The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-07-25
THE HOLY CITY.

Lights In and Around Jsrusalsm-Ths
Mosque Of 0mar-orisntal Gave Dwell
1ngs-xhs Fools Of Dsthesda and 0ihon
From the San Francisco Evening Bulletin.
A visit to Jerusalem is ct first disap.
pointing and unsatisfactory. However
well read up upon its present condition
one may be, it is still to the mind an
ideal city. The sight at first absorbs
attention, dispelling the ideal and fill
ing its place with the confusion, jargon
and moral and social debris Of q hun
dred Oriental cities, and cro,vding
or covering the sacred places with
the ruins of structures Of later ages.
II is not till one has made himself
familiar with the sites and defined the
localities, and torn off the accumula-
tions Of centuries, and spirited
away the living populations and slowly
reconstructed the past, that the ideal
city rises grand and beautiful and sacred
before him. But it comes slowly
comes-under fixed, well-directed, sym
pathetic looking, like the sight Of q
bright planet, in the daytime, or like the
soft strains OF sweet, enchanting music
across the harsh sounds Of a thronged
street. Then The sight ct Jurusalem is
regarding and grand. You see it, and
you do not see it. You see what was,
not what is. You see the sites; you
reanimate the scene. If you can not
do this, do not come to Jurusalem.
II you are there n 90 not do 1t, hurry
away as soon as possible. 1t IS q place
OF md lies to you, and cando
you no good.
l am not presumtuous enough to at
tempt any description OF Jerusalem,
either OF the real or the ideal city. Too
much has been well written about both,
ana Is familiar or accessible to make
tins necessary. l shall merely speak
OF q lew points which especially inter-
ested me, for this side OF the higher as
soclatlons and emotions which stirred in
me as l thought OF The wondrons scenes
OF the past which had been enacted In
me very places where l trod.
l visited what is popularity but erro-
neously called the Mosque OF Omar.
u real shrine OF Omar is now sup
posed to be part OF the Mosque FL Aksa,
IN front OF the reputed mosque OF that
name, and nearer the city wall and the
valley OF J~ehesephat. The true name
OF h latter is "Ihe Dome of the
G This rich and grand mosque
econd only to that st Mecca-ls octa-
gon IN form, and is built around and
over the great circular rock (6O feet
long, oO teet wide, I'M rising II feet
high at the apex, which is now pretty
generally regarded, l believe, by the
best authorities, as the basis OF the Ill
tar OF Solomon's Temple. The cele-
DRAFTED dome rises exactly over 1T, and
passages cut through the rock and lead
ing to a tunnel dug through the rock
below, and leading out to the foot OF
Mount Moriah in the valley, are so ar
ranged that the whole could be abund-
antly hushed with water, showing most
admirable preparation for cleansing
the premises OF the altar and Keeping
them pure. The temple itself stood
west OF the altar. This left a very large
space for the courts Of the temple be-
tween the court occupied by the altar
and the city wall on the east, but a
great area was necessary, in as much as
the courts OF the temple We're sometimes
thronged at the great annual feasts by
the OF thousands OF Jews who
went up from all parts OF the a n to
attend the sacred rites.
The vaults under the temple area are
something wonderful. There are great
chambers, and chambers leading into
chambers, and passages leading into q
| ward h111lt nm tn fIiruiSh a level for the
u Rock also was doubtless
taken out for building into the walls,
and at subsequent times the chambers
and passages We're utilized Tor various
purposes. Under the Dome OF the
Rock great living fountains Of water
were struck, the source Of supplies for
the temple; thence running through the
canalto which l have already referred,
and terminating in the pool OF Sloan.
There are other subterranean excava-
tons under the city which astonlsh one.
In the northwestern part Of the city
there is a small opening under the wall
on the outside, through which entered,
winch soon opened out INTO q succession
OF great chambers, which seem to ram
lily under half the area OF tfN city. OF
course, cropping with q poor light over
the irregular rocks, with the mystery
OF h place and the sound OF water
dripping into echoing vaults below,
which l could not see, was calculated
to emphasize the sense OF distance. But
there is no doubt that the city for one
purpose and another is honeycombed
with subterranean vaults.
Nor is Jerusalem singular in this re-
spect. Palestine and Syria is a land Of
caves n excavations. In no one par
tcnlar have l been more surprised than