Pen Pictures of the Holy Land: II. Horseback from Nazareth to Jerusalem

Pen Pictures of the Holy Land, From Dan to Beersheba. BY HAMILTON GARDNER. II. — Horseback from Nazareth to Jerusalem. In all the country, "from Dan to Beersheba," there is no part more interesting than that between Nazareth and Jerusalem. Important sites connected with Old and New Testament history- are found on every side, and form material of the most absorbing interest for the student of the Bible. The habits and beliefs of the people can be studied in their native simplicity, thus furnish- ing a splendid idea of Biblical customs, for in many respects the IfcSa^r"'"

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PEN PICTURE SiOF THE HOLY LAND. 139 country people of Palestine live today in the same manner as at the time of Christ. The land itself is also of great interest— the real rivers, plains and mountains of the Bible— for though man and time have altered the cities, the country remains prac- tically the same. Traveling horseback in Palestine is a novel experi- ence for a Westerner. In- stead of the "lope" our horses are able to maintain for hours, "Old Canary,'' the horse I was luckless enough to ride, could sel- dom be urged beyond a walk. He was equipped with an English racing saddle which instead of adding to my com- fort, as the owner undoubt- edly intended, had just the opposite effect. Instead of shoes, the horse had four flat plates of steel nailed to his hoofs— the usual manner of shoeing horses in Palestine. However, this made him none the less sure-footed. While on this trip we stayed at night at the Oriental khans, or inns. Their function is very different from that of Occidental hotels. For instance, they furnish their guests with nothing but a room, so we had to take most of our food and bedding along with us. The room, too, was always devoid of bedding, except for a raised platform in one end where the traveler slept. The Mohammedan habit of sitting cross-legged on the floor does away with the necessity for much furniture. Also, khans must furnish entertainment not only for two-footed guests, but for four-footed ones as well. (And incidentally I may state that little guests BEDOUIN WOMEN AT MARY'S WELL, NAZARETH.

140 IMPROVEMENT ERA. with even more than four feet are nearly always to be found there.) Thus it often happens that travelers, horses, donkeys and camels stay under the same roof, sometimes separated from each other only by a reed partition. Our experience with Oriental food was even more unpleasant than with the khans. The natives live on a diet that seemed almost impossible for us to eat. The principal food is Arabian bread, unleavened, and baked in round pieces, about eighteen inches in diameter and a quarter-inch thick. When eaten, it is folded twice, then rolled in a cylindrical form. To make it more palatable, it is sometimes fried in little pieces of sheep's fat. Another favorite dish is "kifti" — wheat boiled for twenty-four hours, and then made into balls with a little meat and fat. "Jogurt" is the universal drink. This is a kind of sour milk mixed with water, and really quenches the thirst admirably. To make a particularly bounteous repast, a native host would serve these dishes and raw onions. It can well be imagined that we gained very little avoirdupois from such food. Traveling through localities where few foreigners ever go, we were naturally regarded as curiosities. Crowds began to follow us whenever we came into a village. One night, 1 remember, this curiosity almost cost us our supper. We arrived at a town late one evening, and, after obtaining accomodation in a barber- shop, went out to find some supper. One native still had some stewed beans left in his little shop, so we determined to make the best of these, and two pieces of Arab bread. But the curiosity of the people outside rose to such an extent that some of them came in. One man, in order to facilitate his observation of us, came over and leaned on our table. It happened that his hand rested on one of our pieces of bread. As we did not desire to have our bread flavored, we threw that piece away. In spite of our warn- ing, the man's wonder was so great that it was not a minute before his hand was leaving an imprint on the other piece. That left a jug of water and the beans. Imagine our sorrow when, in a short time, another man, thinking his observations would be more accurate if his thirst were allayed, calmly appropriated our jug and drank most of the water. We dined that night on beans. Most of the people of central Palestine are Mohammedans, and

