FROM GALILEE TO DAMASCUS.--A RIDE THROUGH DAN AND BANIAS.
[Illustration: THE ROCK PARTRIDGE.]
Everybody was out of bed before daylight, and prepared for an early
start. Before the sun was up the tents had been folded and packed, and
the travellers were in the saddle and riding away from Tell Hum. From
the summit of a hill they looked back upon Gennesaret, which lay far
below them, with its waters sparkling in the sunlight, and its surface
undisturbed by a single boat. Then they rode on again. Around them were
the rugged hills of Palestine, and every few minutes they disturbed the
partridges that have their homes among the rocks. Frank recalled to
memory the passage in Samuel, "as one doth hunt a partridge in the
mountains." The guide said that in some parts of the country these birds
are so abundant that they do a great deal of damage; they dig up and
devour the freshly-sown wheat, and when the crops are ripening they feed
upon the grain, and are often to be seen in large flocks.
The road was rough and steep, and led steadily upward. Frank thought
that when the engineers laid it out they selected the worst places they
could find, and Fred replied that he did not believe it had any
engineers at all. "Even the mules and horses would have done better,"
Fred continued. "You know it is said in America that the buffaloes were
the first road-makers, as it has been found that the buffalo trails in
the Rocky Mountains are always through the lowest passes, and avoid the
roughest places. Now if the beasts of burden in this country had laid
out the roads they would have done better than the men who undertook the
work."
It was a weary ride along this road, and frequently the travellers
dismounted, partly out of compassion for their horses, and partly
because riding was dangerous where the rocks were worn smooth or
moistened by recent rains. Ruins of towns and villages were seen in
several places, and some of the cliffs were pierced with caverns that
formerly gave shelter to robbers or were the homes of hermits. Three
hours of climbing brought them to Safed, which is one of the holy cities
of the Jews, and has a population of three or four thousand.
The town is on a mountain, and commanded by a castle that is said to
have been built in the time of the Crusades, but is now sadly in ruins.
Down to the beginning of 1837 it was in good condition, and so were the
houses where the people dwelt; the earthquake, on the first day of that
year, wrought terrible destruction to Safed, as it overthrew nearly all
the buildings, and killed, according to the estimates, five thousand of
the inhabitants. The town was divided into the Christian, Moslem, and
Jewish quarters; the Jewish quarter suffered most, and it is said that
four-fifths of those killed by the earthquake belonged to the religion
of King Solomon. Mr. Thomson, who visited Safed soon after the
earthquake, says not a single Jewish house remained when the shocks
were ended, and several persons were saved from the rubbish two or three
days after the occurrence; they had been unable to extricate themselves,
and suffered greatly from hunger and thirst. Others were less fortunate,
and perished of hunger beneath the fallen débris of the houses where
they had resided.
There was nothing of special interest in Safed, as the town is nearly
all modern, having been rebuilt since the earthquake. Some authorities
think Safed was the "city set on a hill" which was referred to by Christ
in his Sermon on the Mount (Matt. v. 14). Certainly the position would
seem to justify such a belief, as it is visible for quite a distance
from nearly all directions, and the view from it is a wide one.
Our friends halted briefly for a contemplation of the scene, which
includes the Lebanon and Hermon ranges of mountains, the countries of
Samaria, Carmel, and Galilee to the sea-coast, the Valley of the Jordan,
the land of Gilead, Moab and Bashan, and the whole area of rugged hills
in which the Sea of Tiberias is enclosed. They were reminded of the view
from Tabor, especially as they looked downward nearly three thousand
feet before their vision reached the waters of deep Galilee. The guide
indicated many points of historic interest, and the list became so long
that the attempt to remember everything was soon abandoned.
[Illustration: THE PLAIN OF HULEH.]
