Part 8 (2/2)

The first lane on the north of the Bazaar leads directly up to the _Bab el-Kadid_; along each side are establishments in aid of the poor, but, as the revenues have been sed up, they are going to ruin, like the schools of Saladin, which are in the next street on the north, leading up to the _Bab el-Nadhir_ (Inspector's Gate) Here, according to Mohahted from his steed Borak[323], on his visit to the Holy Stone of Jacob Near this gate, on the south, is a , which from the various kinds of stone eularity of its columns, and the harmony of all its parts, is an excellent example of Saracenic taste It was erected by Solyman, and is said by the Mohammedans to have been the residence of his Sultana Rossellane It is now gradually falling to decay, although a very small sum spent in repairs wouldthis side I need only re the street down the Tyropoeon, shew that the houses on the west side of the valley are also in the precincts of the _Haram_ and consequently inalienable Up to the tied exclusively to the Jeho, since then, have been gradually deprived of theht; and, in order to conceal the iniquitous usurpation, they have been thus joined to the enclosure of the _Hara thus described the outside of the Mohammedan sanctuary, I shall now conduct my reader within, and introduce him to places all as yet unknown to him, except one or thich, froed tothis, I shall not spend time over the minor details, which are explained by the Plan and its description[324]; but attend solely to thethe Moha the exterior, noticed all the important points on the north side, and therefore only call attention to the extent of levelled rock, continuous with that which fore part of the south wall of the barrack, and was, in my opinion, the north of the tower Antonia[325] A short distance froonal oratory, sur to the Mohammedans), a piece of the sacred rock, which was cut off by the Christians during the ti, and seen a stone; but it is too shapeless to enable me to form any opinion of the truth of the tradition I think that the place has a vault beneath, and that probably the passage already mentioned, which was constructed by Herod as a coate, passes by it

Above the pool of Bethesda rises the minaret of _Israel_, erected to co on Moriah; this, and the minaret of the _Serai_ at the north-west corner, are used for the especial purpose of calling to prayer the faithful of the rite _Hannefi_: both are founded on the rock, and near the latter the large Herodian masonry is still visible: they were built in the ti to the Mohammedan chronicles; which I am disposed to believe, because I have seen, in the interior of the second, ss of Christian bells during the Latin kingdom These would not be there had the minarets been built by Saladin, by whom however the secondabutting on the outer wall is the first thing to attract attention on the east side In the middle of the room inside is a kind of pedestal, covered with rich carpets woven in different colours According to the Mohammedans, this is the site of the throne of Solomon, and the place where the Book of Wisdom was composed, to which, in consequence, he will return at the Day of Judge the Israelites We can see how highly the followers of the prophet esteem the place by the nuratitude for so received

To the south of this is the Golden Gate[326]; a small staircase on the north side conducts us to the top, which is an excellent position for a general view of the _Haram es-Sherif_, the Valley of Kidron, the Mount of Olives, and the whole of Jerusalem Here we see the truth of the words of Josephus[327], that ”the city lay over against the Temple in the manner of a theatre” The Mohammedans say that on the Last Day the Prophet _Isa_ (Jesus) will descend froe the world, and will commit the Jews to the decision of David and Solo along the boundary wall to the south we co up to afrowise projects for about 5 feet; beneath it is the deep valley of Kidron This e _es-Sirah_ and the 'Window of Judgeee, no wider than the edge of a sword; over it the faithful will run swiftly and enter Paradise; while the infidels, in trying to cross, will fall into the abyss of hell open wide beneath them I have seen not a few fanatics come to pray in a niche very near the , and then step on to the colu seen that which is invisible In the south-east corner of the enclosure is a ruined mosque, with 14 arches, in ts, supported by square pillars This was for to the rite _Hanbeli_ The keeper asserts that, in tih tower on this spot; he is indeed not altogether mistaken; for, in the days of Herod, the cloister with its four rows of coluh to afford a beautiful view[328]

