Byeways in Palestine
by James Finn · English · Gutenberg #22097 · 643,409 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Byeways in Palestine
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Byeways in Palestine
Author: James Finn
Release date: July 18, 2007 [eBook #22097]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22097
Credits: Transcribed from the 1868 James Nisbet and Co. edition by Les Bowler
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BYEWAYS IN PALESTINE ***
Transcribed from the 1868 James Nisbet and Co. edition by Les Bowler.
[Picture: Frontispiece]
BYEWAYS IN PALESTINE
BY
JAMES FINN, M.R.A.S.,
AND MEMBER OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF FRANCE,
LATE HER MAJESTY'S CONSUL FOR JERUSALEM AND PALESTINE.
"The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good
land."--NUMB. xiv. 7.
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
MDCCCLXVIII.
_To His Excellency_
_Right Hon. Francis Lord Napier_, _K.T._,
_etc. etc. etc._,
_Governor of the Presidency of Madras_,
This little Volume
_is inscribed_,
_in grateful acknowledgment of kindness_
_received in_
_Jerusalem and elsewhere_,
BY THE AUTHOR.
_London_, 1867.
PREFACE.
These papers on "Byeways in Palestine" are compiled from notes of certain
journeys made during many years' residence in that country; omitting the
journeys made upon beaten roads, and through the principal towns, for the
mere reason that they were such.
Just what met the eye and ear was jotted down and is now revised after a
lapse of time, without indulging much in meditation or reflection; these
are rather suggested by the occurrences, that they may be followed out by
the reader. Inasmuch, however, as the incidents relate to out-of-the-way
places, and various seasons of the year, they may be found to contain an
interest peculiar to themselves, and the account of them may not
interfere with any other book on Palestine.
I may state that, not being a professed investigator, I carried with me
no scientific instruments, except sometimes a common thermometer: I had
no leisure for making excavations, for taking angles with a theodolite,
or attending to the delicate care of any kind of barometer, being
employed on my proper business.
Riding by night or by day, in the heat of Syrian summer, or through snows
and piercing winds of winter on the mountains, I enjoyed the pure climate
for its own sake. Moreover, I lived among the people, holding
intercourse with peasants in villages, with Bedaween in deserts, and with
Turkish governors in towns, or dignified Druses in the Lebanon, and slept
in native dwellings of all qualities, as well as in convents of different
sects: in the open air at the foot of a tree, or in a village mosque--in
a cavern by the highway side, or beneath cliffs near the Dead Sea:
although more commonly within my own tent, accompanied by native servants
with a small canteen.
Sad cogitations would arise while traversing, hour after hour, the
neglected soil, or passing by desolated villages which bear names of
immense antiquity, and which stand as memorials of miraculous events
which took place for our instruction and for that of all succeeding ages;
and then, even while looking forward to a better time to come, the heart
would sigh as the expression was uttered, "How long?"
These notices will show that the land is one of remarkable fertility
wherever cultivated, even in a slight degree--witness the vast
wheat-plains of the south; and is one of extreme beauty--witness the
green hill-country of the north; although such qualities are by no means
confined to those districts. Thus it is not necessary, it is not just,
that believers in the Bible, in order to hold fast their confidence in
its predictions for the future, should rush into the extreme of
pronouncing the Holy Land to be cursed in its present capabilities. It
is verily and indeed cursed in its government and in its want of
population; but still the soil is that of "a land which the Lord thy God
careth for." There is a deep meaning in the words, "The earth is the
Lord's," when applied to that peculiar country; for it is a reserved
property, an estate in abeyance, and not even in a subordinate sense can
it be the fief of the men whom it eats up. (Numb. xiii. 32, and Ezek.
xxxvi. 13, 14.) I have seen enough to convince me that astonishing will
be the amount of its produce, and the rapidity also, when the obstacles
now existing are removed.
With respect to antiquarian researches, let me express my deep interest
in the works now undertaken under the Palestine Exploration Fund. My
happiness, while residing in the country, would have been much augmented
had such operations been at that time, _i.e._, between 1846 and 1863,
commenced in Jerusalem or elsewhere in the Holy Land.
J. F.
NOTE.
The frontispiece picture to this volume represents the relic of a small
Roman Temple, situated on the eastern edge of the Plain of Sharon, near
the line of hills, between the two villages Awali and M'zeera'a.
It is quadrangular in form, with a door and portico on its north front.
The portico is supported by two round columns of Corinthian order, and
two pilasters of the same at the extremities. The columns are of small
dimensions, the shafts not exceeding nine feet in length; yet in these
the canon is observed which obtains in the larger proportions found in
classic lands, namely, that the diameter is somewhat extended near the
half elevation from the ground. The capitals are of the best design.
The doorway is formed by a very bold and deep moulding, and in the
upright side-posts is found the same arrangement for holding a stone bar
in confining the door, as is to be seen in some sepulchres about
Jerusalem, namely, a curved groove increasing in depth of incision as it
descends.
The whole edifice bears the same warm tinge of yellow that all those of
good quality acquire from age in that pure climate.
The roof has been repaired, and the walls in some parts patched up.
On the southern wall, internally, the Moslems have set up a Kebleh niche
for indicating the direction of prayer.
The peasants call this building the "Boorj," or "Tower."
Near adjoining it are remains of ancient foundations: one quite circular
and of small diameter.
There is also by the road-side, not far off, a rocky grotto, supplied
with water by channels from the hills.
My sketches of this interesting relic date from 1848 and 1859, and, as
far as I am aware, no other traveller had seen it until lately, when the
members of the Palestine Exploration Expedition visited and took a
photograph of it, which is now published.
J. F.
CONTENTS.
I. OVER THE JORDAN, AND 1
RETURN BY THE WEST
II. NORTHWARDS TO BEISAN, 85
KADIS, ANTIPATRIS,
ETC.
III. SOUTHWARDS ON THE 144
PHILISTINE PLAIN AND
ITS SEA COAST
IV. HEBRON TO BEERSHEBA, 184
AND HEBRON TO JAFFA
V. THE LAND OF BENJAMIN 199
VI. SEBUSTIEH TO CAIFFA 214
VII. ESDRAELON PLAIN AND 226
ITS VICINITY
VIII. BELAD BESHARAH 253
IX. UPPER GALILEE--FOREST 264
SCENERY
X. TEMPLE OF BAAL AND 283
SEPULCHRE OF
PHOENICIA
XI. JERUSALEM TO PETRA, 289
AND RETURN BY THE
DEAD SEA
XII. ACROSS THE 347
LEBANON--(THREE
PARTS,)
XIII. NORTH-WEST OF THE 414
DEAD SEA
XIV. SOBA 423
XV. THE TWO BAIT SAHHOORS 428
IDENTIFIED
XVI. THE BAKOOSH COTTAGE 435
APPENDIX A 453
APPENDIX B 454
INDEX OF PLACES 461
I. OVER THE JORDAN AND RETURN BY THE WEST.
We were a dozen Englishmen, including three clergymen, undertaking the
above journey accompanied by the large train of servants, interpreters,
and muleteers usually required for travelling in the East. And it was on
Wednesday, the 9th day of May 1855, that we started. This was considered
almost late in the season for such an enterprise. The weather was hot,
chiefly produced by a strong shirocco wind at the time; and, in crossing
over the shoulder of the Mount of Olives, we found the country people
beginning their harvest at Bethany.
We were of course escorted by a party of Arab guides, partly villagers of
either _Abu Dis_ or _Selwan_, (Siloam,) and partly of those Ghawarineh
Arabs not deserving the appellation of Bedaween, who live around and
about Jericho. These people, of both classes, form a partnership for
convoy of travellers to the Jordan under arrangements made at the
consulate. Without them it would be impossible either to find the way to
Jericho and the river, or to pass along the deserted road, for there are
always out-lookers about the tops of the hills to give notice that you
are without an escort, and you would consequently still find that
travellers may "fall among thieves" between Jerusalem and Jericho;
besides that, on descending to the plain of Jericho you would certainly
become the prey of other Arabs of real tribes, ever passing about
there--including most probably the 'Adwan, to whose hospitality, however,
we were now about to commit ourselves. To all this must be added, that
no other Arabs dare undertake to convoy travellers upon that road; the
Taamra to the south have long felt their exclusion from it to be a great
grievance, as the gains derived from the employment of escorting
Europeans are very alluring.
We had with us a deputed commissioner from the 'Adwan, namely, Shaikh
Fendi, a brother of Shaikh 'Abdu'l 'Azeez. He was delighted with the
refreshment of eating a cucumber, when we rested by the wayside to eat
oranges--the delicious produce of Jaffa.
Passing the _Fountain of the Apostles_, (so called,) we jogged along a
plain road till we reached a booth for selling cups of coffee, at the
divergence of the road Nebi Moosa, (the reputed sepulchre of the prophet
Moses, according to the Mohammedans,) then up an ascent still named
_Tela'at ed Dum_, which is certainly the ancient {3} Adummim, (Joshua xv.
7)--probably so called from broad bands of _red_ among the strata of the
rocks. Here there are also curious wavy lines of brown flint, undulating
on a large scale among the limestone cliffs. This phenomenon is
principally to be seen near the ruined and deserted Khan, or eastern
lodging-place, situated at about half the distance of our journey. The
name is _Khatroon_.
As we proceeded, our escort, mostly on foot, went on singing merrily, and
occasionally bringing us tufts of scented wild plants found in crevices
by the roadside. Then we came to long remains of an ancient water
conduit, leading to ruins of a small convent. In a few minutes after the
latter, we found ourselves looking down a fearfully deep precipice of
rocks on our left hand, with a stream flowing at the bottom, apparently
very narrow indeed, and the sound of it scarcely audible. This is the
brook _Kelt_, by some supposed to be the _Cherith_ of Elijah's history.
Suddenly we were on the brow of a deep descent, with the Ghor, or Jericho
plain, and the Dead Sea spread out below. In going down, we had upon our
left hand considerable fragments of ancient masonry, containing lines of
Roman reticulated brickwork.
It was now evening; a breeze, but not a cool one, blowing; and we left
aside for this time the pretty camping station of Elisha's Fountain,
because we had business to transact at the village of Er-Rihha, (or
Jericho.) There accordingly our tents were pitched; and in a circle at
our doors were attentive listeners to a narration of the events of Lieut.
Molyneux's Expedition on the Jordan and Dead Sea in 1847.
Thermometer after sunset, inside the tent, at 89 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sleep very much disturbed by small black sandflies and ants.
_Thursday_, 10_th_.--Thermometer at 76 degrees before sunrise. The scene
around us was animated and diversified; but several of us had been
accustomed to Oriental affairs--some for a good many years; and some were
even familiar with the particular localities and customs of this
district. Others were young in age, and fresh to the country; expressing
their wonderment at finding themselves so near to scenes read of from
infancy--scarcely believing that they had at length approached near to
"That bituminous lake
Where Sodom stood,"
and filled with joyous expectation at the visit so soon to be made to the
Jordan, and beyond it. Some were quoting Scripture; some quoting poetry;
and others taking particular notice of the wild Arabs, who were by this
time increasing in number about us,--their spears, their mares, their
guttural language, and not less the barren desert scene before us, being
objects of romantic interest.
At length all the tents and luggage were loaded on the mules, and ten men
of the village were hired for helping to convey our property across the
river; and we went forward over the strange plain which is neither desert
sand, as in Africa, nor wilderness of creeping plants and flowers, as on
the way to Petra, but a puzzling, though monotonous succession of low
eminences,--of a nature something like rotten chalk ground, if there be
such a thing in existence,--between which eminences we had to wind our
way, until we reached the border of tamarisk-trees, large reeds, willow,
aspen, etc., that fringes the river; invisible till one reaches close
upon it.
At the bathing (or baptism) place of the Greeks, northwards from that of
the Latins, to which English travellers are usually conducted, we had to
cross, by swimming as we could. {5} King David, on his return from
exile, had a ferry-boat to carry over his household, but we had none.
Probably, on his escaping from Absalom, he crossed as we did.
The middle part of the river was still too deep for mere fording. Horses
and men had to swim; so the gentlemen sat still on their saddles, with
their feet put up on the necks of their horses, which were led by naked
swimming Arabs in the water holding the bridles, one on each side.
Baggage was carried over mostly on the animals; but had to be previously
adjusted and tightened, so as to be least liable to get wetted. Small
parcels were carried over on the heads of the swimmers. These all
carried their own clothes in that manner. One of the luggage mules fell
with his load in the middle of the stream. It was altogether a lively
scene. Our Arabs were much darker over the whole body than I had
expected to find them; and the 'Adwan have long plaits of hair hanging on
the shoulders when the _kefieh_, or coloured head-dress, is removed. The
horses and beasts of burden were often restive in mid-current, and
provoked a good deal of merriment. Some of the neighbouring camps having
herds of cattle, sent them to drink and to cool themselves in the river,
as the heat of the day increased. Their drivers urged them in, and then
enjoyed the fun of keeping them there by swimming round and round them.
One cow was very nearly lost, however, being carried away rapidly and
helplessly in the direction of the Dead Sea, but she was recovered. The
Jericho people returned home, several of them charged with parting
letters addressed to friends in Jerusalem; and we were left reposing,
literally reposing, on the eastern bank,--the English chatting happily;
the Arabs smoking or sleeping under shade of trees; pigeons cooing among
the thick covert, and a Jordan nightingale soothing us occasionally, with
sometimes a hawk or an eagle darting along the sky; while the
world-renowned river rolled before our eyes.
"Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum."
The novelty of the scenes, and the brilliancy of the atmosphere, as well
the vivacity of the recent transactions in "passing over Jordan," had
their duly buoyant effect upon youthful persons,--who were, however, not
forgetful of past events in these places belonging to sacred history.
The baggage went on; but, as the appointed halting-place was only about
two hours distant, we remained enjoying ourselves as we were during most
of the day.
Among our novel friends is an Arab hero named _Gublan_, as they pronounce
it here, (but it is really the Turkish word _Kaplan_, meaning _Tiger_,)
and his uncle, old 'Abdu'l 'Azeez. About three years before, Gublan had
been attacked by Government soldiers at Jericho. He made a feigned
retreat, and, leading them into the thickets of Neb'k trees, suddenly
wheeled round and killed six of them. The humbled Government force
retired, and the dead were buried, by having a mound of earth piled over
them. Of course, such an incident was never reported to the Sublime
Invincible Porte at Constantinople; but it was a curious coincidence,
that this very morning, amid our circle before the tents, after breakfast
and close to that mound, we had Gublan, 'Abdu'l 'Azeez, and the Turkish
Aga of the present time, all peaceably smoking pipes together in our
company.
Among our gentlemen we had a man of fortune and literary attainments, who
had been in Algiers, and now amused himself with dispensing with servants
or interpreters--speaking some Arabic. He brought but very light
luggage. This he placed upon a donkey, and drove it himself--wearing
Algerine town costume. The Bedaween, however, as I need scarcely say,
did not mistake him for an Oriental.
Moving forward in the afternoon, we were passing over the _Plains of
Moab_, "on this [east] side Jordan by Jericho"--where Balaam, son of
Beor, saw, from the heights above, all Israel encamped, and cried out,
"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As
the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the
trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees
beside the waters. . . . Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is
he that curseth thee," (Num. xxii. I, and xxiv. 5, 6, 9.) This territory
is also called the _Land of Moab_, where the second covenant was made
with the people by the ministry of Moses--the one "beside the covenant
which he made with them in Horeb."
Our ride was a gradual ascent; and after some time we were met by young
'Ali, the favourite son of the principal Shaikh Deab, (Wolf,) with a
small but chosen escort, sent on by his father to welcome us. We saw a
good deal of corn land, and people reaping their harvest. This belongs
to two or three scattered villages about there, under the immediate
protection of the Deab 'Adwan. The Arabs, however, in this part of the
world, do condescend to countenance and even to profit by agriculture,
for they buy slaves to sow and reap for them.
In two hours and a half from the Jordan we came to our halting-place, at
a spot called _Cuferain_, ("two villages")--the Kiriathaim of Jer.
xlviii. 23--at the foot of the mountain, with a strong stream of water
rushing past us. No sign, however, of habitations: only, at a little
distance to the south, were ruins of a village called _Er Ram_, (a very
common name in Palestine; but this is not Ramoth-Gilead;) and at half an
hour to the north was an inhabited village called _Nimrin_, from which
the stream flowed to us.--See Jer. xlviii. 34: "The waters of Nimrin
shall be desolate."
We had a refreshing breeze from the north which is justly counted a
luxury in summer time. The shaikhs came and had coffee with me. They
said that on the high summits we shall have cooler temperature than in
Jerusalem, which is very probable.
After dinner I sat at my tent-door, by the rivulet side, looking
southwards over the Dead Sea, and to the west over the line of the
promised land of Canaan, which I had never before had an opportunity of
seeing in that manner, although the well-known verse had been often
repeated in England--
"Oh could I stand where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o'er,
Not Death's cold stream nor Jordan's flood
Should fright me from the shore."
I then read over to myself in Arabic, the Psalms for the evening
service--namely, liii., liv., and lv.
About sunset there was an alarm that a lad who had accompanied us as a
servant from Jerusalem was missing ever since we left the Jordan.
Horse-men were sent in every direction in search of him. It was
afterwards discovered that he had returned to Jericho.
At about a hundred yards south of us was a valley called _Se'eer_, (its
brook, however, comes down from the north)--abounding in fine rosy
oleander shrubs.
During the night the water near us seemed alive with croaking frogs.
Last night we had the sand-flies to keep us awake.
_Friday_, 11_th_.--Thermometer 66 degrees before sunrise. My earliest
looks were towards Canaan, "that goodly land"--"the hills, from which
cometh my help." How keen must have been the feeling of his state of
exile when David was driven to this side the river!
Before breakfast I bathed in the Se'eer, among bushes of oleander and the
strong-scented _ghar_--a purple-spiked flower always found adjoining to
or in water-beds. Then read my Arabic Psalms as usual.
Before starting, young 'Ali and his party asked us all for presents, and
got none. We gave answer unanimously that we meant to give presents to
his father when we should see him. Strange how depraved the Arab mind
becomes on this matter of asking for gifts wherever European travellers
are found!--so different from the customs of ancient times, and it is not
found in districts off the common tracks of resort.
Our road lay up the hills, constantly growing more steep and precipitous,
and occasionally winding between large rocks, which were often overgrown
with honeysuckle in full luxuriance. The Arabs scrambled like wild
animals over the rocks, and brought down very long streamers of
honeysuckle, Luwayeh, as they call it, which they wound round and round
the necks of our horses, and generally got piastres for doing so. About
two-thirds of the distance up the ascent we rested, in order to relieve
the animals, or to sketch views, or enjoy the glorious scenery that lay
extended below us--comprising the Dead Sea, the line of the river trees,
Jericho, the woods of Elisha's Fountain, and the hills towards Jerusalem.
The Bedaween have eyes like eagles; and some avouched that they could see
the Mount of Olives, and the minaret upon its summit. They indicated to
us the positions of Es-Salt and of Heshban.
We had now almost attained a botanical region resembling that of the
Jerusalem elevation, instead of the Indian vegetation upon the Jordan
plain; only there was _ret'm_ (the juniper of 1 Kings xix. 4) to be
found, with pods in seed at that season; but we had also our long
accustomed terebinth and arbutus, with honeysuckle and pink
ground-convolvulus. The rocks were variegated with streaks of pink,
purple, orange, and yellow, as at Khatroon, on the Jerusalem road.
Partridges were clucking among the bushes; and the bells on the necks of
our mules lulled us with their sweet chime, as the animals strolled
browsing around in the gay sunshine.
When we moved forward once more, it was along paths of short zigzags
between cliffs, so that our procession was constantly broken into small
pieces. At length we lost sight of the Ghor and the Dead Sea; and after
some time traversing miles of red and white cistus, red everlasting, and
fragrant thyme and sage, with occasional terebinth-trees festooned with
honeysuckle, we came upon a district covered with millions, or billions,
or probably trillions, of locusts, not fully grown, and only taking short
flights; but they greatly annoyed our horses. My choice Arab, being at
that time ridden by my servant, fairly bolted away with fright for a
considerable distance.
At length we halted at a small spring oozing from the soil of the field.
The place was called _Hheker Zaboot_--a pretty place, and cuckoos on the
trees around us; only the locusts were troublesome.
'Abdu'l 'Azeez proposed that instead of going at once to Ammon, we should
make a detour by Heshbon and Elealeh, on the way to his encampment. To
this we all assented.
