DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0338
3o4 PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
We have yet to speak of the remarkable prospect which the Horns of Hattin command.
Without dwelling upon this in detail, it may be said that in the north and north-west Safed
and Jebel esh Sheikh are the most prominent objects. We look down also upon the north
end of the Sea of Galilee, Khan Minyeh, the plain of Gennesaret, Tell Hum, and the hills
beyond, which distinctly appear (see pages 297 and 303) ; while to the south stretches the
plain called Arcl el Hamma, and to the west, towards the northern end of Carmel and the
Mediterranean, the great plain of El Buttauf, of which the most noticeable features from
a distance are the vast olive-groves which skirt its borders and occupy some of its more
fertile portions.
The distance from the base of Hattin to Tiberias is about one hour and forty-five
minutes. Just below the village of Hattin there is a small and finely-cultivated plain
extending to the north-west, and also to the south-east towards the Sea of Galilee. After the
crops are gathered, the weeds take possession of the soil and grow with surprising vigour.
The beds of great thistles sometimes cover many acres, and when they have reached their
full growth, and especially when they have become ripe, it is impossible to drive an animal
through them. A person standing on the summit or slopes of Hattin, and looking across
this plain towards the Sea of Galilee, would never suspect that it drops almost perpendicularly
at some points to a depth of more than one thousand feet The edge of the plain, which is
outlined against the water of the lake, is seen to be broken at one point, and on either side
the tops of perpendicular cliffs appear. Still, one has no conception of the gorge or chasm
which exists here until he has crossed the plain and begins to descend, attracted by the
smooth and beautiful surface of the Sea of Galilee below. Through this gorge led in ancient
times one of the main highways of the country, and the camel trains from Esdraelon and the
south to Damascus follow it to-day. This is also the direct road.between Nazareth and
Capernaum, and consequently we are on ground over which our Saviour passed. The path is
neither rough nor difficult, and, as we descend, the cliffs rise higher and higher on either hand,
and we perceive that the walls of rock are perforated with holes. This is called WTady el
Hamam, or the Valley of Pigeons, and myriads of them make their home in these rocks (see
page 305). But these innocent and beautiful birds are not the only ones that frequent these
wild and savage cliffs. All kinds of birds of prey, such as the raven, the eagle, and the
vulture, have here their nests. Indeed, one nwht be in doubt whether it could not be
called the Valley of Vultures as appropriately as the Valley of Pigeons. The griffon-vulture,
which abounds here, is an immense bird, with its head and part of its neck bald, and
measures when the wings are spread eight feet four inches, and sometimes more. From
tip of beak to tip of tail they measure three feet four inches, and in some instances more
than that. We have often seen large numbers of them soaring so far above the valley that
they looked no bigger than common sparrows, and seemed like mere specks in the sky. As
might be supposed, numerous wild animals now make their dens in these caves.
The cliffs, with the excavations in them, have played an important part in the history
We have yet to speak of the remarkable prospect which the Horns of Hattin command.
Without dwelling upon this in detail, it may be said that in the north and north-west Safed
and Jebel esh Sheikh are the most prominent objects. We look down also upon the north
end of the Sea of Galilee, Khan Minyeh, the plain of Gennesaret, Tell Hum, and the hills
beyond, which distinctly appear (see pages 297 and 303) ; while to the south stretches the
plain called Arcl el Hamma, and to the west, towards the northern end of Carmel and the
Mediterranean, the great plain of El Buttauf, of which the most noticeable features from
a distance are the vast olive-groves which skirt its borders and occupy some of its more
fertile portions.
The distance from the base of Hattin to Tiberias is about one hour and forty-five
minutes. Just below the village of Hattin there is a small and finely-cultivated plain
extending to the north-west, and also to the south-east towards the Sea of Galilee. After the
crops are gathered, the weeds take possession of the soil and grow with surprising vigour.
The beds of great thistles sometimes cover many acres, and when they have reached their
full growth, and especially when they have become ripe, it is impossible to drive an animal
through them. A person standing on the summit or slopes of Hattin, and looking across
this plain towards the Sea of Galilee, would never suspect that it drops almost perpendicularly
at some points to a depth of more than one thousand feet The edge of the plain, which is
outlined against the water of the lake, is seen to be broken at one point, and on either side
the tops of perpendicular cliffs appear. Still, one has no conception of the gorge or chasm
which exists here until he has crossed the plain and begins to descend, attracted by the
smooth and beautiful surface of the Sea of Galilee below. Through this gorge led in ancient
times one of the main highways of the country, and the camel trains from Esdraelon and the
south to Damascus follow it to-day. This is also the direct road.between Nazareth and
Capernaum, and consequently we are on ground over which our Saviour passed. The path is
neither rough nor difficult, and, as we descend, the cliffs rise higher and higher on either hand,
and we perceive that the walls of rock are perforated with holes. This is called WTady el
Hamam, or the Valley of Pigeons, and myriads of them make their home in these rocks (see
page 305). But these innocent and beautiful birds are not the only ones that frequent these
wild and savage cliffs. All kinds of birds of prey, such as the raven, the eagle, and the
vulture, have here their nests. Indeed, one nwht be in doubt whether it could not be
called the Valley of Vultures as appropriately as the Valley of Pigeons. The griffon-vulture,
which abounds here, is an immense bird, with its head and part of its neck bald, and
measures when the wings are spread eight feet four inches, and sometimes more. From
tip of beak to tip of tail they measure three feet four inches, and in some instances more
than that. We have often seen large numbers of them soaring so far above the valley that
they looked no bigger than common sparrows, and seemed like mere specks in the sky. As
might be supposed, numerous wild animals now make their dens in these caves.
The cliffs, with the excavations in them, have played an important part in the history