ve her a Turkish coin
worth a few cents, for which she seemed very thankful, and said, as Mr.
Ahmed explained: "God bless you and give you long life. I am old, and
may die to-day." She told us that she came from Mosul, away beyond the
Syrian desert, to die in Jerusalem. We visited the synagogue of the
Caraite Jews, a small polygamous sect, numbering in this assembly
about thirty persons. They also differ from the majority of Hebrews in
rejecting the Talmud, but I believe they have a Talmud of their own.
Their place of worship is a small room almost under the ground, where we
were permitted to see a very fine old copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, our
Old Testament. The work was done by hand, and I was told the man who
did it was sixteen years of age when he began it, and was sixty when he
finished the work, and that the British Museum had offered five thousand
dollars for the book. Some of these people speak English, and we
conversed with one woman who was quite intelligent. They kindly
permitted us to go up and view the city from the housetop.

In the afternoon we visited the Temple Area, an inclosure of about
thirty-five acres, in the southeastern part of the city, including the
Mosque of Omar (more appropriately called the Dome of the Rock), the
Mosque El Aksa, and Solomon's Stables. For Christians to enter this
inclosure, it is necessary to notify their consul and secure the service
of his _cavasse_, an armed guard, and a Turkish soldier, both of
whom must be paid for their services. Thus equipped, we entered the
inclosure, and came up on the east front of the Dome of the Rock,
probably so named from the fact that the dome of this structure stands
over an exposed portion of the natural rock, fifty-seven feet long,
forty-three feet wide, and rising a few feet above the floor. After
putting some big slippers on over our shoes, we entered the building
and saw this great rock, which tradition says is the threshing floor
of Araunah, and the spot where Melchizedek sacrificed. It is also the
traditional place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and it is believed
that David built an altar here after the angel of destruction had put
up his sword. It is furthermore supposed that the great altar of burnt
offerings stood on this rock in the days of Solomon's Temple, which
is thought to have been located just west of it. This is the probable
location of Zerubbabel's Temple, and the one enlarged and beautified
by Herod, which was standi