a half to three-quarters of a mile from the
water's edge, approach within forty feet of it. They do not
terminate abruptly, but there is a steep, even slope, which we
would identify with the " steep place," down which the herd
of swine ran violently into the sea, and so were choked. A
few yards off is a small intermittent hot spring.
" That the meeting of our Lord with the two demoniacs
took place on the eastern shore of the lake is plain from
Matt. ix. r, and it is equally evident, on an examination of
the ground, that there is only one place on that side where
the herd of swine could have run down a steep place into the
lake, the place mentioned above. The eastern coast has
since been carefully examined by Mr. MacGregor in his
canoe, and he has come to exactly the same conclusion. A
difficulty has arisen with regard to this locality, in consequence of the different readings in the three Gospels. In
Matthew our Saviour is-said to have come into the country
of the Gergesenes; in Luke and John into that of the
Gadarenes. The old MSS. do not give any assistance here;
but the similarity of the name, Khersa, to that of Gergesa, is,
as Dr. Thomson points out in The Land. and the Book, a
strong reason for believing that the reading of Matthew is

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300 SEA OF GALILEE.

correct ; and we have also the testimony of Eusebius and
Origen that a village called Gergesa once e~isted on the
borders of the lake. Perhaps the discrepancy may be explained by supposing that Gergesa was under the jurisdiction
of Gadara. There do not appear to be any rock-hewn tombs
near Khersa ; but the demoniacs may possibly have lived in
one of those tombs built above ground which have been
noticed under the head of Tell-Hum, a form of tomb much
more common in Galilee than has been supposed. I have
•!ntered into this question rather fully, as travellers have
alternately asserted and denied the existence of a suitable
locality on the eastern shore; and even such a carefully compiled work as the Dictionary ef the Bible has made the
extraordinary blunder of placing the scene of the miracle at
Gadara, now Um Keis (p. 460), a place from which the
swine would have had a hard gallop of two hours before
reaching the lake."-(Recovery ef Jerusalem.)
Just beyond Magdaia (left) will be seen the Wad y
Hamam (Valley of the Pigeons), descending from Khan
Lubiyeh and the Horns of Battin (p. 290), and a little
further on the ruins of Kul'at lbn Ma'an, and the oncestrongly fortified caverns of Arbela, where robbers who were
the terror of the country found a retreat, but were dispossessed
by Herod the Great, who caused them to be attacked by
lowering cages filled with soldiers ; found to be the only way
to reach them.
The ruins of Irbid, or Arbela, the Beth-Arbel of
Scripture, are on the north of the plateau of Hattin. The
origin of the name is supposed to be House ef .Ambush, and
it would seem that from a very early date it was famous as a
stronghold. "Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy
people, and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman
• spoiled Beth-Arbel in the day of battle'' (Hosea x. 14).

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LAND OF GENN.ESARET. 301
The level tract beyond Magdaia is the Land of Gennesaret (Matt. xiv. 34), now called El Ghuweir, or "the
Little Ghor.'' The meaning of the name is supposed to
have been either Valley of the Flowers or Gardens of the
Prince. It is about three miles long, and its greatest breadth
is one mile. The soil of the whole tract is extremely fertile,
and although the greater part is over-run with rank weeds,
the cultivated parts supply the markets of Damascus and
Beyrout with the best melons and cucumbers grown in
Palestine. There are thickets of nubk, agnus cactus, and
oleander, growing in such profusion as to make an exploration impossible. It will be remembered that Josephus has a
most glowing description of the Land of Gennesaret, and
as the passage occurs so often in the controversy which has
been going on for the past few years as to the identity of the
site of Capernaum, it will be well to quote it here:-
" One may call this place the 'ambition of nature,'
when it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one
another, to agree together. It is a happy contention of the
seasons, as if every one of them had a claim in this country ;
for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fmits
beyond men's expectations, but preserves them also a great
while. It supplies men with the principal fruits-with
grapes and figs continually during ten months of the year,
and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together
through the whole year ; for besides the good temperature of
the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain. The
people of the country call it Capharnaum."-(.7osephus III.,
ch. x. 8.)
All this region is sacred with associations connected with
the ministry of our Lord; and it will be well, perhaps, to
quote some of the principal Scripture passages relating to a
place so memorable.

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SEA OF GALILEE.

Biblical Allusions and Events.-The Sea of
Galilee is called in the Old Testament "the Sea of Chinnereth '' (Numb. xxxiv. II; Deut. iii. 17), and the" Sea of
Cinneroth •• (Josh. xii. 3), from a town which stood somewhere on its margin named Chinnereth (Josh. xix. 35). In
the New Testament it is called the " Sea of Tiberias" (J oho
vi. I), from the town of that name; and the " Lake of Gennesareth •á (Luke v. 1), from the beautiful plain of Gennesaret. _ (The modem name is Bakr Tuheriyek.)
In this region, round about the shores of this sea, our
Lord spent the principal part of His public life. Nine cities
then stood upon its shores, of which the chief were Capern,mm, Chorazin, Tiberias, Magdaia, and the two Bethsaidas.
To tell of all the mighty works performed here would be to
transcribe a very considerable part of the four gospels. To
quote from the mass of writings on this subject would be
bewildering. Every inch, too, is controversial ground, and
therefore it will be better merely to give the traveller an
epitome of the scenes which make hill and valley, and shore
and sea so intensely sacred.
Cast out from Nazareth, Capemaum (p. 308) became
henceforth the "home'' of Jesus. It was "his own city";
"leaving Nazareth He came and dwelt in Capemaum, which
is upon the sea-coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon and the land
of N ephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee
of the Gentiles ; the people which sat in darkness saw great
light ; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of
death light is sprung up " (Matt. iv. 13- 16). Here He called
Peter, James, and John, the three most intimate disciples,
the" inner circle," of his chosen band. "And it came to
pass, that, as the people pressed upon-Him to hear the word

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BIBLE EVENTS.
3°3
of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two
ships standing by the lake : but the fishermen were gone out
of them, and were washing their nets" (Luke v. 1). Then
He entered into Simon ás ship, and taught the people on the
shore, and after that He performed the miracle of the draught
of fishes, which so astonishing Peter, James, and John, the
Master said to them, " Fear not ; from henceforth thou shalt
catch men. And when they had brought their ships to
shore, they forsook all, and followed Him.''
From a ship on the waters of this lake, he delivered that
marvellous discourse on the kingdom of heaven. Jesus
"went out of His house (' His own house ') and sat by the
sea side. And great multitudes were gathered unto Him, so
that he went into a ship and sat ; and the whole multitude
stood on.the shore" (Matt. xiii. 1, 2), and heard those
wonderful parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, the
grain of mustard seed, the leaven, and the net cast into the
sea.
Here when " there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with waves He
rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calmá•
(Matt. viii. 24-27). At Gergasa (p, 299) there "met Him
two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way~•• But
He cast out the devils, causing them to enter into a herd of
swine, which "ran violently down a steep place into the sea,
and perished in the waters" (Matt. viii. 28-34), Near here
He fed the five thousand {p. 290), and afterwards seeing His
disciples toiling in rowing on the lake, for the wind was
contrary, "Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea"
(Matt. xiv. 25). When the collectors of tribute came
to Him at Capernaum, our Lord, in the exhibition of His
perfect and complete humanity, linked Himself with His

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SEA OF GALILEE.

disciples in one of His most touching utterances. Having
elicited from Peter that the tribute should be taken from
strangers, and that the children should go free, be added, "Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea,
and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up ;
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece
of money : that take, and give unto them for me and thee "
{Matt. xvii. 27). Here He "performed many mighty
works'' and "spake many things," and here was the scene
of those touching incidents which occurred soon after His
resurrection. One early morning, in the grey dawn of the
morning, the disciples who were in their boat, after having
toiled all the night and caught nothing, saw a dim figure
standing'' on the shore ''-probably the beach of the plain of
Gennesaret. A voice, strangely familiar, yet unrealized,
came to them, "Children, have ye any meat ? " And when
they replied "No," and the first miracle on their entry to the
discipleship was repeated, then " that disciple whom Jesus
loved," first with the quick instinct of love, said, "It is the
Lord;" while Peter, first with the impetuosity of a love of
service, cast himself into the sea, and swam to Him. And
there on the shore, where the mysterious fire of coals burned,
and the farewell meal was spread, the Lord bade them dine.
And there the disciple who, three times warned, had thrice
denied his Lord, by threefold confession was restored and reinstated in the apostolic office (John xxi.)
These are but scanty specimens. Other events will be
referred to under their proper heads, but the hints suggested
in the preceding passages will give the traveller a clue to
many a sacred thought and feeling.
" This is a hallowed lake in the glorious Land of Promise,
and Divine performance-the peaceful scene of the opening
career of the Redeemer, the cradle of His teaching, the

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ET-T ABIGAH.

country of His disciples ; His chosen retreat when He hid
himself from His foes; His miracles and His sublime lessons
have consecrated these solitudes. The charm of this landscape is felt still in our own day, and is reflected in the
simple story of the Evangelists. We are carried back to the
life on its shores by the parable of the net, by that of the lost
sheep, by the image of the sheep-fold, and the beautiful
lesson of the lilies. These flowers, more glorious than
Solomon's purple, still abound ... ."-(Ritter Erdkunda.)

The boat will soon now run into a narrow little creek,
and the traveller will find himself at 'Ain et Tin, or the
Fountain of the Fig-tree, a pleasant spot, and not an
unsuitable one for camping. There is a small spring here,
inferior, however, to the adjacent Et-Tabigah (see below)•
A little to the north of the spring is Khan Minyeh, a ruin
now, but built, without doubt, for the convenience of travellers
to Damascus. Near here are some ruins which Dr. Robinson
considers to be the remains of Capemaum. MacGregor, of
The Rob Roy, considers Kh!n Minyeh to be the site of
Capemaum, while others regard it as the site of Bethsaida
(not Bethsaida Julius, p. 46o).
Every inch of the ground from here to the Jordan is full
of intense interest, and as the traveller passes in succession
from the spring to the cliff of Kh~n Minyeh, observing the.
excavations in the rock, marking the course of the old
aqueduct, and thence to Et-Tabigah, Tell-Hum, and Kerazeh,
he will, without doubt, be treading the ground trodden by
the Saviour.
Et-Tabigah.-" Westward, along the shore of the lake,
a mile and a half from Tell-Hum, is the charming little bay
of Et-Tabigah, and the great spring which is, without a
doubt, the Fountain of Capharnaum mentioned by Josephus

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306 SEA OF GALILEE.

as watering the plain of Gennesareth. The bay is about
half a mile across, and on its western side is shut in by the
cliff of KMn Minyeh, the only place at which the shore of
the lake cannot be follo~ed. There is a •small tract of
fertile land, but we could find no ruins except those connected
with the mills or waterworks. There are five fountains,
all more or less brackish, and varying in temperature from
73}0 to 86i':'; four are small, but the one mentioned above
is by far the largest spring in Galilee, and was estimated to be
more than half the size of the celebrated source of the Jordan
at B!ni.\s. , It rises to the surface with great force at a temperature of 86½0 , which can hardly be considered warm in such
a climate as that of the lake district. Most of the water now
runs to waste, producing a quantity of rank luxuriant vegetation, but some 'of it is collected in a small reservoir, and is
thence carried off by an aqueduct to a mill owned by a man of
Safed, the only one in working order of five that were built
by the great chieftain, Dhaher el' Amr. The mills are small
towers, with two shafts, to the top of which the water is
brought by aqueducts, and then, falling down, turns the
machinery at the bottom. Connected with this fountain are
the remains of some remarkable works, which at one time
raised its waters to a higher level, and conveyed them bodily
into the plain of Gennesareth, for the purposes of irrigation.
The source is enclosed in an octagonal reservoir of great
strength, by means of which the water was raised about
twenty feet, to the level of an aqueduct that ran along the
side of the hill. Strong as the reservoir was, the water has
at last broken through it, and there is now little more than
two feet left at the bottom, in which a number of small fish
may be seen playing about. After leaving the reservoir, the
aqueduct can be traced at intervals following the contour of
the ground to the point where it crossed the beds of two

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TELL-HUM.

water-courses on arches, of which the piers may still be seen ;
it then turns down towards the lake, and runs along the
hillside on the top of a massive retaining-wall, of which fifty
or sixty yards remain, and lastly passes round the Khan
Minyeh cliff, by a remarkable excavation in the solid rock,
which has been noticed by all travellers. The elevation of
the aqueduct at this point is sufficient to have enabled the
water brought by it to irrigate the whole plain of Gennesareth ; and though we could only trace it for a few hundred
yards inland, it was not improbably carried right round the
head of the plain. The same causes which have almost obliterated it in the small plain of Tabigah, would fully account for
its disappearance at Gennesareth."-(Recovery of Jerusalem.)
Tell-Hum is two miles west of the Jordan. It is a
mass of ruins, in the early summer overgrown with tall,
coarse thistles, which hide them from view.
The principal ruins are those of the "White Synagogue,"
as it has been called on account of its having been built of
white limestone ; it was 74 ft. 9 in. long, by 56 ft. 9 in. wide.
Connected with this are the ruins of an older building,
supposed to be the remains of a Basilica enclosing the house
of St. Peter, described by Antoninus A,D. 600. Captain
Wilson says of the former of these buildings, " If Tell-Hum
be Capernaum, this is without a doubt the synagogue built
by the Roman centurion (Luke vii. 4, 5), and one of the
most sacred places on earth. It was in this building that our
Lord gave the well-known discourse in John vi." [on the
Bread of Life-" These things said He in the synagogue, as
he taught in Capernaum" (verse 59)]; and it was not without a certain strange feeling that on turning over a large
block we found the pot of manna engraved <;mits face, and
remembered the words, ' I am that bread of life. Your
fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.' "

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SEA OF GALILEE.

On nsmg ground at the back of these ruins are the
remains of the ancient town of Capernaum, where our Lord
had His own house. These ruins occupy a space half a mile
long by a quarter of a mile broad. It has been supposed that
a main street can be traced, leading to Chorazin.
As there is no harbour at Capernaum (Tell-Hum),
it is assumed that boats have been kept at Et-Tabigah
(p. 3o5).
Chorazin (Kerdzeh). Two and a half miles north of
Tell-Hum (one hour's journey) are the ruins which Pococke,
as early as the year 1740, identified, from the similarity of
the name Gerasi, with Chorazin. They cover an area equal
in extent to those of Capernaum, and comprise the remains
of a synagogue with Corinthian capitals in black basalt,
dwelling-houses, a building with Ionic capitals, etc. Traces
have also been discovered of the paved road which connected
Chorazin with the great caravan road to Damascus,
The tourist will notice a fine large tree beside a spring of
water, and near it two tombs of Bedouin sheikhs, overhung
with coloured rags.
At least a day or two should be spent in this, the most
delightful place in Palestine. It is pleasant for the traveller
who has been wearied with holy places in all kinds of improbable grottoes and churches, to feel that here he can, without interruption or annoyance, tread in the very footprints of
the Master. And there is much to interest him if he is
slightly wearied with travel, and requires a little rest. For
at 'Ain-et-Tin he will find exquisite maiden-hair ferns to
collect as souvenirs, and on the shore there are small shells
innumerable, which are always acceptable to friends at home
as mementoes of this sacred locality. Moreover, the Bathing in the Bay of Et-Tabigah is as good, or better, than any
other bathing in Palestine; and Fishing may be indulged

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ET-TABIGAH.

m with great success, as fish abound m this part of the
lake.
Above all things, it is desirable to spend a night or two
here if there is a good moon. All travellers have expressed
themselves rapturously about this, and certainly there is no
place where moonlight effects can be witnessed with greater
pleasure.
"Never will the night that closed that delightful day in
the environs of ' His own city' be forgotten by me," says a
cecent writer. "It was brilliantly moonlight, and standing
npon the cliff above our camping-place, the white houses of
Tiberias were distinctly visible; the waters of the lake lay
<:aim and placid as when He said,.' Peace, be still, and there
was a great calm ' ; the inequalities and want of colouring in
the hills, which had been noticeable in the broad sunshine,
were not perceptible now ; around us were the ' desert places'
.and the 'mountain tops' which had been the scene of His
resting and His prayers. Capemaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin
-mounds of rubbish, tangles of thistles, heaps of ruinsthese have been cast down, and have passed away ; but the
~ mighty works ' remain, still powerful in blessing ; and the
'gracious words' are as fresh, as beautiful, and as life-giving
to-day as when He uttered them."
No traveller will leave these memorable sites without
recalling those touching words of our Lord :-
" Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of
His mighty works were done, because they repented not :
Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if
the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for
you. And thou, Capemaum, which are exalted unto heaven,

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310 TELL-HUM TO SAFED.

shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which
have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would
have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of
judgment, than for thee."-(Matt. xi. 20-24.)

EXCURSION TO SAFED, MEIRON, AND
KEFR BIRIM.
From Tell-Hum to Safed is a journey of about three
hours. It can be made either by following the watercourse
from Tell-Hum to Kerazeh (Chorazin, p 308), or by going
a short distance south, and then ascending a hill to the right.
Either way leads to Khan Yubb Yusef (p 31j), from whence
there is a rather steep road leading in a north-westerly
direction. In about an hour and a quarter from Khan Yubb
Yusef a beautiful spri~g is reached, called 'Ain-el-Hamra,
and in a few minutes Safed is in sight.
Safed is one of the four holy cities in Palestine of which
the Jews say that if prayer should cease to be offered in
them, the world would instantly come to an end. The.
other three are Jerusalem, Hebron, and Tiberias. Many
Jews hold that the Messiah will make His first appearance
here, and after reigning forty years, go forth to receive universal homage. It is one of the chief seats of modern
Judaism, and has a Jewish population-Ashkerazim and
Sephardim-of about 4000, the remainder of the inhabitants
being Christians. It is one of the shrines which every
Hebrew pilgrim to the Hal y Land regards it as a matter of
religion to visit. The city is modern, and there is no trace
whatever of its mention in the Old Testament, nor has it
played any important part in Jewish history. It is famous.
for its Rabbinical schools, which sprang up in the sixteenth
century, and, like Tiberias, for its famous teachers.

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.SAFED. 311
The houses of the Jews in Safed are built on terraces
which rise in 'succession one above another. The roofs of
each lower tier serve as a path or street to those who live in
the next higher tier. The city, from its situation-which is
considered very healthy, and especially for those who have
been in the excessively close and furnace-like heat of the Sea
of Tiberias-has been by some supposed to be " the city set
on a hill, which cannot be hid'' (Matt. v. 14), but there is
no evidence forthcoming to show that there was any city on
this particular hill in the time of our Lord.
On the highest peak of the hill stand the ruins of a
castle, built by the Franks during the Crusades, and upon
which they relied as their main defence against the incursions
of the Saracens from the north. It passed repeatedly during
the Holy Wars from the hands of one of the combatants to
those of the other. The Turkish Governor of the town had
his quarters here as late as 1837, when there occurred that
terrible earthquake which caused such havoc in Tiberias
(p. 293). Here it shook down the castle, and precipitated
the "upper street" on to the lower. The sufferings of the
people who perished lingeringly among the ruins were most
appalling. The horrible scene was witnessed by Dr. Thomson, by whom it has been most graphically described (see
The Land and the Book). He says, "The whole town was
dashed to the ground in half a minute. I understood then
for the first time what desolations God can work, when He
causeth to shake terribly the earth.'' After describing how
the town, built upon tiers, fell, burying each successive row
of houses deeper and deeper under accumulated masses of
rubbish, he exclaims," 0 God of mercy ! my heart even now
sickens at the thought of that long black winter's night,
which closed around the wretched remnants of Safed in half
an hour after the overthrow, without a light or possibility of

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312 TELL-HUM TO MEIRON.

getting one, four-fifths of the population under áthe ruins,
dead or dying, with frightful groans and shrieks of agony and
despair, and the earth trembling and shaking all the while,
as if affrighted at the horrible desolation she had wrought."
It is estimated that nearly 4000 perished in-the overthrow.
The view from the tower of the ruined castle is remarkably fine, comprehending the vast region of the Hauran, the
ancient kingdom of Bashan, Tabor, the Lesser Hermon, the
mountains of Gilead, the ridges of Samaria, the deep basin of
the Sea of Galilee,áetc., etc.
About an hour and a half from Safed is the village of
Meirt>n, a celebrated Jewish shrine mentioned in the
Talmud. It contains tombs of some of the celebrated
Talmudists, who, in the great controversies of the second century, wrote and taught. Among others Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel, at whose feet St. Paul sat, is supposed to
be buried here. " The most remarkable tomb, so far as
regards its structure, is an excavation on the south side
of a hill, known as the tomb of Rabbi Hillel and his disciples. It is cut out of the solid rock. The entrance is
through a narrow door, which obliges one to stoop. According to a rough measurement I found the dimensions to be
some 25ft. long, 18ft. wide, and 10 ft. high. There were
thirty niches for the reception of bodies. Some of them
were so arranged as evidently to distinguish their occupants
above their fellows. In several of them were stone sarcophagi of immense weight, the lids of which, ornamented
with sculptured figures, were partially slipped aside. No
trace of any remains of the dead was to be found. The
bottom of the cave was covered with two or more feet of
water, and I was obliged to mount on the back of a man in
order to make my examinations. The Jew who performed
the service for me, took up with his hands some of the water

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TIBERIAS TO BANI.AS.
31 3
from the graves. and drank it as an act of pious homage to
the dead.''-(Hackett.)
There is an interesting ruined synagogue here; the
outline of the fai;ade can be traced, and one of the walls is
comparatively perfect. The door-posts consist of single
blocks of stone, nearly ten feet high. A rocky precipice, cut
down apparently to some extent for the purpose, formed one
side of the building.
Many traditions, mostly worthless, cluster round this
neighbourhood. A spring is called Deborah's Fountain,
because she bathed here on the morning of the murder of
Sisera. A stone pillar, on which Elijah sat, and will sit when
he comes again, etc., etc.
Kefr Birim is two hours further on in a north-westerly
direction. It is occupied entirely by Maronites. It was
once a celebrated Jewish pilgrimage-place, and was said to
be the burial-place of Barak, Obadiah, Queen Esther, and
others. There are ruins of a synagogue and other buildings
here, but the place is really only interesting to Jews, or those
who take a special interest in all that concerns the Jews.
The town does not claim even to have a mention in the Old
Testament.
TIBERIAS TO BANIA$
(By Safed.)
From Tiberias to Tell-Hum (p. 298).
From Tell-H6m to Safed (p. 310).
The journey from Safed to B!niAs may be accomplished
in about nine hours. There are two ways by which it may
be performed, either by joining the main route from Khin
Yubb Yusef to 'Ain Melliha (p. 317), or by way of Kedesh-
Naphtali and Hunin. Both routes are interesting, but many
k'avellers give the preference to the latter.

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TIBERIAS TO BANIAS.

Leaving Safed in a north-westerly direction, we passá the
fountain Zeitun, where there is a good view of Safed ; then
we see on the right the village of Delata. As we proceed
on the journey, we pass several unimportant villages, and
several valleys which have no historical signification, till we
come by a series of ascents on to some table-land, where the
view is extensive and interesting. Here the dragoman will
point out to the traveller a curious Algerian Settlement ; the
Lake Ruleh (p. 317), the Valley of the Jordan, and ruins in
various place!! which have not been identified. One hill,
which by a slight detour the traveller may visit, has been
identified as the site of the ancient city of Hazor. It has,
however, like most of the historical sites hereabouts, been a
subject of controversy, some alleging that the site fixed upon
by Dr. Robinson fulfils the requirements of the Scripture
narrative ; while others object to it, on the ground that as the
power which the King of Razor exercised consisted principally in his war chariots, a rocky hill-top was by no means
the most suitable place for the development of that power.
As it is by no means certain where the site of Razor is, its
history may as well come here. It was a city of the
Canaanites, by whom it was fortified prior to its occupation
by the Israelites of the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua xix. 36).
That it was in the neighbourhood pf Kedesh and the Lake
Ruleh is gathered from the narrative in Joshua xi. and xii. 19.
When Jabin, King of Hazor, heard of the overwhelming
victories of Joshua, he gathered together the kings of the •
surrounding neighbourhoods, "and they went out, they and
all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that
is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots
very many." Joshua was victorious ; and he " took Razor,
and smote the king thereof with the sword, for Razor be-
1 oretime was the head of all those kingdoms ; ... and he

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KEDESH-N APHT ALI.

burnt Hazor with fire " (Joshua xi.) It was the only city
burnt, the reason being that it was probably too strong to be
left standing. It was afterwards rebuilt ( I Kings ix. 15),
and its inhabitants were carried byTiglath-Pileserto Assyria
(2 Kings xv. 29). Hazor was the residence of another king,
Jabin, the captain of whose host was Sisera. and who was
defeated by Deborah and .Barak (Judges iv. 2-17).
The next place of interest passed on this route is Kedes,
the ancient Kedesh-Naphtali. The situation of the
place is exceedingly pretty and picturesque, .and the ruins
upon its site are interesting, although their date is very
doubtful. They consist of foundations of buildings, a few
walls and arches, and a number of sarcophagi, some of which,
as at Kefr Kenna, are used as drinking-troughs. There is
also a curious octagonal column, and some richly-sculptured
ornaments.
Kedesh-Naphtali was a Canaanitish town, given to the
tribe of Naphtali, and afterwards to the Levites, when it was
made a city of refuge (Joshua xxi. 32). It would appear that,
in the time of the Canaanites, the city was a sanctuary, or
holy place, as it afterwards became under the Israelites. It
was here that Barak lived, and gathered together his army
for the battle of Tabor (Judges iv. 6-9). Here, too, dwelt
Heber the Kenite. Like Hazor, Kedesh was captured by
Tiglath-Pileser, and the people carried captives to Assyria.
From Kedes to Safed is ten miles, and to the north-west
of the upper part of Lake Hftleh four miles.
Proceeding on our journey, we reach a large village
named Mes-el-Jebel, and then through most picturesque
scenery, with splendid distant views, comprehending the
Valley of the Jordan, the Plain and Lake of Hftleh, the
whole range of Hermon, the Castle of Tibnin, and innumerable hills and valleys, with villages studded here and

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TIBERIAS TO BANIAS.

there. Any travellers who may have determined to report
that in Palestine "all is barren," will do well to reconsider
their verdict here.
Hunfn was a strongly fortified town, or perhaps a fortress
merely, but its history is unknown. It remains to-day a
mass of stupendous ruin, and exhibits traces of almost every
style of architecture. It has been surmised by Dr. Robinson that it may correspond with Beth-Rehob (Judges xviii.
28), but this is a mere surmise.
Descending into the valley, we see the village of Abil,
"set on a hill." It corresponds with.the Abel-Beth-Maachah
(Meadow of the House of Maachah), called also Abel
Maim, or Meadow of Water (2 Chron. xvi. 4). Here came
Sheba in his flight, and hither pursued Joab, who demanded
that he should be delivered up. " Sheba, said Joab, hath
lifted up his hand against the king, even against David ;
deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the
woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to
thee over the wall .... And they cut off the .head of Sheba,
the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a
trumpet, and they retired from the city every man to his
tent" (2 Sam. xx. 13-22). The city was taken by Benhadad (1 Kings xv. 20), and at a later date Tiglath-Pileser
carried off its people (2 Kings xv. 2~.
From here we proceed to a little village called Merj
Ayun, the ancient ljon, a city spoiled by Benhadad (1 Kings
xv. 16), and from thence to Tell-el-Kadi (p. 319), and Banias
(p. 321).

TIBERIAS TO BANIAS DIRECTá
From Tiberias to Capernaum (p. 298).
Leaving 'Ain-et-Tin, or Tell-Hum, we proceed by a
wretchedly bad road, which, :_nevertheless, was the oU

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LAKE OF HULEH.

caravan road between Egypt and Damascus, until we reach
a point where, looking back, we take our farewell peeps at
the Lake of Gennesaret and its neighbourhood, and looking
forward see the unfolding glories of Hermon and Lebanon.
We pass the Khan Yubb Yusef, or Khan of Joseph's
Well, the traditional well into which the hero of the Bible
story was thrown by his brethren ; the khan is modern,
and filthily dirty. There is nothing now of any absorbing
interest for at least a couple of hours' journey or more;
occasionally good views are obtained, but the whole land is
desolate, and overgrown with weeds and thistles. A beautiful stream, Nahr Hendah, is reached, and on the hill above
it are some important ruins of a town named Kasytin, of
uncertain date; it has been supposed that the ruins include a
temple, a synagogue, and reservoirs. The usual place for
making a mid-day halt is at 'Ain Mellahah, a charming
spot, "a land of springs and fourttains," where the• traveller
can enjoy the shade afforded by an old mill, or gather ferns,
which are here choice and abundant, or he may bathe in the
large natural reservoir.
While here, he may also read up the following particulars
about the district of Huleh, in which 'Ain Mellahah is
situated. In the Old Testament the Lake of Ht'.Heh-a
triangular body of water four and a-half miles long, three and
a-half broad, eleven deep, and nearly three hundred feet above
the sea level-is called the Waters of Merom. It was
here that J abin, king of Hazor [Hazol,'is a city on a hill further
north (p. 314)) gathered together all the surrounding kings
and their companies, "and they went out, they and all their
hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon
the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very
many. And when all these kings were met together, they
came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight

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318 TIBERIAS TO BANIAS.

against Israel. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not
afraid because of them : for to-morrow about this time will
I deliver them up all slain before Israel : thou shalt hough
their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. So Joshua
came, and all the people of war with him, against them by
the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel" (Joshua
xi. 4-8).
The name of this lake does not occur again in the
Scriptures, but in Josephus it is referred to as the Lake of
Samachonites ; although whether the Lake Samachonites be
the same as the Lake of Huleh, and Huleh identical with the
waters of Merom, are points that have been the subject of a
considerable amount of controversy. Mr. Grove considers
the arguments brought forth are insufficient for proof; and
Keil is of opinion that there is not any historical evidence
whatever.
Mr. MacGregor, of The Rob Roy, has given an excellent
description of the lake which he carefully explored. Stanley
also has a graphic account of Joshua's battle.
North of the lake there is a plain, which forms part of
the basin of Hftleh, it is about five miles wide, but the whole
bed of the valley is mere swamp and marsh; the soil on its
banks, however, is very rich, and here the wandering Bedouins
encamp, spending their time in fishing and shooting, which
is abundant all round the neighbourhood of the lake, pelicans
and wild ducks abound, and storks; wild boars may also be
found in the thick jungle, which forms an almost impassable
barrier to the lake.
Somewhere in the neighbourhood of the waters of Merom
the travellers' camp is generally pitched for the night; care
will be taken by every good dragoman to see that the
camping-áplace is not in a damp and marshy spot, where

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FOUNTAIN OF THE JORDAN.

malaria may be expected. About an hour's journey from
'Ain Mellahah there are some capital camping-places,
especially near 'Ain Belat, a charming spot, where there
are some very old ruins. From here the traveller will have
a near and uninterrupted view of Hermon, and should it be
a good sunset its effects will be witnessed with lively emotion.
In spring time he will find his tent in the morning tolerably
damp, and the vast plain on the right sparkling with the dew
of Hermon.
A journey of about an hour from 'Ain Belat across the
plain brings us to a spot of great interest-it is Tell-el-
Kadi (the Hill of the Judge, or the Judge's Mound),
corresponding with the Dan of Scripture and the Laish of
the Pha:nicians. The Tell, or mound, is about a quarter of
a mile in diameter, and about fifty feet above the plain;
beneath it bursts out a beautiful crystal spring, which sends
forth its living stream through the plain ; while from beneath
a wide-spreading terebinth-which marks the site of a
Muslim grave on the side of the mound-issue some
sparkling rills, which add their contributions to the stream.
The mound, with the further mound rising behind it,
mark the site of the town and citadel of Dan, the northern
frontier of the Holy Land ; while the spring at its foot
is the Fountain of the Jordan, one of the largest
and most important springs of that sacred river. The
history of Dan is briefly as follows :-When Abraham
pursued the captors of Lot, he "went even unto Dan,"
and with the few men of his household recovered him
and the booty. It was the most northerly city of Palestine,
as Beersheba was the most southerly; and the expression,
" from Dan to Beersheba," is known to all, both in itc;literal
and metaphorical sense. It was used in the same way ages'
ago (see Judges xx. i.; I Sam. iii. 20, etc.) It was in-

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320 TIBERIAS TO BANIAS.

habited by Zidonians, but the Danites "sought them an
inheritance to dwell in,'' and five men sent "to spy out the
land, and to search it," chanced to light upon this snug
place, and reported," We have seen the land, and, behold, it
is very good .... Be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land. When ye go, ye shall come unto a people
secure, and to a large. land ..... a place where there is no
want of anything that is in the earth'' (Judges xviii. 9, 10).
So six hundred Danites went up from the south towards
Laish, and on their way they stopped at the house of Micah,
the freethinker; stole his gods, took away his priest, and then
came to Laish, where they found a people " quiet and
serene.'' They slew them all, and then set up the graven
image which Micah had made, and established themselves
upon this hill, which they called Dan, after the name of their
father. Later on, this place became the scene of more idolatrous worship. Here it was that Jeroboam set up one of the
golden calves, the other being. at Bethel, as a substitute for
the religion of their fathers, forsaken when the kingdom was
separated (1 Kings xii. 28). The spot where the image
was set up is said to be at the south-west comer of the
mound. It was ultimately conquered by Benhadad, King
of Syria. On the east of the Plain of Hftleh will be
seen a range of mountains; the.6e are the hills of Bashan,
still covered with their famous oaks. They will recall
the words of Moses, which he spake to Israel before his
death: "And of• Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp; he
shall leap from Bashan '' (Deut. xxxiii. 22 ). In a figurative
sense these hills and oaks are referred to in Scripture. "The
hand of the Lord of Hosts sha_llbe upon .... all the cedars
of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks
of Bashan '' (Isa. ii. 13). In the vision of judgment, Zecha•
riah exclaims," Open thy doors, 0 Lebanon, that the fi,f'

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BANIA.S. 321
may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir-tree; for the cedar is fallen;
because the mighty is spoiled : howl, 0 ye oaks of Bashan ;
for the forest of the vintage is come down" (Zech. xi. 1, 2).
It is an interesting fact, that the word " Kady " in Arabic
corresponds exactly with " Dan'' in Hebrew, and means a
judge.. In the blessing given by Jacob to his sons, this is
the portion of Dan. " Dan shall judge his people, as one of
the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an
adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider
shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, 0
Lord" (Geo. xlix. 16-18).
The journey from Tell-el-KAdi, or Dan, to Bani~, is
short, but exceedingly beautiful, and has been thus admirably
described by Stanley :-
" With Dan, the Holy Land properly terminates. But
the easternmost source of the Jordan, about four miles distant, is so intimately connected with it, both by historical'
and geographical association, that we must go forwards yet a
little way into the bosom of Hermon. Over an unshaded
carpet of turf-through trees of every variety of foliagethrough a park-like verdure, which casts a strangely beautiful
interest over this last recess of Palestine, the pathway winds,
and the snowy top of the mountain itself is gradually shut
out from view by its increasing nearness; and again there
is the rush of waters through deep thickets, and the ruins of
an ancient town-not Canaanite,but Roman-rise on the hillside; in its situation, initsexuberanceof water, its olive-groves,
and its views over the distant plain, almost a Syrian Tivoli."
This is

BANIAS OR C.ESAREA PHILIPPI.
[The usual camping-place is beside the stream flowing
from the source of the Jordan. It is a picturesque spot, in a

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BANIAS.
fine grove of olives, and green park-like grass, commanding
too some charming peeps across the ravine. Travelle~
should determine to spend at least a day in this delightful
neighbourhood.]
BAniaswas known as the Greek Panells, from the sanctuary of Pan (p. 324). It was adorned by Herod the Great,
who erec~d a temple over the spring of the Jordan, in honour
of Augustus Caesar. His son, Philip the. Tetrarch, enlarged
the town, and called it Caesarea,in honour of Tiberias Cresar,
and, as there was already a Caesareaon the Mediterranean, he
added Philippi. By Agrippa II. it was named Neronias, but
this name soon died out, and it became generally known as
Cresarea Paneas, a name which is preserved in the modem
name of BAnias.
Nothing is known of the very ancient history of this
remarkable place, although Dr. Robinson and Schwarz agree
that it corresponds with Baal-Gad, the northern boundary
of Joshua's victories. "Joshua took all the land, even from
the Mount of Halak that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-
Gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon "
(Joshua xi. 17). See also xii. 7, xiii. 5.
Baal-Gad is probably identical with Baal-Hermon (Judges
iii. 3; 1 Chron. v. 23).
The greatest interest which the modem traveller feels in
visiting Banias is, that by almost universal consent, it is
regarded as thescene of the Transfiguration (p. 287). It was
without doubt consecrated by the presence of Christ, who
received from St. Peter that attestation to His Divinity which
has been the foundation motto of the Roman Catholic Church
(p. 324); and an unauthentic tradition, but dating from Eusebius, has claimed for this spot that it was here Christ healed
the woman having an issue of blood.
The situation of Banias is exceptionally beautiful, being

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SOURCE OF THE JORDAN.

on the mountain side, with ravines on either side, and
everywhere sparkling streams of water and therefore luxuriant vegetation. The modern village has about fifty or
sixty houses, and one or two shops. There is a rough bridge
over the Jordan made of antique pillars minus the capitals;
parts of the old citadel are still to be seen, and its massive
walls and towers can be traced. In several of the houses old
pillars are built up into the modem dwellings, notably in that
of the Sheikh of the village. It will be observed that on the
roof of nearly every house there is a booth made of green
branches, and raised upon stout pedestals of wood. This is
• the summer sleeping-place, and is designed for the inhabitants to be raised above the swarming scorpions, lizards, and
vermin.
itá Several picturesque. views may be obtained among the
ruins, especially froin the bridge and the citadel. Them
will not attract the interest of the visitor, who will at once
proceed to the spot where all the present interest in Banias
centres. It is the fountain or source of the Jordan, which
bursts out in a series of many streams, and forming a large
basin, flows hence in one copious stream. Behind it rises a
precipitous red limestone cliff, in the face of which is a cave,
or grotto, the Paneum, or Sanctuary of Pan, from which the
town took its name. On the face of the rock will be seen
niches, with inscriptions which tell of the purpose for which
this grotto was used. On the summit. of the cliff Herod
erected a white marble temple; now there is a wely in
honour of St. George on the same spot. A fine view of
Banias and its surroundings may be obtained here, when it
will be seen how extensive the ruins are, which cannot be so
well appreciated when the traveller is actually amongst
them.
As the traveller stands at the foot of the cave and looks

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BANIAS.

at that grotto, where, perchance, in early days Baal was worshipped (p. 3:22), where, without doubt, the Greeks, who always
associated caves and grottoes with the worship of Pan, paid
their devotions to that deity, he will recall with some emotion
that scene recorded in Matt. xvi. 13, "When Jesus came into
the coasts of Cresarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am ? And they
said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias ;
and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto
them, But whom say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it."
Stanley says with reference to this, and to the scene of
the Transfiguration (Matt. xvii.), Jesus "came into 'the
parts,' unto 'the villages' of Cresarea Philippi. It is possible
that He never reached the city itself; but it must at least have
been in its neighbourhood that the confession of Peter was
made. The rock on which the Temple of Augustus stood,
and from which the streams of the Jordan issue, may possibly have suggested the words which now run round the
dome of St. Peter's. And here one cannot but ask, What
was the 'high mountain' on which, six days from that
time, whilst still in this region, He was transfigured before
his three disciples ? It is impossible to look up from the
plain to the towering peaks of Hermon, almost the only
mountain which deserves the name in Palestine, and one of
whose ancient titles was derived from this circumstance, and •
not be struck with its appropriateness to the scene."

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CASTLE OF SUBEIBEH. 325
It was here, or hereabouts, that "on the next day when they
were come down from the hill, much people met Hirn," and
He cast out the devil his disciples could not; here He warned
his disciples of his approaching end; here He "took a little
child and set him in their midst ;" and then, when his work
in this northern limit of his travels was completed, and the
time of his death drew nigh, He set forth to Jerusalem for
the last time. " And it came to pass, when the time was
come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set his
face to go to Jerusalem'' (Luke ix. 51).
Every traveller who has half a day at his disposal should
make an excursion to the Castle of Subeibeh (Kul'at es
Suheibeh). The hill on which it stands is about z,500 feet
.above the sea level, and is a conspicuous object. The ascent
may be made on horseback or on foot, or a combination of
the two, the horses being used only for the level part of the
journey. If the usual track, which the guide will point out,
is traversed, the ascent is by no means difficult ; but if an
attempt be made to scramble over the avalanches of stones
on the face of the hill, the traveller may regret his undertaking.
The ruins are very extensive-much more so than could
be irnagiried when gazing at them from Bmias ; and in a
careful examination it will be found that they represent the
.architecture of every age--from the Phrenician to the seventeenth century. The origin and early history of the castle
.are unknown. The edifice is about three hundred yards long,
and a hundred wide at each end. The stones are bevelled,
.and the masonry is massive ; some of the arches and niches
are curious and rich in their ornamentation. Many Arabic
inscriptions will be found on some of the walls. The best
preserved part of the castle is the south ; the most ruinous,
the south-east. The walls enclosing the castle have broken

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away, and fallen over the precipice ; in some places, the
natural rock is higher than the walls. On the south-west,
the wall overhangs a precipice going sheer down for about a
thousand feet into the wild and desolate valley. The View
from this castle is exquisite, and should by no means be
omitted, as it is considered to be the grandest in Syria, comprehending endless tiers of hills-the hills of Bashan, the
hills. of Galilee, the slopes of_ Hermon, the great plain of
H•1leh, with its many waters; and right below, the village of
Banias, etc. A visit should be made to the cisterns, which
are curious, but the traveller is recommended not to drink
the water from them.
The descent into the valley should be made from the
south-east. It is sharp at first, and then rises over a knoll,
and soon the Damascus road is reached.

