WHEN the pilgrim ship arrives at Jaffa the fact is known almost at once to the Prior of Mount Sion, who sends two or three friars to the Governor of Jerusalem who return with the Sultan's safe-conduct. They take the pilgrims ashore and deliver their names in writing to the Governor, and they themselves retain another lift, and in this manner all fear of imposture is avoided. As one disembarks, there are Moors ready with asses which the pilgrims ride all the time that they are in the Holy Land. Two ducats is the price fixed for the hire, and this cannot be increased or diminished. The Governor and the friars travel with the pilgrims to Rama, a great place, five leagues from Jaffa, where there is a hostel founded for pilgrims by Duke Godfrey of Bouillon when he took the Holy Sepulchre. It is well provided with many apartments, some for men and some for women, and we remained there one day. The next morning we travelled two miles to the monastery of St. George, where his body is said to lie, and where he is believed to have slain the dragon, but others say that he slew it at Beyrout which is the port of Damascus. That day we slept at a place five leagues from there, close to a castle called Emmaus, and the following day we left early and travelled another five leagues to the city of Jerusalem, of which we obtained a good prospect some four leagues off. We could see a number of buildings, as well as Mount Sion, and the castles of King David, and the Holy Sepulchre which is a very lofty church. As we entered Jerusalem the Chriftians, both Greeks and other nations, came out to receive us and carried us to a great square in front of the Holy Sepulchre where we prayed, but they did not let us go in. They then took us to a hostel, likewise founded by Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, where we found an abundance of food cooked in various ways, which the Greeks make ready and sell to the Chriftians. Not long after, the Prior of Mount Sion came with his friars, bringing with them ten or twelve knights who are accustomed to live in the monastery, and we were very comfortably lodged. The Prior left two friars who were to accompany us from that day onwards and show us the sights in Jerusalem and the vicinity. This monastery of Mount Sion is situated on one side of the city on the highest point, and in it are many places where Our Lord worked great miracles. There is also a lofty tower in the vault of which, when the disciples were gathered together. Our Lord appeared to them in tongues of fire—this was the Feast of Pentecost. From here one can see the sea of Sodom and Gomorrah, which they call the Dead Sea, where once were five cities. Beneath this tower is also a chapel where Our Lord appeared to St. Thomas the Apostle and told him to put his hand into His side, and many other things also happened in this place. At the entrance, in the centre of a street, is the house of the Virgin Mary, and close to it, behind the monastery, is the place where Our Lord partook of the Last Supper with His disciples. This day we rested there, and the next day we heard Mass in the Holy Sepulchre, which is only open once a year, and there they took count of us according to the lift which they made at Jaffa. Each pilgrim paid seven ducats and a half, and with the two paid for the beasts, and certain payments made in small coin in the holy places—eleven of these coins being worth a ducat—each pilgrim paid twelve and a half ducats as tolls. As we were preparing to enter the Holy Sepulchre, there came out to meet us in procession all those Chriftians who had been locked up there since the year before, that is to say the Catholics (three Franciscan friars), the Greeks, the Jacobite Chriftians, the Armenians, those of Cinturia, India and the Copts, in all seven different kinds of Chriftians, and we joined the procession and went into the Holy Sepulchre. This is a great church, exceeding lofty, with an immense opening through which the light enters. Within is another smaller chapel, in which is the Holy Sepulchre itself, and this is so small that there is no room in it, except for the priest who says Mass and the server. After worshipping there we went with the procession to Mount Calvary, where Our Lord was crucified, which is twelve or fifteen paces from that place. This is a great rock upon which stands a chapel, most richly ornamented with mosaic work. The hole in which the Cross was placed is still to be seen, as well as the holes where the crosses of the two thieves stood. After praying there, we descended to the place where Chrift was anointed, and thence to the room where He was detained before the crucifixion. Afterwards we saw the place where St, Helena found the Cross, as well as the spot which Our Lord indicated as the centre of the world. Adjoining is the dwelling of the friars, where the relics are kept, and where Our Lord appeared to St. Mary Magdalene as a gardener. At the entrance is a great hall hung with pennons and flags of many kings and Chriftian princes, and here the knights set up their arms. All these things and many more are to be seen on the way in from this cemetery, and all the holy relics are there, and each one of the aforesaid Chriftians has a separate chapel. We left the procession and heard Mass, and then had dinner, which the Greeks had prepared for us very well for our money. That day the Moors and Chriftians had licence to display goods for us to buy, and we rested a day and night, hearing divine offices, each one in the manner of his country. Here is the tomb of Godfrey de Bouillon, with an inscription engraved on a stone as follows. [It is missing.