THE TOMB OF MOSES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2151, 28 March 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE TOMB OF MOSES.

Oiio of tho stranges tof all the pageants which are to bo seen in Jerusalem :is tho annual march of tho Mohammedans to tlio tomb of Mioses. To. them, as well as to Christians and Jews, Moses is a prophet of the highest honor. But rejecting tlio traditions of the -Hebrews, they .refuse to believe that he was buried in a valley in the land of :Moab, as is described in the last chapter of Deuteronomy. Instead, they assert that he was buried where lie Ureat'hed his Hast, upon the summit of Mount -Nebo. .. c Therefore each year, at the time ot tho Greek Easter, the faithful gather by thousands in tho early morning, ■before the site of the Temple of Solomoil, in wertfe’et silence, waiting for daybreak" and the prayers of tho

mufti. Later the strange scene or ciuiet is entirely transformed, fanatics dancing, and preaching, hordes of dervishes whirling about in mysterious “sacred” dances, and hundreds of exhorters rousing tho enthusiasm of their fellows. Jhe scene is gaudy with hundreds of reu and green banners, and the only semblance of order is in the semi-regular organisations of marchers. - • At last the procession forms, with the banners home ahead, an imam bearing the yataghan of the prophet —a short, straight-edged sword used by the armies o'f Mohammed —and after them more dancers and marchers. A large part of the population ot •Jerusalem gathers about the gate, out of which the procession moves toward the Mount of Olives; but few besides the faithful endeavor to obtain a .place in the ranks of marchers, since death has often been the penality of an attempt by a non-Mo-liammedan to make- this march to “Mebi-Mouca,” the “tomb O'f Moses.’ Arrived about the mosque,, which marks the suposed resting-place of the lawgiver, the marchers settle down for a long stay, and enter by detachments to view the holy place. Muftis from many mosques are there, and also in the encampment without, eontinunllv preaching on the glory of Moses and liis law. The dancing continues, and religious services or some sort are continually going -on. At the same time traders of many kinds invade the camp, for the marchers remain at the mosque five dais, and all their supplies must he bought from the wandering merchants, who make a business of i’ooking alter their needs. After the first excitement fanaticism yields to good humor, and games and banter fill the. tune toy those who have paid their duties at tlie tomb. . ~ ■ The mosque on Neho is one ot tlie mo'-t sacred -f Mohammedan shrines, and one of lb" most difficult lor n Christian to rarmcli. In the days of the crusades many Mohammedans sought sanctuary, but were mastered there, and the memory of this has never faded. English traveller, who broumar an order from the Porte, was denied admittance; and although in recent years it has become possible to cuter, it is too early yet to forget the experience of one traveller wlio came hearing an order from the Sultan himself. The Mufti read the order carefully. “This firman,” he said, “commands me to let yen enter the mosoiie. Vcrv well, you can enter. But think weV. before von do eo, for I-find nothing