54½ M. RAILWAY. Two trains daily in 3 hrs. 40 min. (1st cl. 70½ pias.;
2nd, inferior to good Engl. 3rd, 25 pias.). Railway rates of exchange:
1 mejidieh = 20 pias.; 20 fr. = 94 pias.; £ 1 = 124 pias.; £ 1 Turkish
= 108 pias. (comp. p. 536).
_Jaffa_, see p. 467. The train skirts the orchards around Jaffa (with
Sarona on the left) and turns to the S.E. through the plain of Sharon
(p. 468), following the depression of the _Wâdi Miserâra_. On the right
is the agricultural colony of the Alliance Israélite. To the E. rise the
bluish hills of ancient _Judaea_.
12 M. _Lydda_, Arabic _Ludd_, Old Test. _Lod_, Gr.-Rom. _Diospolis_, was
severed from Samaria by the Maccabees (p. 472) in 145 B.C. and annexed
to Judæa.
14 M. =Er-Ramleh= (accommodation at the Franciscan convent; pop.
exceeding 7000, incl. 2500 Christians), founded by the Omaiyades (p.
485) in 716, was the _Ramula_ of the era of the Crusades, when it was
even more important than Jerusalem. The chief sight is the *_Minaret_ of
the oldest mosque (_Jâmi el-Abyad_, ‘white mosque’), famed also for its
view. It was erected by En-Nâsir (p. 448) in 1318, in a style recalling
the Romanesque transition buildings of the Crusaders (p. 474), but has
lost its original summit.
The train crosses the Jerusalem road and runs to the S. through marshy
flats to (18 M.) the village of _Nâaneh_. At some distance from the
railway _Akir_, once _Ekron_, one of the five chief cities of the
Philistines (p. 466), lies on the right (W.), and on the left (E.) are
the famous ruins of _Tell Jezer_, mentioned in the letters found at Tell
el-Amarna (p. 456), originally the Canaanitish (Phœnician) city of
_Gezer_ (a drive of 1 hr. from Er-Ramleh).
24½ M. _Sejed._ Soon turning to the E., we ascend the _Wâdi es-Sarâr_
(‘valley of Sorek’, Judg. xvi. 4), which beyond (31 M.) _Deir Abân_
narrows to a wild rocky gorge.
47½ M. _Bittir_, the ancient _Baither_ or _Bethar_, was heroically
defended against the Romans during the revolt of Bar Cochba (p. 472).
The train then ascends in the _Wâdi el-Werd_ (‘valley of roses’) and
crosses the plain of _El-Bukeia_ to (54½ M.) _Jerusalem_.
* * * * *
=Jerusalem.=—The STATION (2451 ft.; see Pl. C, 9) lies ¾ M. to the S.
of the Jaffa Gate; carr. into the town 2–5 fr., according to the
season.
HOTELS. *_Fast’s Hotel_ (Pl. a; C, 4, 5), Jaffa Road; _Grand New
Hotel_ (Pl. c; D, 5), New Bazaar; _Hôt. Hughes_ (Pl. d; C, 4), Jaffa
Road; _Olivet House_ (Pl. e; C, 2); _Hôt. Kaminitz_ (Pl. b; C, 4),
Jaffa Road. Pension at all 12–15 (out of season 8–10) fr. per day.
Agreement advisable. Wine of the country 1–2, French wine from 3 fr. a
bottle.
HOSPICES. _Prussian Johanniter-Hospiz_ (Pl. g; F, 4), pens. 5 fr.;
_German Catholic Hospice St. Paulus_ (Pl. h; E, 2), outside the
Damascus Gate; _Austrian_ (Pl. i; F, 3), Via Dolorosa; _Casa Nuova_
(Pl. k; D 4, 5), of the Franciscans; all good, pens. 5–8 fr.
RESTAURANTS. _Deutsche Bierhalle_, Jaffa Road; _Lendhold_ (brewery),
in the German Temple colony.
[Illustration: JERUSALEM]
POST OFFICES. _Turkish_ (Pl. C, 5: with the International Telegraph),
outside the Jaffa Gate; _French_ (Pl. C, 5), adjoining it; _German_
(Pl. D, 5), etc.
TOURIST OFFICES. _Thos. Cook & Son_, inside Jaffa Gate; _Clark_,
_Hamburg-American Line_, _Dr. Benzinger_ (North German Lloyd), _N.
Tadros_, all in Jaffa Road.
CARRIAGES at the Jaffa Gate. Drive ¼ hour, ½ mejidieh. Excursions are
best arranged for by tourist-agent or landlord of hotel. So also
HORSES, half-day 5, whole day 8 fr.; donkey per day 4–5, half-day 2–3
fr.
CONSULATES. British (Pl. 5; A, 1), _H. E. Satow_.—United States (Pl.
13; E, 5): consul, _W. Coffin_.
BANKS. _Anglo-Palestine Co._ (Pl. 1; E, 6), opposite the citadel;
_Crédit Lyonnais_ (Pl. 2; D, 5) and _Banque Ottomane_ (Pl. D, 5),
Jaffa Road; _German Palaestina-Bank_ (Pl. 3; D, 5), inside Jaffa Gate.
