Great Cities Through Travelers' Eyes Read online

  The vendor, perceiving that the unfolded merchandise has caught the eye of a possible purchaser, commences his opening speech. He covers his bristling broadcloths and his meagre silks with the golden broidery of Oriental praises, and as he talks, along with the slow and graceful waving of his arms, he lifts his undulating periods, upholds and poises them well, till they have gathered their weight and their strength, and then hurls them bodily forward with grave, momentous swing. The possible purchaser listens to the whole speech with deep and serious attention; but when it is over his turn arrives. He elaborately endeavours to show why he ought not to buy the things at a price twenty times larger than their value. Bystanders attracted to the debate take a part in it as independent members; the vendor is heard in reply, and coming down with his price, furnishes the materials for a new debate. Sometimes, however, the dealer, if he is a very pious Mussulman, and sufficiently rich to hold back his ware, will take a more dignified part, maintaining a kind of judicial gravity, and receiving the applicants who come to his stall as if they were rather suitors than customers. He will quietly hear to the end some long speech that concludes with an offer, and will answer it all with the one monosyllable ‘Yok’, which means distinctly ‘No’.

  1942 STEVEN RUNCIMAN

  The British historian Sir Steven Runciman (1903–2000) was professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University 1942–45, and his three-volume work A History of the Crusades was published in 1951–54.

  No city is more splendidly situated than Istanbul; but its setting has one cruel disadvantage. I have often thought that the inherent melancholy and pessimism of the Byzantines was due to the climate of their imperial city, to the cold wind that blows in winter down the funnel of the Bosphorus from the Black Sea and the steppes of Russia beyond it, to the hot, enervating wind, the melteme, blowing from the south in summer, and to the all-pervading damp.

  JERUSALEM

  The ancient home of the Jews and capital of Israel’s kings including David and Solomon, Jerusalem became part of the Roman province of Judaea in AD 6 and saw the climax of the life and death of Jesus, so that it was a uniquely holy place for both Jews and Christians thereafter. Following the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans, the Jewish Temple was destroyed by Emperor Titus in AD 70. Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it as a Roman city, and Emperor Constantine embellished it with fine churches. Following capture by the Arab caliph Umar in 638, it was celebrated by the Muslims as the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven, and the mosque known as the Dome of the Rock was built on the reputed spot.

  The most important destination for Christian pilgrimage since Roman times, Jerusalem became the objective of the Crusaders from the later 11th century; the city was in Christian hands to 1187, when it was captured by Saladin. It remained in Arab, Egyptian or Ottoman hands until 1917, and was then taken by British and Arab forces. It remained under British mandate to 1948, when it became the capital of the new state of Israel, though divided so that East Jerusalem (including the old city) remained in Jordanian hands. In 1967, Israel captured and occupied the whole city.

  AD 333 BORDEAUX PILGRIM

  An anonymous pilgrim from Bordeaux to Jerusalem gave an account of the religious sights of Jerusalem just a few decades after Constantine had built several churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and his mother Helen had collected important relics of Christ’s life and death.

  From Caesarea Palaestina to Jerusalem 116 miles, 4 halts, 4 changes.

  There are in Jerusalem two large pools at the side of the temple, which were made by Solomon; and further in the city are twin pools with five porticoes, which are called Bethsaida. There persons who have been sick for many years are cured; the pools contain water which is red when it is disturbed. There is also here a crypt, in which Solomon used to torture devils.

  Here is also the corner of an high tower, where our Lord ascended and the tempter said to Him, ‘If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.’… Under the pinnacle of the tower are many rooms, and here was Solomon’s palace. There also is the chamber in which he wrote the Book of Wisdom; this chamber is covered with a single stone. There are also large subterranean reservoirs and pools constructed with great labour. And in the building itself, where stood the temple that Solomon built, they say that the blood of Zacharias which was shed upon the stone pavement before the altar remains to this day. There are also the marks of the nails in the shoes of the soldiers who slew him, throughout the whole enclosure, so plain that you would think they were impressed upon wax. There are two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues is a perforated stone, to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart. There also is the house of Hezekiah King of Judah.…

  As you go out of the wall of Sion and you walk towards the gate of Neapolis, towards the right, below in the valley, are walls, where was the house of Pontius Pilate. Here our Lord was tried before His passion. On the left hand is the little hill of Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. About a stone’s throw from thence is a vault wherein His body was laid and rose again on the third day. There, at present, by the command of the emperor Constantine has been built a basilica, that is to say, a church of wondrous beauty having at the side reservoirs from which water is raised, and a bath behind in which infants are baptized.

  Also as one goes from Jerusalem to the gate which is to the eastward, in order to ascend the Mount of Olives, is the valley called that of Josaphat. Towards the left, where are vineyards, is a stone at the place where Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ; on the right is a palm tree, branches of which the children carried off and strewed in the way when Christ came. Not far from thence are two notable tombs of wondrous beauty; in the one, which is a true monolith, lies Isaiah the prophet, and in the other Hezekiah, King of the Jews. From there you ascend to the Mount of Olives, where before the Passion, the Lord taught His disciples. There by the orders of Constantine a basilica of wondrous beauty has been built. Not far from thence is the little hill which the Lord ascended to pray, when he took Peter and John with Him, and Moses and Elias were beheld.

