A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, Volume 1 · Part 3 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
A Plain Deſcription of the City of Jeruſalem, as it was to be ſeen in our time: and of the adjacent Countries.
THE Glorious and Kingly City of Jeruſalem (which formerly the Saracens called Kurzitadon, but now is named Chutz, by the Inhabitants) is ſtill ſituated in the old Place, in the middle of Judea on the high Mountains, and as the Head is extolled above the reſt: which may be concluded, partly becauſe from thence you may ſee all the the Country as from a Center: partly alſo becauſe the Springs riſe here, and ſo run down, as from a higher place, every way and to every part thereof; as the holy Prophet Ezekiel doth teſtifie in his Fourteenth Capter, where he ſaith: That at that time freſh Streams ſhall flow from Jeruſalem, half thereof to the Sea toward the Eaſt, and the other half towards the furtheſt Sea. There are alſo many other places of Scripture, that Though Jeruſalem might be ſituate in the higheſt part of Judea, yet are not the following places of the Scripture a ſufficient proof of it. For becauſe it was the Capital, and ſupreme Town, in regard of Greatneſs, Multitude of People, Strength, Juriſdiction, and other Privileges, tho its ſite were not higher than that of other Towns, yet might People well enough be ſaid to go up thither, it being higheſt in reſpect of Dignity, tho not of place. So we make no ſcruple to ſay in common ſpeech, that whoſoever travels up to London, goes up thither; and whoſoever travels from thence, goes down into the Country, let his Habitation be never ſo much higher ſituate then London. Yet was Jeruſalem ſituate on a Hill, which is enough to verifie all thoſe Expreſſions, tho that Hill were not the higheſt in Judea.teſtifie the high Situation of Jeruſalem, as in the Eighth Chapter of the Acts, Verſe 26. where the Angel of the Lord ſpake unto Philip, ſaying: Ariſe and go towards the South, unto the way that goeth down from Jeruſalem unto Gaza, &c. And in the Tenth Chapter of St. Mark, and the Thirty ſecond Verſe: And they were in the way going up to Jeruſalem. And the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke, Verſe 30. A certain man went down from Jeruſalem to Jericho. And Verſe 31. And by chance there came down a certain Prieſt that way, &c.
The Situation of Jericho, together with the great Plains thereabout, through which the Jordan runs from the North towards the South, together with the Dead Sea, where formerly Sodom and Gomorrah ſtood, you ſee from the Town, over a barren Hill, below ſo plainly, that one would think we might go thither with eaſe in three Hours, and yet it would require a whole Days Journey. Beyond the River that ſeparateth Arabia from Judea, lie the high Hills Abarim and Nebo over againſt Jericho, whence Moſes, (as is ſaid Deuteronomy the 32d. and 34th. Chapters) had a full Proſpect of the Land of Canaan, promiſed to Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob; one may ſee them thence ſo plainly, as alſo the Mount Seir, which toucheth them beyond the Dead Sea, in the Land of the Moabites and Ammonites, that one would alſo think they were very near.
They bring yearly a vaſt quantity of Sheep to Jeruſalem from off the Mountains, which feeding upon the fragrant, delicate and hearty Herbs that grow there, have Meat that taſtes very pleaſantly, the Tails thereof are very fat, above half a ſpan thick, and one and a half broad and long. The Levitical Prieſt (as we read in Leviticus the Ninth Chapter, and other places) uſed to burn this together with all the Fat of the Entrails, and the two Kidneys for a Sin-Offering.
There are alſo Goats, with hanging Ears, almoſt Two Foot long. And therefore ſome Arabians, called Balduini keep in the Deſerts, that have no certain Abode, but lie continually in the Fields, and go from Country to Country in great numbers, whereſoever they find good Paſture for their Beaſts and Camels. I have met with many of them in my Travels, and have ſome time ſtayed with them all Night in their Tents, they are commonly Soldiers armed uſually with Bows and Long-Pikes made of Cane, as the other Arabians, and becauſe of their Nimbleneſs and Courage they are very much preferred before the reſt.