PHOTOGRAPHS. The best are those of the _American Colony_, of _Bonfils_
of Beirut, and (coloured) of the _Photoglob_ of Zürich, to be obtained
from _Vester_ (American Colony Store), _Boulus Meo_, _Sfeir_, and
_Shammas_, all in the Grand New Hotel; _A. Attallah_, at the Bâb
el-Jedîd; _Salman & Co._, Jaffa Road.—Other favourite SOUVENIRS of
Jerusalem are carved olive-wood and mother-of-pearl objects, in which
there is a brisk trade; the largest choice is to be found in the
square in front of St. Sepulchre’s, but half at most of the price
asked should be offered; higher class work is best purchased at the
shops mentioned above.
CHURCHES, convents, missions, schools, etc. abound (see Baedeker’s
Palestine & Syria). Among them may be mentioned the _Collegiate Church
of St. George_ (with the Bishop’s House; services at 9 a.m. and 4.30
p.m.), to the N. of the town; _Christ Church_ (Pl. E, 6; services at
10 a.m. and 4 p.m.); _St. Paul’s_ (Pl. C, 1, 2; Arabic services at
9.30 a.m. and 3 p.m.).
TWO DAYS (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, _Mt. of Olives_ (p.
479), _Kidron_ and _Hinnom Valleys_ (p. 480); afternoon, _Church of
the Holy Sepulchre_ (p. 474), _Mûristân_ (p. 475), and _Zion_ (p.
473).—2nd. Forenoon, _Haram esh-Sherîf_ (p. 476); afternoon, excursion
to _Bethlehem_ (p. 480).
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is open before 11.30 and after 3; a
forenoon visit may usually be prolonged by giving a fee to the Moslem
custodian (1 fr.).
Leave to visit the Haram esh-Sherîf must be obtained from the Turkish
authorities through the visitor’s consulate (see above). He is then
escorted by a Turkish soldier and usually by a cavass of the consulate
also. The cavass receives 8–10 fr., or 4–5 fr. from each member of a
party, which covers all fees and outlays. On Fridays and during the
Moslem festival of Nebi-Mûsâ (Wed. of Holy Week to Easter Mon.) the
mosque is closed to strangers.
* * * * *
KEY TO PLAN OF JERUSALEM. _Banks_, see above.—_Bazaars_, Old (Sûks)
and New, F 5; E 5.—_Churches._ Christ Church (English), E 6; Church of
the Redeemer (German Prot.), E 5; Holy Sepulchre, E 4; St. Anne’s, H
3; St. George’s (English), with Bishop’s House, a little to the N. of
E 1; St. Mary’s, K 3; St. Mary Magdalen’s, K 4; St. Paul’s
(Arab.-Prot.), C 1, 2.— _Consulates_, see above.—_Monasteries._
Abraham’s (Greek), Pl. 19, E 4, 5; Abyssinian, Pl. 14, E 4; Armenian
Catholic, Pl. 15, F 4; Coptic, Pl. 16, E 4; Gethsemane, Pl. 20, E 5;
Greek (Great), D E 4, 5; Panagia (Greek), Pl. 21, E 4; Panagia Melæna
(Gr.), Pl. 22, E 5; St. Basil (Gr.), Pl. 23, D 4; St. Caralombos
(Gr.), Pl. 24, E 4; St. Catharine (Gr.), Pl. 25, E 4; St. Demetrius
(Gr.), Pl. 26, D 5; St. George’s (Coptic), Pl. 17, D 5; St. George’s
(Greek), Pl. 27 & 28, D 4 & E 7; St. John the Baptist’s (Gr.), Pl. 29,
E 5; St. John Euthymius (Gr.), Pl. 30, E 4; St. Michael’s (Gr.), Pl.
31, D 4; St. Nicholas (Gr.), Pl. 32, D 4; St. Salvator’s (Latin), Pl.
36, D 4; St. Stephen’s (Dominican), E 1; St. Theodore’s (Greek), Pl.
33, D 4.—_Mosques._ El-Aksâ, H 5, 6; Kubbet es-Sakhra (Dome of the
Rock), H 4, 5; Sîdni Omar, Pl. 37, E 5.—_Synagogues_ (indicated by the
letter ‘S’ on the Plan), many, E, F 5–7.
_Jerusalem_ (Hebrew _Yerushalayim_, Gr. and Lat. _Hierosolyma_, Arabic
_El-Kuds_) lies in 31°46′ N. lat. and 35°13′ E. long., on an arid
limestone plateau (cold in winter) which rises in the form of a
peninsula from the _Kidron Valley_ (_Wâdi Sitti Maryam_, ‘Mary’s
Valley’), on the E., and from the _Valley of Hinnom_ (_Wâdi er-Rabâbi_),
on the S. side. The narrow E. height (2441 ft.), the ancient _Temple
Hill_, is separated from the W. hill, that of the old _Upper Town_ (2550
ft.), by a depression, now very slight, called _Tyropoeon_ (‘dung
valley’) by Josephus, the Jewish historian. Still higher is the N.W.
angle of the present town (2591 ft.).
