Way to Tell es-Sâfieh, 362, 363. Dhikrin, 362.
Blanchegarde of the crusaders, 363-367.-May 19th.
fertile country, 367, 368. Summeil, deep well; error of Breydenbach,
368. General wish for the Franks, 369. Bureir, 370. Threshing and
winnowing, 371. Lively harvest-scenes, 371, 372. Immense olive-grove
near Gaza, 372. Quarantine guard, 372.
May 21st. GAZA ; letter of introduction, 373. Visit to the mosk, an
ancient church, 373. Governor's secretary, Tezkirah, 374. Remains of
antiquity, places of former gates, 374-376. Geogr. position, 375. Dâ-
rôn, 375. Sandy tract along the sea, 376. Fertility, 376. Population,
377. Trade, 377, 378. Hist. Notices, 378-383. Gaza probably not
'desert," when the book of Acts was written, 380.
Region S. E. of Gaza; Gerar, 383, 384. Leave Gaza for Beit Jibrîn
by a more southern route, 384. Hûj, recently built up, 384-386. Re-
turn to Bureir, 386. Agriculture; all the rich plains held by the gov-
ernment, 386–388.-May 22d. Um Lâkis, not Lachish, 388, 389. Turn
off to Tell el-Hasy; harvest-scenes, 389. Wady el-Hasy, 389, 390.
The Tell and region, 390-392. 'Ajlân, Eglon, 392. Es-Sukkariyeh,
probably an ancient site, 392, 393. Difficulty for a guide, laziness, 393.
Reapers and gleaners, "parched corn," 394. El-Kubeibeh, 394. Beit
Jibrîn, 394. Men of Beit Jâla, 395. The Sheikh takes us to three clusters
of very remarkable excavations, 395--398. Cufic inscriptions, 396. Se-
pulchres, 397. The Tell, 397. Singular labyrinth, 397, 398.
Not yet satisfied as to Eleutheropolis, 398. Roads to Hebron fur-
nish a certain test, 399. Go to Dawâimeh for the night by mistake, 399--
402. Conclude to visit el-Burj and hire guide, 402.-May 23d. The
Sheikh attempts imposition; we return towards Beit Jibrîn, 402, 403.
Take the road for Hebron by Idhna, Jedna, 403. Incident, disarming of
the peasants, 403, 404. Reach Idhna in two hours from Beit Jibrîn,
which identifies the latter with Eleutheropolis, 404.
ELEUTHEROPOLIS, 404. Identical with Betogabra and Beit Jibrîn;
evidence from the specifications of Eusebius and Jerome, 405--407. Hist.
Notices, serving to sustain their testimony, 408-412. Writers who men-
tion Betogabra make no allusion to Eleutheropolis, and vice versa, 412,
413. The expression "Betogabra of Eleutheropolis" considered, proba-
bly a gloss, 413-417. Tradition of Samson's fountain in the vicinity,
417-420.-Gath, 420--422. Maresha, Maressa, 422. Moresheth, 423.
Invasion of the Edomites; the south of Palestine called Idumea, 424.
Possible origin of the excavations we visited, 424, 425.
Village of Idhna, Jedna, 425-427. Hospitality of the Sheikh, 426,
427. Ascent of the mountain, 427, 428. Teffüh, Beth-Tappuah, 428.
Violent Sirocco; drops of rain with dust, 429. Large oak, 429. Reach
Hebron and encamp on the grassy western slope, 430. Pressing invita-
tion from Elias, 430. Delay at Hebron, 431.
HEBRON. May 24th. General character and situation, 431, 432. An-
cient pools, 432, 433. The Haram, description, 434-435. A mere wall
around an interior court, 435, 436. Probably a Jewish structure surround-
ing the sepulchre of the patriarchs, 436, 437. Hist. Notices, 437-439.
VOL. II.
Jews' window, 439.—Citadel in ruins, 439, 440. Manufactory of water-
skins, 440. Bazars, 440. Manufactory of glass, 441. Go out to break-
fast with Elias under the great oak, 441-445. Camel-loads of arms from
Dûra, 441. Vineyards, how trained, 442. Wine and Dibs, 442, 443.
