Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-10-25
THE THREE JERlCHoS.
WONDERFUL AQUEDUcrS.
xx,,sssss the Rains Made b. the "'s" o.
3cshuas Rsms Horns.

xx.,sr,ss tho Rs,ss Made b. the Blast OF
3eshsas Rsms Horns
This place. writes q Hsifa tPalestinc)
.o,rcspondent Of the New York Sna,
has always had an evil reputation for
thieves since the days when the Good
samaritan performed his charitable
o9,css 10 the plundcred and beaten
wsyf,rer. Indeed, il is at this very place
that the spot Is shown to the credu'cas
n;lerim where the incident in the parable
e aid 10 have occurred, and the guide
books solemnly warn the tourist tna'
no must be careful to be provided with
=, escort. because an English traveller,
Sir Frederick Henniker, was attacked
here by Bedouins, stripped. wounded
and left for dead in 1920 This Is I'M
putting slagnation to the Turkish Gov
eminent with a vengeance 1t moves
slowlv. il is true, but the state oil Sect
,;,v has improved somewhat IN sixty
Eve Years. Six years ago rode alone
with friend from jericho 10 Jerusalem
nth no thought Of danger. The
Podo,;ns find il to their interest to
Keen up the traditions OF the guide
hooks and travellers continue to pay
Redouin shieks blackmail, which they
might. with perfect confidence, keep in
their pockets.
II might not be safe to venture along
il quite alone at night, but the same
might be said Of roads in other far more
civilized countries. Nevertheless, the
,oad in places is so wild and desolate that
Il NAV well appeal to the imagination
of the timid traveller notably so where
il enters the wady Kelt, deep, narrow
gorge. fianked by precipitous cliffs,
honey. combed with caverns, above
which rise white chalk hills, presenting
a tangled network Of narrow water
worn torrent beds with kniee-like ridges
between. Hundreds of feet below the
path rushes mountain torrent, which
Is none other than the traditional
brook Cheritt. Here, if we leave the
recular track and make up our
minds TO follow a dizzy path cut out Of
the precipitous cliff, which winds back
mn the gorge, soon disappearing in the
depths of its gloomy recesses, we
nlnppe into one Of the widest and
weirdest scenes that the ingenuity of
nature has conceived in any country. so
fantastic are the crags and so laby-
rinthine the gorges. The only travel
lers who ever thus diverge from the
beaten route are Russian pilgrims,
whose devotional instincts lead them to
nav their homage to every accessible
Shrine, and to the credit Of the Greek
Church it must be said that it has con-
triyed to perch shrines on spots which
nature only intended for eagles.
One of the most notable Of these is
the monastery which commentaries
the cave. to which the path we are now
following will lead US, in which Elijah
is said to have been fed by the ravens.
The monastery is literally hung on ia
the face Of the precipice, and consists
of a series Of cells, and hall supported
on vaults through which lies the en-
trance. A few Greek monks live, like
birds perched on the edge OF nest, II
this singular abode, to which a chape
pinracled on a rock is attached, dating
if We may Judge from the character o
the masonry, from about the Twelfth
century. Perhaps the little side
chapel, with rock-cut chambers
and the vault containing ancient
bones, to which a corridor, GOV
cred with frescOes representing the
last judgment leads, is the oldest par
of these buildings, which were appa
rently constructed at three difleren
epochs, as two layers Of frescoes cove
the wall, while the newest is in its turn
covered by the piers supporting thu
ribs Of the roof. Numerous caves, nov
inaccessible, are visible in the face 0
the cliff, which, for distance of abou
thirty yards, is covered with frescoe
now almost entirely defaced. In from
of one Of the cells is heavy iron bar
from which, no doubt, in former days
ladder depended, the only means o
access when these caves, now almos
deserted, contained quite a population
of hermits. This curious place is wei
worth visit, and though lying so clos
to the tourists route, | have not seen
described in any guide-book.
On reaching the base of the hill
where the Wady Kelt debouches into tn
Jordan valley we find ourselves in tn
immediate presence offour ancient sites
Three Of these are the sites of three dit
ferent Jerichos, and one is the site
Gilgal. 1t is certain that the Jewish
the Roman, and the Byzantine c,usa
ders' Jericho occupied three djiierentpc
sitions. The first has been identihe
with tolerable certainty as having eS
listed where mounds Of rubblc mark il
site, near the spring called in old time
the Fountain OF Elijah, and known no.
as the Ain es Sultan. This was tn
Jericho Of Joshua, and these mounds
rubble contain the debris Of the ident
cal walls which fell to the SCUM
of his trumpet. We pitched our ten
at the beautiful and copious sprin
which must have supplied the old tow
with water, so as to have an opportunli
Of examining the neighborhood at OF
leisure. The spring comes out benea'
the mound on the east, and has on Il
west wall Of small masonry in hal
cement. In this wall there is sma
semi-circular niche, probably intend'
to hold a statue Of the genius of Il
spring. The reservoir from which q
water gushes forth is about 20x40 fec
and, though shallow, forms delight
bath, with temperature slightly tepi
The high tumuli behind had be-
excavated by Sir Charles Ware
and examined the traces Of his Gu
tings. The mounds are formed for Z
most part of light yellow clay, whic
on being touched, crumbl's into an IL
palpable power. In some cases
strata could be discerned in the ella,
in other layers Of brick, stone, al
mortar were clearly visible. In anoth
large mound, little to the sout
graves were found six feet below {
surface. All these except one were
enpdried hrick BoueS appeared