_Nazareth, October 17, 1836._
We left Jerusalem, and passed northward; and having in view to visit
Nabloos, Samaria, Tiberias, Nazareth, and many other interesting
localities, on our return to Beyroot.
Our route led us near the tombs of the kings, and I could not but
notice the immense quantities of loose stones that lay over the
district west and north-west of Jerusalem--most of them are small.
They often form immense piles. What may have caused such banks of
them is not known. Possibly they indicate that buildings were once
spread over this district--or it maybe that much rock has been taken
from the upper stratum, and these piles are the refuse rock--or
it may be that in the many sieges which Jerusalem sustained, the
besieging armies may have collected them for embankments, or for the
purpose of defending their camps. To the north of Jerusalem there
are some fine orchards of olives. The country is rolling, but not
too much so for cultivation; and we passed a succession of small
plains, which were fertile and under tillage.
At the distance of about six miles, we passed Rama, the city of
Samuel the Prophet. It stood to our left, and on one of the highest
points of the hill country of Judea. It is now a poor Moslem
village, surrounded with groves of olives and other fruit trees: the
Mediterranean sea, and a long stretch of the plains of Sharon, may
be seen from Rama.
Near Rama, and north-west of it, stands Gibeon, the city of the
ancient Gibeonites, who made peace with Israel under Joshua, and
practised a deception on them. (Joshua ix.) It stands on the top
of a small sugar-loaf hill, and is capable of being made a strong
place. It is now a poor village--several other villages lay to our
left, the names of which I do not now recollect.
To our right we passed several villages, but most of them lay
at some little distance from the road--as Anathoth, the town
of Jeremiah, now a poor Mohammedan village--Geba, and Gibeah
of Saul--Michmash, where Jonathan defeated the garrison of the
Philistines--Rimmon, in which the Benjamites found refuge when
Gideon was destroyed. (Judges xx. 45.)
At the distance of ten or twelve miles from Jerusalem we came to
Beer, the town to which Jotham is supposed to have fled from his
brother Abimelech. In approaching it, we passed over a fine plain, a
part of which was under cultivation; near the town were orchards of
olive and other fruit trees.
We had intended to spend the night here, but we found several
thousand Turkish horsemen encamped on the plain near the town. They
were spread over the whole district adjoining the springs; and men,
horses, camels, and donkeys, mixed together in the most irregular
manner. Some of the officers and men had tents, but the majority
of the army either had none or did not think it necessary to pitch
them. The town, which is not large, was overrun with troops. We
thought it, on the whole, not best to lodge with such company, and
passed on to Ain-Brood. This led us past ancient Bethel,--there is
now a small village there, and many ruins that show that it has
once been a place of considerable size. It stands near the top of
the ridge, and commands a fine view of the adjacent country. It was
here that Abraham pitched his tent soon after entering the land of
Canaan--and from this place he was made to look north and south,
and east and west; and was assured that all the land he saw should
be given to him and his seed. (Gen. xii. 8, and xiii. 3-14.) And
here Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves, and induced Israel to
worship before it. (1 Kings, xii. 29.)
The precise situation of it, which lies a little to the east, is not
known. There are ruins in several places, but a doubt remains as to
which is the site of the city first taken by the Israelites on the
hill country.
The country about Bethel is slightly diversified with small plains
and ridges; it is fertile, and well adapted to tillage--olive
orchards, fruit trees, and vineyards are more numerous than in most
parts of Palestine--the country is, moreover, better watered than
the parts of the hill country that lie more to the south.
It became dark before we reached Ain-Brood (_Cold Spring_). The
village of that name stands a little off the road, on the top of a
hill. It is a small place, and has nothing that distinguishes it,
unless it be the excellent vineyards, and olive-orchards, and fruit
trees with which it is surrounded: to which may be added that a good
deal of labour has been expended in gathering off the stones, which
abound on the surface, and forming low walls around these vineyards.
In some places the rock had been broken up about as fine as would
suit for a Macadamized road, and earth mixed with it, and thus lots
are prepared that produce fine grapes and fruit trees.
As the night was clear, which is always the case in Palestine during
the summer, we did not take the trouble to hunt for lodgings; but
getting over one of these low stone fences with our horses, we
spread our carpets, and made our beds under a large fig-tree, and
there spent the night.
