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| Title | Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, Vol. 2 |
| Creator (LCNAF) |
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| Publisher | D. Appleton and Company |
| Date | 1883 |
| Description | Index: Phoenicia and Lebanon / by the Rev. H. W. Jessup -- The Phoenician plain / by the Rev. Canon Tristram -- Acre, the key of Palestine, Mount Carmel and the river Kishon, Maritime cities and plains of Palestine / by Miss M. E. Rogers -- Lydda and Ramleh, Philistia / By Lt. Col. Warren -- The south country of Judaea / by the Rev. Canon Tristram -- The southern borderland and Dead Sea / by Professor Palmer -- Mount Hor and the cliffs of Edom, The convent of St. Catherine / by Miss M. E. Rogers -- Sinai / by the Rev. C. P. Clarke -- The land of Goshen, Cairo, Memphis, Thebes, Edfu and Philae / by S. Lane-Poole. |
| Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Location | DS107 .W73 v.2 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1703789~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Exotic Impressions: Views of Foreign Lands |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/exotic |
| Repository | Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/william-r-jenkins-architecture-art-library |
| Use and Reproduction | No Copyright - United States |
| Identifier | exotic_201304_015 |
| Title | Page 123 |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | exotic_201304_015_141.jpg |
| Transcript | MARITIME CITIES OF PALESTINE. I2. with a laurel-wreath. Dora became an episcopal city in the province of Palestina Prima, but it did not long enjoy this dignity, for St. Jerome, who died at Bethlehem (see page 131, vol. i.) in the year 422, describes Dora as a city already in ruins and utterly deserted, but still worthy of admiration. Out of these ruins at a later period grew a station of the Crusaders, of which only a fragment remains, while the shore is strewn with relics of the Roman city (see page 105). On leaving Tanturah we reapproach the coast road, which is here about three-quarters of a mile from the shore and close to the low sandstone hills. Through an opening in the range we see the shrub-dotted western slopes of Belad er Ruheh beyond the plain of Tanturah, or, as it may be called, the " Vale of Dor," which is here about two miles in width, and is sometimes partially cultivated as far south as the Nahr ed Dufleh (see map), but more frequently it is made desolate by the incursions of the Bedawln. No neglect, however, can destroy the beauty of this district in the early spring-time, when for a brief period all the uncultivated ground is carpeted with verdure and with wild flowers of the most brilliant colours. Exactly opposite Tanturah a footpath crosses the plain diagonally and leads south-east to a little double village called El Fureidis (Paradise), nestled at the mouth of a winding valley which comes down from the summit of Belad er Ruheh, and at the head of which stands the village called Dalieh er Ruheh (the Trained Vine of the Breezy Land), seven hundred and twenty-eight feet above the sea (refer to page 103). Lower down in this valley there is a village surrounded by orchards called Umm et Tut (Mother of Mulberries). But we must pursue our way southwards by the coast plain, which is here sandy and marshy and quite uncultivated. We pass many ruined and nameless sites, probably representing " the towns of Dor" (Joshua xvii. 11). We soon cross Nahr eel Dufleh (River of Oleanders) and then hasten onwards to the Nahr ez Zerka (the Blue River), the northern boundary of the broad Plain of Sharon (see map). Between these two rivers the Plain or Vale of Dor is narrowed by the advance westward of a bold mountain spur called El Khashm, and here, through neglect of the ancient system of drainage, it has degenerated into marsh-land. The Nahr ez Zerka is easily crossed where the old road intersects it, about a mile inland ; but on one occasion, in the month of July, we and some fellow-travellers forded it close to the seashore, though not without some difficulty, for the river was broad, deep, and rapid, and there was no one to guide us to the easiest fording-place. A few hours sometimes make a great difference in the character of the mouth of a river—the wind may entirely carry away the sand-bar or change its position. Our kawass made many experiments before he found a safe path for us, which we traversed cautiously one after the other in single file, and landed on the opposite side very wet and chilly. On the south side of the river, close to the seashore, there is a ruined castle called El Melat, apparently an outpost of Caesarea, and a little way to the north of the river there are a few rocky islands of the same name, Jezirat el Melat. The Nahr ez Zerka was anciently known as the Crocodile River, and it is so called by Pliny. According to common report it is still entitled to that name. Many people living on the coast have assured me that they have seen crocodiles here, but it is admitted |