IN THE HOLY LAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 32

IN THE HOLY LAND.

A Trip from Jerusalem to the Dead SeaBaptised in Sacred Jordan. Imagine yourself before Jaffa. Seen from the vessel the town presents a pretty appearance built ujfon a bluff with streets arranged to resemble teiraces. Its harbour has the name of being one of the worst in the world. To enter it is not infrequently attended with danger. We happen here in a smooth sea, and our steamer with its load of human freight, passes through the rocky channel without mishap. The day is brilliant. The Holy Land is about to be invaded. We are on the way from the Nile to the Jordan. We are to see the land celebrated in story, the land which every Sunday-school scholar knows of as the scene of David's exploits and the captive Joseph's dreams. Euthusiasm among the boat's passengers is manifest. All are in haste to set foot on shore. Landing, we pass through quaint streets, whose arches are so small they oeem almost to bar us out. Much we see is of interest, much picturesque. Here the du»ky face of the Arab is not so often noticed as in Egypt. A peculiarity of the native Israelites is their light complexion, the faces of many being covered with a whitish powder, while upon each side of the forehead one

curl of hair is worn. There is also a small English and German colony here. -. , Syria is one of the few countries in which the locomotive's shrill shriek or the steamboat's bell is never heard. He who travels over the hills and through the valleys does so, for the most part, upon the simple beast, as did Christ when he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem.