Syria from the saddle . e was half- STB I A FROM THE SADDLE. 247 empty. We left the roof and crossed over toward theChurch of the Nativity. Bethlehem, like Nazareth, is built into a concave hill-side surrounded by fields and olive orchards ; the housesare very old, most of them being of gray stone andcement, two or more stories high, with arched windowsand balconies. Theloose and grass-grownstones on many of theflat roofs give thetown a half-ruinedlook that is contra-dicted by the thriv-ing condition of theinhabitants. Bethle-hem women are notedfor their beauty. Isaw there many girlswhose face
Syria from the saddle . e was half- STB I A FROM THE SADDLE. 247 empty. We left the roof and crossed over toward theChurch of the Nativity. Bethlehem, like Nazareth, is built into a concave hill-side surrounded by fields and olive orchards ; the housesare very old, most of them being of gray stone andcement, two or more stories high, with arched windowsand balconies. Theloose and grass-grownstones on many of theflat roofs give thetown a half-ruinedlook that is contra-dicted by the thriv-ing condition of theinhabitants. Bethle-hem women are notedfor their beauty. Isaw there many girlswhose faces mightwell have served asmodels for the Ma-donna ; they weredressed with a pic-turesqueness far dif-ferent from the ordinary hideous costumes of Syrianwomen. Tradition says that since the time when Herodslaughtered all the male children of Bethlehem, Godhas recompensed the town by giving the women moreand fairer sons than those of any other place of its sizein the East. The present population of Bethlehem is about four. Bethlehem Bride. 248 SYRIA FROM THE SADDLE. thousand. The towns principal industry is mother-of-pearl working. Nearly all the mother-of-pearl orna-ments, carved shells, crucifixes, etc., brought from theEast are made by Bethlehemite workmen. We made our way with some difficulty into theChurch of the £Jativity. This is perhaps the oldest inthe world; it is certainly the oldest in Palestine, havingbeen built by Constantine early in the fourth interior is rigidly plain, except for the altar and itssurroundings. High limestone pillars, each a monolithand crowned by Corinthian capitals, separate the twoside aisles from the central space; and on the wallsare faint traces of mottoes and paintings left by Crusa-ders, with here and there an almost effaced fragmentof mosaic. The distance from the main entrance to thehigh altar is nearly two hundred feet. We made a descent of thirteen steps into the crypt,where the Chapel of the Nativity is situated. Thisplac
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