FROM NABULUS TO NAZARETH, SAMARIA, JENIN, AND THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON.
"Nabulus or Nablous, the ancient Shechem," wrote Frank in his journal,
"is nearly as large as Jerusalem, though not so well situated. It has
about thirteen thousand inhabitants, if the guide-book is to be trusted,
and almost all of them are Moslems. There are one hundred and fifty
Samaritans here, and five or six hundred Christians belonging mostly to
the Greek Church, and there are a few Jews and other people not included
in the above list. The town appears more prosperous and active than
Jerusalem, and it is evident that the people are more industrious, and
rely less on what they can make out of strangers.
[Illustration: VIEW OF NABULUS.]
"We have walked through the town and looked at the bazaars, which are
much like those of Jerusalem and Jaffa. The streets are so badly paved
and full of dirt that we could easily believe we were again in the
neighborhood of the Tower of David and Mount Moriah. The guide told us
that the town had considerable trade with the country east of the
Jordan, and a good deal of wool and cotton found its way from here to
the seaboard, whence it was shipped to England and France. The country
in the vicinity produces large quantities of olives, and there are more
than twenty factories engaged in making soap from olive-oil. We passed
one of these soap factories, and found the smells that arose from it
were anything but agreeable.
"Seeing the olive-trees and the soap factories has made us desirous of
knowing something about the manner of extracting the oil. Here is what
we have learned on the subject:
"The custom of the country is not to allow any picking of the fruit of
the tree until a day has been appointed by the authorities. If any
olives fall to the ground before this date, they are gathered and
preserved in brine or oil for eating, as they are the fattest olives
from the trees, and fully ripe when they fall.
"On the day appointed for the gathering of the olives a public crier
goes out and announces it. Then the people go to the orchards and gather
the olives by beating or shaking the trees, very much as they gather the
lower grades of apples in the New England States. The best olives are
picked out for eating, and only the poorer ones are pressed for oil.
"Ten or twelve gallons of oil are often made from the product of a
single tree, and an acre of good olive-trees will give a crop worth a
hundred dollars. A good crop is only gathered every other year, and the
olive seems to have its 'off season,' like the American apple and peach.
[Illustration: AN ANCIENT OLIVE-PRESS.]
"We have seen several olive-presses, and they are very simple. There is
a stone pan about six feet across and twelve inches deep, with a hole at
one side for the escape of the oil. A roller of stone, with a hole
through the centre for a long handle, is placed in the pan, and the
apparatus is complete.
[Illustration: WOMEN WORKING AN OLIVE-PRESS.]
"The olives are thrown into the pan, and then two men (or women) grasp
the opposite ends of the handle and walk around in a circle; the weight
of the roller crushes the olives, and after a while the oil flows slowly
from the hole in the side of the pan. When the olives are crushed to a
pulp, and no more oil will flow, the mass is mixed with water and placed
in bags of coarse cloth. The remaining oil is forced out by treading
with the feet, or by crushing in a press with heavy weights. The
process of extracting oil from the olive was well known to the ancient
inhabitants of the country, and is often mentioned in the Bible.
[Illustration: ANCIENT LAMPS (MATT. XXV. 1).]
[Illustration: MODERN LAMPS.]
"A great deal of olive-oil is sent from Palestine to other countries. It
is an important article of food for the inhabitants, and takes the place
of butter, and also of animal fat for cooking purposes. It is used for
giving light, and is burnt in flat lamps of terra-cotta or other ware;
some of the lamps are covered while others are open, and in either case
there is a lip or projection at one side for the wick. In ancient times
the wealthy inhabitants had lamps of silver and gold; and they are
mentioned among the adornments of Solomon's Temple as having been made
of the latter material. We have seen great numbers of these Eastern
lamps, of terra-cotta, tin, and occasionally of brass. The lamps carried
by the Ten Virgins--'five of them were wise, and five were foolish'--were
undoubtedly of the exact form as those of to-day.
"So much for one of the industries of Nabulus, and of the land of the
Bible generally.
