On Thursday 11th, of the month Shevat, year Hashav [14 January 1541], at one in the afternoon,
there was a great earthquake and
there was almost total destruction of Jerusalem, there is no house that was not destroyed or cracked, and even from the new city
wall there fell a scythe in height, such as at the Gate of Mercy. And also fell the Ishmaelite mosques as well as the cupola of
al Aqsa, and so did the Holy Sepulchre, a building full of windows, that some say was built by Nabuchadnezar king of Babylon and
even the Ishmaelites are wondering since it was a very strong building. And the gentiles say that there never was such an earthquake
in Jerusalem . . . and in contrast, praise be to God, our synagogue was left undamaged. About 12 Ishmaelites perished, and none of
the Jews. But in Nablus about 560 Ishmaelites perished of the townfolk, but nobody knows of the villagers, since they still may be
buried under the rubble; three Jews died in Nablus. And in Hebron, 16 Ishmaelites perished and 70 were injured with broken arms
and legs. And the gentiles report that the river Jordan is dry and they crossed it on dry land and that this lasted three days.
Worse than the fall of their houses, they lamented their [loss of] water, . . . which turned into blood for three or four days.
And . . . the Jordan was dry and desolate because two big hills fell into the river, and others say that the earth cracked and
swallowed up the waters of the Jordan. It is also said that the gentiles in Jerusalem offered monies to the Ishmaelites to allow
them to rebuild a church, but to no avail, and what fell, remained fallen. There is no house in Jerusalem that did not crack in
the earthquake, and also, many mosques have collapsed . . . (Braslavski 1939).
