Jerusalem illustrated

Preface

BY The Right Rev. BISHOP BLYTH, of Jerusalem AND AN

Appendix

ILLUSTRATING THE MODELS OF Herr BAURATH von SCHICK ritter, WITH DESCRIPTIVE LETTERPRESS, translated by the Rev. J. E. HANAUER. Newcastle-on Tyne MAVVSON. SWAN, & MORGAN London GAY & BIRD i«93

PREFACE.

. A LTHOUGH many volumes of books have been written on Jerusalem, this is the first that has ever been printed and published in English in the Holy City. The illustrations are photographs carefully selected by the author from his negatives, taken during a residence of several years in Jerusalem, to fairly represent the numerous attractions offered to travellers, and to convey to the minds of those who may never set foot within its walls, a set of views comprehensive enough to include all the most important objects of interest. The descriptive letterpress has been written after careful study, on the spot, of the Bible, the Works of Josephus, the Publications of the Palestine Exploration Fund and the Pilgrim's Text Society, the Works of Warren, Conder, Wilson, Robinson, Williams, Fergusson, Hayter Lewis, Besant and Palmer, Guy le Strange, and the Guide Books published by Messrs. Cook, Murray, and Baedeker. G. ROBINSON LEES. Jerusalem January, 1893.

PREFACE.

. PHIS volume is the English edition, revised and considerably enlarged, of an attempt to set before the public pictures of Jerusalem and its people, that first saw the light in the Holy City itself, in the shape of two volumes with the same title (" Jerusalem Illustrated "). Each contain twelve half-plate photographs with descriptive letterpress. The demand was greater than the supply, and the number limited. Therefore considering the favourable reception of the photographs, and the evident and increasing desire for informa tion concerning the Holy City, I have rewritten the letterpress, and added many more chapters as well as pictures (some of which are from photographs by Messrs. Krikorian, of Jerusalem, and Bonfils, of Beyrout, to whom I tender my grateful acknowledgments), in order to more completely illustrate the Holy City.

I have not striven for literary excellence, for a reason that is plain to all, but have endeavoured to give, after careful observation and research, some idea of the present state of Jerusalem and the people that daily walk its streets, with reference to the ages that have passed away. G. ROBINSON LEES. Jerusalem May, 1893.

PREFACE.

BY THE BISHOP. HAVE much pleasure in recommending the books by Mr. G. Robinson Lees, F.R.G.S., " Bible Scenes from the Holy Land" and "Jerusalem Illustrated." His interesting Preface shows the aim of his work. It is one which will help to meet the growing demand for reliable information concerning the Holy City, in the days when " God's servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth them to see her in the dust." Mr. Lees is by study and by personal tastes qualified for the task he has undertaken. He can well illustrate the subjects touched on in his introduction, which would trace lines of connection between Jerusalem and her people of to-day, and the ancient city and those who thronged its streets in ages that are past. He directs his camera with an artistic eye to groups, and scenes, and ancient buildings.

And those who have seen what he describes and depicts will be glad thus to be helped to keep them in their memory ; whilst those who have not yet visited Jerusalem will be much attracted towards it by the study of these pleasing volumes. As the first effort of this kind made and published in Jerusalem these works give encouragement to those who have been associated in placing them before the public. G. F. POPHAM BLYTH, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and the East. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE, I. Jerusalem . . . . . . I II. The Walls and Gates . ... 13 III. Climate . . . . . . .24 IV. The People ...... 26 V. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre . ' . -44 VI. Jeremiah's Grotto and Modern Calvary . . 59 VII. The Via Dolorosa . . . . '65 VIII. El Haram esh Sherif — The Temple Area — 1. History to the building of Solomon's Temple . 67 , 2.

