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} - .c022 { margin-top: .5em; } - .c023 { border: none; border-bottom: thin solid; margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 5%; width: 90%; margin-right: 5%; } - body {width:80%; margin:auto; } - .tnbox {background-color:#E3E4FA;border:1px solid silver;padding: 0.5em; - margin:2em 10% 0 10%; } - .blackletter {font-family: "Old English Text MT", Gothic, serif; } - </style> - </head> - <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and -Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon - -Author: Edward Abram - -Release Date: November 2, 2019 [EBook #60615] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA *** - - - - -Produced by MFR, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>A Ride through Syria to Damascus and Baalbec, <br /> <br />and Ascent of Mount Hermon</h1> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> -<div id='frontis' class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_I'>I</span> -<a href='images/frontis-lg.jpg'><img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></a> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Palestine in the Time of Our Saviour.<br /><span class='small'>by W. Hughes F.R.G.S.</span><br /><span class='small'>Click on image for larger version.</span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_II'>II</span><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">R</span></span>ide through <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">S</span></span>yria</span></div> - <div class='c000'>—<span class='small'> TO</span> —</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">D</span></span>amascus and <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">B</span></span>aalbec</span>,</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='small'>AND</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">A</span></span>scent of <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">M</span></span>ount <span class='xlarge'><span class="blackletter">H</span></span>ermon</span>.</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='small'><i>BY</i></span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Edward Abram</span>,</span></div> - <div class='c000'><i>Author of “A Ride Through Palestine,”</i></div> - <div><i>“The Seven Churches of Asia,” &c.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c004' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c005' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class="blackletter">Published by</span></div> - <div class='c000'>ABRAM & SONS,</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>At the Old Post House, Middle Temple Gate,</span></div> - <div><span class='sc'>London</span>.</div> - <div>—</div> - <div>1887.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_III'>III</span><span class='sc'>Abram & Sons,</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class="blackletter">Printers,</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>Middle Temple Gate,</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>London, E.C.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_IV'>IV</span> - <h2 class='c006'>— <span class='xlarge'><i><span class='sc'>Contents.</span></i></span> —</h2> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER I.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'> </td> - <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Jaffa to Tiberias</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch01'>3</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER II.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias to Hasbêya</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch02'>10</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER III.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon and The Druses</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch03'>19</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER IV.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch04'>27</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER V.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Anti-Lebanon</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch05'>37</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VI.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec and The Bukâa</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch06'>45</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VII.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût to Boulogne</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch07'>52</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>CHAPTER VIII.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Bedaween and Fellaheen</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#ch08'>55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>—————————</td> - <td class='c008'> </td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#idx'>61</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_VI'>VI</span> - <h2 class='c006'><i>ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h2> -</div> - -<table class='table2' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='75%' /> -<col width='25%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Map of Palestine</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#frontis'>Frontispiece</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'> </td> - <td class='c008'><i>Page</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>, and House of Simon the Tanner</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i005f'>5</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Mount Carmel</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i009'>9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i026'>26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i033'>33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i035'>35</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—Great Stone and Quarry</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i042f'>42</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span>—Street called “Straight”</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i044'>44</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—General View of Ruins</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i048f'>48</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span> and the Lebanon</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i051f'>51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—Larnaca</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i052f'>52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>Cedars of Lebanon</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#i054'>54</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span> -<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<p class='c009'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">A R</span>ide</span></span></p> -<p class='c010'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">T</span>hrough</span></span></p> -<p class='c011'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><span class="blackletter">S</span>yria.</span></span></p> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch01' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER I.—Jaffa to Tiberias.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'>Our “Ride through Palestine” did not exhaust our -enthusiasm for the East; we were not, as some -travellers have been, disappointed with “The Holy -Land,” because we did not expect to find it still, as in ancient -days, a “land of milk and honey.” The cisterns are -broken and the waters run to waste, the walls of the vineyards -are cast down, the very soil has disappeared from the -once fertile terraced heights, the wine presses are covered -with weeds, the defenced cities are all a ruin; but, in spite of -all this desolation, the Land of our Lord will always have an -overwhelming interest for the thoughtful traveller who wishes -to trace out on the spot the history of the oldest and most -interesting people of the world.</p> - -<p class='c014'>Having on the former occasion travelled by the beaten -track, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, we this time try a new and unfrequented -route. Our objective points are the plains of Sharon and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>Esdraelon, sighting that mighty headland, “the excellency of -Carmel,” with its numerous reminiscences of Elijah, and Baal, -that “glory of Lebanon,” Hermon with its <i>traditional</i> snow-clad -summit and verdure-vested slopes—the sacred sources of the -Jordan, and of Pharpar and Abana, which one thought “better -than all the rivers of Israel”—onward then to Damascus with -its “straight street” and memories of Abram, Saul of Tarsus, -Ananias, and Naaman—then onward again to the reputed -tombs of the early patriarchs, and lastly—Baalbec with its -massive Hivite and beautiful Roman remains. This is a -short sketch of the tour we purpose describing in the following -pages.</p> - -<div id='i005f' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i005f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='sc'>Joppa</span>—<i>With the House of Simon the Tanner on the Sea shore.</i></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>Again we have the good fortune, by the courtesy of the -director, to obtain a passage in the French China Mail, from -Marseilles to Port Said, so arrive in the Holy Land eight -and a half days after leaving the Crusaders’ old haunt in -London. Favoured with fine weather, we sail north of -Sardinia, and sighting Elba and Monte Christo, in two days -pass by Ischia into the beautiful bay of Naples. We find -the pretty Chiaja much enlarged, planted, and generally -improved, and are pleased to see the graceful palm trees in -thriving condition. In the Museo Nazionale, ever so interesting, -we come to the same conclusion as Solomon as to -nothing being new under the sun, for there, if we mistake not, -on well-preserved fresco, we see our old friend the sea-serpent -and a lady, very much like Britannia ruling the waves on a -half-penny. But the sun is setting on Sorrento, Virgil’s tomb -is already in the shade, the ship’s bell is summoning strangers -to depart, and passengers to dress for dinner, so we must bid -adieu to Naples and proceed again <i>en voyage</i>. Capri stands -out grandly and gloomily in the twilight; Vesuvius is quiet, -scarcely keeping up appearances: we gaze at it until the giant -form dies away in the dim distance, and then—go down to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>dinner. Early next morning we pass Stromboli, and in the -Straits of Messina Ætna, but both are “still and silent as the -grave,” in fact on the latter summit, if we mistake not, we see -the dark black lava spotted with bright white snow. On the -far horizon we sight the distant cliffs of Crete, and two days -later find ourselves entering Port Said, where we tranship -ourselves to the Austrian steamer for Jaffa, are off in an hour -and arrive early next morning. We elect to go to Syria by -way of Palestine, but by a different route, in order that we -may visit certain interesting districts which lay out of our -line on our former visit.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We commence our ride from Jaffa by a two days journey -across the plains of Sharon and Esdraelon to Nazareth. -This route, being very open to the attacks of predatory -Bedouins, is never attempted by travellers, the all but trackless -paths over the vast plains being but little known even to -the native.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We engage a picturesque Bedouin Sheik (“as mild a -looking man as ever cut a throat”) for a guard and guide; -two other Arabs join us for company or safety’s sake. This -force a small party of Bedouins would not care to face, and -a large party would not attempt it, as they would be discovered -by their numbers, and vengeance would soon follow, -so we pass the Bedouin camps without any interference.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The ride from Jaffa to Nazareth, <i>viâ</i> Jerusalem, is reckoned -three good days; but by our new route we only take two, and -pushing briskly forward run it in about eighteen hours—hard -work rather to begin with, and the Sirocco blowing hot and -dry from the Syrian desert into the bargain. We vary the -monotony of the journey over the dusty plains with several -little races with our Bedouin guard, who does his best to ride -us down; but fails to do so, much to the delight of our old -Shikarri (muleteer), whose face, by-the-bye, was of such an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>Assyrian type that he seemed to have started out from the -has reliefs of Birs Nimroud. But <i>á route</i> we ride across the -Plain of Sharon, passing many hills crowned with villages -and capped with ruined churches and fortresses mostly -mediæval or Saracenic. It was in this plain that Richard -Cœur-de-Lion gained a great victory over Saladin.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We halt for lunch at El Tireth (from the name, probably -once a fortified town), and, after a ride of eleven hours, halt -for the night at a Mahommedan village called Baka, which -probably now for the first time receives a European guest -(as even my guides had not been there before): the sun being -already set, it is the only refuge near us. It is built of mud -on the slope of a hill near an old ruined fountain enclosed in -massive masonry. Most of the wells and fountains we see -on the way had been similarly well cared for in ancient -times, but are now fast falling into decay. We will -give you a little idea of an Eastern village:—Place a honeycomb -with the cells perpendicular, cover the top of some of -the cubes to represent a flat mud roof, leave others open to -represent small stable yards for all the domestic animals in -creation, camels included, and you have an Arab village of -one-storeyed huts, scarcely distinguishable at a distance from -the hillside on which it is plastered. The Sheiks’ houses -have an additional storey, a guest-chamber built on the wall. -One of these we occupy, not a pane of glass in the place and -quite innocent of any furniture whatever, which is perhaps an -advantage, considering the creeping things innumerable which -abound in Eastern villages. Our guard and other retainers -sleep in the open yard with the horses, and leave their -weapons with us for safe custody, so for the time I am the <i>custos -custodum</i>, but our quarters are inviolable, as for the nonce we -are the guests of the village. A few crossed sticks in the -corner of the yard form the nearest approach to a fire-place.