The party made a late start from Nabulus in the direction of Jenin and Nazareth. As they rode from their camp Doctor Bronson called the attention of the boys to the fact that the streams east of the town flowed into the Mediterranean, while those to the west found their way into the Jordan and the Dead Sea. The route lay through a region of pleasing valleys and plains not unlike those they had seen the day before, and for part of the way they followed an ancient road which the guide said belonged to the time of the Romans, or might even be older by a few centuries. There was a succession of olive and fig orchards, interspersed with gardens and fields, and the terraces on the hill-sides showed that not a foot of arable soil had been overlooked. There were numerous villages clinging to the hill-sides, or nestled among the rocks, and altogether the landscape was full of picturesque effects.
SEBUSTIEH, THE ANCIENT SAMARIA.
Through scenes like these they made their way for two hours and more, when the guide called their attention to a village on the side of a broad hill. Immediately in front of them was the ruin of a Roman gate-way, with two of its arches standing, and not far from the gate-way was a group of natives with the ever present camel. Old olive-trees were on the slopes and through the valley, and covered the hill where stood the village to which the guide pointed.
"That is Sebustieh," said the Doctor, "a modern village on the site of ancient Samaria."
"I've been reading about it as we rode along," said Fred. "It is the spot where King Omri placed the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and where Ahab built the temple of Baal after marrying Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Sidon. We can find much of the history of Samaria in the Books of the Kings in the Old Testament. The names of the prophets Elisha and Elijah are connected with Samaria, and it was here that King Herod the Great devoted much time and effort to make the most beautiful city of Palestine."
When Fred had finished his account of Samaria the travellers moved on. They reached the village in a quarter of an hour or so, and were taken at once to the ruined Church of St. John, which is now used as a mosque. The inhabitants gathered around the door, and at first refused permission for the strangers to enter; but the dragoman had taken the precaution to bring a permit from the Governor of Nabulus, and to engage a soldier from the same official. The permit and the soldier had the effect of opening the doors, and also of keeping the natives in order. The modern residents of Samaria have none of the qualities of the good Samaritan of scriptural renown, and show no hesitation at the robbery of travellers when the latter are without protection.
The tomb of John the Baptist is pointed out in the space enclosed by the walls of the church, but the tradition concerning it is on very doubtful authority. The places of his imprisonment and execution are also shown, but there is no mention of them by the early writers until after the third century.
The summit of the hill is covered with ruins, and there is an open space once surrounded with columns, of which fifteen are still in position, but without their capitals. Partly down the hill are the remains of the colonnade erected by King Herod, and intended to form the great street of the city. There were two rows of these columns about fifty feet apart, and they were more than half a mile in length: enough of the columns are standing to give an idea of the original magnificence of the place.