here, in apostolic times, St. Peter restored Tabitha to life. In the middle of the thirteenth century, it was fortified by Louis IX.; but, in 1647, Monconys, a French traveller, found nothing at Jaffa but a castle and some caverns. Lastly, in 1799, the modern town was taken by Bonaparte, and signalised by that massacre of Turkish prisoners, which has afforded so much matter for discussion, as one of the darkest charges laid against the character of Napoleon.* It is situated in lat. 32° 2′ N. and long. 34° 53′ E., and is forty miles W. of Jerusalem. Its situation, as the nearest port to the Holy City, has been the chief cause of its importance. As a station for vessels, according to Dr. Clarke, its harbour is one of the worst in the Mediterranean. Ships generally anchor about a mile from the town, to avoid the shoals and rocks of the place. The badness of the harbour is mentioned, indeed, by Josephus. He speaks of both Joppa and Dora, as lesser maritime cities, not fit for havens, on account of the impetuous south-winds that beat upon them; which rolling the sands that come from the sea against the shores, do not admit of ships lying in their station: but the merchants are generally there forced to ride at their anchors on the sea itself." And he proceeds to describe the works by which Herod endeavoured to rectify a similar inconvenience of situation at Cesarea.+ The road is protected by a castle built on a rock, and there are some

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* There is no doubt that the massacre took place; the only question relates to the number, and the probable motive or alleged justification. Bonaparte's statement was, that they were prisoners who had been dismissed on parole, and who afterwards joined the garrison at Jaffa, and that 500 only were put to death.

+ Josephus, Antiq. book xv. chap. 9.

The

storehouses and magazines on the sea-side. coast is low, but little elevated above the level of the sea; but the town occupies an eminence, in the form of a sugar-loaf, with a citadel on the summit. The bottom of the hill is surrounded with a wall twelve or fourteen feet high, and two or three feet thick. The environs are occupied by extensive gardens, the light sandy soil being peculiarly favourable for the production of different kinds of fruit. These gardens are fenced with hedges of the prickly pear, and are plentifully stocked with pomegranate, orange, lemon, and fig trees, and water-melons. The latter are celebrated all over the Levant for their delicious flavour. Those which are produced at Jaffa and at Damietta in Egypt, seem to owe their peculiar excellence to the soil and climate of these two places; for, when transplanted, though cultivated in the same manner, they lose their exquisite flavour, and degenerate into the common water-melon. The lemons and oranges, also, grow here to a prodigious size. The commerce of the town chiefly consists in the importation of grain, particularly of rice from Egypt, and the export of cotton and soap. In Pococke's time, a great trade in soap was carried on at Jaffa: it is made of oliveoil and ashes. Egypt was chiefly supplied from this port. There are no antiquities in Jaffa: the place would seem to be too old to have any- to have outlived all that once rendered it interesting. The inhabitants are estimated at between four and five thousand souls, of whom the greater part are Turks and Arabs; the Christians are stated to be about six hundred, consisting of Roman catholics, Greeks, Maronites, and Armenians. The Latins, Greeks, and Armenians, have each a small convent for the reception of pilgrims. Of these, the Greeks are represented as by

far the most affable and agreeable to strangers; the Armenians as the most triste and austere, at least in appearance.

At Jaffa, the route from Egypt by the Desert of Suez, falls into what may be considered as the high road of pilgrimage to the Holy City. As this route completes the line of coast, we shall, before pursuing the journey to Jerusalem, trace the road from El Arisch.

ROUTE FROM EL ARISCH TO JAFFA.

EL ARISCH is held by the Pasha of Egypt; but as it is the first town on the Syrian side of the Desert of Suez, it may be considered as the natural frontier of Palestine on that side. It is seated upon a slightly elevated rock, in the midst of drifting sands; and its substantial fortress, with the village hanging under its eastern front, has an imposing appearance. The rock is a shell-limestone, with a greater proportion of both chalk and shells than any of the rocks in Egypt. The castle was put into good condition by the French, and furnished with octagonal towers for artillery; it is defended by twelve pieces of cannon. The district of El Arisch is computed to contain 2000 inhabitants. The water here is slightly brackish. Cultivation commences almost immediately beyond, but has to struggle with the sand, which is plentifully sprinkled over the soil. The route lies, for about twenty or twenty-two miles, over an undulating surface, in which grass and sand dispute the superiority, to Shiekh Juide, a ruined village, pleasantly

Either the ancient Ostracine or Rhinocolura; probably the latter, which was considered as the last Egyptian town, though on the Syrian confines.

situated at the upper end of a narrow valley: it is said to have been burned by the French on their way to Egypt, and has never been rebuilt. The tomb of the venerable shiekh who has bequeathed his name both to the ruins and the valley, is all that remains standing. Over it Dr. Richardson saw, suspended by the four corners, after the superstitious fashion of the country, a black and white cloth, with a large ostrich egg, and a few monumental charms hanging above it; close by is an extensive buryingground: a large field of barley was nearly ripe, while the landscape all around was picturesque and cultivated, but the crops seemed poor. They improved in appearance on approaching Rafah, (anciently called Raphia,) about three hours from Shiekh Juide. † Here a great battle was fought between Ptolemy the fourth, king of Egypt, and Antiochus the Great, the monarch of Syria. On the top of the hill there were still standing two columns of grey granite, beside a small heap of rubbish. A little way down the hill is a deep well, of tolerably good water, the sides of the shaft of which are regularly built up, and covered at the top to exclude the sun; it is surrounded with scattered columns of granite. Two hours further brings the traveller to Hanoonis, or Khanyounes (Jenysus), situated on an eminence on the south side of the valley; this is the last village which pays tribute to the Pasha of Egypt. Dair, the next place, is in the pashalic of Gaza. There is no perceptible line of division between the two governments. At

Richardson's Travels, vol. ii. p. 194.

+ Josephus and Polybius make Raphia the first city in Syria in coming from Egypt. It was a bishopric of the Eastern Church.

Dair there is plenty of good water, raised by a waterwheel, resembling the Persian wheels in Egypt and Nubia; and three beautiful marble columns, laid together, form a trough for the cattle. The country

beyond continues to present the same kind of rural scenery; beautiful undulating fields, covered with flocks and herds, and crops of wheat, barley, lentils, and tobacco. The breed of black cattle is described as not near so handsome, however, as that of Egypt. A few miles beyond Dair, at the foot of a hill, the traveller crosses the bed of a torrent, about thirty yards wide, called El Wadi (or El Oa di) Gaza. The fine alluvial plain is, apparently, in the rainy season surrounded by the river.

A slight variation occurs in the route taken by the (pseudo) Ali Bey. Quitting the usual track, he traversed some cultivated hills, to the south-east; he remarked, in his way, some fields completely burrowed, as he was informed, by the rats, but, he conjectures, by djerboas. He gives the distance seven hours from El Arisch to Shiekh Zouail, and four hours thence in a straight line to Khanyounes: which is described as well situated, at a short distance from the sea, and surrounded with walls and gardens; the first inhabited place on entering Syria from the south. From hence to Gaza is a march of four hours, making the distance from El Arisch about forty-eight miles.

After crossing El Wadi Gaza, the road ascends a hill, from the summit of which the whitened tomb of the Shiekh Ab Ali is seen, crowning the lofty promontory of the mountains of Hebron on the right, and the town and minarets of Gaza occupy the

* Travels of Ali Bey, vol. ii. pp. 205, 206.