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The Busy Man's Hand-Book (Hills and pleasant valleys)

hills and pleasant valleys. Modern Palestine is included in the vilayet of Syria, and contains 2 sub-pachalics-Acre and Jerusalem. From Mount Carmel to the borders of Egypt, the only port available for shipping is that of Joppa, the ancient harbor of Cæsarea having been rendered useless. In the N. the mountains reach to the coast line, but S. of Cæsarea the plain of Sharon and the ancient land of the Philistines present a broad expanse of level country, watered by numerous small streams, and valuable for agricultural purposes. The historic Jordan is the only important river. It has its sources in Mount Hermon, the S. peak of the Anti-Libanian range, and is a rapid stream. Near Laish (Dan) its headwaters unite, and flow into Lake Huleh (the waters of Merom). From the S. end of this lake to the entrance of Lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Tiberias, or Sea of Galilee), its course of 13 m. is through a narrow valley, but S. of this body of water the valley widens to from 5 to 10 m., through which the river winds so much that its course to the Dead Sea (60 m. in a straight line) is nearly 200 m. The Valley of the Jordan, 600 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean at the Lake of Gennesaret, sinks gradually, until the Dead Sea is reached. This curious inland sea, supposed to cover the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, is hemmed in on either side by precipitous limestone and sandstone cliffs, rising to a height of 1220 to 2000 ft. above its surface, which is 1312 ft. below the sea level. It is 42 m. long from the N. to S., and from 5 to 10 m. in width, and is situated 18 m. E. of Jerusalem. It is extremely salt, the water having a specific gravity variously estimated at from 1.13 to 1.24, and so buoyant that a bather experiences great difficulty in keeping his feet down. It contains no fish, but the prevalent opinion as to its pestilential character, and the belief that birds flying over it are suffocated by the noxious gasses arising form it, are erroneous. An American expedition, sent out in 1848, found numerous birds and animals living near its banks, and many ducks were seen swimming in its waters. In the N. it attains a depth of 1000 to 1300 ft., but the S. division is comparatively shallow, being, in some places, not more than 12 ft. deep. The Jordan, at its mouth, has a width of over 500 ft. The brooks Kedron, Arnon, and Kishon are little more than mountain torrents, and almost dry in summer.

POPULATION. The present population of Palestine cannot exceed 300,000, and may be one-third less. The dominant race are pure-blooded Turks, Mohammedans is religion, who hold the government offices; and a mixed breed of Arabs, Syrians, and Syro-Phœnicians form the great body of the people. The Jews number, perhaps, 10,000 and thus form an insignificant fraction of the inhabitants of a country which was once almost entirely possessed by them.

RELIGION. The Christians of the Greek Church are descendants of the original Syrian inhabitants; are bigoted, intolerant, and revengeful, and detest the Hebrews. There are also some Armenian Christians, Roman Catholics, and a few Maronites.

Agriculture, ETC. The chief agricultural productions are wheat, barley, corn, and rye; and some rice, beans, and potatoes are cultivated. The olive and the vine, the fig and the pomegranate, abound, and apple, pear, orange, lemon, and almond trees grow freely. Oak, pine, laurel, cypress, and myrtle trees are found in the valleys, but do not attain any great degree of perfection, and the stunted oaks of the desolate hills are of little value for any useful purpose. HISTORY. The history of Palestine is one so far transcending the limits of this work that it can only be alluded to here in the briefest terms. That is was originally the home of many nations, such as the Canaanites, the Amorites, Kenites, Kenizites, Jebusites, Perizites, and others, who were exterminated by, or became tributary to, the people of Israel, is known, but scholars have exhausted all the ingenuity of research in attempts to prove the race from which these tribes sprang or the condition of civilization which they attained, The Syro-Phoenicians, who occupied the coast N. of Mount Carmel, and with whom the Hebrews lived on terms of amity, were undoubtedly a cultivated people, distinguished in the arts and sciences, adventurous mariners and engaged in active commercial transactions with all the then known maritime countries, sailing even to Spain, Gaul, and Britain.