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•ibid and have rarely felt an oppressive day. The situation la suob tbat the land and tbe woods keep off tbe fierce winds from tbe oorth and west* Now and tben we bare amild surf from a southerly wind, bat to encounter tbe great wares we must go oat to the wider reaches of tbe Bay This is a perilous venture in any thing else than a large boat so that we only see tbe danger from a distanoo. I must reserve for an-othor letter other features of IntcrMt in this quiet and oharming retreat.Yours Ac-0, J SOBJMKTOHOld Mission Aug. 21, IHtiQ.It'OREIGN OODBBSPONDBNH. From Jerusalem to Jericho—-The Vsl*ley of the Jordan.[FV-om our Syrian Oorretpondtni jEditor IUoorfar:—Aba Die, tbe Sheikh of tbo Taamra tribe of Beduin Arab*, bolding the ill country from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea have purchased tbe right of lb* Government toconduot travelers to the Jordan, Dead Sea, Mar Saba aud Bethlehem and woe unto the Frank who is found in this district without a guard of Turkish soldiers or a sjtecial escort of Arabs sent by Abudis There are thousands of pilgrims continually* traveling! through these parts without an escort, but they are so poor that they are held la oontempt by the Arabs as having nothing worth the tkking. The eun was just peeping over the Mount of Olives when we started on our Jordan trip. Three Bedulns armed with flint-lock guns as special escorts. Oar, an Abyssinian over six feet tall, whose muscles stood out like whip oordar—a man of wonderful endurance. The others were of tbe usual type of this tribe, brown, dirty, ill fedjand poorly olad Our road took us arouud the north wall of the city, past St. Stephens gate, deseeuded the valley of Kid* roo, leave the Garden of Getbeemene on our left The road skirts tbe Mt of Olive*. We pus* the spot whore tradition ssys Judas hanged himself, to the right the Mi of Offence, then tbe place shown as tbe site of the fig tree which was ourssd by Jeeus.Forty-three minutes after we left tbe Holy Oity, we reached Bet ban y Thu is one of tbe few plaoes in Palestine that doe# not reUm it* ancient name. The Arabs call it Kl Azsrlab from Laxarus. There is no doubt in tbe minds of Bible student* that this Is tbe j iaoe where Jeeus delighted to visit and seek ropoee and the socieiy-of bit friends. The plaoe it email, consisting of about fifty poor hovels, and is pleasantly situated near the south easte o base of the Mt. of Olives. Near tbe village is the so-called tomb of Lazarus. A# usual tbe Moslems claim this as the tomb of one of their saints and of especial holiness to them The Christians have a small room where tber are i*ermitted to oome and pray and effer gifts of Incenso and celebrate mass. The two houses of Mary and Martha, Aod Simeon are shown, an i bak* »bisb demanded. We pass on and see the very spot (?) where Jeeus met Martha, still futther on we see tbe “stone of resting,”where Joaus is said to have reeled to gsiustrength before ascending the hill to ihr Tillage. From here we go “down to Jen-ubo—down a precipitous, slippery palb for an hoar, we i**rae to a spring, here we must watei our animals, for this Is the only spring or well we MiaH see unul we reach the Jordan valley We ascend and descend long bills with not a tree or vestige of green, the whole prospect gradually becoming more and more desolate and gioutny Tbo road is out through lime-»toue rook and the sun’s reflection upon its dirty, white healed surface ia very (winful to tbo face and eyes Perhaps tt was here whore Shitnoi cursed and stoned David who was fleeing before hi* son Absalom. On the top of one of the hills has been recently built a Khan near the ruins of an old one supposed lo have been the identical Khan mentioned in the parable of the good Samaritan Here we stopped to rest and get some refreshments from our saddle bags. Tbe Khan afforded nothing but water and the overlasting Arab coffee. As 1 sat on one of tbe tush bottomed stools that constitute the only scat to be found m an Arab Khan.l take in the whole situation, the vrild wady the frightful ramie?,the na» row passages almost impassable along tbe mountain sides, Jam the place to tempt daring thieves to rob, disable aod leave m the sun to perish, some uuhappy traveler who chanced this way unprotected Perhaps It was a common sight to see a man who bad been robbed and aim »st killed brought into the Khan, and such a sight have suggested the parable of the good Samaritan We did not remain long for we must be on our way The eun heat, the blinding glare of tbe white stone, thegloomy prospect about ua, all made the ride very uncomfortable. At three o’clock we cams to tbo top of the last hiU before reaching the plain We forgnt the boat in our excitement at viewing for tbe Qrit time the interesting scene before us. The river Jordan, tbe most interesting on earth, backod by thn mountains of Moab, to the south, the Dead Sea with its dull, leaden waters glistening in tbe sunlight, to the north, the Mountains made sweet by E Isha’a cruse of salt, midway, tbe rutos of Jericho whose walls fell at tbe blast of Israel’s trumpets; beyond, tbe supposed site of tbe cities of the plain who suffered the vengeoce of a just God, but we looked in yam for evidences of tbe grand city of palaces, tbe place Cleopatra loved, the eit? where Herod the Great lived aod died, tbe btgb tower and its immense gates, tbe tern pie of Zeus, its splendid