V. _Mountains._ Describe each, and indicate by initial letter. 1. Zion.
2. Acra. 3. Moriah. 4. Bezetha. 5. Olives. Peaks: (1.) Scopus. (2.) "Viri Galilaei." (3.) Ascension. (4.) Prophets. (5.) Offense. (6.) Evil Counsel.
VI. _Walls._ Draw them on the board, describe and name. First. (David.) Second. Third. (Agrippa.)
VII. _History._ 1. Patriarchal. (Melchizedek.) 2. Jebusite.
(Adoni-zedek.) 3. Royal. (David, Jehoshaphat, etc.) 4. Restoration.
(Zerubbabel, Alexander, Ptolemy, Antiochus, Judas Maccabeus, Pompey, Herod, t.i.tus.) 5. Roman. (Bar-cocheba, Hadrian, Constantine, Julian, Justinian, Chosroes.) 6. Mediaeval. (Omar, Crusaders, Saladin.) 7.
Modern. (Suleiman, Mohammed Ali, etc.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: PANORAMA OF JERUSALEM, FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.]
Rosel Minaret A 44 El Kala"a (Citadel) A 45 Hippicus (Tower of David) A 46 Greek Monastery A 57 Russian Colony A 75-87 Hospital A 77 Church A 81-82 Talitha k.u.mi A 85 German Hospital for Children A 92 Watchtower on the Road to Yafa A 97 Wely Rimr Monument A 98 Mosque and Tombs of David B 23 Buildings and Gardens of the Armenian Monastery B 27-36 Armenian Seminary B 28 St. James Church of the Armenians B 35 English Protestant Church B 42 Girl"s School of the English Mission B 43 Muristan B 47 Mar Hanna (Greek Church) B 47 Yafa Gate B 48 Latin Patriarchate B 56 Church of the Sepulchre B 57 Kaukab Minaret B 60 Latin Monastery of St. Salvador B 65-66 Hospice of St. John, and German School B 62 Mulawieh Minaret B 78 Russian Consulate B 81 Pilgrims" Houses B 84 Arabian Protestant Church B 91 Jebel Abu Tor (Hill of Evil Counsel) C 7-9 Tree of Judas C 8 Road to Bethlehem C 13 Mount Zion C 19-29 Suburb of Neby Daud C 20-24 Gate of Zion C 25 Synagogues of the Ashkenasim C 28 and B 32 Hamra Minaret C 72 Damascus Gate C 79 Hill of the Grotto of Jeremiah C 95 Place where Peter Wept D 17 Dwellings for Pilgrims of the Ashkenasim D 21 Gate of Herod D 89 Mosque el Aksa E 16-22 Dung Gate E 19 Moghreb Minaret E 20 Rothschilds" Hospital E 22 Kubbet es Sakhra (Dome of the Rock) E 31-36 New Convent of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Zion E 62-63 Barracks (Castle of Antonia) F 55-56 Haram esh Sherif (Site of the Temple) G 15-39 Former Serai G 52 Valley of Hinnom (Wady er Rababi) I 1-E 14 Golden Gate I 30-31 Gate of St. Stephen (Bab Sitti Mariam) I 56 Moslem Tombs J 27 and J 70 Road to Gethsemane J 55 to N 53 Road from the Valley of Kedron to the Gate of Zion K 2 to N 4 Slope toward the Wady Sitti Mariam (Valley of Kedron or Jehoshaphat) Foreground
DESCRIPTION OF MODERN JERUSALEM.