Solomon's Temple .... 71 3. From the Restoration to the Temple of Herod . 75 4. The Temple of Herod ... 79 5. Result of Exploration — (1.) Double and Triple Gates . . .82 (2.) Robinson's Arch and Barclay's Gate 83 (3.) The Jews' Wailing Place . . .84 (4.) The Northern Wall and Site of the Tower of Antonia . . 86 (5.) The Eastern Wall . . .88 6. The Golden Gate .... 89 7. From Temple to Mosque . . -91 8. History and Description of the present Area — (1.) The Dome of the Rock — Kubbet es Sakrah 98 (2.) The Dome of the Chain — Kubbet es Silsileh 107 (3.) The Mosque el Aksa . . .108 (4.) Cupolas, Fountains, Minarets, &c. . CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE. IX. The Tower of David . . . . .119 X. The Muristan . . . . .123 XI. Neby Daud . . . . . .124 XII. The Kedron Valley . . . .129 XIII. The Garden of Gethsemane and Mount of Olives — 1.

The Garden of Gethsemane . . .136 2. The Tomb of the Virgin Mary . . 137 3. The Mount of Olives . . . .138 XIV. Underground Jerusalem — 1. The Water Supply of Jerusalem — (1.) Pool of Hezekiah . . . 143 (2.) Pool of Siloam .... 145 (3.) Pool of Bethesda . . . 145 2. The Tombs of the City . . . . 147 Appendix ....... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FULL PAGE ILLUSTATIONS. Jerusalem from the West .... facing title Jerusalem from the South- East .... 5 Zion Street . . . . . .7 Jerusalem from the North-West .... 9 Railway Station — Opening Day . . . .11 Neby Moosa Procession ..... 20 Jesusalem in Winter . . . . . 23 The Crowd on the Church, awaiting the Washing of the Feet 54 The Washing of Feet . . . . . 56 Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives ... 68 The Haram and City from the North-East . . -95 The Dome of the Rock ..... 99 Windows in the Dome of the Rock . . .104 The Mosque el Aksa . . . . .109 The Muristan . . . . . .122 The Kedron flowing . . . . .128 Gethsemane . . . . . . . 135 Temple Area (5 plans) .... 154 — 162 SMALL ILLUSTRATIONS.

Armenian Cathedral ..... 6 Christian Street . . . . . .8 Native Shop ...... 8 View from Railway Terminus . . . .12 Bethlehem Road . . . . . .15 Jaffa Gate . . . . . . 15 Jaffa Road . . . . . . .16 Damascus Gate . . . . . .18 St. Stephen's Gate ..... 19 Street Scene . . . . . . .26 The Governor of Jerusalem .... 28 The Government House — Serai . . . .29 A Murderer . . . . . -3° Turkish Delight Seller . . . . . 32 Children of Jerusalem • ■ • • • 33 AJew 34 The Hand of Might .... 36 Young Jew and Bride . . . . -39 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Christ Church (exterior) . . . . . 41 Christ Church (interior) — Christmas . . . 41 Street Scene . . . . . . -43 Church of the Holy Sepulchre . , . .44 Moslem Guardians . . . . . .46 Churchyard Entrance ..... 47 The Stone of Unction . . . . . .48 Calvary ....... 49 The Holy Sepulchre . ._ . . . -5° The Tomb . . . . . . .51 Modern Calvary and Jeremiah's Grotto . . -59 The Via Dolorosa ...... 65 Robinson's Arch . . . . . -83 The Jews' Wailing Place ..... 85 Site of the Tower of Antonia . . . . .86 Greek Tablet Inscription ..... 87 The Golden Gate . . . . . .90 The Rotunda ...... 101 Iron Screen and Columns ..... 102 Interior of Dome ...... 102 The Sakrah . . . . . . .105 Kubbet es Silsileh . . . . . .107 The Mosque el Aksa (interior) . . . .110 The Summer Pulpit . . . . .113 Sabil Kaiat Bey . . . . . ■ 115 The Balances and the City . . . .117 The Tower of David . . . . . . ng Citadel from Betlehem Road . . . .120 Neby Daud . . . . . . .124 The Kedron Valley . . . . .131 Monuments in the Kedron Valley . . , • 133 Church of the Virgin (interior) . . . _ j^- Feast of the Virgin . . . , g .137 View from the Mount of Olives — looking east . . . i^q Cisterns in the Haram . .._ • '42 The Pool of Hezekiah . . ... 144 The Pool of Siloam . . . , . 14s The Pool of Bethesda . j .5 The Tombs of the Kings • • . . .

