Mark Twain’s Journeys in the Holy Land – Day 7, September 23th
Having woken the previous day at 1:00am to spend it traveling across northern Samaria, and only reaching camp at 7:00pm, it’s understandable that there is some confusion of dates, per what Twain has recorded, in his travel journal. It appears, that waking at 2:30am, Twain mistakenly recorded the day again as “Sept 22.” Toward the end of his stay in the Holy Land, he noticed the discrepancy and adjusted the date accordingly before setting sail to Egypt on October 1st.
Excerpted from Mark Twain’s Notebook 9:
Sept. 22….
Shiloh,
where the ark of the Covenant rested 300 years…
Beth-el
(House of God) Scene of Jacob’s Ladder Dream – nothing left now but a shapeless mass of ruins.
Villages of
Ramah,
Beroth & Mount Nebo-Samuel
where Prophet Samuel is buried….
Fountain of Beirah.
– very ancient….
All the way to Jerusalem, rocks -rocks – rocks. Roads infernal. Thought we never would get there.
Arrived at last…
bits of ruin scattered everywhere, and the ground thick with Mosaics.
Could recognize the Tower of Hippicus
Tower of Antonio
Mosque of Omar
Damascus Gate
Mount Olivet
Valley of Jehoshaphat
Garden of Gethsemane
Mount Moriah
….Loafed all afternoon in the Mediterranean Hotel.