DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10358#0127
102
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
Higher up in the valley there is a place called " Elijah's Garden," where hollow stones
(the geodes of geologists), called locally " petrified fruits," are found. The very large ones,
which are now rare, resemble water melons in form and size ; smaller ones, which are regarded
as apples, are more common. These hollow stones are composed of a pale-coloured flint, with
a thin coating of lime, the surface of which is of a tawny tint; the interior is lined with quartz
or chalcedony, and some of the specimens are exceedingly beautiful. In addition to these
there are small stones, which are not unlike olives in shape and size ; they are known as
Lapidis Judaici, and are said to be the fossil spines of a species of echinus {Cidarisglandiferd).
The existence of these stony fruits is accounted for by an ancient legend, of which I have
heard many versions ; but it was related to me as follows, on the spot, in the year 1858, when
I spent a whole day in the valley with my brother and a large party of Haifa friends :—" In
the days of Elijah (Mar Elyas), a certain man possessed a large garden in this valley. His
fruit-trees flourished exceedingly, and his water-melons were renowned for their size and
flavour. One day Elijah passed by this garden, and he saw its owner gathering melons, and
there was a great heap of them upon the ground ; and Elijah said, ' O friend ! give me of the
fruit of your garden, out of your abundance a little fruit to quench my thirst! ' And the
man answered, ' O my Lord ! this is not fruit that you see ; these are but heaps of stones ! '
And Elijah replied, 'Be it so !' And immediately all the fruit of the garden, the gathered
and the ungathered, was turned to stone !" *
A pilgrimage to this place is very pleasant in the early spring-time, when the valley is
bright with blossoming shrubs, and the cyclamen and narcissus, and many other wild flowers,
spring up luxuriantly among the thorns. To give some idea of the wildness of this valley
I may mention that, in addition to some specimens of fruits from the Garden of Elijah, I have
a broken tusk of a wild boar, a beautifully formed horn of a gazelle, and the claw of a leopard
or cheetah, all of which were found there on the same day.
The corresponding valley on the other side of the ridge or watershed of Mount Carmel
is a tributary of Wady Rashmia, a beautiful valley which runs towards the north, and falls into
the Nahr Matneh about one mile east of the town of Haifa (see page 80). The terraced
hills of Rashmia (see map) were formerly planted with vines and olives, but they are now
overgrown with thorns and brushwood and tall thistles. In a commanding position, seven
hundred and seventy-seven feet above the level of the sea, there are the remains of a strong
fortress, an oblong building with a square tower at its north-east corner; the walls are seven
feet in thickness, and constructed of rather soft limestone. It is comparatively modern, but
is quite deserted and allowed to fall into decay. South of this fortress there is a solitary
rock-cut nameless tomb, evidently of a very early period. A grooved recess, to the left of the
square-headed entrance to it, proves that it was formerly closed by a " rolling stone," four feet
* There are many similar stories told by the people of Palestine in deprecation of inhospitality to wayfarers. For instance :—" One day,
when Abraham was on a journey, he passed by a large heap of rock-salt, and he asked its owners to give him a handful of it, but they said,
' Alas ! this is not salt ; it is only rock in the likeness of salt.' And Abraham answered, ' Be it even as you have said ! ' And immediately the
salt became tasteless rock, and the rock is called to this day ' the salt that lost its savour.' "
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
Higher up in the valley there is a place called " Elijah's Garden," where hollow stones
(the geodes of geologists), called locally " petrified fruits," are found. The very large ones,
which are now rare, resemble water melons in form and size ; smaller ones, which are regarded
as apples, are more common. These hollow stones are composed of a pale-coloured flint, with
a thin coating of lime, the surface of which is of a tawny tint; the interior is lined with quartz
or chalcedony, and some of the specimens are exceedingly beautiful. In addition to these
there are small stones, which are not unlike olives in shape and size ; they are known as
Lapidis Judaici, and are said to be the fossil spines of a species of echinus {Cidarisglandiferd).
The existence of these stony fruits is accounted for by an ancient legend, of which I have
heard many versions ; but it was related to me as follows, on the spot, in the year 1858, when
I spent a whole day in the valley with my brother and a large party of Haifa friends :—" In
the days of Elijah (Mar Elyas), a certain man possessed a large garden in this valley. His
fruit-trees flourished exceedingly, and his water-melons were renowned for their size and
flavour. One day Elijah passed by this garden, and he saw its owner gathering melons, and
there was a great heap of them upon the ground ; and Elijah said, ' O friend ! give me of the
fruit of your garden, out of your abundance a little fruit to quench my thirst! ' And the
man answered, ' O my Lord ! this is not fruit that you see ; these are but heaps of stones ! '
And Elijah replied, 'Be it so !' And immediately all the fruit of the garden, the gathered
and the ungathered, was turned to stone !" *
A pilgrimage to this place is very pleasant in the early spring-time, when the valley is
bright with blossoming shrubs, and the cyclamen and narcissus, and many other wild flowers,
spring up luxuriantly among the thorns. To give some idea of the wildness of this valley
I may mention that, in addition to some specimens of fruits from the Garden of Elijah, I have
a broken tusk of a wild boar, a beautifully formed horn of a gazelle, and the claw of a leopard
or cheetah, all of which were found there on the same day.
The corresponding valley on the other side of the ridge or watershed of Mount Carmel
is a tributary of Wady Rashmia, a beautiful valley which runs towards the north, and falls into
the Nahr Matneh about one mile east of the town of Haifa (see page 80). The terraced
hills of Rashmia (see map) were formerly planted with vines and olives, but they are now
overgrown with thorns and brushwood and tall thistles. In a commanding position, seven
hundred and seventy-seven feet above the level of the sea, there are the remains of a strong
fortress, an oblong building with a square tower at its north-east corner; the walls are seven
feet in thickness, and constructed of rather soft limestone. It is comparatively modern, but
is quite deserted and allowed to fall into decay. South of this fortress there is a solitary
rock-cut nameless tomb, evidently of a very early period. A grooved recess, to the left of the
square-headed entrance to it, proves that it was formerly closed by a " rolling stone," four feet
* There are many similar stories told by the people of Palestine in deprecation of inhospitality to wayfarers. For instance :—" One day,
when Abraham was on a journey, he passed by a large heap of rock-salt, and he asked its owners to give him a handful of it, but they said,
' Alas ! this is not salt ; it is only rock in the likeness of salt.' And Abraham answered, ' Be it even as you have said ! ' And immediately the
salt became tasteless rock, and the rock is called to this day ' the salt that lost its savour.' "