Palestine (pl´ s-tn) is a narrow country lying along the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia Minor. It extends northeastward to Syria, and south beyond the Dead Sea. As in the case of most desert countries, its boundaries are not sharply laid out. However, we have heard enough of Palestine to know some of the places that it contains. For example, there is Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Jericho in Judea. North of Judea lies the land of Samaria, and north of Samaria, Galilee. All of this country has one principal river; namely, the Jordan. The Jordan flows from north of the Lake of Galilee into the Dead Sea. The valley through which it flows is 1,000 feet below the level of the ocean, and it is 8 or 10 miles wide. The valley is very rich in some sections. In other places it is a salt marsh. It is to the Jordan River that these people have been. Great crowds go from Jerusalem to Jericho, a distance of some 15 miles, and from Jericho over to Jordan. Some go on horseback and some ride on donkeys, but most of them walk as these people are doing. The usual time for such pilgrimages is at Easter. Then great crowds from many lands gather in Jerusalem. These pilgrims have come from Russia. From Jerusalem parties set out to the River Jordan to the supposed place where Christ was baptized. They travel in bands because it is unsafe to go in small parties. Robbers lie in wait on the desert, and rob and kill those travelers who are not able to defend themselves. When the pilgrims reach the Jordan they plunge into the stream in the belief that their sins will be forgiven by so doing. Locate the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, and the Lake of Galilee. What is a pilgrim? Keystone ID: 7306 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.