Samaria of old, where the nuns of the palace of Ahab, the son of Omri, can be seen. It was formerly a well fortified city by the mountain side, containing springs of water; the land is a land of brooks of water, gardens, vineyards, and olive groves, but no Jew dwells there. Thence it is two parasangs to Nablous, which is Shechem in Mount Ephraim,-where no Jews reside. It is situated in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, and contains about 1,000 Cuthæans, who observe the written law of Moses alone, and are called Samaritans. They have priests whom they style Aaronites, and the latter intermarry not with the Cuthæans, but wed amongst each other. These priests offer sacrifices and burnt offerings in their place of assembly on Mount Gerizim, according to what is written in their law—'And thou shalt set the blessing upon Mount Gerizim.' They say that this is the proper site of the Sanctuary, and there on Passover and the other festivals they offer up burnt offerings on the altar, which is built of the stones which Joshua and the children of Israel set up when they crossed the Jordan. They claim to be descended from the tribe of Ephraim, and in their midst is the grave of Joseph the son of Jacob, as it is written, 'And the bones of Joseph which the Children of Israel brought up from Egypt they buried in Shechem.' Their alphabet does not contain the three letters (He), (Heth), and ('Ain). They lack the dignity, kindliness, and humility which distinguished Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob respectively, virtues denoted by these three letters. In place of these they make use of the Aleph, by which we can tell that they are not of the seed of Israel. They guard themselves carefully against defilement caused by contact with the dead or with graves. Before going to their place of worship they divest themselves of the garments which they wear by day, bathe, and put on fresh clothes. On Mount Gerizim are fountains and gardens, but Mount Ebal is barren, and between them in the valley lies the city of Shechem. From the latter place it is a distance of four parasangs to Mount Gilboa, which the Christians call Mont Gilboa; it lies in a dry district. Thence five parasangs to a village where there are no Jews Thence two parasangs to the valley of Ajalon, which the Christians call Val-de-luna. At a distance of one parasang is Maria-le-grand, which is Gibeon-the-great. From there it is three parasangs to Jerusalem, which is a small city fortified by three walls. It is full of people whom the Arabs style Jacobites, Armenians, Greeks, Georgians, Franks—people of all tongues. It contains a dyeing-house for which the Jews pay an annual rent to the king on condition that they alone shall be allowed to engage in dyeing there. Two hundred Jews dwell in one corner of the city under the Tower of David. The lower portion of the wall of the Tower of David to the extent of about 10 cubits is part of the ancient foundation set up by our ancestors, the remaining portion having been built by the Arabs. There is no structure in the whole city stronger than the Tower of David. The city also contains two buildings, from one of which, the hospital (hospice), there issue forth 400 knights and therein all the sick who come thither are