During the ride forward the old shaikh kept close to me, narrating
incidents of his life,--such as his last year's losses by the Beni
Sukh'r, who plundered him of all his flocks and herds, horses, tents, and
even most of his clothing,--then described the march of Ibrahim Pasha's
army in their disastrous attempt upon Kerak: also some of the valiant
achievements of his kinsman Gublan; and then proceeding to witticism,
gave me his etymological origin of the name of Hhesban--namely, that, on
the subsiding of the great deluge, the first object that Noah perceived
was that castle, perched as it is upon a lofty peak; whereupon he
exclaimed, _Hhus'n ban_--"a castle appears!" I wish I could recollect
more of his tales.
After passing through romantic scenery of rocks and evergreen trees, at a
sudden turn of the road we came to large flocks and herds drinking, or
couched beside a copious stream of water gushing from near the foot of a
rocky hill. This they called _'Ain Hhesban_; and told us that the
Egyptian army above alluded to, twenty thousand in number, passed the
night there before arriving at Kerak. To many of them it was their last
night on earth.
There were remains of large masonry lying about, and the scene was truly
beautiful--to which the bells of the goats and cows added a charming
musical effect.
I asked an Arab, who was bathing in a pool, where he had come from, and
he sulkily answered, "From t'other end of the world!" And I suppose he
was right in saying so, for what meaning could he attach to the
designation, _the world_. He must have meant the world of his own
experience, or that of his tribe, or his parents--probably extending to
the end of the Dead Sea in one direction, to the Lake of Tiberias in
another; to the Mediterranean in the west, and in the east to the wilds
unknown beyond the road of the Hhaj pilgrimage. "From the other end of
the world," quoth he, the companion of a shepherd boy with his flute, at
a mountain spring, pitching pebbles at the sheep of his flock to keep
them from wandering away over their extent of "the world."
As we proceeded, there were several other streams issuing from the hills,
some of them falling in pretty cascades into thickets of oleander below.
All these meeting together, formed a line of river flowing between grassy
banks--near which we saw considerable remains of water-mills, not of
great antiquity.
Next we reached two small forts: the one upon our side the stream they
called _Shuneh_, (the usual name used for that kind of building;) the
other was across the water, and they called it _Shefa 'Amer_. I should
wonder if our guides knew the existence of the town called _Shefa 'Amer_,
near Caiffa. They told us that both these forts had been erected by
Deab's grandfather, but this is incredible.
Near the Shuneh I observed a very large sarcophagus, cut in the solid
rock, but not so far finished as to allow of its being removed. In the
court-yard there was nothing remarkable. There were, however, some
ancient rabbeted stones lying near. Here I may remark, with respect to
the sarcophagus, that such things are rare on the east of the Jordan, or
anywhere else so far to the south. There are two lids of such lying on
the plain of Sharon, alongside the Jaffa road from Jerusalem; and the
next southernmost one that I know of (excepting those at Jerusalem) is an
ornamented lid, near Sebustieh, the ancient Samaria; but they abound in
Phoenicia.
Forward again we went, higher and higher, with wild flowers in profusion,
and birds carolling all around. Then literally climbing up a mountain
side, we came to a cleft in a precipice, which they called _El Buaib_,
(the little gate,) with unmistakable marks of ancient cuttings about
there. Traversing a fine plain of wheat, we at length reached the
ancient city of Heshbon, with its acropolis of temple and castle.
That plain would be fine exercise-ground for the cavalry of Sihon, king
of the Amorites. Fresh, and almost chilly, was the mountain air; but the
sky rather cloudy.
How magnificent was the prospect over to Canaan! We were all persuaded
that the Mount of Olives would be visible thence on a fine day; and I
have no doubt whatever that the site on which we were standing is that
peak--the only peak breaking the regular outline of the Moab mountains
which is seen from Jerusalem.
We scattered ourselves about in several groups among pavements and
columns of temples, (the most perfect of which are in the Acropolis,)
sepulchres, cisterns, and quarries, picking up fragments of pottery, with
some pattern work (not highly ornamental, however) upon them, and
tesserae or the cubes of tesselated pavement, such as may be found all
over Palestine. The Bedaween call them _muzzateem_ or _muzzameet_
indifferently. There were some good Corinthian capitals, fragments of
cornices, and portions of semicircular arches, and pieces of walls that
had been repaired at different periods. I entered one rock-hewn
sepulchre which contained seven small chambers; six of these had been
evidently broken into by main force, the seventh was still closed. This
was S.W. of the Acropolis.
All the works or ornamentations above ground were of Greek or Roman
construction, but we found no inscriptions or coins. Heshbon must have
been at all periods a strong place for defence, but with an unduly large
proportion of ornamentation to the small size of the city according to
modern ideas. Before leaving this site, far inferior to 'Amman, as we
found afterwards, I got the Arabs around me upon a rising ground, and,
with a compass in hand, wrote down from their dictation the names of
sites visible to their sharp eyesight:--
To To
S.S.W. Umm Sheggar. S.E.S. Kustul.
" Neba (Nebo?). S.E. Umm el 'Aamed.
" Main. " Khan em Meshettah.
S. Medeba. " Jawah.
S.E.S. Ekfairat " Kuriet es Sook.
(Kephiroth?).
" Jelool. E. Samek.
" Umm er Rumaneh. E.E.N. Ela'al.
" Zubairah. N. Es-Salt.
" Manjah. (The town not visible.)
These must have been the places that "stood under the shadow of Heshbon,"
(Jer. xlviii. 45.) One of them at least appears in Joshua xiii. 17,
etc., among "the cities that are in the plain of Heshbon." {17}
In half an hour we came to _Ela'al_, (Elealeh,) (Isa. xv. 4 and xvi. 9,
and Jer. xlviii. 34.) Large stones were lying about, and one column
standing upright, but without a capital. Fine corn-plains in every
direction around. Our tents pitched at _Na'oor_ were visible to the
E.N.E. through an opening between two hills. Cool cloudy day; all of us
enjoying the ride through wheat-fields, and over large unoccupied
plains--my old friend 'Abdu'l 'Azeez still adhering to me as his willing
auditor.
On coming up to his camp at Na'oor, we found that Shaikh Deab had already
arrived.
And now I may pause in the narrative to describe the _status_ of (1.)
ourselves; (2.) the Arabs.
(1.) Although apparently forming one company of English travellers, we
were really a combination of several small sets, of two or three persons
each--every set having its own cook, muleteer, and dragoman; but all the
sets on terms of pleasant intercourse, and smoking or taking tea with
each other.
We calculated that our horses and mules amounted to above a hundred in
number.
(2.) The whole territory from Kerak to Jerash is that of our 'Adwan
tribe, but divided into three sections--the middle portion being that of
the supreme chief Deab, the northern third that of 'Abdu'l 'Azeez, and
the southern that of a third named Altchai in the south towards Kerak;
but they all combine when necessary for a general object.
The 'Adwan sow corn by the labour of their purchased slaves. Gublan at
Cuferain, Deab and his son 'Ali at Nimrin, and a portion of the tribe
called "the children of Eyoob" cultivate in the same manner a tract near
the Dead Sea called the _Mezraa'_. These latter attach themselves
sometimes to the Deab section, called the _Dar 'Ali_, and sometimes to
the Gublan section, called the _Dar Nim'r_.
Their district is but a comparatively narrow strip at present, as they
are pressed upon by the _Beni Sukh'r_ on the east, who are again pressed
upon by the _'Anezeh_ farther eastward; these last are allies of our
people.
The Ghor or Jordan plain is open ground for all Arabs; and a few low
fellows called Abbad Kattaleen, hold a slip of ground downwards between
Es-Salt and the Jordan. Es-Salt is a populous and thriving town, the
only one in all that country. Kerak, to the south, may be as large, and
contain more remnants of mediaeval strength, but its affairs are not so
prosperous.
This station of Na'oor {19} is upon a long, low, green plain, lying
between two lines of high ground; and on a map, it would be nearly
central between the northern and southern extremities of the 'Adwan
country, or Belka. {20}
Strange and wild was the scene of the Bedawi encampment--the black tents
of goats' hair, the dark and ragged population sauntering about, the
flocks and the horses, the ragged or naked children; and then the women
in their blue, only article of dress, long-sleeved, their uncombed hair,
and lips dyed blue, all walking with dignity of step, most of them
employed in hanging up washed fleeces of wool to dry. One in particular
I remarked for her stately appearance, with the blue dress trailing long
behind, and the sleeves covering her hands; she was giving commands to
others.
As soon as we were well settled, and the first confusion over in making
our several arrangements with servants, etc., Shaikh Deab sent a
messenger asking permission for him to pay us a visit of welcome; and a
serious ceremonial visit took place accordingly. The great man was
arrayed in green silk, and carried a silver-handled sword and dagger; a
few chosen men of the tribe formed his train; coffee, pipes, and long
compliments followed. We all remarked his keen eyes, ardent like those
of a hawk in pursuit of prey. On taking leave he announced his intention
of presenting each gentleman with a sheep for our evening meal.
As soon as the indispensable solemnity of his visit was over, the camp
became more animated; the sheep were slaughtered; various parties being
formed for the feast, which was finished by the Arabs; and I invited all
to my tent for tea at night, when the weather became so piercing cold
that I found it necessary to have some hot brandy and water to drink.
In this place I wish to say how excellent is animal food dressed
immediately after killing. The practice is found, all through the Bible
histories, from Abraham entertaining the angels at Mamre, to the father
of the prodigal son killing the fatted calf for his reception. At that
stage the meat is exceedingly tender and delicate; whereas, if left, as
the European practice is, for some time after killing, it has to go
through another and less wholesome process in order to become tender
again. There are numerous medical opinions in favour of the Oriental
method of cooking the food immediately.
Another observation will not be out of place, on the almost universal
eating of mutton throughout Asia. I do not mean the anti-beef-eating
Brahmins of India, but in all countries of Asia, by eating of meat is
understood the eating of mutton, and horned cattle are reserved for
agricultural labour. In case of exceptions being met with, they are only
such few exceptions as help to prove the rule. This may perhaps be
attributed to the general insecurity of animal property in the East; but
that I do not think a sufficient reason to account for it. It seems,
however, that the ancient Israelites were not so much limited to eating
from the small cattle.
_Saturday_, 12_th_.--Thermometer 37 degrees just before sunrise, nearly
thirty degrees lower than under the same circumstances two days before.
The night had been cold and damp; the grass was found wet in the places
sheltered from the current of wind, which had elsewhere formed hoarfrost
over the field. This reminded us of the elevation we had reached to; and
we all exclaimed as to the reasonableness of Jacob's expostulation with
Laban, when he asserted that "in the day the drought [or heat] consumed
him, and the frost by night," (Gen. xxxi. 40.) We were upon frozen
ground in the month of May, after passing through a flight of locusts on
the preceding day.
A lively scene was the packing up. 'Abdu'l 'Azeez was happy at seeing us
all happy, and laying hold of a couple of dirty, ragged urchins, he shook
them well, and lifted them up from the ground, and offered them to me,
saying, "Here, take these little imps of mine, and do what you like with
them; send them to England if you will, for they are growing up like
beasts here, and what can I do?" All I could do was to speak cheerfully
to them, and make them some little presents. At the door of Deab's tent
was his bay mare of high race, and his spear planted beside her. He
accompanied us as far as his own encampment, two or three hours over wide
plains and grassy pastures. Soon after leaving Na'oor he took us up a
small hill, which was called _Setcher_, (probably _Setker_ in town
pronunciation,) where there were some ruins of no considerable amount,
but the stones of cyclopean size. Query--Were these remains of the
primeval Zamzummim? (Deut. ii. 20.)
At _Dahair el Hhumar_ (Asses' Hill) we alighted in Deab's own camp, not
large in extent or number of people, probably only a small detachment
from the main body brought with him for the occasion, but not such, or so
placed, as to interfere with the camp of 'Abdul 'Azeez. However, the
well-known emblems of the Shaikh's presence were observed--namely, his
tent being placed at the west end of the line, and his spear at its
entrance. Here took place the formality of returning his visit to us
yesterday; and here, after coffee and pipes, our presents were produced
and given. The travellers were collected in a very long black tent,
together with Deab, his son and friends. A screen at one end divided us
from the women's apartment, _i.e._, what would be the _Hhareem_ in houses
of towns; behind this curtain the women were peeping, chattering, and
laughing; of course we might expect this to be about the
extraordinary-looking strangers. It has been conjectured that such a
separation of the tent is implied in Gen. xviii. 6 and 10, when "Sarah
heard it in the tent-door which was behind him;" but this has no
foundation in the plain narrative of Scripture, only in the Arabic
translation the words seem to imply that understanding.
The presentation of offerings was a grave and solemn affair. Each donor
produced his tribute with an apology for the insignificance of the gift,
which was then exhibited in silence by an attendant to the populace of
the tribe crowding outside.
The ceremony was concluded by shouts of welcome, and a huge meal of
pilaff (rice and mutton upon a great tray of tinned copper) and leban,
(curdled milk,) with more smoking. Here we took leave of the chief, who
sent on a detachment of his tribe to escort us for the rest of our
expedition.
Remounted, and proceeded N.E. by N.; hitherto we had come due north from
Heshbon. Passed a hill called _Jehaarah_, and in a short time reached
the source of the river of Ammon, rising out of the ground, with a large
pavement of masonry near it. A numerous flock of sheep and goats were
being watered at the spring, it being near the time of As'r--_i.e._,
mid-afternoon.
Here the antiquities of _Amman_ commenced; and remains of considerable
buildings continually solicited our attention, as we passed on for
quarter of an hour more to our tents, which we found already pitched and
waiting for us among a crowd of ancient temples and baths and
porticoes,--in a forum between a line of eight large Corinthian columns
and the small river; in front too of a Roman theatre in good condition.
Some of the party, who were familiar with the ruins of Rome and Athens,
exclaimed aloud, "What would the modern Romans give to have so much to
show as this, within a similar space!"
This was Saturday afternoon; and we had already resolved to spend our
Sabbath in this wonderful and agreeable place, so remarkable in Scripture
history, and so seldom visited by Europeans.
I climbed up the seats of the theatre, and rested near the top, enjoying
the grand spectacle of luxurious architecture around; then descended, and
walked along its proscenium; but neither reciting passages of Euripides
nor of Terence, as some enthusiasts might indulge themselves in doing,
before an imagined audience of tetrarchs, centurions, or legionaries, or
other
"Romanos rerum dominos, gentemque togatam."
Close to this theatre was a covered and sumptuous building, which I could
not but suppose to be a naumachia, from its having rising rows of seats
around the central space, with a channel leading into this from the
river. As the shadows of evening lengthened, the heat of the day was
moderated, and I sauntered along the bank of the stream till I came to a
large headless statue of a female figure lying in the water. Some men
lifted it upon the green bank for me; but it was far too heavy to be
transported to Jerusalem for the Literary Society's Museum.
The swift-flowing rivulet abounded in fish, some of which the Arabs
killed for us, either by throwing stones or shooting them with bullets,
having no other means of getting at them; but the latter of these methods
was too costly to be often adopted. However, we had some fish for dinner
in "Rabbah, the city of waters." This stream is the commencement of the
Zerka, which we were to meet afterwards, after its course hence N.E. and
then N.W.
I feasted a dozen Arabs at my tent-door. Shaikh 'Abdul 'Azeez laughed
when I remarked that this place was better worth seeing than Heshbon, and
said, "This is a king's city. It was the city of King _Ghedayus_; and
Jerash, which is still more splendid, was built by _Sheddad_, of the
primitive race of the _Beni 'Ad_." Beyond this, of course, it was
impossible for him to imagine anything in matters of antiquity.
In my evening's Scripture reading, I was much struck with the opening of
the 65th Psalm: "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion,"--which passes
over all the examples of human achievement elsewhere, in order to
celebrate the peculiar and undying honours of Jerusalem. So now the
Grecian and the Roman colonies, who erected the marvels of architecture
around me, are gone; while the Jewish people, the Hebrew language, the
city of Jerusalem, and the Bible revelations of mercy from God to man,
continue for ever. But most particularly does this psalm, taken with the
circumstances there before our eyes, point out the difference made
between Ammon and Israel, and the reason for it, as predicted in Ezek.
xxv., 1-7:--"The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man,
set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; and say
unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord
God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was
profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and
against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; behold,
therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession,
and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in
thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. And I
will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place
for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. For thus saith the
Lord God; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the
feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of
Israel; behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off
from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I
will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord."
_Sunday_, 13_th_.--Dew on the grass; but it was the morning dew, which,
like human goodness, was soon exhaled.
After meditating on the chapters in Numbers and Deuteronomy which refer
to the conduct and destinies of Ammon and Moab, and reading Jer. xlviii.
and xlix. within "the flowing valley" of the 4th verse of the latter, I
was summoned to divine service in a tent fitted up for the
purpose,--carpets on the floor "honoris causa;" a table covered with
simple white, and a serious congregation of Englishmen before it, each
with his own Bible and prayer-book. Thank God that to carry such books
about in the wildest deserts is a characteristic of my countrymen!
This city of _'Amman_ is "the city in the midst of the river" of Joshua
xiii. 9; and "Rabbah of the children of Ammon"--the royal city--"the city
of waters" of 2 Sam. xii. 26, 27:--to the siege of which Joab invited
King David, "lest he should take it, and it should be called after his
name." Here was also deposited the huge iron bedstead of Og, king of
Bashan.
Under the Ptolemy dynasty--successors of Alexander--it was rebuilt, with
the name of Philadelphia. Several of the best edifices here, now
partially ruined, belong to that period.
Under the Crusaders it was a flourishing city and district, retaining the
Grecian name.
I could not but reflect on the infinite prescience that dictated the
prophecies of the Bible--no tongue could speak more plainly to us than
the scene around us did, the fulfilment of the denunciations that these
cities of Moab and Ammon should remain _as cities_ "without
inhabitants"--"not a man to dwell therein"--and "driven out every man,
right forth, and none shall gather up him that wandereth"--"desolate" and
"most desolate."
In the afternoon we walked about to inspect the antiquities, and found
several remains of Christian churches with bell-towers attached to
them--certainly not originally minarets. These edifices had been
afterwards, in Mohammedan times, converted into mosques, as evidenced by
the niche made in the south wall of each, pointing to Mecca; and there
are watch-towers for signals on all the summits of hills around. The
city lies nestled in a valley between these hills.
The first building I examined was among those of the citadel placed upon
a lofty eminence commanding the city, the ground-plan of which building
is here shown--
[Picture: Ground-plan of possible old church]
The interior of the walls was so profusely embellished with festoons of
roses and vine-grapes--both sculptured in stone and wrought in stucco,
and of very large size--that there was no room left for pictures or
images. The roof of this building is almost all fallen in. I imagined
this to have been a Christian church, of very remote antiquity, on
account of the vine and the roses, which are peculiarly Christian
symbols--alluding to the texts, "I am the true Vine," and "I am the Rose
of Sharon;" but the chambers in each corner are difficult to account for.
The east and west ends have no doors.
Near this is a square mass of masonry, upon which are standing six
columns, of magnificent dimensions, which no doubt originally supported a
roof. Their capitals, of chaste and correct Corinthian style, with
portions of ornamental entablature, are lying near. Perhaps belonging to
this, but at some distance, lies a ponderous piece of architrave, on
which, between lines of moulding, is an inscription in Greek--illegible
except the three letters--[Greek text]. These letters were nine inches
in length.
Nigh to this, again, was a square building of rabbeted stones, equal to
almost the largest in the walls of Jerusalem.
All down the hill, descending to our camp, were fragments of columns and
of decorated friezes of temples, that had evidently been rolled or had
slidden down from their places.
Upon various walls of dilapidated edifices I observed the curious marks,
slightly scratched, which almost resemble alphabetical characters, but
are not; and which have, wherever met with and wherever noticed, which is
but seldom, puzzled travellers, however learned, to decipher. I copied
the following:--
[Picture: Bedaween Arab token 1]
And from the shaft of a column still erect, half way down the hill, I
copied the following:--
[Picture: Bedaween Arab token 2]
I have since learned that they are the tokens of the Bedaween Arabs, by
which one tribe is distinguished from another. In common parlance they
are called the _Ausam_ (plural of Wasam) of the several tribes. {33}
In a valley to the north of us, leading westwards from the main valley,
we found a beautiful mausoleum tomb,--a building, not an excavation in
rock,--containing six sarcophagi, or ornamented stone coffins, ranged
upon ledges of masonry, along three sides of the chamber. These were
very large, and all of the same pattern--the lids remaining upon some of
them, but shifted aside. Beautiful sculptured embellishments were upon
the inside walls and over the portal outside, but no inscriptions to
indicate the period or persons to whom they belonged. Inside, however,
were rudely scratched the modern Arab tribe-signs, showing that persons
of such tribes had visited there; so that Europeans are not the only
travellers who help to disfigure ancient monuments by scribbling. Along
this western valley were several other such mausoleums. Thence we
mounted on a different side to the summit of that hill from which I have
here begun my description of edifices--upon a gentle sloping road,
evidently of artificial cutting, quite feasible for ascent of chariots.
