is very Harmonious especially of Nightingals who are there in great numbers At this River many paid their Devotions in remembrance of the Wonders that had been done there as the Children of Israel's passing it dry shod Elisha's dividing it with his Mantle and our Saviour's being Baptized As for the Dead Sea it is a great standing Lake of Salt and Bitter Water all the Plains that border on it are Bitter and they say there are Trees growing on the brink of it that bear Apples with a Scarlet and Golden Rhine fair to the Eye to delude Travellers but as a Curse on the Place they are within Ashes and Smoke Some hold that a living thing will not sink in this Water but the fumes arising from it were so extream it being hot Weather that I thought it convenient not to approach too near it I was informed that this Sea or rather Lake was 100 Miles in length and 25 over but that no Fish can live in it In our return I saw the Mount where our Saviour Fasted Forty Days and was Tempted on the top of it there is a Grot wherein is an Altar This Grot is said to be the place of his Residence during that time and there the Monks say Mass on publick occasions and coming down again I saw the Prophet Elisha's Well where he made the Bitter Water Sweet by casting Salt into it and now the Water is of an excellent pleasant Tast This Well is about a quarter of an Hours Travel from the Foot of the Mountain Going now to Bethlehem they shewed us by the way the House of St. Simeon and the place where Elias was Born also the House of Jacob Rachel's Sepulcher and David's Cestern Bethlehem was anciently a Town of the Tribe of Jâ—dah and has been as appears by the Ruins a very fair place but now greatly reduced There is in it a Convent of Monks and the place where St. Jerom resided and taught the People is a pretty compact Church dedicated to the Honour of St. Catherine There is also the Sepulcher of the Innocents where many of them that Herod caused to be Slain were Buried The Oratory of St. Jerom and his Tomb The place where our Saviour was laid in the Mainger is to be seen There is an Altar where the three Kings adored him and made their precious Offerings and all these places are adorned with pleasant Structures and Ornaments Lamps burning in most of them and Sculptures resembling the Histories in one of which the Virgin Mary is represented kneeling before our Saviour who has 2 Crowns of Silver on his Head which things are the only Ornament of the place near it is the Sealed Well and the 3 Fish-Ponds of Solomon the Well is a pleasant little hole but deep with 3 Springs bubling up at the end Aquaducts convey the Water to Jerusalem the Fish-Ponds seem to be cut out of a Rock being smooth Stone at bottom with Springs one at the end of another lowering by degrees so that they communicate their Water and Travelling on there is the Garden of Solomon shut in between 2 Hills which serve for a Wall on either side also the Cave where David cut off the lap of Saul's Garment and passing the Town of Sanacarib we came in with the Mountains of Judea the Town is called so because Sanacarib's Army Encamping there was cut off by the Angel The Fountain is likewise in the way where the Aethiopian Eunuch was Baptized by St. Philip and is a pleasant Spring of Sweet Water and by bad way passing the Village of Battir we came to the Desert of St. John Baptist and upon an Ascent are seen the Ruins of an Old Monastery under this is a Grot where they say he lay and in it the form of a Bed cut in the Rock There are many things to be seen in the Mountains of Judea more than here mentioned but being tedious ways Rockey and Stoney I declined to Travel further in them they being composed of many Risings and Fallings some very Craggy others Smooth with pleasant shading Trees on them as Olives Palms c. Having rested a little after this Journey and escaped some Ambushcades of the Arabs I as well as many more of my Companions being desirous to see other memorable places before we left the Holy-Land our curiosity lead us to pass through the Gate of Bethlehem which we did pretty early in the Morning and the first thing of Note that saluted our Eyes was the Foot of Mount Sion on the Right Hand and the two Fish-Ponds of Bersheba in one of which David beheld her bathing from his Pallace in Mount Sion when he fell enamour'd with her and committed that grievous Sin which made not only him but all Israel Mourn Then we passed to the Field which is called Acaldema or the Field of Blood and here the Armenian Strangers find a Burying-place so going forward we saw the Grot where 8 of the Apostles hid themselves when our Lord was made a Prisoner it is now a pleasant cool place for shelter and in it are to be seen the Pictures of the Apostles Near this there is a Burying-place for the Greeks and Strangers and a Pit where t is said the Jews hid the Fire of the Altar by the Command of the