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OR
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS DRA WN FROM THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, THE SCENES AND SCENERY, OF
THE HOLY LAND
LEBANON, DAMASCUS
AND
BEYOND JORDAN
BY
WILLIAM M. THOMSON, D.D.
FORTY-FIVE YEARS A MISSIONARY IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE
147 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
F R A N ICI. F N SQUARE I <S <S 6
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
All rights reserved.
9AYNE S. VUCINI
PREFACE
The previous volumes of this work — " Southern Palestine and Jerusalem" and "Central Palestine and Phoenicia" — were mainly devoted to the Promised Land west of the Jordan. The present volume — the third and last — relates to the Leb- anon, Coelesyria, Anti- Lebanon, Damascus, Bashan, Gilead, and the regions " beyond Jordan eastward.'' Though not originally included in the Land of Promise, those adjacent districts were closely connected witli it. Some of them were the first that were occupied by the patriarchs of old, others were the first taken possession of by the Hebrew nation, and all of them were most intimately associated with the children of Israel in their social, civil, and re- ligious institutions, and in their secular history. In trav- ersing those regions, therefore, we are still in the land of the Bible, and drawing our Biblical illustrations from the manners and customs, the scenes and the scenery of the Holy Land.
The tours and the excursions described in this vohmie take a much wider range than those in the i)receding por- tions of this work, and tliey lead to and tlirough various regions rarely visited by the ordinary traveller, Ijut which
iv PREFACE.
are invested with peculiar and surprising interest. Leb- anon, little more to the average reader of the Bible than a vague geographical expression, is not a single mount, but a long and lofty mountain range, abounding in picturesque and magnificent scenery, from which the inspired prophets and poets of the sacred Scriptures have derived some of their most exalted and impressive imagery. And the an- cient cities in the regions beyond and east of the Jordan, whose prostrate temples, theatres, colonnades, and public and private buildings amaze and astonish the modern trav- eller, are not mere names, but impressive realities.
In the preparation of this volume the author has availed himself of the valuable archaeological researches of the American Palestine Exploration Society and the Palestine Exploration Fund of England ; and he has also incorporated into it many important and interesting observations derived from the publications of eminent writers and travellers who have recently visited the regions east of the Jordan.
The pictorial illustrations of manners and customs have been designed from photographs of living subjects, and the scenic views were composed from photographs taken by the author and by the exploration societies of England and America; and all of them have been drawn and engraved in London, Paris, and New York.
Great attention has been bestowed upon the spelling of proper names, and all who have any knowledge of the sub- ject will appreciate its importance. The system adopted for this work is that of Dr. Edward Robinson, drawn up by himself and his fellow-traveller. Dr. Eli Smith, and submitted to the general meeting of the Syrian Mission. After care-
PREFACE. V
fill examination, in which the author participated, it was adopted by the mission ; and it has gradually grown in public favor — has been accepted by the Palestine Explo- ration Fund of England, by the American Exploration So- ciety, by recent writers, and in guide-books to the Holy Land. In addition to the ancient names of places which occur in our English Bible, the present Arabic names are added in all important cases — a feature, in this work, of much importance.
This volume of the Land and the Book is supplied with two carefully prepared indexes — one of texts, and the other of names and subjects — and the attention of the reader is directed to them, as they will facilitate reference to those parts of the work where the Scripture passages illustrated, and the subjects treated of, are to be found.
The present inhabitants of the Lebanon and of the re- gions beyond Jordan eastward are divided into many sects and tribes, differing in appearance and in manners and cus- toms, and professing various antagonistic creeds and re- ligions. We shall meet in our travels the courteous and warlike Druse, the industrious but superstitious Maronite, the orthodox Greek and the energetic Greek Catholic, the fanatical Muhammedan, the heretical Mutawaly, tlie heathen Nusaireh, the crafty Israelite, and the roving son of Ishmael ; and the enervated and indolent Osmanli Turk is the lord of the land, dreaded but not respected by all his subjects, whose
united prayer is, " O Lord, how long !"
W. M. T.
CONTENTS.
I.
SIDON TO BEIRUT.
Sidon from the North. — Ancient Wall. — Boats drawn up on the Shore. — The Gardens of Sidon. — The Banana-tree. — Na'urah, or Water-wheel. — The Aqueduct. — El Auwaly, the Bostrenus. — The Bridge. — Bridges not Mentioned in the Bible. — Bridges in the Time of the Romans. — The Khan. — Migration of an Arab Tribe. — A Winter Storm. — An Officer of Sa'id Beg. — Personal Experience. — A Bridal-party. — The Road from Sidon to Beirut. — Dahar June, the Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope. — The Burial of Lady Hester. — Eccentricities of Lady Hester. — Neby Yiinas, Tomb of Jonah. — The Mother of Samuel. — " Horned Ladies." — Biblical Allusions to Horns. — The Story of Jonah and the Whale. — Berja. — El Jiyeh, Porphyreon. — Arabs at a Well. — Tattooing. — The Hebrews Forbidden to print Marks upon themselves. — Along the Sandy Beach, and over the Rocky Headlands. — Nukkar es Sa'diat. — Defeat of Ptolemy's Army by Antiochus. — The Shepherd and the Sheep. — Ed Damilr, the Tamyras. — The Mulberry Gardens of Mu'allakah. — Sugar and the Sugar-cane. — The .Sweet Cane of the Bible. — "The Burnings of Lime." — Lime Mentioned Twice in the Bible. — El Bellan, Thorn Bush. — Biblical Allusions to Thorns. — Raw or Burnt. — Pots and Plots. — " The Crack- ling of Thorns under a Pot." — Khan Khulda, Heldua. — Ghiifr en Naimeh. — One of St. Helena's Towers. — Broken Sarcophagi. — Esh Shuweifat. — Olive-grove. — Beauty of the Olive-tree. — " Oil out of the Flinty Rock." — Oil-presses. — Grafting. — " A Wild Olive-tree." — The Flower of the Olive. — " The Labor of the Olive." — " The Shaking of an Olive-tree." — The Gleaning of the Olive. — "Thy Children shall be like Olive- plants round about thy Table." — Dukkan el Kusis. — "A Sea of Sand." — El Ghiidir. — El Kalabat. — Ibrahim Pasha and the Emir of Shuweifal. — The Goodly Lebanon. — Picturesque Villages. — The Pines. — Arrival at Beirut Page 5
II.
BEIRUT.
Beirut and its Surroundings. — The Plain of Beirut. — Gooilly Lebanon. — Beirut from the .Sea. — Beirut not a Biblical City. — History of Beirut. — Colonia Augusta Felix Julia, Berytus. — Herod the Great. — Agrippa. — Titus. — Law School. — Earthquake. — Theo-
viii CONTENTS.
prosopon. — The Crusaders. — The Saracens. — Miracle of the Holy Cross. — Palace and Gardens of Fakhr ed Din. — The Saraya. — Muhammed 'Aly. — Bombardment of Bei- rflt. — Population of Beirut. — Railroad. — Antiquities about Beirut. — Ancient Aque- duct.— Tunnel. — The Wife of Haroun er Raschid. — Ruined Temple at Deir el Ku- I'ah. — "The Smell of Lebanon." — Magnificent Prospect. — Roofs with Battlements. — The Holy Land and the Holy Book. — House-tops. — Samuel and Saul. — David's Palace. — The Inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the House-tops. — Proclamations from the House-tops. — The Year of Jubilee. — Peter Praying upon the House-top. — House- tops in the Time of Christ. — The Sparrow upon the House-top. — In the Streets of Beirut. — Coffee and Coffee - shops. — Shopkeepers. — Pipe - stems. — Cigarettes. — The Letter -writer. — Writing and Writing Materials. — The Open Letter. — Seal Rings. — The Call to Prayer. — Moslems Praying in the Mosk. — Hypocrisy. — The Pilgrimage to Mecca. — Praying Seven Times a Day. — The Sanctimonious Judge. — Praying towards Mecca and Jerusalem. — Shops and Streets. — The Crowded Street. — Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water. — The Gibeo'nites. — Shaving the Head. — Paul at Cenchrea. — Barbers' Shops. — Street of the Auctioneers. — No Provision for Lighting the Streets. — Bidding the Guests to the Supper. — Dining amongst the Orientals. — Sitting at Meat. — Rice, Stews, and Meats. — Etiquette at Meals. — Washing the Hands. — Elijah and Elisha. — Ceremonial Etiquette. — Pipes, Nargilehs, and Coffee-cups. — Talking to be Heard. — Garments, Ancient and Modern. — Elijah's Mantle. — Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. — Rending the Clothes. — Linen, Woollen, Cotton, and Silk. — Manners and Customs. — Boots and Shoes. — Putting off the Shoes. — The Head and the Feet. — Costume of the Women. — Domestic Relations. — The Harem. — Naming the Father after his Eldest Son. — Significant Names, Ancient and Modern. — Sleeping without Change of Garments. — Co-operative House-keeping. — "Saving your Reverence." — Matrimony. — Sous and Daughters. — Marriage with Slaves Page 43
III.
THE DOG RIVER, AND THE SUBURBS OF BEIRUT.
Excursion to the Dog River. — Eastern Suburbs of Beirut. — The View from Mar Mitr. — The Reservoirs. — Chapel of St. George. — St. George and the Dragon. — The Quaran- tine.— The Beirut River. — Jebel Keniseh and Siinnin. — Bridge over Nahr Beirut. — Emir Fakhr ed Din. — The Mulberry Gardens. — St. George's Bay. — Ride along the Beach. — The River of Death. — Ant Elias. — Narrow Plain. — Fountain and River of Ant Elias. — Beirut Water-works. — The Tunnel. — The Promontory of Nahr el Kelb. — The Ancient Road. — View from the Summit of the Pass. — A Roman Mile-stone. — Sculptured Tablets. — Egyptian Tablets Described by Wilkinson. — Layard's Opinion of the Assyrian Tablets. — Dr. Robinson's Observations on the Antiquity of the Tablets. — Greek Inscrip- tions.— Professor J. A. Paine. — Cuneiform Inscription. — Napoleon III. — The Dog, and the Rock in the Sea. — Inscription of Marcus Antoninus. — The Greek "Wolf" and the Arab "Dog." — Inscription of Sultan Salim. — Scenery at Nahr el Kelb. — A Wild Cabbage. — Bone and Flint Deposits. — Canon Tristram. — Mr. Dawkins. — Fossil Teeth and Arrow-heads. — Prehistoric Savages. — Lebanon abounds in Caverns, Fossils, and Minerals. — Visit to the Caverns of Nahr el Kelb in 1S36. — The Caverns Explored by
CONTENTS. ix
Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Huxley in 1873. — Description of the Caverns of the Dog River. — The Screen. — Professor Robertson's Account. — The Cathedral. — Ma-wveil's Column. — The Hermit's Pillar. — The Gallery. — The Dome. — Willow Point and Light-house. — The Elephant's Cave. — Bliss's Straits. — The Draperies. —The Pantheon.— Clayton's Passage. — The Styx. — Rustum Pasha's Chandelier. — Chaos. — Huxley and Brigstocke's Rapids. — Personal Incident. — Attempt to Explore the Caverns above the Rapids De- scribed by Professor Robertson. — Temperature of the Air and Water in the Caverns. — Depth of the Water. — The Caves of Nahr el Kelb compared with Celebrated Caverns in other Countries. — Ride up the River Gorge. — The Aqueduct. — Grand and Picturesque Scener)% — The Weir. — The Road over the Tunnel and to the Sea. — Ride around the Western Suburbs of Beirut. — The Barracks and Hospital. — The Capuchin Monastery and Church. — Institute of the Deaconesses. — German Church. — Khan Antun Beg.-^Ottoman Bank. — Consulates. — Post-offices. — Moslem Cemetery. — Hotels. — Remains of Ancient Baths. — Modern Bathing-houses. — Minat el Husn. — Sponge Divers. — Petroleum Warehouses. — Ship-building Yard. — Potteries and Tan- neries.— Inhabited Well. — The Hospital of St. John. — Tiie Medical Hall. — Syrian Protestant College. — Tee Observatory. — Unequalled Site and Magnificent Prospect. — Jackals and Hyenas. — The Light-house. — Extended Outlook. — French Company. — Numerous Inlets. — Deep Caverns. — Seals or Sea-cows. — The Rousha. — Perpendicular Cliffs. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Conscription. — Refugees. — Fugitives in the Caves and on the Rousha. — The Rousha in a Winter Storm. — Petrified Echini in the Rocks. — The Sand Sea. — Gardens and Houses Over\vhelmed by the Sand. — Woe -begone Don- keys.— The Quarries. — Narrow Lanes. — Prickly-pear Hedges. — Fruit of the Prickly- pear. — Pine-groves. — Sowing the Pine. — ^\'^enerable Pine-trees Planted by Fukhr ed Din. — The Sycamore. — Zaccheus. — Sycamore Figs. — Gatherers of Sycamore Fruit. — The Power of Faith Illustrated by the Sycamore. — The Black Mulberr}-. — The Syca- more in Egypt. — Biblical References to the Sycamore. — 'Assur. — The Cemeter)-. — The Press. — The Bible Warehouse. — Anglo-American Churcii. — Female Seminar)'. — Mecca Pilgrims. — Fanatical Moslem Ders-ishes and the Priest of Baal. — The Dou^ch. — Riding over Prostrate Men and Boys I'^y*-' 91
IV.
BEIRUT TO SHEMLAN.
A Mountain House. — Moving to the Mountains. — Modern Summer Residences. — Leba- non a Favorite Summer Retreat. — Dames de Nazareth. — The Sisters of Charity. — Silk Factory. — Cocoons. — Export of Silk. — The Pines. — The Damascus Road. — No Trace of an Ancient Highway over Lebanon. — 'Areiya. — F.l Miigheiteh. — Jebel el Keniseh.— El Buka'a. — Shtora. — Mejdel 'Anjar. — Anti-Lebanon.— Diligences.— Bag- gage-wagons.— The Carriage-drive. — Canals. — Rustem Pasha's Bridge. — Khan el Has- mfyeh. — The Plain. — The Palm-tree. — Phienicia. — Hel)rew Women Named after tiie Palm-tree. — Biblical Allusions to the Palm-tree. — Pabn-l)rancl)es an Kniblem of Re- joicing.— Bethany, the House of Dates. — Clusters of Dates. — Kl lladeth. — Shihali Emirs. — As'ad esh Shediak.— History of Lebanon. — B'abda.— Geodes of (^)uarl/. — Blind Beggar by the Way-side. — The Carob-tree.— St. John's Bread. — "The Husks."
X CONTENTS.
— Syrup. — Dukkan el Wurwar. — Nahr el Ghudir. — Wady Shahiiir. — Kefr Shima. — Terraced Hill-sides. — Sarcophagi. — Protestant Chapel. — Soap. — Ascent of the Moun- tain.— Deir el Kurkufeh. — Anemones and Cyclamens. — Pine-grove. — Sandstone For- mation.— Road to Aitath. — 'Ain Bsaba. — Mountain Scenery. — 'Ain 'Anoub. — Village Fountain. — Road to Shemlan. — Summer Eve on Lebanon. — Shemlan. — Lebanon a Range of Mountains. — Dean Stanley. — "The White Mountain." — Rains and Snows on Lebanon. — Geological Characteristics of Lebanon. — Conspicuous Summits of Leb- anon.— The Rivers of Lebanon. — The Natural Bridge. — Temple of Venus. — Birth- place of Adonis. — Cedar-groves. — Convent of Kanobin. — Orthosia. — The Seaward Face of Lebanon. — The Orontes. — The Eastern Side of Lebanon. — El Berdflny. — Fountains at Meshghurah. — Villages on Lebanon. — Biblical Allusions to Lebanon. — Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah. — Goodly Lebanon. — The Province of Tripoli and that of Sidon. — Districts of Lebanon. — Emir Beshir Shebah. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Allied Powers. — Civil Wars and Massacres. — The Present Form of Government. — Population of Lebanon. — The Muhammedans and Metawileh. — The Greeks and Greek Catholics. — The Maronites and Druses Page I2i
V.
TOUR THROUGH SOUTHERN LEBANON.
