Some Aspects of The Cultural Landscape of Palestine During The First Half of The Nineteenth Century

Some Aspects of the Cultural Landscape of Palestine During the First Half of the
Nineteenth Century
Author(s): HANNA MARGALIT
Source: Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1963), pp. 208-223
Published by: Israel Exploration Society
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Some Aspects of the Cultural Landscape
of Palestine During the
First Half of the Nineteenth Century*
HANNA MARGALIT
Hebrew University, Jerusalem
A. INTRODUCTION
I. Aim and Scope.
The tumultuous history of Palestine has considerably modified its landscape
throughout the ages. Extreme fluctuations between periods of prosperity and
periods of decline have at all times left their imprint on its cultural landscape.
Modern technology, however, provides man with the means to change the
landscape much more fundamentally?and more efficiently?than has ever be
fore been possible. It is only during the last few decades that really big and
basic changes have been made, but a certain turn for the better, after long years
of decline, was already felt in the middle of the 19th century?more precisely,
even during or after the Egyptian occupation of the country; this improvement
has, in fact, hardly slowed up since then.
The purpose of this paper is to attempt a reconstruction of the cultural land
scape of Palestine at a critical turning point of its history, namely on the
threshold of this period of amelioration, at the stage of utmost decline after
the desolation of the Middle Ages and 300 years of Ottoman rule. (The minor
changes during Dhahr el-'Amr's rule were local and temporary in character.)
The geographical scope of the paper is the area of Palestine within the boun
daries of the British mandate, north of Beersheba, dealing with everything per
taining to the landscape apart from the relatively unchanging (at least his
torically) natural landscape. It includes settlements (sites, size, special charac
teristics), but excludes larger towns which require separate treatment; it covers
types of agricultural crops, forests, roads and areas unsuitable for settlement.
* Based on part of an M. A. thesis prepared under the guidance of Prof. I. Schattner at the Depart
ment of Geography of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
208
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF PALESTINE 209
2. Methods, materials and limitations of research
The reconstruction of the cultural landscape of Palestine during the period

dealt with here is based chiefly on contemporary descriptions, mostly verbal,
but sometimes also pictorial and cartographic.
The number of contemporary sources used was considerable, but most of them
were deficient or partly inaccurate and could not be accepted at their face value.
The later sources usually possess a higher degree of detail and accuracy, but describe
the country after the end of the Egyptian occupation. Though not much had as yet
changed, and much can be learned from these sources regarding conditions prior
to the Egyptian occupation, they have to be used with care. These difficulties are
multiplied in the case of maps, for the contrast between maps only a few years apart
is much more pronounced; this is not so much due to changes that had actually
taken place as to differences in approach and execution between the various maps.
All sources together may therefore furnish a more or less correct picture, complete
at least in those regions that were frequently visited. It cannot, however, be said
with certainty that such was indeed the complete cultural landscape of the country
in, say, 1830, and that all the existing elements of the cultural landscape are men
tioned in the sources consulted.
The synopsis of the details found in all the sources consulted was cartogra
phically represented and published in the Atlas of Israel}
B. SHORT SURVEY OF SOURCES
Four types of sources have been utilized: (l) Firsthand descriptions by travel
lers who visited the country; (2) Descriptions compiled from various sources
by geographers, guidebook writers and others, who did not visit the country;
(3) Illustrations drawn by the travellers themselves on the spot or according
to their instructions; (4) Maps. Some of these sources warrant special mention:
(1) Volney's Voyage en Egypte et en Syrie,2 (1783-1785) is the only de
scription arranged topically and not chronologically. In spite of its paucity of
detail it contains well-based material and can serve as a comparatively authentic
source, showing a wide understanding, reflected also in the numerous compa
risons with France. Seetzen3 too can be relied upon to supply well-founded in
formation. But the most reliable sources, containing an abundance of details,
1 Atlas of Israel. Jerusalem, 1956ff. (Hebrew). Cf. sheet VHI/1, map .