  1050 NASIR KHUSRAW

  Persian poet Nasir Khusraw (see page 71) visited Jerusalem in the course of a pilgrimage to Mecca and provided the most detailed pen-portrait of medieval Jerusalem in his Safarnama.

  Jerusalem, situated on top of a hill, has no source of water but rain. The villages have springs, but there are none inside the city. Around the city is a rampart of stone and mortar with iron gates. Near the city there are no trees, since it is built on rock. It is a large city, with some twenty thousand men there when I saw it. The markets are fine, the buildings tall and the ground paved with stone…. There are many artisans, each group having its own streets. The eastern wall is attached to the congregational mosque. Passing out of the mosque you come out onto a large, flat plain called Sahira. They say that this is where the Resurrection will take place, where all people will be gathered together. For this reason people have come there from all over the world and taken up residence in order to die in that city. When God’s appointed time comes, they will already be in the stipulated place. O God! On that day wilt Thou be Thine own servants’ protector and Thy mercy. Amen. O Lord of the Universe!

  On the edge of the plain is a large cemetery, where there are many spots in which men pray and make special requests, which are granted by God. God, receive our supplications and forgive our sins and evil deeds. Have mercy upon us, O Most Merciful!

  Between the sanctuary and the plain of Sahira is a large, deep valley shaped like a trench. Therein are large edifices laid out by the ancients. I saw over the door of one house a carved stone dome, and anything more amazing could scarcely exist: I could not figure out how it had been raised. Everybody said it was Pharaoh’s House and that this was the valley of Gehenna. I asked how it came to be called thus and was told that, in the days of the caliphate of Umar, the Plain of Sahira had been the site of an army camp.
When Umar looked at the valley he said, ‘This is the valley of Gehenna.’ The common people say that anyone who goes to the edge of the valley can hear the voices of the people in hell. I went there but heard nothing.

  1494 PIETRO CASOLA

  From a wealthy Milanese family, Pietro Casola (1427–1507) was a canon who undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, writing about his journey from Italy in his Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Year 1494. His wide-ranging interests went far beyond the purely devotional. Despite his evident interest in the prosperity and way of life of the Muslim inhabitants, he betrayed the intolerance and lack of understanding of their faith that had been common for Europeans since the days of the Crusades.

  On Tuesday, 5th August, at sunrise…we set out towards Jerusalem by a very stony, mountainous and disagreeable road.… The country seemed very bare and wild; there was no fruit to be seen, nor did we come across any beautiful fountains. These are not like the countries of Italy. God willing, at an early hour we reached the Holy City of Jerusalem, almost dead of heat and thirst.…

  When we were all gathered together and counted again we were conducted into the city by friars of Mount Sion and quartered in the Hospital of St John. After asking for water, we began to lie down; each pilgrim was given a carpet to spread on the ground. The magnificent captain was in the habit of lodging with two persons in Mount Sion, a good way outside the city; but this prior had taken a house within the city near to the Sepulchre. The captain went there to rest, and then he sent to fetch me from the hospital, and made me lodge with him.

  We lived like lords in the house of the captain, but the poorer pilgrims fared badly, as the prior had little charity for them; not a single person was satisfied with him. The friars shrugged and excused themselves because they could not treat the pilgrims as they used to do in the time of the former priors.…

  We visited the sacred places on the Mount of Olives where the mysteries which preceded the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ were shown to us…. Then we mounted to a small church, and over the altar was a stone still bearing the mark of the foot of Our Lord Jesus Christ when he ascended into heaven, and this was touched with the rosaries and other objects of devotion. Afterwards we went into the valley of Jehoshaphat, which will be the place of the Last Judgment of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In this valley there is a beautiful church containing the Sepulchre in which the body of Our Lady was placed by the eleven Apostles. The place of the Sepulchre proper is governed by the Latin friars of Mount Sion. In the same church there are several other altars served by Greek priests. The church is also held in great veneration by the Moorish women. At the entrance the Moors made a charge for each person. I do not know how much it was because the captain paid.…

  We went to see the Probatic pool [Pool of Bethesda]. This has running water, and there are vestiges of the five porches which the Holy Scripture says were there at the time of Christ. This was a pool which had the virtue that an angel descended from heaven into the said pool and moved the water, and the first sick person who entered the pool after the moving of the water was cured of all his infirmities.… Now the Moors use it to wash hides which have been in lime. Many of the pilgrims drank the water. When I saw that filth I left it alone, it was enough for me to wash my hands there.

  We afterwards saw the Mosque which they say stands on the site of the temple of Solomon. It is a beautiful building from the outside, and strong compared with the greater part of the habitations in Jerusalem. It is wonderful to see the courts – so well paved with the whitest marble – which are built around at the base of the Mosque.

  When we had seen what the friars wanted us to see, we returned at the hospital all hot and covered with dust, and took a little repose. The prior of Mount Sion now sent to tell the pilgrims that we must be ready to enter the Holy Sepulchre that evening. But when he tried to arrange for the entrance with the person in authority, he demanded a thousand ducats. An altercation followed, and the project of entering the Sepulchre was given up.

