Palestine and Syria:  Handbook for Travelers

Immediately outside the Jaffa Gate we turn to the left and skirt the wall as far as its S.W.  corner. About 220 yds. to the S. of this point is Bishop Gobat's English School (PL 29), where Arab orphans aud other children are educated. The school also contains a seminary for teachers.  Beyond it are a garden and the English and German Protestant burial-ground. Near the school an escarpment of the rock has been laid bare, on which the S. town-wall formerly stood. The slope of the rock is visible to the N. of the school (E. of the Greek-Catholic cemetery). There is a square cistern in the corner. The S. side of the cemetery, towards the school, is surrounded by a wall of ancient material. The rock projects here; and there was no doubt once a tower on the cube of rock now occupied by the dining room of the school. Beyond are cisterns. In front of the tower the escarpment runs about 16 yds. towards the W. In the angle are remains of a square trough and mangers cut in the rock. The escarpment continues eastwards, towards the Protestant cemetery; on the right a tower projects. Farther on, we come to the remains of a third tower, N.E.  of the cemetery; here there are 36 steps, each 1 ft. high, cut in the rock, and a reservoir for water.

Our best route from the bishop's school to the Cœnaculum is to ascend to the S.W. corner of the town-wall, and there turn to the right. The Cœnaculum lies in the midst of a congeries of buildings called by the Muslims Nebi Dâûd ('prophet David'). The gate is on the N. side. It formerly belonged to the Christians, but is now in possession of the Muslims. The Chamber of the Last Supper, or Cœnaculum, is shown here. A Muslim custodian (fee 3-6 pi.) conducts the visitor to a room on the first floor, divided into two parts by two columns in the middle, and formerly part of a Christian church. Half-pillars with quaint capitals are built into the walls.  The celling consists of pointed vaulting of the 14th century. Under the centre window is a niche for prayer. A stone in the N. wall marks the Lord's seat. In the S.W. corner of the room a staircase descends to a lower room (no admission) in the middle of which is shown the place where the table (sufra) of the Lord is said to have stood. In the S.E. angle 6 steps lead into a room, in which the visitor sees a long, covered, modern coffin, said to he a copy of the genuine Sarcophagus of David, which is alleged still to exist in subterranean vaults below this spot.

The church on Zion is mentioned as early as the 4th cent., before the erection of the Church of the Sepulchre. In the time of Helena a `Church of the Apostles' stood on the supposed scene of the Descent of the Holy Ghost, which was probably this spot. The 'column of scourging' (p. 66) was also probably here. It was not till the 7th cent, that tradition combined the scene of the Last Supper with that of the Descent of the Holy Ghost. The scene of the Virgin's death was also at a later period transferred hither. In the time of the Franks the church was called the Church of Zion or Church of St. Mary. The church of the Crusaders consisted of two stories. The lower had three apses, an altar on the spot where Mary died, and another on the spot where Jesus appeared 'in Galilee'. The washing of the apostles' feet was also said to have taken place here, while the upper story was considered the scene of the Last Supper. Connected with the church of Zion there was an Augustinian abbey. In 1333 the Franciscans established themselves here, and from them the building received its present form. Attached to the monastery was a large hospital, erected in 1354 by a Florentine lady, and committed to the care of the brethren.  To this day the superior of the Franciscans is called the 'Guardian of Mount Zion'. For centuries the Muslims did their utmost to gain possession of these buildings, and as early as 1479 they forbade pilgrims to visit the scene of the Descent of the Holy Ghost, as they themselves revered the tombs of David and Solomon on the same spot. In 1547 they at length succeeded in depriving the Franciscans of all their possessions, and for the next three centuries Christians had great difficulty in obtaining access to the place. The Tomb of David formed one of the holy places in the church of Zion so far back as the Crusaders' period, and it is possible that ancient tombs still exist beneath the building; what is now shown, however ( is hardly worth visiting. As David and his descendants were buried in 'the city of David' (1 Kings ii. 10, etc.), the expression was once thought to mean Bethlehem, and their tombs were accordingly shown near that town from the 3rd to the 6th century. The evangelists,- however, who were doubtless aware of the site of David's tomb, appear to place it in Jerusalem (Acts ii. 29), where by this time Hyrcanus and Herod had robbed the tombs of all their precious contents. According to Nehemiah, iii. 16 and Ezekiel xliii. 7, we are justified in seeking for the tombs of the kings on the Temple mount, above the pool of Siloam.

Approaching the town from the Cœnaculum towards the N., we soon reach a bifurcation of the road. The edifice forming the corner is the Armenian Monastery of Mount Zion, or, according to the legend, the House of Caiaphas (PI. 55), called by the Arabs Habs el-Mesîh, or prison of Christ. The tombs of the Armenian patriarchs of Jerusalem in the quadrangle should be noticed. The small church has an altar containing the 'angel's stone', with which the holy sepulchre is said to have been closed, and which the pilgrims kiss.  A door to the S. leads into a chamber styled the prison of Christ.  The spot where Peter denied Christ, and the court where the cock crew, are also shown.

The 'angel's stone' is not heard of till the 14th cent., since which period it has been differently described and probably renewed. The legend as to the scene of the denial dates from the second half of the 16th century. The tradition regarding the house of Caiaphas also fluctuates. One author in 333 informs us that the house then stood hetween Siloam and Zion. The 'prison of Christ' was then for a time transferred by tradition to the prætorium (p. 76), as perhaps the prætorium of the Crusaders stood here. At the beginning of the 14th cent, the prison of Christ in the church of the Redeemer was shown as the house of Caiaphas; but since the beginning of the 15th cent, this spot has been permanently fixed upon as its site. The Armenians have long possessed the place.

A few paces to the N. we reach the Gate of Zion (Arab. Bâb en-Nebi Dâûd, gate of the prophet David), situated in a tower of the town-wall. According to the inscription it was built in 947 [1540-41). A stone built into the E. side-wall of the gateway bears a Latin inscription of the time of Trajan and originally belonged to a monument in honour of Jupiter Serapis. From the top of the battlements we may enjoy a fine view of the hills beyond Jordan. — Within the gate we turn either to the left, past the Armenian monastery (p. 81), to the Jaffa Gate, or to the right, as far as the open space and thence to the N. into the Jewish street and the bazaar (p. 79).