Walks about the City and Environs of Jerusalem. (Second edition.)

Preface

. This little work is tbe result of a visit to Jerusalem in the summer of 1842. Before that period, the Author was quite unable to form any distinct idea of its appearance from then existing works : not so* much from the absence of graphic descriptions, for such abound, as from the desultory style ofthe writers, and the absence of a con nected plan, together with the want of correct and well chosen Views. On this last point he may perhaps be deemed to arrogate too much, yet his conviction is honest, that no Views of Jerusalem, at all valuable for the purpose of topographical or historical illustration have yet appeared, though so many have been published, which as works of art are very beautiful. This led him to form the idea of attempting to give a clear, connected, and accurate view of the City, by gradually tracing its progress from the earhest period of authentic history, restoring its past appearance by a careful study of exist ing data, and exhibiting its present condition, in a series a

PREFACE.

. of Views chosen with express reference to historical illustration, and in which the local character should be the only object, and where, at every step, the past and present should be compared. If the student who reads the history of Jerusalem in the Scriptures, or in Josephus, or the pages of later his torians, can find in this little work any assistance in bringing before him a picture of what they describe, the principal object ofthe writer is gained. The restoration of the ancient City was prompted by the admirable work of Dr., Robinson, to whom all travel lers are deeply indebted. The Author has availed him self of his researches and suggestions ; and though in some respects differing in opinion with the learned professor, it wotdd be wrong not to state, that if there be any merit in the attempt, it is due to him, the first wri ter who has thrown any light upon the subject.

The small size of the Illustrations occasions some obscurities ; they are presented, however, as generally faithful and correct, nothing being added for mere pic turesque effect. The Author's inexperience in literary composition will, he trusts, excuse several faults ; but he ventures to hope, that by entering into his plan, and following it out with care, the reader may obtain a tolerably clear idea of a City so deeply interesting to his best associations.

PREFACE.

. V The warm thanks of the author are due to his friend Mr. Catherwood, for his interesting article on the enclosure of the Temple of Solomon, and for many valuable suggestions. London, April, 1844.

PREFACE.

TO THE SECOND EDITION. The sale of an edition of this work, with the favourable notices of the journals, induce the writer to hope that the object he had in view in its publication has in some measure been realised. This, be it remembered, was less to produce an amusing, than useful manual ; to give a systematic and correct, though not highly graphic portraiture of a City, which had always before been treated as a subject for poetical and picturesque effect. In revising the work for a second edition, some views have been m&dified by further inquiry and correspondence. It is gratifying to the writer, and may be a source of confidence to the untravelled reader to know, that the good selection and general accuracy of the illustrations have been admitted by those best competent to form a judgment of them. The numerous and lengthy quotations have been, with reason, objected to. These were owing to the Viii

PREFACE.

TO THE SECOND EDITION. writer's wish to render his work useful, by distinctly identifying the scenes described both in the Bible and other books, in order to which, he gave at full length the passages relating to them, which, though not necessary for some readers, appeared so perhaps for the majority. The meagre description of the siege by Josephus, and other historical sketches, were intro duced only to enable the reader of better and fuller his tories to understand exactly the localities of the city, as alluded to in them. A considerable number of quota tions, however, are omitted in this edition, and the space occupied by original and useful matter. f TABLE OF CONTENTS. JEntroDuction. From Beyrout to Jerusalem — Tyre — Acre — Cæsarea — Approach to Jerusalem— Walk round the Walls ..... 1 S-.iuu.it Site — Zion — Acra — Moriah — Time of David and Solomon — City of Herod— Siege by Titus — Subsequent History . . 20 lllalb I. Mount Zion — "Valley of.ffinnom — Hill of Evil Counsel — Pool of Siloam — Tomb of David — Citadel — Jewish Quarter, &c. . . 55 Malfe m. Mount of Olives— Bethany — Valley of Jehoshaphat — Siege by the Crusaders — Tombs of the Kings, &c. . . 94 grails MI.

