Syria and the Holy Land : their scenery and their people : incidents of travel, &cfrom the best and most recent authorities . steadying them with both handslike the caryatides of the Acropolis. Other girls, similarly dressed, werewashing at the fountain, and laughed with each other, as they bent their darkeyes on us. Others, again, in richer garments, their heads braided withstrings of piastres or gold sequins, were dancing under a broad pomegranatetree at some distance from the fountain. The dance consisted only of a slowmonotonous movement in a circle, with easy liquid gestures, and now and
Syria and the Holy Land : their scenery and their people : incidents of travel, &cfrom the best and most recent authorities . steadying them with both handslike the caryatides of the Acropolis. Other girls, similarly dressed, werewashing at the fountain, and laughed with each other, as they bent their darkeyes on us. Others, again, in richer garments, their heads braided withstrings of piastres or gold sequins, were dancing under a broad pomegranatetree at some distance from the fountain. The dance consisted only of a slowmonotonous movement in a circle, with easy liquid gestures, and now and thena few steps, devoid of art, but not without grace. These Arab women werenot veiled, and, though their faces were slightly tatooed, there was a delicacyand a regularity in their lineaments that distinguished them from the Turkishrace. They continued to dance and sing all the time our halt lasted, andseemed not at all offended at our scrutiny of their costume and their pro-ceedings. We heard that they were assembled in waiting for the marriagepresents a young Arab had gone to purchase at Nazareth for one of the girls. Nazareth. of Sefurieh, his betrothed ; and indeed we encountered the presents that sameday on the road. They consisted of a bolting cloth for separating the flour 322 SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND. from the bran, a piece of cotton cloth, and one of a ruder texture to make atunic for the bride. It was just five oclock when we came to Nazareth, which was not visibletill we were immediately above it. The capital of Galilee is now a littletown containing 3000 inhabitants, chiefly Christians. Its white houses aredelightfully situated on a gentle acclivity, hemmed in by mountains on allsides but one, which opens on a valley about two miles and a half in Greek church, the high minaret of the Turkish mosque, and theextensive broad walls of the Latin convent, were the first objects that caughtour eyes. We proceeded at once to the Latin convent; the inner door was cl
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublisherlondonchapmanandha
