Mount Moriah.—?Site of Solomon’s Temple.—?Surrounding Walls.—?Great Fosse.—?Pasha’s Palace.—?Council Chamber of the Jewish Sanhedrim.—?Jews’ Place of Wailing.—?Their cruel Treatment.—?Scene on Friday Afternoon.—?Mournful Spectacle.—?High-priest.—?Prophecy fulfilled.—?Solomon’s Bridge.—?Its Antiquity.—?Temple Area.—?Tower of Antonia.—?Shrines within the Inclosure.—?Imposing View.—?Dome of the Chain.—?Mosque of Omar.—?Its grand Exterior.—?Its History.—?Its Portals.—?Its magnificent Interior.—?Sacred Rock within the Mosque.—?Traditions.—?Scene of the Offering of Isaac and of other Scriptural Events.—?Mosque of El-Aksa.—?Its Interior and History.—?Solomon’s subterranean Passageway.—?Extraordinary Workmanship.—?Mosque of Jesus.—?Solomon’s great Vaults.—?They reflect his Genius.—?Evidence of their Antiquity.—?Solomon’s great Lake beneath his Temple.—?His Work.—?Vicissitudes of Mount Moriah.

Great events monopolize great names. Originally the term “Land of Moriah” was applied to Jerusalem and its environs, but in the lapse of ages the name “Moriah” became more restricted, and is now employed to designate the smallest of the five hills on which the Holy City stands. Mount Moriah was formerly a continuation of the Bezetha ridge, from which it is now separated by a deep fosse, traditionally called Bethesda. Bounded on the west by the Tyropean Valley and the broad depression coming down from the Damascus Gate, it has the Fosse of Antonia on the north, the Valley of Jehoshaphat on the east, and Mount Ophel on the south. Ophel is also a part of the Bezetha ridge. Its summit is 100 feet lower than the top of Moriah, and is separated from the latter by the Haram wall. Having a length of 1560 feet, it is 300 wide from brow to brow. It is the fifth hill of the city, and is at present terraced like Mount Zion, and planted with fruit-trees. In the reign of Solomon it was included within the city walls, and after the return of the Jews from captivity under Nehemiah it was occupied by the Nethinims, or Temple servants.

What is now known as the Temple area is a beautiful inclosure of thirty-six acres, surrounded by a wall nine feet thick at the base and three at the parapet, and ranging from fifty to eighty feet high on the exterior, and from ten to fifteen on the interior, according to the surface of the ground. It is composed of large blocks of limestone, many of which are of great antiquity. The area being inclosed on the east and south by the city walls, which have already been described, it only remains to consider those on the north and south.

A hundred feet south of St.Stephen’s Gate the north wall of the Haram commences, running westward 1060 feet, nearly the whole of which is encumbered with buildings clinging to the side and top. Judging from the description of the extent and form of the Temple area as given by Josephus,108 this wall has been carried some 600 feet north of the line of its original location. It is now penetrated by three portals—the largest and most beautiful one is reached by a path from St.Stephen’s Gate. Extending from this portal east and west is one of the most remarkable excavations in Jerusalem, supposed to be the fosse mentioned by Josephus for the defense of the Tower of Antonia.109 In length 460 feet, 130 broad, and seventy-five deep, its sides are constructed of small stones covered with cement, suggesting that in times of peace it served as a reservoir, and in war as a moat. In the southwest corner are two high-arched vaults, extending side by side under the modern buildings. Whether the water which supplied this reservoir came from the clouds, or was conveyed by a subterranean conduit from the Pool of Hezekiah, or from the aqueduct of Pontius Pilate, is an undecided question. The fosse itself is one of the greatest monuments of antiquity, pointing back to the days of national grandeur, and to those sanguinary sieges when Antonia, rising from the “abyss,” stood a tower of strength against the assaulting foe.

Surmounting this wall on its western end, and extending a distance of 370 feet, is the Pasha’s Palace, a pile of irregular and ill-shaped buildings externally, but containing within all the magnificence and luxuries of an Oriental abode. From the Governor’s House the western wall of the Haram runs southward 1528 feet, and is nearly hidden from view by the structures built against it. Seven streets approach the sacred inclosure from the west, having at their termini as many gates, most of which correspond in their location to the sites of the ancient portals of the Temple. Attached to this wall, near the Gate es-Silsilah, is the Hall of the “Turkish Divan,” which is identical with the council-chamber of the Jewish Sanhedrim. It is a square stone building, with arched ceiling and flattened domes, wearing the aspect of great age, and without violence will endure for ages to come. Here, in all probability, the apostles were arraigned for trial,110 and here “stood up Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and advised the council touching these men.”111

