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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and

-Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license

-

-

-Title: A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon

-

-Author: Edward Abram

-

-Release Date: November 2, 2019 [EBook #60615]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: UTF-8

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by MFR, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online

-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This

-file was produced from images generously made available

-by The Internet Archive)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-             A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec,

-

-                       and Ascent of Mount Hermon

-

-

-

-

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-

-[Illustration:

-

-  Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.

-  by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.

-]

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-                                   A

-

-                           RIDE THROUGH SYRIA

-

-                                 — TO —

-

-                         DAMASCUS AND BAALBEC,

-

-                                  AND

-

-                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.

-

-

-                                   BY

-

-

-                             EDWARD ABRAM,

-

-                 Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”

-                   “The Seven Churches of Asia,” &c.

-

-

-                         ---------------------

-

-                          WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

-

-                         ---------------------

-

-

-                              Published by

-

-                             ABRAM & SONS,

-

-               AT THE OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,

-                                LONDON.

-                                   —

-                                 1887.

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-

-

-                             ABRAM & SONS,

-

-                               Printers,

-

-                          MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,

-

-                              LONDON, E.C.

-

-

-

-

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-

-

-

-

-                             — CONTENTS. —

-

-

-                               CHAPTER I.

-

-                                                  Page

-

-                  JAFFA TO TIBERIAS                  3

-

-

-                              CHAPTER II.

-

-                  TIBERIAS TO HASBÊYA               10

-

-

-                              CHAPTER III.

-

-

-                  MOUNT HERMON AND THE DRUSES       19

-

-

-                              CHAPTER IV.

-

-                  DAMASCUS                          27

-

-

-                               CHAPTER V.

-

-                  THE ANTI-LEBANON                  37

-

-

-                              CHAPTER VI.

-

-                  BAALBEC AND THE BUKÂA             45

-

-

-                              CHAPTER VII.

-

-                  BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE                52

-

-

-                             CHAPTER VIII.

-

-                  THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN        55

-

-                  —————————

-

-                  INDEX                             61

-

-

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-

-

-

-

-                             ILLUSTRATIONS.

-

-

-               MAP OF PALESTINE               Frontispiece

-

-                                                    Page

-

-               JOPPA, and House of Simon the           5

-                 Tanner

-

-               MOUNT CARMEL                            9

-

-               TIBERIAS                               26

-

-               DAMASCUS                               33

-

-               DAMASCUS                               35

-

-               BAALBEC—Great Stone and Quarry         42

-

-               DAMASCUS—Street called                 44

-                 “Straight”

-

-               BAALBEC—General View of Ruins          48

-

-               BEYRÛT and the Lebanon                 51

-

-               CYPRUS—Larnaca                         52

-

-               Cedars of Lebanon                      54

-

-

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-

-[Illustration]

-

-          A RIDE

-

-               THROUGH

-

-                    SYRIA.

-

-

-

-

-                     CHAPTER I.—JAFFA TO TIBERIAS.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our enthusiasm for the

-East; we were not, as some travellers have been, disappointed with “The

-Holy Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient

-days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are broken and the waters

-run to waste, the walls of the vineyards are cast down, the very soil

-has disappeared from the once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses

-are covered with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in

-spite of all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an

-overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes to trace

-out on the spot the history of the oldest and most interesting people of

-the world.

-

-Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten track, _viâ_

-Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented route. Our objective

-points are the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon, sighting that mighty

-headland, “the excellency of Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of

-Elijah, and Baal, that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its _traditional_

-snow-clad summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the

-Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better than all the

-rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with its “straight street” and

-memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus, Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again

-to the reputed tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with

-its massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a short sketch

-of the tour we purpose describing in the following pages.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  JOPPA—_With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore._

-]

-

-Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the director, to

-obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from Marseilles to Port Said,

-so arrive in the Holy Land eight and a half days after leaving the

-Crusaders’ old haunt in London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail

-north of Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days pass

-by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find the pretty Chiaja

-much enlarged, planted, and generally improved, and are pleased to see

-the graceful palm trees in thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale,

-ever so interesting, we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to

-nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not, on

-well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent and a lady,

-very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a half-penny. But the sun

-is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb is already in the shade, the

-ship’s bell is summoning strangers to depart, and passengers to dress

-for dinner, so we must bid adieu to Naples and proceed again _en

-voyage_. Capri stands out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius

-is quiet, scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant

-form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to dinner. Early

-next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the Straits of Messina Ætna, but

-both are “still and silent as the grave,” in fact on the latter summit,

-if we mistake not, we see the dark black lava spotted with bright white

-snow. On the far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two

-days later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship

-ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour and

-arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by way of Palestine,

-but by a different route, in order that we may visit certain interesting

-districts which lay out of our line on our former visit.

-

-We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey across the plains

-of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth. This route, being very open to the

-attacks of predatory Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all

-but trackless paths over the vast plains being but little known even to

-the native.

-

-We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a looking man as ever

-cut a throat”) for a guard and guide; two other Arabs join us for

-company or safety’s sake. This force a small party of Bedouins would not

-care to face, and a large party would not attempt it, as they would be

-discovered by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow, so we pass

-the Bedouin camps without any interference.

-

-The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, _viâ_ Jerusalem, is reckoned three good

-days; but by our new route we only take two, and pushing briskly forward

-run it in about eighteen hours—hard work rather to begin with, and the

-Sirocco blowing hot and dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We

-vary the monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several

-little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride us down;

-but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old Shikarri (muleteer),

-whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an Assyrian type that he seemed to

-have started out from the has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But _á route_ we

-ride across the Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with

-villages and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly mediæval

-or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard Cœur-de-Lion gained a

-great victory over Saladin.

-

-We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably once a fortified

-town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt for the night at a

-Mahommedan village called Baka, which probably now for the first time

-receives a European guest (as even my guides had not been there before):

-the sun being already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of

-mud on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in

-massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see on the way had

-been similarly well cared for in ancient times, but are now fast falling

-into decay. We will give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place

-a honeycomb with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of the

-cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to represent small

-stable yards for all the domestic animals in creation, camels included,

-and you have an Arab village of one-storeyed huts, scarcely

-distinguishable at a distance from the hillside on which it is

-plastered. The Sheiks’ houses have an additional storey, a guest-chamber

-built on the wall. One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the

-place and quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an

-advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which abound in

-Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers sleep in the open yard

-with the horses, and leave their weapons with us for safe custody, so

-for the time I am the _custos custodum_, but our quarters are

-inviolable, as for the nonce we are the guests of the village. A few

-crossed sticks in the corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a

-fire-place.

-

-We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of Manasseh,

-which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty glance at El Mahrakah,

-or the Rock of Sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal,

-and enter the vast plain of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or

-lower sources of Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be

-remembered Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of Jabin,

-King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the tents of Heber the

-Kenite and was treacherously murdered there by Jael. The Kenites’ home

-was at Kedes, three days’ journey off in the mountains. It is not

-probable that Sisera could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable

-that Heber was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,

-and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not far off.

-At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he received from Jehu, and

-near this spot, in modern times, Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish

-levies a defeat somewhat similar to that which Barak inflicted on

-Sisera, but Sir Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his

-victory of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.

-

-After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some hours, crossing

-it in almost a direct line, we leave the level ground again, and

-ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee, mount up to Nazareth

-(described in our “Ride through Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the

-Latin Monastery, finding in residence the same good Father, quite

-pleased at seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor

-twice. Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the

-fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have drunk, and

-soon _on our left_ see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the reputed birth-place of

-Jonah, and _on our right_, the battle-field where the Crusaders gained

-their last victory over the Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun,

-(the horns of Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under

-Guy of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat, their

-power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by Saladin. In the

-meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of

-Josephus, and ridden through Kefr Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a

-previous visit, we were shown the miraculous waterpots which must have

-been very fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.

-This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours, and at one

-place where the path is very narrow, we think that we shall have to

-fight our way through. About six wild Moabite Bedouins, from the other

-side of Jordan, had planted themselves each side of the narrow way on a

-slight eminence, completely commanding us; we determine to pass through

-in Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that we

-cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps, were peaceably

-disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country to be cautious: anyhow,

-they do not molest us. They were all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat

-by the sun, and were without water, which we were unable to give them,

-not having any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the

-march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want of water in

-the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness, distress, and death, so

-graphically described in the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael.

-

-After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we halt for

-tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in 1799 the French,

-under Junot, held their own against a vastly superior army of Turks, and

-succeeded in reaching Tabor just in time to fall on the rear of the

-force then pressing hard upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after,

-we catch a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one

-time, in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden

-setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the God of day,

-like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We put up at the Latin

-Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where we are entertained by the Father

-Superior hospitably as we were on a former occasion. Before leaving

-Tiberias, we trot along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and

-old Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.

-

-The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the hills above the

-town.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  _Mount Carmel._

-]

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-

-

-                    CHAPTER II.—TIBERIAS TO HÂSBEYÂ.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-TIBERIAS was our last halting place. After a grateful dip in the buoyant

-lake waters we leave early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited

-place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be hid,”

-for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide, but the term

-‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply to Bethlehem, the “city

-of our Lord.” In the distance the snow-white houses of Safed glisten on

-the dark mountain side like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty

-giant. Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the shore of

-the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach Medjil, or Magdala,

-the home of the Magdalene, now a collection of wretched mud hovels, then

-across the fertile but neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of

-which we see a fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre

-of a great city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown

-with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other trace of a town

-near. We pause awhile to think of those great cities which in our

-Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake, and see how thoroughly

-their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre still exists as a place to dry nets

-on, and Sidon as a habitation for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum,

-the two Bethsaidas and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their

-very sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans once

-fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only three wretched

-fishing boats, in one of which we take a voyage. They were “exalted to

-heaven,” they are indeed “brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of

-these formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along

-sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,

-Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain near by was in the

-middle ages known as Mensa, alluding perhaps to the place where our

-Saviour made a table for the multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at

-Ain-et-Tabighah, a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site

-of Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt the

-Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find ourselves high up

-in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed; we ascend the hill behind the

-city to the ruins of the old Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of

-the finest views of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of

-Galilee, across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian

-Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of Moab and

-Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on the south and

-south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on the west the sea-coast—on the

-north the view is bounded by the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a

-Moslem house for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s

-rent; we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper room, as

-usual without any kind of furniture or glass window, and the floor a mud

-one, but the view from it is magnificent. The Jews cook for us, but are

-so fanatical that they will not taste the food they themselves have

-prepared for us. Our bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but

-better however than we have in many other places; we soon learn the way

-of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will permit,

-sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than many do on down beds.

-My dragoman shares my apartment, the others sleep outside in the open.

-It is 5 a.m. when the Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants

-out the first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal

-Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are in the

-saddle.

-

-SAFED Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews, is built

-on terraces one above the other on the side of the mountain, so that the

-flat roofs of one terrace serve very well as promenades for the houses

-immediately above, also affording extra facilities for cats and pariah

-dogs, jackals, &c., to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we

-travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of the plain

-where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron chariots against Joshua;

-of the waters of Merom (Lake Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the

-Jordan, with herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high

-rushes. On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the

-Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian atrocities;

-then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast size, evidently made

-for some other purpose than to supply a few sheep here in the

-wilderness.

-

-DESHUN, an African colony sent from Algeria when the French conquered

-that country, is next reached; the people seem to be industrious and

-prosperous. We observe that their houses are detached and have sloping

-roofs, seldom seen in this country except in European settlements, and

-altogether they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around

-them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings we hear of in

-Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin, which was probably the

-hereditary title of their kings, as Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre,

-Pharaoh of Egypt, &c. After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin

-in the olive grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of

-refuge, and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of Heber

-the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites. There are

-great masses of débris and ruins here, and some fine single and double

-sarcophagi lying about. The Turkish people are excavating huge trenches

-and digging out large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however,

-with any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once utilised to

-erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We acquire a very ancient lamp

-for about three half-pence. Our zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does

-not understand; he will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo)

-than repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin, he

-says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves it to decay.

-

-LAKE HULEH (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount Hermon, is between

-four and five miles long and about four miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the

-tomb of Joshua, looks down upon it. The views all along the shores

-(where the hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the

-vista of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially Hermon, are

-very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground to cover before sundown,

-try a short cut into the valley without going by Hunin, the usual way.

-We hear of a path from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it.

-It is not known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that

-it should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one of

-our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great grief, both

-to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly finds himself, with

-a frightened horse in front slipping, falling, and struggling, wedged in

-a track so narrow and precipitous that it is difficult to find room to

-dismount; once off, we do not remount until we reach the plain, and no

-greater damage is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost

-as good for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we

-managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could find one, being

-little better than a goat track, we have some trouble to get the horses

-to face the steep descents. It saves however some hours of time, and is

-of immense service to us, as otherwise we should have been benighted in

-the difficult, dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the

-Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost tropical

-country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset, a bad time to

-enter any Eastern town, and then have to look for a lodging. But to go

-back a little, we get down into the Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at

-the tents of the Ghawarineh Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character,

-and says they attacked him, but they give us water and behave civilly.

-However we should not trust them too far, nor after dark. We are so glad

-to get down to level ground, so severe is the descent, that we think

-little of any danger from the wild denizens we drop down on. The scene

-here is remarkable, the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of

-buffaloes roaming among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the

-almost naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat, make us

-imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark continent. Our advice

-to travellers going from Safed by Kedes to Banias, is to make a two

-day’s trip of it, and not one as we did, and then to keep up on the

-mountain, and descend by Hunin to the plain.

-

-HUNIN, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua, the limit of

-the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may be said to begin on

-the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now cross the Hasbâny, the most

-northerly source of the Jordan, by an old ruined Roman bridge,

-Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my men dismount again, but I have more confidence

-in my horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and the

-surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and boulders

-safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman, and now after

-another rough ride for about three miles over stones and swamps, at

-length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the (fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan,

-which in the Hebrew also signifies Judge.

-

-DAN, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit of the

-promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern. Its Canaanitish name

-was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon, and dated back to the days of

-Abraham. The Danites took it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were

-a peaceable people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.

-It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the Phœnicians, who

-called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as later on with Jeroboam, whose

-Calf was a venerated idol with the local heathen of that day, as it is

-still curiously with the native ignorant Druse peasants at the present

-day. When cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of a Calf,”

-as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not necessarily take his idea

-from the golden calf of Mosaic times, but may have simply adopted the

-indigenous idolatry; yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from

-Egypt, as Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite

-trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being on the

-road to Damascus, which was the objective point of every invader,

-whether warrior or merchant.

-

-DAN is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet high, visible

-for a long distance over the low plain; here, under a fine oak tree,

-near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another most copious source of the

-Jordan, forming a large stream immediately it springs from the ground,

-said to be the largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a

-good flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little Jordan,

-and is considered by many the chief source, but it is not the most

-northerly. We get a grand view here of the great Jordan Valley, looking

-down upon a sea of waving corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as

-far as the eye can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded

-country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old Phœnician

-worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the site of ancient Cæsarea

-Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip the Tetrarch, in honour of

-Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen Philippi being added by the same gentleman

-in honour of himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast

-near Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but in

-later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it took from the

-Temple of Pan then there), and that was easily corrupted to its present

-name Banias. It was once at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).

-

-BANIAS is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the direct road

-to Damascus, which we do not intend to take, preferring to go two days

-longer journey round to visit the less frequented parts of Syria. We are

-received into a Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber

-allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of the house

-to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in this establishment,

-except by the mother, who after a while thinks it proper to drape up the

-lower part of her face which somewhat improves her appearance. The

-accommodation is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an

-Oriental scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed

-flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members of the various

-families sleeping al fresco. Some more fastidious or important

-personages rig themselves up a leafy bower on four supports about three

-or four feet from the roof—a cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little

-tents such as might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast

-of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the paneless

-windows during the night in search of our saddle bags, but a heavy boot

-well shot at an Oriental cat helps him out quite as quickly as it would

-one of our own domestic favourites. One time, however it misses the mark

-and alights on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye, that

-Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture of Jerusalem, and

-many thousand prisoners perished in the “Sports.”

-

-Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old gate, the

-grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and the Banias fountains

-of the Jordan. The rocks just above the latter are sculptured with

-shrines and niches in which statues once stood; there are also Greek

-inscriptions which are not very legible.

-

-We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding over a slope of

-Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole country including Palestine is

-often described as Syria, and was all under one Pashalic so called until

-lately—Palestine originally included only the country of the

-Philistines. We breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian

-village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery, which it

-supplies to the whole of the northern part of Palestine and Syria, as

-far as Damascus. It is refreshing to come across an industrious

-manufacturing population, so rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh

-in the south, where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient

-Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil, and exported

-as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under Mount Carmel) are

-cultivating this industry also, and turn out a much finer article, which

-finds a sale in America, but has not yet made a market in Palestine,

-which prefers its native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend

-the mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before by our

-guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our horses to

-Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western gorges of Hermon:

-here we visit a very ancient well-preserved temple built of Phœnician

-bevelled stones principally, but curiously with pilasters and columns

-having Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as it

-faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered by the Greeks to

-accommodate one of their own deities. The valley is remarkably a Valley

-of Rocks; some isolated ones seem to have been formerly sculptured to

-imitate the human form divine. The ascent up the other side of the

-valley we find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our

-horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for the

-night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to Damascus is that

-through the wilderness of Damascus by which St. Paul travelled; but the

-most beautiful road is that we select, which leads round the slopes of

-Hermon.

-

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-

-                 CHAPTER III.—HASBÊYA TO MOUNT HERMON.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-HASBÊYA is a small town beautifully situated some 2,000 feet above the

-sea, on the western side of Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well

-cultivated and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems, all

-very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely, and not, as far

-as the Christians are concerned, without cause, for here they were

-treacherously massacred by the Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into

-the Konak, or Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence

-of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the Druses

-being admitted men women and children were massacred without mercy. The

-French army of the Lebanon avenged these cowardly murders partially, and

-but for the milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,

-would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse scoundrels from their

-just fate then, and consequently they are quite ready to repeat the

-crime now. This our rulers would do well to remember that maudlin

-sentimentality is often another name for weakness and not true mercy

-which is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do not

-practice and do not understand undeserved clemency. The Christians in

-the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too lenient policy, and are

-periodically in a panic about their ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem

-feeling too is often inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that

-the five kings of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to

-depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical purposes often

-revived. This rumour was one of the causes which led to the rebellion of

-Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi had not been crushed, there would probably have

-been a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman Caliphate and

-European interference—and it may come yet. The Ottomans are no longer a

-nation—they are quite effete—but the Arabs are as vigorous a race as

-they were in the days of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and

-the Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to endure for

-ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous world, everlasting

-monuments of the truth of the Bible story.

-

-HASBÊYA is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad of the Bible,

-but others identify the latter with Baalbec. We will not attempt to

-decide that on which many doctors differ. We lodge in one of the best

-houses at the head of the valley, near the Konak. A sort of stretcher,

-much resembling an oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to

-sleep on. Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a

-number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of the “forty

-thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated two. We find them to be

-mostly full of new wine, which is rather too rich and luscious to take

-much of. Just as the day is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room

-and makes for one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are

-forcibly reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.” Next

-day, after about three hours toiling over mountain paths, we pass the

-mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is the source of the Hasbâny, the

-highest and most northerly source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan

-branches of which it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake

-Huleh, after running almost parallel with them for some distance. We

-crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge on our way from

-Kadesh to Dan and Banias.

-

-

-                              THE DRUSES.

-

-THE DRUSES make the Hasbâny Valley their religious centre, as their

-prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been born there. Their religious

-books having been lost (or rather stolen by the Egyptians), their

-religion, which is of more recent origin than Mahometanism, is

-traditional only, and it is difficult to say what it really is, but it

-seems to have been founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It

-consists of several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian pretty

-equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with whom they often

-associate for the purpose of plunder, but they would murder either

-without compunction. At the same time, with an appreciable regard to

-expediency, their religion allows them to live under whatever creed is

-supreme. They have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers

-from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they hold

-practically independent of any Government whatever, although nominally

-subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are distinguished by white turbans.

-Lebanon being now a separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a

-native Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to occupy

-that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon they are

-more formidable. When a fanatical Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as

-was done by our muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of

-the calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was only a

-day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques or temples, but

-worship in a room outside a village, and only the higher initiated

-members are admitted to the whole performance or allowed to learn what

-is known of their sacred records, which are imparted by oral instruction

-only, and never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted with

-all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher degrees no man

-under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we think, never. The most sacred

-shrine of the Druses is a secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there

-only the most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six

-hours brings us to Rashêya.

-

-RASHÊYA, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely and

-healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I have never been

-mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a European being quite a _rara

-avis_. Men women and children cluster round me, and even crowd into my

-little room to stare at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by

-either curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a

-medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch them; but

-unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the younger women, having

-confidence in their good appearance, beg of me to draw their portraits,

-but my first sketch soon puts the other fair candidates to flight. Two

-or three enterprising young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat

-me to take them back with me to England and make them members of my

-family. I have to explain to them that the social system of the West

-does not allow of any such extensive adoption as that of the East. We

-have often been asked by mothers to take their children and bring them

-up as Feringhees, but think that in most cases this is done to frighten

-the children. The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but

-have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is seldom seen

-in the East), the hands especially with stripes looking like the seams

-of gloves. We have, as usual, the floor only to sit and sleep on. We are

-beginning to be quite clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that

-we think chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya

-Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the castle by the

-Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the Maronite Druses, who massacred

-man, woman and child.

-

-MOUNT HERMON, we believe, has not been ascended to the summit by any

-Englishman for some years. It is called by the Arabs the Snowy Mountain:

-misled probably by this the text books on the subject boldly assert that

-its summit is perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case,

-nor is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite

-side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some two months at

-least, and although we find it cold there is not a trace of snow

-anywhere. The bare white limestone sides of mountains are often mistaken

-at a distance for snow, but few travellers ever attain the summit, and

-hence the perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.

-

-

-                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.

-

-HERMON, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the three peaks rising

-abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower ridges, has an apparent

-altitude much greater than many higher mountains. The grandeur of the

-Matterhorn, for instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished

-by the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the Breithorn

-(which latter we ascended a few years since, so can judge from

-experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among giants, a king of kings;

-but Hermon stands alone in its glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst

-minnows, and owes its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000

-feet, but to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same

-may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely dignify

-with the name of a mountain at all.

-

-HERMON, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the Amorites, is

-called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the Monarch of Mountains; it was

-once encircled by shrines to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great

-central temple on the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of

-these remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we have already

-described.

-

-BAAL, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first to the

-greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the day. We hear of it as

-Bel applied to Nimrod; and we trace it in many other names, such as Bel

-Shazzar, which means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we

-suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the Israelites

-probably called their golden calf Baal. After the Greek conquest, Baal

-and the other Gods were very much mixed up, and the Romans later on, to

-appease the conquered Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and

-their Venus with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note

-here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in the Bel tane

-(Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated on May-day

-morning. Our actual ascent of the mountain is without much interest,

-except that on the way we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn

-out of the solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not

-until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark cloud, and

-over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific thunderstorm, the thunder

-reverberating grandly among the mountains. A continuous bombardment by

-the biggest guns ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’

-rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks through the

-black firmament above, and we set out briskly, and in about four hours

-scramble up to the southern—the highest peak—where we find extensive and

-massive remains of two temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in

-which we tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand

-panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high peaks near

-to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the summit, which is some

-5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a fine sight of the coast from Carmel

-to Tyre, but on the summit, the greater part of Palestine and Syria are

-opened out as a map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north,

-the ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of Damascus,

-bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana and Pharpar, is in the

-extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &c.,

-nestle beneath on the near south-east; further south the broad waters of

-Merom, and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day sun,

-and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the Mountains of Moab

-bound the distant horizon; on the south, Mount Tabor raises its

-beautifully wooded crest over Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the

-plains of Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the coast,

-Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view only a short time, as a

-blinding hailstorm comes down and causes us to beat a very precipitate

-retreat; but as the black thunder clouds gather above and beneath us,

-and the sun at intervals shines through and upon them, the _mélange_ of

-earth and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the

-extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold, here and there

-mellowed with the most delicate tinges of purple green and orange, form

-an effect, which if fixed on the canvas, would be called an impossible

-picture, and we could now well understand and feel that enthusiastic

-praise so often in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon

-which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither difficult nor

-dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but extremely laborious,

-being a steady steep and continuous scramble over loose stones, on which

-it is difficult to retain a footing; there is no defined path to the

-summit, and it should not be attempted without a _local_ guide, as the

-clouds gather round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow

-may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little chance for

-any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is thought by some to have

-been the scene of the transfiguration as Banias, where our Saviour

-started from, is near by. On our way up we try to track a bear, but

-fortunately fail to find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we

-probably should not have written this account.

-

-[Illustration:

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-  _Tiberias._

-]

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-                         CHAPTER IV.—DAMASCUS.

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-                                  ---

-

-

-RASHEYA is again our resting place after our descent from Hermon, and

-next morning we make an early start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we

-arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a mountain ride

-of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair, where again, on a

-small elevated plateau, we see extensive and massive remains of ancient

-temples with fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach

-the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in Syria, over

-this the French have a monopoly of wheeled traffic and transport for

-nearly 99 years, riding horses pass free, but all pack animals and

-caravans have to pay, which however the native caravans evade by still

-using the old track up and down the mountains which runs almost

-parallel. The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last

-three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and sheltered

-from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the dreary desert of Sahira,

-through which we have to ride some two hours to reach it. We may here

-remark that Sahira in the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and

-anyone who has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind

-making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in the lips

-and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell must be a most

-uncomfortably hot place, life being in the burning desert a burden

-almost unbearable. The first sight of Damascus, unlike that of

-Jerusalem, realises all we have heard of it, it is indeed magnificently

-situated in the midst of an extensive plain, intersected in all

-directions by the rills of the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander

-through and round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the

-meadow lakes beyond.

-

-We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone on a chair by

-the river side enjoying otium _sine_ dignitate; his guards at a distance

-standing by their horses ready to look after him, if necessary. He

-politely returns our passing salute in true Parisian style. Like all

-other Turkish Pashas he will have to make hay while the sun shines and

-be sharp about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful memory)

-did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may be a similarly short

-summer. It costs money to be a Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be

-first found for the Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the

-appointment is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his

-government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh out of the

-higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the public, who are

-fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind here, is continually

-looking out for the dollars. But to return to Damascus. The plain in

-which it is situated is surrounded on three sides by mountains, Lebanon,

-Anti-Lebanon and Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert,

-in the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the ancient

-Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the Syrians. Well might the

-Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant plain, after six days dreary riding

-across the desert, when he came across this city embosomed in beautiful

-gardens and orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in

-all directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the

-houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon the

-Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at Demetri’s, the only

-Frank hotel, and are glad again to see some signs of western

-civilisation.

-

-My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country by little

-known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the Europeans, who wish

-to know if I am travelling under diplomatic orders; a negative answer to

-such a question is not, of course, worth much. The Turkish police give

-vent to their curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining

-my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life, &c., &c.

-Things are rather strained here. The attitude of the allied Powers to

-Turkey makes this fanatical people never well disposed to Christians,

-now still less so, and to make matters worse, Arab placards have been

-posted here and at Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to

-revolt against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest the

-Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent conquerors, the Osmanli

-usurpers of the Khalifate, who monopolise all place and power, using

-them only to oppress the people, whose language they do not even

-understand, and whose lives, liberties, and properties they either

-cannot or do not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing

-on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their doom. This

-movement has since developed into an organised Arab League, following

-the example of the Albanians. An Armenian League probably is not far

-behind. The collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of

-time. They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does not

-seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear out of

-Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere long be like Egypt,

-semi-independent vice-royalties under European protection, or they will

-become Russian and French appanages. The Turkish Government have

-authorised their postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open

-letters at their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to

-the Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives in a

-hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment. What a pity that

-our Government does not buy itself a consular residence in such an

-important post as this? It is so undignified for an English Consul to

-have to turn out at the bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in

-the extreme to have to move all the archives every few years; and in

-case of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we might find

-it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul at all. In one of

-the squares we see a crowd and several soldiers looking at the dead body

-of an Arab. This poor fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of

-camels, some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of

-Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to his post; they

-of course soon killed him and cleared off with the camels. This is the

-security for life and property which Turkey provides for its subjects in

-the neighbourhood of a great city. We will now take a stroll through

-this thoroughly Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet

-more than in any other city in the world, more so even than in Tanjiers

-and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed suits, black-coated

-Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty bornous, Druses with white

-turbans and blood-stained hands, Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox

-Moslems in flowing robes and showy green turbans, Circassians with

-breast full of cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough

-sheep skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod

-veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed Parisian

-dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of the East, jostling

-each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars. Camels also, and mules, horses

-and donkeys, with perhaps a drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far

-steppes of Turkestan, press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take

-care, take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no respecter

-of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over you go if you do not

-get out of his way, unless by a vigorous shove you send him over, just

-as in self-defence we were obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back,

-legs up in the air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.

-

-METROPOLIS did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so called, for is

-it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living city in the world?

-(not even excepting Hebron), for here Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived;

-these streets the patriarch himself must often have traversed as a

-trader in flocks and herds, and through these lanes, once at all events,

-he drove the Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near

-here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian captors. It

-was conquered by David after a protracted struggle, but recovered its

-independence in the reign of Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the

-Assyrians. Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded

-probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah. Damascus

-has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from its unique position,

-probably never will. The prey of every ambitious conqueror, it has seen

-the rise and survived the fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian,

-Greek, Roman, Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the

-garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has out-lived all its

-rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and Tarsus survive only as

-uninteresting towns, Babylon, Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but

-Damascus is still the “Head of Syria” as it was in the days of

-Abraham—Damascus a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,

-bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always been and

-must for ever remain the mother city of the world.

-

-To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath in the waters

-of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name Barada indicates, remarkably

-cool and pleasant. Having tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s

-opinion, that the bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the

-midst of the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;

-certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a Mahommedan

-one, where the process of destruction is carried on by man and that of

-re-construction or re-placement left to “Allah.” We also see another

-tree in the horse market close by, used as a gallows, but public

-executions are very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly

-sensitive—he does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home

-if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem being

-publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the great mosque; in

-its courtyard are the remains of a small ancient temple to the sun—it

-was once a Roman temple, then a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient

-times probably the site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the

-knee to Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it easier to

-enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, and the

-grand mosque at Cairo, than this, the people being so fanatical. St.

-Sophia, in fact, we got into by only paying a few francs to the

-door-keeper, but here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the

-tomb of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very sacred,

-cannot view the interior. We now come to the street called “Straight,”

-above a mile long, running through the city east to west, and on our way

-we call at the traditional house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church;

-then just outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman, now

-appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part of the wall from

-which it is said St. Paul was let down in a basket at the time when

-Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia, was King. Aretas was the name of

-the dynasty, like, Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia,

-&c. The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just outside

-the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have been the light

-before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled. A walled up gate is also

-shewn as that by which St. Paul entered the city.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  _Damascus._

-]

-

-THE BAZAARS are very interesting, here is to be found merchandise

-collected by caravans from all corners of the earth; Merchants from

-Manchester, Paris, Vienna, Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia,

-Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its

-exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather and metal

-work; the population is principally Moslem. We of course pay a visit to

-old Abu Antika (father of antiquities), and possess ourselves of a

-Damascus blade. A friend of ours, an artist, was about to give 100

-francs for one at Cairo, we asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it

-“warranted best steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it

-was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer induced him to hastily

-put away the Damascus blade and my friend put his 100 francs back into

-his pocket. Tricks are sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old

-Abu Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money on

-spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could not interfere,

-but she introduced herself to us later on and was a very pleasant and

-intelligent fellow traveller. The houses of the rich Damascenes are very

-handsomely fitted up; on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a

-great open courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants

-all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at one end, is

-fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as a public reception room.

-On each side of the court is a large room, one used as a Summer and the

-other as a Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are

-magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The sleeping rooms are

-on the first floor and are entered from a verandah above. Running water

-from the Abana flows through all the best houses. The public buildings

-and barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good for a

-Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is interesting,

-but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader, who so long kept the

-French at bay in North Africa, lived in Damascus, and had a quarter

-allotted to him and his Algerian fellow exiles. Damascus is not the

-dirty city it once was. Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that

-respect, and also in other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus

-in ruins and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the

-fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This is a much

-shorter and more economical way (to the government) of making street

-improvements than that we have in England, but as no notice of the

-contemplated improvement is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the

-inhabitants. Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of

-the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  _Damascus._

-]

-

-

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-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-

-

-                      CHAPTER V.—THE ANTI-LEBANON.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-DAMASCUS must now be left behind, adieu, we wish we could say _au

-revoir_ to its lovely lanes and pleasant orchards, its curious motley

-crowded bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its grand

-associations with all time—for did not through Damascus pass those

-archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the four quarters of the

-globe? Shem probably here said goodbye to Ham on his way to Africa, and

-both bade God-speed to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north;

-and Noah himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones as

-near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb, and that of

-Adam, Abel and Seth, _cum multis aliis_ near here even to this day?

-Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of Demetri, an oasis in the desert

-of barbarism we pass through. We follow back the diligence road a few

-miles as far as Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec,

-_viâ_ Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get a

-zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of Sahrâ. We see

-on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon enter the upper part of the

-Abana watershed, which might well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this

-part of the world where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass

-several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous appearance, the

-women looking better and healthier than any we have yet seen. We now

-enter the narrow gorge of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and

-soon after about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh (one

-of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river which

-springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as at once to form a

-large stream, which, although not broad, is very deep. It must be, we

-should think, the shortest river in the world. Over these springs,

-half-hidden by the beautiful foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise

-the massive remains of two temples, one across the stream, one in it,

-all around is a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a

-good place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and orange,

-mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most lovely little

-stream, and where its crystal current mixes with the turbid Barada,

-there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more beautiful even than the

-“_Moore_” famed meeting of the Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once

-picturesque Vale of Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the

-spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak, are found

-forming little forests wherever a rill of living water can force its

-way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and Roman times were only, and

-they could easily be, reformed, the whole land would again laugh and

-sing, and paradises as of old, would replace the present deserts. God

-made the land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses, has

-turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey, following the

-course of the Barada for some two hours, having a succession of pretty

-woodland views until we come to Sûk Wady Barada, supposed to be the site

-of the ancient Abila, the chief town of the district of Abilene, of

-which (according to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of

-Tiberius Cæsar.

-

-ABILA is said to derive it name from Abel, who according to tradition

-was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging height (Neby Hâbyl) is

-pointed out as Abel’s tomb. This first murder, according to tradition

-was avenged by Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from

-Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the prophets of

-Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the Barada gorge, where the

-river descending in small cataracts is spanned by a very tumbledown

-bridge, attributed by some writers to Zenobia, but more probably the

-work of the Roman engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the

-_corniche_ roads.

-

-In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut tombs,

-tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and the remains of a

-high-level mountain road, works well worthy the finest engineering of

-the West. Here by the stream, near a murmuring waterfall we spread our

-carpet for tiffin, the lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying

-waters, the greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this

-season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful resting

-place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine waterfalls and ruined

-bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt grass plain of Zebedâni, one

-of the most fertile in the land, well watered and well cultivated; then,

-after passing some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like

-lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place between Damascus

-and Baalbec. The population is chiefly Moslem, but there are many

-Maronites also. We lodge with the chief priest. We may here remark that

-the Maronites are a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge

-the Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called orthodox

-Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their own patriarch and do

-not carry out the Roman ritual. They might almost equally well

-acknowledge the Archbishop of Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite

-women are distinguished by a black band on the forehead.

-

-ZEBEDÂNI is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most luxurious

-vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains. It boasts a small

-Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built closely together, only one or two

-having a first floor; most have a small courtyard, into which the goats

-and cattle are driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are

-used much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty

-ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep in the open

-on the roof; and when in the early morning sleeper after sleeper raised

-his or her head from beneath the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and

-tried to escape from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme.

-All turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are as a rule

-early risers. The room we have is clean, contains the usual curtained

-recesses in the walls for cupboards, and a wooden ledge round top of

-room for stores, and, what is the only piece of furniture ever seen in

-these parts, a large damasceened chest for the valuables of the

-household. The mural decorations consist of English willow pattern

-plates cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement on hanging

-them up by wires, as they are not liable to be broken by domestic

-dusting. We have seen the outside as well as the inside of dwellings

-decorated in this manner, and our Western sisters are long forestalled

-in this kind of mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East.

-Our worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by Druses, and

-we try to reassure him by saying that times are changed since 1860, and

-that there is not any occasion to fear; but we should not like to back

-this opinion too heavily, for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and

-Druses are as bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon

-after writing above there was a collision between Moslems and Christians

-at Beyrût, and several of the latter were massacred. There was also an

-attack on Christians in the Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently

-said to me what FROUDE said in September, 1880, in his admirable article

-on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost ceased to exist, and that

-every one had to look after his own immediate interest,” and in the case

-of a collapse of Turkish rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from

-the desert like locusts, murder all round, and in all probability

-permanently occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at

-daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the rising

-sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this gilding of the

-hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in language, far too bright to

-be pictured in painting, is the grand _mise-en-scène_ of black and gold

-set in silver frame produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with

-the disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many former

-occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000 feet high in the

-Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw the Italian mountains literally

-bathed in the brightest gold as the sun climbed up to the summits of the

-highest peaks and crept down the opposite sides into the valley.

-

-At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of seeing the Syrian

-sheep, remarkable for their tremendous tails, and watch the women

-stuffing the vine leaves down the sleepy animals’ throats, for the

-purpose of creating the enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the

-tail and is used to fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which,

-with a salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into

-one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our German

-friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is added in times of

-plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of Zebedâni behind, and passing

-under Bludàn, the summer residence of the European Consuls, arrive at

-the upper source of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon,

-the streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and towards the

-Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first fountain on the northern slope

-is that of Eve, in whose transparent waters the mother of all was,

-according to poetical tradition, admiring herself when her future lord

-and master (as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her.

-We infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was by no

-means a small one, and must have included all Syria Mesopotamia,

-Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the world. As we are soon

-leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may observe that this mountain range extends

-from Banias, at the head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the

-Bukâa, in which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of it,

-but on account of its almost isolated position, is often considered to

-be as a mountain in business for itself. On our way we cross two Roman

-bridges, now on their last legs, but they have done well to have lasted

-1800 years.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  BAALBEC—_The Great Stone in the Quarry_.

-]

-

-Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient wine presses,

-hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000 perhaps 3,000 years

-back; they enable one to understand what building a wine press meant,

-and what a terrible loss and disappointment it would be to the builder,

-if, when he “looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus

-hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep out the

-“little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great trouble and many

-years before they form that impenetrable barrier through which even the

-wild boar cannot break his way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for

-lunch in the Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross

-by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our journey leave

-on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of Seth. Ham is said to be

-buried a little further east. A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts

-upon our view, separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or

-valley of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the village

-of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel, and soon come in

-sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens and grand Acropolis of Baalbec,

-the great ancient shrine of Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of

-the Sun of the Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,

-of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great caravan road

-from Tyre to India, which we may mention was the original overland

-route, and if history repeats itself will be so again. What shorter

-route to India can there be than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth

-through the canal now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,

-and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of Cilicia, _viâ_

-the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and Afghanistan, to

-India—there are no difficulties which modern engineers could not

-overcome. But perhaps we are waiting for the French or Germans to show

-the way.[1] Before entering the town we visit the ancient quarries out

-of which were hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very

-ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies there already

-hewn but not quite separated from the quarry, it is about 70 feet long,

-14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing some 10,000 tons; other large stones

-are seen lying about partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished

-in the workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader who made

-the busy mason so suddenly throw away the gavel to seize the sword will

-now never be known. We put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and

-find it fairly comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late

-in the evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with two

-Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only converse in the

-primitive language of signs—the result being that when next morning they

-want to see the ruins, they are taken from them, to a hill some miles

-off, where they see them—from a distance—a fine effect probably, but not

-what was wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer

-inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone through it all

-ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic descriptions. Their guides,

-if not useful as Cicerones, were we must admit extremely picturesque and

-pleasant barbarians. The younger lady has we believe by this time

-immortalized them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme

-effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the Temple

-from which the _coup d’oeil_ was magnificent.

-

-Footnote 1:

-

-  Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a

-  firman to make a railway from Ismid to Bagdad.

-

-Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of having a

-guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way to Beyrût we meet a

-man and his horse at cross purposes, endeavouring in vain to find out

-the reason from his Arab guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you

-and your horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the

-traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not understand

-my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is a brute.” “Not so, my

-friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding him with an Arab bridle in English

-fashion.” He was, in fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for

-he was torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he had

-been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately replied, “Tu

-quoque _brute_.” The Arab bit is in the shape of a gridiron (minus

-interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat broad end of it, in which the

-lower jaw of the animal is placed the handle of the gridiron is in the

-mouth, and by a pull of the reins is forced up into the roof of the

-mouth, causing considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and

-the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck when

-wishing to go to the right, and _vice versâ_. Pulling the rein English

-fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal. We explain the process

-and leave the man and his beast better friends; they now understand each

-other. (How many of us would also like each other better if we were less

-impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and rider now go

-on their way as reconciled to one another as Balaam to the ass after the

-departure of the Angel.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  _A Street called “Straight,” Damascus._

-]

-

-

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-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-

-

-                          CHAPTER VI.—BAALBEC.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-BAALBEC, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is situated about

-forty-five miles north of Damascus but slightly to the west, on the

-lowest slope of Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.

-The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec within

-one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down the Bukâa or

-Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon and Beyrût. The Orontes,

-El Asi or rebellious river, so called because it changes its course in a

-remarkable manner, flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch.

-Baalbec is the point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût

-and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient importance, and

-it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram or Upper Syria where Terah

-lived, whence Abram emigrated and whither Jacob went to seek a wife

-among the daughters of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and

-subsequently his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships;

-even more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American who

-married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to despair, insanity and

-death, because he never could make out what relation he was to himself.

-

-The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two and three miles

-in circumference. Some learned writers attribute its foundation to

-Solomon, arguing that the colossal stones used in the substructure, of

-which we will speak more in detail hereafter, are similar in size and

-bevel to those in the temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it

-with Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have built

-at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be Palmyra), in the

-wilderness. Now it must be noted that Solomon lost Damascus to the

-Syrians, which David his father had taken from them. It is not likely

-that having so lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and

-built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it, neither would he

-if he dominated the cedar country have troubled Hiram to send him cedars

-for the Temple. We may also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are

-described as being built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in

-the land, _i.e._, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities

-undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &c. Baalaath is more likely

-to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city of palms, there are

-plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in Palestine without locating

-Tadmor in the great Syrian desert, then held by the hostile kings of

-Syria; and further, we are informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of

-Phœnician Tyre, certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon

-could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to give,

-Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of operations, but

-equally conveniently situated for Hiram and much more acceptable to him.

-Baalbec was probably a Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram,

-who however might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones

-to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact that

-Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to prepare the Temple

-materials, the woodwork of which was undoubtedly, and the stonework

-perhaps too, obtained from the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and

-floated down along the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit

-the celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only

-approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those on the

-Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the village a beautiful

-little Temple of Venus, called by the natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a

-gem of architecture, semicircular in shape, the architraves, cornices,

-&c., richly ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has

-a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a monolith. It was

-last used as a Greek church, to which era the trace of frescoes still

-remaining must be attributed. Near by are the remains of a large mosque,

-which looks very like having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s

-basilica and other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns

-being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large or too

-small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been very fine.

-

-THE GREAT TRILITHON TEMPLE, the Acropolis of Baalbec, and its massive,

-mighty ruins are now before us—they have been so often pictured by the

-painter that their external appearance must be familiar to many. We

-enter from the east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble

-flight of steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty

-columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks when they

-converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing under this, through a

-portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty corridor, richly ornamented;

-facing us are three large doors, the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us

-into an outer court of hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide;

-three gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440 feet

-long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are vast somewhat

-semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae, rectangular recesses on each

-side with arched roofs, but open to the central court; these are

-elaborately decorated with niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &c., the

-various designs of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &c.,

-being very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and

-varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime to

-copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what was once the great

-Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and then to all the gods, so as not

-to offend any. The only remains of this Temple are six magnificent

-columns of the peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter;

-they are visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very

-grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a distance

-standing out boldly in an evening sky.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  BAALBEC—_General View of Ruins._

-]

-

-This temple was probably about three hundred feet long, and stood upon

-the old Phœnician foundation, built of Cyclopean masses of stone, many

-of which are thirty feet long and ten feet thick; but there are three

-stones (which gave the name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty

-feet long, thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have

-been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they now occupy,

-it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled up great inclined

-planes of earth which were afterwards carted away, as represented in the

-bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud. To the left of the great Temple, on a

-somewhat lower level, having formerly an approach of its own from the

-plain, probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by

-some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and finest ruins

-in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid, but very beautiful and

-varied. It was surrounded by forty-six columns, about sixty-five feet

-high and six feet in diameter; the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was

-supported by a double row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet

-high and twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow

-pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof. The cornices

-are rich in design and elaborate in execution, the Cella or interior is

-in fair preservation, and at the end of it is a raised platform where

-the altar stood. Underneath the altar was a vault whence concealed

-priests sent up Delphic responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined

-that they were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the

-Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies highest and is

-supposed to be able to look at the Sun unflinchingly, predominates

-everywhere about these ruins. The temple area is undermined by vast

-vaulted corridors, now used as approaches in the same way as the Temple

-platform at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius converted

-the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem conquest it was used as

-a fortress. When some five hundred years later the tide turned again in

-favour of Christianity, it was converted back by the Crusaders into a

-church, and when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it

-became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its final

-decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed by Tamerlane the

-Tartar when he raided through Syria. While at Baalbec, we witness an

-extraordinary hailstorm, the stones being larger than pigeons’

-eggs—almost as large as a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the

-centre about the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large,

-clear, crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice. The storm

-lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt for some time; it is

-accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm. We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and

-wend our way across the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.

