The changing history of the land has passed it through many phases, and no doubt there are far wider{66} differences between the centuries in respect of men’s dwellings6 than in respect of those natural features of the land which we have been studying in the preceding pages. This chapter will describe present conditions. And yet in spite of changes the aspect of things must be pretty much what it always was. Men gathered into cities on some strongly fortified8 hill for purposes of war, or around some holy place for worship, or in some fertile valley for safe agriculture; and the sites thus chosen are retained for the most part. With the exception of the wandering tents, which are occasionally seen throughout the land, there is hardly a solitary9 dwelling7 in Palestine which is not a ruin. And the want of good roads, together with the uncertain government, seems still to keep the village communities more apart than they are in most countries. Each village has a character and a reputation of its own, and cherishes views regarding its neighbours which it is not slow to impart either to them or to foreigners. The colour of these townships divides them into the three classes of our title. Damascus and Beyrout are beyond the scope of the present description—Damascus, the greyest city in the world so far as age is concerned; and Beyrout, the over-grown white town upon which the ends of the world are come, leaving it little individual character of its own. Keeping to the south of these, we have the clearly marked division, with little overlapping11. A brown village may indeed have a white church or mosque13 gleaming from its bosom14, and the walls of some towns besides Jerusalem are grey;{67} yet in the main it is a land of brown villages, white towns, and one grey city.
The villages are very brown—“dust-coloured,” as they have been happily called. Seen from a distance they generally look inviting15, but it takes the traveller no long time to believe that a near approach will certainly disillusionise him. They have many sorts of charm in the distance. Some of them are set up on the edge of a hill, and these seen from below present all the appearance of fortification, their flat roofs and perpendicular16 sides giving them an angular and military aspect. Others are surrounded by neatly17 walled and cultivated olive-yards which give the promise of a well-conditioned village. In the rare instances where trees are planted among the dwellings, the flat brown roofs seem to nestle among the branches in delightful18 contentment and restfulness. Where trees are absent there is generally a high cactus19 hedge, serving as an enclosing wall, which sets the village in a pleasant green. Even those hamlets which have about them no green of any kind are not uninviting, especially if they are built on a hill-slope. There is a peculiar20 formality and neatness given by irregular piles of flat-roofed buildings overlapping each other at different levels. But as you approach, all is disillusionment. The trees seem to detach themselves and stand apart in the untidy paths. The cactus hedge is repulsive21, with its spiked22 pulpy23 masses and its bare and straggling roots. The brown walls seem to decay before your eyes, and the village{68} seen from within its own street changes to a succession of ruinous heaps of débris, with excavations24 into the mud of the hillside. If, as at Nain, there be a white-walled church or mosque in the place, it seems to stand alone in a long moraine of ruins. An acrid25 smell hangs upon the air, for the fuel is dried cakes of dung. These are plastered over the walls of low ovens into which the mud seems to swell26 in great blisters27 by the street-side. In some of these ovens crowds of filthy29 children and tattooed30 women are sitting, while the men loiter in idle rows along the house walls. When suddenly you say to yourself that this is Shunem, or this Nain, or Magdala, the disappointment is complete.
In some places the houses are built of stones gathered from the ancient ruins of the neighbourhood (Colonel Conder believes that in hardly any instance are the stones fresh quarried). Other houses consist simply of four walls of mud, with a roof of the same material laid upon branches set across. A small stone roller may be seen lying somewhere on the roof, for in heat the mud cracks and needs to be rolled now and then to keep the rain from leaking through. The sheikh, or headman of the village, has a better house—often the one respectable habitation in the place, but suggestive of a ruined tower at that. It is a two-storeyed building, whose great feature is the public hall, or reception-room, where local matters are discussed and strangers interviewed. There is no glass in the windows, and the strong sunlight deepens the gloom of the interiors to a rich brown darkness with points of high{69} light and colour. The shade is precious in these sun-smitten places, and Conder narrates31 an incident which often recurs32 to mind in them. It was in the cave of the Holy House at Nazareth, the reputed home of Jesus in His boyhood. The visitor “observed to the monk33 that it was dark for a dwelling-house, but he answered very simply, ‘The Lord had no need of much light.’” The rooms are almost bare of furniture, a bed and a few water-jars in a corner being sometimes the only objects visible. In some of them the floor space is divided into two levels, half the room being a platform two or three feet higher than the other half. On this platform the family lives, while the cattle occupy the lower part; and along the edge of the platform there are hollows in its floor, which serve as mangers for the beasts. No doubt it was in such a manger that Jesus was laid in Bethlehem.