Just on the north of the site of this is a staircase leading down into a chahted by loopholes in the outer wall of the _Haraht hand a sreat vault, and see some of its many columns In the south wall at the end of the chamber the keeper points out a marble basin in the form of a cradle, as the one which held the Infant Jesus, when He was brought to the Temple for circuin Mary and S Joseph, and the two niches where stood the Prophets Zacharias and Ezekiel The story is worthless, but the view of the grotto excavated partly in the rock and of the enor this place we observe a large terrace fore hole close to the south wall of the _Harareat cha a heaps of earth and ruins I believe that this iinally constructed by Solomon, in order to increase the area of the platform of the Temple; and at the same time to contain water, which was used in such quantities in the service of the Sanctuary; the height of the vault, measured near the south-east corner, is 39 feet above the floor of rock; which I found after digging through a layer of earth It is lower towards the north, for the rock rises there, as it does towards the north-west corner, where I had great difficulty in finding it, fro has evidently undergone restoration at different periods; as is shewn by its irregular shape and the condition and different kinds of masonry of the present walls Of these the east and south walls (being part of the _Haram_ wall) are Herodian work; at the south-east corner, by the chamber of the cradle of Christ, which we have already visited, we see Roman work in the inner wall and in some masonry on the north, at which point it is evident that the size of the vault has been di to a much later period, perhaps that of the Crusades The plinths of the numerous columns are rusticated in the Herodian style, but their shafts are Ro to the rise of the rocky floor towards the enerally not visible fro, supported by semicircular arches, is Roman

I consider therefore that the last restoration was made by order of Justinian, but cannot allow that the whole building dates from that time, because it is not likely that his historian, Procopius, would have omitted to mention so stupendous a work; nor would there have been any necessity for that Ee this part of the area of Moriah

Froate and the pointed arch, to which we drew attention during our circuit of the walls The fore of Justinian; but the quantity of earth and rubbish, now piled against it on the inside, renders it difficult to form an opinion on the purpose for which it was constructed I believe that at that period the vault was not used as a cistern The pointed arch was, I think, built in the tiate for sorties, and an entrance into the stables of the Knights Templar; which, from the small splayed loopholes in the south and east walls, the iron rings fastened to the round, I suppose to have been in this building I was confir a door (built-up) on the west side of the vault which, I think, must have communicated with those under the end, that both these were the stables of Solomon[329] (as they still call them), probably took its rise from the use to which they were applied by the Crusaders On excavating inside, near the ruined passage, I found three capitals of coluood execution

Returning to the open air and standing upon the great terrace, we see on what vast foundations the famous 'Royal Cloister' of Herod was supported Theon the south wall of the _Haram_ The principal axis of the edifice runs north and south, instead of east and west according to the general law of the Latin Church; consequently some authors have asserted that it was not built for Christian worshi+p, but originally was a mosque We will therefore examine its history Some think it was the work of Constantine; but then Eusebius, his panegyrist, does not ard or care for Moriah Others attribute it to Justinian; with these I agree The idea of erecting this basilica, and dedicating it to the Virgin, was not conceived at first by the Emperor, but by Elias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, AD 501 As the Christians of Palestine had not the ht the aid of Justinian, through the Abbot Saba; and the Eave the assistance asked, but also took care that the building should be worthy of the Christian religion: so we are informed by theAD 555, who embraced the monastic life under the rule of S Saba In the year 531 all difficulties were overcorandeur is recorded by Procopius[331], whose account is briefly as follows The length of the building was greater than the breadth, which however was so great that they had difficulty in procuring rafters for the roof of sufficient length This was supported by ts of coluhbourhood of Jerusale in colour the brightness of fire Two of theer and reat blocks of stone used in the work, and tells us by what round The whole of his description undoubtedly suits the ed; since there are now no traces of cloisters, atrius reat coluer to be seen; but it is not improbable that they are concealed within the two central piers of the porch Those inside the basilica correspond to the above description, and by secretly chipping off bits of the plaster, hich all are now coated, I was able to ascertain that they arein abundance on the west of the city, near the Greek convent of the Holy Cross

Antoninus of Piacenza[332], in the sixth century, saw the whole pile of Justinian's building in its glory He speaks of the adjoining hospice, containing from 3000 to 5000 beds, wonders at the number, and praises the piety of the Monks and Nuns who served there, and states that the basilica of S Mary was in front of the Temple of Solomon, and communicated with the basilica of S Sophia, situated on the site of the Praetorium of Pilate He alsothe print of our Saviour's foot It is remarkable that a similar stone is now exposed to receive the reverence of the Mohammedans at the south end of the present reatly injured at the time of the Persian invasion, AD 614; as we find it open for Christian worshi+p when the troops of O Jerusalem The Khalif visited it after the surrender of the city to offer up his prayers within its walls, and ordered that thenceforth it should be devoted to the rites of his faith[333]