"We went to the great mosque, which was once a Christian church, built
by the Crusaders, and afterward belonging to the Knights of St. John. In
another part of the town is the _Jama-el-Kadra_, a mosque which is
asserted to stand on the spot where the brethren of Joseph brought his
coat to Jacob. It was formerly a church, like the great mosque, and the
guide pointed out some of the crosses of the Crusaders that the Moslems
had not been able to obliterate altogether. Then we went to the quarter
of the Samaritans, which was the most curious of all the sights of
Nabulus.
"The origin of the Samaritans is described in 2 Kings xvii. 24-41, and
the present sect at Nabulus is supposed to be descended from them. Two
hundred years ago there were small bodies of them in Cairo, Damascus,
and one or two other places, but the only one now in existence is that
which we are describing.
[Illustration: SAMARITANS BEARING TRIBUTE--AN ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE (2
KINGS XVII. 3).]
"They preserve their ancient faith and form of worship, and they have a
temple on Mount Gerizim, above the town, where annually they celebrate
the Feast of the Passover and eat of the Paschal lamb. They showed us a
copy of the Pentateuch, which is claimed to be the oldest in existence.
The high-priest who held and opened it says it was written by a grandson
of Aaron. There is good reason to doubt that it is more than a thousand
years old, and the case containing it belongs to the fourteenth or
fifteenth century. They would not let us unroll and examine it, and so
we must accept the statement of others, who have had a better
opportunity, that the parchment is fifteen inches wide and from twenty
to thirty yards long, and contains the whole of the first five books of
the Old Testament."
There was not time to spare for the ascent of Mount Gerizim, which rises
above Nabulus, and is ascended chiefly for the view from the summit. The
top of the mountain is covered with ruins, and the spot is pointed out
where Abraham was about to slay Isaac when his hand was stopped by
divine interposition. There have been Jewish temples, Roman castles,
Christian churches, and Moslem mosques on Mount Gerizim, and, as Frank
states in his journal, the Samaritans go there to celebrate the Feast of
the Passover, and perform other ancient rites.
The party made a late start from Nabulus in the direction of Jenin and
Nazareth. As they rode from their camp Doctor Bronson called the
attention of the boys to the fact that the streams east of the town
flowed into the Mediterranean, while those to the west found their way
into the Jordan and the Dead Sea. The route lay through a region of
pleasing valleys and plains not unlike those they had seen the day
before, and for part of the way they followed an ancient road which the
guide said belonged to the time of the Romans, or might even be older
by a few centuries. There was a succession of olive and fig orchards,
interspersed with gardens and fields, and the terraces on the hill-sides
showed that not a foot of arable soil had been overlooked. There were
numerous villages clinging to the hill-sides, or nestled among the
rocks, and altogether the landscape was full of picturesque effects.
[Illustration: SEBUSTIEH, THE ANCIENT SAMARIA.]
Through scenes like these they made their way for two hours and more,
when the guide called their attention to a village on the side of a
broad hill. Immediately in front of them was the ruin of a Roman
gate-way, with two of its arches standing, and not far from the gate-way
was a group of natives with the ever present camel. Old olive-trees were
on the slopes and through the valley, and covered the hill where stood
the village to which the guide pointed.
"That is Sebustieh," said the Doctor, "a modern village on the site of
ancient Samaria."
"I've been reading about it as we rode along," said Fred. "It is the
spot where King Omri placed the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and
where Ahab built the temple of Baal after marrying Jezebel, the daughter
of the King of Sidon. We can find much of the history of Samaria in the
Books of the Kings in the Old Testament. The names of the prophets
Elisha and Elijah are connected with Samaria, and it was here that King
Herod the Great devoted much time and effort to make the most beautiful
city of Palestine."
When Fred had finished his account of Samaria the travellers moved on.
They reached the village in a quarter of an hour or so, and were taken
at once to the ruined Church of St. John, which is now used as a mosque.
The inhabitants gathered around the door, and at first refused
permission for the strangers to enter; but the dragoman had taken the
precaution to bring a permit from the Governor of Nabulus, and to engage
a soldier from the same official. The permit and the soldier had the
effect of opening the doors, and also of keeping the natives in order.
The modern residents of Samaria have none of the qualities of the good
Samaritan of scriptural renown, and show no hesitation at the robbery of
travellers when the latter are without protection.