The inhabitants of these villages are the Fellahin, of whom Conder has given so interesting a description.[13] He recognises in them a people of almost unmixed ancient stock. Distinct from Bedawin and from Turks, they are the “modern Canaanites,” probably descendants of the original inhabitants whom Israel displaced. These were never quite exterminated34; and although there have no doubt been many minor35 instances of the absorption of other breeds, yet in the main they remain very much as they were when they talked with Jesus in Aramaic, or even as they were in days much earlier than His. A slight enrichment{70} to their lives has been made by each of the invaders36, and reminiscences of Israel, Rome, the early Christians37, the Crusaders, may be found blended with their Mohammedanism. But they are conservative to the last degree, and any radical39 change seems an impossibility among them. Many things contribute to this conservatism, among which perhaps the chief is the tradition of intermarriage between the inhabitants of the same village. Another factor is their extraordinary ignorance, combined with a pride no less remarkable40. It would be difficult to find anywhere men so self-satisfied on such small capital of merit. A third cause of their immovableness is to be found in the usury41 and oppression by which they are held down; and even their local self-government—that imperium in imperio which prevails under the larger oppression of the Turk—keeps up, so far as it is allowed, the ancestral ways and thoughts. In one respect this conservatism of theirs is a gain to the world: it has preserved among them those habits of speech and manner with which the Bible has made us all so familiar; and it is to them, with all their faults, that we owe much of the “sacramental value” of Palestine travel.
As for their faults, no doubt they are many, but it is not for the passing stranger to attempt an estimate of their character. The most obvious lapses42 are sins of speech, and one always has the impression that the interpreter is toning down as he translates. One can see that property is insecure, and life by no means so sacred as in the West. One incident brought this home to{71} us vividly43. Some of our party had been detained on an exploring excursion till after dark. When we asked a group of natives what could have become of them, the answer was more significant than reassuring44, for they pointed45 with their fingers vertically46 downwards47! It was not so bad as that, however, for we soon heard revolver shots, and answered them. We fired into a field, aiming at a large stack of corn to prevent accidents. Conceive our horror when a silent figure in flowing robes rose from the centre of the stack! He was spending the night there to keep his property from thieves. For the rest, it is their laziness that strikes one most forcibly. Their agriculture is as leisurely48 as it is primitive49. They sit while reaping, and thresh by standing50 upon boards studded with flints, which oxen draw over the threshing-floors. Their ploughs are but iron-shod sticks which scratch the surface of the field. In outlandish districts they are described as mere51 savages53, but we saw little to justify54 such a criticism. They are uncompromisingly dirty everywhere, yet their food is simple, and they appear in the main to be healthy enough. At first one’s impression of them is of universal gloom, sulky and contemptuous; but the mood soon changes if you stay among them for a little time, and the knit brows relax to a smiling childishness.
Of white towns, with a population between 3000 and 3500, there are about a dozen in Palestine, of which, excluding Damascus and Beyrout, the best known are Haifa and Acre, Tyre and Sidon, Tiberias, Jenin,{72} Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, Jaffa. They shine from far as you approach them. Some, like Jenin, gleam most picturesquely56 from among palm trees; others, like Nazareth seen from Jezreel, shew like stars of white in high mountain valleys; and yet others, like Bethshan, appear “like white islands in the mouth of an estuary57.” The nearer view of Nazareth, when the hill has been climbed and the town suddenly reveals itself, is one of rare beauty. You are looking down into an oval hollow full of clean and bright houses. Many cypress58 trees and spreading figs59 enrich the prospect60, and the whole picture is most pleasing. Bethlehem, again, has a picturesqueness61 that is all its own. Approaching it from the south, the track turns sharply into a valley whose end is entirely62 blocked by a lofty hill, covered along its whole length with shining white masonry63 set far up against the sky. It looks trim and newly finished; and one hardly knows whether to be delighted or vexed64 that Bethlehem should be so workmanlike a place.