Near the square (possible) church before mentioned, (though I should say
that our party were not all convinced of its being a church,) is a
prodigiously large cistern, of good masonry. From the top of the strong
walls of the building--while some Arab boys below me were reaching birds'
nests--I got from our guide the following list of sites in the
neighbourhood. They were of course unable to discriminate between
ancient and modern names; and I do not find one Bible name among them
all:--
From north to west--
Thuggeret el Baider. Esh-Shemesani.
Kassar Waijees. Esh-Shwaifiyeh.
Es-Salt. Umm Malfoof.
From west to east--
'Abdoon. Mesdar 'Aishah.
Umm es Swaiweeneh. El Mergab.
Towards the east--
Merj Merka. 'Ain Ghazal.
Ursaifah (in a valley with a
river).
El Muntar el Kassar, between two
artificial hills.
The people informed me of a place, a little nearer than Kerak, called
_Rabbah_. This latter may be a _Rabbath-Moab_.
I have no further notes to transcribe respecting the architectural
remains; but they are so numerous and so important that a week would not
suffice for their thorough investigation. All our party were highly
gratified at having visited this Rabbath-Ammon--_alias_
Philadelphia--_alias_, at present, 'Amman. We were not, however, so
fortunate as Lord Lindsay in finding a fulfilment of the prophecy (Ezek.
xxv. 5) with respect to camels, either alive or dead. Probably, when he
was there, it was soon after an Egyptian military expedition to Kerak.
The prodigious number of dead camels that he saw there would seem to
indicate that a great Arab battle had been fought at that place shortly
before. It is only in this way that we could account for a cannonball
(about a six-pounder) which one of the boys carried about, in following
us, all the afternoon, wishing us to buy it of him as a curiosity.
On returning to the tents, I found an old Jerusalem acquaintance--a
Moslem named 'Abderrahhman Bek el 'Asali--and with him several people
from Es-Salt; among these a Christian named Abbas.
From conversation with them I got some fresh information on Arab affairs.
These people took the opportunity of glorifying their native town;
related how they are frequently at war, and that successfully, with the
'Adwan; and when acting in concert with the Abbad, or much more so when
in alliance with the Beni Sukh'r, can always repel them; only it happens
that sometimes the 'Adwan get help from the more distant 'Anezeh; and
this is much more than enough to turn the balance again. But even now
the 'Adwan cannot come near the town; neither can they quite forget that
the Saltiyeh people, during a former war, killed both the father and
grandfather of Deab, and sent the head of the former to the tribe in a
dish, with a pilaff of rice.
All the strength of the 'Adwan now lies in Shaikh Deab, with his son
'Ali, (who came to welcome us near the Jordan,) and Gublan the nephew.
Old 'Abdu'l 'Azeez is considered childish, and unfit to lead them.
For us travellers, however, the 'Adwan are sufficient. The territory is
theirs over which we are passing, and they do all they can to please us;
only, of course, like all Arab guides, they take every opportunity of
insinuating themselves into being fed by us, which is a condition "not in
the bond."
Then came a visit of three men with good-natured countenances. These
were Bedawi minstrels from Tadmor, (Palmyra,) who wander about from tribe
to tribe, singing heroic poems to the accompaniment of their rebabeh, (a
very primitive sort of fiddle.) No warfare interferes with the immunity
of their persons or property. They are never injured or insulted, but
are always and everywhere welcome, and liberally rewarded. Of course it
is for their interest to gratify the pride of their auditors by fervid
appeals to their ancestral renown, or to individual prowess and
generosity.
The Arabic of their chants is unintelligible to towns-people; it is the
high classic language of Antar.
I had made acquaintance with these same men before at Tibneen Castle,
near the Lebanon, during a season of Bairam. Being Sunday, we requested
them to visit our tents in the morning. Our Arabs, however, and the
dragomans kept them singing till a late hour round the fires lighted
among the tents. It was a cheerful scene, in the clear starlight, and
the lustrous planet Venus reflected in the running stream.
_Monday_, 14_th_.--After breakfast, and an entertainment of music from
our troubadours, and the bestowing of our guerdon, these left us on their
way to the other camp at Na'oor; and our packing up commenced.
Strange medley of costumes and languages among the grand colonnades. Our
Arabs left us, having the luggage in charge, and indicating to us the
camping-ground where we were to meet again at night--thus leaving us in
care of the Saltiyeh friends of ours, who were to escort us to their town
and its neighbourhood, as the 'Adwan might not go there themselves.
Both the Christian and Moslem shaikhs of the town came to meet us on the
way. The former was a very old man; and he could with difficulty be
persuaded to mount his donkey in presence of a train so majestic, in his
eyes, coming from the holy city of Jerusalem.
We passed an encampment of _Beni Hhasan_. These people are few in
number, and exist under the shadow of the 'Adwan.
There were plenty of locusts about the country; but we soon came to a
vast space of land covered with storks, so numerous as completely to hide
the face of the earth, all of them busily employed in feeding--of course
devouring the locusts. So great is the blessing derived from the visits
of storks, that the natives of these countries regard it as a sin to
destroy the birds. On our riding among them they rose in the air,
entirely obscuring he sky and the sun from our view. One of our party
attempted to fire among them with his revolver, but, by some heedlessness
or accident, the bunch of barrels, being not well screwed down flew off
the stock and was lost for a time; it took more than half an hour's
search by all of us to find it again, and the Arabs considered this a
just punishment for wishing to kill such useful creatures.
We traversed a meadow where Shaikh Faisel, with a detachment of the
'Anezeh, had encamped for pasture, and only left it thirty-five days
before. His flocks and herds were described to us as impossible to be
counted; but our friends were unanimous in stating that his camels were
1500 in number.
Came to _Khirbet es Sar_, (_Jazer_?) whence the Dead Sea was again
visible. Our Arabs declared that they could distinguish the Frank
mountain, and see into the streets of Bethlehem. Here there is a mere
heap of ruin, with cisterns, and fragments of arches, large columns, and
capitals; also a very rough cyclopean square building of brown striped
flint in huge masses.
This site is three hours due north of Na'oor, in a straight line, not
turning aside to Deab's camp or 'Amman. Northwards hence are the
well-wooded hills of _'Ajloon_. To my inquiries for any site with a name
resembling Nebo, I was referred to the _Neba_, half an hour south of
Heshbon, which is given in the list taken down by me at Heshbon.
Proceeding northwards, we had the hills of _Jebel Mahas_ parallel on our
right hand; and to our left, in a deep glen below, was the source of the
stream Se'eer, which had flowed past us at _Cuferain_, our first
encampment after crossing the Jordan.
Arrived at the ruined town (modern in appearance) of _Dabook_, from
whence they say the _Dabookeh_ grapes at Hebron {39} had their origin;
but there are none to be seen here now (see Jer. xlviii. 32, 33)--"O vine
of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are
gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is
fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. And joy and gladness
is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have
caused wine to fail from the wine-presses," etc.: with nearly the same
words in Isa. xvi. 8-10.
At a short distance upon our right was a ruined village called _Khuldah_.
This was at the entrance of woods of the evergreen oak, with hawthorn,
many trees of each kind twined round with honeysuckle. There Shaikh
Yusuf, (the Moslem of Es-Salt,) who is a fine singer, entertained us with
his performances, often bursting into extemporaneous verses suitable to
the occasion and company.
On reaching an exceedingly stony and desolate place, he related the
original story of Lokman the miser, connected with it:--"Formerly this
was a fertile and lovely spot, abounding in gardens of fruit; and as the
Apostle Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him!) was passing by, he
asked for some of the delicious produce for his refreshment on the weary
way, but the churlish owner Lokman denied him the proper hospitality, and
even used insulting language to the unknown traveller, (far be it from
us!) Whereupon the latter, who was aware beforehand of the man's
character, and knew that he was hopelessly beyond the reach of
exhortation and of wise instruction, invoked upon him, by the spirit of
prophecy, the curse of God, (the almighty and glorious.) And so his
gardens were converted into these barren rocks before us, and the fruit
into mere stones."
Such was the tale. But similar miraculous punishments for inhospitality
are told at Mount Carmel, as inflicted by the Prophet Elijah; and near
Bethlehem by the Virgin Mary.
From a distance we caught a distant view of the _Beka' el Basha_, or
Pasha's meadow, where we were to encamp at night, but turned aside
westwards in order to visit the town of Es-Salt. Upon a wide level tract
we came to a small patch of ground enclosed by a low wall, to which a
space was left for entrance, with a lintel thrown across it, but still
not above four feet from ground. On this were bits of glass and beads
and pebbles deposited, as votive offerings, or tokens of remembrance or
respect. The place is called the Weli, or tomb, of a Persian Moslem
saint named _Sardoni_. But it should be recollected that in Arabic the
name _'Ajam_, or Persia, is often used to signify any unknown distant
country to the east.
At _'Ain el Jadoor_ we found water springing out of the rocks, among
vineyards and fig and walnut trees, olives also, and pomegranates--a
beautiful oasis, redeemed from the devastation of Bedaween by the strong
hand of the town population. Near this the Christian Shaikh Abbas, being
in our company, was met by his venerable mother and his son Bakhi.
In every direction the town of Es-Salt is environed by fruitful gardens,
the produce of which finds a market in Nabloos and Jerusalem. The
scenery reminded me of the Lebanon in its green aspect of industry and
wealth.
Entering the town we dismounted at the house of Shaikh Yusuf, and took
our refreshment on the open terrace, on the shady side of a wall.
Some of us walked about and visited the two Christian churches: they are
both named "St George," and are very poor in furniture. Of course they
have over the door the universal picture in these countries of St George
on his prancing gray horse. This obtains for them some respect from the
Mohammedans, who also revere that martial and religious hero. Inside the
churches we found some pictures with Russian writing upon the frames; the
people informed us that these were presents from the Emperor Nicholas,
which is worthy of notice.
The ignorance of the priests here is proverbial all over Palestine. I
have heard it told of them as a common practice, that they recite the
Lord's Prayer and the _Fathhah_, or opening chapter of the Koran,
alternately, on the ground that these are both very sublime and
beautiful; and it is said that they baptize in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Virgin Mary. There is reason to believe
them very grossly ignorant; but it may be that some of these reports
about them emanate from the Roman Catholic authorities in Jerusalem, who
never hesitate at propagating slanders to the detriment of non-Romanists.
In a church porch I found a school of dirty ragged children reading the
Psalms from the small English printed edition; not, however, learning to
read by means of the alphabet or spelling, but learning to know the forms
of words by rote; boys and girls together, all very slightly dressed, and
one of the boys stark naked.
People came to me to be cured of ophthalmia. I got out of my portmanteau
for them some sugar of lead; but it is inconceivable the difficulty I had
to get a vessel for making it into a lotion--bottles or phials were
totally unknown, not even cups were to be procured. At one time I
thought of a gourd-shell, but there was not one _dried_ in the town; so
they told me. I might have lent them my drinking-cup, but then I wanted
to prepare a large quantity to be left behind and to be used
occasionally. I forget now what was the expedient adopted, but I think
it was the last named-one, but of course only making sufficient for
immediate use. I left a quantity behind me in powder, with directions to
dilute it considerably whenever any vessel could be found; warning the
people, however, of its poisonous nature if taken by mouth.
One man came imploring me to cure him of deafness, but I could not
undertake his case. In any of those countries a medical missionary would
be of incalculable benefit to the people.
There are ancient remains about the town, but not considerable in any
respect. It is often taken for granted that this is the Ramoth-Gilead of
Scripture, but I believe without any other reason than that, from the
copious springs of water, there must always have been an important city
there. The old name, however, would rather lead us north-eastwards to
the hills of _Jela'ad_, where there are also springs and ruins.
On leaving the town we experienced a good deal of annoyance from the
Moslem population, one of whom stole a gun from a gentleman of the party,
and when detected, for a long time refused to give it up. Of course, in
the end it was returned; but I was told afterwards that the people had a
notion that we ought to pay them something for visiting their town, just
as we pay the wild Arabs for visiting Jerash. What a difference from the
time of the strong Egyptian Government when Lord Lindsay was there!
At a distance of perhaps half or three-quarters of an hour there is a
_Weli_ called _Nebi Osha_; that is to say, a sepulchre, or commemorative
station of the Prophet Joshua, celebrated all over the country for the
exceeding magnificence of the prospect it commands in every direction.
In order to reach this, we had to pass over hills and plains newly taken
into cultivation for vineyards, mile after mile, in order to supply a
recent call for the peculiar grapes of the district at Jerusalem to be
sent to London as raisins.
Arrived at the Weli, we found no language sufficient to express the
astonishment elicited by the view before us; and here it will be safest
only to indicate the salient points of the extensive landscape, without
indulging in the use of epithets vainly striving to portray our feelings.
We were looking over the Ghor, with the Jordan sparkling in the sunshine
upon its winding course below. In direct front was _Nabloos_, lying
between Ebal and Gerizim; while at the same time we could distinguish
Neby Samwil near Jerusalem, the Mount Tabor, Mount Carmel, and part of
the Lebanon all at once! On our own side of Jordan we saw the extensive
remains of _Kala'at Rubbad_, and ruins of a town called _Maisera_. On
such a spot what could we do but lie in the shade of the whitewashed
Weli, under gigantic oak-trees, and gaze and ponder and wish in
silence,--ay, and pray and praise too,--looking back through the vista of
thirty-three centuries to the time of the longing of Moses, the "man of
God," expressed in these words "O Lord God, Thou hast begun to show Thy
servant Thy greatness and Thy mighty hand: . . . I pray Thee let me go
over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain,
and Lebanon." The honoured leader of His people--the long-tried man
"through good report and evil report," who, during his second forty years
which he spent as a shepherd in Midian, had been accustomed to the
abstemious habits and keen eyesight of the desert; and, at the end of
another forty years as the ruler of a whole nation, living in the desert,
"his eye was not dim,"--added to which natural advantage, we are told
that "the Lord showed him all the land," highly cultivated as it was then
by seven nations greater and mightier than Israel,--Moses must have
beheld a spectacle from Pisgah and Nebo, surpassing even the glories of
this landscape viewed by us from Nebi Osha.
Turning eastwards to our evening home, we passed a ruined site called
_Berga'an_, where we had one more view of the Dead Sea, and traversed
large plains of ripe corn, belonging, of course, to the people of
Es-Salt. The people requested me to pray to God that the locusts might
not come there, since all that harvest was destined for Jerusalem.
We met some of the _'Abbad Kattaleen_ Arabs, but we were safe under the
escort of the Saltiyeh instead of the 'Adwan. These 'Abbad are the
people who assaulted and plundered some seamen of H.M.S. "Spartan" in
1847, on the Jordan; for which offence they have never yet been
chastised, notwithstanding the urgent applications made to the Turkish
Pashas of Jerusalem, Bayroot, and Damascus. We did not arrive at the
encampment till long after dark, and there was no moonlight.
The site is on a plain encircled by hills, with plenty of water
intersecting the ground; the small streams are bordered by reeds and long
grass. A khan, now in ruin, is situated in the midst--a locality
certainly deserving its name, _Beka' el Basha_, and is said to have been
a favourite camping-station for the Pashas of Damascus in former times.
Much to our vexation, the Arabs and the muleteers had pitched our tents
in a slovenly manner among the winding water-courses, so that we had wet
reeds, thistles, and long grass, beetles and grasshoppers inside the
tents, which again were wetted outside with heavy dew. They had done
this in order to keep the cattle immediately close to us, and therefore
as free from forayers as possible during the night. Such was the reason
assigned, and we were all too hungry and tired to argue the matter
further.
My people complained to me of the insolence of the Saltiyeh guides that
were with us; so I sent for the two shaikhs and scolded them. They
persisted in it that they did not deserve the rebuke, that the complaints
ought to be laid against a certain farrier who had come over from
Jerusalem, etc., etc. My servant ended the affair by shouting at them,
"Take my last word with you and feed upon it--'God send you a strong
government.'" This at least they deserved, for they are often in arms
against the Turkish government: and although so prosperous in trade and
agriculture, are many years in arrear with their taxes.
_Tuesday_, 15_th_.--Early in the morning there were Saltiyeh people
reaping harvest near us, chiefly in the Christian fields; for here the
case is not as in Palestine, where Christians generally sow and reap in
partnership with Moslems, for their own safety; but the Moslems have
their fields, and the Christians have theirs apart, which shows that
their influence is more considerable here; indeed, the Christians carry
arms, and go out to war against the Bedaween, quite like the Moslems.
Before we left, the day was becoming exceedingly hot, and we had six
hours' march before us to Jerash.
The hills abound with springs of water. We passed one called _Umm el
'Egher_, another called _Safoot_, also _Abu Mus-hhaf_, and _Tabakra_, and
_'Ain Umm ed Dumaneer_, with a ruin named _Khirbet Saleekhi_.
The 'Adwan Arabs were now again our guides, the Saltiyeh having returned
home; but for some distance the guides were few and without firearms,
only armed with spears, and the common peasant sword called _khanjar_;
perhaps this was by compact with the Saltiyeh, as in about an hour's time
we were joined by a reinforcement with a few matchlock guns. On we went
through corn-fields, which are sown in joint partnership with the Arabs
and the Moslems of the town; then doubled round a long and high hill with
a ruin on it, called _Jela'ad_. This I have since suspected to be
Ramoth-Gilead. We descended a hill called _Tallooz_; forward again
between hills and rocks, and neglected evergreen woods, upon narrow
paths. A numerous caravan we were, with a hundred animals of burden,
bright costumes, and cheerful conversation, till we reached a large
terebinth-tree under a hill called _Shebail_; the site is called
_Thuggeret el Moghafer_, signifying a "look-out station" between two
tribes. There we rested a while, till the above-mentioned reinforcement
joined us. From this spot we could just discern _Jerash_, on the summit
of a huge hill before us.
We now had one long and continued descent to the river Zerka. Passed
through a defile, on issuing from which we observed a little stream with
oleander, in pink blossom, thirty feet high, and in great abundance.
Halted again at a pretty spring, called _Ruman_, where the water was upon
nearly a dead level, and therefore scarcely moving; then another small
spring, called _Bursa_, and also _'Ain el Merubb'a'_.
Evergreen oak in all directions, but with broader leaf than in Palestine;
also some terebinth-trees and wild holly-oaks. All the scenery now
expanded before us in width and height and depth.
We took notice of several high hills with groves of evergreen oak on
their summits; detached hills, which we could not but consider as remains
of the ancient _high places_ for idolatrous worship.
Still descended, till on a sudden turn of the road came the rushing of
the _Zerka_, or Jabbok, water upon our ears, with a breeze sighing among
juniper-bushes, and enormous and gorgeous oleanders, together with the
soft zephyr feeling from the stream upon our heated faces--oh, so
inexpressibly delicious! I was the first to get across, and on reaching
the opposite bank we all dismounted, to drink freely from the river--a
name which it deserves as at that place it is about two-thirds of the
width of the Jordan at the usual visiting-place for travellers.
Some of the party went bathing. We all had our several luncheons, some
smoked, all got into shady nooks by the water-side; and I, with my heart
full, lay meditating on the journey we had hitherto made.
At length I had been permitted by God's good providence to traverse the
territory of Moses and the chosen people antecedent to the writing of the
Pentateuch, when they were warring upon Ammon and Moab. How solemn are
the sensations derived from pondering upon periods of such very hoar
antiquity--a time when the deliverance at the Red Sea, the thunders of
Sinai, the rebellion of Korah and Dathan, the erection of the tabernacle,
and the death of Aaron, were still fresh in the memories of living
witnesses; and the manna was still their food from heaven,
notwithstanding the supplies from the cultivated country they were
passing through, (Josh. v. 12.) Elisha did well in after times on the
banks of Jordan, when he cried out, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?"
And we may exclaim, in contemplation of these marvellous events of the
still more remote ages, "Where is the Lord God of Moses, who with a
mighty hand and stretched-out arm"--"redeemed His people from their
enemies; for His mercy endureth for ever!" Nations and generations may
rise and pass away; phases of dominion and civilisation may vary under
Assyrian, Egyptian, Hellenic, and Roman forms, or under our modern
modifications; yet all this is transitory. The God of creation,
providence, and grace, He lives and abides for ever. His power is still
great as in the days of old, His wisdom unsearchable, and His goodness
infinite. Ay, and this dispenser of kingdoms is also the guide of the
humble in heart, and He cares for the smallest concerns of individual
persons who rest upon Him.