The oak, 443. Elias and his family, breakfast, 444, 445. Threshing-
floors; scenes of the book of Ruth, 445, 446.—May 25th. Visit to the
Rabbi of the Jews, 446-448. Synagogue and manuscripts, 447, 448.
Ascend the western hill; extensive view, 448, 449. Visit to the three
governors of Gaza, Jerusalem, and Hebron, 449-451. Official dinner,
450, 451. Sheikh Sa'id of Gaza, his character and fall, 451-453.—Popu-
lation and trade of Hebron, 453. Historical Notices, 454-462. Question
as to the identity of the ancient and modern site, 457, 458. Hospital
and former distribution of bread, etc. 459. Rebellion in 1834; sacked by
the Egyptians, 461.
FROM HEBRON TO WADY MUSA AND BACK.
Pages 463-638.
Delays at Hebron, 463. Visit from the Sheikh of the Jehâlîn and
bargain for camels and guides, 464. Further delay; shuffling conduct
of Elias, 464, 465.-May 26th. Camels arrive; departure, 465. Way to
Carmel, 465, 466. Ascend the ridge beyond, prospect towards the South,
466, 467. Country of the Jehâlîn, 467. Encamp over Sunday, 467.
Notices of the Jehâlin, 468, 469.—May 27th. Visitors in our tent, 469,
470. Engage five Haweitât, 470, 471.
May 28th. New guides and camels, Arab dilatoriness, 471. Difficulty
about a head-guide, 471, 472. We at length set off, 472. Tell ’Arâd,
ancient Arad, 473. Rujeim Selâmeh and view, 473, 474. Upper ez-Zu-
weirah, 475. Wide prospect over the Dead Sea and southern Ghôr,
475, 476. First descent, lower tract of chalky hills, 476, 477. Second
descent; ez-Zuweirah, fort and reservoirs, 477. Wady ez-Zuweirah ;
encamp in a side-valley, 477, 478.
those from the Tawarah, 478, 479.
May 29th. Follow down Wady ez-Zuweirah to the shore, 479. Sun-
rise upon the Dead Sea, 480. Zuweirah has no relation to Zoar, which
lay on the East of the sea, 480, 481. Hajr or Khashm Usdum, (Sodom,)
a mountain of fossil salt, 481-485. Bathe in the sea, 485. Deep cavern
in the mountain, 485. Alarm at an approaching party, 486. We prove
the strongest, and our Haweitât begin to plunder; remonstrances, 486,
487. S. W. corner of the sea, 487. This end of the sea very shallow,
and a flat extends far to the South, 488. Eastern part of the Ghôr (Sâ-
Range of cliffs crossing the
fieh) fertile and well-watered, 488, 489.
Ghor further south, an offset or step to the 'Arabah beyond, 489, 490.
Already known that the waters of the 'Arabah flow northwards, 491,
492.-We keep along the western side of the Ghôr; character, salt rills,
492, 493. 'Ain el-Beida, 493. S. W. corner of the Ghôr, Wady el-Fik-
reh, 494. Keep along the base of the transverse line of cliffs, 495. 'Ain
el-'Arûs, 495. Wady Ghůrundel and ruins, Arindela, 496. Haweitât
breakfast, 496. Mouth of Wady el-Jeib, the drain of the 'Arabah, 497.
Proceed up this deep broad chasm, 498, 499. Evening halt, romantic
desert scene, 500. Results of the day, 500, 501. "Ascent of Akrabbim,”
501.
May 30th. Night-travel, 501. Leave Wady el-Jeib, desert of the
'Arabah, 502. Rocks Humra Fedân and Wady Ghuweir, 502. Halt at
'Ain el-Buweirideh, 503. Violent Sirocco, 504. Routes up to Wady Mûsa,
504. Base of the mountains, porphyry cliffs, 505. Romantic pass of
Nemela, 506, 507. Juniper trees, 506. Encamp at the top of the pass,
507.-May 31st. View from the brow of the mountain; the 'Arabah, the
western desert, Wady el-Jerâfeh, Mount Hor, etc. 507, 508. Region of
Nemela, 508, 509. Sandstone formation, 509. Oleanders, 509. Sik or
chasm, with a sculptured tablet, 510. Plain Sutûh Beida, village Dibdi.
ba, 511. Poverty of inhabitants, 511. Way to Eljy, 512. Saracenic
fortress, 513. Eljy, 513. 'Ain Mûea and brook, 513.
