" The surface of the elevated promontorj- itself, on which the city stands, slopes somewhat steejily towards the east, terminating on the brink of the Valley of Je- hoshaphat. From the northern part, near the present Damascus-gate, a depression or shallow wady runs in a southern direction, and is joined by anotlur depression or shallow wady (still easy to be traceil) coming down from near the JfaflFa-gate. It then continues obliquely down the slope, but Avith a deeper bed, in a southern di- rection, quite to the Pool of Siloam and the Valley of ' Jehoshaphat. This is the ancient Tyropoeon. West of its lower part Zion rises loftily, lying mostly without the modern city ; while on the east of the Tyropoeon lie Bezetha, Jloriah, and Ophel, the last a long and com- paratively narrow ridge, also outside of the modern city, and terminating in a rocky point over the Pool of Silo- am. These last three hilLs may strictly be taken as only parts of one and the same ridge. The breadth ^i the whole site of Jerusalem, from the brow of the Valley of Hinnom, near the Jaffa-gate, to the brink of the Val- lej' of Jehoshaphat, is about 1020 yards, or nearly half a
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geographical mile, of which distance 318 yards arc oc- cupied by the area of the great mosque cl-Ilaram esh- Sherif. North of the Jaffa-gate the city wall sweeps round more to the west, and increases the breadth of the city in that part.
" The comitry around Jerusalem is all of limestone fi)rmation, and not particularly fertile. The rocks ev- erywhere come out above the surface, v;hich in many parts is also thickly strewed with loose stones, and the aspect of the whole region is barren and dreary ; yet the olive thrives here abundantly, and lields of grain are seen in the valleys and level places, but they are less productive than in the region of Hebron and Nablils. Ncitlier vineyards nor lig-trees flourish on the high ground around the city, though the latter are found in the gardens below Siloam, and very frequently in tlie vicinity of Bethlehem."
"The elevation of Jerusalem is a subject of constant reference and exultation by tlie Jewish writers. Their fervid poetry abounds with allusions to its height, to the ascent thither of the tribes from all parts of the country. It was the habitation of Jehovah, from which ' he looked upon all the inhabitants of the world' (I'sa. xxxiii, 14): its kings were 'higher than the kings of the earth' (Psa. Ixxxix, 27). In the later Jewish litera- ture of narrative and description this poetry is reduced to prose, and in the most exaggerated form. Jerusalem was so high that the flames of Jamnia were visible from it (2 Mace, xii, 9). From the tower of Psephinus, out- side the walls, could be discerned on tlie one hand the IMediterranean Sea, on the other the country of Arabia (Ji)3ephus, \Var,x, 4, B). Hebron could be seen from the roof.^ of the Temple (Lightfoot, Chur. Cent. xlix). The same thing can be tracecl in Josophus's account of the en- virons of the city, in which he has exaggerated what is, in truth, a remarkable ravine [and has, by late excava- tions, been proved to have been much greater ancient- ly], to a depth so enormous that the head swam and the eyes failed in gazing into its recesses {Ant. xv, 11, 5)" (Smith).
The heights of the principal points in and round the city, above the Jlediterranean Sea, as given by lieuten- ant Van de Velde, in the Memoir (p. 179, 180) accom- panying his Miqi, 1858, are as follow : p^^^
North-west corner of the city (Kasr Jalud) 2(iI0
Mount Zion {Coenactdum) 2537
Mount Moiiah (Hamm esh-Sheri'f) 24-29
Bridu;e over the Kedrou, near Gethsemaue 22S1
Pool of Siloam 21 14
Bir-Eijiib, at the confluence of Ilinnom and Kedron. 19!)6 Mount of Olives, Church of Ascension on summit... 2724
A tabic of levels differing somewhat from these will be found in Barclay's City of the Great King, p. 103 sq.
2. Respecting the supply of the city with water, we learn from Strabo's account of the siege of Jerusalem by Ponipcy tliat the town was well provided with water within the walls, but that there was none in the envi- rons {Geog. xvi, 2, 40). Probably the Roman troops then suffered from want of water, as did other armies which laid siege to Jerusalem. In the narratives of all such sieges we never read of the besieged suffering from thirst, although driven to the most dreadful extremities and resources by hunger, while the besiegers are fre- quently described as suffering greatly from want of wa- ter, and as being obhged to fetch it from a great dis- tance. Tlie agonies of thirst sustained by the first Cru- sailers in their siege of Jerusalem will be remembered by most readers from the vivid picture drawn by Tasso, if not from the account furnislied by William of Tyre. Yet when the town was taken plenty of water was found witliin it. This is a very singular circumstance, and is perhaps only in part explained by reference to the sys- tem of preserving water in cisterns, as at this day in Jerusalem. Solomon's aqueduct near Bethlehem to Je- rusalem could have been no dependence, as its waters might easily have been cut off by the besiegers. All the wells, also, are now outside the towni, and no interi- or fountain is mentioned save that of Hezekiah, which