Strengthened by these and similar reflections, with ardent aspirations
for the future, I rose up and pursued my journey, as Bunyan's pilgrim
might have done, under the heartfelt assurance that "happy is he that
hath the God of _Jacob_ for his help."
We were now leaving behind us much of the Old Testament country--not
exclusively that of the Mosaic era, but the land which had been trodden
by the patriarchs Abraham and Israel on their several removals from
Padan-aram to Canaan. But, while looking back upon the grand landscape
outline with an intense degree of interest, it may be well to remark
that, among all our company, there was a feeling of uncertainty as to the
geographical boundaries of the lands possessed by the old people of
Ammon, Moab, and Bashan. Probably there had been some fluctuations of
their towns and confines between the time of the exodus and the
prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
One thing is certain--that we all, with one heart, were confident that
God spake by Moses and the prophets; and that, with the incidents, the
people and the local names we had lately passed among, we might as soon
believe in the non-existence of the sun and stars, as that the books
called "The Law of Moses" are not in every word a record of infallible
truth.
We had now a different journey, and a different set of scenes before us,
entering into the half tribe of Manasseh.
[Picture: Triumphal Arch]
Ascending the steep mountain-sides with two of the guides, I preceded the
rest of the party, and even the baggage mules. In perhaps half an hour,
(it may be more,) I came to a triumphal arch, the commencement of Jerash.
One of the guides told me that they call this the Amman Gate of the old
city; for that, in ancient times, there were two brothers, one named
Amman, and the other Jerash. Each of them built a city, and gave it his
own name; but called the gate nearest to his brother's city, by the name
of that brother.
At this gateway I observed the anomaly of the columns on each side of the
principal opening, having their capitals at the bottom of the shafts, and
resting on the pediments, though in an upright position. It was very
ridiculous. When could this have been done--at the original erection of
the gate, or at a later rebuilding, after an earthquake had shaken the
pillars? It would seem to me to be the former, as they are posted
against the wall, and this is not disturbed or altered. The columns and
the curve of the portal are gone, so that it cannot be seen whether
originally they had capitals on the heads also of the columns. It is
most probable that those remaining are not the true capitals, inasmuch as
they have no volutes.
Passing by inferior monuments of antiquity,--such as a sepulchre, a
single column, a sarcophagus, and then a square elevated pavement in good
condition, upon which are several sarcophagi, some of them broken, and
all with the lids displaced,--I came to a large circus of Ionic columns,
almost all standing, and joined to each other at the top by architraves.
Thence holding on the same direction forwards due north, our way was
between a double row of grand Corinthian columns with their capitals, and
occasional temples to the right and left. At the termination of this,
but without continuing the same line, between columns of another Grecian
order, I turned aside, at a vast Roman bath, to a spring of water, the
commencement of a running stream, in a small meadow of tall grass and
thorns, intending to pitch my tent there; but soon changed my mind, and
got myself established within a wing of the Roman bath, which stood on
higher ground, and had a good roof upon it.
The other gentlemen on coming up, adopted the choice of their dragomans
and muleteers, near the water, after having the thorns and thistles
cleared away. A fresh afternoon breeze that sprang up was peculiarly
grateful to men and cattle.
After some rest, I proceeded to stroll about,--first of all to the great
Temple of the Sun, on a rising ground to the west of the great colonnade,
which, besides the columns along all the sides of the edifice, has a
conspicuous portico in front, consisting of twelve magnificent Corinthian
columns, a few of which are fallen. Thence I walked to the Naumachia,
near the southern extremity of the city, (that by which we had arrived,)
and found this in good condition, with the seats remaining, and the
channel well defined which conveyed water for the exhibitions from the
above-mentioned spring. The form is a long oval, flattened at one end.
In passing once more between the double line of Corinthian columns, I
counted fifty-five of them standing, besides fragments and capitals of
the missing ones lying on the ground.
From this I diverged at right angles, through a street of small public
buildings, towards the bridge over the stream, (and this I called Bridge
Street--part of the pavement still remains, consisting of long slabs laid
across the whole width from house to house;) then upon the bridge, as far
as its broken condition would allow, and returned to my home--everywhere
among scattered fragments of entablature; numerous altars entire, and
sculptured with garlands; also broken buildings, with niches embellished
inside with sculptured ornament. In all my exploration, however, I found
no statues or fragments of statues--the Mohammedan iconoclasts had long
ago destroyed all these; but there were some remains of inscriptions,
much defaced or worn away by the work of time.
The natural agencies by which the edifices have come to ruin seem to
be--first, earthquakes; then the growth of weeds, thorns, and even trees,
between the courses of stone, after the population ceased; or rain and
snow detaching small pieces, which were followed by larger; also
sometimes a sinking of the ground; and besides these common causes of
decay, there comes the great destroyer--man.
Yet nature is always picturesque, even after the demolition of the works
of human art or genius; and it is pleasing to see the tendrils, leaves,
and scarlet berries of the nightshade playfully twining among the
sculptured friezes which are scattered about in every position but
straight lines; or other plants between the volutes, rivalling the
acanthus foliage of the classic capitals.
Sunset: a beautiful landscape all around; and a pretty view of the
travellers' tents, the Arabs, and the cattle below me.
After dinner I walked by starlight along the Ionic colonnade, which is a
further continuation northwards of the Corinthian, and found nearly the
whole length, with the intermediate pavement, remaining, consisting of
squares about two feet in length, laid down in diamond pattern.
At night there were flickering lights and varieties of human voices
below; the frogs croaking loud near the rivulet; and the rooks, whom I
had dislodged from their home within the Roman bath, had taken refuge on
the trees about us, unable to get to rest, being disturbed by our unusual
sights and sounds.
_Wednesday_, 16_th_.--A visitor came early--namely, Shaikh Yusuf--with
two of his people from _Soof_. The old man exhibited numerous
certificates given by former travellers--all English--whom he had
accompanied as guide either to Beisan or Damascus. He offered his
services to take us even, if we pleased, as far as Bozrah.
Then came Shaikh Barakat el Fraikh with a large train. He is ruler over
all the _Jebel 'Ajloon_, and has been residing lately on the summit of a
high hill rising before us to the east, where there is a weli or tomb of
a Moslem saint, the Nebi Hhood, who works miraculous cures. Barakat is
in delicate health, and has twenty wives. His metropolis, when he
condescends to live in a house, is at a village called _Cuf'r Enji_; but
his district comprises fifteen inhabited villages, with above three
hundred in ruins,--so it is said.
As for the saint himself, he has a very respectable name for antiquity,
too ancient for regular chronology to meddle with--it is only known that
he preached righteousness to an impious race of men previous to their
sudden destruction. The circumstance of his tomb being on the summit of
a high hill is perfectly consonant with the sentiments of great heroes
and chiefs, as frequently expressed in poems of the old Arabs. The
restoration of health which he is supposed to bestow, must be that
effected by means of the fine mountain air at his place. At 'Amman, old
'Abdu'l 'Azeez had said that Jerash was built by the Beni 'Ad, a
primitive race mentioned in the Koran.
A ridiculous figure appeared of a Turkish subaltern officer, who has come
into this wild desert to ask the people for tribute to the Porte. A
Turkish kawwas in attendance on him, I observed to shrug up his shoulders
when he heard nothing but Arabic being spoken among us. They arrived
here in the company of Shaikh Yusuf, whose son is nominally a Turkish
military officer, commanding three hundred imaginary Bashi-Bozuk, or
irregular cavalry. By means of such titles they tickle the vanity of the
Arab leaders, and _claim_ an annual tribute of 218 purses, (about 1000
pounds,) and are thus enabled to swell out the published army list, and
account of revenue printed in Constantinople. {58}
So that next to nothing is in reality derived from these few sparse
villages; and from the tent Arabs less than nothing, for the Turks have
to bribe these to abstain from plundering the regular soldiers belonging
to Damascus.
The 'Anezi Shaikh Faisel was encamped at only fourteen hours' distance
from us.
Common Arab visitors arrived--from no one knew where: some on horseback,
to see what could be picked up among us; even women and children. They
must have travelled during the night. A handsomely-dressed and
well-armed youth on horseback, from Soof, accosted me during one of my
walks.
I bought two sheep for a feast to the Arabs that came about my tent; but
they asked to have the money value instead of the feast. Alas for the
degradation! What would their forefathers have said to them had they
been possibly present?
Afternoon: a fine breeze sprang up, as is usual in elevated districts. I
strolled again with an attendant--first outside the ancient wall on the
east side of the rivulet, where it is not much dilapidated; it is all
built of rabbeted stones, though not of very large size; then crossed
over to the western wall, and traced out the whole periphery of the city
by the eye.
In the great Corinthian colonnade, one of our party called me to him, and
showed me some inscriptions about the public edifices along that line,
and at the Temple of the Sun. There was one inscription in Latin, on a
square pedestal; a similar one near it, broken across, had a Greek
inscription. The rest were all in Greek, but so defaced or injured that
seldom could a whole word be made out. However, we found, in a small
temple beyond the city wall to the north, in a ploughed field, an
inscription more perfect, containing the work _Nemesis_ in the first
line. There also I saw several mausoleums, with sarcophagi handsomely
ornamented, and fragments of highly-polished red Egyptian granite
columns, to our great surprise as to how they had arrived there,
considering not only the distance from which they had been brought, and
the variety of people through whose hands they had passed since being cut
out roughly from the quarries of upper Egypt; but, moreover, the
difficulty to be surmounted in bringing them to this elevation, across
the deep Jordan valley, even since their disembarkation from the
Mediterranean either at Jaffa or Caiffa.
The inscriptions that I had been able to collect were as follows:--
[Picture: Two inscriptions]
Among all the hundreds of fragments of fine capitals and friezes lying
about Jerash, there was not one that was not too heavy for us to carry
away. I found no ornamented pottery, although we had found some even at
Heshbon; neither coins, nor even bits of statues. And remarkable enough
in our European ideas, so little space appeared for private common
habitations--as usual among ruined cities of remote antiquity--it seemed
as if almost the whole enclosure was occupied by temples or other public
institutions.
Yet there must have habitations for a numerous population. And, again,
such a city implies the existence of minor towns and of numerous villages
around, and a complete immunity from incursions of wild Arab tribes.
These latter were unknown to a population who could build such temples,
naumachia, and colonnades, and who were protected farther eastwards by
the numerous cities with high roads, still discoverable in ruins beyond
this--Belka and 'Ajloon. But of how different a character must have been
the daily necessities of these old populations from the requirements of
modern European existence. _We_ should not be satisfied with the mere
indulgence of gazing upon the aesthetic beauty of temples and colonnades.
Climate, however, has much to do in this matter.
At night we had a general conference at the encampment respecting the
future march, as we had now finished with the 'Adwan Arabs. {61}
The resolution was taken to proceed on the morrow to _Umm Kais_, under
the guidance of Shaikh Yusuf of Soof, and proceed thence to Tiberias.
He, however, would not ensure but that we might be met and mulcted by the
Beni Sukh'r for leave to traverse their territory. He was to receive 500
piastres, (nearly 5 pounds,) besides 50 piastres for baksheesh; but
whatever we might have to pay the Beni Sukh'r was to be deducted from the
above stipulation.
_Thursday_, 17_th_.--Great noise of jackdaws under my vaulted roof at
break of day, they having mustered up courage to return to their nests
there during the night.
During the packing up of the luggage, I took a final and lonely walk
along the colonnades to the Naumachia, and outside the wall S.W. of the
Amman gate, where I observed some columns, or portions of such, of
twisted pattern; returned by the bridge. The thrush, the cuckoo, and the
partridge were heard at no great distance, near the stream.
We left upon the meadow a parliamentary debate of Arabs gathered around
the chief's spear, all the men ranting and screaming as only such people
can, and they only at the beginning or end of a bargain.
Slowly we defiled in a long line over rising ground, higher and higher,
upon a good highway, bordered on each side by numerous sarcophagi; as
along the Roman Appian Way; passed the well of _Shaikh el Bakkar_, and a
sarcophagus with a long inscription in Greek, which I regretted not
having discovered yesterday, so as to allow of copying it. From an
eminence we took the last view of the pompous colonnades of Jerash.
Away through the green woods of broad-leaved oak, among which were to be
found fine and numerous pine-trees, the air fragrant with honeysuckle,
and the whole scene enlivened by sweet song of the birds, there were
hills in sight all covered with pine.
Around Soof we found none of the druidical-looking remains mentioned by
Irby and Mangles, but some romantic landscape and vineyards all over the
hills.
Ten minutes beyond Soof we had a Roman milestone lying at our feet. Some
of us set to work in clearing earth away from it, searching for an
inscription, but could not spare sufficient time to do it properly. We
found, however, the letters PIVS . PONTI . . .--indicating the period of
the Antonines.
Next there met us a large party of gipsies--known, among other tokens, by
the women's black hair being combed, which that of the Bedawi women would
not be. What a motley meeting we formed--of Moslems, Greek-Church
dragomans, Protestants, and Fire-worshippers, as the gipsies are always
believed in Asia to be.
Among the oaks of gigantic size and enormously large arbutus, the effect
of our party winding--appearing and disappearing, in varied costumes and
brilliant colours--was very pleasing.
After a time we reached some fine meadow land, on which were large flocks
of sheep belonging to the Beni Hhassan, whose tents we saw not far
distant. The black and the white sheep were kept separate from each
other.
And then appeared, in succession to the right and left, several of the
rude erections, resembling the Celtic cromlechs, or _cist-vaens_, above
alluded to, from Irby and Mangles.
[Picture: Erection resembling cromlech]
Our guides told us that they abound all over the hills. All that we saw
were constructed each of four huge slabs of brown flinty-looking stone,
forming a chamber--two for sides, one at the back, and a cover over all,
which measured eleven feet by six. Their date must be long anterior to
the Roman period. They are manifestly not Jewish, and consequently are
of pagan origin. Are they altars? or are they of a sepulchral character,
raised over the graves of valiant warriors, whose very names and
nationality are lost? or do they indeed partake of both designs--one
leading easily to the other among a superstitious people, who had no
light of revelation?
My persuasion is that they were altars, as they seldom reach above four
feet from the ground; and if so, they would serve to show, as well as the
uprights forming a square temple by the sea-side, between Tyre and Sidon,
that not in every place did the Israelites sufficiently regard the
injunction of Deut. xii. 3, to demolish the idolatrous places of worship.
{65}
Our road gradually ascended for a considerable time, till we attained the
brow of an eminence, where our woody, close scenery suddenly expanded
into a glorious extent of landscape. Straight before our eyes,
apparently up in the sky, was old Hermon, capped with snow. About his
base was a hazy belt; below this was the Lake of Gennesaroth; and nearer
still was an extent of meadow and woodland.
The commanding object, however, was the grand mountain,
"That lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm.
Though round its breast the rolling clouds be spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
At this place we rested for a time.
All the day afterwards we kept upon high grounds, to avoid meeting any of
the Beni Sukh'r--thus greatly increasing the length of the day's march,
and having to scramble over rocky hills without visible paths. All this
had been brought upon us by over-cleverness in bargaining with Shaikh
Yusuf, our guide. We had stipulated that, in case of meeting with
Bedaween Arabs, whatever should be demanded as _ghufur_, or toll for
crossing their ground, should be deducted from his 500 piastres. He had
informed us that the toll would be but a trifle; but after the burden of
it had been once thrown upon him, he avoided the best and direct road,
and we had hours of needless fatigue in consequence.
As a peasant himself, the Arabs allow him and his people to pass free, as
no doubt they exact enough from the village in other forms; but they
consider themselves entitled to levy tribute on European travellers. The
latter, however, are always disposed to grumble at it.
We plunged again into thick green woods,--the oaks of Bashan,--with merry
birds carolling all around. Oh, how cheering was the scene, after that
devastated land across the river, where there is so little of forest land
left in proportion to this! A friend once remarked to me, that were the
two territories in the same relative conditions at the time of Joshua
taking possession of Canaan, it would require double amount of faith in
God's promises, as they ascended from Jericho to Ai, to believe that they
had not left the promised land behind them. Now, this might be met by
several satisfactory replies; but the plainest answer for the moment is,
that the countries were not then in the same conditions relatively as
they now are.
We passed a rock-hewn sepulchre on the side of a hill, in good
condition,--just such as may be frequently seen in Palestine
proper,--then found a large herd of camels browsing; and passing through
a verdant glen, which issued upon cultivated fields, we came to the
village of _Mezer_, and soon after to _Tuleh_, where we got a view of
Tabor, Gilboa, and Hermon, {67} all at the same time. Were the day
clear, there could be no doubt but we should have seen also the village
of Zer'een (Jezreel) and the convent on Mount Carmel.
The weather was hot, and our people suffering from thirst, as Ramadan had
that day commenced.
Had a distant view of a Beni Sukh'r encampment to our right. After a
steep descent, and consequent rise again, we were upon a plain; and
therefore the guide counselled us to keep close together, as a precaution
against marauders. Our tedious deviation to-day had been far to the
east: we now turned westwards, as if marching right up to Tabor, over
corn-fields, with the village of _Tibni_ at our left, and _Dair_ at our
right hand.
Arrived at _Tayibeh_, and encamped there for the night. Among the first
people who came up to us was an Algerine Jew, who held my horse as I
dismounted. He was an itinerant working silversmith, gaining a
livelihood by going from Tiberias among Arab villages and the Bedaween,
repairing women's ornaments, etc.
There are plenty of wells about this place, but none with good water.
Wrangling and high words among the muleteers, and fighting of the animals
for approach to the water-troughs. The day had been very fatiguing; and
our Moslem attendants, as they had been involuntarily deprived of water
during this the first day of Ramadan, deemed it not worth while at that
hour to break the fast, as evening was rapidly coming on. Upon a
journey, if it be a real journey on business, they are allowed to break
the fast, on condition of making up for the number of days at some time
before the year expires.
Evening: beautiful colours on the western hills, and the new moon
appearing--a thin silver streak in the roseate glow which remains in the
heavens after sunset. The night very hot, and no air moving.
_Friday_, 18_th_.--After a night of mosquito-plague, we rose at the first
daybreak, with a glorious spectacle of Mount Hermon and its snowy summit
to the north. Such evenings and mornings as travellers and residents
enjoy in Asian climes are beyond all estimation, and can never be
forgotten.
We learned that there are Christians in this village of _Tayibeh_, as
indeed there are some thinly scattered throughout the villages of _Jebel
'Ajloon_, _i.e._ from Jerash to near Tiberias; and in the corresponding
villages on the western side of Jordan, as far as Nabloos.
I always feel deeply concerned for those "sheep without a shepherd,"
dispersed among an overwhelming population of Mohammedans. They are
indeed ignorant,--how can they be otherwise, while deprived of Christian
fellowship, or opportunities of public worship, excepting when they carry
their infants a long journey for baptism, or when the men repair
occasionally to the towns of Nabloos or Nazareth for trading business;
or, it may be, when rarely an itinerant priest pays them a visit?--still
they are living representatives of the Gentile Church of the country in
primitive days, down through continuous ages,--their families enduring
martyrdom, and to this day persecution and oppression, for the name of
Christ, in spite of every worldly inducement to renounce it. While we
Europeans are reciting the Nicene Creed in our churches, they are
suffering for it. They are living witnesses for the "Light of light, and
very God of very God;" and although with this they mingle sundry
superstitions, they are a people who salute each other at Easter with the
words, "Christ is risen," and the invariable response, "He is risen
indeed;" also in daily practice, when pronouncing the name of Jesus, they
add the words, "Glory to His name."
Besides all the above, they are in many things Protestants against Papal
corruption. They have no Vicar of Christ, no transubstantiation, no
immaculate conception, no involuntary confession, and no hindrance to a
free use of the Bible among the laity. For my part, I feel happy in
sympathising much with such a people, and cannot but believe that the
Divine Head of the Church regards with some proportion of love even the
humblest believer in Him, who touches but the hem of His garment.
In our conversation, before resuming the journey, I mentioned the
numerous villages that were to be found about that neighbourhood, utterly
broken up, but where the gardens of fig, vine, and olive trees still are
growing around the ruins. The people pointed out to me the direction of
other such, that were out of sight from our tents; and the Jew quoted a
familiar proverb of the country relating to that subject; also the Moslem
shaikh, with his son, joined also in reciting it:--
"The children of Israel built up;
The Christians kept up;
The Moslems have destroyed."
In saying this, however, by the second line they refer to the crusading
period; and by the last line they denote the bad government of the Turks,
under which the wild Bedaween are encroaching upon civilisation, and
devastating the recompense of honest industry from the fertile soil.
We--starting upon our last day's journey together--passed over wide
fields of wheat-stubble. On coming near the village of _Samma_, the old
shaikh came out to welcome us, and inquire if his place is written in the
books of the Europeans. On examining our maps, one of our party found it
in his; and the rest promised the friendly old man that his village
should be written down.
