Buried Cities and Bible Countries

by George St. Clair

The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine—called the Tyropœon Valley, running up it from south to north, rising gradually from the south like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west—the Upper City of the Jews, the Mount Zion of modern tradition—is the higher and more massive; that on the east—Mount Moriah—is at once considerably lower and smaller, so that, to a spectator from the south, the city appears to slope sharply towards the east. The central valley, at about half-way up its length, threw out a companion valley on its left or west side, which made its way up to the general level of the ground at the present Jaffa Gate.

One more valley must be noted. It was on the north of Moriah, and separated it from a hill on which, in the time of Josephus, stood a suburb or part of the city called Bezetha, or the New-town. Part of this depression is still preserved in the large reservoir with two arches, usually called the Pool of Bethesda, near the St Stephen’s Gate.

All round the city are higher hills: on the east the Mount of Olives; on the south the Hill of Evil Counsel, rising directly from the Vale of Hinnom; on the west the ground rises gently to the borders of the great wady; while on the north, a bend of the ridge connected with the Mount of Olives bounds the prospect at the distance of more than a mile. Towards the south-west the view is somewhat more open; for here lies the Plain of Rephaim, commencing just at the southern brink of the Valley of Hinnom, and stretching off south-west, where it runs to the western sea.

This rough sketch of the terrain of Jerusalem, which I take mainly from Sir George Grove, will enable the reader to appreciate the two great advantages of its position. On the one hand the ravines which entrench it on the west, south, and east—out of which the rock slopes of the city rose almost like the walls of a fortress out of its ditches, must have rendered it impregnable on those quarters to the warfare of the old world. On the other hand its junction with the more level ground on its north and north-east sides afforded an opportunity of expansion, of which we know advantage was taken, and which gave it a remarkable superiority over other cities of Palestine, and especially of Judah, which, though secure on their hill-tops, were unable to expand beyond them.

The western side of the city is more than 100 feet higher than the eastern; but the Mount of Olives overtops even the highest part of the city by more than 150 feet.

The Walls and Streets of the City.—Jerusalem is surrounded by walls some 40 to 50 feet high, imposing in appearance but far from strong. For the most part they were erected as they now stand by Sultan Suleiman, in the year 1542, and they appear to occupy the site of the walls of the middle ages, from the ruins of which they are mostly constructed. On the eastern side, along the brow of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the section of the wall south of St Stephen’s Gate is of far earlier date, and is constructed in part of massive bevelled stones. A great stone at the south-eastern corner is estimated to weigh more than one hundred tons; and this block is one of a course of stones, 6 feet in thickness, which extends along the south wall for 600 feet, though not without gaps. The walls nearly resemble York and other ancient cities in England, having steps at intervals leading up to the battlemented breastwork; and the circuit of them, according to Robinson and others, is something less than 2½ English miles. The form of the city is irregular, the walls having many projections and indentations; but it is easy to make out four sides; and these nearly face the cardinal points.

There are at present five open gates in the walls of Jerusalem—two on the south and one near the centre of each of the other sides. They all seem to occupy ancient sites, and are by name (1) the Jaffa Gate, or Hebron Gate, on the west, to which all the roads from the south and west converge. (2) The Damascus Gate, or Gate of the Column, on the north, from which runs the great north road, past the Tombs of the Kings, and over the ridge of Scopus, to Samaria and Damascus. (3) St Stephen’s Gate, or Gate of my Lady Mary, or Gate of the Tribes, on the east, whence a road leads down to the bottom of the Kedron, and thence over Olivet to Bethany and Jericho. (4) The Dung Gate, or Gate of the Western Africans, on the south, and near the centre of the Tyropœan Valley. A path from it leads down to the village of Siloam. (5) Zion Gate, or the Gate of the Prophet David, on the summit of the ridge of the hill now called Zion. Besides these, there are two gates now walled up, one being the Gate of Herod, on the north side, about half-way between the Damascus Gate and the north-east angle of the city; the other the Golden Gate, in the eastern wall of the Haram. The Arabs call this the Eternal Gate, and it is sometimes called the Gate of Repentance.

About one-sixth of the area of the city is occupied by the Haram or Sanctuary, on Mount Moriah, within which stands the great mosque, called the Dome of the Rock, and where also there is ample breathing space.

Jerusalem is not a fine city according to western ideas. It is badly built, of mean stone houses: and its streets and lanes are narrow, dirty, and ill-paved. There are, however, some beautiful bits of architecture; there are the grand walls of the temple area; and there is, above all, the intense interest of its Scriptural associations.

Entering the city by the Jaffa Gate we find on our right the citadel, with the so-called Tower of David. The street right before us is now called the Street of David, and descends eastward to the principal entrance to the Haram. Another main street commences at the Damascus Gate and traverses the city from north to south, passing near the eastern end of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and through the principal bazaar, and terminating a little eastward of the Zion Gate. These two streets divide the city into four quarters. The north-east is the Moslem quarter, the north-west the Christian quarter, the south-west the Armenian, and the south-east the Jewish. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is, of course, in the Christian quarter, where also we have the Latin Convent, very conspicuous from its lofty position near the north-west angle of the city. In the Moslem quarter is the Serai or palace, and most of the Consulates, and the beautiful little Church of St Anne. The Armenian Convent, the largest building in the city, occupies a noble site on the south-western hill. Near it, on the north, is the English church. But by far the most remarkable and striking building in this quarter of the city is the Citadel, whose massive towers loom heavily over all around them. The Jewish quarter has no structure of note with the exception of the new synagogues.