THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



341 



A public reading room has been opened 

 in the public garden, in which the daily 

 news telegrams are posted in English, 

 French, Arabic, and Hebrew, and news- 

 papers in various languages are provided. 



Football teams have been organized 

 among the boys of the city, under a spe- 

 cial coach selected by the military. Pub- 

 lic entertainments of all sorts are pro- 

 vided, and great care is taken to see that 

 the heads of all the different religious 

 communities are invited. 



Without question, the greatest achieve- 

 ment of the British regime has been the 

 bringing of water to the city. Before the 

 British occupation the only water in Jeru- 

 salem was that which was collected dur- 

 ing the rainy season in the dirty cisterns 

 throughout the city and that which was 

 peddled in goatskin water-bags on the 

 backs of men and donkeys. 



The reservoirs or cisterns are from 

 twenty to thirty feet square and are so 

 constructed that the water from the build- 

 ings and streets flows into them during 

 the rainy season. As sanitation in the 

 past has been unknown in the city, the 

 condition of these cisterns can be imag- 

 ined, for no precaution was taken to pre- 

 vent the filth and dirt of the streets from 

 flowing in with the water. 



Water has always been the most pre- 

 cious thing in Palestine, and particularly 

 in Jerusalem. Although the Turks ruled 

 the city for more than four hundred 

 years, they had never provided an ade- 

 quate water supply. Within five months 

 after the arrival of the British 320,000 

 gallons of water were being piped into 

 the city daily. 



About 15 miles from Jerusalem, out 

 beyond Bethlehem, on the Hebron road, 

 was a great tank begun by Pontius Pilate 

 to supply water to the city. We are told 

 that the expense was so great that when 

 the Roman Government learned of it the 

 work was stopped at once and was never 

 completed. The tank and an aqueduct 

 from an ever-flowing spring to the tank 

 have been restored, and the water is now 

 brought to Jerusalem through a six-inch 

 pipe. The tank holds about 5,000,000 

 gallons, and insures a steady supply. 



PLANNING POR THE) CITY'S FUTURE 



Realizing that under a just and honest 

 administration Jerusalem is likely to have 



a large increase in population, a general 

 plan has been drawn up for the imme- 

 diate future. This plan provides for 

 modern extensions beyond the walled 

 area and contemplates a more practical 

 style of architecture, which will, however, 

 harmonize with the buildings of the an- 

 cient city. 



As an old jewel must be properly set, 

 so as to bring out all its luster, so will 

 old Jerusalem stand out on the top of the 

 hill, unspoiled by modern hand, towering 

 alone in all her ancient beauty. 



Much of the oriental charm of the old 

 city is due to the dark, narrow, winding 

 streets, resounding with the babble of 

 many tongues and teeming with endless 

 streams of people gathered out of every 

 nation under heaven. 



Many of the streets are ill paved and 

 end in blind alleys. A number of them 

 run under and through buildings and are 

 lighted by oil lamps. No ray of sunshine 

 or fresh air penetrates these dark pas- 

 sageways. 



Often it is necessary to crouch against 

 the wall to let the camels and donkeys, in 

 charge of their yelling Moslem drivers, 

 get by. One who has made the trip from 

 Jaffa to Jerusalem at night by motor-car 

 can never forget the sights and sounds 

 of the almost endless train of grumbling, 

 groaning camels, with donkeys occasion- 

 ally interspersed, all loaded with vegeta- 

 bles and fruit, creeping up to Jerusalem 

 for the morning market. 



PILGRIMS PROM ALL LANDS 



Iii Jerusalem we see the pilgrims from 

 all countries, who have come to end their 

 days in the sacred city. Jews are seen by 

 the thousands, in their long, thin robes, 

 which look like dusters, all with wide- 

 brimmed hats, much like those worn 

 by the Quakers in their early days in 

 America. 



Mingling with the crowds are Greek, 

 Latin, and Armenian priests in bare feet 

 or wearing sandals, and here and there 

 are the sisters from the numberless con- 

 vents. The Moslem women go hurrying 

 through the streets, with faces completely 

 hidden by long veils. Armenians, Arabs, 

 and Europeans are all rubbing shoulders 

 in the little winding streets. 



As I went about the city the variety of 

 putrid smells and the dirty, begging pop- 