The Rev G Williams, in his learned and valuable work on the Holy City[334], tells us that towards the end of the seventh century the tenth Khalif, ”'Abd-el-Melik covered its gates with plates of gold and silver, but it was soon stripped of its treasures in consequence of the poverty of his successors During the Khalifat of his son Waled, the eastern part of the mosque _el-Aksa_ fell to ruin, and as he had no funds to repair it, he ordered the ruined part to be pulled down, and the price of the materials to be distributed to the poor Forty years later, in the time of the second Abbasside Khalif Abu-J'afar-el-Mansur, the east and west sides were decayed by time, or injured by an earthquake, and as he could not afford to restore it, he stripped the gold from the doors, coined it, and applied the proceeds to the necessary repairs A second earthquake shook dohat he had rebuilt, and his son and successor el-Mahadi (AD 775-785) found thewas altered by this Khalif, whose taste was offended by its proportions, and he gave orders that its length should be diain in the 452nd year of the Hejra (AD 1060) it sufferedin of the roof” Froreatly the basilica of Justinian has been altered, and understand the Saracenic features which now exist in the original building The two aisles added to the older structure on the east and west, the demolition of the choir, and the erection of the south wall, belong to the great alterations made by el-Mahadi

The Crusaders converted it into a residence under the naranted to the Knights Templar[335] by Baldwin II Saladin restored the worshi+p of Islam, and it is now used for the rite _Shaffi_

We will now proceed to an exa itself The facade has a porch with seven arches[336], corresponding to the seven aisles of the er than the others; all are acutely pointed The for the walls, the details of the niches, and the orna characterise the architecture of this part as Saracenic On entering the mosque the keeper points out the sepulchre of the sons of Aaron, opposite to theretains traces of a crucifor a nave with two side aisles and a transept[337]; the diree perfectly with this plan[338] The walls of the nave are supported by colu Corinthian capitals, which are rather overloaded with ornamental detail, in the usual bad taste of Byzantine art Fro pointed arches, and above them are ts of ith see is open, the upper built up The pillars supporting the walls and aisles on each side are square, and very plain, except on their faces to the east, which are relieved by projecting half-columns The two outermost aisles on each side are h walls a very different and later style ofthat they were added at a subsequent period The transept is divided froe pointed arch, and at their intersection is a do from a cylindrical drum supported by four pillars ornamented with shafts of verd antique with Corinthian capitals The section of the dohtly ovoid and the drum has pointed hich prove that it inal foundation of the church Its walls on the inside are adorned in the Saracenic style with arabesques, flowers, landscapes, and n of Selih devoid of taste, when colass in the s, produces an agreeable and at first sight striking effect Behind the south arch and under the dome in the south wall is the _Mikhereb_ of the Moha the _Kibla_ or direction of Mecca This is ornamented with s faced with slabs of very valuable marbles of different colours; the keeper asserts that the black stone in the iven by God to Abrahaht of this is the _Minbar_ or tribune for prayers, a nificent work in cedar wood, executed in former times by the carvers of Aleppo; it is called _Borkan-ed-din-Khadki_, and to the right of it, is the stone with the print of our Saviour's foot, mentioned above; to speak the truth, it requires a vivid fancy to see the iranite, verd antique, travertine, and lu capitals of different patterns and unquestionable antiquity In the western arm, on the left hand, are two columns of verd antique, a small distance apart, called by the Mohauide, all who enjoy the favour of God can pass through the narrow space between them, but not those who are wicked The worn state of their inner sides shews the great number of the faithful who have passed the test This ar hall, whose low vaulted roof is supported by pointed arches springing from many-sided pillars; it is called the allery built by the Crusaders Our guide tells us that in their time it was used as an armoury, which is doubtless the truth, as the -house At the end of the eastern arhted by s co a fine view of the slopes of Ophel, part of the Kidron valley, and the Mount of Offence with the village of Siloam This chamber is supposed to be the place in which Omar prayed for the first time within the walls of the _Haram_: by the spot where he knelt there is a niche, ornarey marble, which have been inverted by the architect, so that the capitals richly carved with leaves serve as bases This is called especially the mosque of Omar, as it continued to be the private oratory of the Khalif On turning back to enter the ht a kind of chapel, wherein is a niche ornamented with marble, called _Bab er-Rahma_ (Gate of Mercy), near it are the _Mikhereb_ of S John (Baptist) and Zacharias On quitting the ht, we find a flight of steps leading down to the subterranean vaults below it

