Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-05-20
A. c. BAKER WRITES
ABOUT PALESTINE
Visit to Jerusalem, That City of His
tory an Important One. Sees
Much of Interest.
THE HISTORICAL PLACES
PROVE VERY INTERESTING
Travels Over the Plain of Sharon,
the Country of the Ph.listines.
Sees the Home of Samson

Kind reader will take a trip
with us across Palestine, that coun-
try in which originated the religious
belief of the most enlightened ma
tions of today. Palestine, a small
country of 10000 square miles in
extent (less than one-fourth the size
of Iowa) has perhaps geographically
become familiar to more people than
any like sized territory in the world.
We are in Jaffa, its principal sea
port The streets of this filthy city
are so narrow that teams are not
driven to the wharf and we will
lead you up it's filthy alleys. With
human filth on your feet, sickening
stencil in your nose and your mouth
closed, lest the swarm of flies find a
retreat there, you pass by its busi-
ness houses, glance into this bak-
cry filth and flies; the flies the most
inviting of the two. / cannot stop
long with you here lest my stomach
is relieved of its burden. Get close
to the side-here comes a train of
camels and their burden fills the
narrow street; we pass On. Here
| they are loading one of these ships
of the desert, he squats on his
launches as they pile on his burden.
After walking seven blocks we
reach a street that carriages are
driven on: we get carriage and are
soon at the depot of the railroad
which we will travel to Jerusalem.
We are of the last to arrive, two
sections of our company are already
on the way; good fortune has ia
vored us by getting in with a init
I'd States senator and when yoa' are
with the elect with these parties
you are in a favored situation to
absorb that information which is
only freely given to one these excur-
sions, the common herd paying the
bills. t 80
|
senator we have facing us, in two
seats, to give us information, John
d. Whiting, of the American colony.
This gentleman being one of the
managers of this party. Of the
reader will get the March number
of the Geographical magazine they
| To- l.; tv.;t hut;
and on this land.) We also had a
native guide.
! Our little train passes through
the clay city out into the orange
groves. These groves are different
than the writer has before seen;
the trees planted nearly as thick as
hills of corn and not standing as tall
as our corn fields are loaded with
oranges of immense size and in
quality are the finest grown. A
little farther on we pass out into
the open country. This is the plain
of Sharon; the country of the Philis-
tines; we travel over this country
for about twenty miles before reach
ing that country which the Jew po-
sessed. The soil Of this country is
rich dark loan, it has a yearly
average of rainfall of twenty-seven
inches and with proper cultivation
would be a garden. Here we see
the dirty Bedoin plowing with a cow
ass or camel attached to the usual
crooked stick, each farm seeming
staked out with stone corners and
not containing more than half an
acre.
Few trees are seen. The Turkish
government places tax on all fruit
trees and it is so large that most Of
the olive trees have been sacrificed
as they would not produce sufficient
to pay the tax.
AS we reach the foot hills of the
edge of the country of the Jew, that
they never possessed the country of
the Philistines though always at war
with them. Hezekiah is said to have
subjugated them, but soon after they
rebelled and at no time were they for
any length of time under Jewish rule.
We now pass into real Jewish poses
sions; our train stops at the little
station Zorah; our guide points up
on a high hill above, there is the
remains of an old house, it is the
home of Samson, it was from here
where he made his raids down
among the Philistines below. A
small Greek chapel has been erect
Continued on page 81