Diary of A Tour in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and The Holy Land/Volume 2/Chapter 1

DIARY.

CHAPTER I.

Pilgrimage to Bethlehem—An Arab funeral—The Wilderness—The grotto—David's tomb—Prince Pückler Muskau—Jewish masonry—Pool of Bethesda—Armenian convent—Bazaar of Jerusalem —A disagreeable mistake.

DECEMBER 4TH.

—We were nearly deterred from our pilgrimage to Bethlehem, by the account of the dust and wind; but fearing that at this season the weather was not likely to improve, we set off in a perfect whirlwind, and the fine dust so blinded us, that Minney and I resigned ourselves, tête

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baissée, to a little black slave's guidance. After an hour and a half's actually painful ride through a black valley, and over a cold mountain, we arrived at a monument distinguished as Rachel's tomb.

The spot is, I believe, correctly chosen as the place of her interment, but the building itself does not appear of an ancient construction. An Arab funeral was taking place close to it, attended by about fifty wild and starved-looking Arabs. The only ceremonial appeared to consist in each individual contributing a stone towards raising a mound, which had gained considerable elevation when we passed it a few hours afterwards, on our return from Bethlehem.

There was a wild, ferocious expression of countenance prevailing among these Arabs, that we had never before been so much struck by; the very whiteness of their teeth and shape of their mouths gave them a false and savage appearance. One would 3

most unwillingly have met them in a less frequented path.

We left Bethlehem on our left, for the purpose of visiting the Pools of Solomon, and passed a fountain which our attendants pointed out as the spot where the shepherds first heard “the tidings of great joy.” There was everything in the position and the neighbouring pasturage to favour the impression, and I look back to it with much more conviction than any I received subsequently, on being shewn the spot where the Saviour was born, and the magi adored.

The pools are situated in a valley, surrounded on all sides by a desolate rocky country. They are only three in number and of immense size, in perfect repair, and are undoubtedly the work of Solomon, for the conduit still exists, which to this day supplies the mosque of Omar with water. The pools are fed by considerable springs a few hundred yards from the upper one. 4

Commanding the pass is a Turkish castle, flanked by four towers for their protection. This precaution was necessary in a country which, besides the innumerable wars it has had to encounter with its foreign enemies, has been at all times torn by civil discord and petty warfare.

Within ten years Bethlehem has been at war with Jerusalem; hostilities, jealousies, and hatred lasted six years, and impeded all communications to such a degree that travellers were compelled to be protected by the Arabs of one town during their progress to the other, and were thus handed on in their journey through hostile bands. “The abomination of desolation” is depicted at every step.

On leaving these wells or pools for Bethlehem, the aqueduct runs along the path you ride on, and here and there the ruins of villages are perceived, and a few green patches, produced by the water escaping 5

from the reservoir and acting refreshingly upon the thirsty land. Bethlehem looks as you approach it on this side much more like a fortress than a convent. It is surrounded by a good deal of cultivation, and much remains of the planted terraces of olives and vineyards; the latter have in almost all instances a large round tower, from which there is a watch to protect them, and these at a distance look like Martello towers.

Bethlehem is on an acclivity, and the road very difficult and unsafe to surmount. Had the wind been less cutting, we should have made a still further détour to what is called the Desert of St. John; which I imagined must be the Wilderness, till reminded that it was beyond Jordan. It is by tradition the birth-place of St. John the Baptist; but this is not corroborated by the mention or remains of any considerable town in that always desert tract of country; and as all the great dignitaries of the Jewish 6

church were at that period priests of a city, Zachariah must have dwelt in one, and that of Hebron is the locality that more distinctly points itself out; and there a tree is shewn as that under which Abraham leant when he entertained the strangers (angels.)

The general desertion from this neighbourhood is very decided, and within a few years the increase of jackals, wild boars, &c. &c., so great, that they venture to the very precincts of Jerusalem. A Jew with whom Mr. Young lodged at Hebron, shewed him papers, from which he could trace his forefathers for six hundred years, and their property in Hebron; and he told Mr. Y. that in his grandfather's time between sixty and seventy villages had appertained to this district, and at this moment not more than fifty could be pointed out. But to return to our visiting Bethlehem.

The effect of approaching a fortification so little corresponded with the idea one had formed of the lowly state of Bethlehem, that 7

it required the very long time we were kept waiting for admittance to re-settle our impressions. We had passed through a fine court, supported by twenty-four pillars of (apparently) stained red lime-stone, which in this country is of so fine a grain as almost to approach the quality of marble. At a very low door a lay-brother knocked without the slightest result, the wind being so high that our tapping did not reach the Franciscan's ears. At last, some stones thrown at a small window produced more effect, and we were shewn into the refectory, and hospitably received by a Spanish monk, who seemed much disappointed at finding we neither intended dining nor lodging at the convent. Our progress in riding had been so tedious, that we hardly ventured to drink the excellent coffee brought us, for fear our time would be too short to visit the Grotto of the Nativity, and enable us to get back to Jerusalem before the gates were closed. 8

The grotto, like the holy sepulchre, is spoiled by a profusion of ornament; and the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians, here, as elsewhere, share in the possession of the sacred places: the Latins here, however, have the advantage in having possession of the place of nativity—the stable and the manger; the Greeks that of the manifestation; and a painted representation of the magi distinguishes the spot, with a star above. Silver lamps adorn the altars in great profusion and richness, and many are late presents of the Queen of the French and the Emperor of Russia.

