CHAPTER XXX.
THE CHRISTIAN'S MECCA.
We were agreeably surprised in Jerusalem and Judea, but disappointed to learn how few Protestant Christians visited this city which may without impropriety be styled the Christian's Mecca. Possibly the wretched harbor at Joppa—if harbor it can be called—may frighten some away, for when the weather is bad passengers are often carried by, and yet it does seem that there should be more than four thousand a year from the rich and numerous churches of Europe and America. More than ninety thousand pilgrims visit the Mohammedan Mecca each year, although the Mohammedans are poor and the journey is difficult. Port Said is only a hundred and thirty-five miles from Joppa and Alexandria less than three hundred miles, and more than ninety-nine thousand persons disembarked at these ports last year. Making a liberal allowance for Egyptians returning from Europe, for immigrants from Europe to Egypt, and for invalids visiting Cairo in search of health, it is still true that many times as many go to the Nile as travel to Jerusalem, and of the less than four thousand tourists who visit the Holy City less than one thousand continue their journey to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. The number which I mention does not include the Greek Catholics or the Roman Catholics, but is an outside estimate of the number of Protestant Christians. The railroads which are building and the carriage roads in process of construction will make travel easier and may increase the number in the future, but it is difficult to explain or to understand why so many have come near to, and yet passed by, without seeing the places made familiar to the Christian world by the books of the Old and the New Testament.
We landed at Joppa when the weather was fair, but were detained a half day that they might "de-ratify the ship," as the Turkish authorities describe rat-killing upon the ship—a custom inaugurated after the rat had been convicted of carrying bubonic plague. Joppa is on the edge of the Plain of Sharon and, as an abundance of water can be secured at a reasonable depth, the city is a garden. Orange trees thrive there and the fruit is excellent. Two places of interest are shown, the home of Tabitha and the house of Simon the tanner, the latter immortalized by the vision which taught Peter the universality of Christ's mission.
The railroad to Jerusalem crosses the valley of Sharon which, at this season of the year, is exceedingly attractive. The crops are growing, the fellaheen are at work in the fields and everywhere the wild flowers bloom. The rose of Sharon had many rivals, if the plain looked in olden times as it does now. The principal station on the plain is Ramleh, through which conquering armies marched for ages. From time immemorial Palestine has been a prize of war. When it was not itself the object of conquest, its occupation was necessary to the acquiring or holding of other territory. The Persians, the Egyptians, the Parthians, the Scythians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Turks have all overrun this country—not to speak of the numerous wars of the Israelites and the expeditions of the Crusaders. From Alexander the Great and Cæsar to Napoleon, no world-conquering general overlooked Palestine—and yet, out of Palestine came the Prince of Peace.
South of Sharon lies the plain of Philistia, a narrow strip of land between the hills of Judea and the sea, a small region, and yet it supported a people who warred for centuries with the Children of Israel. It was at Gaza, one of the chief cities on this plain, that Samson pulled down the pillars of the building and died with those who made sport of him.
Leaving the low country, the railroad begins the ascent of the Judean hills through the Wady es Suar, and as one is carried up the tortuous course of the narrow valley he begins to understand why Jerusalem was considered a citadel. The hills rise to a height of about twenty-five hundred feet and are so inaccessible that a small number dwelling on top could easily defend themselves against a much larger force. The narrow limits of Judea impress one, hemmed in as it is on the west by Philistia, on the south by the desert and on the east by the deep chasm of the Dead Sea. Its history was developed in a territory scarcely larger than a Nebraska county.
As we approached the summit the vineyards appeared and the olive groves became more numerous. Jerusalem is beautifully located. No wonder its rebuilding and re-peopling is the dream of the devout Jews, many of whom come from distant corners of the earth to spend their last days within its precincts. The present walls of the city are only a few hundred years old, but the Tower of David is believed to be a part of the wall erected by the great Hebrew king.