Ermete Pierotti

“ No living creature disturbs the visitor who comes to muse in its mournful solitude. A city buried under its own ruins, a torrent-bed without water, a few trees with bare branches or but a scanty foliage, naked rocks, barren mountains, mounds of rubbish formed by fallen buildings, graves all around, broken tombs, monuments of martyrs or of prophets, and lastly, the place of the Agony of the Son of God, make up a scene that overpowers the mind with emotion and compels it to solemn reflexion. ”

“ However, I uncovered the door to a height of 8-1/2 feet including the arch. It leads into a rectangular court, open to the air, and surrounded by vertical walls hewn in the rock, as is the floor, which is buried under rubbish formed of the earth brought down by the rains from the fields above, and broken stones thrown in by the Arabs; who, barbarians as they are, exhibit the most provoking indifference to the preservation of ancient monuments, and view with a jealous eye everything that interests visitors, often mutilating what they cannot entirely destroy. ”

“ First come the cisterns for rain-water, which are thickly sprinkled over Jerusalem and its suburbs; one at least being possessed by every landholder and community. When, during the summer-months, the supply of rain-water fails, the peasants of the neighbouring villages, especially of Siloam (where it is drawn from the well of Joab, Bir-el-Eyub) , drive a thriving trade as water-carriers. Such is the sad state of a city once so well supplied with water from the works constructed by its former kings and the Herods, which are now for the most part in ruins. ”

“ These terrace-roofs are surrounded by a wall five or six feet high, serving as a parapet. It is formed of small earthenware tubes, making it look like the side of a dovecot; but by this means the women, by whom the roofs are used as places for exercise and amusement, can see, without being seen.
Heaps of ruins and filth are seen in the public places, and no one frequents them for business; beggars crave an alms, lepers exhibit their sores, vagrant curs snarl over their booty. ”

“ Everywhere is barrenness, everywhere desolation; below there seems to lie a city of the dead rather than of the living; around, a land of tombs rather than of men.
Going from the citadel along the street toward the north-west we arrive at the Latin Convent of S. Saviour, within which is the parish-church of the same title. On each side two pillars supporting the very low vaulted roof divide the nave from the two side aisles. In front of the high altar rises a little slightly-depressed dome, and opposite to it is the choir with well-carved stalls. ”

“ The vaulted bazaars, which in many cities of the East are so full of life and activity, at Jerusalem look rather like caves containing sepulchral cells, and the visitor must be careful where he stands, lest some portion of the ruinous wall fall upon him, where he sets his foot, or against whom he brushes in the street. ”

“ The great Greek convent of Saint Constantine at Jerusalem is the light-tower that sheds its beneficent rays not only over the city but through the whole country: being very rich, it exercises the greatest influence; modifies the policy of the government; curbs fanaticism; rouses the idle; finds work for the poor; acquires very large landed possessions, and encourages an enlightened system of cultivation; in a word, it greatly fosters the small amount of prosperity visible in the country.
The Greek Church has many convents, hospices, seminaries, schools, and a hospital ”

“ Some authors have erred in being carried away by their subject, and disappoint the reader by substituting their own reflexions for the information that he desires to acquire. Some, with the eye of fancy, seem to behold the shades of Kings, of Prophets, and of Heroes, wandering among their tombs, or haunting the ruins of Sion; others, after a short stay in Jerusalem, return to their own homes and publish books, composed of fragments of classic lore, and the traditions they have gathered from the guides who have accompanied them in the visits to the Holy Places ”

“ Of all these quarters, the dirtiest, most fetid, and wretched, is that of the Jews, and this not on account of its topographical position, which is undoubtedly the best of any, but entirely from the habits of the people, who pay no attention to cleanliness either in their houses or dress; they wallow in the mire, so to speak, and carry it on their persons as though fearing to be robbed of it. They dwell in small houses, huddled together in great numbers, like moving heaps of filth, and seem only to use their reason for the purpose of plunging more deeply into the dirt. ”

