Having left Rama early in the morning of the ensuing day, we entered the gate of Jerusalem about sun-set. The ground between Rama and Jerusalem is rugged, mountainous, and barren. My servant having loitered behind, was seized by some Arabs, thrown from his mule, and pillaged.
I must confess the first aspect of Jerusalem did not gratify my expectation. On ascending a hill distant about three miles, this celebrated city arose to view, seated on an eminence, but surrounded by others of greater height; and its walls, which remain tolerably perfect, form the chief object in the approach. They are constructed of a reddish stone. As the day was extremely cold, and snow began to fall, the prospect was not so interesting as it might have proved at a more favourable season.
It is unnecessary to dwell on the description of a city trivial in innumerable books of travels, but a few miscellaneous remarks shall be made as they happen to arise.
Mendicants perfectly swarm in the place, allured by the hope of alms from the piety of the pilgrims. The religious of Terra Santa retain great power, and there is one manufacture that flourishes in the utmost vigour, namely that of reliques, crucifixes inlaid with mother of pearl, chaplets, and the like. Yet the church of the holy sepulchre is so much neglected, that the snow fell into the middle; the beams, said to be cedar, are falling, and the whole roof is in a ruinous state.
The Armenian convent is elegant, and so extensive as to present accommodation for no less than a thousand pilgrims.
During twelve or thirteen days a very deep snow lay upon the ground. The catholic convent has a large subterraneous cistern, into which the snow, melting from the roof and other parts, is conveyed, and supplies the monks with water for a great portion of the year.
The best view of Jerusalem is from the Mount of Olives, on the East of the city. In front is the chief mosque, which contains, according to the tradition of the Mohammedans, the body of Solomon. From the same mount may be discovered, in a clear day, the Dead sea, nearly South-east, reflecting a whitish gleam. The intervening region appears very rocky.
The tombs of the kings, so denominated, are worthy of remark, being of Grecian sculpture on a hard rock. There are several ornaments on the sarcophagi of foliage and flowers, and each apartment is secured with a massive panneled door of stone. Great ravages have been made here in search of treasure. These tombs have probably been constructed in the time of Herod and his successors kings of Judea.
A very considerable part of the inhabitants is Christian, between whom and the Muslims there exists all that infernal hatred which two divinely revealed religions can alone inspire.
At about the distance of two hours, or six miles, stands Bethlehem, in a country happy in soil, air, and water. The latter is conveyed in a low aqueduct or stone channel, which formerly passed to Jerusalem. The fons signatus is an exuberant spring: it is received successively by three large cisterns, one of which is well preserved. In coming from the cisterns, and at a small distance is seen what is termed the deliciæ Solomonis, a beautiful rivulet which flows murmuring down the valley, and waters in its course some gardens of excellent soil. The brinks of this brook are adorned with a variety of herbage. Olives, vines, and fig trees flourish abundantly in the neighbourhood. The olive trees are daily decreasing in number, as they are sacrificed to the personal enmities of the inhabitants, who meanly seek revenge by sawing down in the night those that belong to their adversaries. As this tree is of slow growth, it is seldom replaced. Such is the charity of Christians in the cradle of Christianity. A more pleasing object arises in the convent here, which contains under one roof the different tenets of Latins, Armenians, and Greeks.