A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, Volume 1 · Part 3 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
A ſhort Relation of my Travels by Land from the Harbor of Joppe, to the City of Jeruſalem.
IN the Morning early as ſoon as the day did appear, which was the 13th day of September 1575, we got on ſhore, and diſpatched immediately ſome to the Town of Rama, two Leagues diſtant from thence, to get us a ſafe Conduct, or Paſs, from the Sangiach, and to bring along with them ſome Mockeri, or Aſs-driving Carriers, to provide us Carriage to Jeruſalem. In the mean while we ſtay'd upon the high Rocky ſhore, where the Town Joppe did ſtand formerly, which at this time was ſo Demoliſh'd, that there was not one Houſe to be found, where the Pilgrims at their arrival could ſhelter themſelves, ſave only three large Vaults, which went very deep into the Hill, and extended themſelves towards the Sea. Into theſe are ſometimes the Pilgrims let in, but being that at that time, a great deal of Corn was laid up there, whereunto they ſtill daily added, on purpoſe to ſupply Conſtantinople during the ſcarcity, it was forbidden that any Body ſhould be let in.
The Town Joppe, by the Inhabitants call'd Japha, is by its old Name very well known to us, by the Books of the Prophets and Apoſtles, &c. where we Read. That the Prophet Jonas (when the Lord bid him to Preach to the Ninevites Deſolation and Deſtruction) for fear did retire thither, and there took Ship, where he was thrown out into the Seas in the great Storm and Tempeſt, and ſwallow'd up by a great Fiſh; and after he had been there for three Days and Nights he was vomited out again. And we read alſo in the Acts of the Apoſtles, in the 9th and 10th Chapter, from Peter the Apoſtle, That he lay (or tarry'd) for a while at the Houſe of Simon the Tanner, where he raiſed the Siſter Tabitha from the Dead, &c.
Joppe at that time was very well Built and Fortify'd, which doth appear, becauſe a good many of the Jews did, at the time of the Deſolation of Jeruſalem, retire thither, to defend themſelves againſt the Might of the Romans, although it was but in vain; for being that the time of the puniſhment, that was to befal them, was at hand, the City therefore was two ſeveral times one after another, beſieged and taken, and demoliſh'd, and as Joſephus teſtifieth, about 12600 Jews were killed in it. We alſo read, That after the time of Gotfrid de Boullion, when the Chriſtians loſt again the Land of Promiſe, that then this Town alſo was retaken again by the Infidels, and razed to the Foundations; ſo that now there are no Antiquities at all to be ſeen. And I ſhould have doubted very much whether there did ever ſtand ſuch a Town there, had not I ſeen ſome large pieces of the Ancient Town Walls ſtill remaining, which are ſo near to the Sea, that there is hardly room to go at the outſide of them.
Hard by this I ſuppoſe was the Habitation of Simon the Tanner, where Peter ſojourned, becauſe the Evangeliſt St. Luke ſaith, That it was near to the Sea ſhore.
Above it on the height ſtand two Towers, where ſome Watchmen attend to look after the Vaults and Ships in the Harbor, that they may not be aſſaulted by the Pirates; this Harbor, although it is ſurrounded with Rocks and Banks, yet it is but very ſlightly ſecured, and very narrow and ſhallow, ſo that Ships of any great bulk, or heavy Laden, cannot ride in it.
Near to them growth the Hemerocallis, which I have alſo found about Montpelier and Aigemort near to the Sea. And alſo in the adjacent Moiſt and Maſhy Meadows, I found a delicate kind of Limonium which hath about ten or twelve Aſpleniun or Ceterach Leaves on both ſides; theſe proceed from a long Root of a brown colour without, and red within; between them ſprout out two three-ſquare Stalks, about a Cubit high, with a great many Joints, that have three long ſmall Leaves, and are adorned at the top with beautiful and ſtately blue and purple coloured Flowers; they are of a dryiſh Nature, and the Inhabitants uſe to eat them in Sallads.
Preſently after Dinner our Men returned, and brought along with them the Paſs and the Carriers; our Maſter of the Ship left ſome of the Crew in his Caramuſala to look after it in our abſence: We Mounted and went away, and came ſoon into the plain Fields where Jonathas ſlew Apollonius the Captain, as is ſaid in the 1ſt of Maccabees the 10th Chapter.
Soon after we ſaw a pleaſant Village call'd Jaſura, and when we came a little nearer, a Camp of a great Turkiſh Lord, who ſent (as ſoon as he eſpy'd us on the Road, and found that we were Pilgrims) ſome of his Men to us, to call us before him, and alſo to tell us, That he was one of them to whom the Grand Sultan had given Charge of the Temple, and the Mount Calvaria, with ſtrict order to let no Pilgrim in before they had paid a certain ſum of Money. So we went along with them, and appeared before him in his Tent, put our Right Hand on our Breaſt, bended our ſelves forwards, and made him (according to their Cuſtom) his Compliments. After he had look'd upon us a great while, he bid his Men to receive the Money of us; ſo each of us paid him Nine Ducats that had their full weight, except the Grecian who paid only Five, and at their Requeſt we ſtaid with them all Night, becauſe their Maſter intended to ſend a Janizary with us the next day, to let us into the Temple. This Lord, who was an Eunuch, had a great many Offices; for in theſe Countries they are by the great ones, as Baſhaws, Sangiachs, Cadees, &c. ſo much eſteemed, that in their abſence they make them Stewards over all their Goods and Chattels, Wives and Children, &c.
