Show TRAVELS tuesday june 30 1896 after ay ax ranging for my transportation to nax nazareth and administering to brother grau who was sick I 1 took an affee leave of the saints at haeft halft end and started at one p m an aa passenger in a carriage for nazaret nazare re about 23 miles distant in a south bouthet erly direction though the heat in middle of the day was oppressive deed I 1 enjoyed the ride very mu our route lay along the base of mt carmel and thence across the plain N hishon which really Is the lower eua edi of the great plain of Esdra elon forded corded the kishon about ten miles mile ft haifa and th then en crossed a low ra of hills covered with oak forests to plain of Esdra elon proper we sto stop to rest and drink at a beautiful spi sp situated by a fine orchard which i surrounded by an enormous ca cac fence continuing our journey we the hill lands of galileo galilee i from the top of the ridge beyond 1 cedil we had our first view of mox tabor and also the mountains bashan beyond the jordan river sc S afterward we passed on our left i village of yafa the japhia of jo joal 19 12 situated on a lofty hill and ter reaching the top of another hill 1 town of nazareth suddenly came ti view but as the sun had already L appeared beyond the distant height mount carmel and it was getting so SOB what dark the impression on the nm was perhaps not so complete as otherwise might have been stin still it was the first sight of that ht histo town where our savior spent greater portion of his life on earth deuced an effect upon udon me which I 1 B never forget we soon reached lower end of the town where I 1 p an at a neat little hotel kept by a man who treated me kindly and subsequently arranged for my tr por tation to jerusalem wednesday july 1 1 I left the hofelt the outskirts of nazareth at 0 otla 1 a m and took a walk through heart of the town at maws marys W turned off to the right and then a out on foot for mount tabor d dl about six ix miles in a southeasterly region bior py y baebel guide too tog or aei perla aci enough I 1 got on the wrong trail which brought me in a roundabout round about way to the east base of mount tabor into the midst of a bedein camping ground determined to reach the top of the mountain where the monastery buildings appeared in plain sight I 1 struck out cross lots over rocks valleys and groves of timber but had not gone far when I 1 met a big and vicious looking beduhn armed with a gun who placed h himself M self in the path before me and demanded back shish money assuming the attitude of not understanding him I 1 darted past him having my on a pile of cobble stones near by eye but Is aa he did not follow I 1 had no occasion to arm for self protection with rocks at length I 1 reached the path leading up the mountain side and finally reached the top with tired limbs and parched lips almost dying for the want of water I 1 made my way straight t to 0 the latin monastery where nothing 9 greeted greeted me at first but a horde of ugly looking barking dogs which made music for me while I 1 was helping myself to a drink of water from the monas monastery tery well at length a friend ly monk appe appeared ared who after treating me to a drink of pure palestine wine took me around and showed me the ruins rains crowning the summit of the mountain and other objects of interest he then conducted me into an apartment where the monks entertain their visitors there I 1 enjoyed a refreshing sleep leep and did not awake till a servant canadian frenchman who could a speak a little english called me to dinner which was prepared tor for me in an adjoining room mount tabor 2018 feet above the level of the sea is called jebel aebel et tor arabs when seen from the by the southwest t it has the form of a dome but from ahe the northwest that of a truncated cone the slopes of the hill are wooded oaks formerly covered the summit but most of them have been felled by the greek and latin monks hares foxes and various partridges other kinds kinds of game abound the the mount belong to several ruins rains on periods the ions Mf different ferent of the wall inclosing the summit and of about four forming a plateau square miles consists of large blocks some of which particularly on the southeast drafted and are at least as adde are roman period the castle old the which as occupied c the highest part of the from the middle ages d dates ates Vla plateau and shapeless heap and to Is now a large 4 within the latin monastery at att cut stones are still to be seen the ruins of church of the twelfth century a crusaders consisting of a nave and aisles chapels in memory of the band three nd tabernacles which the apostle faree wished to build the greeks and peter here as in many other Ili atins differ where the the actual spot ip places es as to transfiguration took place each be within their own calming cul ming it to aa martt church view from mount tabor is very the north end of east the 1 to the extel asive se lake of biberias Tib erias to is visible distance the blue extreme the and in mountains of the chauran chain of the bashan to the east of the to in anniet of the lake Is the deer deep gap toward the south on the slope valley vall lie endor nain and other dahi of aebel jebel the southwest can toward villages Til lages battlefield of barak and ana the bre seen sisera to the west rises mt carmel together with several ranges of winch the view entirely shut out almost bills the hills the north rise to of the sea bea which jermak near of CSC Es bt and of lafed above mountain town 19 14 the majestic harmon on the an