September 25 Wednesday
Sam and group left Jerusalem at 8 AM for a two-day side trip, camping that night near Jericho. (MTDBD)
Bædeker (1898) Route 7:, 30 years later, describes the same journey: From Jerusalem to Jericho, the Ford of Jordan, the Dead Sea, and back to Jerusalem via Mâr Sâbâ.
A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour. I do not know how else to make one understand how small it is. The appearance of the city is peculiar. It is as knobby with countless little domes as a prison door is with bolt-heads. Every house has from one to half a dozen of these white plastered domes of stone, broad and low, sitting in the centre of, or in a cluster upon, the flat roof.
September 23 Monday Sam and group left Lubban at 2:30 AM and reached Jerusalem at noon.
September 22 Sunday
Sam and group left Janin at 2 AM and camped that night at Lubban. From Sam’s notebook: Camped at 7 PM at an Arab Village—Lubia (Libonia of the Bible). Tents behind. Slept on the ground in front of an Arab house. Lice, fleas, horses, jackasses, chickens, & worse than all, Arabs for company all night [MTNJ 1: 431]. (MTDBD)
September 21 Saturday
Sam and group left Nazareth and camped that night at Janin. From Sam’s notebook: Left Nazareth & its chalk hills at 7.30 [AM], came down a high, steep mountain & galloped across the Plain of Esdraelon to Endor, the rustiest of all, almost—a few nasty mud cabin,—many caves & holes in the hill from which the fierce, ragged, dirty inhabitants swarmed. Pop. 250 [MTNJ 1: 427].
September 20 Friday Sam and group left Tiberias in the AM and camped that night at Nazareth. (MTDBD)
September 19 Thursday Sam and group left Ain Mellahah at 7 AM and camped that night at Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. (MTDBD)
September 18 Wednesday Sam and group departed Baniyas at 7:15 AM , and camped that night at Ain Mellahah, near Lake Huleh (now called Bahret el Hule). From Sam’s notebook: It was first, ages ago, the Phoenician Laish—a lot of Danites from Sodom, 600, came over, like a pack of adventurers as they were, captured the place & lived there as sort of luxurious agriculturists, till Abraham hazed them in after times [MTNJ 1: 422]. (MTDBD)
September 17 Tuesday Sam and group departed Kefr Hauwar in the AM and camped that night at Baniyas, once the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi. From Sam’s notebook: A great, massive, ruined citadel of 4 acres...hoof prints deep in old rocks...This is the first place we have ever seen, whose pavements were trodden by Jesus Christ.
September 16 Monday Sam and group left Damascus at noon, and camped that night at Kefr Hauwar. Meanwhile, the QC arrived at Mt. Carmel at 10 AM and left again at noon, arriving at Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv) at 8 PM .(MTDBD) This is a journey of approximately 28 miles.