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diff --git a/old/60615-0.txt b/old/60615-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 14b8ab1..0000000 --- a/old/60615-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2485 +0,0 @@ -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 - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA *** - -***** This file should be named 60615-0.txt or 60615-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/6/1/60615/ - -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) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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