Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-12-29
.Lerusale,,, OF To-day.

tere5t than toat OF lGe noly CITY NotWltH-
standing its present PROSTATE condition
Jerussen still srreats tha stteniica 2t hinb-
ing men Here, st each moment, tie
breathing book Of nature unf'!ds mysts.
rious chapters, aud now, as in the days of
Solomon, a wonderful parchment nnrolls il.
self before tbe historian. The capital of
Gods promised lend remains field of mex.
haustibe attrsctiyeness to the religious and
skeptical alike, with IFS strange annals and
awe.inspiring legends.
Nine centuries before our era began the
decline of the Hebrew commonwealth
With the accession Of the ten tribes the de-
cay of Palestine set in. From that time till
now, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks. Romans,
Turks, Crusaders and others, have, each in
their turn, stricken her without mercy. Af
ter three Thousand years of bloody wars and
bad government the fair land Of Canaan has
become naked, parched and desolaie yss
sal of the Saltans empire. Instead of the
proud, dauntless and unalloyed race that
once gathered around its bubblug fouuiaina,
we encounter, Today. filthy and cingiog
beggars- mongrel types Of Syrian. Arabic
and European admixture.
The population OF Jerusalem: is pre- sol
nently cosmopolitan aud lie architecture
truly kaIeidoscopic in fact, the only homo.
geneous feature about the town is lis revolt
ing dirt You no sooner enter Jaffa's gate
than the disgusting condition of ltpe hoy
city aesais your every sen lis narrow
and indescribably filthy streets are paved
with uneven and greasy stones, over which
moves an unsav0ry mass OF human beings,
camels, donkeys, goats, dogs and hens. In
the walls are black holes, in which fierce
eyed merchants guard few pennies worth
of shop-worn merchandise, the whole sug'
gestive Of hyenss 10 their caverns rather
than men in their sandal or spice etores.
Now and then you pass temple erected
around something or other that tradition
has rendered sacred The finest building is
the Mosque of St. Omar, erected upon tins
cite Of Solomon's Temple and around the
"haneing rockn whence Mnhomet asoendsd
to heaven. The Koran records that the
Prophet was taken away from Medina by
an angel one night, while asleep beside bis
WIFI, and brought to the aaid rock, "henoe
he ascended heayenwsrds. Twenty minutes
after he was again lying by her side while
relating his wonderful adventure. Owing
to this legend Jerusalem became q second
Mecca. Omsr's mosque contains some
Temple. Many Jews, Christians and Ma
hometans yearly undergo the hardships of a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and with equal
fervor the poor souls repair to their respec-
tive places Of devotion to spots rendered
sacred by the childish imagination of the
people or through the cunning invention of
monks.
A visit 10 the renowned landmarks of
Judea has tendency to efface he solemn
impression upon the mind by the reading of
the Bible, Places that the Holy Book has
described as grand, noble and holy, become,
to the faithful, small, ignoble and unholy
to others, subjects of derison. The doubt as
TO the exact theater of this or thatscene and
the daily contention oyer it's authenticity
among the various sects here evoke feelings
of veneration in inverse ratio with the re-
aective powers of the pilgrim. From the
time of Christ's death to the early part OF
tie 4th century existed chssm in the history
OF Jerusalem which theologians complscent-
" bridged over with tbs fancies of Eusebius
and Jerome. About the year 325 st. Helena
came thither and built basilica over the
exact grounds where stood Mount Calvary,
the tomb of Christ, the whipping post, the
stone upon which he was annointed, the
cistern containing the cross, and so on "ad
nauseumn-everything at its precise place
and enclrced within the walls of cathed.
raj of medium size.
Proofs of human gulibility can be found
at every step throughout the land of 1sreal.
Footprints Of Christ, Peter and Mahomet
are too common to be noticed, but marks of
angels fingers and holes whence holy fire
issues yearly, may still attract the attep-
ton OF some tourists. One is bewildered
and does not know whether to laugh or
weep at such absurdities.
The Jews still come to lament the ioss of
their paternal domain, where their nation
reached the zenith of its glory. Every Fri.
day, in narrow alley called "The Jews
wsiling place." they assemble to mourn oVsr
the decadence of their race. You cannot
but be touched at the sight OF these men
and women weeping bitter tears while im-
ploring the forgiveness Of God. There is
something sublime in the consistency Of the
Israelite character. Anathematizsd through
out the world during the past twenty cen
turies Gods chosen children still retain
their hopes in him and believe that his an
ger will be sppeased and their former great.
ness restored to them. Such constant devo-
ton finds no parallel in human history.
More than half of the present population OF
the city ia Hebrew, and the principal trades
are in their hands.
Turks do not hesitate 10 take measures
against the peaceful invasion OF the Jews.
The Mahometan theory of fatalism is prov
ing its validity every day, and it Is the cur.
rent opinion among men Versed in Oriental
affairs that the Holy City will soon change
hands. Perhaps the sons OF Israel have an
interest in the matter.