Friday, October 30, 2009

EQC: The Holy Land (May 1910)

Edwin Q. Cannon, Wilford Cannon, Clix Wright and Archie Brockbank spent a week in Palestine seeing various sites associated with the Bible, most of them relating to the life of Christ.

May 16, 1910 (Monday): (Jaffa, Jerusalem)

We arrived at Jaffa at about 7 A.M. The captain arranged so that we wouldn’t need to leave some one on the boat, by arranging with landing agent of the Hamburg Am. Line “Reist Bureau” to change our money when we landed, holding him responsible for the same. There is no harbor at Jaffe and it is quite difficult to land. The boats which come out to take passengers ashore are tossed about like egg shells and in boarding one of them from the ship a person must wait his opportunity and jump in at the right moment. The regular agent of the Hamburg Am. Line seems to be a very fine man and he accorded us the best of treatment. Before dinner we walked out to a Russian Monistary supposed to be the tomb of Tabitha. From the tower we got a dandy view of Jaffa and surrounding country. We ate dinner at a german gasthof through the suggestion of Mr. Breisch, the Hamburg agent and the dinner was cheap and good.
We left for Jerusalem at 2 P.M..
Upon arrival we walked from the depot into town and put up at the Hughes Hotel.

May 17, 1910 (Tuesday): (Jerusalem)

We took a walk along the north wall of the city to the Mount of Olives [see below].
On our way up we visited the so called tomb of the prophets. From the hill right by there we got an excellent view of Jerusalem and we could also see the Dead Sea in the distance.
There are a great many chapels and churches on the Mount claiming to occupy the spot where certain occurances took place. In our way down we passed the tomb of the Vergin Mary. This after-noon we went through the church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is a very interesting place, more so to me on account of the enthusiasm with which the priests of the Roman, Greek and Armienian Catholic Churches worship the numerous shrines of the building. It certainly seems improbable, and foolish to me, that such claims as they make for some of these places can be true. All in the one large building is shown Christs tomb, his place of imprisonment and place of crucifiction. Also the tomb of Adam is shown with any number of other things. We visited the Muristan after leaving the church of the Holy Sepulchre. This place was occupied in early times by inns and hospitals of the Frankish Pilgrims. We then walked through the town and walked up to the Mount of Olives again to get an evening view of the city.

May 18, 1910 (Wednesday): (Jerusalem, Bethany, Jericho, Jordan River, Dead
Sea)

We left for Jericho at 6.30 A.M [see below]. In the party were Mr. and Mrs. Tasker, Miss Tasker, Miss Saxe, Mr. Clark, Mr. Antel and two other gentlemen who’s names I’ve forgotten, and Mr. Forder a missionary who acted as guide.
On our way we passed thru Bethany [see below], the home of Mary and Martha.
Farther down is what is called the apostles spring. We stopped for a while at the Inn of the Good Samaritan where it is said the good man brought the robbed and wounded traveler.
Along in here is to be seen from a prominent point the Greek Monastery of St. George [see below]. It is built almost on a cliff and it is said that Elijah was fed by the ravens in this place.
Farther along we descended in to the Valley of the Jordan. We passed through what is the modern village of Jericho [see below] out to Sultan’s spring (Elisha’s Spring).
This is supposed to be the water that Elisha healed with salt. Back of the spring somewhat to the north west is the ancient Jericho of Joshua’s time. German excivators have made quite an extensive research here and have found the foundation of the wall of this place [see below].
We stayed at the Hotel Belvue where we returned for dinner. At 2 P.M. we left for the Jordan [see below] and Dead Sea. We visited a place on the former identified spot of Christ’s baptism.
At the Dead Sea Wilford, Arch Brockbank, Clarence Wright, Mr. Antel and I went swimming [see below].
It is very like swimming in Great Salt Lake only the water is very bitter. The average specific gravity of the water is 1.166. It contains from 24 to 26% solid material, 7% common salt. The chloride of magnesium gives the water the bitter taste and the chloride of calcium makes the water feel smooth and oily to the touch. The surface of the Dead Sea is 1292 feet below the surface of the Mediteranean. It is 47 miles long, 10 miles at its greatest width and its greatest depth is 1310 ft. The Sea of Galilees is 681 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean depth 137-157 ft. It is 13 miles long and almost 6 miles wide. The Jordan has its source in on Mt. Hermon 1706 ft above the sea. It flows through Lake Huler (7 ft) and Lake Tiberias. The river is some 185 m. long from the Lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea, although in air line would be little more the 60 m. After supper we sat around and listened to some of Mr. Forder’s stories. He has lived a great many years here in Palestine, seven years of the time east of the Jordan.