But it is the sea-coast towns which are the most characteristic of their class. Tyre is a surprisingly living and wide-awake place still, and the name recalls ever some vista65 of blue sea with ships seen through the white arches or rich foliage66 that decorate the town’s western front. Jaffa is still more surprising. It is usual to embark67 at Port Said late in the evening, and when you wake in the morning and find the steamer at anchor, the first sight of Palestine that greets you is Jaffa, framed in the brass68 circle of the port-hole—a very perfect and brilliant little picture. The town is set well up, a conical{73}
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THE FOUNTAIN OF THE VIRGIN69 AT NAZARETH.
hill of sparkling colour, backed, as we first saw it, by cloudless Syrian sky, into which it ran its two minarets70. It was larger than we had imagined, and much loftier, with a very bold and gaily71 tilted72 edge-line—a city set on its hill, and with a mighty consciousness of being so set, like Coventry Patmore’s old English cottage. Dark-leaved trees, red roofs, and occasional jewel-like points of green, where copper73 cupolas have been weathered, light up the picture into one of the most ideal of its kind.
Within, the white towns shew a strange mixture of splendour and of sordidness74. The streets are aggressively irregular, and the whole impresses one as at once ancient and unfinished. The wider spaces are full of colour and of noise, and the houses which surround them are a patchwork75 of all manner of buildings, with smaller structures leaning against their sides, and gaudy76 awnings77 of ragged78 edge protecting doorways79 from the sun. Where the street narrows, it is filled with crowds of men, women, and children, and laden80 donkeys pushing them aside as they pass along. There are lanes, also, in deep shadow, with buttresses81 and long archways converting them into high and narrow tunnels. The shopkeepers in these lanes sit behind their piles of merchandise and converse82 in shrill83 voices with neighbours on the other side, not six feet away. The whole appearance of the town is that of close-huddled84 dwellings, which have squeezed themselves into as little space as possible, and have been forced to expand upwards85 for want of lateral86 room.{74}
These towns are the mingling87-places of Syria—crucibles of its national life, in which new and composite races are being molten. One or two of them, like Nablus and Hebron, are inhabited chiefly by a fanatical Moslem88 population, and in these life stagnates89. But the others are open to the world. In the past, long before the modern stream of travellers came, this process was going on. In very early times the towns were recruited by the neighbouring Canaanites and Arabs. They were, as they still are, so insanitary that if it were not for such additions their population would soon die out. In Christ’s time the Greek and Roman world poured itself into them; then came the long train of Christian38 pilgrims; after that the Crusader hosts. Each of these, and many other incursions, have helped to mix the race of townsfolk. In Bethlehem and elsewhere there are many descendants of the Crusaders, whose fair hair and complexion90 tells its own tale. But the mingling of races has gone on with quite a new rapidity during the last few decades. Trade and travel have combined to force the West upon the East. Circassians, Kurds, Turks, Jews, Africans, Cypriotes have settled there. Travellers who have twice visited the land, with an interval91 of some years between their visits, are struck by the sudden and sweeping92 change. Even the passing visitor cannot fail to perceive it. The villagers remain apart, intermarrying within the village or with neighbouring Fellahin. The townspeople bring their brides from other towns, and sometimes from other nations. Many kinds of imported goods are exposed for sale in the{75} bazaars93. There are parts of Damascus where nothing is sold that was not made in Europe. The habits of the West are also invading towns. Intoxicating94 liquors are freely sold, and in Nazareth there are now no fewer than seventeen public-houses. “Paris fashions”—probably belated—are ousting95 the ancient customs. Tattooing96 is quite out of fashion among the women of the towns, and knives and forks have penetrated97 native houses even in Hebron. The traveller comes into contact with the townspeople far less fully98 than with the villagers. In the towns everybody is minding some business or other of his own, and the stranger