them all the Holy Places and keep them so long until they have seen every thing to their satisfaction and are willing to depart They are but very meanly Clothed like unto Poor Mendicants they live very privately and keep their concerns very close because of the Arabian Horse-men or Beduins that fall upon them daily and Ravage these Countries continually wherefore they are in great danger When they come you must at least give them Meat and Drink if not other Booty as I saw my own self at Bethlehem when I first arrived there that twelve Horse-men with Guns Arrows and Darts very well Armed came to the Gates of the Temple and they were forced to satisfie them before they would leave them and to give them good words besides So that they are not only sufficiently plagued by them but also by the Sangiachs and Cadis the Turkish Magistrates at Jerusalem who have continually their Eyes over them that are well to pass for Covetousness is so great with them that if they can but hear of one that hath Money they study Night and Day how if possible they can they may right or wrong make him punishable So they lately accused the Eastern Christians falsely and punished them in some hundred Ducats whereat the Bassaw of Damascus under whose Command Jerusalem is did wink in hopes to have a great snack out of it CHAP. XX. Of the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem the Order of the Johannites HAving made mention of these I remember still an other Order that is The Johannites or Knights Templars of Jerusalem which did first begin in the Reign of Baldewin de Burgo the second of that Name and the third King of Jerusalem This Order is more Secular than Divine and therefore quite differing from all the rest for they need not to say Mass nor perform any other Devotion but when they have heard Mass and said so many Pater-Nosters and Ave-Maries they have sufficiently discharged their Office This Order was first Invented by His Holiness the Pope to that end and indued with many Priviledges that they might resist and oppose the Turks and that all Infidels and Hereticks might by them and their Adherents by force of Arms be driven and routed out of the Roman Empire And that he might promote this design of his more earnestly he took in those chiefly that were well Born and had great Revenues as Princes Counts and other Noblemen So it hath often happened formerly chiefly when Popery was in a flourishing condition that along with the Pilgrims that had a mind to see the Holy Places and to go to the Land of Promise many Persons of Quality came moved thereunto out of great Zeal together with them to see them also and to take upon them the Order of that Knighthood in the Sepulchre of our Lord Christ as the proper place for that purpose And besides that other considerations there were which moved them to it viz. The high Title and the Authority of the Place and great Priviledges whereby they hoped to be still preferred to greater Dignities Now as every one of them had laid before them to consider these Points and Articles which every one must promise and take an Oath to keep them strictly some great and potent Men found it so severe and hard as you may see by that that followeth that they were not only astonished at it but refused openly to take it upon them But what is laid before them that are made Knights and also what Ceremonies are used in it I thought convenient to mention here briefly If there be one or more of them ready for it that have at the instance of the Guardian according to the Ancient Custom been at Confession and also received the Sacrament sub una Specie under one Species on Mount Calvaria they are with great Ceremonies conducted from thence into the holy Sepulchre whither are also conveyed some other things that belong thereunto viz. A fine Book a Sword richly tipped with Gold with a red Velvet Girdle a Chain weighing about a hundred Hungarian Ducats whereon hangeth a Golden Cross of this Form and Shape a pair of Spurs with red Velvet Straps which are laid down one by another upon the Altar of the Sepulchre As soon as the Gentleman cometh into it they begin immedidiately to say Mass and after that they Sing without some Latin Psalms In the mean while the Gentleman lyeth down upon his Knees in the Sepulchre before the Guardian until the Friers have done Singing Then the Guardian bids all that stand about to say Our Father and an Ave-Mary on behalf of the Gentleman that is to be Knighted When this is done he admonisheth the Gentleman before he taketh the Oath to consider upon what condition he is admitted there When this is done he bids the standers by Pray for him once more and then admonisheth the Gentleman again and telleth him also That hereafter he must be in all things subject and obedient to the Roman Church That he must fight and resist the Turks and Lutherans as Enemies and Hereticks so long as his Blood and Heart is warm Then the Guardian asketh him further whether he doth receive all these Points as they are written word by word in that Book and ordered by his Holiness the Pope and subscribed by his own Hand and whether he will Swear by the holy Sepulchre to keep them Whereupon he consents to it presently and promiseth with great eagerness and joy to keep it with all his Heart and thanketh God that he hath made him worthy of this Blessing and for having made him capable of it After this the Monks begin again a long Song and then the Guardian taketh up the three Pieces the Chain Sword and Spurs and puts them on upon him and so adorneth him as beginning Knight At last he taketh also the Book and puts it before him and telleth him once more what he is about and what he is going to Swear When he hath understood it he kneeleth down again and puts out his two Fingers which the Guardian puts upon the red Cross in the Book and readeth to him the Oath the Contents whereof are these First That upon his Conscience he do Swear there to these following Words Not with a false Heart but that he doth confess out of Zeal with great eagerness and with a clean Heart and also Swear by Gods Omnipotence the See of Rome and his Holiness the Pope that he is a good Catholick Educated in that Religion from his Infancy to that present hour and that he never will go from it so long as he liveth but will always Defend and Protect the Roman Church against the Lutheran and their Adherents with Words and Deeds so long as his Heart is warm and that he will never be in a place where any evil is taught or spoke of his Holiness the Pope Secondly That he doth Swear by Gods Omnipotence and the Pope at Rome and the Cross
strange Origanum Tragoriganum Roman Mother of Time Spicanardi and a peculiar sort of Coniza c. At the foot of the Mount they shew us first a great Church between the Rivolet Cedron and the Valley of Josaphat which was so covered with Earth that you could see nothing of it but the Entry and before it without a large place three steps deep This Church was built by Helena Mother of Constantine the Emperor and called the Sepulchre of our Lady the Mother of God to go into it you must go down 44 steps Within it toward the right there is a small Chapel where they say our Lady was Buried and therefore by the Benevolence of the Pope there is distributed and given to the Pilgrims full forgiveness of all Transgressions and Punishments for ever Some are of Opinion That this Church did formerly stand even with the Ground and that after the Devastation of Jerusalem when part of the Valley of Josaphat was filled up it was covered thus over This Church stands as Nicephorus saith in his 8th Book and the 30th Chapter on that place where the Village Gethsemane stood whereby the Garden was whither our dear Lord Christ did just before his Passion go with his Eleven Disciples after he had Eaten the Paschal Lamb with them and given Thanks according to his usual Custom over the Rivolet of Cedron to regain us that which was formerly lost by our Ancestors in the Garden There he left his Eight Disciples while he went to Pray as the Scripture telleth us when he took with him Peter James and John the two Sons of Zebedeus and began to mourn to quake and to tremble and said to them My soul is sorrowful unto death stay here watch with me and pray that you enter not into temptation and he withdrew from them about a Stones cast where he kneeled down fell three times on his face and prayed to his Heavenly Father where he wrestled with Death and Sweat a bloody Sweat so that an Angel must come down from Heaven at last to Comfort him This place is underneath a great Rock that hangeth over a great Cave just at the Entry of the Valley of Josaphat This Valley is still where it cometh down from the Mount of Olives pretty deep and is called by the holy Prophet Joel the Valley of Judgment as you may read in his 3d Chapter 14 Verse which words of Joel give us to understand that the Lord as he was when he came first upon Earth in this Valley taken Prisoner Bound and carried away to