Prophet Jeremiah when they were carried away Captive by Nabuchadnezzar into Babylon close by it there is a Mosque with a Reservatory of pleasant Water to refresh Travellers But going on we came to the Pool of Shilo where the Blind Man washed and had his sight restored him and passing on saw where the Prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder with a wooden Saw by the command of Manasses Then we journied by the Fountain of the Blessed Virgin to the Mount of Scandall near which Judas hanged himself after he had betrayed his Lord it is so called because the Concubins perverted his wise Heart and made him commit Folly in offering Sacrifice to Moloch and the Idol of Chamos and so we came to Bethany There we saw the Ruins of the House of Simeon the Lepar where Mary Magdalen anointed our Saviour with the precious Oynement also the Ruins of the Castle of Lazarus on a little Ascent and at the Foot of it is the Sepulchre out of which he was raised it is a little Grot and in a Table of Stone where the Priests on Solemn Days say Mass they show there the Stone that our Saviour sat on when he bewailed him and called him forth and places where the House of Martha stood as also the Fig-Tree that withered when Christ Cursed it and that where the Ass stood which he sent for and Rod in Triumph to Jerusalem Then we went to the Grot where St. Peter Wept bitterly after he had denied his Master and from hence we turned to Mount Sion where our Lord celebrated the Holy Supper with his Apostles and instituted the Blessed Sacrament Here is the Room he entred when the Doors were shut and the Holy
now inhabited by French Merchants there is also a pretty Church The Church of the Forty Martyrs is in this Town The Doors of the Houses are not above 3 Foot high and they make them so on purpose to prevent the Insolent Arabs that Border on them from entring their Houses on Horseback there is likewise a Church Dedicated to the Honour of St. George Decamping from hence at 6 a Clock in the Morning we saw about 9 on our right Hand the Village of Good Thief called in Arabick Bethlakij After that we paid the Caffaire or Custom and so had a Guard allowed us to Jerusalem but being lâ—d about to avoid another Caffaire we were entangled among the Mountains and obliged to encamp there in a place close by a ruinous old Building which had been a Convent of Franciscan Friars Some Arches of the Ruins are yet standing above and many others under Ground where the Arabs keep a few Cows a Spring of pleasant Water issuing out of a Rock near it The next day we passed on towards Jerusalem once exceeding Famous but now contracted into a small compass we left Degib a small Village so called in Arabick and was once the Town of Samuel the Prophet it stands upon an Eminence there is a Mosque covered with a Dome they say Samuel is Buried there and the Jews visit it out of Devotion and soon after we discovered the City of Jerusalem which the Turks call Coudscherif and came before it but being Franks as they call the Latin Christians we could not be admitted till the Religious sent for us and when we had waited about an Hour at that which is called the Gate of Damascus we were introduced by the Trucheman of the Convent who came with an Officer belonging to the Basha of the Province who visited the Bagage and then we were conducted to the Convent of St. Saviour who Entertained us Charitably and shewed us to an Apartment were we might rest our selves and a Monk came and washed our Feet and the Religious were very Industrious to shew us the places of Note and to begin our visits of the Holy Places First we passed near to the Judgment Hall from whence our Saviour went out bearing his Cross it is so called because those that were Condemned to die went out of the City by it At present within the City advanced a few steps proceeding on our way we pass under an Arch where is a Stone on which they say Pilate set our Saviour when he said Ecce Homo Behold the Man This is a large Arch reaching from one side of the Street to the other and has two Windows looking into the Street only separated by a little Marble Piller and under this Window is an Inscription viz. Tode Tolle Crucifice eum Take and Crucifie him A little further is the Palace of Herod from whence our Saviour was sent back to Pilate and although these two were at variance before yet the Prince of Peace passing between them they soon even that very day were at Agreement And indeed there are many of the Antient Structures remaining though this famous City has undergone so many Revolutions yet it is Conjectur'd that many new Works have been added to the Old Ruins and they much repaired in many places The Sheep Gate still remains entire and over the place where our Saviour was Scourged there is a pretty Chaple Erected the Front and some other parts of Solomon's Temple are yet remaining and there are several