I. =Location.= The modern city of Jerusalem stands upon the ruins of the ancient, but does not include much of Mount Zion, which was the most important part in Bible history. It occupies the northern part of Zion, the hills Acra, Moriah, and part of Bezetha, embracing within its walls an area of about 210 acres. Its population has been variously estimated, but is supposed to number about 22,000, of which 12,000 are Jews, 5,000 Moslems, and 5,000 Christians. The view represents it from the eastern side, having in the foreground the Valley of the Kedron, or of Jehoshaphat, called by Mohammedans _Wady Sitti Mariam_, "The Valley of our Lady Mary." On the south, or left of the picture, is the Valley of Hinnom (_Wady er Rababi_), and beyond it the Hill of Evil Counsel (_Jebel Abu Tor_), the traditional place where Judas made the agreement to betray his Lord. On the northwest, outside the wall, is the extensive Russian establishment for pilgrims of the Greek Church, containing the consulate, houses, and a large church. Near it is a Protestant mission church. North of the wall, on the right of the picture, is a cave called the Grotto of Jeremiah, supposed by some to represent the place of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The roads running out of the city, and the places adjoining them, will be described in connection with the map of the Environs of Jerusalem, page 82.
II. =Walls.= The present walls were built by the Sultan Suleiman, in 1542, on the site of a mediaeval wall. Though imposing in appearance, affording a fine view of the city, and sufficiently strong to protect it from marauders of the desert, they would be of little avail against modern methods of warfare. They are in most places 38 feet high, and contain 34 towers. They form an irregular quadrangle, which may be roughly described as 3,930 feet long on the north, 2,754 feet on the east (the front of the engraving), 3,245 feet on the south, and 2,086 feet on the west, making the entire wall 12,015 feet, or 2.292 miles long.
III. =Gates.= Of these there are seven, two of which are closed. 1. The Jaffa or Yafa Gate, called by Moslems, _Bab el Khalil_, "Hebron Gate,"
is in the western wall, near the Citadel of David. Through this gate most travelers enter the city. 2. The Damascus Gate (_Bab el Amud_, "Gate of the Column,") is in the middle of the northern wall (right of the picture), and leads to the northward road, over Scopus, past the (so-called) Tombs of the Kings, to Samaria and Damascus. 3. The Gate of Herod (_Bab es Zahireh_) is in the northern wall (right of the picture), but is kept closed during most of the year. 4. The Gate of St. Stephen (_Bab es Sitti Mariam_, "Gate of our Lady Mary,") is in the eastern wall (foreground of the picture), and is supposed by some to be the place of Stephen"s martyrdom. The road leads from it past the Garden of Gethsemane, over Mount Olivet, and through Bethany. 5. The Golden Gate, walled up, is in the eastern wall, and is shown in the picture in front of the Dome of the Rock. Its Moslem names are _Bab el Taubeh_, "Gate of Repentance," and _Bab ed Dahariyeh_, "Eternal Gate." 6. The Dung Gate, called also the Moorish Gate (_Bab ed Mugharibeh_), is a small portal in the southern wall, leading to the village of Siloam, but usually closed.
It is shown on the left of the picture. 7. The Zion Gate (_Bab en Neby Daud_, "Gate of the Prophet David,") is in the southern wall, opening on Mount Zion, indicated on the picture in the background on the left.
IV. =Quarters.= These are four in number, given to the different religions; but to them may be added the Temple Enclosure, which forms a separate section of the city. Their boundaries cannot be traced upon the picture, but may be seen on the map of Modern Jerusalem, page 81. Two important streets, crossing each other nearly at right angles, divide the city into the four unequal sections called quarters. The streets are David Street, running eastward from the Jaffa (Yafa) Gate, and Damascus Street, southward from the Damascus Gate; though both have different names in some places.
1. The Mohammedan Quarter occupies the northeastern half of the city, and is the foreground of our view. Its princ.i.p.al objects of interest are, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, the Church of St. Anne, two convents, two mosques, a building known as Pilate"s Hall, and the narrow and crooked street known as the Via Dolorosa, "The Sorrowful Way,"
through which Christ is (traditionally) said to have carried his cross; a street crowded with places commemorating different events in the pa.s.sion of our Lord.