The tomb of John the Baptist is pointed out in the space enclosed by the
walls of the church, but the tradition concerning it is on very doubtful
authority. The places of his imprisonment and execution are also shown,
but there is no mention of them by the early writers until after the
third century.
The summit of the hill is covered with ruins, and there is an open
space once surrounded with columns, of which fifteen are still in
position, but without their capitals. Partly down the hill are the
remains of the colonnade erected by King Herod, and intended to form the
great street of the city. There were two rows of these columns about
fifty feet apart, and they were more than half a mile in length: enough
of the columns are standing to give an idea of the original magnificence
of the place.
[Illustration: VIEW OF JENIN, THE ANCIENT ENGANNIM.]
Leaving Sebustieh, our friends continued their ride, and just about
sunset came to Jenin, where the tents were ready for them. It began to
rain as they arrived, but as there was no wind, and the clouds soon
broke away, nobody suffered any special inconvenience.
Frank was about to ask a question concerning their camping-place, when
the Doctor proceeded to give the desired information.
"Jenin," said he, "is the ancient Engannim, and is just at the entrance
of the Plain of Esdraelon. The plain is sometimes called the
battle-field of Palestine, and was probably the ancient Plain of
Jezreel. The battle in which Saul and Jonathan his son were slain took
place a little beyond here, near the modern village of Zerin, the
ancient Jezreel."
The evening was passed in reading about the battles that had taken place
in the neighborhood, and in studying the map of the Plain of Esdraelon.
When they left the wretched village the next morning, and looked upon
the beautiful plain spread below them, the boys were full of enthusiasm
about the region they were traversing, and showed an excellent knowledge
of the positions indicated on the map.
"That must be Taanach," said Frank, pointing to a rounded hill on the
left, as they looked down the valley.
"Yes," replied the Doctor, "that is Taanach, and beyond it is Megiddo,
which you readily perceive is a strong point for an army to occupy."
"That's what we read about last night," said Fred. "Taanach was one of
the points where Joash was held back in his attacks on the Canaanites,
and it was afterward the head-quarters of Sisera, who also held Megiddo.
Megiddo was where Joash was killed in a battle with the Egyptians, as we
read in 2 Chronicles, chap. xxv., and back of it are the hills of
Manasseh."
The road from Jenin passed near the base of Mount Gilboa, and as our
friends followed the ridge on which their track lay they found
themselves on the water-shed between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.
They passed the village of Zerin, the ancient Jezreel, where Jezebel was
thrown to the dogs, and where Ahab's palace is supposed to have stood.
To the east of the village is the spring of Harod and the fountain of
Jezreel, where Saul's army made its last camp. It is on the slope of
Mount Gilboa, and directly in front of the position where the
Philistines were posted before the battle. By going still farther to the
north we come to Endor, where Saul had his interview with the witch.
Most of these points lay too far from the road to allow time for a
visit, but they were visible from the high points of the route, or their
positions were easily indicated.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE VALLEY OF ESDRAELON.]
Other battles than those of the Bible were recalled by this ride over
the plain, and among the hills that bordered it. The guide pointed out
the spot where Saladin defeated the Hospitallers and Templars when he
conquered Palestine, and also where Napoleon Bonaparte and Kleber
defeated a Turkish army much larger than their own. The Doctor said they
were not far from where Nebuchadnezzar's army was encamped when Judith
cut off the head of Holofernes, and a little farther away was the scene
of the defeat of the Jews by the army of Vespasian.
"No wonder it is called the battle-field of Palestine," said he, "when
it has been the scene of so much warfare. No other part of the country
has been traversed by so many armies as this, and in no other place have
so many historic battles been fought. There is hardly an acre of the
Plain of Esdraelon that has not been moistened by the blood of the
victims of war. The soil is fertile, or would be if it were well
cultivated, but it has shared the fate of other parts of Palestine, and
is suffering from neglect."
At the suggestion of the guide they made a slight détour from their
route in order to visit the village of Nain, which is celebrated in
Scripture as the scene of the raising of the widow's son (Luke vii.
7-15). There is nothing of interest in the village itself, and it is
probably no larger in population than it was two thousand years ago. The
hill-sides near it are fairly honey-combed with tombs, but hardly any of
them are of modern date.