Southern Lebanon. — The Bells of the Mules, and the Song of the Muleteers. — Wander- ing about the Mountains. — 'Ainab. — Natural Tells. — Perpendicular Strata. — Dukkan 'Ainab. — Beit Tulhiik. — Original Inhabitants of Lebanon. — The Phoenicians. — Rock- cut Tombs. — 'Ain Kesur. — The Wady below 'Abeih. — 'Abeih. — Old Palaces. — Burn- ing of 'Abeih in 1845. — Escape of the Christians in i860. — Mutaiyar 'Abeih. — Mag- nificent Prospect. — Kefr Metta. — Villages and Houses on Lebanon. — Beit el Kady. — El Fiizur. — Traces of Glacial Action. — Tropical Climate and Fruits. — Cloud-bursts. — Jisr el Kady. — Mills. — Nahr el Gabun and Nahr el Kady. — Villages Inhabited by Druses and Maronites. — Bridges, Ancient and Modern. — Adventure with a Panther. — Wild Beasts in the Holy Land in Bible Times. — Bshetfin. — Stagnation of the Druses and Enterprise of the Christians.^Luxuriant and Fertile Fields. — Deir el Kamar. — The Massacres of i860. — A Border Land of Antagonistic Tribes. — Revenge- ful Spirit of the Maronites.— Beit Abu Nakad.— Bteddin.— The Emir Beshir.— Beit Shehab. — Palace at Bteddin.— B'aklin. — Simekaniyeh.— Battle-field of the Druses. — Esh Shuf. — Civil Wars. — Description of the Sceneiy and Geology of Lebanon by Dr. Anderson. — El Judeideh. — Beit Jumblat.— Sheikh Beshir.— Palaces at Mukhtarah. — Vicissitudes of Fortune.— Sa'id Beg Jumblat. — 'Ammatur. — Gray Squirrels. — Oak- grove and Fountain of Bathir. — Fountains and Cliffs between Bathir and Jezzin. — The Auwaly. — Merj Bisiy. — Ruins of an Ancient Temple.— Emir Fakhr ed Din Be- sieged and Captured in a Cavern. — Cascade below Jezzin. — The Ambassador and his Family. — Jeba'ah. — Neby Safy. — Jerjii'a. — Neby Sijud. — Jermuk. — Jebel er Riham. — Globular Iron-ore. — High-places, Ancient and Modern. — Jezzin. — Hunting-ground of the Shehab Emirs.— Taumat Niha. — Ancient Highway from Sidon to Damascus. —Kefr Hiineh.— Smuggling Tobacco.— Circular Lake.— Descent to the Litany.— Jisr Biirghuz. — Magnificent Prospects. — Meshghurah. — Villages upon the South-eastern
CONTENTS. XI
Slopes of Lebanon. — Rapid Restoration to Prosperity after Civil Wars. — Schools. — Jisr Kur'un. — Geodes. — The Biika'a originally a Lake. — Kamid el Lauz. — Luz. — Sughbin. — Jisr Jubb Jenin. — Geodes of Chalcedony and Agate. — Vineyards. — Ascent of Lebanon. — View over the BCika'a. — Manna. — The Cedars of el Haruk and el Ma'asir. — Hiram and Solomon. — Fountains of el Baruk. — Aqueduct of Sheikh Be- shir. — Description of Wady el Fureidis and Wady 'Ain Zahalteh by Dr. .\nderson. — Scener}' around 'Ain Zahalteh. — Fountains of Nahr el Kady. — Avalanche at Kefr Nebrakh. — Burj el 'Amad. — Beit el '.\mad. — Sheikh Khuttar. — Cedars at 'Ain Za- halteh.— Sources of the Damur and the .Vuwaly. — Problem of Fountains. — Sandstone Formation and Pine-groves.— Btathir. — Beit 'Abd el Melek. — Silk Factories. — Bham- diin during the Civil Wars. — Wady el Ghabun. — Bhauwarah. the Residence of Colonel Churchill. — Churchill's History of Lebanon. — A Glorious Prospect . . . Page 141
VI.
SHEMLAN TO THE NATURAL BRIDGE.
Summer Resorts on Lebanon. — 'Aitath. — Beit Tulhuk. — Suk el Ghurb. — Ancient Church. — The Sweating Picture. — Convent of St. George. — Monks. — Wady Shahrur. — In- habited Tree. — 'Aleih.- -Tragedies in the Old Palace. — Ibrahim Pasha. — Tragedy of the Three Brothers. — Decline of Feudal Princes. — Wady Hummana. — Coal .Mine. — Muhammed Aly. — Petrified Pine-cones. — District of el Metn. — The Emirs of Beit el Lema. — Brummana. — The Damascus Road. — El Mugheiteh. — Snow Blockade. — Jebel Keniseh. — Summit Level. — Khan Murad. — Cold Winds. and Malignant Fevers.— A Glorious Prospect. — El Biika a. — Anti-Lebanon. — Eastern Side of Lebanon. — Shtora. — The Road to Damascus. — Temple at Mejdel 'Anjar. — Neb'a 'Anjar.— Intermitting Fountain. — Deir el Ghiizal. — Kiibb Elias. — Mekseh. — Extensive Views over Coelesyria. — Zahleh. — El Berdiiny. — "Vine and Fig-tree." — El Mu'allakah. — Burning of Zah- leh. — Prosperity of Zahleh. — Kerak Nuh. — Ascent of Lebanon. — Bituminous Shale. — Globular Iron Ore. — Limestone Pinnacles. — Neb'a Silnnin. — Temples on Lebanon. — Temple near 'Anturah. — Husn Niha. — Tomb of Noah. — Tomb of Seth. — Origin of Primitive Sanctuaries. — Rock-cut Tombs. — The Druses and their Religion. — Druse Funerals. — Feudal Families of the Druses. — Lex talionis, or Blood Revenge. — Moses and the Hebrews. — Matrimonial Alliances. — Abraham and Jacob. — Betrothal. — Noc- turnal Incident. — Bears and Wolves. — Ascent of Sunnin. — Outlook from the Sum- mit of Lebanon. — Sirocco. — Descent of Lebanon. — Druse War-song. — Bringing Grain to the Mill. — Grinding at the Mill. — Baking Bread in the Tanniir. — Native Bread. — The Use of Leven.— The Staff of Life. — Cone-shaped Oven. — City Ovens.— Ovens in the Time of the Hebrews. — Baking upon the Saj. — Wady Biskinta. — tniHin \ui- tures. — Eagles. — Pinnacles of Limestone. — Casts of Fossil Shells. — Dr. Anderson's Description of the Fossils of Syria. — Kul'at el Fukra. — Tiberius Claudius. — The Tem- ple in the Midst of Rocky Pinnacles Described \>y Dr. Robinson. — Remains of a Tomb. — Road from the Dog River to the Natural Bridge. — 'Ajeltun. — Fantastii Rock .Scenery. — Wady es Salib.— Canal from Nahr el Leben.— Irrigation.— Sowing Wheat in Autumn. — Neb'a el Leben.— Milk and Honey.— The Natural Bridge.— District of el Kesrawan. — The Maronites. — Feudal Families.- Monastery BclK . iSS
xii CONTENTS.
VII.
THE NATURAL BRIDGE TO THE CEDARS.
Bird's-eye View of the Kesravvan. — Picturesque Hamlets and Flourishing Villages. — Con- vents Isolated in Winter. — Nahr es Salib. — Flooded Fields and Ploughed-up Roads. — Cascade. — Neb'a el 'Asal. — Wady Shebruh. — Volcanic Action and Fields of Trap- rock. — Energy and Industry of the People. — Products of the Soil. — Lebanon Wine. — Ziik Miisbah. — 'Arak. — Sacramental Wine used by Papists and Greeks. — The Juice of the Grape. — The Wine Used at the Last Supper and the Feasts of the Jews. — " Unfermented Wine." — Wine, Ancient and Modern. — The Wine of the Bible. — The Hebrew Debash and Arabic Dibs. — Winter on Lebanon. — Monotonous Life of the Natives. — Mountain Houses. — Miscellaneous Company. — Animals, Smoke, and Fleas. — Smoking and Sleeping. — The Return of Spring. — Biblical Allusions to Manners and Customs. — Ancient and Modern Habitations. — Reminiscences of a Former Tour. — Lost in a Fog. — Magnificent Prospect. — The Lebanon Range. — Descent to 'Afka. — Walnut and Sycamore Trees. — Venus and Adonis. — Goats in the Clefts of the Rock. — A Tremendous Cliff. — Scene from the Bridge. — Mugharat 'Afka. — Source of the Adonis. — Three Cascades. — Temple of Venus. — Syenite Columns. — The Wor- ship of Adonis. — Destruction of the Temple by Constantine. — Retrospective. — The Damsels of Phoenicia. — "Women Weeping for Tammuz." — The Poetry of Milton, and the Vision of Ezekiel. — "Smooth Adonis ran purple to the Sea." — Ancient and Modern 'Afka. — Metawileh. — The Valley of Nahr Ibrahim. — Bridge. — Emir Ibrahim. — Mar Maron. — Burj Fatiah. — Ancient Aqueduct. — Plateau. — Wady el Muneitirah. — Wady el Mugheiyireh. — Eagles and Ravens. — Natural Bridge. — Grotto at el 'Aukiirah. — Wine-vats. — El 'Aukurah. — Trap -rock. — Burckhardt. — Native Hospitality. — The Avenger of Blood. — Lofty Plateau. — Arab Encampment. — Transportation of Sheep to Egypt. — Pasture-lands of the Kurds. — Funnel-shaped Pits. — Jebel Jaj. — El Mesh- nakah. — Burr el Haithy. — "Timber of Cedar." — Wady Fedar. — M. Renan's De- scription of the Ruins at el Meshnakah. — Rock-cut Tombs. — "Baal a la tete Rayonee." — Figures Carved in the Rock at el Ghineh. — "The Image of Venus." — Ard 'Akhlk. — Hid Treasure. — Inscriptions on the Rocks. — Dr. De Forest. — M. Renan. — The Emperor Adrian. — Tannurin el Foka. — Fog in Autumn. — Fossil Fish. — Hakil. — Duma. — Iron Ore. — Wady Tanniiiin. — Ard Tannurin. — Wady ed Duweir. — Wady el Jauzeh. — Jebel en Niiriyeh. — Theoprosopon. — Nahr el Jauzeh. — Kiil'at el Museilihah. — Black-mail. — Cedar-grove. — The Emir Beshir and the British Fleet. — Manufacture of Pitch. — Trees Cut Down will often Sprout Again. — Riiins of a Con- vent.— Amyun. — El Kiirah. — El Hadith. — Wady el Kadisha. — The Holy River. — Deir Kanobin. — Maundrell's Visit to Kanobin. — As'ad esh Shidiak. — Hasrun. — Convers- ing Across the Chasm. — Exceptional Cultivation. — Gorge of the Kadisha Described by Dr. Robinson. — "The Beauty and the Grandeur of Lebanon." — Bsherreh. — Bridge over the Holy River. — Productiveness of the Soil. — The Cedars of God. — A Sabbath of Rest among the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Cedar pre-eminently the Biblical Tree. — El Arz. — Biblical Allusions to the Cedar. — Cedar Wood. — The Palaces of David and Solomon and the Temple of the Lord. — The Temples of Zerubbabel
CONTENTS. xiii
and Herod and the Graven Images of a God. — Fragments of Cedar among the Ruins of Nineveh. — Cedar not Mentioned in the New Testament. — Juniper. — Pine. — The Thistle and the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Destruction of the Ancient and Modern Cedar. — Sunday-school under the Cedars. — The Cedar-tree of the Bible. — The Lo- cality of the Cedars Described by Dr. Robinson. — Dean Stanley. — Canon Tristram. — Glacial Moraines. — The present Cedar-grove. — Age of the Cedars. — The Glory of Lebanon. — Four Cedar-trees Intertwined and Growing together. — De.an Stanley's Description of Old and Young Trees supporting one another. — Graceful Form and Shape of the Cedar. — Vain Effort to Protect the Young Cedars. — Lebanon could be Covered with Cedars. — Cedars in the Parks and Gardens of Europe. — "Full of Sap." — The Cedar not Used for Building Purposes.— Feast of the Cedars. — Modern Chapel. — Decline of Religious Zeal Page 232
VIII.
THE CEDARS TO HURMUL AND B.VALBEK.
The Summit-level of the Lebanon Range. — The Cedar Mountain.— Jebel Mflkhmal. — Pass over Lebanon Described by Dr. Buchanan. — Ehden.— Paradisus.— Viisuf Karam. — Pass around the West End of Lebanon. — Tripolis.— El Mina. — Small Islands North-west of Tripoli.— The Castle of Tripoli.— Librar>' at Tripoli Burnt during the Crusades. — Burckhardt. — Tarablus esh Sham. — Terminus of the Euphrates Valley Railroad.— Ruwad, Arvad.— Cyclopean Wall.— .-Mexander the Great.— Tartus, Tor- tosa.— Castle and Church at Tartus.— Bombardment of Tartus.— Antaridus.— Ancient Quarries.— Idol-temple. — Remains near 'Ain el Haiyeh.— Sepulchral Monuments.— M. Renan.—Marathus.— Area.— Tell 'Arka.— Temple of Alexander.— The Emperor Severus. — The Holy Lance. — Ruins of Area.— Tunnel. — Fossil Shells.— Exuberant Verdure and Grand Sceneiy. — Nahr el Barid.—Orthosia.— Ruined Temple on llarf es Sphiry.— Dining with the Beg at Sir.- The Man of Uz.— The Sabbatical River. — Fauwar ed Deir.— Intermitting Fountains.— Gray Squirrels and Walnut-trees.— Fountain and Overhanging Cliff.— View from the Pass above Sir.— Cloud-burst. — Homer.— Tydens. — Dislocated Strata. —Wheat and Snow.— Sheepfolds. — '.\in el Beida.— Natives Making Tar.— A Mountain Meadow.— Et Tubban.— Water-shed.— Wady Farah.—" Boundless Contiguity of Shade."— 'Ain el Ayun.— D.ihar el Kudhib. —A Camp-fire on Lebanon.— Personal Incident at 11 uimul.— Local Rebellion.— Hiii-mul. — Woodland Scenery on Lebanon Descril)ed by Van de VeUle. — " The En- trance of Hamath."— Dr. Robinson.— Ribieh.— Pharaoh and Josiah.— Nebuchadnezzar and Zedekiah.— A Dreadful Massacre.— The Camping-ground of Fierce Con<iuerors. — The Hittites.— The Kheta.— Egyptian Inscriptions.— Ramescs II.— M. Ebers.— Battle near Kadesh between the Egyptians and the Kheta.— The "Right Arm" of Rameses IL— Pentaur.— The Iliad of the Egyptians. — " I was alone."— Rameses II. Fighting the Kheta, with Two Lions at his Side.— A Warlike and Powerful People.— The Report of the Spies sent by Moses.— Frequent Communication between Kff,'pt and Syria in Patriarchal Times.— Egyptian Innuence in Syria.— Site of Kelesh.— Kedes.— Laodicea.— Tell Neby Mindau.— Lake <.f Hums or Kedes.— Stone Dam.— Abulfeda.— Canal to Hums. — Rivulets an<l Corn-lKldv— The Fountains of llie Oron-
xiv CONTENTS.
tes Described by Van de Velde. — Neb'a el 'Asy. — The Orontes. — The Monk's Cavern. — Kamii'a el Hiirmul. — Hunting Scenes Delineated on the Kamu'a. — Outlook over the Plain from the Kamu'a. — The Canal from 'Ain Lebweh to Ka'a. — Perpendicular Banks above Neb'a el 'Asy. — Ras Ba'albek. — Conna. — Wady Flkeh. — El 'Ain. — Ain. — The Water-shed. — A Night in a Bedawin Encampment. — Lebweh. — Lybo. — Saracen and Crusader. — Neb'a Lebweh. — An Oasis in the Desert. — Lake Yemmuneh. — Disappearance of the Water of the Lake. — Ruined Temple at Yemmuneh. — Vil- lages on the Hill-sides, not in the Plain. — Lone Column in the Buka'a. — Ancient Temple and Rock-cut Tombs at Nahleh Page 270
IX.
BAALBEK TO DAMASCUS.
Ba'albek and el Buka'a. — Approach to Ba'albek from the Cedars, and from Zahleh. — Personal Experience. — The Cardinal Points. — Position of Ba'albek. — The Ancient City.— The Old Wall.— Doric Column.— Remains of the Old Town.— Statues.— The Modern Town. — The Acropolis. — Artificial Platform of the Great Temple. — Stairway Leading to the Platform. — The Portico. — Latin Inscription. — Antoninus Pius and Julia Domna. — Massive Square Towers. — Large Stones. — Vaults. — Main Entrance. — The Hexagonal Court. — The Triple Gate. — The Great Court. — Niches, Recesses, and Chambers. — The Eastern, Northern, and Western Sides of the Court. — Raised Plat- form.— The Temple of the Sun. — The Peristyle. — The Six Columns. — The Walls of the Temple Platform. — Cyclopean Stones and Walls. — Trilithon. — The Three Great Stones. — Seven Stones in the West Wall. — Nine Stones Parallel to the North Wall. — Vaults and Galleries under the Platform. — Temple of Jupiter. — The Pantheon at Athens. — Platform of the Temple. — The Portico. — The Peristyle. — The Vestibule. — The Portal. — Mr. David Roberts. — The Hanging Keystone. — The Assyrian Eagle. — Stairway to the Top of the Temple. — The Nave of the Temple. — Fluted Columns and Sculptured Niches. — The Sanctum. — Sacrificial Procession. — Vaulted Chambers. — Moslem Iconoclasts. — Nine Columns on the North Side of the Peristyle. — Entablature and Roof of the Peristyle. — Lieutenant Conder. — Three Columns on the West Side of the Temple. — The Leaning Column on the South Wall of the Temple. — Four Standing Columns. — Fluted Columns of the Portico. — Saracenic Tower. — The Octag- onal Temple. — Columns, Niches, and Festoons. — Ionic and Corinthian Columns around the Interior Walls. — A Christian Church. — Ras el 'Ain. — Coelesyria. — El Buka'a. — The Orontes and the Leontes. — El Berdilny and Nahr 'Anjar. — The Grave of Noah and the Tomb of Seth. — Toi and David. — The Hittites and the Egyptians. — The History of Ba'albek. — Baal-gad. — The Plain of Aven. — Heliopolis. — Julia, Augusta Felix. — The Emperor Trajan. — John of Antioch. — Antoninus Pius and Septimus Severus. — Julia Domna and Heliogabalus. — Venus Worshipped at Ba'al- bek.— The Emperor Constantine. — Muhammedan Vandalism. — Kul'at Ba'albek. — The Quarries. — The Great Stone in the Quarry. — Kubbet Diiris. — The Road to Damascus. — Emirs of Beit Harfiish. — Bereitan. — Khuraibeh. — A Donkey Fallen under its Load. — The Humane Laws of Moses. — Nahr Yahfiifeh. — A Roman Bridge.
CONTENTS. XV
— Surghaya. — Volcanic Plain. — Tlie Water -shed. — '.\in Hawar. — Ez Zebedany. — The Plain, the Gardens, and the Vineyards. — The Source of the Barada. — The Lofty Range of Anti-Lebanon. — Bliidan. — Wild and Romantic Scenery in Suk Wady Barada. — The Pass. — The Bridge. — Ancient Roadway Cut in the Rock. — Latin In- scriptions.— "Abila of Lysanias." — Rock-hewn Aqueduct and Rock-cut Tombs. — Ancient Quarries. — The Tomb of Abel. — Ruins of a Small Temple. — Plain and \'il- lage of Suk Wady Barada. — A Devout Hermit. — (Jibbon. — Kefr el 'Awamid. — An- cient Temple. — Ride along the Canal. — .\ Succession of Surprises. — "Ain el Fijeh. — The most Copious Source of the Barada. — Massive Remains of Platforms and Tem- ples.— Fever and Ague. — 'Ain el Khudra. — Grand Scenery and Execrable Road. — Tunnel through the Cliff. — Zenobia and Palmyra. — Bessima. — Es Sahra. — French Carriage-road. — Dummar. — Kubbet en NCisr. — First and Finest View of Damascus. — Description of the Scene by Lieutenant Van de Velde and Mr. Addison. — The Barada Described by Dean Stanley. — The Canals and Streams from the Baraila. — The Main Stream. — The Paradise of the Prophet. — The Mountains and the Plain. — Ilcrmon. — Xahr el A'waj, the Pharpar. — Jebel Kasyiin. — .\dam and Abraham. — Cain ant! Abel. — Es Salahiyeh. — Broad Paved Road. — The Tent and the Hotel . Page 317
X.