2 C. F. C. Volney: Voyage en ?gypfe et en Syrie. 2 vols. Paris, 1825.
3 U. J. Seetzen: Reisen durch Syrien und Pal?stina... 3 vols. Berlin, 1854/55.
210 HANNA MARGALIT
are certainly Edward Robinson's various works.4 He used to choose a centre and
travel from it in several successive directions, always coming back by a different
road. He thus saw most of the country in an unprecedentedly systematic way.
The only drawback is the fact that his second work, based on a trip taken in
1852, is rather far removed from the period here described.
(2) Ritters classic Erdkunde5 has to be mentioned in this context. Basing his
work on other sources, he succeeded in compiling the information given by
them into a reasonably complete picture of the country.
(3) David Roberts' monumental work, The Holy Land* is the most im
portant item representing this type of source.
(4) As no surveys had been made of the area concerned, maps can hardly
be regarded as an accurate source. Most books have small maps attached, which
are more or less worthless as sources of information. Only few maps were
based on cartographic field work. Of these, however, Jacotin's Carte Topo gra
phique de l'Egypte,1 a few sheets of which cover parts of Palestine, belongs to
quite a different category. This map, the greatest cartographic work of its time
for the region concerned, was undertaken by the engineers of Napoleon's ex
peditionary force in Egypt, on a scale of 1:100,000. For obvious military rea
sons, those parts of the country where the French Army moved are mapped
best, such as the coast, the Valley of Jezreel, the Lower Galilee and parts of
Upper Galilee. Other parts are more or less guesswork. Even those regions
which are comparatively well mapped show considerable confusion, but items
of human geography seem to be fairly exact, and therefore it can be regarded
as an important source. Another advantage is the fact that the Sharon plain is
particularly well represented?an area which had been largely neglected by
other travellers.8
Zimmermann'sl map9 is important because of the short remarks appearing on

the map itself, such as 'destroyed bridge', but the author did not strive to find
out the exact facts, and when in doubt, showed the various versions simultane
4 E. Robinson: Biblical Researches in Palestine. 3 vols. London, 1841; idem: Later Biblical Researches
in Palestine. London, 1856.
* C. Ritter: Vergleichende Erdkunde der Sinai-Halbinsel, von\ Pal?stina und Syrien. Vols. II, III.
Berlin, 1850. 9 D.Roberts: The Holy Land. 3 vols. New York, 1855/56.
. Jacotin: Carte Topographique de l'?gypte (1:100.000). Paris, 1818.
* Cf. D. H. Kallner: Jacotin's Map of Palestine surveyed during Napoleon's Campaign in 1799, PEQ
1944, pp. 157-163, and Y. Karmon: An Analysis of Tacotin's Map of Palestine, IEI 10 (I960),
pp. 155-173, 244-253. 9 K.Zimmermann: Map of Palestine in 4 sheets (1:333-333), 1850.
ously, especially as regards! roads. Kiepert's New Map of Palestine10 is based

on Robinson and is therefore full of useful facts, but the small print and the
large number of symbols make its interpretation difficult.
C. THE APPROACH OF THE VARIOUS TRAVELLERS TO PALESTINE

AS A SUBJECT OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
All the travellers to Palestine brought with them a certain mental attitude?
either from the books they had read or the kind of education they had receiv
ed?and this affected the sort of things they came to see in Palestine, their
manner of seeing them and also the character of their descriptions. Their mo
tives varied, but were mostly religious: exploring the country as a background
to historical-biblical events, or exploring its fauna and flora for the same rea
son. Lynch's exclamation on seeing the Lake of Tiberias is typical: 'How dear
to Christians are the memories of that lake! The Lake of the New Testa
ment!'11 Or again, on travelling from Jaffa into the country: To the careless
eye and unreflecting mind an unattractive and a dreary scene (barren sand
hills). But in truth, how teeming with association and with food for thought I'12
Strauss says in his preface, 'My journey in the East has served as an additional
corroboration to my mind of the truth of the Divine Word.. .'13 Few travel
lers were able to overcome their preconditioned religious and romantic feelings
and see the country realistically, and even those were influenced by religion,
especially regarding their choice of itinerary. The most complete descriptions
available are therefore of places of religious interest, whereas the Sharon, for
instance, lacking such interest, was used only as a means of arriving somewhere
else. Stephens14 stands apart for his practical views. He was especially in
fluenced by the contrast between the desert and the sown. Ritter, of course,
belongs to a different category, not having visited the country, but his opinions
naturally influenced the trend of his work. The connection between man and
nature appears everywhere in his work, seeing nature, as he does, as man's
abode. Thus he analyses the incapability of Palestine to sustain a large popula
tion because of the lack of plains necessary for wheat growing.15
M H.Kiepert: A New Map of Palestine (1:400.000). Berlin, 1840.