From Safed they rode on through a rough and desolate region, where they
were often compelled to turn aside to avoid great masses of rock that
filled the way. For quite a distance they were in sight of Lake Huleh,
or Merom, and the youths regretted that time did not permit them to
visit the lake and make a voyage upon it. Their regret was not very
serious when Doctor Bronson told them that Huleh was an insignificant
body of water less than five miles long, and surrounded by a marsh, so
that its banks were not easy of access. It is mentioned in the Old
Testament as "the waters of Merom," and it was on the bank of Merom, or
near it, that the events occurred which are mentioned in the eleventh
chapter of Joshua.
[Illustration: HUTS NEAR LAKE HULEH.]
The lake is at the end of a plain twelve or fifteen miles long by four
or five wide; this plain is cultivated by the Arabs who dwell upon
it, and by some speculators of Damascus, who hire men to till the soil
and allow them a share of the product. The ground is quite fertile, and
has been long celebrated for the abundance of its yield.
[Illustration: AN ARMY OF KEDESH.]
Late in the afternoon they came to Kedesh, the ancient Kedesh-Naphtali,
where they were to pass the night. Beyond the historic interest of the
place, and the rains that were scattered for a considerable extent over
the ground, Kedesh offered no special attractions, as the modern village
is neither large nor clean. The ruins show that there were some large
buildings here, and by consulting their Bibles and other books Frank and
Fred learned that Kedesh was the seat of a prince of Canaan, and
afterward belonged to the tribe of Naphtali. Barak, the famous general
of Deborah, was born here, and for several centuries his tomb was
pointed out, as was also that of Deborah, the prophetess. The boys had
seen so many ruins that a brief inspection satisfied them, and they went
to bed soon after dark.
An early start was made from Kedesh, as there was a point of interest
five hours from that place, and the guide had suggested that they would
halt there for their mid-day meal. The country was rough, and the road
wound among the hills, with frequent ascents and descents; but many of
the slopes were wooded, and the path was often enclosed by vines and
other plants, that gave evidence of a fertile soil. In the early spring,
when the flowers are opening, the air is filled with rich odors, and the
traveller forgets the rugged hills of Judea, and feasts his eyes on the
beauty of the scenes that surround him.
The party halted a few moments at Hunin, a small village near a fortress
which is said to have no history. Nobody can tell when or by whom it was
built; at any rate, there is no historical record of it, and the only
opinions as to its antiquity are derived from the building itself. The
foundations are very ancient, and the structure reveals the work of
Romans, Saracens, Crusaders, Turks, and Arabs. Hunin has not been
identified with any biblical spot, though Doctor Robinson thinks it may
have been the Beth-rehob mentioned in the eighteenth chapter of Judges.
From Hunin they went down and down a long distance to the Plain of
Huleh, and finally reached their halting-place; it bears the modern name
of Tell el-Kady ("the Hill of the Judge"), and is undoubtedly the site
of Dan, frequently mentioned in the Bible.
"From Dan to Beersheba," said Fred, as he slid from his saddle to the
ground. "What is the meaning of that phrase which everybody knows?"
"This was the most northern town of the Israelite kingdom," replied the
Doctor, "and Beersheba the most southern. To go from Dan to Beersheba
was to go from one end of Palestine to the other, just as we say in
America, 'from Maine to California,' or 'from Boston to Brownsville.'"
"Then we are at the northern end of Palestine," said Frank, "and close
to the frontier of Syria?"
"Exactly so," was the reply; "and to-morrow we shall bid farewell to
what is called the Holy Land. We are only three miles from the boundary,
and our camp to-night will be where we can throw a stone from one region
into the other."
With this understanding of their position the boys proceeded to examine
the site of Dan. While they were doing so the Doctor explained that the
word "Dan" in Hebrew means "Judge," which is exactly the signification
of the Arabic "Kady." The place is called "the Hill," because it is a
hill or mound shaped like the summit of a mountain, and about eighty
feet higher than the surrounding plain. It is thought to have been once
the crater of a volcano, and its shape certainly justifies that belief.
