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Article HOW I SPENT MY FIVE WEEKS' LEAVE. ← Page 2 of 4 Article HOW I SPENT MY FIVE WEEKS' LEAVE. Page 2 of 4 →
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How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
is on the other side ; and hard work it is , for the narrow streets are paved with large slabs of stone , which have got tilted about at all angles , from corners sinking . Over these our horses slide and stumble , to the great danger of our necks , and of the large glass bottles of the Narghilies , while old Turks squat smoking at the sides of the
streets . The towns in this part of the world are horrible . In a country where the heat is so intense , and ample ventilation desirable , the houses are crowded too-ether , the streets are crooked and narrow , the paving is atrocious—lighting unknown . There is
no drainage , except perhaps an open gutter , which gets washed out when heavy rain falls , and then the street becomes the temporary bed of the stream . Filth of every kind is flung into the streets ; the public slaughter yard is usually in the
centre of the place , and offal is left to putrefy and cause noisome odours . What wonder that cholera , plague , and fevers find here a permanent home ! Truly in a Turkish town you encounter the " rankest compound of
-villanous smells that ever offended nostrils . " The principal employment of the people here seems to be making the large yellow Turkish boots . Our camp is in an orchard just outside the town . A brawling stream runs through the bottom , and we are surrounded by mulberry , fig , olive , apricot ,
sycamore , and other trees . We find the Sheik of the Samaritans waiting to take us to see the Synagogue , aud their old copy of the Pentateuch , which they say was written by Abishna , the son of Phinehas , the son of Eleazar , the son of Aaron ,
and is 3 , 300 years old . We reach the Synagogue by the most extraordinary way under low arched tunnels of streets , which reminded us of the excavations at Jerusalem . The synagogue is an ordinary room . a veil or curtain covers a recess
at one end , which contains their sacred writings . We saw the Pentateuch—a ponderous old roll , battered , patched , and stained , but beautifully written . It cannot , however , be of any great antiquity . It is kept in a sort of double tin candle
box , with handles at the ends , to roll up one end by , as you unroll the other . We also see their prayer and hymn book . The Sheik says none of these have ever been printed ; that their Pentateuch differs from that of the Jews by 10 , 000
words ; and that be had a copy of it madefor "Dr , Bnsey , of Oxford , " for £ 200 . Some sort of service is going on , men and boys squatting all
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
over the floor , and repeating rapidly and loudly after the priest . At certain intervals all bend forward till their foreheads touch the ground , and utter a sort of moan . The high priest at last dismisses them with a short sentence , to which
they give a short response . The old Sheik then takes us to his house , and at once begins the sponging process ; subscriptions for their schools are required . old M . SS . are offered us for sale ; he will kindly sell us pages of an old book at five
shillings a page , written in a language which he says no one can understand . Next day we start at 7 a . m ., first taking a stroll to see the town from the Ebal side . From this
point it looks extremely pretty , the tops of the flat-roofed white houses just showing above the rich foliage of the orchards , while in marked contrast rises the ruggftd side of Gerizim beyond . After seeing a Turkish funeral , and a parade of
about three companies of Turkish soldiers , the most ragged regiment I have ever seen , we proceed on what an Englishman would j > 1 , on ounce the worst bridle path he ever saw , but which is called , and justly perhaps , " the best road in the
Holy Land . " Riding through some beautiful fertile valleys full of corn , and olive trees , we come to Samaria , a picturesque village , perched on the side of a steep hill ; this is the place which Oniri built , where Jezebel dwelt , whither Elisha
led the blinded Syrian force , which had been sent to capture him , It is the reputed place of burial of St . John the Baptist , and the church of St . John is the most conspicuous object ; it is now a mosque . The walls are in pretty good order , but the roof is gone ; some marble slabs exist , with the marks of mutilated Maltese crosses . There is
a curious wely , or domed tomb , m the centre of the enclosure of the church , in which we descend by twenty-one steps , to an excavated chamber , in which are remains of a marble tesselated pavement . It has a large stone door . a corner , which
is walled off , is , I believe , supposed to be the tomb of the Saint . Ascending the hill we come to an open level space , where a number of columns are standing . this they call Ahab ' s palace , but it is probably the building erected by Herod .