Interior of the City — Ancient Bridge — Place of Wailing — Enclo sure of the Haram — Paper by Mr. Catherwood . . . 133 Christian Antiquities — Church of the Holy Sepulcnre, &c. . 169 Inhabitants — Jews — Christians — Turks, &c. . . 187 "UppenSix. Route to Bethlehem and Hebron . . - . 202 „ to Santa Saba and Dead Sea . , . 223 „ to Anata and Bethel . . . 240 „ to Neby Samwil . . • 243 „ to Bether ...... 246 „ to Seilun, Nabulus, and Sebaste (Samaria) . • ILLUSTRATIONS. Page.

Ancient Jerusalem, frontispiece Jewish Family, title page Sarefta ........ 4 Cæsarea ........ 7 Gradual Formation of Jerusalem ) i0 face 22 MAr of Ancient City j Attack of First Wall ...... 41 Burning of Temple ...... 47 Sculpture on Arch of Titus ..... 49 Map of Modern Jerusalem ..... 54 Skeleton View of ditto ...... 54 Lower Pool of Gihon .... to/ace 66 Mount Zion ........ 59 Group near En-Rogel ...... 65 Pool of Siloam ..... to face 68 Aqueduct on Mount Zion . . . . .82 Tower of Hippicus ..... to face 85 Pool of Hezekiah .... . . 89 Diagram of Second Wall ...... 91 Mount of Olives from Wall . . . to face 94 Garden of Gethsemane ...... 98 Tomb of the Virgin ...... 99 Jerusalem from Mount of Olives .... 100 Bethany ........ 106 Village of Siloam ..... to face 110 Fountain of the Virgin ..... 112 Tombs in Valley of Jehoshaphat . . to face 114 Absalom's Tome ....... 115 Jerusalem, from the North East . . to face 116 Tombs of the Kings, (court) ..... 127 (fa-jade) 128 ,, ,, ,, (large chamber) ..... 129 ,, „ „ (small ditto) . . . . .130 „ ., „ (plan) . . . . .129 Ancient Bridge ..... to face 135 Roman and Mediæval Masonry ..... 136 Section of Haram ....... 137 Jews' Place of Wailing ...... 140 Enclosure of the Temple ..... 143 Section of ditto ....... 164 Vaults ........ 157 Golden Gate, (exterior) ...... 158 ,, ,, (interior) ...... 159 Church of the Holy Sepulchre ..... 168 ,, ,, „ „ (interior) . . . 174 The Sepulchre ....... 175 Christian Ladies ....... 196 Tomb of Raohel ....... 204 Bethlehem ........ 205 Basilica at Bethlehem ...... 210 Hebron ......... 216 Masonry of the Haram ...... 219 Bedouin Arabs ....... 224 Convent of St. Saba ...... 225 The Jordan ........

WALKS ABOUT JERUSALEM AND ITS ENVIBONS. It does not enter into the plan of the author of this little work to give a detailed account of his route to Jerusalem ; suffice it to say, that by the wild scenes of the Lower Danube, the imperial beauty of Constantino ple, and the classic islands of the Archipelago, touching at Rhodes and Cyprus, he reached Beyrout, on the Syrian coast, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, in the month of June, from whence he decided on going to Jaifa by sea. A few notes of this coasting voyage are given by way of introduction. We reached Beyrout in the morning, and by the kindness of Mr. Heald, a British merchant, were en abled to make arrangements for setting off with the land-breeze in the evening. Out of a crowd of dubious characters, who presented themselves as servants, we selected one who had travelled with Captain Basil Hall and other Englishmen, and had been broken into their ways : his name is Achmet, and we will venture to B BEYROUT. say, that he will prove an acquisition to any traveller in Palestine.

On going on board in the evening, we found our open craft small and felucca-rigged, manned by half-a-dozen Arabs and a Reis, or captain, whose negociation with Mr. Heald afforded me a useful practical lesson, seeing that from one hundred piastres for one passenger, he came down to sixty for three. After this I always found that it was better to save time and expenditure of breath by offering, at once, half the price demanded on similar Occasions — which was still a sufficiently generous, not to say exorbitant, remuneration. Oiu company was motley : we had the post of honour upon the ballast in the stern of the boat; forward were various Turkish passengers. One had accompanied us from Constan tinople, where he had bought a young female slave, probably as a cherisher of his old age, whom he kept strictly cooped up : for all this he was a perfect patri arch in appearance, and went through his devotions with great punctuality.

