1930’s JERUSALEM PALESTINE / ISRAEL TRAVELOGUE FILM

on a Hilltop in ancient Israel King David built an altar to the Lord on that same site today stands Jerusalem the holy city how miniature it is its walls are but 2 and 1 half miles in circumference its area is only about half that of Central Park in New York City Jerusalem has six Gates of which the North or Damascus gate is the most imposing visitors usually approach the city from the West above the walls is the Citadel of Zion often erroneously called the Tower of David it is now a museum let us enter the city through the west or Jaffa gate or through the breach nearby made to admit the former German Kaiser when he visited here in 1898 and through which general Allenby and his Christian Army entered to take the city from the Turks in 1917 within the walls the streets are narrow and must be traversed a foot David Street with its greasy slippery steps its dominative Dusky shops and its mly crowds is Jerusalem's Fifth Avenue but to see the city at its best one should Ascend to its roofs down in its Labyrinth of streets are scenes reminiscent of the ancient past but little if any different from those of the Old Testament five times daily muhammadans are called to Prayer by the muzin in the minet Jerusalem is sacred to Muslims as the site from which Muhammad ascended into heaven to Christians as the place of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ and to Hebrews as the city of David despite its Holiness the lack of water and sanitation has made soap a necessity those who use soap apparently need it if the size of a cake means anything one of these in your bath and you will never lose it or as this fellow has done you might give up bathing all together Fair Beggars beseech bakish but in the bazaars partisans are industrious and frequently friendly this cobbler rejoices in his work of saving Souls that are holy nearby is a Tanner who has fleeced many a lamb in this walled Street when he tried to sell this skin to one lady she told him to take that awful odor away but being a clever traitor he replied Madam it isn't the skin It's Me Through The Heart of the City runs the via doosa the imaginary path trod by Christ on his way from The Garden of Gethsemane to his crucifixion the busy streets are fragments of the leisurely disheveled dignified East bronze peasants in flowing garments traffic in cargo of incredible size and weight the grotesque camel is everywhere there is something about the groop of a camel's lower lip that expresses unalterable disgust with the universe or perhaps utter contempt for the donkey which often troops through the streets alone and unattended politely picking his way through traffic in the spring thousands of oranges are brought up to Jerusalem from japa on the Mediterranean Coast 55 M away they are said to be the juiciest most delicious oranges on this planet from this early morning Market they are carried to stalls in and near the city where they are offered at retail to the public from the blossoms of these same oranges bees obtain The Fragrant nectar from which Orange Blossom honey is made as a result Palestine once again gives promise of becoming a land flowing with milk and honey Jerusalem is said to be the only place in the world where copper utensils are whitened and where workers are constantly employed keeping them white first the vessels are Polished in this primitive fashion next they are washed in a solution of silver nitrate common salt and cream of tartar then they are fired so as to fix the bath on the copper observe how white each article becomes during this process the bellows in operation comprise the nearest substitute for political oratory that Palestine can show there is the usual lip and mouth action and the usual result hot air but here the Silvery tongue is practical or see what it has done to drab reality the Dome of the Rock almost as sacred to muhammadans as Mecca is built on the traditional site of the Temple of Solomon the last remaining wall of that Temple is revered by the Jews who use it as a wailing place they Resort here daily to pray and to bewail the fate of their Temple and their race the fanatical mutter Melancholy sentences from greasy books they weep they kiss the wall for the Majesty that is departed he reads and then answers we sit in solitude and mourn we pray thee have mercy on Zion he cries and then responds gather the children of Jerusalem Jews muhammadans and Christians flocking to the holy city are are alike in their sincerity in their devotion in the spirit of sacrifice that leads them on their pilgrimage they seem such Earnest devout Souls seeking something that is higher than themselves a city set upon a hill Jerusalem today is set upon several Hills for the new city growing up outside the walls is modern sanitary and three or four times larger than the city of David with its new hotels Jerusalem has become one of the world's most inviting as it has ever been its holiest for to call