MOUNT HERMON.
The ascent of Mount Hermon should not, under any
circumstances, be undertaken without a guide. Hermon
(" Lofty or Prominent Peak ") occupies a most commanding
position, and is visible from Sarepta, Tyre, and even from the
depths of the Jordan valley by the Dead Sea. Its ancient
names all describe this position. Sion (Deut. iv. 48) (" the
Upraised"), so named because it towers above the other
mountains. Sirion (" the Glittering") it was called by the
Sidonians; Shenir (" the Clattering") by the. Amorites
(Deut. iii. 9). Both of these words, too, mean "breastplate."
The mountain is now called Jebel-esh-Shiekh (" the Chief
Mountain ")-also suggestive of its imposing appearanre.
Twice in Scripture the name of Baal-Hermon is given to the
mountain-no doubt the result of the worship of Baal in
that "high place" (Judges iii. 3 ; I Chron. v. 2.3).
Mount Hermon has been called the Mont Blanc of

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MOUNT HERMON.

Palestine. It was the great landmark for the northern
border of the Israelites, and it rises about ten thousand feet
above the level of the sea. There are three separate heights
which form the summit, and they are raised two or three
thousand feet above the main chain. The loftiest peak is on
the north; the second height is three hundred yards to the
south of the highest one ; beneath it, about five thousand feet
from the summit, are the highest sources of the Pharpar.
The third height is about a quarter of a mile to the west, and
is separated from the two former by a small valley. The
views from the summit are, of course, very extensive and
deeply interesting. That from the greatest height takes in
the Buka'a, and the ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon.
The great eastern plain is well stretched out before the second
or southern height ; and from the third or western peak a
great part of Syria is seen. Far away to the south are the
mountains of 'Ajlun, stretching towards Moab; and we can
follow with the eye the course of the Jordan, with the lakes
of Tiberias and Huleh, the mountains of Gilead on the one
side, and those of Samaria on the other. On the west lie
Samaria and Galilee, reaching to Carmel,á which is seen,
together with Tyre and the Mediterranean. Beyond Tyre
rises the range of Lebanon, which prevents our seeing
further north. We see Anti-Libanus and the plain of
Damascus, which extends as far as the " Meadow Lakes "
to the north-west. To the south of this limit rise conspicuously to view the complete chain of the Hauran.
Round a rock which forms the crest of the second peak,
there remain the foundations of a circular wall, composed of
large stones ; and within the enclosure are heaps of wellshaped stones, which must have at one time formed part of
a building ; bevelling and moulding are still to be seen.
There is also a fragment of a column; and the form of a

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328 MOUNT HERMON.

temple-small certainly-can be traced. The ruins stand on
the edge of the mountain, and beneath is a great gulf, so that
inevitably as the temple decayed, the columns and other parts
of the building must have rolled down the declivity. "The
stones composing the ring appear to be of more ancient date
than the remains of the temple. It would appear a strange
site for a sanctuary, as it must have been for so many months
of the year covered with snow, if we had not the fact that
the Syrians selected the summits of mountains for the
worship of their gods ; and when the Israelites entered the
land, they were instructed to "utterly destroy all the places,
wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods,
upon the high mountains, and upon the hills " (Deut. xii. 2).
St. Jerome mentions that there was a temple on Mount
Hennon, " in which the heathen from the region of Paneas
and Lebanon meet for worship."
Stanley says :-" So long as its snowy tops were seen,
there was never wanting to the Hebrew poetry the image of
unearthly grandeur which nothing else but perpetual snow
can give, especially as seen in the summer, when the firmament around it seems to be on fire. And not grandeur only,
but fertility and beauty were held up as it were on its
heights, as a model for the less fortunate regions which
looked up to it. ' His fruit shall shake like Lebanon ' (Ps.
lxxii. 16). The 'dews' of the mists that rose from its f
watery ravines, or of the clouds that rested on its summit,
were perpetual witnesses of freshness and coolness, the
sources, as it seemed, of all the moisture, which was to the
land of Palestine what the fragrant oil was to the garments
of the high-priest; what the refreshing influence of brotherly
love was to the whole community."
Hermon is the second mountain of Syria for height, being
perhaps only three or four hundred feet lower than the

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BANIAS TO DAMASCUS.

highest point of Lebanon. Limestone composes the main
part of the mountain. The loftiest peak, which is an obtuse
truncated cone, is quite destitute of trees and verdure, and
the snow never disappears from its summit. In spring and
summer it is thickly covered, but as the year advances it
partially melts, and has a streaked appearance, and at last
only a few white lines, until the winter again, early in
November, gives it the great white dome. The mountain is
. covered in places with soft chalk, and in the southern spurs,
near Hisbeyi, basalt is found. A ravine on the north side
divides Hermon from Anti-Libanus. Bears ( Ursus Syriacus)
are to be found on Mount Hermon, very much like the
common brown bear. Game abounds, too, and foxes and
wolves are found on the slopes.
If the traveller be a botanist, he will find much to interest
him on Mount Hermon. April is the month when the
blossoms abound. For an account of the flora and vegetation of the mountain, see p. 5,. The vine is cultivated on
its slopes, and several wild fruits are found high up; and on
the western slope, at no less a height than over five thousand
feet, the almond-tree flourishes to such an extent that this
part has received the name Akahet el U:ir.i (Almond Mountain). Vegetation gradually ceases towards the top, and near
the snowy' crown nothing but the Ranunculus demisus is
found.-(L. H.)

FROM BANIAS TO DAMASCUSá
Almost immediately after leaving Banias the ascent
commences, and the roads are bad. Those who have not
paid a visit to the Castle of Subeibeh can, from the top of
the first high hill, see all the principal ruins with the aid of
a field-glass. Mejdel, a Druse village, is passed, and then a
series of further ascents are made, while the head of Hermon,

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BANIAS TO DAMASCUS.
33°
covered deeply with snow as late as to the end of May, is on
our left. A lofty plain, named Merj-el-Hadr, is crossed,
and a wild glen with a noisy stream is entered ; then down,.
sometimes past oases of beauty in wildernesses of desolation,
until a halt is made in a rocky valley near Beit Jenn. A
pleasant road beside the brook, called at this part Jenruii, and
afterwards, when united with another tributary, the Pharpar.
After about forty minutes' ride, we enter a large plain, with
remarkably fine views all round, and especially of Hermon,
which here assumes an aspect altogether different from that
to which the traveller working northwards has been accustomed; but no place of importance is visited until Kefr-
Hauwar is reached.
Kefr-Hauwar is the usual camping-place between
BruiiAsand Damascus ; the village is large, and surroundedá
by pleasant gardens and groves ; the houses are curionsly
built, terrace upon terrace, on the hill-side. The inhabitants are Muslims, and not always very friendly to Christian
travellers who encamp outside their village; care should be
taken, therefore, not to give any occasion of offence. There
is nothing in the village to call for special attention, except
an unknown ruin, and a tradition as to its being the burialplace of Nimrod.
Proceeding towards Damascus, the traveller, whether he
goes by the road to the right or that to the left, has before
him a long, wearisome ride over a bleak desert, without anything to attract special attention, until he reaches a spot
where the old Roman ro:id, leading to Damascus from Egypt
and Palestine is gained. 1t is a spot which will be for ever
memorable, as there is no go:xl reason to doubt the tradition
which states that here St. Paul beheld the wondrous vision
which attended his conversion. " As he journeyed, he came
near Damascus; and suddenly there shined round about him

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KEFR-HAUWAR.
33 1
a light from heaven : and he fell to the earth, and heard a
voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
Me? .... And he trembling and astonished said, Lord,
what wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee
what thou must do ..... And Saul arose from the earth ;á
and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they
led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus"
(Acts ix.)
Before us is the great plain of Damascus, a sea of verdure; in the distance, to the right, will be seen the white
minarets of the city, on the left the magnificent slopes of
Lebanon; around, streams of water. Several towns and
villages, without anything remarkable about them to call for
special notice, are passed, and then the groves and gardens
for which Damascus is so famous are entered, and. the waters
of Abana and Pharpar, which seem "to be better than all
the waters of Israel," are beside us, and we enter the gate of
the oldest city in the world.

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ilamastns.
(The Hotel Demetri-named after Demetri, the landlord
-is a thoroughly Oriental house. Entering from the
street, which is close to the place where the French
diligence starts for Beyrout, the traveller finds himself
in a large marble-paved court, surrounded with galleries,
open or latticed. In the centre of the court is a large
tank, or fountain, giving a cool and comfortable air, and
refreshing by its plashing water. Around are citron,
lemon, and orange trees in fruit and flower, sending
forth a delicious perfume. In a recess on the right is a
most luxurious Divan, with couches and easy-chairs,
and a table, well supplied with English, American, and
French newspapers. Here in the evening merchants
come to exhibit specimens of Damascene manufacture,
and to solicit purchases.
Travellers under the arrangements of Messrs. CooK
and SoN always stay at this Hotel now, it having been
found that the camping-place outside the town was not
only inconvenient, but often damp.]

The Ottoman Bank has a branch in Damascuf.
There are three or four European Physicians in
Damascus, and several Chemists. (Inquire in the Derbel-Mustakim.) •
The English Consulate is ánear Demetri's Hotel.
Protestant Churches.-In the Christian Quarter of
the town (p. 347).

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DAMASCUS.
PRINCIPAL SIGHTS,
Bazaars, p. 338
Castle, p. 346.
Christian Quarter, p. 347á
Environs of Damascus, p. 353.
Great Mosque, The, p. 341.
House of Ananias, p. 352.
,, Naaman, p. 352.
Jewish Quarter, p. 351.
Mausoleums, p. 35 1.
Protestant Mission, p. 350.
Street called Straight, p. 346.
Tomb of Saladin, p. 351.
[Travellers in Damascus who wish to wander about in
the city after dark must be careful to carry a lantern ; if
found without one, they will find themselves under arrest,
and find the position unpleasant into the bargain. These
lanterns are simple contrivances, not unlike the Chinese lanterns used for Christmas trees. If the traveller finds his
progress after dusk interrupted by a closed gate, he must
shout," ffta ya Haris!" i.e., "Open, 0 watchman,'' and give
a trifling fee. Here, as elsewhere, a fee will cover almost
every difficulty.]
Damascus is the oldest city in the world (Josephus
makes it even older than Abraham-Ant. i. 63). For the
traditions of the events in the infancy of the human race,
which are supposed to have happened in its vicinity, see
Pocockeii. u5, 116. The story that the murder of Abel took
place here is alluded to by Shakspeare (I. King Henry PL
i. 3).
Winduster. Nay, stand thou back, I will not bud~e a foot;
This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cam, •
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt.

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DAMASCUS.
Its fame begins with the earliest patriarchs; and continues to
modern times. While other cities of the East have risen
and decayed, Damascus is still what it was. It was founded
before Ba'albek and Palmyra, and it has outlived them both.
While Babylon is a heap in the desert, and Tyre a ruin on
the shore, it remains what it is called in the prophecies of
Isaiah-"the head of Syria" {Isaiah vii. 8). Abraham's
steward was " Eliezer of Damascus " ( Gen. xv. 2), and the
limit of his warlike expedition in the rescue of Lot was
"Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus" (Gen.
xiv. 15).
How important a place it was in the flourishing period of
the Jewish monarchy, we know from the garrisons which
David placed there (2 Sam. viii. 6; I Chron. xviii. 6), and
from the opposition it presented to Solomon ( I Kings xi. 24).
The history of Naaman and the Hebrew captive, Elisha and
Gehazi, and of the proud preference of its fresh rivers to the
thirsty waters of Israel, are familiar to every one. And how
close its relations continued to be with the Jews we know
from the chronicles of Jeroboam and Ahaz, and the prophecies
of Isaiah and Amos (see 2 Kings xiv. 28, xvi. 9, 10; 2 Chron.
xxiv. 23, xxviii. 5-23 .; Isaiah vii. 8; Amos i. 3---5).
Its mercantile greatness is indicated by Ezekiel in the
remarkable words addressed to Tyre. (The port of Beyrout
is now to Damascus what Tyre was of old.) "Syria was
thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy
making ; they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple,
and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares
of thy making, for the multitude of all riches ; in the wine of
Helbon, and white wool" (Ezek. xxvii. 16, 18). Leaving
the Jewish annals, we might follow its history through con- ,
tinuous centuries, from the time_ when Alexander sent

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HISTORY.
Parmenio to take it, while the conqueror himself was
marching from Tarsus to Tyre-(Quintur Curtius iii. 13;
iv. 1; Arrian ii. u)-to its occupation by Pompey. Its
relative importance was not so great when it was under a
Western power, like that of the Seleucids or the Romans;
hence we find it less frequently mentioned than we might
expect in Greek and Roman writers. This arose from the
building of Antioch, and other cities in Northern Syria-to
the letters of Julian the Apostate, who describes it as" the
eye of the East ''-and onward through the golden days
when it was the residence of the Ommiad Caliphs, and the
metropolis of the Mahomedan world-and through the period
when its fame was mingled with that of Saladin and Tamerlane-to our own days, when the praise of its beauty
is celebrated by every traveller from Europe. It is evident,
to use the words of Lamartine, that, like Constantinople, it
was a" predestinated capital," Nor is it difficult to explain
why its freshness has never faded through all this series of
vicissitudes and wars.
Among the rocks and brushwood at the base of Anti-
Libanus are the fountains of a copious and perennial stream,
which, after running a course of no great distance to
the south-east, loses itself in a desert lake. But before
it reaches this dreary boundary, it has distributed its
channels over the intermediate space, and left a wide area
behind it, •rich with prolific vegetation. These are the
"streams from Lebanon,'' which are known to us in the
imagery of Scripture (Song of Sol. iv. 15), and the" rivers of
Damascus,'' which Naaman, not unnaturally, preferred to all
the '' waters of Israel.''
By Greek writers, the stream is called Chrysorrhoas
(Straho xvi. 2; Ptolem. v. 1.5-19. See Pliny N. H. v. 16),
or "the river of gold." And this stream is the inestimable

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DAMASCUS.

inexhausted treasure of Damascus. The habitations of men
must always have been gathered round it, as the Nile has
inevitably attracted an immemorial population to its banks.
The desert is a fortification round Damascus. The river is
its life. It is drawn out into watercourses, and spread in all
directions. For miles around it is a wilderness of gardensgardens with roses among the tangled shrubberies, and with
fruit on the branches overhead. Everywhere among the
trees the murmur of unseen rivulets is heard. Even in the
city, which is in the midst of the garden, the clear rushing
of the current is a perpetual refreshment. Every dwelling
has its fountain, and at night, when the sun has set behind
Mount Lebanon, the lights of the city are seen flashing on
the waters."-(Conyheare and Howson's Life and Epistles ef
St. Paul.)
Damascus remains the true type of an Oriental city.
Caravans come and go from Bagdad and Mecca, as of old ;
merchants sit and smoke over their costly bales in dim bazaars;
drowsy groups sip their coffee in kiosks overhanging the
river; and all the picturesque costumes of the East mingle
in the streets. The first view of the town from one of
the overhanging ridges is like a vision of the earthly paradise.
Marble minarets, domes glittering with the crescent, massive
towers, and terraces of level roofs rise out of a sea of foliage,
the white buildings, shining with ivory softness through the
broad dark clumps of verdure, which, miles in depth and
leagues in circuit, girdle the city-making it, as the people
love to say, a pearl set in emeralds. It is a wildt.10ess of
bloom, and fragrance, and fruitage, where olive and pomegranate, orange and apricot, plum and walnut, mingle their
varied tints of green -a maze of flowering and scented
thickets, pierced with wild woodland glades, that are sweet
with roses and jasmine blossom, and alive with babbling

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BIBLE EVENTS.
33i
springs and rivulets. And close up to the forest edge comes
the yellow desert, and around it are the bare mountains, with
the snowy crest of Hermon, standing like a sentinel with
shining helmet, on the west-" the tower of Lebanon which
looketh toward Damascus."-(J. D. B.)
The Biblical Allusions to Damascus are very numerous. After the reference to it in the time of Abraham (Gen.
xiv. 15) (p. 334), the next reliable notice is found in 2 Sam.
viii. 5. "When the Syrians of Damascus came to succ.our
Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and
twenty thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria of
Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David." For an
account of the battles between the kings of Judah and Israel,
and the kings of Damascus, see I Chron. xviii. 5, 6; 2 Kings
,ái., vii., viii., xi., xiii., xiv., xv., xvi. The prophetical utterances concerning the city, are chiefly Isa.á xvii.; Amos i.
3-5; Jer. xlix. 23-27. In the New Testament, it will be•
remembered that St. Paul was converted on his way hither
(p. 330), and that when "the governor under Aretas the
king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison"
(2 Cor. xi. 32, 33), sought to apprehend Paul, he was let
down in a basket through a window and escaped his hands.
There is no doubt that there were many synagogues here,
for St. Paul, when he went unto the High Priest, " desired
of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues" (Acts ix.
1, 2). During the residence of Paul here "he preached
Christ in the synagogues that He is the Son of God .
and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving
that this is very Christ" (Acts ix. 20-22). Christianity
flourished here so extensively that in the time of Constantine
the Great Temple was converted into a Christian church
(p. 342).
The population of Damascus has been variously esti-

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DAMASCUS.

mated, in round numbers it may be taken as about a hundred
and fifty thousand, of whom about a hundred thousand are
Muslims, and six thousand Jews. The Mahoi:nedaos of
Damascus are notorious for their fanaticism; and the horrible
massacre of July, 1860, when they fell upon the Christians
and slaughtered six thousand of them in the streets, and
burnt the quarter of the city they inhabited (p. 347) is still
fresh in memory.
,At least several days should be devoted by every traveller
to this remarkable city.

The Bazaars
of Damascus are celebrated all the world over, and will
interest the traveller as long as he stays in the city : for
here, every day, and at all hours of the day, may be seen
an assemblage of people such as probably cannot be seen
in any other bazaar in the East. Although Cairo contains
a much larger population than Damascus, its bazaars are
by no means so extensive or imposing; nor is it diffi~ult
to find the reason of this superiority, for whereas the capital
of Egypt supplies chiefly its own inhabitants only, the whole
population of the Hauran, as well as the Bedawin of the
eastern district, depend upon Damascus for the necessaries
and comforts of life.
The bazaars are in long avenues, roofed over; not a merejumble of miscellaneous shops, but each bazaar devoted to
some special trade or manufacture. There is the Saddlers'
Bazaar, where the gay but uncomfortable Syrian saddles
may be seen in all their varieties, and any useful articles connected with saddlery purchased. The Silk Bazaar-where
English travellers generally linger to inspect the gorgeous
robes of Damascene work, and to purchase at least one of
those gay head-dresses (Kt;ffiyeh) which have charmed them

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THE BAZAARS.
so often in Palestine-is very attractive. There are a variety
of specialities to be obtained here, such as worked tablecloths; the Bedawin '.Abayeh, or bemouse; silk scarfs, and
elegant tobacco pouches. In the Old Clo' Bazaar, where
second-hand clothes and other articles are sold by mock
auction, is a centre of attraction, and there is generally a•
great deal of amusement to be made out of a visit. The
Fez Bazaar should be visited, as it will reveal all the arts
and mysteries of turbans, caps worn under the fez, and the
paraphernalia of oriental head-gear. The Greek Bazaar
is one of the most attractive, asá here antiquities of all kinds
are sold, and "Damascus blades" may be bought to the
usual disadvantage. Some are really exceedingly pretty,
the handles being wrought with all kinds of cunning workmanship. The "coffee sets" sold here are very choice ; the
cups are so small that five or six of them would only fill
an ordinary English coffee-cup. These little ves!lels are
beautifully painted or set in stones, and are fitted into delicately carved, thin, metallic receivers for handing to guests.
In addition to these there is the Tobacco Bazaar,
where pipes, mouth-pieces, and such like things, can be
obtained; the Booksellers' Bazaar, where none but
Mahomedan books are sold; the Coppersmith's Bazaar, where, if the traveller can endure the noise, he will
behold some wonderful dishes and culinary utensils ; the Boot
and Shoe Bazaar, where, as in Constantinople, richly
decorated slippers and shoes can be obtained, and the yellow
leather slippers, which ladies are fond of possessing on account
of their softness. Without minutely describing the various
bazaars in detail, it may be said that there are bazaars for
every branch of trade and manufacture, and that the traveller
may purchase anything he may require, from a shoe latchet
to a camel.

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340 DAMASCUS.

On Friday, the Market Day, the crowds are enormous,
and then the "eye of the East '' both sees and is to be seen,
to the best advantage. Then, as in fact on other days,
there will be seen Persians in gorgeous silks, Nubians in
black and white, Greeks in national costume, Jews with
ringlets and without, Bedawin of the desert, pilgrims en
route to Mecca-a marvellous medley, not to be seen anywhere else. The hubbub is generally terrific. "Now way
must be made for some grandee; now a string of camels
drives the crowd into a mass, or a party of midshipmen just
arrived from Beyrout rush through the bazaars on fleet
donkeys, scattering sherbet stalls as they pass. And in the
midst of it all, the richly-robed merchants sit on the sills of
their shops, smoking their tchibouks and sipping coffee with
the most consummate indifference." In addition to the
Bazaars, travellers will be interested in visiting the Khans,
.where wholesale trade is carried on. They are for the most
part owned by merchants of immense wealth, and the carpets of Persia, the muslins of India, the prints of Manchester,
-etc., etc., form the stock-in-trade.
The Shops are not less curious tb.an the Bazaars or
Khans, some are devoted to water-coolers and earthenware,
some, and these especially worth visiting, for attar of roses.
In the shops devoted to articles of consumption many
peculiarities will be noticed ; bakers' shops are filled with
thin, warm, fiat bread, and cakes; the confectioners', with
every variety of coloured sweetmeat and pleasant beverages,
supposed to be_iced with snow from Lebanon ; the butchers'
shops, though less tempting, are curious from the way in
which the meat is cut up, and exposed for,:sale. The
Restaurants are numerous, and are to be found in the
neighbourhood of the bazaars. Every traveller interested in
these matters, should taste a Damascene cutlet, a dish or two

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THE GREAT MOSQUE.
34 1
of vegetables, and some of the pastry which usually abounds
in a richly coloured sauce.
The street vendors go about in legions; lemonade,
raisin water, liquorice water, fruits, pistachio nuts-in short,
everything that can be hawked about is sold in the streets ;
the cries of the sellers are amusing, and, when interpreted,
to a certain extent, instructive. The bread boy cries,
" 0 Allah ! who sustainest us, send trade ! " the drink seller
cries, "0, cheer thine heart! " as he rattles his copper cups
in his hand ; and so on.
A day or two. at least may be spent in wandering about
the streets and bazaars.

Instead of describing how certain w-alks in and around
Damascus may be made, and giving directions which few
travellers follow, the places of principal interest will be
described, and the dragoman, or the people at the hotel, will
give the best practical information as to the order in which
they should be seen according to the time at the disposal of
the traveller. •

THE GREAT MOSQUE.
[Until within a few years past, the Great Mosque was
closed to all save Muslims. Now, Christians can obtain
admission; only twenty persons, however, are allowed at one
time, and this only upon application to the Consul. The
charge is twenty francs for the party. Visitors will remember
to take their slippers with them, and to give a small fee to
the person who takes charge of their boots ; if the slippers
have been forgotten they may generally be hired.]
The mosque stands in the midst of a spacious quadrangle,
and is as large, or larger, than the Mosque of Omar. It has

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DAMASCUS.
been pointed out by good authorities that this building, so
venerated by the followers of the prophet, exhibits three distinct styles of architecture, marking three great epochs in its
history, and proclaiming the three great dynasties that had
successively possessed it. First of all it had been a heathen
temple, and its massive stones, and beautiful arches and
gate; proclaim Grecian or Roman architecture. Whetherthe temple was built by the Seleucid.e, the successors
of Alexander the Great, who reigned in Damascus about
a century before the Christian era, or by the Romans,
who entered it under the leadership of Pompey, B.C. 64,
cannot be determined, for these rulers succeeded s_oclosely
upon one another, that no great difference can be discovered,
or could be expected, between their.respective styles of architecture. It cannot be questioned, however, that a heathen
temple once stood on this spot, in which, for several centuries, sacrifices were offered to the gods of Pagan mythology. When the decaying Roman Empire was divided into
two great rival dominions of west and east, and the Power on
the banks of the Tiber was outshone by the Power on the
shores of the Bosphorus, Damascus owned the sway of the
Greek Empire at Constantinople, and, after Constantine had
embraced Christianity, the temple, which had been sacred to
Jupiter, became sacred to Jesus, and was dedicated to John
the Baptist. We know that the Christian faith immediately
after the apostolic age advanced rapidly in Damascus; for
Church history informs us that, at the Council of Nice,
A.D. 325, convened to pronounce an authoritative opinion on
the question of the Divinity of Christ, as raised by the Arian
controversy, its metropolitan bishop attended with seven of
his suffragans. Only about fifty years ago, a Greek inscription was found on a large stone, at one of the gates, to the
following effect :-"This church of the blessed John Baptist

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THE GREAT MOSQUE.
was restored by Arcadius, the son of Theodosius." Arcadius
ascended the throne A.D. 395, seventy years after the establishment of Christianity by Constantine. His father is well
known to have exerted all his power to extirpate heathen
worship from every part of the empire. During his reign
the temple at Damascus may have been pillaged and partly
ruined. His son restored it, dedicated it to the worship of
the true God, and caused. a noble inscription to be placed
above the principal door. There it still stands, as if in defiance
of the crescent that has usurped the place of the cross, and as
if prophetic of the day when Jesus shall reign over the hearts
of the Damascenes :-
" Thy kingdom, 0 Christ, is a kingdom of all ages [that
is, an everlasting kingdom], and thy dominion lasts throughout all generations." •
Strange that Muslim fanaticism should have allowed such
an inscription to relI).ainupon the chief gate of their consecrated mosque, which sounds so like a protestation against
their usurpation of the place.
For nearly three centuries the building continued to be the
cathedral church for Syria, while Christianity was predominant in the land. When at last the city fell into the hands
of the Muslims, partly by treaty and partly by treachery
(A.D. 634), the church was equally divided between the
followers of Christ and the followers of the prophet. " On
the accession of W alid, the sixth khalif of the Omenyades
(A.D. 705), the whole church was demanded by the Moslems.
The Christians refused, and showed that, by the terms of the
original treaty, their rights were solemnly guaranteed to them.
But Moslem policy, then as crooked as it is still, found an
easy mode of evading inconvenient treaties; and the poor
Christians were compelled to ásubmit. The khalif immediately entered the church with guards, and ordered them to

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DAMASCUS,
remove or destroy every vestige of Christian worship.
Standing on the great altar, Walid himself directed the work
of spoliation. Seeing his position, one of his followers, more
superstitious or more timid than the rest, thus addressed
him: 'Prince of the Faithful, I tremble for your safety'.
The power of that image against which you stand may be
exerted against you.' ' Fear not for me,' replied the proud
Moslem, 'for the first spot on which I shall lay my battleaxe will be that image's head.' Thus saying, he lifted his
weapon and dashed the idol to pieces. The Christians raised
a cry of horror, but their voices were drowned in the
triumphant shout,' Ullahu Ak-bar.' Having thus obtained
possession, W alid spared neither time nor expense in decorating the building. ~e made it the most magnificent
ámosque in his wide dominions. And even now, neglected
and shattered as it. is, it has few equals in the Mahomedan
empire."-(Ferguson's Sacred and Continental Scenes.)
There are many things to see in the Mosque and Haram.
The entrance archway on the west is antique and of very
beautiful workmanship. The interior of the mosque is
impressive, with nave and aisles supported by columns. The
• first things to claim attention will be the number of lamps
hung from the ceiling, ;md the inscriptions from the Koran ;
the stained windows, the various praying places, and the
handsome carpets covering the marble pavement. In the
transept is a "chapel,'' said to contain the Head of John
the Baptist, also said to have been found in the crypt of
tl:e church.
The Pulpit is solid and handsome; the Mosaics 011
• the walls are old.
The Court is spacious, and contains in the centre a
marble fountain, where the worshippers perform their ablutions before entering the mosque. Corridors surround the

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THE GREAT MOSQUE.
court, and traces may be seen of the gilding with which they
were once beautified. In the western part of the court is the
"Dome of the Treasures," containing relics and MSS. of
immense value, but its contents are never under any circumstances exhibited.
There are three Minarets to the mosque, and it is
usual to ascend one at least. The Minaret of the Bride,
Madinet-el-' Ari"ls, is the most ancient, and commands the
best view. It is ascended by 160 steps. The view is magnificent. The traveller looks down upon the gardens of
Damascus, a perfect fairy land, and sees the silver threads of
Barada running like a network through the city and plain,
and gazes upon the wonderful city crowded with a dense
population, with here a cluster of mud huts, side by side with
gaily painted dwellings, with marble courts and fountains,
and every appearance of Oriental magnificence; and all
around the bristling minarets of mosques, and the chief
buildings and places of interest. The Minaret of Jesus,
Madinet 'Isa, is so named from a legend that when
Jesus comes to judge the world He will descend first to this
minaret.
This mosque may, and, tradition affirms, does, speak of
a very ancient worship ; and it is highly probable that this
was the site of the Temple of Rimmon, the god worshipped
by the Syrians. If so, it was here that Naaman deposited his
"two mules' burden of earth," and reared his own altar.
In the story recorded in 2 Kings v., as soon as he is
healed, the Captain of the host of the King of Syria says:
" Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth
but in Israel;" and he makes the following strange request:
"Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant
two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth
offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but

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DAMASCUS.

unto the Lord. In thisá thing the Lord pardon thy servant,"
that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to
worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself
in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the
house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this
thing."
It was probably in this temple that King Ahaz saw the
altar, which so took his fancy that he had it reproduced in
Jerusalem. '' And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet
Tiglath-Pileser, King of Assyria, and saw an altar that was
at Damascus: and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the
fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the
workmanship thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar
according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus:
so Urijah the priest made it against the king came from
Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus,
the king saw the altar.: and the king approached to the altar,
and offered thereon (2. Kings xvi. 10-12.).
The Castle, or Citadel, is an imposing-looking building,
and one of the most prominent objects from a distance. It
is a large quadrangular structure, built in 12.19, and is surrounded by a moat. The walls, whose appearance of
strength is exaggerated by the twelve immense towers at the
four corners of the building, are supposed to be very ancient.
Some curious weapons are preserved here, and also the
sacred tent carried in the pilgrimage to Mecca; but travellers
are very rarely allowed access to the castle further than to
the great quadrangle.
The "Street called Straight," which the traveller
will doubtless traverse from one end to the other, is no doubt
the street referred to in the New Testament. It is not
architecturally beautiful, nor is it actually straight, but all
along its course, traces have been found of the colonnade with

Google
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THE CHRISTIAN QUARTER.
which it was formerly adorned. It is a good English mile
in length, and runs right across the city from west to east.
Formerly it was much wider than it is at the present time.
It still bears the name, Derh-el-Mustakim.
In walking along this street, with an occasional short
detour to right and left, the principal sights of the city may
be seen.
The Christian Quarter, so memorable for the terrible scenes of 1860, still bears traces of those events. The
churches, which were then destroyed, have been rebuilt. The
story of the massacre is too long to tell in detail-how petty
persecutions led to more serious ones, and how at last the
storm which had been brewing burst with fearful violence.
Colonel Churchill has told the story very graphically, and
the traveller will like to read some of the details as told by
him. By sunset on the terrible 9th of July the whole Christian Quarter was in flames; the water supplies were cut otf,
and miserable thousands were hemmed in by a hopeless enclosure of fire and steel. " No sooner had Abd-el-Kader " -
who was then in Damascus-" gained intelligence of the frightful disaster, than he sent out his faithful Algerines into the
Christian Quarter with orders to rescue all the wretched
sufferers they could meet. Hundreds were safely escorted
to his house before dark. Many rushed to the British Consulate. As night advanced, fresh hordes of marauders-
Kurds, Arabs, Druzes-entered the city, and swelled the
furious mob of fanatics, who now, glutted with spoil, began
to cry out for blood. The dreadful work then began. All
through that awful night, and the whole of the following day,
the pitiless massacre went on. .To attempt to detail all the
atrocities that were committed would be repugnant to the feelings, and useless...... Hundreds disappeared, hurried
away to distant parts of the surrounding country, where they

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DAMASCUS,

were instantly married to Mahomedans. Men of all ages,
from the boy to the old man, were forced to apostatize, were
circumcised on the spot, in derision, and then put to death.
The churches and convents, which in the first paroxysm of
terror áhad been tilled to suffocation, presented piles of
corpses, mixed up promiscuously with the wounded, and
those only half dead, whose last agonies were endured amidst
flaming beams and calcined blocks of stone falling upon
them with earthquake shock. The thoroughfares were choked
with the slain. To say that the Turks took no means
whatever to stay this huge deluge of massacre and fire would
be superfluous. They connived at it; they instigated it; they
ordered it; they shared in it. Abd-el-Kader alone stood be,
tween the living and the dead. Fast as his Algerines brought
in those whom he had rescued, he reassured them, consoled
them, fed them. He had himself gone out and brought in
numbers personally. Forming them into detached parties,
he forwarded them under successive guards to the castle.
There, as the terrific day closed in, nearly twelve thousand,
of all ages and sexes, were collected and huddled together, a
fortunate but exhausted retinue, fruits of his untiring exertions. There they remained for weeks, lying on the bare
ground without covering, hardly with clothing, exposed to
the sun's scorching rays; their rations scantily served outcucumbers and coarse bread. Lest they might obtain an
unreserved repose, the Turkish soldiers kept 11larming them
with rumours of an approaching irruption, when they wculd
all be given over to the sword.
"Abd-el,Kader himself was now menaced. His house
was filled with hundreds of fugitives, European consuls, and
native Christians. The Mahomedans, furious at being
thus baulked of their prey, advanced towards it, declaring
they would have them. Informed of the movement, the

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THE CHRISTIAN QUARTER.
hero coolly ordered his horse to be saddled, put on his cuirass
and helmet, and mounting, drew his sword. His faithful
followers formed around him, brave remnant of his old
guard, comrades in many a well-fought field, illustrious
victors of the Moulaia, where, on the 18th of December,
1847, 2:500 men, under his inspiring command, attacked the
army of the Emperor of Morocco, 60,000 strong, and
entirely defeated it. The fanatics came in sight. Singly he
charged into the midst, and drew up. 'Wretches!' be exclaimed, 'is this the way you honour the Prophet ? May
his curses be upon you! Shame upon you, shame. You
will yet live to repent. You think you may do as you please
with the Christians, but the day of retribution will come.
The Franks will yet turn your mosques into churches. Not
a Christian will I give up. They are my brothers. Stand
back, or I will give my men the order to fire.' The crowd
dispersed. Not a man of that Moslem throng dared raise
his voice or lift his arm against the renowned champion of
Israel.'' Consternation spread throughout Syria, and in
every town and village the Christians anticipated a speedy
doom.
The French and English squadrons, however, were seen
off Beyrout, and the French standards were soon waving on
the soil. But for the promptitude with which the assistance
came, it may have been that the whole Christian race would
have been immolated, the impression among the Mahomedans being, that the Sultan had issued a decree for the
extermination of the infidel. As it was, sufficient restraints
were IClosenedto give power to the vengeance and lust of
the Turks, who, on a small scale, performed such bloody
tragedies as have so recently been carried out to a more fearful extent in the "Bulgarian Atrocities." The sequel to the
story of the massacre is thus told by Colonel Churchill :

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DAMASCUS

"Acruned Pasha, the governor and military commander of
Damascus, convicted on the evidence of a certain Saleh Zechy
Bey, a Mahomedan-who boldly came forward and accused
him of gross dereliction of duty, and of having, by his
cowardice and impotence, caused the massacre, was shot.
Three Turkish officers, who were present at the massacre at
Hasbaya, and a hundred and seventeen individuals-chiefly
Bashi-Bazouks, police, and wandering characters-met with
the same fate. About four hundred of the lower orders were
condemned to imprisonment and exile. Of the citizens,
fifty-six were hanged. Of the notables, eleven were exiled
to Cyprus and Rhodes, and their property sequestered for
the time being. It has since been restored to their families.
These notables are living in their places of exile with all the
comforts and luxuries of life ; one of them has celebrated his
marriage. A .sum of about £200,000 was proposed to be
levied on the city, which three or four of its principal
merchants could furnish alone with ease.
" Such is all the amount of retribution which outraged
Christian Europe has been able to obtain for the wanton
plundering and burning to the ground of the whole Christian
Quarter of Damascus, entailing a loss to that unfortunate
community of at least 6€2,000,000 sterling-for the inhuman, savage, and cold-blooded massacre of 6000 inoffensi\'e Christians, who possessed no arms whatever ; for
the ravishing of their wives and daughters ; and for the expulsion from their desolated hearths of 20,000 beggared and
defenceless victims of Mahomedan rage and fanaticism,
whose only crime was, to use the words of the British
consul, 'that they were the followers of Christ.'''
The Protestant Mission is in this quarter of
the city, and will be visited by all travellers with interest.

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GATES.
The Jewish Quarter is reached by crossing the Straight
Street from the Christian Quarter. There are . some very
wealthy residents here, and some of the apartments of their
spacious houses are accessible: The Jews have ten synagogues in the city.
Tombs and Mausoleums are to be found in various
parts of the city; some of them are very floridly ornamented.
The Tomb of Saladin is near the Great Mosque, and so also
is the Mausoleum of Melek-ed-Dhaher Bibars, one of the
most inveterate foes of the Crusaders. 1t is a fine specimen
of Saracenic architecture.
Mosques abound in Damascus (there are 248 mosques
and schools), but there is nothing in them to call for any
special mention, as they do not materially differ from mosques
elsewhere in Syria and Palestine. Having seen the Great
Mosque (p. 341), the traveller may consider that he has seen
all. One of the most singular and beautiful is the greentiled mosque, Jami'a-es-Sunaniyeh, built by Senan Pasha,
• 1581. There are a great number of mosques in the suburb
of Meidan (p. 352).
Gates.-The following Gates indicate the circuit of the
old walls, and may be visited in the order in which they occur
here. It will take best part of a day to make this tour, and
visit the places indicated en route. The East Gate (Bah
Shurky) is ruinous, and bears memorials of Roman masonry.
From the mound adjoining it, there is a celebrated view.
Near.the closed gate, Bab Kisan-it has been closed for
700 years-tradition states that St. Paul was let down
through the window in a basket and escaped (p. 337); and
near here is a tomb under some trees, said io be the tomb
of a Saint George, who assisted St. Paul to escape, and
perished in consequence. The Latins look upon this as
the scene of St. Paul's conversion. Half a mile east of the

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352 DAMASCUS.

Bab Kisan is the Christian Cemetery. Buckle, the famous
English historian, lies buried here. A short distance from
the Little Gate (Bab-es-Saghir)is a vast Muslim cemetery,
where three of the wives of Mahomed lie buried, and many
of the great men of the city, warriors and politicians. Here
too is buried the celebrated historian, Ibn 'Asaker. From a
mound in the cemetery the view is remarkable. The Iron
Gate (Bal-el-Hadul)is close by the Castle (p. 346), and the
Serai, or Palace, now used as barracks. Between the Gates
Bab-el-Hadid and Bab-el-Faraj, where the walls are
washed by the river, is the Saddlers' Bazaar, and near it is a
mammoth plane tree, over 40 feet in circumference,
with enormous branches; it is well worth seeing. The age
of the tree is uncertain. Thomas' Gate (Bab Tuma),
named after a Crusader who fought so gallantly as to gain
the admiration of the Muslims who slaughtered him, is near
the Protestant Mission (p. 350). Houses upon the wall will
be observed near here, and they will illustrate the story of
Rahab, who let down the spies, and of the escape of St. Paul
in a basket (p. 337).
Returning to the East Gate, the traditional House of
Ananias and the House of Naaman will be pointed
out. The iatter stands close to a tumble-down mosq~e.
There is appropriateness in turning this traditional site into a
Leper Hospital. (2 Kings v.)
The extensive Suburb of Meidan consists of a broad,
badly-paved street, about a mile long, wherein a mixed multitude of folk from all the districts round about, and especially
the Hauran, congregate. The mosques here are numerous,
and sadly out of repair. The suburb is less interesting
for its own ~ake than for the sight of the people who
frequent it.

