Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1872-09-28
The Holy Land. Jerusalem.

ter written from the city Of Jerusalem TO
a new York paper:
To many persons visit TO Jerusalem
has been one Of tie great expectancies of
life; it has been thought of by day and
dreamed of by night. To such the real
ity is indeed often disappointment.
On entering the wall-girted city they
find that the streets are extremely mar
row and terribly filthy. Apopulation of
nearly fifteen thousand persons is crowd
ed into a space so small that it is quite
easy to walk around the outside of the
wall in the short space of three-quarters
Of an hour But little if any of the city
now remains as it was in the days of
Christ. The walls of the pool OF Beth
seda still stands, their tops being on a
level with the ground. The original
length of this pool was little over three
hundred, the width about sixty, and the
depth not far from thirty, feet. These
walls, like those of the outer walls on
Mount Moriah, are built of immense
blocks of stone. The traveller now while
standing on the top OF this wall, sees al
the bottom of the pit before him little
stream OF water, which comes in under the
wall at one corner of the pool and finds
its way out at another. Here is all that
remains of that pool so celebrated in New
Testament history.
On the summit Of Mount MoriaE,
where SOlomon's Temple stood, the
Mosque of Omar now stands. This
Mosque is octagon in front, each side
being sixty-four feet long. 1t is consid-
cred by MOhammedans one of the most
sacred mosques on the face of the globe.
Into this edi6ce it was not customary
to admit Christians at all prior to the
visit OF the Prince of Wales. Since that
time, by paying the sum OF $3.50, and
going hatless and boo,less, the visitor is
permitted to enter and walk upon the
marble pavement of this, one Of Mahom-
cts favored mosques.
There is one fact connected with the
government OF the bigOted Turks who
here bear rule which do not recOllect
having seen mentioned by any writer,
and that is this: The Jews, although the
most industrious and thriving of the in-
habtauts Of Jerusalem, are not permit
ted TO enter the sacred inclosure where
the Temple once stood. Every Friday
afternoon the Hebrew people assemble in
place known as the jews wailing-place.
Here, separated from the inclosure by a
| wall, they weep over the humiliation and
| degradation OF their once famous city,
and pray for the time to come when the
city Shall be delivered from the thraldom
of the Turk, and the glory of Isreal
shall again abide at Jerusalem.
One of the chief places of attraction
in Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. This church was built by
the Roman Empress Helena over what
she believed to be the tomb of Jesus
Christ. In it she built sepulohre tor
him; which still stands.
On entering this sacred edfice we OBJ
served that Turkish guards are seated
on divan AT the lett. and we are told
by them that their office is to guard the
church and keep the Christians from kill
ing each other around the tombs d
their departed Lord.
| 1t may be astonishing to some to b'
told that the place called Calvary, where
the cructiction took place, the rent il
the rocks, the tombs of Adam, Joseph
and many others noted in Bible history
rs well as the Holy Sepulchre, are all IN
der the same roof, but such is the fact
at least we are SO informed in Jerusalem
| | have tried TO feel enthusiastic and won
derfully impressed while in Jerusalem
but cannot TO me the country abou
Jerusalem seems to be one OF t he mos
barren and desolate on the face of th
earth. Rocks abound, but soil is OK
tremely scarce. The brook Kedron is
mere little dry run, while Mount MORTAL
the Monnt OF Olives, and Mount Zio,
would only pass for respectable hills il
America. The River OF Jordan, within
two miles of its mouth, is SO narrow on
can easily throw a stone across it; Will,
the Dead Sea is a salt lake but thirt
miles long and from four to six mile
wide.