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>We start early next morning over the low Samarian hills of -Manasseh, which fall into the sea at Carmel, take a hasty -glance at El Mahrakah, or the Rock of Sacrifice, where -Elijah slaughtered the Priests of Baal, and enter the vast plain -of Esdraelon, between one of the feeders or lower sources of -Kishon and Megiddo, at which latter place it will be remembered -Barak and his men of Manasseh defeated the hosts of -Jabin, King of Hazor, under Sisera, who fled on foot to the -tents of Heber the Kenite and was treacherously murdered -there by Jael. The Kenites’ home was at Kedes, three days’ -journey off in the mountains. It is not probable that Sisera -could have fled on foot so far; it is more probable that Heber -was pasturing his flocks in the fertile plains of Esdraelon, -and that Jabin’s captain took refuge in their tents, then not -far off. At Megiddo also, Ahaziah died of the wounds he -received from Jehu, and near this spot, in modern times, -Napoleon inflicted on the Turkish levies a defeat somewhat -similar to that which Barak inflicted on Sisera, but Sir -Sydney Smith, holding Acre in his rear, rendered his victory -of but little value except to secure a safe retreat to the sea.</p> - -<p class='c014'>After traversing the great plain of Esdraelon for some -hours, crossing it in almost a direct line, we leave the level -ground again, and ascending the little hills of Lower Galilee, -mount up to Nazareth (described in our “Ride through -Palestine”) and obtain a lodging at the Latin Monastery, -finding in residence the same good Father, quite pleased at -seeing us again, so seldom does he see the same visitor twice. -Next day we leave Nazareth early, taste the waters of the -fountain of the Virgin, at which our Saviour must often have -drunk, and soon <i>on our left</i> see Jiptah or Gath-Hepher, the -reputed birth-place of Jonah, and <i>on our right</i>, the battle-field -where the Crusaders gained their last victory over the -Saracens. A few hours later on at Kurun, (the horns of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>Hattin, we pass the battle-field where shortly after under Guy -of Lusignan in 1187 the Crusaders suffered their last defeat, -their power in Palestine being then for ever crushed by -Saladin. In the meantime, we have also sighted Sepphoris -or Sefûrieh, the Apollonia of Josephus, and ridden through Kefr -Kenna (Cana of Galilee) where on a previous visit, we were -shown the miraculous waterpots which must have been very -fortunate indeed to have survived the crash of so many ages. -This is rather a dangerous ride for small parties like ours, -and at one place where the path is very narrow, we think that -we shall have to fight our way through. About six wild -Moabite Bedouins, from the other side of Jordan, had planted -themselves each side of the narrow way on a slight eminence, -completely commanding us; we determine to pass through in -Indian file, with the length of a pistol shot between us, so that -we cannot both be attacked at the same time. They, perhaps, -were peaceably disposed, but it is wise in such a wild country -to be cautious: anyhow, they do not molest us. They were -all on foot, and seemed quite dead-beat by the sun, and were -without water, which we were unable to give them, not having -any ourselves. Arabs do not give away water when on the -march, as the fountains are so few and far between, and want -of water in the sun-stricken wilderness means weariness, -distress, and death, so graphically described in the pathetic -story of Hagar and Ishmael.</p> - -<p class='c014'>After a pleasant ride, skirting the plain of El Buttauf, we -halt for tiffin in the pleasant orange grove of Lubieh, where in -1799 the French, under Junot, held their own against a vastly -superior army of Turks, and succeeded in reaching Tabor -just in time to fall on the rear of the force then pressing hard -upon the main body under Napoleon. Soon after, we catch -a glimpse of the little lake of Galilee or Tiberias, at one time, -in the bright sunshine, looking like an emerald in a golden -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>setting, and at another time, when a passing cloud veils the -God of day, like a jasper diamond set in an agate frame. We -put up at the Latin Monastery in Tiberias or Tabarea, where -we are entertained by the Father Superior hospitably as we -were on a former occasion. Before leaving Tiberias, we trot -along the shore to visit the hot Sulphur Springs and old -Roman Baths, which are still greatly used.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The tombs of Jethro and Habbakuk are said to be in the -hills above the town.</p> - -<div id='i009' class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/i009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>Mount Carmel.</i></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch02' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER II.—Tiberias to Hâsbeyâ.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Tiberias</span> was our last halting place. After a -grateful dip in the buoyant lake waters we leave -early next day for Safed, the highest inhabited -place in Galilee, said to be the “city on a hill that cannot be -hid,” for it is situated so high that it is visible far and wide, -but the term ‘city on a hill’ might almost equally well apply -to Bethlehem, the “city of our Lord.” In the distance the -snow-white houses of Safed glisten on the dark mountain side -like diamonds set in the breast-plate of a mighty giant. -Leaving the Latin Convent of Tiberias, we ride along the -shore of the Sea of Galilee for about an hour, until we reach -Medjil, or Magdala, the home of the Magdalene, now a collection -of wretched mud hovels, then across the fertile but -neglected plain of Gennesaret, in the midst of which we see a -fine stone circular fountain, evidently once the centre of a great -city, considered by some to be Capernaum; it is now overgrown -with vegetation and the centre of a wilderness, no other -trace of a town near. We pause awhile to think of those great -cities which in our Saviour’s time lined the shores of the lake, -and see how thoroughly their doom has been fulfilled. Tyre -still exists as a place to dry nets on, and Sidon as a habitation -for fishermen; but Chorazin, Capernaum, the two Bethsaidas -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>and the other great lake cities—where are they? Their very -sites are not a certainty, and on the lake, where the Romans -once fought a great naval battle with the Jews, are now only -three wretched fishing boats, in one of which we take a -voyage. They were “exalted to heaven,” they are indeed -“brought down to hell.” We leave the sites of these -formerly great cities on our right, and soon after pass along -sloping ground where there is much grass (here, in all probability, -Christ miraculously fed the multitude). A mountain -near by was in the middle ages known as Mensa, alluding -perhaps to the place where our Saviour made a table for the -multitude in the wilderness. We lunch at Ain-et-Tabighah, -a pleasant spring in the mountains, said to be the site of -Bethsaida (there are ruins near by), and starting again skirt -the Wady-el-Hamân, or Valley of Doves, and soon after find -ourselves high up in the mountains of Naphtali, near Safed; -we ascend the hill behind the city to the ruins of the old -Crusaders’ Castle, whence we obtain one of the finest views -of Palestine. To the east we look over the Sea of Galilee, -across Basan and the wild Hauran, almost into the Arabian -Desert, taking in, in the far south-east, the mountains of -Moab and Ammon, with a long stretch of the Jordan Valley—on -the south and south-west we see Carmel and Tabor—on -the west the sea-coast—on the north the view is bounded by -the high mountains of Lebanon. We hire a Moslem house -for the night, after, of course, being asked for a month’s rent; -we put our horses in the basement and sleep in the upper -room, as usual without any kind of furniture or glass window, -and the floor a mud one, but the view from it is magnificent. -The Jews cook for us, but are so fanatical that they will not -taste the food they themselves have prepared for us. Our -bed is a stone ledge a few feet from the floor, but better however -than we have in many other places; we soon learn the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>way of making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances will -permit, sleeping often sounder on our stony couches than -many do on down beds. My dragoman shares my apartment, -the others sleep outside in the open. It is 5 a.m. when the -Muzeddin, from the summit of the minaret chants out the -first hour of prayer, and we set about enjoying our frugal -Frühstück, as the Polish Jews here call it, and soon after are -in the saddle.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Safed</span> Olim Saphet, one of the four sacred cities of the Jews, -is built on terraces one above the other on the side of the -mountain, so that the flat roofs of one terrace serve very -well as promenades for the houses immediately above, also -affording extra facilities for cats and pariah dogs, jackals, &c., -to intrude upon our nocturnal privacy. From Safed we -travel up and down the mountains, having beautiful views of -the plain where Jabin of Hazor gathered together his iron -chariots against Joshua; of the waters of Merom (Lake -Huleh), and the swamps and jungles of the Jordan, with -herds of half wild buffaloes almost hidden in the high rushes. -On our left we pass a large khan, built to accommodate the -Circassian cut-throats, exiled for committing the Bulgarian -atrocities; then on our right is a rock-hewn cistern of vast -size, evidently made for some other purpose than to supply a -few sheep here in the wilderness.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Deshun</span>, an African colony sent from Algeria when the -French conquered that country, is next reached; the people -seem to be industrious and prosperous. We observe that their -houses are detached and have sloping roofs, seldom seen in -this country except in European settlements, and altogether -they appear more civilised than the Arab inhabitants around -them. About noon we pass the site of Hazor, whose kings -we hear of in Holy Writ under the common name of Jabin, -which was probably the hereditary title of their kings, as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Hazael of Syria, Hiram of Tyre, Pharaoh of Egypt, &c. -After a ride of about 11 miles, we halt for tiffin in the olive -grove of Kedes, (Kadesh Naphtali) one of the cities of refuge, -and the home, it will be remembered, of Barak, as also of -Heber the Kenite. It was one of the royal cities of the -Canaanites. There are great masses of débris and ruins here, -and some fine single and double sarcophagi lying about. The -Turkish people are excavating huge trenches and digging out -large quantities of ancient worked stones, not however, with -any love or regard for archæology, for they are at once -utilised to erect modern buildings or burnt for lime. We -acquire a very ancient lamp for about three half-pence. Our -zeal for antiquities a Turk or Arab does not understand; he -will sooner build a bizarre new mosque (as at Cairo) than -repair the grand old one next door; if a building goes to ruin, -he says resignedly “Mâshâllah” (God wills it), and leaves -it to decay.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Lake Huleh</span> (Semachonitis), which lies under Mount -Hermon, is between four and five miles long and about four -miles broad. Nebu Husha, or the tomb of Joshua, looks -down upon it. The views all along the shores (where the -hills of Naphtali and Basan close upon the lake) and the vista -of the Jordan valley and mountains beyond, especially -Hermon, are very fine. We now, as there is a deal of ground -to cover before sundown, try a short cut into the valley -without going by Hunin, the usual way. We hear of a path -from the Bedouin, and after some difficulty find it. It is not -known to the travellers’ guides, and it is just as well that it -should not be, for it is a difficult dangerous descent, and one -of our horses slipping in a bad place, very nearly brings great -grief, both to himself, his rider, and the writer, who suddenly -finds himself, with a frightened horse in front slipping, falling, -and struggling, wedged in a track so narrow and precipitous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>that it is difficult to find room to dismount; once off, we do -not remount until we reach the plain, and no greater damage -is done than the loss of a bridle, but a halter is almost as good -for an Arab horse. The animal bolted after his fall but we -managed to catch him. The path afterwards, when we could -find one, being little better than a goat track, we have some -trouble to get the horses to face the steep descents. It saves -however some hours of time, and is of immense service to us, -as otherwise we should have been benighted in the difficult, -dangerous, rough and swampy country at the head of the -Jordan valley. As it is we are out 11½ hours in an almost -tropical country, and do not get into Banias until after sunset, -a bad time to enter any Eastern town, and then have to look -for a lodging. But to go back a little, we get down into the -Jordan valley, near Ain Belat, at the tents of the Ghawarineh -Arabs. “Rob Roy” gives them a bad character, and says -they attacked him, but they give us water and behave -civilly. However we should not trust them too far, nor after -dark. We are so glad to get down to level ground, so severe -is the descent, that we think little of any danger from the wild -denizens we drop down on. The scene here is remarkable, -the black Bedouin tents, the dusky herds of buffaloes roaming -among the marshes, the impenetrable jungles, the almost -naked swarthy barbarians, together with the intense heat, -make us imagine ourselves to be in the midst of the dark -continent. Our advice to travellers going from Safed by -Kedes to Banias, is to make a two day’s trip of it, and not -one as we did, and then to keep up on the mountain, and -descend by Hunin to the plain.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hunin</span>, which we pass under, was the Beth-rehob of Joshua, -the limit of the land searched by the spies, for here Syria may -be said to begin on the slopes of the Anti-lebanon. We now -cross the Hasbâny, the most northerly source of the Jordan, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>by an old ruined Roman bridge, Jisl-el-Ghugar, where my -men dismount again, but I have more confidence in my -horses hoofs than my own boots, and stop in the saddle, and -the surefooted sagacious animal carries me over the holes and -boulders safely, whereat I score a point against the dragoman, -and now after another rough ride for about three miles over -stones and swamps, at length we reach Tell-el-Kadi, the -(fertile) hill of the Judge or Dan, which in the Hebrew also -signifies Judge.