theatres, the extensile gardens of dates with their flowing palms, the deep green of the orapgo, tbe beautiful red of the pomegranate, the splendid system of Irrigating canals tbat supplied the city with water, and made tbe detert place a paradise of verdure aud beauty. In my eagerness I had poshed ahead of onr muleteers, they being an hou» behind, so I selected an overhanging rock which would shade me from the blistering run and sat and lived over again the glorious limes of the past. The time passed unnrliced. My reverie was broken by **fuddcl” of our guides and they said that the aoimals had come. As we did not wish to remain in this unhealthy place longer than necessary we concluded o •end the men to put up the toot io th® ruins of the city, and take two of the guides wlt;th us and visit the Ine ei Sultan, Elisha’s fountain, one-half hour north of us. We found tbe water abundant and delight-fully coot and sweet. Our black guide, just as soon as we dismounted, first filled his stomach with water, thea washed his mouth, face, head and feet, then took offhis ragged coat, spread it on the ground aod pr*»ceeded to say bis prayers, a» he bad not said thlta since early morn, and a# three of the set prayer times had passed, he mn*t go ’hrough the prayers three t»ro**-to fulfil the requirements. In the mean time we admired the swarm of ama*l fish exam *«ed the beautiful yeliovr fnittthni grew ii the bushes ou the bank of the brook en.npled them, and found them nauHfiuN and bitter, and wondered if they were i t*e “apples of Sodom White »tm-engaged, a number of vlllianous loobnig meu came to see who we were, and if we • are in a fit “condition to pluck ” Wr»eu they taw our guides they “hoped that the great God aod fits prophet bad and wonid protect us * 1 fear if we had not our Arab guides with us, tbe Prophet would have proved a very unsatisfactory protector, a*It was they were very friendly To the west about a mile is a high mountain called Luabantaina. It is said that our Savior here fasted forty days jutd forty nights, and from its summit “tbe kingdoms of tbe earth” were exhibited !lt;• Him by tbe tempter On this spot are the ruins of an ancient convent. On tbe perpendicular side of tbe mountain can be seen many boles, entrances to caverns hewn into the rock where monks retired to fast and pray, In Imitation of the forty days Many are now inhabited by the Beduins, who raise scanty orops of barley on the plain below Onr wav to the camp led through a swamp of thorn, bush and briars, and here and there a piece of oultiva’ed ground surrounded by a fonco of brush whose thorns are so sharp that neither man nor beas will attack it. The crop had been gathered, this being 1293 ft- below the sea ley*-land hast tropical Tho crop matures very early to the year The bushes and sty rued trees are swarmed wub Dead Sea partridge They are of gray color ve-y much like ou* turtledoves, are vary tame and good eating , We found our tent pitched near a ni»o«-«i I aqueduct There are only two onr ja small hutwl kepi b a German, a otlt;sytwr-*»or bou*e buili in voMtiuenu. .ewtlh a well kept garden, pretty flowers aud vegetable* Joel a resemblance nf civilization m (bis wild region of desolation Tt« other, a native built structure k*-pt by aoun-monka who have a few spare rooms w» -r* a pilgrim can put ins bed or lay on the bare floor as b© choosesA few huts, btnl* of stones and mud «©veral black Arab tents, make up the “City of the Palms’’ not the Jerioho whu h team* visited with his dtsciplo*. There a» e many mounds of ear'll in which may lie no tntd wealth toan antiquarian JuM bef r. dark a large caravan of camels on their way to the country of M ab, unloaded near our tent and prepared lo spend the night Our guides came to us for fond, although it was expressly stipulated that they should i rovlde their own food Tney bad b«-e» seot without food, or money to purchase, so 1 gave them their bakshish and th*y were happy, one was sent to purchase some flour, another to oollect fuel for a Are, the other to see that be did his duty Interest ed, w« watched them, soon the man return, ed with the flour, borrowed a large enpp**? i kettle, a jug of water, and a little salt, «a» I on tbe pruned rolled up hi* *|eeves lt;*»»•• 1proceeded to make some bread, not tnkm* the time to first wa*h his dirty hands, soun ■ » lump of dough as large as a peck measure was ready for baking. By this time the two men had a heap of bright coats ready tbe lump of dough was flattened out, laid on the ground, the hot coats raked over it ( and the men sat about the fire to wait for t*to bake, which took twouty uiitiutre, tlirnthe men fell too, a^d made away with the iwhole loaf washing tt down with iarg.draught* of water They told m* that the Aptbs cast of tho Jordan live for weeks on i this diet. If they have no vessel, which i* ] often tho case, they make « “clean boloin ' tbe clsv' and mu the bread id it.At nine o'clock we retired, directing our ' faithful Asa’ad to have breakfaat ready for us at two o’clock, for we wished to visit the Fords of Jordan, the Dead S*ft, and rea**h h’gher ground before the noon day sunct!a8.VeatiwCbVIPcaalirtlii■iwtl7iitlodbb0 a tla1 ■tbtlUbdac• iMar Saba, Apr 29, 1886.I U
Newspaper Details
Fayetteville Weekly Recorder
Fayetteville, New York, US
Thu, Sep 02, 1886
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
GB 17 Jun 2021
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