CHAPTER V.

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.

 

HAVING gone over Mount Moriah quite thor­oughly, we thought it best to defer further exam­ination of the holy city for the present and make a tour southward as far as Hebron. For this trip the arrangements had already been com­pleted by our argus‑eyed dragoman while we were exploring the temple mount. Accordingly we were early astir on Thursday morning, select­ing our horses, strapping our water‑proofs to the saddles, and consulting maps and guide‑books.

On this occasion we were to have a new guide, named John Bornstein, the son of Moses. He was already on the scene of action in front of‑the Mediterranean Hotel, quite as enthusiastic as any of the party, and eager for departure. John was a native son of the soil, though of German de­scent. He was a mere stripling of some eighteen summers, with light‑blue eyes and long auburn locks, and a certain reckless, rakish air about him that gave promise of high adventure. He was dressed in a mixed fashion, half European and half Arabic, with civilized coat and pants, a tar-

 

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boosh on his head, and. a broad belt at his waist gleaming with knife and pistol. With a gallant wave of the hand he exclaimed, "All ready now; will the gentlemen kindly mount?" This order, which came with the authority of a commander­-in‑chief, we instantly obeyed, and after a few clumsy hitches, the five of us found ourselves in the saddles, and with sundry flourishes on the part of our fresh steeds we made a dash for the grim old Jaffa Gate. Having safely passed the sleepy Turkish sentinel, who stood like a statue with his back braced against the "needle's eye," we came at once to the vale of Hinnom.

The banks of the ravine are rugged and quite steep here, and we were content to clamber down the declivity, without thought of further display: of horsemanship, until we were safe at the bottom. The ascent of the southern bank was equally difficult, and each rider found suf­ficient employment in keeping his seat while the animals slowly clambered to the summit. At this point we found ourselves on the border of the plain of Rephaim, where in former times so many battles were fought between the Jews and the Philistines, in which King David played so prominent a part. For the first half hour we skirted along the eastern edge of this plain. It was without fences, but in part under cultivation,

 

8O                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

the soil apparently fertile and the surface thickly strewn with loose stones. It slopes gently to the southwest, and sends all its waters down toward the Mediterranean, even from the edge of the Hinnom, whose waters flow in the opposite direc­tion to the Dead Sea.

Though we were upon the highway leading to the south country, and were almost within a stone's cast of the great metropolis of the whole land, yet we were following simply a winding path, marked out apparently by the footprints of the passing camels, horses, and donkeys. It seemed remarkable to Americans, that the people of this land had been content to follow this winding trail from the days of Abraham, with no other attempt at engineering than that accomplished by the feet of passing animals. Yet, strange as it seemed to us, we did not see a single wagon road in Judea, Samaria, or Galilee, except the indifferent one leading from Jafa to Jerusalem.*

At the south end of the plain we ascended the slope of the hill leading up to the Greek convent named Mar‑Elias. The buildings of this institu­tion are quite new and attractive in appearance. They are finely situated on the highest elevation

 

*A diligence, or stage, runs from Beirut to Damascus; but this road is in northern Syria.

 

 TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                   81

 

between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and from this point the traveller can look upon the Mosque of Omar and the Church of the Nativity in Beth­lehem; by a simple turn of the head he can see the birth‑place of Jesus, the place where he taught in the temple, the site of Calvary, and the scene of his final ascension from the top of Olivet. And surely no place beside this can boast of such historical and sacred associations in its scenery, wherever the foot of man may find a resting‑place the world around.

A smart canter, which seemed to be a piece of mischief on the part of our rollicking guide, who had taken this opportunity to test a new pair of spurs upon his steed, brought us quickly to a wayside structure which he called Rachel's Tomb. This was a small structure, not unlike a dwelling of that country in appearance. It consisted of two parts, on one of which was a low roof, perfectly flat, and upon the other was the usual dome found upon all the houses, but a little larger in proportion, as if intended to indi­cate that the building was used as a place of worship. And this we found was the case in fact, for the Mohammedans use this as a kubbeh or praying-place.* In their way they thus keep

 

* The kubbeh is a square building with a court on the east. The original building was open, with four arcades, one on each

 

82                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

up a standing testimony to the truth of the tradition that this is veritable spot, "but a little way from Ephrath" (Bethlehem), where "Ra-

 

side, supporting the dome. These have been filled in except on the east side, where a chamber has been added. The original building was 23 feet on each side, the arcades having a span of 11 feet. The height of the walls is 20 feet and of the dome 10 feet. A monument has been noted on this spot since A.D. 333. In A.D. 700 it is said there was a pyramid on the site, and also in A.D. 1100. In 1422 a Moslem building is noticed as standing on the place. The Palestine Survey states that "there is no reason to doubt the genuineness of the tradition in which Jew, Moslem and Christian agree." (See Survey W. Palestine, vol. 3, p. 130.)‑Ed. Am. S. S. Union..

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                           83

 

chel died, and was buried in the way."* This is but a poor memorial of a sad and touching event, but it serves to remind us that we are travelling in the footsteps of the patriarchs, and are upon the scene of one of Israel's heaviest sorrows. It is well that the beloved wife of Jacob is thus remembered, since the pillar erected by her husband upon her grave has long since disappeared.