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ENVJRONS OF DAMASCUS.
There are many interesting places to visit in the
Environs of Damascus.
1. To Jobar.-The ride is interesting, as the road
passes through very beautiful scenery. Johar is only a
Muslim village, not much more than two miles outside the
walls. Two or three legends attach to it. First, that the
.old synagogue, which has been a Jewish pilgrimage place for
ages, is the spot where Elijah was fed by the ravens (p. z31) ;
next, that Elijah here anointed Hazael to be King of Syria,
The basis of this legend is in the words, " Go, return on thy
way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when thou comest
.anoint Hazael to be King over Syria" (1 Kings xix. ,5).
The third is that Johar corresponds with Hobah, the place to
which Abraham drove the kings who had taken Lot pri-
ásoner : " He smote them and pursued them unto Hobah, on
the left hand of Damascus" (Gen. xiv. 15).
(z) To Silahiyeh and Kasiun. This is a drive
through gardens and orchards. It may be taken in the journey
to Ba'albek (p. 356), or as a separate excursion. The View
is the finest in Syria ; some have gone so far as to say it js
unequalled by any view in the world, but this is quite a
matter of individual opinion. Salahlyeh has about 7,000
inhabitants, and is a favourite resort of the Damascenes.
At Kasiun, a rocky hill close to Salahiyeh, the Muslims
declare that Abraham had the unity of God revealed to him ;
and Mahomed stood here, and made his celebrated comparison of Damascus with Paradise (see below). It is, there.
fore, a pilgrimage place. Close behind are the sterile limestone mountains in the dry and desolate region, than which,
says Stanley, the peaks of Sinai are not more sterile. In
front is the great sea of verdure, "so that you stand literally
between the living and the dead. And the ruined arches of
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DAMASCUS TO BEYROUT.
3S4
the ancient chapel, which serve as a centre and framework to
the prospect and retrospect, still preserve the magnificent
story which, whether truth or fiction, is well worthy of this
sublime view. Here, hard by the sacred heights of Salahiyeh-consecrated by the caverns and tombs of a thousand
Mussulman saints-the Prophet is said to have stood, whilst
yet a camel-driver from Mecca, and, after gazing on the
scene below, to have turned away without entering the city.
'Man,' he said, 'can have but one Paradise, and my Paradise is fixed above.' "-(Stanley.)
(3) To Saidnaya and Helbon is a two days' journey.
The former is celebrated for its ancient convent erected by
Justinian(?), and a miracle-working image of the Virgin.
Helbon is in a land of vineyards, and possesses a few very
ancient ruins. It is supposed to be the place mentioned by
Ezekiel (xxvii. 18)-" Damascus was thy merchant in the
multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of
all riches ; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.''
(4) To the Meadow Lakes is an excursion that requires two days for its performance, and is interesting as
giving the best impression of the fertile country round about
Damascus. It is an excursion very rarely taken, and must
never be attempted without a good guide.
DAMASCUS TO BEYROUT DIRECT.
[The diligence starts from the office close to Demetri's
Hotel, and the distance of seventy miles is accomplished
in about 13½hours. It is necessary, in the busy season,
to secure places early, as the accommodation is limited,
and the good seats are few.
Private carriages may be ordered at Damascus-or Beyrout
on the return journey-and these are much .more comfortable. They hold five persons.]

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CHALCIS.
3S5
The diligence road, constructed by a French Company in
1860, is an excellent one, and is, in fact, the only road in
Syria.
Soon after leaving Damascus the Jebel Kasi!m (p, 353) is
seen on the right. The last vitlws of the beautiful city will
be gazed upon reluctantly; the villa of Abd-el-Kader (p. .347)
will be !een on the right. Dummar is a little village, to
the villas of which some of the Damascenes resort.
At Hemeh a halt is generally made, and horses
changed. The scenery now becomes very interesting, the
vegetation rich, and trees abound on every hand. It is the
beautiful Wady Barada. No traveller will fail to observe
how marvellous is the effect of the clear running waters,
which are as rivers of life. When theá Wady Barada is
passed, the desolate plateau of Sahra is crossed, where the
soldiers from Damascus are reviewed.
On the right is the village of Dimes, with the Khhl of
the same name. Nothing can be a stronger contrast to the
scenes lately passed than those upon which the traveller now •
enters. A rocky ravine leads to Khan Meiselun, and
after crossing a ridge of hill, enters the Wady-el-Karn,
which was once celebrated for its banditti. It is a wild glen
or ravine, and is nearly three miles in length. The next
halting-place is El-Judeideh, at the end of the Wady-el-
Kam. A long, and somewhat uninteresting, valley is now
entered. On the right is the village of Mejdel, above
which are some beautiful ruins of a temple of very ancient
date. They are well worth seeing ; and the view over the
plain of Buki\'a is remarkable, bounded as it is by the whole
mountain-chains of Hermon and Lebanon. Chalets is
the remnant of a once-flourishing city. It was given by the
Emperor Claudius to Herod, grandson of Herod the Great.
Little, however, is known of the place, and nothing of its

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DAMASCUS TO BEYROUT.

origin ; it is referred to by Josephus. Crossing the river
'Anjar, and further on a tributary of the LitAny, with the
village of Kub Elias on the left, the broad valley of the
Buka'a is crossed.
At Shtora, where a halt is again made, there is a road
to Ba'albek, which may be reached in about seven hours.
From here the ascent is made up the mountain of Lebanon
by a series of wonderful zigzags. When the summit is
reached, the view is magnificent beyond description.
The route from Shtora to Beyrout is identical with that
elsewhere described.

FROM DAMASCUS TO BEYROUT, VIA
BA'ALBEK-
This journey may be done comfortably as follows: Camp
the first night at Surghaya, and reach Ba'albek about the
middle of the following day. Stay there the night, and for
.a few hours of the next morning, then on to Shtora, and
..camp either there or on the slope of Lebanon, and the next
.day to Beyrout; or, if time permits, the journey may be
made by Salabiyeh and Kasiun (p. 353), then stay the night
,at 'Ain Fijeh, a short day's work, then to SurgMya, and
.then as above.
Leaving Damascus, we travel by the French diligence
road to Dummar (p. 355), then, turning to the right, enter
a barren gorge, a marvellous contrast to the view of Damascus
just left behind (p. 336). Then a portion of the plain of
Sabra is crossed, and the scene altogether alters. High cliffs
are on our right hand, in which are anyánumber of tombs,
some with Greek inscriptions ; while on the left are naked
limestone rocks, which will remind the traveller of the
Dolomites, or if he has not visited that wonderful region,
will suggest to him mammoth architectural ruins. Bessima

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'AIN FIJEH.
and Ashrafiyeh are two villages, connected by a rock
tunnel, supposed to have been made by Zenobia, to conduct
the water from' Ain Fijeh to Palmyra, or what is more feasible,
it may have been a channel for water to Damascus. A glen
is now entered, so exquisite that the traveller, coming from
the sterility of Palestine, finds himself in a new world. The
river dashes at his feet, and upon the banks, which it waters,
life and beauty, in luxuriant profusion, strike one in contrast
to the desolation and death around. Every variety of fruittree is seen, the walnut predominating, and groves, and
orchards make glad this strange and solitary place. Passing
the village of Fijeh, we arrive in about five minutes at the
Fountain of F'Jjeh (' Ain Fijeh), the principal source
of the Abana. There is an old temple, in ruins, above the
spring, and at its base there is a cave. From this there
rushes up-not a mere fountain-but a full-grown river,
which dashes and splashes over rocks and stones for about
eighty yards, and then joins another and much smaller branch
of the Barada, and the two, thus joined together, make one .
river, which the Arabs of to-day call Barada, and the ancients
called Abana. One sympathizes here with the saying of
Naaman, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel?" (2 Kings v. 12).
The Ruins are probably those of a temple, dedicated to
the god of the river, and are of very ancient date. It is,,
however, a matter of pure conjecture when, or why, or
by whom, the temple was built.
'Ain Fijeh is a capital place at which to camp (p. 356),
but if this is not in accordance with the traveller's programme,
he should at least spend an hour or so in its vicinity. Proceeding on our journey, we pass over ledges of rock and
steep embankments, first this side of the river, and then that,
sometimes through green fields, and then by chalky passes,

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DAMASCUS TO BEYROUT.

until we reach 5Hl.k W ady Barada, a charming spot,
and one often selected as a camping-place, as it stands in the
midst of orchards, close beside the river, and with exquisite
scenery all around. Suk W ady Barada is identical with the
ancient city of Abila (probably the same as Abel). It is
referred to--or rather the district around it-in St. Luke's
Gospel, iii. 1, "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Cresar, Pontius Pilate being Governor of Judrea,
and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturre and of the region of Trachonitis, and
Lysanias the tetrarch ef Abilene." Josephus makes mention
of the place, but its history is not easily connected. Lysanias was assassinated by the command of Cleopatra, and
the territory passed to Philip the tetrarch to Agrippa, and
then to Herod Agrippa.
Abila was in Christian times a bishop's see, and was
sacked by the Muslims, A.D. 634.
On the rock in which there are many tombs, there are
also two Latin inscriptions, one of which may be translated
as follows : "Imperial Cresar, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus,
the August, the Lord of Armenia, and Imperial Cresar Lucius
Aurelius Verus, the August, the Lord of Armenia, restored
this road, which had been tom away by the violence of the
river, by the instrumentality of Julius Verus, Legate of the
Province of Syria, who was also their own friend, at the
expense of the people of Abilene."
Perched on the top of a high hill is the so-called Tomb
of Abel; (Kabr Habit) it is a Muslim Wely, and is thirty
feet long. This is also the supposed site of his murder.
There are a few other ruins in the immediate neigbourhood.
Our course now lies through the glen of the Barada until
we reach the Plain of Zebedany about three miles in
breadth, surrounded with mountains. The plain is richly

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BA'ALBEK.
cultivated and in the village of Zebedany, which has a
population of over three thousand, there is an abundance of
trees and gardens, richer in their profusion than the traveller
will have seen anywhere else in Syria.
The village on the high hill above Zebedmy is Bllidan,
the summer residence of the Damascus British Consul, and
other people of importance. Crossing the watershed between
Damascus and Buka'a by a series of zig-zags, we arrive at
Surgha:ya, a village nestling under the highest peak of
Anti-Lebanon. This is aá favourite camping-place; the
villagers are simple and pleasant, and some of their houses
scrupulously clean; there are no remarkable antiquities in
the neighbourhood except some rock tombs. Next morning
the journey will be continued through a rugged country.
There is a choice of three roads, the pleasantest being that
by way of the village of Yahfufeh and Neby Shit, supposed
to be the tomb of Seth. His septtlchre is 121 ft. long ! From
these villages the view of the whole range of Lebanon, a
mighty wall of dazzling snow, with the richly-cultivated plain
-0f Buka'a below, is grand beyond description. The hill-sides
~re curious for the varied colouring they exhibit, ranging from
pale slate to red. With exquisite views all around us, we
continue until we reach the village of Bereitan, supposed
to be Berothai, a city of Hadadezer, from which "King
David took exceeding much brass" (2Sam. viii. 8). In about
an hour after leaving this village, the ruins of Ba'albek are
visible.
BA'ALBEK.
[It is usual for the camp to be pitched in the court of the
Great Temple, where it presents a curiously-picturesque
effect. Travellers without tents may obtain a shake-down
in some of the houses of the village close at hand, but the
accommodation is wretchedly poor.]

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BA'ALBEK.

Ba'albek is the Heliopolis of the Greeks and Romans,.
celebrated for its sun-worship in the temple which was oneof the wonders of the world. There is an inscription in the
grand portico of the temple still existing, which has been
translated thus : "To the great gods of Heliopolis. For the
safety of the lord Ant. Pius Aug., and of Julia Aug., the
mother of our lord of, the Castra (and) Senate. A devoted
( subject) of the sovereigns (caused) the capitals of the columns
of Antoninus, whilst in the air (to be) embossed with gold
at her own expense."
John Malala, of Antioch, a writer of the seventh century,.
states that "JElius Antoninus Pius built at Heliopolis of
Pha:nicia, in Lebanon, a great temple to Jupiter, which was.
one of the wonders of the world."
From the expression of the inscription, "To the great
gods of Heliopolis," it would appear that the Great Templewas originally a Pantheon. Coins of a very early date show
that there were two temples at Ba'albek-the greater one
corresponding with the Pantheon, and the lesser with the
temple which was probably the Temple of Baal. The word
"Baal'' means in the Hebrew language lord, and was given
by the Pha:nicians and Canaanites to their chief deity, the
sun; the female sharer of_his honours being Ashtoreth, or
Astarte, the moon. Ba'albek means, in theá Arabic language, the city, or crowded place ef the sun, and in all pro
bability corresponds with Baal-gad, the troop ef the sun,
mentioned more than once in the book of Joshua, with a
clearly-defined topographical position. "So Joshua took all
that land from the Mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even
unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon'' (Josh. xi. 17, xii. 7, xiii. 5). When the Greeks came
into possession of the district, they, according to customary
U"age, while holding the fane as a place of worship, altered

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BA'ALBEK.

its name, and called it Heliopolis; i.e., the City of the Sun,
the name which Alexander gave to the city of On, in Egypt.
In the fifth century, Macrobius states, "that the image worshipped at Heliopolis in Syria, was brought from Heliopolis
in Egypt." When the Romans possessed Syria, they held
the place as sacred, but dedicated it specially, though not
exclusively, to the worship of Jupiter. In the time of Constantine these false worships were abolished, and a vast
Basilica was erected here by him. In the later ages the
Muslims obtained possession, turned the temples into fortresses, prosecuted their petty wars, and by degrees the
glorious city fell into its present mass of ruins.
The following resume of the history of Ba'albek, from
the pen of M. Pressense, will be read with interest:-
" Ba'albek, or Heliopolis, was an insignificant town of
small note, except in the time of the decline of the Roman
Empire. One may judge, from the remains of this inglorious
city, with what a pride of pomp Paganism arrayed itself
before its death. The temples of Ba'albek date-at least as
the time of their positive erection-from the reign of Antcninus Pius. The Acropolis of the town was entirely isolated,
and placed on an eminence, surrounded with gigantic walls,
the stones of which belonged to that Phrenician architecture,
which, by its colossal genius, has earned the name of
Cyclopean.
"Three temples rose on this Acropolis: a Circular Temple,
of which there remain only a few highly-decorated chapels;
a Temple of Jupiter, which has preserved a great part of its
portico, and its cella quite entire, with its architra,•e ornate
to excess, its fluted columns, and a rich profusion of decoration; and a Temple of the Sun, the remains of which clearly
indicate its former grandeur. A peristyle led to a vast
hexagon surrounded by niches and columns; a large square

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BA'ALBEK,

court conducted to the Sanctuary. To this edifice belonged
the five splendid pillars which rear to such an astonishing
height an enormous mass of stone, as finely carved as if
designed for a temple of miniature proportions.
"The peculiar characteristic of this architecture is precisely this combination of the immense and the graceful, of
Cyclopean vastness with the refined elegance of an art
already in its decadence, but still in possession of most marvellous processes. Nowhere is the Corinthian acanthus
carved with more delicacy than on these gigantic blocks.
"After studying these three temples in detail, the mind
must be abandoned freely to the impression produced by the
magnificent whole. The fallen fragments heaped on the
ground are as wonderful as the standing remains.
" While the five pillars of the cella of the G,-eat Temple
rear themselves grandly to the eye, the earth around the
foot of the isolated columns still standing, is strewed with
enormous debris, which form a magnificent pell-mell, displaying all imaginable forms of Grecian architecture. It is
the ruin of an entire city, the ideal ruin of a dream, full of
disorder, poetry, grandeur.
"This is the sublime cenotaph of two distinct, but blended
civilizations; the old natural religions, which so long held
Asia captive, mingle the wrecks of their colossal architecture
with the exquisite forms that the genius of Greece threw off
as if in sport.
" Spring casts the garland of lier perpetual youth over this
thrice dead past-a smiling irony ; camels and sheep graze
on the grass which grows over columns and capitals.
Picture the white chain of Libanus looking down on this
overthrown city ; embrace in one comprehensive glance of
thought all the contrasts blended here, and the thrilling effect
of such a scene will be understood."

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BA'ALBEK.

Entering the ruins by a breach in. the wall, we find ourselves in a large Court, seventy yards long by about eightyfive wide ; it is in the form of a hexagon, with here and
there rectangular recesses in the wall, each with columns in
front. A handsome portal led from this hexagon into the
Great Court, about a hundred and fifty yards long by a
hundred and twenty-five wide, in the centre of which stood
the Basilica, while around were rectangular recesses, called
by the Romans Exedrre. Shell-shaped niches, and others
with remarkably ornate decorations adorni:d the walls. It
will be observed that the chambers on one side are an exact
repetition of the chambers on the other. It was in front of
this great court that the principal temple of Ba'albek reared
its head.
The Great Temple is now but a mass of ruins, it
was a peristyle, i.e., a temple with columns running round
it; of these, six columns only remain : these are seen as
soon as the traveller sights Ba'albek, and they will be gazed
upon as long as he remains here with unwearying delight.
They are about six.ty feet in height, with Corinthian capitals,
and bordered with a frieze. The Arabs have ruthlessly
hacked them, for the purpose of securing the iron cramps,
and have done so much damage, that recent visitors, practical
architects, have prophesied the speedy fall of the last remains
of, perhaps, the finest temple in the world. Originally
there were seventeen columns on either side of _thetemple,
and ten at either end, fifty-four in all; the building enclosed
by them being two hundred and ninety feet long by a
hundred a sixty broad. All around there are masses of
broken columns and debris.
Turning now through a passage on the left, we reach the
Temple of the Sun, which stands on a basement or
platfomf lower than that of the Gre~t Temple. There is

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BA'ALBEK.

nothing finer in all Syria than this magnificent, and wellpreserved ruin; nineteen, out of the forty-six colwnns with
which it was formerly adorned, remain, they are each sixty-fivefeet high, including base and capital,and six feet three inches io
diameter. One of these columns has fallen against the cella,
in which position it has r~mained for more than a century ;
the capitals and entablatures of the columns, and the friezes
round them are exquisitely executed.
Probably the most interesting and beautiful part of the
who!~ structure is the Portal of the Temple. Incredible
as it may appear, the door-posts are monoliths, ornamented
most richly with foliage and genii. The architrave is of
three stones, and on the lower side is the figure of the eagle,
the emblem of the sun. The stone in the centre looks dangerous, but bas been securely propped up. Beside the portal
there is a spiral staircase, by means of which a possible but
unsafe journey may be made upon the walls. The .cella,
about a hundred feet by seventy, is exceedingly rich in ornamentation; eight fluted half-columns are on either side, and
at the west end was the altar of the Christian church. All
the details of this wonderful buildiI?,gdeserve minute inspection. A walk round the walls should not, on any account
be omitted, as the substructure, with its Cyclopean masonry,
is as wonderful, or more so, than the temple itself. All the
masonry of the outer wall is prodigious in its dimensions ;
but the marvel of marvels is the western wall, where are
Three Stones, the largest ever used in architecture. The
temple itself was called Trilitbon, or three-stoned, probably
from these stupendous blocks. One stone measures sixtyfour feet long, another sixty-three feet eight inches, and a
third sixty-three feet; each is thirteen feet high and thirteen
feet thick, and they have been placed in the wall at :-..height
of twenty feet above the ground. How they were ever raised

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BA'ALBEK TO BEYROUT.

is a problem which the science of our own day fails to
unravel.
The Circular Temple is close to the modem village.
It is~ gem in its exterior, but has nothing remarkable inside.
Eight Corinthian columns, each a monolith, surround it,
while a richly-executed frieze of flowers adorns the wall of the
-cella. The entablature is heavily laden with decoration.
•As late as a century ago Christians of the Greek Church
worshipped here, but a century hence it is probable the
Circular Temple will be no more.
A traveller who had but recently passed through Palestine
has thus described his impressions: "There are many things
to wonder at and admire in Ba'albek. One never wearies
of gazing upon those graceful ruins, beautiful from every
aspect and in every light ; but it is not 'on holy ground '
that we are standing, and with the influences upon us which
the ruins of Palestine have created, we forget the might of
Phrenician strength, the poetry of Grecian architecture, the
pomp of Roman power, and sigh to think that all this magnificence was pride, this worship pagan, and all this skill and
grace and beauty defiled by voluptuous and soul-destroying
sin. I climbed a wall and sat upon a richly-sculptured
parapet, watching the sunset. To the left was Hermon, to
the right Lebanon, and at my feet the whole vast area of ruins.
It was an hour full of suggestion, and one could not fail to
trace how the word of the Lord was receiving its fulfilment ;
how the false systems were lying in the dust and darknes~,
while His own prophetic proclamation was gaining daily new
force and power: 'I am the light of the world.' "

FROM BA'ALBEK TO BEYROUT DIRECT-
The journey from Ba'albek to Shtora (p. 356), on the
Damascus road, is a good seven hours' journey.

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-------

366 BA'ALBEK TO BEYROUT.

Soon after leaving the ruins, the Quarries, from whence
the great stones used for the platform of the Temple of the
' 'Sun were excavated, áare passed. There is one gigantic stone
still lying where it was left by the Phrenician workmen 4,000
years ago. It is 68 ft. long, 14 high, and 14 broad. It is
estimated that it weighs nearly 1~0 tons.
Our course now lies over the Buka'a, the broad valley
between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, which we cross diagonally, and observe one or two ruins on the right, scarcely
worth the trouble of visiting.
The valley looks smooth, level, and well cultivated ; but
after rains it is difficult riding, as there are so many swampy
places. The journey will be broken for .mid-day rest and
lunch at the village at Kerak NO.h, where there is the
reputed tomb of Noah, which measures between fifty and
sixty yards in length ! It is probably a disused aqueduct.
Near here is a village, very beautiful for situation, called
Nur 'Allaka, surrounded by groves and orchards, and in
the midst of fertility.
Zahleh is a large town, the largest in Lebanon, with a
population of nearly sixteen thousand, of whom more than
nine-tenths are Christians. There is an air of comfort and
cleanliness about the place, and intelligence among the
people, more than is met with elsewhere.
A good wine is grown in the neighbourhood, and there
are many thriving manufactories.
Through the steep streets there is a watercourse, in which
babbles a brook descending from the Sannm, a mountain
hard by. During the massacre of 1860 the town suffered
terribly, and was captured by the Druses, who burnt it to
the ground.
In less than an hour from here we reach Shtora, where
we join the diligence route (p. 356).

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BEYROUT. •

It is usual to camp somewhere by the road-side, or at
Shtora, and resume the journey on the following morning.
A good road, gently winding, leads by a series of zig-zags
to the summit of Lebanon, and then descends by another
series of zig-zags to Beyrout.
When the Summit of Lebanon is reached, the scenery
is exquisite. On our right-hand is a wild, magnificent gorge,
the Wady HummAna; below, at a terrible depth, may be
seen the promontory of Beyrout, flecked with its white
houses, while beyond is the broad blue Mediterranean ; in
the background on the right and left are wild and barren
mountains. The traveller should stay here awhile at ,.;.;,s
wondrous summit, 5,600 ft. above the sea level, until. le has
fully taken in the magnificence of the scene. .,,
Descending towards Beyrout, every tum )f the road
gives fresh glimp'ses of Beyrout and its charming c::ufo'vu:,.
As we clear the level a civilized region is entered, orchards
and gardens abound, pleasant villas are seen on every hand, the
Pineta, or pine-grove, is traversed, and soon we find ourselves
among the shops and paved streets of Beyrout.
BEYROUT
(Hotel Belle Vue.)
[Beyrout is the principal commercial town of Syria, and is
strangely different from any other. Bankers abound;
there are Consulates of all the principal countries
in the world. Almost everything that can be purchased
in a European city may be purchased in Beyrout, and
souvenirs of Arab work may be bought to advantage.
At the hotels, vendors of photographs, worked slippers,
and other things, are persistent in their endeavours to
effect a sale; but the traveller"will~do better, as a rule,
to make a bargain at the shops.

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368 BEYROUT.

There are several Physicians, English, American, etc.,
resident in the city. Good sea baths maybe obtained
near to the Hotel Belle Vue, and all the luxuries of
the barber's establishment may be enjoyed at any of the
barber's shops in Frank Street. There are many pleasant ways of spending time in Beyrout, if the travellel"
is detained here for a steamer.
Pleasant excursions may be made in the environs. Horses
and carriages may be hired, although there is not a
great diversity of drives. The bathing and fishing in
. the bay are excellent, and the German and Swiss Club
.-- ~._ is plentifully supplied with newspapers.]

Beyrc,:t is beautifully situated on a promontory, which
extends for .bout three miles into the Mediterranean.
IT..:; .,.1oreline is indented with fine rocks and cliffs, and
rising behind them undulations upon undulations, and in the
background the gigantic range of Lebanon. The population
has increased within the past few years, and is said to exceed
at the present time 80,000. The climate is pleasant, and
vegetation luxuriant; the palm-tree flourishes, and flowers
bloom everywhere in abundance.
The history of Beyrout is a long and interesting one.
It was a Phrenician city of great antiquity, and named by the
Greeks and Romans Berytus. Augustus made it a colony
with the title Colonia Felix Julia, and medals struck in
honour of the Roman Emperors bore the legend, " Colonia
Felix Berit1s" (Plin. v. 20 ). It was decorated with a
theatre, baths, and amphitheatre by Agrippa, grandson of
Herod the Great, who also instituted games and gladiatorial
shows. It was celebrated under the later Empire for its
law school, founded by Alexander Severus. The splendour
of this school, which preserved in the East the language and

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BEYROUT.

jurisprudence of the Romans, may be computed to have
lasted from the third to the middle of the sixth century
(Gibbon ii. 94).
When the Saracens overran Syria, Beyrout fell into their
hands, and during the wars of the Crusaders it often changed
hands. It was captured by Baldwin I. in 1100, and was
occupied for some time by Saladin. The Druse prince,
Fakhr-ed-Din, made it his residence in 1595,and was instrumental in raising it from the low state into which it had
fallen.
In 1840, Beyrout was bombarded by the Eoglish, and
recaptured for the Turks. After the massacres of 1860
many Christians came and settled here, and from that date
the prosperity of Beyrout has been greater than in any
previous period of its history. There are scarcely any sights
for the traveller to see. The Bazaar does not present any
of those Oriental ,features which are so attractive in other
Eastern towns. The principal Mosque is closed. The
only ancient structure is the Tower near the harbour. The
houses are of semi-European build, and the costumes of
semi-European cut.
Beyrout is famous for its missionary and philanthropicinstitutions, and every traveller will do well to visit them,
as they represent a great power which will revolutionize
Syria.
The Syrian Protestant College has departments
in Arabic Literature, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Modern
Languages, Moral Science, Biblical Literature, Medicine,
Surgery, Jurisprudence, etc.; it is under the general control
of trustees in the United States, where the present funds are
invested ; but its local affairs are administered by a Board of
Managers, composed of American and British Missionaries
and residents in Syria and Egypt.

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BEYROUT.
37°
The College is conducted upon strictly Protestant and
Evangelical principles, but is open to students from any of
the Oriental sects and nationalities who will conform to its
regulations.
The sects already represented are the Protestant, Orthodox Greek, Papal Greek, Latin, Maronite, Druse, and
Armenian. Direct proselytism is not attempted ; but, without endeavouring to force Protestantism upon students of
other sects, every effort is made by the personal intercourse
of professors and instructors, in the class-room and at other
times, and by the general exercises and arrangements of the
institutions, to bring each member into contact with the
distinctive features of Evangelical truth.
The Medical Department, under the management•
of several professors, is a special feature in connection with
the American Mission. Native practitioners á have hitherto
been grossly ignorant and incompetent.
The School of Medicine furnishes a professional training
in accordance with the principles and practice of modern
science, and is well attended by students, who receive a fouryears' training.
There is also in connection with the Mission a Printing Press, which provides an ample and instructive literature, and spreads the principles of the Mission by means of
a weekly newspaper. • •
Divine Service is conducted every Sunday in the
handsome church of the American Mission.
The Brown Ophthalmic Hospital, founded by
n American gentleman of that name, was instituted in consequence of the inability to meet the needs of the people
during the epidemics of ophthalmia. It has been most successful in preventing the loss of sight to many in the land,
where this particular form of disease is so prevalent.

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ENVIRONS OF BEYROUT.
Among the eminent men who have been connected with
the American Mission may be mentioned Eli Smith, Dr.
Vandyck, and Thomson.
The British Syrian Schools, founded in 1860,
include a Normal Training Institution, Day School (Elementary, Infant, Muslim), giving instruction to 680 pupils.
Schools for the blind and for cripples, etc., etc. There are
six branch schools in the Lebanon, with over 40;) pupils.
The Jews' School at Beyrout is under the auspices of
the Church of Scotland.
There are several French Institutions, inclu.ding
an orphanage, day schools, boarding schools, etc.
The Italian Government supports the Scuola Reale
ltaliana Elementare. The Germans have an orphanage and school with 130 pupils, and a Protestant Chapel
for French and German services.

ENVIRONS OF BEYROUT-
An easy and pleasant walk or drive from Beyrout is to
the Pine ta (p. 367 ), where a band plays every Friday in the
winter time. Another walk is to the Lighthouse. Carriages may be taken as far as to the new buildings of the
American Mission (p. 369). A charming excursion by boat
may be made to the Pigeons' Grottoes, above which the
hill commands an extensive and beautiful view.
The principal excursion, and áone which ought not on any
account to be omitted, is to the Dog River. The journey
may be made there by boat, but as it is sometimes difficult
to make the return journey by boat, it should not be
attempted if time be pressing. It is a capital journey on
horseback, and a good canter may be enjoyed upon the
sea-shore. On the road will be seen an old building called
the Chapel of St. George, where tradition states he slew the

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ENVIRONS OF BEYROUT.
dragon. Nahr-el-Kelb (Dog River) rises in the Sannin.,.
and is so named from a tradition that when a foe approachedr
<t dog, hewn in the rock, gave an alarm by barking. It was
t.hrown into the sea, but by whom is not apparent, and a
rock is still pointed out as "the Dog.'' The great interest
of this spot is not, however, so much the river, or the bold
promontory which forms its southern bank, as the nine
Sculptures cut in the face of the rock. Before reaching
them, an inscription will be seen, from which it is ascertained
that the rocky pass was cut by order of the Emperor Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus, who is here designated Germanicus,
and thus fixes the date when the road was constructed as
between the years 176 and 180 A.D. The sculptures, nine
in numb(>r,are three Egyptian and six Assyrian. One of
the former is dedicated to Phthah, the god of Memphis ;
another to Ra, the Sun god; the third records certain expeditions of Sesostris (Rameses II.) The Assyrian sculpture!.-
are regarded as the work of Sennacherib, who invaded Syria,.
701 B c. Much discussion has taken place with reference
to the origin and history of these sculptures, and for fuller
information the traveller is referred to the works of M. de
Saulcy, Lepsius, Robinson, Layard, and others.
From Nahr-el-Kelb to Tripoli (p. 378).
There is a small Arabian Cafe here, and a day may be
most pleasantly spent in this neighbourhood. There are
other excursions from Beyrout :-1. To Deir el-Kal'a,
where there is a monastery 2,200 ft. above the sea level ; a
guide is necessary. 2. To Baabda, about seven miles from
Beyrout. The journey may be made by carriage. It is the
seat of the government of Lebanon. There is a garrison
and an Emir's castle, very picturesquelv situated, and from
which there is a famous view.

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LEBANON AND THE CEDARS.
BA'ALBEKTO BEYROUT.
(By the Cedars and Tripoli.)
The Cedars of Lebanon are best visited from Ba'albek
-and 'Ain 'Ata. If the traveller intends only to visit the
Cedars, and back to Ba'albek, the following plan is recommended. Baáalbek to 'Ain 'Ata six hours, 'Ain 'Ata to the
Cedars, four hours; back to 'Ain 'Ata, four hours; camp
there, and return when inclined. If travellers continue from
the Cedars direct to Beyrout, they should camp at El Husn,
where there is a deep gorge, which takes two hours to
descend, and two more to ascend; then next day to 'Arka,
from whence an excursion may be made to the Natural
Bridge, and then continue to the Dog River (p. 372), and
thence to Beyrout (p. 367). From the Cedars to Tripoli is
only a day's ride; from Tripoli to Beyrout is two days by
rnad, but only three hours by steamer.
The Cedars can be reached via Shtora (p. 356) or Zahleh
(p. 366). The road crosses the plain of BuU.'a, and when
a column is passed on the left, an hour further on brings us
to the spur of the mountain. In half an hour we reach
Deir el-Ahmar, where a guide should be taken. Here the
ascent, ridge over ridge, is made, until the traveller arrives
at the little village of 'Ain 'Ata, inhabited by Maronites.
From here the ascent is steep until the summit is reached.
The view from this elevation is as extensive as it is beautiful,
commanding all the ridges of the mountain, and below the
great plain of BuU'a on one side, and the white houses of
Tripoli on the other. The celebrated Cedars are reached
by a descent of about an hour.
LEBANON AND THE CEDARS.
In Hebrew prose Lebanon occurs constantly with the
article, as in I Kings v. 20; in poetry sometimes with,

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BA'ALBEK TO BEYROCT,
sometimes without the article, as in Isaiah xiv, 8, and Psalm
xxix. 5 and 6. In Greek, both in the Septuagint and classic
authors, the name is Libanus; sometimes the Septuagint has
Anti-Libanus, the reason for which does not appear (Deut.
i. 7, iii. 2 5 ; Joshua i. .+,ix. 1). The classic Latin name,
as well as the reading of the Vulgate, is Li banus; Arab
geographers calJ the range Jebel Libnfin; but when the
Syrians use the term (which is seldom) it refers to the
western range. The northern section is called Jebel
Akkar, the central, Sundn, and the southern, Jebel-el-
Druze.
There are also other modern local names. In Joshua
i. 4 (as elsewhere) Lebanon includes both the eastern and the
western mountain ranges, while in Joshua xiii. 5, the
eastern range is appropriately distinguished as " Lebanon
towards the sun-rising." Latin writers always designate
the eastern range by the name Anti-Libanus, which signifies
opposite, or "over against Lebanon.'' The southern section
of this range is known to the sacred writers as Hermon
(" The Lofty Peak"). Anti-Libanus is now called by native
geographers Jebel-esh-Shurky, (" East Mountain,") while
Lebanon proper is some ti mes termed J ebel-el-Ghurl-y("West
Mountain ").
Lebanon signifies "white," "the White Mountain'' of
Syria in ancient times; the mountain of the '' Old 'White-
Headed Man," or the "Mountain of Ice,'' in modern times.
The term white is employed either because of the whitish
limestone rock which composes the great body of the whole
range, or, more probably, because snow covers the peaks
most of the year. In Jeremiah xxvii. 14, mention is made
of the " snow of Lebanon '' ; and in the Chaldee paraphrase
the name of Lebanon is " Snow Mountain,'' which is
synonymous with a modern Arabic appelJation sometimes

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LEBANON AND THE CEDARS.
used, Jebel-eth-Thelj. The highest mountains in all parts
of the world have a similar signification.
The Bible represe.nts Lebanon as lying on the northern
border of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy i. 7, iii. 25,
xi. 24; Joshua i. 4, ix. 1). The two distinct ranges both
begin in latitude 33 degrees 20 minutes, and run in parallel
lines from south-west to north-east for about one hundred
miles, with an average base breadth of about twenty miles.
At the northernmost termination of the chain, the plain of
Emesa opens out, which is "the entering in of Hamath,"
so often mentioned as the extreme limit, in this direction, of
the widest possible inheritance of Israel (Numbers xiii. 21;
2 Kings xiv. 25; z Chronicles vii. 8, etc.) Between these
two ranges is the long nariow valley, from five to eight miles
in width, called C<ele-Syria (" Hollow Syria"), termed in
Scripture the "Valley of Lebanon•• (Joshua ii. 17). The
modern name is El-Buktl'a, "the valley.'' This is a northern
prolongation of the Jordan Valley, and a southern prolongation of that of the Orontes.
Besides the above passages, which mainly refer to the
name and situation, there are many other Bible allusions to
this vast mountain range. Lebanon and its inhabitants, the
Giblites and Hivites, were promised to Israel; but a great
part of the region was not conquered (Joshua xiii. z-6;
Judges iii. 1-4). In'.Deuteronomy iii. 25, it is called "that
goodly mountam '' which Moses desired to see ; in Judges
iii. 3, "Mount Lebanon "; in 2 Chronicles ii. z, "the mountain"; "the Tower of Lebanon," Solomon's Song, vii. 4;
this goodly mountain was famous for cedars, Psalms xxix.
5, xcii. IZ, Isaiah xiv. 8; for flowers, Nahum i. 4; for
fragrance, Solomon's Song iv. 11, Hosea xiv. 6; for wine,
Hosea xiv. 7; for appearance, "the glory of Lebanon,''
Isaiah xu:v. z; Lebanon was covered with snow, Jeremiah

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BA'ALBEK TO BEYROUT.

xv111. 14; some of it was barren, Isaiah xxix. 17 ; a place
for wild beasts, "for lions' dens," the mountain "of the
leopards," Isaiah xi. 16, Hebrews ii. 17, Solomon's Song
iv. 8; it was the source of many streams, Solomon's S~ng
iv. 15; the groves and forests of goodly cedar and fir on
Lebanon, and also its stones, were the chosen material with
which King Solomon built the royal palace and the splendid
Temple of the Holy City (1 Kings ix. 19); from the grand
heights of this '' Tower of Lebanon'' (Solomon's Song vii.
4) the old Assyrian conquerors looked down upon the Holy
Land (2 Kings xix. 23).
When the second temple was built the people "gave
money .... to bring cedars from Lebanon" (Ezra iii. 7).
The snows, the streams, the verdant forests, the richness
and the grandeur of Lebanon made it always to the
Hebrews the emblem of wealth, of majesty and of glory.
Van de Velde says, '' I have travelled in no part of the
world where I have seen such a variety of glorious mountain scenes within so narrow a compass.'' •
The chief summits of Lebanon are, Sunnin, about 9,000
feet high, and Jehel Mukhmel, nearly 10,200 feet, which is
the highest peak in Syria. The average height of the chain
is 6000 to 8000 feet. The loftiest peak of Anti-Libanus is
Hennon, boldly rising 10,000. The average height of this
range is about 5,000. The valley of Cc:ele-Syriais drained
by the River Litany (or Leontes) which has cut through
Lebanon a most beautiful gorge ; in the latter part of its
course, this stream passes through a wild chasm, whose
banks in some places are more than a thousand feet high,
"of naked rock, and almost perpendicular." '' In wild
grandeur this chasm has no equal in Syria, and few in the
world." Anti-Lebanon is still a " well of living water,'' the
our great rivers of Syria having here their source. The

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LEBANON AND THE CEDARS.
37i
renowned Cedars are found in a vast recess in the central
ridge of Lebanon, about eight miles in diameter; they stand
alone, with not another tree in sight, at an elevation of at
least 6000 feet above the Mediterranean.
The cedars are about four hundred in number, and they
vary extremely in size, some being very old ; they are in the
centre, and the younger ones cluster round them. There may
oot be more than twelve remaining of great antiquity, and a
few of these measure more than forty feet in circumference,
but the trunks are not high. These trees grow less in
number continually, and some travellers do not count so
many as above stated. Dr. Thomson says:" I counted four
hundred and forty-three, and these cannot be far from the
true number."
Cedars have been recently found also in other parts of
the range. The western slopes of Lebanon are very beautiful, with" evergreen oaks and pines clothing the molllltain's
side, while fig-trees, vines, mulberry, and olive-trees abound
on terraced heights, or in picturesque glens. Com is cultivated in every possible nook, villages nestle among the cliffs,
and convents crown the summits of well-nigh perpendicular
- rocks." (Ayre.) Wild beasts are, a.s always, numerous in
the recesses of the range. Fossils abound in the rocks.
Iron and coal have also been found. Compare Deut. viii.
9, xxxiii. 2 5. In the northern parts the mountain is peopled
with Maronite Christians, numbering about 150,000, whose
chief occupation is rearing the silk-worm. Druses occupy
the southern parts, and between these tribes there have been
serious outbreaks. Anti-Libanus is more barren, and more
thinly-peopled than the western range. The ruins of this
region are very extensive, and full of interest. One of the
most reliable and earnest explorers tells us that he has visited
more than thirty temples in Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon,

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BA'ALBEK TO BEYROUT.

that "Greece itself cannot surpass in grandeur the temples
of Ba'albek and Chalcis. The Pasha of Damascus holds the
whole range under his authority."-(Whitney's Handbook of
Bible Geography.)
Tripoli,
or Tripolis (from three quarters, Aradus, Sidon, and Tyre
-whence "The Tr_ipleCity"), has a population variously
estimated at 13,000, 17,000, and 24,000. It is built
on both sides the river Kadisha. It abounds in streams
almost as much as does Damascus. There are eighteen
churches in the town, one of which is Protestant. The
chief manufacture is soap, made from olive oil. Tobacco is
cultivated here plentifully; and sponges are fished for freely,
and command a good trade. The scenery in the neighbourhood is very fine; the antiquities, though not extensive, are
very interesting.
Tripoli is chiefly visited by travellers as a starting point
for the Cedars, but it is interesting as a city that has
memorials of many ages, and a history unique, insomuch as'
it is unknown, but is supposed to date from early Phreniciao
times. It is the Alexandria of Syria, for its library of
100,000 volumes, in which there were no doubt MSS. which
would have given its history from Phrenician times, was
destroyed by fire in 1 104.
The Castle is the best place for a good view. The
houses are white-roofed, and many of the interiors are curious, having wells of water in them. The journey from
Tripoli to Beyrout takes about seventeen hours, and the
traveller passes the picturesque bay :_of Ras Shekka, the
antique town of Batrun, dating from the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and the town of Jebeil, corresponding with the Gebal
of Scripture, from whence the great stones used in the building of Solomon's Temple. were brought (1 Kings v. 18).

