Part 5

In the evening we were invited to a reception at Dr. Grant’s, who is a Scotchman. His wife was from Pennsylvania, U.S.A., and had been a schoolmate of one of our Oriental party. The doctor has been here twenty-nine years. He has a mania for collecting Egyptian relics, and his residence is a perfect museum. He read us a paper that he had prepared on Egyptian music, which was considered fine. Certainly, it showed study. Coffee, tea, lemonade, cake, etc., were a part of the programme. We reached our hotel at 11.30 P.M., and called it a full day.

We have enjoyed our ten days’ touring here in Cairo. Most of them have been busy ones. We have been pretty thoroughly through the museum, which is very extensive, but almost wholly Egyptian.

But I have had you jostling against the natives, so much on donkeys and camels, in temples and tombs, etc., so I will not detain you long in that building, but will call your attention to a few things that interest me most. First was the statue of a man, his face having a splendid expression, well formed, fine muscle and joints, well dressed for this climate, seemingly perfect in all his parts, but, when you come to inquire for his name and what material he is made from, you will discover, by close examination, that he is nothing but wood. Quite a marvel! I think Cab Ellis must have dreamed about him before he invented his jointed doll.

The 16th of February, the day we left New York, the natives found in a tomb at Doshua, up the Nile, two gold crowns of an empress, gold chains, bracelets, and all the paraphernalia for a beautiful queen. This we saw in the museum. The workmanship was exquisite, and they looked as bright as though they had just come out of a jewelry shop. The museum building was formerly a palace, built by the khedive; and parts of it are fine of themselves, and the rooms number one hundred. It also has a garden connected with it, and a part has been made zoölogical. So, when you come to Cairo, be sure and take it in. It is about three miles out of the city.

We visited while here in Cairo, the howling dervishes. Their performance is what they call worship. They howl and bend, sway in every direction; and some of them will whirl around like a top. There were about twenty of them on a platform; and some fifty people went in to see them, with admission fee. The question with me was which was the bigger fools, the audience or the performers.

Saturday we leave here for Port Saïd by rail, there take the boat for Jaffa, and then to Jerusalem, which place we shall probably reach about the middle of next week; and I will write you from that place.

While stopping here in Cairo, we have seen some American reminders. You will occasionally see a bicycle, have seen one steam-roller for making roads. A part of the streets have on them the water-cart sprinklers. In other parts of the city what is done in that line is done with the leather water-bottle that we read of in ancient Bible history. It is the skin of the goat, many of them with the hair on, and being sewed up, from appearance, will hold two or three pailfuls. They are filled and emptied at the neck, which has a small opening. You will see thousands of the natives at the Nile filling these bottles. I should say they would weigh, when filled, one hundred pounds. They are carried on the side with a strap over the shoulder. They will go on the street, partly close the outlet with one hand, giving a swaying motion, and will thus sprinkle the streets quite rapidly and very acceptably to the dusty traveller; yet, when you have summed up the whole country, you will be obliged to write the word _passé_. They are ploughing with the same plough that Elisha used, treading out the grain with oxen. The camels are the burden-bearers. Everything about as it was four thousand years ago. Whether Jonah’s experience, as related by Dudley Warner, had any effect upon them, I am not prepared to say. When the whale landed Jonah on shore, his skin tender as a parboiled chicken, he saw a blind man eating dates. Jonah with his tender heart restored the man’s eyesight. As soon as this was done, he began to snap the seed at Jonah, and, he being in a tender condition, it hurt him prodigiously, and he complained to the Lord; but word soon came back to let things be as he had fixed them or take the consequences.

The Egyptians have let things be about as they were, and when they are going to have courage to change them no one can tell. A new civilization will have to be introduced, woman elevated, Mohammedanism exchanged for a pure religion.

LETTERS FROM THE HOLY LAND.

I.

JAFFA, SYRIA, April 15, 1895.

We left Cairo the 13th at 11.30, ran out on the main line to Alexandria, some twenty miles, then branched off, running due north through the land of Goshen, a beautiful, rich farming country of broad plains, as fine as anything we have seen in Egypt. This was where Pharaoh told Joseph to locate his kindred, and where the Israelites grew and multiplied, and afterwards became slaves, and were at last obliged to make bricks without straw; and then Moses came, and led them out to the land of Canaan.

We passed through some of the treasure cities they built for Pharaoh. One of the places is now named Zakayik. After leaving this, we passed along the edge of the great desert with nothing but sand and sage brush.

We also passed Tel-el-Kiber, where the battle between the English and Egyptians was fought in 1882. The English soldiers being so far superior, much better drilled and equipped, they made quick work of the affair, the battle lasting only twenty-five minutes, the English losing only twenty-six men. We saw the little plat of ground where they were buried, which was fenced in and neatly cared for. As soon as the battle was over, the cavalry proceeded at once to Cairo, and made their demands, which were granted without further resistance.

