Chapter XXXI: Part 31

The last and most important, however, of the laborers in the field of Assyrian antiquities, is Austen Henry Layard, who visited this region in 1840, and again in 1842. In 1845, under the patronage, and through the assistance of Sir Stratford Canning, he again went to Assyria, and commencing his excavations, first discovered the long wished for bass-reliefs on the twenty-eighth of November. Soon afterward he dug up a gigantic human head, much to the terror of the Arabs, who believed it to be the head of Nimrod himself. Next, he came upon a rich collection of sculptures, in an excellent state of preservation, among which were kings, priests, griffins, eunuchs, symbolic trees, &c., &c. Another discovery was that of a vaulted chamber, in the center of a wall some fifty feet thick, and fifteen feet below the surface of the mound, the top of which was as regularly arched as any modern room could be. Tubular drain-tiles for carrying off the water that fell from the roofs of buildings, and thin layers of bitumen under the floors and slabs, to keep them from the dampness of the ground beneath, were also discovered in various places. The gigantic lions which M. Botta had seen, were also examined by Mr. Layard; and new chambers, covered with bass-reliefs of battles, sieges, victories, triumphs, banquetings, sacrifices, &c., were explored. A large obelisk of black marble was shipped for England; and from some twenty chambers explored within about four months, numerous articles were gathered and sent forward to the same country.

As a specimen of the wonderful sculptures brought to light by the indefatigable labors of Layard, we may mention the _colossal winged bull_, represented in the cut on page 584. The features of the face, the cap on the head, and the arrangement of the hair and beard, are Persian. The wings extend over the back. The figure is supposed to represent one of the Assyrian deities, as the attributes of intelligence, strength, and swiftness, are typified by the head of a man, the body of a bull, and the wings of an eagle. Somewhat similar to this was another large sculpture of a _colossal winged lion_, on a slab nine feet square. The countenance of this figure is noble and benevolent in expression; the features being of a true Persian type. It wears an egg-shaped cap, with a cord round the base of it. The hair at the back of the head has seven ranges of curls; the beard being divided into three ranges of curls, with intervals of wavy hair. The elaborately sculptured wings extend over the back of the animal to the very verge of the slab. All the flat surface is covered with what is termed a cuneiform inscription. Round the loins is a succession of numerous cords, which are drawn into four separate knots; at the extremities are fringes, forming as many distinct tassels. The strength of the lion is admirably delineated in the sculpture, showing that the artist had a complete acquaintance with the details of its figure and anatomy. Both these huge sculptures were sent to England, though only with immense labor and expense; and they are now in the British museum.

In the brief space which can be allotted to the ruins of Nineveh, it would be impossible to give more than a glance at all the wonderful discoveries made there. A mere outline is all that will be attempted, while for the complete description, the reader is referred to the published volumes of Layard himself. The platform of Khorsabad, for example, was in somewhat the shape of the letter T; and the latter, or south-eastern end of this was nine hundred and seventy-five feet wide, by four hundred and twenty deep; and here some of the principal monuments were found. The great portal to the building, forming the center of the façade, consisted, on each side, of three colossal bulls, with human heads and eagles’ wings, and a gigantic figure of a man, each formed of a single block of alabaster. Passing through this gateway, we come to a court three hundred and forty by one hundred and fifty-seven feet, the entrance of which is guarded by symbolic figures which are combinations of the man, the bull, and the eagle, bearing a general resemblance to those spoken of above. Near by is a gigantic figure, supposed to be intended for Nimrod himself; and also another of a winged man, or divinity, with four wings, offering a pine cone with one hand, and holding a basket in the other. In the different chambers, are bass-reliefs of the great king and his officers, in their various appropriate dresses; the sword, the sandals, the bracelets, the ear-rings, and even the fly-flappers of the attending eunuchs, all being perfectly distinct as if carved but yesterday. Not far from these, are seen the king’s cup-bearers, and his grooms leading horses; a representation of the building of a port, or road, and ships bringing timber and other materials to be used in the work; and then come sea-monsters and various inhabitants of the deep, among which are the shell-fish which furnished the famous Tyrian dye. In another apartment, the gate of which was fastened by a huge wooden lock, are seen the figures of tribute-bearers from the various conquered nations, the governors of provinces, &c., bringing their offerings; and in another, priests, and the eagle-headed divinity, the king himself, and images of baked clay, of frightful aspect, which seem to have been teraphim or idols of some kind. In still other apartments, are the symbolic trees; sieges of highly fortified places, with battering-rams and other instruments of war; manacled prisoners; bow-men and spear-men; eunuchs engaged, in one place in weighing spoil, and in another in hewing a prisoner to pieces; the magi, and philosophers; courts of justice; prisoners bound for trial or punishment; the king putting out the eyes of a captive; full illustrations of the pleasures of the table and the chase; the king and his sons engaged in hunting, and also in shooting at a target; various kinds of birds and animals; full historical pictures of various events; the burning of forts and besieged cities; chairs, altars, chariots, horses, tables, vases, &c.: in a word, almost everything connected with the daily life, or social customs, or civil history of the people. The king’s court, the historical chamber, the inner chamber, the divining-chamber, the hall of judgment, the hall of historical records, the chamber of audience, the presence-chamber, the banqueting-hall, the retiring-chamber—all these are but a part of the names of apartments in this single palace, each of which abounds in the sculptures and bass-reliefs which are naturally suggested by their respective titles.