11 W. F. Lynch: Narrative of the U. S. Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. Philadel
phia, 1849, cf. p. 152. M Ibid., p. 455.
18 F.A.Strauss: Sinai and Golgotha: a Journey in the East. London, 1849. Cf. Preface, p. III.
14 G. Stephens: Incidents of Travels in Egypt, Arabia Vetrae a and the Holy Land. 3 vols. London,
1838. 15 Ritter, op. cit. (above, n. 5), II, p. 23.
212 HANNA MARGALIT
The romantic element in the travellers' descriptions?characteristic of their

time?, is especially apparent in the illustrations, where every means, including
a strong dose of imagination, is used to achieve a more heroic and dramatic
effect and make a strong impression.16 There is also romantic appreciation of
everything pertaining to the Orient and to the Arabs in particular; thus Van
de Velde, on arriving at Beirut: 'And this, then, is that musical Arabic tongue
of which we are told such wonders in Western Europe!'17 After descriptions of
desolation Lynch's romantic feelings burst into words: The scene was pastoral
and picturesque. The herdsmen, with their flocks of black goats on the hill
sides, the cattle grazing below them .. .'18
D. THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
None of the travellers obtained a complete picture of the country, as only very
few of them toured it systematically (and these too, naturally, could not see
everything). Most of them spent only a short while in Palestine, usually as
part of a much wider itinerary, travelling the more or less known routes. But
if all details are collected and put on a map, as has been done in this case,19 a
moderately reliable picture of the inhabited and uninhabited regions of Pales
tine is the result. Though isolated settlements may be absent from this recon
struction, the general picture can be assumed to be more or less correct.
To anyone conversant with the historical geography of Palestine during
Ottoman rule, the following general picture is not surprising: the population
was concentrated in the mountainous regions. The southern boundary of seden
tary settlement ran along a line connecting Gaza with Dhahiriya, apart from
settlements further south along the coast. The coast north of Jaffa was entirely
devoid of settlemens, except those inheriting the sites of ancient towns,20 and
only on the western kurkar (sandstone) ridges were there several settlements,
more numerous between Gaza and Jaffa than in the Sharon. The density grows
as one approaches the mountains. The Valley of Jezreel is devoid of settle
ments, apart from a few situated on hills at the margins of the plain. The dis
tribution of settlements in Galilee is not radically different from that up to
1948. The Jordan Valley and the Huleh region are almost uninhabited.
16 Roberts, op. cit. (above, . 6), cf. especially the illustration of Lydda, II, p. 60.
17 C. W. M. Van de Velde: Narrative of a Journey through Syria and Palestine in 1851 & 1852.
2 vols. London, 1854. Cf. I, p. 51.
18 Lynch, op. cit. (above, n. 11), p. 436. 19 Op. cit. (above, n. 1).
20 The author is obliged to Prof. Amiran for permission to mention this observation of his.
The reasons for this pattern of settlement are well known: swamps, dunes
and insecurity.21 The travellers themselves rarely met with these obstacles,
as they usually visited only the inhabited areas. Jacotin is an exception, but in
his case there were military considerations.
Uninhabited regions.
The uninhabited regions were: the whole Negev, the coastal dunes, swampy
areas near the mouths of wadis as well as near Petah Tiqva, in the northern
Emeq Zevulun, the southern Valley of Jezreel and the Huleh Valley, the Jordan
Valley and naturally the Judean Desert.
Huleh Valley: Few travellers did more than just pass through this region,
because of its lack of places of religious interest and its distance from the main
roads, but those who did were unanimous in their opinion that this swampy
area had no permanent settlement. Swamps reached farther north than before
the recent reclamation; Irby and Mangles, for instance, found them reaching
up to Tell el-Qadi in May.2* Semi-nomadic Beduins and Turkomans, coming
down from their villages in the Gaulan mountains, cultivated some irrigated
summer crops, but only during periods of comparative stability and safety. The
valley served mainly as summer pasture.
Valley of Jezreel: On their way between Jerusalem and Nazareth most travel
lers crossed it and all of them mentioned its utter desolation as well as its
natural fertility. Only few swampy areas are recorded, as between Affulah and
Jenin, south of the Qishon River. The reason for the emptiness of the region
is usually seen in the poor security conditions prevailing there. Beduins used
to 'cross it in a storm', robbing and plundering, Government and Army had
easy access, and therefore?as in other plains?the inhabitants shunned it
and lived in the mountains, where defence was easier.23 This is elaborated by
the Duke of Ragusa, as quoted by Ritter.24 He visited the country before 1837,
and said that the valley was very fertile, a gift of God, but nobody got any
thing out of it because it was uninhabited, and not even 5 per cent of its won
- ,
21 D. . . Amiran: The Pattern of Settlement in Palestine, IE] 3 (1953), pp. 65-78, 192-209,
250-260.
