The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-14
A SHORT VISIT TO JOPpA.
Interesting Sketch of What .F'Vc"'
saw IN That scriptur.l Town.

Landing at .loppa Or. Geikie 'eSIns ms
observations at once Joppa IS one OF the
oldest cities in the world. and the hrs'
possible landing place ~ one sails north
ward from Egypt Yet there Is difficulty
in landing. Reefs OF rocks defend the
shore. the bay is shallow. sharks are not
unknown. and the coast is much exposed
Your vessel anchors half II mile ont M
sea. and throng Of flattish bo'tonec
coolies soon surround the ship to carry
passengers through the opening in ''he
reefs TO land.
A babel Of cries. unintelligible 10 west
ern ears. fills the air; but by degrees the
motley crowd of deck passengers, OF the
most varied nationalities, veiled women
shawl covered Arabs, black Nubians WITH
their red fezes, brown levantinSr. tnr
baned Syrians, or Egyptians with then
flowing robes of all shades, all drift 10y
degrees into the boats. and for time, al
least. Won see the last of their red or iel
low slippers. and hear their noisy Jaisoh
no more Then you. who have shrunk
possibly from this crushing crowd OF
Orientals, have your turn, and the shHI
full and strong armed Oarsmen whisk you
through the opening III the reefs across
the shallow harbOr, and then suddenly,
when You ore twenty or thirty yards of
shore YOU are seized, and carried in the
bare arms or on the back Oi boatman
through the shallow water to the tumble
down old quay built of stone from the
ruins of Casarea, and at last you lind
Yourself trcading on the soil OF the holN
land
Not very digniiied entrance, perhaps.
but the boats could not approach closer
and YOU have Jared no worse than the
head eyed Greeks o. the hook nosed
Romans did thousands Of years ago. ~
one period Venice organized spring ana
autumn packet service (how strangely
modern that soundsD 20 Joppa and built
mole to protect the shipping; but since
the reign of the 'unspeakable Turk,
everything has relapsed into state ct
nature. And so from earliest times
Pbpnician and Egyptian, Roman ana
Crusader, English and American, all have
to acknowledge the power OF the treacher
Gus waters.
Pursuing our way through the street.
we find it rough enough Once paved.
the stones have long since risen or sunk
abovs or below their proper level Dust
bins and sewers being apparently alike
unknown to the idle Oriental every kind
Of foulness bestrews the way The build
ings are Of stone, with little or no wood
anywhere, timber being scarce III Pales
tine. The arch is hence universal, as
YOU ramble on you see that no light en
ters the shops except from the front
that they are in fact something like
miniatures of the gloomy holes sometimes
made out OF railway arches in England.
Tables Of cakes OF sweetmeats line the
narrow streets Rough awnings Of mats,
often sorely dilapidated OF tent cloths
or loose boards resting on rickety struc
turc Of poles, partly shade the roadway
Now We meet tuTbaned water carrier
with huge skin bottle on his back. The
bottle is in fact defunct calf with water
instead of veal within, and without legs,
head or tail and Offering most iCrclble
Illustration of the reference to tho plac-
ing of new wine III old bottles
Farther on we see bare armed and
bare legged individual i'll ragged skull
cap, cotton jacket, ana cotton knicber
bOckers, chaffering with roadside huck
ster ior some delicacy. costing farthine
or two from some Of the mat baskets ON
the table; the bearded vender, also bare
armed and bare legged, sits as he tries TO
sell. his head swathed in a white ana red
turban. and his body in pink and white
cotton or course, there is a lOungor al
his side looking on.
Then again we see an Arab in "kehyeh
Or head shawl with band Of camel
hair rope very soft, around his head to
keep the flowing gear in its place, and
brown and white striped abba for his
outer dress: he is bargaining Tor bride
it a saddlers, and trying to cheaper it,,
and the ,addler sits cross legged on a
:ouI ter and under a shady projection oi
wood and reeds, which gives him much
needed shade And thus We see glimpse,
of ordinary every day life in the old town
Of Joppa.-Ihe Culver.