Shepp's Photographs of the World

by James W. Shepp; Daniel B. Shepp

PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH, Egypt.—Here are represented the great Pyramids of Gizeh, occupying a plateau gradually ascending from east to west, parts of which are very precipitous at places. The three pyramids are so situated on this plateau as to face the four points of the compass, although the magnet shows a deviation toward the west. The Sphinx is situated close by. Numerous tombs, almost all in ruins, surround these pyramids, and extend over the plateau to the east. They are sometimes hewn in the form of grottoes in the external rocky slope.

THE SPHYNX, EGYPT.—
"Since what unnumbered year,	"No faithless slumber snatching,
Hast thou kept watch and ward,	Still couched in silence brave,
And o'er the buried Land of Fear,	Like some fierce hound long watching,
So grimly held thy guard?"	Above her master's grave."

LANDING ON SUEZ CANAL, Egypt.—The Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, was completed in 1863. During the time of construction, which lasted five years, 25,000 men were employed, and 1600 camels to supply them with water. The cost of constructing the canal was $95,000,000, part of which was raised by shareholders, and the balance by the Khedive. This picture represents a landing stage and one of the English trading vessels sailing between England and India. A number of camels and Arabs are seen on a ferry-boat, ready to be taken across the Canal, the latter furnishing the great highway for all European vessels sailing to or from the Orient.

POST-OFFICE, Suez, Egypt.—The site of this town is naturally an absolute desert, and, until the water of the Nile was introduced by the fresh water canal in 1863, the water-supply of Suez was brought across the head of the gulf from the "wells of Moses," on the Arabian coast, or else carried on camels, after an hour's journey, from the fortified brackish of Bir Suweis. In spite of its favorable position for commerce, the place was quite small prior to the time of the canal, and even to-day the canal carries traffic past Suez rather than to it. The picture shows the post-office square.

IN CENTRAL AFRICA.—No country in the world creates more interest among the civilized nations than does Africa. In the far interior, where African explorers have failed to find traces of the outer world, every variety of savage humanity exists. These uncivilized people, who know nothing of the progress of nations, live in tribes, preying upon each other's settlements, whenever opportunity presents itself. The above picture represents the typical natives of the Dark Continent.

YAFFA OR JAFFA, Palestine.—Jaffa is a small town lying on the coast of the Mediterranean, at the foot of a rock one hundred and sixteen feet in height. This town is very ancient, and a road runs directly from it to Jerusalem. The houses are built of tuff-stone, and the streets are generally very narrow and dirty, and, after the slightest rain, exceedingly muddy. The town walls are falling to decay, and the interior of the town is uninteresting. Tradition points out the place as the one in which Napoleon is said to have caused plague-patients to be poisoned, and in which St. Peter once fished; but the authenticity of it seems to proceed from a confusion of ideas.

JERUSALEM, Palestine.—Here is a place of overwhelming interest, but at first sight sadly disappointing. Little is seen of the ancient City of Zion and Moriah, the far-famed capital of the Jewish Empire, in the narrow, crooked and ill-paved streets of the modern town. The combination of wild superstitions, with the merest formalism which is everywhere observed, and the fanaticism and jealous exclusiveness of the numerous religious communities of Jerusalem, form the chief modern characteristics of that memorable city which was once the fountain-head from which the knowledge of the true God was wont to be vouchsafed to mankind, and which has exercised the greatest influence on religious thought throughout the world.

WAILING-PLACE OF THE JEWS, Jerusalem, Palestine.—Outside of the enclosure of Mosque El Aksa, at Jerusalem, is the noted wailing-place of the Jews. A large number of them, including old and young, male and female, gather here on Friday, kiss the stones and water them with their tears. They bewail the downfall of Jerusalem, and read from their well-worn Hebrew Bibles and prayer-books the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The following few words are an exact copy from their litany: "For the Palace that lies desolate, we sit in solitude and mourn." They present a curious spectacle.

STREET SCENE, Jerusalem, Palestine.—The above photograph represents one of the fourteen stations of the "street of pain," over which Christ is said to have carried the cross on His way to Golgotha. The place where Christ was laid upon the cross, the house of Dives, the rich man, where Simon of Cyrene took the cross from Christ, the house against which Christ is said to have leaned, or near which He fell a second time, and the place where Christ is said to have addressed the women that accompanied Him, are all seen along this avenue.

GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, Palestine.—This holy place is situated at the foot of Mount Olivet across the Kedron, and noted as the scene of our Lord's agony. Jesus frequently came here, as did also His disciples. It is a small irregular spot surrounded by a high wall. This wall was built in 1847 by Franciscan monks, who claimed it necessary to keep from the garden, pilgrims who injured the olive trees. There are seven of these trees remaining in the Garden, whose trunks, nineteen feet in circumference, are cracked open with age, and claimed to date back to the time of our Saviour.