“ I do not describe the insignificant remains of the Convent of Benedictine nuns, because they possess nothing of interest. Not a capital nor a shaft of a column is to be found among the shapeless fragments of ruins, which reveal nothing of their former splendour, nay, not so much as whether they could have been ever beautiful.
The Church of the Magdalene (called Maïmonieh by the Arabs) is situated to the north-west of the Church of S. Ann, and to the south-east of Herod's Gate. ”

“ The eye, at its first glance towards the slope of the mountain, is arrested by a large space of ground full of graves, each of which is covered by a single stone. Here is the Jewish cemetery. To fill a little trench in this spot numbers of Jews leave their country, and, regardless alike of the toils and costs of the journey, and of the hardships they have to undergo, flock eagerly to Jerusalem to end their days within its walls, and sleep their last sleep in the land of their fathers. Each stone bears an inscription; and among them are some of considerable antiquity, dating from the year 1296. ”

“ In order to determine this point I examined the Chapel of Adam, situated under the Golgotha, and reached by a descending staircase on the west. Here it is not difficult to ascertain that the aforesaid piers and wall go down below the level of the floor, and that the vaulting is entirely constructed with masonry. The fissured rock, seen from above, is in the east wall; it is protected by a strong iron grating, which renders it impossible to see whether it goes down to the level of the floor, or how far it extends to the north and south. ”

“ Early in the year 1860 I took charge of the already commenced buildings of the new convent of the Daughters of Sion, which abut upon the arch mentioned above; and consequently had an opportunity of examining the foundations of the piers, and convincing myself that both their materials and masonry are of the Roman period; because the blocks of stone, being neither rusticated nor clamped with iron or lead, are not earlier than the time of Hadrian, and are not sufficiently finished for so late an age as that of Constantine or Justinian. ”

“ The Saracenic architecture in its façade may have been the addition of one of the two above-named Sultans, and shews how rich the neighbourhood of Jerusalem is in fine coloured stones, which take a polish like marble. Many of these are fastened together with lead without mortar. This building might be thoroughly restored for a small sum of money; but it is involved in the same destiny as all the other ancient buildings belonging to the Mohammedans in Jerusalem, and unless it be sold will soon be a heap of ruins. ”

“ The convent itself, though very large, is no better than a labyrinth of cottages of different sizes and heights, which have been bought from time to time and joined together as best they could. It is therefore full of court-yards, large and small, lanes, passages, and flights of steps; and has also a small but well-kept garden, near the sacristy. Inside is an excellent dispensary, and all the offices and workshops, which this Royal Convent requires, not only for its own purposes, but also for the use of all its dependencies, especially those in Jerusalem. ”

“ Before the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, under the street, there runs water from the Fountain of Siloam. Near Solomon's porch, in the church itself, is the seat on which Pilate sate, when he heard the Lord. There is a square stone on which the accused was elevated, that He might be heard and seen by all. On it was our Lord raised when He had hearing of Pilate, and there remained an impression of a small, handsome, and delicate foot. By the rock itself, too, many miracles are wrought: they take the measure of the foot-print, and tie it over a weak part, which is immediately healed. ”

“ Sometimes it happens that the Latins are performing a noiseless service around the Sepulchre, and the Armenians are yelling like madmen, as they sing in their chapels; while the nasal tones of the Greeks ring through the building, [Pg 124] and the frantic howls of the Copts and Abyssinians split the ears. If a procession takes place, it rather resembles a riot; the banners rise and fall, the tapers bespatter the spectators, the Turkish soldiers with fixed bayonets clear a way for the officiating Priests, the attendants belabour the noisier bystanders with sticks ”

“ Besides this, these two gates form the barrier for the Jews of Jerusalem, beyond which they cannot pass without exposing themselves to insults, and perhaps to blows, or even worse, from the Christians of Jerusalem, who imagine the place profaned by the passing of a Jew: though they themselves think nothing of behaving irreverently while the holy offices are being celebrated. If, however, a Jew is accompanied by some one who can inspire them with fear or respect, these good Christians will perhaps mutter and grumble, but venture no further. ”