The diameter of the cup or basin on the top of the mound is about half a
mile; the whole area is covered with ruins, but they are so overgrown
with vines and brush that an examination is difficult.
Frank was ready in a few moments with a brief account of Dan, which he
ran off very glibly, as follows:
"The place was originally a Phoenician colony under the name of Laish,
and was a populous city. A wandering band of Danites captured it, and
named it after the founder of their tribe; they set up a graven image
which they had stolen, and, as they had also stolen a priest along with
the idol, they had a good basis for a system of religion.
"You can read in the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Judges how the
Danites captured Laish, and stole their gods and the priest. You can
read in Genesis xiv. how Abraham pursued the plunderers of Sodom to Dan,
and recovered what they had stolen; and in the twelfth chapter of the
First Book of Kings you will learn how Jeroboam set up a golden calf in
one of the temples of the Danites, and established its worship.
"But there is something which has been preserved down to our day," Frank
continued; "here is one of the sources of the Jordan. The Danites and
the golden calf have been gone for many centuries, but the fountain of
the Jordan is not exhausted. It may say with the brook, in the words of
the poet--
"'Men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.'"
Following the directions of the guide, Frank and his companions went to
the western side of the mound, where they found a pool or basin about
fifty yards across, in which the water bubbled as in a fast-flowing
spring. It was, indeed, a spring, and the flow was large enough to form
a stream thirty feet wide and two feet deep. The guide said it was the
largest of all the sources of the Jordan, but the stream it formed was
not so long as that from Banias, and the latter again is shorter than
the Hasbany, which rises near Hasbeiyah. The stream rising at Dan is
called the Lesser Jordan on the maps, and unites with the Greater Jordan
a few miles below, while all meet in Lake Huleh, as we have already
learned.
[Illustration: HEAD-SPRING OF THE JORDAN NEAR HASBEIYAH.]
There is another spring inside the basin on the top of the hill, but it
is much smaller than the great fountain. There was a fine oak-tree close
to this spring, and it furnished a grateful shade to the travellers
while they were taking their well-earned lunch. A halt of something more
than an hour found them ready to move on, and it was an easy ride of
three or four miles from Dan to Banias, or Cesarea-Philippi.
[Illustration]
Here they were at the source of the Greater Jordan, which issues from a
cave and forms a brook about half the volume of that which has its
source at Dan. There are several mills on the brook, and just below the
town is a large terebinth-tree, which forms an important feature in
every picture of the place. It is the favorite resort of beggars and
other idlers, and the traveller who halts beneath it is sure to be
implored for backsheesh.
[Illustration: TEREBINTH-TREE AT BANIAS.]
Banias is in a picturesque spot; it is surrounded by mountains, and is
at the base of a cone crowned by a castle, which is or was one of the
strongest in all Syria. The ruins of the city lie all around the base of
the cone, and some of them show that the buildings were of great extent.
The city was of Phoenician origin, and contained temples dedicated to
the worship of the heathen deity _Pan_, from which it was named Paneas.
This afterward became Banias, and in the time of the Romans the worship
of the Greek god was continued. The name was changed to
Cesarea-Philippi, first in honor of Cæsar, and secondly to distinguish
it from the other Cesarea on the sea-coast.
"We read in the New Testament," said the Doctor, "that Christ came into
the coasts of Cesarea-Philippi. Here he asked his disciples, 'Whom do
men say that I, the Son of man, am?' And then followed the question,
'Whom say ye that I am?'
"You know what Peter replied to this. And then Christ spoke the words
that have become memorable in the history of the religion that he
founded:
"'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'
"These words," the Doctor continued, "have a greater significance than
you might suppose. They are the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church.
Peter, the disciple to whom they were spoken, became the head of the
Church, and the first Pope. All his successors have been regarded as the
inheritors of his divine authority; and the efforts of the Catholic
Church, from the time of our Saviour till the present, have been
directed to the maintenance of the principles involved in this short
passage of Scripture. Volumes have been written to sustain it, and other
volumes to show its fallacy; but the words remain unchanged, and the
power of the Church still exists.
