MORNING dawned; and I ascended to the terraced roof of a little tower on the western side of Olivet,① rented by a friend to whom every spot in Jerusalem was familiar. Behind Olivet, in the east, the sky was all aglow with red light, which shot slanting across the hill-tops and projecting cliffs, and upon the walls and prominent buildings of the city, throwing them up in bold relief from the deeply-shaded glens. No time could have been more opportune, no spot better fitted for seeing and studying the general topography of the Holy City. The whole site was before us, distinct and full, like a vast and beautiful embossed picture.
At our feet, along the base of Olivet, was the Kidron,a deepand narrow glen, coming down from an undulating plateau③ on the right, and disappearing round the shoulder of the hill on the left; its banks terraced, and dotted here and there with little groves and single olive trees. Directly opposite us was Mount Moriah,④ its bare sides rising precipitously from the bottom of the Kidron to a height of some two hundred feet.
On its summit is a rectangular platform, about thirty acres in extent, and taking up fully one-half of the eastern side of the city. It is encompassed and supported by a massive wall, in some places nearly eighty feet high, and looking even higher where it impends over the ravine. This platform constitutes by far the most striking feature of the city. It is unique. There is nothing like it in the world. Its history, too, is wonderful. It has been a "holy place" for more than thirty centuries.⑤ Its Cyclope"an walls were founded by Solomon. Upon it stood the Temple, in whose shrine the Glory of the Lord sooften appeared, and in whose courts Christ so often taught. It is still to the Moslem⑥ "the Noble Sanctuary," and, next to Mecca,⑦ the most venerated sanctuary in the world.
The platform itself-simple, massive, and grand-is a striking object; but the buildings it contains greatly contribute to its beauty. In its centre, on a raised area of white marble, stands the Mosque of Omar,⑧ one of the most splendid mosques in the world, octagonal in form, encrusted with encaustic tiles of gorgeous colours, and surmounted by a graceful dome. From its area the ground slopes away to the encircling ramparts in gentle undulations of green turf, diversified with marble arcades, gilded cupolas, fountains, and prayer-niches;-all interspersed with venerable cypresses, olives, and palms.
MOSQUE OF OMAR
At the southern end is a large group of stately buildings, including the Mosque el-Aksa, once the Church of the Virgin; and round the sides of the platform are cloisters, here and there covered with domes, and surmounted by tall minarets. The quiet seclusion of this sanctuary, the rich green of its grass and foliage, the dazzling whiteness of its pavements andfountains, the brilliant tints of the central mosque, and, above all, its sacred associations, make it one of the most charming and interesting spots on Earth.
Just behind Moriah the Tyrope"an Valley⑨ was distinctlymarked by a deeply-shaded belt, running from north to south through the city. Beyond it rose Zion, higher and longer than Moriah; in front, a confused mass of terraced roofs, tier above tier; farther back were seen the white buildings of the Armenian Convent,⑩ like an immense factory; more to the right the new English Church; and in the back-ground, crowning the hill, the massive square keep of the Castle of David.