Part 13 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PEOPLE OF BETHLEHEM WERE BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL.]
Cut in the rock, near Bethlehem is an ancient well, known as the well of David. From that point we obtained a good view of the square stone houses of the little town of Bethlehem, which is built on a sloping hill-side, and of the great spreading Church of the Nativity, which is the dominating feature of the place. Beyond the city we saw a verdant plain, where possibly Ruth gleaned, and, farther away, the hills where probably David led his flock to ”green pastures” and the shepherds of later days received the ”tidings of great joy.”
In the narrow streets of Bethlehem our driver shouted to men, women, and children to clear the way and make room for the carriages to pa.s.s through, snapping his whip at them if they did not quickly obey. When we arrived at the old Church of the Holy Nativity we were told that this venerable place is in reality a group of buildings, the original edifice having been built fifteen or more centuries ago, and many additions having been made in after years. We saw a structure of yellowish stone walls pierced with small windows which appeared to us more like a prison or a fortress than a place of wors.h.i.+p. There were no stained gla.s.s windows. There was no imposing portal opening into the temple. On entering the sacred enclosure we pa.s.sed through a door in the stone wall so low that we were compelled to stoop and so narrow that but one at a time might enter.
”This doorway,” said the guide, ”should remind the pilgrims that the birthplace of the Savior is to be visited with humility and reverence.”
In the large, time-worn interior of the church, faded mosaics, huge columns, and stone floors presented a rather gloomy aspect. The tourists hastened through and descended to the crypt or vault underneath the church. This vault was paved with marble, and on a raised platform in the centre was a large, handsomely decorated altar. Suspended from the ceiling were many ancient lamps of curious make and smaller lamps hanging in festoons. On one side was a small room, called the Chapel of the Nativity, where thirty gold and silver lamps threw a dim, soft light on the scene below. In the pavement before an altar was a star of silver, and the words:
”Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est.”
Opposite and near the Chapel of the Nativity was another small, rock-walled room called the Chapel of the Manger. In this room the dim light of golden lamps revealed a white marble manger in which a large wax doll reclined.
”The original wooden manger or cradle in which the infant Jesus reposed was taken to Rome,” explained the guide. ”If you return by way of Rome you may see it in the great church of Santa Maria Maggiore.”
”The care of the chapels, shrines, and holy places of the Church of the Nativity,” he continued, ”is appointed to the Latin, Greek, and Armenian churches. The s.p.a.ce inside the building is divided. Each sect has its own particular portion to care for, and an intense jealousy exists among the rival religious bodies. If the rug of the Armenian is accidentally pushed over the Latin line, the action is resented. If the broom of the Latin while cleansing intrudes upon the Greek domain, there is trouble.
Disputes have arisen from very slight causes, blows have been exchanged, rioting, blood-shed, and murder have followed. Priests at times have fought with priests until the Turkish soldiers intervened. Now, by the Sultan's orders, Moslem guards are stationed in the church to restrain the impetuous caretakers and prevent disturbances.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: THIS ROUND-TOPPED RIDGE IS CALLED THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.]
In one of the underground chapels of the church, a dark and gloomy cavern cut out of the solid rock, the guide said: ”In this grotto Saint Jerome pa.s.sed thirty years fasting, praying, meditating, and writing.
His last communion was taken here.”
We remembered that Domenichino's celebrated painting in the Vatican at Rome, called the ”Last Communion of St. Jerome,” represented the aged saint dying amid luxurious surroundings.
When we came out of the church, bright-faced boys and girls urged us to buy their wares or accompany them to the shops. The little town appeared to prosper from the manufacture and sale of souvenirs of carved mother-of-pearl and olive-wood. Crosses, crucifixes, rosaries, beads, glove-boxes, writing desks, inkstands, napkin rings, paper knives, and forks were offered as genuine wood from the olive trees of David's town, and the mother-of-pearl mementoes were carved with minute scenes of events in the life of Christ and of places in the Holy Land.
After the purchase of olive wood souvenirs had been made, the drive was continued to the Pools which Solomon had built to collect water for use in the Temple. These are situated among the hills about eight miles from Jerusalem. The stone walls of the reservoirs were so well constructed by Solomon's architects three thousand years ago that to-day the masonry is in almost perfect condition. The Pools, we were informed are not in use at the present time, although water is conveyed in pipes to Jerusalem from springs near-by.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A GARDEN SURROUNDED BY AN IRON FENCE.]
The glare of the sun on the white road and gray rocks, the lack of green in the bare landscape, and the fine dust from the limestone caused a slight smarting in the eyes of the travelers. So it was with relief that in the suburbs of the city, about half a mile from the Damascus gate, we descended a long flight of stone steps into the shade of an excavation in the rocks about twenty feet in depth. This open chamber, known as the Tombs of the Kings, is about ninety feet square. At one side is a doorway in the rock four feet high and thirty inches wide, and beside the doorway stood a huge stone, rounded at the corners, that might, by the united efforts of several men, be rolled in front of the entrance so as to close it completely. We crawled through the hole in the rock and entered a cavern. The candles of the guides revealed on each side of the cavern small rooms or caves containing shelves or apertures which had been used as the sepulchres of the Kings.
Jerusalem, situated on four hills, is surrounded by hills which are separated from the city and from each other by deep valleys or gulleys.
We drove from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives over a well constructed modern limestone road that wound among these hills and valleys in long curves and horseshoes in order to reach a place that seemed almost within a stone's throw.
[Ill.u.s.tration: CAREFULLY TENDED AND GUARDED BY FRANCISCAN MONKS.]
”The summit of this round-topped ridge, which is called the Mount of Olives, is owned by Russia,” explained the guide, ”and the Russians have erected an observation tower, a chapel, and other buildings upon it.
These buildings are surrounded by a courtyard enclosed within high stone walls, and a fee must be paid at the gate in order to gain admittance.
Within the court a small circular pavilion covers the place from which, it is claimed, the ascension of the Savior was made.”
As we approached the gate, a group of Russian men and women were seen coming sadly away. We were informed later that these peasants, after tramping a long distance on a holy pilgrimage in order to kneel down and kiss the stone that marked the sacred spot of the Ascension of their Lord, were refused admittance because they had not the required fee to pay for entrance. In a Roman Catholic church, built on the spot on Olivet where Christ is said to have taught His disciples to pray, the Lord's Prayer is displayed on charts in large letters in thirty-six different languages, so that pilgrims from all parts of the world can read the prayer in their own tongue.
From the summit of Olivet, which is two hundred feet above the city of Jerusalem, we looked down over the Holy City; but a finer panoramic view of the surrounding country was obtained afterwards from the Russian observation tower. The climbing of the two hundred stone steps which lead to the top of the tower was not easy, but we felt amply repaid by the magnificence of the view. Near the foot of the mountain lay the Garden of Gethsemane. Beyond and four hundred feet below us, the little brook Kedron trickled through the narrow Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Across the valley on the opposite heights of Mount Moriah, only half a mile away in a direct line, prominent in the foreground, stood the Mosque of Omar, and back of it rose the square roof and round domes of the city buildings. Away off to the east, deep down in the valley, we could see a portion of the Dead Sea and could trace the Valley of the River Jordan.
[Ill.u.s.tration: AND A FEW LEAVES FROM ONE OF THE ANCIENT OLIVE TREES.]