CONCERNING THE HOLY PLACES WHICH THE BLESSED MARTYR ANTONINUS TRAVELLED THROUGH. As the blessed martyr Antoninus set forth together with his companion, since he had gone out from the city of Placentia, in the places through which he endeavoured to go throughout the realm, following the footsteps of Christ, they began also to behold the miracles of the holy prophets. Thus, as we went out from Constantinople, we came to the island of Cyprus, to the city of Constantia, in which rests Saint Epiphanius. It is a beautiful, delightful city, adorned with date-palms. Then we came to the regions of Syria, to the island of Santaritus, to Tyre. Then we came to Ptolemais, an honourable city with good monasteries. Ptolemais lies opposite the city, six miles, in the camp of the Samaritans, a milestone from Sycamina.
Below Mount Carmel, above that camp, half a milestone away, is the monastery of the prophet Elisha, where the woman met him whose son he raised on Mount Carmel. And there is a small round stone; when it is shaken, it sounds, although it is solid. Such, moreover, is the power of that stone, that if it has been hung upon a woman or any animal whatsoever, she will never miscarry, and from a city it resounds six or seven miles. From maritime Ptolemais we came into the borders of Galilee, to the city which is called Neocaesarea. In it we venerated the basin and the little basket of holy Mary. In that place was the chair where she sat when the angel came to her. Then three miles on we came to Cana, where the Lord was at the wedding, and we reclined at that very couch.
There I, unworthy, wrote the names of my parents. Of the water-jars there are two there; I filled one with water and drew wine from it, and lifted it full upon my shoulder and offered it at the altar, and at that very spring we drew water as a blessing. And from there we came to the regions of Syria, where rests Saint Leontius, which city in the time of the emperor Justinian was overthrown by an earthquake together with other cities. From there we came to Byblos, which city too was overthrown together with its inhabitants. Then to the city of Tripoli, which too was overthrown. Then we came to the most splendid city of Berytus, in which there was lately a school of letters, which city was overthrown.
As the bishop of the city told us, the persons had been identified, except for the pilgrims who perished there. That city lies beneath the mountain of Lebanon. From Berytus we came to Sidon, which has partly fallen into ruin and itself adjoins Lebanon; the people in it are most wicked; there runs the river Asclepius, and the spring from which it rises stands still. From Sidon we came to Sarepta, which is a small city and very Christian; in which is that upper room which had been made for Elijah, and the bed where he reclined, and the marble trough where that widow leavened her dough, in which place many offerings are made and many miracles take place. As we went out from Sarepta, we came to the city of Tyre; from Tyre to Sarepta it is seven miles continuously.
Tyre is a city of powerful men, but most wicked life, with such luxury as cannot be told. There are public brothels, all-silk fabric and various kinds of cloth. But from Tyre we came to the city of Nazareth, in which are many miracles. There too hangs the book on which the Lord had his ABC set before him. In which synagogue also is placed the beam on which he sat with the other children. This beam is moved and lifted by Christians, but the Jews can in no way move it, nor does it allow itself to be carried outside. The house of holy Mary is a basilica, and there are many benefits there from her garments.
In that city there is such grace upon the Hebrew women that in that land none more beautiful are found among the Hebrew women, and they say this was granted to them by holy Mary; for they say that she was their kinswoman. And while there is no love among the Hebrews toward Christians, these women are full of all charity. The province is like paradise in wheat, in crops like Egypt. It is small indeed, but excels in wine and oil and apples and honeys, and even the millet grows beyond nature exceedingly tall, above a man's height, with a thick stalk.
From Nazareth we came to Mount Tabor, which mountain stands out in the midst of a plain, with living earth, having a circuit of six miles, an ascent of three miles, with a level area at the top of one mile, on which are three churches—where it was said by a disciple: 'Let us make here three tabernacles.' Round about are various cities which are read of in the books of Kings. From Tabor we came to the Sea of Tiberias, to the city which at another time was called Samaria, but now is called Neapolis, in which is the well where the Lord asked water of the Samaritan woman, and there a basilica of Saint John has been built, and the well itself is before the rails of the altar, and the bucket from which it is said that the Lord drank; and many sick come there and are healed.