Chapter I. Jerusalem

JERUSALEM is a name that is known through all the world ; a city whose history can only be written with the history of mankind. Its glories have been dimmed by the tide of time and it now lies humbled in the dust, but still it remains surrounded by its everlasting hills, a memorial of the Almighty God. Its origin is hidden away in the mists of ages, yet it can be traced ; and though the waves of destruction have ebbed and flowed through twenty-eight sieges, and the cities of David, Solomon, Nehemiah, Herod, Omar, Godfrey, and Saladin, have been buried beneath thirty or forty feet of rubbish, it still stands — on the relics of its former grandeur ; over the streets down which the Saviour peacefully walked ; on hallowed spots associated with the grandest and most sacred events of history — the City of Jerusalem.

It has survived the many kingdoms that have swayed the world and held it in subjection ; and is now a little mountain city on the hills of old Judea, 2,500 feet above the Mediterranean Sea, the capital of a Turkish province, governed by a Pasha, and garrisoned by the soldiers of the Sultan. But it is still the load-star of the Jew, and the goal of both Christian and Moslem pilgrims. And in spite of the various vicissitudes through which it has passed it retains the character of an extremely religious city, sacred' alike to Moslem, Jew, and Christian. The name by which it is known among the natives, " El Kuds," i.e. The Holy, sufficiently indicates the estimation in which it is held. Although to a certain extent the four hills on which it is built, Zion, Moriah, Acra, and Bezetha, may still be distin guished, their actual boundaries cannot be traced.

The contour of these hills has been changed by the accumulated debris of past centuries ; even the Tyropeon Valley, the great depression which formerly separated Crusading-Zion from Moriah, is now only perceptible for a short distance before it leaves the city to join the Kedron. With the exception of " El Haram esh Sherif," i.e. The Noble Sanctuary, which is now universally acknowledged to be the site of the Temples of Solomon and Herod, the traces of the city as it appeared in our Saviour's day are completely obliterated. It is true that the sites of several old buildings can be traced with tolerable accuracy, but they date from a time long after His death and resurrection. And though they are presumed to stand on the scenes of His earthly life, they give no proof of their true identity, but are simply the outcome of traditions based on super stitious error.

The work of exploration which has been carried on during recent years, and which to some extent is still continued, has done important service in exposing many erroneous ideas regarding these sites, and the world of biblical archæology is richer and wiser in the knowledge thus obtained. Inscriptions and various other antiquities have revealed to a great extent the condition of the people in past ages, and the change and decay of the city has been exposed by the explorers in laying bare rock foundations hitherto unknown. Many of the discoveries will be treated in their respective places, but it might JERUSALEM. 3 perhaps be as well to briefly enumerate a few of them here. The latest, and one at present under investigation, is that of a Church erected by the Crusaders, probably the one dedicated to St. Martin, found in the Jewish Quarter by my friend the Rev. J. E. Hanauer, onlv a few days ago.

When Capt. Warren, now Sir Charles, was at work here on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, he sunk a shaft at the south-east corner of the city wall, and eighty feet below the surface the foundation courses of the wall of the Temple of Solomon were dis covered. They were built on to the contour of the rock itself with Phœnician mason's marks on them, showing that they had been hewn in the quarry and prepared ready for placing one upon another, without there being the least necessity for the use of either hammer or chisel, (i Kings, vi. 7.) Near the south-west corner of the Haram enclosure. Dr. Robinson, the famous American biblical scholar and explorer, discovered the spring of an arch which now bears his name. The opposite pier was found by Capt. Warren, after sinking a shaft. He was then not only able to prove that it formed part of the bridge leading from Herod's Palace to the Temple as described by Josephus, but he actually came upon the very street along the Tyropeon Valley used during our Saviour's life on earth, and down which He no doubt often walked.