The tombs of St. Jerome, St. Eusebius, and two female Roman saints, of the family of Spina Gracchi, occupy niches in this part of the building. Above the spot which the manger was supposed to occupy, the natural form of the rocks is seen, and encourages one to rely on the identity of ground selected by the piety of the Empress 9

Helena, whose memory must be revered, as she was the instrument of commemorating and preserving the sites of all the most sacred and interesting Christian associations; for if she were misled occasionally in her pious researches, yet she formed the most important and earliest link to the chain of local evidence, and her works throughout the Holy Land remain in a very general state of preservation.

The name of Bethlehem, or Ephrata, signifying House of Bread, was said to have been given first by Abraham; it is next distinguished as the birth-place of David, and where he tended the flocks of Jesse. Great tracts of pasturage can be traced in the immediate neighbourhood of Bethlehem; the valley adjoining is believed to be the scene of the story of Ruth.

After making extensive purchases in rosaries and carved mother-of-pearl, on which the great industry of the community 10

of Bethlehem is employed, we returned by a shorter road, skirting the hill that conducted to the Pool of Siloam; and the wind having abated, our ride was much less of a penance than that we had experienced from Jerusalem.

DECEMBER 5TH.

—Mr. and Mrs. Nicholaison and their little daughter paid us a visit. The latter, an intelligent girl of nine, gave Minney an excellent Arabic lesson of familiar phrases, which she has offered to follow up. We called on Mr. Young to look at a Tartahuan or Sad-hakief, a sort of double palanquin, or cages, to be placed on each side of a camel, for our approaching journey. I am already compassionating the poor animal that is to have Minney and myself inclosed in these wooden residences.

We then proceeded with Mr. Y. and his intelligent old Jewish dragoman, Joseph, to visit David's tomb, situated near the gate of the same name, and inclosed by a mosque. 11

With a permission from the governor, Christians were allowed to descend into the vaulted portion of the building; but now we were only permitted to look down from the middle of the flight of steps.

Prince Pückler Muskau, we were told, has been the cause of this exclusion, (as also in the instance of visiting the Mosque of Omar,) by making a forcible entrance without permission beyond where the general firman entitled him to go. The custode's opposition continuing, Prince Pückler drew his sword, and threatened to cut down any one who obstructed his passage. The great object of enforcing the privileges of the firman was to avoid paying the smallest fee; at Jaffa, when he had taken a bath, he presented the said firman as an excuse for not liquidating his debt of three piastres (1s. 3d. of our money). This seems to have incurred the wrath of the Jews, Christians, and Infidels. Consuls, governors, and guides, 12

have all some cause of complaint. I am curious to see his own version of his journeying and succès en Orient.

The strictest order has, since this esclandre, been given against any but Mussulmen being admitted into the tomb. Sir Moses Montefiore, the only exception, (whom the governor and Mr. Nicholaison accompanied,) remained for some time in prayer, reading some of the Psalms in Hebrew with his interpreter, Mr. Levi, who afterwards translated them into English for the benefit of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore. After the tomb of the Prophet, that of David is the highest in veneration with the Mahometans.

After a very long and wet walk round the walls, which, from rain and the accumulation of rubbish, made our progress very difficult, we arrived at a most interesting spot, which I think has not been particularly remarked by travellers, and was 13

first pointed out by Mr. Y. to Sir Andrew Bernard. It is evidently the spring of a magnificent arch, which must have afforded the communication between the Mount Zion and Moriah, thus connecting the Temple with Mount Zion, and crossing the Valley commonly called that of the Cheesemongers.

The span of the arch must have been at least sixty feet, and have rivalled in beauty and magnificence the still existing and adjoining wall from which it springs. It was nearly one hundred feet high, above, perhaps, an equal depth of rubbish collected at its base: the first layer of stone consists of magnificent masses, hewn out with great care, and George thought as large as any Cyclopean remains he had seen at Mycene and the Grecian colonies in Italy, only that instead of rude blocks these were beautifully hewn and channelled in the form which is supposed to distinguish the 14

works of Solomon; over this again the wall is built in an equally regular manner, but with less solidity and grandeur, and resembling the construction of the Colosseum. This again is crowned by what reminds me of the rustic architecture to be seen in the substructure of some of the palaces at Florence.