Proceeding through a green and rocky glen, between high hills, with a
running stream, the weather was exceedingly hot. Here our party
divided,--ourselves advancing towards _Umm Kais_; while the baggage and
servants turned to the left, so as to cross the Jordan by the bridge _El
Mejama'a_ for Tiberias. The principal intention of this was for the
property to avoid the chance of falling into the hands of the Beni
Sukh'r. Shaikh Yusuf now showed the relief from his mind by beginning to
sing. This was all very well for him, who had nothing to lose; because,
as it was said long ago--
"Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator."
After wandering round and around, we descended into _Wadi Zahari_, "the
flowering valley," where, by the water-side, were reeds and oleanders
forty or fifty feet high; and near them we observed a pear-tree and a
fig-tree, all alone and deserted, the remains of former cultivation.
This and other previous instances attest the risk that attends rural
labour in that district, being in the immediate vicinity of the Bedaween,
and the utter mockery of nominal Turkish rule. Here we filled our
leathern water-bottles, (called _zumzumia_ in the Desert, and _mattara_
by towns-people,) and climbed up a stony hill, the heat of the day
increasing. No path among the rocks, and all of us angry at Shaikh Yusuf
for saving himself the few piastres by conducting us among such
difficulties.
Then, after some time we perceived ourselves to be near Umm Kais, by the
sarcophagi, the sepulchres, and ruts of chariot-wheels upon the rocks.
We rushed up to a large tree for refreshing shelter, and near it found
numerous sepulchres, highly ornamented, and some of them with the stone
doors remaining on the hinges, which we swung about to test the reality
of their remaining so perfect, (figs. 1, 2, 3.)
Among these was the one remarked by Lord Lindsay in his Travels, bearing
a Hebrew name inscribed in Greek letters, but which he has not
[Picture: Fig. 1]
given quite correctly. It should be _Gaanuiph_ instead of _Gaaniph_.
This sepulchre is cut in black
[Picture: Fig. 2]
basaltic rock, and has some broken sarcophagi remaining inside. On a
round fragment of a column, near this side, is the inscription given
below, (fig. 4.) The upper part is the farewell of surviving relatives
[Picture: Fig. 3]
to the daughter of SEMLACHUS. The lower part, for whomsoever
intended,--"_and thou also farewell_,"--carries with it a touch of nature
that still affects the heart, after the lapse of many centuries.
[Picture: Fig. 4]
The mausoleums and sepulchres at the opposite end of the city were even
more numerous, many having Greek inscriptions upon them.
But the theatre is the most remarkable of all the objects of
antiquity,--so perfect, with its rows of seats complete, surrounded by
numerous public edifices and lines of columns; and then commanding from
those seats a large view of the beautiful Lake of Tiberias, and of the
grand mountains which enclose it, as a frame to the picture.
Here I stayed behind the rest of the party for a considerable time,
charmed with the spectacle of nature, and revolving over the incidents of
Herodian history, so vividly portrayed by Josephus.
Then rejoined my friends, by galloping along a Roman road, paved with
blocks of dark basalt.
But before leaving this place, I must express my surprise at any person
that has been there imagining for a moment that it can be the Gadara of
Scripture.
The distance from the lake is so great as to be utterly incompatible with
the recorded transactions in the Gospels--having valleys and high hills
intervening; and even supposing the miracle of relieving the demoniac to
refer not to the city but to a territory named Gadara, it is
inconceivable that the territory belonging to this city (Umm Kais) could
extend beyond the deep natural crevasse of the river _Yarmuk_, and then
rise up a high mountain, to descend again into a plain, all before
reaching the lake.
Our descent to the Yarmuk was long and steep; and upon the plain which it
intersects, the heat exceeded any that I had ever encountered anywhere.
The air was like fire. Such a day I shall never forget.
The Yarmuk is so considerable a river that the Arabs call it _Sheree'a_,
as they do the Jordan--only qualifying the latter as the larger one. It
is called the _Sheree'a el Menadherah_, from a party of Bedaween
occupying its banks in the interior.
The crevasse through which it issues is wild and romantic in the extreme.
High cliffs of basalt are the confines of the water. This, on reaching
the plain, is parted with several streams, (to compare great things with
small,) in the fashion of the Nile or the Ganges; which the Jordan is
not, either at its entrance into this lake or its entrance into the Dead
Sea.
All the streams are fringed with oleander; and, in the extreme heat of
the day, the horses enjoyed not only their drinking, but their wading
through the rolling water.
This was the boundary between Bashan and Gilead, through the latter of
which we had hitherto been travelling, and gave name to the great battle
A.D. 637, where the victory obtained by the fierce _Khalid_ and the mild
_Abu Obeidah_ decided the fate of Palestine, and opened the way of the
Moslems to Jerusalem.
Over an extent of four or five miles, before reaching the Jordan, a rich
harvest of wheat was being reaped upon the plain. We first attempted to
cross at _Samakh_, but finding it impossible at that season, had to turn
back to the ford at the broken bridge, which the natives call the 'mother
of arches,' (_Umm el Kanater_;) and even there the water was still deep.
Corn-fields and flocks of sheep in every direction; but all the shepherds
carrying firearms. We most of us lay down on our breasts to drink
greedily once more from the dear old river; and then we crossed the
Jordan into the land of Canaan, going on to Tiberias, and passing on the
way some Franciscan monks. What a change of associations from those of
the country we had traversed exclusively for the last nine days!
How absurd the sudden and unexpected contrast from old 'Abdu'l 'Azeez and
the brilliant young 'Ali Deab in the freedom of the desert, to the cowl
and the convent of the monks--from the grand savage language of the
Ishmaelite to the mellifluous Italian.
At the hot baths of the lake we found our tents already pitched, and my
old friend the missionary,--Thomson, from Bayroot,--who had been
travelling on the eastern side of the lake, (a territory so little
known,) and, as he and I believed, had discovered the true Gadara. We
compared notes about affairs of the Arabs at the time.
Several of the juvenile travellers set themselves to swimming before
dinner at sunset, the huge hills at the back casting long shadows across
the lake.
We all had tea together, as we were to separate to our several
destinations in the morning; and on my retiring to sleep, the thermometer
was at 99 degrees Fahrenheit inside the open tent.
_Saturday_, 19_th_.--Bathing before the sun rose.
Our travellers engaged the boat from Tiberias for the day, and it came up
from the town to our camp with the sail spread. Large flights of aquatic
birds as usual flitting and diving about the lake, and the fish abundant,
rising and splashing at the surface.
For an hour or two before starting on my way southwards, I lay on the
beach contemplating the lovely scenery, and collecting my thoughts, both
as to the past and for the future. The principal object of meditation
was of course the placid lake itself--
"Dear with the thoughts of Him we love so well."
Then the noble old mountain of Hermon, crowned with snow, now called
_Jebel esh Shaikh_; which the Sidonians called Sirion; and the Amorites
called Shenir, (Deut. iii. 9.)
Next the ever-celebrated Jordan, with its typical resemblance to the
limit dividing this life from the purchased possession of
heaven,--recalling so much of bright images of Christian poetry employed
to cheer the weary pilgrim, in anticipation of the time when
"We'll range the sweet fields on the banks of the river,
And sing of salvation for ever and ever!"
Gratefully acknowledging the providence which had brought us happily so
far, the present writer then girded up his mental loins, and returned to
Jerusalem; but on the way occasionally glancing towards the eastward
range of mountains,--the land of Gilead,--now called Belka and 'Ajloon,
lately traversed; and with a feeling unknown since the verses were first
echoed in childhood, the words involuntarily issue from the lips:
"Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endureth for ever,
And Og the king of Bashan,
For His mercy endureth for ever!"
Having learned that 'Akeeli Aga el Hhasi was encamped on the Jordan side,
at no great distance, I resolved to visit this personage, who has since
then become much more famous as a French protege, being an Arab of
Algeria, but at this time only noted as having been the guide of the
United States Expedition to the Dead Sea in 1848, and as being at the
moment commissioned by the Turks as a Kaimakam of the district, seeing
that they could not hold even nominal rule there without him.
At my starting there came up from his post a messenger, Hhasan Aga, the
Bosniac officer of Bashi Bozuk, to conduct me to the tents. The Aga was
dressed in a crimson silk long coat, over which was a scarlet jacket
embroidered in gold, and on his legs the Albanian full kilt, or
fustinella, of white calico; his saddle cloth was of pea-green silk with
a white border, and yellow worsted network protected the horse's belly
from flies, also a rich cloth with tassels lay over the horse's loins.
Proceeded southwards, and passed the broken bridge before mentioned.
Harvest everywhere in progress, and the produce being carried home on
asses to the village of _'Abadiyeh_, adjoining to the houses of which
were square and flat tents made of palm-leaf matting as residences of the
Ghawarineh Arabs.
Came to the ruins of a wretched little village called _Belhhamiyeh_,
formerly under the patronage of the 'Adwan; and thence appeared in full
view upon the hill above the great castle of the Crusaders called
Belvoir, but now named _Cocab_, or _Cocab el Hawa_. Upon the plain by
the river side was the encampment scattered about, and several European
tents among the others denoted the presence of Turkish soldiers.
We could see the Jis'r el Mejama'a, the bridge leading across to the land
of Gilead.
Rode up to 'Akeeli's tent, and found with him the formidable Shaikh Fendi
el Faiz of the Beni Sukh'r, and a musician with his rebabeh. A slave was
making coffee on a fire of dried camel's dung, although it was in the
fast of Ramadan. We conversed guardedly about Deab and the rest of the
'Adwan, and the camp at _Dahair el Hhumar_. 'Akeeli then had brought in
for his amusement a wild beast called a _fahh'd_, differing from a
panther in being larger and in having black stripes down the face; it
seemed wild enough, but was confined by a rope, the pulling of which, and
alternately patting the creature was the amusement or occupation of the
Aga. They brought me some coffee and water to drink, whereupon 'Akeeli
called for some too, and said to me--"These fools of Mohammedans are
keeping Ramadan, but I am a Frenchman," he then drank off the water.
This man, whom Lynch, the American commander, styles a "magnificent
savage," was savage enough in manners, and dirty, and half-naked. He has
since, however, made his influence felt, and may perhaps do so again.
Altogether, my reception was not one in accordance with my notions of
Arab hospitality. Perhaps he did not wish me to espy what was going on
about him in company with Shaikh Fendi el Faiz, so I took my leave,
riding towards Cocab. At an Arab encampment we got some _Leben
Sheneeni_, (soured fresh milk, most delicious in hot weather,) and drank
almost a pailful of it between myself, the kawwas, and the muleteer. The
heat was prodigious. In the camp were only women and children at home:
the former employed in weaving and dyeing woollen trappings for
horses,--serving to keep off the plague of flies,--of which articles we
bought two.
'Akeeli had sent an escort to accompany us as far us the castle. One of
the men was a care-worn old fellow from the far north, wearing a very
heavy sheepskin coat with wide sleeves, to keep out the scorching heat of
the sun, and his face covered with a _mandeel_ or cotton handkerchief, to
protect him from reflection from the ground; his venerable musket
terminated in a rusty bayonet.
We went southwards until opposite the bridge, then turned westward to the
hills, and forded the water of _Wadi Berreh_. The ascent was difficult
and long, during which our escort carried on a conversation in the
Arnaout language.
At the summit I sent on the servants and baggage to Jeneen, there to
pitch the tents for us--the sheepskin man, the kawwas, and I turned aside
to survey the old castle at Cocab el Hawa. It has been a large and noble
erection in a strong natural position; the trench and sloping walls are
pretty perfect, the stone-work being still sharp-edged; the portion of
the defences looking towards the Jordan consists of large stones
rabbeted, equal to any work in Jerusalem or elsewhere, which must be an
indication of a fortress long before the time of the Crusaders--though
the stones are not of dimensions equal to those of the Jerusalem Temple
wall.
All the masonry, except the rabbeted work, is constructed from the dark
basalt which abounds in that district. All the space within walls, not
remaining entire, and part of the trench, is occupied by miserable
hovels, forming a sort of village, with patches of tobacco cultivation
attached to the dwellings.
But what can one say in description of the glorious prospect from that
eminence? It seemed to me to exceed the wonders of Nebi Osha: the
principal objects in view being the Lake of Tiberias, the river Jordan,
Tabor, Duhy, Beisan, Carmel, Hermon, a stretch of the Hauran, and the
cleft of the Yarmuk. One thing surprised me, which was to see how far
South Cocab is from Tabor, it had never appeared so before from the
direction of Jeneen or of Nazareth. It was due east from _Duhy_; the
best way of getting at it from Nabloos is across the plain of Jezreel.
It is distinguishable from a great distance by means of a white-washed
tower standing in the midst of the castle.
Forwards we went through a village called _Kifereh_. As usual the ride
over the plain is very tedious and tiring to the limbs--a hilly country
in moderation is much more comfortable. We reached _Shutta_, then the
tents of the Shiukh Arabs close under hills, and beneath a hill called
_Nooris_, and at a mill called _Jalood_, we were overtaken by rain late
in the year, being the 19th of May.
The sun set a good while before our arriving at Zer'een (Jezreel); the
road was not straight, for a _detour_ was necessary in order to ensure
firm ground among the marshes; stagnated water abounds, that has been
poured down from the hills of Gilboa. We passed the natural cavern from
which the Jalood water issues on the side of a hill. A large cistern is
formed at the place. The inhabitants--such as we saw occasionally--were
very unhealthy in appearance.
Night came on, and dew with it, to which we had been long unaccustomed.
The storm cleared off, and we travelled several hours by moonlight. Then
we saw abundance of fire-flies flitting across our way.
Overtaking our luggage, we all jogged on slowly together, very tired and
silent, till a horseman appeared, who galloped off on our inquiry, "Who
goes there?"
At length we heard the welcome sounds of frogs croaking, then dogs
barking, then saw the lights of Jeneen, and being Ramadan the minaret
there was illuminated with festoons of lamps.
Then we reached the appointed well-known grove of olive trees.
Our day had been very long and fatiguing--the cattle exhausted. It was
Saturday night, and the week ended with the intelligence that Shaikh
Barakat el Fraikh had declared war against the Beni Sukh'r, so that we
had just passed through the Over-Jordan country in time to be able to do
so. At Jerash I had met Barakat, and at 'Akeeli's camp had met his
adversary Fendi el Faiz.
II. NORTHWARDS TO BEISAN, KADIS, ANTIPATRIS, etc.
October 23, 1850.
Leaving Jerusalem upon the Nabloos road, and crossing the upper portion
of the valley which, lower down, after a curve becomes the valley of
Jehoshaphat, we passed almost directly over the sepulchre of Simon the
Just, of whom such "excellent things are spoken" in the books of the
Maccabees, and in whose memory an annual festival is kept by the
Jerusalem Jews on this spot on the day called [Hebrew text] rather more
than a month after the passover. Two other saints are celebrated on the
same day of the calendar--viz., R. Simeon bar Jochai, the cabbalist of
Safed, author of _Zohar_, and R. Akiva of Tiberias.
Then mounting up the side of Scopus, we halted for a few minutes to
survey that view of the holy city which surpasses all others, and must
have done so in the palmy days of history. It was at the time of
mid-afternoon, when the sun's rays pour slantingly with grand effect upon
the Temple site. I could not but recollect that this was exactly the
hour appointed for the daily evening sacrifice "between the two
evenings," (Hebrew of Exod. xii. 6,) and think of the choral music of
Levitical services grandly reverberating among the semicircle of hills.
Meditations of this nature would lead one far away in varied directions,
perhaps unsuited for the commencement of a long journey lying before us.
The next object attracting our attention was the Roman milestone lying
beside the road, shortly
[Picture: Roman Milestone]
after passing _Sha'afat_. This I always make it a rule to examine every
time of passing it. At one time I had it rolled over in order to be able
to read the inscription; but I afterwards found it tossed with the
writing downwards--perhaps all the better for its preservation.
The inscription I read as follows:--
[Picture: Milestone inscription]
That is to say, a register of the names of the Antonine emperors; but
there must have been other names on the upper part, now broken away.
Then passed under _Er Ram_ on our right hand, the Ramah of the Old
Testament, but as it is not often noticed, may be found in Jeremiah xl.
1, as the place where the Babylonish captain of the guard, as a favour,
released the prophet, after bringing him with the rest in chains from
Jerusalem.
Slept in a house at _Ram Allah_. This is a village about three-quarters
of an hour N.W. from Er Ram. The weather being cold we first lit a fire,
thereby trying the utility of a chimney that was in the house--in vain,
for no smoke would pass up it; it all settled in the room itself; and the
people excused themselves on the ground that it had never been tried
before. Probably it was a novelty imported to the place by some of the
people who had been employed by Europeans in Jerusalem; and yet I have
always found that the old Saracenic houses of the Effendis in Jerusalem
have all of them chimneys; and the word for _chimney_ is well known in
Arabic.
This being almost exclusively a Christian village, it was interesting to
hear the people addressing each other as Peter, James, Elijah, John,
Paul, etc., instead of Mohammed, Ali, Omar, or other such appellations.
It is a little beside the purpose, but I may remark in passing, that
throughout these countries there are names in use common to all
religions,--some scriptural, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, or David;
and others mere epithets, as Assaad or Selim.
In this village are three priests, (Greek orthodox,) idle, ignorant, and
coarse men; but the peasantry are a bold set of fellows, speaking and
acting very independently of clerical domination,--very indifferent as to
whether they shall turn Protestants or Papists. One thing they are in
earnest about, and that is to get schools for their children.
Ram Allah exhibits the same characteristic as all other Christian
villages in Palestine, that of being in good condition--new houses being
built, and old ones repaired; contrary to the condition of Moslem
villages, almost without one exception--that of falling to decay. There
is, however, no water here; the women bring it in jars upon their heads
from _Beeri_, a considerable distance.
We made a _detour_ from the high-road, in order to look for _Jifna_, the
_Gophna_ of Josephus, where Titus and his renowned Tenth Legion (recently
arrived from Britain) slept the night before reaching Jerusalem. Then
the Eagles were gathered together over the doomed carcass of the city.
Inquiring our way from Ram Allah to Jifna, some said there was a road
without going to Beeri; some said there was none. At length we were put
upon a pretty decent path.
In ten minutes we came to a sort of well with a little water, where women
were thumping clothes upon stones; this is called washing in the East.
Magnificent view westwards of the great plain, the Great Sea, Jaffa,
Ramlah, etc.
We wandered about hills and among vineyards, and came to a small village
named _Doorah_, in good condition, with water, and excellent cultivation
of garden vegetables in small patches, similar to those of Selwan
(Siloam) and Urtas; then turning a corner saw Jifna at some distance, in
the midst of a plain enclosed by hills; and there it must have been that
the manipulus with S.P.Q.R. was posted in front of Italian tents, and the
soldiers bustling about or jesting in Latin or British language, before
their retiring to rest, in the spring season of the year A.D. 70.
Becoming entangled among a long belt of vineyards between us and it, and
time passing away while our luggage was far on the road to Nabloos, we
turned aside and regained the high-road at _'Ain Yebrood_. Reluctantly I
retreated from _Jifna_, for I had wished to discover the precise road
upon which Titus and his army marched towards Jerusalem. Passing
_Sinjil_, _Lubban_, and _Sawiyeh_, we rested just beyond _Sawiyeh_ under
the great oak, at the divergence of the valley of _Laithma_. Beneath its
wide-spreading branches a flock of sheep was resting at noon (Cant. i.
7.) From these we got good draughts of fresh milk.
As evening approached, we were passing within the huge shadow of Mount
Gerizim; and in Nabloos I remained till Monday morning,--this being the
end of Thursday.
28_th_. Preparing for descent into the Jordan valley, I engaged, in
addition to the usual servants, a horseman of the Bashi Bozuk,
recommended by the local governor, Suliman Bek Tokan. It seemed prudent
to obtain this man's attendance, as he might be known and recognised by
disorderly persons throughout the turbulent and unknown country before
me, whatever might be his character for valour or discretion. Two of the
native Protestants of Nabloos accompanied me also for about four hours on
the way.
Passing Joseph's sepulchre and the village of _Asker_, (is not this
Sychar? it is near the traditional Jacob's Well,) we went northwards over
the plain of _Mukhneh_, equivalent to Makhaneh, "camp," in Hebrew, (the
_Moreh_ of Gen. xii. 6, Deut. xi. 30, and Judges vii. 1) having left the
eastern valley with _Salem_ (Gen. xxxiii. 18) on our right. To my
surprise the plain was soon and abruptly terminated at the foot of a very
lofty mountain, and we commenced a descent among chasms of great
convulsions of nature, displaying remarkable contortions of geological
strata. This brought us into the Wadi _En-Nab_, so called from the
growth there of a fruit-tree, (the Jujube,) bearing that name, better in
quality than anywhere else in Palestine; and, indeed, the tree is found
in but few other places. At the confluence of this valley with the Wadi
_Bedan_ there are several fragments of ancient columns remaining, quite
four feet in diameter.