Mount Tabor was in full view from the road for a considerable time, and
so were other hills and mountains mentioned in sacred history. From the
Plain of Esdraelon to Nazareth the road wound through a broken country,
and in many places it was quite steep. Nazareth is about four hundred
feet higher than the plain, and consequently the ascending parts of the
route preponderated over the descents. The town is surrounded by hills,
and is not visible until quite close at hand, in consequence of its
secluded position.
[Illustration: THE PLAN OF NAZARETH.
1. New quarter of the Latin Convent; 2. Church of the Annunciation; 3.
Protestant Church; 4. Protestant Parsonage; 5. Protestant Mission
School; 6. Protestant Missionary's House: 7. Convent of French Nuns; 8.
The "Mensa Christi;" 9. House of the Mufti; 10. House of the Turkish
Governor; 11. Mosque; 12. Mission Hospital.]
Doctor Bronson explained to his young companions that Nazareth is not
mentioned in the Old Testament, though some writers have attempted to
identify it as having a history earlier than the Christian era.
According to the biblical account it was a small village at the time of
our Saviour's birth, and the name of Nazarene was used in derision. The
modern name of the place is En-Nasira, and down to the time of
Constantine it was almost exclusively occupied by Samaritan Jews. Its
present population is estimated at six or eight thousand: nearly half
the inhabitants are Moslems, and the balance are separated into various
Christian sects, of which the orthodox Greeks are the most numerous. The
town is divided into the Moslem quarter, the Greek quarter, and the
Latin quarter, and the various Christian sects are under the protection
of foreign powers, though generally subject to Turkish rule.
[Illustration: VIEW OF NAZARETH.]
It was on Saturday evening that our friends reached Nazareth, and very
properly they determined to remain there till Monday. The tents were
pitched in a little grove just outside the town, and in a picturesque
position, where all the surroundings were agreeable to the eye. The
guide offered to lodge them in the Latin convent; but they preferred the
freedom and comfort of the tents, and wisely concluded that a visit to
the convent would be all they would need of it. So many pilgrims visit
Nazareth that both the Greeks and Latins have found it necessary to
maintain establishments there for the benefit of their adherents. The
poor are lodged gratuitously, but those who can afford to make payment
are expected to do so at the same rate as in a hotel.
The evening was passed in reading, by the light of candles, the story of
the Annunciation, as given in the New Testament, and in commenting upon
the identification of the spot by modern Christians. Doctor Bronson said
there could be no doubt whatever that this was the place described in
the Bible, though there might be some question as to the exact spot in
Nazareth where the event occurred. He said it was a curious circumstance
that for three centuries after the birth of Christ there was not a
Christian inhabitant in Nazareth, and the first Christian pilgrimage was
made there not earlier than the sixth century. In the sixth or seventh
century two churches were built there, and from that time the place has
been a prominent one in the history of the religion of Bethlehem.
In good time next morning all were out of bed and ready to start for the
Latin convent, where service was to be held. We will let one of the
youths tell the story of what they saw and heard:
"The convent is supposed to be on the site of the house of the Virgin
Mary; at any rate the Latin monks press that claim for it, and it is not
disputed by the Greeks, though the latter say that the angel first
appeared to Mary at the fountain and not in her house. Consequently, the
Greek Church of the Annunciation is over the fountain, while the Latin
one is above the site of the house where the Virgin dwelt.
"The Latin convent is on the side of the hill, and is a prominent
feature in the picture of Nazareth. There are several buildings
clustered together, and at first sight we were reminded of the Church of
the Nativity at Bethlehem and its massive surroundings. There is a high
wall surrounding the buildings, and the gate through which we passed is
heavy enough to resist the attack of any ordinary band of Arabs. We
entered a court-yard which was open to the sky, and then passed to
another and smaller one directly in front of the church. The sacred
building is about seventy feet by fifty, and was completed in its
present form a century and a half ago. Several churches have stood here,
and the materials of each have been used in the erection of its
successor, so that we may fairly believe that some parts of the first
church of Nazareth are to be seen here.
"The interior of the building consists of a nave and aisles, formed by
four piers that support the roof. The whole of the interior is covered
with paintings and tapestry representing scenes in the Saviour's life,
and there is a fine organ and an altar dedicated to the angel Gabriel.