-

-The BUKÂA, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the Hebrews (_Amos_ i, 5),

-is a long plain extending about one hundred miles between the Lebanon

-and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and

-the Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow Syria,

-and was the natural highway of the invading armies of Egypt, Persia,

-Assyria, &c., from all time. It is mentioned in the Bible as the

-“entering in of Hamath,” but was only for a short time in the possession

-of the Kings of Israel. Along this plain commander Cameron projected a

-railway between Damascus, _viâ_ Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo

-northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards, and to

-Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all possible

-enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay. The railway was to be

-commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour to Damascus to avoid the

-mountains. This enterprising project was to embrace, eventually, a

-Euphrates valley line to Bombay, _viâ_ the Persian Gulf, and to Northern

-India, _viâ_ Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected

-with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, _viâ_ Diarbekir to

-Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari and the Bosphorus,

-opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty project on paper, a magnificent

-prophecy of the future, and we hope that commander Cameron will live to

-see his great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec we

-come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem saint reared

-evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  BEYRÛT—_and The Lebanon_.

-]

-

-THE BUKÂA plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders a journey

-through it rather monotonous for some hours. We lunch at a small Arab

-Khan, and passing several villages reach at length that of Kerak Nûh,

-where we are shown the tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet

-wide and three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this

-ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out of

-proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark, which was smaller

-than the Great Eastern, only about fifty feet high, and then divided

-into three decks, my Moslem guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark,

-by-the-bye, is said to have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered

-the Holy Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by

-Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably about 1,100

-tonnage—it seems however soon to have come to grief. According to Moslem

-tradition, Hezekiah is said to be buried near Noah. We next pass through

-MULAKA, a prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which is

-almost joined to ZAHLEH, a large Maronite Christian town on the frontier

-of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town, finely situated at the

-entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an amphitheatre of high mountains; it

-was the headquarters of the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now

-ride through many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the

-principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up for the

-night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to Beyrût, about

-nine hours along the diligence road over the Lebanon. We soon have to

-take our last look at Hermon, the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon,

-and ascending to the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the

-sea. The Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and Beyrût

-shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of them on the low

-coast line.

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-

-

-                    CHAPTER VII.—BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-BEYRÛT, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours sail of Cyprus and

-about twenty-four of Port Said), has a considerable population, and is a

-pleasant place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is

-beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background, and

-boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars. The fruit of Paradise—the

-banana—is plentiful, and considered finer and sweeter than that of any

-other region of Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health

-resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon Pasha, who

-consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return from the Cape. We

-discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the end the General expressed his

-intention of resting there. He went shortly after, but his noble

-restless nature could not rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained

-there only a short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission

-to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal Government

-which sent him on a mad mission and then deserted him (only sending a

-relieving force when too late), he nobly ended a noble life.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  CYPRUS—_Larnaca._

-]

-

-CYPRUS, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we made the journey

-some years ago, about the time that Sir Garnet Wolsely took possession

-of the island. Without the English and Indian troops who were then there

-we should not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a

-whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the Mediterranean, and

-has a climate and soil which would produce almost anything. It is a pity

-that our Government does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a

-lump sum and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony like

-Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think that if the island

-were properly explored some very interesting archæological discoveries

-would be made, as from its position it must have been a house of call

-for all the great civilised nations of antiquity. The Egyptian,

-Assyrian, Tyrian, and Roman galleys must all at some time or other have

-sought shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.

-

-We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its orange, lemon

-and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its bustling lanes and its busy

-quays, and embark on board an Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we

-find the Peninsula and Oriental Southampton steamer, _Venetia_, which

-lands us at MALTA, off which interesting island we see a remarkable

-sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very fortunately

-a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we cross over to Sicily,

-to SYRACUSE, still infamous for deeds of blood, as of old, and

-celebrated for its ruined theatre, where Æschylus, before 20,000

-sympathetic listeners, was wont to recite his immortal tragedies. Here

-also is the rock-hewn “Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off

-with the report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from

-Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a little loaf of

-bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of the lovely island of

-Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we can comfortably swallow it

-without the coffee we cannot get. We next come to Catania, famous for

-its sulphur and nitre mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna;

-and then pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at

-Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant Polyphemus,

-who, however, took better aim at the unlucky lover of Galatea, whose

-blood still poetically flows in the little river in memory of him, the

-Acis which we soon after pass, and then we come to that beautiful

-Sicilian Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.

-

-TAORMINA, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known to the ordinary

-Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient remains. Its ruined theatre

-was one of the largest in the world. It began its history by

-successfully resisting the Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400

-years was an important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is now

-little more than a large village, but its situation is magnificent,

-scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after leaving Taormina, we

-find ourselves at Messina, where we embark on an Italian steamer for

-Naples, whence the train takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and

-through the Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.

-

-[Illustration:

-

-  _The Cedars of Lebanon._

-]

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-

-

-

-               CHAPTER VIII.—THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN.

-

-                                  ---

-

-

-The BEDAWEEN are rough but picturesque looking fellows, armed often with

-very long lances, spear at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the

-other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner killed Asahel,

-whom he smote with the _hinder_-part of the spear while being pursued;

-long guns with a short range, antique pistols and knives stuck into the

-girdle, making up a formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses

-are small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in days of

-yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by trade, but not

-naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill unless resistance is made.

-They rarely attack unless pretty sure of being able to overpower, and

-when on mere robbery bent, generally go about in small bands of three

-and four, keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close

-together they will probably get the worst of it, as the Bedaween are

-quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse the rider in an instant.

-They seldom leave the traveller with more than one garment, and of

-course take the horses too. They do not attack large parties like Cook’s

-caravans. As we have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very

-sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about the

-distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is attacked, the

-other may have time to draw a revolver, which Bedaween will seldom face,

-as their game is to rob defenceless travellers, and not to risk their

-own lives. Three of them, mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some

-time on the open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing

-that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to our great

-relief left us. It is only the small bands that need be feared. A tribe

-on the march or in camp in Syria would never touch a traveller, as it

-would soon be known what tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would

-follow, as they cannot move _en masse_ quickly, and for this reason

-(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of their

-camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different tribes are coming

-in opposite directions in a lonely district, they will not meet face to

-face, but one goes to the right and the other in the contrary direction,

-in order that one shall not get behind the other, for if there were a

-blood feud between the tribes, and either could murder the other without

-risk, it would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken

-unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween, and one

-were to go straight up the road, and the other off the road to one side

-so as to get in their rear, they would not attack the traveller left

-alone. We know a case in which a party of three (with only one gun

-between them) escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the

-Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much. They have a

-nasty knack of reaping what others have sown, swooping down from a

-distance in the middle of the night and clearing away before morning

-with half the harvest of a village—not very difficult to do when it is

-lying in heaps on the threshing floor ready for market.

-

-                                -------

-

-

-                             THE FELLAHEEN.

-

-The FELLAHEEN, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of Philistine or Phœnician

-descent, fear the Bedaween as much as the passing traveller does. They

-frequently carry for defence either a rather artistic looking kind of

-battle-axe (probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick

-something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and knife—they

-sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their own account; one

-unfortunately occurred while we were in the country, and a young friend

-of ours was cruelly murdered by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an

-oak forest we had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered

-and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their

-non-execution created an impression here that to murder an Englishman is

-the same as to murder a native, and simply to pay as blood-money a part

-of the plunder back if the crime is found out. It may interest our

-readers to know how capital punishment is carried out in this country.

-First of all the public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for

-(say) five napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the horrid

-office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost his nerve, and

-butchered his victim; we will not relate the circumstances. Before the

-execution takes place, the chief officer at the execution cries out,

-“Who will buy this man’s soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a

-sufficient sum of money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations

-(and they generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the

-culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life; but he

-generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At Jerusalem, criminals

-are generally executed outside the Jaffa Gate, where probably, and not

-on the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was

-crucified. In the case of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them

-to the place of execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the

-greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal which he

-generally keeps for the women and children. Recently a Bedawi brigand

-was executed outside Jerusalem, he was a villain, but a plucky fellow;

-his last words were “Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all

-your guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope; he placed

-one end round his neck and tied the other to a tree, stood on the

-donkey, kicked it aside and was his own executioner. This soul was put

-up for auction, but there was not a bid; not even the most merciful

-Mahommedan could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent so

-many souls to death without even offering them at auction. As if the

-country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte banished to Palestine

-some time since, thousands of the Circassian cut-throats, who committed

-the Bulgarian atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they

-are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them, and they

-do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the fate they are so ready

-to deal out to others.

-

-A few remarks about the general tenure of land in Palestine may be

-interesting. It is somewhat similar to the ancient land settlement of

-England before the days of feudal tenure. Each village has so much

-pasture, tillage or woodland belonging to it as common property; this is

-year by year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity

-according to the number of the family. The allotments are divided from

-each other only by rows or heaps of stones, which, as they can be easily

-moved, explains the reason of the Levitical curse against him who

-removed his neighbour’s land mark. The land is not of course highly

-cultivated, as the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being

-absolutely sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the

-government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time, when the grain

-is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize what they consider their

-share of the produce. A similar summary procedure is adopted with the

-flocks and herds of sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure

-is not here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether

-unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.

-

-                                -------

-

-                              MAHOMETANS.

-

-And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can learn at least

-one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not ashamed of his religious faith;

-he is not ashamed to be seen reading his Bible or saying his prayers,

-even during business hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good

-Christians are. Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most

-ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable Christian. We

-may mention here that Christ is venerated by the Mahometans, who believe

-as we do that He will judge the world at the last day. This judgment

-according to them is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will

-be stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount Moriah to

-the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to cross on this tight rope.

-The righteous will accomplish the journey in safety; but the wicked will

-fall off into the Valley of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen

-idolater, made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred

-books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same way as did

-many of the Roman church missionaries in the dark ages, when they mixed

-up Christianity with Paganism, and allowed their converts to retain

-their idol images, only re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna

-Diana, Lady Mary, &c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.

-

-We now conclude the account of our “RIDE THROUGH SYRIA.” We have shown,

-we think, that it is not a very difficult matter now-a-days to make a

-pilgrimage to the once distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a

-few weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation. Taken as

-a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious one, but looked at in

-a more serious light, it is a tour never to be forgotten, and affords

-food for reflection for the whole of an after lifetime. The Bible

-henceforth becomes a more and more interesting book as we learn better

-to understand it. We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more

-than the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod, sailed

-on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed up the mountain

-from which He ascended into Heaven. We journeyed alone with a dragoman

-without tents, putting up at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so

-saw the inner life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel

-luxuriously in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble

-or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist agents like

-Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be as perfect as possible.

-We hope in a future volume to give an account of our travels in Asia

-Minor to the sites of “THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.”

-

-

-

-

-                         ---------------------

-

-                                 Finis.

-

-                         ---------------------

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-

-

-                                _INDEX._

-

-

- Abana, or Barada, 27, 32, 37, 41

-

- Abel’s Tomb and Abila, 38

-

- Abner and Asahel, 55

-

- Abraham, 41, 45

-

- Acis and Galatea, 54

-

- Anti-Lebanon, 36, 42

-

- Arabi, 20

-

- Arabian Nights, 20

-

-

- Baal, 15, 24

-

- Baalbec, 42, 45

-

- Baalath, 46

-

- Baal-Gad, 20, 42

-

- Banias (Baalath), 16, 46

-

- Barak, 7, 13

-

- Bedaween, 5, 55

-

- Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, 11

-

- Beyrût (Berytus), 52

-

- Bludàn, 41

-

- Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, 42, 45, 49

-

-

- Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), 16

-

- Cana of Galilee, 8

-

- Cain, 38

-

- Calfolatry, 15, 21

-

- Capernaum, 10

-

- Carmel, 7, 9, 25, 38

-

- Cyprus, 52

-

-

- Damascus, 28 to 35, 44

-

- Dan, 15

-

- Druses, 15, 19, 21, 23, 39

-

-

- Eden, Garden of, 41

-

- Elijah, 7, 38

-

- Esdraelon, Plain of, 7

-

- Eve, 41

-

-

- Fellaheen, 57

-

-

- General Gordon, 52

-

-

- Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), 19

-

- Hermon, 23

-

- Hibberiyeh, 18

-

- Hiram of Tyre, 46

-

- Hunin (Beth-rehob), 14

-

-

- Jaffa, or Joppa, 5

-

- Jordan, 14, 15, 16, 21

-

-

- Kenites and Kedes, 7, 13

-

-

- Land Tenure, 58

-

-

- Mahometans, 59

-

- Maronites, 38

-

- Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), 12, 13, 21

-

-

- Naaman the Syrian, 33

-

- Naples, 4

-

- Napoleon, 8, 9

-

- Noah, 36, 50

-

-

- Overland Route, 42, 50

-

-

- Palmyra, 46

-

- Pharpar and Abana, 27, 28, 32

-

- Phœnicians, 18

-

-

- Rasheya, 22

-

-

- Saracens and Saladin, 6, 7, 8, 32, 49

-

- Safed, the City on a Hill, 10, 12

-

- Seth, 42

-

- Sharon, Plain of, 6

-

- Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), 24

-

- Sisera, 7, 12

-

- Solomon, 46

-

- St. Paul, 18, 33, 53

-

- Street called Straight, 32, 44

-

- Syracuse, 53

-

-

- Taormina, 54

-

- The Transfiguration, 26

-

- Tiberias, 9, 10, 26

-

- Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), 47

-

-

- Wine Press, 41

-

-

- Zahleh, 57

-

- Zebedâni, 38, 39

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-                              A CATALOGUE

-

-                                  —OF—

-

-                   Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published

-

-                                —AT THE—

-

-                  OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.

-

-                         ---------------------

-

-THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, BY _Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn,

-&c._ 1709

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—_M de la Bruyère_ 1709

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, AND OTHER PUBLIC

-PAPERS 1710

-

-MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &c., BY _Sir B. Whitlock_.

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, VOL. 7; VENUS AND ADONIS; TARQUIN AND LUCRECE, AND

-MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON, _Edited by M. St. Egrement_.

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF SAVOY.

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, TO INCITE THE ENGLISH AGAINST THE FRENCH 1710

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-SENSUS COMMUNIS—_An Essay_.

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—_Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange_ 1709

-

-    ----------------------------------------------------------------

-

-A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of _M. de Perrier_,

-Academician.

-

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

-

-

- ● Transcriber’s Notes:

-    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.

-    ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.

-    ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only

-      when a predominant form was found in this book.

-    ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and

-Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram

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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60615 ***
+
+             A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec,
+
+                       and Ascent of Mount Hermon
+
+
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.
+  by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.
+]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+                                   A
+
+                           RIDE THROUGH SYRIA
+
+                                 — TO —
+
+                         DAMASCUS AND BAALBEC,
+
+                                  AND
+
+                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+
+                             EDWARD ABRAM,
+
+                 Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”
+                   “The Seven Churches of Asia,” &c.
+
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+                          WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+
+                              Published by
+
+                             ABRAM & SONS,
+
+               AT THE OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,
+                                LONDON.
+                                   —
+                                 1887.
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             ABRAM & SONS,
+
+                               Printers,
+
+                          MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,
+
+                              LONDON, E.C.
+
+
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             — CONTENTS. —
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I.
+
+                                                  Page
+
+                  JAFFA TO TIBERIAS                  3
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II.
+
+                  TIBERIAS TO HASBÊYA               10
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III.
+
+
+                  MOUNT HERMON AND THE DRUSES       19
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV.
+
+                  DAMASCUS                          27
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V.
+
+                  THE ANTI-LEBANON                  37
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI.
+
+                  BAALBEC AND THE BUKÂA             45
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII.
+
+                  BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE                52
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII.
+
+                  THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN        55
+
+                  —————————
+
+                  INDEX                             61
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+               MAP OF PALESTINE               Frontispiece
+
+                                                    Page
+
+               JOPPA, and House of Simon the           5
+                 Tanner
+
+               MOUNT CARMEL                            9
+
+               TIBERIAS                               26
+
+               DAMASCUS                               33
+
+               DAMASCUS                               35
+
+               BAALBEC—Great Stone and Quarry         42
+
+               DAMASCUS—Street called                 44
+                 “Straight”
+
+               BAALBEC—General View of Ruins          48
+
+               BEYRÛT and the Lebanon                 51
+
+               CYPRUS—Larnaca                         52
+
+               Cedars of Lebanon                      54
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          A RIDE
+
+               THROUGH
+
+                    SYRIA.
+
+
+
+
+                     CHAPTER I.—JAFFA TO TIBERIAS.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our enthusiasm for the
+East; we were not, as some travellers have been, disappointed with “The
+Holy Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient
+days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are broken and the waters
+run to waste, the walls of the vineyards are cast down, the very soil
+has disappeared from the once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses
+are covered with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in
+spite of all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an
+overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes to trace
+out on the spot the history of the oldest and most interesting people of
+the world.
+
+Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten track, _viâ_
+Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented route. Our objective
+points are the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon, sighting that mighty
+headland, “the excellency of Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of
+Elijah, and Baal, that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its _traditional_
+snow-clad summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the
+Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better than all the
+rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with its “straight street” and
+memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus, Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again
+to the reputed tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with
+its massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a short sketch
+of the tour we purpose describing in the following pages.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  JOPPA—_With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore._
+]
+
+Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the director, to
+obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from Marseilles to Port Said,
+so arrive in the Holy Land eight and a half days after leaving the
+Crusaders’ old haunt in London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail
+north of Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days pass
+by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find the pretty Chiaja
+much enlarged, planted, and generally improved, and are pleased to see
+the graceful palm trees in thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale,
+ever so interesting, we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to
+nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not, on
+well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent and a lady,
+very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a half-penny. But the sun
+is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb is already in the shade, the
+ship’s bell is summoning strangers to depart, and passengers to dress
+for dinner, so we must bid adieu to Naples and proceed again _en
+voyage_. Capri stands out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius
+is quiet, scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant
+form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to dinner. Early
+next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the Straits of Messina Ætna, but
+both are “still and silent as the grave,” in fact on the latter summit,
+if we mistake not, we see the dark black lava spotted with bright white
+snow. On the far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two
+days later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship
+ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour and
+arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by way of Palestine,
+but by a different route, in order that we may visit certain interesting
+districts which lay out of our line on our former visit.
+
+We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey across the plains
+of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth. This route, being very open to the
+attacks of predatory Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all
+but trackless paths over the vast plains being but little known even to
+the native.
+
+We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a looking man as ever
+cut a throat”) for a guard and guide; two other Arabs join us for
+company or safety’s sake. This force a small party of Bedouins would not
+care to face, and a large party would not attempt it, as they would be
+discovered by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow, so we pass
+the Bedouin camps without any interference.
+
+The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, _viâ_ Jerusalem, is reckoned three good
+days; but by our new route we only take two, and pushing briskly forward
+run it in about eighteen hours—hard work rather to begin with, and the
+Sirocco blowing hot and dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We
+vary the monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several
+little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride us down;
+but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old Shikarri (muleteer),
+whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an Assyrian type that he seemed to
+have started out from the has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But _á route_ we
+ride across the Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with
+villages and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly mediæval
+or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard Cœur-de-Lion gained a
+great victory over Saladin.
+
+We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably once a fortified
+town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt for the night at a
+Mahommedan village called Baka, which probably now for the first time
+receives a European guest (as even my guides had not been there before):
+the sun being already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of
+mud on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in
+massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see on the way had
+been similarly well cared for in ancient times, but are now fast falling
+into decay. We will give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place
+a honeycomb with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of the
+cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to represent small
+stable yards for all the domestic animals in creation, camels included,
+and you have an Arab village of one-storeyed huts, scarcely
+distinguishable at a distance from the hillside on which it is
+plastered. The Sheiks’ houses have an additional storey, a guest-chamber
+built on the wall. One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the
+place and quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an
+advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which abound in
+Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers sleep in the open yard
+with the horses, and leave their weapons with us for safe custody, so
+for the time I am the _custos custodum_, but our quarters are
+inviolable, as for the nonce we are the guests of the village. A few
+crossed sticks in the corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a
+fire-place.
+
+We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of Manasseh,
+which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty glance at El Mahrakah,
+or the Rock of Sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal,
+and enter the vast plain of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or
+lower sources of Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be
+remembered Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of Jabin,
+King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the tents of Heber the
+Kenite and was treacherously murdered there by Jael. The Kenites’ home
+was at Kedes, three days’ journey off in the mountains. It is not
+probable that Sisera could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable
+that Heber was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,
+and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not far off.
+At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he received from Jehu, and
+near this spot, in modern times, Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish
+levies a defeat somewhat similar to that which Barak inflicted on
+Sisera, but Sir Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his
+victory of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.
+
+After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some hours, crossing
+it in almost a direct line, we leave the level ground again, and
+ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee, mount up to Nazareth
+(described in our “Ride through Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the
+Latin Monastery, finding in residence the same good Father, quite
+pleased at seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor
+twice. Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the
+fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have drunk, and
+soon _on our left_ see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the reputed birth-place of
+Jonah, and _on our right_, the battle-field where the Crusaders gained
+their last victory over the Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun,
+(the horns of Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under
+Guy of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat, their
+power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by Saladin. In the
+meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of
+Josephus, and ridden through Kefr Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a
+previous visit, we were shown the miraculous waterpots which must have
+been very fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.
+This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours, and at one
+place where the path is very narrow, we think that we shall have to
+fight our way through. About six wild Moabite Bedouins, from the other
+side of Jordan, had planted themselves each side of the narrow way on a
+slight eminence, completely commanding us; we determine to pass through
+in Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that we
+cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps, were peaceably
+disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country to be cautious: anyhow,
+they do not molest us. They were all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat
+by the sun, and were without water, which we were unable to give them,
+not having any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the
+march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want of water in
+the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness, distress, and death, so
+graphically described in the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael.
+
+After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we halt for
+tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in 1799 the French,
+under Junot, held their own against a vastly superior army of Turks, and
+succeeded in reaching Tabor just in time to fall on the rear of the
+force then pressing hard upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after,
+we catch a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one
+time, in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden
+setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the God of day,
+like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We put up at the Latin
+Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where we are entertained by the Father
+Superior hospitably as we were on a former occasion. Before leaving
+Tiberias, we trot along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and
+old Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.
+
+The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the hills above the
+town.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Mount Carmel._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                    CHAPTER II.—TIBERIAS TO HÂSBEYÂ.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+TIBERIAS was our last halting place. After a grateful dip in the buoyant
+lake waters we leave early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited
+place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be hid,”
+for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide, but the term
+‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply to Bethlehem, the “city
+of our Lord.” In the distance the snow-white houses of Safed glisten on
+the dark mountain side like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty
+giant. Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the shore of
+the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach Medjil, or Magdala,
+the home of the Magdalene, now a collection of wretched mud hovels, then
+across the fertile but neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of
+which we see a fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre
+of a great city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown
+with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other trace of a town
+near. We pause awhile to think of those great cities which in our
+Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake, and see how thoroughly
+their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre still exists as a place to dry nets
+on, and Sidon as a habitation for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum,
+the two Bethsaidas and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their
+very sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans once
+fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only three wretched
+fishing boats, in one of which we take a voyage. They were “exalted to
+heaven,” they are indeed “brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of
+these formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along
+sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,
+Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain near by was in the
+middle ages known as Mensa, alluding perhaps to the place where our
+Saviour made a table for the multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at
+Ain-et-Tabighah, a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site
+of Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt the
+Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find ourselves high up
+in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed; we ascend the hill behind the
+city to the ruins of the old Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of
+the finest views of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of
+Galilee, across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian
+Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of Moab and
+Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on the south and
+south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on the west the sea-coast—on the
+north the view is bounded by the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a
+Moslem house for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s
+rent; we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper room, as
+usual without any kind of furniture or glass window, and the floor a mud
+one, but the view from it is magnificent. The Jews cook for us, but are
+so fanatical that they will not taste the food they themselves have
+prepared for us. Our bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but
+better however than we have in many other places; we soon learn the way
+of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will permit,
+sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than many do on down beds.
+My dragoman shares my apartment, the others sleep outside in the open.
+It is 5 a.m. when the Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants
+out the first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal
+Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are in the
+saddle.
+
+SAFED Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews, is built
+on terraces one above the other on the side of the mountain, so that the
+flat roofs of one terrace serve very well as promenades for the houses
+immediately above, also affording extra facilities for cats and pariah
+dogs, jackals, &c., to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we
+travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of the plain
+where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron chariots against Joshua;
+of the waters of Merom (Lake Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the
+Jordan, with herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high
+rushes. On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the
+Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian atrocities;
+then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast size, evidently made
+for some other purpose than to supply a few sheep here in the
+wilderness.
+
+DESHUN, an African colony sent from Algeria when the French conquered
+that country, is next reached; the people seem to be industrious and
+prosperous. We observe that their houses are detached and have sloping
+roofs, seldom seen in this country except in European settlements, and
+altogether they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around
+them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings we hear of in
+Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin, which was probably the
+hereditary title of their kings, as Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre,
+Pharaoh of Egypt, &c. After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin
+in the olive grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of
+refuge, and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of Heber
+the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites. There are
+great masses of débris and ruins here, and some fine single and double
+sarcophagi lying about. The Turkish people are excavating huge trenches
+and digging out large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however,
+with any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once utilised to
+erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We acquire a very ancient lamp
+for about three half-pence. Our zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does
+not understand; he will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo)
+than repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin, he
+says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves it to decay.
+
+LAKE HULEH (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount Hermon, is between
+four and five miles long and about four miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the
+tomb of Joshua, looks down upon it. The views all along the shores
+(where the hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the
+vista of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially Hermon, are
+very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground to cover before sundown,
+try a short cut into the valley without going by Hunin, the usual way.
+We hear of a path from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it.
+It is not known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that
+it should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one of
+our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great grief, both
+to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly finds himself, with
+a frightened horse in front slipping, falling, and struggling, wedged in
+a track so narrow and precipitous that it is difficult to find room to
+dismount; once off, we do not remount until we reach the plain, and no
+greater damage is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost
+as good for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we
+managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could find one, being
+little better than a goat track, we have some trouble to get the horses
+to face the steep descents. It saves however some hours of time, and is
+of immense service to us, as otherwise we should have been benighted in
+the difficult, dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the
+Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost tropical
+country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset, a bad time to
+enter any Eastern town, and then have to look for a lodging. But to go
+back a little, we get down into the Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at
+the tents of the Ghawarineh Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character,
+and says they attacked him, but they give us water and behave civilly.
+However we should not trust them too far, nor after dark. We are so glad
+to get down to level ground, so severe is the descent, that we think
+little of any danger from the wild denizens we drop down on. The scene
+here is remarkable, the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of
+buffaloes roaming among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the
+almost naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat, make us
+imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark continent. Our advice
+to travellers going from Safed by Kedes to Banias, is to make a two
+day’s trip of it, and not one as we did, and then to keep up on the
+mountain, and descend by Hunin to the plain.
+
+HUNIN, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua, the limit of
+the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may be said to begin on
+the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now cross the Hasbâny, the most
+northerly source of the Jordan, by an old ruined Roman bridge,
+Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my men dismount again, but I have more confidence
+in my horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and the
+surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and boulders
+safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman, and now after
+another rough ride for about three miles over stones and swamps, at
+length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the (fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan,
+which in the Hebrew also signifies Judge.
+
+DAN, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit of the
+promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern. Its Canaanitish name
+was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon, and dated back to the days of
+Abraham. The Danites took it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were
+a peaceable people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.
+It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the Phœnicians, who
+called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as later on with Jeroboam, whose
+Calf was a venerated idol with the local heathen of that day, as it is
+still curiously with the native ignorant Druse peasants at the present
+day. When cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of a Calf,”
+as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not necessarily take his idea
+from the golden calf of Mosaic times, but may have simply adopted the
+indigenous idolatry; yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from
+Egypt, as Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite
+trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being on the
+road to Damascus, which was the objective point of every invader,
+whether warrior or merchant.
+
+DAN is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet high, visible
+for a long distance over the low plain; here, under a fine oak tree,
+near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another most copious source of the
+Jordan, forming a large stream immediately it springs from the ground,
+said to be the largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a
+good flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little Jordan,
+and is considered by many the chief source, but it is not the most
+northerly. We get a grand view here of the great Jordan Valley, looking
+down upon a sea of waving corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as
+far as the eye can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded
+country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old Phœnician
+worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the site of ancient Cæsarea
+Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip the Tetrarch, in honour of
+Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen Philippi being added by the same gentleman
+in honour of himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast
+near Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but in
+later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it took from the
+Temple of Pan then there), and that was easily corrupted to its present
+name Banias. It was once at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).
+
+BANIAS is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the direct road
+to Damascus, which we do not intend to take, preferring to go two days
+longer journey round to visit the less frequented parts of Syria. We are
+received into a Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber
+allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of the house
+to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in this establishment,
+except by the mother, who after a while thinks it proper to drape up the
+lower part of her face which somewhat improves her appearance. The
+accommodation is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an
+Oriental scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed
+flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members of the various
+families sleeping al fresco. Some more fastidious or important
+personages rig themselves up a leafy bower on four supports about three
+or four feet from the roof—a cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little
+tents such as might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast
+of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the paneless
+windows during the night in search of our saddle bags, but a heavy boot
+well shot at an Oriental cat helps him out quite as quickly as it would
+one of our own domestic favourites. One time, however it misses the mark
+and alights on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye, that
+Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture of Jerusalem, and
+many thousand prisoners perished in the “Sports.”
+
+Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old gate, the
+grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and the Banias fountains
+of the Jordan. The rocks just above the latter are sculptured with
+shrines and niches in which statues once stood; there are also Greek
+inscriptions which are not very legible.
+
+We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding over a slope of
+Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole country including Palestine is
+often described as Syria, and was all under one Pashalic so called until
+lately—Palestine originally included only the country of the
+Philistines. We breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian
+village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery, which it
+supplies to the whole of the northern part of Palestine and Syria, as
+far as Damascus. It is refreshing to come across an industrious
+manufacturing population, so rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh
+in the south, where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient
+Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil, and exported
+as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under Mount Carmel) are
+cultivating this industry also, and turn out a much finer article, which
+finds a sale in America, but has not yet made a market in Palestine,
+which prefers its native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend
+the mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before by our
+guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our horses to
+Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western gorges of Hermon:
+here we visit a very ancient well-preserved temple built of Phœnician
+bevelled stones principally, but curiously with pilasters and columns
+having Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as it
+faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered by the Greeks to
+accommodate one of their own deities. The valley is remarkably a Valley
+of Rocks; some isolated ones seem to have been formerly sculptured to
+imitate the human form divine. The ascent up the other side of the
+valley we find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our
+horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for the
+night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to Damascus is that
+through the wilderness of Damascus by which St. Paul travelled; but the
+most beautiful road is that we select, which leads round the slopes of
+Hermon.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                 CHAPTER III.—HASBÊYA TO MOUNT HERMON.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+HASBÊYA is a small town beautifully situated some 2,000 feet above the
+sea, on the western side of Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well
+cultivated and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems, all
+very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely, and not, as far
+as the Christians are concerned, without cause, for here they were
+treacherously massacred by the Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into
+the Konak, or Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence
+of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the Druses
+being admitted men women and children were massacred without mercy. The
+French army of the Lebanon avenged these cowardly murders partially, and
+but for the milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,
+would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse scoundrels from their
+just fate then, and consequently they are quite ready to repeat the
+crime now. This our rulers would do well to remember that maudlin
+sentimentality is often another name for weakness and not true mercy
+which is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do not
+practice and do not understand undeserved clemency. The Christians in
+the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too lenient policy, and are
+periodically in a panic about their ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem
+feeling too is often inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that
+the five kings of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to
+depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical purposes often
+revived. This rumour was one of the causes which led to the rebellion of
+Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi had not been crushed, there would probably have
+been a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman Caliphate and
+European interference—and it may come yet. The Ottomans are no longer a
+nation—they are quite effete—but the Arabs are as vigorous a race as
+they were in the days of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and
+the Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to endure for
+ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous world, everlasting
+monuments of the truth of the Bible story.
+
+HASBÊYA is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad of the Bible,
+but others identify the latter with Baalbec. We will not attempt to
+decide that on which many doctors differ. We lodge in one of the best
+houses at the head of the valley, near the Konak. A sort of stretcher,
+much resembling an oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to
+sleep on. Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a
+number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of the “forty
+thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated two. We find them to be
+mostly full of new wine, which is rather too rich and luscious to take
+much of. Just as the day is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room
+and makes for one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are
+forcibly reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.” Next
+day, after about three hours toiling over mountain paths, we pass the
+mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is the source of the Hasbâny, the
+highest and most northerly source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan
+branches of which it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake
+Huleh, after running almost parallel with them for some distance. We
+crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge on our way from
+Kadesh to Dan and Banias.
+
+
+                              THE DRUSES.
+
+THE DRUSES make the Hasbâny Valley their religious centre, as their
+prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been born there. Their religious
+books having been lost (or rather stolen by the Egyptians), their
+religion, which is of more recent origin than Mahometanism, is
+traditional only, and it is difficult to say what it really is, but it
+seems to have been founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It
+consists of several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian pretty
+equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with whom they often
+associate for the purpose of plunder, but they would murder either
+without compunction. At the same time, with an appreciable regard to
+expediency, their religion allows them to live under whatever creed is
+supreme. They have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers
+from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they hold
+practically independent of any Government whatever, although nominally
+subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are distinguished by white turbans.
+Lebanon being now a separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a
+native Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to occupy
+that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon they are
+more formidable. When a fanatical Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as
+was done by our muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of
+the calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was only a
+day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques or temples, but
+worship in a room outside a village, and only the higher initiated
+members are admitted to the whole performance or allowed to learn what
+is known of their sacred records, which are imparted by oral instruction
+only, and never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted with
+all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher degrees no man
+under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we think, never. The most sacred
+shrine of the Druses is a secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there
+only the most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six
+hours brings us to Rashêya.
+
+RASHÊYA, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely and
+healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I have never been
+mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a European being quite a _rara
+avis_. Men women and children cluster round me, and even crowd into my
+little room to stare at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by
+either curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a
+medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch them; but
+unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the younger women, having
+confidence in their good appearance, beg of me to draw their portraits,
+but my first sketch soon puts the other fair candidates to flight. Two
+or three enterprising young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat
+me to take them back with me to England and make them members of my
+family. I have to explain to them that the social system of the West
+does not allow of any such extensive adoption as that of the East. We
+have often been asked by mothers to take their children and bring them
+up as Feringhees, but think that in most cases this is done to frighten
+the children. The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but
+have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is seldom seen
+in the East), the hands especially with stripes looking like the seams
+of gloves. We have, as usual, the floor only to sit and sleep on. We are
+beginning to be quite clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that
+we think chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya
+Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the castle by the
+Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the Maronite Druses, who massacred
+man, woman and child.
+
+MOUNT HERMON, we believe, has not been ascended to the summit by any
+Englishman for some years. It is called by the Arabs the Snowy Mountain:
+misled probably by this the text books on the subject boldly assert that
+its summit is perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case,
+nor is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite
+side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some two months at
+least, and although we find it cold there is not a trace of snow
+anywhere. The bare white limestone sides of mountains are often mistaken
+at a distance for snow, but few travellers ever attain the summit, and
+hence the perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.
+
+
+                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.
+
+HERMON, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the three peaks rising
+abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower ridges, has an apparent
+altitude much greater than many higher mountains. The grandeur of the
+Matterhorn, for instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished
+by the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the Breithorn
+(which latter we ascended a few years since, so can judge from
+experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among giants, a king of kings;
+but Hermon stands alone in its glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst
+minnows, and owes its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000
+feet, but to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same
+may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely dignify
+with the name of a mountain at all.
+
+HERMON, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the Amorites, is
+called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the Monarch of Mountains; it was
+once encircled by shrines to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great
+central temple on the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of
+these remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we have already
+described.
+
+BAAL, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first to the
+greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the day. We hear of it as
+Bel applied to Nimrod; and we trace it in many other names, such as Bel
+Shazzar, which means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we
+suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the Israelites
+probably called their golden calf Baal. After the Greek conquest, Baal
+and the other Gods were very much mixed up, and the Romans later on, to
+appease the conquered Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and
+their Venus with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note
+here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in the Bel tane
+(Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated on May-day
+morning. Our actual ascent of the mountain is without much interest,
+except that on the way we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn
+out of the solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not
+until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark cloud, and
+over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific thunderstorm, the thunder
+reverberating grandly among the mountains. A continuous bombardment by
+the biggest guns ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’
+rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks through the
+black firmament above, and we set out briskly, and in about four hours
+scramble up to the southern—the highest peak—where we find extensive and
+massive remains of two temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in
+which we tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand
+panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high peaks near
+to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the summit, which is some
+5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a fine sight of the coast from Carmel
+to Tyre, but on the summit, the greater part of Palestine and Syria are
+opened out as a map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north,
+the ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of Damascus,
+bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana and Pharpar, is in the
+extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &c.,
+nestle beneath on the near south-east; further south the broad waters of
+Merom, and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day sun,
+and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the Mountains of Moab
+bound the distant horizon; on the south, Mount Tabor raises its
+beautifully wooded crest over Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the
+plains of Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the coast,
+Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view only a short time, as a
+blinding hailstorm comes down and causes us to beat a very precipitate
+retreat; but as the black thunder clouds gather above and beneath us,
+and the sun at intervals shines through and upon them, the _mélange_ of
+earth and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the
+extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold, here and there
+mellowed with the most delicate tinges of purple green and orange, form
+an effect, which if fixed on the canvas, would be called an impossible
+picture, and we could now well understand and feel that enthusiastic
+praise so often in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon
+which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither difficult nor
+dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but extremely laborious,
+being a steady steep and continuous scramble over loose stones, on which
+it is difficult to retain a footing; there is no defined path to the
+summit, and it should not be attempted without a _local_ guide, as the
+clouds gather round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow
+may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little chance for
+any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is thought by some to have
+been the scene of the transfiguration as Banias, where our Saviour
+started from, is near by. On our way up we try to track a bear, but
+fortunately fail to find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we
+probably should not have written this account.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Tiberias._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                         CHAPTER IV.—DAMASCUS.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+RASHEYA is again our resting place after our descent from Hermon, and
+next morning we make an early start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we
+arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a mountain ride
+of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair, where again, on a
+small elevated plateau, we see extensive and massive remains of ancient
+temples with fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach
+the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in Syria, over
+this the French have a monopoly of wheeled traffic and transport for
+nearly 99 years, riding horses pass free, but all pack animals and
+caravans have to pay, which however the native caravans evade by still
+using the old track up and down the mountains which runs almost
+parallel. The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last
+three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and sheltered
+from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the dreary desert of Sahira,
+through which we have to ride some two hours to reach it. We may here
+remark that Sahira in the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and
+anyone who has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind
+making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in the lips
+and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell must be a most
+uncomfortably hot place, life being in the burning desert a burden
+almost unbearable. The first sight of Damascus, unlike that of
+Jerusalem, realises all we have heard of it, it is indeed magnificently
+situated in the midst of an extensive plain, intersected in all
+directions by the rills of the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander
+through and round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the
+meadow lakes beyond.
+
+We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone on a chair by
+the river side enjoying otium _sine_ dignitate; his guards at a distance
+standing by their horses ready to look after him, if necessary. He
+politely returns our passing salute in true Parisian style. Like all
+other Turkish Pashas he will have to make hay while the sun shines and
+be sharp about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful memory)
+did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may be a similarly short
+summer. It costs money to be a Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be
+first found for the Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the
+appointment is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his
+government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh out of the
+higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the public, who are
+fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind here, is continually
+looking out for the dollars. But to return to Damascus. The plain in
+which it is situated is surrounded on three sides by mountains, Lebanon,
+Anti-Lebanon and Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert,
+in the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the ancient
+Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the Syrians. Well might the
+Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant plain, after six days dreary riding
+across the desert, when he came across this city embosomed in beautiful
+gardens and orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in
+all directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the
+houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon the
+Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at Demetri’s, the only
+Frank hotel, and are glad again to see some signs of western
+civilisation.
+
+My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country by little
+known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the Europeans, who wish
+to know if I am travelling under diplomatic orders; a negative answer to
+such a question is not, of course, worth much. The Turkish police give
+vent to their curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining
+my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life, &c., &c.
+Things are rather strained here. The attitude of the allied Powers to
+Turkey makes this fanatical people never well disposed to Christians,
+now still less so, and to make matters worse, Arab placards have been
+posted here and at Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to
+revolt against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest the
+Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent conquerors, the Osmanli
+usurpers of the Khalifate, who monopolise all place and power, using
+them only to oppress the people, whose language they do not even
+understand, and whose lives, liberties, and properties they either
+cannot or do not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing
+on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their doom. This
+movement has since developed into an organised Arab League, following
+the example of the Albanians. An Armenian League probably is not far
+behind. The collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of
+time. They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does not
+seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear out of
+Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere long be like Egypt,
+semi-independent vice-royalties under European protection, or they will
+become Russian and French appanages. The Turkish Government have
+authorised their postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open
+letters at their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to
+the Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives in a
+hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment. What a pity that
+our Government does not buy itself a consular residence in such an
+important post as this? It is so undignified for an English Consul to
+have to turn out at the bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in
+the extreme to have to move all the archives every few years; and in
+case of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we might find
+it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul at all. In one of
+the squares we see a crowd and several soldiers looking at the dead body
+of an Arab. This poor fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of
+camels, some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of
+Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to his post; they
+of course soon killed him and cleared off with the camels. This is the
+security for life and property which Turkey provides for its subjects in
+the neighbourhood of a great city. We will now take a stroll through
+this thoroughly Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet
+more than in any other city in the world, more so even than in Tanjiers
+and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed suits, black-coated
+Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty bornous, Druses with white
+turbans and blood-stained hands, Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox
+Moslems in flowing robes and showy green turbans, Circassians with
+breast full of cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough
+sheep skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod
+veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed Parisian
+dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of the East, jostling
+each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars. Camels also, and mules, horses
+and donkeys, with perhaps a drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far
+steppes of Turkestan, press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take
+care, take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no respecter
+of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over you go if you do not
+get out of his way, unless by a vigorous shove you send him over, just
+as in self-defence we were obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back,
+legs up in the air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.
+
+METROPOLIS did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so called, for is
+it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living city in the world?
+(not even excepting Hebron), for here Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived;
+these streets the patriarch himself must often have traversed as a
+trader in flocks and herds, and through these lanes, once at all events,
+he drove the Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near
+here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian captors. It
+was conquered by David after a protracted struggle, but recovered its
+independence in the reign of Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the
+Assyrians. Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded
+probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah. Damascus
+has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from its unique position,
+probably never will. The prey of every ambitious conqueror, it has seen
+the rise and survived the fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian,
+Greek, Roman, Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the
+garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has out-lived all its
+rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and Tarsus survive only as
+uninteresting towns, Babylon, Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but
+Damascus is still the “Head of Syria” as it was in the days of
+Abraham—Damascus a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,
+bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always been and
+must for ever remain the mother city of the world.
+
+To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath in the waters
+of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name Barada indicates, remarkably
+cool and pleasant. Having tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s
+opinion, that the bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the
+midst of the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;
+certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a Mahommedan
+one, where the process of destruction is carried on by man and that of
+re-construction or re-placement left to “Allah.” We also see another
+tree in the horse market close by, used as a gallows, but public
+executions are very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly
+sensitive—he does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home
+if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem being
+publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the great mosque; in
+its courtyard are the remains of a small ancient temple to the sun—it
+was once a Roman temple, then a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient
+times probably the site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the
+knee to Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it easier to
+enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, and the
+grand mosque at Cairo, than this, the people being so fanatical. St.
+Sophia, in fact, we got into by only paying a few francs to the
+door-keeper, but here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the
+tomb of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very sacred,
+cannot view the interior. We now come to the street called “Straight,”
+above a mile long, running through the city east to west, and on our way
+we call at the traditional house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church;
+then just outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman, now
+appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part of the wall from
+which it is said St. Paul was let down in a basket at the time when
+Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia, was King. Aretas was the name of
+the dynasty, like, Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia,
+&c. The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just outside
+the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have been the light
+before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled. A walled up gate is also
+shewn as that by which St. Paul entered the city.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Damascus._
+]
+
+THE BAZAARS are very interesting, here is to be found merchandise
+collected by caravans from all corners of the earth; Merchants from
+Manchester, Paris, Vienna, Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia,
+Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its
+exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather and metal
+work; the population is principally Moslem. We of course pay a visit to
+old Abu Antika (father of antiquities), and possess ourselves of a
+Damascus blade. A friend of ours, an artist, was about to give 100
+francs for one at Cairo, we asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it
+“warranted best steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it
+was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer induced him to hastily
+put away the Damascus blade and my friend put his 100 francs back into
+his pocket. Tricks are sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old
+Abu Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money on
+spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could not interfere,
+but she introduced herself to us later on and was a very pleasant and
+intelligent fellow traveller. The houses of the rich Damascenes are very
+handsomely fitted up; on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a
+great open courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants
+all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at one end, is
+fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as a public reception room.
+On each side of the court is a large room, one used as a Summer and the
+other as a Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are
+magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The sleeping rooms are
+on the first floor and are entered from a verandah above. Running water
+from the Abana flows through all the best houses. The public buildings
+and barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good for a
+Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is interesting,
+but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader, who so long kept the
+French at bay in North Africa, lived in Damascus, and had a quarter
+allotted to him and his Algerian fellow exiles. Damascus is not the
+dirty city it once was. Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that
+respect, and also in other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus
+in ruins and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the
+fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This is a much
+shorter and more economical way (to the government) of making street
+improvements than that we have in England, but as no notice of the
+contemplated improvement is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the
+inhabitants. Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of
+the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Damascus._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                      CHAPTER V.—THE ANTI-LEBANON.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+DAMASCUS must now be left behind, adieu, we wish we could say _au
+revoir_ to its lovely lanes and pleasant orchards, its curious motley
+crowded bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its grand
+associations with all time—for did not through Damascus pass those
+archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the four quarters of the
+globe? Shem probably here said goodbye to Ham on his way to Africa, and
+both bade God-speed to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north;
+and Noah himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones as
+near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb, and that of
+Adam, Abel and Seth, _cum multis aliis_ near here even to this day?
+Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of Demetri, an oasis in the desert
+of barbarism we pass through. We follow back the diligence road a few
+miles as far as Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec,
+_viâ_ Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get a
+zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of Sahrâ. We see
+on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon enter the upper part of the
+Abana watershed, which might well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this
+part of the world where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass
+several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous appearance, the
+women looking better and healthier than any we have yet seen. We now
+enter the narrow gorge of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and
+soon after about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh (one
+of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river which
+springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as at once to form a
+large stream, which, although not broad, is very deep. It must be, we
+should think, the shortest river in the world. Over these springs,
+half-hidden by the beautiful foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise
+the massive remains of two temples, one across the stream, one in it,
+all around is a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a
+good place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and orange,
+mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most lovely little
+stream, and where its crystal current mixes with the turbid Barada,
+there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more beautiful even than the
+“_Moore_” famed meeting of the Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once
+picturesque Vale of Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the
+spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak, are found
+forming little forests wherever a rill of living water can force its
+way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and Roman times were only, and
+they could easily be, reformed, the whole land would again laugh and
+sing, and paradises as of old, would replace the present deserts. God
+made the land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses, has
+turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey, following the
+course of the Barada for some two hours, having a succession of pretty
+woodland views until we come to Sûk Wady Barada, supposed to be the site
+of the ancient Abila, the chief town of the district of Abilene, of
+which (according to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of
+Tiberius Cæsar.
+
+ABILA is said to derive it name from Abel, who according to tradition
+was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging height (Neby Hâbyl) is
+pointed out as Abel’s tomb. This first murder, according to tradition
+was avenged by Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from
+Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the prophets of
+Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the Barada gorge, where the
+river descending in small cataracts is spanned by a very tumbledown
+bridge, attributed by some writers to Zenobia, but more probably the
+work of the Roman engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the
+_corniche_ roads.
+
+In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut tombs,
+tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and the remains of a
+high-level mountain road, works well worthy the finest engineering of
+the West. Here by the stream, near a murmuring waterfall we spread our
+carpet for tiffin, the lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying
+waters, the greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this
+season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful resting
+place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine waterfalls and ruined
+bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt grass plain of Zebedâni, one
+of the most fertile in the land, well watered and well cultivated; then,
+after passing some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like
+lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place between Damascus
+and Baalbec. The population is chiefly Moslem, but there are many
+Maronites also. We lodge with the chief priest. We may here remark that
+the Maronites are a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge
+the Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called orthodox
+Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their own patriarch and do
+not carry out the Roman ritual. They might almost equally well
+acknowledge the Archbishop of Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite
+women are distinguished by a black band on the forehead.
+
+ZEBEDÂNI is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most luxurious
+vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains. It boasts a small
+Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built closely together, only one or two
+having a first floor; most have a small courtyard, into which the goats
+and cattle are driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are
+used much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty
+ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep in the open
+on the roof; and when in the early morning sleeper after sleeper raised
+his or her head from beneath the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and
+tried to escape from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme.
+All turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are as a rule
+early risers. The room we have is clean, contains the usual curtained
+recesses in the walls for cupboards, and a wooden ledge round top of
+room for stores, and, what is the only piece of furniture ever seen in
+these parts, a large damasceened chest for the valuables of the
+household. The mural decorations consist of English willow pattern
+plates cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement on hanging
+them up by wires, as they are not liable to be broken by domestic
+dusting. We have seen the outside as well as the inside of dwellings
+decorated in this manner, and our Western sisters are long forestalled
+in this kind of mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East.
+Our worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by Druses, and
+we try to reassure him by saying that times are changed since 1860, and
+that there is not any occasion to fear; but we should not like to back
+this opinion too heavily, for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and
+Druses are as bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon
+after writing above there was a collision between Moslems and Christians
+at Beyrût, and several of the latter were massacred. There was also an
+attack on Christians in the Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently
+said to me what FROUDE said in September, 1880, in his admirable article
+on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost ceased to exist, and that
+every one had to look after his own immediate interest,” and in the case
+of a collapse of Turkish rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from
+the desert like locusts, murder all round, and in all probability
+permanently occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at
+daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the rising
+sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this gilding of the
+hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in language, far too bright to
+be pictured in painting, is the grand _mise-en-scène_ of black and gold
+set in silver frame produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with
+the disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many former
+occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000 feet high in the
+Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw the Italian mountains literally
+bathed in the brightest gold as the sun climbed up to the summits of the
+highest peaks and crept down the opposite sides into the valley.
+
+At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of seeing the Syrian
+sheep, remarkable for their tremendous tails, and watch the women
+stuffing the vine leaves down the sleepy animals’ throats, for the
+purpose of creating the enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the
+tail and is used to fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which,
+with a salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into
+one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our German
+friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is added in times of
+plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of Zebedâni behind, and passing
+under Bludàn, the summer residence of the European Consuls, arrive at
+the upper source of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon,
+the streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and towards the
+Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first fountain on the northern slope
+is that of Eve, in whose transparent waters the mother of all was,
+according to poetical tradition, admiring herself when her future lord
+and master (as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her.
+We infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was by no
+means a small one, and must have included all Syria Mesopotamia,
+Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the world. As we are soon
+leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may observe that this mountain range extends
+from Banias, at the head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the
+Bukâa, in which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of it,
+but on account of its almost isolated position, is often considered to
+be as a mountain in business for itself. On our way we cross two Roman
+bridges, now on their last legs, but they have done well to have lasted
+1800 years.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BAALBEC—_The Great Stone in the Quarry_.
+]
+
+Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient wine presses,
+hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000 perhaps 3,000 years
+back; they enable one to understand what building a wine press meant,
+and what a terrible loss and disappointment it would be to the builder,
+if, when he “looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus
+hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep out the
+“little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great trouble and many
+years before they form that impenetrable barrier through which even the
+wild boar cannot break his way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for
+lunch in the Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross
+by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our journey leave
+on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of Seth. Ham is said to be
+buried a little further east. A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts
+upon our view, separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or
+valley of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the village
+of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel, and soon come in
+sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens and grand Acropolis of Baalbec,
+the great ancient shrine of Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of
+the Sun of the Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,
+of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great caravan road
+from Tyre to India, which we may mention was the original overland
+route, and if history repeats itself will be so again. What shorter
+route to India can there be than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth
+through the canal now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,
+and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of Cilicia, _viâ_
+the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and Afghanistan, to
+India—there are no difficulties which modern engineers could not
+overcome. But perhaps we are waiting for the French or Germans to show
+the way.[1] Before entering the town we visit the ancient quarries out
+of which were hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very
+ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies there already
+hewn but not quite separated from the quarry, it is about 70 feet long,
+14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing some 10,000 tons; other large stones
+are seen lying about partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished
+in the workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader who made
+the busy mason so suddenly throw away the gavel to seize the sword will
+now never be known. We put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and
+find it fairly comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late
+in the evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with two
+Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only converse in the
+primitive language of signs—the result being that when next morning they
+want to see the ruins, they are taken from them, to a hill some miles
+off, where they see them—from a distance—a fine effect probably, but not
+what was wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer
+inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone through it all
+ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic descriptions. Their guides,
+if not useful as Cicerones, were we must admit extremely picturesque and
+pleasant barbarians. The younger lady has we believe by this time
+immortalized them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme
+effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the Temple
+from which the _coup d’oeil_ was magnificent.
+
+Footnote 1:
+
+  Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a
+  firman to make a railway from Ismid to Bagdad.
+
+Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of having a
+guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way to Beyrût we meet a
+man and his horse at cross purposes, endeavouring in vain to find out
+the reason from his Arab guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you
+and your horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the
+traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not understand
+my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is a brute.” “Not so, my
+friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding him with an Arab bridle in English
+fashion.” He was, in fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for
+he was torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he had
+been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately replied, “Tu
+quoque _brute_.” The Arab bit is in the shape of a gridiron (minus
+interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat broad end of it, in which the
+lower jaw of the animal is placed the handle of the gridiron is in the
+mouth, and by a pull of the reins is forced up into the roof of the
+mouth, causing considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and
+the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck when
+wishing to go to the right, and _vice versâ_. Pulling the rein English
+fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal. We explain the process
+and leave the man and his beast better friends; they now understand each
+other. (How many of us would also like each other better if we were less
+impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and rider now go
+on their way as reconciled to one another as Balaam to the ass after the
+departure of the Angel.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _A Street called “Straight,” Damascus._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                          CHAPTER VI.—BAALBEC.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+BAALBEC, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is situated about
+forty-five miles north of Damascus but slightly to the west, on the
+lowest slope of Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.
+The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec within
+one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down the Bukâa or
+Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon and Beyrût. The Orontes,
+El Asi or rebellious river, so called because it changes its course in a
+remarkable manner, flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch.
+Baalbec is the point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût
+and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient importance, and
+it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram or Upper Syria where Terah
+lived, whence Abram emigrated and whither Jacob went to seek a wife
+among the daughters of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and
+subsequently his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships;
+even more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American who
+married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to despair, insanity and
+death, because he never could make out what relation he was to himself.
+
+The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two and three miles
+in circumference. Some learned writers attribute its foundation to
+Solomon, arguing that the colossal stones used in the substructure, of
+which we will speak more in detail hereafter, are similar in size and
+bevel to those in the temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it
+with Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have built
+at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be Palmyra), in the
+wilderness. Now it must be noted that Solomon lost Damascus to the
+Syrians, which David his father had taken from them. It is not likely
+that having so lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and
+built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it, neither would he
+if he dominated the cedar country have troubled Hiram to send him cedars
+for the Temple. We may also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are
+described as being built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in
+the land, _i.e._, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities
+undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &c. Baalaath is more likely
+to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city of palms, there are
+plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in Palestine without locating
+Tadmor in the great Syrian desert, then held by the hostile kings of
+Syria; and further, we are informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of
+Phœnician Tyre, certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon
+could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to give,
+Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of operations, but
+equally conveniently situated for Hiram and much more acceptable to him.
+Baalbec was probably a Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram,
+who however might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones
+to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact that
+Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to prepare the Temple
+materials, the woodwork of which was undoubtedly, and the stonework
+perhaps too, obtained from the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and
+floated down along the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit
+the celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only
+approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those on the
+Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the village a beautiful
+little Temple of Venus, called by the natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a
+gem of architecture, semicircular in shape, the architraves, cornices,
+&c., richly ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has
+a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a monolith. It was
+last used as a Greek church, to which era the trace of frescoes still
+remaining must be attributed. Near by are the remains of a large mosque,
+which looks very like having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s
+basilica and other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns
+being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large or too
+small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been very fine.
+
+THE GREAT TRILITHON TEMPLE, the Acropolis of Baalbec, and its massive,
+mighty ruins are now before us—they have been so often pictured by the
+painter that their external appearance must be familiar to many. We
+enter from the east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble
+flight of steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty
+columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks when they
+converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing under this, through a
+portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty corridor, richly ornamented;
+facing us are three large doors, the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us
+into an outer court of hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide;
+three gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440 feet
+long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are vast somewhat
+semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae, rectangular recesses on each
+side with arched roofs, but open to the central court; these are
+elaborately decorated with niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &c., the
+various designs of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &c.,
+being very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and
+varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime to
+copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what was once the great
+Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and then to all the gods, so as not
+to offend any. The only remains of this Temple are six magnificent
+columns of the peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter;
+they are visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very
+grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a distance
+standing out boldly in an evening sky.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BAALBEC—_General View of Ruins._
+]
+
+This temple was probably about three hundred feet long, and stood upon
+the old Phœnician foundation, built of Cyclopean masses of stone, many
+of which are thirty feet long and ten feet thick; but there are three
+stones (which gave the name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty
+feet long, thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have
+been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they now occupy,
+it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled up great inclined
+planes of earth which were afterwards carted away, as represented in the
+bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud. To the left of the great Temple, on a
+somewhat lower level, having formerly an approach of its own from the
+plain, probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by
+some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and finest ruins
+in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid, but very beautiful and
+varied. It was surrounded by forty-six columns, about sixty-five feet
+high and six feet in diameter; the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was
+supported by a double row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet
+high and twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow
+pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof. The cornices
+are rich in design and elaborate in execution, the Cella or interior is
+in fair preservation, and at the end of it is a raised platform where
+the altar stood. Underneath the altar was a vault whence concealed
+priests sent up Delphic responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined
+that they were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the
+Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies highest and is
+supposed to be able to look at the Sun unflinchingly, predominates
+everywhere about these ruins. The temple area is undermined by vast
+vaulted corridors, now used as approaches in the same way as the Temple
+platform at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius converted
+the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem conquest it was used as
+a fortress. When some five hundred years later the tide turned again in
+favour of Christianity, it was converted back by the Crusaders into a
+church, and when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it
+became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its final
+decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed by Tamerlane the
+Tartar when he raided through Syria. While at Baalbec, we witness an
+extraordinary hailstorm, the stones being larger than pigeons’
+eggs—almost as large as a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the
+centre about the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large,
+clear, crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice. The storm
+lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt for some time; it is
+accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm. We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and
+wend our way across the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.
+
+The BUKÂA, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the Hebrews (_Amos_ i, 5),
+is a long plain extending about one hundred miles between the Lebanon
+and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and
+the Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow Syria,
+and was the natural highway of the invading armies of Egypt, Persia,
+Assyria, &c., from all time. It is mentioned in the Bible as the
+“entering in of Hamath,” but was only for a short time in the possession
+of the Kings of Israel. Along this plain commander Cameron projected a
+railway between Damascus, _viâ_ Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo
+northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards, and to
+Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all possible
+enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay. The railway was to be
+commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour to Damascus to avoid the
+mountains. This enterprising project was to embrace, eventually, a
+Euphrates valley line to Bombay, _viâ_ the Persian Gulf, and to Northern
+India, _viâ_ Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected
+with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, _viâ_ Diarbekir to
+Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari and the Bosphorus,
+opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty project on paper, a magnificent
+prophecy of the future, and we hope that commander Cameron will live to
+see his great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec we
+come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem saint reared
+evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BEYRÛT—_and The Lebanon_.
+]
+
+THE BUKÂA plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders a journey
+through it rather monotonous for some hours. We lunch at a small Arab
+Khan, and passing several villages reach at length that of Kerak Nûh,
+where we are shown the tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet
+wide and three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this
+ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out of
+proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark, which was smaller
+than the Great Eastern, only about fifty feet high, and then divided
+into three decks, my Moslem guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark,
+by-the-bye, is said to have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered
+the Holy Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by
+Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably about 1,100
+tonnage—it seems however soon to have come to grief. According to Moslem
+tradition, Hezekiah is said to be buried near Noah. We next pass through
+MULAKA, a prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which is
+almost joined to ZAHLEH, a large Maronite Christian town on the frontier
+of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town, finely situated at the
+entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an amphitheatre of high mountains; it
+was the headquarters of the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now
+ride through many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the
+principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up for the
+night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to Beyrût, about
+nine hours along the diligence road over the Lebanon. We soon have to
+take our last look at Hermon, the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon,
+and ascending to the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the
+sea. The Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and Beyrût
+shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of them on the low
+coast line.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                    CHAPTER VII.—BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+BEYRÛT, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours sail of Cyprus and
+about twenty-four of Port Said), has a considerable population, and is a
+pleasant place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is
+beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background, and
+boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars. The fruit of Paradise—the
+banana—is plentiful, and considered finer and sweeter than that of any
+other region of Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health
+resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon Pasha, who
+consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return from the Cape. We
+discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the end the General expressed his
+intention of resting there. He went shortly after, but his noble
+restless nature could not rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained
+there only a short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission
+to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal Government
+which sent him on a mad mission and then deserted him (only sending a
+relieving force when too late), he nobly ended a noble life.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  CYPRUS—_Larnaca._
+]
+
+CYPRUS, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we made the journey
+some years ago, about the time that Sir Garnet Wolsely took possession
+of the island. Without the English and Indian troops who were then there
+we should not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a
+whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the Mediterranean, and
+has a climate and soil which would produce almost anything. It is a pity
+that our Government does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a
+lump sum and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony like
+Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think that if the island
+were properly explored some very interesting archæological discoveries
+would be made, as from its position it must have been a house of call
+for all the great civilised nations of antiquity. The Egyptian,
+Assyrian, Tyrian, and Roman galleys must all at some time or other have
+sought shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.
+
+We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its orange, lemon
+and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its bustling lanes and its busy
+quays, and embark on board an Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we
+find the Peninsula and Oriental Southampton steamer, _Venetia_, which
+lands us at MALTA, off which interesting island we see a remarkable
+sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very fortunately
+a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we cross over to Sicily,
+to SYRACUSE, still infamous for deeds of blood, as of old, and
+celebrated for its ruined theatre, where Æschylus, before 20,000
+sympathetic listeners, was wont to recite his immortal tragedies. Here
+also is the rock-hewn “Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off
+with the report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from
+Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a little loaf of
+bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of the lovely island of
+Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we can comfortably swallow it
+without the coffee we cannot get. We next come to Catania, famous for
+its sulphur and nitre mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna;
+and then pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at
+Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant Polyphemus,
+who, however, took better aim at the unlucky lover of Galatea, whose
+blood still poetically flows in the little river in memory of him, the
+Acis which we soon after pass, and then we come to that beautiful
+Sicilian Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.
+
+TAORMINA, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known to the ordinary
+Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient remains. Its ruined theatre
+was one of the largest in the world. It began its history by
+successfully resisting the Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400
+years was an important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is now
+little more than a large village, but its situation is magnificent,
+scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after leaving Taormina, we
+find ourselves at Messina, where we embark on an Italian steamer for
+Naples, whence the train takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and
+through the Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _The Cedars of Lebanon._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+               CHAPTER VIII.—THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+The BEDAWEEN are rough but picturesque looking fellows, armed often with
+very long lances, spear at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the
+other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner killed Asahel,
+whom he smote with the _hinder_-part of the spear while being pursued;
+long guns with a short range, antique pistols and knives stuck into the
+girdle, making up a formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses
+are small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in days of
+yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by trade, but not
+naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill unless resistance is made.
+They rarely attack unless pretty sure of being able to overpower, and
+when on mere robbery bent, generally go about in small bands of three
+and four, keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close
+together they will probably get the worst of it, as the Bedaween are
+quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse the rider in an instant.
+They seldom leave the traveller with more than one garment, and of
+course take the horses too. They do not attack large parties like Cook’s
+caravans. As we have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very
+sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about the
+distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is attacked, the
+other may have time to draw a revolver, which Bedaween will seldom face,
+as their game is to rob defenceless travellers, and not to risk their
+own lives. Three of them, mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some
+time on the open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing
+that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to our great
+relief left us. It is only the small bands that need be feared. A tribe
+on the march or in camp in Syria would never touch a traveller, as it
+would soon be known what tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would
+follow, as they cannot move _en masse_ quickly, and for this reason
+(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of their
+camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different tribes are coming
+in opposite directions in a lonely district, they will not meet face to
+face, but one goes to the right and the other in the contrary direction,
+in order that one shall not get behind the other, for if there were a
+blood feud between the tribes, and either could murder the other without
+risk, it would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken
+unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween, and one
+were to go straight up the road, and the other off the road to one side
+so as to get in their rear, they would not attack the traveller left
+alone. We know a case in which a party of three (with only one gun
+between them) escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the
+Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much. They have a
+nasty knack of reaping what others have sown, swooping down from a
+distance in the middle of the night and clearing away before morning
+with half the harvest of a village—not very difficult to do when it is
+lying in heaps on the threshing floor ready for market.
+
+                                -------
+
+
+                             THE FELLAHEEN.
+
+The FELLAHEEN, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of Philistine or Phœnician
+descent, fear the Bedaween as much as the passing traveller does. They
+frequently carry for defence either a rather artistic looking kind of
+battle-axe (probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick
+something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and knife—they
+sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their own account; one
+unfortunately occurred while we were in the country, and a young friend
+of ours was cruelly murdered by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an
+oak forest we had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered
+and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their
+non-execution created an impression here that to murder an Englishman is
+the same as to murder a native, and simply to pay as blood-money a part
+of the plunder back if the crime is found out. It may interest our
+readers to know how capital punishment is carried out in this country.
+First of all the public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for
+(say) five napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the horrid
+office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost his nerve, and
+butchered his victim; we will not relate the circumstances. Before the
+execution takes place, the chief officer at the execution cries out,
+“Who will buy this man’s soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a
+sufficient sum of money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations
+(and they generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the
+culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life; but he
+generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At Jerusalem, criminals
+are generally executed outside the Jaffa Gate, where probably, and not
+on the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was
+crucified. In the case of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them
+to the place of execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the
+greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal which he
+generally keeps for the women and children. Recently a Bedawi brigand
+was executed outside Jerusalem, he was a villain, but a plucky fellow;
+his last words were “Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all
+your guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope; he placed
+one end round his neck and tied the other to a tree, stood on the
+donkey, kicked it aside and was his own executioner. This soul was put
+up for auction, but there was not a bid; not even the most merciful
+Mahommedan could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent so
+many souls to death without even offering them at auction. As if the
+country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte banished to Palestine
+some time since, thousands of the Circassian cut-throats, who committed
+the Bulgarian atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they
+are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them, and they
+do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the fate they are so ready
+to deal out to others.
+
+A few remarks about the general tenure of land in Palestine may be
+interesting. It is somewhat similar to the ancient land settlement of
+England before the days of feudal tenure. Each village has so much
+pasture, tillage or woodland belonging to it as common property; this is
+year by year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity
+according to the number of the family. The allotments are divided from
+each other only by rows or heaps of stones, which, as they can be easily
+moved, explains the reason of the Levitical curse against him who
+removed his neighbour’s land mark. The land is not of course highly
+cultivated, as the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being
+absolutely sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the
+government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time, when the grain
+is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize what they consider their
+share of the produce. A similar summary procedure is adopted with the
+flocks and herds of sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure
+is not here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether
+unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.
+
+                                -------
+
+                              MAHOMETANS.
+
+And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can learn at least
+one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not ashamed of his religious faith;
+he is not ashamed to be seen reading his Bible or saying his prayers,
+even during business hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good
+Christians are. Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most
+ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable Christian. We
+may mention here that Christ is venerated by the Mahometans, who believe
+as we do that He will judge the world at the last day. This judgment
+according to them is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will
+be stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount Moriah to
+the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to cross on this tight rope.
+The righteous will accomplish the journey in safety; but the wicked will
+fall off into the Valley of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen
+idolater, made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred
+books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same way as did
+many of the Roman church missionaries in the dark ages, when they mixed
+up Christianity with Paganism, and allowed their converts to retain
+their idol images, only re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna
+Diana, Lady Mary, &c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.
+
+We now conclude the account of our “RIDE THROUGH SYRIA.” We have shown,
+we think, that it is not a very difficult matter now-a-days to make a
+pilgrimage to the once distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a
+few weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation. Taken as
+a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious one, but looked at in
+a more serious light, it is a tour never to be forgotten, and affords
+food for reflection for the whole of an after lifetime. The Bible
+henceforth becomes a more and more interesting book as we learn better
+to understand it. We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more
+than the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod, sailed
+on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed up the mountain
+from which He ascended into Heaven. We journeyed alone with a dragoman
+without tents, putting up at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so
+saw the inner life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel
+luxuriously in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble
+or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist agents like
+Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be as perfect as possible.
+We hope in a future volume to give an account of our travels in Asia
+Minor to the sites of “THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.”
+
+
+
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+                                 Finis.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                                _INDEX._
+
+
+ Abana, or Barada, 27, 32, 37, 41
+
+ Abel’s Tomb and Abila, 38
+
+ Abner and Asahel, 55
+
+ Abraham, 41, 45
+
+ Acis and Galatea, 54
+
+ Anti-Lebanon, 36, 42
+
+ Arabi, 20
+
+ Arabian Nights, 20
+
+
+ Baal, 15, 24
+
+ Baalbec, 42, 45
+
+ Baalath, 46
+
+ Baal-Gad, 20, 42
+
+ Banias (Baalath), 16, 46
+
+ Barak, 7, 13
+
+ Bedaween, 5, 55
+
+ Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, 11
+
+ Beyrût (Berytus), 52
+
+ Bludàn, 41
+
+ Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, 42, 45, 49
+
+
+ Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), 16
+
+ Cana of Galilee, 8
+
+ Cain, 38
+
+ Calfolatry, 15, 21
+
+ Capernaum, 10
+
+ Carmel, 7, 9, 25, 38
+
+ Cyprus, 52
+
+
+ Damascus, 28 to 35, 44
+
+ Dan, 15
+
+ Druses, 15, 19, 21, 23, 39
+
+
+ Eden, Garden of, 41
+
+ Elijah, 7, 38
+
+ Esdraelon, Plain of, 7
+
+ Eve, 41
+
+
+ Fellaheen, 57
+
+
+ General Gordon, 52
+
+
+ Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), 19
+
+ Hermon, 23
+
+ Hibberiyeh, 18
+
+ Hiram of Tyre, 46
+
+ Hunin (Beth-rehob), 14
+
+
+ Jaffa, or Joppa, 5
+
+ Jordan, 14, 15, 16, 21
+
+
+ Kenites and Kedes, 7, 13
+
+
+ Land Tenure, 58
+
+
+ Mahometans, 59
+
+ Maronites, 38
+
+ Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), 12, 13, 21
+
+
+ Naaman the Syrian, 33
+
+ Naples, 4
+
+ Napoleon, 8, 9
+
+ Noah, 36, 50
+
+
+ Overland Route, 42, 50
+
+
+ Palmyra, 46
+
+ Pharpar and Abana, 27, 28, 32
+
+ Phœnicians, 18
+
+
+ Rasheya, 22
+
+
+ Saracens and Saladin, 6, 7, 8, 32, 49
+
+ Safed, the City on a Hill, 10, 12
+
+ Seth, 42
+
+ Sharon, Plain of, 6
+
+ Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), 24
+
+ Sisera, 7, 12
+
+ Solomon, 46
+
+ St. Paul, 18, 33, 53
+
+ Street called Straight, 32, 44
+
+ Syracuse, 53
+
+
+ Taormina, 54
+
+ The Transfiguration, 26
+
+ Tiberias, 9, 10, 26
+
+ Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), 47
+
+
+ Wine Press, 41
+
+
+ Zahleh, 57
+
+ Zebedâni, 38, 39
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+                              A CATALOGUE
+
+                                  —OF—
+
+                   Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published
+
+                                —AT THE—
+
+                  OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, BY _Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn,
+&c._ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—_M de la Bruyère_ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, AND OTHER PUBLIC
+PAPERS 1710
+
+MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &c., BY _Sir B. Whitlock_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, VOL. 7; VENUS AND ADONIS; TARQUIN AND LUCRECE, AND
+MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON, _Edited by M. St. Egrement_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF SAVOY.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, TO INCITE THE ENGLISH AGAINST THE FRENCH 1710
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+SENSUS COMMUNIS—_An Essay_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—_Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange_ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of _M. de Perrier_,
+Academician.
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ ● Transcriber’s Notes:
+    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
+    ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
+    ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
+      when a predominant form was found in this book.
+    ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and
+Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60615 ***
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-

