THE HOLY CITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 November 1917, Page 7

THE HOLY CITY.

CAPTURE IMMINENT, RAPID APPROACH OF NEW CRUSADERS. Though the capture of Jerusalem by the British has not yet been reported, the announcement can bo expected at pny time. The last report from Palestine showed that General Allenby's troops were nearing the Holy City. Jerusalem, the scene of the most important events described in the Bible, ia situated in the mountain region between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, 35 miles south-oast of its port, Jaffa, with which it is connected by a railway 54 miles long, and 15 miles west of the northern end of the Dead Sea. The city stands on a rocky plateau at an elevation of about 2500 feet above the level of the sea. On the east is the deep-cut valley of Kidron (or of Jehoshaphat), beyond which rises the Mount of Olives, and on the west and south la the tortuous valley of Hinom, the two depressions meeting in the south-eastern outskirts of the city, about 500 feet bolow the level of its site., The southern half of the modern town represents roughly the site of the main portion of ancient Jerusalem (the upper city), which was separated on the ea«t i>v a long depression, the Valley of Tyro paeon, now largely obliterated by the debris of centuries from the city ot David (or Zion) and Mount Miriali (or the Temple of the Hill), to which the uame Zion was afterwards applied. David's city is not included within the present walls. Beyond the walls, mainly on the north-east, an extensive new quarter has sprung up within Ihe last fifty years. The city within the walls is divided into the Christian quarter in the northwest, the Mohammedan in the northeast, the Jewish in the south-east, and the Armenian in the south-west, The streets are mostly narrow, and there are many arched passages. The dwellings are for the most paTt massively built of hewn stone and frequently consist of a number of detached apartments. The roofs are flat, but a large number of the houses have low cupolas, a single dwelling often having several. The many establishments that serve the needs of tourists and the various educational and philanthropic institutions detract greatly from the mediaeval and Oriental appearance of the city. The modern walls of Jerusalem wera built by Sultan Solyman the Magnificent in the first half of the sixteenth century, and rest, except in the south, in great part upon ancient foundations. They are of hewn stone, about 40 feet in height, and have a circuit of about 2% it ilea. They are surmounted by numerous towers and pierced by eight gates (one of then- walled up), the principal bring the Jaffa Gate, the Damascus Gate and the Abdul Hamid Gate. The most striking and interesting feature of Jerusalem is the Hiram-esh-Ehirep ("the distinguished sanctuary"), occupying the site of the Temple Hilt. It is a rectangle about 500 yards long and about 300 yards wide. This area is still enclosed by walls, which on the east side form a part of the outer wall of the city, and both here and at the southwest corner are portions composed of stones of vast size dating from the early period of the existence of the city. In the centre of the Hiram-esh-Sherif upon a platform paved with marble Htands the magnificent mosque called Kubbet-es-Sakhra ("the dome of the rock"—i.e., the sacred rock), an octagonal structure surmounted by an imposing dome. This edifice, the chief architectural feature of Jerusalem which is generally known as the Mosque of Onw, was erected by the Calif Abdul Melik (685-705). On the southern edge of the Hiram-es-Sherif is an other celebrated mosque, the Mosjed-el-Aksa. A short distance to the north of the temple area extends the Via Dolorosa (Road of Suffering). In the Christian quarter, about a. third of a mile west of the Kuttet-es-kakhra, Htands the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the site of a church built by Constantine. The present edifice dates from the latter part of the Middle Ages, but much of it represents restoration and rebuilding at various times. North of the Hiram-esh-Sherif, on the ancient Bezetha, is the mediaeval Church of Saint Anne, recently restored by the French. Close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on a large open space called Muristan, is the German Church of the Redeemer, consecrated in 1808.

Among the many other ecclesiastic edifices in the city may be mentioned the great Greek monasteries, the Armenian monastery of Saint .Tamea and the Latin patriarchal church. The Orthodox Greek Church possesses a number of convents. Just outside the city, on the (trestern declivity of the Mount of Olives, i£ the Gethsemane Church of the Russian Cathedral. The Jews have over seventy synagogues. On the Mount of Olives is the Church of the Ascension. Jerusalem has a vast number of religious and educational establishments, hospitals and other philanthropic institu-. tions belonging to the various churches and religious orders and to different nationalities. These are to a great extent in the suburbs, where arc also the European consulates. There are about 20 Jewish colonies in the outskirts of the city. Close to the Jaffa Gate is the citadel, with massive walls and towers, dating in part from ancient times.

The remains of ancient Jerusalem, outside the vast accumulations of debris, are scanty, consisting mainly of portions of old walls, cisterns, pools, water conduits and burial places. Near what was the southern end of the old City of David, about a quarter of a mile away from the modern city wall, is the pool of Silcam. The tunnel 1700 feet in length, which was excavated in the time of the kings of Judah to supply this pool has recently been discovered. To the north of the city are the burial places, which form the mediaeval legends that grew up about them have come to be known as the "tombs of the kings and of the judges."

The trade and industries of Jerusalem are unimportant. The city iB the capital of the muteasarriflik of Jerusalem. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic a Greek and an Armenian patriarch and of an Anglican bishop. The population is about 60,000, of whom two-thirds are Jews the remainder lieing |wo-tliirds Christians and one-third Mohammedans. The city has been in the hands of the Turks since 1516.