After an hour and a half of level riding southwards, we arrived at a broad old sycamore in the middle of the road.
Another hour brought us to Asdood (Ashdod) of the Philistines, with Atna and Bait Durâs on our left. I do not know where in all the Holy Land I have seen such excellent agriculture of grain, olive-trees, and orchards of fruit, as here at Ashdod. The fields would do credit to English farming—the tall, healthy, and cleanly population wore perfectly white though coarse dresses, and carried no guns, only the short sword called the Khanjar. We rested in an orchard beneath a large mulberry-tree, the fruit of which was just setting, and the adjacent pomegranate-trees shone in their glazed foliage and bright scarlet blossoms, the hedges of prickly pear were bursting into yellow fruit, palm-trees rising beyond, the sky was of deep sapphire brilliancy, and the sun delightfully hot.
Here then had been the principal temple of the fish-god Dagon, which fell nightly in presence of
the Israelitish ark. Not the only temple, however, for there is still a village near Jaffa with the name of Bait Dajan, and another still further north, in the same plain, but in the Nabloos district. Strange that this temple of Dagon at Ashdod should have survived and preserved its worship so late as nearly to the Christian era, when it was burnt by Jonathan the Jerusalem high priest, (Josephus Ant., xiii. 4, 4; Macc. x. 84.)
Ought not Gath to be sought between this, and Ekron, according to 1 Sam. v.? See also 2 Chron. xxvi. 6.
Soon after remounting we arrived at the ruin of a fine old Khan, one of the numerous establishments of the kind upon the camel road from Damascus to Egypt, but now every one of them is broken and unfit for use. There was a noble column of granite lying across the gateway, and two Welies close adjoining.
Reached Hhamâmeh at 11 a.m., from which we turned aside through lanes of gardens, and over deep sand towards ’Ascalon, leaving Mejdal on our left, with its lofty tower rising over an extensive plantation of olive-trees. This tower is believed to be of Moslem erection. Passing another village on our left, we at length came to Jurah, a wretched brick hamlet, stuck as it were against the ancient walls of ’Ascalon.
We were on the sea-beach at noon. Upon this beach lie stupendous masses of overthrown
city wall, and numerous columns of blue-gray granite of no very imposing dimensions. A great number of these have been at some time built horizontally into those walls, from which their ends protrude like muzzles of cannon from a modern fortification. This arrangement, with the same effect, is also found at Tyre, Cæsarea, and other places along the coast.
The site or lie of the city is principally in two hollow basins, in which the detrition of houses forms now a soil for grain, for fruit gardens and good tobacco.