As we were examining the place the sound of music fell upon our ears, and passing around to the west side of the building we perceived that it was the wailing chant of some Arab women, who were sitting around the tombs in the adjacent grave‑yard. Their song was a kind of monotonous

 

*Genesis 35: 19.

 

84                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

chant, raised at intervals of a few minutes and then suffered to die away, as if the effort had re­lieved the overburdened heart of the mourners. Thursday of each week is devoted to this office on the part of women who have lately been bereaved of friends, and the custom seems to be quite prevalent throughout all Mohammedan countries.

We were reminded, while listening to this plaintive song, of the passage of Scripture which describes Rachel as weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they were not.*  The Scripture has been variously interpreted, but, in any event, we think that it must be re­ferred to the slaughter of children by the order of Herod the Great, in and around Bethlehem, in order to cut off the infant Jesus from the hope of succession to the throne. And if Soba, five miles distant toward the northwest, be the Ra­mah named as the birth‑place of Samuel, then the figure can be explained. Herod's slaughter of the innocents was horrible enough to cause Ra­chel to rise from this tomb and lament over the cruel death of her descendants, in which case her shrieks might be heard at Ramah, which is in plain sight of this place, though, as was said, some five miles distant. But, as for the Arab

 

*Matthew 2 :18.

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                             85

 

women, it. seemed to us as if the children were there that day, weeping for poor Rachel.

Though we were now in sight of Bethlehem, we concluded to forego the pleasure of visiting it for the present, and, turning westward, pursued the more direct route towards Hebron. We were soon in the hill‑country of Judea, and noticed the same features of landscape which we had ob­served in approaching Jerusalem from Joppa. On either hand were high hills, walled up with nature's masonry, the nearly horizontal strata running completely around the curved heads of the little valleys, and giving them a sombre and rather barren appearance. Not a tree or shrub appeared in sight. Loose fragments of stone were strewn along the crooked bridle path, and not a single house appeared along the rocky slope which lay between us and Bethlehem.

Coming to the summit of one of these wild and barren hills, our guide pointed to the valley stretching out before us, and announced that there lay the pools of Solomon. Another quar­ter of an hour brought us to the old Moham­medan fortress, now in ruins, located just at the side of the pools, originally intended for a khan, perhaps, to accommodate the caravans which might pass this way on their route from Egypt to Damascus.

 

86                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

The pools themselves were objects of great interest. They were originally built by Solomon for the purpose of supplying Jerusalem with water. Just at the base of the hill to the west­ward we visited the sealed fountain which sup­plies the reservoirs. A round structure, which may be compared to a low tower, built of stone, covers the fountain. By the light of a lantern the descended to the stream bed, and found a rivulet of pure water gurgling over the native rock on its way to the pools.

The pools consist of three reservoirs, lying one above another across the valley at higher levels as they approach the sealed fountain. They are built of squared stones, and bear marks of the highest antiquity, and are so situated that the bottom of the one is higher than the surface of the next below, rising one above another towards the west. They are all covered on the inside with a coat of cement, which must have certainly been renewed since the date of their original con­struction. They are of the following dimensions:

 

Length.                    Breadth (east end).                Breadth (west end).                 Depth.

Upper pool,                               380 ft.                 236 ft.                                      229 ft.                                     25 ft.

(180 ft. ab. middle pool.)

Middle pool,                              423 ft.                 250 ft.                                      160 ft.                                     39 ft.

(248 ft. ab. lower pool.)

Lower pool,                               582 ft.                 207 ft.                                      148 ft.                                     50 ft.*

 

* Four springs are connected with the pools, one in a rock chamber, now closed by a wooden door. The water runs

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                             89

 

Not far from these pools we came to quite a steep hill, over which the pathway ran in a ser­pentine manner, in order to avoid the masses of rock which projected their sharp edges into it, to the great discomfort of the passer by. We here met a large caravan of Hebron people on their way northward. Some were going up to Jeru­salem, with their meagre stock of produce for the market, and others were pilgrims on their way to observe the feast of Moses, which was to be cel­ebrated at his traditional tomb near Jericho. Some were mounted in a kind of basket on cam­els, others on donkeys, and still others went on foot. The party was composed of men, women, and children; the women carefully drawing down their vails at our approach, and the children peer­ing over the baskets at us with wonder in their bright eyes, as they went swinging down the hill­side, apparently without fear that the great camel on which they sat would make a misstep and dash them on the rocks.

From the summit of this hill we enjoyed an­other wide prospect. In a deep valley toward the east we noticed the remains of some ancient

 

through a vault into the west pool. A second spring is said to be beneath the pools; a third on the hillside southeast of the pools; a fourth inside the old castle north of the upper pool. The pools were further supplied from a well in the valley. Ed. Am. S. S. Union..

 

90                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

stone structure, doubtless a ruined sheepfold, near which were some shepherds attending their flocks. The sheep were taller than those of our own country, and nimbly skipped from terrace to terrace along the hillside, giving the shepherd enough to do to keep them together. They appeared to be constantly anxious to escape from him and climb up the steep hillside, and he was all the while on the watch to prevent them, for the best pasture was down at the foot of the hills and along the water‑courses, where he was, anxious they should feed. So, we thought, the Good Shepherd would keep us down in the hum­ble vale, but we are ever anxious to climb up to some dangerous place of worldly distinction, where our souls would soon starve for the want of spiritual food.