This holy Land (which, according to the Promiſe made to the Patriarchs, was for many years in the poſſeſſion of the Iſraelites) was (as you read in Deuteronomy, Chap. 8.) a moſt fruitful and rich Country, abounding with Corn, Fruits, Wine and all that is required to the maintenance of Man's Life. So the Lord himſelf ſaith, That he will give them a Land, that ſtill floweth with Milk and Honey. For it hath rich Valleys, Hills, Fields, and Gardens, richly adorned with Fountains and Trees▪ ſo that it was very well choſen to be the worldly Paradiſe, wherein Adam and Eve did live, honor and ſerve God. Now as the Land in its Goodneſs ſurpaſſed other Lands, ſo did Jeruſalem excel all other Cities in Building, Glory, Fortification, and Number of Inhabitants. Moreover God viſited the Iſraelites from the beginning, and had a Houſe built in this City for himſelf, which he choſe before all others to ſanctifie his Name there. And above all this he provided them with High Prieſts, Kings and Prophets, until God the Father did ſend his only Begotten Son, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt in the Fleſh, to reveal to them his Will with Teaching and Miracles.
But when they would not acknowledge his merciful Viſitation, nor receive his Meſſengers, but did rather abuſe, ridicule, and kill them, rejected the Lord of Glory himſelf, and adhered to, and adored ſtrange Gods, and ſerved them; God did reject and diſperſe them among the Heathens burnt and deſtroyed their City and Temple, and reduced their fruitful Country into barren Deſarts, and a deſolate Wilderneſs, and ſo the Puniſhment came upon them, which the holy Prophet Eſaiah did foretel them in the Thirteenth Chapter, and 9th. Verſe, ſaying, Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land deſolate; and he ſhall deſtroy the ſinners thereof out of it. And further in the Twenty fifth Chapter, and Second Verſe, Thou haſt made of a City a heap; of a defenced City a ruine; a place of Strangers to be no City, it ſhall never be built. And Daniel alſo maketh mention of this in his Ninth Chapter, &c. This ought to ſerve us and all Men as an Example of the fervent Anger of God, to be a warning to us for ever. For if of the Glorious City of Jeruſalem, which God had choſen before others, and of its vaſt Buildings, that made her famous before her Deſolation, there is at this Day nothing at all to be ſeen, ſo that one might very well doubt, whether it ever ſtood there, were it not for ſome holy places, and its ſituation, that give us demonſtration thereof. If I ſay this worldly Jeruſalem, becauſe of its unbelieving Inhabitants, that would not acknowledge the Bleſſed Meſſias, nor adhere to his Doctrine to their Salvation, is quite rooted out; and inſtead thereof, the way of the Heavenly Jeruſalem opened to us Heathens, by the holy Apoſtles: How ſhall we eſcape if we neglect ſo great ſalvation? This way to our Lord Chriſt, hath for many years paſt, been ſhewed us ſincerely by the Miniſters of the holy Word of God, but we do not only, not much care for it, but ſeek rather other by ways, that lead us to Idolatry, Sin and Vices nay, to our utter ruine. Wherefore it is to be feared, that if we do not repeat in time, and return to God again, that he will come upon us with his wrath (as he hath already begun) and deliver us up into the Hands of our Adverſaries, that we may fall by their Swords (as Ezekiel doth threaten us in his Thirty ninth Chapter,) and to puniſh us according to the Deſerts of our Sins. Wherefore we ought to lay to heart the terrible Example of the Jews, and turn from our evil ways, that we may avoid the Puniſhments that befel them. We ſee that thoſe who were formerly the People of God, are now come to be ſo blind, and full of Errors, and of ſo depraved a Life, that there is hardly any like them to be found even among the Infidels and Impious. Wherefore they are by all Men deſpiſed and hated, chiefly by the Turks (which hate them more than any other Nation) ſo that they would not let them live among them, if the Turkiſh Emperor had not for a great Sum of Money given them a peculiar freedom. And beſides all this, now adays, their Towns and Countries are inhabited by Turks, Moors, and Arabians, that do not love to till or cultivate the Ground, but will rather ſtarve, than take pains to get a good Livelihood by their Hand-Labour. And although the Country about Jeruſalem is very rocky, rough, ſtony, and ill managed, yet notwithſtanding they will not endeavour to mend and improve it, but find out the fruitful Lands that are here and there, and over-run the Country like Graſhoppers, ſo that you may obſerve it yearly to decay more and more. Seeing then that there is but little Tillage about the City, therefore the product of the Earth there is but very ſmall, ſo that they muſt have almoſt all Neceſſaries brought them from other places.