Hitherto we had met many more peasants travelling with merchandise than I
had expected. They were all going in one direction, namely, towards
Nabloos, and therefore from Es-Salt in Gilead, beyond Jordan.
These, however, ceased after we had crossed the water of Wadi Bedan into
the larger _Wadi Fara'ah_,--which is, however, the high-road to Es-Salt.
Soon afterwards we observed, by our wayside, a square of solid ancient
masonry, three courses high. In England this would be certainly the
pedestal of some old demolished market-cross; but it may have been the
lower part of some memorial pyramid. In the previous year I had seen
just such another at Ziph (Josh. xv. 55,) beyond Hebron.
Then we came upon a distinct piece of Roman paved road, which showed that
we were upon the high-road between Neapolis and Scythopolis, _alias_
Shechem and Bethshan, _alias_ Nabloos and Beisan.--Crossed a stream
richly bordered with rosy-blossomed oleander, and soon turned the head of
the water. A demolished castle was on our right, commanding the entrance
of Wadi Fara'ah.
Soon after noon we gained the olive-trees alongside of _Tubas_, a
prosperous village, yet inhabited by a people as rude and coarse as their
neighbours. Tubas is always liable to incursions from the eastern
Bedaween, and always subject to the local wars of the Tokan and 'Abdu'l
Hadi factions. I have known it to be repeatedly plundered. The natural
soil here is so fertile that its wheat and its oil, together with those
of _Hanoon_, fetch the highest prices in towns; and the grain is
particularly sought after as seed for other districts.
The place, however, is most remarkable to us as being the _Thebez_ of
Judges ix. 50, where Abimelech was slain by the women hurling a millstone
on his head from the wall. The more I become acquainted with the
peculiar population of _Jebel Nabloos_, (_i.e._ the territory of which
Nabloos is the metropolis,) a brutish people "waxing fat and kicking,"
the more does the history of the book of Judges, especially the first
twelve chapters, read like a record of modern occurrences thereabouts.
It is as truly an Arab history as any other oriental book can supply. I
observed that Mount Gerizim can be seen from Tubas,--which fact seemed to
give additional emphasis to the words, "And all the evil of the men of
Shechem did God render upon their heads; and upon those came the curse of
Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal."
The site of Tubas is elevated. It is still a considerable village, and
possesses that decided evidence of all very ancient sites in Palestine--a
large accumulation of rubbish and ashes.
I was told that here, as well as in several of the villages around, there
are scattered Christians, one or two families in each among the Moslems,
without churches, without clergy, without books or education of any kind;
still they are Christians, and carry their infants to the Greek Church in
Nabloos for baptism. What a deplorable state of things! Since the date
of this journey the Church Missionary Society's agents have in some
degree ministered to the spiritual destitution of these poor people by
supplying some at least with copies of the Holy Scriptures.
Here my principal kawwas, Hadj Mohammed es Serwan, found the fever, which
had been upon him more or less for the last three days, so greatly
increased, that it was not possible for him to proceed farther with me.
The fever he attributed to his having, on arrival at Nabloos, indulged
too freely in figs and milk together. The general experience of the
country warrants this conclusion.
Poor fellow! after several times dismounting, and renewing his efforts to
keep up with me, he was at length totally disabled; and our Protestant
friends, who were now about to return home, engaged to get him into the
village, and have him carefully attended to, there and at Nabloos, till
he should be able to return to his family at Jerusalem. I left him under
a large tree, gazing wistfully after me, and endeavouring to persuade me
not to go down to that Gehennom of a place, Beisan. {94}
My forward journey lay through fine olive-grounds and stubble-fields of
wheat. In an hour we passed _Kayaseer_, a wretched but ancient place,
with exceedingly old olive-trees about it. Then going on for some time
among green bushes and straggling shoots of trees, we descended to the
water-bed of a valley. Once more upon a Roman road, on which at twenty
minutes' distance was a prostrate Roman milestone, but with no
inscription to be seen; perhaps it was on the under side, upon the
ground. Then the road, paved as it was with Roman work, rose before us
on a steep slope, to a plain which was succeeded by the "Robbers'
Valley," (Wadi el Hharamiyeh,) in which we met two peasants driving an
ass, and inquired of them "Is the plain of the Jordan safe?"--meaning,
Are there any wild Bedaween about? The reply was "It is safe;" but the
whole conversation consisted of four words in the question, and one in
the answer.
Over a precipitous and broken rocky hill,--the worst piece of road I ever
met with,--till we came suddenly upon the grand savage scenery of the
Ghor, with the eastern barrier of the mountains of Gilead. The river
Jordan is not visible, as is the case in most parts, till one almost
reaches the banks.
Here the vegetation had changed its character,--leaving all civilisation
of olive-trees behind, and almost all consisting of oak and hawthorn. We
had instead the _neb'k_ or _dom-tree_, and the _ret'm_ or juniper of
Scripture; the heat excessive.
At the junction of the Valley with the Ghor are three Roman milestones,
lying parallel and close side by side,--all of them in the shape and size
stereotyped throughout the country. This, then, was probably a measured
station of unusual importance; and from it the acropolis of Bethshan just
comes into view. This is known in the country by the name of _El
Hhus'n_.
The ground was in every direction covered with black basalt fragments,
among which, however, was corn stubble remaining; and we were told that
the crop belonged to the people of Tubas.
We kept upon a straight path leading directly up to Beisan, which all the
way was intersected by running streams issuing from the hills on our
left, and going to the Jordan.
The water was not often good for drinking; but at most of these rivulets
our attendant, Suliman Bek's horseman, alighted to say his prayers, out
of fright on account of the Arab Bedaween.
Tabor N.W. and Hermon N.E. were both prominent objects in the landscape,
with the town of Beisan between the two,--the ground abounding in the
kali plant and neb'k trees, with bright yellow fruit, from which we
frequently saw clearly desert camels cropping the lower branches,
notwithstanding the long and sharp thorns upon them.
We marched straight on, from one ancient artificial mound to another,
with Beisan before us, the streams all the way increasing in width and
rapidity,--some of them bordered, or even half-choked, with a jungle of
oleander in flower, hemlock, gigantic canes, wild fig-trees, neb'k, and
tangled masses of blackberry. Some of them we had to ford, or even leap
our horses over. We were surprised at such torrents of water rushing
into the Jordan at such a season of the year.
Reached Beisan at half-past six,--a wild-looking place, with magnificent
mountains in every direction around, but all frowning black with volcanic
basalt; and the people horribly ugly--black and ferocious in physiognomy.
They were just in the busiest time of the indigo harvest; but they had
herds of very fine cows brought home, as the sun in setting threw over us
the shadow of the mountains of Gilboa. My companion from Jerusalem
looked up with horror to these hills, and began quoting the poetic
malediction of David upon them on account of the death of Saul and
Jonathan: "Let there be no dew, neither rain upon you, nor fields of
offerings," etc.
It was indeed a notable event in one's life to have arrived at the place
where the body of the first king of Israel, with that of his son, the
dear friend of David, after being beheaded, were nailed to the walls of
the city. Jabesh-Gilead could not have been very far off across the
Jordan; for its "valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body
of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the walls of Bethshan, and came
to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones and buried
them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days," (1 Sam. xxxi. 12,
13). This respectful treatment was by way of grateful recompense for
Saul's past kindness, as the very first act of his royalty had been to
deliver them from danger when besieged by Nahash the Ammonite (I Sam.
xi.); and they kept his remains till king David removed them into the
ancestral sepulchre within the tribe of Benjamin (2 Sam. xxi. 14).
To return. The people of Beisan urged upon us their advice not to sleep
in our tents, for fear of Arabs, who were known to be about the
neighbourhood. I however preferred to remain as I was; and many of the
people slept around the tents upon heaps of indigo plant, making fires
for themselves from the straw. Before retiring to sleep, I several times
found the horseman at his prayers by moonlight. During the night the
roaring of the water-torrents re-echoed loudly from the rocky hills.
29_th_.--We learned that the indigo cultivation is not very laborious.
The seed is scattered over the ground, and then the people turn the
streams over the surface for inundation. There is no ploughing. This is
done directly after barley-harvest from the same ground. There is no
produce for two years, but after that period the same stalks successively
for five years produce about seventy-two-fold. I bought a timnah
(measure) of the seed for curiosity, to deposit in our museum.
We finished breakfast, had the tents struck, and the mules laden, all
before the sky began to look red, announcing the coming sun.
The castle of 'Ajloon was a very conspicuous object on the mountainous
horizon of the east.
I then spent about three hours in exploring the Roman antiquities of the
place when it bore the name of Scythopolis. These are all contained
within or along a natural basin, of which I here give a rough map.
[Picture: Scythopolis]
The general form is that of an oval, the centre of which has four
pediments for the arch of a bridge, or a triumphal arch, over a rivulet
that traverses the whole obliquely. From this central square of four
pediments extends right and left one long colonnade, or dromos. Within
the basin, but on the south bank of the water, is the theatre; on the
north, and outside of the oval, is the lofty mound, surmounted by
fortified buildings, forming the acropolis, the _Hhus'n_, which is
visible for miles and miles over the country. In the S.E. corner is the
modern village--a very insignificant one, but with remains of a Christian
church, for I should suppose the Moslems never built so good a mosque at
Beisan. Of course the present inhabitants use it for their devotions.
The building is all angular, with a square tower at the south end. The
principal doorway--that at the north end--is perforated into a walled-up
large pointed arch.
The principal object of my curiosity was the theatre, which, like all
those of the Romans and Greeks, is a building of nearly a semicircle in
form, with the extremities connected by a chord or straight line; this
latter was the _proscenium_ or stage, and is near 200 feet in length.
Upon the ground-plan, at half distance from the centre to the outer
curve, the _vomitories_ or passages for entrance and exit begin, leaving
an open area; these are formed in concentric semicircles, divided across
by radii, all coming from the one centre.
Over these passages the seats for spectators are constructed, rising
higher as approaching to the outer curve--and the dens for the wild
beasts, when they were to be exhibited, were under the front seats. The
vomitories are of the most perfect design for utility, and still remain
in complete preservation, all vaulted over with admirable workmanship.
[Picture: Ground plan of the Theatre]
I looked about in vain for the indentings in front of the rows of seats
which had held the [Greek text] or brazen saucers, which indentings are
stated to have been seen by Irby and Mangles; but we know that the [Greek
text] were so placed in ancient theatres for increasing the power of
voice uttered upon the stage.
The front blocks of the stage are white, and these are brought from a
distance. They measure eight feet by four each. But the peculiarity of
the general building lies in its being built of the black stone of the
country adjacent. I afterwards saw Roman theatres at Amman and Umm Kais,
as already mentioned in the journey "Over the Jordan," but they were
white; and another at Petra, but that was of rosy red. All the
three--the black, the white, and the red--were each of its own one
colour, without intermixture of others, except that here the stage was of
another colour from the rest of the building.
I then prepared to mount to the acropolis or Hhus'n. The hill is shaped
as an oblong square, sloping downwards, and rounded at the four edges.
Steps have been cut into it for ascending from below.
Arriving at what appears from below to be the summit, but is not, I found
a large platform, improved by art, with remains of houses and cisterns,
and surrounded at the edge by a parapet wall five feet thick,--except at
the eastern end, opposite to the present town, where one-third of the
hill has been left rising considerably higher, and therefore a wall is
not required.
In this wall, at the N.W. side, I found remains of a very massive
gateway, with fragments of older columns and friezes built up into the
side work. At this spot the rising hill above is particularly
precipitous. I climbed to the extreme summit, but found there no remains
of human labour. The view, however, as may be supposed, amply repaid the
exertion. In one direction the prolonged Ghor of the Jordan; and in
another appeared the opening of the plain of Esdraelon and Tabor, with
the Mediterranean far away, and Carmel almost hull down, as one might say
of a ship. In the nearer distance were lines of black Arab tents, an old
khan, ruins of water-mills, and rushing rivulets in abundance, the
sources of which lie so high in the adjacent hills of Gilboa, that the
town and the irrigation of the district are supplied from them copiously.
I picked up some tesserae about the acropolis hill, but I saw none
elsewhere near Beisan,--discovered no inscriptions, and heard of no
coins.
Close to the town there were thick layers of calcareous sediment,
containing petrified reeds or canes, of which I brought away specimens
for our museum.
Thus ended my inspection of this really interesting place, so remarkable
for being all built of black volcanic stone,--the theatre, the church,
and the modern village, besides the rocks all about: add to this the vile
appearance of the people, and one cannot wonder at visitors entertaining
a dread and disgust at the whole.--I find that I have omitted to mention
the mineral quality of the water, the most of which is undrinkable.
We left Beisan at half-past nine, after examining it more completely than
the published accounts of former travellers lead us to believe they have
done. Thomson's account is of later date.
Our journey now lay due north, along the Ghor to Tiberias; and a very
pleasing journey it proved to be.
In half an hour we had to ford a pretty wide stream, and in five minutes
more were among very extensive ruins of an ancient town; upon a tumulus
at its farther extremity are lying portions of three huge sarcophagi, and
a portion of a thick column. This must be the "Es Soudah," (_i.e._,
_black_,) mentioned by Thomson--indeed, all ruins of that district are of
black basalt, excepting the columns and sarcophagi. The name _soda_ or
_black_ occurs in English as a synonym for _alkali_, and means the black
or dark-coloured ashes of the plant _al-kali_ when burnt for use--the
white colour of it seen in Europe is obtained by chemical preparation.
Black tents and fires of the kali burners were visible in many
directions--a delicious breeze blowing in our faces; but above everything
cheerful was the green line of the Jordan banks. No snow to be seen at
present at that distance upon Hermon. At half-past eleven we were
beneath some castellated remains of great extent, namely, the Crusaders'
_Belvoir_, now called _Cocab el Hawa_. Our ground had become gradually
more undulated; then hilly, and the Ghor narrowed: we were obliged to
cross it diagonally towards the Jordan; forded a running stream abounding
in oleander, where, according to his usual custom, my Egyptian servant
took a handful of the flowers to wear in his waistcoat. Then the birds
carolling so happily, recalling the well-known lines--
"And Jordan, those sweet banks of thine,
With woods so full of nightingales."
The songsters that I heard were certainly neither the linnets nor
goldfinches of other parts of Palestine, but must have been the _bulbul_,
the note of which, though rich and tender in expression, is not however
the same with that of English nightingales.
Then we came to the bridge called _Jis'r el Mejama'a_, which is in
tolerably good condition, with one large and several smaller arches in
two rows, and a dilapidated khan at the western end. I crossed over the
bridge into the territory of Gilead.
The khan has been a strong edifice, but the stones of the massive
gateway, especially the great keystone, are split across, as if from the
effects of gunpowder.
When that bridge was erected, the country must have been in safe and
prosperous circumstances; the beauty of the scenery was not found in
contrast to the happiness of the people; there must have been rich
commerce carried on between the far east and the towns of Palestine; and
it is in reference to such a fortunate period that the wandering
minstrels, even now among the Bedaween, sing the songs of the forty
orphan youths who competed in poetic compositions under the influence of
love for an Arab maiden at the bridge of Mejama'a.
The name is derived from the _meeting_ of two branches of the Jordan in
that place after having separated above. Below the bridge the bed of the
river is very rocky, and the course of the water disturbed, but above the
"meeting of the waters" all is beautifully smooth and tranquil; wild
aquatic birds enjoying their existence on its surface, and the banks
fringed with willows and oleanders. How grateful is all this to the
traveller after a scorching ride of several hours.
Then the river, and with it our road, deflected back to the western
hills; again the river wound in serpentine sinuosities about the middle
of the plain, with little islands and shallow sands within its course. I
am not sure that the delight we experienced was not enhanced by the
circumstance of travelling upwards against stream. Whenever tourists
find the country safe enough for the purpose, and have leisure at
command, I certainly recommend to them this district of Jordan, between
Beisan and Tiberias: of course this presupposes that they visit Nazareth
before or afterwards.
Occasionally we came to rings of stones laid on the ground,--these mark
the graves of Arabs of the vicinity; then a cattle enclosure, fenced in
by a bank of earth, and thorns piled on the top. All about this were
subterranean granaries for corn, having apertures like wells, but empty.
Close to this was a ford to the eastern bank. The river has many
interruptions certainly, but yet in two days' ride we had seen a good
deal of smooth water for boating. At half-past one was reached the
village of _Abadiyeh_.
Near the village we saw people cutting twigs of tamarisk and willow. At
the village were large plantations of the kitchen vegetable, _Bamia_,
which is a _hibiscus_, (called _ochra_ in the West Indies,) the plants
four feet high, with bright yellow blossom. Near the regular houses were
suburb huts made of reeds. This is often seen along the Ghor; they are
tenanted by wanderers at certain seasons of the year.
There was a profusion of good wheat straw lying wasting upon the ground;
it is here too plentiful to be cared for.
We saw afterwards a low wall of masonry entirely crossing the Jordan, but
having now a broken aperture in the middle. In former times these
artificial works were common, and served to irrigate the lands on each
side. The river was never used for navigation.
At two o'clock we reached one well-known rendezvous, the old broken
bridge, popularly called "Mother of Arches." The ford was now low in
water. Here we rested under a neb'k tree; and on getting out the
luncheon, discovered that all our stores of bread, coffee, sugar, and
arrow-root had been soaked by the splashing of streams and fords that we
had this day encountered.
The horseman fell again to his prayers. Several Arabs from the Hauran
with their camels, crossed the Jordan while we were there.
Another hour took us to the baths of Tiberias; the heat very great, and
by our roadside there was a whole mountain with its dry yellow grass and
weeds on fire.
Near the south end of the lake are some palms growing wild. We
dismounted at a quarter to four.
* * * * *
Next day I ascended the hills to Safed, a well-known station. The place
is exceedingly healthy, enjoying the purest mountain air, as is evinced
by the healthy complexion of the numerous Jews residing there; and the
landscape views are both extensive and beautiful.
On the following day I undertook a few hours' excursion to _Kadis_
(Kedesh Naphtali), where Barak, son of Abinoam, and Deborah, collected
the forces of Zebulun and Naphtali, for marching to Mount Tabor against
Sisera. It was also one of the six cities of refuge for cases of
unintentional homicide, (Josh. xx. 7;) it lies to the N.N.E. from Safed.
In an hour we obtained a grand view of Hermon just opposite to us, and
never lost sight of it till our return. Passed between the villages of
_Dilathah_ on the right, and _Taitaba_ on the left; the country is all
strewn with volcanic basalt. In another half-hour we had _Ras el Ahhmar_
on our left. Then _Farah_ and _Salhhah_ at some distance to the left,
and _Alma_ just before us. The volcanic brown stones had on them
occasionally a thin lichen of either orange colour, or a sour pale green,
like verdigris.
About this village were women and children gathering olives from the
trees--first beating the boughs with poles, then picking up the fruit
from the ground.
The small district around here is named "the Khait," and the people boast
of its extraordinary fertility in corn-produce.
Down a steep descent of white limestone, where it is said the torrents
are so strong in winter that no one attempts to pass that way. Rising
again, we found near the summit of the opposite hill a spring of water,
from which some Bedaween women were carrying away water in the common
fashion, in goat-skins upon their backs. They were young, pretty, dirty,
and ragged. Of course their rags were blue, and their lips were coloured
to match.
Pleasant breeze springing up after the heat of the day. Corn stubble on
the fields, and fine olive plantations, as we got near to Kadis, our
place of destination; with such a wide clear road up to it, as might seem
to be traditionally preserved as such from ancient times, if the Talmud
be relied upon when it gives the legal width of various kinds of roads,
and prescribes twice as much for a highway towards the cities of refuge,
as for any other description of road. {109}
The scenery around Kadis is cheerful, but the village itself consisted of
only about half-a-dozen wretched houses. In passing by these, towards an
orchard at the farther side, we saw some large ancient sarcophagi,--three
of them lying side by side, but broken, and some capitals of columns.
After selecting our site for the tents, and setting the cook to work in
his peculiar vocation, not forgetting to see that the horses were being
attended, we procured a guide to conduct us down the hill to the
antiquities.
There are still evidences remaining that the old city had been wealthy
and celebrated--squared stones lying profusely about. At the spring of
water: this was received into an embellished sarcophagus for a trough,
and adjoining to it a spacious paved reservoir.
