CHAPTER VI

The landing at Jaffa.—Jerusalem.—The Holy Sepulchre,—The holy
places, — Bethlehem, — Return to Jerusalem. — Jericho, — The
Jordan,—The pilgrims bathe and one is drowned,—Visit to Dead
Sea.—Mount Quarantana,—A French squire falls off the mountain,
—Trouble with an official.—Judgment and execution.—Bethany,—
Mount Tabor.—Tajfur penetrates into the Mosque of Omar,—Second
visit to the Holy Sepulchre,—Three pilgrims dubbed knights.

When the pilgrim ship arrives at Jaffa the faft is
known almoft 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 impofture 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 hoftel 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 monaftery 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 caftle 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  prospeft some  four

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