Jerusalem

the capital and chief city of Palestine. Its site is a quadrangular plateau half a mile square, surrounded on three sides by steep valleys, 300 to 400 feet deep--a sort of natural fortress. The ancient site is the same as the modern, save that debris has collected to a depth of from thirty to forty feet. During its eventful history the city has been surrounded by walls again and again. Fourteen centuries before Christ it is mentioned as a hill fort with a garrison. It was then the capital and citadel of the small kingdom of Jerusalem. At the time of the invasion of Canaan by the children of Israel it was a fortress of minor importance, and was left undisturbed until David captured it from the Jebusites and made it his capital. Even then it was but a small fortress. Solomon made it a city. He built the Temple and extended the walls to embrace more territory. Jerusalem was razed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B. C., and its inhabitants were carried away into captivity. The city was rebuilt and destroyed repeatedly during the centuries that followed. Under a native prince the temple was rebuilt, the walls were restored, business revived, trains of camels passed in and out through its gates, and Jerusalem again became the center of the Jewish world. It next passed under the dominion of Rome. The condition of the city in the time of Christ is more or less familiar to the New Testament student. Titus destroyed the city in 70 A. D., after one of the most barbarous and atrocious sieges recorded in history. Later it was held by Persian, Arab, Turk, and Crusader. The present city is that built by the Saracen known in history as Solyman the Magnificent. Modern excavations have resulted in identifying the chief features of the successive cities.

Aside from the plan of the Temple, now fairly well made out, the most interesting discoveries are the various aqueducts, tunnels, and rock-cut cisterns on which the city depended for water. It is estimated that the reservoirs are capable of holding 10,000,000 gallons. The aqueduct of Pilate, which conducted water from the pool of Siloam seven miles distant, is still in use.

The walls of modern Jerusalem are from twenty-five to fifty feet high. They inclose 210 acres. There are eight gates. The area within is occupied almost solidly by streets and flat-topped stone buildings. The monotony is broken by the domes of synagogues and the minarets of Moslem mosques. There are many monasteries, hostelries, hospitals, and bazaars. Americans maintain a school for oriental research.

The "Holy City," for it is holy to Jew, Christian, and Moslem, may be reached by rail from its seaport, Jaffa, thirty-three miles distant on the Mediterranean. Here the railroad ends. Carrying is resumed by mule trains and lines of laden camels. Caravans wend to and fro in all directions. The city is, of course, under Turkish rule. The present population is about 70,000, two-thirds Jew. There are about 10,000 Mohammedans and as many Christians of various denominations. The business of the city is quite largely the reception and entertainment of travelers. The site of Solomon's Temple and the Sepulchre of Christ, Calvary, the Mount of Olives, the Pool of Siloam, and Bethesda are of perpetual interest. At Easter there is an unusual influx of visitors. The inhabitants carry on extensive trade in rosaries, and crosses of olive wood, and other trifles offered as mementos.

During a summer day, the narrow streets are described as hot, stifling, noisy,--crowded with loaded camels and donkeys. There are long rows of small, dark shops. The owners squat in Turk fashion and offer their wares. At night the gates are closed; the hubbub ceases and gives way to a stillness as of the grave. The streets are not lighted, but in season the moon comes out and shines as it shines only in Judea.

During the summer the elevated situation of the city and the prevalence of the sea breeze from the Mediterranean render life endurable. At this season the population betakes itself to the housetops to sleep. In winter there are occasional falls of snow, lasting for a few days at a time. A parching desert wind from the east renders Jerusalem a very undesirable place of residence in the month of May.

See Jews; Palestine; Gethsemane; Mount Of Olives