Wichita eagle., 1888-07-03
STORAGE
STRAYFD.
IA SHORT VISIT TO .oppA.
Interesting Sketch Of Whist . Traveller
Saw In That Scriptural Town.

Interesting Sketch Of Whaf . Traveller
Saw In That Scriptural Town.
Landing At Joppa. Dr.. Geikie begins hts
oldest cities in the world. and the frs.
possible landing place as 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 Ia much exposed
Your vessel anchors half q mile on; at
sea, and Q throng Of fattish bottomedi
coolies soon surround The ship to carry
passengers through the opening In tho
reefs TO land
A babel OF cries, uninteiligible to west
ern ears, fills the air; but by degrees the
motley crowd Of deck passengers. Of the
most varied nationalities. yelled women,
shawl covered Arabs. black Nubians with
their red feGes. brown Levantincs. tur-
baned Syrians. or Egyptians with thcir
flowing robes Of all shades. Gil drift by
degrees into the boats. and for q time. at
least, you see the last of their red or yell
low slippers. and hear their noisy jsrgon
no more. Then you. who have shrunk
possibly from this crushing crowd OF
Orieutals. have your turn. and the skill
full and strong armed oarsmen whisk you
through the opening IN the reefs across
the shallow harbor. and then suddenly.
when you are twenty or thirty yards of
shore, you are seized. and carried in the
bare arms or On the back Of boAtmanl
through the shallow water TO the tumble
down old quay built of stone from the
ruins of Cesarea, and at last you End
yourself tresding on the soil of the holy
land
Not very dignified entrance. pcrhapss
but the boats could not approach closer.
and you have Jared no worse than tho
bead eyed Greeks ct the hook nosed
Romans did thousands of years ago. At
one period Venice organized q spring and
autumn packet service (how strangely
modern that soundsD 70 Joppa and built q
mole to protect the shipping; but since
the reign OF the ''unspeakable Turk"
everything has relapsed into a state OF
nature. And so from earliest times
PhGnician and Egyptian, Roman and
Crusader English and American, all have
to acknowledge the power Of the PREACHER
Gus waters.
Pursuing our way through the street.
we find it rough enough. Once paved,
me stones have long since risen or sunk
above 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 in Pales-
tine. The arch is hence universal: rs
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 CT railway arches in England.
Tables of cakes OF sweetmeats line the
narrow streets. Rough awnings of mats.
often sorely dilapidated, or tent cloths.
or loose boards resting on a Hckety struc-
turo of poles, partly shade the roadway.
Now we meet turbaned water carrier
with Z 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 a most forcible
illustration of the reference to the plac-
ing of new wine in old bottles.
Farther on we see n bare armed and
bare legged individual in ragged skull
cap, cotton jacket, and cotton knieker-
bockers, chaaering with Il roadside buck
ster for some delicacy. costing farthing
or two, from some Of the mat baskets Oh
the table; the bearded vender, also bare
armed and baro legged. sits a. he tries 10
sell, his head swatbed in white and red
turban. and his body in pink and white
cotton. OF course. there is lounger at
his side looking on.
Then again we see On Arab in "kefyeh"
or head shawl. with hand of oaInel's
hair rope. very soft, around his head To
keep the flowing gear in rs place. and =
brown and white striped abba" for his
outer dress; he is bsrgniniug for bride.
at q saddisr's. and trying to cheaper st.
and the saddler sits cross legged On q
counter and under a shady projection OF
wood and reeds, which gives him much
needed shade. And thus we zee glirnpses
Of ordinary every day life in the old town
of Joppa.-The Culver