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Article HOW I SPENT MY FIVE WEEKS' LEAVE. ← Page 3 of 4 Article HOW I SPENT MY FIVE WEEKS' LEAVE. Page 3 of 4 →
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How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
Some sixty of the columns are still standing , but no capitals are left , and they are deeply sunk in the earth . Pillars are lying about in all directions , some built into the walls , some half hidden in the corn . Here ap-ain we see the fulfilment of
prophecy , " Samaria shall become desolate , for she hath rebelled against her God , " ( Hos . xiii . ) Crossing the valley on the northern side , we have a tiresome clamber up the opposite ridge , but get a splendid view from the to } 3 , a fine panorama of
rich plains and undulating hills spreading far away beneath us . We now get a peep of the showy head of Hermon in the distance , towering proudly above the mountain ridge which bounds the plain . We stop and lunch under a fig tree ,
whose cool shade and delightful aroma are most grateful . Here sketches are made , journals written up , or guide books consulted , whilst some do a mild havanna or cigarette , and read the latest Saturday , or Pall Mall . But we must not
delay long , for we have a long ride before us to Jenin , where we are to encamp . The picturesque village of Kubatiyek surrounded by olive groves , is soon reached . Its inhabitants are said to be
the greatest rascals in Syria , which is saying a good deal for them . Murders and robberies are constantly taking place here . Jenin , where we encamp , is on the borders of the plain of Esdraelon ; it is an oriental looking
place , from the number of palm-trees growing about it . A pleasant stream runs close by it and through our camp . The ancient name of this place was En-gannim or " Fountain of gardens , " and it is mentioned as one of the cities of
Issachai * . On this magnificent plain of Esdraelon , then called " plain of Migiddo , " was Sisera defeated by Barak ; this was the portion of lssachar , who " saw that rest was good , and the land
that it was pleasant . It is wonderfully fertile , and yet scarcely any of it is cultivated , nor did I see a single village on it , the reason of this is , that it is so over-run by Bedawin Arabs , who scour it on their fleet steeds for plunder , and if pressed
can always make off with their tents and flocks to the other side of the Jordan , by the valley of Jezreel ; it appears always to have been insecure , having been over-run by the Syrians , Philistines , etc . ( see 1 Kings xx . 26 ) . Hence the tribe that
possessed it had to live in Arab fashion , " Rejoice , 0 Issachar in thy tents , " Dent , xxxiii . 18 . Next morning after a long canter we get to Jezreel , where Ahab had his palace ; in the rich valley
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
below was the vineyard of poor Naboth ; now there are no vines to be seen , nor indeed did I see any to speak of anywhere in the Holy Land . No wine is made there now . The miserable inhabitants , what with the plundering of the Arabs , and
taxation by the Turks , can hardly get bread . W 6 see miserable half-starved curs feeding on the offal which is thrown outside the village , even as they gnawed the bones of Jezebel . Carved sarcophagi are to be seen lying about ; the village
consists only of some twenty rude hovels . We get a fine view down the valley of Jezreel , and can picture to ourselves Jezebel watching the progress of Jehu , as he drove furiously up the valley . Ahaziab , after the death of Joram on the field ,
fled across the plain by the very way we have come to En-gannim , where we encamped ; this word being erroneously translated in the English bible " the garden house " while it is the name of
the place that is intended , 2 Kings , ix . Scriptural names having often a meaning , it is not always clear when the name , and when the meaning , is intended . The prophet Joel says , that God shall judge the heathen in the valley of
Jehoshaphat ; " now Jehoshaphat means " Jehovah jiidgeth . " Yet as the Jews and Moslems believe the last judgment will be in the valley of the Kidron , they have given it the name " valley of Jehoshaphat . " We now make a detour on our
right to visit the fountain of Jezreel , where a beautiful spring comes gushing out of the rock at the north base of Gilboa . It was here that Gideon smote the Midianites , the noise his 300 followers made by breaking their pitchers creating a panic ;
here too Saul encamped the night before his final defeat and death ; his corpse being found " on Mount Gilboa " the day after the battle ; hence did he steal away the night before the battle to consult the witch of Endor .