22 C.L.Irby&J. Mangles: Travels through Nubia, Palestine and Syria in 1817 and 1818. London,
1823, cf. p. 190. Cf. for this paragraph: Y. Karmon: The Settlement of the Northern Huleh Valley
since 1838, IE] 3 (1953), pp. 4-25.
23 F. Dieterici: Reisebilder aus dem Morgenlande. 2 vols., Berlin, 1853. Cf. II. . 256.
24 Ritter, op. cit. (above, . 5), III, p. 738/9.
HANNA MARGALIT
(Drawn by G. Sages)
Fig. 1. Palestine in the first half of the 19th century.
derful soil was cultivated. This was a result of human upheavals throughout
the centuries. The population generally stays away from the best-endowed
places in the world, where it could easily gather a rich harvest, because in
this uncivilised country, robbery by the rulers is facilitated by easy access. At
tacks in the plains are easy, where defence is difficult. Not so in the moun
tains ... which is why the villages of the Orient are frequently situated far
from fresh water sources, in dry mountain places, while the convenient and
fertile plains remain deserted.
Some crops were cultivated, such as cotton, wheat and barley, mainly by the
inhabitants of the mountains; those of Nazareth, for example, had most of
their fields in the Valley. The villages on the margins of the Valley paid a tax
to the Beduins for the promise to let their herds graze without hindrance.25 The
existing villages were in fact situated only on the margins of the Valley or on
hills, and all of them were singularly miserable; among these were Sheikh
Abrekh (modern Qiryat 'Amai), Jedda (modern Ramat Yishay) and Affulah.
Zar'in, long ruined, was a robbers' nest when Seetzen visited the country in
1806;26 it was restored by a Sheikh of the Nablus area who brought settlers,
and 'work continued apace'. Buckingham, who reports this, found a consider
able village there, of 50 houses.27 It seems that this state of affairs did not last
long, as Robinson found only twenty destroyed houses and few inhabitants.28
Though this village cannot be properly counted as a Valley village, these de
tails nevertheless show the fluctuations characteristic of settlement in the more
or less uninhabited areas within short periods. Murray29 sums up the appearance
of the region by saying, 'Two things strike us forcibly in looking over the
plain of Esdraelon, first, its wonderful richness ... Second, its desolation. If we
except its eastern branches, there is not a single inhabited village on its whole
surface, and not more than a tenth of its soil is cultivated. It is the home of
the wandering Bedaway ... it has always been insecure ...'
On the whole, few swampy areas are mentioned by the travellers (naturally,
as the roads did not cross them), and they are not seen as a reason for the
country's desolation and emptiness. Of course they were in fact a result of it.
Another period of neglect as well as higher rainfall probably increased the
* Seetzen, op. cit. (above, . 3), II, p. 154. * Ibid., II, . 155/6.
a? J. S. Buckingham: Travels in Palestine. London, 1821. Cf. p. 495.
28 Robinson (1841), op. cit. (above, n.4), III, pp. 161-167.
* Murray's Handbook for Syria and Palestine. 2 vols. London, 1868. Cf. II, p. 336.
216 HANNA MARGALIT
swamp area in course of the 19th century. Of the malaria danger we learn
from the fact that Napoleon in 1798 crossed the narrow stretch between the
shore and the foot of the coastal cliff, in spite of the danger this incurred, be
cause of malaria, which would have endangered his army had he used the Via
Maris.30
Various sources also mention sand dunes?the northern part of 'Emeq Zevu
lun, near Nahal Poleg, between Melabbes (present-day Petah-Tiqva) and
Jaffa, between Jaffa and Nahal Soreq as well as between Jaffa and Ramla.31
A few elements of the cultural landscape will now be treated separately:
1. Agriculture.
The economy of the country was, of course, predominantly agricultural, but
this agriculture was almost all for home consumption and on a generally low
level. Schubert,32 regarding the mountains of Judea, says that because of the
insecurity of property, people are not eager to develop agriculture and prefer
other occupations. These are also taxed, of course, but there is less danger of
plunder by Beduins or Turks. Volney33 also states that merchants and artisans
were in less danger from the authorities and could escape more easily.
The crop chiefly mentioned was wheat, which was found in many place??
in the valleys of the mountains of Hebron and Jerusalem, in the Shefelah, in
basins in Samaria, on basaltic plateaus in eastern Lower Galilee, in the Jordan
Valley, western Galilee and Huleh, as well as in the vicinity of most villages
in comparatively level areas.
Barley and millet (durra) are mentioned frequently near Dhahiriya, Hebron,
Tiberias etc. Maize is reported from a few places only, near Beth Shan and on
the basaltic plateaus of eastern Lower Galilee.
Every hill village throughout the country was surrounded by olive groves?
the main source of fat in the diet of the population at that time. The large
olive grove extending from Gaza nearly to Beit Hanun is worth mentioning.
Vineyards were confined to areas inhabited by Jews and Christians. In Heb
ron nearly every Jewish inhabitant had a vineyard (producing wine as well as
.-,-,
30 Amiran, op. cit. (above, . 21), p. 198.