DAMASCUS.
Damascus and the Manners and Customs of the East. — One of the Oldest Cities in tlie World. — Thebes and Memphis, Babylon and Nineveh. — Damascus the Capital of Syria. — Biblical Histoiy of Damascus. — Abraham and Chedorlaomer. — Hobah. — Dam- mesek, Dimeshk. — Esh Sham.— Damascus Founded l>y the Great Grandson of Noah. — Josephus and Nicolaus. — Abraham Reigned at Damascus. — Eliezer of Damascus. — Abraham's Place of Adoration. — Burzeh. — The Site of Hobah. — David. — The Tribes of Naphtali and Manasseh. — "David put Garrisons in Damascus." — lladad.— Solo- mon.— Rezon. — Abijam King of Judah ; Tabrimon of Syria ; and Baaslia of Israel. — Asa Sends Presents of Silver and Gold. — Invasions of Ben-hadad I., King of Damas- cus.— "Streets in Samaria." — Ben-hadad II. — Ahab.— Invasions of Bcn-liadad II.— Aphek. — Flight of Ben-hadad II.— "Streets in Damascus."— Deatli of Ahal).—
I Jehoram.— Naaman the Syrian Leper. — "A Little Captive Maid." — Jehoram Rends his Clothes. — Elisha, "a Prophet in Israel." — The Jordan and the " Rivers of Damas- cus."— The "Blessing" of Naaman. — Two Mules' Burden of Eartii.— .\n .\llar to Jehovah in Damascus.— Ben-hadad's Attemjit to Capture Elisha. — Siege of Samaria. — "A Great Famine."— Flight of the Syrian Army.— The Ilillilc Confederacy.— Elijah and Elisha. — Visit of Elisha to Damascus.— Death of Ben-hadad.— Ha/.ael King over Syria. — " Joash Beat Ben-hadad [III.] three times."— Jeroboam II. Re- covers Damascus.— Pekah.—Tiglath-pileser Captures Damascus.— Pattern of an Ali:u sent to Urijah by Ahaz. — Sennaclierib, Nebuchadnezzar, an<l Darius.— Amos and Isaiah.— Jeremiah and Ezekiel.—Zechariah.— Macedonian, Greek, and Roman Con- quests.— Parmenio. — Alexander the Great.— Pompey Receives the Ambas.sadors from Syria, Judica, and Egypt in Damascus. — Sexlus Civsar. — Herod the Cireal.— Saul,
VI CONTENTS.
called Paul. — Spread of Christianity in Damascus. — John the Baptist.— Muhammedan Conquest of Syria. — Siege of Damascus. — Gibbon. — Massacre of Christians by the "Sword of God." — Damascus the Capital of the Muhammedan Empire. — Baneful Influence of Islam. — Decline of Damascus. — Descendants of Ishmael. — A Hebrew of the Hebrews. — Garments Ancient and Modern. — Hotel at Damascus. — Citron and Lemon, Roses and Jessamine. — Court of the Khalifs of Islam. — The King and Queen of the "Arabian Nights." — The Streets and Bazaars of Damascus. — The Horse-market. —The Hangman's Tree. — Saddlers Street.— Street of the Coppersmiths. — Castle of Damascus. — Ancient Bows and Arrows. — The Fosse. — Street of the Auctioneers. — Siik el Arwam. — Oriental Bargains. — Given Away for Nothing. — Intricacy of the Streets in Eastern Cities. — Donkeys and Camels. — Khan As'ad Pasha. — Caravans from Bagdad and Elsewhere. — Importunate Christians.— Intense Fanaticism. — A Mos- lem Shopkeeper. — Fate, or God's Decree. — The Wiles of Satan. — Sanctimonious Moslems. — Bazaar of the Goldsmiths. — Manufacture of Gold and Silver Filigree. — South Side of the Great Mosk. — Ancient Remains. — Triple Gate. — Greek Inscription. — "Thy Kingdom, O Christ." — Book Bazaar. — Copies of the Koran. — Manuscript Books. — Arch and Pediment of an Ancient Gateway. — Bab el Barid. — Slippers. — "The House of Rimmon."— Greek and Roman Temple. — Church of St. John the Baptist. — A Basilica. — Dimensions of the Great Mosk. — Rows of Columns. — Triple Roof. — Central Dome. — Stained-glass Windows. — Texts from the Koran. — Praying Rugs.— Lamps and Chandeliers. — Praying Niches.— The Head of John the Baptist.— Court of the Great Mosk. — Colonnades. — Ornamented Piers and Arches. — Corinthian Columns. — Saracenic Fountain and Pavilion. — Domes of the Hour, and of the Treas- ure.— Visit to the Great Mosk by a Party of Ladies and Gentlemen.— Photographs. — Minarets of the Great Mosk. — View from the Gallery of Madinet el 'Arus. — Rim- mon.— Baal. — Tombs of Saladin and the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. — Public Baths. — Baths not mentioned in the Bible. — "Pools." — Hot and Cold Water Baths Intro- duced by Herod the Great.— Baths the Resort of Evil .Spirits.— Street Calls and Cries. — "Drink, O Thirsty!" — The Colporteur in Damascus. — " The Bread and Water of Everlasting Life." — Private Houses in Damascus. — The Entrance. — The Court.— The Marble Fountain. — El Lewan. — Reception-rooms. — Panels in the Roofs and Window- shutters Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl. — The Harem.— Coffee-shops along the Banks of the Barada. — Oriental Music and Singing. — The Orchestra. — Musical Instruments. — Greek and Albanian Music. — Biblical Music. — Music in the Time of the Prophets. — Samuel and Saul. — Saul among the Prophets. — Elisha and the Minstrel. — David and Saul. — The Harp and Viol, the Tabret and Pipe. — Ride through the Suburbs of Damascus. — The Gardens.— Canon Tristram. — Flowing Streams and Golden Fruit. — Camping in a Garden. — Canal of et Taurah.— Es Salihiyeh.— Villa of the British Consul.— E.xuberant Vegetation. — The Myrtle. — Fountains and Streams in the Gar- dens, and in the Courts of Public and Private Buildings. — Making Kaif under the Trees. — Nahr el Yezid. — Jebel Kasyun. — The Barada, the Abana. — The A'vvaj, the Pharpar. — Bardines. — The Golden -flowing River. — Chasm of the Barada. — Dams and Canals. — Net-work of Watercourses. — The Main Stream of the Barada. — Lake 'Ataibeh. — Cufic Inscription. — Carriage -road. — Mud Walls. — Sun-dried Bricks. — El Merj, the Meadow. — Speeding the Departing, and Welcoming the Coming. — Cara-
CONTENTS. xvii
vans and Pilgrims. — The Haj.— Et Tekiyeh.— Hospital for Poor Pilgrims. — Mosk of Sultan Selim. — Muhammedan Burj-ing- ground. — Graves of Muhammed's Wives. — Fatimeh. — The Myrtle and the Palm. — Funeral Mourning.— Mary at the Grave. — Hired Mourners. — Biblical References to Mourning. — Esau and Job.— David and Jeremiah.— Floods of Tears. — "Jesus Wept." — Tear Bottles.— Smiting the Thigh.— El Meidan. — Labyrinth of Crooked Lanes. — Bab es Saghir. — Moslem Funeral Pro- cession.— "That Eternal Truth and Necessary Fiction." — Ancient Stones in the City Wall. — Bab Kisan. — Traditional Place of Paul's Escape. — Christian Cemete- ries.— Spot where Paul was Converted. — Bab esh Shurky. — Extensive View from the Top of a Mound. — Throwing Dust in the Eyes of European Commissioners. — Leper Hospital. — House of Naaman the Leper. — Leprosy in Damascus. — Roman Triple Gate. — Saracenic Tower. — Gates of Damascus. — "The Street called Straight." — Double Colonnade Described by Dr. Porter. — Christian Quarter. — Armenian Con- vent.— Syrian and Greek Catholic Churches. — House of Ananias. — The Jews in Damascus, Ancient and Modern. — The Jewish Synagogue. — Paul Preached in the Synagogues at Damascus. — The Orthodox Greek Church. — Massacre of the Christians in i860. — The Moslem Quarter. — Damascus Blades and Damask Silks. — Population of Damascus. — House of Judas. — Locks and Keys. — Key on the Shoulder. — Locks and Keys in the Time of David and Solomon. — Suk el 'Attarin. — Attar of Roses. — Dr. Beke. — Rev. J. Crawford. — Extent of the Damascus Gardens Eastward. — The Eastern Plain Destitute of Trees. — Licorice Plant. — Villages on the Plain. — The Barada. — Harran el 'Awamid. — The Southern Lake. — Bedawin. — Columns of Basalt. — Remains of an Ancient Temple. — Greek Inscription. — The Biblical Haran. — Pur- suit of Jacob by Laban. — Harran el 'Awamid and Mount Gilead. — Tradition of the Jews. — Return to Damascus Page 361
XL
DAMASCUS TO EL MUSMEIH.
Damascus the Capital City of Islam. — The Religion Established by Muhammed. — Life and Character of the Arabian Prophet. — The Caaba. — Khadija. — Muhammcil Asserts his Prophetic Mission. — El Hegira. — The Crescent and the Star. — Conversion of the Inhabitants of Yathreb. — Jewish Colonies. — Inconsistencies in the Character of Mu- hammed Described by Mr. Muir. — "Weeping with them that Wept," yet taking Pleasure in cruel Assassination and Massacre. — Death of Muhammed in Medina, and his Burial in the House of 'Ayesha. — El Haram. — "The Illiterate Prophet." — The Koran Revealed by the Angel Gabriel and Transcribed upon the ShouMer-blades of Camels and Goats. — Compilation and Revision of the Koran. — Muhammedan Rever- ence for the Koran. — The Death Penalty. — The Pentateuch, the Psalms, and tiie Gospels of Jesus. — The Patriarchs Inspired Messengers. — Jesus Mentioned with Re- spect in the Koran. — Muhammed the Last and Best of God's Prophets. — Moslems are Unitarians and Fatalists. — Apostasy Imperils Life. — The Attributes of Goil. — Spiritual Beings. — Worship of Saints. — The Resurrection of the Body. — Judgment at the Last Day. — Paradise. — Wine Prohibited. — Prayer. — Al)hili()ns. — Friday, the Assembly. — Alms-giving. — Bread Tlinjwn to Dogs. — Alms Forbidden to Christians
xviil CONTENTS.
and Jews.^Rigid Fast during Ramadan. — Necessary Preparations for a Tour through Bashan and Gilead. — Pilgrimage to Mecca. — El Haj. — Damascus the Starting-place of the Syrian Pilgrims. — Emir el Haj. — Departure of the Pilgrims from Damascus.— The Mahmel. — Escort of Bedavvin Mounted on Camels. — Pilgrims on Camels, Horses, and Mules. — Return of the Haj from Mecca. — Forlorn and Woe-begone Appearance
of the Pilgrims. — Bab Allah. — "Bab el Maut, the Gate of Death." — Burckhardt.
Pilgrims that now Pass through the Suez Canal. — Mr. Muir's Estimate of the Benefits Conferred upon the World by Islam. — The Continuation of Derb el Haj. — The Ghu- tah. — Abulfeda. — One of the Four Paradises of the Earth. — INIoslem Legend. — The Plain of Damascus Crowded with Villages. — Absence of Important Ruins. — The Merj. — Jebel el Aswad. — Quarries of Basalt. — The Pharpar. — El Kesweh. — El 'Awaj. — The Sabirany. — Wady Barbar. — 'Ain Menbej, an Intermitting Fountain. — Roman Road. — Jebel Mani'a. — Villages. — Jebel esh Sheikh. — Aklim el Bellan. — Kul'at Jendal. — Ascent of Hermon. — Wady el 'Ajam. — Moslem Villages. — Bedawin and Kurds. — Cold Winds. — S'as'a. — Ancient Road. — El Kuneitirah. — Paul's Journey to Damascus. — Juneh. — Deir 'Aly. — Frogs. — Greek Inscriptions. — Leboda. — Marcion. — The Marcionites. — El Jeidur. — Jetur. — The Hagarites. — The Half Tribe of Manas- seh. — The Captivity. — Alexander the Great. — Seleucidze. — Iturea. — Aristobulus. — Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea. — John the Baptist. — El Jaulan. — Golan, a City of Refuge. — Gaulanites. — Elevated Lava Plateaus. — Wuld 'Aly Bedawin. — No Inhabited Vil- lages.— Lava Bowlders. — Robbers. — Ruins of Old Towns and Deserted Villages. — Ez Zughbar. — A World once on Fire. — El Merjany. — Good Water. — Basaltic Soil. — Burckhardt. — Column of the Morning. — Small Temple. — Subterraneous Aqueduct. — Private Habitations at El Burak Described by Dr. Porter. — Stone Walls, Doors, Win- dows, and Roofs. — Stone Gate. — Saltpetre Manufactories. — El Liwa. — Wady Liwa. — Arabs of the Lejah. — Villages and Towns in Ruins. — Cultivation and Winter Tor- rents.— Um ez Zeitian. — Druses. — Hid Treasure. — Ard el Bathanyeh. — Batanis. — M. Waddington. — Inscriptions. — The Ancient Names of Places still Preserved. — Jebel Hauran. — Ard el Bathanyeh Described by Dr. Porter. — Ibrahim Pasha. — El Harrah. — Mr. Cyril C. Graham's Adventurous Tour in the Harrah. — A Desert Waste. — Ancient Wells. — Deserted Places. — Rock Inscriptions. — Himyritic Writing. — Kings of the Himyri. — Dr. J. G. Wetzstein. — The Safah. — Volcanic Soil. — Arabs of the Le- jah.— Nomadic Tribes of the Desert. — The Apostle Paul. — Early Christian Churches East of the Jonlan. — Origin. — "The Region of Argob." — Trachonitis. — Zenodorus. — Robbers' Caverns. — Caesar, Herod, Philip, Agrippa. — El Lejah, an Asylum. — Dr. Porter's Description of the Lejah Page 418
XII.
EL MUSMEIH TO EDHRA' AND KUNAWAT.
Howling Jackals and Barking Dogs. — El Musmeih, Phseno. — Rock -cut Road. — Cis- terns.— Roman Legions. — An Episcopal City. — Temple at el Musmeih. — Shell- shaped Roof. — Columns with Wreaths or Bands. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Verus. — Greek Inscription. — Trachonitis, el Lejah. — Governor's Pal- ace and Bishop's Residence. — Ruins of Private Houses. — Influence of External Nature
CONTENTS. xix
upon Human Character.— The Border of the Lejah. — Rocky Labyrinths. — Fountains and Streams. — The Egj'ptian Army driven out of the Lej.ih. — Regular Troops of no Avail in the Volcanic Clefts and Chasms of the Lejah. — Shaarah. — Tower, Temple, and Inscription. — Manufacture of Saltpetre. — The Outer and the Inner Lej.ih. — Oozy Black Mud. — Stream from Tibny. — Scarcity of Water. — "Deceitful Brooks" and Job's "Miserable Comforters." — The Guides of Ancient and Modern Caravans "Con- founded and Ashamed." — Personal Experience in the Wilderness of Wandering. — Deserted Villages and Partially Cultivated Plain. — Es Sunamein, the Two Idols. — Mecca Pilgrims. — Acre. — Stone Walls, Doors, Windows, and Roofs. — Towers, Tem- ples, and Inscriptions. — Fortuna, the Goddess of Luck. — Tell Kusweh. — Khub.ib. — Ox Ploughing and Taxation. — Manufacture of Lava Millstones. — A Century Old. — Boys' School. — Desire for Education. — Manners and Customs, Dress and Appearance of the People in the Lejah. — Intemaents in Open Pens of Lava Fragments. — Shuk- rah. — Muddy Causeway. — Melihat Hazkin. — Ruined and Deserted Towers. — Saints' Tomb. — Gray Wolf. — Tibny. — A French Monk. — A Mass of Prostrate Buildings. — Wheat Concealed in Cisterns. — Bedawin Robbers. — Storehouses of Joseph in Egypt. — Luhf el Lejah. — Plain of the Hauran. — Ruins of Ancient Cities. — Ancient Fire- proof Houses. — Houses Burned Down on Lebanon. — Healthy Climate and Extensive Prospects. — El Hauran. — En Nukrah, el Lejah, and el Jebel. — Dr. Eli Smith's List of Two Hundred and Thirty-nine Sites of Towns and Villages. — Moslems, Druses, and Christians. — Greeks and Greek Catholics. — Sites of Seventy-five Villages and An- cient Towns within and around the Lejah. — "Threescore Cities Fenced with High W^alls." — "The Kingdom of Og in Bashan." — Approach to Edhra' through Lava De- files and along a Rock-cut Road. — Site of Edhra'. — Exploits of the Hebrews in the Time of Moses. — M. W'addington. — Edrei. — Zorava. — Der'a. — The Conflict Between Og, King of Bashan, and the Hebrews. — Edhra' identical with the City mentioned by Moses. — Extensive Ruins. — Subterranean Residences. — Description of the Stone Roofs and the Supporting Arches. — Ancient Architects. — Window-shutters and Doors made of Lava Slabs. — The Church of St. Elias. — Greek Inscriptions. — The Church of St. George Described by M. Waddington. — Quadrangular Structure Described by Burckhardt. — Square Tower. — Columns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Ruined Vaults and Prostrate Columns. — Excursion into the Lejah. — Air-bubbles of Hard Rock. — Masses of Lava, and Petrified Waves. — Shivered Hills and Funnel-shaped Pits. — Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Bedawin Shepherds Professional Robbers. — "All Thieves." — Scarcity of Pasture. — Deterioration of the Lejah. — No Wild .\nimals and but few Birds. —Reservoirs in Caverns. — Native Traditions. — Few Springs and no Never-failing Fountains. — Caverns mentioned by Josephus. — Subterranean Dwellings, Pools of Water and Corn in Granaries. — Herod the Great. — Robbers of Trachonitis and the Bedawin of the Lejah. — Greek, Cufic, and Nabathean Inscriptions. — M. Wad- dington.— Harran. — Blood Feuds. — Law of Revenge. — Burckhardt's Visit to Dama. — Rock-cut Cisterns. — Encampment of Medlej Bedawin. — Tents Concealed in the Crer- ices and Fissures of the Rocks. — Modern Villages and Ancient Sites. — Remarkable Preservation of Ruined Towns and Cities. — Pompeii. — Houses Constructed of Imper- ishable Lava. — Temples and Public Edifices in the Lejah erected before the Christian Era. — Ruins at Nejran.— Church with Two Towers. — Blood-money. — Terei)inlh-oii
XX CONTENTS.