} Close to this is the tomb of Baldwin, his brother, made in the same manner, with this inscription, [It is missing.] The following day, when we had heard Mass, they opened the doors and let us out after counting us, and sent us to our hostel. That day we saw the Campo Santo and the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where is the sepulchre of the Virgin Mary, which is an underground vault reached by fifteen or twenty steps. The Franciscans are the guardians. Here we paid certain moneys. From there we went to the place where Our Lord was taken in the garden, and afterwards to the Mount of Olives, where Chrift ascended to Heaven. There is a notable church here, with a ftone with the imprint of His foot upon it. We saw also the place where the disciples, being gathered together, composed the Creed, and from there we continued to the spot where Chrift uttered the Pater Nofter. Close by is the elder-tree where Judas hanged himself. Then, as we returned to Jerusalem, we passed the place where the wood of the Cross was kept for a long time, and not far off is the site of the stoning of St. Stephen. We entered the city close by the Golden Gate, which adjoins the Temple of Solomon, and passed the pool where the Angel troubled the waters, and the sick were healed. Then we saw the Houses of Pilate and Caiaphas where Chrift was judged. Here they still sentence people to death. We saw also the street called Amargura, where Our Lord carried the Cross on His shoulders, which is a covered way. Here the rain water is collected and stored in cisterns from which the people drink, for the city is badly supplied with water. This day we slept at our hostel. The next day we departed early from Jerusalem with the Governor and the friars, and set out for Bethlehem, five leagues from there, where on the way they showed us a chapel which marks the spot where the Star appeared to the Three Kings, and a league further on we came to the house of the prophet Elijah. At noon we arrived at Bethlehem, a small town with some fifty inhabitants. There the Moors vied with us in showing reverence, and we entered the monastery which is very notable and wealthy, with fine buildings. Six friars live here continually, and they came out in procession to receive us, and took us at once to a chapel underground where Our Lord was born, and close to it is the crib, and at the going out is the place where Chrift was circumcised. Then we saw the vaults where the Innocents are buried, and in these vaults is the place where St. Jerome translated the Bible, and here we rested that day and paid fees. The following day, after Mass, we departed for the place where St. John the Baptist was born, a distance of five leagues. Here lived St. Zachariah, and here he wrote the psalm Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel. In this place there are many holy things. We remained at Bethlehem all that day, and the next day we returned to Jerusalem, which is three leagues distant, where we arrived very early. We spent the day visiting certain sanctuaries in Jerusalem: the house of St. Anna, the house where St. Peter denied Our Lord (here is also the ftone with which the sepulchre was closed); the houses of St. James, the Greater and the Less, and the grave of Absalom which is situated outside the city. It is related that within the last few days, as some Moors were seeking treasure there, a cry was heard and they were brought out dead. We saw also a fountain which they say Our Lady, the Virgin, caused to spring forth, as well as the place where Our Lord fell when carrying the Cross, the castles of King David, the place where Chrift washed the disciples' feet, and many other holy places. We rested for a day, and then set forth early from Jerusalem with the Governor and the friars, and dined two leagues from there at the castle and place called Madalon, which was the inheritance of Mary Magdalene. There is a notable church here, as well as the place where Our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, and other holy sites. Here we paid fees. In the evening we departed and came to a place which belonged to Martha, the sifter of Mary Magdalene, and slept that night at a house in a mountain where Our Lord healed the sick which were brought to Him. The next morning we came to Jericho, which is fifteen leagues from Jerusalem. There is here a great valley, and a vast plain through which the river Jordan flows to the place where Our Lord baptized St. John the Baptist, and was baptized of him. A ftone cross in the water marks the spot. Here we all bathed, and a German gentleman belonging to our party perished by drowning. This is a place of the greatest sanctity. The pilgrims had to return that night to sleep at Jericho and to go the next day to Quarantana, where Our Lord fafted. But I arranged with a Moor to take me to the desert of Arabia, three leagues farther on, where St. John preached, and where the first hermit, St. Anthony, as well as other Holy Fathers, retired to live, and from there I returned by the Dead Sea, where were Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities, five cities in all, which were overthrown for the sin ojf sodomy. The water is so foul that it cannot be described, and they say that no fish can breed there and that no birds frequent the place. The Moor who travelled with me told me a great marvel: that the river Jordan enters the lake and emerges at the other side without mixing with the fetid waters, and that in the midst of the lake one can drink of the sweet water of the river. All about this valley there are certain tall and very straight trees, much burdened with a fruit like citrons, and if one touches them with the fingers, however lightly, they break and a smoke comes out, and the evil smell remains on the hand all that day.