The palace of Pilate is now a Turkish residence, and stands near to the gateway by which Christ was led thence to Calvary, to be crucified. Here is pointed out the spot on which Pilate presented Jesus to the people, declaring he could find no guilt in him; the place on which he fainted under the weight of the cross, and where the Virgin swooned, also, at the sight; the spot where Veronica gave him her handkerchief to wipe his forehead; and lastly, where the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene to bear his cross. In the palace the monk points out the room where Christ was confined before his trial; and at a short distance is a dark and ruinous hall, shown as the arch where Christ stood till his judge exclaimed "Behold the man[311]!" One of the streets is said to be the same where Christ made his first appearance after his resurrection; and in the same street stands an Armenian convent, erected over the spot on which James, the brother of John, was beheaded. This is one of the finest buildings in Jerusalem[312]. At a short distance is a small church, said to be erected on the spot where formerly stood the house of the high-priest Annas; and, a little farther on, another which marks the house of Caiaphas; while, just beyond the gate, the attention is directed to a mosque, where the house stood in which Christ ate his last supper. The mosque of Omar, which occupies the site of the Jewish temple, loses nothing of its grandeur or beauty on a near approach. The spacious paved courts, the flights of steps, and surrounding arcades, the dark tall cypress-trees and running fountains, and the large octagonal body of the mosque, with its surrounding domes, produce altogether the finest effect, and increase the desire to enter its forbidden walls. It is said to be the most magnificent piece of architecture in the Turkish empire; far superior to the mosque of St. Sophia in Constantinople. By the sides of the spacious area in which it stands are several vaulted remains; and evidence is said to be capable of proving, that they belonged to the foundation of Solomon's temple[313]. Chateaubriand says, that he was strongly tempted to find some mode of penetrating to the interior of the mosque; but was prevented by the fear, that he might thereby involve the whole Christian population of Jerusalem in destruction. Dr. Richardson, however, succeeded in gratifying a similar curiosity, which he shared in common with a host of other travellers. The Tomb of Zacharias is square, with four or five pillars, and is cut out of the rock. Near this is a sort of grotto, hewn out of the elevated part of the rock, with four pillars in front, which is said to have been the apostles' prison at the time they were confined by the rulers.