31 Jacotin, op. cit. (above, . 7), Sheets 45, 46; Buckingham, op. cit. (above, . 27), p. 88; Lynch,
op. cit. (above, . 11), p. 456; Van de Velde, op. cit. (above, . 17), I, p. 428; Bitter, op. cit.
(above, n. 5), III pp. 126, 580.
32 G. H. v. Schubert: Reise in das Morgenland in den Jahren 1836 und 1837. 3 vols. Erlangen,. 1838.
Cf. III, p. 12. " Volney, op. cit. (above, . 2), II, p. 257.
raisins) and these extended almost as far as Dhahiriya.34 The demand for wine in
Jerusalem was also supplied by vineyards in Abu Gosh, Qolonia etc. Others are
reported from Samaria, south of Jaffa, on the way to Safed and near Tiberias.
Other fruits mentioned are figs, apricots, walnuts, almonds, apples and water
melons (near Jaffa), pomegranates and mulberries.
Date palms are mentioned, but it is not clear whether they actually bore fruit,,
as Ritter says their southern border is Deir el-Balah, whereas Robinson reports
that the former palms of Jericho have disappeared.35
Tobacco was grown in many places. Vegetables were cultivated near every
village for home consumption. These vegetable gardens were usually irrigated.
Irby & Mangles say that the irrigation system south of Gaza resembles that
used in Egypt,?the 'sackey'.36 In mountain regions the vegetable gardens were
carefully terraced and those near Jerusalem supplied the city with its needs.
Lynch says in this context, 'The ravine widened as we approached Jerusalem; ,
fields of yellow grain, orchards of olives' and figs and some apricot trees, cov
ered all the land in sight capable of cultivation; but not a tree, nor a bush on
the barren hillsides... Although the mountain-sides were barren, there were
vestiges of terraces on nearly all of them ... On the slope of one were twenty
four, which accounts for the redundant population this country once support
ed .. ,'37 Indigo was grown in several warm places, such as Jericho, Beth Shan
and Tiberias.
Citrus orchards are mentioned mainly in and near Jaffa, near the Na'aman*
outlet and near Nablus.38
It has to be stressed, however, that most travellers confined themselves to
mentioning 'cultivated areas without describing them in detail. The above
picture is therefore very incomplete.
Several crops are mentioned here separately, as they disappeared after the
period concerned, and most of them were in fact reintroduced only recently.
Rice was grown in the Huleh Valley.39 According to Seetzen,40 it was also
grown in Beth Shan, but this was later discontinued. At any rate the local pro
duction was not sufficient and rice was imported from Egypt to Jerusalem.41
84 Schubert, op. cit. (above, . 32), II, pp. 464-477; Ritter, op. cit. (above, , 5), III, pp. 221, 290.
85 Ritter, op. cit. (above, . 5), III, . 38; Robinson, op. cit. (above, . 4), II, . 273.
Irby & Mangles, op. cit. (above, . 22), . 177. 87 Lynch, op. ch. (above, . 11), p. 397.
88 Van de Velde, op. cit. (above, . 17), II, p. 293. w Ritter, op. cit. (above, . 5), II, . 209.
40 Seetzen, op. ch. (above, . 3), II, p. 164. 41 Volney, op. ch. (above, . 2), II, p. 192,
218 HANNA MARGALIT
Sugar-cane was grown near Jericho, but disappeared.42 Volney describes an

-experiment for growing it near Nahal Soreq, but it was abandoned because of
the burden of taxes demanded after the second harvest;43 it also grew near the
Na'aman.
Cotton?in contrast to the two other crops mentioned before, which were
care and rather unsuccessful, this was widely distributed and served as the basis
for the cotton industry and trade.44
Fishery is hardly mentioned apart from the Huleh (leased to inhabitants of
Safed) and coastal fishing on the Lake of Tiberias; there were also no boats.
Sponge fishery is mentioned in Akko.45
2. Industry and Trade.