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BEYROUT,
The Giblites, or people of Gebal, were also famous as shipbuilders. "The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof
were in thee '' (Tyre and Sidon) "thy caikers: all the ships
of the sea, with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy
merchandise" (Ezek. xxvii. 9).
The Nahr-el-Kelb (Dog River) (p. 372) is the next
place of great interest, and from thence it is an easy and
pleasant ride by the sea-shore to Beyrout (p. 367).

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atbt <toastRnntts.
JAFFA TO ASOALON AND GAZA.
1. This journey may be performed by keeping to the
Jerusalem route as far as Ramleh (p. 74), and then striking
south-west across a dreary plain, partly sandy, partly covered
with weeds, and here and there diversified by a plot of corn,
to 'Akir, or Ekron, and thence to Jabneh.
Ekron was the most northerly of the five chief Philistian c1ues. It was assigned to Judah (Joshua xv. 11,45,46),
and subsequently to Dan (Joshua xix. 43). Though once
taken possession of by Judah, it never ceased to be a Philistian town. It was from Ekron that the Philistines finally
sent back the Ark of God, after its presence had caused so
much calamity in their cities (1 Sam. vi.) In 2 Kings i.,
Ekron is described as the place to which the dying Ahaziah
sent to enquire of Baal-Zebub concerning his hopes of recovery. Amongst the prophecies referring to Ekron, are
these: in Jer. xxv. 20, Amos i. 8, "I will turn my band
against Ekron;'' Zeph. ii. 4, "Ekron shall be rooted up;"
also, Zech. ix. 5-7.
All that now represents this once royal city is the village
of 'Akir, consisting of a few filthy lanes of mud hovels, inhabited by a ragged populace. Two finely built wells are
all that tell of a more prosperous state of things.
2. The direct route from Yafa,or Jaffa, to Yebna, or Jabneh, runs for thirteen and a half miles along the east side of
the sand bills that fringe the Mediterranean coast in this part,
and across the Wady Surar, which is a river in the winter
season. The first part of this ride, as soon as the gardens of

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JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA. 381
Jatta are left behind is rather dreary, chiefly over sandy
tracts, until, on crossing some elevated ground, the plains of
Philistia are seen, gracefully undulating, and richly clothed
with pastures and growing crops.
'' The most striking and characteristic feature of Philistia
is its immense plain of corn-fields, stretching from the
edge of the sandy tract right up .to the very wall of the hills
of Judah, which look down its whole length from north to
south. Those rich fields must have been the great source
at once of the power and value of Philistia, the cause of its
frequent aggressions on Israel, and of the unceasing efforts
of Israel to master the territory. It was, in fact, 'a little
Egypt.' As in earlier ages the tribes of Palestine, when
pr~ssed by famine, went down to the valley of the Nile, so
in later ages, when there was a famine in the hills of
Samaria and the Plain of Esdraelon, the Shunamite went
with her household ' and sojourned in the land of the .
Philistines seven years' (2 Kings viii. 2). In that plain of
corn and those walls of rock lie the junction of Philistine
and Israelitish h:story, which is the peculiarity of the tribe
of Dan. This region is what the Kings of Sidon regarded
as 'the root of Dan.' These are the fields of ' standing
corn ' with ' vineyards and olives ' amongst them, into
which the Danite hero sent down the 'three hundred
jackals' (Jud. xv. 4) from the neighbouring hills. In the
dark openings here and there seen from far in the face of
those blue hills, were the fortresses of Dan, whence Samson
• went down ' into the plain. Through these same openings,
after the fall of Goliath, the Philistines poured back and fled
to the gates of Ekron, and through these the milch-kine,
lowing as they went, carried back the ark to the hills of
Judah (1 Sam. xvii. 52, vi. 12). 1n the caves which pierce
the sides of the limestone cliffs of Lekieh and Deir-Dubban

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382 JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA.

on the plain, may probably be found the refuge of Samson
in the ' cliff' Etam before his victory with the jawbone,
as, perhaps, afterwards, of David in the Cave of Adullam.
It is not often that on the same scene events so romantic
have been enacted at such an interval of time, as the deeds
of strength which were wrought in this plain by him ' before
whose lion ramp the bold Askalonite fell,' and those of our
own Creur de Lion.''
Yebna is a modern town, with some ruins of the ancient
Jabneh, or Jamnia, and also of a church of the Crusaders.
It is well situated on an eminence declining towards the sea.
The population is about 3000, subsisting chiefly by agriculture, and gathering abundant harvests with very rude
appliances from the fertile lands of the vicinity. The
threshing-floors round the village, and the oxen treading
out the corn, are exceedingly illustrative of Scripture usages.
J abneh was a town on the boundary of Judah, as seen in
Joshua xv. 11. It came into the power of the Philistines,
from whom Uzziah took it, and" broke down the wall''
{2 Chron. xxvi. 6). In the time.of the Maccabees the place
was called Jamnia(I Mace. iv. 15). See also z Mace. xi. 40,
where it is recorded that after the overthrow of Georgias by
Judas Maccabeus at this place, the latter " found under the
coats of every one that was slain things consecrated to the idols
of the J amnites. Then every man saw that this was the cause
for which they were slain." There must then have been
idols and temples here at that time. Strabo says this district
was densely populated, and that 40,000 armed men came
forth from Jamnia and its vicinity. Of the harbour of
Jamnia, at the mouth of the Wady Surar, no trace remains.
This was the place where Judas Maccabeus " set fire to the
haven and the navy, so that the light was seen at Jerusalem''
(2 Mace. xii. 9).

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ASHDOD.

It is said that after the fall of Jerusalem Jamnia became
noted as a seat of learning, and that Gamaliel was buried
here.
Leaving the island-like hill on which Yebna stands, the
traveller crosses the plain towards Esdud.
Esdlid (anciently Ashdod) is a magnificent village,
beautifully situated on the eastern slope of a hill, in the
midst of a richly fertile country. The cornfields sweep up
to the very base of the hill, and there are terraces of orchards
teeming with apricots and pomegranates, olives and figs,
in place of the temples and palaces of the ancient city. The
village is a mass of filth and squalor and wretchedness.
Heaps of stones and a few fragments of capitals and
columns, one granite column and a sculptured sarcophagus,
are about all that remain to whisper of what once has been.
Yet on this hill once stood the great temple of the Fish-god,
Dagon, and the mighty Acropolis, that took Psammetichus
twenty-nine years to subdue.
"How sad, and yet how glorious," says the author of the
Giant Cities of Bashan, '' is the view from the top of that
hili, beneath which the dust of a mighty city lies dishonoured ! • On the one side the noble plain, stretching
away to the foot of Judah's mountains, here and there cultivated, but mostly neglected and desolate, yet all naturally
fertile as in the palmy days of Philistia's power. On the
other side, a dreary, hopeless waste of drifting sand, washed,
away yonder, by the waves of the Mediterranean ; and here
at our feet, advancing with slow and silent, but resistless
step, covering and to cover flower and tree, ancient ruin and
modem, but in one common tomb."
Ashdod (signifying stronghold or castle) was one of the
royal Philistine cities assigned to the tribe of Judah (Josh.
xiii. 3). The possessors, however, were never ousted. The

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384 JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA.

town was specially celebrated for the worship of Dagon, the
Fish-god. In I Sam. v. we read of the disgrace of the idoJ
in presence of the ark of God, and the plague sent on the
inhabitants of the city. The walls were broken down by
King Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 6), and the city was afterwards
taken by Tartan, the general of the King of Assyria (Isa.
xx. 1).
Ashdod was a source of intermixture to the Jewish
people, and often a cause of transgression. Nehemiah sorely
lamented these things when he" saw Jews that had married
wives of Ashdod .. , and their children spake half in the
speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language" (chap. xiii. 23, 24).
The prophecies against Ashdod are in J er. xxv. 20;
Amos i. 8, " I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod "
(Amos iii. 9; Zeph. ii. 4); "they shall drive out Ashdod at
the noonday" (Zeeb. ix. 6).
In the New Testament, Ashdod, or Azotus, is mentioned
as the place where Philip was found after the conversion of
the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts viii. 40).
In 650 B.c. Ashdod endured the longest siege. in the
history of the world, being invested by Pasammetichus for
twenty-nine years, as related by Herodotus. During the
Maccabean wars the place was destroyed and rebuilt (1
Mace. v. 68, x. 84). In early Christian times Azotus was
an episcopal see, as also in the time of the Crusades.
Leaving Esdud, the ro1d to the south is followed across
a plain constantly encroached upon by the sands. Passing
Hamanieh, with its orange-groves and well-cultivated gardens,
El-Mejdel is reached. This is a large and thriving village.
There is a good bazaar, and numerous substantial stone
houses, and a few fragments of old ruins, consisting chiefly
of large hewn stones and broken columns. Under the

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ASCALON.

name of Migdal-Gad, tower of Gad, the tower is mentioned
in Joshua xv. 37. Herodotus, Eusebius, etc., mention the
place as Magdaia. The former relates the conquest of the
Syrians at this place by Pharaoh Necho.
Leaving Mejdel, with its groves and fields, the traveller
now turns westward across the sandy tract, and soon stes
before him the green oasis surrounding the little village of
Jurah, under the ruined ramparts of Ascalon.
'Askulan, or Ascalon (Bib. Ashkelon or Askelon),
was a royal city of the Philistines, situated on a splendid site
by the Mediterranean shore, about five miles from Gaza. It
was built on a natural amphitheatre, protected to the east by
a semicircular ridge of rock. The orchards and gardens are
of great repute; the onions and apples being especially
famous. Where the sand has not drifted over the site, these
orchards flourish. Amongst them are the desolate remains
of ancient Ascalon. "The position," says Thomson, " is
one of the fairest along this part of the Mediterranean coast,
and when the interior of this amphitheatre was crowded with
splendid temples and palaces, ascending, rank above rank,
from north-west to south-east, the appearance from the sea
must have been very imposing."
"Well might Ascalon be deemed the haunt of the
Syrian Vem•s," says Stanley. "Her temple is destroyed,
but the Sacred Doves-sacred by immemorial legends on
the spot, and celebrated there even as late as Eusebius-still fill
with their cooings the luxuriant gardens which grow in the
sandy hollow within the ruined walls. . . . In Ascalon was
entrenched the hero of the last gleam of history which has
thrown its light over the plains of Philistia. Within the
walls and towers still standing, Richard held his court ; and
the white-faced hill which, seen from their heights, forms so
conspicuous an object in the eastern part. of the plain, is the

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386 JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA.

' Blanche Garde ' of the Crusading chroniclers, which witnessed bis chief adventures."
The Syrian Venus referred to in this extract was the
Fish-goddess, Derceto, the tutelary deity of Ascalon.
" No ruins can be more complete than those of Askelon.
It is an utter desolation. Great fragments of the wall that
faced the sea lie scattered about like immense boulders, the
stones and the mortar bound together in a solid mass. One
is at a loss to conjecture what mighty forces could have been
employed to wrench such massive blocks from a wall that
seems to have been part of the rock itself.
"We clambered over these fallen masses, which wil)
soon be buried in the drifting sand, and reached the highest
part of the old battlements. Seating ourselves on a projecting column, we surveyed this scene of awful desolation. On
our way up we passed several marble and granite pillars,
beautifully polished, and bearing testimony to the taste with
which the city was adorned. Fragments of marble and
granite lie scattered about in all directions. Patches of
garden grm,nd, onion-beds, hedges of prickly-pear, mounds
of debris, now occupy the site of Askelon. There is not one
inhabited house amongst the ruins-not so much as the
vestige of a modem house. The tine crescent sweep of the
ancient city is tilled up with sand ; . . . towards the northeast are beautiful gardens, filled with fruit-trees, flowers,
and vegetables. Every now and again in the narrow lanes,
we came upon broken columns of marble and •granite, and
• ornamented friezes, ~hicb had been dug out of the sanddrift. It is a remarkable fact that not a single column stands
upright. At a little distance from the walls is a small village,
where pieces of broken pillars are now used for door-steps.
Many portions of the ruins have also been drifted into the
adjoining gardens."-(Wal/ace.)

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ASCALON.

The subsequent history of Ascalon since the period of
the Old Testament narrative is of great interest. Under the
successors of Alexander, many battles were fought for the
possession of this strong city on the sea-coast. Herod the
Great added to the splendour of Ascalon by building portiá
coes, baths, etc. In the fierce struggle between the Jews
and Romans, terrible scenes were enacted here ; on one
occasion, two thousand five hundred Jews were deliberately
killed in cold blood.
Ascalon was taken by the Crusaders in u52, fifty years
after the rest of Palestine hadá yielded. Four months were
occupied in a fierce attack by sea and land. When a breach
was effected in the walls, a band of Templars rushed in amt
were killed to a man. At length the town yielded ; but its
defenders made their own terms, and marched out with the
honours of war.
In 1187, Saladin regained the town. In 1191, Richard
Cceur de Lion appeared on the stage of events, and after
fighting his way from Acre, defeated the Muslims at Arsoof.
Saladin and his army of thirty thousand men demolished the
city and its immense walls, to prevent its falling into the
hands of the English. It was again partly restored, and
held successively by Templars and Knights of St. John. In
1270, Sultan Bibars completely destroyed the defences of the
town. For about three centuries the place has been utterly
abandoned.
The orchards and gardens alluded to as existing on part
of the site of the city, and abo without the walls to the
north-east, are cultivated by the inhabitants of the miserable
little village of El-Jurah, situated in the immediate vicinity
of the ruins.
Ashkelon, Eshkalon, or Askelon, as it is variously called
in the Scriptures, lay away from the great road into Egypt,

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388 JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA.

so does not come so prominently into notice in the Bible
narrative. In Joshua xiii. 3 it is mentioned as one of the
five great cities of the Philistines; also in I Sam. vi. I 7,
in connection with the golden emerods of the Philistine
trespass offering; " Publish it not in the streets of Askelon,''
exclaims Dav\d in his lament over Saul and Jonathan (z
Sam. i. zo), coupling it with Gath as a representative city.
" Askelon with the coast thereof " was taken possession
of by Judah (Judges i. 18). In Judges xiv. 19, when
Samson's riddle had been answered through the treachery
of the woman of Timnath, we find the incensed bridegroom
going down to Ashkelon, slaying thirty men, and with the
spoils discharging his obligations to the Timnites. •
Ashkelon is denounced in various prophecies. Jeremiah
mentions it amongst the nations who should drink "of the
wine cup of this fury " of the Lord (chap. xxv. zo).
'' Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley "
( chap. xlvii. S). " I will cut olf . . . him that holdeth the
.sceptre from Ashkelon," is the declaration of Amos i. 8.
Ashkelon shall be "a desolation'' (Zeph. ii. 4). "Ashkelon shall see it and fear ... Ashkelon shall not be inhabited" (Zechariah ix. 5).
It is only necessary to look round upon the present site
-of Ascalon to see how completely the city has been given
up to uninhabited desolation. But surely if prosperity again
visits this land, so fine a site for a city is not likely to be left
to utter neglect. U oder a better state of things, Ascalon is
no doubt destined to rise again.
The direct route from Ascalon to Gaza (ten miles)
presents little requiring special description. Burbarah, with
its elegant gardens, and beautiful gardens and orchards, may
be taken en route, or the shore more closely followed. What
must strike every one in the course of this journey is the

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GAZA,

way in which the sand is gradually encroaching in the cultivated lands. Fields, and orchards, and groves, are seen
partially covered, and doomed to utter destruction.
Ghuzzeh, or Gaza, is not upon the sea-shore but
about two miles from it. It stands chiefly on a hill surmounted by the Mosque. The view of the sea is almost
shut out by the intervening sand hills. Several outlying
villages cluster round the hill, on which the central part of
the town stands, the hill itself being apparently composed of
the debris of successive towns that have flourished and
decayed on this spot. The population of the place is over
16,000, almost exclusively bigoted and fanatical Mahomedans, the native Christians only numbering some 300.
" The town, as seen from the neighbouring height, has a
straggling and mean appearance, for the houses are low and
built of wood, with the exception of a few which occupy the
rising ground, built of stone and probably very old. There
is no architectural beauty whatever about the place. To the
eye of a stranger at some distance the grey houses look like
so many beanstacks in some places closely packed together.
The monotony is relieved by a mosque and a minaret here
and there, and by the beautiful gardens which fill up every
space between the houses, and the various clusters of villages
or suburbs that make up the modern Gaza."
The Mosque is a very conspicuous object with its tall
octagonal minaret. It was formerly a Christian Church,
and is still sometimes called Deir Hannah. The original
• edifice is attributed to the Empress Helena, or the Empress
Eudoxia. "The three parallel aisles of the ancieo.t church
remain," says Dr. Robinson, "as well as the columns with
Corinthian capitals which divide them. The middle one is
higher than the other two, and has a second row of columns
on each side above. The length of the building is about

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JQO JAFFA TO ASCALON AND GAZA.

I 10 feet, not including the recess of the altar on the south,
which is about 20 feet more. On the west side the Muslims
have added another low aisle in an inferior style of architecture."
A deep cutting in a mound of earth is pointed out as the
traditional position of Samson's Gate.
Samson's Hill is near the town. Tradition is in this
case most pro~ably right as to the scene of the exploit
(Judges xvi. 1-3). There is a fine view from the wely at
the summit of the ridge. The town, with its fertile belt of
cultivated land, and, over the sand hills, the Mediterranean
sea lies to the west. Southward runs the old historic route
to Egypt, and the Vale of Gerar, the memorable abiding
place of Abraham and Isaac. East and north-east lies the
Philistian plain, and on its boundary are the mountains that
surround Hebron. The traveller is doubtless on "the top of
an hill that is before Hebron," to which the doors and posts
and bar of Gaza were carried up by Samson.
Gaza is noted for its wells, the water is remarkably good.
They are of great depth, some being as much as 150 feet
deep. The town is healthy, and has considerable commerce,
which only needs a harbour or a railway, or both, and more
security for property, to make the town one of great import.
ance. The trade of the place is in wheat, barley, etc., but
more especially in soap, which is transported to Egypt in
large quantities.
Gaza (Hebrew, .tizza) the strong, was one of the most
ancient cities in the world. In Gen. x. 19; Joshua xiv. 3 ;
Jeremiah xx. 20, are allusions to this great Philistian stronghold. In Dent. ii. 23 and Joshua xi. 22 its inhabitants are
mentioned, being in the latter case a remnant of the giants,
the Anakim. Its allotment to the tribe of Judah is stated in
Joshua xv. 47; in Judges i. 18 we read," Judah took Gaza,

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GAZA.
with the coasts thereof," but its iqhabitants were amongst
those left " to prove Israel."
The connection of Samson with Gaza, his betrayal by
Delilah to the Philistines, his captivity and torture in the
prison house, and his terrible revenge are narrated in Judges
xvi. " And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.
And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell
upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein.
So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they
which he slew in his life.''
Of King Solomon it is stated, in I Kings iv. 24, that he
had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from
Tiphsah even to Azzah. In Jeremiah xlvii. 1, the capture of
the city by Pharaoh is alluded to.
" I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza which shall devour the palaces thereof•á (Amos i. 7 ). "Gaza shall be forsaken" (Zeph. ii. 4). "Gaza shall be very sorrowful, ...
the king shall perish from Gaza•• (Zech. ix. 5). "Baldness
is come upon Gaza" (]er. xlvii. 5). All these prophecies
have in the course of history been remarkably fulfilled.
It will be remembered that it was in the road leading to
Gaza that Philip met and baptised the "eunuch of great
authority under Queen Candace.''
Turning to profane history, we find Gaza besieged for
five months by Alexander the Great, and its inhabitants
slain. In the Jewish wars it was frequently destroyed and
rebuilt, but always rose from its ruins, and under the reigns
of Titus and Adrian it was one of the principal cities of
Syria. It was conspicuous as a stronghold of idolatry so
late as the beginning of the fifth century.
In 406 A D., the Empress Eudoxia commanJed a Christian
Bishop, Porphyrius, to destroy the eight remaining pagan
temples in Gaza, and build the grand church now forming

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GAZA TO HEBRON.
part of the Mosque. The transformation of the sacred
edifice probably dates from the capture of the city by the
Muslims in 634 A.D. A gradual decline followed, and the
city was deserted when the Crusaders arrived in 1142. A
fortress of the Knights Templars was built, and a new town
sprang up. Saladin captured the city in 1187, and demolished
the fortifications. Since the departure of the Crusaders, no
event of importance has marked the history of Gaza.
Of the ancient harbour of Majuma (on the coast of Gaza)
at one time an independent city under the name of Constantia, scarcely a trace remains.
Gaza to Egypt by the Short Desert route, by way of
Khan-Yunus and El 'Arish to Kantarah, see Cook's Tourists'
HandZ.OokforEgypt, the Mle, and the Desert.

GAZA TO -HEBRON•
The traveller emerges from the largest olive-grove in
Palestine, to the north of Gaza, and journeys along a road
mostly passing across sandy downs. Beit Hanun, Dimreb,
Nijid, Simsin, and Burier are successively passed; aU
villages.
Um Lakis shows now nothing more than a mound of
rubbish and some heaps of stones, an old well, and some
broken columns. It is considered to mark the site of
Lachish.
Lachish (impregnable) was an ancient city of the
Canaanites, alloted to the tribe of Judah (Joshua xv. 39). It
was captured by Joshua (chap. x. 32), its king being one of
the five who were first imprisoned in the Cave of Makkedah
and then hanged. Lachish is named amongst the cities that
Rehoboam fortified (2 Chron. xi. 9). It was the place where
Amaziah was slain by the conspirators who pursued him
from Jerusalem (2 Kings xiv. 19; 2 Chron. xxv. 27).

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LACHISH.
In 2 Kings xviii. 13-17, xix. 8; 2 Chron. xxxii. 9;
Isa. xxxvi. 7. xxxvii. 8, references are made to the siege
(and probably the capture) of this town by Sennacherib,
King of Assyria. A reference to this event, in cu:1eiform
characters, has been discovered at Nineveh. Over the figure
of Sennacherib are the words, '' Sennacherib the mighty
king, King of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne
of judgment before the city of Lachish. I give permission
for its slaughter."
Somewhere in the plain to the north of Lachish was
Libnah, the '' fenced city " which Sennacherib next
attacked after Lachish. Here he sent to Hezekiah the
vaunting letter denying the power of Israel's God, and
comparing Him to the gods o~ the heathen. Hezekiah
"spread the letter before the Lord ; " deliverance was
promised, and speedily sent. "It came to pass that night
that the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in the
camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five
thousand."
" Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen ;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn.

"For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast,
And but breathed in the face of each foe as he passed,
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever were still.''

There are further allusions to Lachish in Jer. xxxiv. 7
Micah i. 13; and Neh. xi. 30.
"From Lachish,'' treading in the footsteps of Joshua,
the traveller passes "on to Eglon." It was taken by Joshua
"on the same day•• with Lachish (Joshua x. 34, 35). It is

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GAZA TO HEBRON.
now called 'Aj ila n. A mound of ruins and rubbish are all
that remains. Its capture, and the hanging of its king at
Makkedah, are recorded in the chapter just alluded to.
The road continues eastward over the undulating plain.
It is a district still little cultivated, and overrun with
wandering Arabs. In the district running southwards to
the valley of Gerar, the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were
pastured. Many mounds of rubbish are seen, denoting
former towns and villages. But the general desolation of
the scene is very striking, bringing to mind the words of the
Prophet, " 0 Canaan, the land of the Philistine, I will even
destroy thee that there shall be qo inhabitant'' (Zeph. ii. 5).
The deserted village of Es-Sukkariyeh, or the Sugary,
where there are some remains of columns and capitols, is
passed, and also Tell-el-Kubeibeh. After crossing some
low ridges, in about an hour the valley of Beit Jibrin is
reached, and the Shephelah, or low country, is left fairly
behind. The traveller is now entering the hill country, and
the border-land between Judah and Pbilistia, so rich in
historical and l>iblical associations. The ridges and green
glens are now studded with villages, corn grows on the
terraces, and the vines are festooned about the rocks. Caves
abound everywhere, and every town shows traces of fortifications of some sort. In short, everything here shows, as
it ever has shown, the necessities and precautions of a borderland.
Beit Jibrin is identified with Eleutheropolis,
not a biblical site (unless, as Dr. Thomson, suggests, it be
also accepted as the site of Gath). But Eleutheropolis is
of considerable importance in the geography of Southern
Palestine, as from it Eusebius and Jerome calculate the distance and direction of the many sacred spots which are
clustered round.

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BEIT JIBRIN.
Beit Jibr1n was originally Betogabra, "House of Gabrael,''
or, as Dr. Thomson says,á« House of Giants." Ptolemy
mentions it under this name. In the time of Eusebius it
was a flourishing town and bishopric, known as Eleutberopolis, or the Free City. But its Greek name and Greek
civilization disappeared in the eighth century, under the
ravages of the Muslims. An Arabic town sprang up, reviving the ancient name in a modified form, as Beigebrin.
Frank and Paynim alternately held the place in the time of
the Crusades. Here, on the old foundations, was reared a
fortress, of which the Knights Hospitallers were appointed
defenders.
The boundaries of the Ancient Castle just alluded to
are plainly marked by an immense quadrangular inclosure.
It was built of large stones, and enclosed a space of 600 ft.
square. The castle itself is about 200 ft. square-all is now
little more than a heap of massive ruins, heaped up amongst
a confused mass of arches, and vaults, and broken walls.
The Caves in the vicinity of Beit Jibr1n, considered by
some to be the work of ldumrean Horites, or cave-dwellers,
are intensely interesting.
The Rev. J. L. Porter, in his Gian{Cities<ifBashan, says
of these caves : " They are unique in plan and characteraltogether different from the temple tombs of Egypt and
the beautiful rock chambers of Petra, and the intricate
sepulchres of Jerusalem. Here arc long ranges of bellshaped chambers, some of them seventy feet in diameter and
sixty high, connected by arched doorways and winding subterranean passages, and long flights of steps ascending and
descending. Many are entirely dark; others are lighted by
a circular aperture at the top ; the roofs of others are partially fallen in, leaving jagged openings, through which the
sunlight strea~s, and long brambles hang down. Side-

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GAZA TO HEBRON.

chambers like galleries are occasionally seen opening high
up in the wall. Near, and among them also, are tombs,
ranging from twenty to sixty feet in length, with tiers of recesses for bodies on each side. It is a strange, romantic spot,
this Vale of Beit Jibrin. One might spend days in roaming
through its mysterious caves, which look like suhterraoean
towns. The remains on the surface, too, are well worth the
attention of the architect. Cyclopean foundations, indicating
the Jewish or Phrenician age; solid walls and deep wells
of the Roman period ; the light and picturesque Gothic of
Crusading times-are all displayed in groups through this
valley."'
About a mile to the south-east of Beit Jibrin are the
elegant ruins of Mar Hannah, the Church of St. Anne.
Near this ruin is an artificial hill, considered to be the
site of Mareshah. This place is mentioned in Josh. xv. 44.
Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chron. xi. 8). In the adjacent
valley, as detailed in 2 Chron. xiv. 9, 10, Asa, with his
580,000 men of Judah and Benjamin, set the battle in array
against "Tera the Ethiopian, with a host of 100,000 and
300 chariots.'' The Ethiopians were defeated and chased
to Gerar by the conquering Israelites. Mareshah is mentioned in 2 Chron. xx. 37, as the birthplace of Eliezer the
Prophet; and in Michah i. 15, amongst the towns exhorted
to remember the wrath of God against idolatry. On his
march from Hebron to Ashdod (1 Mace. v. 65-68), Judas
Maccabeus laid waste this town. After various vicissitude!l,
the place was destroyed by the Parthians when warring with
Herod.
From Beit Jibrin to Hebron little of special interest is
passed in the way of historical sites. The route is past the
church of Mar Hannah, and along the Wady Beit Jibrin.
Leaving this valley, traces of ancient roadways and hill-

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GAZA TO JERUSALEM.
terraces are seen, and the ruined village of Beit 'Alam is
passed. A valley is soon reached, on the two banks of which
stand the two separated portions of Idhna (ancient Jedna),
with the road running between.
Leaving the picturesque ridges and valleys of the hill
country stretching away behind him towards the Philistian
plain, the traveller now enters, by the Wady.el-Feranj, into
the recesses of the central range of the Judrean mountain!',
Leaving the road to Taiyibeh on the left, and the road to
Dura on the right, a zig-zag road conducts the traveller due
east to Tef[ah. There is an ancient village with ruins of old
defences, and picturesquely situated amidst its vineyards and
olives. To the south-west the Neby Nub is seen, marking
the position of Dura (ancient Adoraim, two dwellings), fortified by Reboboam (z Chron. xi. 9).
Teffub is identified as Betb-Tappuah, " House of Apples,''
Joshua xv..53. In I Chron. ii. 43, Tappuah is mentioned as
a son of H;ebron.
Proceeding from Teffuh, the summit of the ridge is soon
gained, and the traveller stands on one of the highest points
in Palestine ; hence the descent into the Valley of Eshcol
(p. zo8) is speedily elfected.
There is another route from Beit Jibrin to Hebron by
Terkamieh (the ancient city and bishop's see of Tricomias)
and Taiyibeh, joining the former route near the summit of
the mountain ridge.

GAZA TO JERUSALEM.
Gaza to Beit Jibrin (see pp. 391.-394).
Beit Jibdn to Jerusalem is an easy stage of eight hours,
but if time can possibly be spared, it is desirable to prolong
the journey by exploring the interesting localities lying on
the north-west side of the ancient road.

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GAZA TO JERUSALEM.

A road running north-west from Beit Jibrin leads past
Dhikrin, and Deir Dubba.n (Convent of the Fly), with
its numerous labyrinthine caverns, to Tell-es-Sifleh,
which is adopted as the site of Ga th Dr. Thomson inclines to make Beit Jibrin the site of Gath, but most
authorities unite with Mr. Porter in selecting Tell-es-Safieh
as the right place.
The hill, or Tell, is about two hundred feet in height,
vineyards in terraces partly clothe the sides. At the top are
the foundations of the old castle built here by the Crusaders,
who called the hill Blanche-garde. In this vicinity many
notable exploits of Cceur de Lion were performed. The
houses of the village which now stands on the north-el\Stern
shoulder are composed of the materials taken from old ruins.
Fragments •of columns and other scattered remains lie
around.
Gath means "a wine-press." It was one of the five
chief Philistine cities mentioned in Joshua.xi. 22, as one of
the cities in which the Anakim-those fierce men of great
stature-still dwelt. In Joshua xiii. 3, 1 Samuel vi. 17,
Amos vi. 2, Micah i. 1 o, the place is mentioned as a representative Philistine city. But Gath is no doubt especially
associated in every mind with the terrible champion " whose
height was six cubits and a span,'' who came forth from the
city to defy the armies of Israel (1 Samuel xvii. 4). Other
members ofthisgiant's family arementioned in I Chron. xx.
5-8. To Goliath, however, there will be occasion again to
refer presently.
In I Samuel v. we find the ark of God brought to Gath,
where Ashdod had suffered.from its presenca, and upon the
Gittites being similarly punished, the ark was again removed
to Ekron.
When, forewarned by Jonathan, David. fled a houseless

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GATH.
fugitive from the presence of Saul, it was at Gath that he
took refuge. And when the Philistine lords knew him as
the slayer of their champion, by "feigning himself mad,''
he procured for himself the immunity ever accorded to
lunacy in the East, and escaped to the Cave of Adullam
(1 Samuel xxi.) A few years after, David, now the chief of
a dreaded band, again came to Gath for refuge, bringing
his wives and all his belongings (1 Chron. xxvii.), and
Achish, the king, gave him Ziklag for a dwelling-place.
Years passed away, and David, though king, is again in
trouble. He is fleeing from the rebellion of Absalom, and
Ittai, with six hundred men of Gath, join the stricken
monarch's cause. Surely the hearts of these hereditary foes
were won when David was an exile amongst them.
In I Chron. xviii. I we find Gath taken by David. It
is mentioned in I Kings xi. as the place from which Shimei
fetched his runaway servants, and consequently lost his life
for breaking his promise to stay in Jerusalem. In 2 Chron.
xi. 8, it is recorded as one of the cities fortified by
Rehoboam. Notwithstanding its defences, it was taken by
Hazael, King of Syria (2 Kings xii. 17). Gath is recorded
amongst the towns of which the walls were broken down by
Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 6). .
East of Tell-es-Safieh, lies Tell Zakarija, which is
considered to be the site of Azekah. From the summit
of the Tell there is a fine view of the Valley of Elah.
Azekah (broken up) was a city allotted to the tribe of
Judah (Joshua xv. 35), near which the five kings were
slain, as recorded in Joshua x. Rehoboam fortified it
(2 Chron. xi. 9). Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the
town, and captured it (Jer. xxxiv. 7). After the cap~
tivity, it was again rebuilt (Neh. xi. 30). The whole
region abounds in caves, one of which was probably the

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400 GAZA TO JERUSALEM.

cave of Makkedah, where the five kings hid. The ruin
called El Klediah, is by Mr. Porter and others considered the
probable site of Mak.kedah.
The ruins known as Shuweikeh repr~nt the town
variously called in Scripture, Socoh, Shoco, Shocho, and
Shochoh. It is mentioned among the towns of Judah, in
Joshua xv. 35. Jarmuth, associated with Socoh in the text
quoted, is on the summit of the neighbouring ridge, with
hewn stones and other remains of past: strength. The king
was one of the confederacy defeated in Joshua x.
The valley in which the traveller is now journeying is
the Wady es Sumt, so named from the numerous sumt or
acacia-trees, but better known by its ancient designation as
the Valley of Elah (p. 88).
1 Samuel xvii. should here be attentively read, and the
scenes described pictured amidst the very surroundings of
the events themselves. The Philistines are pitched " between Shochoh and Azekah " on the one ridge of the
valley, "Saul and the men of Israel" occupy the opposite
height, "and there was a valley between them." Then
down that hillside, from the Philistine camp, strides the giant
champion, uttering his proud defiance day after day, till the
very sound of his voice made the hearts of the Israelites sink
within them. At last, to the camp comes the young shephc:rd boy, accepts the challenge, but refuses the proffored
sword and armour of Saul, and chooses his own weapons.
From the brook young David selects his "five smooth
stones." Ere yet they are near enough for close combat
the giant derides his young antagonist, who modestly replies,
and then with deadly aim hurls his missile. The stone
pierces the giant's forehead, and he is slain. The Philistines
fled in panic. " And the men of Israel and of Judah arose
and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to

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HEBRON TO JAFFA. 401
the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of
the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto
Gath, and unto Ekron."
From the valley of Elah the traveller proceeds to Beit-
N ettif, near which village the road to Jerusalem can be
rejoined.
From Beit Netti£ many scriptural sites are pointed out
in the adjacent hills. Amongst them are the following:
Zan1l'a, the Zanoah mentioned in Neb. iii. 13, and
Joshua xv. 34; Sur'a, Zorah (p. 403), and 'Ain esh Shems,
Bethshemesh; Tibneh, Timnath (p. 403); Yarmtlk, Jarmuth
(p. 400) ; Azekah and Shocoh, above described, are also in
view; and the long stretch of the Vale of Elah. Gibeah and
Gedor are pointed out in the mountains to the East.
Beit-Nettif by Bethshemesh to Yafa (seep. 402).
Regaining the Jerusalem road near Beit Netti£, the route
lies through the Wady Musurr and Wady-el-Khan, 'Allares-Sifla, and 'Allar-el-Foka are passed, and the town of Beit
'Atab, capital of the district, is seen on a hill north-west of
the road. Through the hill country, gay with grass and,
flowers in the spring, but very desolate and ábarren as autumn
comes on, the road winds on to Jerusalem. Many ruins are
seen on the hill sides. At length, after passing through the
Wady Bitt1r and the Wady-el-Werd, the plain of Rephaim is
skirted, and the traveller reaches the Holy City (p. 10, ).
HEBRON TO YA.FA(JAFFA).
Hebron to Beit Jibrin (see p. 396).
Beit Jibr1n to Beit Netti( (seep. 398).
[Those anxious to get rapidly to Jaffa can reach Beit
Netti£ in six hours by way of Tuiyiheh, Terkamieh, Beit
Nusth (ancient Nezib), with scattered ruins, and the Wadyes-Sur with its well. The road from Jerusalem to Beit

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402 HEBRON TO JAFFA.

Jibrin is crossed near one of the finest specimens of the
terebinth to be found in all Syria. Half a mile further on
the Wady-es-Sumt (Valley of Elah) is entered near Sochoh,
and then Beit Netti£ is soon reached.]
Where time is not of consequence, the detour described at
p. 398 from Beit Jibrin to Gath, Elah, etc., to Beit Nettif,
can be combined with the journey from Hebron to Jaffa.
Leaving Beit Nettif, the traveller proceeds northward.
Jarmuth (p. 400) lies a little to the west of the road. A
pleasant valley conducts to 'Ain-esh-Shems.
Ain-esh-Shems represents the Bethshemesh of the
Bible. It is a ruined Arab village, to a large extent built
with ancient materials, but not on the original site of the
ancient town, which is about two hundred yards to the west,
a mere heap of fragments among the weeds and flowers. It
is a fine situation, on a ridge between two valleys which
meet in front, stretching away towards the great Philistian
plain.
Beth-Shemesh, House of the Sun, is first mentioned
in Joshua xv. 1 o. It was given to the "children of Aaron,
th1:1priest " (Joshua xxi. 16). It is chiefly celebrated in
Scripture history as the place to which the Ark returned
from Philistia. Beth-Shemesh was at no great distance from
Ekron, and the Philistines, overcome with terror after the
judgments which had come upon them, sent back the Ark
in a cart drawn by two milch kine (1 Sam. vi. 9--:-12). The
Israelites were filled with joy at seeing their sacred Ark thus
marvellously restored to them; but they forgot the strict
rules of their religion, and looked into the Ark, and, for
their sinful curiosity, a large number of them perished.
This town is referred to in several other passages of
Scripture. King Amaziah, of Judah, was taken prisoner by
Jehoash, King of Israel, at this place (2 Kings xiv. 11-13,

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BETH-SHEMESH.

and z Chron. xxv. 21-23). The Philistines took the city
in the reign of Ahaz (z Chron. xxviii. 18).
"We had around us at Bethshemesh,'' says the Rev.
J. L. Porter, in The Giant Cities of Bashan, "the native
country of Samsop., and from its ruins we could see the
scenes of some of the leading events of his strange life.
Beyond the fertile valley on the north rises a steep hill,
crowned with a Muslim wely and a small village-that is
Zorah, the home of Mauoah and Samson's birth-place
á(Judges xiii. z). It overlooks the old Philistine plain
and most of the border-land. Samson must thus have
been familiar from childltood with border raids and border
warfare; he must have been familiar with the power
and the tyranny of the Philistines. Many fa band of
themá doubtless did he see mounting up the glen
beneath his father's house, and returning laden with the
spoils of his brethren. Many an act of rapine, and cruel
outrage, and barbarous murder, bad left an impress deep and
lasting on his mind, stirring him in after years to revenge.
Some two miles west of Betbsbemesh on the border of the
plain is Timnath, where Samson got his first wife (Judges
xiv. 1). It was in' going down' from the heights of Zorah
to Timnath-somewhere about the rugged banks of that inter- .
vening valley-that he killed the young lion. That valley itself,
now called Sorar, is most probably the 'Valley of Sorek,'
where the infamous Delilah dwelt (Judges xvi. 4). It was
among these hills and the recesses of those rugged mountains
eastward, that he caught the 'three hundred jackals '-such
appears to be the true meaning of the Hebrew word--and
tying them tail to tail with torches between them, let them
go at harvest time among the standing com of the Philistines. What havoc they must have made as they sped from
field to field, from vineyard to olive grove ! And with what

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JAFFA TO HAIFA.

wild delight must Samson have viewed, from the heights of
Zorah, the streams of fire sweeping onward and outward in.
every direction, and the conflagration spreading from stream
to stream until the whole plain was one sheet of flame. Poo;-
Samson was betrayed at last :-
" 'Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him
Eyeless in Gaza, at the mill with slaves,
Himself in bonds, under Philistian yoke.'

" Fatal bondage bis to the Philistine lords. Savagecruelty
theirs, but to be returned tenfold on their own devoted
heads ! Thus does Milton describe the last act of Samson's
life:-
" ' Oh, dearly bought revenge, yet glorious !
Living or dying thou hast fulfilled
The work for which thou wast foretold
To Israel, and now liest victorious
Among thy slain, self-killed ;
Not willingly, but tangled in the fold
Of dire necessity, whose law in death conjoined
Thee with thy slaughtered foes, in numbers more
Than all thy life had slain before.'
" Samson's mangled body was brought up from Gaza by
his brethren, and buried on his native hill ' between Zorah
.and Eshtaol ' (Judges xvi. 3 I)."
From Bethshemesh a detour may be made to Ekron (p,
380), by riding down the Wady Surar. Otherwise the route
lies by Rafat, Beit Far, Khulda, and Saidon to Ramleh.
Ramleh to Yafa (seep. 78).