meets with the residenter merely as buyer with seller. Once only did we see the interior of a town house, and that visit confirmed the impression of a new and composite life very remarkably99. It was in Tyre. An agreeable native, who had brought some curiosities for sale, invited us to go home with him and inspect his stock. The house was in a narrow street, but the rooms were large. His wife sat near the window smoking a nargileh, her eyebrows100 painted black, and her face heavily powdered and rouged101. The room was crowded with furniture. There were a sofa and two European beds with mosquito curtains; a new English wardrobe of carved walnut102, with a large mirror; a kitchen dresser covered with dinner dishes of the customary European kind. Dry-goods boxes were drawn103 forth104 from under the beds and the sofa, and pasteboard boxes from drawers and shelves, all filled with the most indescribable medley105 of curiosities from rifled tombs. Bracelets106, tear-bottles,{76} ear-rings came to light in rapid succession. Finally, a square foot of lead-work appeared—part of a leaden winding-sheet which had recently been torn off an ancient corpse107 in a sarcophagus—a heavy shroud108, finely ornamented109 with deep-moulded garlands and figures. Our hosts were good-humoured and pleasant people, who conducted the conversation in some five different languages, and appeared to combine in themselves and their properties several centuries of human life.
The grey city of Jerusalem stands unique among the towns of Palestine. With the brown villages it has nothing in common. The immense variety of its buildings, with their domes111, flat terraces, minarets, and sloping roofs, distinguishes it at once from the rectangular masses of the villages. As if on purpose to emphasise112 the contrast, one of these villages has set itself right opposite the city across a narrow valley. Looking from the southern wall of the Haram enclosure, this village of Siloam is seen sprawling113 along the opposite hillside, a mere drift of square hovels seen across some fields of artichokes. Nothing could appear more miserable114; inferiority is confessed in every line of it.
More might be said for the description of Jerusalem as the largest of the white towns. It is, like them, a centre where races mingle115; indeed it is the centre of such mingling. All roads lead to it from north, south, east, and west; and when one suddenly comes upon one of those old Roman roads which{77} make for Jerusalem with such purposeful and grim directness over the Judean mountains, one realises that this has been the centre and mingling-place of nationalities for many centuries. Yet on the spot an obvious distinction is felt at once. There are two Jerusalems: the old one within the walls, and a new one spreading on the open ground to the west and north. This “new Levantine city side by side with the old Oriental city” is quite a modern place. When Stanley wrote his Sinai and Palestine it was unsafe to inhabit houses outside the walls. Now such houses are clustered together to the west in a city which is actually larger than the enclosed one, and whose rows of shops are hardly distinguishable from those of Western Europe. A strange medley its buildings are! The best sites are occupied by the great Russian Cathedral and Hospice, white-walled and leaden-roofed. Beyond these, embedded116 in Jewish “colonies,” are the European consulates117, with a Syrian Orphanage118 and an English Agricultural Settlement farther up the slope. The Tombs of the Kings lie to the north, in all their desolation, and the still more desolate119 Mound120 of Ashes which is supposed by some to be a relic121 of Temple sacrifices; but these are next neighbours to the Dominican monastery122, the Bishop’s house, and the house of that curious body of Americans known as the “Overcomers”; while on the hill, not a mile above them, is an English villa10. All this and much else pours itself into the city and mingles123 in the streets with the very composite life already dwelling there.{78} Just at the foot of the hill which Gordon identified as Calvary, while Turkish bugles124 were blowing from the fort, we saw two Syrians engaged in rough horseplay, a party of Americans and English riding, some tonsured125 and cowled monks126 on foot, and a travelling showman with an ape clinging to him in terror of a tormenting127 crowd of Jews and Mohammedans; while poor women, unconscious of any part in so strange a tableau128, were returning to the city with full waterpots on their heads.
