DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5295#0211
178 TRAVELS IN EGYPT, NUBIA,
The town, viewed from the Mount of Olives, appears
lying on the inclined plain of the side of the valley on which
it stands, having all its principal buildings exposed to sight
in an oblong enclosure by walls. The streets are narrow,
and without pavement: the houses are seen to most advan-
tage from the hills about the town, whence the cupolas give
even an air of grandeur to them. The details of streets and
gates related by M. Chateaubriand preclude the necessity of
mentioning them here. Those I asked for from the account
mentioned in his book were always pointed out to me. The
only bazar through which I passed was of mean appearance:
there seemed little commerce except in relics and rosaries.
The population is said to be twelve thousand, of which
the largest proportion is Mussulmen : the greatest of one
sect are Jews : the rest are composed of Christians of the
East, belonging either to the Armenian, Greek, Latin, or
Coptish sects. Of these the Armenians are the richest; are
said to intrigue most with the Turks; and, from their money,
gradually get possession of the holy places originally in the
hands of the Latin monks. They at one time professed
obedience to the pope, and were therefore allowed to have
a chapel in the Holy Sepulchre : afterwards, when they
were wealthy enough to set up for themselves, they abjured
their allegiance to the pope, and became more violent against
the Latins than the Greeks. About four or five years before
The town, viewed from the Mount of Olives, appears
lying on the inclined plain of the side of the valley on which
it stands, having all its principal buildings exposed to sight
in an oblong enclosure by walls. The streets are narrow,
and without pavement: the houses are seen to most advan-
tage from the hills about the town, whence the cupolas give
even an air of grandeur to them. The details of streets and
gates related by M. Chateaubriand preclude the necessity of
mentioning them here. Those I asked for from the account
mentioned in his book were always pointed out to me. The
only bazar through which I passed was of mean appearance:
there seemed little commerce except in relics and rosaries.
The population is said to be twelve thousand, of which
the largest proportion is Mussulmen : the greatest of one
sect are Jews : the rest are composed of Christians of the
East, belonging either to the Armenian, Greek, Latin, or
Coptish sects. Of these the Armenians are the richest; are
said to intrigue most with the Turks; and, from their money,
gradually get possession of the holy places originally in the
hands of the Latin monks. They at one time professed
obedience to the pope, and were therefore allowed to have
a chapel in the Holy Sepulchre : afterwards, when they
were wealthy enough to set up for themselves, they abjured
their allegiance to the pope, and became more violent against
the Latins than the Greeks. About four or five years before