Knowing that the company of troops that we had left at Beer were
moving northward, we concluded we would make an early start, and try
and keep before them. In this, however, we were disappointed. We
had not gone many miles before we saw some horsemen not far behind.
We whipped up our animals, but it would not do; they gained on us
continually: and in a few hours we had them pouring by us in all the
confusion of the Turkish march. They, however, were perfectly civil,
and some of their officers entered pleasantly into conversation with
us.
They had been to the south of Bethlehem, disarming a tribe of Arabs
that frequented the country near the south end of the Dead Sea; and
having accomplished that service they were returning to the north,
where most of them lived.
They were much scattered, and altogether regardless of order on
their march; and it was several hours before they all passed us.
Between ten and twelve o'clock we descended a long steep hill into
a plain of some extent. Near the foot of the hill was a spring, and
when that came in view there was a kind of rush made for the water;
and it was a striking spectacle to see such a body of horsemen
pouring down the hill, each trying to be the first, or at least not
the last, to water his horse, and obtain a portion for himself.
We were willing to let the men of war be satisfied before we
approached. They then rode to a fine growth of olive-trees that
covered a part of the plain, and then separating themselves into
small companies, dismounted and placed themselves and horses in the
shade to pass the heat of the day.
We pursued our journey and passed several villages, and one or two
of a larger size than are usually met with. The country was more
hilly, and intersected with deeper valleys, than it had been near
Jerusalem; but on the whole it was fertile, and a considerable
portion set with vineyards and orchards, or bearing marks of
cultivation. Passing over a ridge from the plain in which we left
the troops, we entered a wide plain, which ran north and south.
The hills which bounded the plain on our left were of considerable
height, and had several villages on their sides. On the east side
of this plain, the hills were lower, and appeared to become still
more so as we proceeded north. After several hours' travel along
this plain, which was a fine one, and partly set with cotton, we
reached a place where a small plain came in from the west at right
angles. The hill on the north of this small plain is the Ebal, and
that on the south the Gerezim, of the Scriptures; and this is the
place which Moses pointed out as the place at which the Law was to
be read, while six tribes stood on the one side to say amen when the
blessings were read, and six on the other side to say amen when the
curses were read. (Deut. xxvii. 12-14.)
I do not understand it as meaning that all the people stood on
the top of the mountains; I suppose they were divided into two
parts--one part stood on one side of the priests, who probably
occupied the middle of the plain, and the other part on the other
side, and occupied the sides of the mountains as far as might be
necessary. The place is most admirably adapted for such a thing;
possibly a more suitable place could not be found. In this plain the
ancient Sychar or Shechem stood. It is now called Nabloos. It may
have 6,000 or 8,000 people; the most of them are Moslems.
At the mouth of the small plain is shown the piece of ground Jacob
bought when he came from Padanaram, and which he, at his death,
gave to his son Joseph; (Genesis xxxiii. 19; John iv. 5.) There are
some sepulchral monuments on it; and nearer the city they show what
is called Jacob's well. A little east of the town is a spring, the
waters of which flow eastward; and close to the town, on the west
side, is a fine spring, the waters of which flow west, and fall into
the Mediterranean. There are fine olive orchards, and other fruit
trees about the town, and some fine gardens, especially on the west
of the town.
I saw at the gate of Nabloos eight or ten lepers. They were covered
with spots that looked like raw flesh; had a most disgusting
appearance; they seemed to be shut out from the city, and were most
importunate as beggars. They were the only lepers that I recollect
to have seen in Palestine.
There are remains of an old Christian church here, which must have
been a most splendid building. The pillars, and other parts which
remain, have a richness of workmanship about them that excels
anything that I saw in Palestine. Not much of them, however,
remains. There are many indications about the town, and on the
mountains, that a large city once stood here.
Passing west along the narrow plain for a few miles, we then turned
due north, and at the distance of eight or ten miles, we came to the
site of ancient Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel. The
country around it is rocky, but very fertile. The rock is the soft
limestone, which disintegrates so easily that very little is seen on
the surface. There are about it more extensive orchards of olive and
other fruit trees than are usually met with, and the whole aspect of
the country is fine.