PEN PICTURES OF THE HOLY LAND. 141 their religious practices and other customs are very interesting. Each Moslem is supposed to go to the mosque five times every day and say his prayers. He always takes his shoes off when entering, and is required to wash face, hands and feet before beginning his devotions. The prayer is a chapter from the Koran, and is always accompanied by a series of motions. Facing the direction of Mecca, the Moslem first places his hands to the lobes of his ears, and then to his hips. He next kneels down and bends forward twice. Then, placing his hands flat on the floor, he touches his forehead between them. Many of the more fanatical Mohammedans keep this up for hours at a time. Another interesting phase of Islam life is their treat- ment of women. Every woman must go veiled from ten years of age till forty- five. No man is! supposed to see her face during this time except her husband and blood relations. Her courtship is a most peculiar one. She never sees her husband until the marriage is performed, all arrangements being made by some female relative. Imagine how a young American would like such a custom. We began our journey one pleasant morning in March, the most beautiful time of the year in Palestine, for it is then that the wild flowers cover the hills with their many-colored blossoms. Leaving Nazareth, with its white houses clustered together in a little bowl-shaped basin among the hills, we climbed the height where it is said the people tried to cast Christ down. Here we had an excellent view of the Plain of Esdraelon, or Jezreel, com- pletely planted in grain and appearing like a waving sea of green. Striking directly across one arm of this plain, we soon reached Nain, the little village where Christ restored the widow's son to life. At this place, as at most of the others I shall mention, A MOHAMMEDAN AT PRAYER.

142 IMPROVEMENT ERA. there is nothing left that can be connected with events in Bible history. Nain is nothing more than a miserable Arabian village with mud houses and thatched roofs. The location is naturally the thing of importance. From Nain we had a splendid view of Mt. Tabor, one of the reputed scenes of Christ's transfiguration. Both Greek and Roman Catholics have locations on its summit, which each avers to be the "exact spot" where this event took place. History seems to show, however, that Mt. Tabor was inhabited at the time of Christ, so the locations hardly harmonize with the scriptural account. An hour's ride from Nain brought us to the Pool of Gideon. It was at this spring that the soldiers of the Israelitish general, THE POOL OF GIDEON. Gideon, underwent a curious test to determine who should fight against the Midianites. "Every one that lappeth at the water with his tongue as a dog lappeth," was to fight in the battle, while "everyone that boweth down upon his knees to drink" was to be left behind. "The number of them that lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men" and with this force Gideon defeated his enemies. Behind the pool of Gideon are the so-called Mountains of Gilboa— in the West they would be mere hills. Here the battle was fought

PEN PICTURES OF THE HOLY LAND. 143 between the Israelites and Philistines that resulted in tin over- whelming defeat of the former, the death of Jonathan and the suicide of Saul, Israel's first king. David later visited the scene of this conflict, and in that most beautiful eulogy to his friend Jonathan said: "Ye mountains of Gideon, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offering." Now, it is a curious fact that even today, practically no vegetation thrives on these particular hills, while the surrounding country is extremely fertile. Not far from Gideon's pool is the old village of Jezreel. Here lived King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, who killed Naboth to obtain the vineyard. This unscrupulous woman later met her death here, and her body was torn by dogs, in exact fulfilment of the predictions of Elijah. The prophet himself was here on several occasions. Towards sunset of the first day, we passed through the village Sulem, the old Shunum. Elijah sometimes resided here at the home of the Shunammite woman, and it was her son that he restored to life. Next morning our first stop was at the pits of Dothan, the reputed location of the sale of Joseph into Egypt. The pit into which the unfortunate young man was thrown is still pointed out. At present it is filled with water part of the year. THE PITS OF DOTHAN, WHERE JOSEPH WAS SOLD INTO EGYPT.