used instead of Olive-oil. — Disappearance of the old Earthen Lamp. — Petroleum from Pennsylvania. — "The Smoking Flax and the Bruised Reed." — The Servant of the Lord. — Fire out of the Heel, and Ink out of the Mouth. — The Stream in Wady Kunawat. — Shuhba Described by Dr. Porter. — A Roman City. — Streets and Gates, Temples, Baths, and Public Buildings. — Theatre at Shuhba. — M. Waddington and the Count De Voglie. — The Emperor Philip. — Philippopolis. — Shuhba and the Shehab Emirs. — Nur ed Din and Saladin. — The Crusaders. — The Monguls. — The Emir Beshir. — Muhammed Aly. — Civil Wars and the Massacres of i860. — A Long Pedigree, from "the Beginning" to the Present Hour. — Temple at Suleim. — Neapolis. — Cav- ernous Cistern. — Ruins of an Old Town. — The Village School and Native Teacher. — Desire for Education. — Moments lengthened into Hours. — Proverbial Hospitality. — Graeco-Roman Population East of the Jordan. — A Succession of Temples and Public Buildings. — More Greek Inscriptions than in all Syria and Palestine. — Cities of the Decapolis. — "Jesus went through the Borders of the Decapolis." — Roman Road. — Oak Woods. — Approach to Kunawat. — River of Kunawat. — Theatre in Wady Kiina- wat. — Outlook over the Plain of the Hauran to distant Hermon. — Nymphaeum, or Public Bath. — Round Tower. — Cyclopean Walls. — Oldest Ruins of Kenath. — Main Street. — Houses with Sculptured Doors. — A Natural Fortification. — The City Wall. — Paved Area. — Es Serai, or Convent of Job. — Beautiful Door-way. — Sculptured Figures and Clusters of Grapes. — Colonnades. — Heathen Edifices and Christian Churches. — Large Vaulted Cisterns. — Roman Prostyle Temple. — Colossal Head in High-relief. — Heads of Baal and Ashtoreth. — American Palestine Exploration Society. — Worship of Ashtoreth. — Syria Dea. — Ashtoreth Karnaim. — Peripteral Temple. — Dedicated to Helios or the Sun. — Biblical History of Kenath. — Jair, Nobah, Gideon. — Josephus and Herod the Great. — Ptolemy and Pliny. — Eusebius and the Peutinger Table. — Kunawat the Biblical Kenath or Nobah. — M. W^addington. — Greek Inscriptions. — King Agrippa. — Statue of Herod the Great.— Si'a. — Streams at Kunawat. — No Water even for Money. — The Population of the Hauran Increasing. — Primitive School and Venerable School - master. — Boards instead of Books. — Remarkable Zeal for Instruction Page 447
XIII.
KUNAWAT TO EL BUSRAH.
The Druses in the Hauran. — Bedawin Incursions. — Moslem and Christian Villages. — Desire for Education. — Local Feuds. — Oak Woods. — 'Atil. — Temple. — Bilingual In- scription.— Athila. — Greek Inscription. — Emperor Antoninus Pius. — Zenodorus. — Equestrian Statue. — Head of Baal. — Astarte. — Iconoclastic Vandalism. — El Kusr, Ruined Temple. — Impure Water. — Ague. — Column at 'Atil. — Roman Road. — Oak Grove. — Mud and Dust. — Palmyrene Inscription. — Tomb of Chamrate. — Ode- nathus. — Count de Vogiie. — M. Waddington. — Roman Bridge. — Flour-mills. — Es Suweideh. — Large Reservoirs. — Mecca Pilgrims. — Temple. — Triumphal Arch. — Nym- phseum. — Emperor Trajan. — Aqueduct. — Mosk and Temple. — Greek Inscriptions. — Ancient Trading Companies. — A Temple of Minerva. — Church and Monasteiy. — ■ Donkeys Floundering in the Mud. — Theatre. — William of Tyre. — Bildad the
CONTENTS. XXI
Shuhite. — Job. — Greek Inscriptions. — M. Waddington. — Soada. — Dionysias. — The Capital of Jebel ed Druse. — Square Tower. — Roman Road. — An Agricultural Region. — Megeidel and er Resas. — Nahr *Ary. — Flour-mills. — Kuleib Hauran. — Extinct Volcano. — Burckhardt.— El 'Afineh. — Hebran. — Ancient Aqueduct. — Roman Road. — Heavy Rains and Lively Streams. — El Kureiyeh. — Kerioth. — 'Ary, Ariath. — Isma'il el Atrash. — Burckhardt and Shibly Ibn Hamdan. — Druse Hospitality.— Mujeimir and Wetr. — Deir Zubeir. — Roman Road. — Roman Bridge. — Mosk of el Mebruk. — El Koran. — The Instinct of the Camel. — Incident in the Career of Muhammed. — Ruins at Um el Jemal Described by Dr. Merrill. — Bedawin Encampment. — Hundreds of Camels. — Heavy Robbery. — The Perpetual Desert. — Scores of Ruined Towns. — Swallows and Gazelles. — Ruins at Um el Jemal. — City Gate. — Streets and Avenues. — Private Houses. — Churches and Crosses. — Greek, Latin, and Nabathean Inscrip- tions.— Ninth Dalmatian Horse. — Vexillarii. — Square Tower. — Uriel, Gabriel, and Emmanuel. — Genii of the Cardinal Points. — The God Dusares. — Camels laden with Stones from the Ruins at Um el Jemal. — Deserted for Centuries. — Fragments of Black Pottery. — Beth-gamul. — Plan of the City of Bozrah. — The Castle. — Ci^>terns. — Subterranean Vaults. — Theatre within the Castle. — Outlook from the Seats in the Theatre. — Dr. Porter's Description of the View from the Keep of the Castle. — Roman Highways. — Towns and Villages on the Plain. — " Without Inhabitant and without Man." — Corinthian Columns near the Centre of the City. — Colonnade or Temple. — Ruins of a Bath. — Triumphal Arch. — Julius, Prefect of the Parthian Legion. — Deserted Bazaar. — The Khalif 'Omar. — Mosk at el Busrah. — House of the Jew. — Col- umns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Cufic and Arabic Inscriptions. — Convent and House of Boheira. — Burckhardt's Account of the Monk Boheira. — The Instructor of Muhammed. — Stifling Sirocco. — Bedawin Shepherds and their Flocks. — Cathedral at Busrah. — Sergius, Bacchus, and Leontius. — Archbishop Julianus. — Job. — Leper Hos- pital.— The Emperor Justinian. — Beautiful Cufic Inscription. — Triumphal Arch. — Palace of the Yellow King. — Bab el Hawa. — Roman Guard-house. — 'Aiyun el Mcrj. — Temple. — Antonia Fortuna, Wife of Caesar. — Springs and Fountains. — Large Reservoirs. — Mercantile Caravans. — Masons' Marks. — Aramaic Letters. — History of el Busrah. — Bozrah of Edom. — El Busaireh. — Tophel. — The Judgments of Jeremiah. — "The Line of Confusion and the Stones of Emptiness." — Judas Maccabeus slew all the Males of Bosora. — The City Burned. — Carnaim.— A. Cornelius Palma. — Nova Trajana Bostra. — A Military Colony.— Roman Higli ways. —The Euiihrales and the Persian Gulf.— The Bostrian Era.— Philip the Arabian.— Roman Emperor.— Early Introduction of Christianity into Bozrah. — Origen. — Bishop Beryllus. — Ecclesiastical Councils held at Bozrah. — Trading Caravans. — Visits of Muhammed to el Busrah. — Abu Talib. — The Monk Boheira. — Khadija.— Capture of el Busrah by the Moslems. — Khalid, the Sword of God. — Treachery of Romanus.— Baneful Rule of Isl.im. — Sulkhad.—Salcah.— Moses, Joshua.— Og reigned in Salcah.— The Castle at Sfilkliad Described by Dr. Merrill.— The Crater.— Interior of the Castle.— Inscriptions.- Masons' Marks.— Busts of Animals. — Lions and Palm-tree.— A Frontier Fortress.- The Ancient Town at Siilkhad.— Druses from the Lebanon.— Siilkhad Visited by Dr. Porter. — Deserted Houses and Streets. — View from the Castle. — Bashan, Moab, Arabia. — Thirty Deserted Towns. — "Judgment upon the Plain and the Cities of
XXU CONTENTS.
Moab, far and near." — El Kureiyeh, Kerioth. — Biblical and Secular History of Kerioth. — Ruins at el Kureiyeh. — Triple Colonnade. — Greek Inscriptions. — Seat of a Bishop. — Burckhardt. — Dr. Porter. — Isma'il el Atrash. — Druse Families . Page 492
XIV.
EL BUSRAH TO DER'A AND JERASH.
The Country between el Busrah and Jerash. — Plain of el Hauran. — Roman Road. — Boundary Line between Gilead and Bashan. — Few Villages. — Volcanic Waste. — Waving Wheat and Barley, — Broken Lava. — Remarkable History of the Hauran. — Migration of Abraham. — The Region West and East of the Jordan. — A Fierce Race. — The Rephaims, Zuzims, Emims, Horites. — The Invasions of Chedorlaomer. — March around the South End of the Dead Sea. — En-misphat. — Amalekites, Amorites. — Defeat of the Five Kings. — Capture of Sodom. — Lot carried away Captive. — Pursuit of Chedor- laomer by Abraham. — Night Attack. — Recovery of Lot and Restoration of the other Captives. — Melchizedek. — Salem, Jerusalem. — A March of about two thousand Miles. — Arrival of the Hebrews led by Moses. — Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites. — Sihon and Og. — Reuben, Gad, and the Half Tribe of Manasseh. — Captives in Mesopotamia. — Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. — Alexander the Great. — The Ptolemies and the Seleucidse. — The Romans. — Byzantines and Muhammedans. — Illustration of the Sacred Record by the Physical Features of the Country and the Manners and Customs of the People. — Ishmael. — The Promise to Hagar wonderfully fulfilled. — Ishmaehtes. — Muhammedanism. — Ishmael the Ancestor of the Moslems. — Divine Predictions con- cerning the Descendants of Abraham. — The River Zeidy. — Ghusam. — Central Parts of Plains destitute of Villages. — Agricultural Hamlets. — Various Native Races. — Nebaioth, Nabatheans. — Caravan Trade between Arabia, India, and Africa. — Petra, Sellah. — The Nabatheans unconquered by the Persians, Greeks, or Romans. — Expedi- tion of yElius Gallus. — Ruin of the Nabatheans by the Abandonment of the Arabian Caravan Lines. — Aretas. — Paul. — Herod Antipas. — John the Baptist. — The Ghas- sanide. — Palmyra. — Zenobia. — Indigenous Tribes. — Roman Bridge over the Zeidy. — Traces of Chariot-wheels. — Et Taiyibeh. — Large Tower. — Um el Meiyadin. — Volcanic Rock and Cretaceous Limestone. — Hill-sides aglow with red Anemones. — Villages. — Ghurs. — Camels carrying Wheat to Acre. — Caravan Route. — Company of Ishmaelites. — Balm of Gilead. — Joseph sold into Egypt. — Fanatical Moslems. — Turkish Firman. — M. Waddington. — The Capital City of Og. — The Hebrew Invasion and the Conquest of Bashan. — Edhr'a, Edrei. — Der'a, Adara. — The Onomasticon and the Pentinger Table. — Eusebius. — Muhammedan Conquest. — Situation of the Ancient Town and the Modern Village of Der'a. — Extensive Cemetery. — Prospect from Tell Kerak. — El Jaulan, Lake Huleh, and Mount Hermon. — Tell 'Ashtarah. — Ashteroth Karnaim. — The principal Divinity of the Phoenicians. — Temple at Carnaim. — The Maccabees. — Atargatis. — Twenty-five Thousand slain at Carnaim. — Josephus. — The Onomasticon. — Eusebius. — Dr. Merrill's Description of Tell 'Ashtarah. — A strongly fortified Place. — Cyclopean Remains. — Massive Entrance. — Timotheus's defeated Army. — Large rock- cut Reservoir. — Roman Baths. — Aqueduct. — Mosk and square Tower. — Sarcophagus
CONTENTS. xxiii
with Lion's Head. — Church and Monastery. — Remains of an ancient Structure. — Masons' Marks. — Three Cities, one beneath the other. — Dr. Wetzstein's Subterranean Residence of Og. — Crusaders at Der'a. — Ragged Arab Tents. — Bedawin, Gypsies, ami Vagabonds. — Fortune - telling. — Burning Straw. — Romping Children. — Abundant Harvests. — Blasted Plain. — Luxuriant Grass, waving Wheat, and brilliant Flowers. — Mountainous and wooded Region. — Cities of the Decapolis. — The Zeidy. — Cxscades and Rapids. — Country east of the Jordan dotted with Villages, abandoned to the Bedawin. — Dr. Merrill's Search for the ancient Golan. — Wady or Nahr 'Allan. — Beit er Ras, Capitolias. — Roman Road. — Ruins of Public Buildings and great Arches. — Corinthian and Ionic Columns. — Ornamental Work and fine Eagles. — Inscriptions. — Underground City. — Subterranean Dwellings. — Irbid. — Cyclopean Walls described by Dr. Merrill. — Substructures of strong Towers. — Arbela. — Beth-arbel. — Eidiin, Dion. — Haj Road. — Pilgrim Caravan to Mecca. — Burckhardt at Remtheh. — Last inhabited Village of the Hauran. — Cavernous Habitations at Remtheh. — Dr. Merrill's Experi- ence at Remtheh. — No W^ater for Ten Hours. — Migration of the Wulid 'Aly. — "One hundred thousand Camels." — Contrivance for the Comfort of the Sheikhs* Wives. — The Ship of the Desert. — Bedawin Migrations and Hebrew Invasions. — Distress of Moab. — Pasture and Provender for the Camels and Caravans of the Bedawin. — Life of the wandering Ishmaelites. — Contempt for the Fellahin. — The Denizens of the Desert number Hundreds of Thousands. — Wooded Hills. — Ilawarah. — Beautiful and Productive Region. — Tell Husn. — Ruined Castle. — Church and Columns. — Rock-cut Tombs. — El Husn. — No Fountains. — Dry Cisterns. — Greeks, Muhammedans, and Protestants. — No Distinction in Dress and Manners between the different Sects. — Freedom of Speech and Action. — Extensive Forest. — Mahnch. — Canon Tristram. — Biblical References to Mahanaim. — A Levitical City. — The Capital of Ish-boshcth. — The Refuge of David. — The Chamber over the Gate at Mahanaim. — David's Grief at the Death of Absalom. — A Station of Solomon's Purveyors. — Josephus. — Site of Mahanaim described by Modern Writers. — Beisan. — Suggestion of Dr. Porter and Conclusion of Dr. Merrill. — Jegar-sahadutha and Mizpah. — Galecd or Watch-lower. — Josephus. — The Land of Gilead. — Covenant between Laban and Jacob. — False Gods in the Family of Jacob. — The Call of Abraham. — Jacob at Mahanaim. — Jacob hideth the Strange Gods. — Worship of the True God at Beth-el. — Oppressive Heat. — Birket ed Deir. — Thousands of Flowers. — Cultivated Region.— Forest of Oak, Pine, Tere- binth, and Hawthorn. — Urn el Khanzir. — Shepherds, Milk, and fine Flocks. — Ride through the Forest in the Land of Gilead. — Pine-trees. — Forest Fires.— Wheat amongst Blackened Stumps.— Wady ed Deir. — Camp amongst Olive-trees.— N'iilage of es Suf. — Jerash Deserted and Unsafe Page 531
XV.
JERASH TO 'AJLUN, AND ES SALT.
The Sheikh of Suf.— Experience of Canon Tristram and iiis Party.— The 'Adwan levy a Fine on the Sheikh of Suf.— Remains of Anliciuily at Suf.— Stream in Wady e<l Deir. — Olive-trees and Woods of Oak and Pine. — Muzar Abu Bekr.— Old Coins for Sale. —
^iv CONTENTS.