Arrival at the valley; tomb on the right, 514. Enter the valley;
commencement of the street of tombs, 514. Monolithic tombs, like those
in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, 514, 515. Tomb with pyramids, 515. En-
trance of the Sîk, 516. Ornamental arch across the chasm, 516.
of the chasm and height of the sides, 516, 517.
pavement, 517. Magnificence of impression, 518.
acter and imposing effect, 518-520. Interior, 520.
Khůzneh, 520. Singular ornament, 521. Amphitheatre, 521. View
from it, 522. Encamp; the object of our visit, 522.-Area of the ancient
city on both sides of the brook, 523. Remains of a temple and bridges,
523. Triumphal arch, 524. Kŭsr Far'ôn, a late structure, 524. Zub
Far'ôn, column of a temple, 524. The whole area once occupied by a
city of houses built of stone, 524, 525.-Western wall of cliffs with tombs,
525. Springs flowing off into a western chasm; its character, 526, 527.
Laborde's delineations correct, but convey no good general idea of
the whole, 527. The ancient city not enclosed by perpendicular rocks
on all sides, 527, 528. Perpendicular cliffs only on E. and W. 528. Na-
ture of the ground N. and S. of the brook, 528, 529. Excavations and
architecture; their multitude, 529. Most conspicuous tombs on the East,
530. Character of the rocks, reddish sandstone, 530, 531. Varying
teints, like watered silk, 531. Two styles of architecture mingled, Egyp-
tian and Roman-Greek, 532. The excavations not originally made for
dwellings, 532, 533. Some of them temples, 533, 534.-Silence and soli-
tude of this city of the dead, 534. Feast and mirth of our Arabs, 534,
535.
June 1st. Foreign Arabs, the Ma'âz, now in these mountains, 535.
Sheikh of Wady Mûsa arrives, 535, 536. Visit to the Deir, 536-538.
Probably a temple, 537, 538.-Sheikh of Wady Mûsa demands a present,
etc. 538. I go again to the Khuzneh, 538. Noise of guns; Arab quar-
rel; Arabs sent to bring us back, 538-540. Sheikh turns out to be the
noted Abu Zeitûn, 540. Discussions and disputes, 541-543. We deter-
mine to return the way we came, giving up Mount Hor, 544. Attempt
to go towards Mount Hor; defiance, 544, 545. Our departure unexpect-
ed to the Sheikh, 545. He sends after us to return, 545, 546. Comes
after us himself, 546. We proceed on our way, 546. His demand a new
thing, 546, 547. His fear of Muhammed 'Aly was our protection, 547.
Regret at not visiting Mount Hor, 548. Descent to el-'Arabah, 549.
Night-travel; danger of being overtaken and plundered, 549, 550. Mid-
night halt and rest in the middle of the 'Arabah, 550, 551.
MOUNTAINS OF EDOM, 551. Formation, height, character, 551, 552.
Divisions; Mountains of Moab, Jebal esh-Sherah, 552. El-Hismeh, 553.
Tribes of Bedawîn, 553. The Haweitât, 553, 554. Fellâhîn of the
mountains, 554, 555. Historical Notices of this region, the ancient Edom
and Arabia Petraea, 555-564. Often visited by the crusaders, 565–568.
Since then forgotten, 568, 569.-Ancient towns: Rabba, Rabbath Moab,
569. Kerak, Charac Moab, 569–570. Tufîleh, Tophel, 570. el-Busaireh,
Bozrah, 570, 571. Ghurundel, Arindela; Dhâna, Thana, 571. Ma'ân;
Usdakah, Zodocatha, 572. El-Humeiyimeh 572.
PETRA, Heb. Sela, the capital of Arabia Petraea, 573. Historical
Notices, 573-575. Suddenly vanishes before the Muhammedan conquest,
575, 576. Identity of Petra with Wady Mûsa, proofs, 576-579. Oblivion,
579, 580.
June 2d. Proceed across the 'Arabah to 'Ain el-Weibeh, 580, 581.
Character and position, 581, 582. Probable site of Kadesh, 582–584.