Below the southern wall, in the hill opposite the village of Silwan (Siloam) where the old Jebusite stronghold stood that afterwards became the city of David, the famous Siloam inscription was found cut in Hebraic characters of the time of King Hezekiah on the rocky side of the water channel made by this monarch, when he " turned the upper water course of Gihon and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David." The piece of rock bearing this inscription has recently been removed and broken, but was fortunately recovered, and now rests in the Ottoman Museum at Constantinople. Another inscription of almost equal importance was found at the north west corner of the B 2. Haram enclosure, on a tablet that formerly served as a notice forbidding strangers to enter the Temple Courts on pain of death.

Built in the wall over the Double Gate on the south side of the Temple Area is a Latin inscription that originally belonged to a statue of Hadrian. On this the south side of the city but further west, below Neby Daud, where excavations are being carried on at the present time, old Jebusite houses have been brought to light. Other work is in contemplation that will probably settle the position of the city of David and open the tombs of the Kings of Judah. Remains of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built by Constantine have been found and carefully preserved in the Russian hospice adjoining the present structure. And opposite these relics of past ages are extensive ruins known as the Muristan which have yielded much that is interesting of the work of the Knights Hospitallers. There is a portion of the triumphal arch of Hadrian in the school of the Sisters of Sion in the Via Dolorosa, some inscriptions in Latin, and the old pavement of the city with the marks of chariot wheels.

In the grounds of the Nicopherieh, a wooded knoll across the valley of Hinnom opposite the Jaffa Gate, a tomb has recently been opened containing two beautiful white marble sarcophagi, one of which is supposed to have held the bones of Mariamne the wife of Herod the Great. Many other tombs have given up inscriptions, and lamps with inscrip tions, all of great interest. There is still a vast amount of work that remains to be done, before the various controversies can be decided ; but more than enough has been accomplished to prove that the descriptions of Jerusalem in the Bible are perfectly true, and that its position is still practically the same, with this difference, that it has grown considerably on the north-west and left the south-eastern portion in the hands of the farmer and market gardener.

" Thus saith the Lord of hosts : Zion shall be plowed as a field." — Jer. xxvi. 18. JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM FROM THE SOUTH-EAST Looking at the city from the slope of the Mount of Olives, the hills outside the south wall and east of the collection of houses known as Neby Daud appear to be covered with fields and gardens, yet the little excavations that have been made tend to show that they once formed the strongholds of the Jebusites and afterwards the city of David. The most prominent part of this picture of Jerusalem from the south-east is the south-eastern part of the city — The Haram Enclosure — The old Temple Area. It is the largest open space there is to be found, and not only the most interesting but the most beautiful portion of the city; beyond it, the houses seem crowded together as if there were no streets at all.

Just below the large church with its prominent spire towards the horizon, are the two domes of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and to the left of them are two massive square topped towers, the larger of which is known as the Tower of David. This is close to the Jaffa Gate, the principal entrance to the citv. David Street, the most important in the city, commences at this gate and runs, after passing the moat of the above mentioned Tower, down some steps until it is lost in the dark vaulted ba zaars that intersect each other in all directions. Zion street leading to the Zion Gate and "Neby Daud" through the Armenian Quarter, leaves David Street at the Tower of that name, IMIllIoH OF ARMENIAN CATHliDUAL. Jerusalem 7 ZION STREET s JERUSALEM ILLUSTRATED and passes the Protestant Church (Christ Church) and School of the London Jews' Society on the"|left,' and the principal barracks of the city on the right, before it reaches the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, where tall dark pines bend over the street, supposed to be all that are left of the trees of the garden of Herod the King.

Further on the narrow street ends in an open space before the Zion Gate, which was formerly the abode of the lepers, but is now the cattle market of the city. Christian Street runs at right angles to David CHBISTIAN 8T11EET Street before the dark bazaars are reached, and joins the Via Dolorosa or " Street of Pain " at the top of the steps that lead to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The last-named street is supposed to be the route by which Christ carried the cross, and is consequently most frequented by pilgrims The fourteen stations of the cross are shown, as it turns and twists on its way towards the St. Stephen's Gate in the eastern wall of the city. NATIVE SHOP 'fERUSALEM 9 JERUSALEM FROM THE NORTH-WEST JERUSALEM ILLUSTRATED. 10 The street leading from the Damascus Gate contains the most characteristic native shops which look like big cup boards with all the wares exposed for sale to the passer by.

