Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-08-04

said to be the rock On Wnlcn ADra
| ham was to have offered Isaac as
| sacrifice and which David purchase
| from the Jebusite, used by him as
| threshing floor, and later where tn
Ark of the Covenant is said to hav
rested in the Holy Of Holes in th'
| Temple. It is the rock on which th'
Mohammedans claim the Prophet of
| fered his last prayers and where h'
! went to Heaven. The rock was abou
to follow him, but was held down By
| the Angel Gabriel. They also have
many more sacred traditions connect
ed with this rock. Underneath the
Temple area, which we reach by stone
, stairway, are immense vaulted pas
sages and spaces, the floor of which
lies some thirty feet below the upper
Eavement. These spaces are capable
of quartering a good sized army, and
were probably formerly used for the
purpose. On the northwest corner the
Fortress of Antonia used to stand, and
is where many hard-fought battles oc-
Cured. AS you go up flight of steps
to the top of the wall you get fine
view of the Mount of Olives, which is
divided from the city by the Valley of
Kedron and Jehoshaphat. The crest
nf this mount is now occupied by a
Russian Hospice, on which also
stands high tower; from it's top one
can overlook practically the whole of
Palestine, from the Mediterranean to
the Dead Sea and the Jordan, as well
as the Mountains of Moab. Jerusalem
itself lies about $50 feet below the
Mount of Olives, near the foot of
which is the Garden of Gethsemane,
which was the object OF a later visit
by US.
We visit the Church of the Holy Sc
pulchre, which is reached by some
narrow streets. 1t stands at the end
of small open square, in which are
always found squad of Turkish
guards, which are largely increased
on holidays to keep peace. as there
are frequent scraps between the vari-
GUS sects of Latins, Greeks, Syrians,
Copts and Armenians, each of which
owns its particular shrine and re-
CARDS the others as intruders. You
can see here pilgrims from all over
the world, and one has to take his
turn to be guided through the church
and have the various spots of inter
est explained. The site of this church
is supposed to have been the real CAL
hI1t L cd
outside the city walls and the topog-
raphy and locations comedies nearer
with the description as given in the
Gospels.
We tried to visit the tombs of the
kings, but could get no admittance
from the Turkish guards. In the Via
Dolorsa, another narrow street, our
guide points out where the house of
Plate stood. The Tower of David, to
which I have alluded before, is on a
place; part of the foun
dation walls of this tower, as also a
good part of Zion, are conceded to be
the original foundation built by King
David. The stones are large and
they stand upwards to the
wall.
The Germans are building a mag
nificent church in Zion, which is near
ing completion; it was started some
years ago after Emperor Williams
pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
On the outside and Immediately
surrounding the walls are numerous
are built, one on top of another. to a
considerable depth for many centu
ries On the day of resurrection, as
seen by the Prophet Ezekiel, there
WILL indeed, be IAN exceeding grea.
army around Jerusalem.
Across the Valley of Jehoshaphat
three conspicuous maIsoleums are to
be seen, namely those of Absolom, St.
James and Zachariah. A little higher
up, near the Garden of Gethsemane, is
the tomb of the Virgin Mary. On the
other side of the city we visit some
tombs cut out of solid rock, which,
however, are empty now, and sup
posed to be the tombs of the prophets.
This, however, lacks authenticity.
Jericho and the Jordan are in our
itinerary. We make an early start,
for this trip is a hard one to make.
Our caravan consists Of about a dozen
carriages drawn by three horses each,
and but three persons are allotted to
each carriage. We are accompanied
by two dragOmanS, one in front and
one in the rear of the carriages. They
are travelling arsenals; each carries a
gun, several pistols and bowie knives
This precaution is taken because
there are at times robberies commit
ted in this country. The road is not
a very bad, one but for the fact that
it constantly leads up and down steer
hills and its final destination on the
banks of the Jordan lies about $500
feet below Jerusalem and some 1,30(
feet below sea level. We pass the
Garden of Gethsemane, over the
Mount of Olives to Bethany Thence
we go down to the valley which marks
the boundary line between Judah
Benjamin and another tribe which
have forgotten. Here is also a sprins
of water from which Jesus and Hi
disciples drank; it is the only water