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span>, it will be remembered, was the extreme northern limit -of the promised Land, as Beersheba was the most southern. -Its Canaanitish name was Laish, it was a colony of Sidon, -and dated back to the days of Abraham. The Danites took -it easily by surprise, as the inhabitants were a peaceable -people devoted to commerce and the manufacture of pottery. -It was always a “high place” or sacred city with the -Phœnicians, who called it Balinas, or the city of Baal, as -later on with Jeroboam, whose Calf was a venerated idol with -the local heathen of that day, as it is still curiously with the -native ignorant Druse peasants at the present day. When -cursed by a Mahommedan they are often called “Sons of -a Calf,” as we ourselves heard: so Jeroboam did not -necessarily take his idea from the golden calf of Mosaic -times, but may have simply adopted the indigenous idolatry; -yet “Calfolatry” may have originally come from Egypt, as -Dan, being a city of palm trees and water, was a favourite -trysting place for the Egyptian as well as the Assyrian, being -on the road to Damascus, which was the objective point of -every invader, whether warrior or merchant.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Dan</span> is now a mound some 500 feet or so long, and 40 feet -high, visible for a long distance over the low plain; here, -under a fine oak tree, near a grotto sacred to Pan, is another -most copious source of the Jordan, forming a large stream -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>immediately it springs from the ground, said to be the -largest source of any river in the world, as it forms a good -flowing river at once. It is called by Josephus the Little -Jordan, and is considered by many the chief source, but it -is not the most northerly. We get a grand view here of -the great Jordan Valley, looking down upon a sea of waving -corn, spread out in one vast field, almost as far as the eye -can reach. A long ride through lanes and pleasant wooded -country, the road often paved with ruined pillars and old -Phœnician worked stones, brings us at last to Banias, the -site of ancient Cæsarea Philippi, so called Cæsarea by Philip -the Tetrarch, in honour of Tiberius Cæsar, the agnomen -Philippi being added by the same gentleman in honour of -himself, and to distinguish it from Cæsarea on the coast near -Jaffa. Agrippa II. called it Neronias in honour of Nero, but -in later times it regained its original name Paneas (which it -took from the Temple of Pan then there), and that was -easily corrupted to its present name Banias. It was once -at least visited by Christ (Matt. xvi.).</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Banias</span> is beautifully situated on a spur of Hermon, on the -direct road to Damascus, which we do not intend to take, -preferring to go two days longer journey round to visit the -less frequented parts of Syria. We are received into a -Mahommedan house, and have, as usual, the upper chamber -allotted to us; and have, what is not usual, the daughter of -the house to attend upon us. Veils are dispensed with in -this establishment, except by the mother, who after a while -thinks it proper to drape up the lower part of her face which -somewhat improves her appearance. The accommodation -is the same old story, four bare walls. It is quite an Oriental -scene at night. The moon shines brightly on the one-storeyed -flat mud-roofed huts. On the top of each are the members -of the various families sleeping al fresco. Some more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>fastidious or important personages rig themselves up a leafy -bower on four supports about three or four feet from the roof—a -cool retreat undoubtedly, forming little tents such as -might have been seen in ancient Jerusalem during the feast -of Tabernacles. A cat or two of course come in through the -paneless windows during the night in search of our saddle -bags, but a heavy boot well shot at an Oriental cat helps -him out quite as quickly as it would one of our own domestic -favourites. One time, however it misses the mark and alights -on our sleeping dragoman. It was at Banias, by-the-bye, -that Titus celebrated with gladiatorial games the capture -of Jerusalem, and many thousand prisoners perished in the -“Sports.”</p> - -<p class='c014'>Early next morning we visit the massive ruins of the old -gate, the grotto of Pan, which gave the name to the city, and -the Banias fountains of the Jordan. The rocks just above -the latter are sculptured with shrines and niches in which -statues once stood; there are also Greek inscriptions which -are not very legible.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We now leave Banias by the old western gate, and riding -over a slope of Hermon enter Syria proper. The whole -country including Palestine is often described as Syria, and -was all under one Pashalic so called until lately—Palestine -originally included only the country of the Philistines. We -breakfast in a poplar grove in the prosperous Christian -village of Rasheyat el Fûkhar, celebrated for its pottery, -which it supplies to the whole of the northern part of -Palestine and Syria, as far as Damascus. It is refreshing to -come across an industrious manufacturing population, so -rare in Palestine except at Gaza and Ramleh in the south, -where jars and lamps are made, and at Nablous (ancient -Shechem), where a coarse native soap is made of olive oil, -and exported as far as Egypt. The Germans at Caifa (under -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Mount Carmel) are cultivating this industry also, and turn -out a much finer article, which finds a sale in America, but -has not yet made a market in Palestine, which prefers its -native make to that of the Feringhee. We next descend the -mountains by a precipitous path, a new one not tried before -by our guide, down which we with great difficulty drag our -horses to Hibberiyeh, prettily situated in one of the western -gorges of Hermon: here we visit a very ancient well-preserved -temple built of Phœnician bevelled stones principally, -but curiously with pilasters and columns having -Ionic capitals—an old Sidonian shrine to Baal probably (as -it faced his temple on the summit of Mount Hermon) altered -by the Greeks to accommodate one of their own deities. The -valley is remarkably a Valley of Rocks; some isolated ones -seem to have been formerly sculptured to imitate the human -form divine. The ascent up the other side of the valley we -find very laborious, having again to lead or rather drag our -horses, until at length we arrive at Hâsbeyâ, our quarters for -the night, of which more in our next. The shortest way to -Damascus is that through the wilderness of Damascus by -which St. Paul travelled; but the most beautiful road is that -we select, which leads round the slopes of Hermon.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/i018.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch03' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER III.—Hasbêya to Mount Hermon.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is a small town beautifully situated some -2,000 feet above the sea, on the western side of -Hermon, in an amphitheatre of hills well cultivated -and inhabited by Maronite Christians, Druses and Moslems, -all very fanatical, hating and fearing each other intensely, -and not, as far as the Christians are concerned, without -cause, for here they were treacherously massacred by the -Druses in 1860. They were decoyed into the Konak, or -Governor’s Castle, by the Turkish commander under pretence -of protection, induced to part with their arms, and then the -Druses being admitted men women and children were -massacred without mercy. The French army of the Lebanon -avenged these cowardly murders partially, and but for the -milder (and doubtfully humane) counsels of the English, -would have done so effectually. We saved the Druse -scoundrels from their just fate then, and consequently they -are quite ready to repeat the crime now. This our rulers -would do well to remember that maudlin sentimentality is -often another name for weakness and not true mercy which -is frequently obliged “to be cruel to be kind.” Orientals do -not practice and do not understand undeserved clemency. -The Christians in the Anti-Lebanon feel the effects of a too -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>lenient policy, and are periodically in a panic about their -ruffianly neighbours, and the Moslem feeling too is often -inflamed against Christians, the old rumour that the five kings -of Europe (as the great powers are called) are about to -depose the Sultan and upset Islamism, being for fanatical -purposes often revived. This rumour was one of the causes -which led to the rebellion of Arabi in Egypt. If Arabi -had not been crushed, there would probably have been -a general rising of Arabic Islam against the Ottoman -Caliphate and European interference—and it may come yet. -The Ottomans are no longer a nation—they are quite effete—but -the Arabs are as vigorous a race as they were in the days -of Alexander the Great and Mahomet. The Arabs and the -Jews, the children of Abram’s two sons, are destined to -endure for ever distinct races in the midst of a heterogeneous -world, everlasting monuments of the truth of the Bible story.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hasbêya</span> is thought by many to be the Hermon and Baal-Gad -of the Bible, but others identify the latter with Baalbec. -We will not attempt to decide that on which many doctors differ. -We lodge in one of the best houses at the head of the valley, -near the Konak. A sort of stretcher, much resembling an -oriental bier, is hastily run up for us as a place to sleep on. -Round the room and in the courtyard below we see ranged a -number of immense jars, each large enough to contain one of -the “forty thieves,” some in fact could have accommodated -two. We find them to be mostly full of new wine, which is -rather too rich and luscious to take much of. Just as the day -is dawning an oriental maiden enters our room and makes for -one of the jars (to get something out of it) and we are forcibly -reminded that we are in the land of the “Arabian Nights.” -Next day, after about three hours toiling over mountain -paths, we pass the mouth of the Wady-et-Teim, in which is -the source of the Hasbâny, the highest and most northerly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>source of the Jordan, the Banias and Dan branches of which -it joins just above the waters of Merom, or Lake Huleh, -after running almost parallel with them for some distance. -We crossed this stream lower down by an old Roman bridge -on our way from Kadesh to Dan and Banias.</p> -<h3 class='c015'>THE DRUSES.</h3> - -<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>The Druses</span> make the Hasbâny Valley their religious -centre, as their prophet, Ed Darazi, is supposed to have been -born there. Their religious books having been lost (or rather -stolen by the Egyptians), their religion, which is of more recent -origin than Mahometanism, is traditional only, and it is -difficult to say what it really is, but it seems to have been -founded on an ancient form of freemasonry. It consists of -several degrees. The Druses hate Moslem and Christian -pretty equally, but are more tolerant of the former, with -whom they often associate for the purpose of plunder, but -they would murder either without compunction. At the same -time, with an appreciable regard to expediency, their religion -allows them to live under whatever creed is supreme. They -have, since the 1860 massacres, migrated in large numbers -from the Lebanon to the Hauran, east of Jordan, which they -hold practically independent of any Government whatever, -although nominally subject to the Turkish Sultan. They are -distinguished by white turbans. Lebanon being now a -separate pashalic, under a Christian governor with a native -Christian army, the Druses would find it more difficult to -occupy that district now than they did in 1860; but in Anti-Lebanon -they are more formidable. When a fanatical -Mahommedan wishes to annoy a Druse (as was done by our -muleteer in our presence) he calls him “a worshipper of the -calf.” This is curious, as the golden calf set up at Dan was -only a day’s march from here. The Druses have no mosques -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>or temples, but worship in a room outside a village, and only -the higher initiated members are admitted to the whole performance -or allowed to learn what is known of their sacred -records, which are imparted by oral instruction only, and -never reduced to writing. Very few indeed are acquainted -with all the mysteries of their religion, and to the higher -degrees no man under 30 is ever admitted, the women, we -think, never. The most sacred shrine of the Druses is a -secluded cave half-way up Hermon, and there only the -most secret rites are performed. A pretty ride of about six -hours brings us to Rashêya.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Rashêya</span>, the Syrian Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, is finely -and healthily situated high up on the slope of Hermon. I -have never been mobbed in any Eastern town as I was here, a -European being quite a <i>rara avis</i>. Men women and children -cluster round me, and even crowd into my little room to stare -at me and touch my clothes, prompted, I suppose, by either -curiosity or superstition or both; many seem to think me a -medicine man, and bringing sick children ask me to touch -them; but unfortunately I am not a doctor. A few of the -younger women, having confidence in their good appearance, -beg of me to draw their portraits, but my first sketch soon puts -the other fair candidates to flight. Two or three enterprising -young ladies, clasping my hand in theirs, entreat me to take -them back with me to England and make them members of -my family. I have to explain to them that the social system -of the West does not allow of any such extensive adoption as -that of the East. We have often been asked by mothers to -take their children and bring them up as Feringhees, but -think that in most cases this is done to frighten the children. -The Rashêya folk are strong healthy-looking people, but -have a barbarous habit of tattooing their bodies (which is -seldom seen in the East), the hands especially with stripes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>looking like the seams of gloves. We have, as usual, the -floor only to sit and sleep on. We are beginning to be quite -clever at squatting à la Turc, but must admit that we think -chairs, tables and beds more comfortable. The Rashêya -Christians in 1860, were, as in Hasbêya, decoyed into the -castle by the Turks, and by them basely betrayed to the -Maronite Druses, who massacred man, woman and child.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Mount Hermon</span>, we believe, has not been ascended to the -summit by any Englishman for some years. It is called by -the Arabs the Snowy Mountain: misled probably by this the -text books on the subject boldly assert that its summit is -perpetually covered with snow, but this is not the case, nor -is it so even with the loftier peaks of Lebanon, on the opposite -side of the plain. From Hermon the snow disappears some -two months at least, and although we find it cold there is -not a trace of snow anywhere. The bare white limestone -sides of mountains are often mistaken at a distance for snow, -but few travellers ever attain the summit, and hence the -perpetuation of the perpetual snow fable.