DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10358#0168
142
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
distance to the north-east of it; they have also acquired a settlement nearer to the city, which
was founded by an American colony in 1866. A very large piece of ground beyond the Jaffa
gardens, on the south-east side, has been granted to the Agricultural Colony of the Universal
Israelitish Alliance.
The bazaars of Jaffa are well supplied, and generally crowded with picturesque and
motley groups of people (see pages 129 and 140). Herr C. Shick, Government Surveyor of
Buildings at Jerusalem, says in a recent report : " The town wall has been demolished, the
ditch filled up, and a number of large houses and magazines have been erected." He adds :
"As a sign of the advance of agriculture, it may be mentioned that the Jaffa gardens have
increased in extent fourfold during a quarter of a century." These gardens are the principal
attraction of the place. They extend about two miles inland, and nearly three miles from north
to south. The surface of the ground is sandy, but there is rich soil beneath, and water is
abundant. The gardens are enclosed with stone walls or with formidable hedges of prickly
pear {Cactus opuntia). Each garden has its well, lined with masonry, and a raised tank or
reservoir, which is filled by means of a sakiyeh. The one shown on page 138 is being worked
by two women, probably the wives of the gardener. The string of water-jars revolving round
the wheel over the well can be distinguished through the arched opening (see also page 81,
and for a fuller description of a sakiyeh, see pages 94 and 95). These well-watered gardens
produce a great variety of fruit and vegetables. The grapes are delicious and abundant,
though the vines are half buried in the sand. The oranges of Jaffa are unrivalled, and are
largely exported.
One of the chief resources of the inhabitants is the annual arrival of pilgrims on their way
to Jerusalem. There is tolerably good hotel accommodation, and the Latin Monastery offers a
welcome to travellers. It stands high on the slope of the hill, and is said to occupy the site of
the house of Simon the Tanner, but a little Mohammedan mosque or sanctuary by the seaside
claims to be the house itself (Acts x. 6) (see page 132). From the roof of the house there is
a good view of the harbour (see page 133). The domestic architecture of Jaffa (see steel plate)
resembles that of Jerusalem (see pages 8 and 9, vol. i.) ; there being very little timber available
for building, the roofs are necessarily constructed of stone and are therefore domed. The
base of the dome is always more or less concealed by masonry, so that a flat space may be
secured for walking upon. These terraced roofs are generally protected by a low wall or
parapet, as they must have been anciently in obedience to the law : " When thou buildest a
new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon
thine house, if any man fall from thence " (Dent. xxii. 8). The parapets and upper portions
of walls of houses of this description are frequently constructed partly of earthenware pipes
about five inches in diameter and ei^ht or ten inches lonof. These tubular bricks are embedded
in cement and arranged in fanciful geometrical patterns. The house-top represented on page
133 is a good example of this peculiar mode of construction (see also page 40, vol. i.). Near to
the gate of Jaffa there is a handsome fountain (see page 137).
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
distance to the north-east of it; they have also acquired a settlement nearer to the city, which
was founded by an American colony in 1866. A very large piece of ground beyond the Jaffa
gardens, on the south-east side, has been granted to the Agricultural Colony of the Universal
Israelitish Alliance.
The bazaars of Jaffa are well supplied, and generally crowded with picturesque and
motley groups of people (see pages 129 and 140). Herr C. Shick, Government Surveyor of
Buildings at Jerusalem, says in a recent report : " The town wall has been demolished, the
ditch filled up, and a number of large houses and magazines have been erected." He adds :
"As a sign of the advance of agriculture, it may be mentioned that the Jaffa gardens have
increased in extent fourfold during a quarter of a century." These gardens are the principal
attraction of the place. They extend about two miles inland, and nearly three miles from north
to south. The surface of the ground is sandy, but there is rich soil beneath, and water is
abundant. The gardens are enclosed with stone walls or with formidable hedges of prickly
pear {Cactus opuntia). Each garden has its well, lined with masonry, and a raised tank or
reservoir, which is filled by means of a sakiyeh. The one shown on page 138 is being worked
by two women, probably the wives of the gardener. The string of water-jars revolving round
the wheel over the well can be distinguished through the arched opening (see also page 81,
and for a fuller description of a sakiyeh, see pages 94 and 95). These well-watered gardens
produce a great variety of fruit and vegetables. The grapes are delicious and abundant,
though the vines are half buried in the sand. The oranges of Jaffa are unrivalled, and are
largely exported.
One of the chief resources of the inhabitants is the annual arrival of pilgrims on their way
to Jerusalem. There is tolerably good hotel accommodation, and the Latin Monastery offers a
welcome to travellers. It stands high on the slope of the hill, and is said to occupy the site of
the house of Simon the Tanner, but a little Mohammedan mosque or sanctuary by the seaside
claims to be the house itself (Acts x. 6) (see page 132). From the roof of the house there is
a good view of the harbour (see page 133). The domestic architecture of Jaffa (see steel plate)
resembles that of Jerusalem (see pages 8 and 9, vol. i.) ; there being very little timber available
for building, the roofs are necessarily constructed of stone and are therefore domed. The
base of the dome is always more or less concealed by masonry, so that a flat space may be
secured for walking upon. These terraced roofs are generally protected by a low wall or
parapet, as they must have been anciently in obedience to the law : " When thou buildest a
new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon
thine house, if any man fall from thence " (Dent. xxii. 8). The parapets and upper portions
of walls of houses of this description are frequently constructed partly of earthenware pipes
about five inches in diameter and ei^ht or ten inches lonof. These tubular bricks are embedded
in cement and arranged in fanciful geometrical patterns. The house-top represented on page
133 is a good example of this peculiar mode of construction (see also page 40, vol. i.). Near to
the gate of Jaffa there is a handsome fountain (see page 137).