About five o’clock we reached Ismalia, where we changed cars, taking a narrow-gauge road to Port Saïd, forty miles distant. Ismalia is noted for its baggage thieves; for, if a piece of baggage is lost there, it is never found again. So we held on to our grips, and kept our eyes on the trunks, which had to be transferred about ten rods from one depot to another. This was done by Arabs taking them on their backs, which was a marvel to us. I saw one Arab with four steamer trunks on his back at once. I would not have believed such a story, had I not seen it with my own eyes, and shall not insist on any of my friends taking any stock in this transportation company unless they choose to do so.

Ismalia is where we strike the Suez Canal, and is about half-way between Port Saïd and Suez. Our train follows the canal all the way to Port Saïd.

The earth that was taken out of the canal was largely taken out with baskets by the natives, and left on the banks. This seems queer to a Yankee, but labor at ten cents a day changes the operation wonderfully. Much of the way we could not see the water in the canal, and it was a peculiar sight to see steamers of all sizes sailing through the sandy desert. At times we could only see the upper part of the vessel.

This great water-way cost nineteen million pounds sterling, some over twelve million being taken by the stockholders, and the rest by the khedive. The income is getting to be enormous. The first year, 1871, the receipts were three hundred and forty thousand pounds. In 1890 they were two million six hundred and eighty-nine thousand pounds. The canal has a depth of twenty-six feet, and at the bottom is some seventy feet wide. Within a few years the electric search-light has been introduced, which enables the vessels to run nights.

We reached Port Saïd at eight o’clock in the evening, and such a motley crowd you never saw. From the chatter and clamor that was going on we thought that the Tower of Babel must be somewhere near. We took carriages, and went to the Eastern Exchange, a hotel seven stories high, fireproof, with a twenty-foot wide veranda running all around the building. This was carried up the seven stories; and most of the rooms opened on to those verandas, and in this climate, and standing on the seashore, was very pleasant.

Port Saïd has some twenty-three thousand inhabitants, and is said to be one of the wicked places of Egypt. The next day after our arrival was Easter Sunday, and you would have thought it was the Fourth of July,--bands of music, firing of cannon, and a general holiday. We remained in our hotel until about four o’clock, then went aboard a large French steamer that lay in front of the hotel, and at about 6 P.M. steamed out of the bay for Jaffa, reaching this place about eight o’clock in the morning.

To-morrow morning at six we start for Jerusalem. Some of our company are going by carriages, others on horseback.

Jaffa, or the Bible name Joppa, is where Jonah started from, when he came in contact with the whale.

As you come up the bay, you see the city commencing at the water’s edge, towering up as it recedes, one tier of buildings above another. Follow this up some ten minutes’ walk, and you come up on a broad plain, a place of some twenty thousand people, about one-half Mohammedans, the other half from all creation, nearly all kinds of dress but American. Most of that is seen on the tourist. The bazaars are fearful; that is, as far as dirt is concerned. Jaffa is the shipping port for Jerusalem. Here was landed the material in the time of Solomon for the building of the temple.

Our hotel is located on the east side of the city, and is a very comfortable place to stop at. On the upper veranda you can look over hundreds of acres of orange-trees, and far in the distance can be seen the hills of Judea.

We have visited the house where Dorcas made so many garments, also the house of Simon the tanner, where Peter had his vision when praying on the house-top. Have driven out some two miles to a German settlement, and found a beautiful country, more variety than in Egypt.

Jaffa has no harbor for large steamers, so we had to be landed in small boats. There are times when the surf is so high that they cannot land the passengers, and they carry them by to Beyrout; but we were fortunate, and were landed very nicely, although some of our party were fearful that they should go to the bottom of the sea. But after we were in the little boats, and went tossing up and down over the waves, we rather enjoyed it.

One peculiarity of this country, there is no wharfage. We find the climate a little cooler than on the Nile, and more variety of scenery. Here we first placed our feet on the land of Palestine. This was the section of country allotted to the tribe of Dan.

II.

JERUSALEM, April 17, 1895.

Monday evening, the 15th, at Jaffa, our managers gave notice that we should be called the next morning at 4.30, to have our trunks and grips packed and be ready for breakfast at 5.30, and we would start at 6 for Jerusalem, forty miles, over one of the best roads to be found in any country. The party had the privilege of choosing, go by carriage and make the journey in one day, or on horseback, taking two days for the trip. There were fourteen that chose carriages, the members from Springfield being among the number. Prompt on time, with four carriages and our dragoman, we bade good-by to Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world, and headed our horses eastward toward Mount Zion, driving several miles through orange and lemon groves, until we struck the plains of Sharon. (See Song of Solomon ii. 1.) We found a beautiful country, with a profusion of roses and flowers as far as the eye could reach. We passed at our right a Jewish agricultural college, established by Charles Netter, of Paris. A little farther on at the left a modern village, said to be on the site of ancient Hazar-shual, where Samson caught the three hundred foxes (Judges xv. 4); and by the way we met a young Rev. Mr. Green, who used to preach at Hartford, Vt. He has been in this region a few weeks, roaming the country, gathering flowers. He thinks there would be no trouble now in catching that number of foxes, as in many places you can almost knock them over with a club. They are called jackals. They were about our hotel at Jaffa, and stirred up the dogs, so that between the dogs and jackals we were kept awake half the night.

