Hill of Sarîs
Hill of Sarîs Leaving the scene described on the Jerusalem road, Joseph and Mary would next pass the Hill of Sarîs. The village of Sarîs lies on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem on a plateau with numerous olive trees. Winding up the side of another valley we ascend the hill on which lie the ruins of the ancient Sarîs. From the top of this hill a beautiful view of the tree-crowned, flower-decked plains may be seen, while beyond lies the silent sea shining in the sunlight. The hill wears a crown of wild olives, which graciously spread their protecting arms as if to shut out the very memory of the desolate ruins at their feet. “I have often tried,” says Thomson, “to realize the appearance of these valleys and hills around Jerusalem during the great feasts. Covered with olive groves, fruit orchards and terraced vineyards, beneath whose friendly bowers many a happy family and neighborhood group assembled, rising rank over rank to the very top of the mountains; I marvel that no...