Here, too, the mountains are mostly barren, without, however, being entirely composed of naked masses of rock.

Mount Tabor, standing entirely alone and richly clothed with vegetation, has a very fine appearance.
For nearly two hours we rode across the plain of Esdralon, and had thus ample leisure to meditate upon the great events that have occurred here.

It is difficult to imagine a grander battlefield, and we can readily believe that in such a plain whole nations may have struggled for victory.

From the time of Nabucodonosor to the period of the Crusades, and from the days of the Crusades to those of Napoleon, armies of men from all nations have assembled here to fight for their real or imaginary rights, or for the glory of conquest.
The great and continuous heat had cracked and burst the ground on this plain to such a degree, that we were in continual apprehension lest our horses should catch their feet in one or other of the fissures, and strain or even break them.

The soil of the plain seems very good, and is free from stones; it appears, however, generally to lie fallow, being thickly covered with weeds and wild artichokes.