The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1884-11-14

runs out into the sea for l60 yards,
forming the southern side Of the har-
Dor, while the northern side il formed
by sort of mole or jetty more than
200 feet long, which is composed of
some sixty or seventy PROSTATE columns
lying side by side in the water like
rows of stranded logs. They arc from
FIVE to twenty feet in length, and aver
age about eighteen inches in diameter.
l never in my life before saw such an
array of granite pillars SO closely piled
together for such purpose. Indeed,
to judge by those which remain, Casa
rea must have been city Of columns.
The Crusaders used them to thorough.
bind their walls from which the butts
project like rows of cannon from the
side of man-ofwar. They must have
built many hundreds of old Roman
columns thus into their Notification.
The crusading wall enclosing the
town rises from moat which is about
DO feet wide, but, being much filled in
with rubbish, is not more than 8 or 6
feed deep. The wall itself is about 0
feet thick, with buttresses at intervals
which are from 80 to so feet long and
project from 20 TO 26 feet; but it is es-
pecially in the castle and donjon, which
is built out into the sea on the project
ing reef that the columns are used as
tboroughbonds. Some of these are of
red granite others of gray. The Bos-
nian colonists are perching cafe on
the ruins CT the old donjon, immediate
ly above magnificent PROSTATE columns
of red granite nine feet long and four
in diameter / observed here also q
finely polished block OF red granite
over six feet square and three feet six
inches thick. There is also a curious
double tessellated pavement evidently
of two periods, as the upper tesser@
are at least six inches above the lower
ones. | am afraid, as the masons are
working Immediately above them. they
will soon disappear, as will also beau
tiful carved capital in white marble.
l scrambled up to the top of this pic
turesque ruin, where the rib OF the
groined roof of the upper chamber
still remains supported on a corbel in
the form of human head, and looked
out of the pointed arched window sheer
down 70 feet on the sea, beating
against the base of the sea wall. The
mouth of the small artificial harbor is
about 200 yards across, but the latter
ia too much exposed and too small over
to be of much value.
Among the Roman remains the hip
podrome, the theatre, and the aqueduct
are the most interesting. The first is
sunken level space about $50 yards
long by 100 wide, surrounded by
mound, and in the middle are three
truncated blocks of red granite, which,
when standing on each other, must
have formed conical pillar about 8
feet high and 7 feet diameter at the
base. There is also another fine block
of red granite nearly 40 feet long and
feet in diameeer, which has been
broken. The theatre is a semiciroular
building of masonry in an immense ar
tificial mound, surrounded by trench
near the sea. 1t is mentioned by Jo-
sephus as capable of containing large
number of persons. Indeed, the ac-
count by this historian of the building
of this city by Herod the Great, which
l have just been reading is most inter
esting 1t occupied twelve years, and
was finished thirteen years before
Christ. He says that the stones of
which the sea wall was built were so
feet in l0ngth, Is in breadth, and in
depth.
For nearly 600 years it was Chris
tian city and the seat of an Archbish-
op, then for 500 years it fell under Mos
lem rule, and an Arab traveller in A. d.
1885 describes it as an agreeable city
irrigated with running wuter and plant
ed with date palms and oranges, sur
rounded by strong wall pierced by
an iron gate, and containing fine
mosque" Then for $50 years it re
mained crusading stronghold, while
its final and complete destruction by
the Sultan Bibars took place in 1865
A. d., since which time it has remain
ed bowling wilderness. / have dwelt
somewhat fully on the present aspect
of the ruins, as the transformation
they are undergoing will soon be com
plete.
From Cesarea l followed the coast
uorthward with the high level aque-
duct, which in places is still in tolera-
bly, good preservation, ON my right.
This acqueduct was the chief source of
the water supply for the inhabitants
1t was eight miles long, and at one
point tunnels the rock ior a quarter of
mile, thirty feet below its surface.
There was also low level aqueduct,
three miles long, which drew its water
supply from the Crocodile River. At
some seasons this is a dangerous stream
to ford, though I experienced no diff
Guilty. That it is not misnamed | pos
sess indisputable proof, for few
weeks ago an Arab acquaintance pre-
sented me with a piece of crocodile
skin about foot square, Gu. from the
hide of crocodile which he himself
helped 10 kill in this river. Passing
Tantura. which also contains some cru
sading ruins and rock-cut tombs, I
reached the Jewish colony of Zimma-
rim, which had not visited for eigh-
teen months, and where / was pleased
to find the colony in thriving condi-
ton, the colonists hopeful, industrious,
and contented, the crop promising fair
ly, and their progress only checked by
the refusal of the Government to allow
them to build permanent dwellings, a
difficulty which it is hoped may be
overcome by judicious display Of
frmness and patience.