DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0193
THE JORDAN. 165
Euphrates. It is a startling contrast suddenly to descend into this narrow belt after seeing
the black stork and the noble Houbara bustard running on the barren plain behind, and being
startled by the whirring cry of the desert sandgrouse as it started in front, now to be greeted
by the trill of European songster, and be soothed by the incessant coo of the turtle-dove in the
glades. Beneath this shade the Jordan, generally not above fifty yards wide, hurries on in its
tortuous but rapid course, the impetuous stream, muddy and dark, dashing from side to side
and forming curling eddies at each sharp turn, generally most difficult to stem, and in most
places too deep to ford, having generally ten*feet of water. It is, however, easy enough for an
BANKS OF THE JORDAN ABOVE THE CONVENT OF
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (THE KASR-EL-YEHUD).
expert swimmer to get across by choosing a
spot just above one of these sharp turns, and
steering himself with the stream till he strikes
the opposite bank.
The mouth of the Jordan is seldom visited except by European travellers; the crowds
of pilgrims visit the river higher up, near what is called the Helu ford, though each sect of
Christians has a special spot for the completion of the pilgrimage, which is maintained as an
article of faith to be the place of our Saviour's baptism. Fortunately, as the Latin and
Greek Easters do not fall on the same days, and as Easter is the prescribed time for the
ceremony, there are no collisions on the banks of the sacred river. The Greek pilgrims
bathe at a spot where there is a narrow clearing down to the water's edge ; the Latin sacred
place is higher up, near the ruins of an old convent. The ceremony is most interesting and
picturesque from the start from Jerusalem to the return. In former times the crowd of
Euphrates. It is a startling contrast suddenly to descend into this narrow belt after seeing
the black stork and the noble Houbara bustard running on the barren plain behind, and being
startled by the whirring cry of the desert sandgrouse as it started in front, now to be greeted
by the trill of European songster, and be soothed by the incessant coo of the turtle-dove in the
glades. Beneath this shade the Jordan, generally not above fifty yards wide, hurries on in its
tortuous but rapid course, the impetuous stream, muddy and dark, dashing from side to side
and forming curling eddies at each sharp turn, generally most difficult to stem, and in most
places too deep to ford, having generally ten*feet of water. It is, however, easy enough for an
BANKS OF THE JORDAN ABOVE THE CONVENT OF
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST (THE KASR-EL-YEHUD).
expert swimmer to get across by choosing a
spot just above one of these sharp turns, and
steering himself with the stream till he strikes
the opposite bank.
The mouth of the Jordan is seldom visited except by European travellers; the crowds
of pilgrims visit the river higher up, near what is called the Helu ford, though each sect of
Christians has a special spot for the completion of the pilgrimage, which is maintained as an
article of faith to be the place of our Saviour's baptism. Fortunately, as the Latin and
Greek Easters do not fall on the same days, and as Easter is the prescribed time for the
ceremony, there are no collisions on the banks of the sacred river. The Greek pilgrims
bathe at a spot where there is a narrow clearing down to the water's edge ; the Latin sacred
place is higher up, near the ruins of an old convent. The ceremony is most interesting and
picturesque from the start from Jerusalem to the return. In former times the crowd of