2. The Temple Enclosure, called by Moslems _Haram esh Sherif_, "The n.o.ble Sanctuary," is in the southeastern part of the Mohammedan Quarter (on the left foreground of the picture). It occupies the site of the Temple, and probably a part also of the Tower of Antonia. (See map and description of Ancient Jerusalem, page 72.) It is now a quadrangle of 1,042 feet on the north, 1,530 east (along the front wall in the picture), 922 south, and 1,601 west, embracing about 35 acres. Its most prominent building is the _Kubbet es Sakhra_, "The Dome of the Rock,"
often called, but incorrectly, the Mosque of Omar. This is an octagonal building, each of its sides being 67 feet long, 170 in height, and surmounted by a dome. Directly under the dome rises a rough native rock, standing at present nearly 5 feet above the pavement. Some regard this as the place where the Ark of the Covenant rested in Solomon"s Temple; but most authorities consider it the site of the Altar of Burnt Offering, and of Araunah"s threshing-floor. (2 Sam. 24:18.) In the southeast corner of the Enclosure stands the Mosque el Aksa (left of the picture), adjoining the southern wall.
3. The Jewish Quarter is west of the Temple Enclosure. In the picture, beyond the trees in the Enclosure, may be seen the steep side of the Tyropoeon Valley. The Jews" Wailing Place, adjoining the Temple Enclosure, is hidden in the picture by the Mosque el Aksa, but may be located upon the map. Here the wall contains large blocks of stone, which may have belonged to the foundations of the court of the ancient Temple; and at this place a Jewish service of lamentation is held every week, over the destruction of the Temple and the city. Two domed buildings may be noticed on the hill beyond the Tyropoeon Valley, the two synagogues of the Ashkenasim Jews. This quarter, once filthy and mean, has been greatly improved by the liberality of Sir Moses Montefiore.
4. The Armenian Quarter is west of the Jewish, in the southwestern corner of the city. Its most prominent building is the Citadel of David (_el Kabaa_), an irregular, castellated edifice, containing a lofty tower. This _may_ occupy the site of the castle built by David, where a Jebusite fortress had stood before, but the identification is not certain. Two other buildings in this quarter are named upon the panoramic view, the Church of St. James, and a seminary.
5. The Christian Quarter is in the northwestern part of the city, between the Jaffa and Damascus Gates, in the picture. Its most important locality is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where tradition has fixed the scenes of the crucifixion and resurrection. The church is a group of buildings, crowned with a dome, and erected at various periods. The Holy Sepulchre itself is a marble shrine within the cathedral, 26 feet long, by 18 broad, and 20 feet high. If the ancient wall can be certainly shown not to have been _outside_ of this place, then the ident.i.ty of the holy places may be deemed measurably sure, since the cross and the sepulchre were undoubtedly near the wall, but without it. Another place of interest is the Muristan, a ruined castle, which was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitallers during the Crusades.