Adjoining the building on the south is the “Jews’ Place of Wailing,” a spot no less remarkable for its antiquity than for the touching scenes which there transpire. It is reached by a narrow lane running out of the Jewish Quarter, and consists of a small quadrangular area 112 feet long, thirty wide, and is inclosed by common dwellings on the west and the Haram wall on the east. Well paved and cleanly kept, it is so secluded as to allow the worshipers to lament their departed national greatness undisturbed. The chief attraction of the spot is the five courses of large stones, bearing the well-known bevel, and remaining in situ where they were placed thousands of years ago. Time has dealt gently with them, and, though slightly displaced by the shock of earthquakes, and worn smooth by the kisses of pilgrims, they are well preserved.

Here, as before an altar, on each returning Friday the descendants of Abraham assemble to bewail their once mighty but now fallen nation. Proscribed by their Moslem masters, this is the nearest point of approach to which they are allowed to come, and even for a boon so humble Mohammedan cupidity demands an exorbitant sum. Unparalleled in their history, seldom have a people been treated with such unmitigated cruelty as the Jews. From the time of Adrian to the age of Constantine they were expelled from Jerusalem, and it was only by the clemency of the latter emperor that they were permitted to behold their native city from the neighboring hills; and it was by bribing the Roman guard that they at length gained admission to Jerusalem once a year, on the anniversary of its capture by Titus, to weep over the ruins of their fallen Temple. Though now suffered to dwell within the walls of the city, it is instant death to a Jew to cross the threshold of the sacred inclosure. From the beginning of the twelfth century it has been their custom to linger around these ancient stones and make their complaint to Jehovah.

It was two o’clock on a lovely Friday afternoon when, for the first time, I threaded the narrow streets leading to this mournful spot. About seventy men and women of all ages were engaged in their devotions. In their midst stood the high-priest, whose tall and majestic form distinguished him from those around him, and whose open and intelligent face was pale and sorrowful as he mingled his prayers and tears with a people whose ruined fortunes he was powerless to retrieve. Accustomed to see him, attended by his two sons, walking thoughtfully the streets of what was once the imperial city of his fathers, I had become familiar with his noble bearing and with the calm expression of his Jewish countenance; but, moved by the reflections of his own powerful mind, and touched with sympathy by the scene before him, he lifted up his voice and wept.

Around him were groups of his people, some of whom were standing, some sitting, some kneeling, while others were lying prostrate upon the stone pavement. Here sat a group of Jewish matrons, whose black tresses time had whitened, weeping as if broken-hearted; there stood an old man, leaning, like the patriarch Jacob, upon his staff, reciting, with faltering voice, his complaint before the Lord. Nearer the wall were men in the prime of life, absorbed in their recitations from the Prophets; while along the whole length of the wall, with their sacred books resting against it, were men and women of all ages, reading, weeping, and ever and anon smiting their troubled breasts.

In the northeast corner of the inclosure, half hidden by the pavement, is one stone more sacred than the rest. Around it were gathered the rich and elegantly attired mothers and daughters of Israel, waiting to bow low and affectionately kiss the relic as a thing of love.

Some, with a copy of Isaiah before them, audibly read, “Be not wroth very sore, OLord, neither remember iniquity forever; behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, OLord? wilt thou hold thy peace and afflict us very sore?”112 Others, reading from the Psalms, would passionately break forth, “OGod, the heathen have come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about. How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry forever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?”113

It is the opinion of the Jews that this portion of the wall belonged to the court of the Temple, and not to the Temple itself; but, in conceding with them the great antiquity of these stones, and that they remain intact, we do not thereby affect our Lord’s prediction touching the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus informs us that such was the unevenness of Mount Moriah, that in laying the foundation of the wall for the western court of the Temple it was necessary to lay it far below the general surface of the ground, which is evident from the fact that while the inside of the wall is only twelve feet high, the outside is seventy feet high.114 To this circumstance is due the preservation of this wall as it was originally laid, and also to the fact that the Romans, beginning their work of destruction within the area, first removed the upper layers, throwing the broken fragments over the outside, which, accumulating at its base, inhumed the lower courses, and literally fulfilled the Savior’s words, “And shall lay thee even with the ground.”115 In every particular that fearful prediction was fulfilled. The Romans cast a trench about the devoted city, keeping the inhabitants in on every side; and such was the utter destruction which followed their capture of the city, that, in the words of the historian, “there was nothing left to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited.”116

