Palestine and Syria: Handbook for Travelers
1. From Nâbulus to Sebastîyeh (2 hrs.).
The direct route to Jênin, usually taken by the baggage muleteers, leads past the village of Bêt Imrin to Jeba' (p. 261).
The somewhat longer route via Sebastîyeh is preferable. It descends the valley to the W.N.W. After 23 min. we see Râfidîyeh lying 1/4 hr. to the left, and soon afterwards Zawâta on the hill to the right. The villages of (20 min.) Bêt Uzin and Bêt Iba (10 min.) also lie to the left. When we come in sight of a water-conduit crossing the valley to a mill we ascend out of the valley to the right (N.W.). As the road ascends it affords (20 min.) a view of the village of Dêr esh-Sheraf in the valley below; on the height opposite us is Keisîn, aud to the W. of it Bêt Lîd; by the roadside is a spring with good water. The view becomes more extensive when we reach the top (1/4 hr.); to the N.E. we see Râmîn and 'Anoâbetâ, and En-Nâkûra on the hill to the right. We then descend in 5 min. more into the valley. The road passes under (10 min.) a conduit. On the hill to the right is a well. A final ascent of 17 min. at length brings us to the round, terraced hill of Sebastîyeh, over 330 feet in height and standing isolated in the valley.
. From SebastIyeh to Jênin (4 1/2 hrs.).
Starting from the church of St. John, we proceed N. past the hippodrome mentioned above and descend into the Wâdi Bêt Imrin (10 min.); the large village of the same name is on the mountain on our right. Beyond the valley we are careful to take the road on the right and ascend to (1/4 nr.) its N. margin (fine retrospect) and (10 min.) the village of Burkû in the midst of olive-trees. A castle seems once to have stood in the middle of the village. The road soon reaches (20 min.) the top of the hill, which commands an extensive view. On the right (E.), on the hill, stands the weli of Khêmet ed-Dehûr. To the N. is the village of Sîlet ed-Dahr, and somewhat farther distant, beyond a beautiful little plain, are Râmeh (Remeth of Joshua xix. 21) and 'Anza, opposite each other. The road begins to descend to the E.N.E., and passes (35 min.) El-Fandakûmîyeh (an ancient Pentacomias) on the hill to the right. At (20 min.) Jeba' (the spring of which is beyond it) we reach the direct road from Nâbulus to Jênin (p. 259). We follow.the valley, which narrows towards its head, and then emerge on a plain. In 35 min. we reach the foot of the hill on which lies the former fortress of Sânûr. Sânûr was besieged in 1830 and captured with difficulty by 'Abdallah, pasha of Acre, as the shêkh of Sânûr had declared himself independent. Ibrâhîm Pasha, of Egypt, destroyed the fortress entirely. To the E. lies the beautiful and fertile plain of Merj el-Gharak ('the meadow of sinking in'), upwards of 1 hr. in length, which in winter forms a swamp. The road skirts its W. side. On the right, at the end of the plain (35 min.), lies Zebâbda, to the N. of which is Mithilîyeh (perhaps the Bethuliah of the Book of Judith, the site of which must be looked for in this neighbourhood). Opposite the latter, to the left, is Jerbâ.
The traveller who wishes to visit the rains of Dôtân diverges here to the left, so as to leave the village of Jerbâ on the right. Ascending at first towards the N.W., then descending to the W., we come in a narrow ravine (22 min.) to a footpath on the right which leads to (1/4 hr.) Tell Dôtân. A few ruins only lie on the hill near some terebinths. At the S. foot of the hill is the spring El-Hafireh. This is doubtless the site of the ancient Dothan (Gen. xxxvii. 17), for which reason it is still called Jubb Yûsuf ('Joseph's pit). In the time of Elisha a village seems to have stood here (2 Kings vi. 13). To the N.W. of Dôtân rises the large Tell Yâbûd with a village. From Dôtân the ordinary route to Kabâtîyeh may be regained in 22 min.; or Jênin may he reached by a direct road to it, passing a few hundred paces to the W. of Dôtân`.
At the end of the plain we enter a small valley and riding to the N. cross (25 min.) a small elevation with a fine view (Carmel, Nazareth, the Great Hermon, etc.). On the right, before the road descends into a small valley to the N.E., stands a sacred tree, hung with votive offerings and shreds of cloth, where we obtain a view of the plain of Esdrelon. The steep descent leads through the village of Kubâtîyeh and in 20 min, reaches the floor of the valley. We then follow the telegraph-wires and after crossing two other small valleys reach the Wâdi Bel`ameh, on which Jênin is situated. The brook is named after the ruin of Khirbet Bel`ameh (Ibleam, Joshua xvii. 11; 2 Kings ix. 27), at the foot of which it rises. Following its course, we come in 20 min. to ---
Jênin. — Accommodation in private houses. Tents may be pitched to the N. or the S. of the village. A military guard is necessary. — Turkish Telegraph.
History. Jênin is supposed to be the Ginea of Josephus, which again seems to answer to the ancient Engannim, or garden-spring (Josh. xix. 21; xxi. 29), within the territory of Issachar. The road from Nazareth to Jerusalem probably always passed this way.
Jênin is a village of some importance, with about 1300 inhab., including a few Christians, situated on the boundary between the mountains of Samaria and the plain of Esdrelon. It is the seat of a Kâimmakâm, and possesses a bazaar, two Muslim schools, and two mosques, one of which may formerly have been a church. An excellent spring, rising to the E., is conducted through the village. In the environs are productive gardens, where a few palms also occur.
The plain, on the outskirts of which we now stand, answers to the ancient Plain of Jezreel, Greek Esdraelon. The valley of Jezreel is properly only the low ground by the village of Jezreel, the modern Zeŕin, descending thence eastwards towards Beisân (p. 258). In a wider sense the name embraces also the plain to the W. of the Gilboa mountains, which is called the 'great plain*, or plain of Megiddo, in the Old Testament. The modern Arabic name is Merj ib n `Amir, or meadow of the son of `Amir. This plain is triangular in form, the base running fro m Je in towards the N.W. for a distance of 24 M., while the shortest side is the eastern, extending from Jênin northwards to Iksâl. It also forms bays running up into the mountains at several places. The plain lies 250 ft. below the sea-level, and. though marshy at places, is on the whole remarkable for its fertility. The blackish soil consists chiefly of decomposed volcanic rock. In spring, when seen from the mountains, the plain resembles a vast green lake. Cranes and storks abound here, and gazelles are sometimes seen.