</p> -<h3 class='c015'>ASCENT OF MOUNT HERMON.</h3> - -<p class='c016'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, being isolated from the Anti-Lebanon, and the -three peaks rising abruptly some 3,000 feet above the lower -ridges, has an apparent altitude much greater than many -higher mountains. The grandeur of the Matterhorn, for -instance, although a monarch of mountains, is diminished by -the magnitude of its mighty neighbours, Monte Rosa and the -Breithorn (which latter we ascended a few years since, so can -judge from experience). The Matterhorn is a giant among -giants, a king of kings; but Hermon stands alone in its -glory—is, as it were, a sturgeon amongst minnows, and owes -its prestige, not to its height, which is under 10,000 feet, but -to its isolated position and abrupt elevation; and the same -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>may be said of Carmel, which Swiss travellers would scarcely -dignify with the name of a mountain at all.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Hermon</span>, the Sirion of the Sidonians, and Shenir of the -Amorites, is called by the Arabs, Jebel el Sheikh, the -Monarch of Mountains; it was once encircled by shrines -to the Sun God, Baal, all facing the great central temple on -the summit of the southern peak; there is only one of these -remaining now, between Banias and Hasbêya, which we -have already described.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Baal</span>, literally interpreted Lord, was probably applied first -to the greatest hero, then to the favourite deity of the -day. We hear of it as Bel applied to Nimrod; and we -trace it in many other names, such as Bel Shazzar, which -means King under the Lord Baal, a sort of divine right we -suppose. The Phœnicians generally patronised the Sun, the -Israelites probably called their golden calf Baal. After the -Greek conquest, Baal and the other Gods were very much -mixed up, and the Romans later on, to appease the conquered -Syrians, identified their Jupiter with Baal, and their Venus -with Astarte, or Ashtaroth. It may be interesting to note -here that a memorial of Sun worship survives in Scotland in -the Bel tane (Bel’s fire) fair still held at Peebles. It is commemorated -on May-day morning. Our actual ascent of the -mountain is without much interest, except that on the way -we pass a very well-preserved wine press, hewn out of the -solid rock. The horses are at the door at four a.m., but not -until six can we venture out, for Hermon is veiled in dark -cloud, and over the Rashêyan Valley bursts a terrific -thunderstorm, the thunder reverberating grandly among the -mountains. A continuous bombardment by the biggest guns -ever launched from Woolwich would have been infants’ -rattles compared to it. At six a.m. a ray of sunshine breaks -through the black firmament above, and we set out briskly, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>and in about four hours scramble up to the southern—the highest -peak—where we find extensive and massive remains of two -temples, dedicated to Baal, also a large cave in which we -tiffin. Time and space would fail to describe the grand -panoramic picture displayed from this sacred summit, no high -peaks near to intercept the view. During the ascent, to the -summit, which is some 5,000 feet above Rashêya, we have a -fine sight of the coast from Carmel to Tyre, but on the summit, -the greater part of Palestine and Syria are opened out as a -map—to the west, the Mediterranean coast; to the north, the -ranges of the Lebanon stand boldly out; the plain of -Damascus, bounded by the six day’s desert, flanked by Abana -and Pharpar, is in the extreme north-west; Dan, Cæsarea -Philippi, Kadesh Naphtali, Safed, &c., nestle beneath on the -near south-east; further south the broad waters of Merom, -and the silver streak of the Jordan glisten in the noon-day -sun, and in the far east the lofty plains of Basan and the -Mountains of Moab bound the distant horizon; on the south, -Mount Tabor raises its beautifully wooded crest over -Nazareth; Gilboa near by seems lost in the plains of -Esdraelon; and further west, in the dim distance on the -coast, Carmel slopes away to the sea. We enjoy the view -only a short time, as a blinding hailstorm comes down and -causes us to beat a very precipitate retreat; but as the black -thunder clouds gather above and beneath us, and the sun at -intervals shines through and upon them, the <i>mélange</i> of earth -and sky, sunshine and cloud, gold and colour, is grand in the -extreme. Mountain and meadow bathed in black and gold, -here and there mellowed with the most delicate tinges of -purple green and orange, form an effect, which if fixed on the -canvas, would be called an impossible picture, and we could -now well understand and feel that enthusiastic praise so often -in the Bible bestowed on Hermon, “that Tower of Lebanon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>which looketh towards Damascus.” The ascent is neither -difficult nor dangerous to a careful and vigorous climber, but -extremely laborious, being a steady steep and continuous -scramble over loose stones, on which it is difficult to retain a -footing; there is no defined path to the summit, and it should -not be attempted without a <i>local</i> guide, as the clouds gather -round and envelope Hermon very quickly, and sleet or snow -may come on suddenly, in which case there would be but little -chance for any but the most experienced guides. Hermon is -thought by some to have been the scene of the transfiguration -as Banias, where our Saviour started from, is near by. -On our way up we try to track a bear, but fortunately fail to -find him. If our curiosity had been gratified, we probably -should not have written this account.</p> - -<div id='i026' class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/i026.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>Tiberias.</i></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch04' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER IV.—Damascus.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Rasheya</span> is again our resting place after our descent -from Hermon, and next morning we make an early -start for Damascus. In about 40 minutes we -arrive at Rûkleh where there are ruins of temples, and a -mountain ride of another two hours brings us to Deir-el-Ashair, -where again, on a small elevated plateau, we see -extensive and massive remains of ancient temples with -fragments of Ionic columns. After a short ride we now reach -the French diligence road, the only decent bit of road in -Syria, over this the French have a monopoly of wheeled -traffic and transport for nearly 99 years, riding horses pass -free, but all pack animals and caravans have to pay, which -however the native caravans evade by still using the old -track up and down the mountains which runs almost parallel. -The ride through the Abana, or Barada Valley, for the last -three hours is very pleasant, being well watered, wooded, and -sheltered from the sun—a most agreeable contrast to the -dreary desert of Sahira, through which we have to ride some -two hours to reach it. We may here remark that Sahira in -the Koran is the Arabic term used for Hell, and anyone who -has been in the burning desert at noontide (the hot dry wind -making the skin like parchment and drying up all moisture in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>the lips and body) will have an idea that any kind of Hell -must be a most uncomfortably hot place, life being in the -burning desert a burden almost unbearable. The first sight -of Damascus, unlike that of Jerusalem, realises all we have -heard of it, it is indeed magnificently situated in the midst of -an extensive plain, intersected in all directions by the rills of -the rivers Pharpar and Abana, which mæander through and -round the whole city, and finally lose themselves in the -meadow lakes beyond.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We see the Wali, or Governor, Hallett Pasha, sitting alone -on a chair by the river side enjoying otium <i>sine</i> dignitate; his -guards at a distance standing by their horses ready to look -after him, if necessary. He politely returns our passing -salute in true Parisian style. Like all other Turkish Pashas he -will have to make hay while the sun shines and be sharp -about it. His predecessor, Midhat Pasha (of mournful -memory) did not enjoy the sunshine long, and Hallett’s may -be a similarly short summer. It costs money to be a -Damascus Pasha, some £4000 has to be first found for the -Palace Cabal at Stamboul. The official pay of the appointment -is under £3000 a year, so the moment a Pasha gets to his -government he has to set to squeezing; he squeezes backsheesh -out of the higher officials, and they squeeze the lower and the -public, who are fair game for all. Justice, not at all blind -here, is continually looking out for the dollars. But to return -to Damascus. The plain in which it is situated is surrounded -on three sides by mountains, Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and -Hermon; on the east it is bounded by the Syrian desert, in -the midst of which is the city of palm trees, Palmyra, the -ancient Tadmor, the city of Zenobia, the Boadicea of the -Syrians. Well might the Moslem, arrived in this ever-verdant -plain, after six days dreary riding across the desert, when he -came across this city embosomed in beautiful gardens and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>orchards, when he saw the rills of living water flowing in all -directions and rising in fountains in the very court-yards of the -houses, well might he imagine that he had lighted at last upon -the Garden of Eden. We find comfortable quarters at -Demetri’s, the only Frank hotel, and are glad again to see -some signs of western civilisation.</p> - -<p class='c014'>My flying visit here without tents, traversing the country -by little known paths, creates some curiosity, even among the -Europeans, who wish to know if I am travelling under diplomatic -orders; a negative answer to such a question is not, of -course, worth much. The Turkish police give vent to their -curiosity by visiting me in my bedroom and cross-examining -my dragoman as to my intents and purposes, position in life, -&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 -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>long be like Egypt, semi-independent vice-royalties under -European protection, or they will become Russian and French -appanages. The Turkish Government have authorised their -postmasters in Syria to detain telegrams and open letters at -their pleasure. A remedy for that is to give the letters to the -Consul who forwards them in his bag. The Consul here lives -in a hired house liable to a notice to quit at any moment. -What a pity that our Government does not buy itself a -consular residence in such an important post as this? It is -so undignified for an English Consul to have to turn out at the -bidding of a Moslem landlord, and troublesome in the extreme -to have to move all the archives every few years; and in case -of an intrigue, which is not uncommon in these parts, we -might find it difficult to find a suitable place for the Consul -at all. In one of the squares we see a crowd and several -soldiers looking at the dead body of an Arab. This poor -fellow was, with others, in charge of a caravan of camels, -some Druses swooped upon them within only a few hours of -Damascus, all ran except the murdered man, who stuck to -his post; they of course soon killed him and cleared off with -the camels. This is the security for life and property which -Turkey provides for its subjects in the neighbourhood of a -great city. We will now take a stroll through this thoroughly -Eastern city, where the far East and the far West meet more -than in any other city in the world, more so even than in -Tanjiers and Tunis. Here we see English tourists in tweed -suits, black-coated Americans in tall hats, Bedouins in dirty -bornous, Druses with white turbans and blood-stained hands, -Turks in officials fezzes, orthodox Moslems in flowing robes -and showy green turbans, Circassians with breast full of -cartridges (murderous looking rascals), Kurds in rough sheep -skin cloaks, Persians, Afghans, Pariahs and Parsees, slipshod -veiled Eastern women, gorgeous Jewesses and smartly dressed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Parisian dames, all these meet together in this metropolis of -the East, jostling each other in the narrow unpaved bazaars. -Camels also, and mules, horses and donkeys, with perhaps a -drove of long-tailed sheep, from the far steppes of Turkestan, -press on amidst this motley crew, “Oua garda”—take care, -take care, get out of the way quickly! A pack mule is no -respecter of persons, he cares not for your Consul, and over -you go if you do not get out of his way, unless by a vigorous -shove you send him over, just as in self-defence we were -obliged to do once. A pack mule on his back, legs up in the -air, is a helpless, pitiable spectacle.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Metropolis</span> did I call Damascus? Indeed it is rightly so -called, for is it not the mother of all cities, the oldest living -city in the world? (not even excepting Hebron), for here -Abraham’s steward Eliezer lived; these streets the patriarch -himself must often have traversed as a trader in flocks and -herds, and through these lanes, once at all events, he drove the -Hivite Kings of Hermon before his avenging spear, for near -here he rescued Lot and the King of Sodom from their Syrian -captors. It was conquered by David after a protracted -struggle, but recovered its independence in the reign of -Solomon. It was subsequently subdued by the Assyrians. -Rome may call itself, Damascus is the Eternal City, founded -probably soon after the flood by a Semitic grandson of Noah. -Damascus has never ceased to exist as a great city, and from -its unique position, probably never will. The prey of every -ambitious conqueror, it has seen the rise and survived the -fall of every great empire. Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman, -Crusader and Saracen, each in turn have dominated the -garden city—and died—but Damascus still lives and has -out-lived all its rivals of every age. Sidon, Tyre, Antioch and -Tarsus survive only as uninteresting towns, Babylon, -Palmyra and Nineveh are no more, but Damascus is still the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>“Head of Syria” as it was in the days of Abraham—Damascus -a green island in the midst of a golden sea of sand, -bounded by the desert, surrounded by its rivers, has always -been and must for ever remain the mother city of the world.