At that time he was there to gather great quantity of Corn from theſe fruitful Countries, it being Harveſt time, and to ſend it from thence to Joppe, to go by Sea for Conſtantinople.
After Midnight we mounted again, and came early in the Morning to the Town Rama, and went into the Houſe of the Pilgrims, which Philip Duke of Burgundy bought, and gave it to the Pilgrims as their Inn. This is very large, and hath a great many Arched Chambers within, and a fine Well; within the Inner Court is a pretty large place, all grown over with green Aloes, the Juice whereof is brought over to us in large pieces, from the Eaſtern Countries, and is very uſeful in many tedious Diſtempers: Nicodemus did alſo bring with him, (together with) Myrrh to the quantity of 100 pounds, to the Grave of Chriſt our Lord, to Bury his Body decently according to the Jewiſh faſhion, as you may read in the 19th Chapter of St. John. Here we ſtaid almoſt three days, and had all along enough to do to agree with the Cadi Subaſhaw Clerks, Janizaries and Paityfs, &c. about our free paſſage; ſo Unjuſt, Malicious, and Infidel a People are they, that one would hardly believe it.
The Town is ſituated on an Aſcent in plain Fields, as is before ſaid, which extend themſelves for two Leagues to the Hill of the City of Jeruſalem. Theſe Fields are very Fruitful, and very well Tilled and Sown with Corn, Cotton, and Indian Millet. Hereabouts do alſo grow Indian Muskmelions in great quantity, by the Arabians called Batiere, which are very pleaſant and well taſted, chiefly thoſe that are red within: ſo that in all my Travels I hardly met with the like.
The Town is pretty large, but very open like unto a Village, very pityfully built, where one may ſtill ſee here and there ſome ſigns of old Building,
From thence Northwards within half a League lieth the Town Dioſpolis, formerly called Lidda, where Peter did viſit the Saints, and cured one named Aeneas, that had had a Palſie for Eight Years. Nothing elſe is to be ſeen there, but the Church of St. George, whom the Turks chiefly honour, as a Knigt and Hero, before all other Saints. After they had quite tired us, during this time, with their continual Impertinencies, we agreed with them, and went away early in the Morning, and came in good time over the Plain, to the Mountain of the City of Jeruſalem, to which we had ſtill Four Leagues to travel. By the way there appeared preſently on the Mountains ſeveral Arabians, and ran before us in great Cluſters to cut us off in our way, with ſuch violence, that we were almoſt forced to come to our defence, and to puſh through them by force: for our Janizaries had already flung their Iron Club into the Back-ſide of one of them, and had almoſt ſpoiled him. When they found us to be in earneſt, they took ſomething to drink of us, and let us alone. So we muſt, before we arrived at the old deſtroyed and ruinated Jeruſalem, (where there is no Joy nor Hopes to get any thing, as is in the Heavenly One) ſoon one after another pay them, juſt like Boys that have loſt their Game, and run the Gauntlet.
After we had endured all theſe Bruſhes, we went on, and came to the middle of the way of the Mountains, where it was very rough and ſtony, into a ſmall Village called Anatoth, lying on a heigth, where we reſted a little, and watered our Beaſts at a very rich Spring, that runs through it by an ancient little Church down the Hill; this is ſituated (as Joſephus writes in his Tenth Book and Tenth Chapter of his Antiquities, or ancient Hiſtory) within Twenty Furlongs of Jeruſalem. There was born the holy Prophet Jeremias, as you may ſee in his Firſt Chapter: and it is alſo called by Eſaias a pitiful Village, which, together with the Town Rama, did formerly belong to the Inheritance of the Children of Benjamin. Thither went alſo Abiathar, when King Solomon did depoſe or exclude him from his Prieſthood, to live on his own Ground. A little before it they ſhewed us at the top of the heigth or Silo, of Mount Ephraim, ſome Relicts of the Grave of the holy Prophet Samuel (where we could look about for ſeveral Leagues round) which was of Rama…ha, or Arimathea, as alſo Joſeph the Juſt whom helped to take Chriſt down from the Croſs▪ and did put him into his own new Grave. The Town was underneath the Mountain where the Prophet Samuel was buried at firſt, but carried up to Silo, after the Town was taken.
Juſt when you come to Jeruſalem, Nicopolis lieth on the Left Hand upon the Heighth, formerly called Emmaus, from Jeruſalem Threeſcore Furlongs diſtant, as the Scripture telleth us: whither Chriſt did accompany the two Diſciples, and explained the Scriptures to them, and at laſt made himſelf known to them. We left it and went up to Jeruſalem, which is now called Gotz by the Arabians and Turks. The Road is very rough and rocky; ſo that we ſaw very little, but on each ſide in the Valleys many delicate large Olive Trees, and ſome few Vineyards.
