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| Title | The Dead Sea. |
| Creator | Holland, Frederick Whitmore, 1837-1880.
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| Description | Sinai and Jerusalem; or, Scenes from Bible Lands: Illustrated by Twelve Colored Photographic Views, Including a Panorama of Jerusalem, With Descriptive Letterpress. |
| Caption | THE DEAD SEA ANCIENT authors described the Dead Sea as a spot enveloped in perpetual gloom; its waters Avere represented as continually sending forth sulphureous exhalations, which, hanging over it, rendered it impossible for any living creature to approach it; and even the birds which attempted to fly across it were said to drop down dead. These stories, however, have long been proved to be gross exaggerations : yet still it is in several respects one of the most remarkable spots in the world ; and, whether regarded from a physical or an historical point of vieAV, it is full of interest. Eirst of all, it lies at a depth of no less than 1, 300 feet below I he level of the Mediterranean Sea. The effect of climbing a mountain is wi 11 known: as we ascend, the air becomes lighter and cooler, but here we have exactly the opposite effect: as we descend the mountains from Jerusalem, and advance lower and lower, toAvards the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, the air becomes more oppressive, and the heat increases, and at last we find ourselves in an almost tropical atmosphere. The constant evaporation of the Avater, owing to the heat of the atmosphere, causes a thin mist to float over it during the day; and this, no doubt, added to the desolate character of its shores, gave rise to the stories of its gloominess. It is, in fact, as the picture represents, by no means a gloomy spot: its surface sparkles brightly in the sun, and its water is remarkably clear and blue. The total length of the Dead Sea, from north to south, is forty miles, and its greatest breadth eight and a-half, narrowing to five at the northern extremity. It is shut in on either side by lofty cliffs of limestone, so closely, in many places, that not even a footpath is left along the shore. At sunrise and sunset these mountains assume the most glorious purple tints, and at such times the vie\v of the sea is one of great beauty. |
| Date | 1870 |
| Publisher | London: Printed by Jas. Truscott and Son, Suffolk Lane, City. |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) | Palestine -- Description and travel.
Sinai Peninsula -- Description and travel.
Jerusalem -- Description and travel.
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| Subject (Geographic) | Palestine
Sinai Peninsula
Jerusalem
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| Original Item Location | http://library.uh.edu/record=b3601783~S11 |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Use and Reproduction | This image is in the public domain and may be used freely. If publishing in print, electronically, or on a website, please use the citation button above. To request higher resolution images, please use the Request High Res button above. |
| File name | meast_201009_068.jpg |
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