hrah
is the centre of the world, and on the day of resurrection--it is
supposed--the Angel Israfil will stand upon it to blow the last trumpet.
It is also eighteen miles nearer heaven than any other place in the
world, and beneath it is the source of every drop of sweet water that
flows on the face of the earth. It is supposed to be suspended
miraculously between heaven and earth. The effect upon the spectators,
however, was so startling, that it was found necessary to place a
building round it and conceal the marvel.'

According to Hittite and Semitic traditions mentioned by Professor Sayce
and Professor Robertson Smith, there was a chasm in this central spot
through which the waters of the Deluge escaped.

Right down to and through the Middle Ages Jerusalem was regarded by all
Christians as the centre of the world; sometimes as the navel of the
earth; and sometimes as the middlemost point of heaven and earth. The
Hereford map of the thirteenth century, examined by Mr. Lethaby, shows
the world as a plane circle surrounded by ocean, round whose borders are
the eaters of men, and the one-eyed, and the half-men, and those whose
heads do grow beneath their shoulders. 'Within this border we find
everything the heart could desire; the sea is very red, the pillars of
Hercules are pillars indeed; there is the Terrestrial Paradise enclosed
by a battlemented wall, and unicorns, manticoras, salamanders, and other
beasts of fascinating habits are clearly shown in the lands where they
live. The centre of all is Jerusalem, a circular walled court, within
which again is a smaller circle, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.'

Even when the earth was recognised as a sphere, the idea of Jerusalem
being the centre was not given up. Dante held to it, and veracious Sir
John Mandeville endeavoured thus to explain away the difficulty: 'In
going from Scotland or from England towards Jerusalem, men go always
upwards, for our land is in the low part of the earth towards the west;
and the land of Prester John is in the low part of the world towards the
east; and they have the day when we have the night, and on the contrary
they have the night when we have the day; for the earth and sea are of a
round form, and as men go upward towards one point they go downward to
another. Also you have heard me say that Jerusalem is in the middle of
the world; and that may be proved and shown there by a spear which is
fixed in the earth at the hour of midday, w