-The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and

-Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license

-

-

-Title: A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon

-

-Author: Edward Abram

-

-Release Date: November 2, 2019 [EBook #60615]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: UTF-8

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by MFR, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online

-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This

-file was produced from images generously made available

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-

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-

-

-</pre>

-

-

-<div  class='figcenter id001'>

-<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c000' />

-</div>

-<div>

-  <h1 class='c001'>A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, <br /> <br />and Ascent of Mount Hermon</h1>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c002' />

-</div>

-<div id='frontis'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_I'>I</span>

-<a href='images/frontis-lg.jpg'><img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></a>

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p>Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.<br /><span class='small'>by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.</span><br /><span class='small'>Click on image for larger version.</span></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c000' />

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_II'>II</span><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">R</span></span>ide through <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">S</span></span>yria</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>—<span class='small'> TO</span> —</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">D</span></span>amascus and <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">B</span></span>aalbec</span>,</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AND</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span>scent of <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">M</span></span>ount <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">H</span></span>ermon</span>.</div>

-    <div class='c003'><span class='small'><i>BY</i></span></div>

-    <div class='c003'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Edward Abram</span>,</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><i>Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”</i></div>

-    <div><i>“The Seven Churches of Asia,” &amp;c.</i></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class='c004' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class='c005' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class="blackletter">Published by</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>ABRAM &amp; SONS,</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>At the Old Post House, Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>

-    <div><span class='sc'>London</span>.</div>

-    <div>—</div>

-    <div>1887.</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c002'>

-    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_III'>III</span><span class='sc'>Abram &amp; Sons,</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class="blackletter">Printers,</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>London, E.C.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c002' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_IV'>IV</span>

-  <h2 class='c006'>— <span class='xlarge'><i><span class='sc'>Contents.</span></i></span> —</h2>

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER I.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>

-    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Jaffa to Tiberias</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch01'>3</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER II.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias to Hasbêya</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch02'>10</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER III.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table1' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon and The Druses</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch03'>19</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER IV.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch04'>27</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER V.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Anti-Lebanon</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch05'>37</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VI.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec and The Bukâa</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch06'>45</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VII.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût to Boulogne</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch07'>52</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VIII.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table0' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='85%' />

-<col width='14%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Bedaween and Fellaheen</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch08'>55</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'>—————————</td>

-    <td class='c008'>&nbsp;</td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#idx'>61</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_VI'>VI</span>

-  <h2 class='c006'><i>ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h2>

-</div>

-

-<table class='table2' summary=''>

-<colgroup>

-<col width='75%' />

-<col width='25%' />

-</colgroup>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Map of Palestine</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#frontis'>Frontispiece</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>

-    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>, and House of Simon the Tanner</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i005f'>5</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Carmel</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i009'>9</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i026'>26</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i033'>33</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i035'>35</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—Great Stone and Quarry</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i042f'>42</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span>—Street called “Straight”</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i044'>44</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—General View of Ruins</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i048f'>48</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span> and the Lebanon</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i051f'>51</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—Larnaca</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i052f'>52</a></td>

-  </tr>

-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

-  <tr>

-    <td class='c007'>Cedars of Lebanon</td>

-    <td class='c008'><a href='#i054'>54</a></td>

-  </tr>

-</table>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id002'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>

-<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<p class='c009'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">A R</span>ide</span></span></p>

-<p class='c010'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">T</span>hrough</span></span></p>

-<p class='c011'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">S</span>yria.</span></span></p>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch01' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER I.—Jaffa to Tiberias.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'>Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our

-enthusiasm for the East; we were not, as some

-travellers have been, disappointed with “The Holy

-Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient

-days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are

-broken and the waters run to waste, the walls of the vineyards

-are cast down, the very soil has disappeared from the

-once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses are covered

-with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in spite of

-all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an

-overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes

-to trace out on the spot the history of the oldest and most

-interesting people of the world.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten

-track, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented

-route. Our objective points are the plains of Sharon and

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>Esdraelon, sighting that mighty headland, “the excellency of

-Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of Elijah, and Baal,

-that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its <i>traditional</i> snow-clad

-summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the

-Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better

-than all the rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with

-its “straight street” and memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus,

-Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again to the reputed

-tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with its

-massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a

-short sketch of the tour we purpose describing in the following

-pages.</p>

-

-<div id='i005f'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i005f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>—<i>With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'>Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the

-director, to obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from

-Marseilles to Port Said, so arrive in the Holy Land eight

-and a half days after leaving the Crusaders’ old haunt in

-London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail north of

-Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days

-pass by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find

-the pretty Chiaja much enlarged, planted, and generally

-improved, and are pleased to see the graceful palm trees in

-thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale, ever so interesting,

-we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to

-nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not,

-on well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent

-and a lady, very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a

-half-penny. But the sun is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb

-is already in the shade, the ship’s bell is summoning strangers

-to depart, and passengers to dress for dinner, so we must bid

-adieu to Naples and proceed again <i>en voyage</i>. Capri stands

-out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius is quiet,

-scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant

-form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>dinner. Early next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the

-Straits of Messina Ætna, but both are “still and silent as the

-grave,” in fact on the latter summit, if we mistake not, we see

-the dark black lava spotted with bright white snow. On the

-far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two days

-later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship

-ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour

-and arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by

-way of Palestine, but by a different route, in order that we

-may visit certain interesting districts which lay out of our

-line on our former visit.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey

-across the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth.

-This route, being very open to the attacks of predatory

-Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all but trackless

-paths over the vast plains being but little known even to

-the native.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a

-looking man as ever cut a throat”) for a guard and guide;

-two other Arabs join us for company or safety’s sake. This

-force a small party of Bedouins would not care to face, and

-a large party would not attempt it, as they would be discovered

-by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow,

-so we pass the Bedouin camps without any interference.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, is reckoned

-three good days; but by our new route we only take two, and

-pushing briskly forward run it in about eighteen hours—hard

-work rather to begin with, and the Sirocco blowing hot and

-dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We vary the

-monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several

-little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride

-us down; but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old

-Shikarri (muleteer), whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>Assyrian type that he seemed to have started out from the

-has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But <i>á route</i> we ride across the

-Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with villages

-and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly

-mediæval or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard

-Cœur-de-Lion gained a great victory over Saladin.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably

-once a fortified town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt

-for the night at a Mahommedan village called Baka, which

-probably now for the first time receives a European guest

-(as even my guides had not been there before): the sun being

-already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of mud

-on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in

-massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see

-on the way had been similarly well cared for in ancient

-times, but are now fast falling into decay. We will

-give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place a honeycomb

-with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of

-the cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to

-represent small stable yards for all the domestic animals in

-creation, camels included, and you have an Arab village of

-one-storeyed huts, scarcely distinguishable at a distance from

-the hillside on which it is plastered. The Sheiks’ houses

-have an additional storey, a guest-chamber built on the wall.

-One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the place and

-quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an

-advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which

-abound in Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers

-sleep in the open yard with the horses, and leave their

-weapons with us for safe custody, so for the time I am the <i>custos

-custodum</i>, but our quarters are inviolable, as for the nonce we

-are the guests of the village. A few crossed sticks in the

-corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a fire-place.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of

-Manasseh, which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty

-glance at El Mahrakah, or the Rock of Sacrifice, where

-Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal, and enter the vast plain

-of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or lower sources of

-Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be remembered

-Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of

-Jabin, King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the

-tents of Heber the Kenite and was treacherously murdered

-there by Jael. The Kenites’ home was at Kedes, three days’

-journey off in the mountains. It is not probable that Sisera

-could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable that Heber

-was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,

-and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not

-far off. At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he

-received from Jehu, and near this spot, in modern times,

-Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish levies a defeat somewhat

-similar to that which Barak inflicted on Sisera, but Sir

-Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his victory

-of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some

-hours, crossing it in almost a direct line, we leave the level

-ground again, and ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee,

-mount up to Nazareth (described in our “Ride through

-Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the Latin Monastery,

-finding in residence the same good Father, quite pleased at

-seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor twice.

-Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the

-fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have

-drunk, and soon <i>on our left</i> see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the

-reputed birth-place of Jonah, and <i>on our right</i>, the battle-field

-where the Crusaders gained their last victory over the

-Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun, (the horns of

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under Guy

-of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat,

-their power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by

-Saladin. In the meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris

-or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of Josephus, and ridden through Kefr

-Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a previous visit, we were

-shown the miraculous waterpots which must have been very

-fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.

-This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours,

-and at one place where the path is very narrow, we think that

-we shall have to fight our way through. About six wild

-Moabite Bedouins, from the other side of Jordan, had planted

-themselves each side of the narrow way on a slight eminence,

-completely commanding us; we determine to pass through in

-Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that

-we cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps,

-were peaceably disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country

-to be cautious: anyhow, they do not molest us. They were

-all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat by the sun, and were

-without water, which we were unable to give them, not having

-any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the

-march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want

-of water in the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness,

-distress, and death, so graphically described in the pathetic

-story of Hagar and Ishmael.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we

-halt for tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in

-1799 the French, under Junot, held their own against a vastly

-superior army of Turks, and succeeded in reaching Tabor

-just in time to fall on the rear of the force then pressing hard

-upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after, we catch

-a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one time,

-in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the

-God of day, like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We

-put up at the Latin Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where

-we are entertained by the Father Superior hospitably as we

-were on a former occasion. Before leaving Tiberias, we trot

-along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and old

-Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the

-hills above the town.</p>

-

-<div id='i009'  class='figcenter id003'>

-<img src='images/i009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>Mount Carmel.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch02' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER II.—Tiberias to Hâsbeyâ.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span> was our last halting place. After a

-grateful dip in the buoyant lake waters we leave

-early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited

-place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be

-hid,” for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide,

-but the term ‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply

-to Bethlehem, the “city of our Lord.” In the distance the

-snow-white houses of Safed glisten on the dark mountain side

-like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty giant.

-Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the

-shore of the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach

-Medjil, or Magdala, the home of the Magdalene, now a collection

-of wretched mud hovels, then across the fertile but

-neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of which we see a

-fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre of a great

-city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown

-with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other

-trace of a town near. We pause awhile to think of those great

-cities which in our Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake,

-and see how thoroughly their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre

-still exists as a place to dry nets on, and Sidon as a habitation

-for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum, the two Bethsaidas

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their very

-sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans

-once fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only

-three wretched fishing boats, in one of which we take a

-voyage. They were “exalted to heaven,” they are indeed

-“brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of these

-formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along

-sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,

-Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain

-near by was in the middle ages known as Mensa, alluding

-perhaps to the place where our Saviour made a table for the

-multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at Ain-et-Tabighah,

-a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site of

-Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt

-the Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find

-ourselves high up in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed;

-we ascend the hill behind the city to the ruins of the old

-Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of the finest views

-of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of Galilee,

-across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian

-Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of

-Moab and Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on

-the south and south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on

-the west the sea-coast—on the north the view is bounded by

-the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a Moslem house

-for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s rent;

-we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper

-room, as usual without any kind of furniture or glass window,

-and the floor a mud one, but the view from it is magnificent.

-The Jews cook for us, but are so fanatical that they will not

-taste the food they themselves have prepared for us. Our

-bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but better however

-than we have in many other places; we soon learn the

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>way of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will

-permit, sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than

-many do on down beds. My dragoman shares my apartment,

-the others sleep outside in the open. It is 5 a.m. when the

-Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants out the

-first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal

-Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are

-in the saddle.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Safed</span> Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews,

-is built on terraces one above the other on the side of the

-mountain, so that the flat roofs of one terrace serve very

-well as promenades for the houses immediately above, also

-affording extra facilities for cats and pariah dogs, jackals, &amp;c.,

-to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we

-travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of

-the plain where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron

-chariots against Joshua; of the waters of Merom (Lake

-Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the Jordan, with

-herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high rushes.

-On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the

-Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian

-atrocities; then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast

-size, evidently made for some other purpose than to supply a

-few sheep here in the wilderness.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Deshun</span>, an African colony sent from Algeria when the

-French conquered that country, is next reached; the people

-seem to be industrious and prosperous. We observe that their

-houses are detached and have sloping roofs, seldom seen in

-this country except in European settlements, and altogether

-they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around

-them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings

-we hear of in Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin,

-which was probably the hereditary title of their kings, as

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre, Pharaoh of Egypt, &amp;c.

-After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin in the olive

-grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of refuge,

-and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of

-Heber the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the

-Canaanites. There are great masses of débris and ruins here,

-and some fine single and double sarcophagi lying about. The

-Turkish people are excavating huge trenches and digging out

-large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however, with

-any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once

-utilised to erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We

-acquire a very ancient lamp for about three half-pence. Our

-zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does not understand; he

-will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo) than

-repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin,

-he says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves

-it to decay.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Lake Huleh</span> (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount

-Hermon, is between four and five miles long and about four

-miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the tomb of Joshua, looks

-down upon it. The views all along the shores (where the

-hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the vista

-of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially

-Hermon, are very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground

-to cover before sundown, try a short cut into the valley

-without going by Hunin, the usual way. We hear of a path

-from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it. It is not

-known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that it

-should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one

-of our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great

-grief, both to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly

-finds himself, with a frightened horse in front slipping, falling,

-and struggling, wedged in a track so narrow and precipitous

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>that it is difficult to find room to dismount; once off, we do

-not remount until we reach the plain, and no greater damage

-is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost as good

-for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we

-managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could

-find one, being little better than a goat track, we have some

-trouble to get the horses to face the steep descents. It saves

-however some hours of time, and is of immense service to us,

-as otherwise we should have been benighted in the difficult,

-dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the

-Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost

-tropical country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset,

-a bad time to enter any Eastern town, and then have to look

-for a lodging. But to go back a little, we get down into the

-Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at the tents of the Ghawarineh

-Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character, and says

-they attacked him, but they give us water and behave

-civilly. However we should not trust them too far, nor after

-dark. We are so glad to get down to level ground, so severe

-is the descent, that we think little of any danger from the wild

-denizens we drop down on. The scene here is remarkable,

-the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of buffaloes roaming

-among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the almost

-naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat,

-make us imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark

-continent. Our advice to travellers going from Safed by

-Kedes to Banias, is to make a two day’s trip of it, and not

-one as we did, and then to keep up on the mountain, and

-descend by Hunin to the plain.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hunin</span>, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua,

-the limit of the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may

-be said to begin on the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now

-cross the Hasbâny, the most northerly source of the Jordan,

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>by an old ruined Roman bridge, Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my

-men dismount again, but I have more confidence in my

-horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and

-the surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and

-boulders safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman,

-and now after another rough ride for about three miles over

-stones and swamps, at length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the

-(fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan, which in the Hebrew also

-signifies Judge.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span>, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit

-of the promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern.

-Its Canaanitish name was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon,

-and dated back to the days of Abraham. The Danites took

-it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were a peaceable

-people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.

-It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the

-Phœnicians, who called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as

-later on with Jeroboam, whose Calf was a venerated idol with

-the local heathen of that day, as it is still curiously with the

-native ignorant Druse peasants at the present day. When

-cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of

-a Calf,” as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not

-necessarily take his idea from the golden calf of Mosaic

-times, but may have simply adopted the indigenous idolatry;

-yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from Egypt, as

-Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite

-trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being

-on the road to Damascus, which was the objective point of

-every invader, whether warrior or merchant.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span> is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet

-high, visible for a long distance over the low plain; here,

-under a fine oak tree, near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another

-most copious source of the Jordan, forming a large stream

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>immediately it springs from the ground, said to be the

-largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a good

-flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little

-Jordan, and is considered by many the chief source, but it

-is not the most northerly. We get a grand view here of

-the great Jordan Valley, looking down upon a sea of waving

-corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as far as the eye

-can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded

-country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old

-Phœnician worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the

-site of ancient Cæsarea Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip

-the Tetrarch, in honour of Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen

-Philippi being added by the same gentleman in honour of

-himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast near

-Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but

-in later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it

-took from the Temple of Pan then there), and that was

-easily corrupted to its present name Banias. It was once

-at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Banias</span> is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the

-direct road to Damascus, which we do not intend to take,

-preferring to go two days longer journey round to visit the

-less frequented parts of Syria. We are received into a

-Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber

-allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of

-the house to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in

-this establishment, except by the mother, who after a while

-thinks it proper to drape up the lower part of her face which

-somewhat improves her appearance. The accommodation

-is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an Oriental

-scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed

-flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members

-of the various families sleeping al fresco. Some more

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>fastidious or important personages rig themselves up a leafy

-bower on four supports about three or four feet from the roof—a

-cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little tents such as

-might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast

-of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the

-paneless windows during the night in search of our saddle

-bags, but a heavy boot well shot at an Oriental cat helps

-him out quite as quickly as it would one of our own domestic

-favourites. One time, however it misses the mark and alights

-on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye,

-that Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture

-of Jerusalem, and many thousand prisoners perished in the

-“Sports.”</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old

-gate, the grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and

-the Banias fountains of the Jordan. The rocks just above

-the latter are sculptured with shrines and niches in which

-statues once stood; there are also Greek inscriptions which

-are not very legible.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding

-over a slope of Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole

-country including Palestine is often described as Syria, and

-was all under one Pashalic so called until lately—Palestine

-originally included only the country of the Philistines. We

-breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian

-village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery,

-which it supplies to the whole of the northern part of

-Palestine and Syria, as far as Damascus. It is refreshing to

-come across an industrious manufacturing population, so

-rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh in the south,

-where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient

-Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil,

-and exported as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Mount Carmel) are cultivating this industry also, and turn

-out a much finer article, which finds a sale in America, but

-has not yet made a market in Palestine, which prefers its

-native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend the

-mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before

-by our guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our

-horses to Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western

-gorges of Hermon: here we visit a very ancient well-preserved

-temple built of Phœnician bevelled stones principally,

-but curiously with pilasters and columns having

-Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as

-it faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered

-by the Greeks to accommodate one of their own deities. The

-valley is remarkably a Valley of Rocks; some isolated ones

-seem to have been formerly sculptured to imitate the human

-form divine. The ascent up the other side of the valley we

-find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our

-horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for

-the night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to

-Damascus is that through the wilderness of Damascus by

-which St. Paul travelled; but the most beautiful road is that

-we select, which leads round the slopes of Hermon.</p>

-

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<img src='images/i018.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch03' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER III.—Hasbêya to Mount Hermon.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is a small town beautifully situated some

-2,000 feet above the sea, on the western side of

-Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well cultivated

-and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems,

-all very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely,

-and not, as far as the Christians are concerned, without

-cause, for here they were treacherously massacred by the

-Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into the Konak, or

-Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence

-of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the

-Druses being admitted men women and children were

-massacred without mercy. The French army of the Lebanon

-avenged these cowardly murders partially, and but for the

-milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,

-would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse

-scoundrels from their just fate then, and consequently they

-are quite ready to repeat the crime now. This our rulers

-would do well to remember that maudlin sentimentality is

-often another name for weakness and not true mercy which

-is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do

-not practice and do not understand undeserved clemency.