Then we came to the city of Tiberias, in which are salt baths. For the water of that sea is sweet, which sea encircles eight miles. Then we came to Capernaum, to the house of blessed Peter, which is now a basilica. From there, passing through camps or villages or cities, we came to two springs, namely Ior and Dan, which flow together into one and are called Jordan. Small, it enters the sea and passes through the whole expanse of the sea to the other shore of the sea. Returning afterward, we came to the place where the Jordan goes out of the sea; we crossed the Jordan at that very place and came to the city which is called Gaddera, which is also called Gabaon.
In that part of the city, at the third milestone, are hot waters, which are called the baths of Elijah, where lepers are cleansed; there is also a hospice having its provisions from the public treasury, and at the evening hour the baths are cleansed. Before the great furnace itself is a great basin, which, when it has been filled, all the doors are closed, and through a door lamps and incense are sent in, and they sit in that basin the whole night. And when they have fallen asleep, the one who is to be cleansed sees some vision, and when he has recounted it, those baths are not used for cleansing for seven days. There indeed our companion John of Placentia died.
For that hot river itself, which is called Gaddera, comes down as a torrent and enters the Jordan, and by it the Jordan is enlarged and becomes greater. And then we went down through Galilee alongside the Jordan, passing many cities which are read of, and came to the metropolis city of Galilee, which is called Scythopolis, set upon a mountain, where a saint works many miracles. From there we went down through other places of Samaria and Judea to the city of Sebaste, in which rests the prophet Elisha. As we went down through the plains, the cities or villages of the Samaritans and their streets, through which we passed, the Jews coming after us, setting fire to our footsteps with straw. So great is the abhorrence of both toward each other; to Christians, however, they make response.
However, whatever you wish to buy from them, you must not touch it before you give the price; for if you have touched it and not purchased it, they are at once scandalized. For outside the village they have one household stationed, which gives response for the place; he will not take coins from your hand, but you must throw them into water, and they tell you when you may enter. Then, however, do not spit; but if you have spat, they are scandalized. In the evening they purify themselves in water and thus enter the village or city. Then we came to the place where the Lord satisfied five thousand men, besides the little children and women, with five loaves and two fishes—an open plain, with olive-groves and palm-groves. From there we came to the place where the Lord was baptized.
In that very place the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, and the sons of the prophets lost the axe. And from that very place Elijah was taken up into heaven, and there is the small Mount Hermon, which is read of in the psalm. At the foot of that mountain a cloud rises from the river; at the first hour, as the sun rises, it comes over Jerusalem upon the basilica which is in Sion, and upon the basilica of holy Mary at Holy Sophia, which was the Praetorium, where the Lord was given hearing. Over these places a dew descends like rain, and the physicians gather it, and in it all the medicinal preparations are cooked at the hospices. For many sicknesses are healed there where that dew falls; for it is the dew of which the prophet David sings: 'Like the dew of Hermon, which descends upon Sion.'
On that bank of the Jordan is the spring where Saint John baptized; from there to the Jordan is two miles. In that valley Elijah was found, when the raven brought him bread and meat. Round about that valley is a multitude of hermits. And near there is a city which is called Salamiada, where two and a half tribes of Israel remained before they crossed the Jordan, in which place are baths rising of themselves, which are called the baths of Moses. There too lepers are cleansed, and there is a most sweet spring of water, which is drunk as a purge and heals many sicknesses. Not far from the Salt Sea, into which the Jordan enters beneath Sodom and Gomorrah, on whose shore bitumen and sulphur are gathered.
In that sea, in the month of July and August and until mid-September, lepers lie all day, but in the evening they are raised into those baths, and from time to time the Lord cleanses whom he wills. For there is also generally a certain admixture. In that sea nothing is given life, neither wood nor straw floats there, nor can a man swim there. But whatever is thrown there sinks into the deep. From the Jordan to the place where Moses departed from his body is eight miles. From there, not far from Zoar, in which places are many hermits. We saw there also the monument of Absalom, the son of David. We kept the Theophany beside the Jordan, and there wonders take place where the Lord was baptized, on that very night.
There is a mound surrounded by railings, and in the place where the water flows back into its channel, a wooden cross is set within the water, between marble on either side. At the vigil of the Theophany great vigils take place, an infinite multitude of people, and the vigils are kept until the fourth or fifth crowing of the cock. When the matins have been completed, rising at first dawn they go forth to the services under the open sky, and the deacons holding the priest, the priest goes down into the river, and at the hour when he begins to bless the water, immediately the Jordan with a great roaring turns back upon itself, and the upper water stands still in itself until the baptism is completed; but the lower water flees into the sea, as the psalmist says: 'The sea saw it and fled, the Jordan was turned back.'