The population is estimated at 70,000, of whom 45,000 are Jews, living
mostly on alms bestowed by the charitable institutions of their European
co-religionists; of the 15,000 Christians nearly half are Syrians of the
Greek orthodox faith; the Moslems number about 10,000. In spring,
especially at the time of the Greek Easter, the town is flooded with
pilgrims, the majority being Russians. As a centre of the three chief
religions of the world, Jerusalem has quite a religious atmosphere and
is historically a city of overwhelming interest, but its tranquillity is
sadly marred by the dissensions and jealousies of its numerous religious
communities. Careful and patient study alone will reveal to the
traveller something of the departed glory of the venerable capital of
the Jewish empire.
HISTORY. From the tablets of Tell el-Amarna (p. 456) it appears that
_Urusalim_ was the capital of a small principality dependent on Egypt
about 1400 B.C. When the Israelites under David conquered the town in
the 11th cent. (2 Sam. v. 6–10) it was the chief stronghold of the
Jebusites, a Canaanitish tribe. David made it his residence and built
a castle known as the City of David. His son Solomon, with the aid of
Phœnician artificers, afterwards built his palace and the Temple of
Jehovah on Mt. Zion (the E. hill). On the bi-partition of the kingdom
after his death Jerusalem became the capital of Judah. The kingdom of
Israel in N. Palestine was subjugated by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.,
and in 597 Jerusalem, under Jehoiachin, shared a like fate at the
hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In 586 the revolt under Zedekiah
led to the destruction of the city. On the return of the Jews from
captivity in 538 the city and Temple were gradually rebuilt, and the
new town-wall was completed in 444. On the death of Alexander the
Great in 323 Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Ptolemies (p. 433)
and often suffered severely from conflicts with the Diadochi of Syria.
The last royal dynasty, that of the Maccabees (167–63), was overthrown
by the Romans when Pompey conquered the city. As the residence of
Herod the Great (37–4 B.C., according to the accepted chronology), in
the last year of whose reign Christ was born, Jerusalem prospered
anew. A new palace in the Roman style was erected at the N.W. angle of
the upper town, and the rebuilding of the Temple was begun. But a
revolt of the Zealots, or Jewish national party, led to embittered
struggles with the Romans in 67 A.D., with the result that Jerusalem
was stormed by Titus in 70, the Temple burned down, and the city was
completely destroyed as Carthage had once been. Another rising of the
Jews under Trajan (117) extended as far as the Cyrenaica (comp. p.
413) in N. Africa. On the ruins of the city, on a site almost
coinciding with that enclosed by the present city-walls, Emp. Hadrian
erected the new pagan colony of _Ælia Capitolina_, from which, after
the last revolt, that of Bar Cochba (132–5), Jews were excluded.
The modern history of Christian Jerusalem begins with the building of
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Emp. Constantine (about 326–36).
Pilgrims soon flocked to the holy places, and in 570 there were
already hospices with 3000 beds for their use. In 614 the Persians
under Chosroes II. (p. 485) sacked the city, but when it was captured
by caliph Omar in 637 it was treated with clemency, being regarded as
a sacred place by Moslems as well as by Christians. In 691 began the
erection of the famous Dome of the Rock, on the sacred rock (p. 477),
the site of the ancient Jewish Temple, the greatest sanctuary of Islam
after the Kaaba of Mecca. Jerusalem fell into the hands of the
Egyptian Fatimites in 969, but was wrested from them by the Seljuks in
1077. It was chiefly the maltreatment of the Christian pilgrims by the
Seljuks that gave rise to the First Crusade. In 1099 the Crusaders
conquered Jerusalem, which under Godfrey de Bouillon (d. 1100) became
the capital of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. The city was
retaken by Saladin in 1187, but in 1229 was voluntarily ceded by Melik
el-Kâmil to Emp. Frederick II. Lastly, in 1244, it was stormed by the
Kharezmians, and has been under Moslem rule ever since.
BOOKS. Among the best of the numerous works on Jerusalem are
_Barclay’s_ ‘City of the Great King’, _Besant & Palmer’s_ ‘Jerusalem,
the City of Herod and Saladin’ (5th ed., London, 1908), _Warren’s_
‘Underground Jerusalem’ (London, 1876), and _Wilson & Warren’s_
‘Recovery of Jerusalem’ (London, 1871). _Miss A. Goodrich-Freer’s_
‘Inner Jerusalem’ (1904), _Laurence Hutton’s_ ‘Literary Landmarks of
Jerusalem’, and _C. R. Conder’s_ ‘The City of Jerusalem’ (London,
1909) also may be mentioned.
The *OLD TOWN is enclosed by a *_Wall_ of the 13–14th cent., restored by
Suleiman the Great (p. 542) in 1537–41; it is 40 ft. high and about 2½
M. long. The two main streets lead to the W. from the _Jaffa Gate_ (Pl.
D, 5, 6; Arabic Bâb el-Khalîl), and N. from the handsome _Damascus Gate_
(Pl. D, 5, 6; Bâb el-Amûd) respectively. They divide the town into four
quarters, to the N.W. the Greek-Frank, S.W. the Armenian, S.E. the
Jewish, and N.E. the Moslem. The streets are crooked, often vaulted
over, and, in the Jewish quarter especially, very dirty. All the houses
have rain-water cisterns, besides which there are several reservoirs.
