Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea

within the walls the sewer comes, but it is not improbably brought along beneath the eastern brow of Zion. It was now entirely dry. During the rebellion of the Fellâhs and their siege of Jerusalem in 1834, some of the leaders are said to have passed up through this sewer, and thus got possession of the city.

Akra. North of Zion is the hill of Akra. It is the continuation or rather the termination of the broad ridge or swell of land which lies North of the basin at the head of the Valley of Hinnom, and extends down into the city, forming its N. W. part. Indeed the N. W. corner of the city wall is directly on this ridge; from which spot the wall descends immediately towards the N. E. and also though less rapidly towards the S. E. To the whole ridge, both without and within the city, a comparatively modern tradition has given the name of Mount Gihon; though there is no trace of any hill so named in Scripture or other ancient history. Within the walls, this hill or ridge is separated from Zion, as we have seen, by the upper part of the Tyropoeon; which commences as a shallow depression near the Yâfa Gate.

When one enters the Yâfa Gate and takes the first street leading North immediately from the adjacent open place, he has before him at first a considerable ascent; though afterwards the way is more level quite to the Latin convent in the N. W. part of the city. In the street leading North below the Pool of Hezekiah, and also in that along the bazars, this ascent is less perceptible. The church of the Holy Sepulchre stands directly on the ridge of Akra; and from it and from that neighbourhood, there is everywhere a considerable declivity towards the Damascus Gate. The ground also descends eastward from the Latin convent

1) The name of Gihon, as applied to this ridge, seems to be first

mentioned by Brocardus about A. D. 1283, Cap. IX.

to the same church; and then again by a still steeper declivity from the church to the street along the valley between Akra and the area of the great mosk.

* Bezetha. Eastward from the Damascus Gate, and northeasterly from Akra, lies the hill of Bezetha. It is separated from Akra by the rather broad valley which has its commencement in the plain just around the Damascus Gate, and runs in a southerly direction till it unites with the Tyropoeon below the point of Akra. The western side of Bezetha is nearly or quite as high as Akra;' while towards the East it slopes gradually down to the brow of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The western side, near the gate of Damascus, is very steep; as are also the northern and southern sides in this quarter. Indeed the north wall of the city runs along its northern brow; and the rock on the outside is there precipitous; with a wide and deep trench at its base cut through the solid rock.

The summit of Bezetha is now mostly covered with low buildings, or rather hovels; and on the S. E. part are also dwellings and the ruined church connected with the former nunnery of the house of Anna. But in the N. E. the whole slope within the city walls is occupied by gardens, fields, and olive-yards, with comparatively few houses or ruined dwellings; the whole having more the aspect of a village in the country, than of a quarter in a city. The top of the hill presents a fine view of the other parts of Jerusalem. We saw here no traces of ancient ruins; although the monks have chosen to assign this location to a palace of the younger (Herod) Agrippa.3

1) Josephus says Bezetha was higher than any of the other hills; B. J. V. 5. 8. This is probably meant of the hills of the lower city, Moriah and Akra; and is true as

to the part of Akra which lay

within the second wall. But the

language could not well be true in respect to Zion.

2) See above, p. 344.

3) This hypothesis is mentioned by Marinus Sanutus, A. D. 1321, (III. 14. 10,) but appears to be wholly groundless. The main pas

Moriah. I have already remarked, that the part of Jerusalem lying between the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the valley running down from the Damascus Gate to the Pool of Siloam, may be regarded as one ridge, having on it the separate summits or hills Bezetha and Moriah; and corresponding further down perhaps to the ancient quarter Ophel. Moriah was apparently at first an elevated mound of rock, rising by itself upon this ridge, overagainst the eastern point of Akra. The temple was placed upon the levelled summit of this rock; and then immense walls were erected from its base on the four sides; and the interval between them and the sides filled in with earth, or built up with vaults; so as to form on the top a large area on a level with the temple. This area or court of the ancient temple, as we shall see hereafter, was probably not very different from the present enclosure of the Haram esh-Sherîf. This is now separated from the rocky brow of Zion by the Tyropoeon; and from Akra by the valley which comes from the Damascus Gate.

In passing along this valley through the present street towards the South, apparently just before coming to the Tyropoeon, one crosses over a small rise of ground. This is probably rubbish, the accumulation of ages; though the houses in the vicinity prevented us from ascertaining whether it extends quite across the valley. It is also possible, that this mound may serve to carry the aqueduct from Solomon's Pools into the area of the mosk; which is everywhere higher

sage which Quaresmius cites from Josephus in support of it, (Antiq. XX. 8, 11,) contradicts it expressly. Josephus there relates, that Agrippa built a house or palace near the Xystus, whence he could see from his couch whatever was going on in the temple; and to VOL. I.

prevent this the Jews raised a high wall on the west side of the temple. All this of course fixes the site of the palace upon the N. E. part of Zion. See Quaresm. Elucid. Terrae Sanct. II. p. 204.

1) Joseph. B. J. V. 5. 1.

than the bottom of this valley. Indeed all the western entrances of the mosk are reached by an ascent; and some of them at least by steps.

On the North side, Moriah is not now separated from Bezetha by any valley or trench; except in part by the large reservoir commonly called Bethesda. The street which leads to the eastern gate of the city passes here; ascending somewhat from the valley near the N. W. corner of the area, having the steep part of Bezetha on the left; and then descending gradually to St. Stephen's Gate.

Ophel. This is the remainder of the ridge extending South from Moriah to Siloam, between the deep Valley of Jehoshaphat on the East and the steep but shallower Tyropoeon on the West. The top of the ridge is flat, descending rapidly towards the S. sometimes by offsets of rock; and the ground is tilled and planted with olive and other fruit-trees. At the northern end, just at the S. E. corner of the city-wall, (not that of the mosk,) the surface is already 100 feet lower than the top of the wall of the area of the mosk. From this point I measured 1550 feet or about 516 yards on a course S. 20° W. to the end of the ridge, a rocky point forty or fifty feet above the Pool of Siloam in the mouth of the Tyropoeon. The breadth of the ridge, as measured about the middle, I found to be 290 feet, or about 96 yards, from brow to brow.

Chief Streets. The principal streets in Jerusalem run nearly at right angles to each other. Very few if any of them bear names among the native population. They are narrow and badly paved, being merely laid irregularly with large stones, with a deep square chan

1) Chateaubriand in his Itineraire professes to give the names of all the chief streets; but our friends, who had resided several

years in the city, and made frequent inquiries, had never been able to hear of any, except in one or two instances.

nel in the middle; but the steepness of the ground contributes to keep them cleaner than in most oriental cities. Of those running down eastwards from the upper to the lower part of the city, the chief are, the one leading from the Yâfa Gate directly to the Haram esh-Sherîf, and that from the Latin convent to St. Stephen's Gate. This last includes the Via dolorosa. The principal streets running from South to North are, that just below the Pool of Hezekiah, those of the Bazar, and that along the hollow parallel to the Haram. Those on Zion seem in general to be less frequented.

Circumference of the Holy City. One of the first measurements which I took in Jerusalem, was that of the circumference of the walls. This was done with a measuring tape of one hundred English feet, carried by our two servants, while I noted down the results. We measured as closely as possible to the walls, yet without regarding the short angles and smaller zigzags. We started from the Yâfa Gate and proceeded first southwards and so around the city.

1. From the Yâfa Gate to the S. W. corner of the

city, first descending and then ascending