Samaria stood on a low, broad, sugar-loaf hill. It seems to have
been terraced all round, and all the way to the top; but the
terraces were so wide as to admit a row or rows of houses, and
a street. These rose one above another, and, when filled with
houses, must have had a fine appearance. All are now gone but a few
ruins, piles of rock and rubbish, and a few pillars. This hill is
surrounded with a narrow plain, except at the east side, where a
low ridge connects it with some adjacent hills, which, at a little
distance, border this plain.
Samaria was the seat of great wickedness while the capital of the
kingdom of Israel, and now it lies desolate. It deserves notice,
that the capital of both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah stood on
the hill country, and distant about forty miles from each other, and
each of them about midway from the Mediterranean to the Jordan.
Jerusalem is on the highest ground, but Samaria on the most fertile.
North of Samaria, we passed over a high hill. There is more
brushwood on this hill than is usually met with, and among it some
small oaks. On the north of this hill, the country presented a
variegated, rolling surface, with more natural growth than usual,
and a number of small villages and ruins. Many of the small plains
were very fertile, and we saw some fields of cotton.
As it grew dark, we reached a fine spring of water, and about it
grew a good many fig and olive trees. We spread our mats and made
our beds under one of them, and there spent the night. A number of
other travellers encamped at the same place, and all slept under the
trees in the open air.
Next morning we pursued our route three or four hours northward,
to the plain of Esdralon; we passed over two or three plains of
considerable extent, separated by hilly districts. The plains
were very fertile, and on some of them cotton was growing. The
hills were low, and on some of them were small villages, and ruins
indicating that villages or towns had once stood there. In much of
this district the rock was of that soft kind which I have often
mentioned. Many of these hills exhibited remains of the ancient
terrace-work, and showed that, in days past, more labour was
expended on them, and much more of them were cultivated, than at
present.
We at length approached the great plain of Esdralon. A row of low
hills, with small spaces between them, separated a strip of the
plain to the south. This portion was especially rich; a good deal
of it had the appearance of having once been under water. It looked
like the bottom of a lake, from which the water had been removed.
It being the latter part of the long dry season, the ground was so
shaped in many places, that I really felt a fear that my animal
might step in some of the cracks and fall, or break a limb. The
soil, as seen in the edge of these cracks, seemed as rich as soil
could be.
We reached the edge of the great plain at a considerable town called
Jeneen. It stands on the point of a ridge, a little above the level
of the plain. The similarity of the name made me think it might be
the ancient Jesreel. Its distance from Carmel would agree with this
supposition, as Ahab passed from Carmel to Jesreel in a part of a
day, when Elisha ran before his chariot. (1 Kings, xviii. 40-46.)
There are ruins about the town which indicate that it may have been
larger in time past than it is now.
There is near this village a large garden spot, well inclosed, and
planted with various trees, which grow so thriftily as to show how
easy it would be, with proper care, to raise trees of various kinds,
in such quantities as greatly to contribute to the comfort and
advantage of the population of this country.
We passed from Jeneen north-east across the plain. But a small part
of it is cultivated--around its edge a few villages were to be seen,
with their vineyards, olive and other trees about them. We saw some
flocks and herds on the plain, but not in as great numbers as I had
been led to expect.
To our right the point of a ridge ran out considerably into the
plain. This is Mount Gilboa, on which Saul and his sons fell in
battle against the Philistines. Bethshan, the village to which the
Philistines fastened their bodies, lies a few miles north-east of
the end of this hill. The battle seems to have begun on the plain,
and when overcome, Israel fled to the hill, and then Saul and his
sons fell. I could not but notice, while looking on the mount from
the plain, how it accorded with the statement, that the chariots and
horsemen followed hard after Saul on Mount Gilboa. The ascent from
the plain is such that horsemen and chariots might pass up even to
the top of this hill.
The plain of Esdralon may be thirty-five or thirty-six miles by
forty. Our course led us to the east of a rough and very rocky
hill, that rises in the plain a little south-east of Mount Tabor.