YAFA (JAFFA> TO HAIFA FOR MOUNT
CARMEL.
This is rather a long route, presenting few objects of
interest, except the town of Kaisariyeh, or Cresarea (p. 405).

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C.iESAREA.

it is better for the traveller not to undertake the journey
alone, as the Arabs are sometimes troublesome to solitary
travellers.
After leaving the gardens and groves of Yafa, the Nahr-
-el-'Aujeh is soon crossed by an old bridge. The stream is the
largest flowing to the sea from the Plain of Sharon. Passing
-on behind the sand hills that skirt the coast, the Haram 'Ali
Jl,n 'Aleim is reached. This is the tomb of a holy dervish,
said to have been erected to his memory by Sultan Bibars,
.although for a long time the Sultan had been foiled in his
efforts to take Arsuf by this dervish, who had a knack of
warding off cannon-balls with his hands. The ruins of
ArsaJ are next passed on the left. It is mentioned by
Josephus and others as Apollonia ; for a long time it was
erroneously counted to represent the site of Antipatris.
Buffaloes are seen feeding in the adjacent marshes. On this
plain the armies of Saladin and Creur de Lion met in fierce
.conflict in 1191.
Passing a village and brook, both named Khirbet Falaik,
the village of Mukho.lid, one of th!! most important at the
present day on the Sharon plain. There is a tomb of a
female saint, from whom the village derives its name. After
.crossing the Abu Zahara, and passing the village of Na/tr
Aklular, the traveller arrives at Kaisariyeh.
Kaisar:iyeh is the desolate site of Cresarea, whose
1"Uinshave long been a mere quarry for procuring materials
with which other places have been built. It was an import-
.ant city on the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about
seventy miles from Jerusalem. It owes 'its origin to Herod
the Great, who spared no pains or expense in its erection,
and named it after Augustus Cresar. Previously to this time
there was simply a landing place here, and a tower, mentioned by Strabo as "Strato's Tower." In the time of

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JAFFA TO HAIFA.

Tacitus, Cresarea had become the chief town in the Roman
province of Judrea. It was the royal dwelling-place of the
Herodian family, and the official residence of Festus, Felix,
and other Roman Procurators, and the head-quarters of the
Roman troops charged with the security and tranquillity of
this part of the Empire. In the time of the Crusades the .
town was still of importance, Baldwin I. took the city from
the Saracens in 1102, but it was recaptured in 1187 by
Saladin. In 1190 it was again won by the Crusaders, but
only to be lost a second time in 1219. St. Louis took the
city in n51, and partially rebuilt its walls. Cresarea has
since sunk into utter decay.
There are many allusions to Cresarea in the New Testament, all tending to show its importance at that epoch•
When Paul had been let down in a basket from the wall of
Damascus to save him from the Jews, it was to Cresarea the
disciples hurried him, and shipped him for his own city of
Tarsus (Acts ix. 30). At Cresarea dwelt Cornelius, the
devout centurion who with his family were the first Gentile
converts after Peter's vision at Joppa (Acts x., xi.) To
Cresarea came Peter when his prison doors at Jerusalem
had miraculously opened to him (Acts xii. 19). Here Paul
landed on his way to Jerusalem, after his first missionary
journey in Greece (Acts xviii. 22). In this city dwelt
"Philip the Evangelist,'' with his " four daughters, virgins,
which did prophesy,'' in whose house "Paul's company,"
who had come by ship from Ptolemais, "tarried many days.••
On this occasion Paul was visited by Agabus the prophet,
with a sign of Paul's approaching capture at Jerusalem.
But in vain his friends counselled flight, Paul was ready
"not to be bound only, but also to die,'' and with "certaio
of th~ disciples of Caesarea'' he went up to Jerusalem (Acts
xxi. 8, 16).

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TANTURA.

The Apostle's next appearance in the city is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Agabus. He is brought by " two
hundred soldiers,'' and " horsemen three-score-and-ten, and
spearmen two hundred,'' and arraigned before Felix, the
Governor (Acts xxiii. 2,3-3.5). In chaps. xxiv., xxv., and
xxvi. are detailed those wonderful conferences -between the
great Apostle and the highest dignitaries of the province,
during which, " as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled;'' and subsequently Agrippa declared, " Almost thou persuadest me
to be a Christian.'' Hence, having "appealed unto Cresar,"
Paul was sent '' in a ship of Adramyttium" on his way to
Imperial Rome.
Of.all these things the traveller may muse as he gazes
on the desolation of Kaisariyeh, and conjures up the pomp
and splendour of the Roman city in its palmy days, when
its streets and ports were alive with commerce, and its
temples and palaces gay with festivity, and when the invincible legions of Rome dwelt in their pride of power on
this lovely and forsaken shore.
Leaving Kaisariyeh, and proceeding northward, an
aqueduct is seen, a small brook crossed, and the Castle of
El Melat is seen to the left. The stream is the Nahr Zurka,
and was called by the ancients the Crocodile River.
Here the Plain of Sharon is bounded by some wooded hills,
an offshoot from Carmel. The road runs along the beach
to Tant&ra, passing another stream, called the Nahr Keraji.
Tantdra is a little village of some thirty houses, between the sea and a swamp. There are some mounds and
ruins, the most conspicuous being'an old tower, thirty feet in
height-a prominent object from any point between Cir.sarea
and Carmel.
Tantilra represents ancient Dor, a city which was

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allotted to Manasseh after its conquest by Joshua; but the
inhabitants were never dispossessed (Joshua xi. 1, 2, xii. 23;
Judges i. 27). It was the most southern of the Phrenician
colonies, and, like Tyre, carried on the manufacture of
purple dye from the murex, which was abundantly caught
on this coast. The harbour and town of Dor were restored
by the Roman General Gabinius.
There are some caverns south of Tantura, and several
small islands opposite, which were utilized in sheltering the
ancient harbour.
Passing Hadara and Kefr Naum, Athlit is next reached,
called by the Crusaders Gastellum Peregrinorum. The houses
of the village, and the picturesque ruins of this stronghold of
the Templars are strangely mingled. In 1291 it was destroyed by Sultan Melek-el-Ashraf, being the last possession
lost by the Christians in Palestine. The foundations are of
Roman origin.
A few other ruins are passed, and one or two paths on
the right leading up to the monastery, and then the traveller
arrives at Haifa.

MOUNT CARMEL
Haifa is a pretty little seaside town, with gay bazaars,
situate at the foot of Mount Carmel.
Mount Carmel, now called Kiirmel, and more frequently Mar Elyas, from its connection with the great
Prophet, is a bold promontory, forming the southern boundary
of the only considerable bay of the coast of Palestine. From
its projection into the bay it runs south-east for about twelve
miles, terminating in a bold cliff overlooking the low hills
of Samaria. It thus forms a separating ridge between the
plains of Sharon and Esdraelon ; it consists of a soft, white
limestone, with veins and nodules of flint. The height of

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MOUNT CARMEL.

Mount Carmel is about 1,800 ft. where it overlooks the
sea, and about 600 ft. at its inland extremity.
From Haifa a steep climb conducts to the summit of the
mountain. " The view from here," says Warburton, " is
very grand, but somewhat saddening, from the loneliness
and want of cultivation that everywhere meets the eye-an
immense expanse of ocean unenlivened by a sirtgle sail ;
wide tracts of land unchequered by a village ; and at the
base of the mountain a few half-bald cornfields, and some
olive and sycamore trees. The 'excellency of Carmel' is
indeed 'departed ' ; but there is still much that is romantic
and interesting in the character of the mountain and the
view that it commands. Beyond the beautiful bay, to the
north, the town and fortress of Acre stands boldly out into
the sea, on the south the extensive ruins of Castel Pelegrino
and a wild range of mountains bound the horizon.''
But travellers differ widely as to the present "excellency"
of Carmel-perhaps according to the season of the visit and
the time they have to spare for exploring the mountain.
Some, as in the above extract, draw a desolate picture ;
others describe its "rocky dells with deep jungles of copse,''
its "shrubberies thicker than any other in Central Palestine,"
its '' rich verdure,'' its " hollyhocks, jasmine, and various
flowering creepers," its oak-trees and perennial shrubs, and
its abundance of game and wild animals. Of course, those
who can stay a night, or even two, at the Convent on the
mountain will see more than those who hurriedly visit from
Haifa, and return there the same day. •
The Convent, which is grandly situated, is a large
building of very simple style, in two stories, and surmounted
by a dome. The fathers exercise hospitality towards
strangers, but it is of course right to leave a donation covering
all expenses. The mountain seems, from earliest times, to

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410 JAFFA TO HAIFA.

have had ideas of sanctity connected with it, but it is of
course in connection with the Prophets Elijah and Elisha
that it attained to its chief celebrity. In early Christian
times, numberless hermits took up their abode in caves
and solitary cells on and about this mountain. Subsequently,
a monastery arose here, and became of considerable repu•
tation. When Napoleon was besieging Acre, this monastery
was utilized as an hospital for the wounded. When the
French retreated the building was destroyed by the Pasha.
Some time after, a monk named Jean Battista, who had
taken vows as an act of penance, came on pilgrimage to
Carmel, and found only an altar and an archway. He vowed
to rebuild the Convent, travelled and begged for fourteen
years, and the present edifice is the result of his labours.
The Convent is said to be erected over the cave in which
Elijah sought shelter when Ahab was seeking his life. At
a little distance down the mountain side is a ,larger cave,
called the "Cave of the Prophets," alleged to be the one
alluded to by Obadiah, when he said to Elijah, "Was it not
told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the Prophets of
the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets
by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water ? ''
The opening to the first of these caves is under the high
-altar in the church. The monks assert that there has been
a continuity of religious guardians to this mountain since
the time of Elijah-that the sons of the prophets dwelt
there until the time of Our Saviour, and then embraced
Christianity. Certainly the sanctuary here is mentioned by
classical writers-both Pythagoras and Tacitus visited it.
In the church the visitor will observe a modem monument,
erected to commemorate the burial here, in 1864, of Edward
Henry Etienne, Prince de Craon.
In Joshua xix. 26, Carmel is assigned to the tribe of

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MOUNT CARMEL. 4II
Asher, who also held a portion of the rich agricultural plain
of Sharon, to the south of Carmel. We read previously in
chap. xii. of a king of " J okneam of Carmel," as being
defeated by the Israelites. But the chief biblical associations
of Carmel are with the history of Elijah and Elisha.
At the eastern end of the ridge, where the view extends
over the great plain, doubtless occurred the extraurdinary
events related .in I Kings xviii.
"We stopped at El Mouhrakah," says M. de Pressense,
"situated on the mountain at five-and-a-half hours' distance
from the convent. This is the spot marked by tradition for
Elijah's sacrifice. EI Mouhrakah is a natural terrace, commanding all the Plain of Esdraelon. Enormous blocks of
stone strew the path. The S!te answers exactly to the
account given in the book of Kings (1 Kings xviii. 20).
Behind us is the great sea from which the Prophet saw the
little cloud, like a man's hand, arise, which was to spread
over all the scorched land and pour a healing rain. The
Kishon, reddened with the blood of the priests of Baal after
their shameful defeat, flows through the plain at the foot of
Carmel. Before us is Jezreel, to which the king repaired
in his chariot on the prophetic announcement of the coming
miracle. The horizon of mountains is very extensive from
this height, and forms a graceful curve, commencing with
the mountains of Samaria, and terminating in the furthest
hills of Galilee. Tabor fronts the spectator; it looks like
the rounded dome of a Byzantine basilica formed by nature.
The Plain of Esdraelon unfolds its dazzling robe between
Tabor and Carmel, while on the side of the sea the plain
which reaches to Jaffa and the Mediterranean melts into
shining distance. Around us, Carmel extends in all directions,
its green groves and flowery slopes.''
Another startling incident in •the life of Elijah is con-

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412 JAFFA TO HAIFA.

nected with this mountain. In 2 Kings i. we find Ahaziah,
in the time of sickness, sending to enquire of Baal-Zebub,
the god of Ekron, " whether I shall recover of this disease ? ••
But the messengers are intercepted by "an hairy man, girt
with a girdle of leather about his loins," who indignantly
asks, "Is there not a God in Israel? " and sends word to the
king, " Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which
thou art gone up, but shalt surely die." The enraged
monarch knows it must be" Elija_hthe Tishbite,'' and twice
sends a "captain of fifty, with his fifty,'' to capture the
prophet. These, seeking to carry out the royal mandate, are
destroyed '' by fire from heaven " at the word of the
prophet, who calmly surveys them from his place on the
top of an hill. A third captain is sent with his band.
These approach the prophet in terms of humble solicitation.
He consents to accompany them, but only to reiterate his
former message to Ahaziah. '' So he died according to the
word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken, and Jehoram
reigned in his stead."
After Elisha with wondering eyes had seen his master
pass to heaven in the "chariot of fire,'' he visited Jericho
and Bethel, and then came to Mount Carmel (2 Kings
ii. 2.5) for a time. When the Shunamite mother, grieving
over her only son's death, sought Elisha in her trouble, she
"came unto the man of God, to Mount Carmel,'' and from
the eminence he "saw her afar off.'' It needs not to relate
here the sequel of the story.
" Carmel figures as frequently as Lebanon in the oracles
of the prophets. When Esaias will paint the beauty of
Paradise Regained, he says that the " desert shall blossom as
the rose : the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it; the
excellency of Carmel and of Sharon'' (Isaiah xxxv. 2). He
describes this "excellency of Carmel '' in another passage,

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HAIFA TO ACRE.

which one cannot read without being transported toá the
mountain of Elias. "The mountains and the hills,"' saith
he, "shall break forth before you into singing. Instead of
the thorn shall come up the fir~tree; and instead of the
brier shall come up the myrtle-tree'' {Isaiah Iv. 12, 13).
The spouse of the Canticles is compared in her beauty,
full of glory and majesty, to the summit so much admired.
"Thine head uponá thee is like Carmel," says her wellbeloyed {Song of Solomon vii. 6). When Isaiah seeks to
draw the most pathetic picture of the desolation of the land,
he exclaims, " Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits "
(are withered away) (Isaiah xxxiii. 9). "The top of Carmel
shall wither," says Amos (chap. i. 2). Finally it was here,
as we have seen, that the sublime contest was enacted
between the worshippers of Jehovah and Baal, the god of
the heights. Carmel is also a spot consecrated in Asiati~
paganism. Tacitus asserts that the mountain itself was an
object of worship. (Montem deumque vocant) (Hist. ii. 78).
The oracle which promised the empire to Vespasian, is said
by the great historian to have resounded from the summit of
this august mountain. It is into these retreats that Micah
calls together the dispersed but repentant flock of Israel
(Micah vii. 14).
"When the unknown author of the Requiem will sum up
in one word all the glory of ancient prophecy, he says,
"Gloria Carmelis."-(Pressense.)

HAIFA TO 'AKKA.
This is a ten mile journey along the beach, or if the I

weather is fine a sailing boat may be hired to do the distance.

j
The views of Carmel on looking back are very fine. After
crossing that" ancient river, the river Kishon," the traveller
enters the great Plain of Acre. The N'amlln, ancient Be/us,

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HAIFA TO ACRE.

is afterwards crossed, and a hill is seen to the right where
Napoleon planted his batteries when besieging Acre in 1799á
During the journey the traveller should notice the beautiful
shells which are abundant on the beach. Amongst these
specimens of the murex, from which the Tyrians extracted
their far-famed purple dye, may be found.

'AKKA OR ACRE-
' Akka, otherwise Accho, Ptolemais, or Acre, or
St. Jean d' Acre, is animportant seaport town. The fortifications are very fine. It contains 5000 inhabitants, of whom
about 700 are Christians. It stands on the projecting headland which forms the northern boundary of the bay, which
curves round from Mount Carmel in the south. Round
Acre there is a fertile plain about six miles broad, watered
by the Nahr N'aman (ancient Belus). The hills which
northward approach the sea skirt_ round this plain, and
towards the south recede yet farther inland towards Sepphoris. Acre, from its favourable situation as regards both
sea and land approaches, has been called the " Key of
Palestine."
Acebo was allotted to Asher but never conquered (Judges
i. 31), and was commonly reckoned a Phrenician city. Theá
town is not again mentioned in the Old Testa~ent. Under
the Ptolemies, to whom Phrenicia came at the death of Alexander, it became important, and was called Ptolemais.
Antiochus the Great subsequently seized the ci_ty, an_d
attached it to his Syrian dominions ; it figured also in the
war,s of the Maccabees. It afterwards became a free town,
and then a Romap colony, It is once mentioned in the
New Testament in connection with St. Paul's journey from
Tyre to C~area (Acts xxi. 7).
Acre was a noted place in the crusading times. It was

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'AKKA OR ACRE.

here that the Knights of St. John prolonged for thirty-three
days their gallant resistance to the -Sultan Ibn Kalawun of
Egypt and Damascus, and his immense hosts. Sixty
thousand Christian citizens and soldiers were, on that
occasion, slain or sold as slaves. In 1799 Napoleon besieged
Acre and was prevented from taking it by the 'English under
Sir Sidney Smith. In 1840 the town was taken from the
Egyptians for the Turks by Sir Charles Napier.
After alluding to the trifling character of the connection
of the tribe of Asher with Bible history, the fewness of allusions to its existence, and the fact that ancient Ptolemais, or
Acebo, is linked with only one scriptural event, the landing of St. Paul to commence his last land journey to Jerusalem, Dean Stanley goes on to say, "The peculiarity of
the story of Acre lies in its many sieges, by Baldwin, by
Saladin, by Richard, by Khalil in the middle ages; by Napoleon, by Ibrahim Pasha, and by Sir Robert Stopford in later
times. It is thus the one city of Palestine which has
acquired distinct relations with the western world of modem
history, analogous to those of Cresarea with the Western
world of ancient history. But the singular fate which it
enjoyed at the close of the Crusades, gives it a special interest, never to be forgotten by those who, in the short space
of an hour's walk, can pass round its broken walls. Within
that narrow circuit-between the Saracen armies on one
side, and the roar of the Mediterranean Sea on the otherwere cooped up the remnant of the crusading armies, after
they had been driven from every other part of Palestine.
Within that circuit the kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus, of
the house of Lusignan ; the Princes of Antioch ; the Counts
-of Tripoli and Sidon ; the Great Masters of the Hospital,
the Temple, and the Teutonic Orders; the Republics of
Venice, Genoa, and Pisa; the Pope's Legate; the Kings of

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ACRE TO TYRE.

France and England assumed an independent command.
Seventeen tribunals exercised the power of life and death.
All the eyes of Europe were then fixed on that spot. Acre
contained in itself a complete miniature of feudal Europe
and Latin Christendom.''

'AKKA TO TYRE.
This route crosses the rich plain and follows the coast
northward. A ruined aqueduct built by Jezzir is passed
.under ; then the hamlet of Sefmlrieh is reached, with the
country house of a late Pasha of 'Akka. Es-Zib is ancient
Achzib (Joshua xix. 29) never taken possession of by the tribe
of Asher, its nominal owners. A bold promontory is rounded
by a zig-zag path, called the " Ladder of Tyre,"
once the gateway, as it were, between Phrenicia proper and
Israel. Passing Nakarah, the ruins of Iskanderiyeh are seen,
formerly Alexandroschene, an ancient fortress. The projecting White Cape is crossed by a remarkable cliff path,
which is defended by the so-called " Candle Tower." Then
the rivulet of 'Azz1yeh is crossed and a stony plain. At
Ras-el-'.Ain, "theá Fountain Head," is a wretched village
surrounding some remarkable reservoirs, considered to mark
the site of Patretyrus, or Old Tyre. Passing these reservoirs
and crossing the plain, the gate of modern Tyre is soon
reached. The ride from 'Akka will occupy about nine hours.

TYREá
Sur, the modern town which stands in the place of
ancient Tyre (Heb. Tzor, a rock) is situated on a rocky
peninsula, formerly an island. There are the usual narrow
'streets, kh~n, and bazaars, and a few ruins. Shafts of grey
and red granite columns, capitals of variegated marble and
other fragments are scattered in and about Tyre. The chief

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TYRE.

ruins only date from early Christian and medireval times.
These are the remains of the cathedral where William of
Tyre, who wrote a history of the crusade, was for ten years
archbishop, and where Frederick Barbarossa and Origen
were buried.
There seems reason to believe that a colony from Sidon
settled on tae island, which is now a peninsula, less than two
hundred years after the Flood, and erected a Temple of Hercules, and a few dwellings. Soon after a city on the mainland was added. In Joshua xix. 29, this place is called " a
strong city." About four centuries after, David and Hiram,
King of Tyre, are found in friendly alliance (~ Sam. v. n),
the latter monarch sending David materials for the erection
of the temple. This alliance continued during the reign of
Solomon. Under Hiram, Tyre probably attained to its
highest prosperity. Ezekiel (chapter xx.vii.) gives a full
description of Tyrian commerce, and luxury, and power.
About a century after Solomon's time, Ahab, King of Israel
married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, (or Ithobal) who was.
King of Tyre, and priest of Astarte (1 Kings xvi. 31).
Through the idolatrous influence of Jezebel's early education,
by the shrines of Baal and Ashtoreth, much trouble cameupon Israel. It is probable that at this time a bridge and
aqueduct connected the mainland city (which had come to
be called Old Tyre) with the island city.
In 720 B.c., Psalmanezer took Old Tyre on the mainland,
and for five years ineffectually tried to get possession of the
island. When the Assyrians withdrew, the mainland city
was again rebuilt. The next siege of Tyre was led by Nebuchadnezzar in 5 84 B.c. The Pha:nicians had seen J udza overrun and Jerusalem captured with feelings of delight. Not long
before (2 Kings xxiii. 20), Josiah had endeavoured to uproot
Sidoaian idolatry in his kingdom, insulted the gods, and

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ACRE TO TYRE.

slain the priests upon their altars. The death of Josiah at
Megiddo, and capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar,
doubtless seemed to the onlookers of Tyre and Sidon only
merited retribution. But now the tum of Tyre itself was to
come. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to it for thirteen years,
and destroyed the mainland city, which was never rebuilt,
as prophesied by Ezekiel (chap. xxvii. 36). The island city
still remained unconquered ; but its inhabitants became
joined to the Persians, though rather on terms of alliance
than of subjection.
In 332 B.c. came Alexander the Great, whose victorious
army, says Fuller, "which did fly into other countries, were
glad to creep into this city." We must remember that Tyre
was at that time completely surrounded by prodigious walls,
and situated on an island nearly half a mile from the shore.
On the side fronting the mainland the ramparts were no less
than 150 feet in height. Even the persevering efforts of
Alexander for seven long months would have failed, but the
harbour to the north was blocked up by the Cyprians, and
that to the south by his Phamician allies, and thus he was
able to unite the island to the mainland by an enormous
.artificial mole, to construct which the ruins of Old Tyre
were thrown into the sea.
•• Here again the prophecy of Isaiah (xxiii. 15-17),"
.says Osburn, " that the city should return to its greatness
and luxury as before its fall, is singularly illustrated by the
profane historian Strabo, who says that notwithstanding the
-ealamities it suffered under Alexander, it surmounted all its
misfortunes and recovered its greatness and commerce. And
when we reflect that Alexander utterly destroyed it, burning
it to the ground, mercilessly putting to the sword all who
resisted, and hanging two thousand of the principal citizens
along the sea-shore," and selling thirty thousand inhabitants

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TYRE,

1nto slavery "in 332 B.c., and that, according to Strabo,
it recovered its greatness and its trade again in 262 B.c.,
exactly seventy years after, the prophecy of Isaiah seems
most remarkably fulfilled-not, as may be supposed, in
-contradistinction to the prophecy of Ezekiel, but in exact
accordance, the one having reference to the Tyre island,
which, as it were, running away into the sea from the threat
of divine indignation denounced by Ezekiel, met there the
danger predicted by Isaiah, which was fulfilled after the time
of Ezekiel, as if the mercy of God was seen in first pronouncing its total destruction, and yet depriving it of only a
part of its greatness as a warning before executing the threat."
Of the Macedonian successors of Alexander, the Seleucidre,
traces are found on coins and ruins. In the first century
before the Christian era, Strabo describes Tyre as still flourishing; its trade was now chiefly in the production of the
famous Tyrian purple from the murex. In the New Testament little is said of Tyre. Our Saviour visited " the coasts
thereof," and named the town in his warning to Bethsaida
and Chorazin. Paul on ode occasion set sail from Tyre, and
a touching description is given of the parting. He was on
his way to Jerusalem, after a sorrowful parting with the
-elders at Ephesus, when he" landed at Tyre, for there the
ship was to unlade her burden. And finding disciples, we
tarried there seven days : who said to Paul through the Spirit
that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had
accomplished these days we departed and went our way ;
and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children,
till we were out of the city, and we kneeled down on the
shore and prayed. And when we had taken our leave on<!
of another, we took ship, and they returned home again."'
Under the Romans, Tyre maintained some degree of
prosperity. In the fourth century it was a Christian town.

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420 ACRE TO TYRE.

Eusebius delivered a celebrated oration here, possibly in the
church of which the ruins are still seen. In the seventh
century, when the Muslim swept the Eastern plains, Tyre
became a Mahomedan city, and remained so till the time of
the Crusades. It again came into Christian hands in I I 24-
Jn 1290, the German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, was
buried in the cathedral after losing his life through his horse
sinking in a river whilst in pursuit of the Turks. " At this
period," says Dr. Smith, "there was perhaps no city in the
known world which had stronger claims than Tyre to the
title of the • Eternal City.' Tyre had been the parent of
cities which at a distant period had enjoyed a long life and
had died; and it had survived more than fifteen hundred
years its greatest colony, Carthage. It had outlived Egyptian
Thebes, and BabyIon, and Ancient Jerusalem. It had seen
Grecian cities rise and fall. Rome, it is true, was still in
existence in the thirteenth century ; but in comparison with
Tyre, Rome itself was of recent date."
In 1291, after having been occupied by the Christians for
a century and a half, news came to Tyre of the taking of
Acre by storm by the Sultan of Egypt and Damascus. "On
the same day on which Ptolemais (Acre) was taken," savs
a Venetian historian, "the Tyrians, at vespers, leaving the
city empty, withoutthe stroke of a sword, 11-áithoutthe tumult
of war, embarked on board their vessels, and abandoned the
city to be occupied freely by their conquerors. On the
morrow the Saracens entered, no one attempting to prevent
them, and they did what they pleased."
Tyre has never since recovered itself. It fell into ruins ;
in 1&)7, a traveller states that he saw "not so much as one
entire house left." In the latter part of last century the
place was p_artiallyrebuilt, and now contains a population of
about three thousand.

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TYRE. 421
And this little town, with scattered fragments of ruins,
are all that remains of the great city which, with its suburban dependencies, measured seventeen English miles in
circumference. Magnificent must have been the scene from
the heights east of Tyre to a spectator in the days of Solomon. And now, of all this grandeur and magnificence, "it
would seem as though, in the words of the Scriptures, the
dust 'had been scraped from off the rock ' into the water
and crevices around; and even the remaining fragments are
slowly disappearing."
With reference to Tyre, Cresarea and Ptolemais, in common with the Apostle Paul, the following remarks occur in
Conybeare and Howson's well-known biography :-
" There is a singular contrast in the history of those
three cities on the Phcenician shore, which are mentioned in
dose succession in the concluding part of the narrative of
this apostolic journey.
"Tyre, the city from -which St. Paul had just sailed, had
been the seaport whose destiny formed the burden of the
sublimest prophecies in the last days of the Hebrew
monarchs.
" Cresarea, the city to which he was ultimately bound, was
the work of the family of Herod, and rose with the rise of
Christianity. Both are fallen now into utter decay.
"Ptolemais, which was the intermediate stage between
them, is an older city than either, and has outlived them
both. It has never been withdrawn from the field of history, and its interest has seemed to increase (at least in the
eyes of Englishmm) with the progress of centuries. Under
the ancient name of Acco it appears in the book of Judges
(i. 31) as one of the towns of the tribe of Asshur. It was
the pivot of the contests between Persi!l and Egypt.
'' Not unknown in the Macedonian and Roman periods, it

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422 TYRE TO SIDON.

reappears with brilliant distinction in the middle ages, when
the Crusaders called it St. Jean d'Acre. It it needless to
allude to the events which have fixed on this sea-fortress,.
more than once, the attention of our own generation.
" At the particular time when the Apostle Paul visited
this place, it bore the name of Ptolemais,-most probably
given to it by Ptolemy Lagi, who was long in possession of
this part of Syria-and it had recently been made a Roman
colony by the Emperor Claudius.
"It shared with Tyre and Sidon, Antioch and Cresarea,.
the trade of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
With a fair wind, a short day's voyage separates it from
Tyre.
" To speak in the language of our own sailors, there are
thirteen miles from Tyre to Cape Blanco, and fifteen from
thence to Cape Carmel, and Acre-the ancient Ptolemaisis situated on the further extremity of that bay, which
sweeps with a wide curvature of sand to the northwards,
from the headland of Carmel. It is evident that St. Paul's
company sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais within the day. At
the latter city, as at the former, there were Christian disciples, who had probably been converted at the same time.
and under the same circumstances as those of Tyre."

TYRE TO SI DON.
Leaving Tyre the traveller stil1 proceeds northward along
the Phrenician Plain, and will doubtless not fail to notice the
"mournful and oppressive silence," of which Gibbon has
spoken. Villages stud the mountain sides, whose terraces are
richly cultivated, but the greater part of the plain has its
fertility absolutely wasted.
A fountain prized for its healing virtues is passed, and
soon afterwards an old khAn on the banks of the Nahr-el-

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SAREPTA.

KAsimiyeh,a river which ranks next to the Orootes and Jordan, amongst the rivers of Syria. It rises near Ba'albek,
and drains the slopes of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and
probably represents the Leontes of ancient geography. The
deep ravine along which the . river flows is crossed by a
single arch of some twenty feet. Soon after leaving the river
a circle of stones are seen, which are said to be men who were
suddenly petrified because they mocked at the holy prophet,
Neby Stir, to whom the white domed wely in the neighbouring village is dedicated.
'Adlan has some ruins, and an ancient cemetery. It is
considered to mark the site of Ornithon. Hard by are some
caves in the hill side, which Dr. Robinson has suggested
may be those recorded by William, of Tyre, as having been
occupied by the Crusaders as strongholds.
Passing on from 'Adlan, the wely of el-Khudr, or St.
George, is passed, and then the village of Surafend is seeo
high up on a hill to the right.
Surafend is near the site of ancient Zarephath, called
in the New Testament Sarepta. The ruins are very scattered and fragmentary. Portions of glass and vitrified pottery
are abundant. The name Zarephath means a melting or
liquefying, and it is conjectured that the town was a place
of furnaces. There is a covered fountain among the ruins,
still in use, which was flowing in the time of drought, when
Elijah asked drink and food of the woman of. Zarephath.
" Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that I may
drink."
Besides the principal mass of ruins, consisting of broken
columns, slabs, etc., scattered for a mile or more along the
shore, there is another group of foundations on an adjacent
promontory. .
Zarephath is mentioned in the Old Testament as the

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TYRE TO SIDON.

place where Elijah was lodged by the widow woman, and
where he repaid her kindness by procuring the miraculous
preservation of her little store, and subsequently the restoration to life of her dead child ( 1 Kings xvii. 8-24).
In the New Testament the place is mentioned under the
name of Sarepta by our Saviour, in illustrating his discouMie
by a reference to the above-mentioned narrative (Luke iv.
25, 26).
Sarepta was praised for its wine by Greeks and Romans.
The Crusaders erected a chapel over the supposed house of
the widow. As the plain became unsafe, Sarepta became
deserted, and Surafend, up there on the mountain side, took
its place.
On leaving Sarepta, Sidon is soon seen, with its gardens
and orchards. The fountain of El Karbenah is used as a
resting-place, and then in three hours more, or in eight hours
from leaving Tyre, the traveller arrives at Sidon.

SIDON OR ZIDON-
Saida, the modern representative of Sidon (Hebrew,
Tsidon, fishery), is an irregularly built town, with narrow
alley-like streets, varying from five to eight feet in width,
with the roofs of the bazaars, etc., often meeting overhead.
The population is about 5000, the large proportion being
Arabs.
Sidon, which is supposed, for several reasons, to have
been older than Tyre, is mentioned first in Gen. x~ 19, a few
verses after the mention of Sidon, the son of Caanan. The
city is several times alluded to in Homer. In the time
of Solomon there were none that "had the skill to hew
timber like the Sidonians '' (1 Kings v. 6). Sidon and Tyre
were both free cities, and though allotted to Asher, were never
conquered by the Jews. From the testimony of Strabo, we

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SIDON.

learn that Sidon early achieved great celebrity in philosophy,
science, and art. "For wealth, commerce, luxury, vice, and
power, it was unequalled in the Levant,.'until Tyre outstripped it, and Psalmaneser conquered it,'' in 720 B.c.
Thence it passed successively under the rule of Persians,
Macedonians, Syrians, Egyptians, Romans, Arabs, and
Crusaders.
It was under its Persian masters that Sidon attained its
highest prosperity ; and it is on record, that towards the
close of that period it was in wealth and importance far
in advance of all the other Phamician cities. Sidoniaos
were a conspicuous element in the navy of Xerxes at the
invasion of Greece.
In 351 s.c., when Artaxerxes Ochus, King of Persia,
was engaged in preparing to put down a revolt in Egypt,
Sidon took the opportunity to make an effort for freedom.
A league was made with Nectanebos, then ruling on the
throne of Egypt, and arrangements made with the other
Pha:nician cites. All was frustrated by the treachery of
King Tennes of Sidon. Six hundred citizens were slain by
javelins; and when the Persian troops closed round the city
walls, the Sidonians shut themselves up with their families,
and tired their houses, and 40,000 persons are said to have
perished in the flames.
The city rose again from its ashes, and in 333 B.c.
it welcomed Alexander the Great as a deliverer from
Persian tyranny, and ranged its fleet and its soldiery
on the side of the Macedonians. Sidon now became
Grecianised, no longer of political importance, but an opulent city, alternately under Syrian or Egyptian rule, in the
long contests between the successors of Alexander. As late
as n7 B.c., as shown by coins, the Syrian goddess Astarte
was worshipped in this town. Strabo says of Tyre and

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TYRE TO SIDON.

Sidon: "Both were illustrious and splendid formerly and,
now ; but which should be called the capital of Phrenicia, is
a matter of dispute amongst the inhabitants.'' He states
also that the town of Sidon is situated on a fine, naturallyformed harbour, and that its inhabitants cultivated the
sciences of arithmetic and astronomy, and gave great facilities for their study. Such would be the state of things at
Sidon at the time of our Saviour's visit. The town was
about fifty miles from Nazareth, and is the most northern
place mentioned in the accounts of his journeyings.
In 325 A.D. the first bishop of Sidon, Theodorus, attended
the Council of Nice. The town scarcely appears again in
history till Balclwin and his Crusaders conquered it in I I I I A.o.á
Troublous times now set in. Seventy-six years the
Christians held it, and then in rr87 Saladin seized, dismantled and partially destroyed the city. Ten years after it
was again taken by the Christians, temporarily occupied and
despoiled, and again left to the Muslims, who rushed in
under Melek Adel, the brother of Saladin, and finished the
work of destruction. It was again rebuilt and again
destroyed; and in 1253 St. Louis renewed the fortifications,
and for about thirty years it was held by the Knights Templars. The Muslims again dismantled the town in 1291, and
so by degrees, the alternate prey of conflicting armies, Sidon
sank towards decay.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Emir
Fakhr ed-Din, built a palacehere,of which some remains are
still seen. He also erected the castle-like khA.n,and encouraged French traders to settle here. Till the time of the
Revolution, the place became almost a French colony.
Since the expulsion of the foreign merchants by Djezzar
Pasha, Sidon has gradually declined to its present miserable
state and proportions.

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SIDON,

"Once truly 'the Great Sidon' (Joshua xi. 8) once
furnishing architects such as no other city could furnish
(1 Kings v. 6), once the 'replenisher' of even luxurious
Tyre (Isa. xxiii. 2), once so free that even the conquering
hosts of Israel could not overcome her ; perhaps God permitted this ' thorn ' in the side of Israel as a punishment
overruled to their benefit, inasmuch as, beingá novices in the
arts, they could better be served by the Sidonians. Be that
as it may, she who was once great, is now as a cleft in the
rock. She who built up cities and nourished them, no longer
builds herself, but sits dismantled, and nourishes others only
by parting with the sad and beautiful blood-washed garments of her long-lost greatness, carried off daily, as it were,
in funeral processions, to be housed for ever in distant places
where not even. the antiquary shall recognize them.' ' Son
of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against
it, and say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against
thee, 0 Zidon ; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee :
and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have
executed judgments in her .... For I will send ....
blood into her streets. . . . And there shall be no more
a pricking brier unto the house of Israel' (Ezek. xxviii.
21-24). And when looking upon the beautiful plain in
which this place is set, and considering the excellence of the
soil, which even now, without any proper agricultural treatment, bears the luxuriant foliage of mulberries, bananas, and
other trees of smaller growth, and then looking out upon the
wide sea and the port, we ask the question, 'Why cannot the people revive and gather strength, and make these
advantages tributary to their prosperity? Where are their
helpers ? Are there none to remove these rocks and obstructions, these 'bonds and yokes' (Jer. xxvii. 2, 3). And
the answer returns, from the sepulchres beneath both sea and

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SIDON TO BEYROUT.

sand : ' Because of the day ' that has come 'to cut off from
Tyre and Sidon every helper that remaineth ' " (J er. xlvii. 4).
Jun is a village about six miles north-cast of Sidon,
wherein are the ruins of the beautiful palace reared by Lady
Hester Stanhope, the gifted and extraordinary woman
who gained so remarkable an ascendency over the Arab
mind, that in 182 c she was offered the crown of
Palmyra. Alphonse de Lamartine and the author of Eothen
both give accounts of interviews with this extraordinary
woman. When the end came the British Consul and
American Missionary rode over from Beyrout, and found
Lady Hester's corpse the sole tenant of her lovely home.
The thirty-seven servants had all fled, carrying with them
whatever they could lay their hands on.

SI DON TO BEY ROUT.
This is an eight hours' journey, and is very fatiguing in
some parts; some consider it almost unequalled in Syria for
weariness and want of interest.
After riding half an hour by the shore the Nahr-el-
Auwaly is crossed. This stream flows down from the
Lebanon, amongst the mountain recesses peopled by the
Druses. It is the Bostrenus of the ancients. Here the
traveller leaves the Phoenician plain and the rocky offshoots
of the Lebanon range are encountered. Riding on for about
two and a half hours the Khan Nehy Yt1nus is reached,
where stands a wely in honour of the Prophet Jonah, who is
said to have been vomited out by a whale on to the dry land
at this spot. The old road now runs over a bold headland,
being at places deeply cut into the solid rock. Here once
stood the fortress of Platane, near which Antiochus the Great
and Ptolemy fought in 218 B.c.

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THE HAURAN.

Beyond the promontory flows the Nahr-ed-Damur, a
gentle brook in summer, but furious enough when the
snows melt on Lebanon. Villages, convents, olive gardens,
etc., diversify the mountain scenery on the right as the
traveller proceeds. At Khan Khulda are some sarcophagi
on the side of the hill of very great antiquity, and probably
of Phrenician origin. The promontory of Beyrout is shortly
reached, and then comes a tedious passage over the sandy
mounds which threaten to submerge all the fertile land near
the sea. On the right is the largest olive grove in the
country. There is a tine view of the glens and villages of
Lebanon, and then, passing the Bir Huseini, or Chapel of
St. Joseph, the cactus-hedged and well-watered gardens and
plantations of Beyrout are reached, and the gate of the town
soon entered.
Beyrout (seep. 367).