Broken Sarcophagi. — Cemetery of Ancient Gerasa. — Entering Jerash through a Breach in the Wall. — General Survey of the City. — Seil Jerash. ^The Site and the City of Jerash. — Remains of Private Houses and Public Buildings beyond the City Gate. — The Triumphal Arch. — The Emperor Trajan. — The Stadium. — Naval Combats. — The City Gate. — Ruins of a beautiful Temple. — Remains of a large Theatre. — Grand Colonnade of the Forum. — Fifty-five Columns still standing. — The Main Street lined with Col- umns.— The Pavement and the Ruts made by Chariot-wheels. — Side Street, Gate in the West Wall, Bridge across the Stream. — Pedestals for Colossal Statues. — Sections of the Colonnade along the Main Street. — The Apse of a Beautiful Building. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. — Side Street and Bridge. — The Propylaeum. — Antoninus Pius. — Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun. — Earthquake Shocks. — Burckhardt. — The City Wall, small Temple, and Church. — Rows of Prostrate Columns and others still standing with their Entablatures. — Square Pedestals covered with a low Dome. — Portico of a Theatre. — Ruined Theatre designed for Gladiatorial Combats. — Northern Gate of the City. — Guard-house. — Street Pavement. — Groups of Columns with Ionic Capitals. — Ruins of a Bath with Columns in Front. — Aqueduct. — 'Ain Jerwan. — Original Site of Jerash. — Great Clumps of Oleander. — Ruins on the Eastern Side of the Stream. — Temple and Church. — Spring and Aqueduct. — Bridge and Bath. — Jerash a City of Columns. — Not mentioned in the Bible and almost unknown to History. — Dr. Porter. — Mahanaim. — Dr. Merrill. — Ramoth-gilead. — Gerasa. — Josephus. — Alexander Jannteus. — A City of the Decapolis. — Gerasa burnt by the Jews and captured by Vespasian. — Gerasa a flourishing City for half a Centuiy. — The Seat of a Bishop. — No Trace of Muhammedan Work or Worship. — William of Tyre. — The Crusaders. — Jerash deserted in the Thit- teenth Centuiy. — Trading Caravans and Mercantile Stations. — Ezion-geber. — Petra. — Palmyra. — A Store-city of Solomon. — The Nabatheans. — Superior Skill and Enterprise of the Greeks and Romans. — Western Civilization and Classic Taste. — The stately Forum and the luxuriant Bath. — Decline of Commerce and Abandonment of the Grseco-Roman Cities East of the Jordan. — Prophecy translated into History. — The Lord's Sacrifice in Bozrah. — Fulfilment of Prophecy. — The Olive Groves of Suf and the Oak Woods of Jebel 'Ajlun. — Dr. Eli Smith. — Luxuriant Pasture and brilliant Wild Flowers. — 'Ain Jenneh. — The W^alnut and Olive. — Great Variety of Fruit-trees. — Large Fountains and Abundance of Water. — Evening Ride through venerable Oak Forests. — Jebel 'Ajlun. — "The Land of Gilead."— Jacob and Laban. — Mizpah and Galeed. — Mahanaim. — Shechem and the Damieh Ford. — Wady 'Ajlun and the Jordan Valley. — A Present of Sheep and Goats, Camels and Cattle for Esau. — Meeting between Esau and Jacob. — Interview between Joseph and his Brethren. — Peniel. — City and Tower at Penuel. — Gideon. — Jeroboam built a Palace at Penuel. — Josephus. — Dr. Merrill locates Penuel at Tellul edh Dhahab. — The Hills of Gold. — Canaan's Ford. — The Wood of Ephraim. — "A Great Oak" with "Thick Boughs." — The Death of Absalom and the Biblical Narrative of the Battle. — Kul'at er Rubiid. — Outlook from the Fortress. — From Hermon to Hebron, and from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, while Jordan rolls between. — Famous Historical Events. — From Chedorlaomer to David. — Elijah and Elisha. — From Judas Maccabeus to Herod the Great. — The Baptist and the Redeemer. — The Moat and Foundations of Kiil'at er Rubiid. — Indications of a more ancient Fortress. — The present Castle. — Saladin. — The Crusaders, — Abulfeda.
CONTENTS. XXV
—A singular Transposition of Names.— The Village of 'Ajlun.— Modern Chapel and Old Mosk. — Unsafe Region between 'Ajliin and es Salt. — Villages on the I'lain of the Ghor and upon the Hills of Samaria.— Sunken Channel of the Jordan. — Kefronjy. — The Course of the Jabbok through the Plain to the Jordan.— Dr. Merrill.— Succoth and Tell Deir 'Alia. — Jacob encamped in Wady Fari'a. — 'Ain Thaluth. — Khirbet Thaluth. — Indications of former Cultivation. — 'Ain Um el Jalud. — El Khudr, St. George. — Dibbin, et Tekitty, and Reimun. — Um el Jauzeh. — Limestone Strata. — Dense Oak Woods. — Kusr Nejdeh. — Captain Warren. — Tropical Climate. — Eruit - trees and Flowers. — Burmeh. — Olive Groves. — Sandstone Formation. — The Zerka in Spring and Summer. — Luxuriant Wild Oats and thriving Clover. — Impenetrable Thickets of tall Oleander. — The Ford of the Christian Woman. — Visit from the Sheikh of a Bedawin' Encampment. — Bulls of Bashan. — Bedawin Boys and Girls. — Bakhshish. — Gorge of the Zerka. — El Belka and Jebel 'Ajlun. — Sihon and Og. — The Zerka or Blue River. — Wooded Heights and Fertile Plain of the Belka. — Waving Wheat and Barley, and Wild Flowers bright and gay. — Clumps of Oak and Pine trees. — Many Birds and large Coveys of Partridges. — 'Ain 'Allan. — Green Fig-trees. — Khirbet 'Allan. — SIhan. — Khirbet ez Zi. — Neby Osh'a. — Pilgrims and Votive Offerings. — Sacrifice and Feast- ing.— Annual Fair. — Es Salt a Commercial Centre. — The Prophet Hosea. — Elijah and Joshua. — Outlook from Jebel Osh'a described by Dr. Merrill. — From Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea. — Jebel Osh'a and Mount Nebo. — The Spot where Moses stood Page 557
XVI.
ES SALT TO 'AMMAN.
Es Salt. — Situation of the Town. — Capital of the Belka and only Inhabited Place in that District. — Population of es Salt. — Warlike and Independent. — Protestant Church and Schools. — Subterranean Bath. — Es Salt overthrown by Wars and Earthquakes. — Na- tive Houses. — Shops. — The People of es Salt resemble the Arabs of the Desert. — Vineyards and Olive-groves. — Fruit-trees and Vegetable Gardens. — Wheat and Barley. — Products of the Flocks purchased from the Bedawtn. — The Castle of es Salt. — Daher el 'Omar. — Turkish Garrison. — Abundance of Water. — 'Ain Jeidflr. — Ramoth-gilead. — Cities of Refuge. — Levitical City. — One of Solomon's Purveyors. — Gilead and the Region of Argob. — Ahab, Jehoshaphat, and Ben-hadad. — Ahaziah, Joram, and llazael. — Jehu. — Elisha. — "Watchman on the Tower of Jezreel." — " The Driving of Jehu." — Region around es Salt not Adapted to the Use of Chariots. — Ramoth-gilead north of the Jabljok. — Gerasa, Jerash. — Dr. Merrill. — Jerash opposite to Shechem. — No Mar- kets south of es Salt. — 'Adwan Guards and (juides. — Scarcity of Water. — Wady Jeidiir. — Prospect over the Land of Gilead. — Rolling Plain, deej) Valleys, anil Oak Woods. — Fertile Fields and Abundant Harvests. — 'Amman to '.\r;"ik cl Emir. — Roman Bridge. — Large Pool, Source of the Jabbok. — Higli, rolling Plateau. — Bedawin Battle-ground. — Khirbet Sar. — Ancient Jazer. — Wady cs Scir. — Oak Forest. — Rock-tomb or Dwell- ing.— Ca])tain Warren. — Rock-hewn Chamliers at Petra. — Bedawtn Robbers. — Rock- bound Amphitheatre. — 'Arak cl Emir. — Castle of Ilyrcanus described by Josephus. —
xxvi CONTENTS.
Ruins of the Castle. — "A Lovely Landscape." — Rev. A. E. Northey. — Canon Tris- tram.— Great Stones. — Colossal Lions. — Ionic Cornices and Egyptian Capitals. — Rock Dwellings and Stables excavated in the Limestone Cliffs. — Cisterns, Caves, and Up- right Stones, with Checker Pattern. — Ruins of Public Buildings and Private Dwellings. — Aqueduct and Large Reservoir. — Fossils and Curious Petrifactions. — Oleanders over Thirty Feet high. — The Dead Sea. — Wady Sha'ib. — Bedawin Encampments. — The Stolen Pitchfork and the Christian Guide. — Mukam of Neby Sha'ib. — Votive Offer- ings.— Resentful Wrath of a Moslem Saint. — Abundance of Water and Luxuriant Vege- tation.— Golden Daisies and Wild Lupins. — Heavy Crops of Wheat and Barley. — Flour-mills. — Plain of el Buk'ah. — Favorite Camping -ground of the Bedawin. — El Buk'ah described by Captain Warren. — Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Khirbet el Basha. — Khirbet es Safut. — The Gate of 'Amman. — Ard el Hemar. — A Rough and Unculti- vated Region. — From Kul'at ez Zerka to Yajuz. — Permanent Fountains of the Zerka. — The Jabbok. — The Strong Border of Ammon. — Kul'at ez Zerka. — The Haj. — En- campment of Bedawin. — Migration in Search of Pasture. — Bedawin Women moving Camp. — Biblical References to taking down and setting up Tents and Tabernacles. — An Uncultivated Region. — Storks and Partridges. — Fine old Oaks. — Extensive Pros- pect.— Hermon, Sulkhad, and Kuleib Hauran. — Shouting Shepherds and Barking Dogs. — Bedawin Encampment. — Forests of Oak and Terebinth Trees. — Yajuz. — Exuberant Pasture. — Fountains and Flocks. — Small Roman Temple. — Great Terebinths. — Large Stone in the Trunk of a Tree. — Open Enclosures with Massive Walls. — Bedawin Ceme- tery.— The Grave of Nimr el 'Adwan. — Ruins at Yajuz. — Large Disc or Millstone. — Extensive Quarries. — Female Statue broken by the 'Adwan. — The Moabite Stone. — Sculptured Eagles and Lions. — Gadda. — El Jebeiha, Jogbehah. — Outlook over Reu- ben, Gad, and Manasseh. — Hermon, Jerash, and el Buk'ah. — Ruins buried beneath the Surface at el Jebeiha. — Highly Cultivated and Densely Populated Region. — Curious Rock Strata. — Wady el Haddadeh. — Noisy Torrent. — Total Desolation and Utter Loneliness at 'Amman. — Rabbath Ammon and the Grseco-Roman City of Philadelphia. — The Site of a Great Capital. — Situation of the City. — Overthrown by Earthquakes. — Corinthian Temple or Tomb. — Large Caravansaiy, Church, and Mosk. — The Basilica. — Imposing Structure. — Roman Bridge. — Banks of the Stream lined with Masonry. — Full of Fish. — Primitive Fishing by the Bedawin. — Ruins of an Old Mill. — The Great Theatre. — Seats for Eight Thousand Spectators. — The Forum. — Colonnade of over Fifty Corinthian Columns. — Odeon. — Northern Wall of the City. — Gate-way of the City. — Remarkable Rock-cut Tomb. — Large Temple. — Main Street lined with Col- umns.— Ruined Houses upon the Steep Declivity of the Hill. — " The Line of Confu- sion, and the Stones of Emptiness." — The Citadel-hill. — Square Watch-tower. — Pe- ripteral Temple within the Citadel. — Greek Inscription in Large Letters. — Beautiful Church or Mosk within the Citadel described by Canon Tristram and Captain Conder. — Massive Walls of the Citadel. — Large and Deep Cisterns. — Underground Reservoir. —Concealed Passage. — Antiochus the Great. — Biblical Interest in Rabbath Ammon. — The Iron Bedstead of Og. — Captain Conder's Suggestion regarding Og's Throne. — In- dependence of Rabbath Ammon. — The Siege of Rabbath by Joab. — Duration of the Siege. — Capture of the City of Waters. — Joab's Message to David. — The Citadel taken by David. — Remarkable Fulfilment of Prophetic Denunciations. — Droves of Camels,
CONTENTS. xxvii
and Numerous Flocks. — Ammon denounced by the Prophets. — Nothing but Ruins at Rabbath, and Ammon a Perpetual Desolation. — Ptolemy of Egypt. — Philadelphia men- tioned by Greek and Roman Writers and Josephus. — The Citadel besieged and Cap- tured by Antiochus and Herod the Great. — A City of the Decapolis. — Seat of a Bishop. — Sunday amongst the Ruins at 'Amman. — Reproduction of Patriarchal Times. — The Solemn Storks. — Three Sabbaths at 'Amman. — Old Woman and her Daughter. — Grain preserved in the Theatre. — Absence of Trees. — A Plough for Firewood. — Nat- ural Phenomena. — Disappearance and Re-appearance of the Stream between 'Amman and Kul'at ez Zerka Page 589
XVII.
'AMMAN TO 'AYUN MUSA.
Noisy Rooks. — Solemn Storks. — Ascent to the Plain south of 'Amman. — No Roads and no Fences. — The Land of the Ammonites. — Jephlhah's Victorious Campaign. — Aroer to Minnith. — Tyre supplied with Wheat from Minnith. — No Inhabited Place upon the Belka. — Abu Nugla. — Excursion to Mushatta. — The sterile Desert. — Luxuriant Wheat. — Camps of the Beni Sakhr. — Commotion in the Camp. — Uneasy Guides. — Rualla Bed- awin. — Blood Feud.— Haj Road to Mecca. — Route of the Egyptian Haj.— En Nukhl. — " The Wilderness of the Wanderings."— Khan MCishalla.— Massive Enclosing Wall de- fended by Twenty-five Towers.— Octagonal Towers. — The Fa9ade.— Elegant Sculpture, unparalleled by that of any Age or Nation.— Twenty-two Animals and fifty-five Birds carved in Stone. — Entrance Gate-way.— The Middle Division of the Enclosure.— Cham- bers for the Guard and Garrison. — Court.— Triple Gate of the Palace.— Court.— Entrance Gate-way to the Audience-chamber. — The Audience-chamber. — Side Chambers. — Walls, Vaults, and Domes constructed of Brick.— Large Size and Extraordinary Number of the Bricks. — Bedawin Tribal Marks. — Rude Arabic Characters.— Desolate and Lonely Site. — Material and Workmen transported from a Distance. — The wonderful Palace of Mush- atta discovered by Canon Tristram.— Mr. James Fergusson.— Chosroes H. — Shahr Barz. —Dr. Merrill.— Mushatta, a Church and Convent.— Mushatta never finished.— Its Origin and Purpose unknown.— The Wintering Place.— But little Debris and less Destruction. —Dread of the Rualla Bedawin.— The Haj Road and the Advance of the Hebrews along the Eastern Frontiers of Edom and Moab.— Entrance into the Territory of Sihon. —The Amorites and Moabites.— Reuben and Gad.— The Boundaries of Moab and of the Amorites.— A rolling Country.— Green Wheat-fields.— Quails and Gazelles.— The Jackal and the Fox.— Temple and Church at Madcba.— A large Reservoir.— Ziza.— Tanks and Cisterns. — Ruined Houses.— Remains of Temples and Public Buildings.— Roman Suburb at Madeba.— Colonnade.— Biblical History of Medeba.— " The Plain of Medeba."— Great Battle in the Time of David.— Thirty-two thousand Cltariots.— Joab and Abishai defeat the Amorites and Syrians.— Medeba taken by Sihon.— Capt- ured and re-captured by the Ammonites and Moabites.— Secular History of Me.leba.— The Nabatheans.— Slaughter of a Wedding -jjarty near Medelja.— John Maccabeus.- Hyrcanus I. besieged Medeba.— A History of Conquest, Bloodshed, and Sieges.— Me- deba the Seat of a Bishop.— The Besom of Destruction.— Devastating Bedawin.—
XXviii CONTENTS.
Traces of old Roads. — Ancient Names of Persons and Places well known by the roam- ing Denizens of the Desert. — Monuments of Remote Antiquity. — The Dolmens. — Pillars of Witness and Votive Monuments. — Stone Circles, Menhirs, Disc-stones, and rock-cut Tombs. — Menhirs alluded to in the Bible. — Disc-stones. — Agricultural Capa- bility of the Belka. — The Region between Madeba and Abu Nugla. — The Beni Sakhr. — Thousands of Camels. — The numberless Camels of the Midianites. — Fifty thousand Camels taken from the Hagarites. — Golden Ear-rings of the Ishmaelites. — The Bed- awin Lineal Descendants of the Hagarites. — Oi^naments and Garments similar to those of the Midianites. — The Wheat in the Valleys more luxuriant than on the Plain. — Cretaceous Limestone Ridges. — A double Supply of Rain-water. — Arabic Proverbs and Biblical Utterances. — A high Appreciation of Water. — Surprising Number of Cisterns excavated in the Cretaceous Rock. — The 'Adwan and the Broken Cisterns.^ Extensive View over Ancient Moab. — Kerak. — Dibon. — The Moabite Stone. — King Mesha. — Two hundred thousand Lambs and Rams. — Baal-meon. — Ruins at Ma'in described by Canon Tristram. — Beth-meon. — Biblical History of Beth-meon. — One of the High-places of Baal. — Balak and Balaam. — The Birthplace of Elisha. — Ma'in a shapeless Mass of Ruins. — Threshing-floors. — Bedawin taking Wheat out of a deep Cistern. — Grain concealed from hostile Tribes. — Entrance to a deep Pool of Water reluctantly disclosed. — No Wood to boil the Kettle. — The Zerka Main. — Excursion to Callirrhoe. — Bedawin Encampment. — Camels and Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Fresh Cheese. — " Houses of Hair." — A pretty Pastoral Scene. — A magnificent View of the Dead Sea. — Changeable Color of the Water. — A hopeless Wilderness. — Tre- mendous Gorge of the Zerka Ma'in. — Lieutenant Conder's Description of the Gorge and the Hot Springs of Callirrhoe. — " The Black Grackle." — The Hot Sulphur Springs of Callirrhoe. — The Stream from the Zerka Main. — Pools full of Fish. — Tunnel through Tufaceous Sulphur. — A thermal Bath at 140° Fahrenheit. — The Mules found by Anah in the Wilderness. — Anah discovers Callirrhoe. — Visit of Herod the Great to Callirrhoe. — Baaras. — Fountains of Hot Water described by Josephus. — Medicinal, and good for Strengthening the Nerves. — " Mines of Sulphur and Alum." — John the Baptist beheaded in the Castle of Machserus. — Herod's Supper, and the Dancing of Herodias's Daughter. — " The Head of John the Baptist in a Charger." — War between Aretas and Herod. — "The Destruction of Herod's Anny a Punishment from God." — Vain Attempt to reach the Shore of the Dead Sea from the Sulphur Springs of Callir- rhoe.— The Ibex. — Stupendous Cliff of Columnar Basalt. — A gigantic Organ. — Kufeir Abu Bedd. — Disc-stones in Moab. — Mensef Abu Zeid. — Two large Wolves. — Shefa Neba, the Crest of Nebo. — Sahl Neba. — Jebel Neba, " the Mountain of Nebo." — Elevated Plateau of the Belka, and great Depression of the Shittim Plain. — Preserva- tion of ancient Biblical Names. — The unchanged Name of Nebo. — View from Jebel Neba. — El Muslubiyeh. — The grassy Ravine between Jebel Neba and Jebel Siaghah. — Ruined Temple on Jebel Siaghah. — The City of Nebo. — View from the Ruins on Jebel Siaghah. — The Headland or Ras of Siaghah. — "The Mountain of Nebo, and the Top of Pisgah." — Here Moses must have stood. — The View of the Promised Land. — The Outlook from Ras Siaghah. — The Names Neba and Siaghah, and Nebo and Pisgah. — Siaghah an Arabic Form of the Hebrew Pisgah. — Descent to 'Ayun Musa. — Approach of the Hebrews to the Land of Promise. — " The Mountains of Abarim." —
CONTENTS. xxix
Descent of the Israelites to "the Plains of Moab." — Balak and Balaam. — Balaam's Sublime Conceptions regarding the God of Israel. — Thrice seven Altars and twice as many Sacrifices. — Jebel Neba the first Station. — Balaam's Parable. — "The Field of Zophim." — The Grassy Vale between Jebel Nel)a and Jebel Siaghah. — The Parable of Balaam. — "The Top of Peor." — The Summit of Siaghah. — Balaam's Parable. — Wrath of Balak, and Flight of Balaam. — What "the Son of Beor saw and said." — Balaam an Unprincipled Man. — .Slain in Battle fighting against Israel. — Obstinate and Puzzling Questions Page 625
XVIII.