"Dean Stanley and others maintain that the words refer to the rock or
cliff on which the Castle of Banias stands, and certainly the position
is a commanding one. Another scriptural reference to the high mountain
where Jesus went with three of his disciples, 'and was transfigured
before them,' is easy to understand when we look from the ruins of
Banias to the heights of Mount Hermon, which almost overshadow the
source of the Jordan."
The next morning the party was off at daybreak to visit the Castle of
Banias, which is known to the Arabs as _Kul'at-es-Subeibeh_. It is about
a thousand feet above the town, and, consequently, has a position that
must have been of great importance before the invention of artillery.
The path is narrow and difficult, and the spot is one of those where a
hundred men could successfully defend themselves against an army.
[Illustration: SUBSTRUCTIONS OF THE CASTLE OF BANIAS.]
A couple of hours were spent in the castle, and even at the end of this
time there was a great deal that had not been seen. The castle is on the
crest of a peak, and the space it occupies may be roughly set down as a
thousand feet long by two hundred in width. There are great cisterns for
holding water, so that a garrison could not be made to suffer by thirst,
and there are immense store-rooms in the cellars for protection against
a long siege. The walls are unusually thick and strong, and many of the
hewn stones are ten or twelve feet long, and with proportional width and
depth. Taken altogether, the Castle of Banias is one of the wonders of
Palestine, and is better preserved than the majority of its fortresses
or other works of the architect.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE CASTLE OF BANIAS.]
The view from the top of the principal tower is quite extensive; it is
shut in on the north by the higher mountains, but is open at the south
in the direction of the Valley of the Jordan. An opening in the
mountains of Bashan reveals the Huleh morass, with patches of water, and
the lake beyond it, while the chain of the mountains of Galilee closes
the view. Farther down is the depression of the Sea of Galilee; and the
spectator, whose imagination is easily set at work, can follow the
tortuous course of the Jordan till he reaches its termination over the
buried cities of the plain.
From Banias to Damascus, direct, is a ride of twelve hours. It was
thought to be too great an undertaking for the party to make the entire
distance in a single day, and therefore they decided to camp at Artuz,
which would shorten the journey to nine hours, and leave the remaining
three hours for the next morning. It is a good plan to arrange one's
journey so as to arrive in these Eastern cities early in the day, and
not at night. There is a good deal in favor of a pleasant impression of
a city, and certainly this is not to be had in the hours of darkness,
and when you are thoroughly fatigued by a long ride.
There was nothing of special interest on the route, with the exception
of the spot where Paul was converted, as we read in the ninth chapter of
the Acts of the Apostles. It is at the place where the traveller from
Tiberias gets his first view of Damascus, with its domes and minarets
rising from the fertile plain--dotted with villages set in rich
orchards, and gardens watered by the Pharpar and Abana, flowing down
from the mountains which guard them. The life-giving power of water is
seen nowhere in all Syria to better advantage than from this point, and
it is no wonder that Naaman exclaimed, "Are not Pharpar and Abana,
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?"
There was little sleep in the tent of Frank and Fred that night, as the
youths were impatient to be in Damascus, the wonderful city of the East,
about which they had read and dreamed, but until quite recently had
never expected to see. Here they were at last, beneath the shadows of
Hermon, the lofty ridge of Anti-Lebanon, and amid the gardens of Artuz,
which are the promises of the richness of the plain before them.
The desert and the mountains are behind them, while in front is one of
the oldest existing cities of the world, and one that has been little
changed during the centuries of its existence. As was Damascus two
thousand years ago, so almost is the Damascus of to-day. It is no wonder
that the youths were sleepless that night; nor that they rose before the
dawn, that they might see the rays of the rising sun gilding the
minarets of Damascus and spreading its effulgence over the fertile land.
[Illustration: A STREET IN DAMASCUS.]