FAMOUS RUINED CITY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16493, 7 March 1914, Page 6

FAMOUS RUINED CITY.

AARON’S SEPULCHRE. As a member of the expedition which was sent out in 1883 by the committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Professor E. Hull, writing in the “ Outlook,” gives an account of Petra, the deserted capital of Arabia Petnea, some of whose buildings remain 2000 years after they were built. Mount Hor rises immediately above the city, and is recognised by nearly all writers as the sepulchre of Aaron, the High Priest of Israel. Wo turned off, says Professor Hull, from the Arabah by a wide valley reaching into the heart of tho mountains, and through which ran a stream of pure water, with luxuriant bushes of oleander and several other plants and shrubs growing alongside. Numerous flocks and herds were grazing in the valley, which became narrower the further we went, until it narrowed into a winding pathway leading over a ridge of rocks to the entrance into Petra on the western side, and from which tho first view of the city was gained. Having surmounted the low ridge of rock, by which access is gained to the margin of tbe city, the viow of the interior burst upon our party in all its grandeur. Wo were confronted b.v A VAST SUBTERRANEAN HALL or amphitheatre, roughly four-sided and bounded by vertical sandstone cliffs rising to heights of 1000 or 1200 feet; either perforated with caverns or holes; or sculptured with facades of temples, palaces, rock-hewn dwellings, and tombs; in various states of preservation, or else crumbling into ruin. Beyond these other terraces and tors of sandstone come into view. . Hero indeed the sandstone formation of Arabia Petnea displays itself in its grandest proportions and most varied forms. To the left rise tho massive terraces of rock culminating in the summit of Mount Hor, breaking off in a stupendous cliff facing the west, wjtb an elevation of 4780 feet, and commanding a view extending from the Gulf of Akabah to the Jordan Valley and Western Palestine. These lofty cliffs of Nubian sandstone afforded to the inhabitants for over a thousand years opportunities for sculpturing in their varied styles, the facades for the tombs of the dead or the temples of. their deities. Hence we can recognise traces of Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, some of which arc in A STATE OF WONDERFUL PRESEVER ATION. Of these Khazneh is unquestionably the gem. When first seen through the narrow chasm called the Sik, which forms the channel for tho stream and the entrance to Petra from the east, the Khazneh appears like a beautiful vision, The delicate rose tinted facade, supported by its graceful columns and lighted up by a blaze of sunshine, is set off in high relief when seen from the deeply shaded recesses of this narrow cleft. The terraced cliffs of sandstone forming the walls of Petra pass eastward under the overlying beds of cretaceous limestone winch crown the great tableland of the Arabian desert. . But towards the west they are projected forward; so that Mount Hor, rising in a precipitous wall of natural masonry, tier above tier, and breaking off in a nearly vertical face towards the west, becoming the most conspicuous height in a region of great cliffs and precipices. * The base of the cliff of sandstone rests upon a solid ridge of granite and porphyry, and the summit of the cliff is surmounted by a rudo platform on which is built A LITTLE WHITE MOSQUE supposed to cover the site of Aaron’s tomb. The position of the tomb is in complete harmony with the Biblical narrative of Aaron’s death. The lsraelitisli host was encamped at Kadesh on their way from Akabah by the valley of the Arabah. Wishing to ascend to tho tableland of Edom, Moses sent a request to the Edomite prince for permission to pass through his territory by “the king’s high way,” and was brusquely refused. Meanwhile the camp of the Israelites was probably pitched in the wide valley leading up to the entrance of Petra alongside the brook with oleanders (Wady Haroun), and having, on the left band Mount Hor towering over the scene. It was a fitting position as the resting place for one so highly honoured; and from which he was enabled before closing his eyes on the terrestrial scene around him, to view from a distance the Promised Land,