On Monday morning the party made a good start in the direction of Mount Tabor and the Sea of Galilee. The tents were sent direct to the camping-ground which had been selected for the night, while the travellers made a detour to the summit of the historic mountain.
They looked back from the crest of a ridge on the road, and had a fine view of Nazareth. An hour's ride from this point through a wooded valley brought them to the foot of Mount Tabor, the Jebel-et-Tur of the Arabs, and a famous name in biblical history. Unlike many of the mountains of Palestine it is covered with trees to the summit, and the ruins scattered about its sides show that it has been the home of many people through numerous generations.
"We had a zigzag ride up the side of Mount Tabor," said the youths, in their journal, "and made frequent stoppages for our horses to take breath. When we reached the top we found it was not a peak, but a sort of rounded ridge, half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. All the space on the summit is covered with ruins, and there have evidently been towns, temples, fortresses, and other buildings on this commanding spot. We learn from the Bible (Joshua xix. 22) that Tabor was occupied when the Israelites first came into the country, and it is probable that there was a town here at that time. In another place (Judges iv.) we learn that Deborah ordered Barak to gather an army here; and it was from Tabor that the Israelites marched when they defeated Sisera. From that time down to the Christian era Tabor continued to be an important point, and was the scene of several battles. In the fourth century it was regarded as the scene of the Transfiguration, and many pilgrimages were made to it by the early Christians. Hermits formerly dwelt here in caves, and subsisted on the charity of visitors.
HOME OF A CAVE-HERMIT IN PALESTINE.
"Several convents and churches were established on Mount Tabor, and the Crusaders built a monastery on the summit, which was afterward destroyed by the infidels. There are two monasteries here now, but they are not of much consequence; one belongs to the Latins and the other to the Greeks, and, as we did not wish to show any partiality, we visited both of them. There is great hostility between the monks of the two establishments, and those who visit one are generally excluded from the other. Each party claims that the scene of the Transfiguration was on the spot where its own church stands. Both these statements are generally disbelieved; and it is the opinion of the majority of those who have investigated the matter that the great event occurred elsewhere than on Mount Tabor.
MOUNT TABOR.