THROUGH HOLY LAND

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 267, 13 October 1941, Page 2

THROUGH HOLY LAND

SOLDIER’S WAR VISIT. DESCRIPTION OF COUNTRY. Writng to Mrs G. V. Shannon, of “Flaxbounie,” Newbury, Mr G. D: Finlay, formerly of Fcil.ding and now serving with the New Zealand Forces in the Middle East, gives an interesting account of a holiday trip through Palestine, to Haifa and to Tel Aviv. The letter speaks of many places of historical and Biblical interest, not a few of which will bo known to returned soldiers from the war of 1914-18.

“From Ismalia it is an all-night .journey to Palestine. We crossed the canal in ferries at midnight at Rantara and by daylight- the next morning were crossing the border into Palestine, Private Finlay writes. £ ' “After transferring into cars at Lydda we reached Jerusalem just before lunch, which meant that I had been away from camp nearly 24 hours. The rail trip was quite interesting, although the country is well burned up at tins time of tbe year. There is plenty of vegetation, especially when near the centre of Palestine It was quite a change to see, in what appeared to he a desert, a well-bred line of Friesian cows at odd times and, better still, to .have a glass of fresh c-ow’s milk, as we did before wc left New Zealand In the lighter soils near the south of Palestine grapes seem to be cultivated in most parts whereas, further north, there are acres and acres of oranges and grapefruits. The drive to Jerusalem takes one to the higher levels o> the country through rocky valleys where olive trees are quite plentiful In the flatter land nearer the railway the remains of last year’s grain harvest were evident. In Jerusalem we stayed at the Hotel Faast, a club conducted by the Australians. The ac conimodation was really first class, a true contrast to the Forces Club run by the Patriotic Society lor our chaps in Cairo. j

“We rested the first day in Jerusalem and the next morning hired a car to go to the River Jordan and back, calling at Jericho and the Dead Sea, as well as several other places of historical interest. The muddy, swiftly-flowing River Jordan is about half an hour’s run past the picturesque town ol Jericho, through whitish volcanic country where there is not a scrap of vegetation, except for what is m the vicinity of the river. While here, we walked to the other side of the Alienin' Bridge to the Trans-Jordan Police and Customs posts. This place is situated at a very low level and it is extremely hot all along the valley, which extends to the Dead Sea. Jericho, the City of Palms, is true to name and stands out against the surrounding barren country. Wc viewed the town from the higher’ levels at what is known as old whore we saw itie Mount of Temptation and visited the Fountain of Elisha, which waters the beautiful gardens of Jericho. Banana and date palms are grown extensively in the irrigated town. AT THE DEAD SEA.

