DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5295#0207
174 TRAVELS IN EGYPT, NUBIA,
who dwelt near the mosque of Ascension, we descended to
the tombs of Joseph, James, Anne, and Mary, the mother
of Jesus. These are all contained in a subterraneous chapel
of tolerable size; to this a broad and numerous flight of steps
leads, worthy of admiration, even in more civilised coun-
tries. The tombs are in recesses to the right and left, large
enough to admit of altars, where mass is celebrated. The
altars are the supposed sarcophagi of the deceased. The
spot where our Saviour's passion took place is here; it is a
grotto fitted up as a chapel.
Hence we ascended through a plantation of olives, north
of Jerusalem, to the tombs of the Judges j within a walled en-
closure, whose only entrance was by a hole, through which I
scrambled, and found myself in an open space resembling a
quarry. On the west side, the rock is hewn smooth into the
form of a portico, of about thirty feet long and ten high,
without support from columns, but with an entablature and
cornice. These are ornamented by wreaths of flowers, fruits,
vine leaves, grapes, and corn, in relief, of exquisite work-
manship. On the south side of this portico is a small open-
ing, into which I creeped with difficulty, and entered a
chamber of ten or twelve feet square, whence was a suite
of similar chambers j some of them were finished with care,
others roughly hewn; parts of doors, and cornices of coarse
marble, lay scattered about. I was less interested with these
who dwelt near the mosque of Ascension, we descended to
the tombs of Joseph, James, Anne, and Mary, the mother
of Jesus. These are all contained in a subterraneous chapel
of tolerable size; to this a broad and numerous flight of steps
leads, worthy of admiration, even in more civilised coun-
tries. The tombs are in recesses to the right and left, large
enough to admit of altars, where mass is celebrated. The
altars are the supposed sarcophagi of the deceased. The
spot where our Saviour's passion took place is here; it is a
grotto fitted up as a chapel.
Hence we ascended through a plantation of olives, north
of Jerusalem, to the tombs of the Judges j within a walled en-
closure, whose only entrance was by a hole, through which I
scrambled, and found myself in an open space resembling a
quarry. On the west side, the rock is hewn smooth into the
form of a portico, of about thirty feet long and ten high,
without support from columns, but with an entablature and
cornice. These are ornamented by wreaths of flowers, fruits,
vine leaves, grapes, and corn, in relief, of exquisite work-
manship. On the south side of this portico is a small open-
ing, into which I creeped with difficulty, and entered a
chamber of ten or twelve feet square, whence was a suite
of similar chambers j some of them were finished with care,
others roughly hewn; parts of doors, and cornices of coarse
marble, lay scattered about. I was less interested with these