Yet in Jerusalem all this makes a different impression from that of other towns. The mingling of races here is but, as it were, the surface appearance of a far more wonderful fact. From the days of Solomon, Israel centralised her life in Jerusalem. On that hill the mountainland seems to gather itself as in a natural centre, typical and representative of the whole. There the nation centred its life also, in “the mountain throne, and the mountain sanctuary129 of God.” Jeroboam’s attempt to decentralise cost the nation dear; but in spite of that attempt the centralisation took effect, and made her the most composite of cities from the first. All ends of the earth meet here as in a focus. Laden camels of the Arameans from the far East are making for the city, and ships flying like a cloud of homing doves to their windows are bearing precious freights to her port. History and religion are compressed within the walls. On the spot no one can forget the ancient geography which regarded Jerusalem as the centre of the earth, with Hell vertically below, and the island of{79} Purgatory130 its antipodes, and Heaven’s centre overhead. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre they shew a flattened131 ball in a little hollow place as the centre of the world. As in some other cases of faulty science, an imaginative mind may discover here a happy truth beneath the error. The composite life of Jerusalem without the walls is but of yesterday, that within the walls is hoary132 with age.
We have called it “a grey city,” and even in respect of colour this is a true name. Not that there is any one colour of Jerusalem. In the varying lights of sunrise, noon, afternoon, and evening, its colour changes. At one time it hangs, airy and dreamlike, over the steep bank of the Valley of Jehoshaphat; at another time it seems to sit solid on its rock, every roof and battlement picked out in photographic clearness; again, in the twilight133 of evening, all is sombre with rich purple shadows. There are spots of colour, too, which break its monotonous134 dull hue135. The Mosque of Omar, with its faint metallic136 greenish colour, stands in contrast to everything, and makes a background of the city for its isolated137 beauty. There is another dome110, that of the Synagogue of the Ashkenazim, whose colour is a lustrous138 blue-green, shining over the city almost luminously139. White minarets and spires140 are seen here and there, and a few red-tiled roofs have found place within the walls. Several spots are softened141 by the foliage of trees, and the pools, whose edges are formed of picturesque55 and irregular house-sides, catch and intensify143 the colours in their rich reflections. Yet, in spite of all that, Jerusalem is grey.{80} The walls are grey with a touch of orange in it. The houses, massed and huddled close within, are grey with a touch of blue. They are built roughly, the stones divided by broad seams of mortar144, and most of them in their humble145 way conform to the fashion set by the Mosque of Omar and the Holy Sepulchre, and are domed146. But the domes of ordinary houses are far from shapely, and suggest the fancy that the scorching147 sun has blistered148 the flat roofs.
By far the best view of Jerusalem is that which is seen from the Mount of Olives, as one approaches the city by the hill-road from Bethany. Her environs are of interest from many associations—there, on the Mount of Offence, Solomon offered sacrifices to idols149; yonder, on the hill of Scopus, the main body of Titus’ troops was posted; here, near where we stand, is the place of the agony in Gethsemane. For many days one might go round about the city, every day gaining new knowledge of its story. But what the first eye-shot gives is this: a sharp angle formed by the two valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom; steep banks rising from their bottoms to the walls, which they overlap12 in an irregular and wavy150 line; within the walls, glancing back from the angle which they form above the junction151 of the valleys, the eye runs up a gradually rising expanse of close-packed building, which is continued more sparsely152 in the long rolling slope beyond, to the ridge153 of Scopus in the north, and to the distant sweep of long level mountain-line in the west. It is as if the whole city had slidden down and{81}
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JOPPA FROM THE SEA.
been caught by that great angle of wall just before it precipitated154 itself into the gorges155.