The JAFFA SUBURB, situated to the N.W., is the most important, in style
the most European. It is the chief seat of the European or ‘Frank’
inhabitants and contains the consulates, several churches, and the
extensive _Russian Buildings_ (Pl. A-C, 2, 3).—Outside the _Gate of
Zion_ (Pl. E, 7, 8; Bâb en-Nebi Dâûd, ‘gate of the prophet David’), but
originally within the town-walls, lies the so-called _Zion Suburb_. It
contains the Christian cemeteries, the German Benedictine monastery
_Dormitio Sanctae Mariae_ (Pl. E, 8; ‘death-sleep of Mary’), with the
new _Church of St. Mary_, and the now Mohammedan buildings of _En-Nebi
Dâûd_ (Pl. E, 8; with ‘David’s Tomb’ and the ‘Room of the Last Supper’).
Near the railway-station (p. 470) is the substantial German _Temple
Colony_ (comp. p. 468).
We begin our visit to the old town at the Jaffa Gate, a busy centre of
traffic, to which the road from the station leads (p. 480). To the S.E.
of the gate, and partly on the site of Herod’s palace, rises the citadel
_El-Kala_ (Pl. D, 6; 14th and 16th cent.); the N.E. tower probably
corresponds to the Phasaël Tower of the time of Herod.
DAVID STREET, one of the chief business streets, under different names
(Sueikat Allân, Hâret el-Bizâr, and Tarîk Bâb es-Silseleh; Pl. D-G, 5),
connects the Jaffa Gate with the Silseleh Gate of the Haram esh-Sherîf
(p. 476). On the left, opposite the citadel, is the well-stocked _New
Bazaar_ (Pl. D, 5).
At _St. John’s Monastery_ (Pl. 29; E, 5), the Greek pilgrims’ hospice at
the S.W. angle of the Mûristân (p. 475), we first turn to the left into
the HÂRET EN-NÂSARA (Pl. E, 5, 4; Christians’ Street). On the left is
the very ancient _Patriarch’s Pool_ (Birket Hammâm el-Batrak; Pl. E, 5),
assigned by tradition to king Hezekiah (about 700 B.C.); on the right is
the _Patriarch’s Bath_. Opposite the _Great Greek Monastery_ (Deir
er-Rûm el-Kebîr; Pl. D, E, 4, 5), is, on the right, the entrance to the—
*=Church of the Holy Sepulchre= (Pl. E, 4; adm., see p. 471), whose
principal dome, crowned with a gilded cross, is everywhere conspicuous.
This, especially at Easter, is the great goal of the pilgrims. The
discovery of the Holy Sepulchre, which Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea, the
father of church history (314–40), tells us was made by Constantine,
induced that emperor to build a round church here, the so-called
Anastasis (church of the resurrection), and a five-aisled basilica,
dedicated to the sign of the Cross (Martyrion). These churches having
been burned down by the Persians (p. 473), Abbot Modestus, under Emp.
Heraclius, began to build, in 629, a new church of the resurrection, the
prototype of the Dome of the Rock (p. 477), a new church of the Cross,
and a small Calvary church on the supposed site of the Crucifixion
(Golgotha). A fourth church, that of St. Mary, is said to have existed
here in 670. Between 1140 and 1149, the period of the Second Crusade,
the Crusaders caused a great new church to be built by the architect
_Jourdain_, in the Romanesque transition style, under Arabian influence,
an edifice intended to embrace almost all the holy places. On the E.
side of the new double church a chapel was dedicated to St. Helena (d.
about 326), the mother of Constantine, who, according to later
historians, once made a pilgrimage to the holy places and discovered the
true Cross near the Sepulchre. On the S. side of the double church a
Gothic clock-tower, originally detached, was erected in 1160–80. After
the destructions of 1187 and 1244 (see p. 473), we hear of a handsome
new church existing here in 1310. At length in 1719 a great part of the
church was rebuilt, and at the joint cost of the Greeks and the
Armenians, again in 1810 by the architect _Komnenos Kalfa_. Since then
the Greek cathedral, the dome-roofed ‘Catholicon’, has occupied the nave
of what was once the Crusaders’ basilica. Among the many additions the
chapel of the Apparition (p. 475) is one of the oldest (14th cent.).
In the N.W. corner of the QUADRANGLE, or outer court, over the Chapel
of the Forty Martyrs, rises the Bell Tower, the upper part of which
has been destroyed. The Façade, dating from the era of the Crusades,
has fine reliefs of the French school over the portals.
A vestibule, where the custodians (p. 471) sit, leads to the Stone of
Unction (John xix. 38–40), last renewed in 1808.
The great ROTUNDA of the Sepulchre still has the foundation pillars,
the massive outer wall of the W. semicircle, and the three apses of
the Crusaders’ church. The round central structure embraces the Chapel
of the Sepulchre and the Angels’ Chapel. Adjoining the Sepulchre is
the 14th station of the Via Dolorosa (see below).