-The Christians in the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>lenient policy, and are periodically in a panic about their

-ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem feeling too is often

-inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that the five kings

-of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to

-depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical

-purposes often revived. This rumour was one of the causes

-which led to the rebellion of Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi

-had not been crushed, there would probably have been

-a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman

-Caliphate and European interference—and it may come yet.

-The Ottomans are no longer a nation—they are quite effete—but

-the Arabs are as vigorous a race as they were in the days

-of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and the

-Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to

-endure for ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous

-world, everlasting monuments of the truth of the Bible story.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad

-of the Bible, but others identify the latter with Baalbec.

-We will not attempt to decide that on which many doctors differ.

-We lodge in one of the best houses at the head of the valley,

-near the Konak. A sort of stretcher, much resembling an

-oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to sleep on.

-Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a

-number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of

-the “forty thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated

-two. We find them to be mostly full of new wine, which is

-rather too rich and luscious to take much of. Just as the day

-is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room and makes for

-one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are forcibly

-reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.”

-Next day, after about three hours toiling over mountain

-paths, we pass the mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is

-the source of the Hasbâny, the highest and most northerly

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan branches of which

-it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake Huleh,

-after running almost parallel with them for some distance.

-We crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge

-on our way from Kadesh to Dan and Banias.</p>

-<h3 class='c015'>THE DRUSES.</h3>

-

-<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>The Druses</span> make the Hasbâny Valley their religious

-centre, as their prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been

-born there. Their religious books having been lost (or rather

-stolen by the Egyptians), their religion, which is of more recent

-origin than Mahometanism, is traditional only, and it is

-difficult to say what it really is, but it seems to have been

-founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It consists of

-several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian

-pretty equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with

-whom they often associate for the purpose of plunder, but

-they would murder either without compunction. At the same

-time, with an appreciable regard to expediency, their religion

-allows them to live under whatever creed is supreme. They

-have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers

-from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they

-hold practically independent of any Government whatever,

-although nominally subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are

-distinguished by white turbans. Lebanon being now a

-separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a native

-Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to

-occupy that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon

-they are more formidable. When a fanatical

-Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as was done by our

-muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of the

-calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was

-only a day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>or temples, but worship in a room outside a village, and only

-the higher initiated members are admitted to the whole performance

-or allowed to learn what is known of their sacred

-records, which are imparted by oral instruction only, and

-never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted

-with all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher

-degrees no man under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we

-think, never. The most sacred shrine of the Druses is a

-secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there only the

-most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six

-hours brings us to Rashêya.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Rashêya</span>, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely

-and healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I

-have never been mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a

-European being quite a <i>rara avis</i>. Men women and children

-cluster round me, and even crowd into my little room to stare

-at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by either

-curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a

-medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch

-them; but unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the

-younger women, having confidence in their good appearance,

-beg of me to draw their portraits, but my first sketch soon puts

-the other fair candidates to flight. Two or three enterprising

-young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat me to take

-them back with me to England and make them members of

-my family. I have to explain to them that the social system

-of the West does not allow of any such extensive adoption as

-that of the East. We have often been asked by mothers to

-take their children and bring them up as Feringhees, but

-think that in most cases this is done to frighten the children.

-The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but

-have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is

-seldom seen in the East), the hands especially with stripes

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>looking like the seams of gloves. We have, as usual, the

-floor only to sit and sleep on. We are beginning to be quite

-clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that we think

-chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya

-Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the

-castle by the Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the

-Maronite Druses, who massacred man, woman and child.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon</span>, we believe, has not been ascended to the

-summit by any Englishman for some years. It is called by

-the Arabs the Snowy Mountain: misled probably by this the

-text books on the subject boldly assert that its summit is

-perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case, nor

-is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite

-side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some

-two months at least, and although we find it cold there is

-not a trace of snow anywhere. The bare white limestone

-sides of mountains are often mistaken at a distance for snow,

-but few travellers ever attain the summit, and hence the

-perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.</p>

-<h3 class='c015'>ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.</h3>

-

-<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the

-three peaks rising abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower

-ridges, has an apparent altitude much greater than many

-higher mountains. The grandeur of the Matterhorn, for

-instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished by

-the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the

-Breithorn (which latter we ascended a few years since, so can

-judge from experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among

-giants, a king of kings; but Hermon stands alone in its

-glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst minnows, and owes

-its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000 feet, but

-to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely

-dignify with the name of a mountain at all.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the

-Amorites, is called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the

-Monarch of Mountains; it was once encircled by shrines

-to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great central temple on

-the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of these

-remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we

-have already described.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Baal</span>, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first

-to the greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the

-day. We hear of it as Bel applied to Nimrod; and we

-trace it in many other names, such as Bel Shazzar, which

-means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we

-suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the

-Israelites probably called their golden calf Baal. After the

-Greek conquest, Baal and the other Gods were very much

-mixed up, and the Romans later on, to appease the conquered

-Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and their Venus

-with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note

-here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in

-the Bel tane (Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated

-on May-day morning. Our actual ascent of the

-mountain is without much interest, except that on the way

-we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn out of the

-solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not

-until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark

-cloud, and over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific

-thunderstorm, the thunder reverberating grandly among the

-mountains. A continuous bombardment by the biggest guns

-ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’

-rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks

-through the black firmament above, and we set out briskly,

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>and in about four hours scramble up to the southern—the highest

-peak—where we find extensive and massive remains of two

-temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in which we

-tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand

-panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high

-peaks near to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the

-summit, which is some 5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a

-fine sight of the coast from Carmel to Tyre, but on the summit,

-the greater part of Palestine and Syria are opened out as a

-map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north, the

-ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of

-Damascus, bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana

-and Pharpar, is in the extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea

-Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &amp;c., nestle beneath on the

-near south-east; further south the broad waters of Merom,

-and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day

-sun, and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the

-Mountains of Moab bound the distant horizon; on the south,

-Mount Tabor raises its beautifully wooded crest over

-Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the plains of

-Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the

-coast, Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view

-only a short time, as a blinding hailstorm comes down and

-causes us to beat a very precipitate retreat; but as the black

-thunder clouds gather above and beneath us, and the sun at

-intervals shines through and upon them, the <i>mélange</i> of earth

-and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the

-extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold,

-here and there mellowed with the most delicate tinges of

-purple green and orange, form an effect, which if fixed on the

-canvas, would be called an impossible picture, and we could

-now well understand and feel that enthusiastic praise so often

-in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither

-difficult nor dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but

-extremely laborious, being a steady steep and continuous

-scramble over loose stones, on which it is difficult to retain a

-footing; there is no defined path to the summit, and it should

-not be attempted without a <i>local</i> guide, as the clouds gather

-round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow

-may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little

-chance for any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is

-thought by some to have been the scene of the transfiguration

-as Banias, where our Saviour started from, is near by.

-On our way up we try to track a bear, but fortunately fail to

-find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we probably

-should not have written this account.</p>

-

-<div id='i026'  class='figcenter id004'>

-<img src='images/i026.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>Tiberias.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch04' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER IV.—Damascus.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Rasheya</span> is again our resting place after our descent

-from Hermon, and next morning we make an early

-start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we

-arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a

-mountain ride of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair,

-where again, on a small elevated plateau, we see

-extensive and massive remains of ancient temples with

-fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach

-the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in

-Syria, over this the French have a monopoly of wheeled

-traffic and transport for nearly 99 years, riding horses pass

-free, but all pack animals and caravans have to pay, which

-however the native caravans evade by still using the old

-track up and down the mountains which runs almost parallel.

-The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last

-three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and

-sheltered from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the

-dreary desert of Sahira, through which we have to ride some

-two hours to reach it. We may here remark that Sahira in

-the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and anyone who

-has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind

-making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>the lips and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell

-must be a most uncomfortably hot place, life being in the

-burning desert a burden almost unbearable. The first sight

-of Damascus, unlike that of Jerusalem, realises all we have

-heard of it, it is indeed magnificently situated in the midst of

-an extensive plain, intersected in all directions by the rills of

-the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander through and

-round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the

-meadow lakes beyond.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone

-on a chair by the river side enjoying otium <i>sine</i> dignitate; his

-guards at a distance standing by their horses ready to look

-after him, if necessary. He politely returns our passing

-salute in true Parisian style. Like all other Turkish Pashas he

-will have to make hay while the sun shines and be sharp

-about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful

-memory) did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may

-be a similarly short summer. It costs money to be a

-Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be first found for the

-Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the appointment

-is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his

-government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh

-out of the higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the

-public, who are fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind

-here, is continually looking out for the dollars. But to return

-to Damascus. The plain in which it is situated is surrounded

-on three sides by mountains, Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and

-Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert, in

-the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the

-ancient Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the

-Syrians. Well might the Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant

-plain, after six days dreary riding across the desert, when he

-came across this city embosomed in beautiful gardens and

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in all

-directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the

-houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon

-the Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at

-Demetri’s, the only Frank hotel, and are glad again to see

-some signs of western civilisation.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country

-by little known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the

-Europeans, who wish to know if I am travelling under diplomatic

-orders; a negative answer to such a question is not, of

-course, worth much. The Turkish police give vent to their

-curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining

-my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life,

-&amp;c., &amp;c. Things are rather strained here. The attitude of

-the allied Powers to Turkey makes this fanatical people never

-well disposed to Christians, now still less so, and to make

-matters worse, Arab placards have been posted here and at

-Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to revolt

-against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest

-the Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent

-conquerors, the Osmanli usurpers of the Khalifate, who

-monopolise all place and power, using them only to oppress

-the people, whose language they do not even understand, and

-whose lives, liberties, and properties they either cannot or do

-not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing

-on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their

-doom. This movement has since developed into an organised

-Arab League, following the example of the Albanians.

-An Armenian League probably is not far behind. The

-collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of time.

-They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does

-not seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear

-out of Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>long be like Egypt, semi-independent vice-royalties under

-European protection, or they will become Russian and French

-appanages. The Turkish Government have authorised their

-postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open letters at

-their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to the

-Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives

-in a hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment.

-What a pity that our Government does not buy itself a

-consular residence in such an important post as this? It is

-so undignified for an English Consul to have to turn out at the

-bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in the extreme

-to have to move all the archives every few years; and in case

-of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we

-might find it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul

-at all. In one of the squares we see a crowd and several

-soldiers looking at the dead body of an Arab. This poor

-fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of camels,

-some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of

-Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to

-his post; they of course soon killed him and cleared off with

-the camels. This is the security for life and property which

-Turkey provides for its subjects in the neighbourhood of a

-great city. We will now take a stroll through this thoroughly

-Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet more

-than in any other city in the world, more so even than in

-Tanjiers and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed

-suits, black-coated Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty

-bornous, Druses with white turbans and blood-stained hands,

-Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox Moslems in flowing robes

-and showy green turbans, Circassians with breast full of

-cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough sheep

-skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod

-veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Parisian dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of

-the East, jostling each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars.

-Camels also, and mules, horses and donkeys, with perhaps a

-drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far steppes of Turkestan,

-press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take care,

-take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no

-respecter of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over

-you go if you do not get out of his way, unless by a vigorous

-shove you send him over, just as in self-defence we were

-obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back, legs up in the

-air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Metropolis</span> did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so

-called, for is it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living

-city in the world? (not even excepting Hebron), for here

-Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived; these streets the patriarch

-himself must often have traversed as a trader in flocks and

-herds, and through these lanes, once at all events, he drove the

-Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near

-here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian

-captors. It was conquered by David after a protracted

-struggle, but recovered its independence in the reign of

-Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the Assyrians.

-Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded

-probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah.

-Damascus has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from

-its unique position, probably never will. The prey of every

-ambitious conqueror, it has seen the rise and survived the

-fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman,

-Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the

-garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has

-out-lived all its rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and

-Tarsus survive only as uninteresting towns, Babylon,

-Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but Damascus is still the

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>“Head of Syria” as it was in the days of Abraham—Damascus

-a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,

-bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always

-been and must for ever remain the mother city of the world.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath

-in the waters of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name

-Barada indicates, remarkably cool and pleasant. Having

-tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s opinion, that the

-bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the midst of

-the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;

-certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a

-Mahommedan one, where the process of destruction is

-carried on by man and that of re-construction or re-placement

-left to “Allah.” We also see another tree in the horse

-market close by, used as a gallows, but public executions are

-very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly sensitive—he

-does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home

-if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem

-being publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the

-great mosque; in its courtyard are the remains of a small

-ancient temple to the sun—it was once a Roman temple, then

-a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient times probably the

-site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the knee to

-Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it

-easier to enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of

-Omar at Jerusalem, and the grand mosque at Cairo, than

-this, the people being so fanatical. St. Sophia, in fact, we

-got into by only paying a few francs to the door-keeper, but

-here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the tomb

-of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very

-sacred, cannot view the interior. We now come to the street

-called “Straight,” above a mile long, running through the

-city east to west, and on our way we call at the traditional

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church; then just

-outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman,

-now appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part

-of the wall from which it is said St. Paul was let down in a

-basket at the time when Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia,

-was King. Aretas was the name of the dynasty, like,

-Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia, &amp;c.

-The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just

-outside the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have

-been the light before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled.

-A walled up gate is also shewn as that by which St. Paul

-entered the city.</p>

-

-<div id='i033'  class='figcenter id003'>

-<img src='images/i033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bazaars</span> are very interesting, here is to be found

-merchandise collected by caravans from all corners of the

-earth; Merchants from Manchester, Paris, Vienna,

-Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia, Afghanistan, India,

-Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its

-exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather

-and metal work; the population is principally Moslem. We

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>of course pay a visit to old Abu Antika (father of antiquities),

-and possess ourselves of a Damascus blade. A friend of ours,

-an artist, was about to give 100 francs for one at Cairo, we

-asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it “warranted best

-steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it

-was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer

-induced him to hastily put away the Damascus blade and my

-friend put his 100 francs back into his pocket. Tricks are

-sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old Abu

-Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money

-on spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could

-not interfere, but she introduced herself to us later on and

-was a very pleasant and intelligent fellow traveller. The

-houses of the rich Damascenes are very handsomely fitted up;

-on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a great open

-courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants

-all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at

-one end, is fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as

-a public reception room. On each side of the court is a

-large room, one used as a Summer and the other as a

-Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are

-magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The

-sleeping rooms are on the first floor and are entered from a

-verandah above. Running water from the Abana flows

-through all the best houses. The public buildings and

-barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good

-for a Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is

-interesting, but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader,

-who so long kept the French at bay in North Africa, lived in

-Damascus, and had a quarter allotted to him and his Algerian

-fellow exiles. Damascus is not the dirty city it once was.

-Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that respect, and also in

-other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus in ruins

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the

-fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This

-is a much shorter and more economical way (to the government)

-of making street improvements than that we have in

-England, but as no notice of the contemplated improvement

-is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the inhabitants.

-Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of

-the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.</p>

-

-<div id='i035'  class='figcenter id003'>

-<img src='images/i035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch05' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER V.—The Anti-Lebanon.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span> must now be left behind, adieu, we wish

-we could say <i>au revoir</i> to its lovely lanes and

-pleasant orchards, its curious motley crowded

-bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its

-grand associations with all time—for did not through Damascus

-pass those archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the

-four quarters of the globe? Shem probably here said goodbye

-to Ham on his way to Africa, and both bade God-speed

-to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north; and Noah

-himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones

-as near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb,

-and that of Adam, Abel and Seth, <i>cum multis aliis</i> near here

-even to this day? Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of

-Demetri, an oasis in the desert of barbarism we pass through.

-We follow back the diligence road a few miles as far as

-Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec, <i>viâ</i>

-Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get

-a zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of

-Sahrâ. We see on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon

-enter the upper part of the Abana watershed, which might

-well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this part of the world

-where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass

-several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>appearance, the women looking better and healthier than

-any we have yet seen. We now enter the narrow gorge

-of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and soon after

-about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh

-(one of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river

-which springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as

-at once to form a large stream, which, although not broad, is

-very deep. It must be, we should think, the shortest river in

-the world. Over these springs, half-hidden by the beautiful

-foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise the massive remains

-of two temples, one across the stream, one in it, all around is

-a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a good

-place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and

-orange, mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most

-lovely little stream, and where its crystal current mixes with

-the turbid Barada, there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more

-beautiful even than the “<i>Moore</i>” famed meeting of the

-Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once picturesque Vale of

-Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the

-spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak,

-are found forming little forests wherever a rill of living water

-can force its way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and

-Roman times were only, and they could easily be, reformed,

-the whole land would again laugh and sing, and paradises as

-of old, would replace the present deserts. God made the

-land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses,

-has turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey,

-following the course of the Barada for some two hours, having

-a succession of pretty woodland views until we come to Sûk

-Wady Barada, supposed to be the site of the ancient Abila,

-the chief town of the district of Abilene, of which (according

-to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of Tiberius

-Cæsar.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span><span class='sc'>Abila</span> is said to derive it name from Abel, who according

-to tradition was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging

-height (Neby Hâbyl) is pointed out as Abel’s tomb.

-This first murder, according to tradition was avenged by

-Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from

-Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the

-prophets of Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the

-Barada gorge, where the river descending in small cataracts

-is spanned by a very tumbledown bridge, attributed by some

-writers to Zenobia, but more probably the work of the Roman

-engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the <i>corniche</i>

-roads.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut

-tombs, tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and

-the remains of a high-level mountain road, works well worthy

-the finest engineering of the West. Here by the stream, near

-a murmuring waterfall we spread our carpet for tiffin, the

-lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying waters, the

-greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this

-season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful

-resting place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine

-waterfalls and ruined bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt

-grass plain of Zebedâni, one of the most fertile in the

-land, well watered and well cultivated; then, after passing

-some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like

-lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place

-between Damascus and Baalbec. The population is chiefly

-Moslem, but there are many Maronites also. We lodge with

-the chief priest. We may here remark that the Maronites are

-a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge the

-Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called

-orthodox Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their

-own patriarch and do not carry out the Roman ritual. They

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>might almost equally well acknowledge the Archbishop of

-Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite women are distinguished

-by a black band on the forehead.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Zebedâni</span> is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most

-luxurious vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains.

-It boasts a small Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built

-closely together, only one or two having a first floor; most

-have a small courtyard, into which the goats and cattle are

-driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are used

-much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty

-ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep

-in the open on the roof; and when in the early morning

-sleeper after sleeper raised his or her head from beneath

-the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and tried to escape

-from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme. All

-turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are

-as a rule early risers. The room we have is clean, contains

-the usual curtained recesses in the walls for cupboards, and

-a wooden ledge round top of room for stores, and, what is

-the only piece of furniture ever seen in these parts, a large

-damasceened chest for the valuables of the household. The

-mural decorations consist of English willow pattern plates

-cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement

-on hanging them up by wires, as they are not liable to be

-broken by domestic dusting. We have seen the outside

-as well as the inside of dwellings decorated in this manner,

-and our Western sisters are long forestalled in this kind of

-mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East. Our

-worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by

-Druses, and we try to reassure him by saying that times are

-changed since 1860, and that there is not any occasion to

-fear; but we should not like to back this opinion too heavily,

-for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and Druses are as

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon

-after writing above there was a collision between Moslems

-and Christians at Beyrût, and several of the latter were

-massacred. There was also an attack on Christians in the

-Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently said to me

-what <span class='sc'>Froude</span> said in September, 1880, in his admirable

-article on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost

-ceased to exist, and that every one had to look after his own

-immediate interest,” and in the case of a collapse of Turkish

-rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from the desert like

-locusts, murder all round, and in all probability permanently

-occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at

-daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the

-rising sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this

-gilding of the hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in

-language, far too bright to be pictured in painting, is the

-grand <i>mise-en-scène</i> of black and gold set in silver frame

-produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with the

-disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many

-former occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000

-feet high in the Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw

-the Italian mountains literally bathed in the brightest gold as

-the sun climbed up to the summits of the highest peaks and

-crept down the opposite sides into the valley.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of

-seeing the Syrian sheep, remarkable for their tremendous

-tails, and watch the women stuffing the vine leaves down the

-sleepy animals’ throats, for the purpose of creating the

-enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the tail and is used to

-fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which, with a

-salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into

-one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our

-German friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>added in times of plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of

-Zebedâni behind, and passing under Bludàn, the summer

-residence of the European Consuls, arrive at the upper source

-of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon, the

-streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and

-towards the Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first

-fountain on the northern slope is that of Eve, in whose transparent

-waters the mother of all was, according to poetical

-tradition, admiring herself when her future lord and master

-(as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her. We

-infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was

-by no means a small one, and must have included all Syria

-Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the

-world. As we are soon leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may

-observe that this mountain range extends from Banias, at the

-head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the Bukâa, in

-which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of

-it, but on account of its almost isolated position, is often

-considered to be as a mountain in business for itself. On

-our way we cross two Roman bridges, now on their last legs,

-but they have done well to have lasted 1800 years.</p>

-

-<div id='i042f'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i042f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>The Great Stone in the Quarry</i>.</p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'>Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient

-wine presses, hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000

-perhaps 3,000 years back; they enable one to understand

-what building a wine press meant, and what a terrible loss

-and disappointment it would be to the builder, if, when he

-“looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus

-hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep

-out the “little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great

-trouble and many years before they form that impenetrable

-barrier through which even the wild boar cannot break his

-way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for lunch in the

-Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our

-journey leave on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of

-Seth. Ham is said to be buried a little further east.

-A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts upon our view,

-separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or valley

-of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the

-village of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel,

-and soon come in sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens

-and grand Acropolis of Baalbec, the great ancient shrine of

-Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of the Sun of the

-Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,

-of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great

-caravan road from Tyre to India, which we may mention was

-the original overland route, and if history repeats itself

-will be so again. What shorter route to India can there be

-than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth through the canal

-now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,

-and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of

-Cilicia, <i>viâ</i> the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and

-Afghanistan, to India—there are no difficulties which modern

-engineers could not overcome. But perhaps we are waiting

-for the French or Germans to show the way.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a> Before entering

-the town we visit the ancient quarries out of which were

-hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very

-ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies

-there already hewn but not quite separated from the quarry,

-it is about 70 feet long, 14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing

-some 10,000 tons; other large stones are seen lying about

-partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished in the

-workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader

-who made the busy mason so suddenly throw away the

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>gavel to seize the sword will now never be known. We

-put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and find it fairly

-comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late in the

-evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with

-two Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only

-converse in the primitive language of signs—the result being

-that when next morning they want to see the ruins, they are

-taken from them, to a hill some miles off, where they see them—from

-a distance—a fine effect probably, but not what was

-wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer

-inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone

-through it all ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic

-descriptions. Their guides, if not useful as Cicerones, were

-we must admit extremely picturesque and pleasant barbarians.

-The younger lady has we believe by this time immortalized

-them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme

-effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the

-Temple from which the <i>coup d’oeil</i> was magnificent.</p>

-

-<div class='footnote c018' id='f1'>

-<p class='c019'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a firman to make a

-railway from Ismid to Bagdad.</p>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'>Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of

-having a guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way

-to Beyrût we meet a man and his horse at cross purposes,

-endeavouring in vain to find out the reason from his Arab

-guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you and your

-horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the

-traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not

-understand my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is

-a brute.” “Not so, my friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding

-him with an Arab bridle in English fashion.” He was, in

-fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for he was

-torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he

-had been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately

-replied, “Tu quoque <i>brute</i>.” The Arab bit is in the shape of

-a gridiron (minus interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>broad end of it, in which the lower jaw of the animal is placed

-the handle of the gridiron is in the mouth, and by a pull of

-the reins is forced up into the roof of the mouth, causing

-considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and

-the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck

-when wishing to go to the right, and <i>vice versâ</i>. Pulling the

-rein English fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal.

-We explain the process and leave the man and his beast

-better friends; they now understand each other. (How

-many of us would also like each other better if we were less

-impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and

-rider now go on their way as reconciled to one another as

-Balaam to the ass after the departure of the Angel.</p>

-

-<div id='i044'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i044.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>A Street called “Straight,” Damascus.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch06' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VI.—Baalbec.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is

-situated about forty-five miles north of Damascus

-but slightly to the west, on the lowest slope of

-Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.

-The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec

-within one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down

-the Bukâa or Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon

-and Beyrût. The Orontes, El Asi or rebellious river, so

-called because it changes its course in a remarkable manner,

-flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch. Baalbec is the

-point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût

-and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient

-importance, and it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram

-or Upper Syria where Terah lived, whence Abram emigrated

-and whither Jacob went to seek a wife among the daughters

-of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and subsequently

-his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships; even

-more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American

-who married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to

-despair, insanity and death, because he never could make out

-what relation he was to himself.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two

-and three miles in circumference. Some learned writers

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>attribute its foundation to Solomon, arguing that the colossal

-stones used in the substructure, of which we will speak more

-in detail hereafter, are similar in size and bevel to those in the

-temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it with

-Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have

-built at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be

-Palmyra), in the wilderness. Now it must be noted that

-Solomon lost Damascus to the Syrians, which David his

-father had taken from them. It is not likely that having so

-lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and

-built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it,

-neither would he if he dominated the cedar country have

-troubled Hiram to send him cedars for the Temple. We may

-also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are described as being

-built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in the land,

-<i>i.e.</i>, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities

-undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &amp;c. Baalaath is

-more likely to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city

-of palms, there are plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in

-Palestine without locating Tadmor in the great Syrian desert,

-then held by the hostile kings of Syria; and further, we are

-informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of Phœnician Tyre,

-certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon

-could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to

-give, Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of

-operations, but equally conveniently situated for Hiram and

-much more acceptable to him. Baalbec was probably a

-Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram, who however

-might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones

-to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact

-that Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to

-prepare the Temple materials, the woodwork of which was

-undoubtedly, and the stonework perhaps too, obtained from

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and floated down along

-the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit the

-celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only

-approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those

-on the Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the

-village a beautiful little Temple of Venus, called by the

-natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a gem of architecture, semicircular

-in shape, the architraves, cornices, &amp;c., richly

-ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has

-a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a

-monolith. It was last used as a Greek church, to which era

-the trace of frescoes still remaining must be attributed. Near

-by are the remains of a large mosque, which looks very like

-having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s basilica and

-other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns

-being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large

-or too small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been

-very fine.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The great Trilithon Temple</span>, the Acropolis of Baalbec,

-and its massive, mighty ruins are now before us—they have

-been so often pictured by the painter that their external

-appearance must be familiar to many. We enter from the

-east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble flight of

-steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty

-columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks

-when they converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing

-under this, through a portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty

-corridor, richly ornamented; facing us are three large doors,

-the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us into an outer court of

-hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide; three

-gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440

-feet long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are

-vast somewhat semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae,

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>rectangular recesses on each side with arched roofs, but open

-to the central court; these are elaborately decorated with

-niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &amp;c., the various designs

-of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &amp;c., being

-very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and

-varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime

-to copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what

-was once the great Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and

-then to all the gods, so as not to offend any. The only

-remains of this Temple are six magnificent columns of the

-peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter; they are

-visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very

-grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a

-distance standing out boldly in an evening sky.</p>

-

-<div id='i048f'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i048f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>General View of Ruins.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'>This temple was probably about three hundred feet long,

-and stood upon the old Phœnician foundation, built of

-Cyclopean masses of stone, many of which are thirty feet long

-and ten feet thick; but there are three stones (which gave the

-name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty feet long,

-thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have

-been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they

-now occupy, it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled

-up great inclined planes of earth which were afterwards

-carted away, as represented in the bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud.

-To the left of the great Temple, on a somewhat lower level,

-having formerly an approach of its own from the plain,

-probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by

-some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and

-finest ruins in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid,

-but very beautiful and varied. It was surrounded by forty-six

-columns, about sixty-five feet high and six feet in diameter;

-the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was supported by a double

-row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet high and

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow

-pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof.

-The cornices are rich in design and elaborate in execution,

-the Cella or interior is in fair preservation, and at the end of

-it is a raised platform where the altar stood. Underneath the

-altar was a vault whence concealed priests sent up Delphic

-responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined that they

-were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the

-Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies

-highest and is supposed to be able to look at the Sun

-unflinchingly, predominates everywhere about these ruins.

-The temple area is undermined by vast vaulted corridors, now

-used as approaches in the same way as the Temple platform

-at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius

-converted the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem

-conquest it was used as a fortress. When some five hundred

-years later the tide turned again in favour of Christianity, it

-was converted back by the Crusaders into a church, and

-when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it

-became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its

-final decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed

-by Tamerlane the Tartar when he raided through Syria.

-While at Baalbec, we witness an extraordinary hailstorm,

-the stones being larger than pigeons’ eggs—almost as large as

-a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the centre about

-the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large, clear,

-crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice.

-The storm lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt

-for some time; it is accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm.

-We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and wend our way across

-the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>The <span class='sc'>Bukâa</span>, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the

-Hebrews (<i>Amos</i> i, 5), is a long plain extending about one

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>hundred miles between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon

-mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and the

-Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow

-Syria, and was the natural highway of the invading armies of

-Egypt, Persia, Assyria, &amp;c., from all time. It is mentioned

-in the Bible as the “entering in of Hamath,” but was only

-for a short time in the possession of the Kings of Israel.

-Along this plain commander Cameron projected a railway

-between Damascus, <i>viâ</i> Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo

-northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards,

-and to Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all

-possible enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay.

-The railway was to be commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour

-to Damascus to avoid the mountains. This enterprising

-project was to embrace, eventually, a Euphrates valley line

-to Bombay, <i>viâ</i> the Persian Gulf, and to Northern India, <i>viâ</i>

-Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected

-with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, <i>viâ</i>

-Diarbekir to Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari

-and the Bosphorus, opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty

-project on paper, a magnificent prophecy of the future, and

-we hope that commander Cameron will live to see his

-great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec

-we come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem

-saint reared evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.</p>

-

-<div id='i051f'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i051f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>—<i>and The Lebanon</i>.</p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bukâa</span> plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders

-a journey through it rather monotonous for some hours. We

-lunch at a small Arab Khan, and passing several villages

-reach at length that of Kerak Nûh, where we are shown the

-tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet wide and

-three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this

-ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out

-of proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark,

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>which was smaller than the Great Eastern, only about fifty

-feet high, and then divided into three decks, my Moslem

-guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark, by-the-bye, is said to

-have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered the Holy

-Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by

-Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably

-about 1,100 tonnage—it seems however soon to have come

-to grief. According to Moslem tradition, Hezekiah is said to

-be buried near Noah. We next pass through <span class='sc'>Mulaka</span>, a

-prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which

-is almost joined to <span class='sc'>Zahleh</span>, a large Maronite Christian town

-on the frontier of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town,

-finely situated at the entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an

-amphitheatre of high mountains; it was the headquarters of

-the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now ride through

-many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the

-principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up

-for the night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to

-Beyrût, about nine hours along the diligence road over the

-Lebanon. We soon have to take our last look at Hermon,

-the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon, and ascending to

-the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the sea. The

-Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and

-Beyrût shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of

-them on the low coast line.</p>

-

-<div  class='figcenter id005'>

-<img src='images/pg-ft.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch07' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VII.—Beyrût to Boulogne.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours

-sail of Cyprus and about twenty-four of Port Said),

-has a considerable population, and is a pleasant

-place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is

-beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background,

-and boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars.

-The fruit of Paradise—the banana—is plentiful, and

-considered finer and sweeter than that of any other region of

-Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health

-resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon

-Pasha, who consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return

-from the Cape. We discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the

-end the General expressed his intention of resting there. He

-went shortly after, but his noble restless nature could not

-rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained there only a

-short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission

-to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal

-Government which sent him on a mad mission and then

-deserted him (only sending a relieving force when too late),

-he nobly ended a noble life.</p>

-

-<div id='i052f'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i052f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—<i>Larnaca.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we

-made the journey some years ago, about the time that Sir

-Garnet Wolsely took possession of the island. Without the

-English and Indian troops who were then there we should

-not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a

-whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>Mediterranean, and has a climate and soil which would

-produce almost anything. It is a pity that our Government

-does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a lump sum

-and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony

-like Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think

-that if the island were properly explored some very interesting

-archæological discoveries would be made, as from its position

-it must have been a house of call for all the great civilised

-nations of antiquity. The Egyptian, Assyrian, Tyrian, and

-Roman galleys must all at some time or other have sought

-shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its

-orange, lemon and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its

-bustling lanes and its busy quays, and embark on board an

-Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we find the Peninsula

-and Oriental Southampton steamer, <i>Venetia</i>, which lands us

-at <span class='sc'>Malta</span>, off which interesting island we see a remarkable

-sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very

-fortunately a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we

-cross over to Sicily, to <span class='sc'>Syracuse</span>, still infamous for deeds of

-blood, as of old, and celebrated for its ruined theatre, where

-Æschylus, before 20,000 sympathetic listeners, was wont to

-recite his immortal tragedies. Here also is the rock-hewn

-“Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off with the

-report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from

-Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a

-little loaf of bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of

-the lovely island of Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we

-can comfortably swallow it without the coffee we cannot get.

-We next come to Catania, famous for its sulphur and nitre

-mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna; and then

-pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at

-Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>Polyphemus, who, however, took better aim at the unlucky

-lover of Galatea, whose blood still poetically flows in the

-little river in memory of him, the Acis which we soon after

-pass, and then we come to that beautiful Sicilian

-Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Taormina</span>, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known

-to the ordinary Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient

-remains. Its ruined theatre was one of the largest in the

-world. It began its history by successfully resisting the

-Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400 years was an

-important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is

-now little more than a large village, but its situation is

-magnificent, scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after

-leaving Taormina, we find ourselves at Messina, where we

-embark on an Italian steamer for Naples, whence the train

-takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and through the

-Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.</p>

-

-<div id='i054'  class='figcenter id002'>

-<img src='images/i054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-<div class='ic001'>

-<p><i>The Cedars of Lebanon.</i></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div  class='figcenter id004'>

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>

-<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='ch08' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VIII.—The Bedaween and Fellaheen.</span></h2>

-</div>

-<hr class='c012' />

-<p class='c013'>The <span class='sc'>Bedaween</span> are rough but picturesque looking

-fellows, armed often with very long lances, spear

-at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the

-other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner

-killed Asahel, whom he smote with the <i>hinder</i>-part of the

-spear while being pursued; long guns with a short range,

-antique pistols and knives stuck into the girdle, making up a

-formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses are

-small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in

-days of yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by

-trade, but not naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill

-unless resistance is made. They rarely attack unless pretty

-sure of being able to overpower, and when on mere robbery

-bent, generally go about in small bands of three and four,

-keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close

-together they will probably get the worst of it, as the

-Bedaween are quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse

-the rider in an instant. They seldom leave the traveller with

-more than one garment, and of course take the horses too.

-They do not attack large parties like Cook’s caravans. As we

-have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very

-sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about

-the distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>attacked, the other may have time to draw a revolver, which

-Bedaween will seldom face, as their game is to rob defenceless

-travellers, and not to risk their own lives. Three of them,

-mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some time on the

-open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing

-that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to

-our great relief left us. It is only the small bands that need

-be feared. A tribe on the march or in camp in Syria would

-never touch a traveller, as it would soon be known what

-tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would follow,

-as they cannot move <i>en masse</i> quickly, and for this reason

-(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of

-their camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different

-tribes are coming in opposite directions in a lonely district,

-they will not meet face to face, but one goes to the right and

-the other in the contrary direction, in order that one shall not

-get behind the other, for if there were a blood feud between

-the tribes, and either could murder the other without risk, it

-would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken

-unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween,

-and one were to go straight up the road, and the other off the

-road to one side so as to get in their rear, they would not

-attack the traveller left alone. We know a case in which

-a party of three (with only one gun between them)

-escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the

-Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much.

-They have a nasty knack of reaping what others have sown,

-swooping down from a distance in the middle of the night

-and clearing away before morning with half the harvest of a

-village—not very difficult to do when it is lying in heaps on

-the threshing floor ready for market.</p>

-<hr class='c020' />

-<div>

-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>

-  <h3 class='c015'>THE FELLAHEEN.</h3>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c016'>The <span class='sc'>Fellaheen</span>, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of

-Philistine or Phœnician descent, fear the Bedaween as much

-as the passing traveller does. They frequently carry for

-defence either a rather artistic looking kind of battle-axe

-(probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick

-something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and

-knife—they sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their

-own account; one unfortunately occurred while we were in

-the country, and a young friend of ours was cruelly murdered

-by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an oak forest we

-had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered

-and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their

-non-execution created an impression here that to murder an

-Englishman is the same as to murder a native, and simply to

-pay as blood-money a part of the plunder back if the crime is

-found out. It may interest our readers to know how capital

-punishment is carried out in this country. First of all the

-public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for (say) five

-napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the

-horrid office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost

-his nerve, and butchered his victim; we will not relate the

-circumstances. Before the execution takes place, the chief

-officer at the execution cries out, “Who will buy this man’s

-soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a sufficient sum of

-money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations (and they

-generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the

-culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life;

-but he generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At

-Jerusalem, criminals are generally executed outside the Jaffa

-Gate, where probably, and not on the site of the Church of

-the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was crucified. In the case

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them to the place of

-execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the

-greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal

-which he generally keeps for the women and children.

-Recently a Bedawi brigand was executed outside Jerusalem,

-he was a villain, but a plucky fellow; his last words were

-“Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all your

-guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope;

-he placed one end round his neck and tied the other to a

-tree, stood on the donkey, kicked it aside and was his own

-executioner. This soul was put up for auction, but there

-was not a bid; not even the most merciful Mahommedan

-could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent

-so many souls to death without even offering them at auction.

-As if the country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte

-banished to Palestine some time since, thousands of the

-Circassian cut-throats, who committed the Bulgarian

-atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they

-are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them,

-and they do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the

-fate they are so ready to deal out to others.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>A few remarks about the general tenure of land in

-Palestine may be interesting. It is somewhat similar to the

-ancient land settlement of England before the days of feudal

-tenure. Each village has so much pasture, tillage or woodland

-belonging to it as common property; this is year by

-year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity

-according to the number of the family. The allotments are

-divided from each other only by rows or heaps of stones,

-which, as they can be easily moved, explains the reason of

-the Levitical curse against him who removed his neighbour’s

-land mark. The land is not of course highly cultivated, as

-the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being absolutely

-<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the

-government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time,

-when the grain is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize

-what they consider their share of the produce. A similar

-summary procedure is adopted with the flocks and herds of

-sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure is not

-here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether

-unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.</p>

-<hr class='c020' />

-<h3 class='c015'>MAHOMETANS.</h3>

-

-<p class='c016'>And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can

-learn at least one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not

-ashamed of his religious faith; he is not ashamed to be seen

-reading his Bible or saying his prayers, even during business

-hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good Christians are.

-Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most

-ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable

-Christian. We may mention here that Christ is venerated

-by the Mahometans, who believe as we do that He will judge

-the world at the last day. This judgment according to them

-is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will be

-stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount

-Moriah to the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to

-cross on this tight rope. The righteous will accomplish the

-journey in safety; but the wicked will fall off into the Valley

-of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen idolater,

-made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred

-books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same

-way as did many of the Roman church missionaries in the

-dark ages, when they mixed up Christianity with Paganism,

-and allowed their converts to retain their idol images, only

-re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna Diana, Lady

-Mary, &amp;c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.</p>

-

-<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>We now conclude the account of our “<span class='sc'>Ride through

-Syria</span>.” We have shown, we think, that it is not a very

-difficult matter now-a-days to make a pilgrimage to the once

-distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a few

-weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation.

-Taken as a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious

-one, but looked at in a more serious light, it is a tour never

-to be forgotten, and affords food for reflection for the whole

-of an after lifetime. The Bible henceforth becomes a more

-and more interesting book as we learn better to understand it.

-We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more than

-the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod,

-sailed on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed

-up the mountain from which He ascended into Heaven. We

-journeyed alone with a dragoman without tents, putting up

-at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so saw the inner

-life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel luxuriously

-in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble

-or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist

-agents like Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be

-as perfect as possible. We hope in a future volume to give

-an account of our travels in Asia Minor to the sites of

-“<span class='sc'>The Seven Churches of Asia</span>.”</p>

-<hr class='c021' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div><span class="blackletter">Finis.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class='c005' />

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>

-  <h2 id='idx' class='c006'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><i>Index.</i></span></span></h2>

-</div>

-<ul class='index c003'>

-  <li class='c022'>Abana, or Barada, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Abel’s Tomb and Abila, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Abner and Asahel, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Abraham, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Acis and Galatea, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Anti-Lebanon, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Arabi, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Arabian Nights, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Baal, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Baalbec, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Baalath, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Baal-Gad, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Banias (Baalath), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Barak, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Bedaween, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Beyrût (Berytus), <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Bludàn, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Cana of Galilee, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Cain, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Calfolatry, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Capernaum, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Carmel, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Cyprus, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Damascus, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a> to <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Dan, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Druses, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Eden, Garden of, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Elijah, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Esdraelon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Eve, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Fellaheen, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>General Gordon, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Hermon, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Hibberiyeh, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Hiram of Tyre, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>Hunin (Beth-rehob), <a href='#Page_14'>14</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Jaffa, or Joppa, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Jordan, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Kenites and Kedes, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Land Tenure,  <a href='#Page_58'>58</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Mahometans, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Maronites, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Naaman the Syrian, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Naples, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Napoleon, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Noah, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Overland Route, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Palmyra, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Pharpar and Abana, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Phœnicians, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Rasheya, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Saracens and Saladin, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Safed, the City on a Hill, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Seth, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Sharon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Sisera, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Solomon, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>St. Paul, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Street called Straight, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Syracuse, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Taormina, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>The Transfiguration, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Tiberias, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), <a href='#Page_47'>47</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Wine Press, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>

-  <li class='c003'>Zahleh, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>

-  <li class='c022'>Zebedâni, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>

-</ul>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c003'>

-    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span><span class='large'>A CATALOGUE</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>—OF—</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published</span></span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>—AT THE—</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='large'>OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.</span></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class='c005' />

-

-<p class='c014'>THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, <span class='fss'>BY</span>

-<i>Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn, &amp;c.</i>      1709</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'>THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—<i>M de la Bruyère</i>      1709</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, and other PUBLIC PAPERS</span>      1710</p>

-

-<p class='c014'>MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &amp;c.,

-<span class='fss'>BY</span> <i>Sir B. Whitlock</i>.</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, Vol. 7</span>; <span class='sc'>Venus and Adonis</span>; <span class='sc'>Tarquin and Lucrece</span>, <span class='sc'>and Miscellaneous Poems</span>.</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'><span class='fss'>THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON</span>, <i>Edited by M. St. Egrement</i>.</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE of SAVOY.</span></p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, to incite the English against the French</span>      1710</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'>SENSUS COMMUNIS—<i>An Essay</i>.</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'>FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—<i>Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange</i>      1709</p>

-

-<hr class='c023' />

-<p class='c014'>A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of <i>M. de Perrier</i>, Academician.</p>

-<div class='pbb'>

- <hr class='pb c003' />

-</div>

-<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>

-<div class='tnbox'>

-

- <ul class='ul_1 c003'>

-    <li>Transcriber’s Notes:

-      <ul  class='ul_2'>

-        <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.

-        </li>

-        <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected.

-        </li>

-        <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant

-        form was found in this book.

