University of Houston, 4333 University Drive, Houston TX 77204-2000, (713) 743-1050.
© 2013 University of Houston. All rights reserved.
| Title | Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, Vol. 2 |
| Creator (LCNAF) |
|
| 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) |
|
| Genre (AAT) |
|
| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
|
| 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 199 |
| Format (IMT) |
|
| File Name | exotic_201304_015_221.jpg |
| Transcript | THE SOUTHERN BORDERLAND. or shrine, closed with gates or railings similar to those which surround or enclose the pri\ chapels or royal tombs in Westminster Abbey. The two first of these shrines are contained' in the inner portico or narthex, before the entrance into the actual building of the mosque. In the recess on the right is the shrine of Abraham, in the recess on the left that of Sarah, each guarded by silver gates. The shrine of Sarah we were requested not to enter, as being that of a woman. A pall lay over it. The shrine of Abraham, after a momentary hesitation, was thrown open. The guardians groaned aloud. But their chief turned to us with the remark, ' The Princes of any other nation should have passed over my dead body sooner than enter. But to the eldest son of the Queen of England we are willing to accord even this privilege.' He stepped in before us, and offered an ejaculatory prayer to the dead patriarch: 'O Friend of God, forgive this intrusion.' We then entered. The chamber is cased in marble. The so- called tomb consists of a coffin-like structure about six feet high, built up of plastered stone or marble, and hung with three carpets, green embroidered with gold. They are said to have been presented by Mohammed II., the conqueror of Constantinople (a.d. 1453), Selim I., the conqueror of Egypt (a.d. 1518), and the Sultan Abdul Mejid. Fictitious as the actual structure was, it was impossible not to feel a thrill of unusual emotion at standing on such a spot- an emotion enhanced by the rare occasion which had opened the gates of that consecrated place, as the guardian of the mosque kept repeating to us as we stood round the tomb, ' to no one less than the representative of England.' " The next most interesting objects in Hebron are the two pools (see page 196). The larger of these lies low down in the bed of the valley, which here begins to make a dip, running down with a steady declivity to the ancient border of Beersheba; the other is situated somewhat higher up in the wady, and is a little more than half the size. The first-mentioned is traditionally regarded as the scene of the murder of Ishbosheth. From Hebron the traveller may make a short but deeply interesting journey of some seven or eight hours to the southern end of the Dead Sea. Mounting the slopes of Jebel Jobar to the south-east, we come in about an hour and a half to a small hill on the left, called Tell Zif. This is the Ziph of Holy Writ. The ruins lie on a low hill or ridge between two small wadys which run from this point down to the Dead Sea. It was in the vicinity of this city that David hid himself (1 Sam. xxiii. 24) and wandered as an outlaw in the wilderness; and " every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him" until his band mustered four hundred men. The inhabitants of Ziph twice attempted to betray him into the hands of his persecutor. The town was afterwards fortified by Rehoboam, after which it passes out of history, the last mention of it being made by Jerome in the Onomasticon. Another hour's travelling in an eastward direction brings us to Wady Khabra, where for the first time we enter upon the great wilderness of Judaea. Passing thence over a broad plateau, a favourite camping-ground of the Bedawin, we reach at length the top of the Pass of Engedi, where the Dead Sea and the rugged mountains of Moab first burst upon the view (see page 201). ■m |