Evening journal., 1889-09-09
TIE CITY OF JERUSALEM.
a BIRDS EYE VIEW FROM A HOUSE
TOP ON MOUNT ZION.

Changes Time HAS Wrought Among the
Sacred Scenes Of scripturai History in
the Cosmopolitan Old city-The small
est Stores in the World.
write this letter on the housetop Of
bishops residence on the top Of Mount Zion,
in the center Of Jerusalem My American
typewriter stands within thirty feet Of the
great square tower Of David. the base Of
which was undoubtedly built before Christ
At my left, surrounded by the yellow stone
walls Of houses, is the dark green pool which
Hezesiah made to supply the Holy City with
water IN case Of a siege, aud beyond it, out
Of the honeycomb Of buildings, shines the
great bronze dome which stands over the
spot on which Christ was crucifed and IN
which worship pilgrims from every quarter
of the Christian world In front Of me, not
half mile away, on a great plateau cover
ing thirty-iive acres, Is a hg octagonal tower
with a dubious bronze dome Ii is the Mosque
Of Omar, and il stands on the very site Of
Soomon's temple. while at its left is the
church built on the Roman mosaic floor Of
the house Of Pontius Plate The horizon on
all sides is bounded by hills Jerusalem lies
IN a nest ia the mountains It IS built on an
irregular plateau with valleys about it and
steep hills running straight up from these to
the city and TO the higher hills on the oppo
site sides Around the edge Of this plateau
runs a wall about thirty feet high aud within
this is the Jerusalem Of today 1t does not
cover, all told, much more than the area ofs
three hundred acre farm, and a good walks
can make the circuit of Its walls in an hour
LIKK GREAT HoNEYcoAB
Sitting, as ! am, upon the site Of King
Davids palace, | see the whole city spread
out below me What a curious city it isl
In my tour Of the world | have found no
place 50 full Of strange sights, of picturesque
characters, and 50 different in every particu
lar from every other part Of the world.
Aside FROM its wonderfully interesting biz
torical associations Jerusalem today IL city
Of itself Forty thousand people are packed
within its narrow walls, and it looks more
ike a great honeycomb than a city.
The houses are piled one upon another in
all sorts of Irregularities and if you would
take a half section of land and scatter over
the whole great piles Of gigantic store boxes
just as you find them back Of large store,
you might get some idea of Jerusalem as it
looks TO me from Mount Zion These houses
have no chimneys, and their stone roofs are
In every case almost fiat Many Of them
have little beehive domes jutting out Of their
center, ard If the town were on a level these
domes would look like the hay cocks OF a
great meadow at time Of harvest. Yellow
limestone Is the material Of Jerusalem The
wood used in the building Of the whole city
would not last an American family winter
and the roofs, walls and floors Of these thou
sands Of houses are Of cold, yellowish white
limestone Even In the bishops mansion
which is one Of the finest In the city, | get
out Of my bed on to q stone floor, and walk
to my breakfast through stone halls, down
stone steps.
There are no wells In this city Of Jerusalem
All Of the water comes down Ia rain, and the
trees and gardens Of the town can be num-
bered on your fingers The hills about the
city are almost as barren as those OF New
England, and the only foliage visible is the
dark silvery green Of the olive orchards on
the Mount Of Olives and along the hills be-
tween Jaffa and Bethlehem The only green
TO be seen is an acre or so Of common inside
the walls of the temple plateau, and here and
there hnusetop which by age has gathered
a coating of dirt from the dust OF the city
and ON which the green grass has sprouted
| Here and there you see ruined chears which
/ are too dangerous TO be inhabited by the bees
Of this human hive and on these the moss and
grass grew. There is one green bushy tree
1T the base Of Mount Calvary, and solitary
| palm hooks out over the city beside the bust
ness street named after King David It l.
| not an attractive looking town, and it's glar
ing cream white makes sore the eyes under
the rays Of this tropical sun.
THROUGH TIRE GATE
The walls Of Jerusalem are clean and well
cut, and they have not the dilapidated condi-
ton OF those OF the cities Of China They are
entered by gates which are closed at night,
and at each Of these gates Mahometan soldiers
stand and exact tax on all of the produce
which comes into the city. The main bust
ness gate is that which leads out behind the
Tower Of David towards Jaffa, through which
the Bethlehem girls bring their vegetables
each morning TO sell and through which al
Of the imports which come by sen are brought
in. This gate lies at my feet and can SEE
the curious throng which passes through il
| day in and day out There are donkeys and
camels with great loads on their backs
There are pilgrims by the thousands and al
| Of the various characters which make up thi
curious people.
| Nearly all Of the business and manufactur
ing establishments OF Jerusalem are of thi
cave like character There is a nest in th,
city known as the bazars and this is made W
Of long streets vaulted over, with these cave
opening out from the walls on both sides anc
with every sort of work going on In them.
The upper city or the town Of today is madl
up, as have said, Of a series Of stone boxe
piled one on the top Of the other. Each grea
stone box is a dwelling, and these dwelling
are as curious as the vault like stores Few
Of them have any windows and most Of th'
rooms are Of the same cave like character
The town is as compact today as it wa
when David thrummed upon his harp and th
tribes net only Of Palestine but OF all tn
world came here to worship There are mag
nificent Knonasteries scattered throughout tn
city, and on the very top Of the Mount o
Olives a great Russian church lifts its bulb
GUS domes towards heaven In the Gardei
Of Gethsemane, where Christ spent the nigh
before he was crucifed, thers@s a restinI
place for pilgrims, and the Roman Catholic
have l,5D0 Brothers and Sisters 10 their mon
asteries and converts, while the old Arme
nian church has a big monastery near the gat
Of Zion, which contains 1870 monks AMI wnic
can accommodate 1900 pilgrims Frank G
Carpenter.
To Check Consumption.
The minute sanitary regulations enforce
| nv the German police seem rather curious q