The Valley of Shechem
Leaving Samaria the Holy Family would pass through beautiful valleys until they reached the entrance to the Valley of Shechem—now Nablous. In all Palestine, from Dan to Beersheba, there is no finer spot, as far as natural scenery is concerned, than this verdant valley, sparkling with fountains and streams. It opens westward from the plain of Mukhna. It is about two hundred yards in width, shut in on the north and the south by the rocky ascents of Ebal and Gerizim. As you approach from the plain the valley ascends gently and is full of cornfields for a half mile. For another half mile the road curves through a belt of olive orchards, their gray tints contrasting with the delicate green of the cornfields. Then you come upon the fruit orchards, with here and there the white dome of a dwelling among them, until the town is reached.
Nablous (the ancient Shechem) lies chiefly on the south side of the valley, running up into a bay or nook in the side of Gerizim. Beyond the white town, which is on the watershed of the valley, lie gardens and orchards again, with fields beyond blending their lovely tints of soft green, gray and russet as they melt into the purple distance of the mountains. The view through the valley from east to west is most beautiful, the domes and minarets of Nablous springing from the clustering orchards of the lower valley.
In the picture we look toward the south. We see a mill, with olive and fig trees, in the valley, while beyond are the slopes of Mt. Gerizim. This is on the road from Shechem to Haifa, and near this we leave the Haifa road for Nazareth.
Comments