There existed a few workshops or home industries for local consumption,
abased on local raw materials, such as soap, which was even sold to Egypt, either
through the port of Jaffa or conveyed on camels to the south.46 Glass was manu
factured chiefly in Hebron, and part of this, mainly green glass, was sold to
Egypt and some even to Constantinople.47 Cotton spinning was carried on in
Medjdel (present-day Migdal Ashkelon), Nablus and Gaza. Once a week a
market for the sale of cotton was held at Lydda.48 Cotton was manufactured
in Ramla, and Safed and Nablus had 400 looms. In Jerusalem cotton was
printed in blue.
There were a few workshops for souvenirs for pilgrims, mainly in Nablus.
Water skins of black goats were produced, a tannery existed in Jerusalem.49
Regarding trade, Volney states that Jaffa lives on customs duties.50 Gaza had
much revenue from caravans, which had to be supplied with flour, oil etc. for
9-10 days. The Beduins booty was also cheaply sold in that town, including
'wonderful things from as far as India*.
4 Robinson, op. cit. (above, . 4), II, p. 273. 48 Volney, op. cit. (above, . 2), II, p. 198.
844 Ibid., II, pp. 71/72; Seetzen, op. cit. (above, . 3), II, pp. 69, l45.
45 Irby & Mangles, cit. (above, . 22), . 295; Ritter, op. cit. (above, . 5), II, . 231; Seetzen,
cp. cit. (above, . 3), , p. 86.
44 Volney,*?/?. cit. (above, . 2), II, pp. 194, 199, 233; Seetzen, op. cit. (above, . 3), , pp. 21, 49,
71, 175; Van de Velde, op. cit. (above, . 17), I, p. 435; Aly Bey, The Travels of... 2 vols. Lon
don, 1816, cf. II, p. 202.
47 Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, pp. 187/8; Schubert, op. cit. (above, n. 32), II, p. 475.
48 Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, pp. 193-199.
'49 Seetzen, op. cit. (above, n. 3), II, pp. 21, 71,175; Robinson, op. cit. (above, n.4), II, p. 96.
60 Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, pp. 192, 200/1.
In addition to the usual reasons for the general low level trade was hindered
by the bad state of the roads, the absence of wheeled vehicles and the lack of
good harbours.51
3. Sites of settlements and types of building.

Not many travellers mentioned anything regarding the sites of settlements,
but Aly Bey states that all villages near Ashdod are built on hills and this is
in fact true of all low-lying areas.52 There are a few more details regarding the
type of buildings. Lynch, along the road from Jerusalem to Ramla, says, 'The
small, square houses of the village, like those of all we have seen, Aba Gh?sh's
excepted, are of uncut stones, cemented and plastered with mud, and with flat
mud roofs.. ,'53 About the southern part of the country Irby & Mangles say
that miserable Gaza resembles an Egyptian town, but building materials are a
little better, 'stone being substituted for mud'.54 There are roofs against the
rain in contrast to the canvas covered houses in Upper Egypt which have to
protect only against the sun. Volney, on his way from Ramla to Gaza, describes
the miserable villages built in the characteristic way 'en forme de cellules,
authour dune court ferm?e par un mur de terre .. .'55
According to Robinson,56 all villages in the Shephelah from Sumeil to Gaza
are built of unburnt bricks. The first village?going to the NE?built of stone,
is Juseir (coord. 128 118).
More is said about Galilee: Lynch57 says that all the villages there look like
fortresses. 'Since leaving Acre, we had not seen a single permanent habitation
without these walled villages. Tur'an is quite a fortification. It is small; the
houses are built of uncut and uncemented stone, with flat mud roofs, not ex
ceeding one storey in height/ Stone houses are naturally found mainly in the
mountains and the towns, and stone quarries are mentioned frequently. The
roofs are flat and frequently surmounted by small stone-domes. In eastern
Galilee basalt is used, in the coastal plain?unburnt bricks and mud. Bucking
ham describes Shefar'am as 'sixty to eighty white stone dwellings, rising above
each other in stages.58 Wilson records that 'many of the habitations in Beth
Lehern are formed out of grottos and also several of the stables there... are
51 Ibid., II, p. 259: ni grands routes ni canaux' ( !). M Aly Bey, op. cit. (above, n. 46), II, p. 202.
M Lynch, op. cit. (above, n. 11), p. 437. M Irby & Mangles, op. cit. (above, n. 22), p. 178.
H Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, p. 196. M Robinson, op.ci?. (above, . 4), II, pp. 369, 370.
" Lynch, op. cit. (above, . 11), . 149. M Buckingham, op. cit. (above, n. 27), p. 89.
220 HANNA MARGALIT
in excavations of earth and rock'.59 The inhabitants of Silwan also lived in

