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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



coarse stubble that is too heavy to be 

 blown away. Sometimes a wooden shovel 

 is used to give the grain a final winnow- 

 ing. The presence of the stubble is ac- 

 counted for by the fact that during har- 

 vest the grain is largely pulled up by the 

 roots. 



This fine straw is kept as fodder for 

 the animals, for hay is unknown. The 

 Arabic name for this is tiben, being iden- 

 tical with the Hebrew word which has 

 been translated "straw," and in Bible 

 times as now was fed to the animals or 

 mixed into the clay when making bricks. 

 We read in Exodus that when Pharaoh 

 refused to give the Hebrews straw 

 {tiben) to make bricks they were scat- 

 tered throughout all the land to gather 

 stubble instead.* 



It might be interesting to note in pass- 

 ing that when the mounds covering the 

 ruins of the Jericho of Joshua's time 

 were unearthed by German explorers a 

 few years ago the ancient bricks were 

 found to be identical in size and texture 

 with those made now by the inhabitants 

 of modern Jericho, having tiben mixed 

 in just in the same way. 



THE THRESHING-FLOOR MOSQUE 



In the southeast corner of Jerusalem, 

 close by the old city walls, is an inclosure 

 some 30 acres in extent, in which stands 

 the far-famed Mosque of Omar. Its 

 graceful dome, tiled exterior, and richly 

 decorated interior, with superb mosaics 

 and stained-glass windows of arabesque 

 designs, make it one of the chief attrac- 

 tions of Jerusalem to the tourist (see 

 pages 298 and 305). 



Besides its beauty and grandeur, the 

 past history of the site demands atten- 

 tion. Thither Abraham came to sacrifice 

 on the summit of Mount Moriah his only 

 son, Isaac. f Later King David bought 

 the threshing-floor located on this site 

 from Oman, the Jebusite, and built an 

 altar to offer sacrifice in order that the 

 plague then raging in Israel might be 

 stayed. "Then David said. This is the 

 house of the Lord God, and this is the 

 altar of the burnt offering for Israel." % 

 Although David made great preparations, 



* Exodus 5 : 12. 



f Gen., ch. 22. 



% 1 Chron., chs. 21 and 22. 



the actual building of the temple on this; 

 spot was left to his son Solomon. 



A second temple, far less grand, was* 

 erected there by the Jews after the re- 

 turn from captivity in Babylon, and the 

 third and magnificent one was recon- 

 structed and enlarged by Herod. 



After the complete destruction of Je- 

 rusalem in A. D. 70, Hadrian erected here 

 a temple to Jupiter. Between this and 

 the time that the present mosque was 

 built by Abd el Melik, little is known of" 

 the history of the site. 



To the Moslems this mosque, errone- 

 ously attributed to the Caliph Omar, is> 

 the most sacred shrine after the Kaaba, 

 at Mecca. Under the gorgeous dome,, 

 seen only in the subdued light which 

 filters in through matchless stained glass,, 

 is the flat rock supposed to be part of the 

 original threshing-floor (see page 305).. 



THE LEGEND OE THE MOSQUE OE OMAR 



The legend runs thus : Two brothers- 

 were threshing out their grain upon this 

 floor. The older one wakes one night 

 and sees all about him his large family of 

 children, while his brother lies on his 

 grain piles alone. Thus contemplating 

 his many blessings, the abundance of the 

 crop, his large pile of grain catches his 

 eye, and again thinking of his bachelor 

 brother, and wishing to add some happi- 

 ness to the life of one who has no family 

 to love and be loved by, rises and from 

 his own pile adds a quantity to that of 

 his brother. 



After the elder brother has again fallen 

 asleep, the younger awakes, meditates on 

 the many bounties he should be grateful 

 for — a full crop and health and strength — 

 his brother and his large family attract 

 his thoughts. He reasons that he who 

 has no one dependent upon him could 

 well spare some of his crop and thereby 

 perhaps add joy to his brother's life. 

 Unwittingly he returns to his brother's 

 pile exactly the amount that had shortly 

 before been taken from it, and in the 

 morning, neither knowing what the other 

 had done, both were surprised to find 

 their grain undiminished. 



As soon as the grapes, figs, and other 

 fruits begin ripening, the fellah, with his 