 

" Oh, tell me, thou Life and Delight of my soul,

       Where the flock of thy pasture are feeding.

   I seek thy protection, I need thy control,

       I would go where my Shepherd is leading,

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                             91

 

"Oh, tell me the place where thy flock are at rest,

Where the noontide will find them reposing;

The tempest now rages, my soul is distressed,

And the pathway of peace I am losing.

 

"And why should I stray with the flocks of thy foes

    In the desert where now they are roving,

Where hunger and thirst, where contentions and woes

And fierce conflicts their ruin are proving?

 

"Ah, when shall my woes and my wanderings cease,

And the follies that fill me with weeping?

0 Shepherd of Israel, restore me that peace

Tbou dost give to the flock thou art keeping!

 

"A voice from the Shepherd now bids me return

By the way where the footprints are lying,

     No longer to wander, no longer to mourn,

And homeward my spirit is flying."

 

We now came into a delightful little valley, in the midst of which the waters of a brook made sweet music as it rippled over its shingly bed. Here we saw a profusion of wild flowers‑pinks, buttercups, violets, wild tulips, anemones, and many others entirely new to us‑-which greatly heightened the beauty of the place. The music of the rivulet, the color and sweet odor of the flowers, with the song of the shepherds and the tinkling of the sheep‑bells on the surrounding hillsides, made this a most delightful place.

Soon after we reached a little field of wheat in a widened part of the valley, where our guide began his usual pranks. No sooner had he

 

92                                  TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

reached the borders of the field, which was with­out any fence whatever, than he set spurs to his horse, and, shouting to us to come on, dashed through the midst of the growing grain. As we did not think it right thus to injure the farmer's crop, we kept along the border, but had to make great ado with whip and reins to keep him in sight, as he darted around the curves of the valley far in advance. When, after a thorough jolting, our knapsacks all in disorder, we over­took him, he explained to us that the farmers in that land thought it would bring good luck if a stranger would thus ride through their grain fields; and, as he was of an obliging disposition, he did, not wish to pass through the country without doing all the good he could.

Leaving the pleasant little vale behind us, we next climbed another hillside, and found at the top one of the primitive threshing‑floors so often mentioned in the Bible. It was located on the smooth rock surface, with a wall at the lower side, where the rock dipped beneath the soil. Of course it was not in use at the time of our visit; but in the harvest time the farmers bring hither the sheaves of grain, and drive the oxen over them until they tread out the kernels with their sharp hoofs. Then the straw is removed, and the grain and chaff' are tossed up in the air that

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                            93

 

the wind may blow the chaff away. The grain, thus winnowed, is then removed to the dry cis­terns for preservation, or to the farmer's house for future use.

While we were unable to witness the threshing process in Palestine, on account of the season of  the year, we were gratified to see the process of ploughing and sowing, which was just then in progress. In a little gravelly field against the hillside, not far from the threshing‑floor, we came upon a group of men and boys just starting the plough. We dismounted and examined the uten­sil. The plough of Palestine is truly a primitive affair. It consists of an upright piece of wood, either a sapling or the limb of a tree, with a wrought‑iron share, similar to the hoe of a grain‑drill in shape, at the lower end, and a handle at the top. To this a horizontal piece of wood is

fastened for a “beam," with a slim sapling lashed to its forward end, on either side of which the

 

94                                                             TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

oxen walk as they draw in a long slender yoke. The plough could easily be lifted by one hand of the ploughman; and it only made a ripple in the soil, without turning a furrow. I counted fifteen men and boys in this group on the small field, with three yoke of little black oxen, and a camel and a donkey, for witnesses, near by. Our thrifty American farmers would be greatly amused at a sight like this.

Our lunching place on this day was at a fine spring by the wayside, just at the foot of another long range of hills. Again we noticed the ab­sence of dwelling‑houses along the highway. We had not passed a single structure of the kind during our long ride from Jerusalem. But we now observed that the little hamlets of the farm­ers were located upon the crest of the hills, usually at quite a distance from the road. We could see two such hamlets from our present position. One, far towards the east, was named Nebi‑Yunis (tomb of Jonah), and boasted of a sort of tower, erected in honor of the recreant prophet. At a nearer point, also on the hill‑top, we saw the little village named Hulhul, i.e., praise (the Halhul of Josh. 15: 58), and it is affirmed that it has borne this name for three thousand three hundred years. So little do the people in that land favor the progress which, many

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                             95

 

people think, comes with frequent alterations and changes.

As we rode up to the spring we found the place occupied by a single traveller, an Arab, evidently of some distinction, who was waiting while his splendid horse was drinking at the trough below the spring. He simply glanced at us with his keen black eyes, which flashed from beneath his white turban, in a half‑inquisitive and half‑defiant manner, as if he would question our right to the hospitality of the place. We thought that there might be some sort of collis­ion between him and our mettlesome John; but the latter proceeded a little beyond the spring, and,. dismounting, allowed his aid to hold our horses, while he set about the preparation of our repast. The Arab leisurely left the water‑trough when his beast had satisfied his thirst, and, re­moving saddle and bridle, allowed him to wander at will, and crop the fresh grass which he found in abundance on every side. The horseman then spread his blanket and coat on the ground, and, bowing his head and pointing with his hands towards Mecca, began his prayers. He would kneel down, lie down flat upon his face, assume an erect posture again, all the while repeating something in an undertone. Nor did he give the slightest heed to his horse, or to the movements

 

96                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

of our party, until his prayers were finished. Evidently this man was not ashamed of his re­ligion, and we could but honor him for it, though we wished that he might come to know and wor­ship that Saviour in whose land he dwelt.

