Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-19

to Gibralter where we again took the
ship for Algiers, on the north coast of
Africa.
"From Algers to Malta, from Malta
to Athens, from Athens to Constanti-
nople, for.a few days in the Turkish
empire At Constantinop1e you are
launched at once into wilderness of
dirt, dogs and bowling mobs of un-
spec taxable. Turks. Here your pass
PORTS are in absolute demand and you
must have. them with you. Que of
the things for which this great city of
oyer million and a quarter people is
notorious, is that it is said there are
over 100000 homeless dogs on the
streets. This much for the 'pup-rela-
ton but as to the population, well! it
is Turks. BY special arrangements
we were admitted to the National
Treasury building. Here is kept the
old, great and very valuable jewels,
the results of conquests and victories.
Here I saw the largest emerald in the
world, throne dishes, the costumes of
royalty and an endless variety of
things which were the trophies of war
and the pride of the government.
Leaving Constantinople we sailed for
Smyrna, thence an interior trip to
Ephesus, where are the ruins of the
Ephesians. Our next stop was at
,Caipha, where we anchored for Gal
lice passengers to go ashore Early
the next morning we found ourselves
at anchor off old Joppa, at which place
we disembarked for our trip into the
Holy Land. We took train here
for Jerusalem, after having spent a
few hours around the old city Of Jop-
pa Here we visited the house Of ST.
mon the tanner, very old stone
building, and the veritable place
where he lived and worked The first
town of Importance after leaving Jop-
pa for Jerusalem is LYDIA, especially
noteworthy in New Testament writ
ings, where Peter healed Eneas. Lyd-
da lies in the beautiful plain of Shar-
on, which was proverbial from Old
Testament times for its beauty and
fertility. Every place about us is
Here Samuel judged the people and
the. people of Israel asked for king.
Here in this plain tradition marks the
place where Joshua had control of
the sun. Through this plain we pass
ed the place where David slew the
giant; where Samson fired the tails
of the foxes, and where the Philistines
held the ark before they returned it
to the Israelites because they felt it
brought curse upon them.
City of Jerusalem.
eve are now approaching Jerusa-
lem. History rolls over us and almost
overwhel1ns us, as we contemplate the
scene before us. Conquering armies
of Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians,
Persians, Grecians, Romaus. have
took the Hill of Zion and called i, the
City of David, and over on Mount
Nor all Solomon built the temple and
Queen Shebe, with all her gold and
glitter, came to behold his wisdom and
prosperity. l entered the city by the
Jaffa Gate on the west, and when in
side or even on the outside of this sac
red city for the first time, there came
upon me strange and forceful draft
upon my Christian sentiment, for here
on all sides is dirt, and filth, and dis
ease, among the people, and 1 confess
that it required an unusual effort for
me to hold myself down to impressions
given ME when Sunday school lad,
and I was learning of the sacred his
tory which had here been wrought;
but this was practical and physical
Jerusalem of the twentieth century
and must be content to moralize.
There are in the city of Jerusalem
about 10000 souls at the present time.
The newer portions of the city outside
the walls, have many modern build
ings largely erected during the last
ten years. They give this part of
the city quite continental effect. The
old city within the gates is built upon
two prominent hills, Mount Zion and
Mount Moriah, on either side of which
are valleys that have played an i'm
portant role in its history.
The places of great interest to stu
dents and travellers in Jerusalem are
many. There is much handed to you
by guides and travellers which smacks
only of traditional story, that one is
quito bewildered in centering upon
that which really must be believed.
Whatever else may be said about the
exact spots in Jerusalem, one thing is
positively sure, and that is the Mosque
of Omar or as it properly should be
called the Dome of the Rock. 1t
stands where the small but exquisite
Temple Of Solomon stood, and where
afterwards the imposing Temple of
Herod was erected. There is little
certainty that this was the spot where
Abraham attempted to offer Isaac as a
sacrifice, but you are told this.
"The places of secondary interest,
too are very numerous in Jerusalem
The Gardens of Gethsenane, the
tomb of David, the Wall of Waiting
are among these. This Wall of Wall
ing is known as the waiting place OF
the Jews. Here on every Friday aft
ernoon the Jews gather to bewail the
desolation of Jerusalem and to pray
for the restoration of the glory of
Israel. It's an open paved court, fill
ed with lamenting Jews of all classes
and ages and of both sexes, who re-
cite in monotonous voice from mourn.
full passages of Lamentations and the
Psalms. They also put little slips OF
Hebrew scripture passages, as we'll as