DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27910#0077
TIBERIAS. FROM THE SOUTH.
JUDGE that the waters of the lake have encroached considerably upon the Roman town of
Tiberias, or else that the sea-wall has crumbled away, leaving the towers or bastions only standing
far out into the water. From one of these remaining masses of old Roman masonry, nearly the
most southernly one, the present view is taken. These ruins (which are portions of the walls of
the old town), and the castle seen in the view, at the northern extremity, constitute the most
striking features of the place at the present day. The town itself is a most wretchedly forlorn
and dirty-looking assemblage of houses, or hovels of ultra-oriental character. The population is
about 3000, of whom perhaps one-fourth are Jews. There is an adage, “that the king of the fleas holds his
court in Tiberias.” This we had vividly in mind on our arrival at the spot, and so were steeled against the
strong inclination of our Bedouins to pitch our tents within the walls. Escaping this infliction, we arranged
that the clear blue waters of the hallowed lake should almost wash the threshold of our tents, which were
pitched a little to the south of the place from which my view is taken. We enjoyed a most refreshing bathe;
and whilst taking my view I could see multitudes of fine fish in the bright water below. There are five
different kinds of fish in this lake, all of good quality. It will be remembered that here was the scene of the
miraculous draught of fishes : yet there is now only one crazy old boat on the lake! I detected, by the difficulty
which I found in using the water of the lake for photographic purposes, that it is impregnated with a considerable
quantity of saline matter. The same, of course, may be said of the water of the Jordan, which runs from this
lake to the Dead Sea; yet the salt is not in sufficient quantity to render the water unpleasant to the taste.
There probably existed no town upon this identical spot in the days of Our Saviour. It was built, as
its name indicates, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberias, by the Tetrarch, Herod Antipas, and long
remained the capital of the province, being, along with Sephoris, one of the two largest cities of Galilee.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, Tiberias was celebrated, during several centuries, for its famous rabbinical
academy. The modern name is Tabaria. It suffered greatly by an earthquake on New Year’s Day, 1837,
when almost every building, with the exception of the walls and the castle, was levelled to the ground; and
up to the present time—such are the poverty and indolence of the inhabitants—scarcely any repairs have
taken place. Dr. Robinson says that the Jews who inhabit this place are chiefly from Russian Poland—
Tiberias and the neighbouring city of Safed being the two holy cities of the modern Jews in Galilee;
Jerusalem and Hebron .in Judea. The Lake of Tiberias, or, as it is often called in Scripture, the Sea of
Galilee, is about eleven miles long, with an average width of about four miles. Its surface is depressed
below that of the Mediterranean about 750 feet—the depression of the Dead Sea being 1316 feet. Thus the
river Jordan, in its course of 56 geographical miles between the two lakes, falls 566 feet. The current is
consequently so rapid as not to be navigable even for small boats without great danger.
JUDGE that the waters of the lake have encroached considerably upon the Roman town of
Tiberias, or else that the sea-wall has crumbled away, leaving the towers or bastions only standing
far out into the water. From one of these remaining masses of old Roman masonry, nearly the
most southernly one, the present view is taken. These ruins (which are portions of the walls of
the old town), and the castle seen in the view, at the northern extremity, constitute the most
striking features of the place at the present day. The town itself is a most wretchedly forlorn
and dirty-looking assemblage of houses, or hovels of ultra-oriental character. The population is
about 3000, of whom perhaps one-fourth are Jews. There is an adage, “that the king of the fleas holds his
court in Tiberias.” This we had vividly in mind on our arrival at the spot, and so were steeled against the
strong inclination of our Bedouins to pitch our tents within the walls. Escaping this infliction, we arranged
that the clear blue waters of the hallowed lake should almost wash the threshold of our tents, which were
pitched a little to the south of the place from which my view is taken. We enjoyed a most refreshing bathe;
and whilst taking my view I could see multitudes of fine fish in the bright water below. There are five
different kinds of fish in this lake, all of good quality. It will be remembered that here was the scene of the
miraculous draught of fishes : yet there is now only one crazy old boat on the lake! I detected, by the difficulty
which I found in using the water of the lake for photographic purposes, that it is impregnated with a considerable
quantity of saline matter. The same, of course, may be said of the water of the Jordan, which runs from this
lake to the Dead Sea; yet the salt is not in sufficient quantity to render the water unpleasant to the taste.
There probably existed no town upon this identical spot in the days of Our Saviour. It was built, as
its name indicates, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberias, by the Tetrarch, Herod Antipas, and long
remained the capital of the province, being, along with Sephoris, one of the two largest cities of Galilee.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, Tiberias was celebrated, during several centuries, for its famous rabbinical
academy. The modern name is Tabaria. It suffered greatly by an earthquake on New Year’s Day, 1837,
when almost every building, with the exception of the walls and the castle, was levelled to the ground; and
up to the present time—such are the poverty and indolence of the inhabitants—scarcely any repairs have
taken place. Dr. Robinson says that the Jews who inhabit this place are chiefly from Russian Poland—
Tiberias and the neighbouring city of Safed being the two holy cities of the modern Jews in Galilee;
Jerusalem and Hebron .in Judea. The Lake of Tiberias, or, as it is often called in Scripture, the Sea of
Galilee, is about eleven miles long, with an average width of about four miles. Its surface is depressed
below that of the Mediterranean about 750 feet—the depression of the Dead Sea being 1316 feet. Thus the
river Jordan, in its course of 56 geographical miles between the two lakes, falls 566 feet. The current is
consequently so rapid as not to be navigable even for small boats without great danger.