</p> - -<p class='c014'>To brace ourselves up for our rambles, we now take a bath -in the waters of the Abana, which are, as its Syrian name -Barada indicates, remarkably cool and pleasant. Having -tried Jordan too, we must endorse Naaman’s opinion, that the -bathing in the former is decidedly the best. In the midst of -the city, we are shown a sycamore tree, 42 feet in girth; -certainly a curiosity in any city, but especially so in a -Mahommedan one, where the process of destruction is -carried on by man and that of re-construction or re-placement -left to “Allah.” We also see another tree in the horse -market close by, used as a gallows, but public executions are -very rare in Turkey. A good Moslem is peculiarly sensitive—he -does not object to strangle a wife or two quietly at home -if they are annoying, but he objects to a fellow male Moslem -being publicly executed even for a murder. We look into the -great mosque; in its courtyard are the remains of a small -ancient temple to the sun—it was once a Roman temple, then -a Greek basilica, and was in more ancient times probably the -site of the very temple in which Naaman bowed the knee to -Rimmon, when his master worshipped there. We found it -easier to enter St. Sophia at Stamboul, the mosque of -Omar at Jerusalem, and the grand mosque at Cairo, than -this, the people being so fanatical. St. Sophia, in fact, we -got into by only paying a few francs to the door-keeper, but -here it costs a lot to get in. We are next shown the tomb -of the great Saladin, who died 1193, but as it is very -sacred, cannot view the interior. We now come to the street -called “Straight,” above a mile long, running through the -city east to west, and on our way we call at the traditional -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>house of Ananias, now a small Latin Church; then just -outside the east gate we pass the reputed house of Naaman, -now appropriately a leper hospital, and come upon that part -of the wall from which it is said St. Paul was let down in a -basket at the time when Aretas, the Petræan ruler of Arabia, -was King. Aretas was the name of the dynasty, like, -Ptolemy and Pharaoh of Egypt, Candace of Ethiopia, &c. -The conversion of St. Paul is said to have taken place just -outside the city—the spot is shown: bright indeed must have -been the light before which an eastern sun at mid-day paled. -A walled up gate is also shewn as that by which St. Paul -entered the city.</p> - -<div id='i033' class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/i033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>Damascus.</i></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bazaars</span> are very interesting, here is to be found -merchandise collected by caravans from all corners of the -earth; Merchants from Manchester, Paris, Vienna, -Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Persia, Afghanistan, India, -Egypt, Nubia, and Arabia as far as Mecca, crowd its -exchanges. The native manufactures are chiefly silk, leather -and metal work; the population is principally Moslem. We -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>of course pay a visit to old Abu Antika (father of antiquities), -and possess ourselves of a Damascus blade. A friend of ours, -an artist, was about to give 100 francs for one at Cairo, we -asked to look at it, and saw engraved on it “warranted best -steel.” We asked the old Arab swindler what language it -was; he unblushingly answered “Arabic”! my answer -induced him to hastily put away the Damascus blade and my -friend put his 100 francs back into his pocket. Tricks are -sometimes played upon travellers. We see in old Abu -Antika’s booth an English Countess wasting a lot of money -on spurious antiquities, we did not know her then so could -not interfere, but she introduced herself to us later on and -was a very pleasant and intelligent fellow traveller. The -houses of the rich Damascenes are very handsomely fitted up; -on visiting one, we enter by an archway into a great open -courtyard, with a fountain in the centre and trees and plants -all around. A divan, roofed in, but open to the courtyard at -one end, is fitted with a luxurious lounge; this serves as -a public reception room. On each side of the court is a -large room, one used as a Summer and the other as a -Winter sitting room, according to the seasons. All are -magnificently decorated with marble and mirrors. The -sleeping rooms are on the first floor and are entered from a -verandah above. Running water from the Abana flows -through all the best houses. The public buildings and -barracks built during the Egyptian occupation are very good -for a Turkish city, and the citadel, an old mediæval castle, is -interesting, but access is not allowed to it. Abdel-Kader, -who so long kept the French at bay in North Africa, lived in -Damascus, and had a quarter allotted to him and his Algerian -fellow exiles. Damascus is not the dirty city it once was. -Midhat Pasha greatly improved it in that respect, and also in -other ways, for we see a large quarter of Damascus in ruins -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>and are told that it was set fire to by Midhat Pasha (after the -fashion of Nero) to make room for a new wide street. This -is a much shorter and more economical way (to the government) -of making street improvements than that we have in -England, but as no notice of the contemplated improvement -is given, it must be rather inconvenient to the inhabitants. -Damascus is called by the Arabs El Sham, and in the eyes of -the Moslem world is second in sanctity only to Mecca.</p> - -<div id='i035' class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/i035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>Damascus.</i></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch05' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER V.—The Anti-Lebanon.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Damascus</span> must now be left behind, adieu, we wish -we could say <i>au revoir</i> to its lovely lanes and -pleasant orchards, its curious motley crowded -bazaars, its marble palaces and murmuring waters, and its -grand associations with all time—for did not through Damascus -pass those archaic caravans whose descendants colonised the -four quarters of the globe? Shem probably here said goodbye -to Ham on his way to Africa, and both bade God-speed -to Japhet, in quest of a new world farther north; and Noah -himself—did not he pass here on his way to leave his bones -as near as possible to Eden; and are we not shown his tomb, -and that of Adam, Abel and Seth, <i>cum multis aliis</i> near here -even to this day? Adieu also to the comfortable hotel of -Demetri, an oasis in the desert of barbarism we pass through. -We follow back the diligence road a few miles as far as -Dummar, and then start upon the upper road to Baalbec, <i>viâ</i> -Zebedâni, one of the prettiest rides in Syria; but first to get -a zest for better things we pass across the arid desert of -Sahrâ. We see on the way several rock-cut tombs, and soon -enter the upper part of the Abana watershed, which might -well be called the “Happy Valley,” in this part of the world -where there is so much desert and wilderness. We pass -several Mohammedan villages having a clean prosperous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>appearance, the women looking better and healthier than -any we have yet seen. We now enter the narrow gorge -of the Abana, a very romantic looking defile, and soon after -about five hours from Damascus, come upon Ain El Fijeh -(one of the principal tributaries of the Barada), a little river -which springs up suddenly from the earth so abundantly as -at once to form a large stream, which, although not broad, is -very deep. It must be, we should think, the shortest river in -the world. Over these springs, half-hidden by the beautiful -foliage of the fig and pomegranate, rise the massive remains -of two temples, one across the stream, one in it, all around is -a grand luxurious grove; this is a fine halting spot and a good -place for a bath. Fruit trees of all kinds—walnut, fig and -orange, mulberry, vine and lemon line the banks of this most -lovely little stream, and where its crystal current mixes with -the turbid Barada, there is a “Meeting of the Waters,” more -beautiful even than the “<i>Moore</i>” famed meeting of the -Avonbeg and Avonmore in the once picturesque Vale of -Avoca. Here the giant poplar, the graceful palm, the -spreading sycamore, the sombre cypress and the stately oak, -are found forming little forests wherever a rill of living water -can force its way. If the ruined aqueducts of Tyrian and -Roman times were only, and they could easily be, reformed, -the whole land would again laugh and sing, and paradises as -of old, would replace the present deserts. God made the -land a garden of Eden, man, by neglecting the watercourses, -has turned it into a wilderness. We continue our journey, -following the course of the Barada for some two hours, having -a succession of pretty woodland views until we come to Sûk -Wady Barada, supposed to be the site of the ancient Abila, -the chief town of the district of Abilene, of which (according -to St. Luke) Lysanias was tetrarch in the reign, of Tiberius -Cæsar.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span><span class='sc'>Abila</span> is said to derive it name from Abel, who according -to tradition was here slain by Cain. A Wely on an overhanging -height (Neby Hâbyl) is pointed out as Abel’s tomb. -This first murder, according to tradition was avenged by -Lamech, who slew Cain on Mount Carmel, not far from -Mahrakah the rock of sacrifice, where Elijah slaughtered the -prophets of Baal. We now reach the narrowest part of the -Barada gorge, where the river descending in small cataracts -is spanned by a very tumbledown bridge, attributed by some -writers to Zenobia, but more probably the work of the Roman -engineers who built the aqueducts and cut out the <i>corniche</i> -roads.</p> - -<p class='c014'>In the cliff above—now inaccessible—we see numerous rock-cut -tombs, tunnels which once contained an aqueduct, and -the remains of a high-level mountain road, works well worthy -the finest engineering of the West. Here by the stream, near -a murmuring waterfall we spread our carpet for tiffin, the -lofty overhanging cliffs, the rushing eddying waters, the -greensward and cool shade of trees (all so uncommon at this -season in the East), combining to make it a very delightful -resting place. On resuming our ride we pass some fine -waterfalls and ruined bridges, and then enter the mountain-girt -grass plain of Zebedâni, one of the most fertile in the -land, well watered and well cultivated; then, after passing -some more ruins, we ride through some pretty English-like -lanes to the town, which is the half-way halting place -between Damascus and Baalbec. The population is chiefly -Moslem, but there are many Maronites also. We lodge with -the chief priest. We may here remark that the Maronites are -a primitive community of Christians who acknowledge the -Roman Pontiff as their nominal head, but cannot be called -orthodox Roman Catholics, for they are really ruled by their -own patriarch and do not carry out the Roman ritual. They -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>might almost equally well acknowledge the Archbishop of -Canterbury as their chief. The Maronite women are distinguished -by a black band on the forehead.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Zebedâni</span> is a small town, finely situated in the midst of most -luxurious vegetation, and almost surrounded by mountains. -It boasts a small Bazaar. Its low mud houses are built -closely together, only one or two having a first floor; most -have a small courtyard, into which the goats and cattle are -driven at night. The low flat roofs of the houses are used -much more for getting about the village than the dark, dirty -ill-paved lanes; and, as in other villages, the people sleep -in the open on the roof; and when in the early morning -sleeper after sleeper raised his or her head from beneath -the coverlet, gave a yawn and a stretch and tried to escape -from dreamland, the effect was comical in the extreme. All -turned out at dawn of day—lodgers on the cold ground are -as a rule early risers. The room we have is clean, contains -the usual curtained recesses in the walls for cupboards, and -a wooden ledge round top of room for stores, and, what is -the only piece of furniture ever seen in these parts, a large -damasceened chest for the valuables of the household. The -mural decorations consist of English willow pattern plates -cemented into the walls—this is a decided improvement -on hanging them up by wires, as they are not liable to be -broken by domestic dusting. We have seen the outside -as well as the inside of dwellings decorated in this manner, -and our Western sisters are long forestalled in this kind of -mural ornaments by their barbaric sisters in the East. Our -worthy host is rather nervous about being massacred by -Druses, and we try to reassure him by saying that times are -changed since 1860, and that there is not any occasion to -fear; but we should not like to back this opinion too heavily, -for we believe that the fanatical Moslems and Druses are as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>bloodthirsty against Christians as ever they were; soon -after writing above there was a collision between Moslems -and Christians at Beyrût, and several of the latter were -massacred. There was also an attack on Christians in the -Hauran by the Druses. A Turk only recently said to me -what <span class='sc'>Froude</span> said in September, 1880, in his admirable -article on Ireland: “The idea of Government had almost -ceased to exist, and that every one had to look after his own -immediate interest,” and in the case of a collapse of Turkish -rule (not unlikely), Arabs would swarm in from the desert like -locusts, murder all round, and in all probability permanently -occupy the whole country. When we mount our horses at -daybreak the summits of the hills are brightly gilded with the -rising sun. No poetical expression, no fancy pen-picture this -gilding of the hills—far too beautiful to be expressed in -language, far too bright to be pictured in painting, is the -grand <i>mise-en-scène</i> of black and gold set in silver frame -produced by the rays of the rising sun mingling with the -disappearing darkness. We have seen it also on many -former occasions; once notably when after sleeping 10,000 -feet high in the Théodule hut under the Matterhorn we saw -the Italian mountains literally bathed in the brightest gold as -the sun climbed up to the summits of the highest peaks and -crept down the opposite sides into the valley.