To see the grey city rightly, and feel how grey it is, you must view it across these gorges. The more distant environs are detached from the city. They are cultivated in patches, and dotted with modern buildings of various degrees of irrelevance157. But these are mere accidents, which the place seems to ignore. The gorges themselves are part and parcel of the city, and they stand for the overflow158 of her sad and desolate spirit. Their sides are banks of rubbish—the wreckage159 and débris of a score of sieges, the accumulation of three thousand years. You look from the lower pool of Siloam in the valley of Hinnom, up a long dreary160 slope of dark grey rubbish, down which a horrible black stream of liquid filth28 trickles161, tainting162 the air with its stench. Far off above you stands the wall, which in old days enclosed the pool. Here the city seems to have shrunk northwards, as if in some horror of conscience. The Field of Blood and the Hill of Evil Counsel are just across the gorge156 to the south. The valleys are full of tombs, those on the city side for the most part Mohammedan, while the lower slopes of Olivet are paved with the flat tombstones of Jews.
What a stretch of history unrolls itself to the imagination of him who lingers on the sight of Jerusalem! The boundaries seem to dwindle163, till that which stands there is the old grey battle-beaten fortress164 of the Jebusites, the last post held by her enemies against Israel. David conquers it, and the procession{82} of priests and people bring up to its gate the ark, for the celebration of whose entrance tradition has claimed the 24th Psalm165. A new city rises, and falls, and rises again, through more than twenty sieges and rebuildings. Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Moslems, Crusaders batter166 at its gates. The level of the streets rises through the centuries, till now the traveller walks on a pavement thirty or forty feet above the floor of the ancient city. To discover the old foundations, the explorers of our time have sunk shafts167 which at some parts of the wall touch bottom 120 feet below the present surface. Far below the slighter masonry of the present wall, with its battlemented Turkish work, lie the huge stones of early days, some of which bear still the marks of Ph?nician masons.[14]
The gates, of course, are modern, though in some of them there are immense stones of very ancient date, whose rustic168 work the Turkish builders have cut away, and scored the flat surface with imitation seams to make them match the small square stones of the building above. Yet the positions of the ancient gates are not difficult to fix, and modern ones do duty for some of them. Others are built up with solid masonry,{83} notably169 the double-arched “Gate Beautiful,” which was thus closed because of a tradition that Messiah would return and enter the city by it. It was from this gate that in olden times the man went forth with the scapegoat170 that was to bear the sins of the people to the wilderness171. The interior (which, however, dates from the seventh century) is a rich and beautiful piece of architecture, with massive monolithic172 pillars supporting heavy arches, and an elaborately decorative173 entablature cornicing the walls. It is a dreary little place, with its litter of débris and its flights of bats; and its dead wall, pierced only with loophole windows, now affords neither entrance for Christ nor exit for sin. What memories crowd the mind of the beholder174 as he looks upon these gates! Here, seven centuries ago, went out the weeping company of the inhabitants, when Saladin took the city. There, eleven centuries earlier, the Jews set fire to the Roman siege-engine, the flames were blown back upon the fortifications, and the wall fell and made an entrance for the legions. That was near the Jaffa Gate. Here again, by the Damascus Gate, if Gordon’s theory be the correct one, the Saviour175 passed to Calvary; and there may be stones there on which the cross struck, as Simon the Cyrenian staggered out under its weight.
It is indeed a strange city, a city of grey religion, in which three faiths cherish their most hallowed memories of days far past. But “far past” is written on every memory. That Beautiful Gate has indeed shut out Christ, and shut in all manner of sin unforgiven. The land, as has been already said, seems still inhabited{84} by Christ, but He has forsaken176 Jerusalem; it is almost impossible to feel any sense of His presence there. This is a city of grey history, whose age and decrepitude177 force themselves upon every visitor. It has been well described as having still “the appearance of a gigantic fortress.” But it is a weird178 fortress, with an air of petrified179 gallantry about it, and an infinite loneliness and desolation. No river flows near to soften142 the landscape. A fierce sun beats down in summer there upon “a city of stone in a land of iron with a sky of brass.” But for the sound of bugles, whose calls seem always to shock one with their savage52 liveliness, it might be a fossil city. Built for eternity180, setting the pattern for that “New Jerusalem” which has been the Utopia of so many devout181 souls, it seems a sarcasm182 on the great promise, a city “with a great future behind it.” What has this relic to do with a blessed future for mankind—this rugged183 bareness of stone, this contempt for beauty, this pitiful sordidness of detail? History and religion seem to mourn together here, and one sees in every remembrance of it those two weeping figures, the most significant of all, for its secular184 and religious life—Titus, who “gazed upon Jerusalem from Scopus the day before its destruction, and wept for the sake of the beautiful city”; and Jesus Christ who, when things were ripening185 for Titus, foresaw the coming of the legions as He looked upon Jerusalem from Olivet, “and when He was come near He beheld186 the city and wept over it.”