Luncheon finished, we were again in the sad­dle, and, after making another tedious ascent, came upon the highest ground between Jerusalem and Hebron, where an ancient ruin lies eastward from the highway, named Ramet or Beit el Khulil, which we did not visit until our return. We now commenced our descent toward the valley where Hebron is situated, through the bed of a narrow ravine, where our horses found great difficulty in keeping a foothold because of loose rolling stones, which had been washed down by the late winter rains. From this narrow wady we soon emerged into the Hebron valley, running east and west, where, but a short distance in advance of us, we saw the dwellings and grand mosque of the ancient city.

Our entrance to Hebron was not calculated to inspire us with very exalted views of the place. We found the streets narrow and disgustingly filthy. The buildings were generally old and of inferior size, and rude in style of architecture. The inhabitants were either Jews or Mohammed­ans, and betrayed their ignorance and fanaticism

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                    97

 

in their manners and dress. As we alighted at the door of a kind of khan, where we were to leave our horses, a crowd of idlers leered at us insolently, and slunk away from our sight. The khan was a place for general repairs for both man and beast. It consisted of a large court‑yard open to the sky, with stables at the farther side, while near the entrance was an arrangement which looked to us like a blacksmith's forge.

Having given our horses in charge of one of the attendants, our guide approached a grimy­ looking man near the forge, whom we had sup­posed to be the smith, and said something to him

98                                   TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

in Arabic. Whatever was said, it seemed to have more influence with this man of swarthy skin, dirty hands and yellow, atrabiliary eyes, than we had supposed possible. He slowly arose from the round boulder on which he had been sitting by the side of the gate, and, going to the forge, raked together the fragments of charcoal smol­dering there, and, taking an old tin vessel in his hand, proceeded to steep the black, thick coffee commonly used by the Turks. This, when pre­pared, he put with syrup into tiny cups, which may have been made of terra‑cotta, but to us looked like lacquer‑work from the coating of grease and soot. These cups the guide passed around to us with a lofty flourish, bidding us drink as an antidote for the fatigue of our long ride. We were too weary and thirsty to stand on ceremony, and so sipped the "villainous" mixture, which was like syrup for sweetness, and almost like lye for strength.

From the forge, which thus proved to be no forge at all, but a coffee‑house, we proceeded on foot to inspect the Haram, or grand mosque. This large building, which stands just in the rear of the village, with its end thrust against the base of the steep hill overshadowing it, is supposed to cover the cave of Machpelah, which Abraham bought for a burial‑place, and where, it is thought,

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                      99

 

Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are buried.*

We were not allowed to enter the building, be­cause we were not Mohammedans, and were led around to the hillside just back of the mosque, close to the wall where it is affirmed the cave is situated.+  It has been thought that the body of

 

* Genesis 23 : 17‑20.

 + Rarely have Christians gained admission to this mosque. Among those who have entered it are: the Prince of Wales in 1862, the Marquis of Bute in 1866, the Crown Prince of Prussia in 1869, the sons of the Prince of Wales in 1881, and Gen. L. Wallace, U. S. Minister to Constantinople. Dean Stanley, Fergusson, Rosen, and a few others were also allowed to enter with some of these visitors, The Hebron Haram is almost an exact copy of the temple area at Jerusalem. For description of Hebron and Machpelah see Schaff's Dictionary of the Bible, pp. 372, 575, 576.‑Ed. Am. S. S. Union.

 

100                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

Jacob, being embalmed by the skillful Egyptians, may be still in a good state of preservation; but the cave is regarded as so sacred that even the Mohammedans are not allowed to enter it, and thus nothing positive is known regarding its pres­ent contents. The tradition is probably correct, however, which locates Machpelah here, and we were not many feet away from the resting‑place of the patriarchs. This in itself was a great priv­ilege, and we could scarcely realize that Abraham had often looked upon this stony hillside against which we were standing, nay, that his feet had often rested on these enduring strata of lime­stone rock, which change not from age to age. But the best authorities affirm that the veritable Machpelah is located within the walls of the Haram, and there doubtless slumbers the dust of the ancient and illustrious dead. There lie

 

“The patriarchs of the infant world, the kings,

The powerful of the earth, the wise, the good,

Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past—

­All in one mighty sepulchre."

 

There was little in Hebron to interest us, be­sides the site of the mosque and the general as­pect of the surrounding hills. We returned to the khan without molestation, though assailed by fierce looks and threatening gestures from the rough men in the streets. We were prepared

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                             101

 

for all this by reports of previous travelers, but had not anticipated fully the fact that Hebron is one of the most secluded and out-of-the-way places of this unprogressive country. With no outlet of travel, except through the stony bed of a ravine, and a rough trail over the mountains to Jerusalem, twenty miles distant, these long‑haired Jews, and ochre‑colored Arabs of Hebron, will pass through the round of life, in this nineteenth cen­tury, with the idea that there is just one other nation besides themselves, namely, Franks, whose traders come to their town to gaze upon their mosque and rough hillsides. They will live and die in blissful ignorance of all the mighty seas, continents, and cities beyond them, and of all the improvements, inventions, and refinements of modern life, and also, it is to be feared, without a true knowledge of the way of salvation through the Redeemer.

