View of Jerusalem from Bethesda
Bethesda (house of mercy) is generally supposed to be the pool now called Berkit Isrâêl, within the wall of the city. It is north of the temple and near the St. Stephen’s Gate, which is supposed to occupy the ancient site of the sheep market. It is an immense reservoir, 360 feet long, 130 feet wide and seventy-five feet deep to the rubbish which has accumulated at the bottom. It now rarely contains water. Whether this be the true Bethesda or not we know the true site is not far distant where “an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water,” and that not far from this spot stood Jesus, and said: “Wilt thou be made whole?” “Rise, take up thy bed and walk.” Looking southward from this point one gets a magnificent view of that “Holy City which has now occupied a permanent position on the page of history for nearly thirty-eight long centuries. A high battlemented wall, in some places nearly eighty feet high, encompasses the city. The red rays of the setting sun shed a halo round the Castle of David, and tips with gold each “tapering minaret,” and gilds each dome of mosque and church? The Mosque of Omar, the most splendid mosque in the world, encrusted with encaustic tiles of gorgeous colors, and surmounted by its graceful dome, the dazzling whiteness of its pavements and fountains, and, most of all, its sacred associations, make it one of the most interesting and charming spots on earth. The above view is taken near St. Stephen’s gate. The architectural features of the scene are wholly changed since the boy from Nazareth looked on Jerusalem. But the hills, the valleys, and the sky are the same. Here He walked and wondered, the simple lad from Galilee.
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