Then all the Alexandrians have their ships there with their men, holding bowls full of spices and balsam. And at the hour when they have blessed the spring, before they begin to baptize, they pour those bowls into the river and take the blessed water, and from it they make holy water for sprinkling in their ships, before they go out to sail. When the baptism is completed, all go down into the river for a blessing, clothed in linen cloths and many other kinds, which they keep for themselves for burial. When all these things are accomplished, the water immediately returns to its own channel. For from where the Jordan rises at the Sea of Tiberias to the Salt Sea, where it ends, is one hundred and thirty miles. On that bank of the Jordan there is a cave.
in which are seven cells with seven maidens, who are sent there as little girls. And when any one of them has died, she is buried in that very cell. And another cell is cut out and another girl is sent there, so that the number may stand, and they have those outside who prepare food for them; into that place we entered with great fear to pray, and we saw no one's face there. In that place is said to be the napkin which was over the head of Jesus. Not far from the Jordan, where the Lord was baptized, is the monastery of Saint John, very large, in which are two hospices. On this bank or on that bank of the Jordan, throughout the places at the foot of the mountains, serpents are found, from which theriac is made; from there we came to the Jordan.
From the Jordan to Jericho is six miles; Jericho, moreover, in the eyes of men appears like paradise. By an earthquake the walls were thrown down; the house of Rahab stands and is a hospice, and also the chamber from which she let down the spies is an oratory of holy Mary. Those stones, indeed, which the children of Israel took up from the Jordan, are placed not far from the city of Jericho, in a basilica behind the altar. And before the basilica is a field, the field of the Lord, in which the Lord with his own hand sowed, bearing about three measures of seed. It is even gathered and never sown, but of itself produces seed. It is gathered in the month of February, and from it they communicate at Easter. When it has been gathered, it is ploughed and again gathered with the rest of the harvest.
But the spring of water which the prophet Elisha sweetened waters all Jericho, where there grows a wine called 'potiscon,' which is given to those suffering fever; there grow dates of a pound each, of which I brought some with me to the province and gave one of them to my lord Paterius the patrician. There grows a cedar of forty pounds and a bean-pod two feet long; there is also a vine, from which at the Ascension of the Lord full baskets of grape-clusters are sold on the Mount of Olives, and from it at Pentecost full strained mixtures are set forth. As we went out from Jericho, we came over against Jerusalem; not far from Jericho is that tree into which Zacchaeus climbed in order to see the Lord. Which tree is enclosed within an oratory and through the roof above appears dry.
Therefore, going out from Jericho, we came toward the west on the left hand and entered the villages of Sodom and Gomorrah. Over which province a dark cloud always descends with a sulphurous odour. For what men say about the wife of Lot, that she is diminished by the licking of animals, is a falsehood, but she stands in the state in which she was. Going up from the mountains of Jerusalem, we came to Baoris. From there, returning to the left, to the towns of the Mount of Olives, we came to Bethany, to the monument of Lazarus. For looking upon those valleys and travelling through many monasteries, we saw places of marvels, an enclosed multitude of men and women on the Mount of Olives.
And again on the mountain from which the Lord ascended to the Father, where also he will come to judge, we saw abundant cells, and the cell where holy Pelagia was enclosed and where she lies in the body. And on that very mountain lie James the son of Zebedee and Cleophas and many bodies of saints. Going down from the Mount of Olives, we came to the estate of Gethsemane, to the place where the Lord was betrayed. In which are three reclining-places, on which he reclined and we too reclined for a blessing, and in that valley is the house of holy Mary, from which they say she was taken up to the heavens. And that very valley of Gethsemane is there called Jehoshaphat. On the right-hand side of the gate is an olive-grove and a fig-tree, on which Judas hanged himself with a noose, that is, at the gate of Jerusalem.
Whose stump stands fortified with stones; the gate of the city, which adjoins the Beautiful Gate, which belonged to the temple, whose lintel and threshold stand. Bending prone to the ground, we entered into the holy city, in which, worshipping, we adored the monument of the Lord; for that monument, in which the body of the Lord was laid, is cut out in the natural rock. A lamp—a jar—which at that time had been placed at his head, burns there day and night. From it we took a blessing and put it back together. Into that monument earth is put from outside, and those entering take a blessing. The stone, indeed, with which the monument was closed, is itself before that monument. The colour of the rock, which was cut from Golgotha.