Owing to the rapid descent of the ground in the direction of the southwest corner of the Haram wall, lower courses of stones are there exposed to view. Measuring thirty-one feet in length, seven in width, and five in height, the chief cornerstone is no doubt identical with the one placed there by order of Solomon, and now marks the southwest angle of the area which inclosed his Temple. Thirty-nine feet to the north is the foot of the ancient bridge which once spanned the Tyropean Valley. Viewed casually, these stones appear to have been pushed out from their places by some violent concussion within, but, when examined with care, they indicate the design of an architect, and the occupancy of their original position. Consisting of three courses of huge stones, projecting one over the other as they rise, they form the segment of an arch. With their external surface hewn to a regular curve, they each measure from twenty to twenty-four feet long, and from five to six high; and extending along the wall about forty feet, they spring therefrom nearly the same distance. From the apparent width of the valley from this arch to the precipitous rocks on the eastern brow of Mount Zion, this bridge was 350 feet long, and consisted of five arches, supported by four intervening piers.

Without giving us the date of its construction, Josephus speaks of this bridge as existing in his day,117 and the colossal proportion of the remaining blocks, together with the manner in which they are dressed, evince their great age, and also their Jewish origin. It is older than Herod, as it is mentioned in connection with Pompey’s siege of the Holy City, which occurred twenty years prior to the accession of the Idumean.118 It is not, therefore, unreasonable to suppose it as old as Solomon, whose wonderful works have ever been the admiration of mankind. Attended by a gorgeous retinue of princes and soldiers, he often passed over it from his palace on Zion to the Temple of the Highest on Mount Moriah; and to this magnificent structure the sacred historian probably alludes, who, in describing the effect of Solomon’s works upon the mind of the Queen of the South, declares that when she beheld “the ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.”119 Centuries later, it was no doubt the way by which the Redeemer frequently passed from the Temple to the “Upper City;” and when the day of retribution came, and the hour of the destruction of Jerusalem drew nigh, the triumphant Titus stood upon one of its remaining sections and addressed the infatuated Jews, appealing to the remnant to spare themselves from farther carnage by submitting to Rome.

These mural examinations awakened a desire to stand, if possible, upon the very site of Solomon’s Temple. This, however, was both difficult and expensive. For many centuries the inclosure, together with the Mosque of Omar, had been closed against all Christians, but, thanks to the civilization of the West, the fanaticism of the East has yielded to a superior power, and many places hitherto inaccessible are now open to the Christian traveler.

The Temple area is an oblong quadrangle, extending north and south 1600 feet, and more than 1000 east and west. Since the reign of Herod the Great it has been enlarged, and now includes the space formerly occupied by the Tower of Antonia. It is only on this supposition that its present dimensions can be made to correspond with the measurements of Josephus, who describes it to have been a square,120 and such it is if the above-mentioned space is excluded. If a line be drawn from the south side of the Golden Gate, and at right angles to it, to a point 150 feet north of the modern gate, called Bal el-KatanÊn, an area is left for the Temple and its courts 1018 feet long and 926 wide, which, in popular language, would be called a square, and to the eye presents such a figure.

On the space north of this imaginary line stood the famous Tower of Antonia, constructed by Judas Maccabeus, or by some other member of the Asmonean family, and which, at a subsequent period, was enlarged and rendered exceedingly grand by Herod the Great, who called it Antonia, in honor of Anthony, his benefactor. Quadrangular in form, it had a tower at each angle, three of which had an elevation of 87½ feet each, while the one at the southeast corner rose to the height of 122½ feet, uniting in this structure the strength of a fortress with the splendor of a palace. The interior was adorned with baths, courts, and porticoes. In the very centre of the inclosure was an open space for encampments, from which extended elegant passage-ways, connecting the tower with the colonnades of the Temple. From a rock eighty feet high, situated in the northwest corner, rose the Acropolis, seventy feet higher, which was incased with polished stones. As this was the fortress of the Temple, here was stationed the military guard; and, during the jurisdiction of the Romans, it was the seat of public justice. On the exterior of the present wall are two arches, now walled up, where the Scala Santa, or Pilate’s Staircase, which led to his judgment-hall, formerly stood. Regarding it with religious reverence, Constantine removed it to Rome, where it was placed in the Basilica of St.John Lateran; and, believing that it was once pressed by the Savior’s feet, the pious Catholic now ascends it upon his knees. A few paces to the west of these arches, and spanning the Via Dolorosa, is the Ecce Homo arch, traditionally marking the spot where Pilate, having brought forth our Lord, exclaimed, “Behold the man!”121