the place of his bitter Suffering Crucifixion and Dying so he shall in his second and glorious coming appear in this Valley of Judgment again to Judge all people of the whole Earth c. that then the Impious shall see whom they have pierced Zacharias speaks also of it in the above-mentioned place As you go from thence to the Mount of Olives you see below towards your left hand near unto the Bridge of the River Cedron an old square Building like unto a Steeple This altho it is believed to this day not only by Christians but also by the Turks and Moors to be the Grave of Absalom as you shall see them fling Stones into it as they go by to revenge his Undutifulness shewn to his Father King David yet notwithstanding he was not Buried there as we read in the 2d Book of Samuel the 18th Chapter Vers 17. And they took Absalom and cast him into a great pit in the wood and laid a very great heap of stones upon him Yet for all this when Absalom was alive as you may farther read in the before-mention'd Chapter he erected a Column in the Kings Dale for he said I have no Son therefore this shall be for a remembrance of my Name and called this Pillar after his Name and it is still called to this day Absaloms Place Of this Pillar writes also Josephus in the 7th Book of his Antiquities and the 10th Chapter saying And Absalom did erect a Kingly Column of Marble in the Valley Genes chap. 14. it is called the Kings Valley that is two Furlongs from Jerusalem Just by this Pillar beginneth a very steep Foot-Path which parts a little above it into two one whereof goeth Southward at the bottom of the Mount of Olives towards Bethania and Jericho c. down through the Valley that is made by this and the other part of the Hill called Mashit in the 4th of the Kings Chap. 23. but the other goeth over the height of the Mount of Olives out by Bethania to the House of Mary and Martha A little higher on this Hill did our Saviour sit over against the Temple when he foretold his Disciples that shewed him the glorious Buildings thereof That not one Stone should remain upon another that should not be thrown down And did also tell them at length the terrible and prodigious Signs that should come to pass before the Desolation of Jerusalem and the end of the World To this day we still see into the Turkish Mosque with its large Paved Court-yard over the Walls thereof so perfectly that you may distinguish almost the Persons that walk there From thence when you go up to the Hill which is very steep and rough there is a large Plain from whence our dear Lord Jesus Christ was taken up and ascended into Heaven as you may see by the words of the Holy Evangelist St. Luke in his first Chapter of the Acts Verse 9. where he saith And he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight And Verse 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath-days journey On this place as Nicephorus mentioneth did Queen Helena also afterward Build a stately Church which now is so decayed that there is no more to be seen of it but a New built Chapel in a large Yard surrounded with a Wall Just by it on a Hill of the Mount towards the North and Galilea there is an old decayed Building which was formerly as my Guide informed me an Inn for the Galileans where commonly did take up those that went to Jerusalem from Galilea Wherefore they are of opinion that some of them were there in the time of Christ that also were Spectators of his Glorious Ascension as it doth appear by the Words of the two Angels that spoke to them and said You men of Galilea why stand you here gazing up into Heaven c. But if you duly consider these words you will find as you read it in the Second Chapter of the Acts Verse 7. that the Apostles themselves were these Galileans where it is written Behold are not all those which speak Galileans and how hear we every man in our own tongue c. So did also the holy Angels speak to the Apostles after the same manner and called them Galileans rather to bring them as Elders of the Christian Church off their worldly thoughts
Bethlehem there are some Valleys very well tilled with Corn and Wine and among the rest a very pleasant and fruitful one that beginneth immediately by the Church and Fountain and runs down towards Jericho and Jordan This is below pretty wide full of Olive and Fig-trees it also bringeth forth some comfortable Herbs viz. some strange Origanums Tragoriganum Roman Serpillum which the Arabians call Sathar Absintium Santonicum which groweth every where in the holy Land this hath small ash-coloured Leaves very like unto them of ours and many small Stalks full of small yellowish Seeds it is of an unpleasant Smell very bitter with a saltish sharpness wherefore it is reputed to be the Scheha of the Arabians from whence our Worm-seed cometh In this Valley were the Shepherds to whom the Angels of the Lord did appear and declared to them the saving Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ saying Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord c. and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will towards men In that place which is about half a League below Bethlehem is still a Church which also Queen Helena did build as Nicephorus testifieth in the Thirtieth Chapter of his Eighth Book this is for the greatest part fallen in so that nothing more but a small Arch is to be seen of it Hard by it did stand the Tower Ader as St. Jerom writes whereby Israel did erect a Tent as you may read in Genesis and looked after the Sheep with his Twelve Sons This is in our time so demolished that it lieth quite in Ruins Beyond it in another Valley not far from Bethlehem they shew still to this day a large Orchard full of Citron Lemon Orange Pomegranate and Fig-trees and many others which King Solomon did plant in his Days with Ponds Canals and other Water-Works very pleasantly prepared as he saith himself in the Second Chapter of Ecclesiastes Verse 5. I made me gardens and orchards and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits I made me pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees This is still in our time full of good and fruitful Trees wherefore it is worthy to be seen for their sakes and also for the Ditches sake that are still there Wherefore I really believe it to be that same whereof Josephus maketh mention in his Eighth Book of the Jewish Antiquities and the Seventh Chapter saying And the King rode in a Chariot cloathed in white and it was his Custom to ride early in the morning to a place called Hetten a hundred Furlongs from Jerusalem where he had a Garden with Water-pools and Works very pleasant and rich Thither went the King for his pleasure and did always use great diligence and consideration in all things and took delight to see every thing neat and handsom c. After we had seen the chiefest places within and without near and a far off of Bethlehem we returned to Jerusalem again by another way that was near as far again about and went over the Mountains of Judea which have first as you come from thence very good and fruitful Valleys full of Vines and Corn but the nearer you come to Jerusalem the higher and rougher are the Mountains In this way half a League from Nebeleschol the Friars shewed us a Well very rich of Water just by the Road that goeth down to Gaza this runneth into a small Rivulet wherein the holy Apostle Philip did baptize Candaces Chamberlain to the Queen of Aethiopia by it is nothing else to be seen but a small Church and a Fish-pond From thence we came over high rough and steep Hills into the Deserts where St John the Baptist did lead his life in his young Age there is nothing to be seen but a very ancient Chapel and hard by it a delicate Spring on the top of the Hill where we went up to refresh our selves a little with eating and drinking of what we had taken along with us About the Roads grow many Trees by the Inhabitants called Charnubi the Fruit whereof is called St. John's Bread in our Country and is brought to us in great plenty From thence we had still a very rough and hilly way to the Church and Habitation of Zachary whither the Virgin Mary did come climbing over the Hills to give Elizabeth a Visit c. before it a League distance nearer to the Town at the end of the Valley Raphaim whereof the holy Scripture maketh often mention viz. in the Fifteenth and Eighteenth Chapters of Joshua and in the First of the Chronicles and the 12th Chapter stands in a very pleasant and fruitful place the Church of St. John the Baptist and by it before you come quite to it falleth down the Spring of Nephthaah that is very rich of Water This Church is very ancient but yet pretty well built and hath on the Left Hand as you go in a deep and hidden Cave wherein Elizabeth did hide her self with John her Child that it might not be slain with the Children of Bethlehem by the Servants of Herod whereof you may read more in the Proto-Evangelium of St. Jacob where it is thus written When Elizabeth did hear that among the rest