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CHAPTER THREE IN AND AROUND THE HOLY LAND • "^HE LANDS taken by the Crusaders are described J. by Mukaddasi, an Arab traveler, as containing ny beauty spots, " red, white and black, which are in fields and gardens, held to resemble the moles on a uty's face." He divided them into four zones, the ; :5t bordering the Mediterranean, a plain with sandy ri-^-ts following one another and alternating with the J. ikivated land. Here were the cities of the sea coast. T.:e second zone was mountainous and heavily vooded, possessing many springs, with frequent villages and cultivated fields. The cities here included Jerusalem and Antioch. The third zone included the vJlzy of the Jordan, with many villages and streams, well-cultivated fields and indigo plantations. Here were Jericho and Tiberias. The fourth zone bordered on the Desert. It had mountains high and bleak, but a!*c many villages with springs of water and forest tri eG. In this zone were included the important cities of Damascus and Aleppo. The climate was temperate except in that portion which lies in the center, between Mî . Seir and the Waters of Merom. This was the hot country, where grew the indigo tree, the banana and tue palm.

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