From the N.E. side of the ambulatory an ante-room leads to the CHAPEL
OF THE APPARITION, the chief Latin (Rom. Cath.) sanctuary, on the spot
where Christ is said to have appeared to his mother. In a niche is
shown a fragment of the ‘Column of Scourging’.
The NAVE, which we next visit, has suffered greatly from the
introduction of the Catholicon. The pointed windows, the clustered
pillars, and the groined vaulting still bear traces of their origin in
the Crusaders’ era. The southmost of the three chapels in the apse, in
the outer wall of the choir ambulatory, contains the ‘Column of the
Derision’.
To the left of this chapel a flight of 29 steps descends to ST.
HELENA’S CHAPEL, belonging to the Armenians, on the site of
Constantine’s basilica, with foundations of the period of Modestus; 13
more steps descend thence to the Chapel of the Finding of the Cross.
We now return to the ambulatory and ascend from it, to the left (S.),
to the higher-lying GOLGOTHA CHAPELS, the 10–13th stations on the Via
Dolorosa (see below).
On the S. side of the quadrangle, in front of the Holy Sepulchre Church,
lies the =Mûristân= (Pl. E, F, 5), an open space of 170 by 150 yds.,
which contained, from the days of Charlemagne onwards, the hostels and
hospitals of the European pilgrims and, from 1140, the grand buildings
of the Knights of St. John. Saladin (p. 443) granted it as a charitable
endowment (wakf) to the Dome of the Rock (p. 477), but allowed the old
hostels to remain. The larger W. half, with modern shops, now belongs to
the Greek patriarchate; the E. half was presented by the sultan to
Prussia. At the N.E. corner, next to the street called Hâret
ed-Dabbârîn, is the German Prot. _Church of the Redeemer_ (Pl. E, 5).
The Mûristân is bounded on the E. by the now unimportant _Old Bazaar_,
or sûk, the three parallel streets of which form part of the great
thoroughfare between the Damascus and Zion gates (p. 473). The middle
street, the Sûk el-Attârin (p. 335), is continued to the N. by the Khân
ez-Zeit (Pl. F, 4), from which an alley on the left leads to the
_Abyssinian_ and _Coptic Monasteries_.
At the Coptic Monastery is the 9th station on the =Via Dolorosa=, the
‘route of suffering’, mentioned for the first time in the 16th cent., on
which Christ is said to have borne the Cross from Pilate’s house to
Golgotha. The last five stations are within the Holy Sepulchre Church
(see above). The other stations lie between the Greek _Monastery of St.
Caralombos_ (Pl. 24, E F, 4; 8th station) and the _Barracks_ (Pl. G, 3;
1st station) in the Tarîk Bâb Sitti Maryam (street of the Virgin Mary’s
gate).
This street leads to the E. to _St. Stephen’s Gate_ (Pl. H, I, 3; 2405
ft.), the only E. gate of the city, called by the natives _Bâb Sitti
Maryam_, or Lady Mary’s Gate, from its proximity to the Virgin’s Tomb
(see p. 480).
Within the gate a passage leads to the N. to the fine old =Church of
St. Anne= (Pl. H, 3; Arabic _Es-Salâhiyeh_), on the supposed site of
the house of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin. It is
mentioned as already existing in the 7th cent., but in its present
form dates chiefly from the 12th. The crypt hewn in the rock is the
traditional birthplace of the Virgin, and the tombs of Joachim and
Anna also are now pointed out.
We now retrace our steps towards the W., and halfway along the Via
Dolorosa follow the El-Wâd street (Pl. F, G, 4, 5) to the left, through
the hollow of the ancient Tyropœon (p. 472), to the Sûk el-Kattânîn (see
below), near the entrance to the Haram esh-Sherîf; or starting from the
Old Bazaar, we reach the same point by the TARÎK BÂB ES-SILSELEH (Pl. F,
G, 5).
The *=Haram esh-Sherîf= (Pl. G-I, 4–6; ‘noble sanctuary’), the ancient
site of the Temple, is the most interesting place in Jerusalem. Adm.,
see p. 471. The usual entrance is by the _Bâb el-Kattânîn_ (Pl. G, 4,
5), the central W. gate, built by En-Nâsir (p. 448) in 1318, behind the
now deserted Sûk el-Kattânîn (cotton-market).
On this site king David erected an altar (2 Sam. xxiv. 25), and Solomon
built his palace and Temple. Here stood also the second Temple, erected
about 520–516 after the Babylonish captivity, and the third Temple,
begun by Herod the Great (p. 472) in 20 B.C. but never completed on the
grand scale projected. On the same spot Hadrian erected a temple of
Jupiter as the chief sanctuary of Ælia Capitolina (p. 472), and near the
S. wall of the great quadrangle Justinian built a basilica in honour of
the Virgin, which afterwards became the mosque of El-Aksâ. Beyond these
facts little or nothing is known of the history of this memorable site
during the early centuries of the Christian era.
Mohammed, who claimed to have visited this spot, evinced great reverence
for the ancient Temple, and before he had broken off his relations with
the Jews he even enjoined believers to turn towards Jerusalem in prayer.