-        </li>

-      </ul>

-    </li>

-  </ul>

-

-</div>

-<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<pre>

-

-

-

-

-

-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and

-Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram

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+  <body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60615 ***</div>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c000' />
+</div>
+<div>
+  <h1 class='c001'>A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, <br /> <br />and Ascent of Mount Hermon</h1>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c002' />
+</div>
+<div id='frontis'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_I'>I</span>
+<a href='images/frontis-lg.jpg'><img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></a>
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.<br /><span class='small'>by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.</span><br /><span class='small'>Click on image for larger version.</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c000' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_II'>II</span><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">R</span></span>ide through <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">S</span></span>yria</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—<span class='small'> TO</span> —</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">D</span></span>amascus and <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">B</span></span>aalbec</span>,</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AND</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span>scent of <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">M</span></span>ount <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">H</span></span>ermon</span>.</div>
+    <div class='c003'><span class='small'><i>BY</i></span></div>
+    <div class='c003'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Edward Abram</span>,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><i>Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”</i></div>
+    <div><i>“The Seven Churches of Asia,” &amp;c.</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c004' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class="blackletter">Published by</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>ABRAM &amp; SONS,</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>At the Old Post House, Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>
+    <div><span class='sc'>London</span>.</div>
+    <div>—</div>
+    <div>1887.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c002'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_III'>III</span><span class='sc'>Abram &amp; Sons,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class="blackletter">Printers,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>London, E.C.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c002' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_IV'>IV</span>
+  <h2 class='c006'>— <span class='xlarge'><i><span class='sc'>Contents.</span></i></span> —</h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER I.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Jaffa to Tiberias</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch01'>3</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER II.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias to Hasbêya</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch02'>10</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER III.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table1' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon and The Druses</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch03'>19</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER IV.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch04'>27</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER V.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Anti-Lebanon</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch05'>37</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VI.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec and The Bukâa</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch06'>45</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VII.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût to Boulogne</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch07'>52</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VIII.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Bedaween and Fellaheen</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch08'>55</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>—————————</td>
+    <td class='c008'>&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#idx'>61</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_VI'>VI</span>
+  <h2 class='c006'><i>ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table2' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='75%' />
+<col width='25%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Map of Palestine</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#frontis'>Frontispiece</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>, and House of Simon the Tanner</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i005f'>5</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Carmel</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i009'>9</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i026'>26</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i033'>33</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i035'>35</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—Great Stone and Quarry</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i042f'>42</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span>—Street called “Straight”</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i044'>44</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—General View of Ruins</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i048f'>48</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span> and the Lebanon</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i051f'>51</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—Larnaca</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i052f'>52</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>Cedars of Lebanon</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i054'>54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id002'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>
+<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<p class='c009'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">A R</span>ide</span></span></p>
+<p class='c010'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">T</span>hrough</span></span></p>
+<p class='c011'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">S</span>yria.</span></span></p>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch01' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER I.—Jaffa to Tiberias.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'>Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our
+enthusiasm for the East; we were not, as some
+travellers have been, disappointed with “The Holy
+Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient
+days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are
+broken and the waters run to waste, the walls of the vineyards
+are cast down, the very soil has disappeared from the
+once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses are covered
+with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in spite of
+all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an
+overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes
+to trace out on the spot the history of the oldest and most
+interesting people of the world.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten
+track, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented
+route. Our objective points are the plains of Sharon and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>Esdraelon, sighting that mighty headland, “the excellency of
+Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of Elijah, and Baal,
+that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its <i>traditional</i> snow-clad
+summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the
+Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better
+than all the rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with
+its “straight street” and memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus,
+Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again to the reputed
+tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with its
+massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a
+short sketch of the tour we purpose describing in the following
+pages.</p>
+
+<div id='i005f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i005f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>—<i>With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the
+director, to obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from
+Marseilles to Port Said, so arrive in the Holy Land eight
+and a half days after leaving the Crusaders’ old haunt in
+London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail north of
+Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days
+pass by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find
+the pretty Chiaja much enlarged, planted, and generally
+improved, and are pleased to see the graceful palm trees in
+thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale, ever so interesting,
+we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to
+nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not,
+on well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent
+and a lady, very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a
+half-penny. But the sun is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb
+is already in the shade, the ship’s bell is summoning strangers
+to depart, and passengers to dress for dinner, so we must bid
+adieu to Naples and proceed again <i>en voyage</i>. Capri stands
+out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius is quiet,
+scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant
+form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>dinner. Early next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the
+Straits of Messina Ætna, but both are “still and silent as the
+grave,” in fact on the latter summit, if we mistake not, we see
+the dark black lava spotted with bright white snow. On the
+far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two days
+later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship
+ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour
+and arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by
+way of Palestine, but by a different route, in order that we
+may visit certain interesting districts which lay out of our
+line on our former visit.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey
+across the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth.
+This route, being very open to the attacks of predatory
+Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all but trackless
+paths over the vast plains being but little known even to
+the native.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a
+looking man as ever cut a throat”) for a guard and guide;
+two other Arabs join us for company or safety’s sake. This
+force a small party of Bedouins would not care to face, and
+a large party would not attempt it, as they would be discovered
+by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow,
+so we pass the Bedouin camps without any interference.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, is reckoned
+three good days; but by our new route we only take two, and
+pushing briskly forward run it in about eighteen hours—hard
+work rather to begin with, and the Sirocco blowing hot and
+dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We vary the
+monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several
+little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride
+us down; but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old
+Shikarri (muleteer), whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>Assyrian type that he seemed to have started out from the
+has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But <i>á route</i> we ride across the
+Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with villages
+and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly
+mediæval or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard
+Cœur-de-Lion gained a great victory over Saladin.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably
+once a fortified town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt
+for the night at a Mahommedan village called Baka, which
+probably now for the first time receives a European guest
+(as even my guides had not been there before): the sun being
+already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of mud
+on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in
+massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see
+on the way had been similarly well cared for in ancient
+times, but are now fast falling into decay. We will
+give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place a honeycomb
+with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of
+the cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to
+represent small stable yards for all the domestic animals in
+creation, camels included, and you have an Arab village of
+one-storeyed huts, scarcely distinguishable at a distance from
+the hillside on which it is plastered. The Sheiks’ houses
+have an additional storey, a guest-chamber built on the wall.
+One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the place and
+quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an
+advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which
+abound in Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers
+sleep in the open yard with the horses, and leave their
+weapons with us for safe custody, so for the time I am the <i>custos
+custodum</i>, but our quarters are inviolable, as for the nonce we
+are the guests of the village. A few crossed sticks in the
+corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a fire-place.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of
+Manasseh, which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty
+glance at El Mahrakah, or the Rock of Sacrifice, where
+Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal, and enter the vast plain
+of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or lower sources of
+Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be remembered
+Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of
+Jabin, King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the
+tents of Heber the Kenite and was treacherously murdered
+there by Jael. The Kenites’ home was at Kedes, three days’
+journey off in the mountains. It is not probable that Sisera
+could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable that Heber
+was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,
+and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not
+far off. At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he
+received from Jehu, and near this spot, in modern times,
+Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish levies a defeat somewhat
+similar to that which Barak inflicted on Sisera, but Sir
+Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his victory
+of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some
+hours, crossing it in almost a direct line, we leave the level
+ground again, and ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee,
+mount up to Nazareth (described in our “Ride through
+Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the Latin Monastery,
+finding in residence the same good Father, quite pleased at
+seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor twice.
+Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the
+fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have
+drunk, and soon <i>on our left</i> see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the
+reputed birth-place of Jonah, and <i>on our right</i>, the battle-field
+where the Crusaders gained their last victory over the
+Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun, (the horns of
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under Guy
+of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat,
+their power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by
+Saladin. In the meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris
+or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of Josephus, and ridden through Kefr
+Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a previous visit, we were
+shown the miraculous waterpots which must have been very
+fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.
+This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours,
+and at one place where the path is very narrow, we think that
+we shall have to fight our way through. About six wild
+Moabite Bedouins, from the other side of Jordan, had planted
+themselves each side of the narrow way on a slight eminence,
+completely commanding us; we determine to pass through in
+Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that
+we cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps,
+were peaceably disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country
+to be cautious: anyhow, they do not molest us. They were
+all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat by the sun, and were
+without water, which we were unable to give them, not having
+any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the
+march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want
+of water in the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness,
+distress, and death, so graphically described in the pathetic
+story of Hagar and Ishmael.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we
+halt for tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in
+1799 the French, under Junot, held their own against a vastly
+superior army of Turks, and succeeded in reaching Tabor
+just in time to fall on the rear of the force then pressing hard
+upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after, we catch
+a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one time,
+in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the
+God of day, like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We
+put up at the Latin Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where
+we are entertained by the Father Superior hospitably as we
+were on a former occasion. Before leaving Tiberias, we trot
+along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and old
+Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the
+hills above the town.</p>
+
+<div id='i009'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Mount Carmel.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch02' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER II.—Tiberias to Hâsbeyâ.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span> was our last halting place. After a
+grateful dip in the buoyant lake waters we leave
+early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited
+place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be
+hid,” for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide,
+but the term ‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply
+to Bethlehem, the “city of our Lord.” In the distance the
+snow-white houses of Safed glisten on the dark mountain side
+like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty giant.
+Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the
+shore of the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach
+Medjil, or Magdala, the home of the Magdalene, now a collection
+of wretched mud hovels, then across the fertile but
+neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of which we see a
+fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre of a great
+city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown
+with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other
+trace of a town near. We pause awhile to think of those great
+cities which in our Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake,
+and see how thoroughly their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre
+still exists as a place to dry nets on, and Sidon as a habitation
+for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum, the two Bethsaidas
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their very
+sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans
+once fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only
+three wretched fishing boats, in one of which we take a
+voyage. They were “exalted to heaven,” they are indeed
+“brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of these
+formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along
+sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,
+Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain
+near by was in the middle ages known as Mensa, alluding
+perhaps to the place where our Saviour made a table for the
+multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at Ain-et-Tabighah,
+a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site of
+Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt
+the Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find
+ourselves high up in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed;
+we ascend the hill behind the city to the ruins of the old
+Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of the finest views
+of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of Galilee,
+across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian
+Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of
+Moab and Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on
+the south and south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on
+the west the sea-coast—on the north the view is bounded by
+the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a Moslem house
+for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s rent;
+we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper
+room, as usual without any kind of furniture or glass window,
+and the floor a mud one, but the view from it is magnificent.
+The Jews cook for us, but are so fanatical that they will not
+taste the food they themselves have prepared for us. Our
+bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but better however
+than we have in many other places; we soon learn the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>way of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will
+permit, sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than
+many do on down beds. My dragoman shares my apartment,
+the others sleep outside in the open. It is 5 a.m. when the
+Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants out the
+first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal
+Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are
+in the saddle.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Safed</span> Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews,
+is built on terraces one above the other on the side of the
+mountain, so that the flat roofs of one terrace serve very
+well as promenades for the houses immediately above, also
+affording extra facilities for cats and pariah dogs, jackals, &amp;c.,
+to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we
+travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of
+the plain where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron
+chariots against Joshua; of the waters of Merom (Lake
+Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the Jordan, with
+herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high rushes.
+On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the
+Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian
+atrocities; then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast
+size, evidently made for some other purpose than to supply a
+few sheep here in the wilderness.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Deshun</span>, an African colony sent from Algeria when the
+French conquered that country, is next reached; the people
+seem to be industrious and prosperous. We observe that their
+houses are detached and have sloping roofs, seldom seen in
+this country except in European settlements, and altogether
+they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around
+them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings
+we hear of in Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin,
+which was probably the hereditary title of their kings, as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre, Pharaoh of Egypt, &amp;c.
+After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin in the olive
+grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of refuge,
+and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of
+Heber the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the
+Canaanites. There are great masses of débris and ruins here,
+and some fine single and double sarcophagi lying about. The
+Turkish people are excavating huge trenches and digging out
+large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however, with
+any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once
+utilised to erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We
+acquire a very ancient lamp for about three half-pence. Our
+zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does not understand; he
+will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo) than
+repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin,
+he says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves
+it to decay.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Lake Huleh</span> (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount
+Hermon, is between four and five miles long and about four
+miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the tomb of Joshua, looks
+down upon it. The views all along the shores (where the
+hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the vista
+of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially
+Hermon, are very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground
+to cover before sundown, try a short cut into the valley
+without going by Hunin, the usual way. We hear of a path
+from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it. It is not
+known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that it
+should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one
+of our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great
+grief, both to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly
+finds himself, with a frightened horse in front slipping, falling,
+and struggling, wedged in a track so narrow and precipitous
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>that it is difficult to find room to dismount; once off, we do
+not remount until we reach the plain, and no greater damage
+is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost as good
+for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we
+managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could
+find one, being little better than a goat track, we have some
+trouble to get the horses to face the steep descents. It saves
+however some hours of time, and is of immense service to us,
+as otherwise we should have been benighted in the difficult,
+dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the
+Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost
+tropical country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset,
+a bad time to enter any Eastern town, and then have to look
+for a lodging. But to go back a little, we get down into the
+Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at the tents of the Ghawarineh
+Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character, and says
+they attacked him, but they give us water and behave
+civilly. However we should not trust them too far, nor after
+dark. We are so glad to get down to level ground, so severe
+is the descent, that we think little of any danger from the wild
+denizens we drop down on. The scene here is remarkable,
+the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of buffaloes roaming
+among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the almost
+naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat,
+make us imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark
+continent. Our advice to travellers going from Safed by
+Kedes to Banias, is to make a two day’s trip of it, and not
+one as we did, and then to keep up on the mountain, and
+descend by Hunin to the plain.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hunin</span>, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua,
+the limit of the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may
+be said to begin on the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now
+cross the Hasbâny, the most northerly source of the Jordan,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>by an old ruined Roman bridge, Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my
+men dismount again, but I have more confidence in my
+horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and
+the surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and
+boulders safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman,
+and now after another rough ride for about three miles over
+stones and swamps, at length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the
+(fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan, which in the Hebrew also
+signifies Judge.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span>, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit
+of the promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern.
+Its Canaanitish name was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon,
+and dated back to the days of Abraham. The Danites took
+it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were a peaceable
+people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.
+It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the
+Phœnicians, who called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as
+later on with Jeroboam, whose Calf was a venerated idol with
+the local heathen of that day, as it is still curiously with the
+native ignorant Druse peasants at the present day. When
+cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of
+a Calf,” as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not
+necessarily take his idea from the golden calf of Mosaic
+times, but may have simply adopted the indigenous idolatry;
+yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from Egypt, as
+Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite
+trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being
+on the road to Damascus, which was the objective point of
+every invader, whether warrior or merchant.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span> is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet
+high, visible for a long distance over the low plain; here,
+under a fine oak tree, near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another
+most copious source of the Jordan, forming a large stream
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>immediately it springs from the ground, said to be the
+largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a good
+flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little
+Jordan, and is considered by many the chief source, but it
+is not the most northerly. We get a grand view here of
+the great Jordan Valley, looking down upon a sea of waving
+corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as far as the eye
+can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded
+country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old
+Phœnician worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the
+site of ancient Cæsarea Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip
+the Tetrarch, in honour of Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen
+Philippi being added by the same gentleman in honour of
+himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast near
+Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but
+in later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it
+took from the Temple of Pan then there), and that was
+easily corrupted to its present name Banias. It was once
+at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Banias</span> is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the
+direct road to Damascus, which we do not intend to take,
+preferring to go two days longer journey round to visit the
+less frequented parts of Syria. We are received into a
+Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber
+allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of
+the house to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in
+this establishment, except by the mother, who after a while
+thinks it proper to drape up the lower part of her face which
+somewhat improves her appearance. The accommodation
+is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an Oriental
+scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed
+flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members
+of the various families sleeping al fresco. Some more
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>fastidious or important personages rig themselves up a leafy
+bower on four supports about three or four feet from the roof—a
+cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little tents such as
+might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast
+of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the
+paneless windows during the night in search of our saddle
+bags, but a heavy boot well shot at an Oriental cat helps
+him out quite as quickly as it would one of our own domestic
+favourites. One time, however it misses the mark and alights
+on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye,
+that Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture
+of Jerusalem, and many thousand prisoners perished in the
+“Sports.”</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old
+gate, the grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and
+the Banias fountains of the Jordan. The rocks just above
+the latter are sculptured with shrines and niches in which
+statues once stood; there are also Greek inscriptions which
+are not very legible.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding
+over a slope of Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole
+country including Palestine is often described as Syria, and
+was all under one Pashalic so called until lately—Palestine
+originally included only the country of the Philistines. We
+breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian
+village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery,
+which it supplies to the whole of the northern part of
+Palestine and Syria, as far as Damascus. It is refreshing to
+come across an industrious manufacturing population, so
+rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh in the south,
+where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient
+Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil,
+and exported as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Mount Carmel) are cultivating this industry also, and turn
+out a much finer article, which finds a sale in America, but
+has not yet made a market in Palestine, which prefers its
+native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend the
+mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before
+by our guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our
+horses to Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western
+gorges of Hermon: here we visit a very ancient well-preserved
+temple built of Phœnician bevelled stones principally,
+but curiously with pilasters and columns having
+Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as
+it faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered
+by the Greeks to accommodate one of their own deities. The
+valley is remarkably a Valley of Rocks; some isolated ones
+seem to have been formerly sculptured to imitate the human
+form divine. The ascent up the other side of the valley we
+find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our
+horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for
+the night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to
+Damascus is that through the wilderness of Damascus by
+which St. Paul travelled; but the most beautiful road is that
+we select, which leads round the slopes of Hermon.</p>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<img src='images/i018.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch03' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER III.—Hasbêya to Mount Hermon.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is a small town beautifully situated some
+2,000 feet above the sea, on the western side of
+Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well cultivated
+and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems,
+all very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely,
+and not, as far as the Christians are concerned, without
+cause, for here they were treacherously massacred by the
+Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into the Konak, or
+Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence
+of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the
+Druses being admitted men women and children were
+massacred without mercy. The French army of the Lebanon
+avenged these cowardly murders partially, and but for the
+milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,
+would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse
+scoundrels from their just fate then, and consequently they
+are quite ready to repeat the crime now. This our rulers
+would do well to remember that maudlin sentimentality is
+often another name for weakness and not true mercy which
+is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do
+not practice and do not understand undeserved clemency.
+The Christians in the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>lenient policy, and are periodically in a panic about their
+ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem feeling too is often
+inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that the five kings
+of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to
+depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical
+purposes often revived. This rumour was one of the causes
+which led to the rebellion of Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi
+had not been crushed, there would probably have been
+a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman
+Caliphate and European interference—and it may come yet.
+The Ottomans are no longer a nation—they are quite effete—but
+the Arabs are as vigorous a race as they were in the days
+of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and the
+Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to
+endure for ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous
+world, everlasting monuments of the truth of the Bible story.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad
+of the Bible, but others identify the latter with Baalbec.
+We will not attempt to decide that on which many doctors differ.
+We lodge in one of the best houses at the head of the valley,
+near the Konak. A sort of stretcher, much resembling an
+oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to sleep on.
+Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a
+number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of
+the “forty thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated
+two. We find them to be mostly full of new wine, which is
+rather too rich and luscious to take much of. Just as the day
+is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room and makes for
+one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are forcibly
+reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.”
+Next day, after about three hours toiling over mountain
+paths, we pass the mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is
+the source of the Hasbâny, the highest and most northerly
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan branches of which
+it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake Huleh,
+after running almost parallel with them for some distance.
+We crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge
+on our way from Kadesh to Dan and Banias.</p>
+<h3 class='c015'>THE DRUSES.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>The Druses</span> make the Hasbâny Valley their religious
+centre, as their prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been
+born there. Their religious books having been lost (or rather
+stolen by the Egyptians), their religion, which is of more recent
+origin than Mahometanism, is traditional only, and it is
+difficult to say what it really is, but it seems to have been
+founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It consists of
+several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian
+pretty equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with
+whom they often associate for the purpose of plunder, but
+they would murder either without compunction. At the same
+time, with an appreciable regard to expediency, their religion
+allows them to live under whatever creed is supreme. They
+have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers
+from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they
+hold practically independent of any Government whatever,
+although nominally subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are
+distinguished by white turbans. Lebanon being now a
+separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a native
+Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to
+occupy that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon
+they are more formidable. When a fanatical
+Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as was done by our
+muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of the
+calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was
+only a day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>or temples, but worship in a room outside a village, and only
+the higher initiated members are admitted to the whole performance
+or allowed to learn what is known of their sacred
+records, which are imparted by oral instruction only, and
+never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted
+with all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher
+degrees no man under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we
+think, never. The most sacred shrine of the Druses is a
+secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there only the
+most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six
+hours brings us to Rashêya.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Rashêya</span>, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely
+and healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I
+have never been mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a
+European being quite a <i>rara avis</i>. Men women and children
+cluster round me, and even crowd into my little room to stare
+at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by either
+curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a
+medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch
+them; but unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the
+younger women, having confidence in their good appearance,
+beg of me to draw their portraits, but my first sketch soon puts
+the other fair candidates to flight. Two or three enterprising
+young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat me to take
+them back with me to England and make them members of
+my family. I have to explain to them that the social system
+of the West does not allow of any such extensive adoption as
+that of the East. We have often been asked by mothers to
+take their children and bring them up as Feringhees, but
+think that in most cases this is done to frighten the children.
+The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but
+have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is
+seldom seen in the East), the hands especially with stripes
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>looking like the seams of gloves. We have, as usual, the
+floor only to sit and sleep on. We are beginning to be quite
+clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that we think
+chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya
+Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the
+castle by the Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the
+Maronite Druses, who massacred man, woman and child.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon</span>, we believe, has not been ascended to the
+summit by any Englishman for some years. It is called by
+the Arabs the Snowy Mountain: misled probably by this the
+text books on the subject boldly assert that its summit is
+perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case, nor
+is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite
+side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some
+two months at least, and although we find it cold there is
+not a trace of snow anywhere. The bare white limestone
+sides of mountains are often mistaken at a distance for snow,
+but few travellers ever attain the summit, and hence the
+perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.</p>
+<h3 class='c015'>ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the
+three peaks rising abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower
+ridges, has an apparent altitude much greater than many
+higher mountains. The grandeur of the Matterhorn, for
+instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished by
+the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the
+Breithorn (which latter we ascended a few years since, so can
+judge from experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among
+giants, a king of kings; but Hermon stands alone in its
+glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst minnows, and owes
+its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000 feet, but
+to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely
+dignify with the name of a mountain at all.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the
+Amorites, is called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the
+Monarch of Mountains; it was once encircled by shrines
+to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great central temple on
+the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of these
+remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we
+have already described.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Baal</span>, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first
+to the greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the
+day. We hear of it as Bel applied to Nimrod; and we
+trace it in many other names, such as Bel Shazzar, which
+means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we
+suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the
+Israelites probably called their golden calf Baal. After the
+Greek conquest, Baal and the other Gods were very much
+mixed up, and the Romans later on, to appease the conquered
+Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and their Venus
+with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note
+here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in
+the Bel tane (Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated
+on May-day morning. Our actual ascent of the
+mountain is without much interest, except that on the way
+we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn out of the
+solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not
+until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark
+cloud, and over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific
+thunderstorm, the thunder reverberating grandly among the
+mountains. A continuous bombardment by the biggest guns
+ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’
+rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks
+through the black firmament above, and we set out briskly,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>and in about four hours scramble up to the southern—the highest
+peak—where we find extensive and massive remains of two
+temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in which we
+tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand
+panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high
+peaks near to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the
+summit, which is some 5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a
+fine sight of the coast from Carmel to Tyre, but on the summit,
+the greater part of Palestine and Syria are opened out as a
+map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north, the
+ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of
+Damascus, bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana
+and Pharpar, is in the extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea
+Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &amp;c., nestle beneath on the
+near south-east; further south the broad waters of Merom,
+and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day
+sun, and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the
+Mountains of Moab bound the distant horizon; on the south,
+Mount Tabor raises its beautifully wooded crest over
+Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the plains of
+Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the
+coast, Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view
+only a short time, as a blinding hailstorm comes down and
+causes us to beat a very precipitate retreat; but as the black
+thunder clouds gather above and beneath us, and the sun at
+intervals shines through and upon them, the <i>mélange</i> of earth
+and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the
+extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold,
+here and there mellowed with the most delicate tinges of
+purple green and orange, form an effect, which if fixed on the
+canvas, would be called an impossible picture, and we could
+now well understand and feel that enthusiastic praise so often
+in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither
+difficult nor dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but
+extremely laborious, being a steady steep and continuous
+scramble over loose stones, on which it is difficult to retain a
+footing; there is no defined path to the summit, and it should
+not be attempted without a <i>local</i> guide, as the clouds gather
+round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow
+may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little
+chance for any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is
+thought by some to have been the scene of the transfiguration
+as Banias, where our Saviour started from, is near by.
+On our way up we try to track a bear, but fortunately fail to
+find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we probably
+should not have written this account.</p>
+
+<div id='i026'  class='figcenter id004'>
+<img src='images/i026.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Tiberias.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch04' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER IV.—Damascus.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Rasheya</span> is again our resting place after our descent
+from Hermon, and next morning we make an early
+start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we
+arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a
+mountain ride of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair,
+where again, on a small elevated plateau, we see
+extensive and massive remains of ancient temples with
+fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach
+the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in
+Syria, over this the French have a monopoly of wheeled
+traffic and transport for nearly 99 years, riding horses pass
+free, but all pack animals and caravans have to pay, which
+however the native caravans evade by still using the old
+track up and down the mountains which runs almost parallel.
+The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last
+three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and
+sheltered from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the
+dreary desert of Sahira, through which we have to ride some
+two hours to reach it. We may here remark that Sahira in
+the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and anyone who
+has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind
+making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>the lips and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell
+must be a most uncomfortably hot place, life being in the
+burning desert a burden almost unbearable. The first sight
+of Damascus, unlike that of Jerusalem, realises all we have
+heard of it, it is indeed magnificently situated in the midst of
+an extensive plain, intersected in all directions by the rills of
+the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander through and
+round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the
+meadow lakes beyond.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone
+on a chair by the river side enjoying otium <i>sine</i> dignitate; his
+guards at a distance standing by their horses ready to look
+after him, if necessary. He politely returns our passing
+salute in true Parisian style. Like all other Turkish Pashas he
+will have to make hay while the sun shines and be sharp
+about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful
+memory) did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may
+be a similarly short summer. It costs money to be a
+Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be first found for the
+Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the appointment
+is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his
+government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh
+out of the higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the
+public, who are fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind
+here, is continually looking out for the dollars. But to return
+to Damascus. The plain in which it is situated is surrounded
+on three sides by mountains, Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and
+Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert, in
+the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the
+ancient Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the
+Syrians. Well might the Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant
+plain, after six days dreary riding across the desert, when he
+came across this city embosomed in beautiful gardens and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in all
+directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the
+houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon
+the Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at
+Demetri’s, the only Frank hotel, and are glad again to see
+some signs of western civilisation.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country
+by little known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the
+Europeans, who wish to know if I am travelling under diplomatic
+orders; a negative answer to such a question is not, of
+course, worth much. The Turkish police give vent to their
+curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining
+my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life,
+&amp;c., &amp;c. Things are rather strained here. The attitude of
+the allied Powers to Turkey makes this fanatical people never
+well disposed to Christians, now still less so, and to make
+matters worse, Arab placards have been posted here and at
+Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to revolt
+against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest
+the Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent
+conquerors, the Osmanli usurpers of the Khalifate, who
+monopolise all place and power, using them only to oppress
+the people, whose language they do not even understand, and
+whose lives, liberties, and properties they either cannot or do
+not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing
+on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their
+doom. This movement has since developed into an organised
+Arab League, following the example of the Albanians.
+An Armenian League probably is not far behind. The
+collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of time.
+They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does
+not seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear
+out of Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>long be like Egypt, semi-independent vice-royalties under
+European protection, or they will become Russian and French
+appanages. The Turkish Government have authorised their
+postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open letters at
+their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to the
+Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives
+in a hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment.
+What a pity that our Government does not buy itself a
+consular residence in such an important post as this? It is
+so undignified for an English Consul to have to turn out at the
+bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in the extreme
+to have to move all the archives every few years; and in case
+of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we
+might find it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul
+at all. In one of the squares we see a crowd and several
+soldiers looking at the dead body of an Arab. This poor
+fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of camels,
+some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of
+Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to
+his post; they of course soon killed him and cleared off with
+the camels. This is the security for life and property which
+Turkey provides for its subjects in the neighbourhood of a
+great city. We will now take a stroll through this thoroughly
+Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet more
+than in any other city in the world, more so even than in
+Tanjiers and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed
+suits, black-coated Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty
+bornous, Druses with white turbans and blood-stained hands,
+Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox Moslems in flowing robes
+and showy green turbans, Circassians with breast full of
+cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough sheep
+skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod
+veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Parisian dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of
+the East, jostling each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars.
+Camels also, and mules, horses and donkeys, with perhaps a
+drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far steppes of Turkestan,
+press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take care,
+take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no
+respecter of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over
+you go if you do not get out of his way, unless by a vigorous
+shove you send him over, just as in self-defence we were
+obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back, legs up in the
+air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Metropolis</span> did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so
+called, for is it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living
+city in the world? (not even excepting Hebron), for here
+Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived; these streets the patriarch
+himself must often have traversed as a trader in flocks and
+herds, and through these lanes, once at all events, he drove the
+Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near
+here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian
+captors. It was conquered by David after a protracted
+struggle, but recovered its independence in the reign of
+Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the Assyrians.
+Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded
+probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah.
+Damascus has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from
+its unique position, probably never will. The prey of every
+ambitious conqueror, it has seen the rise and survived the
+fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman,
+Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the
+garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has
+out-lived all its rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and
+Tarsus survive only as uninteresting towns, Babylon,
+Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but Damascus is still the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>“Head of Syria” as it was in the days of Abraham—Damascus
+a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,
+bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always
+been and must for ever remain the mother city of the world.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath
+in the waters of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name
+Barada indicates, remarkably cool and pleasant. Having
+tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s opinion, that the
+bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the midst of
+the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;
+certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a
+Mahommedan one, where the process of destruction is
+carried on by man and that of re-construction or re-placement
+left to “Allah.” We also see another tree in the horse
+market close by, used as a gallows, but public executions are
+very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly sensitive—he
+does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home
+if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem
+being publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the
+great mosque; in its courtyard are the remains of a small
+ancient temple to the sun—it was once a Roman temple, then
+a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient times probably the
+site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the knee to
+Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it
+easier to enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of
+Omar at Jerusalem, and the grand mosque at Cairo, than
+this, the people being so fanatical. St. Sophia, in fact, we
+got into by only paying a few francs to the door-keeper, but
+here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the tomb
+of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very
+sacred, cannot view the interior. We now come to the street
+called “Straight,” above a mile long, running through the
+city east to west, and on our way we call at the traditional
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church; then just
+outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman,
+now appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part
+of the wall from which it is said St. Paul was let down in a
+basket at the time when Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia,
+was King. Aretas was the name of the dynasty, like,
+Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia, &amp;c.
+The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just
+outside the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have
+been the light before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled.
+A walled up gate is also shewn as that by which St. Paul
+entered the city.</p>
+
+<div id='i033'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bazaars</span> are very interesting, here is to be found
+merchandise collected by caravans from all corners of the
+earth; Merchants from Manchester, Paris, Vienna,
+Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia, Afghanistan, India,
+Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its
+exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather
+and metal work; the population is principally Moslem. We
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>of course pay a visit to old Abu Antika (father of antiquities),
+and possess ourselves of a Damascus blade. A friend of ours,
+an artist, was about to give 100 francs for one at Cairo, we
+asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it “warranted best
+steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it
+was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer
+induced him to hastily put away the Damascus blade and my
+friend put his 100 francs back into his pocket. Tricks are
+sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old Abu
+Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money
+on spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could
+not interfere, but she introduced herself to us later on and
+was a very pleasant and intelligent fellow traveller. The
+houses of the rich Damascenes are very handsomely fitted up;
+on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a great open
+courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants
+all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at
+one end, is fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as
+a public reception room. On each side of the court is a
+large room, one used as a Summer and the other as a
+Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are
+magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The
+sleeping rooms are on the first floor and are entered from a
+verandah above. Running water from the Abana flows
+through all the best houses. The public buildings and
+barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good
+for a Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is
+interesting, but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader,
+who so long kept the French at bay in North Africa, lived in
+Damascus, and had a quarter allotted to him and his Algerian
+fellow exiles. Damascus is not the dirty city it once was.
+Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that respect, and also in
+other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus in ruins
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the
+fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This
+is a much shorter and more economical way (to the government)
+of making street improvements than that we have in
+England, but as no notice of the contemplated improvement
+is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the inhabitants.
+Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of
+the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.</p>
+
+<div id='i035'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch05' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER V.—The Anti-Lebanon.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span> must now be left behind, adieu, we wish
+we could say <i>au revoir</i> to its lovely lanes and
+pleasant orchards, its curious motley crowded
+bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its
+grand associations with all time—for did not through Damascus
+pass those archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the
+four quarters of the globe? Shem probably here said goodbye
+to Ham on his way to Africa, and both bade God-speed
+to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north; and Noah
+himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones
+as near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb,
+and that of Adam, Abel and Seth, <i>cum multis aliis</i> near here
+even to this day? Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of
+Demetri, an oasis in the desert of barbarism we pass through.
+We follow back the diligence road a few miles as far as
+Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec, <i>viâ</i>
+Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get
+a zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of
+Sahrâ. We see on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon
+enter the upper part of the Abana watershed, which might
+well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this part of the world
+where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass
+several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>appearance, the women looking better and healthier than
+any we have yet seen. We now enter the narrow gorge
+of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and soon after
+about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh
+(one of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river
+which springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as
+at once to form a large stream, which, although not broad, is
+very deep. It must be, we should think, the shortest river in
+the world. Over these springs, half-hidden by the beautiful
+foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise the massive remains
+of two temples, one across the stream, one in it, all around is
+a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a good
+place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and
+orange, mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most
+lovely little stream, and where its crystal current mixes with
+the turbid Barada, there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more
+beautiful even than the “<i>Moore</i>” famed meeting of the
+Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once picturesque Vale of
+Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the
+spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak,
+are found forming little forests wherever a rill of living water
+can force its way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and
+Roman times were only, and they could easily be, reformed,
+the whole land would again laugh and sing, and paradises as
+of old, would replace the present deserts. God made the
+land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses,
+has turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey,
+following the course of the Barada for some two hours, having
+a succession of pretty woodland views until we come to Sûk
+Wady Barada, supposed to be the site of the ancient Abila,
+the chief town of the district of Abilene, of which (according
+to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of Tiberius
+Cæsar.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span><span class='sc'>Abila</span> is said to derive it name from Abel, who according
+to tradition was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging
+height (Neby Hâbyl) is pointed out as Abel’s tomb.
+This first murder, according to tradition was avenged by
+Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from
+Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the
+prophets of Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the
+Barada gorge, where the river descending in small cataracts
+is spanned by a very tumbledown bridge, attributed by some
+writers to Zenobia, but more probably the work of the Roman
+engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the <i>corniche</i>
+roads.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut
+tombs, tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and
+the remains of a high-level mountain road, works well worthy
+the finest engineering of the West. Here by the stream, near
+a murmuring waterfall we spread our carpet for tiffin, the
+lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying waters, the
+greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this
+season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful
+resting place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine
+waterfalls and ruined bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt
+grass plain of Zebedâni, one of the most fertile in the
+land, well watered and well cultivated; then, after passing
+some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like
+lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place
+between Damascus and Baalbec. The population is chiefly
+Moslem, but there are many Maronites also. We lodge with
+the chief priest. We may here remark that the Maronites are
+a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge the
+Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called
+orthodox Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their
+own patriarch and do not carry out the Roman ritual. They
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>might almost equally well acknowledge the Archbishop of
+Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite women are distinguished
+by a black band on the forehead.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Zebedâni</span> is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most
+luxurious vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains.
+It boasts a small Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built
+closely together, only one or two having a first floor; most
+have a small courtyard, into which the goats and cattle are
+driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are used
+much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty
+ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep
+in the open on the roof; and when in the early morning
+sleeper after sleeper raised his or her head from beneath
+the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and tried to escape
+from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme. All
+turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are
+as a rule early risers. The room we have is clean, contains
+the usual curtained recesses in the walls for cupboards, and
+a wooden ledge round top of room for stores, and, what is
+the only piece of furniture ever seen in these parts, a large
+damasceened chest for the valuables of the household. The
+mural decorations consist of English willow pattern plates
+cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement
+on hanging them up by wires, as they are not liable to be
+broken by domestic dusting. We have seen the outside
+as well as the inside of dwellings decorated in this manner,
+and our Western sisters are long forestalled in this kind of
+mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East. Our
+worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by
+Druses, and we try to reassure him by saying that times are
+changed since 1860, and that there is not any occasion to
+fear; but we should not like to back this opinion too heavily,
+for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and Druses are as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon
+after writing above there was a collision between Moslems
+and Christians at Beyrût, and several of the latter were
+massacred. There was also an attack on Christians in the
+Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently said to me
+what <span class='sc'>Froude</span> said in September, 1880, in his admirable
+article on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost
+ceased to exist, and that every one had to look after his own
+immediate interest,” and in the case of a collapse of Turkish
+rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from the desert like
+locusts, murder all round, and in all probability permanently
+occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at
+daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the
+rising sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this
+gilding of the hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in
+language, far too bright to be pictured in painting, is the
+grand <i>mise-en-scène</i> of black and gold set in silver frame
+produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with the
+disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many
+former occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000
+feet high in the Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw
+the Italian mountains literally bathed in the brightest gold as
+the sun climbed up to the summits of the highest peaks and
+crept down the opposite sides into the valley.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of
+seeing the Syrian sheep, remarkable for their tremendous
+tails, and watch the women stuffing the vine leaves down the
+sleepy animals’ throats, for the purpose of creating the
+enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the tail and is used to
+fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which, with a
+salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into
+one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our
+German friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>added in times of plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of
+Zebedâni behind, and passing under Bludàn, the summer
+residence of the European Consuls, arrive at the upper source
+of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon, the
+streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and
+towards the Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first
+fountain on the northern slope is that of Eve, in whose transparent
+waters the mother of all was, according to poetical
+tradition, admiring herself when her future lord and master
+(as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her. We
+infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was
+by no means a small one, and must have included all Syria
+Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the
+world. As we are soon leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may
+observe that this mountain range extends from Banias, at the
+head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the Bukâa, in
+which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of
+it, but on account of its almost isolated position, is often
+considered to be as a mountain in business for itself. On
+our way we cross two Roman bridges, now on their last legs,
+but they have done well to have lasted 1800 years.</p>
+
+<div id='i042f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i042f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>The Great Stone in the Quarry</i>.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient
+wine presses, hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000
+perhaps 3,000 years back; they enable one to understand
+what building a wine press meant, and what a terrible loss
+and disappointment it would be to the builder, if, when he
+“looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus
+hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep
+out the “little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great
+trouble and many years before they form that impenetrable
+barrier through which even the wild boar cannot break his
+way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for lunch in the
+Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our
+journey leave on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of
+Seth. Ham is said to be buried a little further east.
+A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts upon our view,
+separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or valley
+of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the
+village of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel,
+and soon come in sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens
+and grand Acropolis of Baalbec, the great ancient shrine of
+Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of the Sun of the
+Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,
+of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great
+caravan road from Tyre to India, which we may mention was
+the original overland route, and if history repeats itself
+will be so again. What shorter route to India can there be
+than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth through the canal
+now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,
+and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of
+Cilicia, <i>viâ</i> the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and
+Afghanistan, to India—there are no difficulties which modern
+engineers could not overcome. But perhaps we are waiting
+for the French or Germans to show the way.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a> Before entering
+the town we visit the ancient quarries out of which were
+hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very
+ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies
+there already hewn but not quite separated from the quarry,
+it is about 70 feet long, 14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing
+some 10,000 tons; other large stones are seen lying about
+partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished in the
+workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader
+who made the busy mason so suddenly throw away the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>gavel to seize the sword will now never be known. We
+put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and find it fairly
+comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late in the
+evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with
+two Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only
+converse in the primitive language of signs—the result being
+that when next morning they want to see the ruins, they are
+taken from them, to a hill some miles off, where they see them—from
+a distance—a fine effect probably, but not what was
+wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer
+inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone
+through it all ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic
+descriptions. Their guides, if not useful as Cicerones, were
+we must admit extremely picturesque and pleasant barbarians.
+The younger lady has we believe by this time immortalized
+them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme
+effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the
+Temple from which the <i>coup d’oeil</i> was magnificent.</p>
+
+<div class='footnote c018' id='f1'>
+<p class='c019'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a firman to make a
+railway from Ismid to Bagdad.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of
+having a guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way
+to Beyrût we meet a man and his horse at cross purposes,
+endeavouring in vain to find out the reason from his Arab
+guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you and your
+horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the
+traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not
+understand my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is
+a brute.” “Not so, my friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding
+him with an Arab bridle in English fashion.” He was, in
+fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for he was
+torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he
+had been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately
+replied, “Tu quoque <i>brute</i>.” The Arab bit is in the shape of
+a gridiron (minus interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>broad end of it, in which the lower jaw of the animal is placed
+the handle of the gridiron is in the mouth, and by a pull of
+the reins is forced up into the roof of the mouth, causing
+considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and
+the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck
+when wishing to go to the right, and <i>vice versâ</i>. Pulling the
+rein English fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal.
+We explain the process and leave the man and his beast
+better friends; they now understand each other. (How
+many of us would also like each other better if we were less
+impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and
+rider now go on their way as reconciled to one another as
+Balaam to the ass after the departure of the Angel.</p>
+
+<div id='i044'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i044.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>A Street called “Straight,” Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch06' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VI.—Baalbec.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is
+situated about forty-five miles north of Damascus
+but slightly to the west, on the lowest slope of
+Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.
+The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec
+within one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down
+the Bukâa or Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon
+and Beyrût. The Orontes, El Asi or rebellious river, so
+called because it changes its course in a remarkable manner,
+flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch. Baalbec is the
+point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût
+and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient
+importance, and it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram
+or Upper Syria where Terah lived, whence Abram emigrated
+and whither Jacob went to seek a wife among the daughters
+of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and subsequently
+his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships; even
+more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American
+who married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to
+despair, insanity and death, because he never could make out
+what relation he was to himself.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two
+and three miles in circumference. Some learned writers
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>attribute its foundation to Solomon, arguing that the colossal
+stones used in the substructure, of which we will speak more
+in detail hereafter, are similar in size and bevel to those in the
+temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it with
+Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have
+built at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be
+Palmyra), in the wilderness. Now it must be noted that
+Solomon lost Damascus to the Syrians, which David his
+father had taken from them. It is not likely that having so
+lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and
+built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it,
+neither would he if he dominated the cedar country have
+troubled Hiram to send him cedars for the Temple. We may
+also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are described as being
+built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in the land,
+<i>i.e.</i>, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities
+undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &amp;c. Baalaath is
+more likely to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city
+of palms, there are plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in
+Palestine without locating Tadmor in the great Syrian desert,
+then held by the hostile kings of Syria; and further, we are
+informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of Phœnician Tyre,
+certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon
+could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to
+give, Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of
+operations, but equally conveniently situated for Hiram and
+much more acceptable to him. Baalbec was probably a
+Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram, who however
+might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones
+to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact
+that Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to
+prepare the Temple materials, the woodwork of which was
+undoubtedly, and the stonework perhaps too, obtained from
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and floated down along
+the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit the
+celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only
+approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those
+on the Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the
+village a beautiful little Temple of Venus, called by the
+natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a gem of architecture, semicircular
+in shape, the architraves, cornices, &amp;c., richly
+ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has
+a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a
+monolith. It was last used as a Greek church, to which era
+the trace of frescoes still remaining must be attributed. Near
+by are the remains of a large mosque, which looks very like
+having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s basilica and
+other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns
+being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large
+or too small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been
+very fine.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The great Trilithon Temple</span>, the Acropolis of Baalbec,