TOUR TO THE HAU RAN.
(For Itinerary of this Tour seep. 27.)
The Hauran, strictly speaking, represents the Greek
Province of Auronitis, which Josephus mentions in connection with Trachonitis, Batanea, and Gaulonitis, as occupying
the territory of the ancient kingdom of Bashan.
The kingdom of Bashan lay to the east of the Jordan.
It was a land of mysterious interest, originally peopled
by the Rephaim, or Giants, who so terrified Israel.
The conquest of Bashan was commenced under Moses at
Edrei, and completed by Jair, son of Manasseh, who took
possession of Argob for his tribe. " And we took three.
score cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in
Bashan. All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates,
and bars, besidesunwalled towns a great many.•• The remains

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THE HAURAN.

of these cities, deserted, but, to a wonderful extent, not in
absolute ruin, are scattered over the whole district.
The term Haurcin is now used to comprehend the
Lejah, or Rock Plain, formerly called by the Greeks Trachonitis, or " the St~ong,'' and by the Hebrews " Heap of
Stone''; En Nuktah, the Plain, answering to the Greek
Auronitis, or the Hebrew Hal.lran (Ezekiel lxvii. 16), and El
J ebel, "the Mountain," the ancient Bata110!a. The latter
province is inhabited by the Druses, who exercise great
authority throughout the Hauran.
'' Bashan was regarded by the poet-prophets of Israel as
almost an earthly paradise. The strength and grandeur of
its oaks (Ezekiel xxvii. 6), the beauty of its mountain
scenery (Psalms lxviii. 15); the unrivalled luxuriance of its
pastures (Jer. I. 19); the fertility of its wide-spreading
plains and the excellence of its cattle (Psalms xxii. 12,
Micah vii. 14),-all supplied the sacred penmen with lofty
imagery. Remnants of the oak forests still clothe the
mountain sides ; the soil of the plains and the pastures on
the downs are rich as of yore; and though the periodic raids
of Arab tribes have greatly thinned the flocks and herds, as
they have desolated the cities, yet such as remain.;._the rams,
and lambs, and goats, and bulls-may be appropriately described in the words of Ezekiel, as 'all of• them fatlings of
Bashan' (xxxix. 18)."-(J. L. Porter.)
Bashan, from its exposed situation, often suffered the
ravages of war from Ninevites, Babylonians, and other
foreign invaders. The country early became Christian.
Paul's first mission, his ,áisit to Arabia (Gal. i. 15-17) is
considered to refer to Bashan. The idol temples (as still
shown by the inscriptions) became converted into Christian
churches, and in the fourth century the inhabitants were
nearly all Christians. During theJ twelve centuries of

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THE HAl:RAN.
43 1
the Muslim rule, Christianity has again become almost
extinct.
The tourist in the Hauran will find Oriental life and
manners eitisting in primitive vigour to a far greater extent
than in other portions of Palestine, which have come so
largely under European influences, and where European
customs, and even European fashions, are often ludicrously
copied.
Commencing the HaurAn journey from Damascus, the
plain is crossed to Kahr-es-Sit, "Tomb of the Lady,'' where
Zeinab, grand-daughter of Mahomed, was buried. The
Hajys of Persia are especially noticeable amongst the
dovote~ who come on pilgrimages to the mosque above the
grave. Continuing the course, the majestic Hermon is conspicuous on the west. The bare black hills to the south are
the Jebel-el-Aswad, "Black Mountains,'' the eastern extremity of which is reached after a seven miles' ride. A
fertile valley is soon entered, through which flows the 'Awaj
or Pharpar, with the village of Ntjha near its bank.
The 'Awaj rises on the slopes of Hermon, and flows
about forty miles to the most southerly of the three lakes of
Damascus. Under its name of Pharpar it will be remembered as one of the "rivers of Damascus which Naaman
thought so much better than all the waters of Israel "
(2 Kings v. 12). From Nejha there ,is a good view up the
vecdant valley of the' Awaj, between the enclosing ranges of
the Jebel-el-Aswad and Jebel-Mani'a. On an eminence to
'the left, is the Muslim wely of Abu Zld.
Leaving the valley, a bleak and dreary wilderness has to
be crossed, much infested by the Bedawln. Stones and
fragments of rocks are scattered in thick profusion. Then
comes a broad plain, where grass and weeds flourish luxuriantly in the rich black earth, once so carefully cultivated,

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THE HAURAN.
and producing wealth for the towns whose ruins are seen
here and there. As the traveller journeys on, the line of
dark cliffs marking the boundary of the Lejah comes ioto
view, and .oo a nearer approach, the trees and villages and
towers of old cities on the heights are gradually discerned.
The Lejah is an extraordinary elevated region, of a
regular, almost oval shape, measuring about twenty-two
miles from north to south, aod about fourteen from west to
east. It has been described as "an ocean of basaltic rocks
and boulders, tossed about in the wildest confusion, and
intermingled with fissures and crevices in every direction.''
Deserted cities and villages, massive in structure and of remote antiquity, thickly stud this wild, forbidding region.
The exploits of Jair in Argob, as this region was termed by
the Hebrews, have been already alluded to (Deut. iii. 13, 14).
The same event is referred to in I Chron. ii. z3. Here, in
after yearc;, dwelt the Geshurites, whom Israel refrained
from exterminating (Joshua xiii. 13), and it was to these
rocky recesses that Absalom fled when he sought his uncle
" in Geshur of Aram," after the murder of his brother
Ammon (z Sam. xiii.) At the present day, the Lejah is a
refuge for those fleeing from oppression or danger, as in
times past. Its inhabitants are chiefly Bedawins of the
wildest aod most predatory type, who are only kept in control by the authority of their Druse neighbours. Without a
Druse escort the Lejah is indeed inaccessible. Travellers
should stedfastly adhere to the advice of the escort in all particulars, and not even attempt to sketch a ruin or copy an
inscription without their express permission. Otherwise, he
might be suspected by ignorant and superstitious onlookers
to be engaged in magical incantations ; and in that case
danger to life or limb would inevitably result.
Burak is at the north-eastern extremity of the Lejah,

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BURAK.
<1ndis so built on the rocks and encompassed by them, as to
form a natural fortress. Its name signifies "Cisterns;''
these large cisterns, with the aqueduct in connection, are in
existence. It is thought that the town may have accommodated six thousand inhabitants. There are no large buildings, but a large number of houses in wonderful perfection
.and of great antiquity. There are two or three Greek inscriptions of the fourth century B.c., but these throw no
light on the erection of the edifices.
The houses in BurAk are such as will be found in most
of the Haurin cities. Immense blocks of hewn stone form
the walls, often five feet in thickness. Long thick slabs
.of stone rest upon projecting cornices, and form the roof.
The very doors are of massive stone, with pivots working
1n sockets above and below. Such are the deserted habitations found in thousands in the desolate cities of Bashan.
The wandering Arabs prefer dwelling in their tents to
occupying these houses, and the traveller can take possession
of any house he fancies for the night, and apportion the
rooms at pleasure, to himself, his horses, and his attendants.
An old Roman road runs to the Wady Liwa, and then
.along the eastern bank of the valley to Jebel Haurin, passing
.about a score of desolate towns similar to BurAk.
The road now taken does not follow the above-named
route, but proceeds south-west, along the Lulif (" coverings''), a narrow strip of the surrounding plain, contiguous
to the Lejah. During this part of the journey, the wonderful
conformation of the Lejah can be examined. The surface
consists of a vast mass of basalt, evidently forced upwards
by volcanic agency, when in a melted condition. The
gradual cooling of the mass must have gone on under
disturbing influences of a most extraordinary character, so
that there is now a wilderness of rifted rocks, and yawning

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THE HAURAN.
chasms, and jagged cliJfs, boldly elevated at from :20 to 30
ft. above the level of the plain.
Passing the remains of Um-u-S'a&i,, the beautiful ruins
of_El Musmelh are next reached.
El Musmeih (ancient Phaeno), is at the present day
a collection of ruins three miles in extent. Several public
buildings and palaces can be seen amongst the heaps and
remains of private houses. The interior square and some
of the columns once forming the portico of a beautiful temple
can be seen. There are many Greek inscriptions on this
and other buildings. The inscription by the entrance-door
of the temple, '' Julius Satuminus to the people of Phalllo,
capital of Trachon, greeting," proves that the Lejah was the
Trachonitis of Luke iii. 1, and that this city was its capital,
and called Phzno. The Temple was built (as another
inscription shows) by a Roman general stationed here in the
reigns of Marcus Aurelius, Antoninus, and Lucius Aurelius
Verus (A.D. 161-169).
Still following the Luhf, Sh'aarah is next reached,
mostly partially occupied, though often empty. The ruins
are on both sides of a valley. They comprise a temple of
the same date as that at Musmeih, now converted into a
mosque, an old square tower, several large buildings in
ruins, and numbers of massive houses of the kind already
described.
If the Luhf is still [followed, skirting the Lejah, the
Christian colony of Khubab, and several deserted villages
are passed. But the road to be now taken turns southward
from Sh'aarah, through the Lejah. As the border is left
behind, the characteristics of this strange rocky wilderness
become more and more striking. "The rocks are in many
places cleft asunder," says Burckhardt, "so that the whole
hill appears shivered, and in the act of falling down. The

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]EBEL HAU.RAN.
layers are generally horizontal, from six to eight feet or
more in thickness, sometimes covering the hills, and inclining
to their curve, as appears from the fissures that often traverse
the rock from top to bottom.'' The successive attempts of
Egyptians and Turks to conquer the rugged defiles have
always resulted in disastrous failure, and great Joss of life
to the ipvaders. Passing Kul'at Semak, Kureim, Kustul
Kureim, and several other viUages,with houses and square
towers as already described, the traveller arrives at DAma.
D§ma is the capital of the Lejah, consisting of about
300 houses, each with its cistern, the whole surrounded by
a wilderness of bare rocks.
A rugged winding path leads through scenery still of
savage wildness, past Deir Dama, to Ahiry. Here the
scenery opens out, a few plots of cultivated land are seen,
and the only fountain in the Lejah. A capital view of the
whole district is obtained by mounting to the wely on the
adjacent Tell 'Amarah. Amongst the rocky fastnesses
of the wilderness that stretches all around, the houses and,
towers of no less than thirty cities can be counted.
Um-es-ZeiUJn(Mother of Olives) is about one-and-a-half
hours east of 'Ahiry. Some thirty Druse families are the
sole tenants of what was once a large town.
The .Jebel Hauran, or mountain district of the
Hauran, is now entered. It is peopled chiefly by the Druses ..
At Hit, the tirst town reached, dwells the powerful Druse
Sheikh Asad 'Amer. He is careful to entertain strangers,
and the goodwill of this chieftain, as of any of the Druse
Sheikhs met en route, should be conciliated by polite
acceptance of his hospitality.
Hit contains heaps of ruins. The houses now in use
are very ancient. Many of the stone doors are " tastefully
ornamented with panels and garlands of fruit and flowers,

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THE HAURAN.

sculptured in relief."' There are several Greek and Roman
temples, and Greek inscriptions in abundance.
Ba thanyeh, or Batanrea, is three miles north-east of
Hit. From its position on the mountain it affords fine
views across the plain towards the base of Anti-Libanus.
The city has been tenantless for centuries, yet the roads are
well paved, and whole streets and lanes of solid stone houses
are standing. But in the silent courtyards the weeds grow
thick and rank, and over ancient portals and in fissures of
ancient walls wild vegetation flourishes, and the only inhabitants of the deserted dwellings are the owls, and jackals, and
foxes.
Four miles south of Bathanyeh is Shuka, or Saccrea,
once probably the abode of zo,ooo inhabitants, now sheltering a few Christians and Druses in the ancient houses. The
ruins are about two miles in circuit, to a large extent only
confused heaps remain. Temples of the Roman epoch once
abounded here; one of them was long used as a Christian
Church. Another Church is also seen in ruins. Near
Shiika are some remarkable tombs, dating from the first and
second centuries of our era. They consist of square towers,
about thirty feet high, and about twenty feet on each side.
Over the doors are tablets recording the names of the dead.
A pleasant ride of about ten miles brings the traveller to
Shuhba. On the right, a plain stretches to the Lejah, with
here and there an ancient town. On the left are wooded
mountain slopes, also dotted with towns and villages, with
the highest peaks of Jebel Hauran in the background.
Shuhba is seen in front, boldly perched on a ridge of rocks.
The rugged glen, called the Wady Nimreh, is crossed, and
a steep bank climbed to reach the dilapidated walls, which
must be scrambled over, as the Roman Gateway is barricaded
with heaps of ruins. In this town resides the brave aod

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SHUHBA.
43i
hospitable Sheikh, Fares 'Amer, to whom a visit must be
paid.
"Shuhba," says the Rev. J. L. Porter, in his Giant
Cities of Bashan " is almost entirely a Roman city....!the
ramparts are Roman, the streets have the old Roman pavement, Roman temples appear in every quarter, a Roman
theatre remains nearly perfect, a Roman aqueduct brought
water from the distant mountains, inscriptions of the Roman
age, though in Greek, are found on every public building.
A few of the ancient massive houses, with their stone doors
and stone roofs, yet exist ; but they are in a great measure
concealed or built over with the later and more graceful
structures of Greek and Roman origin. Though this city
was nearly three miles in circuit, and abounded in splendid
buildings, its ancient name is lost, and its ancient history
unknown. Its modem name is derived from a princely
Mahomedan family, which :settled here in the seventh
century."
Of this extensive provincial city, which appearsto have
met with sudden destruction when in all its freshness and
perfection, the greater portion consists of confused heaps of
rnbbish, especially in the northern and eastern portions. Two
main streets, with Roman pavement, looking as good as new,
cross each other in the centre of the city, and divide it into
four sections. At the centre once stood four pedestals, ten
feet in height, and seventeen feet square--three are still
standing. The most interesting street is that leading westward from this point. It contains, amongst other objects of
interest, a temple once used as a church, with a cupola supported by columns; five Corinthian columns belonging to the portico of another temple ; an ancient courtyard,
with a fine Greek inscription referring to one Martins, a
magistrate, and recording the erection of a monument to his

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THE HAURAN.

honour by the chief captain of the 16th Legion, in the reigns
of Aurelius and Lucius Vemo; ntins of an old mosque; a
portion of a hippodrome, and a small temple with a wellpreserved crypt. Near this latter building is the Theatre,
the most perfect monument of antiquity in Shuhba. The
details of the arrangements of Roman buildings of this
character can here be readily studied. The street referred to
as conducting to the remains enumerated is at one place cut
through the solid rock, to procure an easier gradient, and
arched over.
In other parts of the city are fragments of many grand
buildings, but they are for the most part involved in ahnost
indistinguishable ruin. In the south-eastern section, however, the remains of a large Romaná bath can be observed,
with portions of an aqueduct in connection. Greek inscriptions abound everywhere. The Roman gateways on the
south and east of the city are very little injured.
Close to Shuhba is an extinct volcanic crater, with
abundance of scoriae, ashes, etc. The view from this point
of the south-eastern portion of the Lejah is very good. East
of Shuhba rise the mountains of J ebel Haurin, the summits
clothed with forests of oak, and the sides in terraces half-way
to the top. "The vine and the fig,'' says the writer last
quoted," flourished here luxuriantly in the days of Bashan's
glory, winter streams then irrigated and enriched the slopes,
and filled the great cisterns in everr city; but the Lord said
in his wrath, ' I will make waste mountains and hills, and
dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands,
and I will dry up the pools' (Isa. xiii. 15), and now I saw
that the words of the Lord were literally and fearfully true.''
Following the Roman road from Shuhba along the lower
slopes of the Jebel Hauran, Murd11k,Rtmeh, and other villages
are passed on the right and left, and also the ruins of the large

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KUNAWAT.
convent, Dei.r El-Leben," Convent of Milk." At length a
low rounded eminence is reached, on which are the ruins of
Suleim. Here are the remains of some fine buildings;
there is also a beautiful temple a little to the north of the
town. The blocks of stone filling the interior are covered
with fine reliefs of fruit and flowers. Suleim was the ancient
city of Neapolis; a bishop's see in early Christian times. It
is now inhabited by a few Druse families. There are some
<:uriousunderground cisterns in the-vicinity of the town.
The route now leads through rich and picturesque scenery
to Kuna wat, Greek Canatha, and Hebrew Kenath. The
W ady Kunawat is crossed, with its little stream embowered
with evergreens, leaping amongst the rocks. A large ruin.
known as the Deir, is visited en route. It consists of a
spacious court, with a beautifully sculptured doorway,cloisters
supported by columns, and the remains of a contiguous
<:hurch of later date. Of the ancient temple which once
undoubtedly stood in the centre only heaps of stones are left.
Fragment~ of pillars and flowered cornices lie scattered
amongst the thistles and thorns. About a mile from the
Deir the ruins of Kunawat are reached, on the western bank
of a dark ravine. Along the cliffs for nearly a mile runs the
well-preserved wall, which then turns, and encloses the piece
of ground, about half-a.mile in width, on which the city was
built. •
An ascending street, with good Roman pavement and the
remains of elegant and commodious houses, leads to the area
around which the principal buildings of Kunawat are situated. The stone doors seen on the way are very striking,
from their panelling and beautiful ornamentation in reliefs of
fruits and flowers.
One of the chief edifices is the so-called Deir Eyub,
"'' Convent of Job," a complicated structure of doubtful

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THE HAURAN.
or1gm. One of the large halls, ninety-eight feet by sixtynine feet, approached by a portico of eight Corinthian
columns, has been used as a church. The friezes on the
stones of the adjacent hall, of which the pediment bas fallen
in ruins, are well worth examination.
A small Temple of Ashtaroth, or Astarte, is a little
farther west. It is a fine ruin. The statues in front are
numerous, but, unfortunately, sadly mutilated. A colossal
head of Ashtaroth is among them ; upon its brow rests the
crescent moon, from which her name of Caaraim, or" twohomed," was derived. This goddess is associated in Scripture with the Phrenicians and Philistines, and was every now
and then worshipped in Israel (Jud. ii. 13; 1 Sam. xxi. 10;
1 Kings xi. 5; :i. Kings xxiii. 13). She was adored in Bashan
from the earliest times. Ashteroth-Kamaim, the long-lost
capital of Bashan, is mentioned in Gen. xiv. 5.
The remains of the Hippodrome are interesting.
Here also mutilated statues abound ; some of them are of
equestrian figures, others of lions, leopards, etc. Many
tombs are found in proximity to the town -high square
towers built in stories, with recesses in the sides of the
chambers for the bodies.
There is a fine Peripteral Temple on a vaulted plat•
form in a beautiful situation to the west of the city. It is
considered " one of the most picturesque ruins in the whole
country,'' though time has much devastated its walls and
columns.
Knnawa.t contains many other remains of temples,
palaces, theatres, etc., in its wide and regular streets. The
general appearance of the city is very striking, and its surroundings are such as to add to the picturesque etf~ct of the
mingled mass of ancient buildings.
In the adjacent glen is a Theatre, with the seats hewn
I

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SUWEIDEH. 441
in the side of the cliff: Near it is a small Temple. A
winding staircase conducts to a castle on the summit of the
cliff, reared with huge stones, and of very ancient date.
The ornamented panels, fretted mouldings, and sculptured
wreaths of the inner stone doors are very fine. Hard by is
an ancient circular tower of colossal masonry. Th~ view
from this point is very fine. There is a picturesque mingling of cliff and glen, and hill and valley, with graceful
columns and time-worn ruins peeping forth amidst masses
of luxuriant foliage-a prospect which (especially if seen at
early mom) cannot fail to charm and delight the visitor.
Kunawat is the Kenath of the Old Testament, one of
the cities of Argob, captured by Nobah, of the tribe of
Manasseh, and for a time called after his name (Numb.
xxxii. 4:2). As Nobah it is mentioned in the chase of
Gideon after Zebah and Zalmunna (Jud. viii. u). Under the
Greeks the town was called Canatha. It was almost entirely
rebuilt at the beginning of the Christian era, became an
important Christian city and bishop's see. The Mahomedans subsequently conquered it, and then left it to desolation, as there is no Mosque or other trace of Muslim occupation in the place.
The beautiful ruins of 'AtU, two miles west of Kunawat, are well worth a visit. One of the temples dates from
150 A.D.
Suweideh is south of 'Adi, and is reached by following the Roman road amongst the oaks of Bashan, crossing
the lower slope and glens of the Jebel Hauran, with the
silent desolate plain stretching to the right. On the plain
are seen Rimeh and W elgha.
An hour's ride brings the traveller to the Wady Suweideh
on the south side of which are the extensive ruins of the
city. On the north bank, before crossing the Wady, a re-

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THE HAURAN.

markable square tower, thirty feet in height, is seen. It is
oroamentNi with Doric semi-columns, between which warlike trophies, shields and helmets, are sculptured in relief.
It is inscribed, "Odainatus, son of Anuelos, built this
monument to Chamrate, his wife."
The ruins, which are approach~d by a lloman arch spanning the stream in the W ady, are four miles in circumference. Little is to be seen but heaps of ruins, making the
cleared out houses resemble caves. Remains of Ante-Roman,
Roman, Christian, and Muslim origin are mingled in indescribable confusion. Occasionally, as inscriptions show,
Jupiter, St. George, and Mahomed have successively ruled
in the same edifice. And yet this city is unknown in history (large and flourishing as it must have been), until the
time of the Crusaders. At the present day a few hundred
Druse and Christian families reside in the cleared out lower
stories of the ancient houses.
A delightful ride of about two and a half hours
brings the traveller to Hebran. The route ascends the
mountain side in sight of El-Kuleib, "the Little Heart,"
the highest peak of the Jebel HaurAn. Numerous villages
and towns are seen on the plain to the right ; Raha and
Seliweh are passed en route.
HebrAn stands on one of the southern ridges of the
J ebel HaurAn, overlooking the valley of Kerioth, 2000 feet
below. A few Druses dwell in the old houses, whose walls
and stone doors prove their high antiquity. There is a
beautiful Temple on a cliff south of the town, dating
from 155 A.D. On the summit and sides of the hill on
which the town is built are the scattered remains of variousá
other edifices. Here, as in other ruined cities of Bashan,
where the temples or palaces, or. other large buildings are
sufficiently perfect, they are utilized as folds for cattle and

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'ORMAN.
sheep. Strikingly does this illustrate the words of Isaiah,
" The defenced city shall be desolate . there shall
the calf feed" (Isa. xx.vii. 10). And again, "the forts and
towers shall be dens for ever . a pasture for flocks "
(Isa. xxxii. 14). The view from this point, including Salcah (S.E.), Kerioth (S.), Bozrah of Moab (S.W.) and about
thirty other towns is very interesting.
An hour's journey from Hebrin brings the visitor to El
Kufr. a town whose history and ancient name are alike unknown. Its massive stone houses, its outer walls, and even
the town gates, each composed of a single stone slab ten
feet in height, are standing; yet the place is tenantless.
Oneá building with a tower, has at some period been used as
a Mosque.
The highest peak of Jebel HaurAn, the volcanic cone of
" El-Kuleib," or "Little Heart," can be reached in an
hour's walk from EI-Kufr, and readily scaled in another
hour.
Sehwet-el-Khudr, two'hours east of EI-Kufr, is so named
from its old church of St. George.
Saleh is on the plain just under the eastern slope of Jebel
Haurfm. Some remains of churches are found amongst the
ruins, which are one and a-half miles in circuit. Numerous
deserted towns are seen on the plain, from this point ;
amongst them are Tell Sh'-af, Malah, and Deir en Nusr(J;Tly.
From Saleh, 'Orman, or Philippopolis, is reached in
three and a-half hours. The long-deserted ruins are of• considerable extent, but there are no important edifices. It was
probably called Philippopolis when Philip of Arabia was
chosen Emperor of Rome in 244 A.D.
An hour's ride across a stony country brings the traveller
to Sulkhad, or Salcah. The town is•from two to three
miles in circumference, surrounding a castle on a lofty

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THE HAURAN.
isolated hill. This fortress is no doubt of extreme antiquity.
Greek and Arabic inscriptions show its occupancy by later
races. The view of the Plain of Moab from the summit is
very interesting. Many deserted towns can be counted in
the prospect. Besides the castle there is little in the town
to interest, a few mosques and square towers are seen
amongst the ruins, and many of the massive stone houses
are quite perfect.
Salcah is mentioned in Deut. iii. 10; Joshua xiii. II ;
and 1 Chron. v. 11, as on the boundaries of Bashan. In
Joshua xii. 5 it is named as a city, in which King Og
reigned. In the time of the Crusades the city was strong
enough to resist several unsuccessful expeditions to capture it.
From Salcah to Kureiyeh, two routes offer. 1. By the
Busrah road for one hour, and then by Muneidhirab and
across a stony waste. ~- By the interesting deserted towo
of 'Aytin ("Fountains''). The latter is rather longer.
Kureiyeh (ancient Kerioth), has little to show in the
way of great buildings. A few fragments of columns and
square towers are seen. But the private houses of this city
are in wonderful perfection and of great interest.
"Kerioth was reckoned,'' says the Rev. J. D. Porter,
"one of the strongholds of the plain of Moab (Jer. xlviii.
41). Standing in the midst of wide-spread rock-fields, the
passes through which could be easily defended ; and encircled
by massive ramparts, the remains of which are still there,
I saw, and every traveller can see, how applicable is Jeremiah's reference, and bow strong this city must have been.
I could not but remark, too, while wandering through the
streets and lanes, that the private houses bear the marks of
the most remote antiquity. The few towers and fragments
of temples, which inscriptions show to have been erected in

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BOZRAH.
the first centuries of the Christian era, are modern in comparison with the colossal walls and massive stone doors of
the private houses. The simplicity of their style, the low
roofs, the ponderous blocks of roughly hewn stone with
which they are built, the great thickness of the walls and
the heavy slabs which form the ceilings-all point to a period
far earlier than the Roman age, and probably even antecedent
to the conquest of the country by the Israelites. Moses
makes special mention of the strong cities of Bashan, and
speaks of their high walls and gates. He tells us too, in
the same connection that Bashan was called the Land of the
Giants (or Rephaim, Deut. iii. 13), leaving us to conclude
that the cities were built by giants. Now the houses of
Kerioth, and other towns in Bashan, appear to be just such
dwellings as a race of giants would build. The walls, the
roofs, but especially the ponderous gates, doors and bars are
in every way characteristic of a period when architecture
was in its infancy, when giants were masons, and when
strength and security were the grand requisites. I measured
a door in Kerioth : it was nine feet high, four and a half feet
wide, and ten inches thick, one solid mass of stone. I saw
the folding gates of another town in the mountains still
larger and heavier. Time produces little effect on such
buildings as these. The heavy stone slabs of the roof rest-
;ng on the massive -walls make the building as firm as if
built of solid masonry ; and the black basalt used is almost
as hard as iron. There can scarcely be a doubt therefore
that these are the very cities erected and inhabited by the
Rephaim, the aboriginal occupants of Bashan ; and the
language of Ritter remains to be true, ' These buildings
~emain as eternal witnesses to the conquest of Bashan by
Jehovah.' "
Busrah, Bozrah of Moab, or the Roman Bostra, is an

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THE HAURAN.

imposing mass of ruined buildings, in the midst of which
dwell a few families. When the Romans ruled in Syria, it
was the most celebrated of their fortresses east of Jordan.
Portions of the solid walls, 6fteen feet in thickness and
thirty in height, with occasional square towers, are still perfect.
These walls enclosed a rectangular space, a mile and a half
long by a mile broad, but outside the enclosure were extensive suburbs. A straight street runs the entire length of the
city, terminating at each end in a 6ne gateway, other streets
cross at right angles. This shows the regular way in which
the Romans rebuilt the city during their supremacy. But
when Bostra, as the Romans called it, came under Muslim
power, little shops and houses were clustered anywhere and
everywhere till a maze of crooked lanes took the place of the
beautiful Roman city. At the present day, the architecture
of the various epochs, from the Repbaim to the Saracens
is strangely mingled, Votive tablets and inscriptions of all
kinds-Pagan, Christian, and Mahomedan-abound in every
direction, and a zealous antiquary might 6nd weeks of profitable enjoyment amongst the ruins of Bozrah.
The following are the principal objects of interest in
Busrah likely to attract the notice of the passing traveller.
The strongly walled and moated Castle, with its vaults,
and tanks, and galleries, comprises in its limits, the remains
of a splendid Theatre, where the luxurious legionaries of
Imperial Rome amused their leisure during their occupancy
of this distant provincial fortress. From the Keep there is
a grand view of the plains of Bashan and Moab, studded
with numerous towns and cities, with good roads connecting the more important places, the soil richly fertile and
yet desolate, given over to the robber tribes of the desert.
Um-el-Jemal, the Beth,gamul of Scripture is visible from this
point (Jer. xlviii. 23).

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BOZRAH.
The Cathedral is square outside, with a circular interior; over the centre is a large dome. It dates from 513 A.D.
It is locally known as the church of the monk Boheira, who
is said to have deserted Christianity and to have become the
ac<:9mpliceof Mahomed, by supplying the Bible elements of
the Kur-An.
The Great Mosque is assigned to the Khalif Omar.
The colonnades include seventeen very fine monolith columns
of white marble. Portions of more ancient edifices, some bearing Greek inscriptions have been worked into this erection.
Amongst the remaining attractions of Busrah, must be
briefly mentioned the remains of a Temple, situated where
the two main streets cross. A Triumphal Arch
spanning the main street, forty feet in height. The socalled Jew's house or Beit-el-Yehudy, said to have been
rebuilt by the order of the Caliph Omar, for a Jew whose
house had beea wrongfully pulled down to make room for a
mosque. As the story goes, Omar had the mosque pulled
down that justice might be done. The Western Gate called
Bah-el-Bawa, "Gate of the Wind," is worth a passing notice.
In addition to observing the above, the visitor's attention
will be constantly attracted as he passes along by columns,
baths, tanks, arches, scattered fragments of capitals and cornices, stones with inscriptions, and various other remains of
the past glories of the ancient city.
Bozrah was taken by Judas Maccabeus ( 1 Mace. v.
26-28). During the Eastern conquests of Trajan Bozrah
was made the capital of a Roman province, and named
Nova Trajana Bostra. Alexander Severus made the city a
colony. When Philip of Bostra became Roman Emperor,
he raised his birth-place to the rank of a metropolis. In the
Christian era Bostra was the seat of a Primate, to whom
thirty-three bishops were subject.

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THE HAURAN.

From Busrah to Der'a by Ghusam is a journey of about
seven hours and a half. Der'a is the Adrahah of the
Romans, an important station on their military road from
Bostra to Gadara. Except the remains of what is supposed
to have been a cathedral, there is little of special interest
in the ruins. An ancient bridge of five arches crosses the
stream in the Wady-ed-Dan.
Two hours north-west of Der'a lies Mezarib, a village
with a Castle, where the Governor of the Hauran resides.
Mezarib is a station on the Syrian pilgrimage route from
Damascus to Medina. A fair is held here annually,
on the arrival of the pilgrims. Passing the exclusively
Muslim town of &hmiskin, the traveller soon arrives at
Edhr'a.
Edhr'a is the ancient Edrei; a natural fastness, on a
projection of the Lejah, from thirty to fifty feet above the
adjacent plain. The ruins are three miles in circuit, and,
from their prominent position and wild surroundings, present
a very imposing aspect. The massive houses already described are plentiful, and there are abundant heaps of the
ruins of larger edifices. The three principal remains are the
Church of St. Elias, a quadrangular structure, with
cloisters and numerous columns and arches, which appears
to have been successively a Forum, a Cathedral, and a
Mosque; and the Church of St. George, founded, as
an inscription states, by the conversion of a Pagan temple
in 516 A.D. In the adjacent plain, Og, King of Bashan,
was slain in battle by the Israelites (Numb. xxi. 33-35;
Deut. iii. 1-4).
Skirting the Lejah, and passing Shukrah, numerous
villages are seen on the plain to the left, and amongst
the rocks on the right, and the traveller ne:s:t arrives at
Mujeidel.

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TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN.
Sunamein has two lofty towers, which possibly give
the place its name (" The Two Idols''). There are many
massive and beautiful remains of ancient edifices. One
limestone temple is very noticeable.
Between Sunamein and Kesweh the traveller passes
Ghubaghib, with its fortified khan; Kusr Far'on, or Pharaoh's
Castle, on its isolated rock ; the dilapidated caravansary of
Khan Deniln, where the pilgrims make their second halt
from Damascus; and the bare rocks of Jebel Mani'a, crowned
by a ruined castle on the right of the Plain of Khiyara.
Kesweh is a Mahomedan village on the banks of the
'Awaj, ancient Pharpar (p. 330). The view down the valley
is very fine. After crossing Jebel-es-Aswad, Damascus is
seen, with its gardens, and in about a couple of hours the
city gates are reached.
Damascus (seep. 332).
TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN•
Moab.
From Jericho (Jordan) to Heshbon-Nebo-
Rabbath 'Ammon-Jerash-Es-Salt and
Jericho.
• (For Itinerary of two pleasant tours in the Land of Moab,
see pp. 25-26.)
Starting from the River Jordan, which may be reached
from Jerusalem via Mar Saba (p. 214), or Jericho (p. 233),
we cross the river at the Ford due east of Jericho. Hence
the route is along the W ady Heshbon. The ruins of Betharan or Beth-haran (Joshua xiii. 27, Numbers xxxii. 36),
now called Ramah, are passed, and then commences the
ascent of El Belka, the mountains of Moab. The traveller is
now tracing the route down which the Iraelites returned

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TOURS EAST OF THE JOR~fN,

from the conquest of Gilead and Bashan. The grassy tableland where Reuben and Gad chose their heritage is reached
after an ascent of about 3000 feet.
The fertile high lands above the eastern shores of the
Dead Sea, extending northwards to the mountains of
Gilead were originally peopled by the Enim. These were
dispossessed by the descendants of Moab, the son of Lot.
From the northern portion of this territory the Moabites were
driven by the warlike Ammonites under Sihon. But the
whole district was still called the" Land of Moab,'' whilst the
term "Field of Moab" was used to designate the southern and
more inaccessible portion of their territory into which the
Moabites retired before their Amorite invaders. '' The
Plains of Moab," or Arboth-Moab, is the expression used
for the low-lying dry regions beside the Jordan Valley.
When the Israelites were refused a passage through Moab,
they skirted the district and reached the Jordan through the
country between the Amon and the Mountains of Gilead,
which the Amorites had so lately taken possession of.
"The district referred to as Moab must be understood
to consist of a parallelogram, in rough measurement, some
fifty miles from north to south, by thirty from east to west,
bounded on the west by the Dead Sea and the Jordan, on the
east by the Pilgrim Road from Damascus to Mecca, and
extending from the Oasis of Safieb on the south to the gorge
which runs down from Elealeh and Hesbbon to the Jordan
Valley on the north, and including that portion of the plain
of Shittim which lies between the watercourse and the
Dead Sea, now known as the Seisaban."-(Hayne.)
Hesbao marks the site of Heshbon, which Sihon, King
of the Amorites, made his capital. It was a city of the
Levites (Joshua xxi. 39); but it came again into Moabite
possession at the time of the Captivity. As a Moabite city

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NEBO.
45 1
it was denounced by the prophets, " Heshbon shall cry "
(Isaiah xv. 4; see also Jeremiah xlviii. ~, 34, 45).
"There is little, of a 'place once famed i.n olden story,
for •the traveller to see. A large piece of walling at the
west end of the bold isolated hill, on which the old fortress
stood ; with a square block-house, and a pointing archway adjoining; a temple on the crest of a hill, with the
pavement unbroken and the bases of four columns still in
situ; on the east, in the plain, just at the base of the hill, a
great cistern, called by some theá 'fish-pools of Heshbon,'
but more probably only the reservoir for the supply of the
city-these are all that remain."-(Tristram.)
From Heshbon a visit is paid to Mount Nebo, the scene
of the death of Moses. M'ain, anciently Baal-Meon, is
passed en route. This is the spot where Balak stood with
the prophet Balaam, and urged the latter to curse the
. Israelites (see Numbers xxii., xxiii., xxv.)
The Jehal Neha, in the mountain range of Abarim, is,
doubtless, the ancient Mount Nebo. Dr. Tristram, whose
admirable work, The Land <ifMoah, will have been studied
by every traveller who takes this journey, says-
,, Anxious to verify exactly the view of Moses, we paid
three visits toá Nebo; but we were not so fortunate as on
my former visit, when, for the first time, áNebo was identified.
On each occasion there was a haze from the heat, which
dimmed the distant features and outlines, producing a sort of
mirage, which rendered it almost difficult clearly to trace
distant objects. Still we had a clear distant view of Western
Palestine and the whole J udrean range, from far south of
Hebron up to Galilee. We could see the west side of the
Dead Sea from Engedi northwards,Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and
Neby-Samwll (Mizpeh). Ebal and Gerizim were very easily
made out, and the opening of the vale of Shechem. Carmel

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452 TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN.

could be recognized; but we were never able to make out
the sea to the north of it ; and though it is certainly possible
that it might be seen from this elevation, I could not satisfy
myself that I saw more than the haze over the Plain of
Esdraelon ..... A comer of the Hermon mountains
(Bashan) could be caught in a depression of the Gileati
range. Hermon certainly could be made out in a clear
atmosphere over the Jordan valley, the whole of which lay
open as far asKurn Surtabeh; but the haze rendered it very
indistinct, if, indeed, we saw it at all. However, after testing repeatedly, every view in the neighbourhood, I am perfectly satisfied that there is none which equals in extent that
from Nebo, i.e., from the flat ridge which rises slightly
about half-a-mile behind the ruined city, and which I take
to be the true ' Field of Zophim, the top of Pisgah.'
"From Nebo we looked down on our right northwards,
into the Wady Ayun Moussa (Springs of Moses), which
rises to the north-east of it, and runs into the Ghor Seisabaii
( Plains of Shittim) opposite Beth Jesunoth. In the lower
part of its course it is called W ady J erifeh. It was dotted
with trees, bright green spots, and occasional patches of cultivation, wherever it was more open than usual.
"By this Wady would be the naturalascent to Nebo from
the plains below ; and by it, doubtless, Moses ascended with
Joshua to the crest of the range. We could trace the line of
the path the whole way up. Three other ravines, up which
there are paths, lead from the same plain to tlie heights ;
one by the Wady Heshbon to the north of Ayun Moussa;
and the Wady Na'ur, north of this again, the largest of all
these valleys. The furthest up is the W ady N'meirah.
But these are all too far north to have led to any point which
can afford such a panorama as that from Nebo. Indeed,
there can scarcely now remain a doubt on the mind of any

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RABBATH AMMON,
investigator as to the identity of the ~site,and the exact harmony of the scriptural topography with the actual facts.
Besides, although Nebo had escaped modem research until
1864, the name and place were well-known to early Christian writers, and Eusebius expressly mentions 'that it lay on
the south side of Jordan, in the land of Moab, and is shown
to this day, six miles to the west of Heshbon.'"
From the range in which Nebo is situated a spur runs
westward. At the extremity are some interesting ruins,
overlooking the terraced mountain-sides, three thousand feet
down to the.Jordan Valley. This is Z'rara, which was
once a place of importance, as the ruins testify. A large
cistern, of beautiful workmanship, has been discovered here.
A citadel, temple (subsequently used perhaps as a Christian
Church), and other important ruins, are to he seen here.
The view is remarkably fine, though not so good as that
from Nebo. Dr. Tristram has no hesitation in identifying
Z'rara with the Zoar of the hook of Genesis. For the arguments, see The Lo.nd of Moah.
Leaving Hesban, the traveller reaches El-' .A.l, " the
higher,'' in half an hour. Heaps of ruins are surrounded by
portions of a stone wall. This is the Elealeh of the Bible,
captured and rebuilt by the tribe of Reuben (Numb. xxxii.
3-37). The visitor will readily see that prophecy has been
signally fulfilled. In Isaiah xv. 4, its "cry" is coupled
with that of Heshbon ; in chap. xvi. 9, the prophet exclaims,
"I will water thee with my tears, 0 Heshbon and Elealeb :
for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest
is fallen." (See also Jer. xlviii. 34.)
Rabbath Ammon, now called 'Amman, known at
one period of its history as Philadelphia, is a collection of
very extensive and interesting ruins. The city stood in a
winding valley, through which flows a copious and beautiful

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454 TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN.

stream. The temples and palaces are mostly thronged
with the flocks that resort hither for water, so that the
desolate ruins are generally in a very offensive and,filthy
condition.
The square tower of the large Cathedral of Philadelphia
is still standing; also several fragments of walls-and arches.
• Various columns and towers, once forming portions of vast
structures, display elaborate workmanship, while acres are
covered with debris, among which lie many huge columns
witl:l,._elegantcapitals. The Theatre remains, with its seats
cut in' the rocky hillside, capable of accom1Dodating six
thousand persons. Eight out of the fifty columns once
forming its colonnade remain standing. The arena is 128
feet in diameter. The hill is crowned by a Citadel of
great strength ; within the walls are the ruins of a temple,
and various other erections.
Rabbath Ammon, or Rabbah (as it is called frequently in
the Bible) is first mentioned as containing the bedstead of the
Giant Og (Deut. iii. u). Here Abishai, with a part of the
army, was keeping the Ammonites in check, whilst Joab
directed affairs before Medeba (2 Sam. x. 10-14; r Chron.
xix. 7). In the following year the united forces of Israel
under Joab besieged Rabbah. It was here that Joab set
"Uriah in the forefront of the battle,'' to gratify the passion
of his royal master for the beautiful Bathsheba (2 Sam. xi.
14-17). The siege ended by Joab taking the lower portion.
and then sending for the king, who came and captured the
citadel, and cruelly tortured the inhabitants (2 Sam. xii.
26-31). From Amos i. 14 we find that the city must have
recovered itself, for he says, "I will kindle a fire in the u,all
of Rabbah, and it shall destroy the palaces thereof."
The city was re.built in the third century by Ptolemy
Philadelphus, who named it Philadelphia. It was a pros-

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JERASH (GERASA).
perous city and a bishop's see in the early Christian era, but
speedily came to ruin after the Saracen invasion.
The visitor will see that the prophecies of Jeremiah and
Ezekiel are here completely fulfilled. " I will cause an alarm
of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites, and it shall
be a desolate heap" (Jer. xliv. 2). "I will make Rabbah
a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for
fiocks" (Ezek. XXV. s).
From Rabbath Ammon to J erash, by the course of the
river Jabbok, is a two days' journey, the camp having to be
fixed according to circumstances.
The Jabbok, now called the Wady Z'urka, is a stream
by which the mountain range of Gilead is intersected from
west to east. It flows along a deep ravine, receiving numerous tributaries, and reaches the Jordan about half-way
between the Dead Sea and the Lake of Gennesaret. Anciently
it was the boundary of the territory of the children of Ammon
(Numb. xxi. 24; Deut. ii. 37, iii. 16). When Sihon,king of
the Amorites, drove the Moabites to the south, and the
Ammonites further to the north and east, the latter settled on
the eastern plain, and amongst the defiles of Gilead round
the sources and upper branches of the J abbok. On the
southern bank of the J abbok occurred the meeting between
Jacob and Esau recorded in Gen. xxxii. 22. Beside this
stream also Jacob wrestled with the Angel, and received his
name of Israel. The western portion of this river was at
one period the boundary between the kingdoms of Og and
Sihon.
Jerash (anciently Gerasa) shows the findt and most
extensive ruins in the district" beyond Jordan.'' They are
in the form of an irregular square, each side being a mile in
length, and are situated on both sides of a valley running
from north to south across a high undulating plain.