Yielding to the conquering arms of Titus, the Tower of Antonia was taken by the Romans, who, razing it to its foundation, left it a mass of ruins. Cutting away the Acropolis rock, they left but a projecting fragment, now the site of the Pasha’s Palace. Removing the elegant courts and porticoes to plant their engines of war against the Temple, they cleared an area 500 feet long and 1000 wide, which is now in part a scarped rock, and the rest is dotted with patches of grass. Inhumed beneath the ruins lay the deep fosse, the foundation of the northeast tower, and the base of the loftier tower at the southeast angle, all of which remain to our own day, pointing to Antonia as one of the grandest of human structures.

Equally superstitious with the Latins and Greeks, the Moslems have many shrines within the Temple area consecrated either to the memory of their great Prophet, or to that of some eminent saint. Near a graceful minaret, which rises from the scarped rock, is a small dome, marking the spot where Solomon, after the completion of the Temple, stood and prayed. Along the western side of the Haran are cloisters, with square pillars and pointed arches, devoted to meditation and prayer, and to the accommodation of dervishes, eunuchs, and serpent-charmers. In a small room beneath one of the cloisters is the legendary iron ring to which Mohammed tied his Alborak on the night of his ascension.

In the centre of the oblong area within the walls is a raised platform fifteen feet high, 550 long north and south, and 450 wide east and west. It is paved with Palestine marble, and reached by eight flights of stone steps, spanned by light Saracenic arches. Ascending the platform by the northern steps, we lingered for a moment to enjoy a scene of extraordinary beauty. On either side rose massive walls, with parapet and tower; beneath the platform, and extending to the farthest verge of the inclosure, were fields of grass adorned with flowers; decked in all their vernal beauty were sombre olives, lofty palms, and graceful acacias, and near them were marble fountains sparkling in the morning light; beneath the trees white-veiled women reclined, and turbaned Turks moved softly through the foliage; around the platform rose airy arches; on it stood elegant pulpits, carved niches for prayer, and miniature cupolas of faultless symmetry; while from the very centre rose the Mosque of Omar, enameled with tiles of intricate patterns and of variant hues, reflecting the colors of the rainbow, and surmounted with that dome of domes, resplendent with the early light. Secluded from the outer world, peace reigned within, and no sound was heard save the solitary call of the muezzin from the balcony of a neighboring minaret. Among the minor objects of interest within the Haram is the Kubbet es-Silsilah—“the Dome of the Chain.” Situated twenty feet east from the great mosque, it is a small fane of rare beauty. From seventeen slender marble columns spring semicircular arches, supporting a dome of great elegance, which is adorned with porcelain of different colors and curious devices. According to the legend, here Mohammed obtained his first view of the enchanting damsels of Paradise, and hither the faithful now resort to meditate on love.

But the great attraction within the Temple area is the “Mosque of Omar”—the pride of the Mohammedan, the contempt of the Jew, and the grief of the Christian. Though bearing the name of the celebrated Khalif Omar, who captured Jerusalem in 636A.D., yet some Arabian writers suggest the name of Khalif Abd-el-Melek Ibn Marwan as the more probable founder of the present mosque. But so confused are the accounts of historians, and so contradictory are the prevailing traditions touching its origin, that it is difficult to reach a correct conclusion on the subject. It is stated, however, by the best authorities, that when Jerusalem capitulated to the arms of Omar, the khalif, on entering the city, refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but inquired for the site of Solomon’s Temple. Led by the venerable patriarch Sophronius to the sacred rock which forms the summit ridge of Moriah, Omar, with his own hands, removed the filth which Moslem contempt for the Jew had heaped upon it, and over it he ordered the erection of a mosque at once worthy the wisdom of Solomon and the conquests of Mohammed.

