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The writer of the Handbook is Dr. Albert Socin, Professor of Oriental Languages at Leipsic, who has repeatedly travelled and studied in the Holy Land. The present edition, like the second, has been prepared, with his advice and assistance, by Dr. Immanuel Jienzinger, of Tubingen, who has recently explored the greater part of the country described for the purpose of procuring the latest possible information.
While the greatest pains have been taken to ensure accuracy, the Editor is well aware of the constant fluctuation to which many of the data in the Handbook are liable. He will therefore highly appreciate any corrections or suggestions with which travellers may favour him, especially if the result of their own observation. The information already received; from numerous correspondents, which he gratefully acknowledges, has in many cases proved most serviceable.
The contents of the Handbook are divided into Five Sections (I. Jerusalem and its Environs; II. Judaea, the Country east of the Jordan, Southern Palestine, and the Peninsula of Sinai; in. Samaria, Galilee, Phoenicia; IV. The Libanon, Central Syria; V. Northern Syria), each of which may be seprarately removed from the book by the traveller who desires to minimize the bulk of his luggage. To each section is prefixed a list of the routes it contains, so that each forms an approximately complete volume apart from the general table of contents or the general index.