After the comforts of a good steamer, it was rather rough work in this open craft, which, in addition to other inconveniences, had " a most ancient and fish like smell," while there was nothing to repose on but the ribs of the boat, and ballast of sand and shingle. On this we spread our cloaks and baggage, and occupied ourselves for some hours in the difficult study of the MOUNT LEBANON. 3 * softest corner" for our night's repose. The land breeze had not sprung up ; the evening was soft and cloudy ; the boats rose slightly on the glassy heave of the sea, shooting up their picturesque masts and rigging among the stars ; the evening gun was fired from an English frigate lying near, and the notes of our national hymn. always so touching in a foreign land, burst magically from her decks. By degrees the sounds of dogs and men ceased from the town, and perfect silence was established : the moon rose above Lebanon, and was reflected in a long trail of silvery light upon the sea.

Soothed by the influences of the hour, after an exciting day, we lay down, covered with our cloaks, and slept till midnight. We were suddenly awakened by the noise ofthe sailors, who, with wild Arab chants, were heaving the anchor and spreading our broad latine-sail : the breeze had sprung up, and softly and swiftly our bark ran out of the har bour into the open moonlit sea : a second time we lay down and fell asleep. Such interruptions are common in the East, where the sweetest and deepest repose is generally under the canopy of heaven. Awaking on the morrow, in the broad sunshine, we found that we were running along the coast of ancient Phœnicia; a narrow line of fertile plain, backed by the magnificent ranges of Mount Lebanon, rising gradually one above another, and dotted with convents and villages, SAREPTA — SIDON — TYRE. up to the very snow on their summits.

All this ground was familiar to me. I looked up at the hills above Sidon for Djouni, the residence of Lady Hester Stanhope, (now no more,) whom I had seen there on my first journey. We ran close off the city, (Saida,) rising picturesquely from the blue sea, with her old Gothic castle, a little the worse for the last bombardment. A little further, Sarepta* (Sarafend) appeared on a hill, overlooking the ancient " coasts of Tyre and Sidon." We sat under the shadow of our sail and breakfasted, our coffee making the round of the crew and company. Notwithstanding our rough accommodation, our spirits were buoyant as the day ; a fight breeze urged us steadily on our course through the rippling waves, and we were running along a coast of great beauty and of im perishable renown. Tyre soon appeared — a low rocky point projecting into the sea.

The plague was among her scattered habitations : these, of course, are on the island. The sand has gathered about Alexander's causeway, forming a broad way to the inland plain, where there are a few fragments of aqueducts, and scat tered vestiges of antiquity, on the supposed site ofthe city on the mainland. For the cry from her thousand ships and crowded port, there is nothing but silence and * 1 Kings, chap. xvii. The ancient city, however, stood, it is supposed, on the plain beneath, extending to the sea. Q S// ?/■/?/,/ <//>/,/ ' /.//iy- S ////'// GALILEE — ST. JOHN OF ACRE, a few fishing-boats, and we should have run past the spot without notice, had we not known that a great commercial city once existed there — the "London" of the old world. The day wore away as we reached the shores of Pales tine proper, which burst upon us just beyond a bold pro montory, called "the White Cape," from the appearance of its cliffs.

Here the hills of Nazareth and Zafed, the long range of Mount Carmel dropping into the sea, and a wide extent of plain, came into sight; a beautiful, but lifeless expanse ; upon the distant summits we thought we could make out some of the strong castles of the Crusaders. Among the hills of Galilee, thus opening before us, was spent all the youth of Jesus ; these val leys and plains must have witnessed his earliest wan derings. Far different are our associations, as the white walls of St. John of Acre are seen rising out of the waves, on their rocky reef, with the Mount of Richard, the now silent plain where the Crusaders encamped, and which once resounded with their tumultuous onset. As we sail past, scene upon scene arises before the mind, of bloody siege by land and sea. At the S. E. angle stood Napoleon, directing, in vain, assault upon assault, foiled by the chivalry of the British hero ; while, in their turn, the British have left sad traces upon the crumbling walls.