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456 TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN.

Across the centre of the city runs a long colonnade,
terminating in the Forum. The masses of masonry and
numerous columns-remains of temples, and theatres, and
palaces-form a very striking and picturesque view.
Th'! following are amongst the principal objects of
interest in Gerasa. The Great Theatre; the Forum,
over 300 ft. in diameter, with fifty-seven out of its hundred
columns standing ; the principal street, lined with
magnificent, though now dilapidated colonnades; the South
Temple, once one of the finest buildings in the city, though
only one column now stands erect; the Temple of the
Sun, of which the grand gateway, the fa(iade, and many of
the columns of the interior are in •good preservation.
Besides the above, remains of various other temples, baths,
theatres, etc., will interest the spectator. In the valley
some way beyond the Northern Gate, are the remains of the
once beautiful episcopal city of Gerasa.
The foundation of Gerasa is of uncertain date. Its
capture by Alexander Jannreus, in 85 B.c., is noticed by
Josephus. Under the Antonines (138-180 A,D.), the city
became renowned for its architectural splendour. It was
the principal city of the Roman district of Decapolis, and
remained an important place during the Christian period.
There are no Muslim remains.
From Gerasa to Es-Salt is a charming ride. The scenery
of the mountain of Gilead is rich and park-like, and the
vegetation abundant. The ruins on the hills add t:> the
picturesque aspect of the country.
The first part of the ride is among quiet valleys, with
olive groves and com-fields-forests clothing the mountain
ridges above. The ruined villages of Dibbtn and Hem.ta
are passed ; the oak covered s1,1mmitsof Jebel AjU2n are
seen to the right. The ravine of the Wady Z'urka, or Jab-

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ES•SALT.
bok (p. 455), is crossed, and then a wooded ridge beyond
which is a romantic glen with the ruins of 'Alakun above.
Passing on by the ruined villages of Sihan, 'Allan, the village
of Z'i is reached on the summit of the western shoulder of
Mount Gilead. Looking back. from this point, there is a
fine view of the Belka heights, and the Wady Z'urka. In
front the prospect is very extensive, embracing the Jordan
Valley, the Hills of Judrea, and the mountains of Moab.
Hence the traveller descends to the Castle of Es-Salt.
Es-Salt is the ancient Ramoth Gilead. The city
stands on two sides of a lofty hill crowned by a citadel.
Some of the walls of a more ancient citadel are visible, dating
far back into the Jewish period. There are some five or six
thousand inhabitants, of whom one.fifth are Christians, with
four pastors of the Greek Church, two of the Latin, and
one of the English.
Besides the conspicuous citadel, there is little in Es-Salt
to notice. An old Mosque in ruins, and some rock grottoes
are of some interest. Here at Ramoth Gilead, Ahab, and
Jehoshaphat fought with Syria, and here Ahab received bis
death wound as prophesied by Micaiah, the son of Imlah.
It was here that Jehu was anointed by the prophet, and
entered on his task as the executioner of Divine vengeance
on the house of Ahab. Th~n as now it was a strong and
well nigh impregnable fortress, and around its walls many of
the most memorable battles of Gilead had been fought.
According to some authorities Ramoth Gilead was identical with Ramoth Mizpeh, mentioned in Joshua xiii. 26,
"while again there is every reason to believe it occupied the
spot on which Jacob had made his covenant with Laban."
Ramoth Gil~d was the " city of refuge " for the tribe of
D.tn (Deut. iv. 43; Josh. xx. 8; xxi. 38). In 2 Kings viii.
22, and in Chron. xxii. 6, the town is spoken of as Ramah.

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458 TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN,

The Turkish Government maintain a garrison in the
citadel of Es-Salt, for the preservation of order in the surrounding distri¢ts. Respecting this policy Mr. Tristram
writes as follows : -
" Es-Salt shows what may be done by securing a settled
government, eyen though it be a Turkish one. When I
visited Es-Salt eight years ago, it was much in the same
state as Kerak is now, and life and property were insecure
in the whole of Gilead. The difficulties to travellers were as
great as in Southern Moab, and extravagant black-mail was
levied by all the petty sheikhs. Now that the Pasha of
Damascus has placed a garrison there, the fellaheen are better
off, trade bas quadrupled, and the couotry is as safe for
Europeans as Western Palestine. With a garrison at Kerak•
and the Beni Sukk'r conciliated, as at present, the Imperial
Governmeot could hold the coast of the Dead Sea as easily
as it holds the Lebanon.''
From Es-Salt to Jericho is a nioe hours' journey. The
chief interest centres in Nimrim, the ancient Beth
Nimrah, an Amorite city, which was rebuilt by the tribe
of Gad (Numb. xxii. 36; Joshua xiii. 27). There are now
only heaps of ruins to be seen. In Isa. xv. 6, the prophet
drclares "The waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the
hay is withered away; the grass faileth ; there is no green
thing.'' From Nimrim a ford is reached across the Jordan,
and then the Western plain is traversed through Khirhet-es-
Sumrah and Khirhet Nuwaimeh to Jericho.

Jericho (see p. 233).

• Dr. Tristram adds in a footnote, " While these sheets are in the
press {March, 1873) we learn that the Turks have thrown a garrison
into Kerak."

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JABESH GILEAD.
Extended Tour in Moab.
For Itinerary, seep. 26.
Instead of returning from J erash ( or Gerasa, p. 4SS) to
Es-Salt and Jericho, the traveller may proceed northward
to the Lake of Genoesaret.
The first stage is from Jerash to Wady YAbis, a ride
through varied and beautiful scenery of hills and dales, and
woods and pastures. The route is by sar,with some broken
columns and sepulchral caves. Two or three milestones are
seen belonging to the ancient Roman road from Pella to
Gerasa. Crossing a ridge and threading a narrow valley in
sight of the Kul'at-er-Rubud, Jermeh, and 'Ajlun are successively reached. From the latter place the adjacent mountain
range and the surrounding province are named.
It is worth while to.make a detour to the old Saracenic
Kul' at-er-Rubud, (" Castle of Rubud "). It is a characteristic
edifice, and commands a splendid view of the valley of the
Jordan from the Dead Sea to the Lake of Gennesaret.
Beyond the valley are seen Hermon, Lebanon, the hills of
Galilee, 'tabor, the Plain of Esdraelon, and the mountains of
Southern Palestine.
In the Wady Yd.bis,OD its southern bank, are some ruins
considered to represent J abesh Gilead, whose inhabitants
were visited with swift retribution for not joining in the war
against the Benjamites (Judges xxi. 8). It was the inhabitants of J abesh Gilead who were thanked by David for removing the bones of Saul and Jonathan from the battlefield
of Gilboa. Saul had previously aided the city in time of
extremity when Nahasb, King of the Amorites, was about
to mutilate the inhabitants.
From W ady Yabis is a two hours' journey to Pella,
captured by Aotiochus the Great in 218 B.c., afterwards

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TOURS EAST OF THE JORDAN.

destroyed by the Jews, and subsequently a Christian city.
The ruins are extensive; but contain nothing of special
interest. From Pella a six hours' journey brings the traveller
to Um Keis.
Umkeis is the modem name of Gadara, whose his•
tory is similar to that of Pella, first being heard of in connection with the victories of Antioch us. Vespasian burnt the
town, and massacred the inhabitants. The city rose again
and became the seat of a Christian bishopric. The present
remains include one or two theatres, a cathedral, well paved
streets, and numerous tombs.
Kul'at-el-Husn is the ancient Gamala, a strong fortress
conspicuous in the Wars of the Jews. Agrippa spent seven
months in a vain attempt to capture it. Vespasian took it
in 69 A,D., and put the garrison to the sword. Four thousand were slain, and five thousand more perished by throwing
themselves from the walls on to the rocks below.
Bethsaida (which must not be confounded with
Bethsaida of Galilee) is on a hill overlooking the eastern
shore of Lake Gennesaret. It was originally a village, but
was rebuilt and adorned by Philip the Tetrarch, who named
it Julias, after an Imperial Princess of Rome. It was in a
" desert place " near this town that the five thousand were
fed by our Saviour (Luke ix. 10-17). A blind man had his
sight restored to him at Bethsaida ~Mark viii. 22-26).
For route hence to Tiberias, and general description of
the Lake of Gennesaret and its coasts, see pp. 293-307.

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LIST OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL
WORKS ON PALESTINE,
REFERRED TO, AND QUOTED, IN THE FOREGOING PAGES.

Biblical Researches in the Holy
Land ...... . Robinson
City of the Great King . Barclay.
Dictionary of the Bible . Smith.
Eastward . . . . . Norman MacLeod.
Expedition to the Dead Sea Lynch.
Giant Cities of Bashan . . Porter.
Handbook of Bible Geography Whitney.
History of the Crusades Michaud.
Illustrations of Scripture Hackett.
Jerusalem the City of Herod
and Saladin . . Besant and Palmer.
Land of Israel . . . Tristram
Land of Moab . . Ditto.
Land and the Book Thomson.
Land of the Gospel Pressense.
Lands of the Bible Wilson.
Les Eglises de la Terre Sainte De Vogue.
Life and Epistles of St. Paul Conybeare and Howson.
Monasteries of the Levant . Cur%0n.
On Holy Ground . . . Edwin Hodder.
Oar Work in Palestine . Palestine Erp/oration Fund.
Quarterly Statements Ditto.
Recovery of J erasalem . Ditto.
Rob Roy on the Jordan. MacGregor.
Sinai and Palestine . . Stanley.
The Holy City, from "The
Bible Student." . . . . Stoughton.
Those Holy Fields . . . . S. Manning.
Wanderings over Bible Lands
and Seas . . . . . . . Mrs. Chark1.

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HOTELACCOMMODATION
COUPONS,
ORIGINATED
ANDISSUEDBY

THOMAS COOK AND SON.

THE HOTEL COUPONbusiness, which was commenced as a friendly
2.I'mngement of mutual interest to ourselves, to Hotel Proprietors, and
Tourists, has far exceeded our most sanguine anticipations ; and as its
benefits become better known, they will be more highly appreciated by all
who are interested in the success of the scheme.
The European Hotel Coupons are issued at the uniform rate of 8s. per
day, and are arranged as follows : 1st Coupon (yellow)-Breakfast,
specifying of what it shall consist. 2nd Conpqn (red)-Dinner ar Table
d' Hote, with or without Wine, according to the custom of the Hotels. 3rd
Coupon (blue)-Bed-room, including ligkts and attendance.
These are the ordinary features of Continental Hotel life, all else being
regarded as extras, and as such they are left to be paid for by Supplemental
Coupons or Cash.
The Coupons are accepted at full value at one principal Hotel in
each of the chief cities, towns, and places of Tourist resort in Switzerland,
Italy, on the banks of the Rhine, and at a great many places in France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, &c. ; also for meals on board the Great
Eastern Channel Steamers and the Rhine Steamers.

SUPPLEMENTAL
ANDEXCEPTIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS,
In LONDONTourists may be accommodated m route to or from the Continent at CooK's British Museum Boarding House, 59, Great Russell Street,
Bloomsbury, at 6s. per day, for Bed, Breakfast, and Tea with meats.
{Hotel Coupons accepted at their full value in payment.) .
Hotel Coupons are also accepted at the London and Paris Hotel and
Refreshment Rooms, NEWHAVENWHARF. Coupons are accepted for
meals on board the Great Eastern Channel Steamers and on the Rhine
Steamers.
SPECIALCOUPONSare issued for VIENNA, available at the Hotel
de !'Union, and Hotel Metropole, at 13s. per day.
For PARIS, Hotel Coupons at special rates are issued for the Grand
Hotel and for the Hotel Bedford.
In PARIS, the other Hotels in Messrs. COOK & SoN's connection are
not equal in appearance and style to those of the Continent generally ; but
the Proprietors having long evinced a kindly interest in promoting the
comfort and convenience of Excursionists and Tourists, the Coupons are

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APPENDIX.

allowed to be accepted at the London and New York Hotel, Place du
Havre ; Hotel St. Petersbourg, 35, Rue Caumartin ; at the Hotel Baretta
(late Londres), 8, Rue SL Hyacinthe, Rue St. Honore. For these Hotels
accommodation cards are also issued at the rate of 8s. per day, including
meat for Breakfast. SPECIALCOUPONSare issued on the Grand Hotel at
16s. per day, and on the Hotel Bedford at 12s. per day.
At RouEN, Mrs. Daniells, widow of the late Interpreter at the Station,
who keeps a small Hotel, the Victoria, near the Station, wishes to accept
Coupons from parties breaking their journey there.
ADDITIONALCHARGESare made on the Coupons as follows :
At BADEN-BADEN,at the time of the Races, 2 francs per day.
At ROME, from the 1st of December to the end of April, from I franc
to 3 francs per day, according to the class of rooms, are now agreed to as
extra charges ; but new arrangements may have to be made in consequence
of Rome being now the capital of Italy. Whatever change is made,
notice will be given thereof.
For Rome, an additional series of Hotel Coupons can be had, providing for three meals per day, and other accommodation, at the Hotel
d'Allemagne, at an extra charge of 2s. per day. .
At the RIGI-KULM Hotels, I franc extra is required on the Bedroom
Coupon. All these extras can be paid by Supplemental Coupons or Cash.
Travellers wishing to spend the night at this Hotel must give at least one
day's notice by letter or telegram to the Manager, stating that they hold
"Cook's Coupons," and wish rooms reserved.
GIESSBACH.-The Dinner Coupons can only be accepted at this Hotel
when the passengers remain for the night.
CONDITIONS and terms of REPAYMENTfor unused Coupons are printed
in the Coupon Books.
ANY COMPLAINTS which parties have to make as to the use of the
Coupons, or the conduct of Hotel Proprietors or Servants, to be addressed,
in writing, to Messrs. THOMAS COOK & SON, Ludgate Circus, Fleet
Street, London.
COUPONSCANBE OBTAINED at the offices of Messrs. THOMASCOOK&
SoN, Ludgate Circus, and 445, West Strand, London; Cases Street (opposite New Central Station), Liverpool; 43, Piccadilly, Manchester; 16,
Stephenson Place, New Street, Birmingham; r, Royal Exchange, Leeds;
Front of Midland Station, Bradford; 15, Place du Havre, Paris; 22,
Galerie du Roi, Brussels ; 40, Domhof, Cologne ; 90, Rue du Rh6ne,
Geneva; IB, Piazza di Spagna, Rome; and also at the Hotels Swan,
Lucerne; Trois Rois, Bale; Trombetta, Turin; Victoria, Venice.
REPAYMENTSFOR UNUSEDHOTEL COUPONS,less 10 per cent., can
only be made at the Chief Office, Ludgate Circus, Fleet Street, London,
and no agents are authorised to repay for any not used. •
HOTELS IN THE EAST.-A special Series of Coupons is provided for
the East Levant, and we append List of Hotels.
FOR SCOTLANDAND IRELANDalso a special series is provided, as per
Programme.

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EUROPEAN AND EASTERN HOTELS
WHERB cooit's COUPONS FOR HOTEL ACCOMMODATION WILL
BE ACCEPTED.

Hotels in France and French Savoy,
Air LesBains. Hotel de la Paix.
Amiens . Hotel de l'Univers.
Amphwn (Lake of Geneva) Grand Hotel des Bains.
Annecy Hotel d' Angleterre.
Avignon Hotel de l'Europe
Bagneres de Bigorre Hotel de France.
Borde<WX Hotel de France. .
13oulogne Grand Hotel Christal.
Calais Hotel Dessin.
Cannes Hotel Beau Site.
Chambery Hotel de la Poste.
Chamouny f Hotel de l' Angleterre,
(. Hotel Royal.
Dieppe Hotel Queen Victoria.
Dijon Hotel Jara.
Fontaineb/,eau Hotel de Landres.
Gorgesdu Fi-er Chalet Hotel.
Grenoble Hotel Monnet.
Hyeres Hotel des Iles d'Or.
Lyons Hotel de l'Europe.
Macon Hotel de l'Europe.
Marseilles Hotel du Louvre et de la Paix.
Mentone Hotel GrandeBretagne.
Modane { Grand Hotel International.
Station Buffet.

l
Ntce . Grand Hotel.
Grand Hotel (Special Coupons).
Bedford Hotel (Special Coupons).
Paris* t Landres et New York, Place du Havre.
St. Petersbourg, 35, Rue Caumartin.
Londres, 8, Rue St. Hyacinthe.
Pau Grand Hotel Gassion.
• See special note on cover of Hotel Coupons.
t At the Hotels marked thus t Cook's Tickets may be had,

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APPENDIX.

PontarliD Hotel de la Poste.
Rouen . Smith's Albion Hotel.
Semnoz Alps Chalet Hotel de Semnoz.
Tou/.on Grand Hotel.
Vichy. Grand Hotel des Bains.
Belgium, Holland, the Rhine, Germany, and
Austria.
Adelsherg . . Grand Hotel.
Air-la-Chapelle Hotel du Dragon d'Or.
Amsterdam . Old Bible Hotel.
Antwerp { Hotel de la Paix.
Hotel de !'Europe.
Arnhem Grand Hotel du Soleil.
Augshurg . Hotel de Baviere.
Baden-Ba.den Hotel de Hollande.
Markgraft's Hotel de l'Europe.
Berlin { Hotel Bartikow.
Topfer's Hotel.
Bingen Hotel Victoria.
Bonn . Grand Hotel Royal.
Boppard Hotel du Rhind.
Botzen Hotel Kaiserkrone (Imperial Crown)
Breda. Hotel Swan.
Bremen Hotel de l'Europe.
Briren Elephant Hotel.
Bruges Hotel de Flandre.
Brussels f Hotel de la Poste.
(. Hotel du Grand Miroir.
Carlsruhe Hotel zum Erbprinz.
Cohlence Hotel du Geant.
Cowgne S Hotel Belle Vue.
l Hotel de Hollande.
Constance Hotel Hecht.
Darmsta.dt Hotel Traube.
Dresden f Grand Uni~n Hotel.
(. Hotel de Saxe.
.Ems . . . Hotel Darmstadt.
Field of Waterloo . Museum Hotel.
Frankfort . . Grand Hotel du Nord.
Friehurg (Baden). Hotel Trescher zum Pfaum.

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EUROPEAN AND EASTERN HOTELS, 467
Ghent. Hotel de Vienne.
Gmunden Hotel Belle Vue.
Hamburg Hotel Streit.
Hanover British Hotel.
Heidelberg Hotel de l'Europe.
Innsbruck , Hotel Tyrol.
lschl . Hotel Kruez.
Kiel . Hotel Gennania.
Leipsic Hotel Baviere.
Mayence Hotel de Hollande.
Metz . f Hotel de Paris.
(. Grand Hotel de Metz.
Munich Hotel Belle Vue.
Namur Hotel Holland.
Neuwied Moravian Hotel.
Ostend Hotel Stracke
Passau Hotel Bayrischen Hof.
Regensburg . Hotel Three Helmets.
Rendsburg Hotel Bergman.
Rochefort Hotel Biron.
Rotterdam . New Bath Hotel.
Salzburg . Hotel Erzherzog Carl.
Schwalbach . Hotel Metropole.
Spa Hotel de !'Europe.
Stettin Hotel du Nord.
Strasburg Hotel Maison Rouge.
Stuttgart Marquardt's Hotel.
The Hague Hotel du Vieux Doelen.
Trieste Hotel de la Ville.
Vrenna { Special 1Union Hotel.
Hotel Coupons 5 Hotel Metropole.
Wiesbaden . Grand Hotel du Rhin.
Wor1Tt$ Hotel de I' Europe.
Switzerland and the Alpine Districts.
Aarau Hotel de la Cigogne.
Aigle Hotel Victoria.
Airolo Hotel de la Poste.
Alpnacht Hotel Pilatus.
Andermatt . . Hotel Trois Rois.
Baden ( Swit-ierlan,JJ Hinterhof.

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APP.ENDJ'<.

BaJle • Hotel Trois Rois.
Bellin~na t Hotel de I' Ange.
Hotel de la Ville.
Berne . Hotel Belle Vue.
Ber Hotel des Bains.
Biasca Hotel de Biasca.
Brienz Hotel de la Croix Blanche.
Brigue Hotel de la Poste.
Chaux de Fonds • Hotel de la Fleur de Lis.
loire . • Hotel Steinbock.
Einsiedeln • . Hotel du Paon.
Engelberg . • Hotel Sonnenberg.
Falls of the Rhine (Neuha.usen) Scbweizerhof.
Fluelen Hotel Croix Blanche et Poste.
Frib<YU,rg Hotel z~heringen.
Geneva f Hotel du Lac. [cain.
{ Grand Hotel de Russie et Anglo-Ameri•
Giessbach . Hotel Giessbach.
Grindelwald Hotel de l'Aigle Noir.
Hos-penthal . Meyerhof.
lnter/,aken ! Hotel Victoria.
Hotel Ritchard.
La Tour Hotel du Rivage.
{ Hotel Gibbon.
Lausanne
Hotel l'Angleterre, Ouchy.
Lauterbrunnen Hotel du Capricorne. •
Leukerbad . Hotels des Alpes and Belle Vue.
Locle . . Hotel Jura.
.Leoche-ks-Bains . Hotel des Alpes.
.Lucerne Hotel du Cygne (Swan) .
{ Hotel du Pare.
Lugano Station Buffet.
Lungern l Hotel du Lion d'Or.
Hotel Oberwald.
Martigny Hotel Clerc.
Meiringen Hotel du Sauvage.
Mendrisio Hotel Mendrisio.
Mon(e Generoso Hotel de Monteroso.
Montreu:r Langbein's Hotel Beau-Sejour au Lac.
Morges Hotel des Alpes.
Neuchatel Grand Hotel du Lac.
Ragatz Hotel Quellenhof.

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EUROPEAN AND EASTERN HOTELS. 469

Rigi-Kulm ' Hotel du Rigi-Kulm.
t Hotel Schreiber.
Rigi-StoJfel. Hotel Rigi-Statfel.
Rorschach . Hotel Seebof.
Rovio . Hotel Rovio.
Samaden Hotel Bernina.
Sarnen l Brunig Hotel.
t Hotel de l'Oberwalde.
Schajfnausen-See Falls of the Rhine.
Sierre. Hotel Belle Vue.
Splugen Hotel de la Poste.
St. Gall Hotel de St. Gall.
St. Nicholas Grand Hotel.
Thoune (Thun) l Hotel Belle Vue.
l Grand Hotel de Thun.
Thusis. Hotel Via Mala.
Trient Hotel du Glacier de Trient.
Yernayaz . Hotel des Gorges de Trient.
Yevey. Grand Hotel Vevey.
Visp. Hotel de la Poste.
Zermatt Hotel du Mont-Cervin.
Zurich Hotel Belle Vue.
Hotels in Black Forest.
dlhruck . . Hotel Albthal.
Brennet (Station). Hotel Werrathal.
Belgen (High Mountain Station) Rasthaus Belchen.
Donaueschingen . Hotel Scbiitzen.
Feldherg (High Mountain Station) Hotel Feldbergerhof.
Furtwangen . . Angel Hotel. .
Gernshach . . Bath Hotel.
Hochenschu•and . Hotel Maier.
Holsteig (Hollenthal) Golden Star Hotel.
Hornberg Hotel Baren.
Lorrach Hirsch Hotel.
Lenzkirch Hotel Poste.
MiUlheim . Hotel Kittler.
Neustadt Hotel Poste.
Ottenhofen Hotel Pflug.
Oherkirch Hotel Linde.
Schluchsee . Hotel Star.
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APPENDIX.
Sackingen • Hotel Schiitzen.
Sclwn.au Hotel Sonne.
Sclu,pfoeim . . Hotel Three Kings.
St. Geor~en (Black Forest) Hotel Hirsch.
St. Blasien . Hotel St. Blasien.
Todtnau . . Hotel Ochsen.
Triherg (Town) . Lion Hotel.
Triherg (Cascade) Black Forest Hotel.
Vohrenbach . Hotel Kreuz.
Villingen . Hotel Blume (Poste).
Wa/,dkirch . Hotel Poste.
Wa/,dshut Hotel Kuhner.
Walfach . . Hotel Krone.
Wehr (Werrathal) Hotel Krone.
Wildhad l Hotel Fr«:g.
Hotel Keun.
Hotels in Italy.
.Alassio Hotel de Londres .
Ancona Hotel della Pace.
.Arona Hotel de l'Italie .
Bellaggio Hotel Grande Bretagne.
Bologna { Hotel Brun.
Station Buffet.
Bordighera . Hotel d'Angleterre.
Brindisi . Hotel Oriental.
Cadennabhia (Lake ofComo) Grand Hotel Belle Vue.
Capri . Hotel du Louvre.
Caserta Hotel Victoria.
Castellamare . Hotel Royal.
Cernobhio (Lake qj Como) Grand Hotel Villa d'Este.
Chiasso . Hotel Chiasso.
Chiavenna . Hotel Conradi.
Como(on Lake) Hotel de la Reine d'Angleterre.
Corfu (Greece) Hotel St. George.
Cornigliano . Grand Hotel Villa Rachel.
Domo tf Osaola Hotel de la Ville.
( Hotel New York. •
Florence ~ Hotel de l'Europe.
I English and American BoardinfHouse.
\. Palazza d'Elci, :28, Via Maggio.

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EUROPEAN AND EASTERN HOTELS.
47 1
Genoa. . Hotels de Ville and Trombetta Feder.
lschia ( Cassamicciola) Hotel Belle Vue.
La Tour Hotel de !'Ours.
Leghorn Hotel du Nord.
Lucca . Hotel de l'Univers.
Luino . Hotel Simplon.
Mantua Hotel de l'Ecu de France.
Menaggw Hotel Victoria.
Milan. Hotel Royal and Station Buffet.
Naples Hotel Royal des Etrangers.
Orvieto Grand Hotel Delle Belle Arti.
Padua. Hotel Stella d'Ore.
Pallanw Grand Hotel Pallanza.
Parma
Perugia Hotel de Perugia.
Pisa Hotel de Londres.
Pompeii Hotel Diomede.
Rome . Hotel d' Allemagne.
Salerno Hotel Victoria.
San Remo Hotel Victoria.
Sienna . . Grand Hotel.
Sondrio (Valtelina) Hotel de la Poste.
Sorrento Hotel Tramontano.
Spezia. Hotel de la Croix de Malte.
Stresa. Hotel des Isles Horromees.
Syracuse Hotel Victoria.
tTurin Hotel Trombetta.
Varese. Grand Hotel Varese.
tVenice Hotel Victoria.
Veronaá j Hotel Tower of London.
l Station Buffet.
Algeria and Tunis.
Algi,ers
Batna. Hotel de Paris.
Biskra. Hotel du Sahara.
Blidah Hotel d'Orient.
Bona .
Constantine . Hotel d'Orient.
t At the Hotels marked thus t Cook"s Tickets may be had.

D,g,tized by Google
APP.ENDIX.
47 2
Gue/ma Hotel Aurie!.
Oran . Hotel de Ia Paix.
Soukahras Hotel Thagaste.
Tlemcen Hotel de France.
Tunis . Hotel de Paris.

Hotels in Sicily.
Catania Grand Hotel.
Messina Hotel Victoria.
Palermo Hotel de France.
Syracuse Hotel Victoria.
T®Tmina Hotel Timeo.

Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
Aarhuus Hotel Royal.
Christiania . Grand Hotel.
Copenhagen . Hotel d'Angleterre.
Helsingborg. Hotel Molberg.
Honefos Gladvetfs Hotel.
Jonkoping Hotel Jonkoping.
{ Grand Hotel.
Stockholm t Hotel Rydberg.

EASTERN HOTELS (SPECIAL COUPONS).
.Alexandria . Hotel de !'Europe .
Cairo . Shepbeard's Hotel and New Hotel.
Suez . Suez Hotel.
Port Said . Hotel de France and Hotel du Louvre.
Jqffa. Hardegg's "Jerusalem Hotel" (Cook's
Agency).
Damascus Dimetri's Hotel.
Jerusalem
f Mediterranean Hotel.
t Hotel de !'Europe.
Beyrout Hotel Bellevue.
Constantinople Hotel de Luxemburg.
Athens { Hotel des Etrangers.
Hotel d'Angleterre.

Digitized by Google
INDEX.

PAGE PAGE
Abana, the . • 357 'Ain Mellil.hah • 317
Abel . . • 358 ,, Sinia . . 247
Abel, Tomb of . • 358 ,, Turabeh . 221
Abel-Beth-Maachah . 316 ,, Yebrud . . 247
Abel Maim. . 316 Ajalon, Valley of. . 82
Abil . . 316 'Ajilil.n . . . 394
Abila . • 358 'Ajlun • 459
Abou-Gosch . . 85 'Aku . , 38o
Abraham, House of • 204 Akka. . 414
Abu Zabura, the . . 405 'AlakGn . . . 457
,, Zid . 431 Alexandroschene . . 416
Acebo. • 414 'Allan. . . 457
Achzib . 416 'Allar-el-F6ka . 401
A.ere • 414 'Allar-es-Sifta . • , 401
Adlan. • 423 America to the East, routes
Adoraim • 397 from . 13
Adrahah • . -~ 'Amman , 453
Adullam, Cave of . 198 Amwis , 84
Ahiry. • 435 'Anata . 238
Ai . . 246 Anathoth • • 238
'Ain 'Ata • 373 'Anjar, the . • 356
,, Belat • 319 Anti-Libanus . . 374
,, Chot • 237 Apostles' Spring, the . 237
., Dilb . 87 Arbela . . . 300
,, Duk . • 236 Argob . 432
,, -el-Akabah • 244 'Arka. . • 373
,, -el-Barideh . 298 Armageddon . 267
,, -el-Hamra . 310 Amon, the . . 221
,, -el-Hand . • 237 Arst\f. , 405
,, -el-Haramiyeh • 247 Ascalon . 385
,, -esh-Shems • 402 Ashdod • 383
,, -es-Sultan . 234 Ashkelon . , 387
,, -et-Tin. 305, 3o8 Ashrafiyeh , • 357
• 357 'Askulil.n . . , 385
::
,,
HFfi:
:
idy .
• 271
. 221
Asphaltites Lake. . , 220
Associated Travel, benefits of 1
,, il.ri111
. 88, 184 Ataroth-addar . 243

o;g11;zedby Goog lC
INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Athlit . . 4o8 Belus, the . 413
'Atil . 441 Beni Hern!d . 221
Auronitis • 430 Bereitan • 359
'Awaj, the 431 Berothai • 359
'Ayfm • 444 Bessima • 356
Azekah . 391 Betharan • 449
Azotus
Azzah
. 384
Beth Arbel .
Bethel
. 300
• 244
I
'Azziyeh 416 Beth Hogla. . . 230
Beth-Horons, the. 82, 91
Ba'albek. 36o Bethlehem 189
Circular Temple, the 365 Armenian Monastery 196
Great Tem~le, the . 363 Beit Sahur . . 197
Sun, Tempe of the . 363 Catherine, St., Church of. 196
Baal Gad 322 Eusebius, Tomb of . 194
Hermon 322 Franciscan Monastery 196
" Meon. Innocents, Altar of the 194
"
BAb-el-WAdy :4t Jerome, St., Chapel of 195
Backsheesh 6 Joseph, St., Chapel of 194
Bahr Lut. . 220 JoseJ?h, St., House of 197
BAniAs 316, 321 Magi, Altar of the . 194
Barada, the . • 317 Manger, Chapel of the 194
Bareh . 2 Milk Grotto, the . 196
Barley, Valley of . 266 Nativity, Church of the 193
Bashan • 429 Nativity, Grotto of the 193
Batanrea . 430 Shepherds' Field . . 197
Batanrea (city) • 436 Shepherds, Grotto of the . 197
Bathanyeh . • 436 Well of Bethlehem . 196
Batrun 378 Beth Nimrah 22$, 458
Beatitudes, Mount of 290 Beth Rehob. . 316
Beeroth • 244 Bethsaida . 305
Beigebrin • 395 ijulias) . 46o
Beisil.n . 274 "
Bethshean . 274
Beit 'Atab . 401 Bethshemesh . 402
Beit Dej.ln . 76 Beth Tappuah 397
Dagon. 76 Zur 204
" Flr • 404 :e'eyrout: : 370
" Hanun . 392 American Mission 370
"
Beittn • 204 Baabda . 372
Beit JA!a . . 187 Bazaar, The • • •. 369
,, Jibrin . • 394 British Syrian Schools 371
Nettif .. . 401 Brown Ophthalmic Hos-
" Nuba . 84 pita! . 370
" Nusib. 401 Deir el Kal'i . 372
" Sur . 204 Dog River . . 371
" Tamar. 201 French Institutions • 371
" 'Ur-el-F6ka . 94 Jews' School . . 371
" 'U r-el-Tahta 91 Lighthouse, The • 371
" Lahm. . 18g Mosque, The • • 369
"

Digitized by Google
INDEX. 475
PAGE PAGE
Beyrout-(continued) Damascus-(continued)
Pigeons' Grottoes 371 Meadow Lakes, the 354
Pine ta, the . . 371 Protestant Mission . 35°
Scuola Reale Nationale . 371 Saidnaya. 354
Syrian Protestant College . 369 Salahiyeh. . . 353
Tower, the . . . 369 Street called Straight 346
Tomb of Saladin . 35 1
Ceesare&. . ;io5 Dead Sea, the 220
Cresarea Philippi 321 Debarieh . 286
Callirhoe . . 220 Decapolis . . 275
Camp Life . . 7 Deir Dama. • 435
Cana. . 289 ,, Dubban . 398
Canatha . . 439 ,, Dusan . . 240
Candle Tower . 416 ,, -el-Ahmar • 373
Capemaum . . 305, 307 ,, -el-Leben . • 439
Capharnaum . 301 ,, -en-Nusrany . • 443
Carmel, :Mount 4o8 ,, Eyyub. . 84
Convent . . . 409 Delata • 314
EI Mouhrakah . . . 410 Dera' . . 448
Castellum Peregrinorum 4o8 Dhikrin • 398
Cedars of Lebanon 373 Dibbin • 456
Chalcis • 355 Dimes. • 355
Cherith . . . 231 Dimreh . 392
Chinnereth, Sea of . 302 Dor . . . • 407
Chisloth Tabor . . 278 Dorcas, Fountain of 75
Chorazin . . . 3o8 Dothan 266
Cinneroth, Sea of . 302 Dress . 3
Colonia . . . . 86 Dummah 355
Cook and Sons, Messrs., Tra- DGra . 397
velling Arrangements 9
Copts, the . . . 65 Eastern Tours, Season for I
Cross, Monastery of the 184 Eba!, Mount 262
Crusades, the 45 Ed-el-Miye . 200
Edhr'a 448
Daberath . 286 Edrei . 448
Dalmanutha . 298 Eglon 393
Dama. . . 435 Ekron. . 38o
Damascus . 332 Elah, Valley of 400
Bazaars . . 338 El 'Al. 453
Castle . . 346 ,, Belka 449
Christian Quarter 347 ,, Bireh 244
Environs . • 353 ,, Buka'a 375
Great Mosque, the 341 ,, Buttauf • 290
Helbon . • 354 ,, Elealeh . • 453
House of Ananias 352 ,, Eleutheropolis
E 'sh Quarter
bar
iun .
. •
.
• 353
,, Ghuweir.
,, Husn
,. Jib
.
.
JOI
Mausoleums . 351 ,, Judeideh . 355

Digitized by Google
INDEX.