Arches that make a lovely Porch before the Door of the Temple nor is the Tower of David quite defeated there remaining many Ruins to shew the Strength and Magnificence of it There are abundance of Chaples in this City some belonging to the Latin Christians others to the Greeks and some to Armenians Abasines c. and these were raised on several Religious occasions where the passages in Holy Scripture are recited to have hapned but they pay the Turks a large tribute for possessing them yet they get much Money by the visits that are made in Pilgrimages the Turks often choping and changing with those that will give most Money and they who are the richest commonly possess those that are most in Veneration and consequently most frequented but above all the rest that are very numerous the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is in the highest Veneration therefore I shall briefly describe it All Franks that enter it at first are taxed 24 Piasters a piece and the Religious pay only 12 but when you have once paid that Tax and Entered it you may go in as often as you will when it is open giving a Mudine to the Turk who keeps the Door Before you enter into the Church you pass a kind of a large Court that is before it laid with Free-stone and on this the Jews do not or as some say dare not tread Then the Steeple appears which is on the left side corner of the Front of the Church it is square on all sides has three stories of Windows two in front supported and separated by two Marble Pillars and heretofore is said to have 18 Bells in it The Door of this Church is very Magnificent and over it are many Figures in Brass Relicks being the Representations of several Sacred Histories the Door is sealed with the Seal of the Basha and when any enter it is immediately shut again In this Church there is the Chaple of Apparition so called because it is held our Lord appeared in that place to the Blessed Virgin immediately after his Resurrection and from thence we went down to the Chaple of St. Helena Inventrix of the Cross and having viewed some others we passed through the said Chaple where it was told the Women that Christ was risen in this Chaple There is a little Altar and three Windows to give light before the Door a Lamp and seven Lamps within it and there lies a Stone said to be rowled from the mouth of our Saviour's Sepulcher on which the Angel set when his Brightness appeared so transparent On the right hand as you enter is the place where the Body of our Lord was laid in cut out of the Rock in which there is a Table of the same Rock raised about two Foot from the Ground or somewhat more This takes up one half of the Breadth and the whole length of the Chaple it has been faced with white Marble to prevent its being broken for the Christians who came to visit it strove eagerly to have little Bits of it to place in Rings and other Gold Ornaments as a precious Relick And now it serves for an Alter where the Latin Priests celebrate Mass none being permitted to do the like and in the Roof of it are three Holes to evaporate the Smoak of the Lamps there being 44 of them in it of Silver and Gold sent by the Kings of France Spain and other Princes The inside of this place is faced with White Marble and environed on the
Ghost descended on the Day of Penticost Not far from hence we beheld the Sepulchers of David and Solomon This Mountain was formerly within the compass of the Walls of Jerusalem but Selim the Turkish Sultan rebuilding them it was excluded and the City much streightned We saw many other things hereabouts as the Iron Gate the House of Zebedec and that of the High Priest Annas the place where St. James was beheaded the Houses of St. Thomas and Mark the Prison of St. Peter whence he was delivered by the Angel c. And now returning a little again to Jerusalem I shall give somewhat more of its Description than hitherto I have done This Famous City is seated on a Barren Mountanous Ground for the most part it produces no Food but at a distance the Land is exceeding Fertile The Streets are narrow and crooked the Building but indifferent all the Ancient Magnificence being in a manner laid in Rubbish it has 6 Gates viz. That of Ephraim the Gates of Bethlehem Jaffa Damascus Zion and the Dungate and one that is walled up called the Golden-Gate because our Saviour entered in Triumph at it the Sheep-Gate is not reckoned as being much ruined The Turks keep them all shut at Noon-Prayer because they have a Prophecy that at that time the Christians shall surprize Jerusalem and particularly on a Friday on which Day they are very apprehensive it will happen not far from the Golden-Gate there is a Pillar bearing out of the Wall like a Cannon and on this the Turks have a foolish Opinion that Mahomet shall sit at the Day to see whether Christ Judges the Christians Uprightly and if he does Mahomet will give him his Sister in