</p> - -<p class='c014'>At Zebedâni, by-the-bye, we have a good opportunity of -seeing the Syrian sheep, remarkable for their tremendous -tails, and watch the women stuffing the vine leaves down the -sleepy animals’ throats, for the purpose of creating the -enormous quantity of fat, which flies to the tail and is used to -fatten the frugal dish of sour milk and rice, which, with a -salad of olives, fruit and vegetables, all jumbled together into -one great hotch-pot, form their staff of life called (as our -German friends would say aptly) Leben. To this meat is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>added in times of plenty. We soon leave the lovely valley of -Zebedâni behind, and passing under Bludàn, the summer -residence of the European Consuls, arrive at the upper source -of the Barada, near the watershed of the Anti-Lebanon, the -streams now flowing towards Damascus south-east, and -towards the Bukâa and Lebanon north-west. The first -fountain on the northern slope is that of Eve, in whose transparent -waters the mother of all was, according to poetical -tradition, admiring herself when her future lord and master -(as he is euphemistically called) first caught sight of her. We -infer from the Bible description that the Garden of Eden was -by no means a small one, and must have included all Syria -Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, if not the whole of the -world. As we are soon leaving Anti-Lebanon, we may -observe that this mountain range extends from Banias, at the -head of the Jordan Valley, to the plains of the Bukâa, in -which is Baalbec. Hermon is sometimes reckoned as part of -it, but on account of its almost isolated position, is often -considered to be as a mountain in business for itself. On -our way we cross two Roman bridges, now on their last legs, -but they have done well to have lasted 1800 years.</p> - -<div id='i042f' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i042f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>The Great Stone in the Quarry</i>.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>Between Rashêya and this place we have seen two ancient -wine presses, hewn out of the solid rock; they date over 2,000 -perhaps 3,000 years back; they enable one to understand -what building a wine press meant, and what a terrible loss -and disappointment it would be to the builder, if, when he -“looked for grapes, he found but wild grapes.” The Cactus -hedges too, with which the vineyards are surrounded to keep -out the “little foxes that spoil the vines,” also take great -trouble and many years before they form that impenetrable -barrier through which even the wild boar cannot break his -way. We pass through Surghaya and halt for lunch in the -Wady Yafûfeh, on the banks of the Saradah, which we cross -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>by a single arched Saracenic bridge, and on resuming our -journey leave on our left Nadu Shays, the reputed tomb of -Seth. Ham is said to be buried a little further east. -A beautiful panorama of Lebanon now bursts upon our view, -separated from us by the great plain of the Bukâa, or valley -of the Litany (the accursed river). We next pass near the -village of Brêethen, thought to be the Beroshai of Samuel, -and soon come in sight of the many-rilled orchard gardens -and grand Acropolis of Baalbec, the great ancient shrine of -Baal in Phœnicia, the Heliopolis, or City of the Sun of the -Greeks and Romans, and the Baal-gad, according to many, -of Joshua, formerly a station like Palmyra on the great -caravan road from Tyre to India, which we may mention was -the original overland route, and if history repeats itself -will be so again. What shorter route to India can there be -than rail to Brindisi, steamer to Corinth through the canal -now being made to Piræus, across the Ægean, to Smyrna, -and thence all the way by rail through the iron gates of -Cilicia, <i>viâ</i> the two Antiochs, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and -Afghanistan, to India—there are no difficulties which modern -engineers could not overcome. But perhaps we are waiting -for the French or Germans to show the way.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c017'><sup>[1]</sup></a> Before entering -the town we visit the ancient quarries out of which were -hewn the enormous Cyclopean stones which formed the very -ancient Phœnician or Hittite foundation. One block lies -there already hewn but not quite separated from the quarry, -it is about 70 feet long, 14 feet wide and 14 high, weighing -some 10,000 tons; other large stones are seen lying about -partially hewn—why they were thus left unfinished in the -workshop—whether it was an Assyrian or Persian invader -who made the busy mason so suddenly throw away the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>gavel to seize the sword will now never be known. We -put up at a small hotel facing the ruins, and find it fairly -comfortable; but are quite alone in our glory until late in the -evening, when an English countess and her niece come in with -two Turkish guards as guides, with whom they can only -converse in the primitive language of signs—the result being -that when next morning they want to see the ruins, they are -taken from them, to a hill some miles off, where they see them—from -a distance—a fine effect probably, but not what was -wanted. However, we coming to the rescue, they get a closer -inspection in the afternoon, and having previously gone -through it all ourselves, are quite eloquent in dragomanic -descriptions. Their guides, if not useful as Cicerones, were -we must admit extremely picturesque and pleasant barbarians. -The younger lady has we believe by this time immortalized -them and the ruins on canvas, and we hope with supreme -effect, for we planted the fair artist on a high pinnacle of the -Temple from which the <i>coup d’oeil</i> was magnificent.</p> - -<div class='footnote c018' id='f1'> -<p class='c019'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. </span>Since writing the above we hear that the Porte are about to grant a firman to make a -railway from Ismid to Bagdad.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>Soon after, we see another instance of the inconvenience of -having a guide whose language is unintelligible. On our way -to Beyrût we meet a man and his horse at cross purposes, -endeavouring in vain to find out the reason from his Arab -guide. He appeals to us; “Well,” we say, “you and your -horse certainly do not appear to be friends.” “No,” the -traveller replies, “he does not understand me, and I do not -understand my guide, who only speaks Arabic; my horse is -a brute.” “Not so, my friend,” we rejoin, “you are riding -him with an Arab bridle in English fashion.” He was, in -fact, unknowingly the greater brute of the two, for he was -torturing the poor beast, and the injured animal might, if he -had been so gifted as the Scriptural ass, have appropriately -replied, “Tu quoque <i>brute</i>.” The Arab bit is in the shape of -a gridiron (minus interior bars), a ring hangs from the flat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>broad end of it, in which the lower jaw of the animal is placed -the handle of the gridiron is in the mouth, and by a pull of -the reins is forced up into the roof of the mouth, causing -considerable pain; the reins are bunched in the hand, and -the animal is guided by laying the left rein across the neck -when wishing to go to the right, and <i>vice versâ</i>. Pulling the -rein English fashion would simply hurt and puzzle the animal. -We explain the process and leave the man and his beast -better friends; they now understand each other. (How -many of us would also like each other better if we were less -impatient, and took more trouble to understand). Horse and -rider now go on their way as reconciled to one another as -Balaam to the ass after the departure of the Angel.</p> - -<div id='i044' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i044.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>A Street called “Straight,” Damascus.</i></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch06' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VI.—Baalbec.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>, more correctly, we believe, Baalbak, is -situated about forty-five miles north of Damascus -but slightly to the west, on the lowest slope of -Anti-Lebanon, near the source of the Leontes or Litany. -The Litany and Orontes rivers rise six miles west from Baalbec -within one mile of each other. The Litany runs west down -the Bukâa or Cœlesyria, and falls into the sea between Sidon -and Beyrût. The Orontes, El Asi or rebellious river, so -called because it changes its course in a remarkable manner, -flows north and falls into the Gulf of Antioch. Baalbec is the -point where the great roads from Damascus, Tyre, Beyrût -and Tripoli converge, hence probably its great ancient -importance, and it was also the entrance gate to Padan Aram -or Upper Syria where Terah lived, whence Abram emigrated -and whither Jacob went to seek a wife among the daughters -of his uncle Laban, who was also his cousin and subsequently -his father-in-law, a very mixed up series of relationships; even -more puzzling than that which befell the proverbial American -who married his stepmother’s mother, and was driven to -despair, insanity and death, because he never could make out -what relation he was to himself.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The ancient city of Baalbec must have been between two -and three miles in circumference. Some learned writers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>attribute its foundation to Solomon, arguing that the colossal -stones used in the substructure, of which we will speak more -in detail hereafter, are similar in size and bevel to those in the -temple foundations at Jerusalem. They identify it with -Baalath, which Solomon is recorded in I. Kings, IX., to have -built at the same time as Tadmor (by them supposed to be -Palmyra), in the wilderness. Now it must be noted that -Solomon lost Damascus to the Syrians, which David his -father had taken from them. It is not likely that having so -lost Damascus, he held Baalbec to the north of it, and -built Palmyra six days journey in the desert beyond it, -neither would he if he dominated the cedar country have -troubled Hiram to send him cedars for the Temple. We may -also observe that Baalaath and Tadmor are described as being -built along with Gezer, Megiddo, and other cities in the land, -<i>i.e.</i>, Solomon’s own land of Israel, where these last cities -undoubtedly were, in the plain of Esdraelon, &c. Baalaath is -more likely to have been Banias, and as for Tadmor, the city -of palms, there are plenty of palm trees and wildernesses in -Palestine without locating Tadmor in the great Syrian desert, -then held by the hostile kings of Syria; and further, we are -informed that Solomon gave Hiram, king of Phœnician Tyre, -certain Galilean cities which he named “Cabul,” Solomon -could surely have much better spared, if he had had them to -give, Baalbec and Phœnician cities, further beyond his base of -operations, but equally conveniently situated for Hiram and -much more acceptable to him. Baalbec was probably a -Hittite fortress anterior to the time of Hiram, who however -might have added to it. The similarity of some of the stones -to those in Jerusalem is easily explained by the historical fact -that Solomon employed Hiram’s Phœnician workmen to -prepare the Temple materials, the woodwork of which was -undoubtedly, and the stonework perhaps too, obtained from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>the Anti-Lebanon mountains of Tyre, and floated down along -the coast on rafts to Joppa. But we will now visit the -celebrated ruins, the grandest probably in the world, only -approached in sublimity of position, but not equalled by those -on the Acropolis at Athens. We first see just outside the -village a beautiful little Temple of Venus, called by the -natives Barbara el Ahkah, quite a gem of architecture, semicircular -in shape, the architraves, cornices, &c., richly -ornamented with the fair goddess, doves, and flowers. It has -a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, each made of a -monolith. It was last used as a Greek church, to which era -the trace of frescoes still remaining must be attributed. Near -by are the remains of a large mosque, which looks very like -having been built from the ruins of Constantine’s basilica and -other temples previously existing—the capitals and columns -being terribly mixed up, one or other being always too large -or too small. Some of the porphyry pillars must have been -very fine.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The great Trilithon Temple</span>, the Acropolis of Baalbec, -and its massive, mighty ruins are now before us—they have -been so often pictured by the painter that their external -appearance must be familiar to many. We enter from the -east, where once was the principal entrance, a noble flight of -steps ascending to a colonnade supported by twelve mighty -columns. This grand approach was destroyed by the Turks -when they converted the Acropolis into a fortress. Passing -under this, through a portico, we find ourselves in a long lofty -corridor, richly ornamented; facing us are three large doors, -the centre, 23 feet wide, brings us into an outer court of -hexagonal form about 190 feet long and 240 wide; three -gates again from this leading to the grand court, about 440 -feet long and 370 wide; on the north and south sides are -vast somewhat semicircular alcoves, with three Exedrae, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>rectangular recesses on each side with arched roofs, but open -to the central court; these are elaborately decorated with -niches, Corinthian pillars, shrines, &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.</p> - -<div id='i048f' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i048f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='sc'>Baalbec</span>—<i>General View of Ruins.