A large number of these wonderful sculptures have been transported to England, and are now in the British museum. The great winged lion and bull are there, to fix the attention and excite the wonder of every visitor; and with these, more than a hundred other sculptures or bass-reliefs representing scenes like those already described. Many of these are from Nimroud, where have been found some representations not mentioned above, such, for example, as various forms of chariots; mummers dancing; stables, and horses being curried; the interior of the royal kitchen; birds of prey, picking at the dead and dying on the battle-field; troops crossing rivers; the siege of Damascus; lion and bull hunts; Parthian bow-men; the felling of trees; elephants, camels, and monkeys, &c., &c., all in a style of both art and sculpture quite different from those at Khorsabad, and apparently less ancient than the latter. And in addition to all these things, the sculptures relating to costume and dress are quite numerous in many of the apartments of these ruins. The head-dress, the mode of wearing the beard and hair, vases, rings, bracelets, umbrellas, bronzes, the arrangement of funerals, ivory caskets and ornaments, carved heads of various animals, (used as ornaments,) and many other kinds of curiosities, have been found in great numbers.

Among the more recent discoveries, made so lately as 1850, Mr. Layard thinks he has found, in the Nimroud mound, the very throne on which the reigning monarch of some three thousand years ago sat in his splendid palace. It is composed of metal and ivory; the former being richly wrought, and the latter most beautifully carved. It seems to have been separated from the state apartments by means of a large curtain, the rings by which this was drawn and undrawn being still preserved. No human remains have been found, and everything indicates the destruction of the palace by fire; the throne itself being partially fused, as if by great heat. Beautifully engraved copper vessels have been found at Nimroud; and in Nineveh, a large assortment of slabs illustrative of the rule, conquests, domestic life, and arts of the ancient Assyrians; and apparently there can be no limit to the number of such discoveries, if they are but prosecuted for a sufficient length of time, and with a sufficient number of laborers. In 1852, Mr. Layard was appointed to an important official post at home, by the British government, so that his personal attention to the researches he had so long carried on, was of course suspended. But since that date, the French explorers have been able to examine the whole palace of Khorsabad and its dependencies; in doing which, they have obtained proof that the Assyrians were not ignorant of any of the principles or resources of architecture. Among their discoveries, is a gate twelve feet high, apparently one of the entrances to the city; several constructions in marble, beautifully wrought; the cellar of the palace, with regular rows of wine jars, which have at the bottom the violet-colored deposit from the evaporated wine, &c. And in the adjoining mounds and hills within a few leagues of Khorsabad, they have found monuments, tombs, jewelry, articles of gold and stone, colossal figures and bass-reliefs, and last, but far from least, _a series of full length portraits of the kings of Assyria_! All these discoveries, as soon as made, are copied by the photographic process, and sent to Paris, so that ere long, doubtless, all will be able to see how they appear when reproduced by the skill of the engraver.

THE RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS.

The most striking feature, on a first approach to these splendid ruins, is the staircase and its surrounding walls, and the tall slender columns which stand out so prominently to view. Two grand flights of stairs, facing each other, lead to the principal platform. To their right is an immense wall of the finest masonry, and of the most massive stones; to the left, are other walls, equally well built, but not so imposing. On arriving at the summit of the staircase, the first objects which present themselves directly facing the platform, are four vast portals and two columns. Two portals first, then the columns, and then two portals again. On the front of each are represented, in bass-relief, figures of animals, which, for want of a better name, may be called sphinxes. The two sphinxes on the first portals face outwardly, _i. e._, toward the plain and the front of the building. The two others, on the second portals, face inwardly, _i. e._, toward the mountain. From the first, (to the right, on a straight line,) at the distance of fifty-four paces, is a staircase of thirty steps, the sides of which are ornamented with bass-reliefs, originally in three rows, but now partly reduced by the accumulation of earth beneath, and by mutilations above. This staircase leads to the principal compartment of the whole ruins, which may be called a small plain, thickly studded with columns, sixteen of which are now erect. Having crossed this plain, on an eminence are numerous stupendous remains of frames, both of windows and doors, formed by blocks of marble of sizes most magnificent. These frames are ranged in a square and indicate an apartment the most royal that can be conceived. On each side of the frames are sculptured figures, and the marble still retains a polish which, in its original state, must have vied with the finest mirrors. On each corner of this room are pedestals, of an elevation much more considerable than the surrounding frames: one is formed of a single block of marble. The front of this apartment seems to have been to the south-west, for few marks of masonry are to be seen on that exposure, and the base of that side is richly sculptured and ornamented. This front opens upon a square platform, on which no building appears to have been raised. But on the side opposite to the room just mentioned, there is the same appearance of a corresponding apartment, although nothing but the bases of some small columns, and the square of its floor, attest it to have been such. The interval between these two rooms, (on those angles which are the most distant from the grand front of the building,) is filled up by the base of a sculpture, similar to the bases of the two rooms, excepting that the center of it is occupied by a small flight of steps. Behind, and contiguous to these ruins, are the remains of another square room, surrounded on all sides by frames of doors and windows. On the floor are the bases of columns: from the order in which they appear to have stood, they formed six rows, each of six columns. A staircase, cut into an immense mass of rock, leads into the lesser and inclosed plain below. Toward the plain are also three smaller rooms, or rather one room and the bases of two closets. Everything on this part of the building indicates rooms of rest or retirement.

