2 12 Travels into the L e v a n t. Part !• 
CHAP. LIV. 
Of Nazareth^ and the Places about. 
From Acfe to ^ ^'^O'^ -^^''^^ Wednefday, the eighth of May, about four in 
Nazareth. \ y the Afternoon, to go to Naz.areth, eight Leagues diftant from ^cre • 
we took four Turks with us, each armed with a Mufqoet, to defend us from 
the ^rabs if we fliould meet any, and we our felves had each of us a Fowling- 
Piece, and a Cafe of Piftols, that they had lent us at ^cre. We flopt a little 
to eat, about fix a Clock at Night ; and then taking Horfe again, continued 
our Journey through places where there was no Road, but Grafs up to our 
Naxmtk Horfes Bellies, and at ten a Clock at Night arrived Nazareth. Naz.<ireth 
is an ancient Town, ftanding upon a little height at the end of a large Plain 
E^dreJon. called Ez,drelof?. It is a Town at prefent almoft defolate. We lodged in the 
Convent, which is commodious and neat enough, being new built ; for it is 
but about forty Years fince that place came into the hands of the Monks of the 
Holy Land, being given them by the Emir Farir Eddif?. Tburfday, the ninth 
of May, we went into the Church, where we heard Mafs, and faid our Pray- 
The place of ers -, this Church is on the fame place where the Angel Gabriel Annunciated the 
the Annunci- ]Vlyftery of the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary, when flie was at Prayers, fo 
ation. ^Yi2X that Grott was her Oratory ; you go down to it by feven or eight fleps 
in the Court, and by more in the Convent. There are two lovely Pillars of 
greyifh Stone in it, which were.put there by St. Helen, one at the very place 
(as they fay ) where the Virgin was when Ihe received that Heavenly Melfage, 
and the other at the place where the Angel appeared ; from the lower part 
of that where the Virgin was, there is about two Foot broken offby the Turks 
fo that the reft hangs (as it were) in the Air, flicking to the Vault to which 
The Chapi- the Capital of it is faftned . Even with this Grott is the place of the Virgins 
ber of the Chamber, which was by Angels Tranfported to Loretta ; fo that there aretwo 
Virgin. Nefs,one of the Grott,and another of the Chamber, in the fpace whereof there 
is another Rebuilt exactly like that of Loretta. It is thirteen paces long, and 
four broad, the Chamber and Grott together, being alfo thirteen paces in 
length. We went out of Naz.areth the fame day, May the ninth, about three 
in the Afternoon, to go vifit the holy places about it : And in the firft place 
about three quarters of a League South from Naz^areth, we faw a great Hill' 
The Preci- called the Precipice, which is the place where the Jews would have thrown our 
P"^^- Saviour down headlong, but He rendering himfelf invifible to them, retreated 
(as they fay) into a little Cell, that looks like a large and deep Nich ; this 
Nich is about the middle of the Precipice, and heretofore the prints of his 
Body were to be feen it\ it. In this Nich there is an Altar, on which fome- 
times they fay Mafs ; and the ruines of a Chappel ftill to be feen by it. From 
the top of that Precipice, you may fee the Town of Naim, where our Lord 
raifed the Widows Son from the Dead ; it lies at the foot of the Hill called 
jiemoa. Hcrmcn, mentioned in the Pfalms. Betwixt the Precipice and Naz.arerh 
there are fome ruines of a Nunnery, where there was a Church, dedicated to 
Our Lady of our Lady of Fear j becaufe they fay, the holy Virgin following our Lord, 
whom the Jews led to precipitate him, and being afraid they might put him 
to death ; as flie was going fell down in this place, and her Knee is very well 
marked in the Rock. The Monks fay, that they caufed a piece of the Rock to 
be cut off, that they might have carried away that Impreliion ; but that after 
they had gone a few fteps, they could not carry it away. Then upon a little 
Mount, about fix hundred paces from the Convent, they fhewed us a great 
our Saviour's Stone, called our Lord''s Table-, becaufe they have it by Tradition, that our 
Table. Saviour eat many times upon it with hisApoftles: Clofe by it is the Fountain, 
Sc. Peter's called St. Peter's Well, becaufe our Lord returning back to the Town with his 
Apoftles , and St. Peter being dry, our Saviour made that Weil to fpring 
out, 
A 
