Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-08
lsnccInl Corresnondonoc. J
AFFA, 19lo.--With this letter


n AF'FA. 19l0.-With this letter
begin the story of my travels III
the Holy Land, during an'oi'
.ating places, going on foot, on horse
back and IN carriages from the Medtar-
ranean to the Dead sea and from Beer
sheba to Dan. / shall have my camera
with me, and with pen and photograph
shall show you the land OF our Lord
In the first place, let me give you u
bird's-eyc view Of the cour,ry. Pales-
tine is not large. With one OF NJ
NEright's acroplanes we could fly over
the whole OF 1t IN n very Few hours
and Were 1t crossed by railways Al fast
express would carry us from one side
to the other In about 80 minutes In
Guiding Syria, which takes in the noun
tains OF Lebanon and much other coun-
try in addition to Palestine proper. 1t Is
not as long as from New York to
Pittsburg, and its average width is less
than 30 miles. 1t begins at the bound
airy Of Asia Minor on the north, and
ftSleIuS lTOul lIlclc SOuNhNdla aIoii5
the line OF the Mediterranean sea until
1t is lost in the sands Of Arabia.
As for the Holy Land itself, that Is
not as big as Rhode Island. II you
could take 1t up and stretch 1t over the
United States 1t would hardly make
a patch OF court plaster on Uncle's
Sans body. Dropped down upon New
England, with one end at Boston. the
other would be at Mount Washington,
and the most OF the county would not
be wider than from Boston to SPRING
field. II spread out upon northern Tilt
nois the whole might be included In
side a line drawn from Chicago to
Aurora and thence to Decatur and back
to Chicago.
A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY.
The Bible has called this little terri
tory land OF milk and honey. The
expression must have come by contrast
with the dreary sand OF the Sinai des-
crt. through which the Israelitcs tray
eled on their way to it. AS l know It
from former travels, 1t Is more rocky
than any part of the Alleghenies, and
the Blue Ridge of Virginia, which is
covered with stones, is the Mississippi
valley compared with 1t. The country
has a backbone OF mountains compris.
ing the nils or Judea, Samarla ana
Galilce. with low coastal plain. where
the Philistines lived. running between
1t and the Mediterranean sea. On the
other side of the backbone is the great
ditch In which the Sea OF liberals and
the Dead sea lie, with the winding
Jordan running from one to the other.
This ditch Is below the level of the
sea and parts or it have the hottest and
most oppressive climate on earth. On |
the opposite side Of the Jordan toward |
the cast Is Il country much richer than.
Palestine. 1t Is composed OF highlands
from 1000 to 5000 feet above sea level.
giving excellent pasture and. In tho
north. large crops of wheat. This was
the Bashan. Gilead and Moab OF the
Bible. and 1t Is now Inhabited chiefly by
Mohammednn Bedouins. who live IN
tents, driving their cnmels. cattle and
sheep from place to place. In the past
1t was th!ckly populated, and its ruined
cities are now being excavated.
Explorations are also going on in the
lands west OF the Jordan. Many discov-
cries have been made at Jerusalem, and
the Palestine exploration fund is un-
earthing other cities During our trav.
els We may visit old Jericho. where the
are now working; and not far