DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0152
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
" a certain cave very close to the village ; " and Constantine lost no time in destroying an
idolatrous grove and shrine to Adonis, which Hadrian had impiously fixed here to pollute the
spot. Under the direction of Helena a splendid basilica or Christian church was erected.
This still remains, having escaped destruction during the many convulsions which have
RACHEL'S TOMB.
The terraced hills of Beit Jala, the ancient Giloh, in the background.
ravaged the country for centuries. It has been added to, slightly altered, or, as modern
architects would term it, "restored" occasionally, notably by the Emperor Justinian, but in its
main features it is unchanged, the oldest existing Christian church not only in Palestine, but in
the world. Justinian may have added to the central nave and its four side aisles. The three
" a certain cave very close to the village ; " and Constantine lost no time in destroying an
idolatrous grove and shrine to Adonis, which Hadrian had impiously fixed here to pollute the
spot. Under the direction of Helena a splendid basilica or Christian church was erected.
This still remains, having escaped destruction during the many convulsions which have
RACHEL'S TOMB.
The terraced hills of Beit Jala, the ancient Giloh, in the background.
ravaged the country for centuries. It has been added to, slightly altered, or, as modern
architects would term it, "restored" occasionally, notably by the Emperor Justinian, but in its
main features it is unchanged, the oldest existing Christian church not only in Palestine, but in
the world. Justinian may have added to the central nave and its four side aisles. The three