Not a solitary figure was seen on their ramparts, and the city looked wholly Useless and forsaken as we passed. Years ago we stood on Mount Carmel, MODNT CARMEL. and asked ourselves, as we looked upon this " Key of Syria," whether her fill of blood was yet measured :■— the last "pacification" of the East was a fearful answer. We may repeat the question, and time will probably bring forth a similar reply ; for when that land becomes the prize of contending nations, Acre cannot fail again of her harvest of slaughter. The breeze had suddenly increased almost into a gale, and the sea rolled heavily into the bay : we began to think of anchoring at Caipha; but as we came on, labouring under the rocky point of Mount Carmel, a change took place, almost with the suddenness of magic. The sun was setting, broad and red, and when his disk touched the stormy horizon, the wind instantly dropped, and left us tossing about in an agitated sea, crimsoned with the reflection of his fiery beams, which lighted up the solitary white walls of the convent on Mount Carmel, and the far distant hills of Galilee, with a dying splendour.

It was a moment, of wild and glorious beauty. With a light breeze we ran along the shore towards Cæsarea; passing in the dark the remarkable ruins of Castel Pellegrino, one of the chief strongholds ofthe Crusaders in Palestine. The night was cloudy, the moon pale and sickly ; all along the desolate plains, we heard tbe wild unearthly shriek of the jackal, roaming among its ruins ; and the low dull roll of the surge upon the beach, increased the poetic melancholy of the place and hour. No other sounds now break the CÆSAREA. mournful silence of that shore, " which once echoed with the world's debate."* I was obliged to sit up on the watch, lest the Reis should take advantage of my sleep to run on past Cæsarea, the fair wind tempting him to do so : when a few instants' slumber overtook me, he was quietly slip ping out of sight of land, with a view to forget the whereabouts of the ruined city — but this manœuvre was defeated by my vigilance ; and, as the moon was fading in the sky, and the dawn appearing over the distant mountains of Samaria, we ran abreast of the shapeless ruins of the once famous seaport of Herod.

The sailors lowered a small boat, and we rowed ashore. A long pier of solid workmanship projects into the sea, of Roman construction, — perhaps the mole mentioned by Josephus, — and on this, ruin upon ruin, are the remains of a structure of the middle ages, once apparently a church ; at some distance north, in a parallel fine with the mole, a great number of broken columns lie scattered on a reef of rock. Here was pro bably the port, where St. Paul, sailing for Italy, took leave for ever of Palestine. Gaining an elevated spot, we cast our eyes around, to see if there were further vestiges, but could discover nothing, except a few fragments of the wall of the Gothic city rising above its fosse, half buried in the wild herbage which spreads over the desolate plain. • Gibbon, speaking of the Crusades.

JAFFA Again on board, the wind dropped, and almost at the end of our cruise we lay unsheltered in our open boat, with the '*' ennui" of a dead calm and a monotonous sandy coast. Could we have perceived on shore any signs of fife, we should have landed and endeavoured to procure horses ; but as it was, resignation, of which the Oriental traveller comes by degrees to have a great stock, was our only resource during the hours that passed before we reached the dull walls of Jaffa. This city of almost fabulous antiquity is on a bold hill ; its buildings are gloomy and ruinous, and its port dangerous. The arrival of a ship of war could hardly have created more sensation, than did that of our paltry bark ; people were on the roofs of their houses, or glancing from their wooden lattices; and, as we neared the shore, a mighty Arab vociferation arose, in the midst of which we landed in triumph, and were instantly seized on by a considerate and most polite person, who enjoys the valuable privilege of providing English travellers with horses.

Under his guidance, we clambered through ruinous streets and arched pas sages into the upper part of the city, in search of the worthy native who acted as British consul. Hun gry and tired, we listened with impatience to a long and feeling detail of the oppressions of our old allies, the Turks, who, thanks to us, are now enabled to do pretty much as they please, till at length some refreshment was presented us, and a bed prepared in !) GARDENS OF JAFFA. the middle of a large and dreary hall. Recollecting former nocturnal vigils here, we entered it with mis givings, nor were we at all mistaken ; and to add to our misery, a violent storm of wind and rain pre vented us from seeking repose on the terrace without. This was our second sleepless night consecutively, kept awake as we now were by swarms of Consular vermin.