It ends in the maze of bazaars occupying the centre of the city. All the streets are narrow and many very dirty. Most of them end in blind alleys that are interesting only for their endless variety of smells. The houses are built close together, and often consist of only one room with a vaulted roof. Several of these cluster round one little courtyard, that sometimes contains a cistern or well of water (the only water supply of the city), which is filled by the winter rains that are collected on the flat and dome shaped roofs. The walls are very thick, and serve to keep out the heat in summer and the cold in winter. There are no chimneys, as only the rich use stoves in which wood is burnt for fuel ; the poor have to be content with a brazier where a little charcoal is burnt to warm the room and serve for cooking purposes.

Plants kept in pots and tins relieve the dreadful stony monotony of the courtyards, as there are no gardens. The roofs, even wdien there is a little dome in the centre, are made for walking on, and enable the people to get a waft of evening air when the summer sun has dropped behind the western hills. Small round earthenware pipes are built horizontally in the walls round many of the roofs to enable the women of the harem to venture on without being seen, while they gaze on the scene around. There is no place of amusement in the Holy City ; and what little business there is closes with the shops at sunset, except during the short and busy tourist and pilgrim season from December to May. Even then a petroleum lamp with its flickering light is the only assistance lent to the tardy purchaser, unless he obeys the laws of the city and carries a light of his own.

The chief and perhaps the only industry is the manu facture of olive wood and other articles as souvenirs for travellers. ' JERUSALEM 11 THE RAILWAY STATION'— OPENING DAY ]■_' JERUSALEM ILLUSTRATED Of late years a rising suburb has sprung up to the north west of the city, and very recently a railway has been opened from Jaffa ; but the station is more than half a mile away from the city, and quite out of sight, but the towers and walls are visible from the terminus. VIEW I'UOM RAILWAY TERMINUS.

Chapter II The Walls And Gates The

present city wall was built by Sulieman the Magnificent in 1536-42 a.d., as is attested by the numerous inscriptions found on the gates. According to local tradition it was the work of two brothers, who com menced at the Jaffa Gate in opposite directions, and never saw each other again for seven years, finally meeting at the St. Stephen's Gate in the eastern wall, where they placed their marks — the lions. Another story found in Arabic writings gives the credit of the undertaking to a dream of the Sultan, or its interpretation. It is said his first intention was to raze the city to the ground and utterly destroy it, but in a vision one night he saw two lions fighting, and thev so disturbed his rest that he suffered all next day. He called a learned Sheikh and asked him what it meant, feeling sure there was some important event at hand.

The wise man replied by asking what work he was contemplating, and the Sultan said, "the destruction of Jerusalem." "The dream was a warning," said the scholar, "against such sacrilege. Cease to think of destroying God's Holy Place or evil will attend you." The Sultan was so struck with the words of the wise man, that he at once made up his mind not only to rebuild the walls but the principal buildings of the city. When his work was finished he ordered the lions to be carved on the Bab el Asbat (St. Stephen's Gate,) in memory of the dream that led him in the right way. As the remains of the former walls were left as they had been thrown down they were used again, and the same stones were built on the same foundations. Possibly in some places a slight deviation was made, but generally speaking the present wall stands in the line of its immediate predecessors.

No regard was paid to the respective marks of former builders as shown in the dressing of the stones. Hence we see the Byzantine above the Crusading, and the stones of Christian masons resting on those of Pagan Rome. It is onlv where foundation courses exist that we can see the different building epochs represented by their respective positions in the structure. And these are infallible proofs of their antiquity, just as much as the intermixture of stones shows the work of the latest builder. The wall as it now stands is 2\ miles in circumference, from 35 to 40 feet high, has 34 towers and 8 gates, one of which is closed. The names of the Gates in order, going east : — r. The Jaffa Gate. Bab el Khalil, the Gate of the Friend or Hebron. 2. The Zion Gate. Bab en Neby Daud, the Gate of the Prophet David 3.

