The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-19
JERUSALEM AS 1T is.
An Interesting Description of the
Holy City by Pierre Lott.

Holy City by Pierre Lott.
From the Figaro.
On foot, and accompanied by an Arab
for my guide, left my hotel to go at last
to the Holy Sepulchre. 1t is almost in the
heart of Jerusalem. l passed through lit
tie, narrow, and tortuous streets, between
walls of houses old as the Crusades, with
out windows and without roofs. On the
damp paVements and under a sky still OBJ
scure appeared the costumes OF the east
worn by Turks, Bedouins, and Jews. The
women looked like phantoms with their
The town still remains Saracen. On the
way | noticed that we were passing
through an Oriental bazaar, where the
stands were occupied by vendors wearing
turbans; and in the shadow of the COW
cred little streets there moved along SLOW
ly a file of enormous camels, which COM
PEELED us to take shelter in the doorways.
A little further on we were again oDllged
to stand aside to make room for long
and strange procession of Russian women
all about 80 years old at least. They walk
ed rapidly, leaning upon STICKS or UNI
brellas, and wearing faded dresses ana
fur cloaks. Their faces, with an express
sion of fatigue and suffering, were Tram
ed. as it were, by black handkerchiefs,
presenting dark and gloomy picture in
the midst of the high colorS or the orient
They moved along with an excited and al
the same time an exhausted air, Jostling
everything and everybody without noticing
ANYTHING. ike SOllndDlDuAlSlS, Will nAtu
eyes, as If in a celestial dream; and old
mOuiiks by hundreds succeeded them, with
the same expression of ecStacy on their
faces JJpon their breasts were many me-
daIs Indicating that they were old SOL
diers They had entered the Holy CITY the
day before, and were coming back from
their first visit to the place OF adoration,
where 1 was going. Poor pilgrims! they
come here by thousands, travelling on root,
sleeping out doors under the rain or snow,
suffering from hunger, and leaving many
of their dead upon the roads.
AS they approach, the eastern objects
upon the stands disappear to give place
to objects of obscure Christian piety-
beads by the thousand, crosses, religious
crowd becomes greater. The pilgrims stop
to purchase the little beads made OF wood,
and little 2-cent cruci1xes, which they
carry away as relics to be held sacred
At last, in an old wall, rough as a rock.
there appears sshapeless opening, mar
ing steps we come out upon place
oVerhung by high, somber walls in front
of the Basiiica of the Holy Sepulchre.
Here it Is customary to uncover, as soon
as the Holy Sepulchre comes into view.
People pass there bareheaded, even when
simply crossing it to continue the route
through Jerusalem. 1t is crowded with
poor men and women, praying pilgrims
and vendors of crosses and chaplets who
spread out their wares upon the venerable
and worn flags. Among the pavements
and among the steps dPPCdt nGAC
there the socles, still embedded, of col
umns which formerly supported basilicas
that were RACED long ago at periods hard.
IL not impossible, to fix. All is a heap of
ruins in this city which has undergone
twenty sieges, which every fanaticism
has sacked. The high walls. whose stones
of a reddish brown form the sides of the
place. are converts or chapels. One might
fancy that they were fortresses. In the
BACKGROUND, higher and more somber than
all stands the broken and worn mass
which forms the facade of the Holy Sepul-
chre and has all the appearances of ir-
regularities of a great rock. II has two
enormous porticos of the twelfth century,
bordered by ornaments strange ana arch
aic One is walled up, and the other
wide open, leaves in view in the obscurity
of the interior thousands of little flames.
Chants cries and discOrdant lamentations,
lugubrious to the ear, escape from this
opening mingled with the odor of incense.
on entering we find ourselves in a SORT
of vestibule, revealing the magnificent
depths where innumerable lamps are burn
ing Turkish guards armed as If for a
massacre, occupy the entrance Seated
like sovereigns on large divan they
look with scoru upon the passing adorers
OF this place. which, from their point or
view, Is the disgrace of MOhammedan
Jerusalem, and which the ferocious among
them never hesitate 70 call el Komamah
Clth).
Oh. that unexpected and never-to-ror-