^ The following day I returned and dined at Jericho, which is a village with about a hundred inhabitants, and there I gathered some of those roses which are beneficial to women in labour, and saw many holy places associated with Our Lord. At the head of that river is the province called Bethany-trans-Jordan. That night I slept at the mountain where Our Lord fafted where I again joined the pilgrims. This is a very high mountain range in the centre of which are some small chapels, and there is a road for the ascent, made by St. Helena to do honour to the place. But as we were ascending, a squire of France, going to the assistance of a lady, fell headlong from the mountain and was dashed in pieces on the rocks below, for the place is very perilous to climb. We then descended, and by another and easier route we reached the very summit where Our Lord was tempted of the devil. We then returned and came to a fountain where the people from Jericho had brought food to sell to us. We remained there that night, and the next morning we took up the corpse of that squire and carried it to the before-mentioned house on the mountain, and there we buried it, after which we remained there that day. The next morning we returned to the castle of Madalon, but the Governor remained behind as he was going hunting. He commended us, however, to one of his knights, who accompanied us to the church where Lazarus was raised from the dead. The officer there demanded tribute, but the Moor who was with us refused to pay, saying that it was not customary, and the quarrel grew so heated that the officer and his men took up arms against the knight who had charge of us and wounded him. But we went to his assistance and attacked and wounded many of the Moors, and finally we captured the officer and his fellows and carried them before the Governor, who meanwhile had drawn near. The Governor at once held his enquiry and pronounced sentence of death on the officer, whose head was cut off without more ado, while the other prisoners were ordered to be flogged. We remained there until evening, and then returned to sleep at Jerusalem. The next day we departed with the same knight and came to Bethany, where they showed us many holy places, including Mount Tabor, where Our Lord was transfigured, and it is said that here also is the Vale of Hebron, where are the graves of Adam and Eve. We returned that night to Jerusalem, passing several holy places, among them the garden where Our Lord prayed and was taken, and we reached the city early. That night I bargained with a renegade, a native of Portugal, and offered him two ducats if he would get me into the Temple of Solomon,^ and he consented. At one o'clock in the night I entered, dressed in his clothes, and saw the Temple which is a single nave, the whole ornamented with gold mosaic work. The floor and walls are of the most beautiful white stones, and the place is hung with so many lamps that they all seemed to be joined together. The roof above is quite flat and is covered with lead. They say, in truth, that when Solomon built it, it was the most magnificent building in the whole world. Afterwards it was destroyed and rebuilt, but to-day, without doubt, it is still unmatched. If I had been recognized there as a Chriftian I should have been killed immediately. Not long ago this Temple was a consecrated church, but a favourite of the Sultan prevailed on him to take it and turn it into a mosque. The renegade who had escorted me now returned with me to Mount Sion where the friars mourned for me as one already dead, since I had not come at the appointed time, and they rejoiced greatly to see me again, as did also the gentlemen of my company. We had ordained to go the next day to hear Mass and to remain a day and night in the Holy Sepulchre. Accordingly, we arrived at daybreak, and they opened the doors with the same ceremonies as before. That day we confessed and received the Sacrament, and I dubbed three gentlemen Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, two Germans and a Frenchman,^ and we placed our arms in the accustomed place and took some of the relics which the guardian gave us, and the next day at dawn we heard Mass and departed. We spent the whole of this day and the next in visiting holy places and in preparation for our departure. I had been enquiring as to the possibility of visiting St. Catherine's monastery on Mount Sinai, which is close to the Red Sea, but learnt that the escort with the camels had already departed with an ambassador from Turkey to the Sultan at Babylonia, so that my journey could not be undertaken, I was willing to remain there until next year, if needs be, but the guardian advised me to go to Cyprus to see the Cardinal, brother of the old King, stating that he would give me a safe-conduct for Babylonia and that I could reach Mount Sinai from there, and I decided to do this.