Dimensions of the Modern City. Ground within the city, and in its
environs. Its picturesque appearance. Continuation of our visits. Via
Dolorosa. Sentence of the Saviour from Salignatius. House of Veronica
and Picture of the Napkin. House of “the Rich Man.” Arch of the Ecce
Homo. Pilate’s House. Mosque of Omar. The Locked-up Stone. Pool of
Bethesda. Place of Stephen’s Martyrdom. The Golden Gate. The Emperor
Heraclius in a dilemma.
The modern Jerusalem is about three fourths of a mile at its greatest
length, and about two thirds of a mile in width.[54] It contains a
population of about 20,000 persons; namely, 10,000 Mahomedans occupying
principally the northern and eastern portions; 6,000 Jews living on
what was formerly the Acra; 3,500 Greeks and Catholics, around the
church of Calvary; and about 500 Armenians, in and about their great
convent on Mount Zion. Of the last eminence only a small portion is
included within the limits of the present city.
Seen from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem appears to stand on a plain
declining gently towards the east; but the ground is far from being
an unbroken level. On the contrary, it is quite uneven, though in no
part rising into hills, unless the remains of Mount Zion be entitled to
this name. The steep descent from Zion on the eastward I have already
noticed. Passing from Calvary to the south-east, we begin immediately
to descend, and towards the site of the ancient castle of Antonia the
slope is very rapid; then succeeds a piece of low ground for the space
of 100 feet; and next as we reach the site of the castle is an eminence
fifteen or twenty feet in height, with a rapid ascent from the west,
but sloping gradually down towards the gate of St. Stephen (marked _c_)
in the eastern wall. From Calvary, northward and westward, the ground
ascends by a gentle inclination, with the exception of the rapid slope
already mentioned, at the line which I have marked for Agrippa’s wall.
But this slope does not continue far.
Without the city on the south and west, after crossing the valley of
Hinnom, we find ourselves on an open and rather barren plain ascending
gently as it recedes from the city, and stretching off for a distance
of two or three miles; on the northward the ground is rolling for a
few miles, when it begins to ascend, and at the distance of about five
miles attains considerable elevation; there was probably the _Scopus_
of ancient times.
On this, the northern side, Jerusalem as it is approached appears to
the best advantage, as the cultivated grounds, the olives scattered
thickly around, the verdant slopes of the Mount of Olives, towering
upward just on the left, impress the visitor favorably with the
environs of the city; while the walls of the city itself, at the
northern end battlemented in a fanciful manner, and by numerous angles
broken in a picturesque form, produce, with their numerous towers,
a very favorable effect. Jerusalem, however, seen from a great many
points of view, is a highly picturesque city; and I can say for myself
at least, that I found it presenting on the outside a more imposing
appearance than I had anticipated. War and the earthquake had left
the interior wretched indeed; nor, as far as we could judge, have
its narrow streets, and its low rude houses, even in better times,
any thing very attractive; but from numerous places without, and
particularly as we wound along the valleys below, its battlements,
and castles, and towers, rising from the edge of the high steep bank,
and brought into strong relief against the sky, sometimes overhanging
our path, and sometimes stretching off to a distance, appearing and
disappearing along the uneven ground, had a very picturesque effect.
When viewed from the Mount of Olives, the whole city appears like a
map at our feet. The houses, which are of stone, are seldom more than
two stories in height, and on the exterior are rude and without any
pretensions to beauty; but when seen from an elevated spot, the city
has a singular appearance, in consequence of the domes, with which
every dwelling is covered. Sometimes every chamber in the house has its
dome; and as these are whitewashed on the exterior, when we look down
upon it from the Mount of Olives, the whole city appears dotted over
with these excrescences. A couple of open green spots just within the
walls, a few trees rising here and there, the tower of the church of
the Holy Sepulchre and its large domes, several minarets, and close to
us the extensive open court of the mosque of Omar, with its trees, and
in the centre the handsome mosque itself, complete the view as seen
from the Mount of Olives.
The walls of Jerusalem are twenty-five or thirty feet in height, and
are flanked with numerous towers, both circular and square; and at
the Jaffa gate are still further strengthened by a mass of buildings
forming a castle. There are four principal gates; and on the north
and south two smaller ones or posterns, which, however, I believe are
seldom used.