Early in the morning our preparations were com pleted, and our baggage arranged, and taking leave of our hospitable host, with the devout hope that we should never trouble him again, we urged our horses through the ruinous streets, and issued into the open country. After the storm in the night, the morning air was exquisitely fresh — the blue arch of heaven most glorious. Now, indeed, we felt that we were in the " Land of the East, the clime of the sun ;"' but a few hours' ride from the object of our pilgrimage. And beautiful were the gardens of Jaffa, through which we rode. Here the " graceful waving palm" rose into the sky, charged with her clusters of dates, and rustling with the softest of sounds in the summer air ; the broad, dark-leaved, overhanging fig dropped her fruit into the path ; the golden citron, with the delicate vermillion-flowered pomegranate, and the clustering vine, richly mantled over the sandy soil.

The gardens abounded in rose and jasmin trees, and a variety of odori ferous flowers. Beneath the deep shade of the carobtiee the white-veiled women grouped round the fountain, c RAMLA. The village chief, his dusk face, piercing eyes, and white teeth, overshadowed by his golden-striped head dress, passed by on his glossy Arabian, his gun and sword and brilliant trappings glittering in the sun ; and long files of camels, charged with merchandize, on which women and children were often seated, slowly paced along, projecting their strange shadows on the glowing sand. Every object was strikingly novel in character, and independent of its picturesque beauty, was linked by a delicious association with our earliest dreams of Biblical scenery and incident. Such are the chances of Oriental travel; days of weariness and nights of watching; — but then, hours of intense enjoyment, gathered up by memory as her treasure for after life.

Three hours' ride brought us to Ramla, beautifully situated above the plain of Ludd, (Lydda,) and Saron, (Sharon,) among groves of palm and prickly pear, possess ing, too, a very singular tower, of Saracenic architecture, formerly intended as a minaret,* though appearing rather like the belfry of a Christian convent. We made no stay here, anxious to arrive, if possible, that evening at Jerusalem ; but in crossing the plain we encountered the noon-tide heat of a Syrian sun, and were annoyed by swarms of gnats, and parched by intolerable thirst. The water in our leather bottles was soon exhausted, and had not the peasant girls * Robinson. WELL HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA. 11 brought us a welcome supply, as we went through the villages, anxious to gain a few paras from the passing stranger, we should have suffered cruelly.

In the after noon, we entered the hills, having on our right Amwas, or Emmaus, and soon after we came upon a well by the road-side, most welcome to us in " that dry and thirsty land." Grouped around were a motley host of tired wayfarers. The Arab sheik, letting down his water-skin into the well, drew thence to supply his fainting steed, drinking from a hollowed stone, flocks of glossy-haired goats and sheep, with loud bleatings, sur rounded their appointed trough, which it required the constant labour of several women to keep full, and cara vans of camels, relieved of their burdens, were reposing around, their drivers eagerly crowding to the brink. We were as weary and as thirsty as the rest ; and letting down our jars, indulged in long and repeated draughts, and stretched in the shadow of a huge rock, enjoyed an hour of delicious repose.

In the afternoon we resumed our course, and entering the hill country of Judea, threaded narrow gorges,* where a few resolute men might keep an army at bay ;t and thence ascended hill after hill, round * I regretted afterwards that I did not take the pass of Beth Horon (Beit-ur) through the hill country of Judea. It is a few miles to the north of that by which I traversed it, and as direct from the sea-coast, but of this I was not at the time aware. + Here was perpetrated the recent murder of the two Pashas who were going to Jerusalem, by order of Abu Ghush. KJRJATH JEARIM. and rocky, yet bearing on their summits neat villages, surrounded by olive-groves and corn. Upon one of these, which proved, on inquiry, to be Kuryet el-Enab,* the ancient Kirjath Jearim, we descended " at shut of eve," and its sheltered, beautiful appearance irresistibly invited us to repose.

On the flat roof of the principal house the " elders " ofthe village were seated, quietly chatting and smoking in the coolness ofthe evening air. We applied for a resting-place, and were conducted to the court of a mosque, in the centre of which were a tall palm and a fountain ; and shortly after the Sheik, of the family of AbuGhush,t sent us some dishes for our supper, and came down himself to visit us. Notwithstanding our fatigue, and the inviting nature of our quarters, we found it impossible to sleep. We were but three hours' distance from Jerusalem. Rising at midnight, we pursued our way by the fight of the innumerable stars — glorious in the blue depth of an Asian sky. Not a sound was heard but the tramp of our horses' hoofs upon the rocky pathway. The outlines of the hilly region we were traversing were dim and indistinct; far grander than they would have appeared by the hght of day.

