Tent Work in Palestine — Part 179

The site is conspicuous from a distance, because of the magnificent old tamarisk, and the view from it is very fine, extending up the Jordan Valley as far as the grand peak of S[)u]rtubeh, which stands out, like a bastion, in front of the line of hills, and culminates in a sharp cone, not unlike the outline of Monte Viso, seen near Turin. The 'Osh el Gh[)u]râb, or "Raven's Nest,” in front, equally white, and almost as pointed, repeats the S[)u]rtubeh in miniature, and above the Quarantania crag stands the lofty summit of Jebel Nejmeh 3000 feet above the valley. The white marl banks--shores of a former Dead Sea--skirt the Jericho plain thinly dotted with Dôm-trees, balsam-trees, and tamarisks, and reach the foot of Quarantania. In front are the shapeless mounds round the Sultan's Spring, and the thorn-groves reaching to the tower of Erîha, which is brown and square, with a solitary palm beside it. The rest of the view is almost the same as that seen from 'Ain es Sultân.

The Bedawîn of the district have a well-known tradition regarding the site of Jiljûlieh. Over the coffee and pipes in the evening, after the day's work was done, they related it to us. By the old tamarisk once stood the City of Brass, which was inhabited by Pagans. When Mohammed's creed began to spread, 'Aly, his son-in-law, "the lion of God,” arrived at the city, and rode seven times round it on his horse, Maimûn. The brazen walls fell down, destroyed by his breath, and the Pagans fled, pursued by the Faithful towards K[)u]r[)u]nt[)u]l; but the day drew to a close, and darkness threatened to shield the infidels. Then 'Aly, standing on the hill which lies due east of the K[)u]r[)u]nt[)u]l crag, called out to the sun, "Come back, O blessed one!” And the sun returned in heaven, so that the hill has ever since been called the "Ridge of the return.” Here stands the Mukâm, or sacred station of 'Aly, and here also is the place where Belâl ibn Rubâh, the Muedhen of the Prophet, called the Faithful to prayer after the victory.

Such is the legend. In it we see mixed up and assigned to the Imâm 'Aly ibn Abu Tâleb, and to Belâl ibn Rubâh, two episodes of the life of Joshua--the fall of Jericho and the battle of Ajalon.