Mount Gerizim

“ They guard themselves from the defilement of the dead, of the bones of the slain, and of graves; and they remove the garments which they have worn before they go to the place of worship, and they bathe and put on fresh clothes. This is their constant practice. On Mount Gerizim are fountains and gardens and plantations, but Mount Ebal is rocky and barren; and between them in the valley lies the city of Shechem.
From the latter place it is a distance of four parasangs to Mount Gilboa, which the Christians call Mont Gilboa; it lies in a very parched district. ”

“ Opposite Mount Gerizim a branch of the central road turned northeast and ran through Thebez, Bethshean, and the western side of the Sea of Galilee. An extension of the central highway ran north over central Galilee through the valley of Merj Ayun to the great valley between the Lebanons and Anti-Lebanons. Thence this central highway continued through Riblah and Hamath, crossing the upper Euphrates at Carchemish. Turning eastward at [81] this point it ran through northern Mesopotamia past Harran and across the level plains between the Tigris and the Euphrates to Nineveh and Babylon. ”

“ On the east the broad Plain of Moreh lies at our feet, and the mountains of Gilead rise blue and clear behind; in the middle of the plain stands ’Awertah, the place of entombment of the sons of Aaron; farther south are the mountains round Shiloh, and Tell ’Asûr (the ancient Baal Hazor) , loftier than even Ebal itself by some 300 feet. The ridge of Gerizim joins on the south the chain of Mount Salmon, on whose summit in 1874 the snow lay white and thick as late as March. ”

“ Such were the two hills by the side of Shechem, Gerizim, "the mountain of the blessing" (2,650 feet) , and Ebal, "the mountain of the curse" (2,700 feet) ; Bethel, in the east (2,400 feet) ; Mizpeh, some hours' journey from the subsequent capital; Mount Zion (2,610 feet) ; and the Mount of Olives (2,700 feet) . This peculiar and greatly varied configuration of the land had its effect not only upon the productions of the soil, but also upon the character of the people. From north to south, Palestine is divided into three belts. The broad mountainous tract occupies the centre ”

“ The ancient ruins extend some way beyond the walls on the east, and the foundations of a former monastery exist above the road on the south-west.
South of Nâblus rises the rocky and steep shoulder of Gerizim. The mountain is L-shaped; the highest ridge (2848·8 feet above the sea) runs north and south, and a lower ridge projects westwards from it. The top is about 1000 feet above the bottom of the valley east of Shechem. As compared with other Judean mountains, the outline of Gerizim is very fine ”

“ Gerizim forms a part of the great central chain or congeries of mountains which rises in the interior of Palestine, and from which the Carmel range branches, as a sort of spur or offshoot, traversing the country in a westward and northward direction, and continuing its course until it terminates at the sea. The other principal mountain groups in the Holy Land are the ranges of Lebanon on the north, and the mountainous tract about Jerusalem in the south. ”

“ From some lofty central points one can, at the same time, survey the eastern and the western frontiers, the waves of the Mediterranean and the surface of the Dead Sea, together with the Jordan, and the opposite mountains of Gilead. A view from Mount Hermon is still more commanding, and presents beautiful and extremely diversified landscapes. Throughout the greater part of the year the air is so exceedingly pure and transparent as to afford a delusive conception of the distance between the eye and the surrounding scenery. ”

“ Darkness follows twilight; the rushing water of the stream gives forth a sound of metallic clearness. We have been travelling more than twelve hours when at last the valley opens, and we see blazing camp fires in front of Kirghiz tents.
We mount higher day after day. We cross a pass, and at this giddy height I experience the unpleasant feelings of mountain sickness—splitting headache, nausea, and singing in the ears. On the further side one of the affluents of the Amu-darya flows westwards. This valley, the Alai, is broad and open, but full of snow in winter. ”

“ Aroused by the energy of despair, he next determined to round this impenetrable barrier, and struck out to the eastward, for an isolated peak which he called Mount Hopeless. The name corresponded to the reality, for the outlook from its summit revealed nothing but a barren and burning desert, which forced the expedition to fall back by a western route to the southern coast. ”

“ At our feet the limestone hills resembled a continuous sea of ridges and furrows, tumultuously thrown together, and presenting every variety of brown, yellow, and light green shades amongst the hollows, while the dark brown beds of chert imparted definite form and outline to the ridges and scarps. The white table-land of Jebel Usdum, deeply scored and furrowed, was just visible behind the darker cliffs of limestone to the south of our position. ”

“ Though many of our camps on Mount Haghier and the expeditions therefrom were very delightful, I think this one, called Yehazahaz, was decidedly the prettiest. It was low down on the southern slope of Mount Haghier; our tents were pitched in a grove of palm-trees at the meeting of two rushing streams; tangled vegetation hung around us on every side, and whichever way we looked we had glimpses of granite peaks and rugged hill-sides clad with dragon's-blood. ”

“ Every one of the numerous little gullies that furrow the mountain-sides has at its lower end a similar little heap of stones. Sometimes a valley among the mountains seems half choked with rocky fragments; and if these were all removed, the valley would be deeper than it is. In some hot countries, where the streams only flow in winter, 214 this is especially the case; for example, every valley, or "wady," in the region of Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb is more or less choked up with boulders and stones of every size, because the stones come down faster than they can be carried away. ”

“ This fault ranges in a due east and west direction, with a "downthrow" on the northern side, by which the white chalky beds on that side are brought into contact with the yellowish limestone of the Mar Saba gorge which belongs to a lower geological horizon. On crossing the fault the dip of the beds is northwards, but they afterwards become flat, and then dip towards the south. On approaching the Valley of Hinnom, by the Kedron Valley, the marble beds of the Jerusalem plateau rise from below the white chalk, and crop out in the cliffs of Aceldama. ”