of the Innocents which Herod had commanded to be killed her Son John was also searched for she did climb up the Hills and looked about her where she might hide him but when she saw no place there where she could do him she sighed and cried out with a loud voice saying O ye hills of Gad take both the Mother and the Child for she could not ascend them the Hill did open it self instantly and took them into it c. But how afterwards Herod did search for John and how he did threaten and exhort his Father Zachary to tell him where his Son was and also how his Servants did kill Zachary not being satisfied with his Answer for it in the Porch of the Temple is at length related in the Books of the Martyrs of the Learned and Reverend Ludowich Rabus As you come from the before-mentioned Church nearer to the Town of Jerusalem there is still seen a large Pillar that is of great Antiquity and lieth very high between the Mountains on a high Hill five Furlongs off of Jerusalem wherefore some take it to be Ruines of the Fortification of Betzura but as far as one can understand by the Books of Maccabees that is situated more towards the East behind Mount Olivet Just before it within stands in the Valley that is full of pleasant Olive Trees a very old yet well built Church called the Holy Cross whereof some Greek Friars are possessed they pretend that in that place the Tree did stand that was made use of for the
Lord heard him and let Rain fall down upon the dry and barren Earth From this Mountain the presumed holy Order of the Carmelites taketh its Name which was first there endu'd with several Priviledges by Pope Innocent the Third and Albert the Patriarch of Jerusalem in the Year 1205 and afterwards when they were encreased to a great number under pretence of greater Holiness confirmed by the Name of the Brothers of our Lady by Pope Honorius the Third in the Year 1226. These pretend to be Followers of the Doctrine of Cyrillus wear daily black girded Coats and over it when they say Mass white Monks Habit. Some years ago without doubt have a great many of this Order lived here about as still to this day doth appear by their Cloisters and Churches which by Age are so mightily decay'd that they are left deserted and uninhabited This Mountain is also round about towards the Sea Coast very bare and rough that we may very well say with the holy Prophet Amos That the Pastures of the Herdsmen shall look miserably and the top of the Mountain dry up The Town Hayphe lieth at the bottom of the Mount Carmelo is pretty large but very ill Built and the Houses are so decay'd that half of it is not fit to be Inhabited Salidinus King of the Saracens who in his time carried on long and heavy Wars against the Christians and was almost hardly able to resist them caused the Walls of it and also that of Caesarea in Palestina and others of less strength to be pull'd down that his Enemies might not find any place of Reception against him Out of this Port as we are afterwards informed was a little time before taken away a pretty large and richly Loaden Ship by some Pirates which vexed the Inhabitants very much and being that the Christians chiefly were suspected by them they had a great desire to revenge it upon them again so that we had not our Master been very honest should have suffer'd for the loss they had sustained After we had lain there at Anchor till after Midnight not without danger as you must imagine our Master made haste to get out to Sea although it was very calm in hopes to get good Weather After they had wrought very hard a good Wind arose behind us towards the Morning and drove us along so that we got soon about and passed the Point of the Mountain and saw the Country of the other side which was above on the height so Pleasant Green and Shady that there in a Village resides a Turkish Sangiach for Pleasure sake Not far from thence lieth the Castle of the Pilgrims in the Sea by the Inhabitants call'd Altlit where most of them touch that take their way through Galilaea and Nazareth to Jerusalem This hath been in former Ages so well Fortify'd with Walls and Bastions that it was thought to be Impregnable but now it is on two sides towards the Sea so demolish'd and destroy'd that one may very reasonably guess that it hath been formerly taken by Storm The Wind still increasing more and more we went on with such a swiftness that although two little Ships persued us towards Morning yet they were forced to leave us and so we soon passed the Castle and came towards Dor three Leagues distance from thence it lieth near Mount Carmel in the Country of Phoenicia as Josephus testifieth and it is so decay'd that there is nothing more extant than a large and high Tower which the Inhabitants still call Dortaite In this Country when the Jews took Canaan the Land of Promise they let the Inhabitants remain as you may read in the first Chapter of the Judges At a League distance from thence you see the Ancient and Famous Town Caesarea of Palestine situated on the Sea on a high Bank which King Herod did renew and call'd it after the Emperor Caesarea which still to this day among the Turks and Moors retaineth its ancient Name Kaesarie In this Town did live the Pious Centurion Cornelius who was Baptiz'd there with his whole Family by Peter the Apostle who was called thither from the Town Joppe There did also live Philip the Evangelist one of the seven Deacons into whose House the Holy Apostle Paul did go and staid there some days where also the Prophet Agabus did foretel him That he was to be made a Prisoner at Jerusalem Now although this Town in those days was very well built as one may still see by the important and stately Antiquities that are still remaining there yet now in our times it is in Walls and Buildings so mightily decay'd that it is hardly fit to be Inhabited much less to be Defended or to make any Resistance And for all that it is still pretty large but so lonesom and depopulated that we could hardly see any body in the large and broad Streets thereof as we passed by For some Leagues before or about it I saw nothing remarkable only a Turkish Mosque or Church in the height upon a hilly shore where tbey meet to Worship their Mahumet When the Evening broke in we had still 10 Leagues to Sail to the Port or Harbor of Joppe where the Pilgrims use to go ashore to Travel by Land to Jerusalem yet the Wind drove us on with such a force that we got into it two hours after Sun-set CHAP. II. A short Relation of my Travels by Land from the Harbor of Joppe to the City of Jerusalem IN the Morning early as soon as the day did appear which was the 13th day of September 1575 we got on shore and dispatched immediately some to the Town of Rama two Leagues distant from thence to get us a safe Conduct or Pass from the Sangiach and to bring along with them some Mockeri or Ass-driving Carriers to provide us Carriage to Jerusalem In the mean while we stay'd upon the high Rocky shore where the Town Joppe did stand formerly which at this time was so Demolish'd that there was not one House to be found where the Pilgrims at their arrival could shelter themselves save only three large Vaults which went very deep into the Hill and extended themselves towards the Sea Into these are sometimes the Pilgrims let in but being that at that time a great deal of Corn was laid up there whereunto they still daily added on purpose to supply Constantinople during the scarcity it was forbidden that any Body should be let in The Town Joppe by the Inhabitants call'd Japha is by its old Name very well known to us by the Books of the Prophets and Apostles c. where we Read That the Prophet Jonas when the Lord bid him to Preach to the Ninevites Desolation and Destruction for fear did retire thither and there took Ship where he was thrown out into the Seas in the great Storm and Tempest and swallow'd up by a great Fish and after he had been there for three Days and Nights he was vomited out again And we
