In his interpretation of the Messianic prophecies, on the day of Pentecost St. Peter refers to this venerable monument, declaring that“his sepulchre is with us unto this day.”[103] At the close of the twelfth century, one of the walls of the building covering the tomb gave way, and, in order to repair it, the patriarch of the city commanded his workmen to take stones from the original wall of Zion; in gathering them, they uncovered the mouth of a cave; on exploring it, they reached a large hall supported by marble pillars incased with gold, and in it were two tablets, and on each lay a crown and sceptre of gold. Near the sarcophagi were iron chests carefully sealed, and, when they were on the point of opening them, a blast of wind issuing from the cavern drove them back, throwing them senseless to the ground. Recovering, they heard a voice commanding them to depart. On reporting their adventure to the patriarch, he concluded that what they had mistaken for tables were the tombs of David and Solomon, and immediately ordered the vault to be closed.In 1839, Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were permitted, by paying an immense sum, to look through the “lattice of a trellised door,” and behold the tombs of their renowned ancestors.[104] Of the size and appearance of the sepulchre it is impossible to speak with accuracy, as the fanatical Moslems, who guard it with religious superstition, only suffer the traveler to approach the outer entrance. Like most of the tombs of that age, it is probably hewn in the solid rock, and decorated in a manner becoming royalty; but of its proportions and grandeur the world must remain in ignorance till the Holy City shall have passed into the hands of Christians, when those of every faith shall be permitted to linger around the dust of Israel’s great kings, who sleep in death amid the scenes of their greatest glory.
A few paces within the wall, and to the east of the ZionGate, are the “quarters of the lepers.” Though formerly excluded from the city, they are now suffered to build their wretched huts along the wall. In obedience to a law prevalent throughout the East, all lepers are compelled to live together in three colonies, and it is a coincidence no less singular than true that the cities in which these colonies are located were the residences of three historic lepers[—]Naaman of Damascus,[105] Gehazi of Nablous,[106] and King Azariah of Jerusalem.[107] Numbering in all 200, those on Mount Zion are supported by charity. Their homes are miserable huts, low, dark, and loathsome. Allowed to marry only with each other, their offspring, when born, are usually fair, and apparently healthy. Retaining their health and beauty up to the period of puberty, the fatal disease, like a scrofulous spot, then makes its appearance on a finger, on the nose, or on the cheek, and, spreading over the system, it ultimately reaches some vital organ, and the unhappy victim dies.
Preparing their evening meal, men and women moved with feeble step from hut to hut, exchanging articles of food, and also their rude cooking utensils. Their garments were old and torn, their voices were dry and husky, their faces were red like a coal of fire half extinguished, their eyes swollen and restless, their hair was gone, their lips and cheeks, nose and ears were corroded with ulcers, and the flesh of their hands and arms had been eaten away, leaving the bone red and bare.
Standing afar off, as in the days of Christ, they stretched out their hands, and begged in tones so piteously that none could resist their entreaties. In the plaintive accents of their native Arabic, they hailed me, “Pilgrim, give me; for the Lord’s sake, give me.” Dropping a few piastres in the folds of their infected robes, I hastened away, hearing their tones of pity, and seeing their horrid forms in memory days after the spectacle had been withdrawn. Alas for them to whom this world is one great hospital, and life the vestibule of the grave!
In a country where sanitary regulations are ignored, it is not strange that such persons are allowed to marry and propagate their unfortunate progeny. Their marriage, like that of idiots and lunatics, should be treated by the government as a crime against humanity. Were marriages among them prohibited, this leprous race would soon become extinct, and society wouldbe relieved of one of its worst maladies. In cases of spontaneous leprosy the victim is banished from his home, and, becoming a denizen of the infected quarter, he contracts matrimonial alliances, and perpetuates the evil. Though the continuance of the disease is mostly hereditary, yet occasionally it is contracted. While only the proximate cause of leprosy has been determined, the Scriptures assume it to be an evil inflicted upon the guilty for the commission of heinous offenses against the divine law; and, if modesty permitted, it could be easily shown that the unmentionable crimes too prevalent in the East justly merit such a condemnation. Retaining all its ancient characteristics, leprosy still infects the garments worn by leprous persons, and also the stones and mortar of the buildings they occupy. Two centuries ago, Calmet made the suggestion that the former was caused by vermin infecting clothes and skins, and the latter was caused by animalculæ which, like mites in cheese, erode the stones and mortar.
