Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-05-31
CITY OF JERUSALEM.
The DenseIy Populated Quarter Near
the Hill of Zion.
SIGHTS OF THE HOLY CITY.
w. e. Curtis in I
Herald.

w. ". GURUS IN Ile chicago heCOTu-
Herald.
David, the psalmist. said: "As the
mountains are round about Jersulasem,
so is the Lord round about His people"
But this was not an exact statement.
There are no mountains in the neigh
borhood of Jerusalem. There are sew
eral rocky. barren hills. but only three
-Neby-Samwil, Er-Ram and Tuliel ell
Ful-rise to any considerable eleya-
ton, and they are only ten OF twelve
hundred feet above the city. The noun
tains of Moab, on the other side of the
Jordan, have the nearest peaks, and
they are perhaps fifty miles distant.
The Jews call them, in their pictur-
esque language, THE Mountains of the
Other Side" or the Mountains that
are Across"-very expressive terms, H.
Illustrating how the River Jordan was
interviewer into the poetry, the relig-
ion and the nomenclature of Israel.
The nearest mountain to Jerusalem is
a considerable distance away, but !
suppose that the psalmist was using
the ordinary poetic license when he
referred to the hills that are about the
city as mountains, for, as he suggests,
they are q protection, a shelter against
nature and a defense against invasion.
if properly fortified. Mount Olivet is
the highest hill in the immediate neigh
borhood, and it is only $50 feet above
the summit of Mount Zion, although a
deep valley lies between them.
Jerusalem occupies the summit of a
limestone hill and is divided into two
nearly equal parts by a depression
called the Cheesemonger's Valley,
which commences near the famous old
Damascus Gate in the north part OF the
city, shallow and broad at first, but
deepening rapidly as its course eX-
tends, until it reaches the kidron
river. neal the Pool of Sloan. The
two ridges thus formed are nearly par
allel and almost of the same height.
The eastern, looking toward Olivet, is
called Mount Moriah, and is the site
of Solomon's Temple. The western is
Zion. the hill sacred to David, where
his palace stood and where he offered
sacrifices. The Cheesemonger's Val
lev is we'll built over. Every inch OF
the land is occupied.
On the same ridge as Zion, but lower
down the slope, lies the Jewish quar-
ter of the city, where from 5000 to s.
900 ~people-men, women and children
are packed INTO the most loathsome
tenements, reeking with filth and Of
fensive to the eye and the nostrlls.
This quarter was once covered win
palaces and synagogues, some OF the
finest edifices in Jerusalem, but in any
city of Europe or America the district
would be condemned as a plague spot
and as a danger to the public health.
There are now two synagogues, repre-
senting the AshkenaZim, who are OF
Polish and German origin n uhder
the protection of their %consuls, and
%Sephardim, who come from Spain ana
Portugal. but are Turkish subjects,
sects of Hebrews, a hospice for Jewish
pilgrims, a free dispensary n a nos
pital and several schools.
A considerable part of the population
of the Jewish quarter talk the Spanish
language and retain the customs n
habits they have inherited from their
ancestors. who were expelled from
Spanish territory by Ferdinand and Is
abella. The number of Jews now in
Jerusalem is a subject of dispute, but
il exceeds 80, 1000. Some say that they
constitute at least three-fourths and
perhaps four-ffths of the population,
although, theoretically, they are for
hidden to live here. The Jewish popu-
lation OF Jerusalem has doubled dur
ing the last twenty-five years. lmml-
grafton has increased rapidly OF late,
in spite of the regulations prohibiting
il. and the most of the newcomers are
dependent upon the charity of thelr
European brethren. Many who nave
been great sinners elsewhere come
here to purge their souls by fasting
uraver and devotion. Within the walls
to which | have just alluded a consld-
cradle majority are engaged IN >busl-
ness and are self-suppOrting.
2 There are more han seventy syna'
, goeues in Jerusalem, n even a larger
number OF schools. the late Sir Moses
Monteiore, the several members OF the
J Rothschild family. . the late Baron
p Hirsch and other benevolent jewish
f. ]millionaires have donated an enormous
t amount of money to ameliorate the
b condition of their poor brethren IL
F.. Jerusalem and crafty the desire OF
their hearts TO be buried on Mount
Olivet. in the valley of Jehoshphat, OF
in the sacred soil of Zion. They have
p established hospitals, orphanages
5 training schools which are said to be
f the best in the east, and other institu
lions for the care of the poor n al
hicted.
p Outside the city gates is a modern
settlement of Jews called the ZloI
!, suburb. filled with handsome and com
Portable houses, which offer a striklnt
contrast with the ancient quarter II
!. the city. Here the streets are swepl