King Solomon did begin to build a House for the Lord at Jerusalem many years afterwards This was formerly very high surrounded with deep Ditches and Cliffs so that it would make a Man giddy to look down from the top into the depth Wherefore Pompey and Titus took a great deal of pains before they could get upon it to take and destroy that glorious and well-built Temple which was in the last Desolation as well as before in the first burnt by Nabuhcodonosor demolished and razed to the Foundations as Christ foretold them Mark xiii That there should not be left one stone upon another that should not be thrown down because they did not acknowledge the gracious time of their visitation And that all hopes might be taken away from the Jews to return and to build the Temple again to re-establish their Worship Hadrian the Emperor to prevent all ordered in the year of Christ 134 all to be broken down that was left and to root it up to demolish all heighths to fill up all Ditches to level Cliffs and to make the Ground even all over he did also alter the Name and Religion of the Inhabitants and instead thereof introduced the Heathenish Idolatry In the place of the Grave of Christ he built a Temple for the Idol Jupiter on Mount Calvaria another for the Idol Venus and another at Bethlehem to the Idol Adonis and at last in the place where formerly in the Temple of Solomon did stand the Sanctum Sanctorum he erected his own Image on a high Column for his memory which was still standing in Hieronymus's time The heighth of this Mount cannot be observed any where else now then without by the Fountain Siloah and in the Valley of Benhinnon and so it did remain desolate to the times of the great Emperor Constantine After that when the Jews undertook to rebuild the Temple at the Charge of Julian the Apostate who would make Christ a liar the Lord having said that their House should be left unbuilt a great Earthquake when they had opened the Ground to lay the Foundation did move and shake the whole place to that degree that every thing was turned upside down and abundance of Jews did perish in it But when the Jews did not matter this but endeavoured to go on with the Work in hand the next day Flames of Fire broke out of the Ground and fiery Beams struck down from Heaven which destroyed more than the Earthquake and burnt all their Tools viz. Saws Axes Shovels Hammers c. When the Jews would not leave their Error for all this the night following some small glittering Crosses like Stars fell down upon their Cloaths which they could not wash off the next Morning nor get out by any means and an Earthquake and such a violent Hurricane came upon it that it dissipated all tâ— Mortar and other Materials into the Air so that frightened and full of fear they were forced to confess that Christ whom their Ancestors Crucified was the true and only Lord and God Seeing that the Temple together with the Mount it stood upon are razed and desolated so that one can hardly now discern what they have been anciently every one that goeth by because the Lord did not favour his own House where his Name was sanctified hath reason to be astonished at it and to call to mind the strange anger of God against those that leave the Lord their God and adhere to other gods serve and adore them Now adays the Turks have taken possession of this Mount and all the Ground whereon Solomon's Temple did stand and have built a Mahumetan Mosche on it which Homar the Third after the great Impostor Mahomet built when he had taken the holy Land and the City of Jerusalem This is not very large nor high but fine and covered with Lead hath a great Court Yard about it paved with white Marble and here and there Orange and Date Trees are planted in it which is very pleasant about the sides thereof are some high Towers and Gates one whereof is vastly bigger than any of the rest which is near to their Batzar or Exchange which is very old high and hath very good Workmanship in it wherefore the Franciscan Monks shew it instead of the Gate of Solomon's Temple before which lay the Man that was lame from his Mother's Womb that begged Alms from Peter and John to whom Peter said Silver and gold I have none but such as I have give I thee In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk At the end of the Gate of this Yard as commonly in all their Church Porches hung some Lamps I could have willingly gone in before them to see the Rock and Fountain whereof Ezek. in his Forty seventh Chapter maketh mention together with the inward Building but because according to their Mahumetan Laws all those that are not circumcised are accounted to be unclean therefore going into their Churches is forbid to Christians if any one is catch'd â—ithin he is in danger of his life or else he must deny his Faith and be made a Mamaluck or Renegado In this Court-Yard is still another Gate called the Golden Gate by the Franciscans but because it stands just over against the Mount of Olives therefore it is to be taken to be the Gate Sur or rather as Nehemias ch iii. Ezek. xlvii and 2 Chron. xxxi say For the Gate of the Stairs which Semaia the Son of Sahamia the Keeper of them did build through which our Lord Christ did go into the Temple on Palm-Day to drive out the Buyers and Sellers Now altho this is walled up in the New Town Wall so that you cannot go either out or in yet considering its ancient Arches it looketh rather like a Church than a Town-Gate In the middle of the Yard stands a Turkish Mosche or Temple called the Rock this is esteemed very much by the Turks and next to those of Mecha and Medina reputed to be the most holy Because God Almighty hath wrought many great Miracles there and that there Mahomet as they falsly write of him in their Books called by God to be the last and greatest Prophet did ride from Mecha to that of the holy Rock of the Temple of Jerusalem which is Forty Days Journey on a very swift Beast called Elmparae conducted thither by the Angel Gabriel who at his arrival did help him off of his Beast tied it up and then led him by the Hand into the Temple where he found many Prophets standing together in a Circle which God had resuscitated for his Honor and to receive him and to acquaint him with new good Tidings and what God had prepared for him I suppose ever burning Flames of Fire among the rest he did also find Abraham Moses and Jesus the Son of Mary each of them presenting him first Moses with a Fatt of Wine Abraham with a Fatt full of Milk and Jesus with a Fatt of Water Then
Liberty for a Sum of Money or else agree with him for a certain time and so make a Contract with him concerning their Liberty which commonly these do that intend to persevere in their Christian Religion or undertake to get something by their Handy-work that when the time is past or the Money paid the Justice may according to the Instrument before made by him at their Request declare him Free and give him a Pass to shew upon the Road that he may not be molested Other ways to get their Liberty there are but very few except their Master should happen to Dye which commonly in their last Will declare that their bought Servants after the opening of it shall have their Liberty Sometimes it happens that from others they buy false Letters which are soon found out in these Countries and so by the help of them get away Clandestinely But yet that but a few Slaves come from thence to us again the chief reason is not as many think Because the Turks press them to change their Religion for although they sometimes threaten them as they use to do or treat them somewhat more hardly than is usual in their Servitude as Christians also do very often but rather their Secure and Impenitent Life which they lead forgetting God and his holy Word to that degree that they know not how to give an Account of their Christian Faith and Religion nay what is more they know not the difference between these two Religions which are so vastly differing although they would if they did know it rather suffer Death than be seduced from the true Religion and precipitate the Soul together with the Body into Damnation When then the knowledge of the Truth is gone and Faith almost if not quite Extinguished so that there is but little hope left of their Salvation they daily forsake their Religion as fast as Worm-eaten Fruit falls from the Tree begin to think how to compensate their bodily suffering they may lay up and get Money by Robbing and Burning and so get Privileges to live according to their own Will and Pleasure like Beasts in daily Uncleanness and when they are harden'd in it they come at last to such a degree of Sottishness and Brutality that as St. Peter saith they believe the chief good of this World to consist in Voluptuousness wherein they perish at length and must expect the Wages of Unrighteousness with the rest When the Turks have Conquered one or more which they discern at first by their Fore-finger which these that have a mind to turn use to shew to them first as a Token by lifting of it up over their Heads chiefly in their Mosques they rejoyce in them mightily and are clearly of Opinion That this their Work is precious and good before God and that their Religion is confirmed and upheld by the assenting of many wherefore they soon meet together to confirm these Turn-coats with their usual Ceremonies and so to make them true Turks First they lay before them a Cross whereon they must trample three times spit upon it and repeat every time some words after them taken out of the Alcoran so the Christians that will be made Turks pronounce them after them When this is done three of them are ready with their Bows and shoot together up and give them before the Arrows fall down again Turkish Names Then if they be Men they set them up upon high Horses put them on their best Clothes and Dress them neatly and so lead them for two days together through all the Streets that every body may see them and know them to be such as do adhere to their Religion and so to be free to walk and deal