144 IMPROVEMENT ERA. We spent most of the afternoon in Sebastiyeh, the old city of Samaria. Naturally, its greatest interest to us lay in its connec- tion with the missionary work of the early Christian church. Philip was successful in making a number of converts here, and, after their baptism, Peter and John came up from Jerusalem to bestow the Holy Ghost on them. Recent excavations in Sebastiyeh have .brought to light a number of colonnaded streets, a pagan tem- ple and a circus, presumably erected by Herod to honor Augustus. Samaria was once the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. The second night of our trip we were in the interesting old city of Shechem. In early times, Jacob and his sons bought some land from the King of Shechem, and settled near by. Joshua called a general assembly of the tribes here, soon after the con- quest of the Promised Land. At this meeting the blessings and curses promised Israel were read from the tops of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, which stand near the city. It was at Shechem that the Samaritans had their greatest power, and today there are still one hundred and sixty members of this Jewish sect here. They still ad- here to their ancient traditions, but are rapidly dying out. Not far outside of Shechem is Jacob's well, a seemingly authentic location. Christ had his famous conversation with the woman of Samaria here. The village of Sychar lies about half a mile away on the hillside, and the poor woman cannot be blamed for wanting something that would spare her the laborious task of carrying a heavy jug on her head this distance. Nearby, on some of the land purchased by Jacob, is shown the traditional site of Joseph's tomb. From Shechem the road leads through the hills and valleys ap- JA0B,g WELL_SYCHAR IN THE portioned to Ephraim, passes near background.

PEN PICTURES OF THE HOLY LAND. 145 ARAB PLOWMAN NEAR SHECHEM. Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and Bethel, the rocky field where Jacob one night tried the suitability of a stone as a pillow, and then coming into the section assigned to Benjamin, finally reaches Jerusalem. At the end of three and a half days of constant travel we were indeed glad to get sight of the Holy City. Traveling as we did, we had a good opportunity of getting acquaintel with the country. While it may have appeared a promised land to the Israelites, who had been in the wilderness forty years, it certainly does not "flow with milk and honey" now. It is rocky, hilly and poorly supplied with water. In fact, an American who has lived in Jerusalem forty- five years, made this somewhat amusing comment on it: "This must be very good land— it has to be, to hold all the rocks that are on it." In some parts, the hills are terraced to bring them under cultivation. Wheat and a kind of lentils are the chief crops, and there are a number of large olive orchards. The present methods of agriculture are but little in advance of those in vogue at the time of Abraham. Plowing is still done with oxen and a forked, wooden stick for a plow. Water is car- ried in jugs and goat-skins, and crops are practically all moved with donkeys. Some of the Jews, who have bought land in Gali- lee, are using modern scientific methods and implements, and this will probably mean the redemption of the country. In spite of the inconveniences, I have had no more delightful experience than to become acquainted with the country of the Bible — knowing that it appears now substantially the same as in ancient times. To stand in a place where a certain event took place, take out one's Bible and read, gives an interest and charm worth many sacrifices and hardships. The country is the faith- promoting part of Palestine — not the cities. Christ loved the

146 IMPROVEMENT ERA. country and the open-air, and some of his greatest sermons were preached there — for example, the beatitudes and his sermon from the boat. So, when one is in the solitude of God's beautiful nature, in the country where Christ labored and traveled, his work and life seem more vivid and real than ever before; and his personality and teaching make an impression upon the mind never equalled under other conditions. This experience I regard as the best part of my trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem. University of Utah. God's Love. A CHRISTMAS THOUGHT. (For the Improvement Era.) Think not to God we are too small, Or that he does not know our name; Nor that he cannot hear our call — His lore forever is the same. 0 be content! he knows us well, Each little world of heart and brain; A part of him, we need not tell, Our every sorrow, grief or pain. Oft would we burst the prison wall, That holds our lives within, But that his love is over all, Our trembling hearts to draw to him. Then, 0 my soul, thou shalt be glad! No more be tempest tossed, nor moan; In all the world let none be sad, For lo, the King comes to his own! Lydia D. Alder.