The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1913-01-16

decay and oblivion. Unpeopled plains have been
converted into hives of industry, and hives OF IN
dustrv have reverted back to unpeopled plains.
New lands have been discovered and peopled and
new seas have been navigated and charted' Every
where progress has changed the physlcal conoltion
of the people. Everywhere progress mas changed
the historical and geographical Importance . ia.
tons and countries. Here, alone, in the Mount
Sinai Valley, where the nation that gave us the
Savior first sprang into prominence, progress mas
stood still. Surrounded by the peaks OF the FORTY
Martyrs" all is hushed and still on the plain Where
once the hum of thousands of voices was heard, and
where the valley rang with the resounulhs 1harcn
of the hosts of Israel.
On the peak of Ras-es-Safsafeh, the cross the
symbol of Christianity, has been planted on the very
spot upon which Moses, the great law glver and
leader of the Jews, stood and gave to his people
the ten commandments, the, basis of all religious
beliefs and the foundation of all law, moral ana
civil. Now unpeopled and deserted, the very
lonesomeness of the place is awe-lnsplrlng' anu
the silence Of the tomb is not more impressive
than the "veil of silence that envelops Ras-es-
Safsafeh and its surroundings.
The mount on which God is said to have re-
vealed himself to Moses is situated in the south
ern half of the so-called peninsula of Sinai, pro-
jecting into the northern extremity OF the hea
sea, between the Gulf Of Suez on the west and
the Gulf of Akabah on the east. This park OF the
peninsula consists of a mass OF granite ana
porphyry mountains which may be divided into
three groups, a northwestern, reaching IN Jeoel
Serbia. a height Of 6,712 feet; a central, includ-
ing Jebel Musa Mount of Moses. 1858 feet,
and Jebel Katerin. 1887 feet; and an eastern
and southern, whose highest peak is Jebel Umm
Shomer S449 feet. Whether the Biblical Sinai
w :1ebel Jmm Shomer of Jebel Musa was long
disputed by leading authorities. The former was
advocated by Eusebius. jerome, Cosmas lnd1co-
pleustes, and in more modern times by Lepsius
and Ebers. Jebel Musa, however, is preferred by
most authorities, and is favored by tradition
(which dates, however, only from Christian
times), indicated by the name Mountain OF
Moses" and the erection of a monastery upon
it which goes back to the days of Justinian. The
northern peak of Jebel Musa, known as Raises
Safsafeh (6,54O feet), meets the conditions re-
ouired, since there is an open space at Its base
sufficient to accommodate a large encampment.
Standing on the lofty summit of Mount Sinai,
what thoughts and visions are conjured up as
one contemplate that there on the vast plain OF
Assemblage that stretches before the eye hun
dreds of feet below, fifty centuries ago, the com
mandments were delivered to the assembled chill
dren Of Israel.
which from these heights looks like a little toy
fort built of blocks, the region Is still and
hushed, and almost deserted. The massive walls
of the monastery raised by the peace-lovlng and
God-fearing monks under Justinian in 527 A. D.
as a protection against the marauding bands
of Bedouins that infested that part of the coun-
try when the wealth of an empire was possessed
bv the builders and occupants OF the monastery
are in the same condition as when built 1900
years ago. Today, however, the Christian world
keeps a watchful eye over this mountain monas'
tery and its contents, and the Bedouins, knowing
this to be the fact, keep on friendly as well as
visiting terms with the monks.
In the monastery are stored the priceless
hooks narrating the history Of Christianity In
the tongue of every Christian nation. Slowly
the brotherhood of Mount Sinai monks are dy-
ing out. there being but twenty or twenty-five
Of tho nresent time. The life and the pay-not
enough to buy tobacco-are not sufficient in
ducement for young recruits to join the forces
that wear by year are growing smaller. In the
course of a few years the Treasurer OF the
monastery will remain but a memory TO remind
one of the greatness of Its founder, Justinian.
Looking northwest from Jebel Musa to Wadi ell