In the estimation of devout Moslems, this mosque is next in sacredness to the mosques of Mecca and Medina, and, with the exception of a brief interval, it has remained in their possession since its construction. In 1099A.D. the Holy City yielded to the triumphant arms of the Crusaders, whose heroic faith was only excelled by their unwavering courage. Overpowered by their Christian conquerors, the followers of the Prophet retreated within their sacred edifice, from which they were at length driven with terrible slaughter. Some, creeping to the summit of the dome, and clinging to its gilded spire, were pierced with arrows; others, leaping into the deep cisterns beneath the mosque, were drowned or sabred in their attempt to escape; while so great was the number slain, that the whole area flowed with blood ankle deep.122 Having removed the dead, and cleansed the mosque from the stench and stains of the slaughtered, the Crusaders consecrated it to Christ. Within they erected a choir and an altar, and on the spire which surmounts the dome they substituted the Cross for the Crescent. Receiving authority from the sovereign pontiff, they established a regular chapter of canons, endowed with all the immunities belonging to the Catholics of the West, and calling the holy house, by way of excellence, Templum Domini, they organized a special guard for its protection, to whom they gave the name of Knights Templars.

But in less than a century thereafter the Mosque of Omar reverted to its former masters, and, true to his religious faith, the proud Saladin, having driven the Crusaders from the city, transferred the mosque from Christ to Mohammed. The golden cross gave place to the gilded crescent; the altar and choir were removed; the edifice was cleansed with rose-water brought for the purpose from Damascus; and from its lofty dome the muezzin announced the hour for prayer, while on his royal mat, spread beneath that dome, Saladin performed his devotions.123 As the Egyptian conqueror left it we now behold it.

Consisting of three sections—the walls, the drum, and the dome—the lower story is a true octagon, forty-six feet high and 170 in diameter. Penetrated by fifty-six pointed windows of the Tudor style, the light passes through stained glass, rivaling in the beauty and brilliancy of its colors that of the famous cathedral windows of Central Italy. From this section rises the drum, thirty-four feet high, pierced by sixteen windows, and on which rests the dome, rising seventy feet higher, and having a diameter of sixty feet. A graceful spire surmounts the dome, supporting a gilded crescent. The exterior of the first and second sections is incased with marbles of different hues and with porcelain tiles of intricate patterns, while that of the dome is covered with lead.

Corresponding in position to the four cardinal points are as many doorways, three of which have inclosed marble porches, and the fourth has a portico formed of slender columns, with a roof of the same material. Two corridors encircle the interior of this noble edifice. One, thirteen feet wide, is formed of eight massive piers and sixteen Corinthian columns, connected at the top by a horizontal architrave; the other, thirty feet wide, is formed of twelve columns and four inner piers, from which spring the arches that support the dome. These columns are polished porphyry of a purple hue, and are crowned with richly gilded capitals. The walls and ceiling are covered with gilt stucco, on which are traced, in the graceful curves and lines of the Arabic characters, quotations from the Koran. Rising 150 feet from the marble pavement, the interior of the dome is no less impressive than the exterior is imposing; and though less in altitude than St.Peter’s at Rome, it is more symmetrical, and from the dimness of the light the eye wearies in searching for its loftier portions.

But the great attraction within the mosque is the celebrated rock called by the Arabs es-Sukhrah. Situated directly beneath the dome, it is unquestionably the summit ridge of Mount Moriah, and consists of a naked limestone rock of a grayish color, sixty feet long, fifty-five wide, and rises five feet above the surrounding floor. Over it, suspended from the piers, is the war-banner of Omar, made of the richest crimson silk; around it is an iron railing, with arrow-headed points tipped with gilt, and on it stand metallic candlesticks resembling Syrian lilies.

The fertile imagination of the Asiatic has invested this rock with peculiar sanctity. According to a Mohammedan legend, it descended from heaven when the spirit of prophecy was withdrawn from earth, and attempted to return to its native quarry when the Prophet ascended to glory, but was only restrained by the powerful arm of Gabriel. Refusing to touch the earth again, it remains suspended in the air seven feet above the top of Mount Moriah! Arrogant in their spirit as they are legendary in their taste, the Moslems believe that all the water on the earth flows from beneath this rock; and that in one of its unvisited caves are still preserved the armor of Mohammed, the saddle of his favorite beast, the scales for weighing the souls of men at the last judgment, the birds of Solomon, the pomegranates of David, and a silver urn which was thrown from its pedestal by Gabriel’s wing on the ever-memorable night of the Prophet’s ascension.

Reached by a flight of stone steps is the “Noble Cave,” excavated in the heart of the rock, which is of irregular shape, eight feet high and sixty in circumference. To deceive the unwary, and sustain the story that the rock is suspended in the air, a plastered wall incloses the sides of the vault, which, on being struck, emits a hollow sound, indicating a vacant space beyond. In the centre of the floor is a marble star, said to cover the mouth of Hades. It is more probably the entrance to that great cavern beneath the city, which, according to tradition, extends to this point.