Marriage with a great Portion and then changing himself into a great Sheep he shall fly up in the Air a vast heighth with the Mahometans entangled in his Wool and there shake himself terribly and such as can hold fast shall go with him into Paradise but such as fall off shall drop into Hell The Walls of this City are fair and strong Again leaving Jerusalem I went with a considerable Company to visit Emans and Jaffa the first of these is but 2 Leagues and an half from Jerusalem by the way stands the Well where our Loâ—â—… appeared to the two Disciples after his Resurrection a little further is the Castle where our Lord was known to them in breaking Bread which is now very ruinous and the Village is of little account there being very few Houses and those inconsiderable which made us keep on by the way of Ramah to Jaffa which is 4 Leagues beyond it This Jaffa was Anciently called Joppa It is built on the Top of a Rock and is altogether Ruinous there remaining no more than some Towers and the Port at the Foot of the Rock and to a crag of this Rock it is Fabled Andromeda was tied when Perseus the Son of Jupiter and Danae delivered her from the Sea Monster Here the Prophet Inah embarked when he fled from the Face of God Here St. Peter raised Tabitha Acts 9. and saw the Sheet let down from Heaven Acts 10. There are Grots by the Sea-side for Pilgrims to rest in there is also a little Castle with two Towers one round the other square and a great Tower separated from it on one side but no Houses by the Sea The Port has but little Water in it and none but small Barks can come up with the Fortresses Mount Carmell being but a little distance from hence by Water I agreed with others to take small Vessels to visit it but we met with a Storm by the way that much endangered us but at length we arrived safely there and lodged in the Village of Cayplias which by the Ruins appears to have been formerly a considerable Town it is at the Foot of the Mountain and the next Morning we ascended the Mountain where we found a Convent of bare-footed Fryars called Carmelites these observe a very strict Rule neither eating Flesh nor drinking Wine totally Sequestring themselves from the World nor will they suffer others to do it in their Convent This is the place where the Prophet Elias lived and there is in this Mount as they say a Garden of Stone Mellons which happened on this wise the Prophet asking the Man to give him some of that he was gathering he to put him off told him they were Stones when immediately they proved so indeed by turning into Stone they shewed us one of these but would not shew us the place where they grew least we should covet to carry them away however they feasted us with Fruits boiled Roots and gave us Water to Drink for though the Hill is Rockey ye by their industry they have raised many Fruit-Trees and have variety of good Flowers Then we saw the Well Elias made to spring out of the Ground and another little Well by it we saw a little distant from these the Grot or Cave of Elias and Elisha it is cut very smooth in the Rock above and below near 20 Paces in length and 15 in breadth and very high The Turks have built a little Mosque by it This Mountain and the Country about it is commanded by an Emir or Prince who pays the Grand Signior a Tribute of Twelve Horses I forgot to tell you of Mount Libanus so famed for its tall Cedars but such wast has been made of them that I could number great and small but 23. There is a Church and Monastery in it there is a Patriarch belonging to it that lives at a Village beneath called Cannobin Thus much for the Holy Land whose Fame has over-spread the World CHAP. IX Travels through Syria and divers other Countries towards the Kingdom of Persia with many remarkable Things occuring in so long and hazardous a Journey by Land and Water HAving heard many Famous Things reported of Persia too many here to enumerate and being recruited with Bills of Exchange and other Advantages for Travelling it being a curiosity I was enclined too from my tender Years I found an opportunity to go in good Company for Damascus This City is still in good Reputation and has six Gates viz. the East Gate the Sphaies or Seraglio Gate the Shoo Gate the Gate of Paradise the Gate of Peace and St. Thomas's Gate This City is an Hour and a quarters walk round it but the Suburbs are as big again as the Town It has in it many stately Buildings some New others of great Antiquity having been Anciently the Capital City of Syria but being on a Journey I had not much leasure to view it or few other Towns or Cities on the way therefore I shall but lightly touch on them in my Passage From hence we parted for Aleppo which is one of the most considerable Cities of the Ottoman Empire in Asia by reason of the great Trade Merchants drive there it is as large as Damascus and has a fruitful Country lying about it The Walls are