In passing from the khan we came to the pool over which David hanged the murderers of Ish­bosheth,* and, emerging from the town, passed on our way up the valley, westward, to the Rus­sian hospice, where we were to pass the night. This is a large and well‑built structure, located at the side of the great terebinth tree, known as Abraham's oak, on the north side of the pleasant

 

* 2 Samuel 4 : 12.

 

102                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

vale of Hebron. Before the sun had set we passed over on foot to the summit of the opposite hill, and took in an extensive view towards the desert. The great ridges of black rock swept away to the southward like the huge rolling billows of a mighty ocean, there transfixed and petrified. With the aid of the field‑glass and the pocket compass and map we looked towards the site of Sodom, whence perchance from this very hill‑top Abraham  “gat up early in the morning, to the place where he stood before the Lord," and saw that "the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."

Almost within sight, southward, lay Juttah, the birth‑place of John the Baptist, and farther away to the southwest was Beer‑sheba, another of the haunts, and homes, of the patriarchs.

Having thus taken in the wide barren landscape before us, we turned to examine the vineyard en­closure where we were standing. Never before had the description of the parables of Scripture been so fully realized. Here was the "hedge" around the outside to keep out intruders. Here was the "lodge" occupied by the vineyard dresser in the grape season, and at one corner was the "tower" from which he could look all over the place and detect the presence of an enemy.

 

* Genesis 19 : 27, 28.

 

TOUR TO HEBRON.                                                                  103

 

Approaching twilight warned us to seek our hospice, and, with weariness, yet with delight and gratification at what we had seen, we re­-crossed the beautiful valley to our lodging‑place for the night. Upon our arrival the guide in­formed us that a good view of the whole valley could be had from the roof of the building, to which we at once ascended. There we saw the constellations come out in a radiancy never seen by us before or since. The air was so clear that Sirius appeared almost like the great sun which he really is. The mighty dome, radiant with beaming stars, seemed to span the narrow valley and rest upon the hill‑tops on either side. The giant oak stretched out its long branches almost under our feet, where, it is said, Abraham and Sarah entertained the three angels. It was late at night before we retired to our rooms; nor will we soon forget our stay at Hebron,

                                      CHAPTER VI.

 

FROM HEBRON TO BETHLEHEM.

 

WITH the early morning our indefatigable guide was astir, and when the sun first shone on the mosque of Hebron our little party filed through the narrow valley of Eshcol, lined with vineyards on either side, and took its way back towards Solomon's Pools, over the route by which we had passed on the preceding day. We had no good reasons for doubting the tradition which fixes upon this little vale as the Eshcol whence the spies brought the branch with one cluster of grapes, which they bore between two upon a staff; whence also they brought of the pome­granates, and of the figs.*

The fruitfulness of Eshcol has evidently not diminished since the times of the Exodus. Fine vineyards were to be seen on either side of the little wady, with low stone walls surrounding them, most of them also having a tower at the side or corner of the enclosure. At one time, by actual count, there were fifty‑eight towers in

 

* Numbers 13: 23.

 

 FROM HEBRON TO BETHLEHEM.                                    105

 

sight, most of them in good repair, though a por­tion of them were in partial ruin.

After ascending the hill we came in sight of the ruined village named Khurbet en‑Nusara (i.e., the destruction of Christians). Some years since the Mohammedans fell upon the Christians here, and either put them to death or drove them from the district. The whole region is now occupied by Jews and Mohammedans, and thus evidently Moslem fanaticism has reached a rank growth at Hebron and in its environments. Somewhat to

 

106                                    TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

the eastward, and on a height of ground, we found a slight depression of the surface, where again our guide led us directly through a field of growing wheat to an ancient ruin known as

Beit el Khulil. The remains of fine stone walls, as of the foundations of several buildings, are here plainly to be seen, covering an area of about two hundred by one hundred and sixty feet. The Jews call this ruin "the house of Abraham," and claim that the shallow depres­sion, extending in front of it from east to west, is the true vale of Mamre. It is likely that this is the ruin of a church begun by Constantine the great builder about 320 A.D., but never com­pleted.*

     It was ten o'clock when we reached Solomon's Pools once more; and as we were to meet with another party of tourists, who had not yet arrived

 

* This beit, or house, is a very old ruin. It is called "Abra­ham's house," by Benjamin of Tudela, in the twelfth century, and is so called by modern Jews of Hebron. It is perhaps the market mentioned by Sozomen (Hist. ii.4), where Hadrian sold Jewish captives, A. D. 135, and near Constantine's basilica at the terebinth of Mamre. Two courses of the house wall remain; one is 162 feet long, and the other 214 feet long, and each wall is 6 feet thick. A well a few feet from the west wall is called Bir el Khulil, "the well of the friend," i.e., Abraham. The well is 17 feet in diameter, lined with ashlar cut carefully to the curve of the well. About fifty yards east of the beit, is the ruin of the basilica of Constantine. See Survey of Palestine vol. iii. pp. 322, 323,‑‑.Ed. .Am, S, S, Union..