For that rock itself is adorned with gold and gems, and afterward from that rock an altar was made in the place where the Lord was crucified. The rock of the monument, however, is like a millstone and is adorned beyond measure; from iron rods hang armlets, bracelets, necklaces, collars, rings, head-ornaments, girdles, sword-belts, crowns. An imperial offering of gold and gems and very many ornaments. And that monument is covered in the manner of a small house with silver, and before the monument an altar is set. From the monument to Golgotha are eighty paces. On one side one ascends by steps, from which the Lord went up to be crucified. For also in the place where he was crucified, the gore of blood appears, and on that very side of the rock is the altar of the patriarch Abraham.
On which he was about to offer Isaac, when God tested him. There too Melchizedek offered sacrifice for Abraham, when he was returning with victory from the slaughter of Amalek. Then there Abraham gave him all the tithe in sacrifices. Beside that altar is a crypt, where you put your ear and hear the streams of waters, and you cast in an apple or whatever can float, and you go to the Spring of Siloam, and there receive it. Between Sion and Golgotha I believe there is a milestone. For Jerusalem has no living water except at the Spring of Siloam. From Golgotha to where the cross was found are fifty paces;
in the basilica of Constantine adjoining the monument and Golgotha, in the courtyard of that basilica is a chamber where the wood of the cross is laid up, which we adored and kissed. For also the title which had been placed over the head of the Lord, on which it was written: 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,' I held in my hand and kissed. That wood of the cross is of walnut. As the holy cross proceeds from its chamber to be adored, and comes into the courtyard where it is adored, at that very hour a star appears in heaven and comes over the place where the cross rests. And while the cross is being adored, the star stands over it. And oil is brought to bless half-filled flasks. At the hour when the wood of the cross has touched these flasks, immediately the oil bubbles up and overflows.
And unless they are quickly closed, the whole thing bubbles over outside. But when the cross returns to its place, the star likewise returns; and after the cross has been shut up again, the star no longer appears. For there are kept the reed and the sponge, of which we read in the Gospel. With that sponge we drank water. And there is the onyx cup which He blessed at the Supper, and many other relics of power. There is an image of blessed Mary in the upper place, and her girdle and the band which she used to wear upon her head. And there are seven marble chairs of the elders. From there we ascended into the tower of David, where he chanted the Psalter: it is very great, with separate upper chambers. This tower is four-cornered and of hewn work, having no roof.
Into this tower Christians also ascend out of devotion to dwell there; and rising about the middle of the night, they hear the voices of those murmuring below in the valley of Jehoshaphat, toward the Jordan, at the places which look toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Then we came to the holy basilica of Zion, where there are many marvels. Among them is that which is read concerning the cornerstone which was rejected by the builders. When the Lord entered into that church, which was the house of Saint James, He found a misshapen stone lying in the midst; He took it and set it in the corner. This stone you take and lift up in your hands, and you put your ear to that very corner, and it sounds in your ears like the murmuring of many men.
In that same church is the column at which the Lord was scourged; and on that column there is such a mark that, while He was embraced to it, His breast clung to it, and there appear in it the palms and fingers of His hands, so that for each kind of sickness a measure is taken from it, and people hold it about their necks and are healed. On that column there is also the horn from which kings were anointed; from this David too was anointed to the kingship. And there is the crown of thorns with which the Lord was crowned. There too is the lance with which He was pierced in His side. There too are the many stones with which Stephen was stoned. There is the column on which the cross of blessed Peter was set up, where he was crucified at Rome. There too is the chalice in which the apostles celebrated Mass after the resurrection of the Lord.
And many other marvels which I do not recall. There is a convent of maidens, and there I saw a man's skull enclosed in a golden casket adorned with gems, which they say is the head of the martyr Theodota. From it many drank water for a blessing, and I too drank. From Zion as far as the basilica of Saint Mary, where there is a great community of monks and women, with innumerable tables and beds for the sick, are three miles; and we prayed in the Praetorium, where the Lord was given a hearing, and which is now the basilica of Saint Sophia. Before the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, beneath the open square, water runs down from the spring of Siloam beside the Portico of Solomon. In that church is the seat on which Pilate sat when he heard the Lord.