“ It is a belief generally entertained in the East, and strengthened by many boasting hadjys on their return home, that all the pilgrims, on this day, encamp upon Mount Arafat; and that the mountain possesses the miraculous property of expansion, so as to admit an indefinite number of the faithful upon its summit. The law ordains that the wakfe, or position of the Hadj, should be on Djebel Arafat; but it wisely provides against any impossibility, by declaring that the plain in the immediate neighbourhood of the mountain may be regarded as comprised under the term "mountain," or Djebel Arafat. ”

“ This district was not included in the actual territory of Israel. Both Mount Ephraim and Mount Judah have a slope from east to west. Between the mountain-side and the Mediterranean Sea, from north to south, that is, from Carmel to the southern steppe, extends a plain of increasing breadth, which is called "the Plain of Sharon," or the "low country" (shefelah) . In the east the mountain declines towards the Jordan. ”

“ The Jews, under Zerubbabel, repaired to Jerusalem, the test of the congregation, three hundred thousand in all, beside youths, women, children, and strangers (probably the colonists from Cutha, Hamath, and Ava) , were led to Gerizim, where they established the Temple on the 9th of Tizri. Such is the Samaritan account, which gains credibility when we compare it with the Book of Ezra, and from the fact that Sanballat was connected by marriage with a Sadducean high-priest in Jerusalem. ”

“ An easier descent would bring one down to an inner wady, sloping north and south from a central height of about 400 feet above the Dead Sea, or 200 below the summit. Thus this mountain of salt, or rather of marl with a foundation of salt, is completely isolated. Its length is about six miles. It would be easy to ascend Jebel Usdum from either end, or from the inner wâdy between it and the limestone declivities of Judæa about a mile beyond. The summit corresponds accurately with the height of the conspicuous marls all round the southern base of the Dead Sea. ”

“ On the way we fortunately got some camel’s milk from a party passing near us. The weather was hot, but exceedingly clear. The Salt p. 417mountain of Sodom, (Khash’m Usdum,) showed itself well at the southern extremity of the lake, thirty miles distant; and from a raised level near its northern end we gained superb views of Mount Hermon (Jebel esh Shaikh) in the Anti-Lebanon, capped with snow. This was entirely unexpected and gratifying; but I could nowhere find a spot from which both Hermon and Sodom could be seen at once. Perhaps such a view may be had somewhere on the hills. ”

“ An excellent section of the strata is shown in the W. Jorif Guzel, three miles south of the Kelt. After passing this, we struck up the deep gorge of the W. el Kueiserah. This valley introduces us into a country of smooth chalky downs, traversed by deep ravines, sometimes covered with grass, but generally bare and white. Here amongst the beds of limestone occur others, consisting of dark shales and bituminous limestone, which, as it is compact and takes a good polish, is manufactured into vases, cups, dishes, and ornaments by the artizans of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. ”

“ We started off without a cloud in the sky, but with a strong South wind blowing. High up on the mountains we could see the snow still being blown off in white clouds. Our route lay up the valley of the Bhong-chu for about 10 miles until the river suddenly turned to the East to go through a deep and impassable gorge. We had then to follow the valley of the Zachar-chu for 4 miles to Lumeh, where we camped beside the great poplar trees. ”

“ The ascent is neither difficult nor dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but extremely laborious, being a steady steep and continuous scramble over loose stones, on which it is difficult to retain a footing; there is no defined path to the summit, and it should not be attempted without a local guide, as the clouds gather round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little chance for any but the most experienced guides. ”

“ At about ten o’clock on Saturday morning, on turning a bend of the wide valley towards the east, we came in sight of the Jebel el Berg, a fine mountain, solitary and of quadrangular form, rising in our front to a height of about 2,000 feet above the plain. It is formed of horizontal courses of sandstone, and is accompanied by several minor heights of similar formation in outline, somewhat like the Egyptian Pyramids. The beds of sandstone are planted on a foundation of granite and porphyry. ”

“ Our traverses from the shores of the Salt Sea to Gaza, and again from Jaffa to Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, together with our excursions to Bethlehem and Solomon's Pools, had enabled us to obtain an approximately complete knowledge of the general features of the country and of its geological structure, and we looked forward to a further reconnaissance northwards to the shores of the Lake of Galilee, and thence across to Mount Carmel and onwards to Beyrût, to enable us to complete our geological survey of the whole country;—but this was not to be, as my narrative will show. ”

“ It is called by the Arabs the Snowy Mountain: misled probably by this the text books on the subject boldly assert that its summit is perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case, nor is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some two months at least, and although we find it cold there is not a trace of snow anywhere. The bare white limestone sides of mountains are often mistaken at a distance for snow, but few travellers ever attain the summit, and hence the perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable. ”

“ Having halted for a litte, we commenced to examine the cliffs of Jebel Usdum, and to penetrate some of the caves which open into their sides. These caves give egress to the torrents which issue forth after rain, and along their walls the rock salt is constantly melting. Hart and Laurence scrambled up to the summit of the cliff, and for the first time the upper surface of this remarkable saliferous plateau was examined by a European. [1] The difficulties of both reaching and traversing its upper surface are considerable, owing to the holes and fissures by which the strata are penetrated. ”

“ Eastwards from Jerusalem ran what was euphemistically called a road, surely the worst in all Palestine, which led to Jericho and the Jordan valley. From a height of two thousand feet above sea level it descended in a series of jerks, sometimes abruptly, sometimes across a short plateau; it wound round innumerable and execrable corners, it was crossed by wadis and streams from all directions, through nearly twenty miles of unimaginable desolation, and finally, after passing the awful travesty that once was Jericho, it reached the river. ”