About the year 637 caliph Omar converted the church of St. Mary into a
mosque, and the Omaiyade Abd el-Melik (685–705) erected the famous Dome
of the Rock on a platform in the centre of the sacred precincts, a
building which the Crusaders took to be Solomon’s Temple. Adjoining the
mosque of El-Aksâ, then called the Porticus or Palatium Salomonis,
probably stood the royal palace of the Franks and the castle of the
Knights Templar.
The huge substructions of the Temple plateau, the surface of which was
much altered by Saladin, still date from the reign of Herod. The plateau
itself forms an immense quadrangle of irregular shape (W. side 536, E.
side 518, N. side 351, S. side 310 yds. long). In the N.W. corner, once
perhaps the site of Baris, the castle of the Maccabees, and of the Roman
castle of Antonia, rises the highest _Minaret_ of the Haram. The
buildings by the W. and N. walls, Koran schools, dwellings, etc., with
open arcades on the groundfloor, are unimportant. The great quadrangle,
now partly planted with trees, is studded with numerous _mastabas_,
raised platforms with prayer-niches (mihrâbs), and _sebîls_, or
fountains for the religious ablutions. Especially to the S.W. of the
Dome the ground is honeycombed with deep _Cisterns_, some of which are
very ancient.
Entering the precincts and passing the pretty _Sebîl_ of Kâït Bey (p.
458) we mount one of the flights of steps of the time of Abd el-Melik to
the PLATFORM, 10 ft. in height.
The so-called **=Dome of the Rock= (_Kubbet es-Sakhra_; Pl. H, 4, 5),
usually but erroneously called Omar’s Mosque, was built, according to
the Arabian historians, by Abd el-Melik for political reasons, the
Omaiyades being at that period denied access to the Kaaba at Mecca. The
year 72 of the Hegira (691–2) is mentioned as the date of its erection.
The chief restorations in the middle ages were undertaken by the
Fatimite Ez-Zâhir (1021–36), who rebuilt the dome in 1022, and by
Saladin, to whom is due the superb stucco decoration of the dome. Most
of the later additions were made by the Turkish sultan Suleiman the
Great (1520–66). The W. porch alone is quite modern.
The building, in the late-Roman and Byzantine style (comp. p. 548), is
in the form of an octagon, 50 yds. in diameter, with sides 22½ yds. in
length, and with two concentric aisles. Above the inner aisle rises
the boldly designed *Dome (98 ft. high), consisting of two wooden
vaults placed one inside the other and roofed with plates of copper.
The external walls are still incrusted below with their old slabs of
marble, while above the window-sills the ancient glass mosaics were
replaced in the time of Suleiman by superb Persian porcelain-tiles
(kishâni). The keel-arches of the windows are of the same period.
The two aisles are separated by two series of supports. Between the
eight pillars of the outer octagonal aisle, which are incrusted with
marble dating from the time of Suleiman, rise sixteen columns with
late-Roman or early-Byzantine capitals, and the round-arched arcades
are connected, above the Byzantine imposts, by tie-beams overlaid with
copper. The inner row of supports, bearing the dome, consists of four
large pillars and twelve antique monolith columns. The pointed arches
of the vaulting here, dating from Suleiman’s restoration, rest
immediately on the capitals. The wrought-iron screen is of French
workmanship of the Crusaders’ era.
The glass *Mosaics in the spandrels of the outer aisle, executed by
Byzantine artificers, all belong to the earliest building; those in
the drum of the dome are partly of the time of Ez-Zâhir and of
Saladin. The stucco decoration of the dome was restored under Mohammed
en-Nâsir (p. 448) in 1318, and again in 1830. The *Windows, dating
from Suleiman’s restoration, present a marvellous wealth of colouring.
Enclosed by the inner aisle, and best viewed from the high bench
beside the N.W. gate of the screen, is the _Sacred Rock_, measuring
18½ by 14½ yds., and rising 4–6½ ft. above the pavement of the church.
Under it is a cavity, probably once a cistern. The rock is supposed to
have been the site of the great Jewish altar of burnt-offering. The
Jews and the Moslems believe it to have been also the scene of
Abraham’s sacrifice. From this spot Mohammed is said to have been
translated to heaven on his miraculous steed Burâk, while an angel
restrained the rock in its attempt to follow him; here too, they
believe, will be erected the throne of God on the Day of Judgment.
Outside the E. gate of the Dome of the Rock, and probably as old, is the
so-called DOME OF THE CHAIN (_Kubbet es-Silseleh_, or _Mehkemet Dâûd_,
‘David’s Place of Judgment’). This structure consists of two concentric
rows of columns, the outer forming a hexagon, the inner an endecagon.
The large prayer-recess on the S. side, facing Mecca, is of the 13th
century. The arcades, connected by tie-beams, and the drum of the dome
are richly adorned with fayence tiles of Suleiman’s period. Across the
dome, it is said, will be stretched a chain (silseleh) on the Day of
Judgment, from which the awful scales will be suspended.