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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nomadic
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| adj.流浪的；游牧的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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fortified
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solitary
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villa
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overlapping
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overlap
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mosque
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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inviting
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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delightful
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cactus
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peculiar
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repulsive
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spiked
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| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
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pulpy
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excavations
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| n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹 | |
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acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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26
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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27
blisters
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| n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡 | |
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28
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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29
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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30
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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31
narrates
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| v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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32
recurs
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| 再发生，复发( recur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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33
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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34
exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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36
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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37
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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38
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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39
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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40
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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41
usury
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| n.高利贷 | |
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42
lapses
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| n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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43
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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44
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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45
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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46
vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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47
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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48
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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49
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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50
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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51
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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52
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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53
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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54
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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55
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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56
picturesquely
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57
estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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58
cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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59
figs
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| figures 数字，图形，外形 | |
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60
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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61
picturesqueness
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62
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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63
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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64
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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65
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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66
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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67
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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68
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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69
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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70
minarets
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| n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 ) | |
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71
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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72
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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73
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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74
sordidness
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| n.肮脏；污秽；卑鄙；可耻 | |
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75
patchwork
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| n.混杂物；拼缝物 | |
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76
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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77
awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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78
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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79
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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80
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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81
buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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82
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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83
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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84
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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85
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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86
lateral
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| adj.侧面的，旁边的 | |
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87
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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88
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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89
stagnates
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| v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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90
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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91
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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92
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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93
bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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94
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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95
ousting
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| 驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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96
tattooing
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| n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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97
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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98
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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99
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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100
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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101
rouged
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| 胭脂，口红( rouge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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103
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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104
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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105
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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106
bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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107
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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108
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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109
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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111
domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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112
emphasise
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| vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重 | |
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113
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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114
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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115
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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116
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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117
consulates
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| n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 ) | |
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118
orphanage
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| n.孤儿院 | |
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119
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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120
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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121
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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122
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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123
mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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124
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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125
tonsured
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| v.剃( tonsure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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126
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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127
tormenting
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| 使痛苦的，使苦恼的 | |
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128
tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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129
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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130
purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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131
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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132
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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133
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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134
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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135
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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136
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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137
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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138
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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139
luminously
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| 发光的； 明亮的； 清楚的； 辉赫 | |
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140
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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141
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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142
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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143
intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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144
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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145
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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146
domed
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| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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147
scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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148
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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149
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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150
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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151
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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152
sparsely
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| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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153
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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154
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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155
gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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156
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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157
irrelevance
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| n.无关紧要；不相关；不相关的事物 | |
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158
overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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159
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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160
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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161
trickles
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| n.细流( trickle的名词复数 )；稀稀疏疏缓慢来往的东西v.滴( trickle的第三人称单数 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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162
tainting
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| v.使变质( taint的现在分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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163
dwindle
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| v.逐渐变小（或减少） | |
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164
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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165
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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166
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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167
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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168
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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169
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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170
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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171
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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172
monolithic
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| adj.似独块巨石的；整体的 | |
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173
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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174
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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175
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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176
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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177
decrepitude
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| n.衰老；破旧 | |
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178
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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179
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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180
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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181
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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182
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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183
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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184
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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185
ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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186
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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