 

FROM HEBRON TO BETHLEHEM.                                                107

 

from Jerusalem, we had ample leisure to survey all the surroundings of the place. We entered into the ruins of the old fortress or khan, and found traces of its former importance still remain­ing. The walls were from eighteen to twenty feet in height, enclosing a large quadrangle; and along the inside of the walls were huge ranks of earthen jars lying upon their sides with their mouths, or open tops, turned outward, and from these issued great numbers of bees in quest of honey. As the morning was warm and bright the honey makers were very busy, and the old khan was once again filled with nearly as great buzz and bustle as in days of yore, when pilgrims from Egypt and from Damascus passed in and out of the arched gateways.

   The party from Jerusalem having arrived, we now set out for Bethlehem. Our course lay along the north side of the three pools, and then fol­lowed the line of the ancient conduit through which Solomon conveyed the water to Jerusalem, some eight miles distant.

     Continuing eastward beside the valley Urtas we kept well up along the hillside, which was in places quite precipitous, with a grim gray surface of solid rock. The valley soon fell away into a deep bed, where we saw a little village with fer­tile gardens, the site no doubt of ancient Etam.

 

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This may have been the scene of some of Sam­son's wonderful exploits.

And here also Solomon had “a garden and orchards, and planted in them of all kinds of fruits," and "pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees."*

And Josephus states that the king laid a cause­way of black stone along the roads that led to Jerusalem, and that he used to go out of the city in the morning upon a chariot, attended by fine courtiers, dressed in a white garment. "There was a certain place, about fifty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, which is called Etham; very pleasant it is in fine gardens, and abounding in rivulets of water; thither did he use to go out in the morning, sitting on high in his chariot." +

The valley of Urtas could be conveniently watered from the sealed fountain and pools just above, and thus again be easily restored to its ancient fertility and beauty.

Soon after this we came to the eastern face of the mountain, and turning northward we reached the gardens and fig orchards surrounding Bethle‑

 

* Eccl. 2 : 5, 6. This village is doubtless correctly located in the valley of Urtas. The Palestine Survey suggests that the name is retained in 'Ain 'Atan. It was near Bethlehem and Solo­mon's Gardens, and 50 stadia from Jerusalem. See Palestine Survey, vol. iii. p. 43.‑Ed. Am. S. S. Union.

+  Antiquities, viii. 7, pgs. 3, 4.

 

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hem; and urging our horses up a steep bridle‑path we found ourselves upon the summit of the ridge, and in one of the narrow streets of the city hon­ored as the birth‑place of Jesus.

We made our way at once to the Latin monas­tery, and dined with the brothers at the refectory, who showed us every attention after receiving the customary fee from the guide. From this build­ing, which is a portion of the large structure known as the Church of the Nativity, we passed into the main portion of the edifice, and down into the apartment which is shown as the cave of the Nativity.

Here, it is said, the infant Jesus was born,

 

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wrapped in swaddling‑clothes, and laid in a man­ger.* There is every reason to believe that the tra­dition is correct which affirms that near this spot is the birth‑place of the world's Redeemer. As early as the second century Justin mentions it, and in A.D. 325 the empress Helena began the founda­tions of the present edifice to mark and preserve the sacred site.

We found ourselves in an apartment some thirty‑eight by eleven feet in size, with a flat ceiling of native rock about eight feet in height. On one side was an alcove, in the vaulted arch of which hung a number of silver lamps, which shed their mellow light upon a marble slab below. In the centre of this slab was set a large silver plate with star‑shaped points on its circumference, and the words, "Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est," engraved upon it.

On the other side of the room we were shown the place where the manger stood, in which the infant Jesus was placed by his mother. Pilgrims were coming and going by the wide stone stair­ways at either end of the apartment, who, bowing low before the two sacred shrines, impassionately kissed and embraced the cold marble, meanwhile reciting their forms of service. One could not but follow their movements with interest, seeing

 

* Luke 2 : 7.

 

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their profound earnestness, and recalling the facts here commemorated. Many of them had hoarded their meagre  earnings for years, in their far‑off Russian homes, and now they had devoted their all, to travelling and other expenses, for this joy of praying at the place of their Saviour's birth.

From this scene we were led by our guides, through a narrow passage, to the little grotto where Jerome passed some thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures. And from this we returned by the same passage, and then as­cended to the choir of the church, the altar of which is located just above the cave of the Na­tivity. Here also a service was in progress, and in a chapel at the side, a large number of women were engaged in their devotions. Conscious that this shrine worship must be liable to many defects, we still regarded the people as entirely sincere, in their devotions, at the birth‑place of the world's Redeemer. Passing on, we soon completed the circuit of the holy places, and leaving the ram­bling structure, in which Romans, Greeks, and Armenians have their altars and cloisters, we came into the open air, and made our way to the eastern end of the hill on which Bethlehem stands; and upon which a village has stood from the days of Ruth and David, and probably from the time of the patriarchs. At this point we had

 

112                                                          TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

our most satisfactory view of Bethlehem and its surroundings.

The town is situated upon a high narrow ridge, which extends eastward from the main hills of Judea, and has abrupt banks on either side. It has one main street near the crest, which is flanked by others of less preten­sion. The houses are built of stone, and are of a better class than those of Hebron, for the peo­ple here are prevailingly Christians. There are about five thousand inhabitants in the town, and the elevating character of their faith is noticeable in their dress, manners, and architecture; and yet in these respects there is opportunity for vast improvement. The houses are mainly grouped near the junction of the ridge with the main hill, and then spread out to a point just beyond the Church of the Nativity, where they fail altogether, and leave the extreme summit unoccupied. To this unoccupied place two of us made our way, and sitting down upon a rock enjoyed the beauty of the scene.

