A VIEW OE MODERN SEBASTE AND THE SURROUNDING HILLS 



After climbing to the zenith of might, Sebaste slowly relapsed into insignificance. Today, 

 amid the ruins of a splendid past, a squalid mud village occupies the site and retains the 

 name. 



cellent hedge. The natives, however, do 

 not yet appreciate its great value as forage 

 for cattle. The camels help themselves 

 to it whenever they get a chance, their 

 mouths being so tough that, regardless of 

 the spines, they devour the leaves with 

 unmistakable relish. The Ebal cactus' 

 superiority lies in the extra large size of 

 its fruit, the tenderness of its seeds, and 

 its sweet and luscious flavor, due both to 

 the peculiar soil and to the protection af- 

 forded from the cold north winds. The 

 Arabic name for the pear, sabbir (pa- 

 tience), seems eminently appropriate to 

 one who has innocently handled the un- 



pealed fruit and had his hands filled with 

 the microscopic spines, which can be ex- 

 tracted only by painful laboriousness. 



SHECHEM, WHERE THE BIBLE INTRODUCES 

 ABRAHAM 



The first city built in this valley was 

 Shechem, which occupied a site a short 

 distance to the east of Nablus. Here, at 

 the highest point of the valley, where the 

 rains to the east find their way to the 

 Dead Sea and those to the west to the 

 Mediterranean, is a small artificial hill. 

 Recent excavations by archeologists have 

 revealed a city wall encircling the re- 