+and its massive, mighty ruins are now before us—they have
+been so often pictured by the painter that their external
+appearance must be familiar to many. We enter from the
+east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble flight of
+steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty
+columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks
+when they converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing
+under this, through a portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty
+corridor, richly ornamented; facing us are three large doors,
+the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us into an outer court of
+hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide; three
+gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440
+feet long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are
+vast somewhat semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>rectangular recesses on each side with arched roofs, but open
+to the central court; these are elaborately decorated with
+niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &amp;c., the various designs
+of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &amp;c., being
+very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and
+varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime
+to copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what
+was once the great Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and
+then to all the gods, so as not to offend any. The only
+remains of this Temple are six magnificent columns of the
+peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter; they are
+visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very
+grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a
+distance standing out boldly in an evening sky.</p>
+
+<div id='i048f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i048f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>General View of Ruins.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>This temple was probably about three hundred feet long,
+and stood upon the old Phœnician foundation, built of
+Cyclopean masses of stone, many of which are thirty feet long
+and ten feet thick; but there are three stones (which gave the
+name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty feet long,
+thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have
+been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they
+now occupy, it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled
+up great inclined planes of earth which were afterwards
+carted away, as represented in the bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud.
+To the left of the great Temple, on a somewhat lower level,
+having formerly an approach of its own from the plain,
+probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by
+some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and
+finest ruins in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid,
+but very beautiful and varied. It was surrounded by forty-six
+columns, about sixty-five feet high and six feet in diameter;
+the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was supported by a double
+row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet high and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow
+pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof.
+The cornices are rich in design and elaborate in execution,
+the Cella or interior is in fair preservation, and at the end of
+it is a raised platform where the altar stood. Underneath the
+altar was a vault whence concealed priests sent up Delphic
+responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined that they
+were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the
+Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies
+highest and is supposed to be able to look at the Sun
+unflinchingly, predominates everywhere about these ruins.
+The temple area is undermined by vast vaulted corridors, now
+used as approaches in the same way as the Temple platform
+at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius
+converted the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem
+conquest it was used as a fortress. When some five hundred
+years later the tide turned again in favour of Christianity, it
+was converted back by the Crusaders into a church, and
+when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it
+became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its
+final decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed
+by Tamerlane the Tartar when he raided through Syria.
+While at Baalbec, we witness an extraordinary hailstorm,
+the stones being larger than pigeons’ eggs—almost as large as
+a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the centre about
+the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large, clear,
+crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice.
+The storm lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt
+for some time; it is accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm.
+We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and wend our way across
+the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The <span class='sc'>Bukâa</span>, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the
+Hebrews (<i>Amos</i> i, 5), is a long plain extending about one
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>hundred miles between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon
+mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and the
+Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow
+Syria, and was the natural highway of the invading armies of
+Egypt, Persia, Assyria, &amp;c., from all time. It is mentioned
+in the Bible as the “entering in of Hamath,” but was only
+for a short time in the possession of the Kings of Israel.
+Along this plain commander Cameron projected a railway
+between Damascus, <i>viâ</i> Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo
+northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards,
+and to Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all
+possible enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay.
+The railway was to be commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour
+to Damascus to avoid the mountains. This enterprising
+project was to embrace, eventually, a Euphrates valley line
+to Bombay, <i>viâ</i> the Persian Gulf, and to Northern India, <i>viâ</i>
+Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected
+with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, <i>viâ</i>
+Diarbekir to Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari
+and the Bosphorus, opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty
+project on paper, a magnificent prophecy of the future, and
+we hope that commander Cameron will live to see his
+great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec
+we come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem
+saint reared evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.</p>
+
+<div id='i051f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i051f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>—<i>and The Lebanon</i>.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bukâa</span> plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders
+a journey through it rather monotonous for some hours. We
+lunch at a small Arab Khan, and passing several villages
+reach at length that of Kerak Nûh, where we are shown the
+tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet wide and
+three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this
+ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out
+of proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>which was smaller than the Great Eastern, only about fifty
+feet high, and then divided into three decks, my Moslem
+guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark, by-the-bye, is said to
+have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered the Holy
+Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by
+Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably
+about 1,100 tonnage—it seems however soon to have come
+to grief. According to Moslem tradition, Hezekiah is said to
+be buried near Noah. We next pass through <span class='sc'>Mulaka</span>, a
+prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which
+is almost joined to <span class='sc'>Zahleh</span>, a large Maronite Christian town
+on the frontier of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town,
+finely situated at the entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an
+amphitheatre of high mountains; it was the headquarters of
+the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now ride through
+many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the
+principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up
+for the night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to
+Beyrût, about nine hours along the diligence road over the
+Lebanon. We soon have to take our last look at Hermon,
+the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon, and ascending to
+the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the sea. The
+Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and
+Beyrût shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of
+them on the low coast line.</p>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id005'>
+<img src='images/pg-ft.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch07' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VII.—Beyrût to Boulogne.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours
+sail of Cyprus and about twenty-four of Port Said),
+has a considerable population, and is a pleasant
+place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is
+beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background,
+and boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars.
+The fruit of Paradise—the banana—is plentiful, and
+considered finer and sweeter than that of any other region of
+Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health
+resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon
+Pasha, who consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return
+from the Cape. We discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the
+end the General expressed his intention of resting there. He
+went shortly after, but his noble restless nature could not
+rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained there only a
+short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission
+to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal
+Government which sent him on a mad mission and then
+deserted him (only sending a relieving force when too late),
+he nobly ended a noble life.</p>
+
+<div id='i052f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i052f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—<i>Larnaca.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we
+made the journey some years ago, about the time that Sir
+Garnet Wolsely took possession of the island. Without the
+English and Indian troops who were then there we should
+not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a
+whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>Mediterranean, and has a climate and soil which would
+produce almost anything. It is a pity that our Government
+does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a lump sum
+and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony
+like Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think
+that if the island were properly explored some very interesting
+archæological discoveries would be made, as from its position
+it must have been a house of call for all the great civilised
+nations of antiquity. The Egyptian, Assyrian, Tyrian, and
+Roman galleys must all at some time or other have sought
+shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its
+orange, lemon and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its
+bustling lanes and its busy quays, and embark on board an
+Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we find the Peninsula
+and Oriental Southampton steamer, <i>Venetia</i>, which lands us
+at <span class='sc'>Malta</span>, off which interesting island we see a remarkable
+sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very
+fortunately a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we
+cross over to Sicily, to <span class='sc'>Syracuse</span>, still infamous for deeds of
+blood, as of old, and celebrated for its ruined theatre, where
+Æschylus, before 20,000 sympathetic listeners, was wont to
+recite his immortal tragedies. Here also is the rock-hewn
+“Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off with the
+report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from
+Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a
+little loaf of bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of
+the lovely island of Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we
+can comfortably swallow it without the coffee we cannot get.
+We next come to Catania, famous for its sulphur and nitre
+mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna; and then
+pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at
+Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>Polyphemus, who, however, took better aim at the unlucky
+lover of Galatea, whose blood still poetically flows in the
+little river in memory of him, the Acis which we soon after
+pass, and then we come to that beautiful Sicilian
+Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Taormina</span>, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known
+to the ordinary Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient
+remains. Its ruined theatre was one of the largest in the
+world. It began its history by successfully resisting the
+Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400 years was an
+important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is
+now little more than a large village, but its situation is
+magnificent, scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after
+leaving Taormina, we find ourselves at Messina, where we
+embark on an Italian steamer for Naples, whence the train
+takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and through the
+Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.</p>
+
+<div id='i054'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>The Cedars of Lebanon.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch08' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VIII.—The Bedaween and Fellaheen.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'>The <span class='sc'>Bedaween</span> are rough but picturesque looking
+fellows, armed often with very long lances, spear
+at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the
+other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner
+killed Asahel, whom he smote with the <i>hinder</i>-part of the
+spear while being pursued; long guns with a short range,
+antique pistols and knives stuck into the girdle, making up a
+formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses are
+small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in
+days of yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by
+trade, but not naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill
+unless resistance is made. They rarely attack unless pretty
+sure of being able to overpower, and when on mere robbery
+bent, generally go about in small bands of three and four,
+keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close
+together they will probably get the worst of it, as the
+Bedaween are quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse
+the rider in an instant. They seldom leave the traveller with
+more than one garment, and of course take the horses too.
+They do not attack large parties like Cook’s caravans. As we
+have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very
+sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about
+the distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>attacked, the other may have time to draw a revolver, which
+Bedaween will seldom face, as their game is to rob defenceless
+travellers, and not to risk their own lives. Three of them,
+mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some time on the
+open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing
+that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to
+our great relief left us. It is only the small bands that need
+be feared. A tribe on the march or in camp in Syria would
+never touch a traveller, as it would soon be known what
+tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would follow,
+as they cannot move <i>en masse</i> quickly, and for this reason
+(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of
+their camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different
+tribes are coming in opposite directions in a lonely district,
+they will not meet face to face, but one goes to the right and
+the other in the contrary direction, in order that one shall not
+get behind the other, for if there were a blood feud between
+the tribes, and either could murder the other without risk, it
+would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken
+unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween,
+and one were to go straight up the road, and the other off the
+road to one side so as to get in their rear, they would not
+attack the traveller left alone. We know a case in which
+a party of three (with only one gun between them)
+escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the
+Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much.
+They have a nasty knack of reaping what others have sown,
+swooping down from a distance in the middle of the night
+and clearing away before morning with half the harvest of a
+village—not very difficult to do when it is lying in heaps on
+the threshing floor ready for market.</p>
+<hr class='c020' />
+<div>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>
+  <h3 class='c015'>THE FELLAHEEN.</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c016'>The <span class='sc'>Fellaheen</span>, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of
+Philistine or Phœnician descent, fear the Bedaween as much
+as the passing traveller does. They frequently carry for
+defence either a rather artistic looking kind of battle-axe
+(probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick
+something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and
+knife—they sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their
+own account; one unfortunately occurred while we were in
+the country, and a young friend of ours was cruelly murdered
+by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an oak forest we
+had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered
+and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their
+non-execution created an impression here that to murder an
+Englishman is the same as to murder a native, and simply to
+pay as blood-money a part of the plunder back if the crime is
+found out. It may interest our readers to know how capital
+punishment is carried out in this country. First of all the
+public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for (say) five
+napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the
+horrid office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost
+his nerve, and butchered his victim; we will not relate the
+circumstances. Before the execution takes place, the chief
+officer at the execution cries out, “Who will buy this man’s
+soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a sufficient sum of
+money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations (and they
+generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the
+culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life;
+but he generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At
+Jerusalem, criminals are generally executed outside the Jaffa
+Gate, where probably, and not on the site of the Church of
+the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was crucified. In the case
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them to the place of
+execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the
+greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal
+which he generally keeps for the women and children.
+Recently a Bedawi brigand was executed outside Jerusalem,
+he was a villain, but a plucky fellow; his last words were
+“Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all your
+guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope;
+he placed one end round his neck and tied the other to a
+tree, stood on the donkey, kicked it aside and was his own
+executioner. This soul was put up for auction, but there
+was not a bid; not even the most merciful Mahommedan
+could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent
+so many souls to death without even offering them at auction.
+As if the country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte
+banished to Palestine some time since, thousands of the
+Circassian cut-throats, who committed the Bulgarian
+atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they
+are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them,
+and they do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the
+fate they are so ready to deal out to others.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>A few remarks about the general tenure of land in
+Palestine may be interesting. It is somewhat similar to the
+ancient land settlement of England before the days of feudal
+tenure. Each village has so much pasture, tillage or woodland
+belonging to it as common property; this is year by
+year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity
+according to the number of the family. The allotments are
+divided from each other only by rows or heaps of stones,
+which, as they can be easily moved, explains the reason of
+the Levitical curse against him who removed his neighbour’s
+land mark. The land is not of course highly cultivated, as
+the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being absolutely
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the
+government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time,
+when the grain is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize
+what they consider their share of the produce. A similar
+summary procedure is adopted with the flocks and herds of
+sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure is not
+here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether
+unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.</p>
+<hr class='c020' />
+<h3 class='c015'>MAHOMETANS.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'>And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can
+learn at least one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not
+ashamed of his religious faith; he is not ashamed to be seen
+reading his Bible or saying his prayers, even during business
+hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good Christians are.
+Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most
+ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable
+Christian. We may mention here that Christ is venerated
+by the Mahometans, who believe as we do that He will judge
+the world at the last day. This judgment according to them
+is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will be
+stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount
+Moriah to the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to
+cross on this tight rope. The righteous will accomplish the
+journey in safety; but the wicked will fall off into the Valley
+of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen idolater,
+made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred
+books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same
+way as did many of the Roman church missionaries in the
+dark ages, when they mixed up Christianity with Paganism,
+and allowed their converts to retain their idol images, only
+re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna Diana, Lady
+Mary, &amp;c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>We now conclude the account of our “<span class='sc'>Ride through
+Syria</span>.” We have shown, we think, that it is not a very
+difficult matter now-a-days to make a pilgrimage to the once
+distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a few
+weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation.
+Taken as a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious
+one, but looked at in a more serious light, it is a tour never
+to be forgotten, and affords food for reflection for the whole
+of an after lifetime. The Bible henceforth becomes a more
+and more interesting book as we learn better to understand it.
+We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more than
+the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod,
+sailed on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed
+up the mountain from which He ascended into Heaven. We
+journeyed alone with a dragoman without tents, putting up
+at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so saw the inner
+life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel luxuriously
+in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble
+or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist
+agents like Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be
+as perfect as possible. We hope in a future volume to give
+an account of our travels in Asia Minor to the sites of
+“<span class='sc'>The Seven Churches of Asia</span>.”</p>
+<hr class='c021' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div><span class="blackletter">Finis.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>
+  <h2 id='idx' class='c006'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><i>Index.</i></span></span></h2>
+</div>
+<ul class='index c003'>
+  <li class='c022'>Abana, or Barada, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abel’s Tomb and Abila, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abner and Asahel, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abraham, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Acis and Galatea, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Anti-Lebanon, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Arabi, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Arabian Nights, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Baal, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baalbec, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baalath, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baal-Gad, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Banias (Baalath), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Barak, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bedaween, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Beyrût (Berytus), <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bludàn, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cana of Galilee, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cain, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Calfolatry, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Capernaum, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Carmel, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cyprus, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Damascus, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a> to <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Dan, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Druses, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Eden, Garden of, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Elijah, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Esdraelon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Eve, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Fellaheen, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>General Gordon, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hermon, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hibberiyeh, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hiram of Tyre, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>Hunin (Beth-rehob), <a href='#Page_14'>14</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Jaffa, or Joppa, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Jordan, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Kenites and Kedes, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Land Tenure,  <a href='#Page_58'>58</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Mahometans, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Maronites, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Naaman the Syrian, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Naples, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Napoleon, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Noah, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Overland Route, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Palmyra, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Pharpar and Abana, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Phœnicians, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Rasheya, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Saracens and Saladin, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Safed, the City on a Hill, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Seth, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Sharon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Sisera, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Solomon, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>St. Paul, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Street called Straight, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Syracuse, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Taormina, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>The Transfiguration, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Tiberias, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), <a href='#Page_47'>47</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Wine Press, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Zahleh, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Zebedâni, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>
+</ul>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span><span class='large'>A CATALOGUE</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—OF—</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published</span></span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—AT THE—</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='large'>OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p class='c014'>THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, <span class='fss'>BY</span>
+<i>Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn, &amp;c.</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—<i>M de la Bruyère</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, and other PUBLIC PAPERS</span>      1710</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &amp;c.,
+<span class='fss'>BY</span> <i>Sir B. Whitlock</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, Vol. 7</span>; <span class='sc'>Venus and Adonis</span>; <span class='sc'>Tarquin and Lucrece</span>, <span class='sc'>and Miscellaneous Poems</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='fss'>THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON</span>, <i>Edited by M. St. Egrement</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE of SAVOY.</span></p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, to incite the English against the French</span>      1710</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>SENSUS COMMUNIS—<i>An Essay</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—<i>Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of <i>M. de Perrier</i>, Academician.</p>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class='tnbox'>
+
+ <ul class='ul_1 c003'>
+    <li>Transcriber’s Notes:
+      <ul  class='ul_2'>
+        <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
+        </li>
+        <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected.
+        </li>
+        <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant
+        form was found in this book.
+        </li>
+      </ul>
+    </li>
+  </ul>
+
+</div>
+<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60615 ***</div>
+  </body>
+  <!-- created with ppgen.py 3.57c on 2019-11-02 16:59:50 GMT -->
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and
+Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon
+
+Author: Edward Abram
+
+Release Date: November 2, 2019 [EBook #60615]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by MFR, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+             A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec,
+
+                       and Ascent of Mount Hermon
+
+
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.
+  by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.
+]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+                                   A
+
+                           RIDE THROUGH SYRIA
+
+                                 — TO —
+
+                         DAMASCUS AND BAALBEC,
+
+                                  AND
+
+                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+
+                             EDWARD ABRAM,
+
+                 Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”
+                   “The Seven Churches of Asia,” &c.
+
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+                          WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+
+                              Published by
+
+                             ABRAM & SONS,
+
+               AT THE OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,
+                                LONDON.
+                                   —
+                                 1887.
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             ABRAM & SONS,
+
+                               Printers,
+
+                          MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE,
+
+                              LONDON, E.C.
+
+
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             — CONTENTS. —
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I.
+
+                                                  Page
+
+                  JAFFA TO TIBERIAS                  3
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II.
+
+                  TIBERIAS TO HASBÊYA               10
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III.
+
+
+                  MOUNT HERMON AND THE DRUSES       19
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV.
+
+                  DAMASCUS                          27
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V.
+
+                  THE ANTI-LEBANON                  37
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI.
+
+                  BAALBEC AND THE BUKÂA             45
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII.
+
+                  BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE                52
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII.
+
+                  THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN        55
+
+                  —————————
+
+                  INDEX                             61
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                             ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+               MAP OF PALESTINE               Frontispiece
+
+                                                    Page
+
+               JOPPA, and House of Simon the           5
+                 Tanner
+
+               MOUNT CARMEL                            9
+
+               TIBERIAS                               26
+
+               DAMASCUS                               33
+
+               DAMASCUS                               35
+
+               BAALBEC—Great Stone and Quarry         42
+
+               DAMASCUS—Street called                 44
+                 “Straight”
+
+               BAALBEC—General View of Ruins          48
+
+               BEYRÛT and the Lebanon                 51
+
+               CYPRUS—Larnaca                         52
+
+               Cedars of Lebanon                      54
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          A RIDE
+
+               THROUGH
+
+                    SYRIA.
+
+
+
+
+                     CHAPTER I.—JAFFA TO TIBERIAS.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our enthusiasm for the
+East; we were not, as some travellers have been, disappointed with “The
+Holy Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient
+days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are broken and the waters
+run to waste, the walls of the vineyards are cast down, the very soil
+has disappeared from the once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses
+are covered with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in
+spite of all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an
+overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes to trace
+out on the spot the history of the oldest and most interesting people of
+the world.
+
+Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten track, _viâ_
+Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented route. Our objective
+points are the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon, sighting that mighty
+headland, “the excellency of Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of
+Elijah, and Baal, that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its _traditional_
+snow-clad summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the
+Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better than all the
+rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with its “straight street” and
+memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus, Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again
+to the reputed tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with
+its massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a short sketch
+of the tour we purpose describing in the following pages.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  JOPPA—_With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore._
+]
+
+Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the director, to
+obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from Marseilles to Port Said,
+so arrive in the Holy Land eight and a half days after leaving the
+Crusaders’ old haunt in London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail
+north of Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days pass
+by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find the pretty Chiaja
+much enlarged, planted, and generally improved, and are pleased to see
+the graceful palm trees in thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale,
+ever so interesting, we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to
+nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not, on
+well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent and a lady,
+very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a half-penny. But the sun
+is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb is already in the shade, the
+ship’s bell is summoning strangers to depart, and passengers to dress
+for dinner, so we must bid adieu to Naples and proceed again _en
+voyage_. Capri stands out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius
+is quiet, scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant
+form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to dinner. Early
+next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the Straits of Messina Ætna, but
+both are “still and silent as the grave,” in fact on the latter summit,
+if we mistake not, we see the dark black lava spotted with bright white
+snow. On the far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two
+days later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship
+ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour and
+arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by way of Palestine,
+but by a different route, in order that we may visit certain interesting
+districts which lay out of our line on our former visit.
+
+We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey across the plains
+of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth. This route, being very open to the
+attacks of predatory Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all
+but trackless paths over the vast plains being but little known even to
+the native.
+
+We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a looking man as ever
+cut a throat”) for a guard and guide; two other Arabs join us for
+company or safety’s sake. This force a small party of Bedouins would not
+care to face, and a large party would not attempt it, as they would be
+discovered by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow, so we pass
+the Bedouin camps without any interference.
+
+The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, _viâ_ Jerusalem, is reckoned three good
+days; but by our new route we only take two, and pushing briskly forward
+run it in about eighteen hours—hard work rather to begin with, and the
+Sirocco blowing hot and dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We
+vary the monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several
+little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride us down;
+but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old Shikarri (muleteer),
+whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an Assyrian type that he seemed to
+have started out from the has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But _á route_ we
+ride across the Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with
+villages and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly mediæval
+or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard Cœur-de-Lion gained a
+great victory over Saladin.
+
+We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably once a fortified
+town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt for the night at a
+Mahommedan village called Baka, which probably now for the first time
+receives a European guest (as even my guides had not been there before):
+the sun being already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of
+mud on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in
+massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see on the way had
+been similarly well cared for in ancient times, but are now fast falling
+into decay. We will give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place
+a honeycomb with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of the
+cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to represent small
+stable yards for all the domestic animals in creation, camels included,
+and you have an Arab village of one-storeyed huts, scarcely
+distinguishable at a distance from the hillside on which it is
+plastered. The Sheiks’ houses have an additional storey, a guest-chamber
+built on the wall. One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the
+place and quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an
+advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which abound in
+Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers sleep in the open yard
+with the horses, and leave their weapons with us for safe custody, so
+for the time I am the _custos custodum_, but our quarters are
+inviolable, as for the nonce we are the guests of the village. A few
+crossed sticks in the corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a
+fire-place.
+
+We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of Manasseh,
+which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty glance at El Mahrakah,
+or the Rock of Sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal,
+and enter the vast plain of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or
+lower sources of Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be
+remembered Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of Jabin,
+King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the tents of Heber the
+Kenite and was treacherously murdered there by Jael. The Kenites’ home
+was at Kedes, three days’ journey off in the mountains. It is not
+probable that Sisera could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable
+that Heber was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,
+and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not far off.
+At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he received from Jehu, and
+near this spot, in modern times, Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish
+levies a defeat somewhat similar to that which Barak inflicted on
+Sisera, but Sir Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his
+victory of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.
+
+After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some hours, crossing
+it in almost a direct line, we leave the level ground again, and
+ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee, mount up to Nazareth
+(described in our “Ride through Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the
+Latin Monastery, finding in residence the same good Father, quite
+pleased at seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor
+twice. Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the
+fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have drunk, and
+soon _on our left_ see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the reputed birth-place of
+Jonah, and _on our right_, the battle-field where the Crusaders gained
+their last victory over the Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun,
+(the horns of Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under
+Guy of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat, their
+power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by Saladin. In the
+meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of
+Josephus, and ridden through Kefr Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a
+previous visit, we were shown the miraculous waterpots which must have
+been very fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.
+This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours, and at one
+place where the path is very narrow, we think that we shall have to
+fight our way through. About six wild Moabite Bedouins, from the other
+side of Jordan, had planted themselves each side of the narrow way on a
+slight eminence, completely commanding us; we determine to pass through
+in Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that we
+cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps, were peaceably
+disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country to be cautious: anyhow,
+they do not molest us. They were all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat
+by the sun, and were without water, which we were unable to give them,
+not having any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the
+march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want of water in
+the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness, distress, and death, so
+graphically described in the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael.
+
+After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we halt for
+tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in 1799 the French,
+under Junot, held their own against a vastly superior army of Turks, and
+succeeded in reaching Tabor just in time to fall on the rear of the
+force then pressing hard upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after,
+we catch a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one
+time, in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden
+setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the God of day,
+like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We put up at the Latin
+Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where we are entertained by the Father
+Superior hospitably as we were on a former occasion. Before leaving
+Tiberias, we trot along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and
+old Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.
+
+The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the hills above the
+town.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Mount Carmel._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                    CHAPTER II.—TIBERIAS TO HÂSBEYÂ.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+TIBERIAS was our last halting place. After a grateful dip in the buoyant
+lake waters we leave early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited
+place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be hid,”
+for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide, but the term
+‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply to Bethlehem, the “city
+of our Lord.” In the distance the snow-white houses of Safed glisten on
+the dark mountain side like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty
+giant. Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the shore of
+the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach Medjil, or Magdala,
+the home of the Magdalene, now a collection of wretched mud hovels, then
+across the fertile but neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of
+which we see a fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre
+of a great city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown
+with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other trace of a town
+near. We pause awhile to think of those great cities which in our
+Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake, and see how thoroughly
+their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre still exists as a place to dry nets
+on, and Sidon as a habitation for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum,
+the two Bethsaidas and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their
+very sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans once
+fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only three wretched
+fishing boats, in one of which we take a voyage. They were “exalted to
+heaven,” they are indeed “brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of
+these formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along
+sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,
+Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain near by was in the
+middle ages known as Mensa, alluding perhaps to the place where our
+Saviour made a table for the multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at
+Ain-et-Tabighah, a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site
+of Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt the
+Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find ourselves high up
+in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed; we ascend the hill behind the
+city to the ruins of the old Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of
+the finest views of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of
+Galilee, across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian
+Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of Moab and
+Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on the south and
+south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on the west the sea-coast—on the
+north the view is bounded by the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a
+Moslem house for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s
+rent; we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper room, as
+usual without any kind of furniture or glass window, and the floor a mud
+one, but the view from it is magnificent. The Jews cook for us, but are
+so fanatical that they will not taste the food they themselves have
+prepared for us. Our bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but
+better however than we have in many other places; we soon learn the way
+of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will permit,
+sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than many do on down beds.
+My dragoman shares my apartment, the others sleep outside in the open.
+It is 5 a.m. when the Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants
+out the first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal
+Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are in the
+saddle.
+
+SAFED Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews, is built
+on terraces one above the other on the side of the mountain, so that the
+flat roofs of one terrace serve very well as promenades for the houses
+immediately above, also affording extra facilities for cats and pariah
+dogs, jackals, &c., to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we
+travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of the plain
+where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron chariots against Joshua;
+of the waters of Merom (Lake Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the
+Jordan, with herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high
+rushes. On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the
+Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian atrocities;
+then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast size, evidently made
+for some other purpose than to supply a few sheep here in the
+wilderness.
+
+DESHUN, an African colony sent from Algeria when the French conquered
+that country, is next reached; the people seem to be industrious and
+prosperous. We observe that their houses are detached and have sloping
+roofs, seldom seen in this country except in European settlements, and
+altogether they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around
+them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings we hear of in
+Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin, which was probably the
+hereditary title of their kings, as Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre,
+Pharaoh of Egypt, &c. After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin
+in the olive grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of
+refuge, and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of Heber
+the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites. There are
+great masses of débris and ruins here, and some fine single and double
+sarcophagi lying about. The Turkish people are excavating huge trenches
+and digging out large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however,
+with any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once utilised to
+erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We acquire a very ancient lamp
+for about three half-pence. Our zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does
+not understand; he will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo)
+than repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin, he
+says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves it to decay.
+
+LAKE HULEH (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount Hermon, is between
+four and five miles long and about four miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the
+tomb of Joshua, looks down upon it. The views all along the shores
+(where the hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the
+vista of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially Hermon, are
+very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground to cover before sundown,
+try a short cut into the valley without going by Hunin, the usual way.
+We hear of a path from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it.
+It is not known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that
+it should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one of
+our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great grief, both
+to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly finds himself, with
+a frightened horse in front slipping, falling, and struggling, wedged in
+a track so narrow and precipitous that it is difficult to find room to
+dismount; once off, we do not remount until we reach the plain, and no
+greater damage is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost
+as good for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we
+managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could find one, being
+little better than a goat track, we have some trouble to get the horses
+to face the steep descents. It saves however some hours of time, and is
+of immense service to us, as otherwise we should have been benighted in
+the difficult, dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the
+Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost tropical
+country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset, a bad time to
+enter any Eastern town, and then have to look for a lodging. But to go
+back a little, we get down into the Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at
+the tents of the Ghawarineh Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character,
+and says they attacked him, but they give us water and behave civilly.
+However we should not trust them too far, nor after dark. We are so glad
+to get down to level ground, so severe is the descent, that we think
+little of any danger from the wild denizens we drop down on. The scene
+here is remarkable, the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of
+buffaloes roaming among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the
+almost naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat, make us
+imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark continent. Our advice
+to travellers going from Safed by Kedes to Banias, is to make a two
+day’s trip of it, and not one as we did, and then to keep up on the
+mountain, and descend by Hunin to the plain.
+
+HUNIN, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua, the limit of
+the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may be said to begin on
+the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now cross the Hasbâny, the most
+northerly source of the Jordan, by an old ruined Roman bridge,
+Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my men dismount again, but I have more confidence
+in my horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and the
+surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and boulders
+safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman, and now after
+another rough ride for about three miles over stones and swamps, at
+length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the (fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan,
+which in the Hebrew also signifies Judge.
+
+DAN, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit of the
+promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern. Its Canaanitish name
+was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon, and dated back to the days of
+Abraham. The Danites took it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were
+a peaceable people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.
+It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the Phœnicians, who
+called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as later on with Jeroboam, whose
+Calf was a venerated idol with the local heathen of that day, as it is
+still curiously with the native ignorant Druse peasants at the present
+day. When cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of a Calf,”
+as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not necessarily take his idea
+from the golden calf of Mosaic times, but may have simply adopted the
+indigenous idolatry; yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from
+Egypt, as Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite
+trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being on the
+road to Damascus, which was the objective point of every invader,
+whether warrior or merchant.
+
+DAN is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet high, visible
+for a long distance over the low plain; here, under a fine oak tree,
+near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another most copious source of the
+Jordan, forming a large stream immediately it springs from the ground,
+said to be the largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a
+good flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little Jordan,
+and is considered by many the chief source, but it is not the most
+northerly. We get a grand view here of the great Jordan Valley, looking
+down upon a sea of waving corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as
+far as the eye can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded
+country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old Phœnician
+worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the site of ancient Cæsarea
+Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip the Tetrarch, in honour of
+Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen Philippi being added by the same gentleman
+in honour of himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast
+near Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but in
+later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it took from the
+Temple of Pan then there), and that was easily corrupted to its present
+name Banias. It was once at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).
+
+BANIAS is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the direct road
+to Damascus, which we do not intend to take, preferring to go two days
+longer journey round to visit the less frequented parts of Syria. We are
+received into a Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber
+allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of the house
+to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in this establishment,
+except by the mother, who after a while thinks it proper to drape up the
+lower part of her face which somewhat improves her appearance. The
+accommodation is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an
+Oriental scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed
+flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members of the various
+families sleeping al fresco. Some more fastidious or important
+personages rig themselves up a leafy bower on four supports about three
+or four feet from the roof—a cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little
+tents such as might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast
+of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the paneless
+windows during the night in search of our saddle bags, but a heavy boot
+well shot at an Oriental cat helps him out quite as quickly as it would
+one of our own domestic favourites. One time, however it misses the mark
+and alights on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye, that
+Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture of Jerusalem, and
+many thousand prisoners perished in the “Sports.”
+
+Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old gate, the
+grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and the Banias fountains
+of the Jordan. The rocks just above the latter are sculptured with
+shrines and niches in which statues once stood; there are also Greek
+inscriptions which are not very legible.
+
+We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding over a slope of
+Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole country including Palestine is
+often described as Syria, and was all under one Pashalic so called until
+lately—Palestine originally included only the country of the
+Philistines. We breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian
+village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery, which it
+supplies to the whole of the northern part of Palestine and Syria, as
+far as Damascus. It is refreshing to come across an industrious
+manufacturing population, so rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh
+in the south, where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient
+Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil, and exported
+as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under Mount Carmel) are
+cultivating this industry also, and turn out a much finer article, which
+finds a sale in America, but has not yet made a market in Palestine,
+which prefers its native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend
+the mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before by our
+guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our horses to
+Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western gorges of Hermon:
+here we visit a very ancient well-preserved temple built of Phœnician
+bevelled stones principally, but curiously with pilasters and columns
+having Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as it
+faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered by the Greeks to
+accommodate one of their own deities. The valley is remarkably a Valley
+of Rocks; some isolated ones seem to have been formerly sculptured to
+imitate the human form divine. The ascent up the other side of the
+valley we find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our
+horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for the
+night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to Damascus is that
+through the wilderness of Damascus by which St. Paul travelled; but the
+most beautiful road is that we select, which leads round the slopes of
+Hermon.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                 CHAPTER III.—HASBÊYA TO MOUNT HERMON.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+HASBÊYA is a small town beautifully situated some 2,000 feet above the
+sea, on the western side of Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well
+cultivated and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems, all
+very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely, and not, as far
+as the Christians are concerned, without cause, for here they were
+treacherously massacred by the Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into
+the Konak, or Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence
+of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the Druses
+being admitted men women and children were massacred without mercy. The
+French army of the Lebanon avenged these cowardly murders partially, and
+but for the milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,
+would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse scoundrels from their
+just fate then, and consequently they are quite ready to repeat the
+crime now. This our rulers would do well to remember that maudlin
+sentimentality is often another name for weakness and not true mercy
+which is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do not
+practice and do not understand undeserved clemency. The Christians in
+the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too lenient policy, and are
+periodically in a panic about their ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem
+feeling too is often inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that
+the five kings of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to
+depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical purposes often
+revived. This rumour was one of the causes which led to the rebellion of
+Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi had not been crushed, there would probably have
+been a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman Caliphate and
+European interference—and it may come yet. The Ottomans are no longer a
+nation—they are quite effete—but the Arabs are as vigorous a race as
+they were in the days of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and
+the Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to endure for
+ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous world, everlasting
+monuments of the truth of the Bible story.
+
+HASBÊYA is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad of the Bible,
+but others identify the latter with Baalbec. We will not attempt to
+decide that on which many doctors differ. We lodge in one of the best
+houses at the head of the valley, near the Konak. A sort of stretcher,
+much resembling an oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to
+sleep on. Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a
+number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of the “forty
+thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated two. We find them to be
+mostly full of new wine, which is rather too rich and luscious to take
+much of. Just as the day is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room
+and makes for one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are
+forcibly reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.” Next
+day, after about three hours toiling over mountain paths, we pass the
+mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is the source of the Hasbâny, the
+highest and most northerly source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan
+branches of which it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake
+Huleh, after running almost parallel with them for some distance. We
+crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge on our way from
+Kadesh to Dan and Banias.
+
+
+                              THE DRUSES.
+
+THE DRUSES make the Hasbâny Valley their religious centre, as their
+prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been born there. Their religious
+books having been lost (or rather stolen by the Egyptians), their
+religion, which is of more recent origin than Mahometanism, is
+traditional only, and it is difficult to say what it really is, but it
+seems to have been founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It
+consists of several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian pretty
+equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with whom they often
+associate for the purpose of plunder, but they would murder either
+without compunction. At the same time, with an appreciable regard to
+expediency, their religion allows them to live under whatever creed is
+supreme. They have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers
+from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they hold
+practically independent of any Government whatever, although nominally
+subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are distinguished by white turbans.
+Lebanon being now a separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a
+native Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to occupy
+that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon they are
+more formidable. When a fanatical Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as
+was done by our muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of
+the calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was only a
+day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques or temples, but
+worship in a room outside a village, and only the higher initiated
+members are admitted to the whole performance or allowed to learn what
+is known of their sacred records, which are imparted by oral instruction
+only, and never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted with
+all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher degrees no man
+under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we think, never. The most sacred
+shrine of the Druses is a secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there
+only the most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six
+hours brings us to Rashêya.
+
+RASHÊYA, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely and
+healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I have never been
+mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a European being quite a _rara
+avis_. Men women and children cluster round me, and even crowd into my
+little room to stare at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by
+either curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a
+medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch them; but
+unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the younger women, having
+confidence in their good appearance, beg of me to draw their portraits,
+but my first sketch soon puts the other fair candidates to flight. Two
+or three enterprising young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat
+me to take them back with me to England and make them members of my
+family. I have to explain to them that the social system of the West
+does not allow of any such extensive adoption as that of the East. We
+have often been asked by mothers to take their children and bring them
+up as Feringhees, but think that in most cases this is done to frighten
+the children. The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but
+have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is seldom seen
+in the East), the hands especially with stripes looking like the seams
+of gloves. We have, as usual, the floor only to sit and sleep on. We are
+beginning to be quite clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that
+we think chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya
+Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the castle by the
+Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the Maronite Druses, who massacred
+man, woman and child.
+
+MOUNT HERMON, we believe, has not been ascended to the summit by any
+Englishman for some years. It is called by the Arabs the Snowy Mountain:
+misled probably by this the text books on the subject boldly assert that
+its summit is perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case,
+nor is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite
+side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some two months at
+least, and although we find it cold there is not a trace of snow
+anywhere. The bare white limestone sides of mountains are often mistaken
+at a distance for snow, but few travellers ever attain the summit, and
+hence the perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.
+
+
+                        ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.
+
+HERMON, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the three peaks rising
+abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower ridges, has an apparent
+altitude much greater than many higher mountains. The grandeur of the
+Matterhorn, for instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished
+by the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the Breithorn
+(which latter we ascended a few years since, so can judge from
+experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among giants, a king of kings;
+but Hermon stands alone in its glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst
+minnows, and owes its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000
+feet, but to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same
+may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely dignify
+with the name of a mountain at all.
+
+HERMON, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the Amorites, is
+called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the Monarch of Mountains; it was
+once encircled by shrines to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great
+central temple on the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of
+these remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we have already
+described.
+
+BAAL, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first to the
+greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the day. We hear of it as
+Bel applied to Nimrod; and we trace it in many other names, such as Bel
+Shazzar, which means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we
+suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the Israelites
+probably called their golden calf Baal. After the Greek conquest, Baal
+and the other Gods were very much mixed up, and the Romans later on, to
+appease the conquered Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and
+their Venus with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note
+here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in the Bel tane
+(Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated on May-day
+morning. Our actual ascent of the mountain is without much interest,
+except that on the way we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn
+out of the solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not
+until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark cloud, and
+over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific thunderstorm, the thunder
+reverberating grandly among the mountains. A continuous bombardment by
+the biggest guns ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’
+rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks through the
+black firmament above, and we set out briskly, and in about four hours
+scramble up to the southern—the highest peak—where we find extensive and
+massive remains of two temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in
+which we tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand
+panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high peaks near
+to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the summit, which is some
+5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a fine sight of the coast from Carmel
+to Tyre, but on the summit, the greater part of Palestine and Syria are
+opened out as a map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north,
+the ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of Damascus,
+bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana and Pharpar, is in the
+extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &c.,
+nestle beneath on the near south-east; further south the broad waters of
+Merom, and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day sun,
+and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the Mountains of Moab
+bound the distant horizon; on the south, Mount Tabor raises its
+beautifully wooded crest over Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the
+plains of Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the coast,
+Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view only a short time, as a
+blinding hailstorm comes down and causes us to beat a very precipitate
+retreat; but as the black thunder clouds gather above and beneath us,
+and the sun at intervals shines through and upon them, the _mélange_ of
+earth and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the
+extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold, here and there
+mellowed with the most delicate tinges of purple green and orange, form
+an effect, which if fixed on the canvas, would be called an impossible
+picture, and we could now well understand and feel that enthusiastic
+praise so often in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon
+which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither difficult nor
+dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but extremely laborious,
+being a steady steep and continuous scramble over loose stones, on which
+it is difficult to retain a footing; there is no defined path to the
+summit, and it should not be attempted without a _local_ guide, as the
+clouds gather round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow
+may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little chance for
+any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is thought by some to have
+been the scene of the transfiguration as Banias, where our Saviour
+started from, is near by. On our way up we try to track a bear, but
+fortunately fail to find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we
+probably should not have written this account.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Tiberias._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                         CHAPTER IV.—DAMASCUS.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+RASHEYA is again our resting place after our descent from Hermon, and
+next morning we make an early start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we
+arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a mountain ride
+of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair, where again, on a
+small elevated plateau, we see extensive and massive remains of ancient
+temples with fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach
+the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in Syria, over
+this the French have a monopoly of wheeled traffic and transport for
+nearly 99 years, riding horses pass free, but all pack animals and
+caravans have to pay, which however the native caravans evade by still
+using the old track up and down the mountains which runs almost
+parallel. The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last
+three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and sheltered
+from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the dreary desert of Sahira,
+through which we have to ride some two hours to reach it. We may here
+remark that Sahira in the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and
+anyone who has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind
+making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in the lips
+and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell must be a most
+uncomfortably hot place, life being in the burning desert a burden
+almost unbearable. The first sight of Damascus, unlike that of
+Jerusalem, realises all we have heard of it, it is indeed magnificently
+situated in the midst of an extensive plain, intersected in all
+directions by the rills of the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander
+through and round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the
+meadow lakes beyond.
+
+We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone on a chair by
+the river side enjoying otium _sine_ dignitate; his guards at a distance
+standing by their horses ready to look after him, if necessary. He
+politely returns our passing salute in true Parisian style. Like all
+other Turkish Pashas he will have to make hay while the sun shines and
+be sharp about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful memory)
+did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may be a similarly short
+summer. It costs money to be a Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be
+first found for the Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the
+appointment is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his
+government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh out of the
+higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the public, who are
+fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind here, is continually
+looking out for the dollars. But to return to Damascus. The plain in
+which it is situated is surrounded on three sides by mountains, Lebanon,
+Anti-Lebanon and Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert,
+in the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the ancient
+Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the Syrians. Well might the
+Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant plain, after six days dreary riding
+across the desert, when he came across this city embosomed in beautiful
+gardens and orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in
+all directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the
+houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon the
+Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at Demetri’s, the only
+Frank hotel, and are glad again to see some signs of western
+civilisation.
+
+My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country by little
+known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the Europeans, who wish
+to know if I am travelling under diplomatic orders; a negative answer to
+such a question is not, of course, worth much. The Turkish police give
+vent to their curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining
+my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life, &c., &c.
+Things are rather strained here. The attitude of the allied Powers to
+Turkey makes this fanatical people never well disposed to Christians,
+now still less so, and to make matters worse, Arab placards have been
+posted here and at Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to
+revolt against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest the
+Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent conquerors, the Osmanli
+usurpers of the Khalifate, who monopolise all place and power, using
+them only to oppress the people, whose language they do not even
+understand, and whose lives, liberties, and properties they either
+cannot or do not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing
+on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their doom. This
+movement has since developed into an organised Arab League, following
+the example of the Albanians. An Armenian League probably is not far
+behind. The collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of
+time. They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does not
+seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear out of
+Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere long be like Egypt,
+semi-independent vice-royalties under European protection, or they will
+become Russian and French appanages. The Turkish Government have
+authorised their postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open
+letters at their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to
+the Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives in a
+hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment. What a pity that
+our Government does not buy itself a consular residence in such an
+important post as this? It is so undignified for an English Consul to
+have to turn out at the bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in
+the extreme to have to move all the archives every few years; and in
+case of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we might find
+it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul at all. In one of
+the squares we see a crowd and several soldiers looking at the dead body
+of an Arab. This poor fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of
+camels, some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of
+Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to his post; they
+of course soon killed him and cleared off with the camels. This is the
+security for life and property which Turkey provides for its subjects in
+the neighbourhood of a great city. We will now take a stroll through
+this thoroughly Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet
+more than in any other city in the world, more so even than in Tanjiers
+and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed suits, black-coated
+Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty bornous, Druses with white
+turbans and blood-stained hands, Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox
+Moslems in flowing robes and showy green turbans, Circassians with
+breast full of cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough
+sheep skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod
+veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed Parisian
+dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of the East, jostling
+each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars. Camels also, and mules, horses
+and donkeys, with perhaps a drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far
+steppes of Turkestan, press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take
+care, take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no respecter
+of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over you go if you do not
+get out of his way, unless by a vigorous shove you send him over, just
+as in self-defence we were obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back,
+legs up in the air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.
+
+METROPOLIS did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so called, for is
+it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living city in the world?
+(not even excepting Hebron), for here Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived;
+these streets the patriarch himself must often have traversed as a
+trader in flocks and herds, and through these lanes, once at all events,
+he drove the Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near
+here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian captors. It
+was conquered by David after a protracted struggle, but recovered its
+independence in the reign of Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the
+Assyrians. Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded
+probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah. Damascus
+has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from its unique position,
+probably never will. The prey of every ambitious conqueror, it has seen