May 19, 1910 (Thursday): (Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem)

We returned to Jerusalem this fore-noon over the same road we took to Jericho. We stopped in Bethany and visited the home of Lazerus and also saw the ruins of the house in which Mary and Martha are supposed to have lived. This after-noon we drove out to Bethlehem. We passed Rachel’s tomb and two or three other places of interest on the way. After arriving we first visited the Church of the Nativity. This building is built over what is supposed to be the manger where Christ was laid after his birth. The church is occupied by the Latins, Greeks and Armieniens. There is a soldier kept constantly on guard there to keep the priests of those three churches from quarreling. After leaving the church we walked through the town to where water is taken from the aqueduct for use in Bethlehem. This aqueduct was originally built by Soloman to conduct water from his springs south of Bethlehem, to the temple. We also visited a shop where souveniers are sold and got a few remembrances. Bethlehem is a great place for the manufacture of pearl beads, etc. We drove to David’s well from which point we got a fine view of the shepherds’ fields as well as the fields of Boaz where Ruth is supposed to have done her gleaning.

May 20, 1910 (Friday): (Jerusalem)

To-day was appointed as the time to hold memorials through out the world for the Late King Edward VII* it being the day of his funeral. Wilf and I attended the services in St. George’s chapel at 11 A.M. There were consul representatives from all the leading nations as well as clerical representatives from all the various denominations and churches stationed in Jerusalem present. Today is J. A. Brockbank’s 23rd birthday. This after-noon we visited the Cotton Grotto or so called Solomon’s Quarries. It is a vast cave entered outside the west wall and extending a great way under the city. Emense amounts of rock were quarried from this place and marks are still visibile where crevices were made in the rock in which to drive wood which was then soaked and thru expansion forced off the blocks. We next visited the so called Garden Tomb or Gordon’s Tomb the latter name being give it on account of Gen’l Gordon being the first man of prominence to believe it to be the real tomb in which Christ was laid after his crucifixion. The proofs which they have go very far in the direction of convincing one that this really is the place. We then went to the wailing place of the Jews.
This is where a great many devout jews assemble every Friday after-noon to wail for the departed glory of their city and for the departed power of their people. We left the city after leaving this place, by way of the “Dung” Gate and walked around the south side of the city to Mt. Sion thence home.
On our way we passed a funeral procession. The body was visible through the ends of the coffin which was carried on the shoulders of four men. This evening we visited Fran Schonek’s models of Solomon’s Temple. She shows with a searies of models the various changes which have taken place on the site of the temple since Solomon first built it. She also has a model of the Tabernacle in which the Ark was kept.
*King Edward VII of the United Kingdom died on May 6, 1910.

May 21, 1910 (Saturday): (Jerusalem)

In company with four other Americans we visited the Harem-el-Sheriff on which stands the Dome of the Rock or incorrectly known as the Mosque of Omar.
The Harem-el-Sheriff is the whole large court on which Solomon’s Temple was built and the Mosque stands over the rock upon which the Altar of sacrifice stood. We spent the most part of the fore-noon here. On our way to the hotel we visited the Church of St. Ann and in connection with this the Pools of Bethsada and also the supposed place of Christ’s judgment where the Catholics have erected an orphanage. We intended to visit the hills upon which the fortress of Mizpah was erected.
From this high point it is said one can see the Mederranean as well as the Dead Sea on a clear day. We lost our way and it was so late in the after-noon when we got out to the right road that we decided not to make the attempt. We passed some very interesting old tombs, however, and felt quite well repaid for our after-noon’s wander.

May 22, 1910 (Sunday): (Jerusalem)

I had a bilious spell during the night and got up this morning feeling rather ill. However I went to fore-noon services in the American Church with Wilford. Rev. Fuller, a missionary from India preached the sermon which was rather drawn out, but full of good thots. I spent the after-noon and evening at the hotel.

May 23, 1910 (Monday): (Jerusalem, Jaffa)

We left Jerusalem at 7.40 A.M. after having spent a most enjoyable week there. Mr. Hughes the hotel owner a very fine man treated us well in every way. There was quite an odd collection of guests there. Mr. and Mrs. Paterson (mother) of San Francisco being presbiterians, the son being some dignitary in that church, Miss Saxe who turned out to be a bible teacher, Mr. Tosker who is with his wife and daughter is a church man of the English Church and two other ladies, one of whom is interested in missionary work and the other is a church nurse. These together with us four missionaries made quite a “pious” bunch. Arriving at Jaffa we went to the Gasthaus Frank for dinner and embarked on the Knedivial boat Kasseir for Alexandria. This is the same boat that brought us from Port Said.

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