As soon as we passed the south-east corner of this hill we entered
on a district that was evidently volcanic. The lava was very old,
and much disintegrated, so as to make a most excellent soil. This
continued all the way to the edge of the lake. We did, indeed, for a
short distance, as we passed close by the foot of Mount Tabor, get
off, for a short distance, the bed of lava. Mount Tabor did not to
me appear volcanic. I did not, however, ascend it. It was Saturday
afternoon, and wishing to reach Tiberias to spend the Sabbath, I
had not time to make the ascent. We, however, wound round nearly
one-third of the mountain at its very foot, and examined the stone
that cropt out, and the stone that had rolled down from its sides,
and saw no signs of its being volcanic. How the matter may appear on
its top I know not. There are ruins there, and as much lava lies on
the plain a little east of Tabor; and as it is used in the buildings
of several villages, the fact that some of it may be found on the
top of the Tabor would not prove that the mountain was volcanic.
It may have been taken up as building stone. Tabor is a sugar-loaf
hill, and rises to a considerable height. It is supposed that our
Lord was transfigured on this mountain.
A small branch of the Kishon rises north of the Tabor, flows east of
the mountain, washing its foot, and then runs south and west, and
falls into the Mediterranean Sea at the north end of Carmel. The
Kishon is at best a small stream; and the branch which we crossed at
the foot of the Tabor was about the size of a good spring.
Near Tabor we passed a small village called Nain, the place where
Christ brought to life the widow's son.
Leaving Mount Tabor, we passed over a high part of the plain,
covered with disintegrated lava. Part of this plain had been
cultivated. It is, perhaps, the most fertile district in Palestine.
In many places the weeds were nearly as high as a man's head, a
thing of rare occurrence in the East.
The descent to the lake from the level of the plain is very
considerable--I should think from five hundred to eight hundred
feet, opposite the town of Tiberias; at the southern end of the lake
of course it is much less, as the plain lies like an inclined plane
towards the south.
It was night before we reached the town; but we were readily
admitted by the guard of soldiers who kept the gates. We found
some difficulty in finding a place to lodge in. After employing
several persons to look for a place, and waiting some time, we were
conducted to the court of the Greek church, and told we might lodge
there. It might be called a church-yard. It was a space before the
church, inclosed with a wall, with a gate to it; but all open to
the travellers. It was in part at least paved with rock. We found
other travellers there, with their animals. As the air was mild, and
there was no danger of rain, the case was not as bad as some might
suppose. We had slept out every night since we left Jerusalem--and
in places not more comfortable than Tiberias. It did indeed appear
rather hard that in the heart of a walled and garrisoned town we
could not find a house to lodge in.
We found a great merry-making going on in the town. Nearly the whole
population were gathered before what we learned was the governor's
palace. On inquiry we were informed that the merry-making was
in honour of the circumcision of the governor's son. The Moslem
religion has borrowed the rite of circumcision from the Jews; and
they perform it on all their male children--at the age of thirteen,
if I remember right. They usually honour this occasion with some
festivities. They had various kinds of musical instruments--some
that were bad enough in all reason. They had dancing; and some,
especially the women, made a singular noise, somewhat like a short,
shrill whistle. I was especially struck with one thing which took
place. It was a procession of a considerable body of persons, who
bore torches. I was told that they were Jews, and did it in honour
of the occasion. It reminded me of the parable of the virgins who
took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (Matt. xxv.)
In the morning of the Sabbath, before we had dressed and finished
our breakfast, the people began to come to church. Our situation
was even worse than it had been at Baalbec, where we had to make
our toilette on the house-top, in the face of all who chose to look
at us. Here we were, with men and women, and children, all crowding
about us, and looking and thinking more, I fear, about us than they
did about the church-service that was going on. We hurried and got
things put to rights as soon as we could, and deemed it proper to be
present at their service, although we could understand but little of
it. It consisted of a great variety of prayers, and crossings, and
bowing before the pictures and kissing them; and reading portions of
God's word.
There was a great want of reverence in the worshippers; and, for
the most part, the reading was so hurried and indistinct, that
not much of it could, I should think, be understood. The whole of
the service was not performed by the priest himself; from time to
time he called on some one to read portions of the service. At its
close, the priest and a number of his people remained for some
time, in part to look at us and talk to us. We asked him why he did
not preach to the people, and instruct them in religion? He seemed
surprised that we should think this necessary. We reminded him that
the apostles preached and taught the people; at this he shrugged up
his shoulders, and said somewhat significantly--"Oh! that was before
the church was regulated as it now is." This was getting out of the
difficulty with more tact than we had expected from him. It must
be a bad regulation, however, that sets aside the preaching of the
gospel!