The next place of importance was Ramleh, the traditional Aramathea. (See Matt. xxvii. 57.) Here is a stone tower, said to have been built by the Crusaders. It is some one hundred feet high. We went to the top, and had a grand view from Gaza on the south, to Mount Carmel on the north, eastward the land of Judah and Benjamin, westward the Mediterranean. Looking south-west, you see Ashdod Gath, the home of Goliath. Farther to the east you see Gezer, a Canaanitish town taken by Pharaoh and presented to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

After leaving Ramleh, we pass at our left Gimzo, which was taken from the Israelites by the Philistines. Six miles from Ramleh we go down into the valley of Ajalon, where Joshua commanded the moon to stand still. (See Joshua x. 12.) This valley runs north and south, and is perhaps one mile across, with a depth of one hundred feet or more below the plains. Each side beyond this valley we pass the village of Latron, said to be the home of the penitent thief. Latron is about half-way from Jaffa to Jerusalem. In leaving this, we go down into the Wady Ali, and then begin to climb the hills of Judah, and soon enter the land of Benjamin and pass the old site of Kirjath-jearim, where the ark of God rested for twenty years. If you will cast your eye to the left, you will see in the distance, upon the top of a conical hill, Mizpah, the highest land in this part of Palestine. This was where Saul was chosen king. (See I Samuel x. 17-24.) Gibeah of Saul is in sight, also the home of John the Baptist. From this place we pass down through another valley and around the brow of the hill. Beyond we come in sight of Jerusalem, only about one mile distant.

The last ten miles was a continual climb most of the way, and I have never been so impressed with the Scripture where it speaks of the tribes going up to the Holy City to attend their great religious festivals. Last Sunday was Easter, and there was a great celebration in Jerusalem. We were on the road Tuesday, and it was full of people returning from that festival. We met one company of about one hundred. Some were walking, and others riding on horses, donkeys, or camels. We were told that the party would be away from home sixty days, thirty days each way.

You would see horses with a pillion on them, straps going over the horse’s back holding boxes on each side, perhaps a little canopy over the boxes. In these boxes were the little children, and the mother sitting on the pillion, the husband walking behind. Then would come a camel, with the mother riding, and the children in front of her. There were all kinds and ways, nags and Arabs, a motley crowd.

The country about Jerusalem is different from what I had pictured it. It is very mountainous for a long distance westward, and the hills have a very peculiar appearance. The sides of these hills and mountains look as though human agencies had been at work on them, and terraced them from bottom to top. They will show a line of stone from two to four feet high running along the side of the hill, as straight as a line, then grass or trees for several rods, then another layer of stones, so on up to the top. The olive orchards many times extend clear to the tops of the mountains. The gray stone and the green give in the distance a mottled appearance.

It seems to be a great field for goats. We saw hundreds of them as we came up the mountain, every flock having a shepherd.

As we near Jerusalem, and are near the top of the mountain, our eyes behold wonderful beauty in the landscape in all directions. Jerusalem is an elevated city. “And as the mountains are around about Jerusalem,” etc.,--the saying is a true one; but the mountains are not high ones, for the city itself towers toward heaven, and you have to descend into a valley before you can climb any of the surrounding mountains.

On our arrival at Jerusalem we went to the Jerusalem hotel which is in the new part of the city, outside of the city walls of old Jerusalem, and is beautiful for situation.

The horseback party arrived the next day after our arrival, and pitched their tents not far from our hotel, but near the Jaffa gate. We were to have two camping tours, the short one from this place and return, occupying three days, going to Jericho, the Jordan and Dead Sea, distance thirty miles. This is considered the most dangerous travelling we shall have. As it was in the time of Christ, so it is now, full of Bedouins and robbers. Being entirely an unsettled country, our orders were to keep together. If any one went ahead or lagged behind, he would do so at his own risk.