+the rise and survived the fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian,
+Greek, Roman, Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the
+garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has out-lived all its
+rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and Tarsus survive only as
+uninteresting towns, Babylon, Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but
+Damascus is still the “Head of Syria” as it was in the days of
+Abraham—Damascus a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,
+bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always been and
+must for ever remain the mother city of the world.
+
+To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath in the waters
+of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name Barada indicates, remarkably
+cool and pleasant. Having tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s
+opinion, that the bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the
+midst of the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;
+certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a Mahommedan
+one, where the process of destruction is carried on by man and that of
+re-construction or re-placement left to “Allah.” We also see another
+tree in the horse market close by, used as a gallows, but public
+executions are very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly
+sensitive—he does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home
+if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem being
+publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the great mosque; in
+its courtyard are the remains of a small ancient temple to the sun—it
+was once a Roman temple, then a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient
+times probably the site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the
+knee to Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it easier to
+enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, and the
+grand mosque at Cairo, than this, the people being so fanatical. St.
+Sophia, in fact, we got into by only paying a few francs to the
+door-keeper, but here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the
+tomb of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very sacred,
+cannot view the interior. We now come to the street called “Straight,”
+above a mile long, running through the city east to west, and on our way
+we call at the traditional house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church;
+then just outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman, now
+appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part of the wall from
+which it is said St. Paul was let down in a basket at the time when
+Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia, was King. Aretas was the name of
+the dynasty, like, Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia,
+&c. The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just outside
+the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have been the light
+before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled. A walled up gate is also
+shewn as that by which St. Paul entered the city.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Damascus._
+]
+
+THE BAZAARS are very interesting, here is to be found merchandise
+collected by caravans from all corners of the earth; Merchants from
+Manchester, Paris, Vienna, Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia,
+Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its
+exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather and metal
+work; the population is principally Moslem. We of course pay a visit to
+old Abu Antika (father of antiquities), and possess ourselves of a
+Damascus blade. A friend of ours, an artist, was about to give 100
+francs for one at Cairo, we asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it
+“warranted best steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it
+was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer induced him to hastily
+put away the Damascus blade and my friend put his 100 francs back into
+his pocket. Tricks are sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old
+Abu Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money on
+spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could not interfere,
+but she introduced herself to us later on and was a very pleasant and
+intelligent fellow traveller. The houses of the rich Damascenes are very
+handsomely fitted up; on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a
+great open courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants
+all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at one end, is
+fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as a public reception room.
+On each side of the court is a large room, one used as a Summer and the
+other as a Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are
+magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The sleeping rooms are
+on the first floor and are entered from a verandah above. Running water
+from the Abana flows through all the best houses. The public buildings
+and barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good for a
+Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is interesting,
+but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader, who so long kept the
+French at bay in North Africa, lived in Damascus, and had a quarter
+allotted to him and his Algerian fellow exiles. Damascus is not the
+dirty city it once was. Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that
+respect, and also in other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus
+in ruins and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the
+fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This is a much
+shorter and more economical way (to the government) of making street
+improvements than that we have in England, but as no notice of the
+contemplated improvement is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the
+inhabitants. Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of
+the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _Damascus._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                      CHAPTER V.—THE ANTI-LEBANON.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+DAMASCUS must now be left behind, adieu, we wish we could say _au
+revoir_ to its lovely lanes and pleasant orchards, its curious motley
+crowded bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its grand
+associations with all time—for did not through Damascus pass those
+archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the four quarters of the
+globe? Shem probably here said goodbye to Ham on his way to Africa, and
+both bade God-speed to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north;
+and Noah himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones as
+near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb, and that of
+Adam, Abel and Seth, _cum multis aliis_ near here even to this day?
+Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of Demetri, an oasis in the desert
+of barbarism we pass through. We follow back the diligence road a few
+miles as far as Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec,
+_viâ_ Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get a
+zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of Sahrâ. We see
+on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon enter the upper part of the
+Abana watershed, which might well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this
+part of the world where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass
+several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous appearance, the
+women looking better and healthier than any we have yet seen. We now
+enter the narrow gorge of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and
+soon after about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh (one
+of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river which
+springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as at once to form a
+large stream, which, although not broad, is very deep. It must be, we
+should think, the shortest river in the world. Over these springs,
+half-hidden by the beautiful foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise
+the massive remains of two temples, one across the stream, one in it,
+all around is a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a
+good place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and orange,
+mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most lovely little
+stream, and where its crystal current mixes with the turbid Barada,
+there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more beautiful even than the
+“_Moore_” famed meeting of the Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once
+picturesque Vale of Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the
+spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak, are found
+forming little forests wherever a rill of living water can force its
+way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and Roman times were only, and
+they could easily be, reformed, the whole land would again laugh and
+sing, and paradises as of old, would replace the present deserts. God
+made the land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses, has
+turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey, following the
+course of the Barada for some two hours, having a succession of pretty
+woodland views until we come to Sûk Wady Barada, supposed to be the site
+of the ancient Abila, the chief town of the district of Abilene, of
+which (according to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of
+Tiberius Cæsar.
+
+ABILA is said to derive it name from Abel, who according to tradition
+was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging height (Neby Hâbyl) is
+pointed out as Abel’s tomb. This first murder, according to tradition
+was avenged by Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from
+Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the prophets of
+Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the Barada gorge, where the
+river descending in small cataracts is spanned by a very tumbledown
+bridge, attributed by some writers to Zenobia, but more probably the
+work of the Roman engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the
+_corniche_ roads.
+
+In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut tombs,
+tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and the remains of a
+high-level mountain road, works well worthy the finest engineering of
+the West. Here by the stream, near a murmuring waterfall we spread our
+carpet for tiffin, the lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying
+waters, the greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this
+season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful resting
+place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine waterfalls and ruined
+bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt grass plain of Zebedâni, one
+of the most fertile in the land, well watered and well cultivated; then,
+after passing some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like
+lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place between Damascus
+and Baalbec. The population is chiefly Moslem, but there are many
+Maronites also. We lodge with the chief priest. We may here remark that
+the Maronites are a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge
+the Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called orthodox
+Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their own patriarch and do
+not carry out the Roman ritual. They might almost equally well
+acknowledge the Archbishop of Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite
+women are distinguished by a black band on the forehead.
+
+ZEBEDÂNI is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most luxurious
+vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains. It boasts a small
+Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built closely together, only one or two
+having a first floor; most have a small courtyard, into which the goats
+and cattle are driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are
+used much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty
+ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep in the open
+on the roof; and when in the early morning sleeper after sleeper raised
+his or her head from beneath the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and
+tried to escape from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme.
+All turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are as a rule
+early risers. The room we have is clean, contains the usual curtained
+recesses in the walls for cupboards, and a wooden ledge round top of
+room for stores, and, what is the only piece of furniture ever seen in
+these parts, a large damasceened chest for the valuables of the
+household. The mural decorations consist of English willow pattern
+plates cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement on hanging
+them up by wires, as they are not liable to be broken by domestic
+dusting. We have seen the outside as well as the inside of dwellings
+decorated in this manner, and our Western sisters are long forestalled
+in this kind of mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East.
+Our worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by Druses, and
+we try to reassure him by saying that times are changed since 1860, and
+that there is not any occasion to fear; but we should not like to back
+this opinion too heavily, for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and
+Druses are as bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon
+after writing above there was a collision between Moslems and Christians
+at Beyrût, and several of the latter were massacred. There was also an
+attack on Christians in the Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently
+said to me what FROUDE said in September, 1880, in his admirable article
+on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost ceased to exist, and that
+every one had to look after his own immediate interest,” and in the case
+of a collapse of Turkish rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from
+the desert like locusts, murder all round, and in all probability
+permanently occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at
+daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the rising
+sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this gilding of the
+hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in language, far too bright to
+be pictured in painting, is the grand _mise-en-scène_ of black and gold
+set in silver frame produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with
+the disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many former
+occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000 feet high in the
+Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw the Italian mountains literally
+bathed in the brightest gold as the sun climbed up to the summits of the
+highest peaks and crept down the opposite sides into the valley.
+
+At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of seeing the Syrian
+sheep, remarkable for their tremendous tails, and watch the women
+stuffing the vine leaves down the sleepy animals’ throats, for the
+purpose of creating the enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the
+tail and is used to fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which,
+with a salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into
+one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our German
+friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is added in times of
+plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of Zebedâni behind, and passing
+under Bludàn, the summer residence of the European Consuls, arrive at
+the upper source of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon,
+the streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and towards the
+Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first fountain on the northern slope
+is that of Eve, in whose transparent waters the mother of all was,
+according to poetical tradition, admiring herself when her future lord
+and master (as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her.
+We infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was by no
+means a small one, and must have included all Syria Mesopotamia,
+Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the world. As we are soon
+leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may observe that this mountain range extends
+from Banias, at the head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the
+Bukâa, in which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of it,
+but on account of its almost isolated position, is often considered to
+be as a mountain in business for itself. On our way we cross two Roman
+bridges, now on their last legs, but they have done well to have lasted
+1800 years.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BAALBEC—_The Great Stone in the Quarry_.
+]
+
+Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient wine presses,
+hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000 perhaps 3,000 years
+back; they enable one to understand what building a wine press meant,
+and what a terrible loss and disappointment it would be to the builder,
+if, when he “looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus
+hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep out the
+“little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great trouble and many
+years before they form that impenetrable barrier through which even the
+wild boar cannot break his way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for
+lunch in the Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross
+by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our journey leave
+on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of Seth. Ham is said to be
+buried a little further east. A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts
+upon our view, separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or
+valley of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the village
+of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel, and soon come in
+sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens and grand Acropolis of Baalbec,
+the great ancient shrine of Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of
+the Sun of the Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,
+of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great caravan road
+from Tyre to India, which we may mention was the original overland
+route, and if history repeats itself will be so again. What shorter
+route to India can there be than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth
+through the canal now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,
+and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of Cilicia, _viâ_
+the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and Afghanistan, to
+India—there are no difficulties which modern engineers could not
+overcome. But perhaps we are waiting for the French or Germans to show
+the way.[1] Before entering the town we visit the ancient quarries out
+of which were hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very
+ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies there already
+hewn but not quite separated from the quarry, it is about 70 feet long,
+14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing some 10,000 tons; other large stones
+are seen lying about partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished
+in the workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader who made
+the busy mason so suddenly throw away the gavel to seize the sword will
+now never be known. We put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and
+find it fairly comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late
+in the evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with two
+Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only converse in the
+primitive language of signs—the result being that when next morning they
+want to see the ruins, they are taken from them, to a hill some miles
+off, where they see them—from a distance—a fine effect probably, but not
+what was wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer
+inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone through it all
+ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic descriptions. Their guides,
+if not useful as Cicerones, were we must admit extremely picturesque and
+pleasant barbarians. The younger lady has we believe by this time
+immortalized them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme
+effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the Temple
+from which the _coup d’oeil_ was magnificent.
+
+Footnote 1:
+
+  Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a
+  firman to make a railway from Ismid to Bagdad.
+
+Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of having a
+guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way to Beyrût we meet a
+man and his horse at cross purposes, endeavouring in vain to find out
+the reason from his Arab guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you
+and your horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the
+traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not understand
+my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is a brute.” “Not so, my
+friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding him with an Arab bridle in English
+fashion.” He was, in fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for
+he was torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he had
+been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately replied, “Tu
+quoque _brute_.” The Arab bit is in the shape of a gridiron (minus
+interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat broad end of it, in which the
+lower jaw of the animal is placed the handle of the gridiron is in the
+mouth, and by a pull of the reins is forced up into the roof of the
+mouth, causing considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and
+the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck when
+wishing to go to the right, and _vice versâ_. Pulling the rein English
+fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal. We explain the process
+and leave the man and his beast better friends; they now understand each
+other. (How many of us would also like each other better if we were less
+impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and rider now go
+on their way as reconciled to one another as Balaam to the ass after the
+departure of the Angel.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _A Street called “Straight,” Damascus._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                          CHAPTER VI.—BAALBEC.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+BAALBEC, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is situated about
+forty-five miles north of Damascus but slightly to the west, on the
+lowest slope of Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.
+The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec within
+one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down the Bukâa or
+Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon and Beyrût. The Orontes,
+El Asi or rebellious river, so called because it changes its course in a
+remarkable manner, flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch.
+Baalbec is the point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût
+and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient importance, and
+it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram or Upper Syria where Terah
+lived, whence Abram emigrated and whither Jacob went to seek a wife
+among the daughters of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and
+subsequently his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships;
+even more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American who
+married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to despair, insanity and
+death, because he never could make out what relation he was to himself.
+
+The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two and three miles
+in circumference. Some learned writers attribute its foundation to
+Solomon, arguing that the colossal stones used in the substructure, of
+which we will speak more in detail hereafter, are similar in size and
+bevel to those in the temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it
+with Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have built
+at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be Palmyra), in the
+wilderness. Now it must be noted that Solomon lost Damascus to the
+Syrians, which David his father had taken from them. It is not likely
+that having so lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and
+built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it, neither would he
+if he dominated the cedar country have troubled Hiram to send him cedars
+for the Temple. We may also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are
+described as being built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in
+the land, _i.e._, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities
+undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &c. Baalaath is more likely
+to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city of palms, there are
+plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in Palestine without locating
+Tadmor in the great Syrian desert, then held by the hostile kings of
+Syria; and further, we are informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of
+Phœnician Tyre, certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon
+could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to give,
+Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of operations, but
+equally conveniently situated for Hiram and much more acceptable to him.
+Baalbec was probably a Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram,
+who however might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones
+to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact that
+Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to prepare the Temple
+materials, the woodwork of which was undoubtedly, and the stonework
+perhaps too, obtained from the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and
+floated down along the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit
+the celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only
+approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those on the
+Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the village a beautiful
+little Temple of Venus, called by the natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a
+gem of architecture, semicircular in shape, the architraves, cornices,
+&c., richly ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has
+a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a monolith. It was
+last used as a Greek church, to which era the trace of frescoes still
+remaining must be attributed. Near by are the remains of a large mosque,
+which looks very like having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s
+basilica and other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns
+being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large or too
+small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been very fine.
+
+THE GREAT TRILITHON TEMPLE, the Acropolis of Baalbec, and its massive,
+mighty ruins are now before us—they have been so often pictured by the
+painter that their external appearance must be familiar to many. We
+enter from the east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble
+flight of steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty
+columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks when they
+converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing under this, through a
+portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty corridor, richly ornamented;
+facing us are three large doors, the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us
+into an outer court of hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide;
+three gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440 feet
+long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are vast somewhat
+semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae, rectangular recesses on each
+side with arched roofs, but open to the central court; these are
+elaborately decorated with niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &c., the
+various designs of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &c.,
+being very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and
+varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime to
+copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what was once the great
+Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and then to all the gods, so as not
+to offend any. The only remains of this Temple are six magnificent
+columns of the peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter;
+they are visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very
+grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a distance
+standing out boldly in an evening sky.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BAALBEC—_General View of Ruins._
+]
+
+This temple was probably about three hundred feet long, and stood upon
+the old Phœnician foundation, built of Cyclopean masses of stone, many
+of which are thirty feet long and ten feet thick; but there are three
+stones (which gave the name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty
+feet long, thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have
+been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they now occupy,
+it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled up great inclined
+planes of earth which were afterwards carted away, as represented in the
+bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud. To the left of the great Temple, on a
+somewhat lower level, having formerly an approach of its own from the
+plain, probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by
+some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and finest ruins
+in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid, but very beautiful and
+varied. It was surrounded by forty-six columns, about sixty-five feet
+high and six feet in diameter; the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was
+supported by a double row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet
+high and twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow
+pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof. The cornices
+are rich in design and elaborate in execution, the Cella or interior is
+in fair preservation, and at the end of it is a raised platform where
+the altar stood. Underneath the altar was a vault whence concealed
+priests sent up Delphic responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined
+that they were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the
+Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies highest and is
+supposed to be able to look at the Sun unflinchingly, predominates
+everywhere about these ruins. The temple area is undermined by vast
+vaulted corridors, now used as approaches in the same way as the Temple
+platform at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius converted
+the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem conquest it was used as
+a fortress. When some five hundred years later the tide turned again in
+favour of Christianity, it was converted back by the Crusaders into a
+church, and when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it
+became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its final
+decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed by Tamerlane the
+Tartar when he raided through Syria. While at Baalbec, we witness an
+extraordinary hailstorm, the stones being larger than pigeons’
+eggs—almost as large as a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the
+centre about the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large,
+clear, crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice. The storm
+lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt for some time; it is
+accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm. We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and
+wend our way across the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.
+
+The BUKÂA, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the Hebrews (_Amos_ i, 5),
+is a long plain extending about one hundred miles between the Lebanon
+and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and
+the Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow Syria,
+and was the natural highway of the invading armies of Egypt, Persia,
+Assyria, &c., from all time. It is mentioned in the Bible as the
+“entering in of Hamath,” but was only for a short time in the possession
+of the Kings of Israel. Along this plain commander Cameron projected a
+railway between Damascus, _viâ_ Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo
+northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards, and to
+Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all possible
+enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay. The railway was to be
+commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour to Damascus to avoid the
+mountains. This enterprising project was to embrace, eventually, a
+Euphrates valley line to Bombay, _viâ_ the Persian Gulf, and to Northern
+India, _viâ_ Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected
+with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, _viâ_ Diarbekir to
+Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari and the Bosphorus,
+opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty project on paper, a magnificent
+prophecy of the future, and we hope that commander Cameron will live to
+see his great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec we
+come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem saint reared
+evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  BEYRÛT—_and The Lebanon_.
+]
+
+THE BUKÂA plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders a journey
+through it rather monotonous for some hours. We lunch at a small Arab
+Khan, and passing several villages reach at length that of Kerak Nûh,
+where we are shown the tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet
+wide and three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this
+ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out of
+proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark, which was smaller
+than the Great Eastern, only about fifty feet high, and then divided
+into three decks, my Moslem guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark,
+by-the-bye, is said to have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered
+the Holy Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by
+Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably about 1,100
+tonnage—it seems however soon to have come to grief. According to Moslem
+tradition, Hezekiah is said to be buried near Noah. We next pass through
+MULAKA, a prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which is
+almost joined to ZAHLEH, a large Maronite Christian town on the frontier
+of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town, finely situated at the
+entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an amphitheatre of high mountains; it
+was the headquarters of the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now
+ride through many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the
+principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up for the
+night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to Beyrût, about
+nine hours along the diligence road over the Lebanon. We soon have to
+take our last look at Hermon, the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon,
+and ascending to the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the
+sea. The Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and Beyrût
+shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of them on the low
+coast line.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                    CHAPTER VII.—BEYRÛT TO BOULOGNE.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+BEYRÛT, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours sail of Cyprus and
+about twenty-four of Port Said), has a considerable population, and is a
+pleasant place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is
+beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background, and
+boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars. The fruit of Paradise—the
+banana—is plentiful, and considered finer and sweeter than that of any
+other region of Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health
+resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon Pasha, who
+consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return from the Cape. We
+discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the end the General expressed his
+intention of resting there. He went shortly after, but his noble
+restless nature could not rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained
+there only a short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission
+to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal Government
+which sent him on a mad mission and then deserted him (only sending a
+relieving force when too late), he nobly ended a noble life.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  CYPRUS—_Larnaca._
+]
+
+CYPRUS, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we made the journey
+some years ago, about the time that Sir Garnet Wolsely took possession
+of the island. Without the English and Indian troops who were then there
+we should not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a
+whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the Mediterranean, and
+has a climate and soil which would produce almost anything. It is a pity
+that our Government does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a
+lump sum and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony like
+Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think that if the island
+were properly explored some very interesting archæological discoveries
+would be made, as from its position it must have been a house of call
+for all the great civilised nations of antiquity. The Egyptian,
+Assyrian, Tyrian, and Roman galleys must all at some time or other have
+sought shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.
+
+We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its orange, lemon
+and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its bustling lanes and its busy
+quays, and embark on board an Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we
+find the Peninsula and Oriental Southampton steamer, _Venetia_, which
+lands us at MALTA, off which interesting island we see a remarkable
+sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very fortunately
+a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we cross over to Sicily,
+to SYRACUSE, still infamous for deeds of blood, as of old, and
+celebrated for its ruined theatre, where Æschylus, before 20,000
+sympathetic listeners, was wont to recite his immortal tragedies. Here
+also is the rock-hewn “Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off
+with the report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from
+Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a little loaf of
+bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of the lovely island of
+Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we can comfortably swallow it
+without the coffee we cannot get. We next come to Catania, famous for
+its sulphur and nitre mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna;
+and then pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at
+Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant Polyphemus,
+who, however, took better aim at the unlucky lover of Galatea, whose
+blood still poetically flows in the little river in memory of him, the
+Acis which we soon after pass, and then we come to that beautiful
+Sicilian Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.
+
+TAORMINA, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known to the ordinary
+Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient remains. Its ruined theatre
+was one of the largest in the world. It began its history by
+successfully resisting the Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400
+years was an important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is now
+little more than a large village, but its situation is magnificent,
+scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after leaving Taormina, we
+find ourselves at Messina, where we embark on an Italian steamer for
+Naples, whence the train takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and
+through the Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _The Cedars of Lebanon._
+]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+               CHAPTER VIII.—THE BEDAWEEN AND FELLAHEEN.
+
+                                  ---
+
+
+The BEDAWEEN are rough but picturesque looking fellows, armed often with
+very long lances, spear at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the
+other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner killed Asahel,
+whom he smote with the _hinder_-part of the spear while being pursued;
+long guns with a short range, antique pistols and knives stuck into the
+girdle, making up a formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses
+are small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in days of
+yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by trade, but not
+naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill unless resistance is made.
+They rarely attack unless pretty sure of being able to overpower, and
+when on mere robbery bent, generally go about in small bands of three
+and four, keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close
+together they will probably get the worst of it, as the Bedaween are
+quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse the rider in an instant.
+They seldom leave the traveller with more than one garment, and of
+course take the horses too. They do not attack large parties like Cook’s
+caravans. As we have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very
+sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about the
+distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is attacked, the
+other may have time to draw a revolver, which Bedaween will seldom face,
+as their game is to rob defenceless travellers, and not to risk their
+own lives. Three of them, mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some
+time on the open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing
+that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to our great
+relief left us. It is only the small bands that need be feared. A tribe
+on the march or in camp in Syria would never touch a traveller, as it
+would soon be known what tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would
+follow, as they cannot move _en masse_ quickly, and for this reason
+(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of their
+camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different tribes are coming
+in opposite directions in a lonely district, they will not meet face to
+face, but one goes to the right and the other in the contrary direction,
+in order that one shall not get behind the other, for if there were a
+blood feud between the tribes, and either could murder the other without
+risk, it would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken
+unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween, and one
+were to go straight up the road, and the other off the road to one side
+so as to get in their rear, they would not attack the traveller left
+alone. We know a case in which a party of three (with only one gun
+between them) escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the
+Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much. They have a
+nasty knack of reaping what others have sown, swooping down from a
+distance in the middle of the night and clearing away before morning
+with half the harvest of a village—not very difficult to do when it is
+lying in heaps on the threshing floor ready for market.
+
+                                -------
+
+
+                             THE FELLAHEEN.
+
+The FELLAHEEN, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of Philistine or Phœnician
+descent, fear the Bedaween as much as the passing traveller does. They
+frequently carry for defence either a rather artistic looking kind of
+battle-axe (probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick
+something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and knife—they
+sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their own account; one
+unfortunately occurred while we were in the country, and a young friend
+of ours was cruelly murdered by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an
+oak forest we had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered
+and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their
+non-execution created an impression here that to murder an Englishman is
+the same as to murder a native, and simply to pay as blood-money a part
+of the plunder back if the crime is found out. It may interest our
+readers to know how capital punishment is carried out in this country.
+First of all the public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for
+(say) five napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the horrid
+office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost his nerve, and
+butchered his victim; we will not relate the circumstances. Before the
+execution takes place, the chief officer at the execution cries out,
+“Who will buy this man’s soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a
+sufficient sum of money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations
+(and they generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the
+culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life; but he
+generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At Jerusalem, criminals
+are generally executed outside the Jaffa Gate, where probably, and not
+on the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was
+crucified. In the case of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them
+to the place of execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the
+greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal which he
+generally keeps for the women and children. Recently a Bedawi brigand
+was executed outside Jerusalem, he was a villain, but a plucky fellow;
+his last words were “Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all
+your guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope; he placed
+one end round his neck and tied the other to a tree, stood on the
+donkey, kicked it aside and was his own executioner. This soul was put
+up for auction, but there was not a bid; not even the most merciful
+Mahommedan could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent so
+many souls to death without even offering them at auction. As if the
+country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte banished to Palestine
+some time since, thousands of the Circassian cut-throats, who committed
+the Bulgarian atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they
+are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them, and they
+do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the fate they are so ready
+to deal out to others.
+
+A few remarks about the general tenure of land in Palestine may be
+interesting. It is somewhat similar to the ancient land settlement of
+England before the days of feudal tenure. Each village has so much
+pasture, tillage or woodland belonging to it as common property; this is
+year by year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity
+according to the number of the family. The allotments are divided from
+each other only by rows or heaps of stones, which, as they can be easily
+moved, explains the reason of the Levitical curse against him who
+removed his neighbour’s land mark. The land is not of course highly
+cultivated, as the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being
+absolutely sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the
+government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time, when the grain
+is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize what they consider their
+share of the produce. A similar summary procedure is adopted with the
+flocks and herds of sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure
+is not here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether
+unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.
+
+                                -------
+
+                              MAHOMETANS.
+
+And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can learn at least
+one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not ashamed of his religious faith;
+he is not ashamed to be seen reading his Bible or saying his prayers,
+even during business hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good
+Christians are. Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most
+ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable Christian. We
+may mention here that Christ is venerated by the Mahometans, who believe
+as we do that He will judge the world at the last day. This judgment
+according to them is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will
+be stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount Moriah to
+the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to cross on this tight rope.
+The righteous will accomplish the journey in safety; but the wicked will
+fall off into the Valley of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen
+idolater, made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred
+books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same way as did
+many of the Roman church missionaries in the dark ages, when they mixed
+up Christianity with Paganism, and allowed their converts to retain
+their idol images, only re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna
+Diana, Lady Mary, &c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.
+
+We now conclude the account of our “RIDE THROUGH SYRIA.” We have shown,
+we think, that it is not a very difficult matter now-a-days to make a
+pilgrimage to the once distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a
+few weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation. Taken as
+a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious one, but looked at in
+a more serious light, it is a tour never to be forgotten, and affords
+food for reflection for the whole of an after lifetime. The Bible
+henceforth becomes a more and more interesting book as we learn better
+to understand it. We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more
+than the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod, sailed
+on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed up the mountain
+from which He ascended into Heaven. We journeyed alone with a dragoman
+without tents, putting up at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so
+saw the inner life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel
+luxuriously in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble
+or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist agents like
+Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be as perfect as possible.
+We hope in a future volume to give an account of our travels in Asia
+Minor to the sites of “THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.”
+
+
+
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+                                 Finis.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                                _INDEX._
+
+
+ Abana, or Barada, 27, 32, 37, 41
+
+ Abel’s Tomb and Abila, 38
+
+ Abner and Asahel, 55
+
+ Abraham, 41, 45
+
+ Acis and Galatea, 54
+
+ Anti-Lebanon, 36, 42
+
+ Arabi, 20
+
+ Arabian Nights, 20
+
+
+ Baal, 15, 24
+
+ Baalbec, 42, 45
+
+ Baalath, 46
+
+ Baal-Gad, 20, 42
+
+ Banias (Baalath), 16, 46
+
+ Barak, 7, 13
+
+ Bedaween, 5, 55
+
+ Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, 11
+
+ Beyrût (Berytus), 52
+
+ Bludàn, 41
+
+ Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, 42, 45, 49
+
+
+ Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), 16
+
+ Cana of Galilee, 8
+
+ Cain, 38
+
+ Calfolatry, 15, 21
+
+ Capernaum, 10
+
+ Carmel, 7, 9, 25, 38
+
+ Cyprus, 52
+
+
+ Damascus, 28 to 35, 44
+
+ Dan, 15
+
+ Druses, 15, 19, 21, 23, 39
+
+
+ Eden, Garden of, 41
+
+ Elijah, 7, 38
+
+ Esdraelon, Plain of, 7
+
+ Eve, 41
+
+
+ Fellaheen, 57
+
+
+ General Gordon, 52
+
+
+ Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), 19
+
+ Hermon, 23
+
+ Hibberiyeh, 18
+
+ Hiram of Tyre, 46
+
+ Hunin (Beth-rehob), 14
+
+
+ Jaffa, or Joppa, 5
+
+ Jordan, 14, 15, 16, 21
+
+
+ Kenites and Kedes, 7, 13
+
+
+ Land Tenure, 58
+
+
+ Mahometans, 59
+
+ Maronites, 38
+
+ Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), 12, 13, 21
+
+
+ Naaman the Syrian, 33
+
+ Naples, 4
+
+ Napoleon, 8, 9
+
+ Noah, 36, 50
+
+
+ Overland Route, 42, 50
+
+
+ Palmyra, 46
+
+ Pharpar and Abana, 27, 28, 32
+
+ Phœnicians, 18
+
+
+ Rasheya, 22
+
+
+ Saracens and Saladin, 6, 7, 8, 32, 49
+
+ Safed, the City on a Hill, 10, 12
+
+ Seth, 42
+
+ Sharon, Plain of, 6
+
+ Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), 24
+
+ Sisera, 7, 12
+
+ Solomon, 46
+
+ St. Paul, 18, 33, 53
+
+ Street called Straight, 32, 44
+
+ Syracuse, 53
+
+
+ Taormina, 54
+
+ The Transfiguration, 26
+
+ Tiberias, 9, 10, 26
+
+ Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), 47
+
+
+ Wine Press, 41
+
+
+ Zahleh, 57
+
+ Zebedâni, 38, 39
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+                              A CATALOGUE
+
+                                  —OF—
+
+                   Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published
+
+                                —AT THE—
+
+                  OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.
+
+                         ---------------------
+
+THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, BY _Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn,
+&c._ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—_M de la Bruyère_ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, AND OTHER PUBLIC
+PAPERS 1710
+
+MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &c., BY _Sir B. Whitlock_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, VOL. 7; VENUS AND ADONIS; TARQUIN AND LUCRECE, AND
+MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON, _Edited by M. St. Egrement_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF SAVOY.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, TO INCITE THE ENGLISH AGAINST THE FRENCH 1710
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+SENSUS COMMUNIS—_An Essay_.
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—_Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange_ 1709
+
+    ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of _M. de Perrier_,
+Academician.
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ ● Transcriber’s Notes:
+    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
+    ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
+    ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
+      when a predominant form was found in this book.
+    ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and
+Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and
+Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon
+
+Author: Edward Abram
+
+Release Date: November 2, 2019 [EBook #60615]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by MFR, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c000' />
+</div>
+<div>
+  <h1 class='c001'>A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, <br /> <br />and Ascent of Mount Hermon</h1>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c002' />
+</div>
+<div id='frontis'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_I'>I</span>
+<a href='images/frontis-lg.jpg'><img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></a>
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.<br /><span class='small'>by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.</span><br /><span class='small'>Click on image for larger version.</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c000' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_II'>II</span><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">R</span></span>ide through <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">S</span></span>yria</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—<span class='small'> TO</span> —</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">D</span></span>amascus and <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">B</span></span>aalbec</span>,</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AND</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span>scent of <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">M</span></span>ount <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">H</span></span>ermon</span>.</div>
+    <div class='c003'><span class='small'><i>BY</i></span></div>
+    <div class='c003'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Edward Abram</span>,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><i>Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”</i></div>
+    <div><i>“The Seven Churches of Asia,” &amp;c.</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c004' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class="blackletter">Published by</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>ABRAM &amp; SONS,</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>At the Old Post House, Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>
+    <div><span class='sc'>London</span>.</div>
+    <div>—</div>
+    <div>1887.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c002'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_III'>III</span><span class='sc'>Abram &amp; Sons,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class="blackletter">Printers,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>Middle Temple Gate,</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>London, E.C.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c002' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_IV'>IV</span>
+  <h2 class='c006'>— <span class='xlarge'><i><span class='sc'>Contents.</span></i></span> —</h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER I.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Jaffa to Tiberias</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch01'>3</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER II.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias to Hasbêya</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch02'>10</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER III.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table1' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon and The Druses</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch03'>19</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER IV.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch04'>27</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER V.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Anti-Lebanon</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch05'>37</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VI.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec and The Bukâa</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch06'>45</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VII.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût to Boulogne</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch07'>52</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VIII.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='85%' />
+<col width='14%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Bedaween and Fellaheen</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#ch08'>55</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>—————————</td>
+    <td class='c008'>&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#idx'>61</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_VI'>VI</span>
+  <h2 class='c006'><i>ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table2' summary=''>
+<colgroup>
+<col width='75%' />
+<col width='25%' />
+</colgroup>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Map of Palestine</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#frontis'>Frontispiece</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>&nbsp;</td>
+    <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>, and House of Simon the Tanner</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i005f'>5</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Carmel</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i009'>9</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i026'>26</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i033'>33</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i035'>35</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—Great Stone and Quarry</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i042f'>42</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span>—Street called “Straight”</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i044'>44</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—General View of Ruins</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i048f'>48</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span> and the Lebanon</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i051f'>51</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—Larnaca</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i052f'>52</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>Cedars of Lebanon</td>
+    <td class='c008'><a href='#i054'>54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id002'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>
+<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<p class='c009'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">A R</span>ide</span></span></p>
+<p class='c010'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">T</span>hrough</span></span></p>
+<p class='c011'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">S</span>yria.</span></span></p>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch01' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER I.—Jaffa to Tiberias.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'>Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our
+enthusiasm for the East; we were not, as some
+travellers have been, disappointed with “The Holy
+Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient
+days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are
+broken and the waters run to waste, the walls of the vineyards
+are cast down, the very soil has disappeared from the
+once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses are covered
+with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in spite of
+all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an
+overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes
+to trace out on the spot the history of the oldest and most
+interesting people of the world.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten
+track, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented
+route. Our objective points are the plains of Sharon and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>Esdraelon, sighting that mighty headland, “the excellency of
+Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of Elijah, and Baal,
+that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its <i>traditional</i> snow-clad
+summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the
+Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better
+than all the rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with
+its “straight street” and memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus,
+Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again to the reputed
+tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with its
+massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a
+short sketch of the tour we purpose describing in the following
+pages.</p>
+
+<div id='i005f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i005f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>—<i>With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the
+director, to obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from
+Marseilles to Port Said, so arrive in the Holy Land eight
+and a half days after leaving the Crusaders’ old haunt in
+London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail north of
+Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days
+pass by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find
+the pretty Chiaja much enlarged, planted, and generally
+improved, and are pleased to see the graceful palm trees in
+thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale, ever so interesting,
+we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to
+nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not,
+on well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent
+and a lady, very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a
+half-penny. But the sun is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb
+is already in the shade, the ship’s bell is summoning strangers
+to depart, and passengers to dress for dinner, so we must bid
+adieu to Naples and proceed again <i>en voyage</i>. Capri stands
+out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius is quiet,
+scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant
+form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>dinner. Early next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the
+Straits of Messina Ætna, but both are “still and silent as the
+grave,” in fact on the latter summit, if we mistake not, we see
+the dark black lava spotted with bright white snow. On the
+far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two days
+later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship
+ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour
+and arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by
+way of Palestine, but by a different route, in order that we
+may visit certain interesting districts which lay out of our
+line on our former visit.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey
+across the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth.
+This route, being very open to the attacks of predatory
+Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all but trackless
+paths over the vast plains being but little known even to
+the native.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a
+looking man as ever cut a throat”) for a guard and guide;
+two other Arabs join us for company or safety’s sake. This
+force a small party of Bedouins would not care to face, and
+a large party would not attempt it, as they would be discovered
+by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow,
+so we pass the Bedouin camps without any interference.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, is reckoned
+three good days; but by our new route we only take two, and
+pushing briskly forward run it in about eighteen hours—hard
+work rather to begin with, and the Sirocco blowing hot and
+dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We vary the
+monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several
+little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride
+us down; but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old
+Shikarri (muleteer), whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>Assyrian type that he seemed to have started out from the
+has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But <i>á route</i> we ride across the
+Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with villages
+and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly
+mediæval or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard
+Cœur-de-Lion gained a great victory over Saladin.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably
+once a fortified town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt
+for the night at a Mahommedan village called Baka, which
+probably now for the first time receives a European guest
+(as even my guides had not been there before): the sun being
+already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of mud
+on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in
+massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see
+on the way had been similarly well cared for in ancient
+times, but are now fast falling into decay. We will
+give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place a honeycomb
+with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of
+the cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to
+represent small stable yards for all the domestic animals in
+creation, camels included, and you have an Arab village of
+one-storeyed huts, scarcely distinguishable at a distance from
+the hillside on which it is plastered. The Sheiks’ houses
+have an additional storey, a guest-chamber built on the wall.
+One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the place and
+quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an
+advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which
+abound in Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers
+sleep in the open yard with the horses, and leave their
+weapons with us for safe custody, so for the time I am the <i>custos
+custodum</i>, but our quarters are inviolable, as for the nonce we
+are the guests of the village. A few crossed sticks in the
+corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a fire-place.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of
+Manasseh, which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty
+glance at El Mahrakah, or the Rock of Sacrifice, where
+Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal, and enter the vast plain
+of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or lower sources of
+Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be remembered
+Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of
+Jabin, King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the
+tents of Heber the Kenite and was treacherously murdered
+there by Jael. The Kenites’ home was at Kedes, three days’
+journey off in the mountains. It is not probable that Sisera
+could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable that Heber
+was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon,
+and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not
+far off. At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he
+received from Jehu, and near this spot, in modern times,
+Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish levies a defeat somewhat
+similar to that which Barak inflicted on Sisera, but Sir
+Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his victory
+of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some
+hours, crossing it in almost a direct line, we leave the level
+ground again, and ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee,
+mount up to Nazareth (described in our “Ride through
+Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the Latin Monastery,
+finding in residence the same good Father, quite pleased at
+seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor twice.
+Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the
+fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have
+drunk, and soon <i>on our left</i> see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the
+reputed birth-place of Jonah, and <i>on our right</i>, the battle-field
+where the Crusaders gained their last victory over the
+Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun, (the horns of
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under Guy
+of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat,
+their power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by
+Saladin. In the meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris
+or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of Josephus, and ridden through Kefr
+Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a previous visit, we were
+shown the miraculous waterpots which must have been very
+fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages.
+This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours,
+and at one place where the path is very narrow, we think that
+we shall have to fight our way through. About six wild
+Moabite Bedouins, from the other side of Jordan, had planted
+themselves each side of the narrow way on a slight eminence,
+completely commanding us; we determine to pass through in
+Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that
+we cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps,
+were peaceably disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country
+to be cautious: anyhow, they do not molest us. They were
+all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat by the sun, and were
+without water, which we were unable to give them, not having
+any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the
+march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want
+of water in the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness,
+distress, and death, so graphically described in the pathetic
+story of Hagar and Ishmael.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we
+halt for tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in
+1799 the French, under Junot, held their own against a vastly
+superior army of Turks, and succeeded in reaching Tabor
+just in time to fall on the rear of the force then pressing hard
+upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after, we catch
+a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one time,
+in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the
+God of day, like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We
+put up at the Latin Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where
+we are entertained by the Father Superior hospitably as we
+were on a former occasion. Before leaving Tiberias, we trot
+along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and old
+Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the
+hills above the town.</p>
+
+<div id='i009'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Mount Carmel.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch02' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER II.—Tiberias to Hâsbeyâ.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span> was our last halting place. After a
+grateful dip in the buoyant lake waters we leave
+early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited
+place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be
+hid,” for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide,
+but the term ‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply
+to Bethlehem, the “city of our Lord.” In the distance the
+snow-white houses of Safed glisten on the dark mountain side
+like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty giant.
+Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the
+shore of the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach
+Medjil, or Magdala, the home of the Magdalene, now a collection
+of wretched mud hovels, then across the fertile but
+neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of which we see a
+fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre of a great
+city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown
+with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other
+trace of a town near. We pause awhile to think of those great
+cities which in our Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake,
+and see how thoroughly their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre
+still exists as a place to dry nets on, and Sidon as a habitation
+for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum, the two Bethsaidas
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their very
+sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans
+once fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only
+three wretched fishing boats, in one of which we take a
+voyage. They were “exalted to heaven,” they are indeed
+“brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of these
+formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along
+sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability,
+Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain
+near by was in the middle ages known as Mensa, alluding
+perhaps to the place where our Saviour made a table for the
+multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at Ain-et-Tabighah,
+a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site of
+Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt
+the Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find
+ourselves high up in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed;
+we ascend the hill behind the city to the ruins of the old
+Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of the finest views
+of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of Galilee,
+across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian
+Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of
+Moab and Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on
+the south and south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on
+the west the sea-coast—on the north the view is bounded by
+the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a Moslem house
+for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s rent;
+we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper
+room, as usual without any kind of furniture or glass window,
+and the floor a mud one, but the view from it is magnificent.
+The Jews cook for us, but are so fanatical that they will not
+taste the food they themselves have prepared for us. Our
+bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but better however
+than we have in many other places; we soon learn the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>way of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will
+permit, sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than
+many do on down beds. My dragoman shares my apartment,
+the others sleep outside in the open. It is 5 a.m. when the
+Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants out the
+first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal
+Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are
+in the saddle.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Safed</span> Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews,
+is built on terraces one above the other on the side of the
+mountain, so that the flat roofs of one terrace serve very
+well as promenades for the houses immediately above, also
+affording extra facilities for cats and pariah dogs, jackals, &amp;c.,
+to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we
+travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of
+the plain where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron
+chariots against Joshua; of the waters of Merom (Lake
+Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the Jordan, with
+herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high rushes.
+On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the
+Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian
+atrocities; then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast
+size, evidently made for some other purpose than to supply a
+few sheep here in the wilderness.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Deshun</span>, an African colony sent from Algeria when the
+French conquered that country, is next reached; the people
+seem to be industrious and prosperous. We observe that their
+houses are detached and have sloping roofs, seldom seen in
+this country except in European settlements, and altogether
+they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around
+them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings
+we hear of in Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin,
+which was probably the hereditary title of their kings, as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre, Pharaoh of Egypt, &amp;c.
+After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin in the olive
+grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of refuge,
+and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of
+Heber the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the
+Canaanites. There are great masses of débris and ruins here,
+and some fine single and double sarcophagi lying about. The
+Turkish people are excavating huge trenches and digging out
+large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however, with
+any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once
+utilised to erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We
+acquire a very ancient lamp for about three half-pence. Our
+zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does not understand; he
+will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo) than
+repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin,
+he says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves
+it to decay.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Lake Huleh</span> (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount
+Hermon, is between four and five miles long and about four
+miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the tomb of Joshua, looks
+down upon it. The views all along the shores (where the
+hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the vista
+of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially
+Hermon, are very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground
+to cover before sundown, try a short cut into the valley
+without going by Hunin, the usual way. We hear of a path
+from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it. It is not
+known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that it
+should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one
+of our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great
+grief, both to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly
+finds himself, with a frightened horse in front slipping, falling,
+and struggling, wedged in a track so narrow and precipitous
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>that it is difficult to find room to dismount; once off, we do
+not remount until we reach the plain, and no greater damage
+is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost as good
+for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we
+managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could
+find one, being little better than a goat track, we have some
+trouble to get the horses to face the steep descents. It saves
+however some hours of time, and is of immense service to us,
+as otherwise we should have been benighted in the difficult,
+dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the
+Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost
+tropical country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset,
+a bad time to enter any Eastern town, and then have to look
+for a lodging. But to go back a little, we get down into the
+Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at the tents of the Ghawarineh
+Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character, and says
+they attacked him, but they give us water and behave
+civilly. However we should not trust them too far, nor after
+dark. We are so glad to get down to level ground, so severe
+is the descent, that we think little of any danger from the wild
+denizens we drop down on. The scene here is remarkable,
+the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of buffaloes roaming
+among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the almost
+naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat,
+make us imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark
+continent. Our advice to travellers going from Safed by
+Kedes to Banias, is to make a two day’s trip of it, and not
+one as we did, and then to keep up on the mountain, and
+descend by Hunin to the plain.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hunin</span>, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua,
+the limit of the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may
+be said to begin on the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now
+cross the Hasbâny, the most northerly source of the Jordan,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>by an old ruined Roman bridge, Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my
+men dismount again, but I have more confidence in my
+horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and
+the surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and
+boulders safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman,
+and now after another rough ride for about three miles over
+stones and swamps, at length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the
+(fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan, which in the Hebrew also
+signifies Judge.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span>, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit
+of the promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern.
+Its Canaanitish name was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon,
+and dated back to the days of Abraham. The Danites took
+it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were a peaceable
+people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery.
+It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the
+Phœnicians, who called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as
+later on with Jeroboam, whose Calf was a venerated idol with
+the local heathen of that day, as it is still curiously with the
+native ignorant Druse peasants at the present day. When
+cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of
+a Calf,” as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not
+necessarily take his idea from the golden calf of Mosaic
+times, but may have simply adopted the indigenous idolatry;
+yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from Egypt, as
+Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite
+trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being
+on the road to Damascus, which was the objective point of
+every invader, whether warrior or merchant.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span> is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet
+high, visible for a long distance over the low plain; here,
+under a fine oak tree, near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another
+most copious source of the Jordan, forming a large stream
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>immediately it springs from the ground, said to be the
+largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a good
+flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little
+Jordan, and is considered by many the chief source, but it
+is not the most northerly. We get a grand view here of
+the great Jordan Valley, looking down upon a sea of waving
+corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as far as the eye
+can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded
+country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old
+Phœnician worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the
+site of ancient Cæsarea Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip
+the Tetrarch, in honour of Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen
+Philippi being added by the same gentleman in honour of
+himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast near
+Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but
+in later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it
+took from the Temple of Pan then there), and that was
+easily corrupted to its present name Banias. It was once
+at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Banias</span> is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the
+direct road to Damascus, which we do not intend to take,
+preferring to go two days longer journey round to visit the
+less frequented parts of Syria. We are received into a
+Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber
+allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of
+the house to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in
+this establishment, except by the mother, who after a while
