The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1907-01-30

Chief among the lew ouChSiA'A
relics of the ancient capital OF lsrael
which still remain to us are the Iouh-
dations of the great Temple OF SOTO.
mon Upon the grim, bare prov Oh
Mt. Moriah Solomon built a temple
of unrivaled magnificence, which was
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt
by the children of Israel upon thelr
return from their long captivity IN
J Babylon, destroyed second time by
the Romans, rebuilt by Herod, ana
again leveled to the earth by the
desolating armies OF Titus. Inc
foundations of this mighty temple
alone remain, covering 30 acres OF
the entire space within the present
walls of Jerusalem. Beneath these
foundations may still be seen the
wonderful STABLES of Solomon,
where also the Knights Templar Kept
| their horses.
The Mosque of Omar.
The browning architectural glory
| of the Jerusalem of today is the eX-
ouisite octagonal mosque now occu-
plying the middle of the temple plat
I form, which was built by the great
/ Caliph Omar shortly after the con-
quest Of Jerusalem by the Saracens
! The Mosque of Omar is, without
( doubt. the most beautiful building IN
all Palestine and the most splendid
specimen of Arabian architecture
that has come down to us from the
hands of those great Saracen build
ers of the Middle Ages, with the pos
sible exception of the ArnamDra at
Granada.
So tremendously are the gorgeous
colors of the morales and the pre-
cious marbles blended together that
the distant effect is subdued ana
restful to the eye; and yet, upon
close inspection, the gl1tterlng flto
of color is almost dazzling while the
magnfficence of lapis-lazull, verde
antique, porphyry, alabaster ana the
priceless black African marble add
a splendor to this Moslem shrine
which eclipses even the glorious San
ia at Constantinople
The Mosque of Omar covers the
summit of Mt. MOriah, where ADra-
ham offered up Isaac in sacrifice.
This is one of the few undisputed
points of biblical interest in Jerusa-
lem; as to the authenticity OF TINS
holy SPOT Jew, Moslem and CHRISTIAN
alike bear witness. One OF the IL
diculous beliefs of the MOhammedanS
is that the summit of Mt. Moriah IS
10 miles nearer heaven than any 9TH
er place on earth.
Among the greatest sorrows OF
this sad city is the abject and FOR
lorn condition of the Jewish people
in this, their own ancient capital |
Reduced to the condition OF pau
per rabble, hated, reviled and de-
spised by the Turks, they still cling |
desperately to the skeleton or their |
ancestral power.
The Jews Wailing Place, on Fri
day evenings, presents one OF the
most remarkable spectacles to be |
witnessed in all Jerusalem. Groves
of long-bearded fathers in Israel,
robed in crimson and purple, gather
in front of the giant stones Whlch
once formed a part of the foundation
of King Solomon's stupendous edl-
fee, weeping and kissing the ancient
stones, wailing in lamentatlon over
the destruction of their temple ana
praying for the restoration of the an
cient glory of Jerusalem.
Few Changes in Centuries.
The feature which impresses US
most forcibly in this country around
about Jerusalem and Bethlehem is
that nothing seems to have changed
during the past 1000 years. The
hills. the fields and the pastoral
scenes are the same; the shepherds,
dressed in the costume of the patrl-
archs, tend their flocks on the lonely
hillsfdes just as they did in the time
Of Abraham.
There is one view of Jerusalem
that retains much of it's ancient glo-
nv and realizes something Of our an
ticipatiOns of the City of the Great
King" the Jerusalem of David, OF
Solomon, of Herod. From the rug
red brow of Mount Scopus we see the
city much as it must have appeared
when Christ stood and wept over II,
80 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
ki11est the prophets and stoneSt them
which are sent unto thee, how often
would | have gathered thy chlldren
together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under wings, and We Would
not!''
The dirt, the dogs and the ugly
structures of the Turkish town are
all lost to view, and the picture pre-
sented to our sight is one OF peace
full loneliness, with nothing to mar
it's beauty. The wild valley Oh .Ihe
brook KeGron, filled with tombs, les
at our feet with the stunted owe
trees struggling up to the very walls
of the ancient city, those hoary and
picturesque old walls erected by the
great CaIiph Omar 1900 years ago.
Above the walls Mt. Zion and MT.
Moriah raise their historic heads
covered with a wilderness OF Whlte
fat-topped and domed buildings, in
terspersed with the succeed minar-
cts of the mosques and dominated by
that loveliest of Moslem structures,
the Mosque of Omar, peerlessly beau
tiful with its golden mosaics CLEAN
ing in the sunlight Shepherds Watcn
their fiocks on the sacred slopes or
the Mount of olives and caravans OF
camels climb the distant nights.
Groups of dark-eyed Syrian women,
2Oth century Rebeccas, pass us on
their way up from the pool OF Sloan
lou