among them without any hinderance If they are of an higher degree and of great Authority sometimes Ride along with them some Turkish Gentlemen of Quality in their best Dress accompanied by many Janizaries who fire here and there in the Streets for Joy but chiefly in those places where they spy Christians They have with them all sorts of Musical Instruments viz. The Drums great Drums and little Drums which they beat at that same time both above and below Hautboys and others They also carry in this their Procession long Streamers upon long Poles almost like unto them that we see in the Cross-walks in our Frieries and besides the Rabble that run before and behind make such a noise that one cannot hear the other When all this is over they Circumcise them at last on the third Day and then they reckon such an one to be a true Musulman that is A Circumcised one who hath leave to go to their Mosques without being hindered to buy their Books and Writings and to Read them which must not be sold to others that are not of their Religion upon pain of great punishment that they may not come into unclean hands or to be trod upon as Writings of no Worth Their Jewes whereof there are a great many among them and are called by them Choifut or Chifoutler excel ours in Cheating and Cozening by far and there is no doubt but they would oftentimes renounce their Religion to make profit But the Turks envy them more than we Christians they do not Trust them they reckon them not worthy to Eat with them as they do with us Christians nor Marry with them much less will they receive them as any thing related to their Religion except it be that before for some days they have frequented the Christian Churches and there are Baptized and have often Eaten Pork that unclean Meat that is also forbidden unto them When they have done thus they proceed with them after the same manner as is before said Concerning the Christians that live among the Turks as the Surians Armenians c. they have here and there in great Trading Cities their peculiar Streets which they Inhabit and they are commonly without in the Suburbs and thereabout also small and low Churches where they perform their Devotions When they begin to be decayed of Age or are burnt by Fire or destroyed in War time if they will have them built up again they must have leave first of the Turkish Magistrate and lay down a good Sum of Money which grants nothing except you grease them well The Turks to save Charges suffer no Bells nor Clocks neither in their own nor other Temples nor will they give leave to the Christians to Ring to Church with them so that all day long you neither hear a Bell Toll nor a Clock Strike Instead thereof the Turks have according to their Alcoran their Five Hours set which their Priests call out from the high Steeples and in the Exchanges with a loud Voice and with stopped Ears and cry Alla Haickbar that is God is true and then Leila hillalla Mahammet rasur alla each of them he repeats twice to call the people to their Devotions But the Christians have a Servant that at the Hours of Prayers and Sermon goeth
and in the Book of the Prophet Jonas of the Ninevites who believing the Prophet's Words denouncing their Destruction within Forty Days and repenting of their Sins put on Sackcloth and prayed to God for forgiveness The like we read of the King and Prophet David after he had numbred his People Item in the 10th Chapter of Luke and other places c. that they put on Sackcloth and did repent in Ashes It is therefore very probable that those were very like unto them that are still in use When we had thus accoutred our selves for the Voyage and provided us with all Necessaries viz. Cloths Merchandices Provision of Biskets and Drink and did stay only for some Fellow-travellers we were still doubtful whether it were more convenient for us to go by Land with Caravans which go from hence and Damascus very strong to Bagdet through great Sands and Desarts in Fifty Days more or less according as the Weather proveth Or whether we should go by Water either upon the Tigris or the Euphrates there being good Opportunity to go in Company with others But it happening that we met with some Armenian Merchants Servants that did live at Halepo who were also provided with Goods and had a mind to go into the same Countries we did readily embrace this Opportunity partly because they understood the Turkish and Arabian Languages which two are chiefly spoken in Syria and partly because some of them had been four times already in the Indies wherefore we put our Goods to theirs and loaded a great many Camels together to deliver them to us at Bi r to ship them there upon the Euphrates And that we might pass every where in the Turkish Dominions we took a Pass from the Bashaw and Cadi and so we began our Travels to Bi r distant Three Days Journey the 13th of August Anno 74. By the way we were so strange to one another that in our new Fashioned Cloaths we did hardly know one another among them all After we had the first Day a rough Road and travelled through many Desarts and uninhabited Places we reached at Night a little Village where we encamped and pitched our Tents We put all our Packs in a circle round about us and without them our Beasts as it is usual in great Caravans to defend us from the Assaults of the Moors in the Night A little after Midnight we heard a great Caravan of many Camels and Asses to go by very near to us which after it was passed we broke also up and followed them when the Day Light appeared we saw several plow'd Fields more than the Day before and also here and there in some pleasant Places many Tents of the Arabians which were fixed together as it were in a Camp ranged very orderly into Streets After we had that Morning travelled very hard so that our Beasts under their heavy Loads began to be tired in the great Heat we rested behind a little Chapel to refresh our selves and to feed our Camels in the mean time some poor Women came down from the High-lands to us to gather the Dung of our Camels to burn it instead of Wood whereof they were in great want When the great Heat was over and we had staid there for two Hours we went on again and came before it was Night to a little Village lying in a Valley near which upon the Height the Arabians had formed a great Camp We went up to them and pitched our Tents in the Plain by them and kept as abovesaid a good Watch. They came quickly to us spoke kindly to us and their Wives brought us Water and good Milk but after we saw that they were very naked and hungry and in their shape like to our Gypsies we did not trust them at all but kept a very good Watch all that Night These are Vagabond People that are used to Idleness from their Infancy and will rather endure Hunger Heat and Cold than get any thing by their Handy-work or Till the Fields or Plant Garden-herbs for their Maintenance although they might do it in several fruitful Places in their own possession So you find here a great Number of them by the sides of these sandy Desarts that have no where any Habitation but live in their Tents like as the Beasts do in Caves and go like unto the Gypsies from place to place until they light on one where they may live a great while with their Cattle and when all is eat up want driveth them from thence to look out for another On the 15th early before break of Day we were up in the cool of the Day with an intention to reach to Bi r that Night but our Camels were grown so faint by reason of the excessive Heat and the great Burthens that they fell down several times wherefore we looked out for a convenient place where we might stay all Night and found at last a Village near which we pitched our Tents eat some Gourds and Biskets and so went to rest Two Hours before break of the Day we began our Journey again and came early in the Morning to the great River called Euphrates we went over with our Goods and Chattel and fixed our Tents before the Town near the River on the other side to stay for a Barge that was to come from Armenia to go from thence to Babylon which is now called Felugo By the way I saw no Herbs of any worth except the Galega in our Language called Goats-rue which grew plentifully on the dry Heaths and near to the Road the first sort of Apocynum by us called Dogs-bane very like unto the great Celandine in its Leaves and Pods I also saw whole acres of Turkish Corn called Sesamo and others all sown with Cotton and also a kind of Esula very full of Milk wherewith the fallow Grounds were so filled up that at a distance you would have taken it for good Corn. Seeing that the Scammony that uses to be brought to Halepo is wont sometime to be very sharp therefore it may very well be that they adulterate it with this Esula Near the Town grew abundance of Acacia called Schack and Schamuck as is above mentioned which are here in Stem and Fruit greater and larger than ever I saw any any where The Town Bi r is situated on the other side of the great River Euphrates in Mesopotamia near the high Hill Taurus just like Tripolis near the Libanus or our Losanna on our Alps It is neither big nor strong but pretty well defended by a Castle that lyeth on a high Rock above the River not easily to be taken There is a very pleasant Country round about it and very fruitful which chiefly on this side of the River where it is plain is very well Tilled and Sown with Corn which they did just thrash out when we came with little Waggons drawn by Oxen and here and there are very good Villages But beyond the River it is more hilly which kind