caves hewn in the rock: 'in the village of Siloam?the living have ejected the
dead, and there are as many dwellings in tombs as in houses/60
4. Forests1.
Doubtless there were more forested areas in the country at the beginning of
the 19th century than at the end of the Ottoman rule, but the travellers, most
of whom came from densely wooded countries, were naturally impressed by
the absence of forests.
Lynch may be quoted here: 'The first thing in Syria (coming to Haifa)
which strikes a visitor from the western world, is the absence of forest trees.
Except the orchards, the mountains and the plains are unrelieved surfaces of
dull brown and green. No towering oak, no symmetrical poplar, relieves the
monotony of the scene. The sun must surely be the monarch of this clime, for,
outside the flat, mud-roofed, cube-like houses, there is no shelter from his fiery
beams.'61
The paucity of forests naturally riveted attention on those patches that
existed, as for instance the oak forest near Caesarea, described by Volney in
1787 as the only one in Syria.62 Jacotin63 shows a broad strip of forest in the
Sharon, but according to several other sources64 it seems that the northern part
of this forest, especially on the southern slopes of Mount Carmel, was only
Mediterranean garrigue.
Seetzen mentions the remnants of forests in the Mountains of Judea and
says65 that were it not for the damage caused by the Arabs, fire, camels, goats
and the axe, a forest could be nurtured there. Schubert reports66 that the rem
nants of forests round Hebron serve as fuel for the glass workshops in that
town?another reason for their rapid disappearance.
A few other patches of forest are mentioned, such as between Zippori and
Beth Lehern (Hagelilit), on Mount Tabor or near Bar'am.67 It seems that most
travellers did not see much of Galilee, otherwise they could not have failed
? W. R. Wilson: Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land. London, 1824, cf. p. 144; Strauss, op. cit.
(above, . 13), p. 260/1. 60 Lynch, op. cit. (above, . 11), p. 4l7. w Ibid., p. 118.
92 Volney, op. ck. (above, . 2), II, . 72.
3 Tacotin, op. ch. (above, n. 7), sheet 45. 04 Ritter, op. cit. (above, . 5), III, . 593.
* Seetzen, op. ch. (above, . 3), II, pp. 42, 53-54. 99 Schubert,^/?, cit. (above, . 32), II, pp. 425/6.
m Robinson, op. cit. (above, . 4), III, . 210; Lynch, op. cit. (above, . 11), pp. 105, 122; Van
de Velde, op. cit. (above, . 17), I, p. 170.
to see?and to mention? the forests which were certainly relatively abundant

there, or perhaps they were so used to describing only the negative aspects of
the landscape that they did not find this fact worth mentioning.
3. Roads.
The main roads are easily reconstructed, as they were mentioned by most
travellers and coincide partially with ancient and modern roads. Secondary
roads are not so easily plotted. As to their quality, there was anyway hardly
any difference between main and secondary roads, and all of them were suitable
for mules, horses or camels only, as there were no wheeled vehicles, but secon
dary roads were in fact not much more than paths. Therefore, if the relief
allowed it, there were many alternative possibilities. This explains the fact
that parallel routes are shown on contemporaneous maps, especially in the
plains.
The state of the roads, which were neither repaired nor maintained but de
teriorated from year to year, clearly reflected the general desolation of the
country. The inhabitants were not much interested in their repair, which would
only mean easier access for government and army officials, as stated by Vol
ney,68 'mais les chemins dans les montagnes sont tr?s p?nibles, parceque les
habitants, loin de les adoucir, les rendent scabreux, afin, disent-ils, d oter aux
Turks l'envie d'y amener leur cavalerie.'
Longitudinal roads:
1. Via Maris, connecting Egypt with Syria, along the coast, the eastern margin
of the Sharon, through Nahal Iron, Lower Galilee and at Jisr Benat Ya'akub
over the Jordan into Syria.
2. Watershed road Dhahiriya?Jerusalem?Nablus?Jenin.
3. Sea-coast road: Jaffa?Caesarea?Haifa?Akko and northwards, but in fact
this was no road at all. Travellers who wanted to see this region could cross it
because of the easy topography, choosing almost any route they liked. Jacotin
shows a road, which was a military one and probably deteriorated during the
19th century with the extension of the swamps.69
m Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, p. 260.

