Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1882-01-05
The Dead Sea.

Rev. DR.. Cuyler, writes thus of the
Dead sea- our afternoons march ovel
the bleak treeless and brown mountains
of the wilderness was inexpressibly
tiresome until we came in sight of the
Dead sea. Itlay 1900 feet below us
a mirror of silver, set among the violet
mountains of Moab. Precipitous descents
over rocks and sand brought us, by sun.
down, TO the two towers of the most
unique monastery of the globe. The
famous convent of Mar Saba is worth a
Journey to Palestine. For thirteen CEN
turies that wonderful structure has hung
against the walls of the deep. awful
gorge Of the Kidron.
1t is a colossal swsllows' nest of stone,
built to the height of 800 feet against
the precipice, and inhabited by sixty
monks of the Greek church-genuiEe
Manicheans and followers of st. Saba
and st. John of Damascus. No wo-
mans foot has ever entered the con-
vents wallsl Instead of woman's 80
ciety they make love to the birds, who
come and feed off the monks hands.
Every evening they toss meat down to
the wild jackals in the gorge below.
At sunset climbed over the extraor-
dinary building-was shown into the
rather handsome church, and into the
chapel or cave of st. Nicholas, which
contains the ghastly skulls of the monks
who were slaughtered by Chosroes and
his Persian soldiers-and gazed down
into the awful ravine beneath the con-
vent walls. Some monks in black gowns
were perched as watchman on the lofty
towers; others wandered over the stone
pavements in q sort of aimless vacuity.
What an attempt to live in an exhaust
ed receiverl
The monks gave US hospitabIe well
come, sold us canes and woodwork, and
furnished us lodgings on the divans of
two large stone parlors. One of the re-
ligions duties of the brotherhood is to
keep vigils, and through the night bells
were ringing and changing to call them
TO their religious devotions. The YER
min in the lodging-rooms have learned
to keep up their vigils also; and as the
result our party-with one exception
had sleepless night / have such a
talent for sleeping, and like Pat pay
attention to it" so closely that / was
able to defy even the heas and mos
quitoes of Mar Saba. By daylight the
next morning We heard the great iron
door of the convent clang behind us
like the gate of Bupyan's Doubling
Castle, and for FIVE hours we made a
toilsome descent of the desoIate cliffs to
the shore of the Dead sea. That much
maligned sea has weird and wonderful
beauty.
We took bath in its cool, clear
waters, and detected no difference from
a bath at Coney Island except that the
water has such density that we hoated
on it like pine shingles.
No fish from the salt ocean can live in
1t; but it is very attractive to the eye
on a hot MONDAY. A soorching ride
we had across the the barren plain to
the sacred Jordan-which disappointed
me sadly. At the place where the Israe-
htes crossed and our Lord was baptised
it is about 120 feet wide; it flows rapid
ly and in turbid current OF hight stone
color. In size and appearance it is a
perfect counterpart of the Mushngum O
few miles above GAINESVILLE. It's useless
waters ought to be turned off to irri-
gate its barren valleys which might be
changed into garden. For beauty the
Jordan will not compare with Eiiah's
Brook Cherith, whose bright, sparkling
stream went flowing past our lodging
place at Jericho. We lodged over night
III Greek convent (very smalD, and
rode next morning to see the ruins
of the town made famous by Joshua
Elijah, zaccheus, and the restoration
of Bartimeus to sight. Squaid Arabs
haunt the sacred spot.