V. =Fountains and Pools.= Most of these are without the walls, and only one is shown in the picture. The identification of the ancient pools is not easy, and explorers are not agreed with regard to their position and modern name. 1. The _Birket Mamilla_, supposed by many to represent the Upper Pool of Gihon (2 Kings 18:17; Isa. 7:3), lies 2,000 feet west of the Jaffa Gate, and is now 240 feet long by 144 wide, but anciently much larger. 2. The _Birket es Sultan_, supposed to be the Lower Pool of Gihon, where Solomon was crowned (1 Kings 1:38), lies just outside the southwestern corner of the wall, in the Valley of Hinnom. It is narrow, but 500 feet long. 3. The _Birket es Silwan_, or Pool of Siloam (John 9:7), is in the Tyropoeon Valley, near its junction with the Kedron Valley, just outside the limit of the picture, on the left. It is 52 feet long, and 18 wide. 4. The _Birket el Hamra_ ("red pond") lies south of the Pool of Siloam, still further outside of the picture, and is larger, but now nearly filled up, and without water. Some think that this is the pool dug by Hezekiah. (2 Chron. 32:30.) 5. The spring _En-rogel_, called by Christians the Fountain of the Virgin, and by Moslems _"Ain Umm ed Deraj_ ("the spring the mother of steps," from the 28 steps leading down to it), is the only natural fountain near the city. It lies in the narrowest part of the Kedron Valley, opposite the stone Zoheleth. (1 Kings 1:9.) Its action is intermittent, rising and falling suddenly, sometimes oftener than once a day. From this fact, some have thought it to be the Pool of Bethesda. (John 5:2-9.) 6. But most of the explorers regard the Pool of Bethesda as identical with the _Birket Israel_, which may be found on the picture just within the eastern (foreground) wall, between the gate of St. Stephen and the northern wall of the Temple Enclosure, just behind the little domed building by the wall, to the left of St. Stephen"s Gate. This is 360 feet long, by 120 feet wide, and 80 feet deep, but half filled with rubbish. 7. The _Birket Hamman_ ("Pool of the Bath"), generally known as the Pool of Hezekiah, is within the wall, adjoining the Muristan on the west, and hidden by it in the picture. It is supplied with water by an underground conduit, from the _Birket Mamilla_. 8. To this list we might add the vast covered reservoirs under the Temple, on Mount Moriah. These aggregated in their capacity five million gallons, and furnished an abundant supply of water for the Temple services.
VI. =Outside the Walls.= Some of the important places without the wall have been already noticed. The Tomb of David (traditional) is on Mount Zion, near the Gate of Zion; and just a little to the left of it, where several small domes are seen, is the Coenaculum, or traditional place where the Last Supper was held. Mount Zion is now, fulfilling prophecy, "a plowed field," and has but few buildings. On nearly all sides of the city, outside the wall, are Moslem graves. Northwest of the city, toward the Russian Colony, is the place where the a.s.syrian messengers encamped in the time of Hezekiah. (2 Kings 18.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: MODERN JERUSALEM.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: ENVIRONS OF JERUSALEM.]
THE ENVIRONS OF JERUSALEM.
THE city of Jerusalem occupies a prominent place, not only in the history but also in the topography of the Holy Land. It is one of the most elevated sites in a land whose important places were among the mountains. There are many peaks higher than Mount Zion, on which the city stands; but few cities in Palestine are built upon a site so lofty.
This fact explains many of the allusions in the Psalms. "Beautiful for situation," "I will look unto the hills," etc.
There are six roads leading to Jerusalem from different parts of the land. Starting from the city by each one of these roads, let us notice the important places upon either side of it.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DEFILE BETWEEN JERUSALEM AND JERICHO.]
I. =The Northern Road.= This starts from the Damascus Gate and leads almost due north through the centre of the mountain region, toward Shechem and Damascus, pa.s.sing more of the historic localities than any other. Explorers, however, are not agreed upon the identification of all the places; and our s.p.a.ce permits us only to give conclusions without naming reasons or authorities for the opinion in all cases.
1. About a mile north of Jerusalem, on the west of the path, we find _Scopus_, the eminence from which t.i.tus, the Roman conqueror, obtained his first view of the doomed city. According to some authorities this was also the location of _Mizpeh_, the place of a.s.sembly for Israel during the time of the Judges. But later investigators place Mizpeh at _Neby Samwil_, on the northwestern road, and we have accepted their conclusions. (See next page.) Both the location of Mizpeh and that of Ramah are uncertain. One word means "watch-tower," the other "height,"
so they may be identical, though the references seem to point to different localities.
2. A mile further, and on the west of the path, is _n.o.b_ (_el Isawiyeh_), named as a city of the priests. At this place the Tabernacle was kept during the reign of Saul; David visited the high-priest and received the sword of Goliath; and the priest and 70 of his a.s.sociates were slain by command of Saul. (1 Sam. 21:1-9; 22:9-19.)