In the rear of the whole of these remains, are the beds of aqueducts, which are cut into the solid rock. They occur in every part of the building, and are probably, therefore, as extensive in their course, as they are magnificent in their construction. The great aqueduct is to be discovered among a confused heap of stones, not far behind the buildings described above, on that quarter of the palace, and almost adjoining to a ruined staircase. Its bed in some places is cut ten feet into the rock. This bed leads east and west; to the eastward its descent is rapid, about twenty-five paces; it there narrows, but again enlarges, so that a man of common hight may stand upright in it. It terminates by an abrupt rock.

Proceeding from this toward the mountains, situated in the rear of the great hall of columns, stand the remains of a magnificent room. Here are still left walls, frames and porticos, the sides of which are thickly ornamented with bass-reliefs of a variety of compositions. This hall is a perfect square. To the right of this, and further to the southward, are more fragments, the walls and component parts apparently of another room. To the left of this, and therefore to the northward of the building, are the remains of a portal, on which are to be traced the features of a sphinx. Still toward the north, in a separate collection, is the ruin of a column, which, from the fragments about it, must have supported a sphinx. In a recess of the mountain, to the northward, is a portico. Almost in a line with the center of the hall of columns, on the surface of the mountain, is a tomb. To the southward of that is another, in like manner on the mountain’s surface; between both, and just on the point where the ascent from the plain commences, is a reservoir of water. These, according to Mr. Morier, in the account of his embassy to Persia, constitute some of the principal objects among the ruins of Persepolis; and this is confirmed by Sir Robert Ker Porter, who gives still more copious accounts of these ruins, as may be seen in the very interesting narrative of his travels.

ROYAL PALACE OF ISPAHAN.

The palaces of the king are inclosed in a fort of lofty walls, which is estimated to have a circumference of three miles. The palace of the Chehel Sitoon, or ‘forty pillars,’ is situated in the middle of an immense square, which is intersected by various canals, and planted in different directions by the beautiful chenar tree. In front is an extensive square basin of water, from the furthest extremity of which the palace is beautiful beyond either the power of language or the correctness of pencil to delineate. The first saloon is open toward the garden, is supported by eighteen pillars, all inlaid with mirrors, and, the glass being in a much greater proportion than the wood, appears at a distance to be formed of glass only. Each pillar has a marble base, which is carved into the figures of four lions placed in such attitudes, that the shaft seems to rest on their four united backs. The walls, which form its termination behind, are also covered with mirrors placed in such a variety of symmetrical positions, that the mass of the structure appears to be of glass, and when new must have glittered with most magnificent splendor. The ceiling is painted in gold flowers, which are still fresh and brilliant. Large curtains are suspended on the outside, which are occasionally lowered to lessen the heat of the sun.

THE TEMPLE OF MECCA.

This magnificent temple, to which pilgrims resort from every quarter of the globe where the religion of Islamism is practiced, is known by the Mussulmans under the name of El Haram, or the temple of excellence. It is situated nearly in the middle of the city, which is built in a valley, having a considerable slope from the north to the south. It is composed of the house of God, Beit Allah, or as it is called also, La Kaaba; of the well of Zemzem, Bir Zemzem; of the Cobba, or place of Abraham, Makham Ibrahim; of the places of the four orthodox rites, Makam Hhaneffi, Makam Shaffi, Makam Maleki, and Makam Hhanbeli; of two Cobbas, or chapels, El-Cobbatain; of an arch, called Babes-selem, (in the same style as a triumphal arch,) near the place of Abraham; of El-Monbar or the tribune for the priest; of the wooden staircase, Daureh, which leads to the saloon of the house of God; of an immense court, surrounded by a triple row of arches; of two smaller courts, surrounded with elegant piazzas; of nineteen doors; and of seven towers, or minarets, five of which adhere to the edifice, and the other two are placed between the neighboring houses out of the inclosure.