*9 Jacotin, op. cit. (above, n. 7); Kallner, op. cit. (above, n. 8); Karmon, op?cit\ (above, n. 8), cf.
especially pp. 248-251.
222 HANNA MARGALIT
Transversal roads:
1. Sultana: Jerusalem-Gaza.
2. Jerusalem-Jaffa.70
(a) For heavy loads? through Ma ale Beth Horon, Lod;

(b) Easier ascent: Wadi Suleiman, otherwise like (a)?for camels;
(c) The direct road through Qolonia and Sha ar Hagai, which is described
as 'execrable by Lynch, and also described by George Robinson, 'At
this season of the year (August) it (the journey from Ramla to Je
rusalem) is usually performed by night, to avoid the heat, there not
being any inhabited villages on the road, and scarcely any trees suf
ficiently large to afford shelter from the scorching rays of the sun.. ?'71
(d) through Bira?Jifna?Migdal Zedek.
3. Samaria?Coast: The ascent is quite easy here and convenient at many
places, therefore no definite route is mentioned as in the case of Jerusalem.
No definite routes are mentioned in the Valley of Jezreel, apart from the
Via Maris crossing it.
Roads in Galilee:
The comparative population density in Lower Galilee and its suitability for
a transit area brought about a considerable number of roads, such as:
Nazareth?Zippori?Akko; Jordan?Khan et-Tujjar?Hittin?Turan?Akko
etc. A main road, connecting Akko to the Via Maris, passed through Majd el
Kurum, Khan Jubb Jusef, but not through Safed.
E. CONCLUSION
A few general remarks may be made here, in summing up. The details regard
ing the mountainous areas, which were more densely populated, are more
extensive than those for the plains, so that the gap in the description of these
two contrasting regions is even larger than the actual gap in their occupation.
70 Robinson, op. cit. (above, . 4), III, p. 276.

n Lynch, op. cit. (above, n. 11), p.432; G.Robinson: Travels in Palestine and Syria. 2 vols. Lon
don, 1837. Cf. I, p. 31.
These too are the regions where the present cultural landscape, and especially
that until 1948, is in strong contrast to that described here. But whatever the
contrasts, it is clear that the country as a whole had reached the lowest point
imaginable. This is expressed by Volney, who says: 'une devastation qui donne
? cette partie (Jud?e) un aspect plus mis?rable qu'au reste de la Syrie'72 and
again, he says that this region, near to the desert, convenient for riders, open
to Beduin, to robbery and plunder 'est une des plus d?vast?es de la Syrie.. ,'73
Even stronger are the words of Murray, published in 1868: One would im
agine, in traversing Syria... that the whole country had recently been shaken
to its centre by an earthquake, there are so many broken bridges, ruinous
mosques and roofless caravanseries. It is emphatically a land of ruins and ruins
are increasing in number every year .. ,'74
" Volney, op. cit. (above, . 2), II, p. 189. n Ibid., II, pp. 190/1.
M Murray, op. cit. (above, n.29), I, . XXXVII.

Some Aspects of The Cultural Landscape of Palestine During The First Half of The Nineteenth Century

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Some Aspects of The Cultural Landscape of Palestine During The First Half of The Nineteenth Century

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Some Aspects of the Cultural Landscape of Palestine During the First Half of the

2. Methods, materials and limitations of research

The reconstruction of the cultural landscape of Palestine during the period

B. SHORT SURVEY OF SOURCES

1 Atlas of Israel. Jerusalem, 1956ff. (Hebrew). Cf. sheet VHI/1, map .

Zimmermann'sl map9 is important because of the short remarks appearing on

ously, especially as regards! roads. Kiepert's New Map of Palestine10 is based

C. THE APPROACH OF THE VARIOUS TRAVELLERS TO PALESTINE

M H.Kiepert: A New Map of Palestine (1:400.000). Berlin, 1840.

The romantic element in the travellers' descriptions?characteristic of their

Fig. 1. Palestine in the first half of the 19th century.

30 Amiran, op. cit. (above, . 21), p. 198.

Sugar-cane was grown near Jericho, but disappeared.42 Volney describes an

2. Industry and Trade.

3. Sites of settlements and types of building.

in excavations of earth and rock'.59 The inhabitants of Silwan also lived in

to see?and to mention? the forests which were certainly relatively abundant

m Volney, op. cit. (above, n. 2), II, p. 260.

(a) For heavy loads? through Ma ale Beth Horon, Lod;

70 Robinson, op. cit. (above, . 4), III, p. 276.

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