Bethulia, which was besieged by Holofernes. Tabara, an insignificant
place, occupies the site of Tiberias, which gave its name to the lake more
generally known by that of Genesareth, or the Sea of Galilee; but industry
has now deserted its borders, and the fisherman with his skiff and his
nets no longer animates the surface of its waters. Nazareth still retains
some portion of its former consequence. Six miles farther south stands the
hill of Tabor, sometimes denominated Itabyrius, presenting a pyramid of
verdure crowned with olives and sycamores. From the top of this mountain,
the modern Tor and scene of the transfiguration, we look down on the river
Jordan, the Lake of Genesareth, and the Mediterranean Sea.[9]

Galilee, says a learned writer, would be a paradise were it inhabited by
an industrious people under an enlightened government. Vine stocks are to
be seen here a foot and a half in diameter, forming, by their twining
branches, vast arches and extensive ceilings of verdure. A cluster of
grapes, two or three feet in length, will give an abundant supper to a
whole family. The plains of Esdraelon are occupied by Arab tribes, around
whose brown tents the sheep and lambs gambol to the sound of the reed,
which at nightfall calls them home.[10]

For some years this fine country has groaned and bled under the malignant
genius of Turkish despotism. The fields are left without cultivation, and
the towns and villages are reduced to beggary; but the latest accounts
from the holy Land encourage us to entertain the hope, that a milder
administration will soon change the aspect of affairs, and bestow upon the
Syrian provinces at large some of the benefits which the more liberal
policy of Mohammed Ali has conferred upon the pashalic of Egypt.

Proceeding from Galilee towards the metropolis, we enter the land of
Samaria, comprehending the modern districts of Areta and Nablous. In the