from our hands; so we gave him
nothing. Upon this he seized the Count by the arm, and shouted out
something in Arabic which we could not understand, though we could
guess pretty accurately what he meant. The Count disengaged his
arm, and we proceeded almost to push and wrestle our way into the
open field, which was luckily only a few paces off. By good
fortune, also, several people appeared near us, upon seeing whom the
fellow retired. This incident convinced us of the fact that Franks
should not leave the city unattended.

As the Mount of Olives is the highest point in the neighbourhood of
Jerusalem, it commands the best view of the town and its environs.
The city is large, and lies spread over a considerable area. The
number of inhabitants is estimated at 25,000. As in the remaining
cities of Syria, the houses here are built of stone, and frequently
adorned with round cupolas. Jerusalem is surrounded by a very lofty
and well-preserved wall, the lower portion composed of such massive
blocks of stone, that one might imagine these huge fragments date
from the period of the city's capture by Titus. Of the mosques,
that of Omar, with its lead-covered roof, has the best appearance;
it lies in an immense courtyard, which is neatly kept. This mosque
is said to occupy the site of Solomon's temple.

From the Mount of Olives we can plainly distinguish all the
convents, and the different quarters of the Catholics, Armenians,
Jews, Greeks, etc. The "Mount of Offence" (so called on account of
Solomon's idolatry) rises at the side of the Mount of Olives, and is
of no great elevation. Of the temple, and the buildings which
Solomon caused to be erected for his wives, but few fragments of
walls remain. I had also been told, that the Jordan and the Dead
Sea might be seen from this mountain; but I could distinguish
neither, probably on account of a mist which obscured the horizon.

At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the valley of Jehosaphat.
The length of this valley does not certainly exceed three miles;
neither is it remarkable for its breadth. The brook Cedron
intersects this valley; but it only contains water during the rainy
season; at other times all trace of it is lost.

The town of Jerusalem is rather bustling, particularly the poor-
looking bazaar and the Jews' quarter; the latter portion of the city
is very densely populated, and exhales an odour offensive beyond
description; and here the plague always se