We did not spend much time over this part of the church, as we were all
impatient to descend to the Grotto of the Annunciation, which is below
the floor.
"There is a stairway of fifteen marble steps between the first two
columns as you enter the church, and down this stairway we went, after a
brief inspection of the decorations of the walls and a glance at the
high altar.
[Illustration: THE ANNUNCIATION.]
"At the foot of the steps we entered the so-called 'Chapel of the
Angels,' which contains shrines dedicated to St. Joachim and the angel
Gabriel. Beyond the shrines is an opening or passage leading to the
Chapel of the Annunciation, which is an apartment fifteen feet by ten,
as near as we could judge, and has a marble altar showing the spot where
Mary stood during the Annunciation. A column near the entrance marks the
position of the angel, and a little distance from it is a fragment of a
column hanging from the roof, and said to be suspended by miraculous
power. We wanted to examine it closely, but the monk in charge of the
place hurried us on, and evidently did not wish a careful inspection of
the hanging column.
"Beyond the Chapel of the Annunciation is the Chapel of Joseph, and
farther on is a small cavern hewn from the solid rock, and said to have
been the kitchen of Mary.
"The general arrangement of the altars, lamps, and decorations was a
constant reminder of Bethlehem, and when the monks began their service
we found it was very nearly the same. As soon as the ceremony was over
in the grotto it was announced that the hour for service in the church
had arrived, and we all went to attend it. The congregation numbered two
or three hundred persons, including the twenty-five or thirty Italian
and Spanish monks in charge of the convent, and perhaps fifty pilgrims,
while the balance was made up of our party and the Latin Christians
living at Nazareth. The notes of the organ sounded finely through the
old church, and when we remembered that we were on the spot where the
Christian world believes the coming of our Saviour was announced to his
mother, we were deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion.
"Let me tell you here the story of the _Santa Casa_, or Holy House, as
we heard it from the monks, and as it is told in the history of the
Catholic Church since the fifteenth century:
"'The house in which Mary lived was carried away by angels, who lifted
it from its foundations and bore it away when the infidels conquered the
country and began the expulsion of the Christians. They carried it, in
A.D. 1291, to the heights overlooking Finme, in Hungary. It rested there
about three years, and was then transported to the coast of Italy, where
it remained five or six months. A third and last removal occurred in the
year 1294 or 1295 to the place where it now stands in the town of
Loretto, twelve miles south of Ancona, and three miles from the
sea-shore.' Great numbers of pilgrims are said to go there every year to
see it, and the building is carefully preserved from injury. The Latin
monks believe the story implicitly, and they point out the exact
position which the house formerly occupied.
"We went from the church to see the house and workshop of Joseph, now
fitted up as a chapel, and in possession of the Latins; and then we
visited the 'Chapel of the Table of Christ,' where there is a table of
solid rock, on which Jesus and his disciples are said to have eaten
frequently. From this place we went to the synagogue where he was
teaching when the Jews drove him out, and to the rock where they were
about to cast him down. From there we went to the Fountain of the
Virgin, where the Greeks have their Church of the Annunciation. When we
had seen this we were told that the round of the holy places of Nazareth
was complete, unless we wished to see the 'Mount of the Precipitation,'
about two miles away.
"We declined the journey, as there is a great deal of doubt concerning
the accuracy of the tradition. Doctor Bronson said we should not miss
the view from the hill back of Nazareth, and so we climbed there a
little before sunset and had a magnificent prospect.
[Illustration: THE COUNTRY NEAR NAZARETH, WITH THE TOWN IN THE
DISTANCE.]
"The best point for the view was said to be Neby Ismail, and we
certainly have seen nothing finer in all Palestine. The hills are less
barren than in most other parts of the country that we have visited, and
the plains and valleys present an appearance of fertility. Mounts Tabor,
Hermon, and Carmel were in the picture, and beyond the latter we had a
glimpse of the blue waters of the Mediterranean bounding the western
horizon. Then we looked down on the Plain of Esdraelon and on the upper
Valley of the Jordan, and lingered as long as time would permit. I
cannot begin to tell you of the thoughts and associations that crowded
upon us in looking upon the place so intimately connected with the life
of the Saviour, and the scenes of so many other events that form a part
of our Bible history."