Here began a series of highly ornamental public edifices and sepulchral
monuments. We went first to the farthest; and there it was greatly to be
regretted that there was not with us an artist able to do justice to the
exceeding beauty of the remains.
It was a large oblong building, placed east and west, an ornamental
moulding running round the whole at four feet from the ground; the roof
fallen in. At the eastern extremity have been three portals, of which
the middle one was by far the largest; each of these decorated richly by
a bead and scroll moulding. The lintel of the principal gate has fallen
from its place, and now stands perpendicular, leaning against one of the
uprights: this is one stone of fifteen feet in length, beautifully
sculptured. Some broken pillars are lying about, and several magnificent
Corinthian capitals of square pilasters, which had been alongside of the
principal portal. I have never seen anywhere in Palestine any relic of
so pure a Grecian taste as this temple. {110}
Nearer to the town is a Roman erection of large well-cut stones, which
have acquired from the effects of time the fine yellow tinge which is
remarkable on the relic of the Church of St John Baptist at Sebustieh.
{111}
This was a smaller building than the other, and is nearly entire, except
that the roof is fallen in. It is in a square form: at each corner is a
solid square of masonry thirty feet high, and these are connected with
each other by semi-circular arches, two of which are fallen, and the
other two have their keystones dangling almost in the air, so slight is
the hold of their voussoirs to keep them from falling. The walls rise
half way up these abutments; the doorway is to the south, and has the
ports and lintel richly decorated. Of the use of this erection I could
form no judgment.
Between the two edifices was a mass of solid masonry, supporting a
sarcophagus nearly ten feet long, with a double sarcophagus of the same
dimensions at each side of it: not only the middle single one, but each
double sarcophagus, was formed of one stone each. Can we doubt of the
relation which the persons buried in the double ones bore to each other?
The sides of these stone coffins are highly adorned with floral garlands,
and the lids are lying broken across beside them.
Oh! vain expectation, to preserve the human frame from violation, by
elaborate and durable monuments! There is but one safe repository for
the decaying part of man, and that is what the Almighty Maker at first
decreed--namely, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. The
poorest slave, buried in a hole within the ground, is safer from man's
greed and violence than the mightiest conqueror; for the massive porphyry
sarcophagus of Alexander was rifled by Caligula, and after that by
others, in Egypt. And the same fate has befallen the tombs of Cyrus and
Darius in Persia, for the sake of the riches entombed with them.
Some copper coins were brought to us, but of no particular value: they
were either corroded or broken, and of no remarkable antiquity.
As twilight faded away we returned to the tents, and had the evening
meal. The wind rose considerably, so that we lighted a fire on the lee
side of my tent, and gazed round upon the strange and noble scene around.
There was Hermon just before us, seen indistinctly by starlight; and
there was sufficient novelty and non-security in the place to keep
attention awake.
The shaikh of the village came and assured us that in the Lebanon (not
far distant) the Druses were up; that the convent at Maaluleh had been
sacked, and twenty-two Emirs had been seized by the beastly Turks (as he
denominated them); that Abu Neked was up in arms, and even the villages
in the south, about Nazareth, were fighting. Of course there was
considerable exaggeration in all this, but our muleteer began to pray
that he might be soon safe again in Jerusalem.
The shaikh informed us that in the happy time of the Egyptian rule, under
Ibrahim Pasha, his village was so populous that they cultivated fifty
feddans of land, whereas now they could only work six; that then property
was so safe that Arab marauders were always caught and punished, (he had
himself had Bedaween kept prisoners in his house,) whereas now, under the
Turks, they come into his house to steal.
While he was relating this, a man came running from the village to
announce that neighbouring Arabs were just before carrying off some of
their cows in the dark, but on being pursued, had made off without them.
After I got to bed, one of our people shot at a hyaena, and the villagers
shouted from the roofs of their houses to know if we were attacked. In
the morning they told us that they had seen the hyaena, big enough to eat
a man, and that their attention had been attracted to it by the cry of an
owl.
_Saturday_, _November_ 2.--We returned towards Safed over the plain of
_Alma_. The wheat of this district is renowned far and wide for quality
and quantity of produce. The guide told us that at this place were
splendid remains of antiquity; but, on arriving, we could hear of nothing
but a poor cistern within a cavern. Here the black basalt recommences
after the region of white limestone where we had been; and then again, at
the distance of a good-sized field, we were upon common brown
agricultural soil. It is curious how sharply these division-lines of
soil are drawn in every direction about this place. {114}
Thence we diverged off from yesterday's road to visit _Jish_, passing
through Ras el Ahhmar. Most magnificent views of Hermon and
Anti-Lebanon.
Had to go down into a valley, through which, on a former journey, we had
passed on coming from _Bint Jebail_, and visited again the ancient
monument in a vineyard by the roadside. It appears to have consisted of
one small building. The lower parts of two upright posts of its doorway
remain, together with a fragment of the transverse lintel: several pieces
of columns are lying about, and pediments of these _in situ_. Besides
these, there is the following fragment of sculpture
[Picture: Ancient sepulchre near Jish]
nearly level with the ground, and is probably the entrance of a
sepulchre, but we had no opportunity of clearing away the soil to
ascertain that. The ornamentation seems to be that of laurel leaves.
Near adjoining is a fragment of a round pillar, partly buried; but on
seeing Hebrew writing upon it, I cleared it away partly. Some of it was
but indistinct. I could only read it thus--
[Picture: Hebrew writing]
--from which not much signification can be gathered. Perhaps some cracks
in the stone have disfigured the characters; but how and when did a
Hebrew inscription come in such a place? The site is very agreeable,
with streamlets of water tinkling among trees by the roadside.
Thence we mounted up to the village of _Jish_, the place of _John of
Giscala_, the antagonist of Josephus. This seems to have been the
centre-point of the dreadful earthquake in 1837, from which Safed and
Tiberias suffered so much. It occurred on the New Year's day, while the
people of the village were all in church; and just as the priest held the
sacramental cup in his hand, the whole village was in a moment destroyed,
not one soul being left alive but the priest himself, and, humanly
speaking, his preservation was owing to the arch above his head. All the
villages around shared the same fate, and the greater part of the towns
above mentioned. Much damage was sustained all over Palestine; and a
heart-rending description of the events has since been printed, though
little known in England, by a Christian Israelite, named Calman, who,
together with Thomson, the American missionary, hasted from Bayroot on
hearing of the calamity, and aided in saving many lives of persons buried
beneath the ruins of Safed and Tiberias, during several days after the
catastrophe.
This sad event serves for an era to date from; and the Jews there, when
referring to past occurrences, are accustomed to say, it was so many
years before (or after) the [Hebrew text] (the earthquake.)
Among the ruins of Jish are no remains of antiquity, except a fragment of
the thick shaft of a column and a small sarcophagus, only large enough
for a child, in a field half a mile distant. The Jews appropriate this
to Shemaiah Abtelin.
We passed between _Kadita_ and _Taitaba_, over land strewn with volcanic
stone, beginning near Jish and extending almost to those villages. The
crater, of very remote times, noticed by Robinson, is about one-third of
the distance from Jish to Safed; not very imposing in appearance.
The journey from Kadis to Safed is one of five hours' common travelling.
We reached the olive ground encampment shortly before noon. Being the
Jewish Sabbath, there was the _Eruv_ suspended at the exits of the
principal streets. This is an invention of the Talmudists, used in
unwalled towns, being a line extended from one post to another,
indicating to Jews what is the limit which they are to consider as the
town-wall, and certain ordinances of the Sabbath are regulated thereby.
A strong wind from the south blew up a mist that almost concealed the
huge dark ravine of _Jarmuk_, but the night became once more hot and
still.
3_d_.--"And rested the Sabbath-day, according to the
commandment,"--neither the principal prayer-day of the Mohammedans, which
is Friday, nor the Sabbath-day of the large population of Jews about me,
but that which the early Christians so beautifully named the Lord's-day,
while observing it as a Sabbath. I attended divine service in the
English language at the house of Mr Daniel, the missionary to the Jews:
we were six in number. The rest of the day was spent in quiet reading
and meditation, with visits at one time from the rabbis, and at another
from the missionary.
4_th_.--An excursion to _Meroon_ to visit the sepulchres of several
eminent canonized rabbis. The Jews believe this place to be the
Shimron-Meron of Joshua xii. 20. An odd party we formed: there were the
missionary and his lady, Polish rabbis with very broad beaver hats and
curled ringlets on each side of the face, a crowd of Jewish idlers
walking, the Moslem attendants, and a peasant of the village we were
going to. Certainly the rabbinical riding was not of a very dashing
character: their reverences were all mounted on asses with mean
accoutrements, for the adjustment of which they often had to dismount.
Our place of destination lies at the foot of the great hill Jarmuk, and
the road to it is very rough, with broken rocks fallen from the summit;
but the place commands a grand prospect of Safed and the Lake of Galilee.
The first object of interest was of course the sepulchre of Rabbi Simeon
bar Jochai, the patron saint of this region, and of regions beyond. He
lived a miraculous life in the second Christian century; wrote the famous
book (Zohar), by which, if I mistake not, the Cabbalists still work
miracles; and miracles are performed in answer to prayers at his tomb--so
it is believed; and his commemoration festival, in the month Iyar (see
_ante_) is attended by Jewish votaries from all parts of the world, many
of whom practise the heathen rite of burning precious objects, such as
gold lace, Cashmere shawls, etc., upon the tomb, to propitiate his
favour. On these occasions scenes of scandalous licence and riot are
witnessed, and sometimes lives are lost in conflicts with Moslems begun
in drunkenness. The rabbis, however, procure great gains from the annual
festival or fair.
(In the town of Safed there is at least one (perhaps more) _Beth
ha-Midrash_, a sort of synagogue, with perpetual endowment, for reading
of the Zohar day and night for ever.)
First we entered a court-yard with a walnut-tree in the midst. At a
farther corner of this court is a small clean apartment, with a lighted
lamp in a frame suspended from the ceiling, which is capable of holding
more lamps. In a corner of this apartment is a recess with a lamp
burning before it; in this a roll of the law is kept; it is the shrine
itself of the author of Zohar. One of our rabbis retired behind us for
prayer. In another part of this chamber is buried Eleazar, son of the
illustrious Simeon.
These sepulchres are marked out upon the roof, outside of the chamber, by
a small pillar over each, with a hollow on the top of it for burning of
the votive offerings as above mentioned. Near the first entrance gate is
a similar pillar for lamps and offerings vowed to Rabbi Isaac, a
celebrated physician.
All these three saints still perform as many miracles as ever they did;
and the common people believe that any person forcing an entrance to the
shrines, without express permission of the living rabbis, will be
infallibly punished with sudden death. They cited instances of such
visitations having occurred.
We then went to the ruin of what the Jews assert to have been a
synagogue. It has been an oblong square building, one of its sides being
formed by the scarped surface of a rock, and its opposite (the north)
stands upon what is now the brink of a low precipice, probably from the
earth having given way below at the time of the earthquake; indeed it
must be so, for the one of the three portals at the east end, which was
there, is now missing. The floor is solid surface of rock, and now used
by the peasants for a thrashing-floor. The portals have been handsome,
with bold mouldings; but no floral embellishment or inscription now
remains.
[Picture: Possible synagogue]
The transverse lintels are each of one stone; the central one is at least
fifteen feet in length.
Persons still living remember this building very much more entire than it
now is. There is an abundance of large loose stones lying about, and
fragments of broken columns or moulded friezes. Upon the rock by its
side is a small tower that was erected by old Daher (Volney's hero of the
Report on Syria) in the eighteenth century.
The village population now consists of about thirty souls, friendly to
the Jews, from whom indeed they derive their principal subsistence, in
consideration of guarding the sanctuaries from spoliation. Other
sanctified rabbis are interred in sites about the village and the hill.
{121}
After a temperate luncheon upon the rocks among the noble scenery in the
open air, and consulting the Hebrew book of travels of R. Joseph
Schwartz, (who was still living in Jerusalem,) we parted from our rabbis,
and proceeded to visit Cuf'r Bera'am.
When we arrived close to _Sasa_, there was _Jish_ before us on the right.
We passed through a district of stones and underwood of evergreen oak;
clouds and rain coming on, which overtook us sharply as we reached the
village.
Some of the party being but poor riders, we were later than I had
expected to be; it was quite sunset; and the people of the place, (almost
all of them Maronite Christians,) headed by their priest could do no less
than press us to stay through the night with them, especially as the sky
threatened a continuation of rain. After deliberative counsel being
taken among us, it was resolved that we could only thank the good people
for their intended hospitality, and return home. We first halted before
an ancient square building, the outside of which has been much encroached
upon by the alluvial earth of ages, and the simple but correct Tuscan
portico, encumbered with piles of fagots for the village use during the
approaching winter. The three doorways of the facade were embellished by
sculptured wreaths of vine leaves and grapes. Hearing that some Hebrew
inscription was to be found beneath one of the windows, we had some of
the fagots removed, sufficient to enable us to read the words [Hebrew
text] (this house, etc.); but on account of the labour required to do
more with such a tangled and heavy mass of wood, besides the rain and the
lateness of the hour, we were obliged to abandon the task, and go forward
to the large decorated portal which is standing alone, without its
edifice, in an enclosed field at about a quarter of a mile distant. This
is erected upon a raised platform of masonry. Upon the transverse lintel
we read the following Hebrew inscription, neatly engraved:--
[Picture: Hebrew inscription]
(Peace be within this place, and all places of the sojourners . . . to
the work . . . blessing in his works.)
This is all written in one line, without breaks or stops, very small, and
in as neat a square character as if lately copied from a printed book.
The two uprights and the lintel have a simple and chaste ornament like a
bead moulding. The transverse lintel has in the middle of its length a
rosette surmounted by a circular wreath, at each end of which may be seen
upon close inspection, and in a slanting light, traces of a small animal,
most likely a sheep, recumbent, which have been chiselled away. On a
visit some years after, and on closer inspection, I remarked the same
figures upon the facade of that building above mentioned, with Tuscan
pillars for a portico, though pains have been taken, as in this instance,
to obliterate them.
The ground all about there is strewn with moulded stones and broken
columns.
We reached Safed, cold and wet, in the dark, having ridden but slowly, in
order to accommodate certain individuals of the party; but it was in the
month of November, at an altitude of above 2000 feet, with rain and gusts
of wind coming between dark mountains.
My evening reflections alone naturally ran upon the almost unknown
circumstance of Hebrew inscriptions existing upon remains of ancient and
decorated edifices in this part of the country, while nothing of the sort
is known elsewhere. Were the two buildings at Cuf'r Bera'am, and the
sepulchre in the field below Jish, really Jewish? and if so, when were
they erected?
The modern Jews, in their utter ignorance of chronology, declare these to
be synagogues of the time of the second temple in Jerusalem; and affirm
that, notwithstanding the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, this
province of Upper Galilee remained without its people being led into
captivity, and that many families (for instance, the Jewish
agriculturists still at Bokeea', between Safed and Acre) continue now,
just as they were then, in the same localities.
My good old friend Nicolayson, the late missionary to the Jews, was
willing to believe a good deal about this local stability of Jews in
Upper Galilee, and to give credit for a state of much prosperity among
the Jews in the East during the reigns of the Antonine emperors; and his
idea was the most probable one of any that I have heard advanced--namely,
that these edifices (corresponding in general character with those
remaining at Kadis) are really synagogues from the era of the Antonines,
and that the inscriptions are of the same date; meanwhile keeping in mind
that they are utterly wanting in the robust style of archaic Hebraism,
and that the embellishments indicate somewhat of a low period.
For myself, after two visits to the place, and many years of
consideration, I cannot bring myself to this belief; but rather conclude
that they were heathen temples of the Antonine epoch, and afterwards used
as synagogues by the Jews, long ago--probably during some interval of
tranquillity under the early Mohammedans,--and that the Hebrew
inscriptions were then put upon them.
There is some regularity and method in the writing upon the lonely portal
in the field, though even this is not so well executed as the contiguous
moulding upon the same stone; but the other two inscriptions (those upon
the facade of the building in the village, and that upon the broken
column in the field below Jish) are put irregularly upon any vacant space
that happened to be unencumbered. I am convinced that, in the latter
instance, the sculpture and the writing have nothing to do with each
other.
The surest demonstration, however, to my mind, lies in the evident fact
of animal figures having been originally upon the same lintel where the
writing now is. Although their relief-projection has been chiselled
down, the outlines of the figures are unmistakable. These, I feel
certain, were coeval with the buildings, while the inscriptions are only
coeval with their being defaced.
Next day we travelled southwards towards Jerusalem. On leaving the town
we passed the ruins of an old church, which they call "The Church of the
Forty Martyrs," (this seems to be a favourite traditional designation, as
there are other such about the country) and in half an hour reached a
stream in the midst of a wood of neb'k trees, where an Arab, riding a
fine mare and carrying a long spear decorated with black ostrich
feathers, was driving a cow across the water--very probably plundered
from some neighbouring village.
At _Yakook_--the dirtiest place in the world, I suppose, there was a
large Arab encampment, the men sitting apart from the women, and cooking
going on--thence to _Hhatteen_. The volcanic stones of this region are
far blacker than elsewhere; the district resembles some dismal coal
district in the north of England. Thence out of the common road to
_Nimrin_, by _Lubieh_, _Tura'an_, to _Cuf'r Cana_, the old and true Cana
of Galilee.
At this village of peculiarly scriptural interest, the women and children
were spreading cotton pods, just picked, on their house-roofs to dry.
Here is a square-built cistern filled from a spring within it, and the
cattle were drinking from a beautiful sarcophagus. Losing our road again
we came to _Meshhad_, rather west of the usual road. Clouds lowering and
frowning over Carmel. At the village of _Raineh_ I noticed a man
harrowing a ploughed field by dragging a bunch of prickly-pear leaves
after a yoke of oxen. Arrived at Nazareth.
Next day, across the plain of Esdraelon to _Jeneen_ and _Sanoor_, where
we slept. Then by a new road, untraversed by Europeans. After _Jeba'_,
we got into the plain of Sharon, through the large olive plantations of
_Fendecomia_, (_pente_, five, and _comai_, villages--in Greek,) between
_Yaero_, (a ruin,) _Adjah_, _Rameeen_, and _Attarah_, with other villages
in good condition. Saw Cuf'r Ra'i very distinctly at a distance in the
West, and numerous villages besides.
From an eminence we looked down upon an extensive prospect of shaded
unoccupied hills, with the wide plain beyond and the Mediterranean Sea;
then descended into a valley, the road winding about through immense
olive groves; the travelling was easy, and all the district bore the
appearance of prosperity, such as could hardly be expected where we know
that factious warfare so frequently exists. Passed _Cuf'r Ruman_. As
far as _'Annabeh_ the course had been for a long time westwards; but
there, at the opening of the great plain, we turned due southwards. This
was four hours from _Sanoor_, at a good pace. Passed between _'Annabeh_
and _Tool el Ker'm_ in changing our course. Near _Irtahh_ we passed a
camel-party going down to Egypt with bales of soap and tobacco for sale.
We were upon the established route of trade between Damascus and Egypt,
and not very far distant from Dothan, where the Midianite or Ishmaelite
caravan bought Joseph from his brethren; but we had passed this on our
left hand in the morning.
Soon passed _Farra'an_ on our left, with a weli and a cistern below it,
by the roadside. _Kalinsawa_ in sight, but far away to the right;
_Ferdisia_ and _Zenabeh_ on the left. The day very hot, and the
peasantry observed to be, as usual in all the Philistine country, cleaner
in their garments than those of the mountains.
Coasted along, parallel to the line of hills, as far as _Kalkeeleh_,
where we began to turn inwards, across the fields, towards the place of
our destination, namely, _Mejdal Yaba_, which was conspicuous on an
eminence before us. This was at six and a half hours from _Sanoor_.
In a field we arrived at a well, where the water must have been very low
down, being late in the year; for it was only obtained by jars or skins
drawn up at the end of a very long rope, worked by a long line of women
walking across the field, and singing at their work, while the men sat
looking on and smoking.
We passed the remains of some old considerable town, where, among the
fallen building stones and the lines of foundations, there was a cistern,
and an ancient sarcophagus by its side; also a deep square well filled up
with rubbish, and remains of quarrying work in the solid rock,--besides
an unroofed building, with a semicircular arch to the doorway. Surely
this must have been of Roman construction.
Arrived at _Mejdal Yaba_ in nine hours from Sanoor,--a hot and tiring
journey. At a short distance below us was the site of _Ras el 'Ain_; and
farther westwards, but within sight, the tall white tower of _Ramlah_.
Time--sunset.
I had a special object in coming off the common high-roads to this place,
but little known, at that time not at all known, to Europeans,--namely,
to visit Shaikh Sadek, the responsible ruler of the district, and
regarded by the peasantry with especial deference, out of traditional
obedience to his ancient family.