We now descend from the platform by the steps near the ‘_Summer Pulpit_’
(15th cent.), at the S.E. angle, and walk past the round basin of
_El-Kâs_ to the—
*=Mesjid el-Aksâ= (Pl. H, 5, 6), the sanctuary ‘farthest’ from Mecca and
one of the holy places of Proto-Islam, to which God is said to have
brought Mohammed from Mecca in one night (Sureh xvii. 1). The mosque
without its additions is now 88 yds. long and 60 yds. wide. Of the
church of Justinian nothing apparently has survived except the columns
of the nave and two inner aisles. The capitals perhaps date from caliph
Omar’s period (637). The broad transept was probably constructed by the
Abbaside El-Mehdi (775–95); the wooden dome is now covered with lead
outside. The transept gave the edifice the form of a =⟙=, which was
converted later into a rectangle by the two rows of aisles added on the
E. and W. These, in their present shape, and the pointed arcades of the
nave and inner aisles, connected by tie-beams, belong to a late period
of restoration. The so-called White Mosque, now set apart for women, a
long double corridor to the W. of the transept, probably once belonged
to the castle of the Knights Templar. The latest addition is the porch
built by Melik el-Muazzam Isâ (d. 1227) and restored at a later period.
Its middle arcades imitate Frank Gothic.
The interior was once almost as sumptuously decorated as the Dome of
the Rock. The *Pulpit (mimbar), carved in wood and inlaid with ivory
and mother-of-pearl, executed by order of Nûreddîn (p. 485) in 1169
for the great mosque of Aleppo, was presented by Saladin. To him also
the mosque owes the prayer-recess, with its graceful little marble
columns, the superb mosaics of the mihrâb-wall, and the drum of the
dome. The author or at least restorer of the decorations of the dome
is said to have been Mohammed en-Nâsir (p. 448). The windows date only
from the time of Suleiman.
In the S.E. corner of the Haram area a staircase descends to a small
_Moslem Oratory_ with the ‘Cradle of Christ’ and to 13 vaulted
galleries, part of the old substructure of the Haram, known as
_Solomon’s Stables_. In the sixth gallery, counting from the E., there
is a small door in the S. wall called the ‘_Single Gate_‘, an old
entrance to the Haram.
The roof of the ‘_Golden Gate_’ (Pl. H, I, 4; Bâb ed-Dâhirîyeh), the
only E. gate of the Haram, dating from the reign of Justinian (?) but
now built up, affords a survey of the whole great quadrangle. At our
feet lies the Kidron valley (p. 480), with its rock-tombs, and opposite
rises the Mt. of Olives (see below).
Time permitting, we may now visit the _Wailing Place of the Jews_
(Kautal Maarbei; Pl. G, 5), to the W. of the Haram, reached by
descending (to the S.) the eastmost side-street of the Tarîk Bâb
es-Silseleh. It is probable that the Jews, who never enter the Haram
precincts for fear of desecrating the holy of holies, were in the habit
of repairing hither as early as the middle ages to bewail the downfall
of Jerusalem. The scene is most touching on Friday afternoons (after 4
p.m.), when crowds of mourners flock to the place and litanies are
chanted.
The =Mount of Olives= (_Mons Oliveti_, _Jebel et-Tûr_), running parallel
to the Temple hill, is closely associated with the last days of Christ
on earth. It is visited (best in the forenoon) either by carriage from
the Jaffa or the Damascus Gate (10–12 fr.; ascent ½ hr.), or on
horseback (p. 471) or on foot from St. Stephen’s Gate (p. 475). Those
who return by the valley of the Kidron should order their carriage to
meet them at the Garden of Gethsemane.
From the Damascus Gate (p. 473) the road leads past the _Dominican
Monastery of St. Stephen_ (on the right; Pl. E, 1) and then, beyond the
Anglican _Bishop’s House_, past the so-called _Tombs of the Kings_ (on
the right). This large subterranean burial-ground, with its
tomb-chambers and shaft-tombs, probably belonged to queen Helena of
Adiabene and her family (1st cent. A.D.). The road to Nâbulus soon
diverges to the left; ours ascends in a wide curve northwards to the top
of the _Scopus_ and to the Mt. of Olives.
On the N. height of the Mt. of Olives, to the left of the road, is the
new German _Augusta Victoria Institute_ (sanatorium and church).
On the E. summit (2665 ft.) are the Russian Buildings, a pilgrims’
hospice, the _Russian Church of the Ascension_, and a six-storied
_Belvedere Tower_ (214 steps). The *Panorama embraces the city and the
hills around Jerusalem and Bethlehem (the latter itself not visible).
Towards the E. lie the Dead Sea (1293 ft. below sea-level) and the
Jordan valley (Arabic El-Ghôr), and among the bluish Mts. of Moab rises
Mt. Nebo (2644 ft.), whence Moses beheld the promised land before his
death (Deut. xxxiv. 1–4).
A little to the W. of the Russian Buildings lies the poor village =Kafr
et-Tûr=. Near it is the _Chapel of the Ascension_, built in 1834–5, to
mark the scene of the Ascension (in contradiction to Luke xxiv. 50, ‘He
led them out as far as Bethany’). Of the earlier churches here, one a
round building of Emp. Constantine, the other built by the Crusaders,
few traces are left.
To the S. of the village are the LATIN BUILDINGS, including the _Credo_
and _Paternoster Churches_ (1898).
A steep path descends hence, to the W., to the GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE (Pl.