La Kaaba, Beit Allah, or the house of God, is a quadrilateral tower, the sides and angles of which are unequal, so that its plan forms a true trapezium. The size of the edifice, and the black cloth which covers it, make this irregularity disappear, and give to it the figure of a perfect square. The black stone, Hhajera el Assouad, or heavenly stone, which all true Mussulmans believe to have been brought thither by the angel Gabriel, is raised forty-two inches above the surface, and is bordered all round with a large plate of silver, about a foot broad. The part of the stone that is not covered by the silver at the angle is almost a semicircle, six inches in hight, by about eight inches diameter at its base. El Bir Zemzem, or the well of Zemzem, is situated fifty-one feet distant to the north-east of the black stone. It is about seven feet and eight inches in diameter, and fifty-six feet deep to the surface of the water. The brim is of fine white marble, five feet high. Tradition says that this well was miraculously opened by the angel of the Lord for Hagar, when she was nearly perishing from thirst in the desert with her son Ishmael, after having been sent from Abraham’s house. The Kaaba, and the stones of Ishmael, are situated nearly in the center of the temple, and occupy the middle of an oval or irregular elliptical surface, which forms a zone of thirty-nine feet wide round the edifice, upon which the pilgrims make their tours round the Kaaba. It is paved with fine marble, and is situated upon the lowest plane of the temple.

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THE HOLY LAND.

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The entire country known as _Palestine_, or _Judea_, or the _Holy Land_, is full of interest, and associated to our minds with the wonders and miracles connected with the advent of Christ to our world. Time would fail to notice all the localities of this country, on which the mind loves to linger; but a few of them will be alluded to. One of these, a view of which is given in the cut below, is

JACOB’S WELL.

This was near to Shechem, one of the most ancient cities of Canaan, which was the capital of the kingdom of Israel in the time of Jeroboam, and was associated with some of the most interesting events of patriarchal times, as well as with the discourse of Christ to the woman of Samaria, which resulted in the conversion of several of the Samaritans to the true faith. “I found this well,” says a late traveler, “in the midst of the ruins of a magnificent building that once covered and adorned it. Hewn stones, blocks of marble, and fragments of granite columns, were to be seen amid the general wreck. The narrow mouth of the well was stopped up with large loose stones, at which we all tugged until I nearly broke my back; but one of them defied our utmost endeavors. I kneeled down and peeped into the arched chamber, from the floor of which the well proper is sunk into the living rock some hundred feet or more. A little, gray-headed old Arab held my horse; the younger men stood around and looked on, while I sat down at the indubitable well of the patriarch, and read: ‘Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples had gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? (for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence, then, hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ Here I closed the book, and with a gush of unutterable joy, exclaimed,

‘Spring up, O well, I ever cry, spring up within MY soul!’”

BETHLEHEM.

Bethlehem, celebrated throughout the world as the birthplace of the Redeemer, is situated at the distance of six miles south-west from Jerusalem, in a fine country, blest with a salubrious air, and abundant fertility. The water is conveyed in a low aqueduct which formerly passed to Jerusalem. The _fons signatus_ is a charming spring, yielding a constant supply of water to three large cisterns, one of which is still in good preservation. At a small distance from these, a beautiful rivulet called the _deliciæ Solomonis_, laves the herbage of the valley, and fertilizes several fine gardens, while the circumjacent soil is richly clothed with an elegant assemblage of fig-trees, vines and olives.

Bethlehem received its name, which signifies the _house of bread_, from Abraham; and it was surnamed _Ephratah_, the fruitful, after Caleb’s wife, to distinguish it from another Bethlehem, in the tribe of Zebulon. It belonged to the tribe of Judah, and also went by the name of the city of David, that monarch having there been born, and tended sheep in his childhood. Elimelech, Obed, Jesse, and Boaz, were, like David, natives of Bethlehem, and here must be placed the scene of the admirable eclogue of Ruth. Matthew, the apostle, was also born in the village of Bethlehem.

The convent now at Bethlehem is connected with the church by a court inclosed with lofty walls. This court leads by a small side door into the church. The edifice is certainly of high antiquity, and though often destroyed and as often repaired, it still retains marks of its Grecian origin. On the pavement at the foot of the altar, you observe a marble star, which corresponds, as tradition would have us believe, with the point of the heavens where the miraculous star that conducted the three kings became stationary. The Greeks occupy the choir of the Magi, as well as the two other naves formed by the transform of the cross. These last are empty, and without altars. Two spiral staircases, each composed of fifteen steps, open on the sides of the outer church, and conduct to the subterraneous church situated beneath this choir. At the further extremity of the crypt, on the east side, is the spot where tradition reports that the Redeemer of mankind was born. This spot is marked by a white marble, incrusted with jasper, and surrounded by a circle of silver, having rays resembling those with which the sun is represented. Around it are inscribed these words:

HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA
JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST.

At the distance of seven paces toward the south, after you have passed the foot of one of the staircases leading to the upper church, you find what is called “the Manger.” You go down to it by two steps, for it is not upon a level with the rest of the crypt. It is a low recess, hewn out of the rock. A block of white marble, raised about a foot above the floor, and hollowed in the form of a manger, indicates the spot where tradition says our Saviour was laid upon straw. Two paces further, opposite to the manger, stands an altar, which, the same tradition would teach, occupies the place where Mary sat when she presented the Child of Sorrow to the adoration of the Magi.

Nothing can be more pleasing to the view than this subterraneous church. It is adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools. These pictures represent the mysteries of the place, the Virgin and Child, after Raphael, the annunciation, the adoration of the wise men, the coming of the shepherds, and all those miracles of mingled grandeur and innocence. The ornaments of the manger are of blue satin embroidered with silver. Incense is continually smoking before the cradle of the Saviour. The grotto of the Nativity leads to the subterraneous chapel, where tradition places the sepulcher of the Innocents: “Herod sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: In Rama was there a voice heard,” &c.