</i></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'>This temple was probably about three hundred feet long, -and stood upon the old Phœnician foundation, built of -Cyclopean masses of stone, many of which are thirty feet long -and ten feet thick; but there are three stones (which gave the -name of Trilithon to the Temple) each over sixty feet long, -thirteen feet high, and as many thick. How they could have -been carried from the quarry, and raised to the height they -now occupy, it is difficult to explain, unless they were hauled -up great inclined planes of earth which were afterwards -carted away, as represented in the bas reliefs of Birs Nimroud. -To the left of the great Temple, on a somewhat lower level, -having formerly an approach of its own from the plain, -probably a noble flight of steps, is the Temple of the Sun (by -some called that of Jupiter), one of the best preserved and -finest ruins in the world; the ornamentation somewhat florid, -but very beautiful and varied. It was surrounded by forty-six -columns, about sixty-five feet high and six feet in diameter; -the portico, twenty-five feet deep, was supported by a double -row of columns; the door itself was forty-two feet high and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>twenty-one broad, and on each side of it were lofty hollow -pillars containing spiral staircases leading to the roof. -The cornices are rich in design and elaborate in execution, -the Cella or interior is in fair preservation, and at the end of -it is a raised platform where the altar stood. Underneath the -altar was a vault whence concealed priests sent up Delphic -responses to unsuspecting votaries who imagined that they -were listening to the voice of inspiration. The symbol of the -Syrian Eagle, sacred to the Sun as the bird which flies -highest and is supposed to be able to look at the Sun -unflinchingly, predominates everywhere about these ruins. -The temple area is undermined by vast vaulted corridors, now -used as approaches in the same way as the Temple platform -at Jerusalem. The emperors Constantine and Theodosius -converted the great Temple into a Basilica; at the Moslem -conquest it was used as a fortress. When some five hundred -years later the tide turned again in favour of Christianity, it -was converted back by the Crusaders into a church, and -when the Saracens under Saladin wrested it from them, it -became again a fortress, and it probably remained so until its -final decay in about the 15th century, when it was destroyed -by Tamerlane the Tartar when he raided through Syria. -While at Baalbec, we witness an extraordinary hailstorm, -the stones being larger than pigeons’ eggs—almost as large as -a walnut; very pretty elliptical in shape, the centre about -the size of a large pea was cloudy ice, then a large, clear, -crystal-looking ring, the outer ring again cloudy ice. -The storm lasts about an hour, and the stones do not melt -for some time; it is accompanied by a sharp thunderstorm. -We now bid farewell to Baalbec, and wend our way across -the plain of the Bukâa, bound for Beyrût.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The <span class='sc'>Bukâa</span>, supposed to be the Bikath Aven of the -Hebrews (<i>Amos</i> i, 5), is a long plain extending about one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>hundred miles between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon -mountains, leading down to the Jordan valley, and the -Mediterranean. It was anciently called Cœlesyria or Hollow -Syria, and was the natural highway of the invading armies of -Egypt, Persia, Assyria, &c., from all time. It is mentioned -in the Bible as the “entering in of Hamath,” but was only -for a short time in the possession of the Kings of Israel. -Along this plain commander Cameron projected a railway -between Damascus, <i>viâ</i> Baalbec, Homs, Hamah and Aleppo -northwards, with a branch from Homs to Tripoli westwards, -and to Jerusalem along the western side of the Jordan valley—all -possible enough to make, but scarcely probable to pay. -The railway was to be commenced at Tripoli, taking a détour -to Damascus to avoid the mountains. This enterprising -project was to embrace, eventually, a Euphrates valley line -to Bombay, <i>viâ</i> the Persian Gulf, and to Northern India, <i>viâ</i> -Persia and Afghanistan, and the system was to be connected -with Constantinople by a line through Asia Minor, <i>viâ</i> -Diarbekir to Ismid, where it would join the railway to Scutari -and the Bosphorus, opposite Stamboul. It is a pretty -project on paper, a magnificent prophecy of the future, and -we hope that commander Cameron will live to see his -great scheme a paying reality. Soon after leaving Baalbec -we come across an isolated ruin, the shrine of some Moslem -saint reared evidently out of the ruins of the Acropolis.</p> - -<div id='i051f' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i051f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>—<i>and The Lebanon</i>.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>The Bukâa</span> plain is fertile, but the absence of trees renders -a journey through it rather monotonous for some hours. We -lunch at a small Arab Khan, and passing several villages -reach at length that of Kerak Nûh, where we are shown the -tomb of Noah, one hundred feet long, eight feet wide and -three deep, very like a length of an ancient aqueduct, so this -ante and post diluvian patriarch must have been slightly out -of proportion. How he was accommodated in his own ark, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>which was smaller than the Great Eastern, only about fifty -feet high, and then divided into three decks, my Moslem -guide did not inform me. Noah’s ark, by-the-bye, is said to -have been built at Jaffa, where we first entered the Holy -Land. The next largest ship of ancient times spoken of by -Lucian is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and was probably -about 1,100 tonnage—it seems however soon to have come -to grief. According to Moslem tradition, Hezekiah is said to -be buried near Noah. We next pass through <span class='sc'>Mulaka</span>, a -prosperous Moslem town, full of Manchester prints, which -is almost joined to <span class='sc'>Zahleh</span>, a large Maronite Christian town -on the frontier of the Lebanon; it is a manufacturing town, -finely situated at the entrance of the Sannin gorge, in an -amphitheatre of high mountains; it was the headquarters of -the Druses during the 1860 massacres. We now ride through -many miles of vineyards and mulberry trees to Shtôra, the -principal station on the Damascus diligence road, and put up -for the night at the little inn there. Our last day’s ride is to -Beyrût, about nine hours along the diligence road over the -Lebanon. We soon have to take our last look at Hermon, -the Baalbec plain and the Anti-Lebanon, and ascending to -the summit of the pass catch a first glimpse of the sea. The -Lebanon mountains here are nearly 7,000 feet high, and -Beyrût shrouded in pine forest, lies nestled at the foot of -them on the low coast line.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id005'> -<img src='images/pg-ft.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch07' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VII.—Beyrût to Boulogne.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'><span class='sc'>Beyrût</span>, the ancient Berytus (within twelve hours -sail of Cyprus and about twenty-four of Port Said), -has a considerable population, and is a pleasant -place to stay at, especially in the Winter time. It is -beautifully situated with the Lebanon range in the background, -and boasts two fair hotels and many good bazaars. -The fruit of Paradise—the banana—is plentiful, and -considered finer and sweeter than that of any other region of -Syria. The mountains above the town are favourite health -resorts and are associated in our mind with the late Gordon -Pasha, who consulted us as to visiting Syria after his return -from the Cape. We discussed Syria over a pipe, and in the -end the General expressed his intention of resting there. He -went shortly after, but his noble restless nature could not -rest in retirement. He unfortunately remained there only a -short time, coming back to undertake the romantic mission -to the Soudan, where, to the lasting disgrace of the Liberal -Government which sent him on a mad mission and then -deserted him (only sending a relieving force when too late), -he nobly ended a noble life.</p> - -<div id='i052f' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i052f.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>—<i>Larnaca.</i></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Cyprus</span>, by-the-bye, is easily visited from Beyrût; we -made the journey some years ago, about the time that Sir -Garnet Wolsely took possession of the island. Without the -English and Indian troops who were then there we should -not think Larnaca a very lively place, but the Island, as a -whole, is a very valuable possession, the gem of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>Mediterranean, and has a climate and soil which would -produce almost anything. It is a pity that our Government -does not develope its resources and pay the Turk a lump sum -and get rid of this phantom suzerainty—as a crown colony -like Ceylon it would be much more prosperous. We think -that if the island were properly explored some very interesting -archæological discoveries would be made, as from its position -it must have been a house of call for all the great civilised -nations of antiquity. The Egyptian, Assyrian, Tyrian, and -Roman galleys must all at some time or other have sought -shelter in its harbours and occupied its towns.</p> - -<p class='c014'>We now bid adieu to Beyrût, with its cedar clad hills, its -orange, lemon and banana groves, its curious bazaars, its -bustling lanes and its busy quays, and embark on board an -Austrian steamer for Port Said, where we find the Peninsula -and Oriental Southampton steamer, <i>Venetia</i>, which lands us -at <span class='sc'>Malta</span>, off which interesting island we see a remarkable -sight—five waterspouts in a row in full swing; they are very -fortunately a long distance off. After a day’s rest there we -cross over to Sicily, to <span class='sc'>Syracuse</span>, still infamous for deeds of -blood, as of old, and celebrated for its ruined theatre, where -Æschylus, before 20,000 sympathetic listeners, was wont to -recite his immortal tragedies. Here also is the rock-hewn -“Ear of Dionysius,” where a penny popgun goes off with the -report of a pistol. It was visited by St. Paul on his way from -Malta to Rome. Arriving before dawn, we are glad to get a -little loaf of bread for breakfast, and find it well worthy of -the lovely island of Ceres, moist and wholesome, so that we -can comfortably swallow it without the coffee we cannot get. -We next come to Catania, famous for its sulphur and nitre -mines, the starting point for the ascent of Etna; and then -pass the Scagli-de-Cyclopi—the rocks flung fruitlessly at -Ulysses by the once one-eyed, but then blind cannibal giant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>Polyphemus, who, however, took better aim at the unlucky -lover of Galatea, whose blood still poetically flows in the -little river in memory of him, the Acis which we soon after -pass, and then we come to that beautiful Sicilian -Ehrenbreitstein Taormina.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>Taormina</span>, the ancient Tauromenium, is but little known -to the ordinary Italian tourist; but it is rich in ancient -remains. Its ruined theatre was one of the largest in the -world. It began its history by successfully resisting the -Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius, and for 1,400 years was an -important town until destroyed by the Saracens. It is -now little more than a large village, but its situation is -magnificent, scarcely to be equalled in the world. Soon after -leaving Taormina, we find ourselves at Messina, where we -embark on an Italian steamer for Naples, whence the train -takes us to Rome, Florence and Turin, and through the -Mount Cenis tunnel to Paris, Boulogne and home.</p> - -<div id='i054' class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><i>The Cedars of Lebanon.</i></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span> -<img src='images/pg-hd2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='ch08' class='c006'><span class='sc'>CHAPTER VIII.—The Bedaween and Fellaheen.</span></h2> -</div> -<hr class='c012' /> -<p class='c013'>The <span class='sc'>Bedaween</span> are rough but picturesque looking -fellows, armed often with very long lances, spear -at one end, spike to stick in the ground at the -other, some such kind of weapon as that with which Abner -killed Asahel, whom he smote with the <i>hinder</i>-part of the -spear while being pursued; long guns with a short range, -antique pistols and knives stuck into the girdle, making up a -formidable looking martial equipment. Their horses are -small, but swift and hardy. They live in tents still as in -days of yore, as black as those of Kedar; are robbers by -trade, but not naturally cruel, and they do not care to kill -unless resistance is made. They rarely attack unless pretty -sure of being able to overpower, and when on mere robbery -bent, generally go about in small bands of three and four, -keeping close together. If the travellers keep also close -together they will probably get the worst of it, as the -Bedaween are quick in attack, and seizing the reins, unhorse -the rider in an instant. They seldom leave the traveller with -more than one garment, and of course take the horses too. -They do not attack large parties like Cook’s caravans. As we -have only one guide with us, we have to keep a very -sharp look-out in dangerous districts, travelling with about -the distance of a pistol shot between us, so that if one is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>attacked, the other may have time to draw a revolver, which -Bedaween will seldom face, as their game is to rob defenceless -travellers, and not to risk their own lives. Three of them, -mounted, dodged myself and dragoman for some time on the -open plains of Esdraelon, and doubled upon us, but seeing -that we were on the alert and not to be surprised, at last to -our great relief left us. It is only the small bands that need -be feared. A tribe on the march or in camp in Syria would -never touch a traveller, as it would soon be known what -tribe was near at the time, and vengeance would follow, -as they cannot move <i>en masse</i> quickly, and for this reason -(even in unsafe districts) it is safer in the neighbourhood of -their camps than far from them. If two Bedaween of different -tribes are coming in opposite directions in a lonely district, -they will not meet face to face, but one goes to the right and -the other in the contrary direction, in order that one shall not -get behind the other, for if there were a blood feud between -the tribes, and either could murder the other without risk, it -would surely be done. They are so afraid of being taken -unawares, that if two travellers were to meet three Bedaween, -and one were to go straight up the road, and the other off the -road to one side so as to get in their rear, they would not -attack the traveller left alone. We know a case in which -a party of three (with only one gun between them) -escaped in this manner. They are nominally subject to the -Sultan, but his tax gatherer does not trouble them much. -They have a nasty knack of reaping what others have sown, -swooping down from a distance in the middle of the night -and clearing away before morning with half the harvest of a -village—not very difficult to do when it is lying in heaps on -the threshing floor ready for market.</p> -<hr class='c020' /> -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span> - <h3 class='c015'>THE FELLAHEEN.