322 
A CRUSADE IN THE EAST. 
dalene. We had no time to explore the caves or artificial 
grottoes in the cliff. 
Passing over a rocky and precipitous path, along the shores 
of the lake, we at length beheld the castle and ruins of Ti¬ 
berias, once the capital of Galilee. 
Tiberias is handsomely situated on a slope facing the lake. 
It is a filthy and dilapidated town, built in the Saracenic 
style, and is at present in a wretched state of ruin and de¬ 
cay. One or two mosques in the upper part on the hill-side, 
and a few scattering palm-trees among the ruins of the an¬ 
cient city, give it something of an Oriental character. The 
foundations of the old walls and the remains of the ruined 
gateways are still standing; and the broken columns and 
friezes scattered about the outskirts of the town bear evidence 
of its grandeur in by-gone centuries. The first view, on the ap¬ 
proach, embraces the ruined castle on the top of the hill and 
the immense gateway and fortifications. From these it w’ould 
appear that in the days of its prosperity Tiberias must have 
been a city of considerable importance. Columns and cor¬ 
nices of massive proportions, beautifully cut, lie partially im¬ 
bedded in the ground ; and large blocks of stone, which evi¬ 
dently occupied in remote periods a prominent place in the 
temples and palaces, are scattered about for many miles. 
Portions of the ancient walls are nearly perfect; but the 
greater part seem to have been shaken down by some con¬ 
vulsion of nature—probably the great earthquake which de¬ 
stroyed Safed—or shattered into ruin by the ravages of the 
wars between the Turks and Syrians. This city was once 
the capital of Galilee, and was famed in later periods of its 
history as the principal seat of Rabbinical learning. It con¬ 
tains at present a population of several thousand, chiefly 
Jews, who hold it by sufferance of the Turks. Some of the 
most learned of the Rabbi composed and promulgated their 
works here, and at one period it boasted institutions of learn¬ 
ing and historical research unequaled by any in the East. 
The streets are narrow and unpaved, the houses are of filthy 
appearance, and the aspect of the inhabitants sickly and 
emaciated. Unlike the larger towns in Syria through which 