As we were a good deal annoyed with the multitude of people that
came into the court to see us, and as our baggage was not altogether
safe unless we kept a watch over it, we requested the priest to
allow us to take up our quarters in the church; which he permitted,
on our engaging that we would take care that nothing was injured.
This church is said to be the house of Peter. It is an old building,
with an arched roof, but has no just claims to an origin so early as
the days of the apostles. There is, I think, another reason given
why it is called the house of Peter, that is, it stands on the place
where our Lord appeared to the disciples, and put the searching
question to Peter--"Lovest thou me?"
Among those travellers who spent the night in the court of the
church, was a sick man for whom we felt most deeply. He lived near
Constantinople, and had visited the Holy Land as a pilgrim. He had
left a family at home; was well dressed; rode a good horse, and
travelled with a company of the better sort of pilgrims. He had been
unwell for several days; but as his company could not or would not
stop, his great unwillingness to be left induced him to travel on,
when under a raging fever. On Sabbath morning he was utterly unable
to rise--and seldom have I seen a person that more needed medical
aid. We tried to do what we could for him; but I had not the medical
knowledge which his case called for. While I stood over him and
felt his pulse, he gazed on me with a brightening countenance; no
doubt in the hope that I might give him relief. He tried to make
me understand the nature and seat of his pain; but he spoke modern
Greek, and we had no one that could interpret; and, moreover, his
case was one that was utterly beyond my skill. Never did I feel
so deeply my need of medical knowledge; never did I feel more
deeply how impotent is man to save his fellow-man. When I turned
from him in despair of doing anything that would at all benefit
him, he seemed to read my feelings; and never did I see a deeper
disappointment than was expressed in his looks. It seemed to say,
You see I am dying, and yet you do not save me.
We gave him some simples, which might possibly afford momentary
relief. His company had left him. We prevailed on the Greek priest
to take him into his family, and had him conveyed there. What became
of him I know not. There was little prospect of his living.
The lake is a pretty sheet of clean, fresh water, about twelve miles
long and six miles broad, of an oval shape. The water deepens very
gradually on the western side where I visited it. I saw many small
fish in it; but saw no means for taking them. It is said, however,
that the Jews have a fishery at the southern part, and take a good
many. I saw but one boat on the lake. It would hold eight or ten
men--it lay off the town--but I saw no one in it during the time I
was there.
The banks of the lake were more precipitous on the eastern than on
the western side; and as it seems to have been on the eastern side
that our Lord healed the demoniac, and permitted the devils to enter
the swine, I could not but think that it did argue that the swine
were possessed, that the whole herd should leap from the top of such
a precipice into the sea.
The town of Tiberias stands on the western side, about mid-way
of the lake, and on the edge of the water; it is walled, and has
a small garrison in it. The population is but a few thousand,
possibly not above 3,000. Most of these are Moslems; there are a few
Christians of the Greek church, and a small number of Jews.
The whole district about the lake, as far as I saw it, is volcanic.
The walls of the town, and of most of the houses are built of lava,
and most of the rock that lies about the town, and the bottom of
the lake is lava. There is a mixture of limestone among it; for the
whole district is based on limestone. The volcanic district extends
north of the lake, and also far to the east of the Jordan, according
to my best information.
There were originally many towns about this lake--most of them
have disappeared; and the very sites of Chorasin, and Bethsaida,
and Capernaum, on which the Lord pronounced a woe, are not with
certainty known.
The Jordan rises some distance to the north-east of Tiberias, and
passes through another small lake called the waters of Merom. It
was by it that Joshua defeated the second confederacy of kings.
(Joshua ii. 5.) Passing through this lake, the Jordan enters the
lake of Tiberias at the north-east corner, and leaves it at the
south end, and passes through the plain of Jordan from sixty to
eighty miles, and falls into the Dead Sea. There is no outlet to
this sea. The waters are carried off, as is supposed, by evaporation.