+thinks it proper to drape up the lower part of her face which
+somewhat improves her appearance. The accommodation
+is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an Oriental
+scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed
+flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members
+of the various families sleeping al fresco. Some more
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>fastidious or important personages rig themselves up a leafy
+bower on four supports about three or four feet from the roof—a
+cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little tents such as
+might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast
+of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the
+paneless windows during the night in search of our saddle
+bags, but a heavy boot well shot at an Oriental cat helps
+him out quite as quickly as it would one of our own domestic
+favourites. One time, however it misses the mark and alights
+on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye,
+that Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture
+of Jerusalem, and many thousand prisoners perished in the
+“Sports.”</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old
+gate, the grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and
+the Banias fountains of the Jordan. The rocks just above
+the latter are sculptured with shrines and niches in which
+statues once stood; there are also Greek inscriptions which
+are not very legible.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding
+over a slope of Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole
+country including Palestine is often described as Syria, and
+was all under one Pashalic so called until lately—Palestine
+originally included only the country of the Philistines. We
+breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian
+village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery,
+which it supplies to the whole of the northern part of
+Palestine and Syria, as far as Damascus. It is refreshing to
+come across an industrious manufacturing population, so
+rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh in the south,
+where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient
+Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil,
+and exported as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Mount Carmel) are cultivating this industry also, and turn
+out a much finer article, which finds a sale in America, but
+has not yet made a market in Palestine, which prefers its
+native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend the
+mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before
+by our guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our
+horses to Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western
+gorges of Hermon: here we visit a very ancient well-preserved
+temple built of Phœnician bevelled stones principally,
+but curiously with pilasters and columns having
+Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as
+it faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered
+by the Greeks to accommodate one of their own deities. The
+valley is remarkably a Valley of Rocks; some isolated ones
+seem to have been formerly sculptured to imitate the human
+form divine. The ascent up the other side of the valley we
+find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our
+horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for
+the night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to
+Damascus is that through the wilderness of Damascus by
+which St. Paul travelled; but the most beautiful road is that
+we select, which leads round the slopes of Hermon.</p>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<img src='images/i018.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch03' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER III.—Hasbêya to Mount Hermon.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is a small town beautifully situated some
+2,000 feet above the sea, on the western side of
+Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well cultivated
+and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems,
+all very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely,
+and not, as far as the Christians are concerned, without
+cause, for here they were treacherously massacred by the
+Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into the Konak, or
+Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence
+of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the
+Druses being admitted men women and children were
+massacred without mercy. The French army of the Lebanon
+avenged these cowardly murders partially, and but for the
+milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English,
+would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse
+scoundrels from their just fate then, and consequently they
+are quite ready to repeat the crime now. This our rulers
+would do well to remember that maudlin sentimentality is
+often another name for weakness and not true mercy which
+is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do
+not practice and do not understand undeserved clemency.
+The Christians in the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>lenient policy, and are periodically in a panic about their
+ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem feeling too is often
+inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that the five kings
+of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to
+depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical
+purposes often revived. This rumour was one of the causes
+which led to the rebellion of Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi
+had not been crushed, there would probably have been
+a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman
+Caliphate and European interference—and it may come yet.
+The Ottomans are no longer a nation—they are quite effete—but
+the Arabs are as vigorous a race as they were in the days
+of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and the
+Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to
+endure for ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous
+world, everlasting monuments of the truth of the Bible story.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad
+of the Bible, but others identify the latter with Baalbec.
+We will not attempt to decide that on which many doctors differ.
+We lodge in one of the best houses at the head of the valley,
+near the Konak. A sort of stretcher, much resembling an
+oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to sleep on.
+Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a
+number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of
+the “forty thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated
+two. We find them to be mostly full of new wine, which is
+rather too rich and luscious to take much of. Just as the day
+is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room and makes for
+one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are forcibly
+reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.”
+Next day, after about three hours toiling over mountain
+paths, we pass the mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is
+the source of the Hasbâny, the highest and most northerly
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan branches of which
+it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake Huleh,
+after running almost parallel with them for some distance.
+We crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge
+on our way from Kadesh to Dan and Banias.</p>
+<h3 class='c015'>THE DRUSES.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>The Druses</span> make the Hasbâny Valley their religious
+centre, as their prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been
+born there. Their religious books having been lost (or rather
+stolen by the Egyptians), their religion, which is of more recent
+origin than Mahometanism, is traditional only, and it is
+difficult to say what it really is, but it seems to have been
+founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It consists of
+several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian
+pretty equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with
+whom they often associate for the purpose of plunder, but
+they would murder either without compunction. At the same
+time, with an appreciable regard to expediency, their religion
+allows them to live under whatever creed is supreme. They
+have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers
+from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they
+hold practically independent of any Government whatever,
+although nominally subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are
+distinguished by white turbans. Lebanon being now a
+separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a native
+Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to
+occupy that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon
+they are more formidable. When a fanatical
+Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as was done by our
+muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of the
+calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was
+only a day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>or temples, but worship in a room outside a village, and only
+the higher initiated members are admitted to the whole performance
+or allowed to learn what is known of their sacred
+records, which are imparted by oral instruction only, and
+never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted
+with all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher
+degrees no man under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we
+think, never. The most sacred shrine of the Druses is a
+secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there only the
+most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six
+hours brings us to Rashêya.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Rashêya</span>, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely
+and healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I
+have never been mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a
+European being quite a <i>rara avis</i>. Men women and children
+cluster round me, and even crowd into my little room to stare
+at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by either
+curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a
+medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch
+them; but unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the
+younger women, having confidence in their good appearance,
+beg of me to draw their portraits, but my first sketch soon puts
+the other fair candidates to flight. Two or three enterprising
+young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat me to take
+them back with me to England and make them members of
+my family. I have to explain to them that the social system
+of the West does not allow of any such extensive adoption as
+that of the East. We have often been asked by mothers to
+take their children and bring them up as Feringhees, but
+think that in most cases this is done to frighten the children.
+The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but
+have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is
+seldom seen in the East), the hands especially with stripes
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>looking like the seams of gloves. We have, as usual, the
+floor only to sit and sleep on. We are beginning to be quite
+clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that we think
+chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya
+Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the
+castle by the Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the
+Maronite Druses, who massacred man, woman and child.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon</span>, we believe, has not been ascended to the
+summit by any Englishman for some years. It is called by
+the Arabs the Snowy Mountain: misled probably by this the
+text books on the subject boldly assert that its summit is
+perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case, nor
+is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite
+side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some
+two months at least, and although we find it cold there is
+not a trace of snow anywhere. The bare white limestone
+sides of mountains are often mistaken at a distance for snow,
+but few travellers ever attain the summit, and hence the
+perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.</p>
+<h3 class='c015'>ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the
+three peaks rising abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower
+ridges, has an apparent altitude much greater than many
+higher mountains. The grandeur of the Matterhorn, for
+instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished by
+the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the
+Breithorn (which latter we ascended a few years since, so can
+judge from experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among
+giants, a king of kings; but Hermon stands alone in its
+glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst minnows, and owes
+its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000 feet, but
+to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely
+dignify with the name of a mountain at all.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the
+Amorites, is called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the
+Monarch of Mountains; it was once encircled by shrines
+to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great central temple on
+the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of these
+remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we
+have already described.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Baal</span>, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first
+to the greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the
+day. We hear of it as Bel applied to Nimrod; and we
+trace it in many other names, such as Bel Shazzar, which
+means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we
+suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the
+Israelites probably called their golden calf Baal. After the
+Greek conquest, Baal and the other Gods were very much
+mixed up, and the Romans later on, to appease the conquered
+Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and their Venus
+with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note
+here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in
+the Bel tane (Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated
+on May-day morning. Our actual ascent of the
+mountain is without much interest, except that on the way
+we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn out of the
+solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not
+until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark
+cloud, and over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific
+thunderstorm, the thunder reverberating grandly among the
+mountains. A continuous bombardment by the biggest guns
+ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’
+rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks
+through the black firmament above, and we set out briskly,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>and in about four hours scramble up to the southern—the highest
+peak—where we find extensive and massive remains of two
+temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in which we
+tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand
+panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high
+peaks near to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the
+summit, which is some 5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a
+fine sight of the coast from Carmel to Tyre, but on the summit,
+the greater part of Palestine and Syria are opened out as a
+map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north, the
+ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of
+Damascus, bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana
+and Pharpar, is in the extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea
+Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &amp;c., nestle beneath on the
+near south-east; further south the broad waters of Merom,
+and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day
+sun, and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the
+Mountains of Moab bound the distant horizon; on the south,
+Mount Tabor raises its beautifully wooded crest over
+Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the plains of
+Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the
+coast, Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view
+only a short time, as a blinding hailstorm comes down and
+causes us to beat a very precipitate retreat; but as the black
+thunder clouds gather above and beneath us, and the sun at
+intervals shines through and upon them, the <i>mélange</i> of earth
+and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the
+extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold,
+here and there mellowed with the most delicate tinges of
+purple green and orange, form an effect, which if fixed on the
+canvas, would be called an impossible picture, and we could
+now well understand and feel that enthusiastic praise so often
+in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither
+difficult nor dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but
+extremely laborious, being a steady steep and continuous
+scramble over loose stones, on which it is difficult to retain a
+footing; there is no defined path to the summit, and it should
+not be attempted without a <i>local</i> guide, as the clouds gather
+round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow
+may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little
+chance for any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is
+thought by some to have been the scene of the transfiguration
+as Banias, where our Saviour started from, is near by.
+On our way up we try to track a bear, but fortunately fail to
+find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we probably
+should not have written this account.</p>
+
+<div id='i026'  class='figcenter id004'>
+<img src='images/i026.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Tiberias.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch04' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER IV.—Damascus.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Rasheya</span> is again our resting place after our descent
+from Hermon, and next morning we make an early
+start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we
+arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a
+mountain ride of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair,
+where again, on a small elevated plateau, we see
+extensive and massive remains of ancient temples with
+fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach
+the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in
+Syria, over this the French have a monopoly of wheeled
+traffic and transport for nearly 99 years, riding horses pass
+free, but all pack animals and caravans have to pay, which
+however the native caravans evade by still using the old
+track up and down the mountains which runs almost parallel.
+The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last
+three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and
+sheltered from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the
+dreary desert of Sahira, through which we have to ride some
+two hours to reach it. We may here remark that Sahira in
+the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and anyone who
+has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind
+making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>the lips and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell
+must be a most uncomfortably hot place, life being in the
+burning desert a burden almost unbearable. The first sight
+of Damascus, unlike that of Jerusalem, realises all we have
+heard of it, it is indeed magnificently situated in the midst of
+an extensive plain, intersected in all directions by the rills of
+the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander through and
+round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the
+meadow lakes beyond.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone
+on a chair by the river side enjoying otium <i>sine</i> dignitate; his
+guards at a distance standing by their horses ready to look
+after him, if necessary. He politely returns our passing
+salute in true Parisian style. Like all other Turkish Pashas he
+will have to make hay while the sun shines and be sharp
+about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful
+memory) did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may
+be a similarly short summer. It costs money to be a
+Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be first found for the
+Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the appointment
+is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his
+government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh
+out of the higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the
+public, who are fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind
+here, is continually looking out for the dollars. But to return
+to Damascus. The plain in which it is situated is surrounded
+on three sides by mountains, Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and
+Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert, in
+the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the
+ancient Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the
+Syrians. Well might the Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant
+plain, after six days dreary riding across the desert, when he
+came across this city embosomed in beautiful gardens and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in all
+directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the
+houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon
+the Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at
+Demetri’s, the only Frank hotel, and are glad again to see
+some signs of western civilisation.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country
+by little known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the
+Europeans, who wish to know if I am travelling under diplomatic
+orders; a negative answer to such a question is not, of
+course, worth much. The Turkish police give vent to their
+curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining
+my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life,
+&amp;c., &amp;c. Things are rather strained here. The attitude of
+the allied Powers to Turkey makes this fanatical people never
+well disposed to Christians, now still less so, and to make
+matters worse, Arab placards have been posted here and at
+Beyrût in the Bazaars, summoning the natives to revolt
+against the Turks, asking reasonably what common interest
+the Arabs have with their now imbecile and insolent
+conquerors, the Osmanli usurpers of the Khalifate, who
+monopolise all place and power, using them only to oppress
+the people, whose language they do not even understand, and
+whose lives, liberties, and properties they either cannot or do
+not care to protect. This is a sign of the times—a writing
+on the wall to warn the feeble despots of Stamboul of their
+doom. This movement has since developed into an organised
+Arab League, following the example of the Albanians.
+An Armenian League probably is not far behind. The
+collapse of the rule of the Osmanlis is merely a matter of time.
+They may retain Asia Minor for the present (if England does
+not seize it to save it from Russia), but they will have to clear
+out of Europe, and Syria, Lebanon and Palestine must ere
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>long be like Egypt, semi-independent vice-royalties under
+European protection, or they will become Russian and French
+appanages. The Turkish Government have authorised their
+postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open letters at
+their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to the
+Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives
+in a hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment.
+What a pity that our Government does not buy itself a
+consular residence in such an important post as this? It is
+so undignified for an English Consul to have to turn out at the
+bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in the extreme
+to have to move all the archives every few years; and in case
+of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we
+might find it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul
+at all. In one of the squares we see a crowd and several
+soldiers looking at the dead body of an Arab. This poor
+fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of camels,
+some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of
+Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to
+his post; they of course soon killed him and cleared off with
+the camels. This is the security for life and property which
+Turkey provides for its subjects in the neighbourhood of a
+great city. We will now take a stroll through this thoroughly
+Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet more
+than in any other city in the world, more so even than in
+Tanjiers and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed
+suits, black-coated Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty
+bornous, Druses with white turbans and blood-stained hands,
+Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox Moslems in flowing robes
+and showy green turbans, Circassians with breast full of
+cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough sheep
+skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod
+veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Parisian dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of
+the East, jostling each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars.
+Camels also, and mules, horses and donkeys, with perhaps a
+drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far steppes of Turkestan,
+press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take care,
+take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no
+respecter of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over
+you go if you do not get out of his way, unless by a vigorous
+shove you send him over, just as in self-defence we were
+obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back, legs up in the
+air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Metropolis</span> did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so
+called, for is it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living
+city in the world? (not even excepting Hebron), for here
+Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived; these streets the patriarch
+himself must often have traversed as a trader in flocks and
+herds, and through these lanes, once at all events, he drove the
+Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near
+here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian
+captors. It was conquered by David after a protracted
+struggle, but recovered its independence in the reign of
+Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the Assyrians.
+Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded
+probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah.
+Damascus has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from
+its unique position, probably never will. The prey of every
+ambitious conqueror, it has seen the rise and survived the
+fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman,
+Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the
+garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has
+out-lived all its rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and
+Tarsus survive only as uninteresting towns, Babylon,
+Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but Damascus is still the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>“Head of Syria” as it was in the days of Abraham—Damascus
+a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand,
+bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always
+been and must for ever remain the mother city of the world.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath
+in the waters of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name
+Barada indicates, remarkably cool and pleasant. Having
+tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s opinion, that the
+bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the midst of
+the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth;
+certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a
+Mahommedan one, where the process of destruction is
+carried on by man and that of re-construction or re-placement
+left to “Allah.” We also see another tree in the horse
+market close by, used as a gallows, but public executions are
+very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly sensitive—he
+does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home
+if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem
+being publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the
+great mosque; in its courtyard are the remains of a small
+ancient temple to the sun—it was once a Roman temple, then
+a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient times probably the
+site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the knee to
+Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it
+easier to enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of
+Omar at Jerusalem, and the grand mosque at Cairo, than
+this, the people being so fanatical. St. Sophia, in fact, we
+got into by only paying a few francs to the door-keeper, but
+here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the tomb
+of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very
+sacred, cannot view the interior. We now come to the street
+called “Straight,” above a mile long, running through the
+city east to west, and on our way we call at the traditional
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church; then just
+outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman,
+now appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part
+of the wall from which it is said St. Paul was let down in a
+basket at the time when Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia,
+was King. Aretas was the name of the dynasty, like,
+Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia, &amp;c.
+The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just
+outside the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have
+been the light before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled.
+A walled up gate is also shewn as that by which St. Paul
+entered the city.</p>
+
+<div id='i033'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bazaars</span> are very interesting, here is to be found
+merchandise collected by caravans from all corners of the
+earth; Merchants from Manchester, Paris, Vienna,
+Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia, Afghanistan, India,
+Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its
+exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather
+and metal work; the population is principally Moslem. We
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>of course pay a visit to old Abu Antika (father of antiquities),
+and possess ourselves of a Damascus blade. A friend of ours,
+an artist, was about to give 100 francs for one at Cairo, we
+asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it “warranted best
+steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it
+was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer
+induced him to hastily put away the Damascus blade and my
+friend put his 100 francs back into his pocket. Tricks are
+sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old Abu
+Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money
+on spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could
+not interfere, but she introduced herself to us later on and
+was a very pleasant and intelligent fellow traveller. The
+houses of the rich Damascenes are very handsomely fitted up;
+on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a great open
+courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants
+all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at
+one end, is fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as
+a public reception room. On each side of the court is a
+large room, one used as a Summer and the other as a
+Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are
+magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The
+sleeping rooms are on the first floor and are entered from a
+verandah above. Running water from the Abana flows
+through all the best houses. The public buildings and
+barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good
+for a Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is
+interesting, but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader,
+who so long kept the French at bay in North Africa, lived in
+Damascus, and had a quarter allotted to him and his Algerian
+fellow exiles. Damascus is not the dirty city it once was.
+Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that respect, and also in
+other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus in ruins
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the
+fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This
+is a much shorter and more economical way (to the government)
+of making street improvements than that we have in
+England, but as no notice of the contemplated improvement
+is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the inhabitants.
+Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of
+the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.</p>
+
+<div id='i035'  class='figcenter id003'>
+<img src='images/i035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch05' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER V.—The Anti-Lebanon.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span> must now be left behind, adieu, we wish
+we could say <i>au revoir</i> to its lovely lanes and
+pleasant orchards, its curious motley crowded
+bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its
+grand associations with all time—for did not through Damascus
+pass those archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the
+four quarters of the globe? Shem probably here said goodbye
+to Ham on his way to Africa, and both bade God-speed
+to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north; and Noah
+himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones
+as near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb,
+and that of Adam, Abel and Seth, <i>cum multis aliis</i> near here
+even to this day? Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of
+Demetri, an oasis in the desert of barbarism we pass through.
+We follow back the diligence road a few miles as far as
+Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec, <i>viâ</i>
+Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get
+a zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of
+Sahrâ. We see on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon
+enter the upper part of the Abana watershed, which might
+well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this part of the world
+where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass
+several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>appearance, the women looking better and healthier than
+any we have yet seen. We now enter the narrow gorge
+of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and soon after
+about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh
+(one of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river
+which springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as
+at once to form a large stream, which, although not broad, is
+very deep. It must be, we should think, the shortest river in
+the world. Over these springs, half-hidden by the beautiful
+foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise the massive remains
+of two temples, one across the stream, one in it, all around is
+a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a good
+place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and
+orange, mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most
+lovely little stream, and where its crystal current mixes with
+the turbid Barada, there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more
+beautiful even than the “<i>Moore</i>” famed meeting of the
+Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once picturesque Vale of
+Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the
+spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak,
+are found forming little forests wherever a rill of living water
+can force its way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and
+Roman times were only, and they could easily be, reformed,
+the whole land would again laugh and sing, and paradises as
+of old, would replace the present deserts. God made the
+land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses,
+has turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey,
+following the course of the Barada for some two hours, having
+a succession of pretty woodland views until we come to Sûk
+Wady Barada, supposed to be the site of the ancient Abila,
+the chief town of the district of Abilene, of which (according
+to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of Tiberius
+Cæsar.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span><span class='sc'>Abila</span> is said to derive it name from Abel, who according
+to tradition was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging
+height (Neby Hâbyl) is pointed out as Abel’s tomb.
+This first murder, according to tradition was avenged by
+Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from
+Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the
+prophets of Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the
+Barada gorge, where the river descending in small cataracts
+is spanned by a very tumbledown bridge, attributed by some
+writers to Zenobia, but more probably the work of the Roman
+engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the <i>corniche</i>
+roads.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut
+tombs, tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and
+the remains of a high-level mountain road, works well worthy
+the finest engineering of the West. Here by the stream, near
+a murmuring waterfall we spread our carpet for tiffin, the
+lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying waters, the
+greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this
+season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful
+resting place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine
+waterfalls and ruined bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt
+grass plain of Zebedâni, one of the most fertile in the
+land, well watered and well cultivated; then, after passing
+some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like
+lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place
+between Damascus and Baalbec. The population is chiefly
+Moslem, but there are many Maronites also. We lodge with
+the chief priest. We may here remark that the Maronites are
+a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge the
+Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called
+orthodox Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their
+own patriarch and do not carry out the Roman ritual. They
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>might almost equally well acknowledge the Archbishop of
+Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite women are distinguished
+by a black band on the forehead.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Zebedâni</span> is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most
+luxurious vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains.
+It boasts a small Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built
+closely together, only one or two having a first floor; most
+have a small courtyard, into which the goats and cattle are
+driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are used
+much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty
+ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep
+in the open on the roof; and when in the early morning
+sleeper after sleeper raised his or her head from beneath
+the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and tried to escape
+from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme. All
+turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are
+as a rule early risers. The room we have is clean, contains
+the usual curtained recesses in the walls for cupboards, and
+a wooden ledge round top of room for stores, and, what is
+the only piece of furniture ever seen in these parts, a large
+damasceened chest for the valuables of the household. The
+mural decorations consist of English willow pattern plates
+cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement
+on hanging them up by wires, as they are not liable to be
+broken by domestic dusting. We have seen the outside
+as well as the inside of dwellings decorated in this manner,
+and our Western sisters are long forestalled in this kind of
+mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East. Our
+worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by
+Druses, and we try to reassure him by saying that times are
+changed since 1860, and that there is not any occasion to
+fear; but we should not like to back this opinion too heavily,
+for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and Druses are as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon
+after writing above there was a collision between Moslems
+and Christians at Beyrût, and several of the latter were
+massacred. There was also an attack on Christians in the
+Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently said to me
+what <span class='sc'>Froude</span> said in September, 1880, in his admirable
+article on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost
+ceased to exist, and that every one had to look after his own
+immediate interest,” and in the case of a collapse of Turkish
+rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from the desert like
+locusts, murder all round, and in all probability permanently
+occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at
+daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the
+rising sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this
+gilding of the hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in
+language, far too bright to be pictured in painting, is the
+grand <i>mise-en-scène</i> of black and gold set in silver frame
+produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with the
+disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many
+former occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000
+feet high in the Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw
+the Italian mountains literally bathed in the brightest gold as
+the sun climbed up to the summits of the highest peaks and
+crept down the opposite sides into the valley.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of
+seeing the Syrian sheep, remarkable for their tremendous
+tails, and watch the women stuffing the vine leaves down the
+sleepy animals’ throats, for the purpose of creating the
+enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the tail and is used to
+fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which, with a
+salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into
+one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our
+German friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>added in times of plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of
+Zebedâni behind, and passing under Bludàn, the summer
+residence of the European Consuls, arrive at the upper source
+of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon, the
+streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and
+towards the Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first
+fountain on the northern slope is that of Eve, in whose transparent
+waters the mother of all was, according to poetical
+tradition, admiring herself when her future lord and master
+(as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her. We
+infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was
+by no means a small one, and must have included all Syria
+Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the
+world. As we are soon leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may
+observe that this mountain range extends from Banias, at the
+head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the Bukâa, in
+which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of
+it, but on account of its almost isolated position, is often
+considered to be as a mountain in business for itself. On
+our way we cross two Roman bridges, now on their last legs,
+but they have done well to have lasted 1800 years.</p>
+
+<div id='i042f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i042f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>The Great Stone in the Quarry</i>.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient
+wine presses, hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000
+perhaps 3,000 years back; they enable one to understand
+what building a wine press meant, and what a terrible loss
+and disappointment it would be to the builder, if, when he
+“looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus
+hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep
+out the “little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great
+trouble and many years before they form that impenetrable
+barrier through which even the wild boar cannot break his
+way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for lunch in the
+Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our
+journey leave on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of
+Seth. Ham is said to be buried a little further east.
+A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts upon our view,
+separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or valley
+of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the
+village of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel,
+and soon come in sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens
+and grand Acropolis of Baalbec, the great ancient shrine of
+Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of the Sun of the
+Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many,
+of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great
+caravan road from Tyre to India, which we may mention was
+the original overland route, and if history repeats itself
+will be so again. What shorter route to India can there be
+than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth through the canal
+now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna,
+and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of
+Cilicia, <i>viâ</i> the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and
+Afghanistan, to India—there are no difficulties which modern
+engineers could not overcome. But perhaps we are waiting
+for the French or Germans to show the way.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a> Before entering
+the town we visit the ancient quarries out of which were
+hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very
+ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies
+there already hewn but not quite separated from the quarry,
+it is about 70 feet long, 14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing
+some 10,000 tons; other large stones are seen lying about
+partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished in the
+workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader
+who made the busy mason so suddenly throw away the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>gavel to seize the sword will now never be known. We
+put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and find it fairly
+comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late in the
+evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with
+two Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only
+converse in the primitive language of signs—the result being
+that when next morning they want to see the ruins, they are
+taken from them, to a hill some miles off, where they see them—from
+a distance—a fine effect probably, but not what was
+wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer
+inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone
+through it all ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic
+descriptions. Their guides, if not useful as Cicerones, were
+we must admit extremely picturesque and pleasant barbarians.
+The younger lady has we believe by this time immortalized
+them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme
+effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the
+Temple from which the <i>coup d’oeil</i> was magnificent.</p>
+
+<div class='footnote c018' id='f1'>
+<p class='c019'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a firman to make a
+railway from Ismid to Bagdad.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of
+having a guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way
+to Beyrût we meet a man and his horse at cross purposes,
+endeavouring in vain to find out the reason from his Arab
+guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you and your
+horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the
+traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not
+understand my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is
+a brute.” “Not so, my friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding
+him with an Arab bridle in English fashion.” He was, in
+fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for he was
+torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he
+had been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately
+replied, “Tu quoque <i>brute</i>.” The Arab bit is in the shape of
+a gridiron (minus interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>broad end of it, in which the lower jaw of the animal is placed
+the handle of the gridiron is in the mouth, and by a pull of
+the reins is forced up into the roof of the mouth, causing
+considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and
+the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck
+when wishing to go to the right, and <i>vice versâ</i>. Pulling the
+rein English fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal.
+We explain the process and leave the man and his beast
+better friends; they now understand each other. (How
+many of us would also like each other better if we were less
+impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and
+rider now go on their way as reconciled to one another as
+Balaam to the ass after the departure of the Angel.</p>
+
+<div id='i044'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i044.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>A Street called “Straight,” Damascus.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch06' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VI.—Baalbec.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is
+situated about forty-five miles north of Damascus
+but slightly to the west, on the lowest slope of
+Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany.
+The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec
+within one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down
+the Bukâa or Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon
+and Beyrût. The Orontes, El Asi or rebellious river, so
+called because it changes its course in a remarkable manner,
+flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch. Baalbec is the
+point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût
+and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient
+importance, and it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram
+or Upper Syria where Terah lived, whence Abram emigrated
+and whither Jacob went to seek a wife among the daughters
+of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and subsequently
+his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships; even
+more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American
+who married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to
+despair, insanity and death, because he never could make out
+what relation he was to himself.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two
+and three miles in circumference. Some learned writers
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>attribute its foundation to Solomon, arguing that the colossal
+stones used in the substructure, of which we will speak more
+in detail hereafter, are similar in size and bevel to those in the
+temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it with
+Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have
+built at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be
+Palmyra), in the wilderness. Now it must be noted that
+Solomon lost Damascus to the Syrians, which David his
+father had taken from them. It is not likely that having so
+lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and
+built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it,
+neither would he if he dominated the cedar country have
+troubled Hiram to send him cedars for the Temple. We may
+also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are described as being
+built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in the land,
+<i>i.e.</i>, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities
+undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &amp;c. Baalaath is
+more likely to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city
+of palms, there are plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in
+Palestine without locating Tadmor in the great Syrian desert,
+then held by the hostile kings of Syria; and further, we are
+informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of Phœnician Tyre,
+certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon
+could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to
+give, Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of
+operations, but equally conveniently situated for Hiram and
+much more acceptable to him. Baalbec was probably a
+Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram, who however
+might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones
+to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact
+that Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to
+prepare the Temple materials, the woodwork of which was
+undoubtedly, and the stonework perhaps too, obtained from
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and floated down along
+the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit the
+celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only
+approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those
+on the Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the
+village a beautiful little Temple of Venus, called by the
+natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a gem of architecture, semicircular
+in shape, the architraves, cornices, &amp;c., richly
+ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has
+a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a
+monolith. It was last used as a Greek church, to which era
+the trace of frescoes still remaining must be attributed. Near
+by are the remains of a large mosque, which looks very like
+having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s basilica and
+other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns
+being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large
+or too small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been
+very fine.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The great Trilithon Temple</span>, the Acropolis of Baalbec,
+and its massive, mighty ruins are now before us—they have
+been so often pictured by the painter that their external
+appearance must be familiar to many. We enter from the
+east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble flight of
+steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty
+columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks
+when they converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing
+under this, through a portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty
+corridor, richly ornamented; facing us are three large doors,
+the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us into an outer court of
+hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide; three
+gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440
+feet long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are
+vast somewhat semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>rectangular recesses on each side with arched roofs, but open
+to the central court; these are elaborately decorated with
+niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &amp;c., the various designs
+of ornament on the latter scrolls, birds, flowers, &amp;c., being
+very beautiful and still in fine preservation, so numerous and
+varied that it has been said that it would take an artist a lifetime
+to copy them in detail. This court leads us up to what
+was once the great Temple, at first dedicated to Baal and
+then to all the gods, so as not to offend any. The only
+remains of this Temple are six magnificent columns of the
+peristyle, each 60 feet high and 7½ feet in diameter; they are
+visible at a great distance in the plain below, and have a very
+grand impressive effect, especially when seen from below at a
+distance standing out boldly in an evening sky.</p>
+
+<div id='i048f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i048f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>General View of Ruins.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>This temple was probably about three hundred feet long,
+and stood upon the old Phœnician foundation, built of
+Cyclopean masses of stone, many of which are thirty feet long
+and ten feet thick; but there are three stones (which gave the
+name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty feet long,
+thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have
+been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they
+now occupy, it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled
+up great inclined planes of earth which were afterwards
+carted away, as represented in the bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud.
+To the left of the great Temple, on a somewhat lower level,
+having formerly an approach of its own from the plain,
+probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by
+some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and
+finest ruins in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid,
+but very beautiful and varied. It was surrounded by forty-six
+columns, about sixty-five feet high and six feet in diameter;
+the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was supported by a double
+row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet high and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow
+pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof.
+The cornices are rich in design and elaborate in execution,
+the Cella or interior is in fair preservation, and at the end of
+it is a raised platform where the altar stood. Underneath the
+altar was a vault whence concealed priests sent up Delphic
+responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined that they
+were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the
+Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies
+highest and is supposed to be able to look at the Sun
+unflinchingly, predominates everywhere about these ruins.
+The temple area is undermined by vast vaulted corridors, now
+used as approaches in the same way as the Temple platform
+at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius
+converted the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem
+conquest it was used as a fortress. When some five hundred
+years later the tide turned again in favour of Christianity, it
+was converted back by the Crusaders into a church, and
+when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it
+became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its
+final decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed
+by Tamerlane the Tartar when he raided through Syria.
+While at Baalbec, we witness an extraordinary hailstorm,
+the stones being larger than pigeons’ eggs—almost as large as
+a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the centre about
+the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large, clear,
+crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice.
+The storm lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt
+for some time; it is accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm.
+We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and wend our way across
+the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>The <span class='sc'>Bukâa</span>, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the
+Hebrews (<i>Amos</i> i, 5), is a long plain extending about one
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>hundred miles between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon
+mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and the
+Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow
+Syria, and was the natural highway of the invading armies of
+Egypt, Persia, Assyria, &amp;c., from all time. It is mentioned
+in the Bible as the “entering in of Hamath,” but was only
+for a short time in the possession of the Kings of Israel.
+Along this plain commander Cameron projected a railway
+between Damascus, <i>viâ</i> Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo
+northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards,
+and to Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all
+possible enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay.
+The railway was to be commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour
+to Damascus to avoid the mountains. This enterprising
+project was to embrace, eventually, a Euphrates valley line
+to Bombay, <i>viâ</i> the Persian Gulf, and to Northern India, <i>viâ</i>
+Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected
+with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, <i>viâ</i>
+Diarbekir to Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari
+and the Bosphorus, opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty
+project on paper, a magnificent prophecy of the future, and
+we hope that commander Cameron will live to see his
+great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec
+we come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem
+saint reared evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.</p>
+
+<div id='i051f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i051f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>—<i>and The Lebanon</i>.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bukâa</span> plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders
+a journey through it rather monotonous for some hours. We
+lunch at a small Arab Khan, and passing several villages
+reach at length that of Kerak Nûh, where we are shown the
+tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet wide and
+three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this
+ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out
+of proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>which was smaller than the Great Eastern, only about fifty
+feet high, and then divided into three decks, my Moslem
+guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark, by-the-bye, is said to
+have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered the Holy
+Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by
+Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably
+about 1,100 tonnage—it seems however soon to have come
+to grief. According to Moslem tradition, Hezekiah is said to
+be buried near Noah. We next pass through <span class='sc'>Mulaka</span>, a
+prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which
+is almost joined to <span class='sc'>Zahleh</span>, a large Maronite Christian town
+on the frontier of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town,
+finely situated at the entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an
+amphitheatre of high mountains; it was the headquarters of
+the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now ride through
+many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the
+principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up
+for the night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to
+Beyrût, about nine hours along the diligence road over the
+Lebanon. We soon have to take our last look at Hermon,
+the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon, and ascending to
+the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the sea. The
+Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and
+Beyrût shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of
+them on the low coast line.</p>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id005'>
+<img src='images/pg-ft.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch07' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VII.—Beyrût to Boulogne.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours
+sail of Cyprus and about twenty-four of Port Said),
+has a considerable population, and is a pleasant
+place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is
+beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background,
+and boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars.
+The fruit of Paradise—the banana—is plentiful, and
+considered finer and sweeter than that of any other region of
+Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health
+resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon
+Pasha, who consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return
+from the Cape. We discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the
+end the General expressed his intention of resting there. He
+went shortly after, but his noble restless nature could not
+rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained there only a
+short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission
+to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal
+Government which sent him on a mad mission and then
+deserted him (only sending a relieving force when too late),
+he nobly ended a noble life.</p>
+
+<div id='i052f'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i052f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—<i>Larnaca.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we
+made the journey some years ago, about the time that Sir
+Garnet Wolsely took possession of the island. Without the
+English and Indian troops who were then there we should
+not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a
+whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>Mediterranean, and has a climate and soil which would
+produce almost anything. It is a pity that our Government
+does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a lump sum
+and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony
+like Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think
+that if the island were properly explored some very interesting
+archæological discoveries would be made, as from its position
+it must have been a house of call for all the great civilised
+nations of antiquity. The Egyptian, Assyrian, Tyrian, and
+Roman galleys must all at some time or other have sought
+shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its
+orange, lemon and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its
+bustling lanes and its busy quays, and embark on board an
+Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we find the Peninsula
+and Oriental Southampton steamer, <i>Venetia</i>, which lands us
+at <span class='sc'>Malta</span>, off which interesting island we see a remarkable
+sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very
+fortunately a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we
+cross over to Sicily, to <span class='sc'>Syracuse</span>, still infamous for deeds of
+blood, as of old, and celebrated for its ruined theatre, where
+Æschylus, before 20,000 sympathetic listeners, was wont to
+recite his immortal tragedies. Here also is the rock-hewn
+“Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off with the
+report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from
+Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a
+little loaf of bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of
+the lovely island of Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we
+can comfortably swallow it without the coffee we cannot get.
+We next come to Catania, famous for its sulphur and nitre
+mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna; and then
+pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at
+Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>Polyphemus, who, however, took better aim at the unlucky
+lover of Galatea, whose blood still poetically flows in the
+little river in memory of him, the Acis which we soon after
+pass, and then we come to that beautiful Sicilian
+Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Taormina</span>, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known
+to the ordinary Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient
+remains. Its ruined theatre was one of the largest in the
+world. It began its history by successfully resisting the
+Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400 years was an
+important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is
+now little more than a large village, but its situation is
+magnificent, scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after
+leaving Taormina, we find ourselves at Messina, where we
+embark on an Italian steamer for Naples, whence the train
+takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and through the
+Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.</p>
+
+<div id='i054'  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p><i>The Cedars of Lebanon.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div  class='figcenter id004'>
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>
+<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='ch08' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VIII.—The Bedaween and Fellaheen.</span></h2>
+</div>
+<hr class='c012' />
+<p class='c013'>The <span class='sc'>Bedaween</span> are rough but picturesque looking
+fellows, armed often with very long lances, spear
+at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the
+other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner
+killed Asahel, whom he smote with the <i>hinder</i>-part of the
+spear while being pursued; long guns with a short range,
+antique pistols and knives stuck into the girdle, making up a
+formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses are
+small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in
+days of yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by
+trade, but not naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill
+unless resistance is made. They rarely attack unless pretty
+sure of being able to overpower, and when on mere robbery
+bent, generally go about in small bands of three and four,
+keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close
+together they will probably get the worst of it, as the
+Bedaween are quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse
+the rider in an instant. They seldom leave the traveller with
+more than one garment, and of course take the horses too.
+They do not attack large parties like Cook’s caravans. As we
+have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very
+sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about
+the distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>attacked, the other may have time to draw a revolver, which
+Bedaween will seldom face, as their game is to rob defenceless
+travellers, and not to risk their own lives. Three of them,
+mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some time on the
+open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing
+that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to
+our great relief left us. It is only the small bands that need
+be feared. A tribe on the march or in camp in Syria would
+never touch a traveller, as it would soon be known what
+tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would follow,
+as they cannot move <i>en masse</i> quickly, and for this reason
+(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of
+their camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different
+tribes are coming in opposite directions in a lonely district,
+they will not meet face to face, but one goes to the right and
+the other in the contrary direction, in order that one shall not
+get behind the other, for if there were a blood feud between
+the tribes, and either could murder the other without risk, it
+would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken
+unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween,
+and one were to go straight up the road, and the other off the
+road to one side so as to get in their rear, they would not
+attack the traveller left alone. We know a case in which
+a party of three (with only one gun between them)
+escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the
+Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much.
+They have a nasty knack of reaping what others have sown,
+swooping down from a distance in the middle of the night
+and clearing away before morning with half the harvest of a
+village—not very difficult to do when it is lying in heaps on
+the threshing floor ready for market.</p>
+<hr class='c020' />
+<div>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>
+  <h3 class='c015'>THE FELLAHEEN.</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c016'>The <span class='sc'>Fellaheen</span>, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of
+Philistine or Phœnician descent, fear the Bedaween as much
+as the passing traveller does. They frequently carry for
+defence either a rather artistic looking kind of battle-axe
+(probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick
+something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and
+knife—they sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their
+own account; one unfortunately occurred while we were in
+the country, and a young friend of ours was cruelly murdered
+by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an oak forest we
+had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered
+and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their
+non-execution created an impression here that to murder an
+Englishman is the same as to murder a native, and simply to
+pay as blood-money a part of the plunder back if the crime is
+found out. It may interest our readers to know how capital
+punishment is carried out in this country. First of all the
+public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for (say) five
+napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the
+horrid office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost
+his nerve, and butchered his victim; we will not relate the
+circumstances. Before the execution takes place, the chief
+officer at the execution cries out, “Who will buy this man’s
+soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a sufficient sum of
+money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations (and they
+generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the
+culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life;
+but he generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At
+Jerusalem, criminals are generally executed outside the Jaffa
+Gate, where probably, and not on the site of the Church of
+the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was crucified. In the case
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them to the place of
+execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the
+greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal
+which he generally keeps for the women and children.
+Recently a Bedawi brigand was executed outside Jerusalem,
+he was a villain, but a plucky fellow; his last words were
+“Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all your
+guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope;
+he placed one end round his neck and tied the other to a
+tree, stood on the donkey, kicked it aside and was his own
+executioner. This soul was put up for auction, but there
+was not a bid; not even the most merciful Mahommedan
+could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent
+so many souls to death without even offering them at auction.
+As if the country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte
+banished to Palestine some time since, thousands of the
+Circassian cut-throats, who committed the Bulgarian
+atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they
+are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them,
+and they do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the
+fate they are so ready to deal out to others.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>A few remarks about the general tenure of land in
+Palestine may be interesting. It is somewhat similar to the
+ancient land settlement of England before the days of feudal
+tenure. Each village has so much pasture, tillage or woodland
+belonging to it as common property; this is year by
+year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity
+according to the number of the family. The allotments are
+divided from each other only by rows or heaps of stones,
+which, as they can be easily moved, explains the reason of
+the Levitical curse against him who removed his neighbour’s
+land mark. The land is not of course highly cultivated, as
+the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being absolutely
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the
+government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time,
+when the grain is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize
+what they consider their share of the produce. A similar
+summary procedure is adopted with the flocks and herds of
+sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure is not
+here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether
+unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.</p>
+<hr class='c020' />
+<h3 class='c015'>MAHOMETANS.</h3>
+
+<p class='c016'>And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can
+learn at least one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not
+ashamed of his religious faith; he is not ashamed to be seen
+reading his Bible or saying his prayers, even during business
+hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good Christians are.
+Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most
+ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable
+Christian. We may mention here that Christ is venerated
+by the Mahometans, who believe as we do that He will judge
+the world at the last day. This judgment according to them
+is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will be
+stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount
+Moriah to the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to
+cross on this tight rope. The righteous will accomplish the
+journey in safety; but the wicked will fall off into the Valley
+of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen idolater,
+made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred
+books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same
+way as did many of the Roman church missionaries in the
+dark ages, when they mixed up Christianity with Paganism,
+and allowed their converts to retain their idol images, only
+re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna Diana, Lady
+Mary, &amp;c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>We now conclude the account of our “<span class='sc'>Ride through
+Syria</span>.” We have shown, we think, that it is not a very
+difficult matter now-a-days to make a pilgrimage to the once
+distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a few
+weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation.
+Taken as a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious
+one, but looked at in a more serious light, it is a tour never
+to be forgotten, and affords food for reflection for the whole
+of an after lifetime. The Bible henceforth becomes a more
+and more interesting book as we learn better to understand it.
+We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more than
+the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod,
+sailed on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed
+up the mountain from which He ascended into Heaven. We
+journeyed alone with a dragoman without tents, putting up
+at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so saw the inner
+life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel luxuriously
+in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble
+or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist
+agents like Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be
+as perfect as possible. We hope in a future volume to give
+an account of our travels in Asia Minor to the sites of
+“<span class='sc'>The Seven Churches of Asia</span>.”</p>
+<hr class='c021' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div><span class="blackletter">Finis.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>
+  <h2 id='idx' class='c006'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><i>Index.</i></span></span></h2>
+</div>
+<ul class='index c003'>
+  <li class='c022'>Abana, or Barada, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abel’s Tomb and Abila, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abner and Asahel, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Abraham, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Acis and Galatea, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Anti-Lebanon, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Arabi, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Arabian Nights, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Baal, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baalbec, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baalath, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Baal-Gad, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Banias (Baalath), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Barak, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bedaween, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Beyrût (Berytus), <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bludàn, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cana of Galilee, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cain, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Calfolatry, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Capernaum, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Carmel, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Cyprus, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Damascus, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a> to <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Dan, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Druses, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Eden, Garden of, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Elijah, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Esdraelon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Eve, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Fellaheen, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>General Gordon, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hermon, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hibberiyeh, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Hiram of Tyre, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>Hunin (Beth-rehob), <a href='#Page_14'>14</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Jaffa, or Joppa, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Jordan, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Kenites and Kedes, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Land Tenure,  <a href='#Page_58'>58</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Mahometans, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Maronites, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Naaman the Syrian, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Naples, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Napoleon, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Noah, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Overland Route, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Palmyra, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Pharpar and Abana, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Phœnicians, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Rasheya, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Saracens and Saladin, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Safed, the City on a Hill, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Seth, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Sharon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Sisera, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Solomon, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>St. Paul, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Street called Straight, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Syracuse, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Taormina, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>The Transfiguration, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Tiberias, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), <a href='#Page_47'>47</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Wine Press, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li>
+  <li class='c003'>Zahleh, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li>
+  <li class='c022'>Zebedâni, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li>
+</ul>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span><span class='large'>A CATALOGUE</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—OF—</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">Some  ⸫ Old  ⸫ Books  ⸫ Published</span></span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>—AT THE—</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='large'>OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p class='c014'>THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, <span class='fss'>BY</span>
+<i>Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn, &amp;c.</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—<i>M de la Bruyère</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, and other PUBLIC PAPERS</span>      1710</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &amp;c.,
+<span class='fss'>BY</span> <i>Sir B. Whitlock</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, Vol. 7</span>; <span class='sc'>Venus and Adonis</span>; <span class='sc'>Tarquin and Lucrece</span>, <span class='sc'>and Miscellaneous Poems</span>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='fss'>THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON</span>, <i>Edited by M. St. Egrement</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE of SAVOY.</span></p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, to incite the English against the French</span>      1710</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>SENSUS COMMUNIS—<i>An Essay</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—<i>Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange</i>      1709</p>
+
+<hr class='c023' />
+<p class='c014'>A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of <i>M. de Perrier</i>, Academician.</p>
+<div class='pbb'>
+ <hr class='pb c003' />
+</div>
+<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class='tnbox'>
+
+ <ul class='ul_1 c003'>
+    <li>Transcriber’s Notes:
+      <ul  class='ul_2'>
+        <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
+        </li>
+        <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected.
+        </li>
+        <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant
+        form was found in this book.
+        </li>
+      </ul>
+    </li>
+  </ul>
+
+</div>
+<p class='c014'>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and
+Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram
+
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+</pre>
+
+  </body>
+  <!-- created with ppgen.py 3.57c on 2019-11-02 16:59:50 GMT -->
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