Soon after leaving the valley of Ajalon we reach the village of Kuryet-el-enab, better known at the present day as Abu-Gosh, from the robber chief who for nearly a quarter of a century kept the Turkish power at bay, and levied blackmail on the whole district. It is identified with tolerable certainty as the ancient KIRJATH-JEARIM (_the city of forests_), though the forests from which it took its name have long since disappeared. Originally a city of the Gibeonites,[17] it subsequently became one of the border towns marking the frontier between Judah and Benjamin. It is in consequence frequently mentioned in the mapping out and allotment of the land by Joshua.[18] The accuracy of what has been well called “The Doomsday Book of the Israelites” is shown by the fact that these ancient records still afford invaluable aid in settling the topography of Palestine. At Kirjath-Jearim the Ark rested for twenty years after being recovered from the hands of the Philistines and before its removal to Jerusalem by David. It was in this “city of forests” that the royal psalmist found it in “the fields of the wood” and brought it with songs of praise to the place he had prepared for its reception.[19] It was very interesting to read the narrative of the bringing hither of the Ark and compare it with the surrounding scenery. “And the men of Kirjath-Jearim came, and fetched _up_ the Ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab _in the hill_.” The village stands on the slope of a hill trending down towards Ain-Shems, the ancient Beth-Shemesh. A hill rises above the town, and the ruins of an ancient church which stands on its summit may not improbably mark the site of “the house of Abinadab.” [Illustration: WOMEN OF THE HILL COUNTRY OF JUDÆA.] [Illustration: WADY ES-SUMT AND KULÔNIA. [_From a Sketch by Mr. F. E. Blackstone._ ]