Rejecting the idle tales of a false faith, the es-Sukhrah has a history replete with interest to every Christian. Forming the ridge of Mount Moriah, here Abraham offered his son;124 here stood the destroying angel when about to smite Jerusalem for the offense of an ambitious king;125 here was the threshing-floor of Ornan, which David purchased to offer thereon a sacrifice to stay the hand of the avenging messenger;126 and on it rested the altar of burnt-offerings in the first and second temples.127 Viewed in this light, the “Noble Cave” was no doubt the cess-pool of the altar of burnt-offerings, into which the immense quantity of sacrificial blood was conveyed by the drain that encompassed the altar.

From the southern portal of the Mosque of Omar a paved pathway leads to the Mosque of El-Aksa, lined on either side with olives, palms, and acacias. Near this avenue is the elegant Pulpit of David, from which prayers are offered for the health of the Sultan and the triumph of his arms. Extending a distance of 350 feet, the path terminates at the porch of El-Aksa. Standing near the southwest corner of the Temple area, and close to the southern wall, this mosque covers an area of 50,000 square feet. Measuring 280 feet long and 180 wide, its aisles and nave are forty-eight feet high, and its dome 130. Though in its general appearance the architecture is a compound of the Gothic and the Saracenic, yet, owing to the frequent alterations and numerous additions of the mosque, it is difficult to assign it a classification. Facing the north, the imposing porch extends the entire breadth of the building, and is divided into seven sections by arches supported by slender columns. It is paved with marble, and is reached by eight steps worn smooth by the feet of twelve centuries. The faÇade is penetrated by seven portals opening into the interior, which consists of a grand nave, three aisles on either side, and a transept surmounted with a noble dome. The aisles and nave are formed by forty-five marble columns, resembling the imposing colonnades in the magnificent basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome. Springing from these columns are arches connecting aisle with aisle, and supporting the roof and dome. The pavement, now of stone, was once adorned with beautiful mosaics, the remaining fragments attesting the pristine grandeur of this ancient temple of Christian worship. Beneath the dome is the elaborately-carved Pulpit of Saladin, and near it is the gallery for the singers. Deriving their name from the daughter of the Prophet, the Fatimites ordered a large section of the mosque to be partitioned off and appropriated for the devotions of women. In the western end of the transept are two polished marble columns standing ten inches apart, and designedly arranged to discover the faith of him who essayed to pass between them; no one, according to the legend, but a true believer in the Koran could hope for success. Once regarded as an infallible test, the charm, however, is now broken, as many a Christian has succeeded in the attempt. Within this mosque is a fountain called the “Well of the Leaf,” receiving its name from the circumstance that centuries ago, one of the faithful, having descended to the bottom to recover a lost bucket, unexpectedly found a door opening into the delightful gardens of Paradise, into which he walked, and, plucking a leaf from one of its fair trees, returned, bearing with him the celestial memento, which proved its heavenly origin and nature by retaining its freshness.

With the ever-changing fortunes of the Holy City, the Mosque of El-Aksa has passed from master to master. Originally a Christian basilica, built by order of the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, and by him dedicated to “My Lady,” the Virgin Mary, a hundred years thereafter it was converted into a temple of Moslem worship. Four and a half centuries later, Tancred and his brave knights drove out the Arabians, and reconsecrated the Church of Justinian to the Blessed Virgin. In 1119A.D. BaldwinII. gave it to his followers, whom he was pleased to call “the poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ,” and for whose accommodation he erected on its eastern side a dormitory, refectory, and infirmary. A gift so humble was the beginning of the wealth, power, and glory of the Knights Templars, whose mystic kingdom afterward extended to the farthest limits of Christendom, and who received the benedictions of pontiffs, the homage of kings, and the donations of the pious. Beneath the green sod in front of the venerable basilica were interred, in the year of our Lord 1170, the four knights who, at the instigation of HenryII., assassinated Thomas À Becket in the ancient cathedral of Canterbury. Remaining in the possession of the Crusaders for eighty-eight years, in 1187A.D. Saladin marched against Jerusalem, captured the city, put the Templars to the sword, and reopened the portals of the mosque to the children of the Prophet.128

Whatever pleasure is experienced in recalling the ever-shifting fortunes of Moslem and Christian, and in reciting the legends of the one and the traditions of the other, the traveler turns away from scenes and memories so romantic to explore with deeper interest the works of Solomon.