THE FOUNTAINS OF MOSES TO THE FORD OF THE JORDAN NEAR
JERICHO.
The Fountains of Moses. — The Stream from the Fountains. — Ashdoth-pisgah. — Tul'at es Sufa and the Field of Zophim. — Ascent of Nebo. — The Servant of the Lord and the Land of Promise. — Khurbet Barzeleh. — Grave of Neby 'Abd Allah. — " From the Ancient Times." — Rude Sketches on the Tomb of a Prophet. — A Sanctuary. — The Plain of the Belka and the Plains of Moab. — Heshbon. — Fine Pavement. — Singular Edifice. — Jewish, Roman, and Sai-acenic Architecture. — Cisterns. — Reservoir. — Fish- pools in Heshbon. — Ruined Cities of Moab. — Prophecy and History. — "The Cry of Heshbon." — Biblical History of Heshbon. — Captured by Alexander Jannanis. — Elealeh. — "The Height." — View from el 'Al over the Plain of Moab. — "The Pride of Moab." — Descent to 'Ain Hesban.— Road to Hesban. — The Turkish Government and the Survey of Moab. — "The Land of Giants." — Rephaims and Emims. — The Children of Lot, Moab and Ammon. — The Amorites. — The Hebrews. — The roving Bedawin. — Ancient Biblical Names remaining Unchanged. — Kubalan el Fadil. — A Bedawin Sheikh described by Captain Conder. — The Black Tents of an Arab Encamp- ment.— A Noisy Welcome.— Sheikh 'Ali Diab.— A Patriarchal Scene.— 'Ain Hesban. — Lujcuriant Wheat and Barley. — Flour-mills. — The Stream from the Fountain. — Fish- pools. — The Eyes of the Prince's Daughter.— Captain Conder. — "The Gate in Bcth- rabbim." — Road from 'Ain Hesban to the Jericho Ford.— Canon Tristram.— Northern and Southern Sides of Wady Hesban. — Circle of Dolmens.— The Region between the Mountains and the Plain in the Time of the Hebrews and at the Present Day.— View over the Plain of Abel-shittim. — Valleys and Streams and principal Hills around and upon the Plain.— Beth- jeshimoth.— The little City Zoar.— Beth- haran. — Herod the Great and the Warm Baths at Tell el Hammam.— Tell Kefrein, Abel-shittim.— Tell Nimrtn, Beth- minrah.— Tell el Hammam.— M'hadhar or Um Halhir.— Hubliisa.- Warm Sulphur Springs, Baths, and .Aqueduct at Tell el Hammam.— Clumps of Scraggy Trees. —Apple of .Sodom. —Tell Ektanu and Tell er Ramch. — Betharamphtiia.- Julius or Livias.— The Streams in the Wadies. — Group of Dolmens. — Large Disc-stone. —"The Dish of Abu Zeid."— Flooded Wheat-fields.— Plain of Abel-shittim and the Acacia-trees.— Tell Kefrein and Kirjathaim.— Abel-shittim.— Completion of Deuter- onomy and the Last Address of the Hebrew Law-giver.—" The Favor of Ciod."— The Spies sent to Jericho.— Deserted Condition of the Plain, and Bustling Activity of the
XXX CONTENTS.
Hebrew Encampment. — The Goodly Tents of Israel. — The Plain of Abel-shittim and the Camp of the Hebrew Nation. — " From Beth-jesimoth unto Abel-shittim." — Ample Space for the Tribes to Encamp. — Route of the Israelites from the Red Sea. — Expe- ditions for the Subjugation of Gilead and Bashan. — " Seeing is Believing." — Testimony of the Land to the Truth of the Book. — Passage of the Children of Israel into the Land of Canaan. — High Bluffs on the Banks of the Jordan. — Dividing of the Waters, and the Passing Over of the People. — The Command of the Lord to Joshua. — Return of the Waters of the Jordan. — The Camp at Gilgal near Jericho. — Under the Palm Groves. — "Jerusalem the Mother of us All." — The Land of the Book . . Page 657
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Damascus of Syria— Dimeshk esh Sham Frontispiece
SiDON FROM THE NORTH — SaIDA faces page 5
Druse Princesses from Mount Lebanon ■" 20
Beirut — Berytus — Mount Lebanon — Jebel SCnnIn " 4^
Street of the Auctioneers — Suk ed Dellalin " 74
Syrian Gentlemen of various Sects " 84
Syrian Ladies " SS
The Weir across Nahr el Kei.b " 106
Fountain and Village of el BarCk " 1S2
Zahleh " -""
Casts of Fossil-shells collected on Lebanon " 223
Source of the Adonis— Mugharat 'Afka " 242
The Cedars— El Arz " 264
Tripoli — Tarabulus " 276
Ba'albek and Lebanon " 320
Temple of Jupiter " 33°
Court and Lew an of a Private House in Damascus " 39«
Muhammedan Funeral Procession " 4"4
Palace or Convent of Job— Es Serai ur Deir EvCb " 4S4
Ruined Temples or Public Edifices " 5'^'
Forum at Jerash " 5^'-*
XXXU FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun faces page 568
Octagonal Tower at Mushatta " 632
MAP OF THE LEBANON, CGELESYRIA, ANTI-LEBANON, AND
THE REGION ABOUT DAMASCUS faces page 5
MAP OF THE REGION EAST OF THE JORDAN, OR BASHAN,
GILEAD, AND MOAB between pages 422, 423
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
PAGE
Boats drawn up on the Beach .... 6
Sidon and its Gardens 7
The Banana — El Mouz { g
The Water-wheel — En Na'urah . . i The Bostrenus — El Auwaly . . . . lo Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope —
Dahar June 14
Grave of Lady Hester Stanhope . . .15 Tomb of Jonah — Neby Viinas . ... 18 Tattooed Egyptian Woman . . ■ ( ^^
Specimens of Tattooing ^
The Tamyras — Ed Damur 25
One of St. Helena's Towers near Tyre. 31
Ancient Sarcophagi 32
Olive-branch 36
Old Olive-tree 4°
Ancient Aqueduct over the Beirut River. 50 House-tops, showing Roofs and Ijaltle-
ments . . . . • 53
Terrace covered with \'ines .... 58
The Sparrow 59
The Letter-writer 61
Writing and Writing Material.-, . . .62 Modern Arab Ink-horn . . . .63
The Call to Prayer — El Muezzin ... 64
The Mosk — El Jami'a 65
Moslems at Prayer 66
Tlie Street— Es Siik 70
Shaving the Head 72
l!arber-shop — Auctioneer 73
Sitting at Meat — Party at Dinner . . 76 Stool and Tray — Pitcher and Basin . . 77
Washing the Hands 7^
Pipes, Nargilchs, Coffee-cups, and Tray. 3o C
PAGE
Head-dress of a Syrian Lady . . . . S7
Assyrian Tablet, with Cuneiform In- ]
• • I
scnption
Egyptian Tablet, with Suppo.sed \ 93
Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics and Figures . . . j
Map of the Grottoes at Nahr cl Kelt) / ^^^
The Screen '
Maxwell's Column ( j^j
The Pantheon '
Chaos 103
Pigeon Island — Er Rousha .... icx)
The Pines— El Hiirsh 112
The Sycamore — El Jimais . . . i ^
Sycamore Figs ^
Seller of Sycamore Fruit 115
.\nglo-American Church 117
The Treading — Ed Uouseh . . . • HQ
The Silk-worm, Cocoon, Butterfly, and
Chr>-salis 124
The Palm— En Nukhl 127
Dates — Thamr I2()
The Carob— Kl Kharnul) 130
Carob Pods— The Husks 131
The Fountain— El "Ain 134
Dur/.y and Durzieh 152
Palace at Bteddin ^h"^
The Palace of Sa'id Beg Jumblal at el
Mukhlarah K'2
Water- fall below jczzin ....
Saint's Tomb — F.l Mukani . . .
The Cedar — El .Arz
Ruined Temple near Kul'al cl Fukra
The Natural Bridge— Jisr el Hajr .
105 170 180 225 228
XXXIV
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
PAGE
Kul'at el Museilihah 255
An Aged Cedar of Lebanon .... 267
Intermitting Fountain 289
Monument Commemorative of the Chase
— Kamu'a el Hiirmul 307
Figures on the East Side .... 1 Figures on the North Side . . . |- 308 Figures on the West Side . . . . ) Figures on the South Side .... 309 Lake on Lebanon — Birket el Yem-
muneh 314
Plan of the Courts and Temples at
Ba'albek 322
Shell -shaped and Rectangular Niches
and Semicircular Recess around the
Great Court 324
The Six Columns on the South Side of
the Peristyle 326
The Three Great Stones in the West
Wall 327
Portal and Key-stone of the Temple of
Jupiter 331
Interior of the Temple of Jupiter . . 332 The Leaning Column on South Wall of
the Temple 334
Ruins of the Portico of the Temple of
Jupiter 335
The Octagonal Temple 337
The Great Stone in the Quarry . . . 342
Kubbet Diiris 343
Falls of the Barada — The River Abana 349 The Barada and the.Fijeh — The Meet- ing of the Waters 353
Diamond, Pearl, and Gold Ear-rings —
Diamond Necklace 376
Arch and Pediment of an Ancient Gate-
vfc'ay 378
Church of St. John the Baptist — Jami'a
es Setyed Yehya 380
Tomb of St. John the Baptist — Miikam
es Seiyed Yehya 383
Ornamented Piers and Arches in the
Court of the Great Mosk .... 385
Specimens of Tessellated Pavement . . 389
Specimens of Wood Panel-work . . . 391
Mode of Playing the Kanun . . ■ \ n -,
Mode of Playing the Kamanjeh . . )
Tambourine — Deft } „ „
I 393 Castanets )
PAGE
Derbekkeh 39-^
Inner Court of a House at Salihiyeh . 397 Mosk of Sultan Selim in the Tekiyeh . 400 Women Weeping at the Grave . . . 402 Lachiymatories, or Tear-bottles . . . 404 South Wall of Damascus — Where Paul
was let down 406
The East Gate — Bab esh Shiirky . . 408 "The Street called Straight" . . . 410
Lock and Key 413
Remains of a Temple at Harran el
'Awamid 416
Temple at el Musmeih — Phsena . . . 451
Temple at Suleim 479
Temple at Kunawat 485
Antique Head at Kunawat .... 487 Peripteral Temple at Kiinawat . . . 488
Temple at 'Atil 495
Temple at es Suweideh 499
Church and Convent at Um el Jemal . 509 Theatre within the Castle at el Busrah. 514 Cufic Inscription at el Busrah . . . 520 Reservoir and Ruined Mosk at el Busrah 522
Ruins of el Busrah 525
Castle of Salchah — Kiil'at Siilkhad . . 528
Triumphal Arch at Jerash 561
Temple at Jerash 562
Theatre at Jerash 563
Section of the Colonnade along the
Main Street at Jerash 565
Niches in the Semicircular Recess of
an Elegant Building 566
Propylceum of the Temple of the Sun. 567 Northern Theatre at Jerash . . . .570 Colossal Lions on the Fa9ade of the
Palace of Hyrcanus 598
Rock Chambers and Stables excavated
in the Limestone Cliffs at 'Arak el
Emir 599
Ruined Temple or Tomb 609
Exterior of an Imposing Structure . . 610 Interior of an Imposing Structure . .611 Roman Bridge, and Banks of the Stream 612 Theatre and Odeon at 'Amman . . . 613 Rear Wall of a Large Temple . . .615 Peripteral Temple within the Citadel . 617 Decorated Arches in the Church or
Mosk on the Citadel-hill . . . .618 Khan Mushatta — The Wintering Place. 631
INTRODUCTION.
Palestine, both east and west of the Jordan, may be fairly regarded as the divinely prepared tablet whereon God's messages to men have been graven in ever-living characters. This fact invests even the geography and topography of the Holy Land with special importance. But there are other considerations which impart to it a deeper and more prac- tical interest. From this land we have received that mar- vellous spiritual and figurative nomenclature of the Bible through which nearly all true religious knowledge has been communicated to men. Here it was devised and first used, and here are found its best illustrations. We learn from history that it required fifteen centuries of time, and an endless array of providential arrangements, co - operating with human and superhuman agents and agencies, to bring this medium of intercourse between God and man to the needed perfection.
Numerous and complicated as were the instrumentali- ties employed, and for so many generations of human his- tory, still they may be all grouped under two fundamental expedients —
The selecting, training, and governing of a peculiar peo- ple ; and,
2 INTRODUCTION,
The creating and preparing an appropriate home for them.
Abraham and Canaan, the Hebrew Nation and the Land of Promise, the long ongoing and outworking of the Mosaic Economy, in conjunction with the people of God and the physical phenomena of their earthly Inheritance — by and through all these did the Spirit of Inspiration evolve and perfect man's religious language. Palestine, fashioned and furnished by the Creator s hand, was the arena, and the He- brew people and the surrounding nations were the actors brought upon it, and made to perform their parts by the Divine Master. When the end and aim had been reached, the spiritual and figurative nomenclature fully developed and matured, the Gospel of Salvation was sent forth on its high mission of mercy amongst the nations of the earth.
Like other books, the Bible has had a home, a birth- place ; but, beyond all other examples, this birthplace has given form and color to its language. The underlying ba- sis of this wonderful dialect of the kingdom of heaven is found in the land itself. But as in the resurrection " that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spiritual," so man's religious language was preceded by and grew out of the natural and the mundane. The material out of which was formed our spiritual dialect was of the earth earthy, requiring to be transformed and transfigured ere it could become a fit medium for things heavenly.
To study to the best advantage the transfiguration of that language, we must resort to Palestine, where it was first learned and spoken. That land, we repeat, has had an all- pervading influence upon the costume and character of the Bible. Without the former, the latter, as we now have it, could not have been produced. To ascertain this fact, and
INTRODl'CTIOX. ^
to notice by what process of analogy and of contrast the physical and the nunidane came to signify and illustrate things spiritual and heavenly, may well occupy much of our attention during this pilgrimage through the Holy Land.
Let us, therefore, deal reverently with it, walk softly over those acres once trodden by patriarchs, prophets, and poets, and even by the sacred feet of the Son of Ciod himself. Let us put off the soiled sandal of worldliness and sin as we enter this consecrated domain. There is design in this peculiar grouping of mountains and plains, hills and valleys, lakes and rivers, the desert and the sea, all in intimate as- sociation with the marvellous and miraculous incidents and phenomena recorded in the Bible.
The Land and the Book constitute the all-perfect text of the Word of God, and can be best studied together. To read the one by the light of the other has been the privilege of the author for more than forty years, and the govern- ing purpose in publishing is to furnish additional facilities for this delightful study to those who have not been thus exceptionally favored.
The sites and scenes described in the work were visited many times during the author's long residence in the coun- try; and the results, so far as they bear on Biblical illustra- tion, appear in the current narrative. The conversations are held by the way-side, on horseback, in the open country, or in the tent, and the reader is at liberty to regard himselt as the authors travelling companion, in full sympathy with the purpose and aim of this pilgrimage through the Holy Land.
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
SIDON TO BEIRUT.
