from their size or beauty, are likely to engage the at- tention. Eight or ten minarets mark the position of so many mosques in different parts of the town, but they are only noticed because of their elevation above the surrounding edifices. Upon the same principle the eye rests for a moment upon a great number of low domes, which form the roofs of the principal dwellings, and re- lieve the heavy uniformity of the flat plastered roofs which cover the greater mass of more humble habita- tions. Mail}' ruinous piles and a thousand disgusting objects are concealed or disguised by the distance. ]\Iany inequalities of surface, which exist to so great an extent that there is not a level street of any length in Jerusa- lem, are also unperceived.
From the same commanding point of view a few ol- ive and fig trees are seen in the lower part of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and scattered over the side of Olivr t from its base to the summit. They are sprinkled yet
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JERUSALEM
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JERUSALEM
more sparingly on the soutlieru side of the city on Mounts Zion and Ophel. North of Jerusalem the olive plantations appear more numerous as well as thrivinj;, and thus offer a grateful contrast to the sunburnt lields and bare rocks which predominate in this landscape. The region west of the city appears to be destitute of trees. Fields of stunted wlieat, yellow with the drought rather than ■white lor the harvest, arc seen on all sides of the town.
Within the gates, however, the city is full of inequal- ities. The passenger is always ascending or descending. There are no level streets, and little skill or lal)or lias been employed to remove or diminish the inequalities which nature or time has produced. Houses are built upon mountains of rubbish, which arc probably twenty, thir- ty, or fifty feet above the natural level, anil the streets are constructed with the same disregard to conven- ience, with this difference, that some slight attention is paid to the possibility of carrying off surplus water. Tho streets are, without exception, narrow, seldom ex- ceeding eight or ten feet in breadth. The houses often meet, and in some instances a building occupies both sides of the street, which runs under a succession of arches barely high enough to ])ermit an equestrian to pass under them. A canopy of old mats or of plank is suspended over the principal streets when not arched. This custom had its origin, no doubt, in the heat of the climate, which is very intense in summer, and it gives a gloomy aspect to all the most thronged and busy parts of the city. These covered ways are often per- vaded by currents of air when a perfect calm prevails in other places. The principal streets of Jerusalem run nearly at right angles to each other. Very few, if any of them, bear names among the native population. They are badly paved, being merely laid irregularly with raised stones, with a deep square channel for beasts of burden in tha middle ; but the steepness of the ground contrib- utes to keep them cleaner than in most Oriental cities.
The houses of Jerusalem are substantially built of the limestone of which the whole of this part of Palestine is composed: not usually hewn, but broken into regular forms, and making a solid wall of very respectal)le ap- pearance. For the most part, there are no windows next to the street, and the few which exist for the pur- poses of light or ventilation are completely masked by casements and lattice-work. The apartments receive their light from the open courts within. The ground plot is usually surrounded by a high inclosiu-e, common- ly forming the walls of the house only, but sometimes embracing a small garden and some vacant ground. The rain-water which falls upon the pavement is care- fully conducted, by means of gutters, into cisterns, where it is preserved for domestic uses. The jieople of Jerusa- lem rely chiefly upon these reservoirs for their supjily of this indispensable article. Every house has its cis- tern, and the larger habitations are provided with a considerable number of them, which occupy the ground story or cells formed for the purpose below it. Stone is employed in building for all the purposes to which it can possibly be applied, ami Jerusalem is hardly more exposed to accidents by lire than a (piarry or subterra- nean cavern. Thb floors, stairs, etc., are of stone, and th3 ceiling is usuall}' formed by a coat of plaster laid upon the stones, which at the same time form the roof and the vaulted top of the room. Doors, sashes, and a few other appurtenances, are all that can usually be af- forded of a material so expensive as wood. The little timber which is used is mostly brought from Mount Lebanon, as in the time of Solomon. A rough, crooked stick of the tig-tree, or some gnarled, twisted planks made of the olive — the growth of Palestine, are occa- sionally seen. In other respects, the description in the article House will afford a sufficient notion of those ni Jerusalem. A large number of houses in Jerusalem are in a dilapidated and ruinous state. Nobody seems to make repairs so long as his dwelling does not aljsohitely refuse him shelter and safetv. If one room tumbles