Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text / Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground Plans and Sections

by Ermete Pierotti

The butchers are great rogues, and cheat in every possible way. The tariffs sanctioned by the Government are not observed, and whoever wants good meat must pay the butcher's price. Only those who are in authority, and can make their complaints heard, are supplied according to the tariff. The rest of the people suffer, and can get no redress from the badly-paid subordinates of the Government, who are bribed to be blind and deaf; and not unfrequently the complainant, if unprotected by one of the Consuls, is maltreated by the vendors and the vigilant guardians of the peace.

The shops kept by Europeans are so well provided with the products of that continent, that the stranger might easily forget that he was in Palestine. Food and liquors of various kinds, clothes, and other necessaries, come from England, Marseilles, and Trieste, and from many parts of the East; so that any one of moderate means may supply his wants sufficiently, but simply; and without these he can live on the produce of the country at a cheap rate.

Vegetables are scarce and dear, but annual supplies, in a preserved state, are sent from France. Beef and veal are seldom offered for sale, and are not good. There is plenty of mutton, sheep and goat, and sometimes of camel flesh; but the last two, with the inferior kinds of the former, are only bought by the poor. The European also finds pork, wild boar, hares and gazelles. Fowls, turkeys, ducks, and pigeons, are plentiful in the market, which is sometimes supplied with partridges and other game, and with fresh fish from Jaffa. Eggs and milk are plentiful; cheese and butter are imported, only because the peasants do not know how to make them, and will not take the trouble to learn. Oranges, lemons, pomegranates, cucumbers, melons, figs, almonds, and grapes, are very abundant; dates and bananas, the produce of the country, are less plentiful. There are also peaches, apricots, plums, pears, and apples, and many other fruits too numerous to mention. The wines of the country are made at Hebron, Bethlehem, and S. John: these are very good, but rather strong; and as they are insufficient for the wants of the place, and those of France are very dear, Cyprus wine is much used. The bread during the last few years has become pretty good, and that made by the Jews is very fair, and would be still better if they had proper mills to grind the wheat; those worked by horses and asses and by the hand all belong to private owners. A single windmill, erected by Sir M. Montefiore, has greatly improved the quality of the bread. The grain of the country, when properly ground and prepared, makes excellent bread; but many European families use flour imported from Trieste, which is very good. The Arab bread, on which most of the people live, is abominable, being badly made and full of grit. It is needless to observe that the dealers pay no regard to the orders of the government, and sell loaves either of light weight, or adulterated with cheaper materials. When Surraya Pasha inspected the shops in person, on which occasion I accompanied him, twelve offenders against the law were imprisoned; and many others only escaped by having no more bread to sell; that is to say, they had heard of the Pasha's coming, and had hidden their stock.

There is no lack of watchmakers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, tailors, bootmakers, and cabinetmakers, who can supply not only the necessaries, but even the luxuries of life. There are excellent building materials to be obtained, and good quarrymen, stonecutters, and masons. Wood is rather scarce in the country, but can be got from Egypt or Beyrout, where the yards are overstocked by the supplies from Trieste and Lebanon.

The French, Austrian, and Turkish posts facilitate intercourse with Europe and the East. The steamers also of the French Messagerie Impériale and of the Austrian Lloyd arrive at the port of Jaffa on alternate weeks. The Turkish post is very badly managed; for the courier is often robbed of his mail-bag, and when it arrives in safety, the distribution of its contents is conducted so carelessly, that the first comer may possess himself of any letter he pleases; so that nothing valuable should be entrusted to it.

The commerce of the city is on a very small scale, nor are there many merchants who speculate; and such as there are, except the Europeans and some few of the inhabitants, are more to be feared than the Bedouins who infest the open country. The value of money changes from one moment to another, according to the bankers' caprice, without the Government taking any notice of the matter. The legal rate of interest is 10, and sometimes 12 per cent., but this is disregarded; the usurers, who are numerous, demand 25 and even 30 per cent. Business in Jerusalem is transacted slowly, not only owing to the nature of the inhabitants, but also because Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, are the days of rest to the Mohammedans, Jews, and Christians, respectively; not to speak of the other numerous festivals which each community keeps holy during the course of the year.

If a European wishes to remain in good health, he should wear flannel, and avoid using linen, because the mornings and evenings are damp, and the temperature is frequently liable to considerable changes. When he is obliged to expose himself to the sun, he should cover his head with white cloth, and thus he will escape unhurt. When on a journey, and exposed to great heat, he should wear white clothing, and eat and drink very sparingly, not taking much water while en route.

It is well to be aware that all the gates are shut at sunset, excepting the Jaffa Gate, which remains open an hour longer; so that the traveller who arrives too late may be obliged to sleep in the open air, unless he have taken the precaution to furnish himself with an order from the Commandant.

Whoever goes out into the streets by night must carry a lantern, not only because it is so ordered by the authorities, and a person breaking this rule is liable to be arrested by a patrol or by the police, but also because it is otherwise impossible to avoid stumbling in some ill repaired part of the road, or being attacked by the packs of dogs, who guard and infest the streets of the city.

Having thus given some general information and advice, I proceed to make a few remarks on the present state of the city. A walk through the streets, when undertaken without a special purpose, is more oppressive than refreshing. They are narrow and dark, frequently arched over, and almost deserted. They are paved with stones, ill joined and uneven. These are not easy to walk on, as their surfaces are smooth and slippery, especially in the rainy season; and on horseback they are very dangerous, as I experienced myself the first time that I saw them. As the city slopes from west to east, the streets generally fall in the same direction; so that the upper are less filthy than the lower, which in the rainy season are horribly foul, since the dirt all lodges in them, and no one takes the trouble to remove it. Surraya Pasha issued strict orders to the street police, and frequently inspected them himself; but it is very hard work to keep the Arabs from their beloved mud. In the more frequented parts of the town the shops are generally mean in appearance, and disgust rather than amuse the spectators. The houses are built with small stones, some black with age, the rest light grey. Most of them have no windows outside, and those which have resemble prisons or monasteries, as the apertures are small and barred. This produces a very dull and oppressive effect, until the eye becomes accustomed to it. The entrance-doors are generally low and narrow, and I recommend the stranger not to form his opinion of the internal arrangements from what he sees on the threshold. The houses have terrace-roofs, many of which are covered with slabs of stone well united; but the generality are formed of small pieces mixed with cement, beaten into a solid mass, which however does not possess much power of resistance, as it cracks with the heat of the sun, and admits the water in rainy weather; consequently many of the houses are damp, and their inhabitants liable to fevers. These terrace-roofs are surrounded by a wall five or six feet high, serving as a parapet. It is formed of small earthenware tubes, making it look like the side of a dovecot; but by this means the women, by whom the roofs are used as places for exercise and amusement, can see, without being seen.