Descending a part of the hill , aud skirting round to the north , we pass through rows of pillars wliich formed a colonade on eachfside of the main street , which was fifty feet wide , and about three thousand feet long . It is now a corn-field . " Jam seges est nhi Train fnit . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
is on the other side ; and hard work it is , for the narrow streets are paved with large slabs of stone , which have got tilted about at all angles , from corners sinking . Over these our horses slide and stumble , to the great danger of our necks , and of the large glass bottles of the Narghilies , while old Turks squat smoking at the sides of the
streets . The towns in this part of the world are horrible . In a country where the heat is so intense , and ample ventilation desirable , the houses are crowded too-ether , the streets are crooked and narrow , the paving is atrocious—lighting unknown . There is
no drainage , except perhaps an open gutter , which gets washed out when heavy rain falls , and then the street becomes the temporary bed of the stream . Filth of every kind is flung into the streets ; the public slaughter yard is usually in the
centre of the place , and offal is left to putrefy and cause noisome odours . What wonder that cholera , plague , and fevers find here a permanent home ! Truly in a Turkish town you encounter the " rankest compound of
-villanous smells that ever offended nostrils . " The principal employment of the people here seems to be making the large yellow Turkish boots . Our camp is in an orchard just outside the town . A brawling stream runs through the bottom , and we are surrounded by mulberry , fig , olive , apricot ,
sycamore , and other trees . We find the Sheik of the Samaritans waiting to take us to see the Synagogue , aud their old copy of the Pentateuch , which they say was written by Abishna , the son of Phinehas , the son of Eleazar , the son of Aaron ,
and is 3 , 300 years old . We reach the Synagogue by the most extraordinary way under low arched tunnels of streets , which reminded us of the excavations at Jerusalem . The synagogue is an ordinary room . a veil or curtain covers a recess
at one end , which contains their sacred writings . We saw the Pentateuch—a ponderous old roll , battered , patched , and stained , but beautifully written . It cannot , however , be of any great antiquity . It is kept in a sort of double tin candle
box , with handles at the ends , to roll up one end by , as you unroll the other . We also see their prayer and hymn book . The Sheik says none of these have ever been printed ; that their Pentateuch differs from that of the Jews by 10 , 000
words ; and that be had a copy of it madefor "Dr , Bnsey , of Oxford , " for £ 200 . Some sort of service is going on , men and boys squatting all
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
over the floor , and repeating rapidly and loudly after the priest . At certain intervals all bend forward till their foreheads touch the ground , and utter a sort of moan . The high priest at last dismisses them with a short sentence , to which
they give a short response . The old Sheik then takes us to his house , and at once begins the sponging process ; subscriptions for their schools are required . old M . SS . are offered us for sale ; he will kindly sell us pages of an old book at five
shillings a page , written in a language which he says no one can understand . Next day we start at 7 a . m ., first taking a stroll to see the town from the Ebal side . From this
point it looks extremely pretty , the tops of the flat-roofed white houses just showing above the rich foliage of the orchards , while in marked contrast rises the ruggftd side of Gerizim beyond . After seeing a Turkish funeral , and a parade of
about three companies of Turkish soldiers , the most ragged regiment I have ever seen , we proceed on what an Englishman would j > 1 , on ounce the worst bridle path he ever saw , but which is called , and justly perhaps , " the best road in the
Holy Land . " Riding through some beautiful fertile valleys full of corn , and olive trees , we come to Samaria , a picturesque village , perched on the side of a steep hill ; this is the place which Oniri built , where Jezebel dwelt , whither Elisha
led the blinded Syrian force , which had been sent to capture him , It is the reputed place of burial of St . John the Baptist , and the church of St . John is the most conspicuous object ; it is now a mosque . The walls are in pretty good order , but the roof is gone ; some marble slabs exist , with the marks of mutilated Maltese crosses . There is
a curious wely , or domed tomb , m the centre of the enclosure of the church , in which we descend by twenty-one steps , to an excavated chamber , in which are remains of a marble tesselated pavement . It has a large stone door . a corner , which
is walled off , is , I believe , supposed to be the tomb of the Saint . Ascending the hill we come to an open level space , where a number of columns are standing . this they call Ahab ' s palace , but it is probably the building erected by Herod .
Descending a part of the hill , aud skirting round to the north , we pass through rows of pillars wliich formed a colonade on eachfside of the main street , which was fifty feet wide , and about three thousand feet long . It is now a corn-field . " Jam seges est nhi Train fnit . "