</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>The <span class='sc'>Fellaheen</span>, or aboriginal peasants, mostly of -Philistine or Phœnician descent, fear the Bedaween as much -as the passing traveller does. They frequently carry for -defence either a rather artistic looking kind of battle-axe -(probably a remnant of Crusader times), a knob-stick -something like a Zulu war-club, or a rusty old musket and -knife—they sometimes do a bit of pillage and murder on their -own account; one unfortunately occurred while we were in -the country, and a young friend of ours was cruelly murdered -by them a few years ago near Nazareth in an oak forest we -had recently passed through. His murderers were discovered -and thrown into prison and kept there without trial, and their -non-execution created an impression here that to murder an -Englishman is the same as to murder a native, and simply to -pay as blood-money a part of the plunder back if the crime is -found out. It may interest our readers to know how capital -punishment is carried out in this country. First of all the -public crier cries, “Who will behead so-and-so for (say) five -napoleons?” Some poor needy wretch undertakes the -horrid office. On one occasion the man, an amateur, lost -his nerve, and butchered his victim; we will not relate the -circumstances. Before the execution takes place, the chief -officer at the execution cries out, “Who will buy this man’s -soul?” and an auction goes on for it. If a sufficient sum of -money is bid to satisfy the murdered man’s relations (and they -generally will accept blood-money in satisfaction), then the -culprit is not executed, but sent to prison nominally for life; -but he generally gets out after ten or fifteen years. At -Jerusalem, criminals are generally executed outside the Jaffa -Gate, where probably, and not on the site of the Church of -the Holy Sepulchre, our Saviour was crucified. In the case -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of Arabs, especially, it is usual to carry them to the place of -execution on a donkey—a high born Bedawi thinking it the -greatest disgrace to ride that homely and patient animal -which he generally keeps for the women and children. -Recently a Bedawi brigand was executed outside Jerusalem, -he was a villain, but a plucky fellow; his last words were -“Loose my hands and give me a sword, and with all your -guards I will not be hung to-day.” He was given the rope; -he placed one end round his neck and tied the other to a -tree, stood on the donkey, kicked it aside and was his own -executioner. This soul was put up for auction, but there -was not a bid; not even the most merciful Mahommedan -could make an offer for the life of a man who had sent -so many souls to death without even offering them at auction. -As if the country were not unsafe enough, the Sublime Porte -banished to Palestine some time since, thousands of the -Circassian cut-throats, who committed the Bulgarian -atrocities. A few nice tales could be told about them—they -are likely however to die out, as the natives are against them, -and they do not all die natural deaths, but often meet the -fate they are so ready to deal out to others.</p> - -<p class='c014'>A few remarks about the general tenure of land in -Palestine may be interesting. It is somewhat similar to the -ancient land settlement of England before the days of feudal -tenure. Each village has so much pasture, tillage or woodland -belonging to it as common property; this is year by -year allotted to individual heads of families, in quantity -according to the number of the family. The allotments are -divided from each other only by rows or heaps of stones, -which, as they can be easily moved, explains the reason of -the Levitical curse against him who removed his neighbour’s -land mark. The land is not of course highly cultivated, as -the tenure of it is so uncertain, no tenant being absolutely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>sure of the same land the next year. Tithes are taken by the -government, the tax gatherers come down at harvest time, -when the grain is heaped upon the threshing floor, and seize -what they consider their share of the produce. A similar -summary procedure is adopted with the flocks and herds of -sheep, camels and goats. A communistic land tenure is not -here at least an unmixed blessing; but it is not altogether -unsuitable for a primitive and not very settled people.</p> -<hr class='c020' /> -<h3 class='c015'>MAHOMETANS.</h3> - -<p class='c016'>And now a word for the followers of the prophet. We can -learn at least one lesson from the Mahometan, he is not -ashamed of his religious faith; he is not ashamed to be seen -reading his Bible or saying his prayers, even during business -hours in his bureau—like alas! too many good Christians are. -Mahomet is better obeyed by a Mahometan, even the most -ragged one, than Christ is by many a highly respectable -Christian. We may mention here that Christ is venerated -by the Mahometans, who believe as we do that He will judge -the world at the last day. This judgment according to them -is to take place outside Jerusalem. A thin rope will be -stretched from the minaret of the Temple Mosque on Mount -Moriah to the Mount of Olives opposite. All will have to -cross on this tight rope. The righteous will accomplish the -journey in safety; but the wicked will fall off into the Valley -of Hinnom below. Mahomet, originally a heathen idolater, -made up his religion from the Christian and Jewish sacred -books, grafting it upon the old heathen customs, in the same -way as did many of the Roman church missionaries in the -dark ages, when they mixed up Christianity with Paganism, -and allowed their converts to retain their idol images, only -re-christening Jupiter St. Peter, Juno and Luna Diana, Lady -Mary, &c., throwing in the Saints as minor deities.</p> - -<p class='c014'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>We now conclude the account of our “<span class='sc'>Ride through -Syria</span>.” We have shown, we think, that it is not a very -difficult matter now-a-days to make a pilgrimage to the once -distant Holy Land and be back again to work in a few -weeks within the compass, in fact, of an ordinary vacation. -Taken as a temporary change of scene only, it is a glorious -one, but looked at in a more serious light, it is a tour never -to be forgotten, and affords food for reflection for the whole -of an after lifetime. The Bible henceforth becomes a more -and more interesting book as we learn better to understand it. -We can follow the footsteps of Christ with rather more than -the eye of faith after we have trod the very paths He trod, -sailed on the lake waters over which He walked, and climbed -up the mountain from which He ascended into Heaven. We -journeyed alone with a dragoman without tents, putting up -at the peasants’ huts and monasteries, and so saw the inner -life of the country, but anyone wanting to travel luxuriously -in the Holy Land had better take tents and avoid all trouble -or risk by confiding himself to the fatherly care of tourist -agents like Cook and Gaze, whose arrangements appear to be -as perfect as possible. We hope in a future volume to give -an account of our travels in Asia Minor to the sites of -“<span class='sc'>The Seven Churches of Asia</span>.”</p> -<hr class='c021' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class="blackletter">Finis.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c005' /> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span> - <h2 id='idx' class='c006'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'><i>Index.</i></span></span></h2> -</div> -<ul class='index c003'> - <li class='c022'>Abana, or Barada, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Abel’s Tomb and Abila, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Abner and Asahel, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Abraham, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Acis and Galatea, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Anti-Lebanon, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Arabi, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Arabian Nights, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Baal, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Baalbec, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Baalath, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Baal-Gad, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Banias (Baalath), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Barak, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Bedaween, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Bethsaida and the Lake Cities, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Beyrût (Berytus), <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Bludàn, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Bukâa, or Cœlesyria, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Cæsarea Philippi (Banias), <a href='#Page_16'>16</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Cana of Galilee, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Cain, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Calfolatry, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Capernaum, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Carmel, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Cyprus, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Damascus, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a> to <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Dan, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Druses, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Eden, Garden of, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Elijah, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Esdraelon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Eve, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Fellaheen, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li> - <li class='c003'>General Gordon, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Hasbêya, (Baa-lgad), <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Hermon, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Hibberiyeh, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Hiram of Tyre, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> - <li class='c022'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>Hunin (Beth-rehob), <a href='#Page_14'>14</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Jaffa, or Joppa, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Jordan, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Kenites and Kedes, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Land Tenure, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Mahometans, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Maronites, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Merom, Waters of (Lake Huleh), <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Naaman the Syrian, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Naples, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Napoleon, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Noah, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Overland Route, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Palmyra, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Pharpar and Abana, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Phœnicians, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Rasheya, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Saracens and Saladin, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Safed, the City on a Hill, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Seth, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Sharon, Plain of, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Shenir and Sirion (Hermon), <a href='#Page_24'>24</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Sisera, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Solomon, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> - <li class='c022'>St. Paul, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Street called Straight, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Syracuse, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Taormina, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a></li> - <li class='c022'>The Transfiguration, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Tiberias, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Trilithon Temple (Baalbec), <a href='#Page_47'>47</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Wine Press, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></li> - <li class='c003'>Zahleh, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></li> - <li class='c022'>Zebedâni, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a></li> -</ul> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span><span class='large'>A CATALOGUE</span></div> - <div class='c000'>—OF—</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'><span class="blackletter">Some ⸫ Old ⸫ Books ⸫ Published</span></span></div> - <div class='c000'>—AT THE—</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'>OLD POST HOUSE, MIDDLE TEMPLE GATE.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c005' /> - -<p class='c014'>THE DEVOUT CHRISTIAN’S COMPANION, <span class='fss'>BY</span> -<i>Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Kenn, &c.</i> 1709</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'>THEOPHRASTUS, from the Greek—<i>M de la Bruyère</i> 1709</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>A GENERAL COLLECTION OF TREATYS, DECLARATIONS OF WAR, and other PUBLIC PAPERS</span> 1710</p> - -<p class='c014'>MEMORIAL OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS, &c., -<span class='fss'>BY</span> <i>Sir B. Whitlock</i>.</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>SHAKESPEAR’S PLAYS, Vol. 7</span>; <span class='sc'>Venus and Adonis</span>; <span class='sc'>Tarquin and Lucrece</span>, <span class='sc'>and Miscellaneous Poems</span>.</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'><span class='fss'>THE WORKS OF EARLS ROCHESTER AND ROSCOMMON</span>, <i>Edited by M. St. Egrement</i>.</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>THE MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE of SAVOY.</span></p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'><span class='sc'>PHILIPPIC ORATIONS, to incite the English against the French</span> 1710</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'>SENSUS COMMUNIS—<i>An Essay</i>.</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'>FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS—<i>Translated by Sir Roger L’Estrange</i> 1709</p> - -<hr class='c023' /> -<p class='c014'>A GENERAL HISTORY OF ALL VOYAGES, from the French of <i>M. de Perrier</i>, Academician.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<p class='c014'> </p> -<div class='tnbox'> - - <ul class='ul_1 c003'> - <li>Transcriber’s Notes: - <ul class='ul_2'> - <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant - form was found in this book. - </li> - </ul> - </li> - </ul> - -</div> -<p class='c014'> </p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride through Syria to Damascus and -Baalbec, and ascent of Mount Hermon, by Edward Abram - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A RIDE THROUGH SYRIA *** - -***** This file should be named 60615-h.htm or 60615-h.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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