Thirty feet to the east from the Mosque of El-Aksa is the entrance to a subterranean passage-way. A flight of stone steps leads down to a broad and well-made avenue 259 feet long, forty-two wide, thirty high, and having a gentle descent of 200 feet. Extending through the centre are two rows of monolithic columns, connected by arches supporting the ceiling, which is composed of flattened domes. These domes are formed of large blocks of limestone, and each one has a circular keystone six feet in diameter—a style of architecture nowhere else to be found, except in some of the ancient tombs beyond the city, indicating a contemporaneous age. Guided by the light of our wax tapers, we advanced a distance of 259 feet to a flight of nine steps leading down into an entrance-hall fifty feet long and forty-two wide. In the very centre stands a massive column twenty-one feet high and six in diameter, consisting of a single block of limestone, including a foliated capital, on which is carved a palm-branch. From this central pier, and from pilasters on the sides of the hall, spring arches on which rests a vaulted ceiling of extraordinary workmanship. And corresponding, both in its size and grandeur, is the original gateway in the south wall of the city, the exterior of which is seen in part where the city wall joins that of the Haram. Having a breadth of forty-two feet, it is divided in the centre by a rectangular pier eight feet broad, and, extending inward twelve feet, has a pillar-shaped termination. Both the pier and jambs of the gateway are constructed of bevel stones of great size and well finished. This is evidently one of the approaches to the ancient city, and no doubt up through this colonnaded avenue Christ and his disciples often passed to the House of the Lord. In some lateral vault leading from this covered way, the Jews believe the treasures and furniture of their Temple are now concealed; and so prevalent is this opinion, that a breach has already been made in the wall to discover the place of concealment.

Standing in the southeast corner of the Temple area is the Mosque of Issa (Jesus). It is a small, dome-like building, containing a large marble basin, not unlike in form a sarcophagus, called by some the “Cradle of Jesus,” by others the font in which the infant Savior was washed previous to his presentation in the Temple. Through this chamber is the true and easy entrance to the great substructions of Solomon’s day; but, hoping to deter us from exploring them, the guide led us to an opening in the area, down which we were compelled to leap more than ten feet. Nothing daunted, each in turn made the leap, and turning to the right, we stood beneath those grand vaults, unequaled in strength and grandeur by any thing of the kind either in Greece or Rome.

Originally the summit of Mount Moriah naturally and rapidly declined from the great rock which forms the ridge toward the southeast, leaving a narrow and uneven surface. To elevate the surface of the hill to a common level, Solomon constructed vaults supported by piers.129 Standing ten feet apart, and extending east and west 319 feet, and north and south 250 feet, are fifteen rows of massive columns, composed of beveled stones five feet square, and connected by semicircular arches, on which rest the vaulted ceiling, five feet thick, supporting the pavement above. These piers are from ten to thirty feet high, according to the elevation and depression of the ground, and on some of them has been chiseled a mason’s compasses, opened at an angle of forty-five degrees, but whether ancient or modern the silent sign of the honorable craft gives no response. The eastern wall of these substructions is the eastern wall of the Haram inclosure, the blocks of which are of the same material and of similar finish with those seen from without. Through openings in an arched gateway, now closed, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is distinctly seen. Through the thick vaults above some olive-trees have forced their powerful roots, which have taken hold on the soil below, uniting, by ligaments of life, the upper and lower surfaces, while the more slender roots hang like graceful pendents from the ceiling. Running along the wall in the western aisle is a large pipe, of similar material to Solomon’s aqueduct, which no doubt formerly served as a waste-pipe to carry off the refuse water from the Temple; and near it is an oval well, twenty feet in diameter. In the south corner of this aisle is a triple gate of curious workmanship, consisting of an arched central doorway and two lateral ones, so arranged as to form an obtuse angle. In the centre is an octagonal column two and a half feet in diameter, from which spring the arches of the side gateways. Though well preserved, this beautiful gate is now walled up. In the palmy days of Jerusalem it opened to the villages on the south of the city, and there is still a gradual ascent to the open area above, up which the victims were driven to the Temple for sacrifice.

Whether we consider the grandeur of these works or the wealth expended in their construction, they reflect alike the wisdom and glory of Solomon. The original declination of the hill—the measurements of the Temple area as given by Josephus—the size of the stones of which they are constructed, and the manner in which they are dressed, together with the absence of any information that either Herod or any of his successors ever touched the foundations of the sacred inclosure, suggest that these substructions are coeval with the Holy House.