Sidon from the North. — Ancient Wall. — Boats drawn up on the Shore. — The Gardens of Sidon. — The Banana-tree. — Na'urah, or Water-wheel. — The Aqueduct. — El Auwaly, the Bostrenus. — The Bridge. — Bridges not Mentioned in the Bible. — Bridges in the Time of the Romans. — The Khan. — Migration of an Arab Tribe. — A Winter Storm. — An Officer of Sa'id Beg. — Personal Experience. — A Bridal-party. — The Road from Sidon to Beiriit. — Dahar June, the Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope. — The Burial of Lady Hester. — Eccentricities of Lady Hester. — Neby Yunas, Tomb of Jonah. — The Mother of Samuel. — " Horned Ladies." — Biblical Allusions to Horns. — The Story of Jonah and the Whale. — Berja. — El Jiyeh, Porphyreon. — Arabs at a Well. — Tattooing. — The Hebrews Forbidden to print Marks upon themselves. — Along the Sandy Beach, and over the Rocky Headlands. — Nukkar es Sa'diat. — Defeat of Ptolemy's Army by Antiochus. — The Shepherd and the Sheep. — Ed Damur, the Tamyras. — The Mulberry Gardens of Mu'allakah. — Sugar and the Sugar-cane. — The Sweet Cane of the Bible. — "The Burnings of Lime." — Lime Mentioned Twice in the Bible. — El Bcll.in, Thorn Bush. — Biblical Allusions to Thorns. — Raw or Burnt. — Pots and Plots. — " The Crack- ling of Thorns under a Pot." — Khan Khulda, Heldua. — Ghiifr en Na'imeh. — One of St. Helena's Towers. — Broken Sarcophagi. — Esh Shuweifat. — Olive-grove. — Beauty of the Olive-tree. — " Oil out of the Flinty Rock." — Oil-presses. — Grafting. — " A Wild Olive-tree." — The Flower of the Olive. — " The Labor of the Olive." — " The Shaking of an Olive-tree." — The Gleaning of the Olive. — "Thy Children shall be like Olive- plants round about thy Table." — Dukkan el Kusis. — "A Sea of Sand." — El Ghiidir. — El Kalabat. — Ibrahim Pasha and the Emir of Shuweifat. — The Goodly Lebanon. — Picturesque Villages. — The Pines. — Arrival at Beirut.
May 27th. To one riding along the sandy beach, and approaching Sidon from the north, the appearance of the city i.s quite impo.sing. About a quarter of a mile out to sea, and itself not nuich more than tliat in length, lies the Jezireh — a low, rocky island, in the lee of which ships and large coasting craft cast anchor. Nearer the A
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
BOATS DRAWN UP ON THE BEACH.
shore is the sea cas-
tle and its bridge of many arches connecting it with the city, which is built upon a promontory that rises gradually southward to the old land castle of St. Louis, which is nearly two hundred feet above the level of the sea. The city itself is seen to the best advantage, however, from the villages on the foot-hills east of the gardens, from where nearly every house is visible.
Before we turn up to the right, among the gardens, I call your attention to the remains of that ancient wall, and to this sheltered beach, upon which some sailors are repairing their " ships." When the stormy season commences this space will be crowded with Sidon's dismantled fleet. It is the invariable custom to lay up those frail craft for the winter, and that has always been the prac- tice along this coast, I suppose. The Phoenicians rarely had har- bors where ships could ride in safety during the storms of winter, and hence they drew them up on shore. They could thus dispense with harbors, and could and did build towns along the coast, wher- ever there was a bit of sandy beach large enough for their vessels. When the spring opened they probably did just what these modern
SIDON AND ITS GARDENS. 7
mariners now do — re-pitched, launched, and rigged up their ships, and prosecuted their business until the next winter, when they again dismantled and hauled them on shore. The Greeks did the same even with their war-ships, and Homer's heroes built a forti- fication around their navy to protect it from the Trojans ; and, in- deed, Sidonian ships were there to aid the beleaguered city of Troy.
Instead of following the ordinary route along the shore to. the mouth of the Auwaly, we will pass through the gardens to the bridge over that river. The ride is much pleasanter, and you will get a better idea of the extent and character of these celebrated gardens — the glory of Sidon, and the source of much of the wealth and prosperity of its present inhabitants.
We have seen nothing like them in this country except at Jaffa, and in many respects these are more beautiful and larger. Can
SIDON AND ns CM
8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
anything of the kind be richer or more delightful than those orange and lemon trees, loaded with golden fruit, single or in compact clus- ters, decked with leaves of liveliest green, and spangled all over with snow-white flowers of sweetest fragrance ? With distance to lend enchantment, Sidon's fair daughters gliding through these verdant
EL MOUZ — THE BANANA. EN NA'URAH — THE WATER-WHEEL.
bowers might pass for "ladies of the Hesperides," as Milton has it, set to watch those golden apples. Then these banana- trees, with their large bunches of green and ripe fruit, and their extraordinary leaves, a dozen feet long, and drooping like great pendent ears, are exceed- ingly picturesque.
Commerce has made all the world familiar with the fruit of that
tree, but as it cannot endure the frost it is never seen in northern
countries. Here there are thousands of them, and Sidon is justly
celebrated for the quality as well as the quantity of its bananas.
The na'urah, or water-wheel, with its ropes of twisted myrtle
THE AQUEDUCT.— BRIDGE OVER THE AUWAl.V. 9
branches, its dripping buckets, its groaning well -sweep — to which a mule or a camel is harnessed — and its birkch, or reservoir, into which the water raised from the well falls with monotonous splash, is almost exactly like those we saw at Jaffa.
To these gardens the inhabitants of Sidon come, and around those birkehs they sit and "kaiyef" — eat, drink, smoke, and make- merry — especially in the spring and early summer, when the lettuce is fresh and crisp, or the apricots ripe and luscious.
When I resided in Sidon, many years ago, one of my favorite walks was along the aqueduct which brings the water from the Au- waly through the gardens and into the city. All this wilderness of fadeless verdure, this paradise of fruits and flowers, derives its life from that aqueduct; and from the many shallow wells which the gardeners dig. The aqueduct not being kept in good repair, a part of the city is deprived of any benefit from it, and a large quantity of water runs to waste in the gardens, and along the road, as we have found to our annoyance during most of this ride.
Here we are at Jisr el Auwaly, as this picturesque bridge is called. It is a fine stone structure, spanning the river by a single arch, and is said to have been built, more than two hundred and fifty years ago, by an Italian architect in the employ of the Emir Fakhr ed Din, concerning whom we shall have more to say when we visit the region of that chief's exploits on Lebanon. The bridge occupies the site of one more ancient, erected by the Ro- mans, or the Phoenicians, whose builders have left the marks of their handiwork on some of the large bevelled stones in the foun- dation. The Auwaly has been identified by Dr. Robinson with the Bostrenus of the ancient geographers, " described by Dionysius Vc- riegetes as the 'graceful' river upon whose waters 'flowery' Sidon was situated, though it is actually two miles south of it."
How quietly the river glides, between these green and bushy banks, towards the sea! Is it so deep as to require a bridge?
Only during the stormy season in winter; but, as often happens
to many other streams along this coast, the waves of the sea dam
up their mouths, especially in the summer and autumn, when the
current is too feeble to keep the channel open, and the ford is
thus rendered almost impracticable. A*
lO
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
Is it not surprising that bridges are not once mentioned in the Bible, not even in the New Testament, at which time there were at least Roman bridges in many parts of this country?
The Hebrews do not appear to have understood the art of bridge making. When they were commanded by Joshua " to pass
EL AUWALY — THE BOSTRENUS.
over Jordan," a way was miraculously opened for them — " the wa- ters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap, and those that came down toward the sea, even the salt sea, failed and were cut off: and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground." ' And so late as the reign of David, when he returned from Maha-
' Josh. iii. l6, 17.
BRIDGES.— OLD KHAX.— MIGRATION OF AN ARAB TRIBE. n
naim to the Jordan, "there went over a ferr>' boat to carry over the king's household," which implies that there were then no bridges, and that the main body of his army forded the river.'
The Romans were the great bridge builders, and it was not till after the conquest of the country by them that bridges were erected. Not long before the birth of Christ, Herod the Great must have thrown across the Tyropoeon that stupendous bridge, now familiarly known as " Robinson's Arch ;" and farther up the valley the grand viaduct, "Wilson's Arch," was probably built about the same time, and by the same architects. Herod was a great builder of castles, temples, theatres, and other public edi- fices, and he, perhaps, constructed or repaired some of the bridges over the Jordan, whose ruins indicate a Roman origin.
I have passed more than one night at this old khan on our left, and the sight of it revives the memory of other days, and of curious personal experiences. On my way from Beirut to Hasbeiya, many years ago, I arrived at this place about sunset. It was the 3d of December, and a winter-storm was coming on in all its might and majesty. Lightnings blazed along the mountain -tops, and loud thunder echoed through the wadys of the upper Auwaly. As evening deepened into night the wind began to moan amongst the rocks and trees, and volumes of black vapor, rolling in from the sea, settled on the heights of Lebanon like "a horror of great darkness." The long-expected and much-desired rains had commenced, and we were glad to take shelter in that dismal khan.
When the day dawned, for want of other amusement, I watched the migration of a tribe of Arabs which had been cncampctl on the mountains. They were evidently fleeing from some api)re- hended danger. Ragged boys and girls urged forward droves of cattle, as lean as Pharaoh's types of the seven years of famine; men, riding lank and shaggy mares, hurried onward the slow-paced camels, loaded with tents and the multifarious furniture of their camp; women staggered along with small children on their backs; old people were strapped fast on the loads; and the little babes up there, too, took the pelting rain as merrily as unfledged (lucl<liiigs. Last of all came large flocks of sheep and goats, with their surly
' 2 Sam. xi.\. 18.
12 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
canine guards and insolent shepherds. Over the bridge rushed the whole caravan, as if the avenger of blood was behind them.
A circumstance which occurred the evening before explained the reason of that hasty migration. The chief of a troop of horsemen, a few miles back, had called on me and inquired if my companion could read Arabic, handing to him a letter which con- tained an order frojn Sa'id Beg to capture all the men of a particu- lar Arab encampment, as they were accused of robbing the house of a Maronite priest. The Arabs, however, had got the start of the officer, and by sunrise were on the south side of the Auwaly, and within the jurisdiction of the Governor of Sidon. I was amused at the way in which my companion reproved the sheikh, and, by im- plication, his master. It was thoroughly Arabic. "Why," said he, " can't the keeper of this khan read ? No ! Well, that's a pity. It would be better if every khanjy could read, and then it would not be necessary for an officer of Sa'id Beg to show his letters to any chance traveller that comes along. They might contain things which ought not to be published. I would advise the Beg not to rent any of these khans to one who can't read." " Why," said I, " not tell the officer himself that it was a shame for one in his sta- tion not to know how to read ?" " What ! and insult the officer of Sa'id Beg? Of course, that is what I meant, and he understood it; but it would never do to say all that to his beard."
Though it rained hard, I pursued my journey to Hasbeiya, for I had no desire to repeat the experiment of the past night in that way-side inn. Our host, with his cats and kittens, his barley and straw, bread and olives, leben and oil, and every other article of his trade, shared with us, and our saddles, baggage, and beds, this one low, dark vault. A few burning brands, or brands that would not burn, enabled us, with a great deal of persuasion, to boil a little wa- ter for tea, with no more serious penalty than that of being nearly blinded by a cloud of pungent smoke. The privacy of our apart- ment was farther invaded by a native bridal-party, who appeared determined, bride and all, to share with us the privileges of our smoky vault. They kept up a violent row with our host until a late hour, when, buying a few piastres' worth of bread, they kin- dled a fire in that field on the other side of the road, and, huddling
SIDON TO BEIRUT.— LADV HESTER STANHOPE'S RESIDENCE. 1 3
round it, kept up a dismal concert, singing, shouting, and clapping hands, until morning, when, cold, wet, and woe-begone, they set off to find the bishop, not, as it appeared, to be married, but to get unmarried. The young lady had been betrothed, nolens volens, to a man she did not like, and was now, with her friends, going to get his lordship to cancel the espousals.
It is about twenty-seven miles from Sidon to Beirut, and, owing to the character of the road, it will take nearly eight hours of weary plodding to accomplish that distance. The ride is one of the least interesting and most tedious in the country. The traveller winds along the beach with the noisy surf dashing over the horses' feet and his own, to the discomfort of both ; or he flounders over rocky headlands, or wades through leagues of deep sand. And to pass from one to another of these annoyances in tiresome succession is the wayfarer's only relief. The sea never wearies, and with a mo- notony that varies not wave chases wave towards the shore ; then hesitates, raises its crest and plunges forward,, striking the shore with a heavy thud, and sending the quivering, feathery foam far up the sandy beach. In the clear light of a midsummer moon this ride is not without its charms; but even then utter solitude sad- dens, ceaseless repetition wearies, and one rejoices to escape from the deafening "plunge of the implacable sea" into the narrow alleys and sombre pine groves in the suburbs of Beirut.
The residence of Lady Hester Stanhope was somewhere on these mountains, above our road, was it not?
A ride of two hours to the north-east would bring us to Dahar June, a high conical mount, on whose breezy summit her ladyship lived ; and there she died and was buried.
It would have been an interesting episode in our day's travel to have seen the place of her residence and to have visited her tomb.
The history of that place is peculiar. It belonged to a wealthy Christian of Damascus, who built the original hou.se, to which Lady Hester added some twenty-five or thirty rooms. At his death, soon after that of Lady Hester, the property was left to an only son, who quickly dissipated it. He then turned Moslem, ami finally hung himself in a neighboring house. His Moslem wife, fearing that the Christians would one day deprive her of the pl,ui\ tore down the
14
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
buildings, and sold the material to the people of June. Thus the destruction has been intentional, rapid, and complete.
A melancholy change has come over the scene since I first vis- ited it. The garden, with its choice flowers, its shaded walks, and
imi
DAHAR JUNE — RESIDENCE OF LADY HESTER STANHOPE.
trellised arbors, is utterly and not one room of all [ester's large establishment re- ire. The tomb also is sadly changed. It w^as then embowered in dense shrubbery, and covered with an arbor of running roses, not a vestige of which now remains, and the stones of the vault itself are broken and displaced. There is no inscription — not a word in any lan- guage— and unless some measures are adopted for its protection the last resting-place of her ladyship will soon be entirely lost. The British consul at Beirut requested me to perform the reli-
BURIAL OF LADY HESTER STANHOPE.
15
gious services at the burial of Lady Hester. It was an intensely hot Sabbath in June, 1839. ^Ve started on our melancholy errand at one o'clock, and reached the place about midnight. After a brief examination, the consul decided that the funeral should take place at once. The vault in the garden was hastily opened, and the bones of a French general \vho died there, and was buried by her ladyship in the vault, were taken out and placed at its head.
The body, in a plain deal box, was carried by the .servants to the grave, followed by a mixed company, with torches and lanterns, to enable them to thread their way through the winding alleys of
GRAVE OF LADY HKSTER STANHOPE.
the garden. I took a wTong path, and wandered some time in the mazes of those labyrinths. When at length I entered the arbor the first thing I saw w^ere the bones of the general, in a ghastly heap, with the head on the top, having a lighted taper in either eye-socket — a hideous spectacle. It was difificult to proceed with the service under such circumstances. The consul afterwards re- marked that there were some curious coincidences between that and the burial of Sir John Moore, her ladyship's early love. In si- lence, on the lone mountain at midnight, " our lanterns dimly burn- ing," with the flag of her country around her, she " lay like a war- rior taking his rest," and we left her alone in her glory. There was but one of her own nation present, and his name was Moore.
The morning after the funeral the consul and I went round the
l6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
premises, and examined thirty- five rooms, which had been sealed up by the vice-consul of Sidon to prevent robbery. One had forty or fifty oil-jars of French manufacture, old, empty, and dusty. An- other was filled with Arab saddles, moth-eaten, tattered, and torn. They had belonged to her mounted guard. Superannuated pipe- stems without bowls were in one room. Two more rooms were devoted to medicines ; and one to books and papers, mostly in boxes and ancient chests. Nothing of much value was found any- where, and the seals were replaced, to await legal action. The crowd of servants and greedy retainers had appropriated to them- selves her most valuable effects.
She told an acquaintance that once, when she was supposed to be dying of the plague, she could hear the servants breaking open chests, and ripping off the embroidered covers of cushions. " Oh ! didn't I vow," said she, " that if I recovered I would make a scat- tering among them !" and she performed her vow. But each suc- ceeding set, like the flies in the fable of the fox, were as greedy as their predecessors; and when she died nothing valuable escaped their rapacity. What a death ! Without a European attendant — without a friend — alone, on the top of a bleak mountain, her lamp of life grew dimmer and dimmer, until it went quite out in rayless night. Such was the end of the once gay and brilliant niece of Pitt, presiding in the saloons of the master-spirit of Europe, and familiar with the intrigues of kings and cabinets.
On most subjects Lady Hester was not merely sane, but well- informed and extremely shrewd. She possessed great powers of conversation, and was quite fascinating when she chose to make herself agreeable. With Mr. Abbott, then the British consul, and his lady she would sit talking long into the night over the stir- ring times of the last century and those bf the present with inex- haustless spirit and keen delight. But nothing could tempt her back to England. At length her income was greatly reduced by cancelling numerous debts. But she was unsubdued ; and alone in her mountain retreat she spent the remnant of her days in haughty pride and stubborn independence.
She was wholly unique. Bold as a lion, she wore the costume of an emir, weapons, pipe, and all ; nor did she fail to rule her servants
ECCENTRICITIES OF LADV HESTER STANHOPE. 1 7
and her Albanian guards with absolute authority. Now ridini:^ at the head of the Bedawin Arabs, queen of the desert, on a visit to Palmyra; now intriguing with venal pashas and cunning emirs; at one time treating with contempt nobles, generals, and consuls, bid- ding defiance to law, and thrashing the officers sent to her lodge ; at another eluding or confounding her creditors ; to-day charitable and kind to the poor, to-morrow oppressive, selfish, and tyrannical in the extreme. She kept spies in the principal cities and at the residences of pashas and emirs, and knew all that was going on in the country. Her garden of several acres was walled round like a fort ; and crowning the top of the conical hill, with deep wadys on all sides, its appearance from a distance was quite imposing. But the site was badly chosen ; the water was distant, far below, and had to be carried up on mules. She, however, had the English taste for beautiful grounds, and spared neither time, labor, nor ex- pense to convert that barren hill into a maze of shady avenues and a paradise of sweet flowers.