NAZARETH.

The village of Nazareth is situated in a long valley, surrounded by lofty hills, between which a road leads to the neighboring plain of Esdraelon, and to Jerusalem. The convent is situated in the lower part of the village; and the church belonging to it, a very handsome edifice, is erected over the grotto, or cave, in which (tradition says) the Virgin Mary took up her residence. The other objects of interest in Nazareth are, the synagogue, where Christ is said to have read the Scriptures to the Jews, at present a church; a precipice without the town, where, they say, the Jews endeavored to cast Christ down after his speech in the synagogue; and a church called “the church of the Annunciation,” erected, as they say, on the spot where Mary, the mother of our Lord, received the divine message. It is the most magnificent church in the land except that of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem.

THE HOLY SEPULCHER AT JERUSALEM.

The church of the Holy Sepulcher, a view of which is given on the next page, is very irregular, owing to the nature and situation of the places which it was designed to comprehend. It is nearly in the form of a cross, being one hundred and twenty paces in length, exclusive of the descent to what is called the place of the discovery of the Holy Cross, and seventy in breadth. It has three domes, of which that covering the Holy Sepulcher serves for the nave of the church. It is thirty feet in diameter, and is covered at the top like the rotunda at Rome. There is not any cupola, the roof being supported by large rafters, brought from Mount Lebanon. On entering the church, you come to the “stone of unction,” on which tradition says the body of our Lord was anointed with myrrh and aloes, before it was laid in the sepulcher. Some say, that it is of the same rock as Mount Calvary; and others assert, that it was brought to this place by Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus Christ, who performed this pious office, and that it is of a greenish color. Be that as it may, on account of the indiscretion of certain pilgrims, who broke off pieces, it was found necessary to cover it with white marble, and to surround it with an iron railing, lest people should walk over it. This stone is eight feet, wanting three inches, in length, and two feet, wanting one inch, in breadth: and above it, eight lamps are kept continually burning.

The Holy Sepulcher, as it is called, is thirty paces from this stone, exactly in the center of the great dome: it resembles a small closet, hewn out of the solid rock. The entrance, which faces the east, is only four feet high, and two feet and a quarter broad. The interior of the sepulcher is nearly square. It is six feet, wanting an inch, in length, and six feet, wanting two inches, in breadth, and from the floor to the roof, eight feet and one inch. There is a solid block of the same stone, which was left in excavating the other part: this is two feet, four inches and a half high, and occupies half of the sepulcher, for it is six feet, wanting one inch, in length, and two feet and five-sixths wide. On this table, tradition says, the body of our Lord was laid, with the head toward the west, and the feet to the east; but, on account of the superstitious devotion of the Orientals, who imagine that, if they leave their hair upon this stone, God will never forsake them, and also, because the pilgrims broke off pieces, it has received a covering of white marble, on which mass is now celebrated. Forty-four lamps are constantly burning in this sacred place, and three holes have been made in the roof for the emission of the smoke. The exterior of the sepulcher is also faced with slabs of marble, and adorned with several columns, having a dome above.

The Holy Sepulcher is composed of three churches: that of the Holy Sepulcher, properly so called; that of Calvary; and the church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross. The first is built in the valley at the foot of Calvary, on the spot where tradition reports that the body of Christ was deposited. This church was in the form of a cross, the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher constituting, in fact, the nave of the edifice. It is circular, like the Pantheon at Rome, and is lighted only by a dome, beneath which is the sepulcher. Sixteen marble columns adorn the circumference of this rotunda: they are connected by seventeen arches, and support an upper gallery, likewise composed of sixteen columns and seventeen arches, of smaller dimensions than those of the lower range. Niches, corresponding with the arches, appear above the frieze of the second gallery, and the dome springs from the arch of these niches.

The origin of the church of the Holy Sepulcher is of high antiquity. The author of the “Epitome of the Holy War” asserts, that forty-six years after the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus, the Christians obtained permission of Adrian to build, or rather rebuild, a church over the tomb of their Lord, and to inclose, in the new city, the other places venerated by the Christians. This church, he adds, was greatly enlarged and repaired by Helena, the mother of Constantine.

MOUNT TABOR.

