Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

time of our Saviour :
SYRIA, EGYPT, GERMANY, &C. 1 35
they bear fruit, and are wonderfully preserved.
At the bottom oi a small mount is the place where our Sa-
viour parted from the eight apostles to pray, and near it the place
where he left the other three, viz. Peter, James, and John his
brother. A few steps farther is the place where the Virgin Mary
prayed for St. Stephen,
whilst the Jews stoned him.
Leaving the garden you go to the torrent of Cedron, near which
our Saviour fell when he was bound by the Jews. Moving onward,
vou see the tomb of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, curiously exca-
vated in a rock, and also the tomb of Absalom son of David,
which he himself caused to be excavated, in order that he might'
be buried there, and which is made in the form of a tower. Ascending
a little, you see the place where St. James the Less hid him-
self after our Saviour was taken ;
likewise the tomb of Zechariah the
prophet and martyr, slain by the Jews. All these places are on the
left of the torrent of Cedron. Not far off is the town, or village,
commonly called Slide ; and about a mile from it, a fountain, called
Mary's fountain, because it is known from tradition, that the holy
washed in it the clothes of her child. Near this is a wall of
Virgin
the ancient church of the pool of Siloe, in which our Saviour pur
the blind man, in order that he might wash himself, and recover his
sight. Not far from this is a tree where the prophet Isaiah was
severed in two parts: likewise the we'll of Nehemiah, in which by-
God's permission, the fire
'holy
remained hidden for
seventy years,
that is, during
the time when the Israelites were carried into Persia,
in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar king
of the Persians. At ihc
expiration of the seventy years, the priest Nehemiah caused a
search to be made for the holy fire, and found in place of it,
water, which however, by divine power, was reconverted into
fire.
On the holy Mount of Olives, where our Saviour ascended into
heaven, are seen the impressions of his feet. The church built there
by St. Helen is now a mosque. A mile from this is the place called
Men of Galilee, because after the ascension, the angels appeared
here to the
disciples, oppressed with grief, saying
unto them,
" Men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up to heaven?" The
following places are likewise seen on the Mount of Olives, viz. the
place where the Saviour casting his eyes towards Jerusalem, wept
tor it; where the apostles composed the creed; where the Saviour
prayed, and taught the disciples the pater nrs'er; the tombs of the
prophets; the place where Christ foretold the destmctionof Jerusa-