Leaving the church of the Holy Sepulchre, we turned down a street at
right angles to the one by which we had come, and leading towards
Mount Moriah. It forms a portion of the “Via Dolorosa,” or way by
which, they tell us, our Saviour came, bearing his cross, from the
judgment hall to the place of his suffering. The street is narrow and
badly paved, and at the distance of about 600 feet from the church, is
crossed, for a space of twenty feet, by a low heavy arch, which, they
say, is a remnant of the ancient gateway. I suppose this arch is near
the line of the northern wall of Acra, but, apart from what is said in
Josephus, (de Bel. lib. vii. cap. i. § 1.) this arch wants the massive
character of that wall; and the account is not at all probable. They
call it the _Puerta Judicaria_, and point to a broken column as one on
which the Roman authorities were accustomed to stick the sentence of
persons condemned to death; and they quote from Salignatius that of
our Saviour as posted here. “_Jesus of Nazareth, a subverter of the
kingdom, a derider of Cæsar, and a false Messiah, as is proved by the
evidence of the chief men of his nation, is to be led to the place of
common punishment, and with mock majesty is to be crucified between two
thieves; hasten, Lictor, and prepare the crosses._”
We pass on, and again they try to tax our credulity by pointing to
a house on the left, about two hundred feet below this gate, as the
veritable house of Veronica, a pious woman living at the time of the
crucifixion. They say that as Jesus passed by this dwelling, his
face covered with blood streaming from the crown of thorns, Veronica
offered a napkin, which, having been pressed against his face, when
given again to her was found to present an exact copy of his features.
Pictures of the Saviour are to be seen in all Catholic countries,
represented as painted on a towel, and said to be copies from this.
Though we cannot believe it, yet there is something pretty in the
tradition; and the same may be said of a great many of the traditions
which they relate to us, but it would require an excess of credulity
to suppose that this is her house, when we know that by the infuriated
soldiers of Titus every dwelling was destroyed;[55] and the appearance
of the building itself must satisfy us that it is comparatively a
modern dwelling.
Still lower down they put a climax to all this by pointing out the very
house in which dwelt “the rich man,” and the spot (on the opposite side
of the street) where Lazarus used to recline. The house is a large good
looking edifice, and I believe is now occupied by Aboo Ghoosh.
Here the Via Dolorosa bends, for a short space, to the left, and then,
turning again in the direction of St. Stephen’s gate, ascends a low
eminence, and terminates at what they call the ruins of Pilate’s house.
At this place is a lofty arch over the street, with two windows above,
in which, they tell us, the Roman governors were accustomed to address
the people; and which they call “Ecce Homo,” from a tradition that the
Saviour was there brought out before the Jews, when they cried out,
demanding his crucifixion. (John xix. 5.) Here, too, they showed us
the place from which were taken a suite of marble steps, now shown at
Rome, as then belonging to the Judgment Hall, and which I have seen
in that city, where no one is allowed to ascend them except on his
knees. Indeed, all the region around this spot is fruitful in their
traditions; some of which are sufficiently curious, but the reader has
probably by this time had enough of them. I will only add, that the
windows over the arch had formerly a pillar between them; but that on
one occasion a deputy of the Sultan being on a visit to the cities of
Syria, on his arrival at Jerusalem the Father Guardian of the Latins
neglected to carry him a present, on which the deputy ordered him to
carry this pillar on his shoulders to the mosque of Omar. “But for this
he was well chastised; for, on departing from Jerusalem, he fell from
his horse and broke a leg; so at least it is affirmed by many.”[56]
Pilate’s house stands a short distance from the street leading to St.
Stephen’s gate; and we turned aside to it, not to speculate upon their
traditions, but for the advantage offered by the lofty terrace that
forms its roof for getting a good view of the mosque of Omar. The
Turks will allow no Christian to enter even the court of this mosque,
and as the edifice from which we had our view forms a part of its
boundary, we were able, from our elevated position, to overlook the
whole of it.
This court stands at the south-eastern angle of the present city,
the walls of which bound it on the east and partly at the south.
Its dimensions are 1500 feet by 1000; and it therefore occupies
considerably more ground than the ancient Mount Moriah, which was,
I suppose, towards its southern extremity. Its clean grounds, and
the shade trees which are scattered over them, make a very pretty
appearance. The platform in its centre is ornamented along the edge
on either side by a species of triumphal arch; and the mosque itself,
which stands towards the southern end of this platform, is a very
handsome building. It is octagonal, and is built of light colored
marble with blackish veins, into which are set pannels of a darker
shade. The other portion of the building, and the lofty cupola, are
ornamented with various colored tiles disposed in fanciful patterns;
and below, at each of the entrances, is an ornamented porch attached.
The interior is enriched with twenty-four columns and pilasters, and
also with carving and gilding.
The mosque of Omar, called by the Arabs _El Sakhara_, or the
“Locked-up,” owes its high sanctity to a large stone in the centre,
apparently a portion of the native rock of the mountain. It is rough
as when hewn from the quarry, is surrounded by a wooden railing about
four feet high, and covered by a cloth of green stuff and satin. This
is the _Hadjr-el-Sakhara_, or the “Locked-up stone.” The Turks relate
that it fell from heaven when the gift of prophecy was bestowed on
man, and was used as a seat by the ancient men who were thus endowed.