It is necessary to have some official on this trip. So we had a son of one of the sheiks, mounted on his gray charger, armed to the teeth; and our dragomen all had their short swords. This camping business is a regular circus, a picnic every day. It takes about one hundred horses, mules, and forty men to move us. Those at the hotel were to take horses, and partake of the luncheon, in tent, with the others; but at night we were to be at the hotel in Jericho. There are two hotels, the Jordan and the Bellevue. We went to the latter, a small house, but very neat, and Oriental from the word go. We were there two nights; and I, for one, should have been glad to have stayed longer. The only out was that the dogs and jackals made things lively nights. One gentleman of our party got up, and shouted out of the window for them to get out of the way and stop their noise, but the effect, seemingly, was to wake up more dogs, and the music was increased instead of being diminished; but I am rather a friend of the canines, and those troubles rest very lightly on my shoulders.

Now, if you would like a dim picture of this first camping tour, you had better meet me at the Jerusalem hotel early Thursday morning, April 19. First there was an array of saddle horses brought into the yard for us to select from, grays, bays, and blacks. The members from Springfield chose a pair of bay geldings that had been used to following each other. We have two ladies that cannot endure the horseback riding, and have palanquins.

About 6.30 A.M. the straps were all buckled, and we were on our horses, moving down toward the Jaffa gate, where we met the rest of the party; and then we moved north outside the old walls, passing the Damascus gate, then turning east, which brings us into the valley of Kedron or Jehosaphat, as it is sometimes called. Passing along the edge of Gethsemane, look up at the right, and you have a fine view of the eastern wall of Jerusalem. At the left you look up Mount Olivet, and see the road David went barefooted, when he fled the city in time of Absalom’s rebellion. We passed the place where Stephen was stoned, the pool of Siloam, Absalom’s tomb, also the tomb of Zechariah.

Through this section we encountered the greatest number of lepers and beggars in the most pitiable condition, sitting beside the roadway, pouring forth their cries and lamentations. But we are soon past all this, and begin to wind our way around the brow of Olivet. In less than an hour from starting we are at the little village of Bethany, which is located the other side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. Here seems to be a valley coming up from the south; and at the head of this valley, in a semicircle, lies nestled the little town of Bethany, at the foot of Mount Olivet. We saw the spot where Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived, saw the tomb of the latter, could almost feel on our brow the warm Christian atmosphere that pervaded that place more than eighteen hundred years ago, that made it so attractive to the Saviour of mankind. We were pointed out the place where Simon the leper lived.

From this place to Jericho, some eighteen miles, we pass only one place where anybody lives. Jericho, located on the plains of the Jordan, is four thousand feet lower than Jerusalem, hence the expression “going down to Jericho.”

The plains of the Dead Sea are thirteen hundred feet lower than the ocean, and is the lowest land in the world. As we pass on from Bethany, we go winding our way down those narrow ravines, hills and mountains each side, with many caves for the robbers. On the side of these mountains are the shepherds, with their flocks of goats and sheep. About half-past ten we come to the only residence on the road, being on a somewhat elevated spot. Here we stop for lunch. Tradition says here was the inn where the Samaritan left the wounded man. We took little stock in that. However, we laid a man across a donkey’s back, with a good Samaritan standing beside him, and got a snap shot at them with a kodak. With our lunch we had water taken from the brook Cherith.

Soon after we started, we visited the spot where Elijah was fed by the ravens.

From this time to the Jordan valley the mountains and hills looked arid and barren, having a chalky appearance; and the gorges along which we passed were fearfully deep, and had, no doubt, been cut down by the water.

About four o’clock we reached the plain, turned to the left, and went up to the fountain of Elisha, that he healed of its bitter qualities. This is near the mountains, boils up from the ground, running away quite a large stream. We were thirsty, and drank heartily, finding a good quality of water. Here is supposed to be the old site of Jericho, which was shaken down, and a curse pronounced on any one that should attempt to rebuild. There was any amount of stones and rubbish about there, but we saw nothing of any rams’ horns.

About a mile south of this place is the Jericho of Christ’s day, with some new buildings added. We were shown an old stone house, or the ruins of one, that is claimed to be the house of Zaccheus. They also pointed out the tree he climbed to see the Lord. It might have been a descendant from the original one, but that is as far as we should care to go.

At Jericho we stopped for the night, some in hotels, others in tents.

Friday our day’s work was to go to the shore of the Dead Sea, and from there to the banks of the river Jordan, where the children of Israel crossed, and Elijah divided up the waters as he went up in his chariot, also where Christ was baptized. We found the Dead Sea a beautiful sheet of water, clear as crystal. Some of the party went in bathing. It is said to contain some fifteen per cent. more salt than the ocean, and is heavier per cubic foot than the human body. From these plains you can see across the sea and river the hills of Moab, Mount Nebo and Pisgah, where Moses was allowed to go to look into the promised land. We took our lunch on the banks of the Jordan, had the water from the river to drink. Some crossed the river, which is about a hundred feet wide and quite swift in its current, in boats. On our return to Jericho for the night we crossed the old site of Gilgal, where the children of Israel first camped, also the valley of Achor, where Achan and family were stoned. If the deed had to be done, they could not have found a better place; for there is plenty of material close at hand.