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[Page 179]

3.

ploughed fields. To get to Matarich I hired a donkey at Heliopolis. On the way are several places of great interest. The first halt was at the Virgin's Tree. It was under this tree it is supposed the Virgin rested with the Child Christ in her flight after the Massacre of Innocents. It is a Sycamore tree and certainly looks a couple of thousand years old. Really the original tree has disappeared. Blown down in a storm I believe. This one too has suffered from storms, for it is now almost reclining on the ground. Externally the trunk and branches are covered with carved names and initials. Perhaps this has partly killed the tree, and thus gives it such an old appearance.

Quite close to the tree is the Virgin's Well. The legend has it that as soon as the mother commenced to wash her child, the water became as clear as crystal. Strange to say the water the sakiyeh brings up slowly is beautifully clear and fresh whilst every other well in the district contains brackish water.

A few yards further on is a small church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The interior is beautifully decorated. Six large paintings cover the two sides  €“ three on each wall.

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