History, 333; Situation, 335; Biblical Allusions, 337; Popula- tion, 337; Bazaars, 338; the Great Mosque, 341; the History, 368; Protestant Institutions, 369; Environs of COOK'S HANDBOOK FOR PALESTINE and SYRIA. Introductory. PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS. SEASON FOR EASTERN TOURS. SPRING is the best time for a tour through Palestine. Travellers who are intending to visit Palestine as well as Egypt, cannot do better than select December, January, or February for their Nile journey, and March or April, the most genial months of the year, for Palestine. If this is inconvenient the months of October and November are considered by many travellers to be very favourable for Palestine, in which case the Palestine Tour should be commenced at Beyrout and terminate at Jaffa, and the Nile trip might be made on the return journey in December. BENEFITS OF ASSOCIATED TRAVEL. Apart from the question of expense, travelling in the East, either alone, or with only one or two companions, is not desirable. In Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, the mode of life, language, and customs of the country are altogether different from anything to which the European traveller has been accustomed; the modes of travelling are novel, and the difficulties |