Marauding expedition recently encamped here, 584. Roads from el-
Weibeh, 584. Our Arabs take a wrong one, 584, 585. Their ignorance,
585. Return to their usual road, 585, 586. Ascend to the first step or
offset of the mountains, drained by Wady el-Fikreh, 586, 587. A more
formidable ascent before us, 587. Three passes up the same, 588. The
hill Madurah, legend of the Arabs, visited by Seetzen, 589. Pass es-Su-
fâh, difficult; ancient road, Zephath? 590, 591. Evening; we continue to
ascend gradually through a very broken region, 592. Encamp, exces-
sively fatigued, 593. Other passes, es-Sufey and el- Yemen, 593, 594.
WADY EL-'ARABAH. Extent, names, character, 594, 595. Depres-
sion of the middle and northern part, the Dead Sea and Lake of Tiberias,
595. For the most part a desert, 596, 597. Fountains in it, 597. Roads,
597. Unknown to occidental geographers, 598. Mentioned in Arabian
writers, 598, 599. Is the Arabah (plain) of the Hebrew Scriptures, 599,
600. Its existence unsuspected in modern times until the present cen-
tury, 600, 601.
THE DEAD SEA AND CATASTROPHE OF THE PLAIN. A lake existed
here before the destruction of Sodom, 601, 602. Probably less extensive
than the present Dead Sea, 602. The cities and fertile plain were on
the South, 602. Slime-pits or sources of bitumen, 603. Present char-
acter of the southern part of the sea, 603, 604. This may have been
formed by some convulsion of nature destroying the fertile plain, 604.
Perhaps by earthquakes or volcanic action, 604, 605. The bitumen may
have accumulated into an extensive stratum, like the Pitch lake of Trini-
dad, and thus have been inflamed, 605. Barrenness would be caused
by the masses of fossil-salt, 605, 606. Letter of Leopold von Buch, 606–
608.
APPROACH OF THE ISRAELITES TO PALESTINE, 609. Route to 'Ain
el-Hudhera, 609. Did not pass on the West of Jebel 'Arâif, 609. Impas-
sable mountainous tract on the western border of the 'Arabah, 609.
They must have reached Kadesh through the 'Arabah, 609. Position
of Kadesh, 609-611. Twice visited by the Israelites, 611, 612. Their
wanderings, 612. Their supply of food and water a constant miracle,
613.
June 3d. Alarm of a marauding party behind us, 613. We proceed
across the tract et-Turâibeh, 614. Pass el-Muzeikah, third ascent to-
wards Palestine, 615. Ruins of Kurnub, probably Thamara, 616. Kub-
bet el-Baul; stray camel, 617. Wady 'Ar'ârah and prospect towards
Tell 'Arâd, 617. Pits of water; site of 'Ar'ârah, Aroer, 618. Leave
Gaza road and cross towards el-Milh; encamp, 618, 619.-—June 4th.
Lose a camel, 619. Wells at el-Milh, 619. Wady passes to Wady es-
Seba' and Beersheba, 620. The bird Kutâ in great numbers, not the
quail, 620. Site at el-Milh, probably ancient Moladah, Malatha, 620–
622. Thamara was a day's journey further south, probably at Kurnub,
622.-Our guides wish to go to their camp, and prevaricate; we proceed
towards Semû'a and Hebron, 623, 624. Ascend another ridge or step of
the ascent, 624. Start a jackal, 624. This ridge probably the dividing
line between the "Mountains" and the "South" of Judah, 624, 625. el-
Ghuwein, perhaps Ain, 625. Young locusts, 625. Râfât, 626. Semû'a,
ancient Eshtemoa, 626-628. Yutta, ancient Juttah, 628. Um el-'Amad,
ruins of a church, 629. Wady el-Khulil, 629. Way hence to Hebron,
fields and cultivation, 629, 630.
June 5th. Despatch our servant to Jerusalem for horses, 630. Visit
from the Sheikhs of the Jehâlîn, 630, 631. Arrangement for paying
over the price of the camels; trial of skill between the Sheikh and Elias,
631, 632. Owner of camels, 632. Nature and habits of the camel;
unlike the sheep, 632-635. Dine with Elias, 635, 636. Threshing-floors
near our tent, 636.—June 6th. Return of servant with horses, etc. 636.
Money paid over through Elias; his commission, 637. His latter for-
tunes, 637. Two English travellers, 637, 638.
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