“ To hold a service in a church to which persons of all sects are admitted, and to think that men's hearts can be reached by it, is an utter mistake. When no one is carried out of the building dead or wounded, they say with a satisfied air, "The service has passed off well;" little thinking of the exertions that are required to make it pass off well. A battalion of infantry is drawn up under arms in the square of the Sepulchre, and supplies the guards in the interior of the church; all the officers are employed to suppress any slight disturbance ”

“ A few olive-trees, a bare argillaceous soil scattered over with stones and flints, some ruins of ancient sepulchres, four water-tanks, some cisterns almost entirely dilapidated, and bare rocks, some of which exhibit traces of chiselling, are the only objects that meet the eye throughout the whole region of the north and north-west. ”

“ Beneath the vaulting formed by the rock is the tomb of a Mohammedan santon, and a court enclosed by a low wall, in which the followers of the Prophet come to pray; where also the good-natured dervish has sometimes allowed the parties of distinguished travellers to lunch after a long excursion round the city-walls. The interior of the grotto in every part affords unquestionable signs of its having been a stone-quarry; for the cavities left by the blocks are still visible, and the holes on which the workmen have been engaged. ”

“ For at the side opposite to the Sepulchre, which was the eastern side, the church itself was erected; a noble work rising to a vast height, and of great extent both in length and breadth. The interior of this structure was floored with marble slabs of various colours; while the external surface of the walls, which shone with polished stones, accurately fitted together, exhibited a degree of splendour in no respect inferior to that of marble. With regard to the roof, it was covered on the outside with lead, as a protection against the rains of winter. ”

“ Before examining it, we will notice the surprising panorama visible from the minaret. To the west the Holy City is spread out before us [671] . We look down the Valley of Jehoshaphat from its head on the north, to where it joins the Tyropœon and the Valley of Hinnom; we can distinguish the hills of Jerusalem itself, and so understand its ancient topography. What thoughts arise as the eye roams from the plateau of the Haram es-Sherîf to the Castle of David, from Golgotha to Sion, from Bezetha to Gareb! ”

“ By these quarrels only will the soil of Jerusalem be stained with blood, not by the fanaticism of the Mohammedan; he is, and will be, restrained by the power of the local authorities, the energy of the Consuls, and the bribes paid by the Convents to pacify the more restless spirits. We may also hope that European civilization will speedily penetrate into Palestine, and that Jerusalem will become an inviolable asylum, open to every devout man; for all, without distinction of creed, are entitled to mourn, to hope, and to pray, on the spot consecrated by the sacrifice of our Divine Master. ”

“ Mount Moriah, forming the south-east part of the Lower City, is one of the points in Jerusalem whose situation can be fixed with the greatest certainty, from the evidence of the place itself with its ruins and remains, and from the testimony of ancient authors and local traditions. At the present day it is surrounded by walls and buildings enclosing the great plateau, in the middle of which rises the majestic Kubbet-es-Sakharah (Dome of the Rock) , on the site formerly occupied by the Temple of the God of Israel. ”

“ Among these, however, we cannot reckon the Orientals, who still submit slavishly, and pay whatever is demanded, as they are dependent upon the Sublime Porte, and so must comply with the custom of the country. In conclusion, I may add, that money is all-powerful with the Turks and Arabs in Jerusalem: gold calms fanaticism, humbles the proud, renders justice uncertain and the police blind, opens the prison-doors; in a word, in that city everything has its price. ”

“ Towards the east, the eye, after traversing the desert hills and mountains of Judah down to the plains of Jericho and the deep basin of [Pg 194] the Dead Sea, is arrested by the range of the Arabian mountains; the hills of the land of Gilead appear on the north, lower down those of Ammon, and still further to the south, Nebo rising above the other summits of Moab. Seen through the pure light their sides are tinged with colour too beautiful for description, and testing to the utmost the painter's skill. To the south rise the gloomy herbless slopes of the distant heights of Bethlehem. ”

“ From this conformation of the ground, it is obvious that, in times when only the weapons and military engines of ancient warfare were employed, the city was an important stronghold, well defended by nature, except on the north-west and a small portion of the north side, where the almost level ground exposed it to an attack. From the most remote periods of antiquity until the time of the Crusades and Saladin, Jerusalem was invariably assaulted at these points by those who made themselves masters of the city. ”