Letters of Thomas Rampton Hunter, 1940-1944 - Part 6

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LETTER. No 13
VX 17049
Cpl T.R. HUNTER
2/1 Corps Field Survey Coy R.A.E
A.I.F Abroad.
Monday 9/6/41
Dear Mother & Jean,
Things are just the same
here, just plenty of work often till 4
in the morning & it certainly makes
the time fly & keeps the mind occupied
A break occurred yesterday so Bill & I left
here at 7 & proceeded to Jerusalem. We
were at the Y.M.C.A. before 9 & this
building is one of the most beautiful
I have ever seen - young in years but
with symmetrical beauty of palatial
gardens in front a tower in the centre
reception rooms in the centre beneath
& swimming pools & gyms. etc enclosed
on one side & theatre on the other.
Fare is about £1 per day. Here we
collected an American guide & with a
couple of others, proceeded to old Jerusalem
through narrow enclosed streets with all
 

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descriptions of people & little tiny open
bazaars & shops, every type just mixed, meat
fish & food stuffs xxxx laying about, a flies
paradise. In these enclosed places I have
never seen so many with bad eyes
about 1 in 4 was either totally blind
or wall-eyed, cock-eyed, sandy blight,
or some hereditary social diseases.
Our guide having a pass from the District
Commissioner allowed us to get in the section
where the Mosque of Omar is. Centred
in a paved courtyard of about 3 acres
one climbs steps passing through pillars &
columns with broken head pieces, the mosque
shows its tremendous size - a multi -
side place with a huge circular dome on top.
Highly colored mosaic brick-work faced the
walls & colored glass throughout all the windows.
Before you enter you are nipped for 2 “ackers” ~
piastres (1=10 mls about 3) to wear the special
slippers & enter the mosque. After becoming
accustomed to the dull light the wall
ceilings show up their splendour. Brilliant
colours & masses of gold leaf work & many
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pieces of what they claim to be pure gold at the
head of the columns. The principel thing of
this mosque is that it is built on the
original site of King Solomons Temple
on the mount of Moria & that here, in
its centre, is the sacrificial rock - the
rock where they slewed the oxen & feasted
around. as the sik presente of blood is
evidently not to be about (or then in those
days) a hole to the depth of about
100 feet in the rock is here & through
the hole the blood drained & ran
though a subterranean channel
eventually into the Hedron Valley. On
entering some downward steps into a hole
in the side of the rock into a small
cave affair which in turn is beneath
the hole where the blood ran through
(The floor of this cave was boarded over
thus preventing you falling the 100 feet down)
We saw where the granite had been
worn smooth by the moslem's heads
(when in prayer) 

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where they rubbed on the roof.
Our guide said in here that this was
the place where Jesus C. was circumsized
on his 8th day of age - 100 to 1 was
his surety. Also here was the imprint
of the foot of a prophet in granite.
(about the size of a child of 10-12).
Throughout the building it was strewn
with hundreds of the most heavy rugs
I have ever seen. On leaving, the
Moslem priest tried to nip us again
for “backsheesh” - nothing doing.
Outside to the East of the mosque is the
Eastern gate in the Great Wall - the gate
where J.C. entered & chased out the
money lenders etc on one of his tours
The courtyard is one of the main water
catchments of Jerusalem. Small holes
in the paved stones let the water though into
aqueducts beneath which in turn drain though
to huge underground man made cisterns.
As it never rains here in the summer
the capacity of these cisterns must
be colossal for they are drawing water all
the day. Actually the court-yard must be hollow.
 

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Then moved over to the S. East corner of
the wall & entered a door unlocked
by a key about 1 foot long. Many steps
down, brought us to a minature mosque
(all underground) which covered a small bath
hewn out of marble which was supposed to
be Solomons bath. Further down it was amazing
to see huge corridors & stout pillars holding
up the roof - about 10 feet thick in stone at
least. Moisture dripping down the granite
had dissolved it a little & geog geologists
have estimated it to be many many
thousands of years old. The architecture of
the ^the pillars and dome roof was perfect
not a bit sagging or showing signs
of giving in. Our guide said it was
assumed that this was Solomon's stables
for they were about 1½ to 2 acres in
area. Pigeons for centuries have
dwelt here & leave enter though slits
in the outer wall which may have been
where they shot their arrows through. You
can imagine that it smelt not unlike
a fowl run & pigeon lice prevailed -
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On coming back to the fresh air we
climbed onto the top of the East wall &
in front is the Garden of Gethsemene
& the church of all nations. On this
garden are the would-be famous olives
Behind the garden is the church of all
Nations is a beautiful greek mosque
which you might be able to see when I
get the snaps I took developed. Just
outside the wall a drop of 70 or 80
feet, is the graveyard of the Jews.
Prolific in slabs & a Jew is Happy if
he is buried here & should a true Jew
die elsewhere he is supposed to worm 
his way through to here. Maybe it
accounts for the number of worms we
find. In the workshop at [[“?”]] I found
a tiny pill box once that was marked
“Earth of Jerusalem” (I think I mixed it will be
earth of Tunstall). This “famous” earth if
sprinkled upon a dying Jew's forehead
saves f him from worming his way back
here. So if I pinch a few sacks of
Yiddish dirt & bring it back to St. Kilda
- my fortune is made. That evidently
accounts for the high walls around the cemetery.
During a seige way back, the pigeon
dung was sold for a high figure
as it was all they could obtain to eat.
 

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I'm afraid I’ll be mighty hungry
before I try it. of all the things or
places I have seen, the trip all told
yesterday would win outright. If one
knew the Old Testament & more of the
history of Palestine it would help one
remember for the quotations the guides
use leave me in the air. One funny 
incident occurred when our guide said
that this famous stone (in the case previously
mentioned) was where the Moslems believe
that J.C. sat on something of that nature
the Moslin xxx priest contradicted him &
said the stone was fairly new & they never
believed such a thing. Every denomination
has their own story & denounce strongly all
others & drag out their pat phrases to prove
it. Our guides said the friction between the
Jews & Arabs is over the sacrificial stone &
Lord or Jehovah help any Jew who enters the
Mosque or touches the stone. They’ll knife
you one on the spot- so what about
the “Golden Rule”. Maybe this place
 

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is a parson’s paradise &  one visiting
here I would not doubt the fact
that he would be blessed with eternal
preaching subjects, but through all this
the land has been the home of butchery
slavery & still is the home of deceit.
All that I have mentioned, do not forget
was obtained from an American guide
who professes  to have seen the light
41 years ago & every guide has his own
biased opinion & makes up his story as
a best seller. The authenticity is alway
uncertain but the stone is real so
nevertheless it certainly possesses history.

Well so much for biblical Rampton
& his brethren brother Bill on their
escorted tour the other news is little
except George has fulfilled  his promise
to the Pyramids with  Reg & George only
has returned to us.
Nancy Dod sent me a very nice
letter the other day. Have you seen her.
Joan said was was up home a while ago
& said you (Mother) looked very well,
Well Ma & Jean, 

Lots of Love Tom
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Printed Active Service envelope
AIRMAIL
[[?]]
Mrs. B. M. Hunter
 277 Springvale Rd
TUNSTALL

VICTORIA
AUSTRALIA.