The superior character of the Jewish masonry is very striking: some of the blocks were thirty feet by seven, perfectly unornamented but by a sharp indented line, looking as freshly cut as if they had just been laid, and this after nearly 3000 years! So striking is the fulfilment of the prophecies, “that the worst of heathen should possess the land; that the holy places should be defiled.” “I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley; and I will discover the foundations thereof.”

It is at this, the S. E. and most perfectly preserved angle of the foundations of the 15

Temple, that some of the most devout of the Jews assemble on Fridays after midday, when their Sabbath begins. They are to be seen kneeling on the original stone, with tears of penitence rolling down their cheeks, and in the posture of humiliation, and deprecating in scriptural language the wrath of the Almighty, and praying for their restoration, and a renewal of his mercies.

We then proceeded through rubbish and dirt of every kind, having unluckily chosen our road through the receptacle for dead horses, &c., for the purpose of seeing the Pool of Bethesda: it is close to St. Stephen's gate, (and spot of Lapidation), and is a large reservoir, but now without water. There is great doubt entertained of its identity; its vicinity to the Temple, and what is considered to have been the Sheep Market, affords the only ground of probability.

We next visited an Armenian convent, 16

built on the site of the house of Caiphas; a deserted Christian church is in this vicinity, built near the site of the house alleged to have been that of the birth-place of the Virgin. It is in such good preservation that one felt inclined to wish that the edifice had been obtained and converted into the Protestant church, as the spot of ground obtained for that purpose has little chance of answering the intention, owing to the absence of labourers; the foundation itself, begun to be dug a year ago, is not yet completed.

Our way home lay through the Via Dolorosa, and the alternate changes of the weather from rain to sunshine gave a very picturesque effect of shadow to the old vaulted passages and flights of steps in which Jerusalem abounds; the streets are dirty, dull, and ill-paved. Sometimes the archways would furnish beautiful studies for an artist. 17

The bazaars are narrow, bad, and ill-furnished: we could obtain neither cup, plate, nor dish of any kind to add to our canteen; and for knives, were obliged to substitute the common dagger of the country. No meat of any kind but mutton and goat's flesh, can be had; beef seems to be unknown, and vegetables so scarce that a cauliflower made quite an epoch in our kitchen, and for potatoes we substituted rice, which is the grand and indeed chief sustenance of the people. Although at only thirty miles from the sea-coast, fish is never brought to Jerusalem, and consequently indifferent poultry and mutton are the only food for European consumption, eggs being scarce, and butter nil. No pudding or pastry of any kind is to be thought of, and one is quite surprised how soon one becomes reconciled to so limited a bill of fare.

The clay vessels for drawing water are the 18

only ones used for drinking, and for eating purposes, a platter for the rice pillau, of which all the family partake. Coarse and ill-baked bread forms the sole nourishment of the majority of the Syrian and Arab population; and I believe a cup, glass, or plate, would not be met with in any Mahometan residence throughout the country, unless in that of some Turkish employé.

The town is full of beggars, cripples, and lepers, but the stirring population is vastly mixed, and interesting to behold: Arabs, Bedouins, armed to the teeth, and admirably mounted, are frequently met, and in the governor's yard we saw more than a hundred wild-looking men, who, we were told, served as a sort of irregular cavalry to the Pacha.

Sometimes the general stillness of the town is interrupted by a cavalier rushing by you at full speed, waving his djereed with great dexterity and grace, and answering 19

the description of the mode of attack of the infidels at the time of the Paladins.

Over St. Stephen's gate are some coarse ornaments, resembling lions and rosaces: as any resemblance of living things is forbidden to the Mahometans, may not these almost effaced ornaments be of the time of the crusades? We persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Young to come home with us, and try our convent fare, which really, under Denino's auspices, was improving daily; and Mrs. Y. having sent for some soup plates, afforded us a perfect fête.

The accessories of our convent furniture consisted of mattresses, six chairs, and two tables; but with our Smyrna purchases of carpets and counterpanes, and our dear Dover chairs, our rooms were, for Jerusalem, sumptuously furnished. Our canteen, containing only two tea-cups, obliges us to breakfast à trois reprises, and we cannot often change our plates; but constant exercise 20

and excitement make us overlook every deficiency, and we very much appreciate our portable comforts, although on this occasion we ran great risk of an original quality in our portable soup, as, among our medical provisions, we had brought a large lump of a preparation for blisters, and this was inclosed in tin, without a label.

Christine, in her anxiety to have soup at hand, for which she mistook this, transferred the stock from the panier de médecine, to that of the provision de bouche. I wish truth would allow me to go a little further into the detail of Denino seasoning our dreadful potage, but it was found out in time. Our doctor shuddered at the notion of the probable distressing results which would have attended our swallowing a spoonful of such a mixture, and took this opportunity of renewing his warnings, “Madame devoit éviter des condimens trop héroiques.” 21