one of them and had almost spoiled him When they found us to be in earnest they took something to drink of us and let us alone So we must before we arrived at the old destroyed and ruinated Jerusalem where there is no Joy nor Hopes to get any thing as is in the Heavenly One soon one after another pay them just like Boys that have lost their Game and run the Gauntlet After we had endured all these Brushes we went on and came to the middle of the way of the Mountains where it was very rough and stony into a small Village called Anatoth lying on a heigth where we rested a little and watered our Beasts at a very rich Spring that runs through it by an ancient little Church down the Hill this is situated as Josephus writes in his Tenth Book and Tenth Chapter of his Antiquities or ancient History within Twenty Furlongs of Jerusalem There was born the holy Prophet Jeremias as you may see in his First Chapter and it is also called by Esaias a pitiful Village which together with the Town Rama did formerly belong to the Inheritance of the Children of Benjamin Thither went also Abiathar when King Solomon did depose or exclude him from his Priesthood to live on his own Ground A little before it they shewed us at the top of the heigth or Silo of Mount Ephraim some Relicts of the Grave of the holy Prophet Samuel where we could look about for several Leagues round which was of Ramaâ—ha or Arimathea as also Joseph the Just whom helped to take Christ down from the Cross and did put him into his own new Grave The Town was underneath the Mountain where the Prophet Samuel was buried at first but carried up to Silo after the Town was taken Just when you come to Jerusalem Nicopolis lieth on the Left Hand upon the Heighth formerly called Emmaus from Jerusalem Threescore Furlongs distant as the Scripture telleth us whither Christ did accompany the two Disciples and explained the Scriptures to them and at last made himself known to them We left it and went up to Jerusalem which is now called Gotz by the Arabians and Turks The Road is very rough and rocky so that we saw very little but on each side in the Valleys many delicate large Olive Trees and some few Vineyards The City lieth on the heighth of the Mountains as the 125th Psalm testifieth It is not to be seen until you come over the bare and rough Mountains intercepting the Prospect of it on this side Just before it without on the top of Mount Gihon are to be seen still some Antiquities of the Town Helia which Adrian the Emperor built after the Desolation of Jerusalem and called it after his own Name Helia This was first taken by Cosröe King of Persia in the time of the Emperor Heraclius who did overcome him again and afterwards by Homar the Third King of the Saracens who demolished it afterwards it was more contracted and somewhat built again in its old place In these days it is as well as all that Country under the Dominion of the Turkish Emperor Before it we dismounted for no outlandish Man hath permission to ride into their Towns and went under the Gate Hebron to stay there for the Father Guardian to whom we had by one of our Carriers given notice of our Arrival and also desired him to get us License from the Sangiach to come in In the mean time some Mendicant Friars came out of the Monastery and received us very kindly Soon after the Ermin came also riding with his Clerk and asked us from whence we came how many there were of us and what our Names were And after they had written it down and every one had paid him his due to have safe conduct to see the holy Places the Ermin promised it us and put his Right Hand upon his Head which is the fashion in these Countries and bended forwards to let us know that we might confide in his Promise Then they let us pass and the Friars conducted us in towards the Left Hand through some small Streets or Lanes into the Monastery which is behind on the Town-Wall towards the West This although it is not large and spacious yet is it very handsom and strong-built we went into lodge there as all Pilgrims do that come there where Father Jeremy of Brixen a Brother of the Order of the Minorites of St. Francis a Guardian of the holy Mount Zion which had been President of this Monastery of Jerusalem and of the other of Bethlehem for Eighteen Years together received us very kindly There are but very few Monks in it and they are of all sorts of Nations as Italians Spaniards French and Germans yet of the last named I found not one when I arrived there These lead the Pilgrims about together with an Interpreter or Truschemant that understands the Arabian and Turkish Language and shew them the holy Places as well within as without the City But before we went out the Father Guardian admonished us that we must have a care and not go to the Graves of the Heathens which are almost throughout Turkey without the Towns near to the Highways for if one or more should before he was aware of it which may easily happen go to them the Turks would be very much offended at it partly because they take any one that is not circumcised to be unclean and so they fear that they might make them also unclean partly because they are very jealous of their Wives wherefore they permit them not easily to walk or appear in the open Street except they have a mind to go into the Bath or Pagnio or to visit the Graves of their deceased Parents or Relations and where Women are present every one had best to come away to avoid Danger After he had said this he went on saying That if any should be among us that were come over the Sea hither that could not bring very good proof that they did appear before his Holiness the Pope at Rome and were there absolved by him that such were in his Holinesses Excommunication and therefore could not be admitted to see those holy Places much less obtain the Indulgences which in former Ages had been left with them out of great kindness of the Popes to be distributed among the Pilgrims wherefore he desired that every one might shew him their Certificates All these Points he used to propound to every one that cometh there in course as I had heard before of several that had been there formerly that they were very glad to see Pilgrims arrive and that they used to shew the holy Places to them also that bring no Recommendation from his Holiness the Pope hoping that they will recompense them at their Departure Wherefore I did not much mind this Excommunication but let that remain in its ancient Credit but my Comrades two whereof were Priests that used to say Mass were very much astonish'd
therefore is also this Worldly Mount Zion together with its strong Building and Fortification which was rather a Type of the true Rock in Zion Christ our Lord and his Heavenly Kingdom and Holy Church that was built thereon so ruined and desolated that the greatest and highest part thereof before the Town except a Turkish Mosche some Tile Houses and a few Acres of it lieth quite like a Desart covered with Rocks and Stones So it is come to pass what Micah in his Third Chapter and the Twelfth Verse predicted Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field and Jerusalem shall become heaps and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest And Jeremiah in his Lamentations Cap. 5. Verse 18. saith The mountain of Zion which is desolate the foxes walk upon it And Isaiah in his Thirty second Chapter Verse 14. The Palaces shall be forsaken the multitude of the City shall be left the forts and towers shall be dens for ever a joy of wild asses a pasture of flocks The great Castle of the Turks is situated at the top of the inward part of the Mount towards the West Side near the Fishgate which is also newly built and very well surrounded with Walls and Ditches under the Gate are several great Guns to frighten the Christians that come thither in great Flocks chiefly against great Feasts from all Nations Armenians Georgians Abyssins Latinists c. for they fear that else the Town might be taken from them again Within the Fort near the Fishgate is still a strong high Tower built up with great Free-stone which is quite black through Age wherefore some say that it did anciently belong to the Fort and was built by one of the Kings of Juda. So much I thought convenient to mention of Mount Zion concerning other famous places that are to be seen upon and about it I will only mention the chiefest thereof First as you go out of the New Gate of Mount