  As the captain’s house was frequented by a very agreeable Moor who had formerly been forced into slavery at Rhodes, and who knew a little Latin, I got him to take me to see the city.… What pleased me most was the sight of the bazaars – long, vaulted streets extending as far as the eye can reach. In one of them all the provisions are sold – including cooked provisions, as they sell the chestnuts at home. I was told that not a single person in Jerusalem does the cooking in the house; and whoever wishes to eat goes to buy in the bazaar. However, they make bread at home, flat unleavened cakes; these are good when there is no other bread to be got.… Cooked fowls, cooked meat, eggs and all other eatables are very cheap. I saw another long bazaar, with both sides full of merchandise, and of the things the people know how to make, and this was a great sight.…

  Among the inhabitants of Jerusalem there are many of good condition and handsome men. They all go about dressed in the same way, with those clothes that look like quilts. Many are white, others are made of goat’s hair, and of other silks of the Moorish kind. According to their means they display great care and magnificence in the cloths they wear on their heads.…

  They eat on the ground on carpets. They do not drink wine in public – but if they get the chance they take a good long drink of it. They like cheese very much. They would not eat a fowl which had had its neck drawn, as is the custom with us. They always cut the fowls’ throats; otherwise they are clean in their cooking. For sleeping they have no place but the ground. They lie upon carpets, of which they have a great many. In their manner of eating they are very dirty; even persons of importance thrust their hands into the dishes. They do not use knives or forks or spoons, but they thrust their hands into everything.

  With regard to their prayers, when they rose they went through so many genuflexions – throwing themselves all their length stretched out on the ground – that it was a marvel to see them. When they go to pray in the mosque they go barefooted, and first they wash themselves in certain places set apart for that purpose, but only from the waist downwards, and then they uncover their heads, which they never uncover even in the presence of the greatest lord in the world. It is great madness to talk to them about our faith, because they have no rational sentiment in them. They are very impetuous and easily excited to anger, and they have no gracious or courteous impulses or actions. And I declare that they may be as great and as learned as you like, but in their ways they are like dogs.

  I was never able to see a beautiful woman, for they go about with their faces covered by a black veil. They wear on their heads a thing which resembles a box, a braccio long, and from that a long cloth, like the white towels in Italy, hangs down.

  1811 VICOMTE DE CHATEAUBRIAND

  An associate of Napoleon, Chateaubriand (see page 33) undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1811. Following the fall of Napoleon’s empire, he supported the restored Bourbon dynasty.

  We pursued our course through a desert where wild fig trees, thinly scattered, waved their embrowned leaves in the southern breeze.… Presently, all vegetation ceased; even the very mosses disappeared. The confused amphitheatre of the mountains was tinged with a red and vivid colour. In this dreary region we kept ascending for an hour to gain an elevated hill that we saw before us; after which we proceeded for another hour across a naked plain bestrewed with loose stones. All at once, at the extremity of this plain, I perceived a line of Gothic walls, flanked with square towers, and the tops of a few buildings peeping above them. At the foot of this wall appeared a camp of Turkish horse, with all the accompaniments of oriental pomp. El Cods ‘the Holy City’ exclaimed the guide, and away he went at full gallop.

  I can now account for the surprise expressed by the Crusaders and pilgrims at the first sight of Jerusalem, according to the reports of historians and travellers. I can affirm that whoever has, like me, had the patience to read near two hundred modern accounts of the Holy Land, the rabbinical compilations and the passages in the ancients relative to Judea, still knows nothing at all a
bout it. I paused with my eyes fixed on Jerusalem, measuring the height of its walls, reviewing at once all the recollections of history from Abraham to Godfrey of Bouillon, reflecting on the total change accomplished in the world by the mission of the Son of man, and in vain seeking that Temple, not one stone of which is left upon another. Were I to live a thousand years, never should I forget that desert which yet seems to be pervaded by the greatness of Jehovah and the terrors of death.

  The cries of the interpreter to keep close together as we were at the entrance of the camp, roused me from the reverie. We passed among the tents covered with black lambskins; a few, among others that of the pasha, were formed of striped cloth. The horses, saddled and bridled, were fastened to stakes. I was surprised to see four pieces of horse artillery; they were well mounted and the carriages appeared to be of English construction. Our mean equipage and pilgrims’ dress excited the laughter of the troops. The pasha was coming out of Jerusalem as we drew up to the gate of the city. I was obliged to take off the hand-kerchief which I had tied over my head to keep off the sun, lest I should draw upon myself a similar affront to that which poor Joseph incurred at Tripolizza [Tripoli, Greece].

  We entered Jerusalem by the Pilgrims’ Gate near which stands the Tower of David, better known by the appellation of the Pisans’ Tower. We paid the tribute and followed the street that opened before us; then, turning to the left between a kind of prison of plaster, denominated houses, we arrived at 22 minutes past 12, at the convent of the Latin Fathers. I found it in the possession of Abdallah’s soldiers, who appropriated to themselves whatever they thought fit.