Riding across the rich corn fields of the valley of Jezreel , we pass El-Fulch , where the French fought the battle of Mount Tabor ; 3 , 000 French for six hours holding their ground against 15 , 000 Turkish cavalry and the same number of infantry ,
till Napoleon came up with the main body and turned the tide . This was in 1799 . We pass Solam , the ancient Shunem , where Elisha lodged , and raised the Shunamite ' s son . It is now a squalid village . We now get our first view of
Mount Tabor , which has hitherto been hidden by Little Hermon . It looks like the segment of a great sphere , and is dotted with oak trees to its
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
Some sixty of the columns are still standing , but no capitals are left , and they are deeply sunk in the earth . Pillars are lying about in all directions , some built into the walls , some half hidden in the corn . Here ap-ain we see the fulfilment of
prophecy , " Samaria shall become desolate , for she hath rebelled against her God , " ( Hos . xiii . ) Crossing the valley on the northern side , we have a tiresome clamber up the opposite ridge , but get a splendid view from the to } 3 , a fine panorama of
rich plains and undulating hills spreading far away beneath us . We now get a peep of the showy head of Hermon in the distance , towering proudly above the mountain ridge which bounds the plain . We stop and lunch under a fig tree ,
whose cool shade and delightful aroma are most grateful . Here sketches are made , journals written up , or guide books consulted , whilst some do a mild havanna or cigarette , and read the latest Saturday , or Pall Mall . But we must not
delay long , for we have a long ride before us to Jenin , where we are to encamp . The picturesque village of Kubatiyek surrounded by olive groves , is soon reached . Its inhabitants are said to be
the greatest rascals in Syria , which is saying a good deal for them . Murders and robberies are constantly taking place here . Jenin , where we encamp , is on the borders of the plain of Esdraelon ; it is an oriental looking
place , from the number of palm-trees growing about it . A pleasant stream runs close by it and through our camp . The ancient name of this place was En-gannim or " Fountain of gardens , " and it is mentioned as one of the cities of
Issachai * . On this magnificent plain of Esdraelon , then called " plain of Migiddo , " was Sisera defeated by Barak ; this was the portion of lssachar , who " saw that rest was good , and the land
that it was pleasant . It is wonderfully fertile , and yet scarcely any of it is cultivated , nor did I see a single village on it , the reason of this is , that it is so over-run by Bedawin Arabs , who scour it on their fleet steeds for plunder , and if pressed
can always make off with their tents and flocks to the other side of the Jordan , by the valley of Jezreel ; it appears always to have been insecure , having been over-run by the Syrians , Philistines , etc . ( see 1 Kings xx . 26 ) . Hence the tribe that
possessed it had to live in Arab fashion , " Rejoice , 0 Issachar in thy tents , " Dent , xxxiii . 18 . Next morning after a long canter we get to Jezreel , where Ahab had his palace ; in the rich valley
How I Spent My Five Weeks' Leave.
below was the vineyard of poor Naboth ; now there are no vines to be seen , nor indeed did I see any to speak of anywhere in the Holy Land . No wine is made there now . The miserable inhabitants , what with the plundering of the Arabs , and
taxation by the Turks , can hardly get bread . W 6 see miserable half-starved curs feeding on the offal which is thrown outside the village , even as they gnawed the bones of Jezebel . Carved sarcophagi are to be seen lying about ; the village
consists only of some twenty rude hovels . We get a fine view down the valley of Jezreel , and can picture to ourselves Jezebel watching the progress of Jehu , as he drove furiously up the valley . Ahaziab , after the death of Joram on the field ,
fled across the plain by the very way we have come to En-gannim , where we encamped ; this word being erroneously translated in the English bible " the garden house " while it is the name of
the place that is intended , 2 Kings , ix . Scriptural names having often a meaning , it is not always clear when the name , and when the meaning , is intended . The prophet Joel says , that God shall judge the heathen in the valley of
Jehoshaphat ; " now Jehoshaphat means " Jehovah jiidgeth . " Yet as the Jews and Moslems believe the last judgment will be in the valley of the Kidron , they have given it the name " valley of Jehoshaphat . " We now make a detour on our
right to visit the fountain of Jezreel , where a beautiful spring comes gushing out of the rock at the north base of Gilboa . It was here that Gideon smote the Midianites , the noise his 300 followers made by breaking their pitchers creating a panic ;
here too Saul encamped the night before his final defeat and death ; his corpse being found " on Mount Gilboa " the day after the battle ; hence did he steal away the night before the battle to consult the witch of Endor .
Riding across the rich corn fields of the valley of Jezreel , we pass El-Fulch , where the French fought the battle of Mount Tabor ; 3 , 000 French for six hours holding their ground against 15 , 000 Turkish cavalry and the same number of infantry ,
till Napoleon came up with the main body and turned the tide . This was in 1799 . We pass Solam , the ancient Shunem , where Elisha lodged , and raised the Shunamite ' s son . It is now a squalid village . We now get our first view of
Mount Tabor , which has hitherto been hidden by Little Hermon . It looks like the segment of a great sphere , and is dotted with oak trees to its