This remarkable mountain, a view of which is given in the cut on the next page, is on the confines of Zebulon and Naphthali, on the north-east border of the plain of Esdraelon, about six miles south of Nazareth. It is graceful and picturesque in its outlines, presenting different appearances as viewed from different points, which accounts for the diversities in the pictorial representations we have of it. From the north it has the appearance of the segment of a sphere, and appears beautifully wooded on the summit, affording retreats to the animals for whom “the net was spread on Tabor.” (Hosea v. 1.) From the west it is like a truncated cone, appearing much steeper and higher, with the southern side almost destitute of trees. But on all sides it is a marked and prominent object, as the prophet intimates when he says, “as Tabor is among the mountains.” (Jeremiah xlvi. 18.) The view from the summit is truly beautiful. The foundations of ancient buildings, and the remains of water-tanks, in which cool water is still collected from the drippings of the rocks, are still to be seen on the top of Tabor. On this mountain was the encampment of Barak’s army on the eve of its battle with the hosts of Sisera. (Judges iv. 6, 14.) Tradition indicates this as the scene of Christ’s transfiguration. This may well be doubted, owing to the distance of this mountain from Cæsarea Philippi, near which place our Lord left the nine disciples the day before. Besides, this mountain was at the time occupied by a fortified town, and thus did not, as well as some other hights, answer the description of “a high mountain apart,” or solitary. (Matthew xvii. 1.) No doubt the name of the mountain was concealed by design, to avoid giving occasion to the superstitious observances of place, which our Lord foresaw would be practiced, in after ages, by many calling themselves after his name. The Arab name of Tabor is Jebel-Tur. There was a Levitical city on Tabor of the same name. (1 Chronicles vi. 77.) The Tabor mentioned in 1 Samuel x. 3, was not Mount Tabor, but a place in the vicinity of the territory of Benjamin.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.

The following descriptions of some of the spots in the Holy Land which excite a more particular interest, are extracted from Dr. Clarke’s very valuable “Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa.”

“As we advanced, our journey led through an open campaign country, until, upon our right, the guides showed us the mount where it is believed that Christ preached to his disciples that memorable sermon, concentrating the sum and substance of every Christian virtue. We left our route to visit this elevated spot; and, having attained the highest point of it, a view was presented, which, for its grandeur, independently of the interest excited by the different objects contained in it, has no parallel in the Holy Land. From this situation we perceived that the plain, over which we had been so long riding, was itself very elevated. Far beneath appeared other plains, one lower than the other, and extending to the surface of the sea of Tiberias, or sea of Galilee. This immense lake, almost equal, in the grandeur of its appearance, to that of Geneva, spreads its waters over all the lower territory, extending from the north-east toward the south-west, and then bearing east of us. Its eastern shores present a sublime scene of mountains, extending toward the north and south, and seeming to close it in at either extremity, both toward Chorazin, where the Jordan enters, and the Aulon, or Campus-magnus, through which it flows to the Dead sea. The cultivated plains reaching to its borders, which we beheld at an amazing depth below our view, resembled, by the various hues their different produce exhibited, the motley pattern of a vast carpet. To the north appeared snowy summits, towering, beyond a series of intervening mountains, with unspeakable greatness. We considered them as the summits of Libanus; but the Arabs belonging to our caravan called the principal eminence Jebel el Sieh, saying it was near Damascus; probably, therefore, a part of the chain of Libanus. This summit was so lofty, that the snow entirely covered the upper part of it; not lying in patches, as I have seen it, during summer, upon the tops of very elevated mountains, (for instance, upon that of Ben Nevis, in Scotland,) but investing all the higher part with that perfect white and smooth, velvet-like appearance which snow exhibits when it is very deep; a striking spectacle in such a climate, where the beholder, seeking protection from a burning sun, almost considers the firmament to be on fire.”

OTHER REVERED SITES.

“As we rode toward the sea of Tiberias, the guides pointed to a sloping spot from the hights upon our right, whence we had descended, as the place where the miracle was accomplished by which our Saviour fed the multitude: it is therefore called the _Multiplication of Bread_; as the mount above, where the sermon was preached to his disciples, is called the _Mountain of Beatitudes_, from the expressions used in the beginning of that discourse. The lake now continued in view upon our left. The wind rendered its surface rough, and called to mind the situation of our Saviour’s disciples, when, in one of the small vessels which traverse these waters, they were tossed in a storm, and saw Jesus in the fourth watch of the night, walking to them upon the waves. Often as this subject has been painted, combining a number of circumstances adapted for the representation of sublimity, no artist has been aware of the uncommon grandeur of the scenery, memorable on account of the transaction. The lake of Genesareth is surrounded by objects well calculated to highten the solemn impression made by such a picture; and, independent of the local feelings likely to be excited in its contemplation, affords one of the most striking prospects in the Holy Land. Along the borders of this lake may still be seen the remains of those ancient tombs, hewn by the earliest inhabitants of Galilee, in the rocks which face the water. Similar works were before noticed among the ruins of Telmessus. They were deserted in the time of our Saviour, and had become the resort of wretched men, afflicted by diseases, and made outcasts of society; for in the account of the cure performed by our Saviour upon a maniac in the country of the Gadarenes, these tombs are particularly alluded to; and their existence to this day, (although they have been neither noticed by priests nor pilgrims, and have escaped the ravages of the empress Helena, who would undoubtedly have shaped them into churches,) offers strong internal evidence of the accuracy of the evangelist who has recorded the transaction: ‘There met him _out of the tombs_ a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling _among the tombs_.’”

MOUNT CARMEL.