The Town of Jeruſalem which is ſtill pretty large; but very ill built, hath within its Walls (which the Turkiſh Emperor cauſed to be built about Twenty Years ago) large places that lie deſolated, and are ſo full of Stones and Rocks, that one can hardly walk in them. The Gardens (even thoſe that are within the City, and are but ill managed) are ſurrounded with Mud Walls, not above Four Foot high, ſo that one may climb over them without any difficulty. Theſe are waſhed down again by Rain in a very little time, ſo that they want mending continually.
Their Habitations are alſo little and and low, have Clay-Walls, and many of them are decayed, ſome lie quite in a heap. The Churches of the two Apoſtles, that of St. John and St. Peter are in the ſame Condition, as alſo the Priſon where St. Peter was kept, the Habitation of Veronica (which the Cordeliers ſhew us for them) and a great many places more. In ſome Streets chiefly near to their Bazar, or Exchange, are very old Vaults, part whereof are decayed and broken, part filled up with Duſt, which runs out into the Streets: wherefore (chiefly in the Summer) the Duſt lieth ſo thick in them, that you may ſee every ſtep in it, as in Snow or Sand.
All which ſheweth, that the Turks deſtroy or ruin more than they build; wherefore they are deſervedly called Turks, that is to ſay, Deſtroyers. The preſent Town, as to the Extent of its Walls, is not much leſs than the old one was, wherefore one ſhould admire, conſidering how it is built now, how it was poſſible it ſhould hold ſo many People as it is ſaid were in it at the time of its Deſolation, viz. a Million of Men, or as Joſephus and Euſebius ſay, Three Millions. Jeruſalem was formerly ſurrounded with very ſteep Cliffs, deep Ditches and Valleys, chiefly on three Sides, towards the South, Eaſt and Weſt, ſo that one could not eaſily get up to it but only on the North Side, where the Town was low, lying in a Plain: therefore did Titus firſt attack it in a place near the Village called Scapas, Seven Miles diſtant from it, and afterward advanced and took it: which the holy Prophet Jeremiah did foretel many years before, in the Firſt Chapter and Twelfth Verſe, ſaying, Out of the North an Evil ſhall break forth upon all the Inhabitants of the Land.
Theſe Ditches and Valleys are now quite filled up with the Ruins of the broken Walls and Buildings, ſo that one may go into the Town, as into an open Village, without any hinderance or pain. But when the Grand Signior, after he had taken it, ſaw that the Town was open, and that the Chriſtian Pilgrims came thither in great numbers from all places and Countries, he feared that they might make themſelves Maſters of it again, as they had done ſome years agone, wherefore he ordered it to be ſurrounded again with new Walls, which although they are very high, yet they are ſo thin and ſlight, that they are not able to withſtand the leaſt violence. But as the Town was anciently built four ſquare, ſo it is now built more round, chiefly towards Mount Calvaria, which formerly was without the Town, but now is Walled in; ſo that you may ſtill ſee two corners, one whereof is towards Galilee, where the Gate of that corner is, which is ſtill open, and almoſt one of the handſomeſt, through which you go to Nazareth, diſtant three days Journey; as alſo to Caeſarea Philippi, which is now called Balbec, where ſtill are to be ſeen ſome very fine Antiquities; and alſo towards Damaſcus, which is ſix days Journey diſtant from Jeruſalem, and from thence 6 days Journey more to Aleppo, the greateſt Town for Trade in all Syria. Jeremiah maketh mention of this Gate in his 31ſt Chapter and the 38th Verſe, Behold the days come, ſaith the Lord, that the City ſhall be built to the Lord, from the Town of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And alſo Zacharias, in his 14th Chapter, and in the 2d Book of Chronicles, the 26th Chapter, and 9th Verſe; It is ſaid Ʋzzia built Towers in Jeruſalem, at the Corner-Gate, and at the Valley-Gate, &c. The ſecond corner Mount Zion maketh, where it doth end toward the South, whereon, as alſo on the Mount Moriah, the City is riſing towards the North. The old City had twelve Gates, as you read in the Revelation. The 1ſt, the Fiſh-gate, which was alſo called the Gate of Hebron, becauſe the Road of Hebron went through it, which is about ſeven or eight hours walking diſtant from it. 2. The Old-Gate. 3. The Priſon Gate, whereof Nehemiah maketh mention in his 12th Chapter, through which our Saviour Chriſt carried his Croſs. 