Zion there is a long Street wherein on the Left Hand is an ancient Church of the holy Apostle James the Greater Brother of John which Helena the Mother of Constantine the Emperor as also many more did build on the Market Place of the upper City where he was beheaded The Armenians that have possession thereof did conduct us into it shewed us the Building and the place where the holy Apostle was beheaded with the Sword as you read in the Acts of the Apostles the 12th Chapter by Order of Herod Agrippa to whom he was delivered out of spite as a seditious person by the High Priest Abiathar Then we came to the place of the Habitation of Hannas whereto Christ our Lord was first of all brought a prisoner and bound or fetter'd wherein was nothing observable only a large Court and in it an old Chapel called the Angels which we soon left and went out of the Gate of Mount Zion to the Habitation of Cayaphas where we saw an Orange-tree planted in the place where the holy Apostle Peter did warm himself when he denied our Saviour the third time further within a Chapel called St. Salvators where in former Ages was the Place of the High Priest where Christ was severely accused by Cayaphas and by his Servants mocked spit upon and beaten wherein is an Altar whereon the great Stone of the Grave still lieth that stopped the Door of the Sepulchre which is very like unto the Rock of the Grave in its breaking That the Habitation of the High Priest was in the upper City Josephus does testifie in the Seventeenth Chapter of his Second Book of the Desolation of Jerusalem where he saith thus When the rebellious Jews that had the lower Town in possession with the Temple did undertake to possess themselves also of the upper Town they did assault it with all might and power and at last take it then they drove out the Soldiers which had the Chief Priests and Men in power with them out of the upper Town set the Habitation of Ananias the High Priest on fire and burnt it Before this on the top of the Mount stands on the Plain a large Church which the Franciscan Monks had not long ago in possession and lived in it wherefore their Father did call himself a Guardian of the holy Mount Zion But after that the Turks did about Twenty years agon possess themselves of it and kept it to themselves and made a Mahumetan Mosche of it the Monks were forced to flie and take the Habitation where they now live instead thereof Of this Church or Mosche we saw only the outside of the Habitation of Caiaphas for no Christian is allowed to go into it It was built many years agon by Helena Mother of Constantin the Emperor as Nicephorus testifieth in the Thirtieth Chapter of his Eighth Book wherein is also included the Habitation the Disciples were locked up in for fear of the Jews and also the paved Dining-Room or Hall wherein Christ with his Disciples did eat the Passover where he also washed their Feet and sent the Holy Ghost after his Ascension to them where also James the Lesser was Elected Overseer and first Bishop of Jerusalem In this Temple which is above a thousand paces distant from Golgotha or the place of a Scull was for some time kept the Stone-Pillar whereto Christ our Lord and Saviour was tied and whipped Near unto this in the place of the Palace of Caiaphas the same Queen Helena ordered a Church to be built for the Holy Apostle Peter and many more whereof mention is made at large in the above quoted place This Mount extendeth its self towards the South out before the City and hath on the other side where it is highest other higher ones about it distinguished with Ditches and Valleys viz. towards the West Mount Gihon at the bottom whereof Solomon was anointed King by the Priest Zadock and the Prophet Nathan as we read in the First Chapter of thr First Book of Kings upon this at the top towards the Road of Bethlehem lieth the Field of Blood in their Language called Hakeldemas that was bought for 30 Silver Pieces to bury the Pilgrims there where you see still to this day here and there large and deep holes and one among the rest very big one wherein are still to be seen several whole Bodies lying by one another A deep Valley separates this Mount from Mount Zion which beginneth at the Fish-gate and goeth down to the Brook Cedron in it is a Conduit by the upper Pool called Asuia in the Third Chapter of Nehemiah which is pretty large yet without any Water which receiveth its Water from the high Spring of Gihon this was covered by King Hezekias and laid down to the Town of David as we read in the Second Book of Chronicles Chap. 32. The holy Prophet Isaiah Chap. 7. Verse 3. mentioneth it when she Lord said to him Go forth now to meet Ahaz thou and Shear-jashub
thy son at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the path of the fullers field c. And in the Fourth Book of Kings in the Eighteenth Chapter Verse Seventeen The King of Assyria sent a great host against Jerusalem and when they were come up they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool which is in the high way of the fullers field Before Mount Zion towards the South at the other side of the Rivulet Kidron lieth the Mount of Transgression in the Fourth Book of Kings Chap. 23. called Mashith between this and Mount Olivet is a Valley through which goeth down the Road by Bethania to Jericho c. This is higher and steeper than any hereabout There you see still some old Walls of the Habitation wherein the Concubines of Solomon did live after whom the King ran in his old Age and they did so possess him that they turned his Heart from God Almighty after their Gods and so he did that that did not please the Lord God as you may read in the First Book of Kings Chap. 11. Verse 4. Underneath the Mount was the Valley Benhinnem wherein the Kings of Jerusalem did build a Temple to the Idol Moloch and did worship him viz. Solomon Achaz Manasseh c. whereof we read in several places in the Holy Scripture Levit. xviii 21. Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Moloch And also Jerem. vii 30. And they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to pollute it And they have built the high places of Tophet which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire which I commanded them not neither came it into my heart therefore behold the days come saith the Lord that it shall no more be called Tophet nor the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of slaughter for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place And also 2 Chron. xxviii 2. Ahaz made molten images for Baalim and burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnon and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the Heathen The holy Prophet Amos doth also make mention of these abominable Idolatries in his Fifth Chapter which Luke in the Seventh Chapter Verse Forty third of the Acts doth thus explain Ye took up the Tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan c. which the holy Prophet calleth Sicchuth and Chiun But the Heathen called them Jupiter and Saturn the Devourer of Children and so he is also painted This Statue was hollow within of cast Brass whereinto they did put the Children and burnt them alive and did believe they served God in it as Abraham when he would sacrifice his Son Isaac they had also Kettle Drums and other Musical Instruments which they played on that the Parents might not hear their Children cry wherefore Christ gave unto Hell it self and its perpetual flames the Name of the Valley Benhinnon calling it Gehenna to give us warning and exhortation that we hate false and abominable Idolatries introduced contrary to his Command worse than the Devil himself Besides this there is little else seen hereabout only above on the steepness and highest part of the Mount many little Tents and Habitations as if they hung at it which in these times are not inhabited either by Turks nor Moors in the Valley you see the Rivulet Kidron where over they brought our Lord Christ bound as a Prisoner from Mount Olivet this proceedeth only from Rain Water near to the place Gethsemane and runs without by the Town from South to West Beside this Brook did King Asa burn the Images of Priapus as Josias and Hezekiah the Idols of Baal all Incenses and Uncleannesses that are found in the Temple of the Lord. Further towards the East you see from the top of Mount Zion the Fountain and Pool of Siloah below in the Valley called by Josephus Tiropaean which divideth this and the Temple Mount and becometh to be very narrow between them and extendeth it self from the Rivulet Kidron towards the North to the place of Skulls where it groweth so large again that the lower Town of Jerusalem by Isaiah in his Tenth and Zacharias in his Ninth Chapter called The daughter of Zion and Jerusalem was situated therein Out of which near to the Gate of the Fountain of Siloha which is now walled up the way goeth up to the Gate of Zion into the upper Town through which two our Lord Christ was brought a Prisoner to the