Looking westward we saw, on either side of the village, the terraced gardens, vineyards, and olive orchards, with neat division‑fences built of the loose stone which lie in profusion on the surface surrounding them. The gardens, the village, and the crowning edifice from which we had just come,

 

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the centre and ornament of the whole, together made up a pleasing picture.

Looking eastward an extensive landscape opened before us. Over a vast region of country the eye wandered at will, and noted the historic places of biblical interest. In this plain just at our feet were the wheat fields in which Ruth gleaned in the days of Boaz.* Yonder in the far distance lie the fields of Moab, from whence she came on her long journey with Naomi. And there, just a little farther away than the fields of Boaz, like a shelf against the hillside, lie the fields where the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night on the first Christmas eve: +

 

" When such music sweet

Their hearts and ears did greet,

As never was by mortal fingers strook;

Such music (as 'tis said)

Before was never made,

But when of old the sons of morning sung,

While the Creator great His constellation set,

And the well‑balanced world on hinges hung."

 

It was the overture of the angels, " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to­ward men."

Turning the eye southward we look at the

 

* Ruth 2 : 2‑17.                                     + Luke 2 : 8‑14.

 

114                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

rugged fields of Tekoa, where the herdsman Amos left his occupation to enter the list of the sacred prophets. And there is the dun‑colored truncated cone, now known as the Frank Mount­ain, where of old the Amorites kindled their beacon fires, and where in later times Herod the Great had a palace, and where he made his costly sepulchre.

On either side of this ridge of Bethlehem little stream‑beds are visible, which run out into deeper roadies, and these again into the Urtas and Kedron valleys. The ridge itself falls away by steps of immense magnitude to these ravines; and far away, across the gray and rounded hills of limestone, may be seen the deep, deep depression in which lie the bitter waters of the Dead Sea, and along its farther side extend the giant cliffs of Moab.

Once more, before leaving the place, we glance along the side of the ridge towards the cave of the Nativity. It must have opened northward to­ward Jerusalem, and as Joseph and Mary came up the steep ascent, after their toilsome journey from Nazareth, it offered them their first choice, and only available shelter.

One more mark of biblical interest we found in Bethlehem. It was the traditional well of David, to which the young men broke through the ranks

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of the Philistines, and brought of its water to the thirsty chieftain, who then poured it out on the ground as an offering.* The well is located on a hillock just without the gate on the roadside toward Jerusalem. +  As we dismounted and peered down the face of its dark walls, we heard a sepul­chral voice from within utter something in Ara­bic, at which we were at first startled, but were quickly reassured by the explanation of the guide that some men were at work making repairs in this well; which appeared to be rather a huge cistern. As we rode on toward the holy city we cast many a longing look backward at the crags and gulches behind us, where David as a shepherd boy fought his battles with bears and lions while in charge of his father Jesse's flocks and cattle.  Presently we were at Rachel's tomb again, and, hastening our pace, we were not long in reaching Jerusalem.

 

                     * 1 Chronicles 11: 17‑19.

                     + The modern cistern or so‑called " David's well" cannot certainly be identified with the true site of the well named in 2 Samuel 23 : 14‑17. Tradition has identified it with cisterns a few minutes walk from Bethlehem, though the tradition is not much older than the fifteenth century. Ed. Am. S. S. Union.

 

CHAPTER VII

 

WALKS ABOUT ZION.

 

"Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks; . . . that ye may tell it to the generation following" (Psalm 48: 12).

 

HAVING gone over Mount Moriah upon our first arrival at Jerusalem, we followed the advice of the Psalmist with respect to Mount Zion. The word "Zion" means “the sunny place," and doubtless this portion of the holy city was thus named because its slope faces the east and south, where the rays of the sun have their strongest

 

VIEW OF JERUSALEM FROM THE SOUTH‑-Jerusalem covers four or five hill‑summits. Within the city walls, on the southeast, is Mount Moriah, the site of the temple, now covered by the Haram enclosure or square, within which is the Mosque of Omar. West and southwest of this is Mount Zion, a portion of which is without the city wall. Directly south of Moriah is the hill Ophel, also without the wall. North of Mount Moriah is Bezetha, or the "new city," and west of Bezetha, in the north­west part of the city, is Akra. (Some, however, regard Akra as the northwest part of Mount Zion.) East of the city is the Kedron, or valley of Jehoshaphat. South of Mount Zion is the valley of Hinnom, which extends around on the west side of the city. The valleys of Hinnom and of the Kedron unite south of the city. Between Ophel and Mount Zion is the Tyropoeon Valley. North of the city is Scopus, east of it the Mount of Olives, and on the south the Bill of Evil Counsel,

 

 WALKS ABOUT ZION.                                         119

 

influence. The ridge of Zion is a little higher than its near neighbor Moriah, and the shallow depression known as the Tyropaeon Valley is all that separates them. The Zion ridge at its southern end overlooks the valley of Hinnom, from whence its eastern face runs northward until it reaches a point opposite the temple site, where it curves to the left hand, and continues until its traces are lost in the higher ground to the west.