But when the prophets were at length compelled to abandon it and fly
to other countries, the stone showed also a disposition to take its
departure; on which the archangel Gabriel came, and, grasping it with
his hand, held it in its place until Mahomet had flown from Mecca,
and firmly attached it to the mountain. The Caliph Omar afterwards
built around it the present mosque. They show on it the marks of the
archangel’s fingers, made in the struggle to detain the rock.
Beneath the mosque is a cave about eighteen feet square, with niches,
called by the names of Abraham, David, Solomon, Elias, Gabriel, and
Mahomet, but containing nothing remarkable.
In the south-eastern angle of the large court is another edifice of an
oblong shape, 162 feet in length and 32 in width, called by the Turks
_El Aksa_, and used by them as a mosque. It is enriched by a great
number of columns within, but has a plain exterior; the Latins say it
was the church used in the Presentation, but it probably belongs to the
times of the crusades.
Immediately without the court of the mosque of Omar, on the north, is
a rectangular pit, about 150 feet long and 40 wide, and 12 or 15 in
depth, walled around with hewn stones, evidently placed there in very
ancient times. It is called the Pool of Bethesda; but though I should
like to consider it so, I know not of any sufficient evidence. The
sides are perpendicular, and the plan is altogether different from that
which the Scriptures would lead us to expect. See John v. 2.
A little beyond the Pool of Bethesda we come to the eastern gate of
the modern city, called after St. Stephen, from a belief that this
proto-martyr met his death on the slope, by which, just without this,
we descend to the brook of Kedron. A rock about half way down the
declivity, projects a little; and some stains, produced by an oxide
of iron in the rock, are pointed out to the pilgrims as caused by his
blood.
This gate is at present the only outlet on this side of the city; but
there was formerly another gate opening from the court of the mosque,
about 230 yards further south. It was called from its splendor “the
Golden Gate;” but it is now walled up, in consequence of a tradition
current among the Turks, that the city will one day be taken by the
Christians, and that they will make their entrance through this gate.
Connected with it is also a Christian legend, somewhat fanciful, and
of no bad moral, but destined to little credit in these severe and
searching times.
In the year 608 Cosroes, king of Persia, conquered Jerusalem; and
after plundering the city and desecrating the holy places, returned to
his kingdom, carrying back with him the true and venerated cross. The
emperor Heraclius, fourteen years after this, was fortunate enough not
only to regain possession of the city, but following up his conquests,
recovered also the sacred relic. Returning to Jerusalem, his intention
was to enter the place by “the Golden Gate;” and after having proceeded
in grand cavalcade to the churches, and having purified them, to
restore the cross to its original site. Attired in robes all glittering
with royal gems, and followed by a long train of courtiers and nobles,
he advanced with gladness, and was about to enter through this splendid
gate, when an invisible but steady hand pushed him back. Twice again
he essayed to enter, but as often was brought suddenly to a stand; nor
could any force succeed against this unseen and mysterious power. At
this moment Zacharias, the patriarch of Jerusalem, came up; and seeing
at once how matters stood; exclaimed, “Say, O emperor, art thou adorned
with these splendid robes, and in this triumphant procession,--art thou
imitating _Him_ who, in humility and sorrow, bore on his shoulders this
sacred wood? Doff thy jewelled garments, put on a coarse and humble
dress, and quickly shalt thou find an entrance, and be able to effect
thy pious desires.” The emperor hastened to comply, and the invisible
hand ceased to obstruct his way.[57]
FOOTNOTES:
[54] I paced the circuit of the city, taking notes and plans of the
whole, and marking the towers; but the paper has been unfortunately
lost.
The following are the dimensions in detail, as furnished by Messrs.
Fisk and King:
paces.
From N. W. cor. to the Jaffa gate, 300}
“ thence to the S. W. corner, 468} 768 on the western side,
“ “ to Zion gate, 195}
“ “ to bend in S. W. wall, 295} 1149 on the southern side,
“ “ to S. E. corner, 659}
“ “ to St. Stephen’s gate, 583}
“ “ to N. E. corner, 360} 943 on the eastern side,
“ “ to Damascus gate, 759}
“ “ to N. W. corner, 660} 1419 on the northern side,
which, at their computation of five paces to a rod, makes the whole
circuit two miles and seven tenths, or nearly two thirds of a mile;
Sandys made it nearly the same, namely, two miles and a half.
[55] In addition to the passage of Josephus just referred to, see also
de Bel. lib. vi. cap. ix. § 1.
[56] El Devoto Peregrino.
[57] El Devoto Peregrino.