Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-05-31
SEA OF GALILEE,
1.-., ssT
Banks of Famous Sheet of
Water Are DeSoIate.
The Scenery and Traditions of Its
Beautiful Shores.
W.
Lake is 900 Below Sea Level and is AL
- ways SqualIy.

The descent from Nazareth to the
Sea of Gallee is very rapid, writes Will
liam +. Curtis in the Chicago Record
Herald. That village lies at an alti-
tude of about 100 feet above the Medi.
terranean, and the hills around it are
from 2000 to 1000 feet high, while the
sacred lake is $50 feet below tide water
Few people realize that the greater
part of our Lords ministry was per-
formed in natural trench washed out
by the River Jordan at some remote
period of geological history. It is 4
curious formation of nature.
As the carriage descends along the
rough road, which in wet weather is al
most impossible, we pass from spring
TO summer. TraV elers who visit tn,
See of Galilee later than April must
expect oppressive heat, and the con
trast between the heavy and humid at
mosphere of the lake basin and the
rrre and exhilarating ozone of the hill
country around Nazareth is keenly felt
by people who are sensitive to climatic
changes The vegetation becomes trop-
zeal as we approach the water. Trees
which are never seen on the hills grow
i'm thick jungles and groups of palms
decorate the scene in every direction.
The lake has the shape of a heart
thirteen miles long and eight miles
wide. \ Jewish rabbi once said:
Jehovah hath created many lakes, but
the Sea of Gennesaret is his delight
1t resembles the lochs of Scotland, ana
its resemblance to the lakes Of north
ern Italy is often pointed out. although
the foliage is more scanty and by no
means so beautiful and the villas and
towns cannot be compared for a mo-
ment
The lake is encil cled by a white strip
of beach. At the northern end it is
formed of smooth white sand, shells
and pebbles, and the southern end of
gravel and black and white powders.
Evidences of volcanic agencies appear
frequently, and on the southern banks
are the famous hot baths of Herod,
who utilized a group of sulphurous
springs and built and fitted in great
luxury, in imitation Of the Romans. q
collection of lighthouses that have
never been surpassed in the East. The
water of the springs has a bitter and
nauseous taste, and smells like
antiauated eggs. but amid all the
wrecks of fortune with which the local
ity is strewn they still minister to the
ills of humanity with great relief.
Rheumatism. govt and other diseases
can be cured by using them, and m
valids come here from all parts of
Syria. The springs We're famous
throughout the ancient world, but the
present accommodations cannot be
recommended. The lighthouses are
dirty and inconvenient, and the sur
roundings are repulsive. There is "a
Protestant hospital and n missionary
medical station near by. both of which
are supported by the Free Church of
Scotland and furnish neat but limited
quarters.
The baths were called Hammath in
the Old Testament, but are known as
Hummon now. The springs are four IN
number The water has normal
temperature Of 144 degrees Fahrenheit
and it's chief properties, as shown by
analysis, are carbonate of lime
muriatic salts and chloride of mag
ncsum. There is a cave in the NH
upon which an old castle stands, Whlch
IS supposed to be connected by SUD
tcrrancan passages with the springs
FOR it has high temperature ana IS
continually filed with steam. Persons
afflicted with govt or rheumatism re-
ceive almost immediate relief by slttlhG
in this cave and submitting TO the con-
tinUous and profuse perspiratlon WhlCh
it's high temperature eXcites.
Down in this pit, in the days of the
crusaders. the ambition of christendom
was sCorched to the heart tempted
by trcachery, the knights of the cross
attacked Saladin. The dust and heat
we're intense, for there had been long
drought and the earth was parched.
The Arabs set fire to the trees ana
shrubbery The knights choked IN
their armor The foot soldiers. blinded
by smoke and dust. We're trampled down
by the Bedouins. Although they fought
sun fire. heat and sword with terrible
cooperation, their defeat was utter.
The entire force was annihilated. ana
nearly every man who escaped death
was captured ana taken into the desert
as q slave.
Above the beach. around the lake, Is
succession of grassy slopes ana
rocky cliffs with groups of oleanders.
whose blossoms are more brilliant than
can be found elsewhere. At the head OF
the lake the entrance to the River Jor-
dan IS marked by a rich green plain.
The river comes down through rocky
gorges with a succession of foaminS
rapids passes through a jungle or
IuNuriant oleanders and then bursts
into the clear waters of Galilee. A
group uf five palms and clump OF
thorn trees marks its mouth. On the
south. where the Jordan leaves the
lake it enters muddy plain and ST
lently cuts its way through the banks
gathering clay ana other earth in solu-
ton until il becomes very turhid.
Cpon the eastern side of the lake the
desert sands come almost to the water
Vegetation and fertility is found al
most exclusively upon the western side.
ard it has always been 50. 1t is be-
licvcd that the soil of the eastern
shores is just as rich and might be as
easily irrigated, but through all the
centuries. and until recently. it has
teen exposed to the forays of the
Eedouins. who do not hesitate to har
vest other mems fields.
At present there are no farms and