K, 4), now the property of the Franciscans. Near the entrance (E. side)
a rock marks the spot where Peter, James, and John are said to have
slept (Mark xiv. 32 _et seq._), and the fragment of a column close by
indicates the traditional scene of the Betrayal. (A monk acts as guide;
fee 3–6 pias.) A little higher up the Greeks have their own Garden of
Gethsemane, containing the many-domed _Church of Mary Magdalen_ (Pl. K,
4).
A few paces to the N.W., on the road to the upper bridge over the Kidron
(Pl. I, 3) and to St. Stephen’s Gate, rises _St. Mary’s Church_ (Pl. K,
3; Arabic Kenîset Sitti Maryam), built by queen Milicent or Melisendis
(d. 1161) on the site of an ancient church mentioned as early as the 5th
cent.; it contains the ‘coffin of the Virgin’, in which she lay until
her Assumption.
The =Valley of the Kidron=, identified from a very early age with the
_Valley of Jehoshaphat_, has been supposed, ever since pre-Christian
times, owing to a misinterpretation of Joel iii. 2, to be the future
scene of the Last Judgment. The Moslems bury their dead on the E.
slope of the Haram esh-Sherîf, and the Jews on the W. slope of the Mt.
of Olives.
From the Jericho road, to the S. of the Garden of Gethsemane, a path
diverges to the right to the lower bridge over the Kidron (Pl. I, 5).
To the left of the path are the so-called _Tomb of Absalom_, a cube of
rock, with a curious conical roof expanding at the top; _St. James’s
Cavern_, a rock-tomb; and the _Pyramid of Zacharias_. All these date
from the Græco-Roman period.
Farther on, to the S.E., passing below the hill-village of _Siloah_
(Pl. H, I, 7–9; Arabic Kafr Silwân), we come to _St. Mary’s Fountain_
(Pl. H, 7; Aïn Sitti Maryam), an intermittent spring, probably the
_Gihon_ of the Old Testament. Since the time of Hezekiah (about 700
B.C.) its water has flowed through the underground _Siloah Conduit_ to
the _Pool of Siloam_ (Pl. G, H, 9), within the Jewish town-wall.
Farther down the valley we reach in a few minutes ‘_Job’s Well_’
(about 2035 ft.; Bîr Eiyûb).
We return thence to the town by the =Valley of Hinnom= (p. 472). The
‘_Zion Suburb_’ (p. 473) rises steeply on the N.W.; to the left is the
slope of _Jebel Abû Tôr_, covered with rock-tombs. Near (12 min.) the
_Sultan’s Pond_ (see below) we join the Bethlehem road.
The EXCURSION TO BETHLEHEM, by a good road (half-a-day; carr. about 12
fr.; horse, see p. 471), will even repay walkers.
The road descends to the S. from the Jaffa Gate (p. 473) into the
_Valley of Hinnom_ (see above). Beyond the _Birket es-Sultân_ (Pl. C, D,
8), an old Jewish reservoir restored by Suleiman the Great (16th cent.),
the station-road diverges to the right.
Our road leads to the S.W. across the tableland of _El-Bukeia_ (p. 470),
past the traditional _Well of the Magi_ (Matth. ii. 9), to the (3 M.)
Greek convent of _Mâr Elyâs_ (left). Bethlehem appears in the
foreground. Fine view of the Dead Sea (p. 479) to the left.
At (4 M.) ‘_Rachel’s Tomb_’ (Kubbet Râhîl), built like the welis or
tombs of Moslem saints, the Hebron road diverges to the right.
[Illustration: BEYROÛT VIEILLE VILLE ET BAZAR]
[Illustration: BEYROÛT]
5 M. =Bethlehem= (2550 ft.; pop. about 11,000, almost all Christians),
the home of David and the birthplace of our Saviour, has a situation
resembling that of Jerusalem. It consists of eight different quarters,
containing many monasteries, hospitals, and schools. Fine view from the
German Prot. _Weihnachtskirche_ (‘Christmas Church’, 1893), on the W.
outskirts.
Over the traditional birthplace of Christ rises *ST. MARY’S CHURCH, now
occupied by the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians jointly. The original
columnar basilica of the time of Constantine, with its double aisles, is
still the nucleus of the present church. It was thoroughly renovated by
the Crusaders, and the superb wallmosaics were restored by the Byzantine
Emp. Manuel Comnenos (1143–80). The Greeks, who were in sole possession
from 1672 to 1852, unfortunately added the transept wall.
INTERIOR. The entrance is by the old central portal, approached from
an open space once occupied by an atrium. Three passages lead through
the transept, with semicircular apses at either end, to the
semicircular choir. Among the almost obliterated mosaics is a quaint
representation of the Entry into Jerusalem in the S. apse.
Adjoining the choir are two flights of steps descending into the
Crypt, or Chapel of the Nativity, and to the ‘Chapel of the Manger’,
the ‘dwelling of St. Jerome’ (b. about 340 in Dalmatia, d. in 420 at
Bethlehem), and his tomb, which also are highly revered.
The stairs on the N. side ascend to the Latin Church of St. Catharine,
through which we return to the principal church.
For full details, see _Baedeker’s Palestine and Syria_.