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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1910)
D Merchants, msU " " r is (Copyright, 1910, by Frank Q. Carpenter.) JERUSALEM (Special Correspondence to The Bee.) If you would be cheated out of your eye teeth, tome to Jerusalem. Its bazars are tilled with tricksters and traders, and it has its usurers and money changers as in the days 01 tho Savior. The people prey upon the piligrlma and tourists. Their main object ia to got gain, and they work the holiness of the Holy City for all it is worth, They sell candles which if burnt in tho Church of the Sepulcher will carry away your sins in their smoke; and rosaries upon which if you count your prayers you may bo sure of their ascending to heaven. The Jesuit and the Bethlehemite. The rosary business is one of the chief of Jerusa lem. The beads are cut out in great quantities ai Bethlehem and are bhlppod abroad by the millions. They are sent to the Holy City for sale, and there are some stores which have nothing else except perhaps crucifixes and collection plates. The merchants who sell rosaries are often great rascals, and I know one, a Bethlehemite, who has Just received a lesson which he is not likely soon to forget. The man's ropary store is i situated down Christian street, but far from the place where you turn in to tha Church of the Holy Sepulehcr. Ills lesson came from a Jesuit priest who Uvea in Chicago, and who is Just now starting home. The holy father, bad come into the shop to buy some rosaries to carry back to his friends. He had picked out a half dozen beautiful ones, and had paid the price without bargaining. As the storekeeper wrapped up bis purchase, he looked at him out of tho tall of his oye and saw him slip the rosaries, he had selected under tho counter and put ome cheaper oneB in their place. The Jesuit said nothing, but he took up several beautiful carvings representing the crucifixion and ascension, each of which was worth about twice the amount of the rosaries he had picked out. Handing thiEe to the mar, e told him to wrap them in paner, and upon this being done he took both parcels and started out of the store. The Bethlehemite merchant ran after him, and told him he had not paid for vhe carvings. The father re plied: "My friend, I saw you change those rosaries tud give roe the cheaper ones and you may consider this a Judgment of God upon you for cheating. I shall keep keep these carvings and if you do not immediately return to your store I will report you to tho Moham medan courts." The man saw he was caught and let the priest go. The Candle Sellers. Another large business Is the soiling of candles. Jerusalem ia full of shrines, and the pilgrims buy candles to burn at the holy places. They set them up At the score or more sacred spots in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and at the stations along the Via Dolorosa where Christ walked on his way to Golgotha. They carry them to the Mount of Olives and to the Garden of Gthsemane. Some buy several candles for each shrine, and the richer purchase those of enormous size and of many colors. Some of the candles are of the size of your finger and others are as big as a man's leg. I have told you of the one as large around as a flour barrel which was held at the customs bouse in Jeffa and found to be filled with dynamite bombs. That was sent by some of the discontents among the priests of the Holy Sepulcher who hoped to blow their enemies now in charge, out of existence, and did not care how many other they murdered. I have been In Jerusalem at Easter time and have seen the miracle of the holy fire as performed by the Greeks. It is at that season that the chief caudle selling (ofi on. The pilgrims who are here by the tens of thousands buy great bunches of candles to take Into the church, and light them from the fire. They can be then blown out and if lighted again at their altars at home will preserve thera from harm, and I am not sure but that they believe they will take them to heaven. This holy fire Is supposed to have come down from heaven and to blaze inside the chapel of the Hoiy Sepulcher, where is supposed to be th tomb in which our Savior waa laid. There are holes In the walls of th sepulcher and the candles are thrust through them to one of the Greek priests, who stands within. He lights them and then passes them out. From these lights other candles are lighted and within a few mo- ments after the fire appears the thousands of pilgrims in the church have their candles ignited. As soon as they set the light, they rush forth holdicg their hands around the blaze, endeavoring to carry the burning candles to their homes in Jerusalem. The Bazars and Their Caves. Dut coma with me for a walk through the bazars of Jerusalem. We are in a network of vaulted tunnels, walled on ench side with rarellke thopu, and filled with a crowd of Syrians, Bedoutns, Armenians, Jews aud the other strange characters of this part of the ea-t. The arehM tunnol Is lighted only by io!ea in the roof. Th shops havtt neither windows nor doors. Tht-y THE Peddlers, Stores and B r seem to have been cut out of the walls, and the largest of them Is not more than fifteen or twenty feet deep. Some are so narrow you can stand at the front and reach both walls with your harc, end none Is much higher than your head. Nevertheless each i3 a store, and it is walled with shelves filled with fcooda. There is only enough room outside the shelves for the mer chant to sit, and the customers must stand in the tho street as they shop. Cobblers and Tinners. These bazars are classified, one business being de voted to each. There is a shoemaker's bazar where scores of cobblers are working. At the entrance to each cavelike shop two shoemakers Bit, with untanned calfskin aprons tight about rhem, sewin? away. Be tween them on a block of wood, an