The City lieth on the heighth of the Mountains, as the 125th. Pſalm teſtifieth. It is not to be ſeen, until you come over the bare and rough Mountains intercepting the Proſpect of it on this ſide.
Juſt before it without, on the top of Mount Gihon, are to be ſeen ſtill ſome Antiquities of the Town Helia, which Adrian the Emperor built after the Deſolation of Jeruſalem, and called it after his own Name Helia. This was firſt taken by Coſröe, King of Perſia, in the time of the Emperor Heraclius (who did overcome him again) and afterwards by Homar the Third King of the Saracens, who demoliſhed it; afterwards it was more contracted, and ſomewhat built again in its old place. In theſe days it is, as well as all that Country, under the Dominion of the Turkiſh Emperor.
Before it we diſmounted, for no outlandiſh Man hath permiſſion to ride into their Towns, and went under the Gate Hebron, to ſtay there for the Father Guardian, to whom we had, by one of our Carriers given notice of our Arrival, and alſo deſired him to get us Licenſe from the Sangiach to come in. In the mean time ſome Mendicant Friars came out of the Monaſtery, and received us very kindly. Soon after the Ermin came alſo riding, with his Clerk, and asked us from whence we came, how many there were of us, and what our Names were. And after they had written it down, and every one had paid him his due (to have ſafe conduct to ſee the holy Places) the Ermin promiſed it us, and put his Right Hand upon his Head, (which is the faſhion in theſe Countries) and bended forwards to let us know that we might confide in his Promiſe. Then they let us paſs, and the Friars conducted us in, towards the Left Hand, through ſome ſmall Streets or Lanes, into the Monaſtery, which is behind on the Town-Wall towards the Weſt.
This, although it is not large and ſpacious, yet is it very handſom, and ſtrong-built: we went into lodge there as all Pilgrims do that come there, where Father Jeremy of Brixen, a Brother of the Order of the Minorites of St. Francis, a Guardian of the holy Mount Zion, (which had been Preſident of this Monaſtery of Jeruſalem, and of the other of Bethlehem for Eighteen Years together) received us very kindly. There are but very few Monks in it, and they are of all ſorts of Nations, as Italians, Spaniards, French and Germans, yet of the laſt named I found not one when I arrived there. Theſe lead the Pilgrims about, together with an Interpreter, or Truſchemant, that underſtands the Arabian and Turkiſh Language, and ſhew them the holy Places as well within as without the City. But before we went out the Father Guardian admoniſhed us, that we muſt have a care, and not go to the Graves of the Heathens, which are almoſt throughout Turkey without the Towns, near to the Highways: for if one or more ſhould, before he was aware of it, which may eaſily happen, go to them, the Turks would be very much offended at it, partly becauſe they take any one that is not circumciſed, to be unclean, and ſo they fear that they might make them alſo unclean: partly becauſe they are very jealous of their Wives, wherefore they permit them not eaſily to walk or appear in the open Street, except they have a mind to go into the Bath or Pagnio, or to viſit the Graves of their deceaſed Parents or Relations: and where Women are preſent, every one had beſt to come away, to avoid Danger.
After he had ſaid this, he went on ſaying, That if any ſhould be among us, that were come over the Sea hither, that could not bring very good proof, that they did appear before his Holineſs the Pope at Rome, and were there abſolved by him, that ſuch were in his Holineſſes Excommunication, and therefore could not be admitted to ſee thoſe holy Places, much leſs obtain the Indulgences, which in former Ages had been left with them, out of great kindneſs of the Popes, to be diſtributed among the Pilgrims, wherefore he deſired, that every one might ſhew him their Certificates. All theſe Points he uſed to propound to every one that cometh there, in courſe, as I had heard before of ſeveral that had been there formerly; that they were very glad to ſee Pilgrims arrive, and that they uſed to ſhew the holy Places to them alſo that bring no Recommendation from his Holineſs the Pope, hoping, that they will recompenſe them at their Departure. Wherefore I did not much mind this Excommunication, but let that remain in its ancient Credit: but my Comrades, two whereof were Prieſts that uſed to ſay Maſs, were very much aſtoniſh'd at it, and full of Trouble, that they ſhould be under his Holineſs's Excommunication before they were aware of it: wherefore they began to excuſe themſelves, and ſaid, That they did not know any thing of it, neither had they had any opportunity in their Travels to come to Rome: But although this had been omitted before their Arrival, yet they would certainly do it as they went back. Notwithſtanding all this the Guardian ſeemed to be very earneſt, and made ſhew as if he could not abſolve them; yet at laſt, after he had long enough kept them in this fear, he began to declare, that he had alſo received full power from his Holineſs and the whole Roman Catholic Church, to abſolve all thoſe that did not bring any Certificates. And ſo at laſt abſolved us in the Cloiſters of his Monaſtery in Latin with theſe Words: I abſolve you of all your Sins in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghoſt. And with this he concluded his Speech.