fi presides to ap of which I 1 still noticed some of fait winters snow mount tabor has a long history it the boundary line between VM vaa on isachar and zebulon it was he here re that directed barak to assemble zetorah te torah an army and from hence the israelites marched into the plain and defeated sisera judges 4 in the psalms tabor an hermon are extolled together Ps 89 39 12 the hill was afterwards called It abrion or in the year B C Anti ochus the great founded a town of the same name on the top of the hill in A D 53 a battle took place here between the romans under Gabl Gabi and the jews josephus afterwards caused the alace to be fortified and the plateau on the top to be enclosed by a wall origen and jerome speak of mt tabor as the scene of the transfiguration mark 9 2 10 but many critics claim that this could hardly have been the case as the tot ton was covered with houses in the time of christ the legend however attached itself to this the most conspicuous mountain in galileo galilee and as early as the sixth century three churches had been erected here in memory of the three tabernacles which st peter proposed to make the crusaders also erected a church and a monastery on mt sabor but these suffered much during the wars with the muslims Mus lems in mt sabor but these suffered much el adil the brother and successor of saladin five years later this fortress was unsuccessfully besieged by the christians it was afterwards dismantled by the muslims themselves and the church was destroyed the two monasteries one greek and the other latin which now occupy the top of the hill are comparatively modern after resting and refreshing myself at the latin monastery on mt tabor for about five hours I 1 decided to continue my walk to biberias Tib erias instead of returning to nazareth accordingly at 2 p m I 1 left my friends the monks and commenced descending the northeast slope of the mountain without following road or path I 1 reached the base without accident and then struck across the country in a northeasterly direction to khan el gujjar where I 1 found good water to drink continuing the journey I 1 passed ehfe village of kehr taft situated on high ground on the right of the path and also aiso met a number of caravans coming in from the desert beyond the jordan after descending a deep basin I 1 met some traveling beduino who accosted me as if bent on mischief and made the usual demand for back shish without getting away they made a terrible noise and for awhile it looked as if they were determined to make me a prisoner but they and after that I 1 was troubled with nothing but tired limbs I 1 found that my climbing experiences on mount tabor had drawn very heavily on my physical strength and before I 1 reached the top of the plateau called by the arabs ard el hamma which overlooks the sea of galilee I 1 was almost give out and my thirst knew no bounds but the lovely view which I 1 enjoyed as I 1 sat down to rest on the brow of the hill overlooking the beautiful lake about 1100 feet below made me partly forget my exhausted condition tor for the time being it was now after sundown and as I 1 had been warned of the dangers of being out alone in the night in a bedein country I 1 proceeded to descend the steep incline and finally reached the town of biberias Tib erias situated on the lake shore at 9 p m after some little difficulty I 1 found the only hotel in the place and retired at once being too tired to eat supper during buring the day I 1 had walked about 25 miles on account of my roundabout course otherwise the distance from nazareth by way of mt tabor to biberias Tib erias is only about 18 miles after this days experience I 1 decided not to undertake any more excursions on foot during my sojourn in palestine to venture out alone like I 1 did through a country inhabited partly by roving j and hostile beduino is brought considerable danger and though a servant of the lord has a claim upon the preserving care of his Maste rhe should not unnecessarily expose his life or property and besides this walking in a semitropical semi tropical land in the heat of summer is altogether different to the same kind of exercise in a more temperate clime and a cooler part of the season in making my usual arrangements for stopping at the hotel in Tib biberias erias I 1 was somewhat amused at the look with which my arabian host surveyed me when I 1 told him that I 1 was a missionary without much money and would like him to give me his lowest terms A missionary without much money he repeated after me that certainly sounds strange for missionaries are always supposed to have plenty of money had I 1 told him that I 1 was a banker or merchant with only little money I 1 believe he would have been less surprised and who can blamed blame him for the priests and pastors mis slona sion rieB aries and col of the various so called christian denominations in palestine are considered the best paid people in the land they generally live in style and in elegant homes having lots of native servants servant 4 to wait on them all on ohp strength of the liberal donations which pious christians in europe and america are ara contributing toward the relle relief f of the poor suffering jews and wh when enthey they travel they can afford always to go gg first class and live on the fat of the land consequently it was something like a new revelation when I 1 told my arab host about missionaries wh who travel without purse or scrip or at least on their own expenses he however gave me the reduction asked for and treated me with kindness ANDREW JENSON |