The Dung Gate. Bab el Mugharibeh. the Gate of the Moors. 4. The Golden Gate. Bab ed Dabarveh, the Eternal Gate. (Closed.) 5. St. Stephen's Gate. Bab Sitti Maryam, the Gate of the Lady Mary (Christian). Bab el Asbat, the Gate of the Tribes (Moslem name). 6. Herod's Gate. Bab ez Zahery, the Gate of Flowers. 7. Damascus Gate. Bab el Amud, the Gate of the Column. 8. The New Gate. Bab es Sultan, the Sultan's Gate — recently opened. The only gates of importance are the Jaffa Gate, the Damascus Gate, and St. Stephen's Gate. The Golden Gate will be described with the eastern wall of the Haram. THE JAFFA GATE. The Jaffa Gate, " Yafa Gate," or Bab el Khalil, i.e. the Hebron Gate or Gate of the Friend, is the principal entrance to the city. The roads from Hebron, THE JAFFA GATE Bethlehem, and Jaffa meet here, and there is every reason to suppose that a gate always stood in this place.

It is supposed to be on the site of, or near the " Valley Gate " of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah ii. 13.) "And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even be fore the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates there- BETHLEHEM ROAP. of were consumed with fire. "Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool : but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. "Then I went up in the night by the brook and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the val le)', and so returned." According to the above Nehemiah went eastward, and after passing the Pool of Siloam ("the king's pool,") he .iaffa road. went " up by the brook." The only brook round about Jerusalem was the Kedron, and the wall he "viewed" must have been the south-eastern wall of the city, which was never utterly destroyed.

This account given by Nehemiah is remarkablv significant and if the gate out of which he passed stood where we now see the Jaffa Gate, we can clearly trace his midnight ride and recognise the "king's pool," "the brook," and "the wall," all of which may be seen at the present dav. The "gate of the fountain," "dragon well," and "dung port" cannot now be identified, unless the " dragon well " is the Virgin's Fountain in the Kedron Valley, and the natives believe there is a dragon at the bottom. Possibly this belief may have been the same at all times. The " fountain gate " might have been somewhere near this, and the " dung port " have had some connection with an entrance at the end of the Tyropeon Valley — the meaning of which is the Valley of the Cheesemongers, and "dung" has been interpreted by Rabbi Schwartz as " cheese " on the supposition that it was the word intended to be used by Nehemiah.

The present Dung Gate can have nothing to do with this except by way of coincidence, as it stands on the Tyropeon Valley. It is little more than a hole in the wall with a door, altogether out of the line of the ruined wall mentioned by the Prophet of old. The street on the inside of the Jaffa Gate is laid over the valley that runs down David Street into the Tyropeon. The ramparts of the Tower of Hippicus were close to this gate, which no doubt was one of the main entrances to the city in the Herodian period, as it adjoins the towers and citadel erected by Herod, which were occupied by the tenth legion after the conquest of the city in 70 a.d. And ever since that time the citadel and principal barracks of the city have guarded this entrance. The fruit and vegetables, that usually supply the daily wants of the inhabitants, are sold, wholesale along the road on the outside, and retail in the street inside the gate.

A tax collector sits in a little shed near by, at the receipt of custom like Matthew of old, while a soldier keeps guard at the entrance, and, if need be, assists the tax gatherer in taking toll for the contraband articles, salt, wine, and tobacco. Within some iron railings at the commencement of the street are two Moslem tombs, said to contain the bones of two valiant soldiers of the Crescent who fell fighting against the Christians (according to the townspeople,) "in the time of Nebuchadnezzar or Saladin ! " No carriages may pass through the gateway without special permission from the Governor. Several of the other gates are still sometimes closed at night, but this always remains open. THE DAMASCUS GATE. The Damascus Gate, or Bab el Amud, the Gate of the Column, was until very recently the only open gate in the northern wall.