Mount Carmel is a tall promontory, forming the termination of a range of hills, in the northern part of Palestine, and toward the sea. It is fifteen hundred feet high, and is famous for its caverns, which are said to be more than a thousand in number. Most of them are in the western part of it. Here also was the cave of the prophet Elijah. Both Elijah and Elisha used to resort to this mountain, and here it was that the former opposed the prophets of Baal with such success. Here it was, too, that this prophet went up, when he told his servant to look forth toward the sea yet seven times, and the seventh time he saw a cloud coming from the sea “like a man’s hand;” when the prophet knew the promised rain was at hand, and girded up his loins and ran before Ahab’s chariot even to the gates of Jezreel. (See 1 Kings xviii. 4-46.)

MOUNT ARARAT.

This mountain, which is highly worthy of our notice as the one on which the ark rested, is, by the general consent of western Asia and of Europe, decided to be the mountain of Ara Dagh in Armenia; and that this opinion is correct, would seem plain from the statement of the Bible that Ararat _was_ in Armenia, taken in connection with the fact, that in all that country there is no mountain comparable to this. It is in all respects a most noble mountain, and one of the finest in the world. “When our eyes first beheld it,” says Kitto, “we had already seen the loftiest and most remarkable mountains of the old world; but yet the effect of the view of _this_ mountain was new and surprising. The reason appeared to be this, that most of the loftiest mountains of the world are but peaks of the uppermost ridge of mountain chains; but Ararat, though not so high as many of these, is far more grand and impressive, because it is not merely the summit of a ridge, but a whole and perfect mountain.” “Nothing,” as Mr. Morier well remarks, “can be more beautiful than its shape, or more awful than its hight; all the surrounding mountains sink into insignificance when compared with it. It is perfect in all its parts; having no hard, rugged features, and no unnatural prominences; but everything is in harmony, and all combines to render it one of the sublimest objects of nature.” It rises from the valley of the river Aras, the ancient _Araxes_, gradually towering from its broad base, till it reaches the region of perpetual snow, (which is about one-third below its summit,) when it becomes more conical and steep, and is surmounted with a crown of ice which glitters in the sun with peculiar brightness. And near to this peak, and rising from the same broad base, is another almost exactly like it, but smaller, which is doubtless the reason why the sacred text speaks of “the _mountains_ of Ararat,” rather than of a single mountain. The tallest of the two is seventeen thousand, seven hundred and fifty, and the lowest thirteen thousand, four hundred and twenty feet above the level of the sea, which is some three thousand feet lower than the plain on which Ararat stands. The top of the mountain, it is said, was never reached till 1829, when Mr. Parrot, a German, succeeded in climbing to it, and there found a slightly convex, and almost circular plain, some two hundred and twenty feet in diameter, declining steeply on all sides; from which some suppose, that the ark must have rested on the lesser Ararat, as it would have been difficult for its inmates, including heavy cattle, to have descended from the higher summit.

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WONDERS OF ART RESUMED.

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THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.

Dr. Clarke, on viewing this mosque, observes, that “the sight was so grand, that he did not hesitate to pronounce it the most magnificent piece of architecture in the Turkish empire, and considered it, externally, far superior to the mosque of St. Sophia, in Constantinople.” By the sides of the spacious area in which it stands, are certain vaulted remains, which plainly denote the masonry of the ancients; and he thinks that evidence may be adduced to prove, that they belonged to the foundations of Solomon’s temple. He observed also that reticulated stucco, which is commonly considered as an evidence of Roman work. Phocas believed the whole space surrounding this building to be the ancient area of the temple; and Golius, in his notes upon the Astronomy of Alferganes, says that the whole foundation of the original edifice remained. As to the mosque itself, there is no building at Jerusalem that can be compared with it, either in beauty or riches. The lofty Saracenic pomp so nobly displayed in the style of the building; its numerous arcades; its capacious dome, with all the stately decorations of the place; its extensive area, paved and variegated with the choicest marbles; the extreme neatness observed in every avenue toward it; and, lastly, the sumptuous costume observable in the dresses of all the eastern devotees, passing to and from the sanctuary, make it altogether one of the finest sights the Mohammedans have to boast.

MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA AT CONSTANTINOPLE.

The dome of this celebrated structure is one hundred and thirteen feet in diameter, and is built on arches, sustained by vast pillars of marble. The pavement and staircase are also of marble. There are two rows of galleries supported by pillars of party-colored marble, and the entire roof is of fine mosaic work. In this mosque is the superb tomb of the emperor Constantine, for which the Turks have the highest veneration.

Beside the above, two other mosques attract the particular notice of travelers who visit the Turkish capital. That of the Valide-Sultan, founded by the mother of Mohammed IV., is the largest, and is built entirely of marble. Its proportions are stupendous; and it boasts the finest symmetry. The mosque of Sultan Solyman is an exact square, with four line towers in the angles; in the center is a noble cupola, supported by beautiful marble pillars. Two smaller ones at the extremities are supported in the same manner. The pavement and gallery surrounding the mosque are of marble; and under the great cupola is a fountain, adorned with such finely colored pillars, that they can scarcely be deemed of natural marble. On one side is the pulpit, of white marble; and on the other the little gallery for the grand seignior. A fine staircase leads to it; and it is built up with gilt lattices. At the upper end is a kind of altar, on which the name of God is inscribed: and before it stand two candlesticks, six feet in hight, with wax candles in proportion. The pavement is spread with fine carpets, and the mosque illuminated by a vast number of lamps. The court leading to it is very spacious, with galleries of marble, supported by green columns, and covered by twenty-eight leaden cupolas on the sides, with a fine fountain in the center.