These consist of two large corridors running below and parallel to the mosque The floor slopes from north to south, and near the latter extree in the level[340] At the entrance they are separated by a wall entirely of Arab work, and farther on by an arcade supported by square pillars; the vaulting is not quite circular, being slightly flattened; it is very regular, and composed of stones of es They are not of an uniform size, but nevertheless perfectly correspond with Ro to an earlier period; being laid with reat accuracy The east wall is for blocks, all of moderate dimensions and laid with mortar The stones are well squared and smoothed by the hammer, without the least trace of rustic work; the surface of the wall is sround and cannot be considered anything but Roman masonry The all differs somewhat froe blocks of stone resee On soht traces of it, and after a very minute and careful examination, I think that there has been an atte the face of the wall: these blocks are all laid with ular courses; and the wall is perpendicular to the ground It is quite evident that, thoughthe extensive ruins have been used in constructing this wall, the present building is not of the age of Herod, still less of Solomon, but without doubt of Justinian At the south end of the vault the two galleries unite, the line of the arcade dividing thee monolithic column and two half-columns; one attached to the last pillar on the north, the other to a wall on the south The vaulting of this chamber consists of four he from the central pillar, with a shell orna in the south wall, communicated with the outside The one on the east is the Gate of Huldah, which we noticed during our survey of the exterior, inside it is marked by a marble pillar built into the wall; the other opens into a chaant capitals[341] The east and alls in this lower portion of the gallery are a continuation of those described above, and of similar masonry; but the face of the south hich divides the two doors is entirely forether with the ; but I attribute the cupolas in the vaulting and the two doors to Justinian's restoration It is very probable that the gates and the gallery were built in the days of Solomon, either as an entrance to the Temple from the south, or perhaps as part of the substructure of the palace of Pharaoh's daughter, which may have occupied this position The whole was, no doubt, destroyed by the Chaldeans and repaired to the best of his ability by Nehealleries were rebuilt by Herod, when he undertook his great work of the restoration of the Temple, to form a communication between it (especially the Court of the Gentiles) and the south part of the city We need not suppose that it was entirely destroyed when the Roh the ruins which fell upon it , they would also cover and so preserve it In the gate at the south extrenise the Middle Gates of Josephus; the position of which is defined by the words of the historian: ”the fourth front of the Teates in the middle[343]” Justinian was, I think, the person who repaired and adorned these gates, and rebuilt the vaults, to support the foundations of his basilica, and serve at the same time for a communication between Moriah and the south part of the city The east wall of the galleries is underneath the row of pillars, on the east of the first side aisle in the same direction; that is, under one of the outer walls of the ancient basilica; while the all is exactly under the line running down the reat nave The architect must have _rebuilt_ them to serve for this purpose, and not simply availed himself of as already there, because, as I have already said, the character of the e of Justinian

Let us now refer to the account given by Procopius[344], who, after stating that the Ein, to be built at Jerusaleoes on to say, ”The hills however had not sufficient space for the co to the Emperor's order; but a fourth part of the Temple was deficient, towards the south and the east, just where it is lawful for the priests to perfor device was conceived by the persons who had charge of the work--they laid the foundations at the extreht with the rock When, then, they had brought it as high as the extre space arches fro with the remainder of the Temple's foundation In this way the Temple is in part founded on solid rock and in part suspended; the E contrived a space in addition to the hill” He also states that this is the only building in the city situated in this way I agree hat the historian says of the want of space, on the south and east (where the ruined vault was), and that the persons in charge of the work built the side walls as described, but do not believe that they were the first persons to construct the, but in ruins, andon the spot, to rebuild the such parts as they found standing upright and firree in alue, I quote his words[345]: ”This gallery is a Byzantine building, and is roofed with two parallel barrel vaults, the inner sides of which are supported by a row of se from square piers

