The Pilgrim of Bordeaux

An itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem and back
Section 3: The Holy Places.

  • There are in Jerusalem two large pools at the side of the temple, that is, one upon the right hand, and one upon the left, which were made by Solomon; and further in the city are twin pools, with five porticoes, which are called Bethsaida. There persons who have been sick for many years are cured; the pools contain water which is red when it is disturbed. There is also here a crypt, in which Solomon used to torture devils.
  • Here is also the corner of an exceeding high tower, where our Lord ascended and the tempter said to Him, 'If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down hence.' And the Lord answered, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, but him only shalt thou serve.' There is a great corner-stone, of which it was said, 'The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.' Under the pinnacle of the tower are many rooms, and here was Solomon's palace. There also is the chamber in which he sate and wrote the Book of Wisdom; this chamber is covered with a single stone. There are also large subterranean reservoirs for water and pools constructed with great labour. And in the building itself, where stood the temple which Solomon built, they say that the blood of Zacharias which was shed upon the stone pavement before the altar remains to this day. There are also to be seen the marks of the nails in the shoes of the soldiers who slew him, throughout the whole enclosure, so plain that you would think they were impressed upon wax. There are two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues there is a perforated stone, to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart. There also is the house of Hezekiah King of Judah.
  • Also as you come out of Jerusalem to go up Mount Sion, on the left hand, below in the valley, beside the wall, is a pool which is called Siloe and has four porticoes; and there is another large pool outside it. This spring runs for six days and nights, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, it does not run at all, either by day or by night. On this side one goes up Sion, and sees where the house of Caiaphas the priest was, and there still stands a column against which Christ was beaten with rods. Within, however, inside the wall of Sion, is seen the place where was David's palace. Of seven synagogues which once were there, one alone remains; the rest are ploughed over and sown upon, as said Isaiah the prophet.
  • From there as you go out of the wall of Sion, as you walk towards the gate of Neapolis, towards the right, below in the valley, are walls, where was the house or praetorium of Pontius Pilate. Here our Lord was tried before His passion. On the left hand is the little hill of Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. About a stone's throw thence is a crypt wherein His body was laid, and rose again on the third day. There, at present, by the command of the Emperor Constantine, has been built a basilica, that is to say, a church of wondrous beauty, having at the side reservoirs from which water is raised, and a bath behind in which infants are baptised.
  • Also as one goes from Jerusalem to the gate which is to the eastward, in order to ascend the Mount of Olives, is the valley called that of Josaphat. Towards the left, where are vineyards, is a stone at the place where Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ; on the right is a palm-tree, branches of which the children carried off and strewed in the way when Christ came. Not far thence, about a stone's-throw, are two notable tombs of wondrous beauty; in the one, which is a true monolith, lies Isaiah the prophet, and in the other Hezekiah, King of the Jews.
  • From there you ascend to the Mount of Olives, where before the Passion, the Lord taught His disciples. There by the orders of Constantine a basilica of wondrous beauty has been built. Not far thence is the little hill which the Lord ascended to pray, when he took Peter and John with Him, and Moses and Elias were beheld.
  • A mile and a half to the eastward is the village called Bethany. There is a crypt in which Lazarus, whom the Lord raised, was laid.
  • From Jerusalem to Jericho - miles XVIII
  • On the right hand side, as one descends from the mount, behind a tomb, is the sycamore tree into which Zacchaeus climbed that he might see Christ. A mile-and-a-half from the town is the fountain of Elisha. Formerly if any woman drank of it she did not bear children. Beside it lies an earthenware vessel. Elisha threw salt into it, and came and stood over the fountain and said, 'Thus saith the Lord, I have cleansed these waters, and if any woman drink of this fountain she shall bear children.'
  • Above the same fountain is the house of the harlot Rahab, to whom the spies came, and she hid them and alone was saved when Jericho was destroyed. Here stood the city of Jericho, round whose walls the children of Israel circled with the Ark of the Covenant, and the walls fell down. Nothing is to be seen of it except the place where the Ark of the Covenant stood, and the twelve stones which the children of Israel brought out of Jordan. There Jesus, the son of Nave, circumcised the children of Israel and buried their foreskins.
  • From Jericho to the Dead sea - miles IX
  • The water of it is very bitter, and in it there is no kind of fish whatever, nor any vessel; and if a man casts himself into it in order to swim, the water turns him over.
  • Thence to the Jordan, where the Lord was baptised by John - miles V
  • There is a place by the river, a little hill upon the further bank, from which Elijah was caught up into heaven.
  • From Jerusalem going to Bethlehem - miles VI.
  • On the road, on the right hand, is a tomb, in which lies Rachel, the wife of Jacob. Two miles thence, on the left hand, is Bethlehem, where our Lord Jesus Christ was born. A basilica has been built there by the orders of Constantine. Not far thence is the tomb of Ezekiel, Asaph, Job, Jesse, David, and Solomon, whose names are inscribed in Hebrew letters upon the wall as you go down into the vault itself.
  • Thence to Bethasora - miles XIV
  • There is the fountain in which Philip baptized the eunuch.
  • Thence to Terebinthus - miles VIII
  • Here Abraham dwelt, and dug a well under a terebinth tree, and spoke with angels, and ate food with them. Here a basilica of wondrous beauty has been built by the command of Constantine.
  • From Terebinthus to Hebron - miles II
  • Here is a monument of square form built of stone of wondrous beauty, in which lie Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sara, Rebecca, and Leah.