A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy

187 Pages·2008·0.876 MB·English

by  Ida Pfeiffer

1
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
A Visit to the Holy Land, by Ida Pfeiffer, 2
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
A Visit to the Holy Land, by Ida Pfeiffer,
The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Visit to the Holy Land, by Ida Pfeiffer, Translated by H. W. Dulcken
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Title: A Visit to the Holy Land
Author: Ida Pfeiffer
Release Date: June 8, 2004 [eBook #12561]
Language: English
Character set encoding: US-ASCII
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND***
This ebook was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset.
VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT, AND ITALY
[Illustration 1. Frontispiece:--JERUSALEM. ill1.jpg]
By Madame Ida Pfeiffer.
Translated from the German by H. W. Dulcken.
[Illustration 2. Title-page:--NAZARETH. ill2.jpg]
PREFACE BY THE VIENNA PUBLISHER
For two centuries the princes and nations of the West were accustomed to wander towards the land of the
morning. In vain was the noblest blood poured forth in streams in the effort to wrest the country of our
A Visit to the Holy Land, by Ida Pfeiffer, 3
heavenly Teacher from the grasp of the infidel; and though the Christian Europe of the present day forbears to
renew a struggle which, considering the strength that has been gradually increasing for the last six hundred
years, might prove an easy one, we cannot wonder that millions of the votaries of Christianity should cherish
an earnest longing to wander in the paths the Redeemer has trod, and to view with their own eyes the traces of
the Saviour's progress from the cradle to the grave.
In the generality of cases, however, the hardships, dangers, and difficulties of such a journey were sufficient
to overthrow the bravest resolution; and thus the wishes of the majority remained unfulfilled.
Few men were found to possess the degree of strength and endurance requisite for the carrying out of such an
undertaking; but that a delicate lady of the higher classes, a native of Vienna, should have the heroism to do
what thousands of men failed to achieve, seemed almost incredible.
In her earliest youth she earnestly desired to perform this journey; descriptions of the Holy Land were perused
by her with peculiar interest, and a book of Eastern travel had more charms for her than the most glowing
accounts of Paris or London.
It was not, however, until our Authoress had reached a riper age, and had finished the education of her sons,
that she succeeded in carrying into effect the ardent aspiration of her youth.
On the 2d of March, 1842, she commenced her journey alone, without companions, but fully prepared to bear
every ill, to bid defiance to every danger, and to combat every difficulty. That this undertaking should have
succeeded may almost be looked upon as a wonder.
Far from desiring publicity, she merely kept a diary, in order to retain the recollections of her tour during her
later life, and to impart to her nearest relatives the story of her fortunes. Every evening, though often greatly
exhausted with heat, thirst, and the hardships of travel, she never failed to make notes in pencil of the
occurrences of the day, frequently using a sand-mound or the back of a camel as a table, while the other
members of the caravan lay stretched around her, completely tired out.
It was in the house of my friend Halm that I first heard of this remarkable woman, at a time when she had not
yet completed her journey; and every subsequent account of Madame Pfeiffer increased my desire to make her
acquaintance.
In manners and appearance I found her to resemble many other women who have distinguished themselves by
fortitude, firmness of soul, and magnanimity; and who are in private life the most simple and unaffected, the
most modest, and consequently also the most agreeable of beings.
My request to read our Authoress's journal was granted with some timidity; and I am ready to assert that
seldom has a book so irresistibly attracted me, or so completely fixed my attention from beginning to end, as
this.
The simple and unadorned relation of facts, the candour, combined with strong sound sense, which appear
throughout, might put to shame the bombastic striving after originality of many a modern author. The scheme
and execution of the work are complete and agreeable; strict truth shines forth from every page, and no one
can doubt but that so pure and noble a mind must see things in a right point of view. This circumstance is
sufficient in itself to raise the book above many descriptions of travel to the Holy Land, whose authors,
trusting to the fact that their assertions could not easily be disproved, have indulged their fancy, seeking to
impart interest to their works by the relation of imaginary dangers, and by exaggeration of every kind, for the
sake of gaining praise and admiration. Many such men might blush with shame on reading this journal of a
simple, truth-loving woman.
A Visit to the Holy Land, by Ida Pfeiffer, 4
After much trouble I succeeded in persuading the Authoress to allow her journal to appear in print.
My efforts were called forth by the desire to furnish the reading public, and particularly the female portion,
with a very interesting and attractive, and at the same time a strictly authentic picture of the Holy Land, and of
Madame Pfeiffer's entire journey.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. 5
CHAPTER I.
Departure from Vienna--Scene on board the steamer-- Hainburg--Presburg--The
"Coronation-mount"--Pesth--Ofen--The steamer Galata--Mohacs--The fortress Peterwardein--Discomfort and
bad management on board the steamer--Semlin--Belgrade--Pancsova-- Austrian soldiers--The rock
Babakay--Drenkova--Falls of Danube--Alt- Orsova--The "Iron Gate"--Cattle-breeding--Callafat--Vexatious
delay
CHAPTER II. 6
CHAPTER II.
Giurgewo--Interior of the town--Braila--Sanitary precautions--Galatz--Scarcity of good water--Ridiculous fear
of the plague--The steamer Ferdinand--Entrance into the Black Sea--Stormy weather and
sea-sickness--Arrival at Constantinople--Picturesque appearance of the city--Mosques--The dancing
Dervishes--The Sultan and his barge--Pera--The great and little Campo--Wild dogs--Dirty state of the
streets--Preparations in case of fire
CHAPTER III. 7
CHAPTER III.
Scutari--Kaiks--The howling Dervishes--The Achmaidon, or place of arrows--The tower in Galata--The
bazaar at Constantinople--Mosques--Slave-market--The old Serail--The
Hippodrome--Coffee-houses--Story-tellers--Excursion to Ejub--Houses, theatres, and carriages
CHAPTER IV. 8
CHAPTER IV.
Walks and drives of the townspeople--The "Sweet Waters"--Chalcedonia--Baluklid--The great and little
Campo--Feasts in Constantinople--Anniversary of Mahomet's death--Easter holydays of the
Greeks--Gladiators and wrestlers--Excursion to Brussa--Olive- trees--Mosques at Brussa--Stone bridge--Wild
dogs--Baths and mineral springs--Return to Constantinople
CHAPTER V. 9
CHAPTER V.
Contradictory reports--Departure from Constantinople on board the Archduke John--Scene on the
steamer--Galipoli--The Dardanelles--Tschenekalesi and Kilidil Bahar--The field of Troy--
Tenedos--Smyrna--Halizar--The date-palm--Burnaba--The Acropolis-- Female beauty--Rhodes--Strong
fortifications--Deserted appearance of the town--Cyprus
CHAPTER VI. 10
CHAPTER VI.
Arrival at Beyrout--Fellahs--Backsheesh-- Uncomfortable quarters--Saida--Tyre--St. Jean d'Acre--Caesarea--
Excursion among the ruins--Jaffa--An Eastern family--The Indian fig- tree--An Oriental dinner--Costume of
the women of Jaffa--Oppressive heat--Gnats--Ramla--Syrian convents--Bedouins and Arabs--Kariet el Areb,
or Emmaus--The scheikh--Arrival at Jerusalem