[Our travelers now cross the Scriptural boundary of the tribe of Asher, the northernmost of the twelve tribes, and enter the land of Israel. The tour through northern Palestine may be divided into two parts, in each of which the country is crossed from west to east, and from east to west.
In the first of those journeys, setting out from Tyre, we traverse the territories of Asher and Naphtali, abounding in picturesque highland scenery. Among other places we visit Dan, now Tell el Kady; Banlas, anciently called Patties, and afterward Cæsarea Philippi; and Kedesh Naphtali, one of the cities of refuge. Few of the other places in this district are celebrated in Bible history. The chief interest of this excursion is in connection with the sources of the Jordan, which are in this district. The Jordan has several sources, the longest of Its streams being the Hasbâny, but the most interesting that which gushes out of the rock at Banias. A very full account is given of the Lake Hûleh called in the Bible the Waters of Merom, and of the country around. Leaving the Hûleh, we come by Kedesh-Naphtali, Safed, and other places, in a zigzag direction to the sea at Acre.
In the second excursion through northern Palestine, our route lies chiefly through the tribes of Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar. The Lake of Galilee is the great center of interest in this excursion. Striking eastward from Acre (after visiting Carmel), we reach the Lake of Galilee by el Mughar, and traverse its whole margin. Leaving it at Magdala, we come in a southwesterly direction to Nazareth. The mountains on the east of the plain of Esdraelon, and the plain itself are then visited. and we again return to the sea at Cæsarea Palestine, once the Roman capital of Palestine, now an utter ruin. ED.]