PAGE PAGE
El Karbenah • 423 Gerizim Mount . 256
., Khudr , 423 Gezer. 82
,, Khulil 2o8 Ghubaghib . . 449
., Klediah 400 Ghusam . 448
,, Kubab 82 Ghuzzeh . 389
,, Kufr 443 Gibeah of Saul .2.42
., Kuleib 443 Gibeon 94
., El Mejdel 384 Gibeon, Pool of g6
., Melat 4o7 Gideon, Fountain of . . 271
,, Musmeih 434 Gilboa, Mountains of . 269
" RA.m 243 Giloh . . 187
,, Runeiterrah 217 Gimzo So, 91
Emmaus 84 Ginea . 267
Endor. 276 Great Desert and Palestine,
Engannim . 267 Tour to
Engedi . 217 Greek Church, the
En Nuktah. 43°
,, Shemesh . 237 Hadara . 4o8
Esdraelon . 267 Haifa . • 4o8
Esdud. • 383 Halhul • 204-
Eshmiskin • 448 Hamameh . . . • 384
Es Salt 457 Haram 'Ali lbn 'Aleim • 4o5
,, SAwiyeh. 249 Hasbeya . • 32 9
,, Sukkariyeh , 394 Haurin, the , 429
EsZib . 416 Hazor. • 31 4
Etham . 203 Health, Diet, etc. 4
Et Tabigah . 305 Hebron • 442
Explorations 55 Hebron . 200
Pools . 2o8
Fijeh, Fountain of 357 Cave of Machpelah . 2o8
Flora of Palestine 49 Oak of Mamre . , 212
Frank Mountain, the 200 Heliopolis . . . 36o
Fuleh. 270 Helkath-hazzurim . g6
Hemeh • 355
Gadara . 46o Hemta . 456
Galilee, Sea of 295, 302 Hermon, Little . 276
Gamala 299, 46o Hermon, Mount . 326
Gath . 398 Herodium, Castle of • 200
Gath-hepher 289 Hesban , 450
Gaza . 389 Heshbon • 45°
Samson's Hill . 390 Hill Country . , 394
Geba 239 History of Palestine 35
Gebal . 378 Hit . . , 435
Gennesaret, Land of 301 H!lleh, Lake of 317
,, Lake of . 302 HulhlU 204
Geographical Features. 29 HUIWI 316
Gerar . 394
Gerasa 455 ldhna 397
Gergesa . 299 Ijon 316

D,g,tized by Google
INDEX. 477
PAGE PAGE
Iksal 278 Jerusalem (continued)-
Irbid . . 300 Caiaphas, Palace of . 145
Iskanderiyeh . 416 Consulates . . 101
Jtabyrion . . • 286 Convent, Armenian . ~45
Itineraries of Tours 16 Cradle of Christ 140
David, Gate of. 145
Jacob's Well 250 , , Tomb of 145
Jabbok . • 453 ,. Tower of 144
J abesh Gilead • 459 Dome of the Ascension 143
Jabneh . 382 ,. of the Chain 142
Jaffa 67 ,, of the Rock 135
Jamnia . 382 El Burak, Pool of 155
Jarmuth . 400 ,, Kas 143
Jeba • 239 English Service 102
Jebeil . . • 378 En-Rogel . . 167
Jebel Ajlun . 456 Evil Counsel, Hill of 167
,,. Alkar. • 374 Excavations 114
-el-Aswad . 431 Fall of Jerusalem 108
,, -el-Druze • 374 Gates . . 116
,, -el-Ghurby . • 374 Gate, Dung, the 150
,, -esh-Shiekh . 326, 374 ., Golden, the 141
,, -eth-Thelj • 375 ., of Hebron 144
,, -et-TGr • 286 ,, St. Stephen's, view
,, FakG'a • 269 from . . . 179
,, Fureidis • 200 German Protestant Chapel 161
,, Hauran 430,435 Gethsemane, Garden of . 167
,, KisiUn • 355 Gihon, Valley of 163
,, Libnan • 374 Haram-esh-Sherif 134
,. Mani'a • 449 Health 120
Neba. • 451 Helena, Tomb of 181
,, Usdum , 222 Hezekiah, Pool of 162
Jednah
enGn.
• 397
• 267
Hinnom, Valley of .
Hippicus, Tower of .
Jerash • 455 History . . . 102
Jericho • 233 Holy Sepulchre,
Jenneh . • 459 Church of the . 121
Jerusalem IOI Apparition, Chapel of the 126
Absalom, Tomb of 169 Armenians, Church of the I 30
Aceldama 166 Bonds of Christ 127
Agony, Chapel of the 177 Calvary . . 129
Ann. St., Church of 163 Cross, Finding of the,
Antonia, Fortress of. 142 Chapel of the . . 128
Apostles' Cavern 166 Crown of Thorns, Chapel
Bankers . . IOI of . . . . 128
.Bazaar, the 162 Copts, Chapel of the 126
Bethany . . 176 Greek Church, the 128
Bethesda, Pool of 155 Golgotha, Chapel of 129
.Birket-es-Sultan
Cienaculum, the !!3 Helena, Chapel of
Holy Fire, the •

Digitized by Google
478 INDEX.
J'erusalem PAGE PAGE
Holy Sepulchre, • J'er:usalem(continud) -
Church of tile (,ontinuetl)- Silwan . . . ...
Holy Sepulchre, the . 125 Solomon's Stables .
Longinus, Chapel of St. 127 Solomon, Throne of.
Mary, Station of . . 125 Subterranean Quarries .
Prison of Christ . . 127 Talitha-Kumi Orphanage.
Rent in the Rock, the . 129 Temple, the . . . .
Sacristy, the . . 127 Via Dolorosa . . .
Scourgmg, Column of the 126 Virgin, Fountain of the
Syrians, Chapel of the . 126 Wilson's Arch . .
Unction, Stone of . 124 Zechariah, Tomb of.
Vestments, division of the, Zion, Street of.
Chapel of the . 127 J'esreel . .
James, St., Church of 145 ,, Fountain of
,, Tomb of 169 Plain of.
Jeremiah, Grotto of . 181 Ju~•.
Jewsá Cemetery . 169 Jimzu. . . .
,, Wailing Place . I 52 Jordan. . . .
John, St., Hospital of 16o ,, Fountains of the
Judges, Tombs of the 181 Judaism
Kings, Tombs of the 179 Jura .
Lazarus.Tomb of . . 176 JGn
Lepers' Quarter, the . 149
Martha and Mary, House of 176 Kabr-es-Sit . • 431
Modern Jerusalem . 112 ,, Habil • 358
Monastery, Abyssinian 161 Kaisariyeh . . 405
,, Coptic 161 Kali try, the . 221
,, Greek 162 Kasr-el-Berdawil. 247
Moriah, Mount 133 ,, -el-YehGdy . 230
Mosque-el-Aksa 137 KasyGn 31 7
,, of Omar 133 Kedes. . . 315
..
Olives, Mount of . . 170
view from
minaret 174
~esh Naphtali.
Kedron, the
KefrBirim .
• 31 5
216, etc.
. 31 3
Olive-Wood Ornaments 102 Hauwar . 330
Ophel . . . 157 ,," Kenna. . 289
Pilate's Judgment Hall 158 ,, Naum. . 4o8
Population JI 7 ,, Sabt . 289
Post-office . . 102 Kenath • 439
Present size and aspect JI 5 Kerazeh 305, 3o8
Rel~ons . 117 Kerak. • 458
Robinson's Arch . 150 ,, NGh • 366
Russian Buildings . 184 Kerioth • 444
,, Hospital . I 59 Kesweh . • 449
Schweller's Orphanage 184 Khan DenGn • 449
Serai, the . . . 155 ,, Dimes . • 355
Situation of Jerusalem 111 -el-Lubban. • 249
Siloam . . 167 ,, -el-Tuggar . • 289
,, Pool of . 168 ,, -es-Saweiyeh • 249

Digitized by Google
INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Khan Yubb YGsef . 317 Luz • 245
,, Khulda . 429 Lydda. . 78
,, Lubiyeh . 300
,, Minyeh . 305 Machrerus, Castle of • 220
,, Meiselun • 355 Magdaia . . 298, 385
,, Neby YGnus . . 428 Magi, Well of the . 185
Khareitun, Springs of . . 198 Mahomedanism • 57
Khersa . . . 299 Ma'in - • 451
Khirbet-es-Sumrah . 458 Majuma . 392
,, -Falaik . • 405 Makkedah • 400
,, Niiwaimeh . 458 Milah. • 443
Khubab
Khulda
Kirjath-Jearim
• 434
• 404
MarElyAs .
,,
Mareshah
.
(Carmel) :~
• 396
Kishon, the
Kolonieh
,, Valley of
:4M88
Mar Hannah
,, Saba
Marionites, the
.
.396
. 214
Kubab 83 Megiddo . • 269
Kubatiyeh . 267 ,, Valley . 267
Kub-Elias . 356 Meirbn . 312
Kul'at-el-Husn . 46o Mejdel (Magdaia) . 298
,, er-Rubud , 459 Mejdel 329, 355
,, es-Subeibeh . 325 MerjAytin . . 316
,, lbn-Ma'an . . 300 ,, -el-Hadr . • 33°
,, Semah • 435 Merom, Waters of . 317
Kunawit •.439 . Mes-el-Jebel . 315
Kureim • 435 Meshhad . 289
Kureiyeh • 444 Mezarib . 448
Kunnel . 408 Michmash . 240
Kunin Hattin . 290 ,, Pass of . • 2 39
Kuryetáel-Enab 86 Migdal-Gad. . • • 385
Kusr Far'on • 449 Miscellaneous Articles . 4
Kustal 88 Mizpeh . 97
Kustul Kureim • 435 Moab, Land of • 450
Modin. . 83
Lachish . 392 Mojib, the , 221
Laish .. . 319 Money . . 2
Latin Church, the 65 Money-tables, etc. 2
Latrftn 83 Mosques 6o
Lebanon . . . , 373 Mujeidel • 448
Lebanon, Cedars of • 377 MukhAlid • 405
Lebonah , 249 Muneidhirah • 444
Lejah, the 430,432 Murdtik • 438
Leontes, the • 423
Libanus • 375 Nabulus . 252
Libnah • 393 Nahr Akdar • 405
Liftah. . 89 ,, -ed-DimGr , 429
Ltibieh . 290 ,, -el-Aujeh, the • 405
Luhf, the • 433 ,, -el-Auwaly . • 428

Digitized by Google
INDEX.

PAGI!. PAGE
Nahr-el-Kasimiyeh 423 Pella • • 459
,, -el-Keib 372 Personally-conducted Toms.
,, Hendah • 31 7 Routes of 12
,, Nimrin • 228 Phreno • 434
,, Zurka • 407 Pharpar • 431
Nain • 274 Philadelphia . . • 454
Nakurah . 416 Philippopolis . . • 443
N'am&n, the • 413 Pilgrims and Pilgrimages 43
:Nazareth . 279 Pilgrims' Bathing Place . 225
Annunciation, Church of Platane . . . • 428
the . 282 Postage 5
,, Chapel of Ptolemais • 414
the . . . . 413 Pyramids, Trips to the 15
Girls' Orphanage . . 285
Joseph, St., Chapel of • 282 Quarantania, Mount . 235
,, Workshop of 282
Precipitation, Mount of Rabbah • 454
278, 283 Rabbath Ammon • 453
Protestant Church . 285 Rachel, Tomb of . . 186
Synagogue . . • 283 Ralat . • 404
Virgin, Fountain of the . 283 Raha . • 442
Wely Sim'an . . . 284 Rama. 243
Nebo, Mount • 451 Ramah of Benjamin • 243
Neby Mezar • 26g Ramet-el-Khilil • 205
,, Musa. . 217 Ramleh 77
,, Nuh • 397 Ramoth Gilead • 457
,, Samwil 94, 97 Ramoth Mizpeh • 457
,, Sur . • 359 Ras-el 'Ain . 257, 416
,, Shit . 423 Ras Shekka. • 378
" y unus • 204 Reineh . 28g
Nejha. • 431 Religions . . 57á
Neronias . 322 Rephaim, Valley of . 185
Nezib . 401 Plain of . 401
Nicopolis • 84 Riha" . • 231
Nijid . • 392 Rimeh • 438
Nile Tours 14 Rimmon . 241
Nimrim 228, 458 Robbers' Fountain, the • 247
Nob . 242 Routes from London to the
Nobah • 441 East II
N ur 'Allaka • 366
Saccrea • 436
Old Tyre . 416 Safed . . . 310
Omithon • 423 Sahra, Plain of • 355
Ophrah . 421 Saida . • 424
'Orm'an • 443 Saidon . . • 404
Saint Jean d'Acre • 414
Palretyrus 416 Salcah , 443
Paneas 322 Saleh . . . • 443
Passports 3 Samachonites, Lake • 318

Digitized by Google
INDEX. 481
PAGE PAGE
Samaria 263 Tabor, Mount 278, 286
Sanur . 266 Taiyibeh 397
Sarepta 423 Tantura 407
SAris . 85 Tawahin-es-Sukkar 236
Shechem 1252 Teffuh. 397
Scythopolis . 275 Tekoa. 201
Sealed Fountain 202 Tell 'Amarah
Sebast1yeh . 263 -el-Gezer . 4~~
Sefnurieh 416 " -el-Kadi 316, 319
Sehweh 442 " -el-Kubeibeh • 394
Sehwet-el-Khudr . 443 " -es-Safieh . 398
Sefphoris • 414 " -HGm. 305,307
Shadrah • 434 " -Sh'af. 443
Shaiat . 242 ",, Zakar1jah 399
Sharon, Plain of 75 Terkumieh . 397
SheP.helah, the • 39 ♦ Tiberias 293
Rhiloh . 100, 247 Timnath 4o3
Shochoh 400 Trachonitis . 430
Shtora. 356 Tricomias 397
Shuhba • 436 Tripoli
I 37!!
Shuka. • 436 Tuleil-el-Ful 242
Shukrah . 448 Tyre . . 416
Shunem 272, 275 Ladder of. 416
Shuweikeh • 400 "
Sidon 423 Um-es-Saud 434
Silian . 457 ,, -es-ZeitGn 435
Simsin 392 ,, -Keis 46o
Sinjil . 247 ,, -Lakis 392
Soba . 87 Umm-RGsh. 91
Socoh. 400 Urtas . 203
Solomon, Pools of 201
Sorar . 403 Wady 'Aly, the 85
Sorek, Valley of . 403 Barada, the 355
Subeibeh, Castle of 325 " Bittfr, the 401
SGf . .
Suk Wady Barada
. 459 " -eel-Dan, the
" -el-Feranj, the .
44-8
358 397
Suleim 439 " -el-Haramiyeh, the 247
Sulem 275 -el-Karn, the 355
Sulkhad 443 " -el-Kelt, the 230
Sunamein 449 " -el-Khan, the 401
Sunnfo 374 " -el-Nar, the 217
Sur'a . . 401 " -el-Subban, the 249
Surafend 76,423 " -el-Werd, the 401
Surghaya 359 " -es-Sumt, the 400
" -es-SGr, the
Suweideh
Sychar
' • 441
. 252 " Fik, the .
" Hamam, the
299 1
Taanach
Ta'annuk
. 269
. 269
" Heshbon, the
" Hummana, the
"
367 l
Digitized by Google
482 INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Wady Kunawat, the • 439 Yazur. 76
,, Liwah, the • 433 Yebna. 38z
Musurr, the
" Nimreh, the
" Surlr, the .
• 401
•4~
. 3
Zaccheus, House of
Zahleh.
. 23z
" Suweideh, the . 441 Zarephath • 4%3
" Suweinit, the • 240 Zanoah . 401
" Urtls, the . . 200 ZanG'a . 401
" Y&bis, the. • 459 Zebedany . 358
" Yetma, the • 249 Plain of 358
" Z'urka, the "
Zeitun.
"
"
Welgha
..
.
Ma'in
.
• 455
• 220
. 401
Zelr,:ili
Zer in.
. 314
. 187
.269
White Cape, the . . 416 Zi • 457
Zidon' • 424
Zoar • 453
Yahfufeh Zorah •
Yalo . 3ii Z'rara •
• 403
• 453

Digitized by Google
TOURIST'S MEMORANDA.

o;g11;zedby GooglC
€tourist's,ttmaranba.

Digitized byGoogle
Digitized by Google
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MAP TO COOK'S NILE TOURS

Digitized by Google
UP THE NILE BY STEAM
TO THE

FIRST ANDSECONDCATARACTS.

THB administration of the Khedivie Mail Steamers on the Nile
having honoured TsolllAS CooB: & SoN with the exclusive Agency of
the above Steamers, regula.r departures will take place from Cairo, for
the First and Second Catara.ct;s, from November to March,
Fa.res, including living on boa.rd, local guides, and donkeys, with
saddles for la.dies and gentlemen, to visit all the monuments:-
From ¢airo to the First Cataract and Ba<'k, 20 days, £47.
From Cairo to the Second Cataract and Back 35 days, £80.
IMPOB.TANT.-Thefa.res of .£47 and .£80 sterling, as advertised by
Cook's Agencies, cover everything, viz., guides and donkeys, with
saddles, to visit all the monument.s, and ba.cksh.ush to serva.nts and
crew. This arrangement saves the Tourist much inconvenience and
expense.

DAILY ITINERARY.-SECrION I.
rIB9T D.A.Y.
The starting-place is now from above the new iron bridge "Kaerel-Nil," which leads to the Pyramids of Ghizeh. The steamer generally leaves at 3 P.M., and arrives same evening at Badra.chin (railway station, and starting point to visit the site of Memphis, the
Serapeum, and the Pyramids of Sakkfll'a.h and Da.sMor). Under the
new a.rra.ngements, as worked out la.st sea.son,donkeys sent from Cairo
the same day will be waiting a.t Badra.chin to ta.Ire the pa.ssengers to
Memphis, the Sera.peum, etc., before the departure of the steamer the
following morning. These places, being so near to Cairo, and easily
a,ccepsible by rail, a.re generally visited from Cairo, donkeys being sent
on during the night, or ta.ken a.long in the tra.in11,but st.ea.mers on
their way up the Nile now allow time for eight-seeing a.t this place.
8JIOOSD D.A.Y.
The excursion to Sa.kkara.hand the Sera.peum is ma.de; starting in
the morning. We have an opportunity on returning, and after having
II

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2 UP THE NILE BY STE.AM.
mited the site where :Memphisstood, to witneBBan important fair, held
every Wednesday, &t a village on our way. We get back at about
noon to the steamer, which starts immedia.tely. In the afternoon we
pass on our right the curtailed Pyramid, called "El-Kedab," or False
Pyramid. Towards evening we come to W &Sta, &village of no importance, where the steamer generally stops for the night, unl88B the
night be clear and moonlit, in which case the steamer continues it.a
course for some time.
TBIBD D.t.Y.
We start early in the morning, in order to pass, before nightfall.
the mount&in "Gebel-el-Dayr," on the top of which stands a Coptic
convent, whose inmates plunge into the river as soon as a boat is in
sight, and, swimming towards it, with the greatest dexterity catch
hold of the small boat in tow, &ndclimb on deck to ask for backaAeui.
La.diesh&d better retire to the saloon during this mit. In the afternoon we pass in BUcceBBion the splendid sugar factories of Bibe-
Feshne, M&ghAgh&, Ben-in-Z&&r,Sa.ma.loot,etc.
Towards evening :Minieh is reached; it cont&ins & fine palace
belonging to the Viceroy, who generaJly spends & few w8"ks here in
the winter, and & most extensive sugar manuf&etory, employing
&bout 2000 people. A v.isit to this establishment will well repay the
trouble, and every attention is shown to visitors. The works ~enera.lly
commence in the beginning of January, and when in activity, the
evening is the usual time to admit visitors.
l'O'IJ'JITB D.t.Y.
• In two hours the boat reaches Beni-Hassan, another halting-plAce
for sight-seeing. Sw&rmBof begg&r&,&nd miserable donkeys without
saddles or bridles-the worst &11along the Nile-aw&it the arrival of
the steamer. The Rock Tombs of Beni-Hassan &re reached in half
an hour. The northern grottoes &rehigh up on &hill to the left, and
the Speos Artemedos straight on in a v&lley eastward; both ought
to be mited. Towards noon the excursion is ended, and the steamer
lt&rtB &gain. A few hours' course brings us in sight of the mount&in "Gebel-&boo-faydah," and towards evening Manfaloot, & little
town of some importance, is reached.

l'U"l'B D.t.Y.
Some time before mid-d&y we arrive &t Sioot, or Aaaioot, the
reeidence of &P&Sh&,the Inspector-General to Uppsr Egypt, of which
ABBiootis the capital. The rem&~der of the d&yis devoted to a visit
to the l&rge b&z&&r, and the hills behind the town, which a.fford a
splendid view of the Nile V&lley. A very important market is held
at ABBioot. Before the abolition of slavery it W&B the principal slave
market; but. minus this peculiarity, it offersstill, &t the present time,
interesting features for the observer.

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UP THE NILE BY STEAM. 3

■IX'J!B DAT,
If neoeesary, the ship is ooaled at Soohag, a.nd Girgeh is generally reached in the evening ; there is nothing of interest in this
place, one of the dirtiest on the Nile. Girgeh. or Bel.lian&h,a small
town about ten miles higher up, is the starting-point for visiting
Abydos. This visit, however, is better postponed a.nd made on the
return journey, sta.rtinf from Belliana.h. These mine a.re eo gra.nd
and magnificent, tha they cannot lose a.ny of their charm and
novelty even after Karnak has been seen.

8:BV.:SS!B D.A.T.
Leaving the visit to Abydos for the return journey, we reach
Keneh towards evening, and if still early enough, this important
pla.oe may be visited before the night. The beet porous jugs a.nd
gargoulets for filtering the Nile water a.re made here ; Keneh is a.lso
celebrated for its dates, a.nd was once noted for its dancing girls. The
latter, it appears, have now removed to Luxor, a place of greater
atnction to Yisitors.
•1G~B DAT,
In the momiDg p&BBengersa.re conveyed in boats a.crossthe river,
where donkeys are waiting to take us to the Temple of Dendera.h,
about a.n hour's ride. This is the first monument of the kind met
with, a.nd the impreBBiOII.
it produces is never to be forgotten. It is
rather puzzling at first ~ find one's way through the halls, a.nd
through the heaps of ruins surrounding the wa.lls, to die(,over a.ny
given site. However, a little practice will soon facilitate research.•
H the visit to Dendera.h is finished by noon, the boat may reach
Luxor the same evening, a.nd a.nchor opposite the Temple of Luxor.
The portioo of the temple is occupied by the office of Mustapha
Aga, the well-known and frequently mentioned English Consul He
speaks English 11.uently,is always willing a.nd ready to oblige, and at
once sends hie servant on board to weloome new arrivals, and invite
them to his hoUB8,where coffee is always ready, and Fantasias may be
organized.
:SIJl'S!B D.A.T,
At LUI,or. The first day is generally devoted to a visit to the
Kings' Tombs. Starting early in the morning acroBB the atre&m by
boat, the donkeys having already been conveyed across by the same
means, in about an hour we arrive at the Temple-palace of Koorneh,
and after having e:mmined it, continue our journey through the desolate valley, "Bab-el-Molook," to the Kings' Tombs. Only two or

• M. Kariette-Bey' ■ "Itinerary to Upper Erypt," which has just been
tranalated into English, give■ a very oorreot plan of Denderah, and gives
full and accurate information concerning the Tariou■ monumenta on the
Nile.

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4 UP THE NILE BY STE.AM.
three of the most interesting need be entered-Belzoni's Tomb, No.
17, and Bruce's, No. 11. After lunch, which has been brought along
and is ta.ken in the entrance of Tomb No. 6, those who like to walk
can go over the mountain cha.in, a.nd come down near the Memnonium
or Ra.mesium. The others return by the way they ca.me, and a halt is
made at the Memnonium. On the way back to Luxor the ruins of
the Temple of Amunoph III. and the sitting Colossi are visited.

'l'•B'.rB J>.A.Y.
A.t Luxor. Once more across the river, and partly over the same
ground as the day before, to visit the Temple-palace of Medeenet
Ha.boo leisurely, and after lunch make an excursion to one of the
most interesting private tombs, No. 36, called "Dayr-el-Medeenet,"
situated on a hill behind the Memnonium. Close by are the Priests'
Tombs, the largest of which may be visited by thoee who are not
easily frightened by bats, a.nd rather rough and dangerous passages.
After making a second stay at the Memnonium, the return to
Luxor is effected. If still early, a walk through Luxor and an exploration of the Temple, mostly hidden by Arab dwellings and stables, will
finish the day.
SI.:av••TB J>.A.Y.
A.t Luxor. The day will be entirely devoted to Karnak. Lunch
may be taken out, or passengers may return on board to that meal,
the Temple being only about a mile and a half distant. All around
Thebes visitors are constantly pursued by dealers in antiquitiee,
mostly poor imitations; and the Consuls themselves, who all deal in
these articles, are not much better than the rest. Be careful not to
offer more than a shilling for a.n object for which £1 is asked, for you
may be sure to get it !
TWB:r.ftB J>.A.Y.
Startmg early from Luxor, Esneh is reached at about 11 a..m., and
after visiting its Temple we continue our journey up stream, arriving
the same evening at Edfou.

'l'BIB'l'BB~B J>.A.Y.
The splendid Temple of Edfou, the most complete and best preserved monument in Egypt, and giving the best idea of the early
Egyptian architecture, is kept in custody by a government officer, and
is the only place where beggars are not allowed to bother you for
backsheeaA; but they are the more ravenous when you emerge again
from the stronghold. Ha.If a day is devoted to this place, and it ca.n be
visited either now or on returning : this must depend entirely on the
time of arrival. If the visit is postponed a.nd the Steamer leaves in
the morning early, the quarries of Gebel-el-Silsileh come in view
after about five hours' sail. It is hardly worth while to go ashore,

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UP THE NILE BY STEAM .• 5
since the few grottoes and chapels can juat as well be seen from aboard;
two hours more bring us to the ruins of Kom-Ombo, where the Steamer
st.ops for the night.
l'OVB'l'•á~- D.a:r.
Assouan, the limit of Upper Egypt and an import.ant town, is
rea.ched in the forenoon. As soon as the Steamer stops, a swarm of
N ubians come to offer ostrich feathers, eggs, and other articles, for
sale. •
Opposite to Assouan is the Island Elephantine and its Nilometer,
which we visit at once. The remainder of that day is devoted to
Assouan and its bazaars.
l'll"l'BB•'l'B D.a:r.
After an early breakfast, donkeys and camels, at choice,áare waiting to carry ns through the town and bazaar of Assouan and the
cemetery, to the desert road leading towards Philm. About a mile
from the town, on the hills to the left, are the celebrated granite
quarries where the obelisks were procured, and where one may be
seen partly cut out of the rock. This visit is better made now. Con•
tinuing our road afterwards, in about one hour we arrive at the river,
where a boat is waiting to convey us to Philm. After exploring this
enchanting place in every part, and lunching in the small temple
amid the pillars overlooking the Nile, passengers bound to W adi-Balfa
cross the river here, and go on board the Second Cataract Steamer,
which is anchored in front of the temple on the opposite side. li we
do not intend to go further up the Nile, we get into the boat or
dahabeah, and, instead of crossing the river back to the place where
we embarked coming from Assouan, float down the river and stop a
littl~ above the Cataract. Landing here, we reach in a few minutes
an eminence whence the finest view of the Cataract is obtained, and
the Nubian boys are seen dexterously shooting the Cataract on logs of
wood. We embark again, and our boat proceeds across the river
through small rapids to the village Mahattah. We then mount our
donkeys and camels and return to Assouan by another road, striking
to the left of the village, and coasting the Nile, all the way down
enjoying the most magnificent and varied views of the wild scenery.
As a rule, guides and donkey boys do not like to tali:e this way back,
but the interest it offers is so great that on no account ought it to be
abandoned.
[Passengers wishing to shoot the Cataract can do so-at their own
expense and risk-by making arrangements the day before. The
charge for a Dahabeah for a party to shoot the Cataract is from £8 to
£12 sterling.)
SU:'l'JlmrTB D.AT.
Early in the morning the at.ea.mer starts on its return journey,
calling at Esneh, if necessary, and arriving the same day at Luxor,
where it atops for the night.
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6 UP '1.'HENILE BY STEAM.

e•v•STBB~ DAY.
Descend from Lu.xor to Bellianeh, where donkeys have been telegra.phed for from Lu.xor.

BIGB':fBB•~- DAY.
The excursion to Abydos is now ma.de-a good two hours' ride,
through rioh fields; at a.bout twelve o'clock we are a.ga.inon boa.rd a.nd
the journey is resumed.

•ma':fBBB':fB ABD TWJIB':flB':fB DAYS.
Continue the voya.gewithout stopping, except a.t such pla.ces a.a
were not visited a.ooording to Progra.mme during the journey ; the
Stea.mere only stop to ooaJ, or for provisions, a.ooording to requirementil.

CIBB:.&AL OBBB&VATIOBB.
Th~ fa.re of 1!47 sterling, before mentioned, covers everything;
living, guides, donkeys, a.lso sa.ddles (English sa.ddles for la.dies), a.nd
boa.ts to cross the river when necessary, BBwell BBthe boa.t for Philie
a.ud ba.ok; a.lsooa.ndles to light the oa.ves,gra.tuities to serva.nts and
crew, a.ud the regula.r fees to donkey-boys; but who could sa.tisf;yand
silence the never-euding craving for back.,he#Ai, Every pa.ssenger,
. therefore, ought to have some coppers to give a.wayooca.siona.Uy. It
is wonderful to see how ingenious these beggars a.re ; those at Thebes,
especia.lly, have acquired the greatest perfection; they a.11speak a
little English; a.nd try to move your heart by the most la.mentable
stories. They have either lost their father or mother, and ha~ no
pla.oe to sleep in; or they show you a. broken vessel, crying bitterly
that they dare not return home for fear of being bea.ten.

SECTION IL
1'&0• TBZ l'IBB':f TO TBZ BBGOBD OATAJU.ff.
The Khedivie Administration ha.vin~ pla.oed a. st.ea.meron the '
Upper Nile, to ply between Philm and W a.di-Ha.lfa.,we ina.ugura.ted
this new service •1BBtsea.son. The experiment having proved a suc-
0888, the Administration agreed to supply a. larger and more comfortable steamer than the one with which we worked that service 1ut
7ear. The voyage to Wadi-Haifa. and back may be a.ooomplishedin
twelve days, of which four a.nd a half are employed in sight-seeing
-uhore, and, after the return journey, passengers will have to ma.ke

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UP THE NILE BY STEAM. 7

~he Upper ~ile steamer their hotel for two or three extra days, waitmg the a.rnval of the Lower Nile ete&mer at Aasouan to take them
back to Cairo. These few days will be found &nything but unpl988&Dt
by those who delight in a soft climate, &nd admire the beauties of
nature. Varied scenes may be enjoyed every day, either by going in
a h<?ataro!1Ddthe Island, or down the river through the numberleea
~p1ds which precede the Cataract.a, or by riding to the neighbouring
villages, &ndthe granite hills whioh border the different camel paths
towards A.ssouan. Were it only as a resting-place, Philie would still
be found delightful. Although navigation on the Upper Nile is quite
u easy &nd secure, if not easier th&n that on the Lower Nile, it is
desirable to allow three days' margin in case of &ny unforeseen delay
above the First CatAr&ot.

DAILY ITINERARY.
nBB'I' D.&.T.
We are at Philia, live miles from A.ssouan. Now we have left the
confines of Egypt ,proper, and have entered Nubia. 'l'he ste&met by
whioh we continue our voyage, is waiting onr arrival ; our baggage
has been transferred from the other steamer. The starting takes
place soon after we have got on board.
An hour-and-a-half's course brings ns to Debod, or Dabad, a small
village on the west side of the river. Here is a ruin, in a good state of
preservation, of a temple commenced by the Ethiopian King, Ashar-
.A.mun. The steamer stops here for the night, &nd,aooording to the
time of arrival, the excursion is made the aame day or the foJlowing
morning.
■JIOOSD D.&.T.
The dist&noeabetween the places of interest on the Upper Nile are
very short. &nd, with a few exceptions, they all lie within a few
minutes from the steamer, so that although ample time is allowed for
eight-seeing, several may be visited in the aame day.
In two hours we reach Kardaah. or Gert&aaee,fifteen miles from
Debod, whioh poaaeaea the remna.nt of a temple and a quarry.
In a few hours more we pa.as the narrow part of the Nile called
"Bab-el-Kal&baheh," or Strait of Kal&baheh. For a dist&noeof four
or Ave miles the gr&nite mountains enoloae the river on either aide,
offering at every curve varied views of the moat grand &nd wild
eoenery. We get into the broad stream a.gain, &nd Kal&baheh is soon
reaohed. The steamer atopa here fonr hours, and puaengera visit the
mine, whioh a.re of some size &nd beauty, &nd oonsiat of the rema.ina
of two temples; one, the l&rgest temple in Nubia, mnst have been,

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8 UP THE NILE BY STEAM.
when perfect, a magnificent pile. In some chambers to which access
can be gained, are paintings of the highest finish, in colours as vivid
a.s on the day on which they were executed. The smaller temple,
called" Bayt-el-Welly," or" House of the Sa.int," lies against a. rocky
hill to the right, and is partly cut out of the rock. Although difficult
of a.eeess, it is worth while to attempt the ascent, a.s the remple contains excellent paintings, and the sculptures, recording the battles of
Ra.meses,are perfect.
'f'BIBD D.a:r.
We pass and visit suocessively Dendoor, twelve miles from Ka.la.beheh, a.nd Kirscheh ten miles further, which have ea.vern temples of
some magnitude.
The ea.me day brings us to Dakkeh, where there is a temple supposed to have been bnilt by the Ethiopian King, Ergs.mun; a. part of
it is in a very good state of preservation. The sculptures and hieroglyphics are extremely good, and in a.dmira.ble condition.
The steamer proceeds for some time yet, and pOBBiblyreaches
Maharraka.,nine miles from Dakkeh; here is a. small temple, of which
but two rows of columns remain entire .

• l'OVBTB D.a:r.
(Twenty miles). Arrive at Sa.boa, or Wa.dy-Saboah, "the Valley
of the Lions." It has little to indicate its former splendour. The
Temple of Ra.meses II. is nearly buried in the sand. Two statues.
however, remain in eight, which may induce a short -rieit~
Arrive at Korosko, twelve miles further, and about 100 miles from
Philie. .It is from hereá tha.t the great high road stretohes across the
Desert to Shendy and Senna.a.r. Most of the caravans for Khartoom
start from Korosko. Behind the village is a peak called" Awes-el-
Ouara.ny," the top of.wbioh is held sacred by the natives, and is &
point of pilgrimage, as being the tomb of the ea.int from whom the
mountain derives its na.me. The stea.mer rema.ine at Korosko five
hours, to ena.ble the passengers to accomplish the ascent of this peak,
a rather diffioult task, over a path full of voloa.nicremains. The journey will repay the fatigue, the view from that spot being splendid,
commanding on one side the Nile Valley, and on the other the desert
road winding its course amid rocky hills, and olose to the villa.ge and
the road itself numberless c.a.ravanelying at rest.

:rD''f'B D.a:r.
Stop at A'ma.da, a.bout eight miles from Korosko, and there visit a.
very interesting little. temple.
We then come to Derr, only five miles further, a large town, the
oapita.l of Lower Nubia. It is famous for its dates. Here the steamer
remains three hours, thus affording ample opportunity for a.
walk through the straggling streets of the town, which, like all other
towns and villages in Nubia, consist of mud buts tbatohed with

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_J
UP THE NILE BY STEAM. 9
reed and pa.Im leaves. It contains also a temple which may be
visited, although it is not in a good state of preservation.
The same day brings us to Ibrim, or Ibreem, fifteen miles from
Derr. In addition to two little temples or tombs, cut out in the
rock, there is a castle built by the Romans, whence a fine view is to
be had of the Nile apd the surrounding hills.
SIX'.rB D.a:r.
Arrive at Ipsambool, or Aboo-Simbel (32 miles). This monument
is the greatest attraction Nubia has to offer to the antiquarian student. It is hewn in the solid rock, and is rendered specially imposing
by four gigantic figures of Ra.meses II., each 66 feet high. The
temple is partly choked with sand, and somewhat difficult of access,
but the interior well repays the exertion. It is divided into four
compartments, '!Lndis 185 feet deep. The paintings and sculptures
exceed in beauty and grandeur any which the tourist has hitherto
seen on the Nile. The smaller temple, 84 feet in depth, is dedica.ted
to Athor; the f~ade is ornamented with six coloesa.l statues of
Ra.meses, his wife, and children. A whole day is devoted to the
examination of these temples.
aaVBB'.rB D.AT.
Arrive at Wa.dy-Halfah (40 miles from Aboo-Simbel, and about
210 miles from Philre), the terminal point of the voyage. The
Second Cataract is 7 or 8 miles further south, and consists of rapids,
which, extending for about 5 miles, thoroughly impede the navigation of the river; indeed, for nearly 100 miles the bed of the river is a.
succession of sunken rocks. A good view of the Second Cat.aract and
the surrounding country is obtained by aacending the cliff called
Aboo-Seer, and to afford the opportunity of doing so the steamer
remains at Wady-Halfah a whole day before returning.
BIGBTB, D.AT.
The excunion to Aboo-Seer is better made very early in the morning, as it is quite two houn' ride on the opposite bank of the river,
where donkeys have already been passed by ferry-boat in readiness
for us.
BIBTB, T:BB'.rB, A.SD BLBV:BB'.rB DAYS.
Begin the return journey, which is continued without stoppages of
importance.
Arrive at Philre in the evening c:>fthe eleventh day, or in the
morning of the twelfth.
TW:Br.l'TB D.AT.
Visit to the Cataract in a boat, and the remaining two days to be
spent at leisure, until we effect our change c:>nthe do1•;nriver steamer
a.t Aesouan, and continue to Cairo as per First Cataract Itinerary.
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10 UP THE NILE BY STEAM.

RETURN VOYAGE.
When on the down journey the boat et.opein any place which is
not marked in the itinerary && a regular et.opping-pla.ce,or touches
twice at the same station, passengers who want donkeys to visit these
places a second time m11Stpay for the donkeys themselves; the same
applies to night eicursions, visiting Karnak, or any other place, by
moonlight, or going to Fantasias.
This three weeks' ell:cursionon the Nile, and life on boa.rd a ship,
is generally quite long enough for anyone, and it is with great delight
that the 1'iew of the citadel and minarets of Cairo is hailed, A gentleman passenger last season ell:pressed h'is feelings very properly in
saying that, to do aJ.l the work and sight-seeing up the Nile, a.nd then
to doat idly down, W&B just like reading a highly int.eresting book, and
when finished, turning its leaves once more leisurely over, and lingering with delight on the most beautiful passages, have a last glimpse
at them, and be very glad to have done with it.
The captains and crews a.re, of course, aJ.l natives, and belong to
the reirula.r navy; discipline, however, is not very strict on board, nor
have the captains, who only speak Arabic, any authority over their
paasengers, which is sometimes greatly to be regretted. They are,
however, all very modest and obliging men, and very much afraid
of complaints being made against them on return; for this reason,
towards the end of the tour they manage to get a certiflcat.esigned by
all the passengers, expressing their satisfaction. If such a testimonial cannot be produced, or complaints are made against them, they
a.re fined, and pa.rt of their pay, which is already poor enough, is
withheld.
The doctors on board the steamers were formerly all natives, but
since la.st se&eon,&ceording to a decision of the Khedive, European
physicians belonging to the Sanitary Sta1f accompany aJ.l passenger
ships.
Should any p&BBengerdesire to return to Cairo a dayortwoBOOner,
he can be put down at any of the r&ilwa.ystations between Roda. and
Ghizeh; but a.athere is only one train a day, he must be careful not
to miss it, or he might go without bed and food.
The best course is not to interfere nor propose any change whatever in this itinerary based on experience. Some people will. do so,
and th11Sca.1188disorder and sometimes displeasure.

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STEAMBOAT
TRIPSON THENILE,
TO THE

FIRSTA.NDSECOND
CATARACTS
ANDBA.OK.
Arn.npcl by auUaorit," of Qae Jthe4iv1e .&.dmmtnnUon by
TBOMAS OOOJC• sos, Tout.a, oaoe■, Ioudpw Olzou■, IooD.dcm;
-4 Tomtn Pavilion, Shepheard'• Bowl, Omo; and at Qae omoe of
OOOJC,SOS, II .TBSJCISS, t81, Broadway, s- 'l'ork,

TOVBS TO ?.OWBB BG'l'PT ASD '!'BB Sl?.B,
Through Fares are ehoWDby several Route,, from London, Paria,
Geneva, and Italy. From any other plaeee on the Coatinent the F&ree oan
be estimated on the principle of addition or subtraction, according to
locality.
l'IBST Su.JI '!'OVB.
From London to Paria by Newha.ven and Dieppe (or other routes at
additional fares) • Paris to Genoa, by Mont Cenie and Turin ; Genoa to
Alexandria, by Rubattino Steamer ; Alexandria to Cairo, by F,gyptian
Railway ; Cairo to First or Second Cataract and back. (Thie arrangement
termina.tes at Cail'O,leaving travellers to select their OWDroute in return,
or extend the Tour to Palestine, by arrangement at Cairo.)
l'he proviaion inoludea flfteen uys' European Hotel Coupons and ten
days' Coupon• for Egyptian Hotels ; landing expeneea at Alexan~ ; all
expenses for donkeys and guide on the banka of the Nile ; backaheeBhto
ateamboat otlioere and crew, and aJl proviaiona on the Stea.mere, except
wine and other drinks.
To Plrat 011.t&rt.ct. To 8eoond Cataract.
lat Claaa. 2nd Ol&N. lat Claaa. 2nd Clala.
£ a. £ •á £ 1. £ •.
Prom London . 81 0 T6 0 lH O 109 0
PromParls . '19 10 Tt 1T 112 10 10'1 lT
PromGeneva. TT O '18 0 110 0 106 0
PromO..oa . Tl 10 n 10 106 10 lOI 10
PromBome . TtlT n 0 10'1 lT lOI 0
PromRaplN . '1810 TO 0 106 10 lOI 0
GOING BY P•NINBULAB ilrD OBI•NT.U. STJUJOB J'BOK ITALiilr PORTS.
To l'lnt 011.taract. To Seoond 0..1anct.
l8t Ol&N. Bod Clua. l8t ~ 2nd Claa.
£1. £1. £1. £1.
Prom London, Tia •oat Oem■ and
Valce . . . , . 88 10 T8 0 116 10 111 0
•From London, Tia Raple■ and
Brln411l . . . . . n o n 10 1M o 11a 10
•From London, Tia Ancona and
B11JuU■t 8T 10 80 10 llO 10 llS 10
• The aaae Fare■ b7 Austrian Llo7d'a from Brindisi, via Corfu.

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12 STEAMBOAT TRIPS ON THE NILE.
Gomo BYMBBB.&.GBBI.Bll
•
MABITIIIBB,via. MABBEILL.Bll.
To First Cataract.
1st Class. 2nd Class.
I To Second Cataract.
1st Class. 2nd Class.
£ s. £ s. £ a. £ a.
From Londoll 8S o '17 o 119 0 110 o
The Fares from Paris, Geneva, Rome, etc., will in all cases be reduced
in the sa.me proportion as shown in the first List of Fares.
SBOOJID ll'ilLB '.rOVB.
PBOVIDINGJ'OBRBTUBNINGTO THB STARTINGPOINT.
RouTB.-From London to Paris, '!Jia,Dieppe, Turin, Genoa., AleX&Ddria,
Cairo, the Nile, to First or Seoond Ca.ta.ra.otand ba.ok; Alexandria., Na.plea,
Rome, Florence, Turin, Paris, Dieppe, Lon.don. (Or the rever!!a.l of this
route through Italy, ta.king Stea.mer a.t Na.plea, and returning by Stea.mer
to Genoa..) Provisions of fifteen days' European, and ten days' Eastern
Hotel Coupons, landing and re-embarking at Alexandria., and provisione on
the Nile, ea.me a.s in the first tour.
BY '.rBB BVUTTUl'O :r.Ill'B.
To First Cataract. To Second Cataract.
1st Class. 2nd Clase. 1st Class. 2nd OIB88.
£ s. £ •. £ s. £ 8.
From London and baak 101 0 91 0 1310 1940
From Parts and back . 98 0 89 0 131 0 122 0
From Geneva and b&ek . . 93 10 86 áO 1260 1190
From Genoa or Naples and b&ck
to Tur.In . . . . 91 0 83 10 lH 0 116 10
From Rome and back to Rome . 811 0 79 10 118 0 112 10

BY '.rBB
:PBJl'J:Jl'S'D'LAB A.ll'D OB%Bll".rAL :r.Ill'B.
To First Cataract. To Second Cataract.
let Cius. 2nd Claae. let Class. 2nd CJaa.
£a. £s. £s. /!,s.
*From London, goillg. by Venice
and return1ng by Br1nd1s1,
and through It&ly . llt 10 102 10 lt'7 10 135 10
From London, going by Brindisi
(d1rect line by Ancona), and
returning by Brtndiai and
through Italy . 117 10 lot 10 lllO 0 1ST 10
• These Routes may be reversed in Italy, going tlrst by Brindisi and returning
by Venioe. .
FARES FROMPARIS ANDGENEVAreduced on the same proportion as in
the first List of Fa.res here quoted.
BY '.rBB Atf■TBUJI' :r.r.GYD'S STBAKBBS.
Fa.res the ea.me as by the Peninsular and Orienta.I line, inoluding the
additional steamboat fa.re between Venice and Trieste, either way.

PaBBengers can be booked e.t any of the Offices of
THOS. COOK AND SON,
Chief Office-Ludgate Circus, London.

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