The Handbook of Palestine (1922)
by various authors, edited by Harry Charles Luke and Edward Keith-Roach
314809The Handbook of Palestine1922Various

THE HANDBOOK OF
PALESTINE

EDITED BY
HARRY CHARLES LUKE, B.Litt., M.A.
ASSISTANT GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM
AND
EDWARD KEITH-ROACH
ASSISTANT CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF PALESTINE

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
The Right Hon. SIR HERBERT SAMUEL, P.C., G.B.E.
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR PALESTINE

Issued under the Authority of
the Government of Palestine

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1922

Frontispiece

DOME OF THE ROCK AND DOME OF THE CHAIN, JERUSALEM.
From a Drawing by Benton Fletcher.

CONTENTS

PAGE
Introduction xi


PART I
GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
§ 1. Introductory 1
§ 2. Geography and Scenery 2
§ 3. Palestine in Biblical Times 5
§ 4. Palestine under Rome, Byzantium and the Arabs 12
§ 5. The Crusades 15
§ 6. Palestine under the Mamelukes and Turks 21
§ 7. Palestine under the British Mandate 24


PART II
PEOPLES AND RELIGIONS
§ 1. Race and Language 32
§ 2. Population 32
§ 3. Arabs and Syrians 34
§ 4. Circassians, Bosnians and Magharbeh 35
§ 5. Islam in Palestine 36
§ 6. The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem 39
§ 7. The Latin Church in Palestine 41
§ 8. The Uniate Churches 43
§ 9. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem 44
§ 10. Jacobites, Copts and Abyssinians 44
§ 11. The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem 45
§ 12. The 'American Colony' 48
§ 13. The German Templar Community 48
§ 14. The Jews 49
§ 15. The Jewish Colonies 55
§ 16. The Samaritans 56
§ 17. Druses and Metawileh 57
§ 18. The Bahaʾis 58


PART III
PLACES OF INTEREST
§ 1. Archaeology and Art in Palestine 60
§ 2. Department of Antiquities 74
§ 3. The Palestine Museum 75
§ 4. Coins 77
§ 5. The Southern Province 80
§ 6. Jerusalem and Jaffa Province 86
§ 7. Samaria Province 101
§ 8. The Northern Province 104


PART IV
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS
§ 1. Palestine as a Tourist Resort 110
§ 2. Routes to Palestine 113
§ 3. Inland Communications 115
§ 4. Accommodation 122
§ 5. Books of Reference 123
§ 6. Mineral Springs of Palestine 125
§ 7. Weights and Measures 126
§ 8. Table of Sunrise and Sunset in Palestine 129
§ 9. Festivals 130
§ 10. The Pro-Jerusalem Society 131


PART V
GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
§ 1. System of Administration 133
§ 2. Administration of Justice 137
§ 3. Finance, Currency and Banking 144
§ 4. Customs
§ 5. Commerce and Industry 169
§ 6. Immigration 171
§ 7. Education 173
§ 8. Land Tenure 181
§ 9. Agriculture and Forestry 186
§ 10. Public Works and Harbours 195
§ 11. Palestine Railways 198
§ 12. Public Security 202
§ 13. Medical and Meteorological 204
§ 14. Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones 210
§ 15. Municipalities 224
§ 16. Parliamentary Papers 226
§ 17. Trans-jordania 227


PART VI
GEOLOGY, MINING AND NATURAL HISTORY
§ 1. Geology 229
§ 2. Mineral Resources 238
§ 3. Mammalia 242
§ 4. Birds 243
§ 5. Reptilia 256
§ 6. Fishes 260
§ 7. Insects 261
§ 8. Animal, Insect and Vegetable Pests 264
§ 9. Game Preservation 265
§ 10. Flora 266


PART VII
MISCELLANEOUS
§ 1. Moslem, Orthodox and Jewish Kalendars 267
§ 2. Official Holidays 272
§ 3. Transliteration 273
§ 4. Newspapers and Periodicals 276
§ 5. War Cemeteries in Palestine 276}
§ 6. Foreign Consuls in Palestine 277
§ 7. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides 278
§ 8. R.S.P.C.A. 279


APPENDIX
Mandate for Palestine 280
Index 291
Railway Map of Palestine and Trans-jordania
In pocket at end of volume


This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1922, before the cutoff of January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1969, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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