“At the Dead Sea we spent a pleasant half-hour swimming. One has oniy to taste its waters .to realise why no living being can exist in them. 'Lhe water stings one’s eyes and makes the skin on the face smart, but it is something out of the ordinary to be able to float without m’aking any movement with the. legs and arms. On a clay flat, north of the sea, are the large evaporation pans of the Palestine Potash .Works which I would like to have seen but that was not possible. “Our trip took us past the Tomb of Nazareth, at Bethany, and Khan Altmar, commonly known as the Good Samaritan Inn, which was bombarded and ruined in the last war. AVo also saw what the Moslems believe to he the tomb of Aloses and the Apostles’ Fountain below Bethany. “In and around Jerusalem we savin any churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when on a twohour tour of the Old City, which we entered through the Jaffa Gate, passing the native shopping area, or market street, on our way. In the church itself we visited the Holy Sepulchre, the Chapel of the Angel, the Chapel ot St. Marv Magdalane, the Chapel ot Apparition, and the Chapel of the Holy Cross, as well as the hill that saw the death of Christ.' On the same trip we visited King Solomon's mines, being shown through the quarries by a guide with a lantern. Though there was little to see the place was quite interesting. We were also shown, just across the road from the Damascus Gate, the results of General Gordon’s excavation, known as the Garden Tomb, where a small section of the people believe the Sepulchre of Christ to be “Our visit to Bethlehem took us past Rachel’s Tomb and the Christian village of Beth Jala, in the midst of vine and olive plantations. Our guide spent most of his time showing us through the Church of Nativity as well as one or two other historical places. On the same trip we called at one of the eight British AVar Cemeteries in Palestine. I can recollect film's of seeing soldiers ’graves in Jerusalem, but had not any idea of the excellent manner in which they are kept, with flowers and lawns. About 23 New Zealanders are buried here and the main memorial which is a small hall, [presented by the people of New Zealand. , , ... “We finished off the day by calling at the Mount of Olives and next morning were on our way to Jacob s Well, Nablus, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Haifa and back to Tel Aviv. AVe had our last and excellent view of Jerusalem and the surrounding country from Mount Scobus. T 1 or about an hour we wound through the valleys and climbed up and around the rocky barren hills until we came upon a plain where Jacob’s AVell is. AVe saw very little cultivated land on the way, but olive groves were to be seen here and there and small flocks of goats and mountain sheep attended by shepherds. Lots of mules were passed here and there, carrying loads about twice their size an dtliree times their weight. Camels were to be seen here and there in mobs of about 300 or 400 roaming the country in the vicinity of Nablus. THE OLD AND THE NEAV. “We had a drink of wa.ter from Jacob’s Well. While we waited, the priest lit some candles and lowered them about 100 ft to the bottom of the well. The men who sank the well certainly made a great job of it, considering the time when it was excavated. Nablus, just past the well, is a picturesque Moslem town with its palms and fruit groves. The country continued to be much of a muchness until we entered on the extensive Esdraclon Plain which supports several Jewish colonies and settlements. The country appears to be more fertile in these parts; with plenty of evidence of last season’s cereal crops in the way of stubble and small areas set aside for threshing and. cutting up ’ the straw (by what appeared to be very primitive methods). Unlike Greece, modern implements and tractors are used for working the soil, operations in this direction being probably in preparation for the coming of the rains. Apple

trees arc also to be seen on the irrigated orchards. “An excellent view of the country was seen as we climbed the heights to the approach of Nazareth. Here we had our second stop and were shown the Church of Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph, before moving on to the Sea of Galilee. We stopped on the road overlooking Tiberias and bad an excellent view oi the surrounding country and the lresh water sea. Our trip back to the Haifa Road took us once again to Nazareth, before turning off in the direction of the Mediterranean. Tobacco and maize seem to bo grown along the undulating dry country where odd gum tree plantations ' were also in evidence. A fine chaff is cut from the dry maize stalks and leaves, presumably for cattle fodder. Wo were not long in reaching Palestine's great industrial city of Haifa, which supports huge cement works, flour, soap, and tobacco factories, as well as being the terminus of the Iraq pipeline. Here we had our first meal oi fresn nsh since leaving New Zealand. The city appeared to us to be quite modern. “From bore we set off on a two-liour journey along the flat coast road to Tel Aviv, where we were to spend the remainder of our leave. The country, did not become any the less interesting with Ihe distance travelled. In fact, many a picturesque sigti-o was to be had as we approached Tel Aviv. Cattle were more plcntitul here and t were in excellent condition, considering that there was nothing for them to be fed on other than dry fodder. Odd dairy farms with their small herds of Friesians were also to be seen. Plantations Of orange trees and, in places, grapefruit trees, abounded. If the month had been December we would have probably been living on fruit. Long drives of overhanging trees signified our approach to the busy Friday evening streets of Tel Aviv, which has practically a total European popula lion. Our hotel was on the waterfront road and faced the beach, where we spent quite a few of our leisure hours. Accommodation for troops was cheap and meals were excellent, it costing us about 4s for bed and breakfast. The city is reputed to be the most modern in the world, and certainly has wonderful buildings as well as picturesque spots, but I did not think it was quite what it was stated to be. The inhabitants are nearly all Jews, very few ot whom are in uniform. However, they treat the soldier quite well, so we cannot growl. The Tommies camped in the vicinity of Tel Aviv should consider themselves fortunate, as the ladies who organised the Services Club there arranged for them to spend evenings at private homes. It certainly would be great to have that privilege again. The Australians conduct an excellent club, although it has no accommodation, and is practically right on the beach. We had to leave Tel. Aviv a day early to arrive back in • camp in time, but I was a few hours late in getting back as I was asleep at the train stop and had to hike it back from Port Tewfik.”