The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-24
JERUSALEM CRIES FOR WATER
va ADEQUATE SUPPLY SINCE
SOLOMON'S DlI,
And New German. Freach aud american
Csntractors Arc Bisiding foe the
ReserNs ctr System Combination of
Al Ages tn Pipe Lines Now IN lse.


States consulate at Jerusalem comes g.
interesting account Of the system Of
water supply. or rather lack Of IL. in the
ancient city. Deputy Consul john ID.
Whiting has recorded the hisiory Of Jeru-
saIem's water works hack To the time
. % Solomon. and the city is worse on now
4 in this respect than u was thousands OF
years ago.
The purpos. Of the American Consulate
report is to Indicate tn American investor
3 that there is an opportunity for the invest o.
ment OF capital IN Jerusalem, especially in
a modern water supply system. Deputy
, Consul Whiting has sent his report To the
/ Bureau OF Manufactures OF the Depart
meni OF Commerce and Labor, and that
bureau has published 1t in it's regular
Daily Consular Dad Trade Reports.
Jerusalem. AZ the deputy consul points
out. now has q population OF 1000. who
depend almost entirely for water supply
upon a rainfall averaging about twenty
seven inches n year The water is coll
lected and stored in private cisterns. In
the case Of we'll to- do citizens this cist"rn
supply is ample. but tho small cisterns
owned by the poor frequently are empty
long before the summer is over. The
IoOF aTN obhktu ~ etfPiN lANhA
mel ghboring cisterns At high prices.
Among the poorer Jewish settlers
on the outskirts % Jerusalem many
ara not able "a own their own cisterns
and for them large ones are built by
charity funds for a common water sup
ply In many cases these common els
terms are filed with surface water and
In the dry season breed fevers and other
diseases
The Deputy Consul's report shows that
several times since the days % King
Solomon efforts have been made 10 get
water supply upon which Jerusalem
could depend About seven miles TO the
south and a little To the west of the city
on the road. to Hebron are three great
pools known as Solomons Pools. Says
the Deputy Consul:
These were constructed in the he'd Of
a valley across which heavy walls were
thrown and cemented and are large
enough to contain 5000 900 gallons Of
water. They were filed during the
rainy season with water from the sur
rounding hills and this was augmented
by the inflow Of a small spring n little
higher in the valley known Rs the Sealed
Fountain and some other smrll springs. /
From these pools a masonry aqueduct
was built. said to have been the work !
Of solomon. which. winding around the
hillsidss. carried the water To the Temple
OF Jerusalem. At one point this con-
duit went through a mountain
In the second century the Romans began
TO execute an ambitious plan for bringing
q large water supply into the Holy City.
Their source OF supply was Ain Arroub.
n large fountain also on the road IN Hebron ,
and about twice a. far from Jerusalem
a. the Pools of solomon. and other springs
Under the Romans plan the water was
to enter the city by two aqueducts. one
the old Solomon aqueduct winding for
twenty miles about the hills. and the .
other converting the waters OF the sealed |
fountain and other small springs
The latter aqueduct IL partly hewn
in the rock and constructed partly Of F
masonry Near Rachels tomb IL de-
scended into the valley and rises again.
running through stone siphons These
siphon. were made OF solid blocks OF stone
about three feet square and two feet thick.
pierced by hole fifteen inches indiameter.
Each was made with a shoulder on one
side and q fange on tho other by. which
thev were fitted together and made water
tight with cement Part OF this ancient
work IL still to be seen bnt many 81 the
stone blocks have been carried away
by relic hunters The Romans apparently
never succeeded in finishing their elabo-
rate water supply system. !,
In the sixteenth century Of the present
era the MohAmmedans undertook 20 !
remodel the old aqueduct. supposed TO
have been built under Solomon nv sub
shutting pottery pipes for the open canals.
Small portions Of the system patched
~. f..ka
use
One 81 the most serious water famines
Of recent years in Jerusalem was in 1901
when water was hauled by train from
a spring outside the city. In this respect.
however. Jerusalem seems TO have been
doing what moet American cities are
doing to-day. But there In this differ
ence. Jerusalem imports her water by I
train from necessity, while American =
cities. with their supply systems that
have cost millions % dollars, buy bottled
spring water largely as a fad.
The water famine Of 1901 aroused the
civil authorities in Jerusalem, and IL was
then that efforts were made to patch
up the old pottery system laid out by
the Mohanmedans In the siAteenth cen
fury. The Mohammedans in their turn
had awaited themselves 10 the relics ~
the system that had heen handed down
from the ancient days Of King Solomon
Modern Jerusalem finally succeeded In
getting little water from the Sealed
Fountain by utilizing King Solomon's
old aqueduct as made over by the Arabs
down a. far as Bethlehem.
From Bethlehem to Jerusalem iron
pipes were laid. hut old i3olomon's re-
sources were drawn again upon when
the city converted one % hrs ancian,
tunnels into storage reservoir This
tunnel is now serving as an accommodating
reservoir. The water thus brought 10 ,
the city through a combination ~ cen
turIeS 81 ehort IL, however merely
drop or two compared with the city's
total needs. II is USED 20 supply some
fountains that are free 10 the poor and
the military barracks
The most striking thing about this
present patched up system. though. II. {
the continuation Of modern and ancient
methods Ons part Of the system stand.
as a relic of an age existing thouan nos Of
years ago. with marvellous tunnels hewn
by hand ont 81 solid rock. while another
IL made of iron pipes with their modern
lointings turned out and fitted into place
IN minute fraction u the ums that u
took TO construct few feet " the sy.tep ,
d bygOn" days.