Haifa; or, Life in modern PalestineOliphant, Laurence
History
Haifa; or, Life in modern Palestine
Oliphant, Laurence
Palestine -- Description and travel
Daliet-el-Carmel, Oct. 2.—The habit of tourists of visiting only those
spots in Palestine called holy places, or to which some striking
Biblical association is attached, causes them to neglect ruins of the
highest historical interest, and which are often as well worth seeing
from a picturesque as from an archæological point of view. They make an
effort to go to Nazareth, which differs in no respect from an ordinary
Syrian town, and which does not boast a single object of antiquarian
interest, while they omit from their programme, because it is not
included in the books, a ruin like Cæsarea, a city unsurpassed for
grandeur and magnificence by anything in Palestine when Herod raised it
to the dignity of a metropolis, and the scene of many important events,
both Biblical and historical. Here Peter baptized the first Gentile
convert to Christianity; here Philip lived with his four daughters,
engaged in missionary work; here Paul preached before Felix, and “almost
persuaded” Agrippa to become a Christian. It was in the theatre, the
remains of which are still to be seen, that Herod made his oration to
the multitude when “the angel of the Lord smote him, and he was eaten of
worms and gave up the ghost.” It was in the streets of Cæsarea that, on
the occasion of a quarrel between the Greek and Jewish population,
twenty thousand Jews were massacred. Here the celebrated historians
Eusebius and Procopius were born, and here was found, when the city was
taken by the crusaders, the hexagonal vase of green crystal which was
supposed to contain the Holy Grail.
The old Roman wall can be traced for a mile and a half, enclosing an
area strewn with the remains of a theatre, hippodrome, temple,
aqueducts, and mole; while a second line of fortification, still in
admirable preservation, and over half a mile in extent, marks the
_enceinte_ of the old Crusading fortress, with its castle and donjon
keep, its cathedral, its Northern church, and harbour. This tendency on
the part of travellers is the more to be regretted as the opportunity of
examining these extensive ruins is now about to pass away, never again
to return.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account