Returning to the surface of the area, we turned to the northwest to explore the great lake beneath the Mosque of Omar. Any one who for a moment has reflected upon the quantity of water requisite for the frequent ablutions of the priests, and for the other demands of the Temple service, must have concluded that artificial means were employed to meet the demand. Ever fruitful in inventions, the genius of Solomon was equal to the emergency, and to the aid of nature he brought the mechanical art of his day. Near the mosque there is an aperture resembling the mouth of a well, down which an inclined plane leads to a flight of forty-four stone steps cut in the living rock. Descending, we found an excavation in the solid limestone rock forty-two feet deep, 736 in circumference, and capable of holding 2,000,000 gallons. The form of the cavern is irregular, and the rudely-arched roof is supported by large piers, which were designedly left at the time of the excavation. These columns are arranged to afford the greatest support, without regard to regularity or beauty, and an attempt had been made to arch the intervening rock, but the work is so crudely done as to give it a craggy appearance. Both the arches and upper portions of the pillars were formerly incased with brass, but the metallic covering has been removed by the Vandal captors of the city. Formerly there were eight apertures in the pavement above through which the water was drawn up; but only one remains open, admitting the light to the shades below. More than three feet of water now covers the entire bottom, which is perfectly clear and of a sweetish taste. Though at present the lake is partially supplied with rain-water, which flows through a small tank, from the Mosque of El-Aksa, yet originally the water was brought from Solomon’s Pools at Etham, seven miles to the south of Jerusalem, and the ancient aqueduct through which it flowed can now be traced to the western side of the reservoir.

Standing in such a cavern, where the light and darkness alternately chase each other, where no sound is heard save the measured tramp of pilgrim feet on the marble floor above, and where History silently but triumphantly points to her works in confirmation of her story, the mind is filled with admiration for the past. Of all the works of Solomon, there is nothing remaining which so impressively reflects his wonderful intellect, and so truly conveys to the mind an idea of his unbounded resources as this lake. Of its antiquity there can be no doubt; as to its design there can be no dispute; and of the glory it reflects upon the memory of its founder there can be no diversity of opinion. It was seen and described by Aristeas in the century preceding Christ, and it is subsequently mentioned by the Mishna, by Tacitus, and the Jerusalem Itinerary, and it now invites the modern traveler to its cavernous depths to drink of its crystal water, and thereby confirm those traditions which the lapse of time had transformed into fables.130

Though permitted to explore the Temple area the second time, yet Ireluctantly left a spot where of old God had appeared to his people, and where the Redeemer often taught as one having authority. And where, on earth, have occurred events of greater grandeur and of more powerful influence? Within an area of less than forty acres the history of our religion may be said to have occurred, and there all that is now real in our faith was once foreshadowed by the most costly and imposing symbols; and to-day Moriah bears testimony no less to the fulfillment of the prophetic judgments demanded against her than to the veracity of her historians. In less than forty years after the Savior’s prediction of the destruction of the Temple, his words were fulfilled by Titus, who left the holy fane a mass of scorched and smoking ruins; and now spanning the Appian Way in ancient Rome, the Arch of Titus remains the monument of his terrible work. After a period of desolation lasting seventy years, the Emperor Adrian rebuilt Jerusalem, calling it Ælia Capitolina—the former after the family name of the emperor, and the latter in honor of Jupiter Capitolinus. Plowing up the surface of the area, he erected on the site of the Jewish Temple one to Jupiter, which he adorned with the colossal statue of himself, placing the equestrian one on the very site of the “Holy of Holies.” Nearly two and a half centuries later the Jews were permitted, by Julian the Apostate, to rebuild their Holy House, but they were deterred in the attempt by flames of fire bursting suddenly out from the earth upon them, and by other manifestations of the divine displeasure. For more than 150 years subsequently nothing is recorded of the Temple area till the middle of the sixth century, when the Emperor Justinian ordered the erection thereon of his magnificent church to the Virgin Mary, which, in 636A.D., Omar converted into the Mosque of El-Aksa, and upon the site of Solomon’s Temple and of the Fane of Jupiter he reared the famous mosque which now bears his name. Subject to the sway of the False Prophet for 463 years, it was rescued from the grasp of the Moslems by the brave Crusaders, who converted the mosques into Christian churches, and who for eighty years worshiped Christ where Jupiter and Mohammed had been adored. Yielding to the victorious arms of its earlier captors, Saladin retook Jerusalem in 1189A.D., and the Crescent was again in the ascendant on Mount Moriah, where it remains the symbol of Mohammedan power and glory, to give place at no distant day to the Cross of a world’s Redeemer.131