Connected with Mount Zion on the north by a small isthmus is the Hill Akra. Though not mentioned in the Bible by a name at present known, it holds a conspicuous place in Jewish history as the scene of some of the most fearful struggles between the defenders and the assailants of the city. Called by Josephus the “Lower City,” to distinguish it from the “Upper City,” situated on Mount Zion, it is described by him as being separated from the latter by the Tyropean Valley, the buildings on the two hills facing each other, and terminating at the intervening ravine. At present Akra is a long, stony ridge of a gibbous shape. Extending from the Yâffa Gate to the northwest corner of the town, and including the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it extends eastward to the western wall of the Haram. It is now the Christian quarter of the city, and the site of several fine convents. Though covered with buildings, its gibbous form is perceptible, both in ascending from St. Stephen’s Street, and also from the Yâffa Gate. Originally it was crowned with a lofty rock, which proved such a strong position that the Syrians under Antiochus Epiphanes successfully resisted the attacks of the Jews for twenty years, and, after the enemy had been dislodged, it “required the constant labor of all Jerusalem during three years to level it” to its present height.
Separated from Akra by a valley which the Asmoneans partiallyfilled up is the Hill Bezetha, a long, irregular ridge running north by west from the Temple area. On the east it rises abruptly from the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the south it is separated from Mount Moriah by a deep fosse, while on the north it has been cut into two parts by a broad and deep excavation. When carefully compared, the two parts exactly correspond. The north wall of the city crosses the southern half of this ridge, and in the face of the opposite section is the famous Grotto of Jeremiah. It was to inclose this entire hill, then extending 1000 yards north and south, and from 500 to 1000 east and west, that Herod Agrippa built the third wall of ancient Jerusalem. Up to that time it was the suburb of the city, and, though the last of the five hills to become inhabited, it ultimately became the most populous, receiving as its name Bezetha—“The New City.” It is now the Moslem quarter of the town. On the traditional site of Herod’s palace stands the Mosque of the Dervishes. True to their low conceptions of architecture, the Mohammedan dwellings are destitute of taste and design. On the northeast corner of this ridge there is a large area devoted to pasturage, where the pasha’s elegant horses are kept. Not far from St. Stephen’s Gate is the Gothic Church of St. Anne, recently presented to the Emperor of the French by the Sultan for services rendered during the Crimean War. It has been repaired by order of its new proprietor, and around it the Latins are erecting a nunnery for the “Sisters of the Sacred Heart.”
CHAPTER III.
Mount Moriah.—Site of Solomon’s Temple.—Surrounding Walls.—Great Fosse.—Pasha’s Palace.—Council Chamber of the Jewish Sanhedrim.—Jews’ Place of Wailing.—Their cruel Treatment.—Scene on Friday Afternoon.—Mournful Spectacle.—High-priest.—Prophecy fulfilled.—Solomon’s Bridge.—Its Antiquity.—Temple Area.—Tower of Antonia.—Shrines within the Inclosure.—Imposing View.—Dome of the Chain.—Mosque of Omar.—Its grand Exterior.—Its History.—Its Portals.—Its magnificent Interior.—Sacred Rock within the Mosque.—Traditions.—Scene of the Offering of Isaac and of other Scriptural Events.—Mosque of El-Aksa.—Its Interior and History.—Solomon’s subterranean Passageway.—Extraordinary Workmanship.—Mosque of Jesus.—Solomon’s great Vaults.—They reflect his Genius.—Evidence of their Antiquity.—Solomon’s great Lake beneath his Temple.—His Work.—Vicissitudes of Mount Moriah.