The south end is covered by four do on pendentives; and the four arches dividing and supporting thee is ancient, and probably of the age of Herod, it is in that date to a vestibule vaulted with doe has then been rebuilt at a comparatively modern period, namely that of the foundation of the basilica”

The only point on which I differ from the above is, that I believe the monolith, the south wall, and perhaps soallery to be of the age of Herod Near the entrance, on the west side, I discovered a dark room; the Arab wall above mentioned has been built to enclose it, and, at the saround passage, which runs to the west, and formerly came out inside the city, to the south of the _Mekheround, near the Jeailing place, is its other extree to it, but was prevented by the nedly been blocked up, and obliged to abandon ht in my conjecture There is also an aperture in the east wall, now closed with loosely built stones and rubbish, which see into the vault at the south-east corner of the _Haram_ In the all of the western corridor, just before reaching the steps leading down into the cha about four feet above the ground A Mohamround passage, leading to the Tomb of David; it is noever impossible to explore it There is also a space in the east wall of the above chamber, formerly occupied by a doorhich no doubt coe into the vaults we have already visited, in the south-east corner of the _Haram_; it is exactly in a line with the door I pointed out in them Hence we see how the stables were reached from inside the enclosure Opposite to this doorway is another, in the all, leading into the vaults below the mosque Abu-Bekr or the arround passages in which the Jews took refuge during a riot[346]; that they coiven by Josephus[347] of the attempted escape of the tyrant Simon from that place; who appeared on the spot where the Temple had stood, dressed in purple and white, in the hope of terrifying the Rouard This is also an additional proof that the architects of Justinian were not the original builders of these vaults

Returning to the outer air and going towards the south-west angle of the _Haraarabins, or western Mohammedans It is a plain edifice without aisles, with sori his visit to the city in 1857 On the west side of the enclosure are various buildings, chiefly of the dates of the Crusaders, of Saladin, or of Solyman; with a chapel dedicated to _Cobba-Moussa_ (Moses), a fountain for ablutions, and several small edifices which may be seen in the plan

The ular quadrilateral platfor almost wholly of rock, and surrounded by a loall intended ( on it, and in different parts of the platforant domes, and applied to various uses; some for oratories or schools, or for interviews between the faithful and their spiritual advisers; others for houses for the readers of the Koran, dervishes, and the keepers of the hts of steps on each side lead up to the platforarded by the Mohaht is not the saeneral surface of the _Haram_ They are made of white Palestine breccia, and at the head of each stands an elegant arcade of pointed arches, with coluranite, or verd antique, or ht and diameter, in their bases and in the patterns of their capitals

Hence I aed to one of the Christian churches, which the Mohammedans destroyed and robbed of their ornaments to decorate their own sanctuary These slender structures are not all alike; some have four arches and three colu nuood The whole of the platfore slabs of white Palestine breccia, concealing the rough surface of the rock; which I saw underneath when soress, and also in the houses abutting on the wall, and in the cisterns; there is therefore no doubt that this is the actual summit of Moriah

From this esplanade there is a fine view of the ance, and richness is surpassed by very few Its plan is very sional base, supports a pointed do as Saracenic The upper part of the dohtly pointed, while the lower is alracefulness is thus increased, without loss of grandeur It is covered with zinc; the drulazed tiles of different colours (called Da made expressly for the purpose, bear on them arabesques andout clearly froon is faced with slabs of veined white round; and then incrusted with coloured bricks, which terminate in a cornice covered with Arabic inscriptions The south-west face of the octagon is uncovered, and exposes the original rough wall; whose stones and masonry prove that the whole, without exception, is the work of Saracenic artists All the doors and s are pointed; but their original shape was slightly altered during the restorations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; especially in the case of the s of the dru is now square

Opposite to the Gate of David (on the east side) is a sonal dome, supported by columns of valuable marbles with very old capitals Their bases are of different heights, to coth of the shafts It is called _Kubbet es-Silsileh_ (the dome of the chain) or _Kubbet el-Berareh_ (the do to Mohaement seat of David, to which he will return on the Last Day[350]

After sta the interior of this edifice, I have come to the conclusion that there is a vault below it, in the reat size, and is very probably part of a conduit The south door has a porch supported by eight columns of verd antique with Corinthian capitals; on the west, near to this, the Santon points out a slab of veined marble called 'the Bird of Solomon[351]'