3. _Gibeah_ (_Tuleil el Ful_), "hill of beans," lies on the east of the road, 2-1/2 miles from the city. The place is first mentioned in the painful story of the Levite (Judges 19); but its princ.i.p.al interest is in the fact that it was the home and court of King Saul. "It is now dreary and desolate, with scarce any ruins save a confused ma.s.s of stones, which form a sort of cairn on the top."--_Tristram._
4. _Anathoth_ (_Anata_), the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah, and a priestly city, is 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem, upon a path branching out of the main road. It is now a village of about 20 houses.
5. Some locate _Ramah_, the home of Samuel, at _Er Ram_, on the east of the road; but others favor the place at _Neby Samwil_, to be noticed below.
6. _Michmash_, the scene of Jonathan"s daring exploit, lies on a hill adjoining a ravine, 7 miles northeast of the city; and a mile away, in plain sight, lies _Geba_, the camping place of Saul"s army at the time of the battle. (1 Sam. 13.) It is now called _Mukmas_.
7. _Ai_--the place where Joshua"s army was repulsed by the Canaanites, on account of the crime of Achan (Josh. 7), and which, after his punishment, was taken and destroyed by the Israelites--is 9 miles from the city; a desolate heap, known as _el Tell_.
8. _Beeroth_ (wells), now _el Bireh_, 10 miles north, was one of the Gibeonite cities which made peace with Israel. (Josh. 9:17.) According to tradition, this is the place where Joseph and Mary, returning from Jerusalem, first missed the boy Jesus (Luke 2:44); and it is now the halting place of caravans going north.
9. _Bethel_, "the house of G.o.d" (now _Beitin_), 10 miles north, is a place of many Scriptural a.s.sociations. Here Abraham pitched his tent and built his altar, on his entrance upon the Land of Promise (Gen 12:8); here Jacob lay down to rest and saw the glorious vision of the heavenly ladder (Gen. 28:11-22), and on his return from Syria again consecrated the place to G.o.d"s service. (Gen. 35:6-15.) During the period of the Ten Tribes it was a sanctuary of idols, but also the seat of a prophetic school. (1 Kings 12:29-33; 2 Kings 2:2, 3.) It is now an uninhabited ruin.
10. East of Bethel, and 11 miles north of Jerusalem, is the rock _Rimmon_ (now _Rummon_), where the remnant of the tribe of Benjamin found a refuge after the civil war. (Judges 20, 21.)
11. Two miles north of Rimmon is the site of _Ophrah_, in the New Testament _Ephraim_, the retreat of Jesus after the raising of Lazarus.
(John 11:54.) It is in a wilderness, on the edge of the Jordan Valley, and outside the line of travel; now called _et Taiyibeh_.
[Ill.u.s.tration: SOLOMON"S POOLS.]
II. =The Eastern Road= from Jerusalem leads through a barren region of crags and ravines, almost without inhabitants, except the robbers who have haunted it since the days when "a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves." (Luke 10:30.) The road is a continual descent from a height of 2,700 feet above the sea to 1,300 feet below it, in 20 miles.
The only place pa.s.sed on the route is _Bethany_ (now _el Azariyeh_), the home of Mary and Martha, the place where Lazarus was raised from death, and near which Jesus ascended. (Luke 24:50.) It is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, and about a mile and a quarter from Jerusalem.
Beyond this place the road grows more steep, descending toward the Jordan Valley.
III. =The Southern Road=, leading along the crest of the hill country toward Hebron, also pa.s.ses few places of historical interest.
1. Just south of the city is the _Plain of the Rephaim_, where, after the capture of Jerusalem, David twice met and vanquished the Philistines. (2 Sam. 5:18-25.) The name may be a reminiscence of the most ancient people who inhabited the mountain region of Palestine, before the Amorites were in the land.
2. Four miles from the city the traveler pa.s.ses _Rachel"s Tomb_. This may represent the place where Jacob, while journeying southward, lost his beloved wife Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. (Gen.
35:16-20.) The monument now standing is of comparatively recent date; but it may occupy the site of one more ancient.