olive treo stump it may be, rests a slab of white marble. This is tho shoemaker's bench, upon which they pound the wet leather soit with what looks like a brass paper weight. It is aa big around as a tumbler and of about the tame height, tapering from the top to Ihe bottom. The shoes are all made with needle and thread. The soles are of camel hide and the uppers of kidakin or goatskin. Those are the cnnu;on shoos of the peasant, selling for from 30 cents to $1 per pair, according to size. As I watched the cobblers I asked as to their wages, and was told they received from 4 0 to CO cents for laboring from sunrise to sunset. In another street tinners are working, using oil cans to make pots and pans. Their shops are no, much bigger than cupboards, and the workmen are long bearded men in fez caps and gowns. The Grain Market. Farther on is the grain market, consisting of many great vaulted chambers, one or more of which belong to each merchant. The vaults are filled with piles of wheat, corn, barley, oats and millet spread out on the floor. The grain is sold by measure. I saw a Bodouin f -,. , r v MVm k-a TK' Oil Stills Troubled Waters ' To the magical effect of oil on troubled waters officers and crew of the British steamship Carham, in Philadelphia from Santiago, Cuba, with iron ore, at tribute their safe delivery from the recent West Indian hurricane that sent many a craft to its doom and caused great losa of life and property. Outwardly the vessel bore little evidence of the fury of the storm, but from the minds of Captain Jameson and his crew the memory of a three days' battle with wind and waves will never be eliminated. The Carham was off the Bahet. Islands who i the hurricane swept up the coast and cuu.eht It. Tne tramp waa prepared, with everything made faat. lti wind Mew 100 mi'e6 an hour and the steatmhip win like a chip in a mlllrace. All the second day was like a nightmare to oR; -u and crew. The vessel u.a absolutely helplecs, aud at OMAIIA SUNDAY T?E1: PECEMBKI? 4. 4, J Tinner ci6 Work. come in to one of the vaults to buy two bushels of oats. It was dipped out by the peck, the merchant shaking the measure to make the grain solid, and then heaping up the top with bis hands so that the oats formed a ccne. This was th.e "good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over," aa mentioned in St. Luke. The people here never buy grain by the Back, and they want to see it measured out before their eyes. If the buyer is not present he cannot be sure of getting good measure, and I am told that the hypnotic grain sellers are sometimes able to impose upon those whopurchase, making them think they get more than they do. A Jerusalem Bakery. Much of the grain of the Holy City is ground at home, and a great deal of that of Palestine is turned into flour by hand mills. Some flour id imported and some is ground in mills run by cameis or donkeys. In baking bread tho doueh is kneaded at home ani1 brought in great lumps to the public ovens. ' These are to be found in almost every street. They are cavelike vaults, running down below the street level. At the back of each vault ia the oven, with a son of well be fore it3 opt-n doer. In the well stands the baker, with a long paddle in his hand, upon which he puts in and takes out the loaves. I have seen many bakoues of this kind. The fuel used Is olive wood, and the oven floor la marked out in blocks, so that the baking of each family ia put on a separate block. The loaves are about an inch thick and of the size of a tea plate. They have a hole In tho center. The baker m.ikfs them from the dough, bakes them, and returns them hot from the oven to the customer. He receives- 2 rentu for each half-dozen loaves, or he may lnsteal take a toll of one loaf for each dozen. Before starting times it seemed as though It must succumb to the tcrrlflo pounding of the seas that beat upon its tfeika, ripping away stanchions and stays. The inru'ih of the seas stove in port holes, bent rails and carried away all things movable about the decks. Vhe voxel's smoke funnel was ineruhted with sj.lt, which was still visible when it reached It dock. On the third day matters bKame so 'alarming It was feared the steartiotlp was doomed. As a lust rf eource oil was uted In the hope of qui'-tlni; tho sea. A dozen or more bags filled with oil were lump: over ho sides of the tuvl, and i'ti the fluid trlck'.ed through the seama the tffaet was nib rvo'.;3 Wir'-'u an hour the oil had spread so as to form a circle around the steamship, und the mistily (oinLtrs t:i.:i thrtdtt-ned to dee'.roy the eaul - e. e con(4jered. Philadelphia Ledger- 1010. azars of the i - vi 4 , i A .. J v. ivlv the baking he greases the floor of the oven with olive oil. The reason for these public bakeries is the great cost cf fuel. The, Arabs have a proverb showing that such baking is the cheapest. This reads: "Send your bread to the oven or the baker even though he should eat the half of it." I frequently see boys carrying dough to these bhkeries, or bread home from them. They use trays which they bear on tbelr heads. Ancient Jerusalem had its Bakers' street, for we read that Zedeklah, the king, put the prophet Jeremiah into the court of tho prison and commanded that they "should give him daily a piece of bread out of the Bakers' street." Delicious With Salad. During my stay in Jerusalem I have enjoyed the salad which is served at the hotel with an olive dress ing. This is a land of olives and the oil is delicious. It is os clear as honey and has a tint like the green of chartreuse. I say I have enjoyed it, but 1 doubt that 1 will enjoy it hereafter. hy? I have seen how it is made. Come with me to an oil mill which is kept Just off David street, not more than a stone's throw or pi from the pool of Hezekiah. It consists of a cave which ia half stable, half mill. In the stable section are stalls for