The Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1870-1875, 1870-12-15

H2 PROF, RICHARD OWEN.
NEW HARaroSv. IND, Aug. 18th. 1870.
Measra Editors.
Perhaps there is no portion of the
Holy Land more replete with interest
than
JERUSALEM.
The day We arrived. the old site Of
chs Church Of st. John Of Jerusalem.
the former property Of the knights Of
St John. was formally presented, by
order Of the Sultan. to the Prussian
Government. the Crown Prince Of
Prussia being At jerusalem in person,
10 receive the much coveted gift. AS
We threaded the narrow streets, two
lines Of Turkish guards Unexpectedly
formed, and the Prince, in plain eiti-
Eens' clothing, passed between them.
This movement placed US within six
feet Of him, and we received q very
gracious acknowledgment Of our salu-
iation. Immediately afterwards sal
v0s Of artillery commenced, and the
Prine3 was thus escorted and IGNORED
at parting. almost as if he had been a
crowned head.
The reception Of the Emperor Of
Austria. which took place few days
later, was, however, attended with
more display, as we found two trium-
phal arches on the Joppa road, and
heard more discharges OF artillery.
kIe himself was, nevertheless very
plain ard unassuming, wearing gray
suit and mingling with his suite, on
the road to Bethlehem, and afterWard
ID the Mosque Of Omer, lat both of
which places We accidentally met him),
az II he had been without rank or
title. When We afterWard entered
the church Of "Ecce Homo" he was
kneeling at prayer on large chair
placed for him In front. In the morn
ing we understood that he attended
Che mass said for his late brother
hiaxiHaillian. at the
CHURCH OF THE HOLY sEPULcHRE.
There is, perhaps, greater difficulty
in identifying Mount Calvary, and the
Sepulchre of our Savior, than almost
any other sacred localities in and
around Jerusalem. It does not &C.
cord with the idea obtained By most
persons from reading the account of
the orucidxlOn and subsequent burial
nf our Savior, that Calvary and the
tomb furnished By Joseph Of Arima-
thea should be so close together, as
10 be now under one and the same
church. However, the locality not
being thoroughly known, and that
which was formerly outside the walls
hnrnr wnwu kho hnnmk .f Al. ~
the church Includes spots selected as
nearest to the probable sacred places,
where Christ rested the cross. where
he was afterwards nailed to Il, where
it was planted on Calvary, where he
was Amounted for burial, as we'll as
the Sepnlchre, and the rock where
the angel sat, and the spot where our
kf0rd said: " Woman, touch me not"
TO prevent disputes, part Of the
enclosed area is the property Of the
Latins, a part of the Greek Church,
anOther portion IS Armenian, and the
Copts have also a claim; the Turks,
however, retain the keys and control
the entrance; yet they did not de-
mand any tribute as they do at many
places such as
THE MOSQUE or OMAR.
Although the examination of the
great rock enclosed under the mosque,
pnrpOrting to have been arrested in
its fight BY an angel as it was about
10 follow mOhammed in his ascension
to Heaven, as well as Of other curios-
tiles shown By the Mohammedans, is
not devoid of interest, as illustrating
their supeTstitions; yet the great at
traction here is undoubtedly the iden-
ti6cation of such portions of Solo
mons Temple, or rather Of the outer
wall, as can yet be traced. The gen.
eral area of the great court can
be followed pretty well and part
of the foundation, as at the
the remnant Of the bridge leading to
Mt. Zion, to be spoken of more fully
hereafter. Among other supersti-
tious associations they show a pillar
projecting from the wall, upon which
they think Mohammed Is to sit when
the world is to be judged. Some of
the dragOman say the Mohammedans
admit that Christ will Judge the world,
but think Mohammed will occupy
this prominent position looking out 70
the Mount of Olives, during that
last great day. When going round
the great rock they show the pretend
ed footprint Of Mohammed as be
made his ascent, and the finger marks
Of the Angel who prevented the rock
from following. The traveller il
then taken below, and the place
Is pointed out. rOn the under
side of this rock, (which they pretend
ID now floating in mid-air, but which
iB DO enclosed on all sides that it may
readily b supported atseveral points
centrally not seen, where Mohammed
finding the rock too low, followed i
out, but whether tremendously or not
is not stated. Here, also, they indi
cate the praying spots Of David, o
Solomon, and, in later times, of on
Savior. About or upon this rock
according to some authorities
Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac
Others suppose that, through the ap
erture in this rock, flowed the blooC
Of the victims from the sacrifcia
altar. The mosque is g0rgeously inlaiC
with blue and gold mosaic work, ha
finely stained glass windows, and j
provided with costly chandeliers.
The outer court sounds quite hol
low, when walked over, a great part o
Il being on arOhed subterranean WAYS
which probably connected with thu
large water reservoirs Of the Temple
OE the east side of the court il
shown the Large Gate by which oul
Savior probably reached the Temple
when lie made the triunphal entry
the memory OF which Is celebrated b.
the Catholics on Palm Sunday. Thu
west gate Is the one which communi
Gated with Mount Zion, ead By which
il is supposed Solomon usually en-.
tered. In part Of the court IS en-.
closed a place where the Musselmanl
claim that Solomon's throne stood.
"A smaller mosque called Eel Aksa,
occupies the southern portion Of the
court, and in il, besides the reputed
tomb Of one Of AarOn's sons, are two
columns standing 30 near that a stout
person can with DILIGENTLY force his
body between them. The MOham-
medans say no one who cannot pass be-
tween these pillars will reach heaven.
While We were there we saw most Of
the Emperor's retinue attempting it,
and one fat German entirely failed.
The columns have become cOnsidera-
bly, worn at about four feet from the
ground By the frequent rubbing
through them