“Interesting Letter From Far Away Jerusalem” from the April 2, 1925 Door County News
Interesting Letter From Far Away Jerusalem
(By Helen Rysdorp)
Jerusalem, February 24, 1925.
Dear Folks:
Jerusalem the golden with milk and honey blessed; it didn’t look that way to us as we climbed the hills by train Tuesday morning. I never realized it was so high and so very rocky. They are desperately in need of rain so the hills look all the more barren. We passed groves of oranges with large oranges; the apricots and almond trees in full bloom—the wild cherries are in blossom too. Think of seeing Cyclamen growing wild and narcissus.
We are staying at the Y. W. C. A.; everybody and everything very British. We have a very good guide, Mousa is his name—Moslem, name for Moses. The first afternoon we drove to Bethlehem in a seven passenger Hudson and passed Rachel’s tomb. The battlefields of the Philistines, David’s well and then to the quiet little town—to the church of the Nativity which marks the place where Christ was born and the caves where they hid before fleeing to Egypt. These places are covered by three contiguous convents belonging respectively to the Latin (Roman Catholics) Greek and Armenian churches.
I love the geography of the country—just to see the place. I was sorry those buildings were there: I would so much rather see just the sky. And yet you can’t go to these places without a very reverential feeling knowing that thousands of Pilgrims have worshipped there. As we stood outside looking down on the fields where the shepherds must have been it was all so quiet. “O little town of Bethlehem, there still we see thee lie” was so very true.
Wednesday morning we drove to Jericho, first to the Dead Sea with the hills of Moab just behind, then to the River Jordan and on to the town of Jericho—an Oasis in the desert. We stopped at Elijah’s well and bought some oranges, the most delicious oranges in all the world. On the way to Jericho we stopped at Bethany to see the home of Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ Tomb, at least the supposed place but I don’t suppose the village has changed much. I bought a sling-shot from a little fellow, the same kind that David used. He demonstrated for us and a good shot he was. Halfway was the lost “Samaritan Inn.” On either side of the road were cans and you could well imagine how dangerous this road could be with robbers hiding about. On our way back very near Jerusalem we stopped at the garden of Gethsemane which belongs to the Roman Catholics. On part of it they are just completing a new church and the garden that is left is just a smooth formal garden with a few very old olive trees. How thankful I am for an imagination. In the afternoon we went to the Mount of Olives—the view of Jerusalem is very lovely while we were there; in fact on our way there a big rain storm came up so our view was quite obstructed.
Today we walked down via Delores following the stations of the cross and then to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. I can’t describe it; I want to go again and then maybe I can describe it and tell you something about it. On the way home we came up the street of David, the main street of Ancient Jerusalem to Jaffa Gate, the same street and entrance used by Christ for the Triumphant Entry.
You are so surprised at the many kinds of people, every nationality and so many different religious sects.
This afternoon we went to see Mount Zion and through the house of Caiaphas, see the supposed room of the last supper and from Mount Zion we looked down on the pool of Siloam, then around to the Jews’ waiting place where they go to weep over this “holy and beautiful home,” defiled by infidels. Men and women were there, the women at one end and the men at the other, chanting, praying and kissing the stones. They are truly sincere in the mourning. From there we went home through the Bazaars. I never tire of the Bazaars, the shopping districts.
Tomorrow 8:30 we leave for Nazareth and Tiberius where we will see the sunset on the sea of Galilee, stay all night in a monastery and come back the next day. This is all a very unsatisfactory account, it is all so strange and yet so familiar. The country itself is very lovely, the other part—the churches, chapels and the controversy between the religions I wasn’t quite prepared for.
By the sea of Galilee sitting by the water’s edge, almost sunset time it is very quiet except for two fishermen—the sea is very blue, calm, altogether lovely. We had a perfect day driving through the beautiful country from 5:30 to 4:00. We are staying in a Catholic Monastery right on the very edge of the sea about six miles from Tiberius.
(Continued next week)
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
Articles about pilgrimages
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/pilgrimages