We soon came to the tremendous descent of Wady Beit-Hanina, long and slippery, over slabs of rock, and deep gullies worn by * Robinson. t Indeed we believe no other than the redoubted chieftain himself. APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. the winter rains ; with many a slide, and narrow escape from falling headlong, we reached the bottom in safety, where we found caravans of camels and asses, with their guides asleep by the wayside, waiting for the morning light to enter the city gates. We pursued our way along the wild and stony path — an hour yet remained — one of strange and indescribable excite ment. I had stood alone within the awful circle of the Coliseum, when faintly touched by the light of the rising moon, and had watched the lunar rainbow span ning the eternal foam which rises from the base of Niagara; but this nocturnal approach to the ancient capital of Judea, across her bleak and desolate hills, awoke a more sublime and thrilling emotion.

The walls of that city, the scene of events which must ever remain the most touching in their influence upon the human heart, which I had so long and earnestly hoped to see, were, after one disappoint ment,* at length at hand. As the stars began to fade from the heavens, and the dawn to break over the eastern mountains, I sought to pierce the gloom which wrapped the silent region around ; but nothing could be distinguished, and it was not till the first red glow of * When on occasion of a visit to Palestine some years before, on landing at Jaffa, I found the country in a state of commotion, which rendered it impossible for myself and companions to reach Jerusalem. LATIN CONVENT. morning glanced over the eastward hill-tops, that I caught sight of the city. There was nothing grand or striking in the vision — a line of dull walls, a group of massive towers, a few dark olives, rising from a dead and sterile plain, were all that met the eye ; yet, enough that this was Jerusalem — the Holy City : her mournful aspect well suits with the train of recollections she awakens.

We had to wait some time outside the Jaffa Gate before the Turkish sentinel unbarred it. It swung slowly open, and our horses' hoofs first sounded on the broken pavement, and we advanced among ruinous heaps and waste places. Passing beneath the stern Tower of Hippicus, with its Roman basement, we turned up a narrow lane which led us to the high est part of the city, then the station of the British Consulate, whither we repaired, in hope of meeting with an old school friend, Mr. Johns, who held the appointment in the absence of Mr. Young, and who was also the architect of the new church on Mount Zion, connected with the Episcopal mission. My recep tion was warm and cordial, and it was arranged that during the day I should accept his hospitality, and at night repair to a cell in the Latin convent, with which I had every reason to be satisfied, as, after late watches in open boats and elsewhere, a clean bed was no small luxury, though with sheets of penitentiary coarseness.

This convent is, next to the Armenian, the best resting place in Jerusalem, and, as most travellers remain there, I shall, in describing the city, always set out from it. After mutual greetings and home news over a good breakfast, we laid down our plan of operations. Mr. J. was already familiar with every part of the city and its environs, and we repeatedly visited together the principal objects of interest. The first thing was to make the circuit ofthe walls, and looking out ofthe casement I perceived that we were close upon them: they nearly resemble those of York and other ancient cities in England, having steps, at intervals, leading up to the battlemented breastwork ; we ascended just at the western extremity of the city, whence the wall gradually descends the slope of Acra, towards Bezetha.

The morning was very favourable — gray and cloudy ; the light and shade swept fitfully over the city and hills — sad, stony, and sterile, dotted with a few dark olives ; bringing out successively into strong relief every point of interest. From these Saracenic ramparts we were looking down upon the high rocky plain, N.W. of the city, where, from the earliest time, so many armies have ranged their standards against her : the Assyrian, Roman, Persian, and the toil-worn Crusaders, with their heroic leader, Godfrey of Bouillon. Passing the Damas cus gate and advancing to the N.E. angle of the wall, the view over the interior of the city becomes very striking. That platform with the noble mosque once sustained tbe temple of Solomon ; beyond is the proud height of Zion ; nearer is the Sepulchre.