JERUSALEM.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 673, 30 May 1914, Page 3

JERUSALEM.

r AS IT LOOKS TO-DAY.-Jerusalem. standing on its two hills, is alone amongst cities. It is holier than Rome, or Moscow, or Mecca, or Medina." Ordinary standards of comparison avail nothing. Stripped of its unforgettable past, it would be no more than a dirty city, badly drained, badly lighted, overrun by the sons of Israel and Hamburg, and packed with beggars. Yet of what account are such drawbacks to him who can wander down the steep Street of David, or listen to the Jews wailing beside their Temple, or linger in the ghostly shadow of the Sepulchre ? True, a dreadful note of d'iscord is struck by the presence of Moslem guards in the churches,, and the tourist may be so filled with righteous indignation! on finding that these unbelievers are not even withdrawn 'during divine service, that he resolves to write to the papers at home to condemn such outrage. Alas ! He will be fortunate if he stays a week without learning the truth, seeing rival processions of Greeks and Latins in actual conflict, with lesser broil of Copts, Nestorians, and other sects unable to bury the theological hatchet even beneath the sacred fane. By way of contrast with this turmoil of the churches, the philosopher may find eternal peace in the Mosque of Omar on the hill where once stood the Temple of Solomon. Beneath the glorious mosaics of its cupola lies, so Mohammedans believe, the veritable stone on which Abraham made ready to sacrifice Isaac. —P, G. Aflalo, in the "Outlook."