4. Rayn-Gate. 5. The Gate of Ephraim, before which St. Stephen was Stoned to Death, as you may read in the 2d Book of the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory in the 1ſt Chapter. 6. The Gate of Benjamin, where the holy Prophet Jeremiah was taken and Impriſoned, as he ſaith himſelf in the 37th Chapter. 7. Corner Gate, 8. Horſe-Gate. 9. Valley-Gate, through which they went into the Valley of Joſaphat. 10. Dung Gate, through which the Water carried out all the Soil into the Valley of Joſaphat; and about this River is ſtill to this day a great ſtink. 11. Sheep-Gate. 12. Fountain-Gate, which is now Walled up. The Prophet Nehemiah maketh mention of them, in his 3d, 8th, and 12th Chapter, ſo that it is not needful to ſay any more. Theſe Gates are ſo mightily decayed, that there is not to be ſeen the leaſt of the old Buildings. The Turks have inſtead of them, built others in the New raiſed Wall, but yet not half ſo many in number, whereof ſome (according as the Town is enlarged in ſome places, and contracted in others) are diſplaced; others are erected again in the ſame places, according to the Old Streets, viz. 1. The Fiſh-Gate, which is ſtill ſtanding towards the Weſt behind Mount Sion, and over againſt Mount Gihon, as you may conclude out of the words of the 2d Book of Chronicles, in the 33d Chapter, and 14th Verſe. Manaſſes built a Wall without the City of David, on the Weſt-ſide of Gihon, in the Valley even to the entring in at the Fiſh-Gate. This Gate hath its Name, becauſe they brought many Fiſhes from the Sea-ſide through this Gate into the City. So is alſo ſtill ſtanding, on the outſide of the Valley Tiropaeon (which diſtinguiſhed the two Mounts, Sion, and the Temple Mount called Moriah) the Gate of the Fountain, which hath its Name becauſe it leadeth towards the Fountain of Siloha, which Nehemiah in his 2d Chapter, Verſe 14, calleth the Kings Pool. Through this was our dear Lord Chriſt, the true promiſed Siloha, brought a Priſoner bound from the Mount of Olives, over the Brook Kidron, into the Houſe of Hannas and Caiphas in the upper Town, as we read in the 12th Chapter, Verſe 37. that by the Fountain-Gate they went up to the City of David. The ſame way alſo the two Diſciples, Peter and John, were ſent to beſpeak the Paſchal Lamb, by Chriſt, where they met the Man with the Pitcher of Water.
The Sheep, or Beaſt-Gate, is alſo ſtill ſtanding by Moriah, the Mountain of the Temple, which the Turks have taken to themſelves, and have built on it a Turkiſh Moſque, or Temple, becauſe that God Almighty hath done many and great Miracles on this Mount; and beſides Mahumet did find himſelf again on this Mount, after he had been carried up (as his lying Writings tell us) through the Heavens before God by the Angel Gabriel. Wherefore they take this Mount to be Holy, ſo that none that is not Circumciſed, and ſo Unclean, dare approach or come near it, nor take the neareſt way without, over the height of the Mount, as Nehemiah did, as you may ſee in the before quoted place; ſo that the Chriſtians muſt take a further way about, and from the Gate Siloha, go below through the Valley of the Brook Cedron, between this and the Mount of Olives, to the Beaſt-Gate, which hath its Name becauſe the Beaſts that were to be offer'd in the Temple were driven through it.
Near the Gate you ſee ſtill the Sheep-pond, which is large and deep, yet hath but little Water in it, wherein the Nathineens uſed to waſh the Beaſts, and then to give them to the Prieſts. And alſo immediately within towards the North a Conduit, which was the Pool by St. John the Evangeliſt, in the 2d Verſe of his 5th Chapter, called Batheſda, erected by King Ezechia; that had five Porches, wherein lay a great multitude of impotent folk, that waited for the moving of the Water. Through this Gate is the ſtraight way over the Brook Cedron, by the Mount of Olives toward Bethania, down to Jericho, on the River Jordan, into the Valley of Joſaphat, wherefore this alſo (being nearer now in theſe days) is called the Valley-gate.
There is alſo ſtill the Corner-gate in its old place, where the North and Eaſt Walls meet on large and high Rocks, and … called ſtill by ſome the Gate of Naphthali.
This I thoug… convenient to ſay of the City of Jeruſalem in the g…ner… of its Buildings, Fruitfulneſs, and adjacent Countries; what Famous and Holy Places are within and without the City, thereof I intend to treat in particular.