In it is a four-cornered stone, onto which the accused was raised up so that he might be heard and seen by all; onto it the Lord was raised when He was heard by Pilate. And there remained His image: a beautiful foot, small and slender, of average stature, a fair countenance, somewhat curling hair, a shapely hand, long fingers, as the image shows, which was painted while He was yet living and walking on His feet, and set up in that same Praetorium. For from that stone many powers go forth: people take a measure from those footprints and bind it on for each kind of sickness, and they are healed; and that stone is adorned with gold and silver. From there we came to the arch where in ancient times was the gate of the city. In that place there are foul waters, into which the prophet Jeremiah was cast.
As we descended from that arch to the springs of Siloam by many steps, there is a vaulted basilica, beneath which Siloam rises; it has two basins of marble, made by the hand of man. And between the basins is an enclosure of railings. In these, for a blessing, the men wash in the one, but the women in the other; and in these waters many things are revealed, and even lepers are cleansed. And before the courtyard is a great pool fortified by the hand of man, in which the people wash continually. For only at certain fixed hours does that spring pour out abundant waters, which descend through the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is also called Gethsemane, and enter into the river Jordan. There the Jordan fails into the sea of salt below Sodom and Gomorrah.
Now that very spring of Siloam is enclosed within the city, because the empress Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Justinian, added walls to the city of Jerusalem, and she herself fortified the tomb and the basilica of Saint Stephen; and she herself has her own tomb beside the tomb of Saint Stephen. And below the tombs are twenty-six steps, and blessed Stephen rests outside the gate at a bowshot's distance. And accordingly that gate is called by the name of that martyr. And it is by the road which looks toward the west, which descends to Joppa and to Caesarea of Palestine, or to the city of Diospolis, which in ancient times was called Azotus, in which rests the holy martyr George.
On that road, not far from the city, stands a marble column, at which the Lord was first led to be scourged. This column, fleeing, was lifted up to the clouds and set down in that very place. And so it is in great measure known to be true, because it has no base on which it ought to be founded; but thus it stands always above the earth and is moved. At its summit an iron cross is set, and one ascends to it by a ladder; and there lights and incense are made, and there those possessed by demons are cleansed. For in that province too rests the holy martyr George.
And so, going out from the spring of Siloam, we came to the field which was bought with the price of the Lord's blood, which is called Akeldama, that is, the field of blood, in which all pilgrims are buried; and among those tombs are the cells of the servants of God, where many powers are wrought. And throughout the places below those tombs are vineyards and fruit-trees. As we returned to the city, we came to the swimming-pool which has five porticoes; and in one of them is the basilica of Saint Mary, where many powers are wrought. But that pool is now cast over with filth. And there are washed all things that are needed. We saw also in one dark corner an iron chain, with which the wretched Judas hanged himself.
Likewise, going out from the northern gate, we came to the place where rests Saint Hesychius. There too bread is distributed to the poor, which blessed Helena appointed. On the road which leads to Bethlehem, at the third milestone from Jerusalem, lies Rachel the wife of Jacob, that is, the mother of Joseph. And Benjamin lies within the borders of Rama. In that place, in the middle of the road, I saw water rise up, about seven sextarii. From it all satisfy their thirst to the full, and it is neither diminished nor increased. And it is sweet to drink. And they say that blessed Mary, fleeing into Egypt, sat there with the Child, and being thirsty she prayed, and straightway that water flowed forth. And in that very place a church has now been built. From there to Bethlehem is three miles.
Bethlehem is a most splendid place, with many servants of God. There is the cave where the Lord was born, and a manger adorned with gold and silver, and lamps are kept burning there continually. But the mouth of that cave is narrow. Jerome the presbyter, skilled in speech, renowned in interpretation, conspicuous among all narrators, carved into the rock at the very mouth of the cave, and out of devotion to the Saviour made himself a tomb there. Half a milestone from Bethlehem, in the suburb of David, lie David and Solomon his son, and that place is called the basilica of Saint David. But also the infants whom Herod slew have their tombs in that very place, and they all rest in one chamber, and their tombs are opened and their holy bones are seen.
Before Bethlehem there is a monastery girt with a wall, in which there is a multitude of monks. From Bethlehem to the oak of Mamre is twenty-four miles. In that place rest Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah, together with the bones of Joseph. There is a basilica with four porticoes, an atrium in the middle open to the sky, and a partition through the middle; from one side the Christians enter, but from the other the Jews, making many offerings of incense. For the laying to rest of Jacob and David is most devoutly celebrated by all in that land on the first day after the Nativity of the Lord, so that from all the land of the Jews an innumerable multitude gathers, bringing incense and lamps, and giving gifts and ministering in that place.