There is a fine district of country, it is said, about the waters of
Merom, and formerly the towns of Cesarea and Philippi stood there.
North of lake Tiberias, and on the top of a high mountain in sight,
stands Safet, a town of considerable size. This is one of the sacred
cities of the Jews; and more Jews are found here than in any place
in Palestine. The whole district about it is volcanic, and has
been a good deal disturbed by earthquakes. On the western side of
the lake, and a mile or two south of the town, are some copious
springs of warm salt water. They are so hot as to require to be
tempered when used for bathing. There is a good bathing-house, and
a considerable resort here for that purpose. On the east side of
the lake, and a little from it, is another spring of warm water;
and, if I was rightly informed, there is another west of the lake,
and I think on some part of the hills near Mount Tabor. The whole
district is a good deal subject to earthquakes, and gives evidence
of internal fires.
The road from Tiberias to Nazareth runs nearly west; and the
distance maybe about twenty or twenty-five miles. At the distance
of six or eight miles, we passed a low hill to our right, with two
little elevations on it; this is called the Mount of Beatitudes.
It would afford a very good place to take a seat and address a
large assembly collected on the plain below. We cannot be certain,
however, as to the sermon on the mount having been preached here.
Our road passed north of Mount Tabor, and the range of hills
called the hills of Nazareth. The plain over which we passed was
fertile. It was uneven on its northern side, where the ridges of the
Anti-Lebanon shut it in. We passed several villages, both to our
right and left, but most of them were at a distance, and their names
did not accord with those of the Bible. But a small part of the
plain was cultivated. A few miles before reaching Nazareth, we came
to Cana of Galilee, the place where our Lord turned water into wine.
It is a small village, and has nothing that gives it much interest,
except the above fact.
At a large well below the town, we saw a fine sample of their mode
of drawing water, and pouring it into troughs, and allowing their
flocks and herds to come up in succession and drink. Thus the
shepherds were engaged as we passed the well. They allowed us to
ride up, and let our animals drink of the water which they had drawn.
Cana lies on the north side of the hills of Nazareth, and Nazareth
lies on the south side, a mile or two farther to the west. This
range of hills is not high, and Nazareth is built on the side of
it, and, in part, on a little level space that is somewhat elevated
above the small plain that spreads out before it. A ridge of the
hills runs to the south-east, so as nearly to shut out Nazareth from
a view of the great plain in which it stands.
Nazareth is one of the best built towns that I saw in Palestine. At
its east end, and on the edge of the little plain that lies before
it, is a spring or well; and here, it is said, the angel appeared to
Mary; and here she often came, accompanied by the infant Saviour, to
draw water for family use.
There is a church over the place that is shown as the house of
Mary, and adjoining it is a Latin convent. We lodged in this
convent, and were kindly entertained. There was a paper in our room,
stating that the convent was authorised and required by the Pope to
receive all persons who were devoutly visiting the holy places, and
entertain them three days; after which, it was expected, that such
persons would pass on their way. The church was the best we saw in
Palestine; the organ was good, and well played; and the religious
service was, on the whole, better conducted than any one I had seen
in Syria.
Near the middle of the church, a wide flight of stairs descends
for about twelve or fourteen feet; there stands an altar. Passing
a door, we entered a small room, in which is another altar. On
both of these, religious service appears at times to be performed.
Passing through another door, we were in a low cave, that has been
hewn out of the soft limestone rock. The wall on all sides is rough;
made so, perhaps, by the pilgrims breaking off pieces of the rock
to carry home as holy earth. This is shown as the room in which
Mary lived and raised the infant Saviour. It did not appear to me a
comfortable place for a residence; and I could not but think that
Joseph must have loved his wife, and prized the privilege of raising
the Messiah, to such a degree as to have induced him to provide for
them a more suitable place. The whole appearance of the place was,
in my view, against its being the true locality. We know they lived
at Nazareth, but as to the precise spot, the Bible is silent, and we
are left in doubt.
They show the synagogue in which our Lord read the law; and, a
little out of town, they show the precipice over which the enraged
people wished to cast him. The situation of the town on the hill,
and the height of the hill, agrees with the account recorded, but
which is the precise spot may not be perfectly certain. They show
also the shop in which Joseph followed his trade, with some other
things that need not be specified.