We found the village and the castle in a very dilapidated condition, and
the great shaikh not at home. Some of his relatives, however, received
us; but both they and the peasantry were surprised, if not alarmed, at
our coming. To them it seemed as if we were suddenly dropped upon them
from the sky. Perhaps they had never seen Europeans before; or they
might have thought us spies sent by the Turkish Government. There were
plenty of idle fellows lounging about; but their supplies of food from
the village were scanty, and of inferior quality.
The Sadek family apologised for apparent want of hospitality,--explaining
that the only unbroken part of the castle was but just sufficient to
contain the _hareem_ of the women, and there was not a single room to
give me. So I was glad to have my bedding and other paraphernalia spread
upon a _mustabah_, or raised stone divan, just within the gate. A narrow
vaulting covered my head; but it was open at the side to the square
court, into which the horses, asses, cows, and sheep were driven for the
night.
After considerable delay, a rude supper was produced,--of which, however,
I could not persuade the family to partake till after ourselves. They
then ate up the remainder in company with my servants. They were very
solemn and slow in conversation; indeed, I could not but suspect that
they had some hostile schemes in preparation, which they did not wish to
have ascertained or communicated to their neighbours.
Troubling myself very little about their local politics, I was soon on my
bed, and looking up at the brilliant stars. Sleep did not come very
soon, as the men kept up firing guns, and the women trilling their songs,
to a late hour. They said it was on account of a wedding.
Daybreak found me up, and in full enjoyment of the exquisite luxury of
open air, in a clear and pure Oriental climate, before sunrise.
[Picture: Remains of old Christian church]
The servants were all busied in various occupations, and the peasantry
driving out the cattle, while I was surveying the considerable remains of
an old Christian church, which now forms one side of the shaikh's
mansion, and is used for a stable and a store of fodder. This vignette
represents its entrance, in a corner now darkened by the arcade in which
I had slept. The workmanship is massive and very rude, and the Greek of
the inscription upon the lintel not less barbarous, signifying "Martyr
Memorial Church of the Holy Herald,"--_i.e._, John the Baptist.
This discovery interested me deeply, in that region so remote from any
body of Christians at the present day, and among a population very like
savages dwelling amid stern hill-scenery.
Not less touching was the special designation of the saint so
commemorated. I believe that the Easterns pay more respect than
Europeans do to the memory of him whom the Saviour himself pronounced to
be greater than all the Old Testament prophets. And while we are
accustomed to ascribe to him only one of his official characters,--that
of the Baptizer,--they take pleasure in recalling his other scriptural
offices; as, for instance, this of the _Herald_, or Preacher {131a} of
righteousness, and that of the _Forerunner_. {131b} Indeed, individuals
are not unfrequently named after him in baptism by this latter
appellation, without the name John.
This building appears to have been at all times heavy and coarse in
construction; indeed, one may fairly suppose that part of the frontal has
at some time been taken down, and strangely put together again.
This church is the only object of curiosity that I had found along the
recent novel route.
On leaving _Mejdal_, I descended to inspect once more the site so
interesting to me of _Ras el 'Ain_, at half an hour's distance,--which I
unhesitatingly believe to be _Antipatris_, as I conceived it to be on my
first seeing the place the preceding year. I had then passed it rather
late in the evening, and upon the other side.
_Cuf'r Saba_, to which I was then going, is a wretched village, of
unburnt bricks, on the wide open plain, with no other water near it than
the deposit of rain-water in an adjoining square tank of clay. Yet
travelling authors have constantly pronounced this to be the locality of
Antipatris. Not one of them, however, has visited the place.
What does Josephus say (Antiq. xvi. 5, 2, in Whiston)?--"After this
solemnity and these festivals were over, Herod erected another city in
the plain called Caphar Saba, where he chose out a fit place, both for
plenty of water and goodness of soil, and proper for the production of
what was there planted; where a river encompassed the city itself, and a
grove of the best trees for magnitude was round about. This he named
Antipatris, from his father Antipater." [Greek text]. No words can be
more distinctly descriptive; yet Robinson, who had not visited that
district, in his positive manner lays down that the village of Cuf'r Saba
is the site of Antipatris; and "doubtless" all that is said about "well
watered," and "a river encompassing the city," means that some wadi or
watercourse came down from the hills in that direction, and made the
place watery in the winter season.
Now, what are the facts remaining at the present day? Upon the same
plain with Cuf'r Saba, and within sight of it, at hardly six miles'
distance, is a large mound capable of containing a small town, with
foundations of ancient buildings, bits of marble, Roman bricks, and
tesserae scattered about,--but especially a large strong castle of
Saracenic work, the lower courses of the walls of real Roman
construction; and at the foot of the mound rises the river _Aujeh_ out of
the earth in several copious streams, crowded with willows, tall wild
canes, and bulrushes,--the resort of numerous flocks, and of large herds
of horned cattle brought from a distance, and (as I have seen there)
counted by the Government inspector of the district, for the levying of
agricultural taxes upon them. {133} This is our Ras el 'Ain.
For a considerable extent there is capital riding-ground of green grass,
so rare in Palestine. Let any one familiar with that country answer,
Could Herod have selected a better spot for a military station, (as
Antipatris was,) just on the border, descending from the hill-country
upon the plain? With this description in view, we understand all the
more vividly the narrative of Felix sending St Paul to Caesarea. To
elude the machinations of the conspiracy, the military party travelled by
night over the hilly region; and on reaching the castle of Antipatris,
the spearmen and other soldiers left him to continue the journey with
cavalry upon the plain to Caesarea, about three hours farther, (Acts
xxiii. 23, and 31, 32.)
It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that this is the true site of
Antipatris; and as for Josephus calling that neighbourhood "the plain of
Cuf'r Saba," that must be for the same reason as another part of the same
vast extent was called the Plain of Sharon,--or as it is now very much
the custom for modern travellers to call the whole Philistine plain by
that name.
As for the statement that a river encompassed the city itself; I imagine
that the town was not upon the elevated mound,--this was probably
occupied by military works and a temple,--but upon the level of the
water, among the serpentine separate streams, which soon combine into one
river, the Aujeh, with its water-mills, and which was navigable for some
distance inland to the north of Jaffa. In the course of ages some of
these streams may have somewhat changed their direction. The mound has
still a dry trench around it, which must have anciently had its current
of water through it.
It cannot be that the deep trench dug by Alexander from Antipatris to the
sea (Antiq. xiii. 15, I, Whiston) can have begun at this village of Cuf'r
Saba, where no water rises, and which is far away from the hills in an
open plain. Although the words are distinctly, "from Capharzaba," the
trench must have originated at the river head, _i.e._, Antipatris, where
there was a fortified castle, and passed round the nearest town, viz.,
that of Cuf'r Saba.
I should observe, that not only Herod did well in selecting this spot for
a castle, because of its situation on the verge of the mountains,
commanding the road from Jerusalem to either Caesarea or Joppa; but
because it lies also upon the direct caravan track between Damascus and
Egypt, nearly at right angles with the other road.
The ruined Saracenic khan which now stands on the foundations of the
Roman castle, is of large size, and has a broken mosque in the centre of
the enclosure.
We rested and breakfasted, from our own resources, (without taxing the
Arab hospitality of Shaikh Sadek's family at Mejdal,) at the springs of
the Aujeh,--the water bubbling up warm from the ground, among stones,
with aquatic birds flying over us, and the morning breeze sighing among
the gigantic reeds and the willows.
We engaged a guide for what seemed likely to be a short day's journey to
_Ras Kerker_, the _cursi_, or metropolis, of another dominant
family--that of _Ibn Simhhan_--within the mountains; but it proved far
longer than was expected.
We were conducted due south, yet so far away from the line of hills that
we missed the Roman temple of _M'zeera'a_, which I do not know that, to
this day, any European but myself has seen. {136}
To _Nebi Sari_, which is a pretty weli, two hour only from Jaffa. To
_Runtieh_, which is a poor place. Then south-eastwards to _Teereh_; near
which we started a gazelle across the fields.
In that part of the country the population has so greatly increased of
late years that there was a scarcity of land for cultivation; and at the
end of autumn the villages contest the right of ploughing there by fights
of fire-arms.
Suddenly we turned into a valley, at an acute angle with our previous
road. This is named _Wadi el Kharnoob_--probably from some conspicuous
karoobah-tree. In ascending the hill, I looked back, and had a beautiful
prospect of Jaffa, and a white ship sailing on the sea.
We continued ascending higher and higher. Before us was a large building
on a single hill, which they called _Dair Musha'al_. Passed the ruined
village, _Hhanoonah_. On our right hand, among trees, was _Desrah_.
Passed through _Shukbeh_. How different is the mountain air from that of
the plain, so light and so pure!
Descended a little to _Shibtain_, where there was a great ancient well;
and being surrounded by hills, the place was very hot. Then for some
time over very dangerous paths, mounting upwards, till we reached the
region of a cool breeze, such as I once heard a peasant say was "worth a
thousand purses" on a summer's day.
Saw _Ras Kerker_, the place of our destination, high above, in a very
remarkable situation; but how to get at it was a puzzle which patient
perseverance alone could solve.
We rode round and round one hill after another, till we reached _Dair
'Ammar_. Then opened upon us one of those few prospects which in a
lifetime impress themselves indelibly on the mind. This was not lovely,
but stern, consisting chiefly of a wild, dark alternation of lower hills,
with the valleys between them.
The villages hereabouts bear an appearance of prosperity--perhaps because
Turkish officials are never seen there; but the people of _Dair 'Ammar_
behaved rudely. Down, deep deep down we went, leading our horses, in
order to rise afterwards to a higher elevation. At length we reached a
petty spring of water, where there were some dirty, but otherwise
good-looking women, who pointed out our path towards the castle at the
top of the hill.
The _Ibn Simhhan_ people (being the great rivals of _Abu Gosh_) had often
invited me to visit them at this castle,--describing with ardour the
abundance and excellence of its springs of water, and the salubrity of
its atmosphere.
On arriving at the "_Ras_," after a tedious and very wearisome
journey,--difficult as the place is of access,--I found it to fall far
below those promises. There are no springs near it. The only water is
brought up by the women from the one which we had passed far below. Only
within the castle (which was begun while building forty-four years
before) some old wells, with good masonry stones, were discovered. These
are now put into good order, and kept full, probably in readiness at any
time against a siege by the faction of Abu Gosh. Many battles and sieges
take place in these remote places that the Pasha of Jerusalem never hears
of.
Although of modern origin, much of the earliest part of the castle is
already falling to decay--such as gates, steps, etc. It was a melancholy
spectacle to walk about the place, reminding one of some small
middle-aged castles that I have seen in Scotland, burnt or destroyed
during old times of civil warfare; or resembling my recollection, after
many long years, of Scott's description of the Baron Bradwardine's castle
in its later period. And the same melancholy associations recurred
yesterday at Mejdal Yaba.
The people assured us that the tortuous and rocky road that we had taken
from Ras el 'Ain was the best and nearest that we could have taken.
We were received by a couple of relatives of Ibn Simhhan, who is now
Governor of Lydd; but they conducted us to the next village, _Janiah_, to
be entertained there by the rest of the family. On our descent to the
village, we met our hosts coming to meet us.
_Janiah_ is a poor place; and we had glimpses of curious groups and
scenes within the best one of the wretched houses. We were received in a
large room, to which the access was by a steep and broken set of steps
outside of the house. In the street below was a circle of the elders of
the village; and at the time of sunset, one of them mounted on the corner
of a garden wall to proclaim the _Adan_, or Moslem call to prayers. I
did not observe that he was at all attended to.
A good number of the leading people came to visit us; and one old man
quoted and recited heaps of Arabic poetry for our entertainment while
awaiting the supper.
Then 'Abdu'l Lateef Ibn Simhhan, joined by another, (a humbler adherent
of the family,) gave us a vivid relation of the famous battle of _Nezib_
in 1838, and of his desertion from the Egyptian army to the Turkish with
a hundred of his mountaineers, well armed, during the night; of how the
Turkish Pasha refused to receive him or notice him till he had washed
himself in a golden basin, and anointed his beard from vessels of gold;
how the Turkish army was disgracefully routed; how he ('Abdu'l Lateef)
was appointed to guard the Pasha's harem during the flight, etc., etc.
This narrative was occasionally attested as true by a negro slave in the
room, who had been with my host on that expedition.
The most lively fellow, however, of the party was one Hadj 'Abdallah of
Jerusalem, who has two wives, one a daughter of Ibn Simhhan, the other a
daughter of Abu Gosh!! His property in Jerusalem consists chiefly of
houses let out to Jews, whom he mimicked in their Spanish and German
dialects.
At length came supper; then sleep.
* * * * *
_Saturday_, 9_th_.--Asaad Ibn Simhhan and Hadj 'Abdallah rode with us to
_Mezra'ah_ to show us some ruins of an ancient city near it, called
_Hharrasheh_, where, as they told us, there are "figures of the children
of men" cut in the rock. This roused our curiosity immensely, and I felt
sure of success in such company; for though we were in a very wild and
unknown country, we had the second greatest of the Ibn Simhhan family
with us, and the Hadji was evidently popular among them all.
We sent on our luggage before us to Jerusalem by _Bait Unah_ and _Bait
Uksa_.
In rather less than an hour we reached _Mezra'ah_--the journey much
enlivened by the drollery and songs of Hadj 'Abdallah. Both he and Asaad
had capital mares and ornamented long guns. The latter was all dressed
in white--the turban, abbai, etc. His face was pale, and even his mare
white.
Arrived at the village, we all mounted to the roof of a house--the people
paying great reverence to Asaad. Gradually we found the whole population
surrounding us, and then closing nearer and nearer upon us. As the heat
of the sun increased, we descended to an arcade of the same house, at the
end of which there were some itinerant Christians mending shoes for the
people.
A breakfast was brought to us of eggs swimming in hot butter and honey,
with the usual Arab cakes of bread. The crowd could not be kept off; and
the people themselves told us it was because they had never before seen
Europeans.
One man asked for some gunpowder from my horn. I gave some to Asaad, and
one of the villagers took a pinch of it from him; then went to a little
distance, and another brought a piece of lighted charcoal to make it
explode on his hand. He came to me afterwards, to show with triumph what
good powder it must be, for it had left no mark on his skin.
Ibn Simhhan had to make the people move away their lighted pipes while I
was giving him some of the precious powder. He then informed the
assembly that I had come to see _Hharrasheh_ and the sculptured figures.
They refused to allow it. He insisted that I should go; and after some
violent altercation and swearing the majority of the men ran to arm
themselves and accompany us, so as to prevent us from carrying off the
hidden treasures.
We rode away; and at every few hundred yards places were pointed out to
us as sites of clan massacres, or wonderful legends, or surprising
escapes, in deep glens or on high hills. At one time we passed between
two cairns of stones, one covering a certain 'Ali, the other a certain
Mohammed, both slain by ---. "By whom?" said I. The Hadji gave no other
reply than pointing over his shoulder to Asaad. I felt as if transported
a couple of centuries back to the wilds of Perthshire or Argyleshire,
among the Highland clans. The local scenery was of a suitable character.
In about forty minutes we arrived at some lines of big stones, that must
have belonged to some town of enormous or incalculable antiquity; and
this, they told us, was _Hharrasheh_. As for columns, the people told us
to stoop into a cavern; but there we could perceive nothing but a piece
of the rock remaining as a prop in the middle. "Well, now for the
figures of the children of men." The people looked furious, and
screamed. They gathered round us with their guns; but Asaad insisted; so
a detachment of them led us down the side of a bare rocky hill, upon a
mere goat-path; and at last they halted before a rough, uncut stone,
whose only distinction from the many thousands lying about, was that it
stands upright.
Asaad observed our disappointment, and said something--I forget the exact
terms now--which led me to believe that this was not the object he had
meant, and that the ignorant, superstitious people could not be coerced.
He believed that this stone had been anciently set up with some
meaning--probably by some one who had buried treasures; not as indicating
the exact spot, but as leading in a line connected with some other
object, to the real place of concealment.
So here the matter ended; and, when the people saw us looking
disappointed, they went away satisfied to their village.
We parted from our friend Asaad Ibn Simhhan, taking one of the peasantry
with us to show us the way to Ram Allah, which he did through vineyards
and cheerful scenery; and we were soon again at that village after
seventeen days' absence. In about two hours more we were in Jerusalem.
III. SOUTHWARDS ON THE PHILISTINE PLAIN AND ITS SEA COAST.
This extensive level is the original Palestine--the Pelesheth of Exod.
xv. 14, and Isa. xiv. 29. So named because it was the country of the
Pelishtim or Philistines (of Genesis x. 14, and _passim_) in the Old
Testament history, extending from about Caesarea to Gaza, or farther
southwards, and from the Mediterranean to the hill country of Judea, west
to east.
This district is so exclusively understood in modern times by the name
Palestine or Philistia, that a deputation of Oriental Christians coming
once on a friendly visit, inquired why upon my Arabic seal the English
consulate was designated that of "Jerusalem and Palestine," without
mention of the other territories northwards to which its jurisdiction
extended, such as Galilee. I could only answer that the ancient Romans
called the whole country around, nay, even that beyond Jordan, and as far
as Petra, by the name of Palestine, and this fact was old enough for us
now-a-days to act upon. "Oh, the Romans!" they ejaculated, with a
curious expression of countenance, as if disappointed at the mention of
such comparatively modern people. So true is it that in the Holy Land,
the Bible is the only book of history for Christians, and scriptural
incidents are the traditions which leap over any number of centuries at a
time. How little of this state of mind existing among the inhabitants of
that country is comprehended in England!
But, in reference to the people Israel and the possession of it as the
promised land, this allotment, shared partly by each of the tribes of
Ephraim, Dan, and Judah, has a peculiar denomination--it is called the
Shephelah, (translated by the common word _vale_ in Josh. x. 40, xi. 16,
and elsewhere.) In Arabic authors also of Mohammedan period, this large
plain bears the same name, _Siphla_, meaning the same as in Hebrew, the
"low country."
Thus, as one expanse from the hills to the sea, it bears one territorial
name, either Philistine or Hebraic, just as another region is called the
_Negeb_, or south, (see in the verses referred to above,) or as others
were designated the hill country, or the desert, or Phoenicia. And many
a time have I stood on the summits of hills to the west of Bethlehem, the
eye ranging over its extent from the vicinity of Carmel to Gaza, with
Jaffa and Ekron in front, and have sometimes seen beyond this, ships of
large size sailing past on the "great and wide sea" of the 104th Psalm.
The ancient Philistines were not only exceptionally, but generally, a
large race of people, and the population there are to this day remarkably
tall; they are, even amid disadvantages, (that especially of want of
water,) much more cleanly in their persons and clothing than the peasants
of the hills, and many of their habits of life are modified by their
circumstances, such as the pressure of their wild Arab neighbours from
the southern desert that lies between them and Egypt.
Over this plain I have made several journeys at different periods, and
now proceed to put down my jottings of an excursion in the spring of
1849.
* * * * *
_May_ 1_st_.--"Sweet May-day" in the Holy Land as well as in England.
At Rachel's sepulchre, "in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem," we
parted from a company of friends who had ridden with us from Jerusalem,
and passed along the valley _Duhheish'mah_ to the Pools of Solomon, then
turned aside by the convent and village of _El Khud'r_ (or St George),
surrounded by flourishing vineyards. Then mounting up a stony ridge, we
came in view of the wide Philistine plain, the hills falling in
successive gradations from our feet to the level of the plain, but
separate objects could scarcely be distinguished on account of the thick
air of the prevailing Shirocco; green bushes, however, and abundant wild
flowers, including the red everlasting, pheasant's eye, cistus, and some
late anemones, were about us; the larks and the linnets were singing with
delight.
In front was the village of _Hhusan_, and two roads led forward, that on
the left to _Nahhaleen_, _Wad Fokeen_, and _Jeba'_; this was the road
that I ought to have taken to _Bait Nateef_, our place for the night, but
being considerably ahead of our baggage mules, I had ridden on with a
kawwas, under _Hhusan_ and _Ras abu 'Ammar_; by our wayside lay a defaced
Roman milestone.
A solitary peasant youth, from whom I inquired the names of the villages
about us, was so alarmed at the appearance of a European with a Turkish
attendant, in a place so remote from common high-roads, that he ran off;
but finding our horses keeping up with his fleet pace, he dropped behind
a large stone and levelled his gun at us in sheer terror; it was
difficult to get a rational reply from him.
Before us, a little to our left, was _Hhubeen_, half down a hill, at the
foot of which was a valley green with waving crops of wheat and barley.
In ten minutes more there opened a fine view of _Bait 'Atab_, in which
w
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/22097