Houses of Hannas and Caiaphas This Valley hath been since the Desolation so filled up that no depth at all appeareth in our Days but only without the Fountain Gate by the Fountain Siloah that is very rich of water where is still the Pool wherein the Blind Man washed his Eyes that were anointed with Clay and Spittle St. John ix 6. according to the Command of our Lord and did see Just by it are still the two Hills whereof Josephus maketh mention with a very steep Cliff very rocky on both sides one whereof towards the East called the Rock of the Pidgeons hath a great Cave out of which the Fountain springs and runs off immediately below through a Channel that goeth so strait and smooth through the Rock as if it had been made on purpose Near to this Fountain and Gate of Siloha stood the Tower of Siloha that killed Eighteen Men as we read in St. Luke Chap. xiii Without between the Fountain and Stream of Kidron they shew a great Mulberry-Tree fenced in below this stands in the place where the holy Prophet Isaias was buried whom the King Manasse ordered to be cut in pieces with a wooden Saw as being an Heretick This may suffice of Mount Zion its situation and some adjacent places As we went about and came to one of the places the Monks did shew the Pilgrims in each of them the Number of the Years for the Pardon 's laid there by his Holiness as in some Seven Years and Seven Indulgences but in some others as in the place where the Holy Ghost was sent where Christ did eat the Passover with his Disciples and washed their Feet and where he at several times appeared when the Doors were shut and where also as Nicephorus saith the Virgin Mary after the Resurrection of Christ her dear Child did dwell for Fourteeen Years c. full Absolution and Indulgences from all Sins and Facts for ever Now that all those that come there may receive it more worthily the Monks exhort them to kneel down before every of such places and to pray the Lord's Prayer and Ave Maria with Devotion and that when they have done so they need not to doubt but that they have fully received the Absolution that was given for that place by his Holiness After they had thus prayed in several places some of our Company rejoiced mightily
upon their Poles as in the Heavens some rising and others setting some always above the Horizon and others always under in an oblique sphere and particularly what Stars would rise that night with us at such an hour the man seemed to be ravished with the curiosity of it turning this Globe also several times together with his Finger and taking a mighty pleasure in viewing the motion of it and yet this silly Animal pass'd for a Conjurer among the Turks and was look'd upon as one that could foretell the Events of Battels the fates of Empires and the end of the World They have no Genius for Sea-voyages and consequently are very raw and unexperienced in the Art of Navigation scarce venturing to sail out of sight of Land I speak of the natural Turks who trade either in the black Sea or some part of the Morea or between Constantinople and Alexandria and not of the Pyrates of Barbary who are for the most part Renegado's and learnt their Skill in Christendome which they exercise so much to the terrour and damage of it A Turkish Compass consists but of eight points the four Cardinal and four Collateral they being at a mighty loss how to sail by a side-wind when by hauling their Sails sharp they might lye their course and much more when they are in the Winds eye not knowing how to make tacks and bords but chuse rather to make haste into some neighbouring Port till the Wind blows fair An English and Turkish Vessel both bound for the Bay of Saloniki at the time of the Grand Signior's being there pass'd together out of the Hellespont but foul weather hapning the Turks got into Lemnos while our men kept at Sea and pursued their Voyage and after three weeks stay returned back to us observing in their way that the Turks remained in the same place where they left them for want of a fore-wind to put to Sea in They trouble not themselves with reading the Histories of other Nations or of ancient times much less with the study of Chronology without which History is very lame and imperfect which is the cause of those ridiculous and childish mistakes which pass current and uncontradicted among them For instance they make Job one of Solomon's Judges and Iscander Alexander the Great Captain-General of his Army They number Philip of Macedon among the Ancestors of our B. Saviour and believe that Sampson Jonas and St. George were his Contemporaries In this they are more excusable than their false Prophet Mahomet who in his Alcoran has perverted several Historical Notices in the Writings of the Old Testament and is guilty of vile and absurd Pseudo-chronisms To remedy this defect of which he was very conscious and the better to understand the state of Christendom and the particular Kingdoms and Republicks of it the late great and wise Vizier Achamet made his Interpreter Panagiotti a learned Greek at leisure hours even at the Siege of Candia as well as at other times read several ancient Histories to him and render them extempore into the Turkish Language and particularly Blaeus Atlas with which he was mightily pleased and made great use of and truly gained the reputation of a solid and judicious Statesman as well as Souldier among the Christian Ministers who in the ordinary course of their Negotiations applied themselves to him Tho' their year be according to the course of the Moon and so the Turkish months run round the civil year in a circle of thirty three years and a few odd days yet they celebrate the Neuruz which signifies in the Persian Tongue the New year the twenty first day of March on which day the Vernal Equinox was fixed by the Greeks and other Oriental Christians in the time of the Emperor Constantine who made no provision for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Procession which in process of time the inequality between the civil and astronomical year must necessarily produce at which time the Cadyes and other annual Magistrates and Farmers of the Customs take place and reckon to that day twelve month again In their civil deportment and behaviour one towards another the left hand is the more worthy and honourable place except among their Ecclesiasticks and the reason they alledge is because they write from the right hand and the Sword is worn on the left side and so is more at his disposal who walks on that hand The chief Vizier accordingly in the Divan sits at the left hand of the Mufti each maintaining their Right of Precedence according to this way of decision In their Moschs they sit without any distinction of degrees Some of the more zealous Turks cause to be engraven on their Cymeters and Bucklers a Sentence out of the sixty first Surat which is concerning Fighting or Battle-array and contains Encouragements to fight in the way and path of God as the Impostor words it for which he assures them besides assistance from Heaven to help them to get the Victory over their Enemies and that God will pardon their Sins and bring them to Paradice Thus spirited with zeal a Turk lays about him with fury when he is a fighting and seems ambitious of dying to gain the delights of Paradise at least indifferent whether he dyes or lives The Turks are as to their temper serious or rather enclining to morosity seldom laughing which is accounted an Argument of great vanity and lightness They perform the Exercises which they use in the way of diversion as Shooting and Hunting with a great deal of gravity as if they designed them more for Health than for Pleasure and this too but seldome The better and richer sort who have nothing to do sitting all day at home dolling upon a Sofa or rais'd place in their Rooms and taking Tobacco which their Slaves fill and light for them And if they retire in the Summer or Autumn for a week or fortnight to some convenient Fountain in a Wood with their Women it is chiefly to enjoy the Refreshments of the cool Air. In the times of Triumph indeed for some great Success obtained against the Christians when the Shops are open for three nights together and hung with Lights as well as the Spires of the Moschs in curious Figures they are guilty of extravagant Mirth running up and down the Streets in companies and sometimes singing and dancing after their rude way but this fit being over they soon return to their former melancholy In the Coffee-houses where they use to resort to tipple there is usually one hired by the Owners to read either an idle Book of Tales which they admire as Wit or filthy obscene Stories with which they seem wonderfully affected and pleased few of them being able to read These are the Schools which they frequent for their Information tho' in times of War when things went ill with them their Discourses would be of the ill Government and the Grand Signior himself and his chief Ministers could not escape their Censures