On The West Side A High Arched Gate, Called Bab
El Haoua (Arabic), Or The Gate Of The Winds, Is Shewn, Which Appears To
Have Been The Principal Entrance.
The area is overspread with the ruins
of private dwellings, built of stone with great solidity.
There are no
springs, but a great number of reservoirs have been cut in the rock, two
of which are still of service in supplying water. The Christians
consider
[p.335] Mount Tabor a holy place, in honour of the Transfiguration, but
the exact spot at which it took place is not known; and the Latins and
Greeks are at variance upon the subject. The Latins celebrate the sacred
event in a small cavern, where they have formed a chapel; at about five
minutes walk from which, the Greeks have built a low circular wall, with
an altar before it, for the same purpose. The Latin missionaries of the
Frank convent of Nazareth send annually two fathers to celebrate a mass
in their chapel; they generally choose St. Peter’s day for making this
visit, and arrive here in the morning, in order that they may read the
evening mass in the church of St. Peter at Tabaria. The Greek priests of
Nazareth visit their chapel of Mount Tabor on the festival of the
Virgin, on which occasion several thousand pilgrims repair to the
mountain, where they pass the night under tents with their families, in
mirth and feasting.
During the greater part of the summer Mount Tabor is covered in the
morning with thick clouds, which disperse towards mid-day.
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