horses, donkeys and camels, which are eating chocolate bron cakes from etono mangers. Thcsd cakes are made of the refuse of the olives after the oil is squeezed out. They are said to be fattening. On the other side of the cave, stancs a stone ledge about as high as my walut from tho floor. This ledge has a hole in its center iind is as big around as a flour barrel. Within it, his clothes tied up to bis waist, la a barefooted, barelegged Ethiopian, who 1j treadinp the oil ou( of crushed olives. His face shines like polished ebony and the white drops of sweat stand out upen his baiV back and less. I peeped over the ede Into the wtll where he la standing. A liuen cloth has ixtn laid on the mixture, and he is tramping the ground olives, so that their juice goes into the cloth. As It becomes saturated bo wrings the oil out Into a red clay basin, whence it is poured into Jars to be btra'nej for the market. Knrther back in tho cave is the mill for grindiTg the olives. It is much like the bark mill of a tannery, the wheel being turiud by uii ungainly camel hitched to a bar. I understand that wine made in the Holy Land is still trodrUn out with the feet. At the Jaffa Gale. But Idt us po to market at the Jaffa gate and seo what t'je peoule have brought in from the country for Bale. There are scores of women with baskets of vcfec.aMts before them. They have lettuce and egg plants and Ixautiful cauliflowers with heads as white as biiow. They have lenicn aud oranges from Jffa ai d apples and pear troui the hlhlandt; of Judea. Many of the sellers are liethlt-heui fcirls, with high hats and fair faces, and amoiig the buyers are fierce Holy City ;r- A- A X VTv. A Street in. Jeru.saezn Bedouins from the desert, their heads bound round with ropes. Many of the men have guns In their hands, for no one thinks of traveling far over Palostln unarmed. There are Syrians and Jews and Russian pilgrims who are buying supplies for the hospice, called Little Russia, which lies outside the city. Hr are many people selling beads, although the most of the bead sellers are about the church of the Holy Sepulcher. The beads are of glass and they come from Hebron, not far from the cave which is Abraham's tomb. Hebron is the chief town of South Palestine, and is a manufacturing center. It makes lamps and bottles as well as glass trinkets and glass beads, which are sold all over the Holy Land. Jerusalem Chickens. The cock which crew for St. Peter has many de scendants. You may see some of them in this market. They are tied by the legs aud lie on the stones. The Holy City has no law against crowing, and every family here keeps its own rooBter. There are so many that the city resounds with their music, and about daybreak they start up a concert which murdersleep. I am living in the heart of Jerusalem. I mght as well be in a barnyard. The cock concert begins with sunrise and keeps on until evening, when the donkeys and camels begin. The former utter brays Btronger than that which spoke unto Balaam, and the latter whine and grumble all night. In addition to these noises, there are others which trouble the tourlst3. The people rise with tho chickens and the Btono steps re-echo their steps. The birds sing and the peddlers shout. At the same time the bells begin ringing to show it is day, and the trumpots of tho Mohammedan, soldiers in David's tower add to the din. "One enn easily sleep in a railroad depot or near a boiler fac tory, for tho noises there are of one or two kinds and the ear comes to know them. Here there is a new sound every minute and a new smash every hour. A Call on the Governor. During my stay, in Jerusalem I have called upon the governor aud mayor. This city belongs to the Mohammedans and it takes two great pftoslenis to rule it. The governor is the executice and the mayor works upon him to keep the warring Christians in order. The governor is about 40 years of age. He is a fine looking man with a white face and brown eyes and hair. He dresses in European clothes, and wears a fez cap. He speaks French, and is not averse to talking about the situation in Palestine. He says that the new Turkish government has materially changed the conditions and that the people will be far better off than they were in the past. He ex pects that it will take some time to educate them so that they may govern themselves. I asked his excellency whether travel was safe and whether individuals and parties could go about the Holy Land without danger. He replied that any one might go anywhere, but notwithstanding that I no tice that he has taken the precaution to send a soldier with me on my expedition into the wilderness of Judea and beyond the Jordan. The mayor is likewise confident as to the peaceful conditions, but I observe that every native traveler who goes toward the Jordan carries a gun, and I hear of frequent robberies and stories of men who fall among thieves. I have been privately advised to have weapons when I go off the main routes, and I am to pay for my guard to the Jordan. How the"Turks Hold the City. After my talk with the mayor and governor I wont through the municipal offices and visited the Judges who are holding courts of one kind and another. The plaintiffs and defendants were Mohammedans. Chris tians and Jews and were of a half dozen races. The Mohammedans pass Judgment on all. They have much the same place that the Komans had when Christ lived, and they absolutely control everything in and about the Holy City. ' They hold the keys to the Church of the Sepulcher and open it as the Christians request. Otherwise, it Is s:ild. the Greeks. Armenians or Copts might hide the keys and keep the other sec ts out. At all great festivals at the tomb of our Savior there are Mohammedan soldiers on guard. They are stationed at the birthplace of Cbrlbt, aud, Indeed, at every spot that is sacred to Christians. FRANK G. CARPENTER.