DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0024
2
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
his people," that importance was attached to the hills as a barrier or protection against hostile
attack.
The modern city stands, as did the ancient one, on the southern extremity of a
gently shelving plateau, not more than one thousand acres in extent, which is bordered by-
two valleys that bear names familiar to us from childhood : one is the Valley of the Brook
Kedron, the other the Valley of Hinnom. These two valleys, at first mere shallow
depressions in the ground, take their rise within a few yards of each other, and at an altitude
of two thousand six hundred and fifty feet above the sea, in the gentle undulation which
at that point parts the waters of the Mediterranean from those of the Jordan Valley.
Separating at once, they soon take one of those rapid plunges downward so characteristic
of the wild glens of Judaea, and, after encircling the plateau, meet again at Bir Eyub (the
Well of Job), six hundred and seventy-two feet below their original starting-point; hence,
united as the Wady en Nar, " Valley of Fire," they pass by a deep gorge through the
Wilderness of Judaea to the Dead Sea.
The eastern or Kedron valley, after running eastward for a mile and a half, turns
sharply to the south and forms at its southern extremity the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The
western valley, or Valley of Hinnom, which at its head swells out into a large shallow basin,
follows a southerly course for one mile and a quarter, and then turns eastward to Bir Eyub,
south of the city.
A third ravine, the Tyropceon, or Valley of the Cheesemongers, which rises near the
head of the plateau between the Kedron and Hinnom valleys, runs southward to join
the former at Siloam, and divides the ground on which the city stands into two spurs of
unequal size, which terminate in abrupt broken slopes. On Mount Moriah, the eastern and
smaller spur, once stood the temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod, and the palace
of Solomon ; on the western, which is one hundred and twenty feet higher than Moriah,
and of greater area, were situated the " upper city " of Josephus, the stately palace of Herod,
and the three great towers Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne. A fourth and smaller ravine,
the rugged nature of which was unsuspected a few years ago, rises near the eastern side
of the plateau and falls into the Kedron near the well-known Golden Gate. In the bed of
this ravine two large reservoirs were constructed ; one of these still exists as the Birket
Israil, or Pool of Bethesda.
The sides of the valleys of Kedron and Hinnom are now encumbered with rubbish,
but they are still sufficiently steep to be difficult of access, and every here and there places
are found where the rock has been cut perpendicularly downwards, in cliffs ten to twenty
feet high, to give additional security. It was probably in these natural defences, strengthened
by art, which protect the city on the south, east, and west, that the Jebusites put their trust
when they boasted to King David, " Thou wilt not come in hither ; the blind and lame
shall drive thee back." The only side upon which the city could be attacked with any chance
of success was the north ; and here it was defended by walls of such massive strength as
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
his people," that importance was attached to the hills as a barrier or protection against hostile
attack.
The modern city stands, as did the ancient one, on the southern extremity of a
gently shelving plateau, not more than one thousand acres in extent, which is bordered by-
two valleys that bear names familiar to us from childhood : one is the Valley of the Brook
Kedron, the other the Valley of Hinnom. These two valleys, at first mere shallow
depressions in the ground, take their rise within a few yards of each other, and at an altitude
of two thousand six hundred and fifty feet above the sea, in the gentle undulation which
at that point parts the waters of the Mediterranean from those of the Jordan Valley.
Separating at once, they soon take one of those rapid plunges downward so characteristic
of the wild glens of Judaea, and, after encircling the plateau, meet again at Bir Eyub (the
Well of Job), six hundred and seventy-two feet below their original starting-point; hence,
united as the Wady en Nar, " Valley of Fire," they pass by a deep gorge through the
Wilderness of Judaea to the Dead Sea.
The eastern or Kedron valley, after running eastward for a mile and a half, turns
sharply to the south and forms at its southern extremity the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The
western valley, or Valley of Hinnom, which at its head swells out into a large shallow basin,
follows a southerly course for one mile and a quarter, and then turns eastward to Bir Eyub,
south of the city.
A third ravine, the Tyropceon, or Valley of the Cheesemongers, which rises near the
head of the plateau between the Kedron and Hinnom valleys, runs southward to join
the former at Siloam, and divides the ground on which the city stands into two spurs of
unequal size, which terminate in abrupt broken slopes. On Mount Moriah, the eastern and
smaller spur, once stood the temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod, and the palace
of Solomon ; on the western, which is one hundred and twenty feet higher than Moriah,
and of greater area, were situated the " upper city " of Josephus, the stately palace of Herod,
and the three great towers Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne. A fourth and smaller ravine,
the rugged nature of which was unsuspected a few years ago, rises near the eastern side
of the plateau and falls into the Kedron near the well-known Golden Gate. In the bed of
this ravine two large reservoirs were constructed ; one of these still exists as the Birket
Israil, or Pool of Bethesda.
The sides of the valleys of Kedron and Hinnom are now encumbered with rubbish,
but they are still sufficiently steep to be difficult of access, and every here and there places
are found where the rock has been cut perpendicularly downwards, in cliffs ten to twenty
feet high, to give additional security. It was probably in these natural defences, strengthened
by art, which protect the city on the south, east, and west, that the Jebusites put their trust
when they boasted to King David, " Thou wilt not come in hither ; the blind and lame
shall drive thee back." The only side upon which the city could be attacked with any chance
of success was the north ; and here it was defended by walls of such massive strength as