The first object of interest on the southern shoulder of the mount, where once stood David's palace, is a vast pile of masonry, with turrets at the top and port‑holes beneath them, known as the tower of David. It is an ancient and impressive piece of architecture, with hyssop growing out of its gaping seams, and, as it is connected with the high wall which entirely surrounds the city, it was only intended for defensive purposes. Near by this structure, which would be almost useless now in view of the methods of modern warfare, we visited the Armenian church, supposed to occupy the site of the palace of Caiaphas.

A gentle old priest of the Armenian faith con­ducted us through the little church, with its gro­tesque lamps, which are kept burning continually, and displayed an old Bible and other relics, such

 

120                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

as paintings, tapestry and “the petrified blood of St. James."

Near by we were taken to the upper chamber in which tradition says Jesus instituted his supper on the night of his betrayal. We found ourselves in a large, but dingy, apartment, controlled by the Mohammedans, and kept by them as a sort of holy place. The walls were in an untidy condition, having been at some remote period covered with a lime‑wash, which was now deeply weather stained and uninviting in appearance. The ceil­ing was sustained by three groined arches, which rested for their support upon three pillars near the centre of the apartment. The entire aspect of the place was forbidding, and can only be viewed by Christians with dissatisfaction. There is small ground for believing it to be the room where Jesus and his disciples observed his last Passover.

In the rear of this chamber we were shown the traditional tomb of David, in which we observed a huge sarcophagus, twelve feet in length and broad in proportion, covered with Arabic signs after the style of the royal caskets at Constanti­nople. Upon returning from this spot we were shown a place in the court‑yard of the Armenian buildings where, it is claimed, the apostle Peter stood when he denied his Master. We next re‑

 

WALKS ABOUT ZION.                                                          121

 

turned to David's Street, which begins at the Jaffa Gate, and runs eastward past the tower of David, the Mediterranean Hotel and the quarters of the American legation. It is for the most part narrow, poorly paved and untidy to the last degree. It passes between the pool of Hezekiah and the Jewish quarter, and then enters the little bazaar, through which, by a sharp turn to the left, the visitor may reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In following this route the tourist has been walking along the eastern face or slope of Zion, and finds at least that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located in a place where the configuration of the ground favors the view that it was anciently a garden.

 

122                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

Those who hold to the traditional theory affirm that Joseph's garden may very well have been at this point, and the “new tomb" could have been conveniently excavated in the side of the limestone ridge, while near by might have been the knoll named Calvary.

            The one passage of Scripture, however, which is urged against the theory that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is located just on this face of Zion, well towards its upper or western end, covers the exact spot occupied by the cross and sepulcher is that “Jesus suffered without the gate.”* The gate, of course, was in a line with the city wall, and at present the wall is outside the location named, and therefore it is inferred by some writers that this site is simply traditional,

 

                        * Hebrews 13: 12.

 

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and cannot be regarded as the true location. Others answer that at the time of the Saviour's crucifixion, and burial, the city wall ran from a point near the junction of David's Street and the bazaar, directly towards the Damascus Gate, north­ward, and thus was within the place now covered by the church and its associated structures.

Besides this, it is affirmed that constant tradition from the time of the empress Helena, who first began the work of erecting a chapel here, through her son Constantine the Great, has fixed upon this place as the true site of the cross and sepulchre. The question is far from a satisfactory settlement.

The external appearance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not very impressive. From the large open court on its eastern front it appears as a vast pile of ancient masonry, about three hundred and fifty feet in length by about two hundred and eighty in width. Two square towers, with flat tops, and a broad arched entrance in the middle are the most prominent features.

    Upon entering, the visitor finds himself in a large central auditorium, in the middle of which is the marble chapel or mausoleum, covering the sacred sepulchre, and around which are the pri­vate chapels of the Latin, Greek, and Armenian

 

124                                 TENT AND SADDLE LIFE.

 

churches. The mausoleum itself is divided into two small compartments, in the first of which the window is shown through which the holy fire is handed out on the occasion of the Easter festival. The second compartment is the most sacred of all, for it is said to contain the rock of the true sepulchre, though this is carefully concealed under a slab of pure white marble. Forty‑four beautiful lamps hang above this marble sarcoph­agus. Three paintings cover the walls, the cen­tral one with a portrait of the Saviour, with the scene of the resurrection at one end, and one of the ascension at the other. Only four or five persons can be admitted to the place at once, for it is scarcely more than six feet square, and, as may be supposed, the air is close and almost sti­fling by reason of the presence of this procession of pilgrims, who follow each other within to kiss the marble and pray before the paintings.

Upon leaving this consecrated spot we were taken to a room located quite in the rear of the great auditorium, and evidently along the low cliff of ancient Zion, where we saw. the traditional tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. These open tombs were side by side, cut out of the soft yellow limestone, and, as Dean Stanley has well observed, are evidently very ancient, and there­fore give proof that this was once indeed a place

 

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of burial. Various other relics were displayed to us afterward in different parts of the building, and finally we were taken up a flight of steps to the traditional site of Calvary. This rock was likewise covered with marble, and a silver star, pierced with an orifice about two and one‑half inches in diameter, indicated the place where the cross stood, and near by a crevice was pointed out which was held to be a trace of the rending of the rocks at the crucifixion.

We were favored with a view of the great cer­emonies held in this plac