El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-10-22
FRANK G. CARPENTERS LETTER.

salem of the past, and the excavations
have unearthed houses and temples far
below the streets of the present The
original floor and court of the house
in which Pontius PLATE examined the
Christ is below the level of the pres
ent city, and mosaics and marbles, in
Guiding carvings of various kinds and
Greek and Roman capitals and columns
are frequently found when digging the
foundations for erecting new buildings.
There are many caves. outside Jeru-
salem. The tombs of the kings on the
edge of the city have been cut from the
solid rock, and some of them are so
| large that a city house could be
dropped into one and not touch the
walls. An excavation of the Pool of Be-
thesda has SHOWN that it is 80 feet deep
and that it covers nearly an acre. Right
under the temple platform are enor-
nous caverns known as Solomon's sta
bles and near there is a space honey
combed with vast tanks which will hold
millions of gallons of water.
At the Jaffa Gate.
But let us go down from the tower
and take a walk through the crowd.
We are at the Jaffa gate, which leads
to the railroad station, a half mile
from the walls. 1t is also at the end
of the roads to Bethlehem, Hebron and
of the city. 1t is always thronged, and
the people who go in and out come
from all parts of the world. They are
of all colors-blacks, browns, yellows
and whites. and they number a dozen
different nationalities from the nearby
parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. Here
comes a donkey Ted by a fat Turk in
yellow gown and red turban. He is
harefooted and the beast loaded with
wood which he is bringing into the
city for sale. The wood is the roots
of olive trees and his donkey load is
worth % cents. He is stopped by the
customs officer, and pays a tax of 3
cents at the gate. Behind him comes
a porter with a bag half as big as a
hogshead fastened to the small of his
back. Inside the bag is a basket filled
with the flat cakes which form the
bread of the city.
Now turn to the right and look at
that Syrian Bedouin who is riding
gray Arabian pony He sits as
straight as a telegraph pole and looks
with fierce eyes at our party. He has
a gun on his back and his head is
covered with a great yellow handker-
chief bound round with strands of hair
rope as thick as your wrist. Behind
him come three camels laden with the
oranges of Jaffa. Each beast has a
CARLOAD of the great yellow balls in
the two crates which hang over his
back. and he grumbles and whines as
his barefooted driver drags him along
by string tied to his nose.
As We look we see the figures of the
Old and New Testaments crowding
around US, There are peasants who
might have been among the disciples,
and gray bearded men who would pass
for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob We see
boys with coats of many colors which
remind us tof Joseph, and shepherds
driving sheep into market who prob
ably came from the very plains near
Bethlehem, where similar shepherds
were watching their f1ocks when the
star. first appeared.
A Look at the Girls.
Let us take a seat with those Syr-
ians on the porch of that coffee house |
outside the gate and make further |
sketches of those who go in Here |
comes two figures dressed all in white. !
They look like walking bedticks bound |
around at the middle, or better like /
the ghosts of a sheet and pillow case |
PARTY They are Mohammedan wo- /
men. 1t is against their religion for (
them to go out unveiled and they have |
wrapped their bodies in sheets, the |
folds of which they hold close to- /
gether over their faces, leaving only a |
crack by which to pick their way
through the crowd.
Behind them is a girl with bare face
She wears a round cap. which extends !
a foot above her rosy brown fore
head Her gown is gray chemise.
which falls almost to her feet, and
has a wide hem of embroidery of red
and blue silk. That is a Bethlehem
maiden, and the shawl she wears was
probably made by her own hands for /
her wedding. Such shawls are much
priced by tourists, and the best of
them bring SIS apiece in the stores
But here are some women in long |
coats and high boots. They have cal
leo gowns under their coats, which
reach half way down the calf Their
heads are covered with handkerchiefs
and their faces are bronzed by the
sun. Each has staff in her hand and
4 bag on her back, and she is tramping /
along at the rate of four miles an
hour. They are dusty and dirty, and
hey look weary and worn. Those are !
peasant women from Russia. who have
come here as pilgrims, and who are
their way from shrine to
shrine. They have tramped this morn
ng out to Bethlehem, and tomorrow
will likely be on their way to the
Jordan.
Around the Walls.
Let US start here at the Jaffa gate
md make a trip around the walls of
Jerusalem 1 have tramped about
hem on foot and have ridden round
Upon donkeys. Some of the walls
which still stand were laid up by Solo
n |
Great. who built Dayids tower. and
others by Agrippe only few years
lfter Christ's death.
We walk across the road leading to
Bethlehem. down which the wise men
# the east rode on. their way to tho
birthplace of the Savior, and picking |