The mosque of Sultan Selim I. at Adrianople, is another surprising monument of Turkish architecture. It is situated in the center and most elevated part of the city, so as to make a very noble display. The first court has four gates, and the innermost three; both being surrounded by cloisters, with marble pillars of the Ionic order, finely polished, and of very lively colors: the entire pavement is of white marble, and the roof of the cloisters is divided into several cupolas or domes, surmounted with gilt balls. In the midst of each court are fine fountains of white marble; and, before the grand entrance, is a portico, with green marble pillars, provided with five gates. The body of the mosque is one prodigious dome, adorned with lofty towers, whence the _imaums_, or priests, call the people to prayers. The ascent to each of these towers is very artfully contrived: there is but one door, which leads to three different staircases, going to three different stories of the tower, in such a manner, that three priests may ascend and descend, by a spiral progress, without meeting each other. The walls of the interior are inlaid with porcelain, ornamented with small flowers and other natural objects, in very lively colors. In the center hangs a vast lamp of gilt silver, besides which there are at least two thousand smaller ones: the whole, when lighted, have a very splendid effect.

RUINS OF CARTHAGE.

The remains of the grandeur and magnificence of Carthage, the rival of Rome, and one of the most commercial cities of the ancient world, are not so striking as might be expected; and, at a little distance, can scarcely be distinguished from the ground on which they lie. The vestiges of triumphal arches, of superb specimens of Grecian architecture, of columns of porphyry or granite, or of curious entablatures, are no longer discernible: all are vanished; and thus will it be in future ages with the most renowned cities now on earth!

To discover these ruins requires some method. Leaving Tunis, the traveler rides along the shore in an east-north-east direction, and reaches, in about half an hour, the salt-pits, which extend toward the west, as far as a fragment of wall, very near to the “great reservoirs.” Passing between these salt-pits and the sea, jetties are seen running out to a considerable distance under water. The sea and the jetties are on his right; on his left he perceives a great quantity of ruins, upon eminences of unequal hight; and below these ruins a basin of a circular form, and of considerable depth, which formerly communicated with the sea by means of a canal, traces of which are still to be seen. This basin appears to have been the “Cothon,” or inner port of Carthage. The remains of the immense works discernible in the sea, in this case indicate the site of the outer mole. Some piles of the dam said to have been constructed by Scipio, for the purpose of blocking up the port, may be still distinguished. A second inner canal is conjectured to have been the cut made by the Carthaginians, when they opened a new passage for their fleet.

The greater part of Carthage was built on three hills. On a spot which overlooks the eastern shore is the area of a spacious room, with several smaller ones adjoining: some of them have tesselated pavements; and in all are found broken pieces of columns of fine marble and porphyry. They are conjectured to have been summer apartments beneath one of the palaces, such as the intense heat of the climate must have required. In rowing along the shore, the common sewers are still visible, and are but little impaired by time. With the exception of these, the cisterns have suffered the least. Besides such as belong to private houses, there are two sets for the public use of the Tunisians. The largest of these was the grand reservoir, and received the water of the aqueduct. It lay near the western wall of the city, and consisted of upward of twenty contiguous cisterns, each about one hundred feet in length, and thirty in breadth. They form a series of vaults, communicating with each other, and are bordered throughout their whole length by a corridor. The smaller reservoir has a greater elevation, and lies near the Cothon or inner port.

The ruins of the noble aqueduct which conveyed the water into the larger cisterns, may be traced as far as Zawan and Zungar, at least fifty miles distant. This must have been a truly magnificent, and at the same time, a very expensive work. That part of it which extends along the peninsula was beautifully faced with stone. At Arriana, a village to the north of Tunis, are several entire arches each seventy feet high, and supported by piers sixteen feet square. The water-channel is vaulted over, and plastered with a strong cement. A person of an ordinary hight may walk upright in it; and at intervals are apertures, left open, as well for the admission of fresh air, as for the convenience of cleansing it. The water-mark is nearly three feet high; but it is impossible to determine the quantity daily conveyed to Carthage by this channel, without knowing the angle of descent, which, in its present imperfect state, can not be ascertained.

Temples were erected at Zawan and Zungar, over the fountains by which this aqueduct was supplied. That at Zungar appears to have been of the Corinthian order, and terminates very beautifully in a dome with three niches, probably intended for the statues of the divinity of the spring.

THE PLAIN OF TROY.

According to Homer’s description of the Trojan territory, it combined certain prominent and remarkable features, not likely to be affected by any lapse of time. Of this nature was the Hellespont; the island of Tenedos; the plain itself; the river by whose inundations it was occasionally overflowed; and the mountain whence that river issued. The following is an abstract of Dr. Clarke’s accurate account of the vestiges of high antiquity contained in this truly classic spot.