There was no limit to her eccentricities. In some things she was a devout believer — an unbeliever in many. She read the stars, and calculated nativities and claimed the gift of second -sight, by which she pretended to foretell coming events. She practised al- chemy, and in pursuit of that vain science was often closeted with strange companions. She had a mare whose backbone sank sud- denly down at the shoulders and rose abruptly near the haunches. That deformity her vivid imagination converted into a miraculous saddle, on which she was to ride into Jerusalem as queen by the side of some Messiah, who was to introduce a fancied millennium. Another mare had a part to play in that august pageant, and both were tended with extraordinary care. A lamp was kept burning in their comfortable stables, and they were served with sherbet and other delicacies. Nothing about the premises .so excited my com- passion as those poor pampered animals, upon which I.ady Hester had lavished her affection for the last fourteen years. They were soon after sold at auction, when hard work and low living quickly terminated their miserable existence.
Lady Hester was a doctor, and most positive in her prescrip- tions to herself, her servants, her horses, and even to her chickens.
l8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
and often did serious mischief to all her patients. She had many whimsical tests of character both for man and beast, and, of course, was often deceived by both to her cost. She could be extremely sarcastic, and the margins of some books which I purchased at the auction were " illuminated " with her caustic criticisms.
Such was Lady Hester in her mountain retreat on Lebanon. Alas! she must have drained to the dregs many a bitter cup. Her sturdy spirit there fought out alone a thousand desperate battles, and lost them all. Let those who are tempted to revolt against society, and war with nature, God, and man, come to Dahar June — sit and moralize on the fragments of that broken tomb, amidst ruins without beauty to charm, or age to make venerable — itself a ruin of yesterday, and fast sinking into oblivion. Will such a melancholy end compensate for such an erratic life ?
What is that low building on our right, which we are now passing, with its white dome and tall cypress-tree ?
NEBY YOnAS — TOMB OF JONAH.
NEBY YUNAS.— vows.— " HORNED LADIES." IQ
Neby Yunas, one of the many shrines dedicated to the prophet Jonah. The mukam en Neby, sanctuary of the prophet, is in that room with the white dome over it. The arched buildinsj; nortli of it is an ordinary way-side inn, so numerous along this coast, having a covered portico in front, back of which are rooms for nati\e tra\el- lers, and stables for their animals. In former times Neby Yunas was much frequented by ^Moslems, and Druses from the mountains, especially by Druse sittat, or princesses, who came with their sor- rows, their prayers, and their vows, for the same blessing which the mother of Samuel sought " in bitterness of soul " to obtain at Shiloh.' The vows of some are made in times of sickness, either of their friends or themselves, and they come here from all parts of the country to fulfil them upon their recovery.
I have repeatedly pitched my tent on the smooth sandy terrace east of that mukam, and have seen more than one group of "horned ladies" resort to the shrine of the prophet to obtain the interces- sion of the Neby in their behalf, and to fulfil vows which they had made. But such companies are rarely seen now ; the progress of civilization, and the general spread of education in this country, have robbed the prophet of much of his prestige and patronage, and his shrine is now almost deserted.
Do you imagine that such horns have any connection with those so often alluded to in the Bible?
No. These tanturs grew, like other horns, from small begin- nings and by slow degrees, and pride nourished them. At first they were merely designed to finish off the head-dress, so as to raise the veil a little from the face. Specimens of that primitive kind arc still found in remote and semi-civilized districts. I have seen them only a few inches long, made even of common pottery. B>- degrees the more fashionable ladies used tin, and lengthened them : then rivalry made them of silver, and still farther prolonged and or- namented them; until finally the princesses of Lebanon antl llcr- mon wore horns of silver and gold, decked with jewels, and .so long —some nearly eighteen inches— that a servant had to spread the veil over them. But the day for those most preposterous appeiul- ages to the female head has passed away. After the wars between
' I .Sam. i. lo, ii.
20 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
the Maronites and Druses in 1841 and 1845, the Maronite clergy- thundered their excommunications against them, and very few Christians now wear them. Even the Druse women have cast them off, and the "horn," or tantur, has entirely disappeared from the land, and given place to modern fashions, more convenient, perhaps, though far less picturesque.
I do not suppose that horns like these were worn by the Jews, nor, indeed, by any nation of such antiquity. So remarkable an article of dress, had it been in existence, would certainly have been noticed by authors who enter so minutely into such matters as many did. The horns of animals, where the Creator alone planted them, were their weapons of defence ; and man, who lays all nature under tribute to enrich his store of images and figures, very early made them synonymous with power, and then for what that will always confer upon the possessor. To exalt the- horn, an expres- sion often occurring in the poetic and prophetic parts of the Bible, means to advance in power, honor, and dominion. To defile it in the dust is a figure drawn from the condition of a dying ox or stag, who literally defiles his horn in dust, mingled with his own blood. It is painfully significant of defeat, disgrace, and death, and for a prince like Job it was to be dishonored and utterly overthrown.'
It is not certainly known why the corners of altars were finished off like horns. Several purposes may have been attained by that custom. Such horns were probably intended to symbolize the ma- jesty and power of the being in whose honor the altar was reared, and to whom the sacrifice was offered ; or the design may have been suggested by the horns of the victims to be slain. As altars early became sanctuaries, it was natural that the suppliant should lay hold of the horns. In fact, there was often nothing else about them which he could grasp with his hand. That natural, signifi- cant, and very expressive act is often mentioned in the Bible.
The custom of making vows seems to have been prevalent in this country from the earliest times. Thus the devout Psalmist says : " I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.'" This he repeats in the one hundred and sixteenth Psalm, with the addition that he
' Job xvi. 15. - Psa. Ixvi. 13, 14.
vows ANCIENT AND MODERN. 2 1
would do SO " in the presence of all his people," and, also, that he would offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving *' in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem." *
Yes, and long before the time of the Psalmist, Jacob vowed a vow at Bethel, as you remember, which reads very like one of those carefully conditioned contracts, in the drawing up of which his de- scendants have always been so celebrated. Doubtless the custom was far older than the time of Jacob, and it was continued down to that of Paul, who shaved his "head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow," which necessitated the most disastrous journey he ever made ; en- snared him into an ostensible compliance with abrogated rights, dif- ficult to justify; depriving him of liberty; nearly cost him his life, and ultimately sent him, through storm and shipwreck, a prisoner in chains to Rome, there to die. There can be no objection to vows, when made to the proper person, for things lawful and right, and faithfully performed. But few of the vows in this country con- form to the conditions above stated. They are not made directh- to God, but to saints or to their shrines.
That is true of every Christian sect in the land ; and, what is very surprising, many non-Christians make vows and pilgrimages to Christian shrines. The large convent of Mar Jirjis el Humcira. St. George, near Kul'at el Husn, is largely enriched by the vows of the semi -pagan Nusairiyeh. The Druses, also, who are half atheists, still pay their vows at the shrines of reputed saints, as we have just seen at Neby Yunas. I once saw a large gathering of Bedawin Arabs at Neby Safy, south-east of Sidon, slaughtering victims and performing vows which they had made while in the desert east of the Jordan. In every case such vows are not to God, but to de- parted beings, real or fictitious, whose spirits are supposed to fre- quent certain consecrated shrines. This at once draws a broad line of distinction between vows made by the natives of this country at the present day and those which were sanctioned by Moses, and practised by the people of God in ancient times.
How do you suppose that the name and the story of Jonah came to be attached to this locality?
It is possible that in some former age a wh.ile was driven ashore
' Psa. cxvi. l8, 19.
22 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
during one of the wild storms which prevail along this coast in win- ter, as happened quite recently not far from Tyre, and something in the attending circumstances may hav^e suggested the experience of that prophet to the people in the neighborhood. Superstition would speedily render the site sacred, and in due time a shrine would be erected to confirm the faith of those who resorted to it. There are many mukams with white -domed vaults all over this Eastern land whose origin is shrouded in equal uncertainty. Not a few of them are evidently ancient ; but when and through w^hat means they were established is now unknown.
This part of the coast seems to be entirely deserted ; there is not a human habitation in sight.
On the narrow plain east of the khan there are a few^ houses, and upon the hills above are several villages. One called Berja is celebrated for the sweetest and purest olive -oil in this region — a fact of much importance to the Greeks and Maronites, who are restricted to the use of oil in cooking during their stringent fasts.
In the Jerusalem Itinerary, Porphyreon is located in this neigh- borhood, and the sand hillocks that extend for some distance north of the khan, towards the village of el Jiyeh, probably cover the remains of that ancient town. Twenty years ago I saw men dig- ging out old building -stones in various places along those sand hills, and shipping them to Beirut, to meet the extraordinary de- mand in that city for such durable material.
Though abandoned by civilized people, or because thus for- saken, this neighborhood is frequented by remnants of Arab tribes, and there is a group of their tents, and a number of women and children watering their flocks at that well. We will soon be sur- rounded by them, clamoring for bakhshish, and urging us to drink out of their water-bottles.
They are apparently amongst the very poorest and most de- graded of their race. Their very donkeys and dogs are lean and lank, and seem to be pinched up with hunger.
They are by no means so poverty-smitten as their appearance would indicate, and you may with a safe conscience button up your pocket and spare your pity. Not only are they importunate beg- gars, but cunning thieves also ; for when passing this way, on a for-
TATTOOING.
mer occasion, one of those degenerate Bedawin stole our water-bot- tle from which he had just slaked his own real or pretended thirst.
The desire for personal adornment has prompted these women to tattoo themselves most profusely — forehead, face, lips, chin, chest, arms, hands, and even their feet, with the rude designs and cu- rious figures of that most ancient art.
The effect is any- thing but agreeable to our taste, yet Orientals have a passion for it. The practice of mark- ing religious signs and tokens upon the hands and the arms is almost universal amongst the Arabs, of all sects and classes. The Christian pilgrim to Jerusalem has the operation per- formed there, as it is the most holy place known to his religion. I have watched the process of tattooing, and it is not a little painful. A number of common needles are bound together in the shape of the desired figure, or so that the
design can be marked out with sufficient exactness. The skin be- ing punctured in the required pattern, certain mixtures of coloring matter are rubbed in, and the place bound with a tight b.md.p^c Gunpowder, variously prepared, is commonly cmployetl, and it is
TATTOOED EGYPTIAN WOMAN.
liil
^
II
®
iiU
SPECIMENS OF TATTOOING.
r
24 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
that which gives to the tattooing of these Bedawin its bluish tinge. Mr. Lane tells us that in Egypt, where this singular cus- tom is very general, smoke-black mixed with milk is used, and subsequently a paste of fresh-pounded leaves of clover, or white beet, is applied, so as to give a blue color to the marks.
It is now well ascertained that tattooing prevailed in Egypt even before the time of Moses. In Leviticus the Hebrews were forbidden not only to make any " cuttings " in their flesh for the dead, but also to "print" any marks upon themselves." No doubt those cuttings and prints had an idolatrous signification which Moses desired to condemn. The allusions in Revelation to reli- gious marks are too numerous to be specified. Isaiah, however, has an impressive reference to them, which we may quote, to strengthen our trust in the watchful providence of our heavenly Father: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compas- sion on the son of her womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.'"" As to these Arabs, whose blue markings started us off upon this digression, we shall have many occasions to notice their strange ways and singular customs when we go amongst them, in their special domain east of the Jordan. Those dingy black objects peeping out of the bushes on the mountain-side are their tents, and they are found spread over the whole country, from Egypt to Mount Taurus.
This is indeed a tantalizing and wearisome ride. Plodding through the deep sand along the shore one longs for the rocky pathway over the headland ; but once there the ceaseless clatter of our iron-shod horses, as they slip, slide, and stumble along on the smooth stones, makes one quite nervous.
We shall soon escape from Nukkar es S'adiat, as this low prom- ontory is called. Here, it is supposed, Antiochus the Great de- feated the army of Ptolemy, commanded by his general, Nicolaus. This nukkar is well adapted to be the scene of bloody tragedies, being a difficult pass over one of " the roots of Lebanon," thrust out into the sea and ending there — a strong military position, espe- cially as against an enemy marching from the north.
' Levit. xix. 28. " Isa. xlix. 15, 16.
ED DAMUR. THE TAMYRAS.— THE SHEPHERD.
^5
And now for a gallop over this stretch of sand to the river Du- mur, where we will rest for half an hour and take our lunch.
There is something worth seeing. That shepherd is about to lead his flock through the river; and — as our Lord says of the good shepherd — " he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow." '
They follow, but not all in the same manner. Some enter boldly, and come straight across. Those are the favored ones
ED DAMUR— Til L lA.MVRA.-^
of the flock, who keep hard by the footsteps of the shephcnl through green meadows, by the still waters, feeding upon the moun- tains, or resting at noon beneath the shadow of great rocks. And now others enter, but in doubt and alarm. Far from their guide, they miss the ford, and are carried down the river, some farther than others, yet, one by one, they struggle over and make a safe
' John X. 4.
25 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
landing. Notice those little lanibs. They refuse to enter, and must be driven into the stream by the shepherd's dog, mentioned by Job in his " parable." Poor things ! how they leap, and plunge, and bleat in terror ! That weak one will be swept quite away, and per- ish in the sea. But the shepherd himself leaps into the stream, lifts it into his bosom, and bears it trembling to the shore. All now are safely over, and how happy they appear ! The lambs frisk and gam- bol about, while the older ones gather round their faithful shepherd, and look up to him in subdued but expressive thankfulness.
Can you watch such a scene, and not think of that Shepherd who leadeth Joseph like a flock, and of another river which all his sheep must cross? He, too, goes before, and, as in the case of this flock, they who keep near him fear no evil. They hear his encour- aging voice saying, " When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." ' With their eyes fastened on him, they scarcely heed the stream, or feel its cold and threatening current. The majority, however, "lin- ger, shivering on the brink, and fear to launch away." They lag behind, look down upon the dark river, and, like Peter on stormy Gennesaret, when faith fails, they begin to sink. Then they cry for help, and not in vain. The good Shepherd hastens to their rescue, and none of all his flock ever perish. Even the weakest lambkins are carried safely over. I once saw flocks crossing the Jordan " to Canaan's fair and happy land," and there the scene was even more striking and impressive. The river was broader, the current stronger, and the flocks larger, while the shepherds were more pict- uresque and their occupation more Biblical. The danger, too, with ' which many poor sheep were threatened — of being swept down into that mysterious Sea of Death which swallows up the Jordan itself — was more certain and suggestive.
This name, Damur, is a mere variation of the Tamyras of Strabo, the Damouras of Polybius, I suppose.
Yes, if the variation is not that of the Greeks and Romans, probably Damur is nearer the original name. The main source of this river is near 'Ain Zahelteh, a village five hours to the east, upon the lofty range of Lebanon. Other streams from the north unite
' Isa. xliii. 2.
BROKEN BRIDGE.— SCENERY.— MULBERRY GARDENS.
-/
with it at Jisr el Kacly, on the road from Beirut to Deir el Kamar. Below that the river turns to the south-west, and enters the sea just south of the long, straggling village of INIu'allakah. Though not more than twenty -five miles long, yet, from the extent of those high mountains which pour down their floods into its channel, the Damur rises suddenly in winter, and becomes a turbulent, unford- able river. Men and animals have been carried off by it and per- ished at the ford, or were swept away into the sea.
That broken bridge was built by the Emir Beshir Shehab, some sixty years ago, but it soon gave way before the violence of the stream. The emir erected his on the ruins of one more ancient, built probably by the Romans, and with no better success than they. The river frequentl}^ changes its channel, and though a heavy wall was built running up the stream to confine it to its proper bed. still in winter it sets all bounds at defiance. During great floods it spreads through these gardens, tears up the mulberry-trees, and carries them down to the sea. The scenery around the head of this river is not so wild as in many other places ; but the basins of the different tributaries open out prospects which, when sur- veyed from the lofty declivities of Lebanon, are rarely surpassed for depth, breadth, vastness, and variety. The view from Mutyar Abeih is particularly impressive.
To escape the deep sand between this and Khan Kluilda wc will pass up the river for a short distance, and then ride through the mulberry gardens of Mu'allakah.
They appear to be quite extensive, but the branches of the trees have all been cut off, leaving only the glaring and bare trunks, some eight or ten feet high.
The silk -growers adopt that method in order that the young branches may grow during the summer. They say that next spring the leaves of those branches will contain more glutinous matter — from which sub.stance the silk-worms spin their cocoons — than is found in the leaves growing upon the old branches.
I noticed hedges of the ordinary reed cane near the river and along the water-courses, and here are fields of genuine sugar-cane.
It is said that the sugar-cane was originally taken from this coast to Europe during the Crusades; and, after America was dis-
28 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
covered the Spaniards carried it to the West Indies, from where it was introduced into the Southern States. The people of this coun- try, however, do not make any sugar; but during the season the cane is cut and taken in large bundles to the cities, where it is sold, mostly to the lower classes, and especially to children, who chew the stem for its sweet juice — hence its name, Kussab Muss.
Is this " the sweet cane from a far country " mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah?'
The sweetness was, probably, not that of taste, but of smell, and may have had reference to the aromatic properties of some root, plant, or leaf, possibly from Arabia or India. The sugar-cane, being a perisliable article, could not have been brought as a luxury from a far country, since it would have withered and decayed on the way, and have lost all its sweetness.
For what purpose are those people cutting up the thorn-bushes amongst the rocks, with their mattocks and hand scythes, and gath- ering them together into such large bundles?
To be burnt as fuel in that lime-kiln. We have there a strik- ing illustration of a passage in Isaiah: "And the people shall be as the burnings of lime : as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire."° This picture from real life is in curious fidelity with the scene depicted by the prophet, for when the thorns are merely to be destroyed they are not " cut up," but set on fire where they grow, to clear the ground for the plough.
Does that passage in Isaiah to which you have just referred contain the earliest mention of lime in the Bible?
The Hebrews were acquainted with lime and its uses in very early times. Moses directs the people of Israel, when they " pass over Jordan," to "set up great stones, and plaister them with plais- ter."^ The word in the Hebrew is the same as that translated lime in Isaiah, and also in Amos ii. i,the only places in the Bible where lime is mentioned — a fact somewhat remarkable, considering the importance of that article, and the many and varied purposes to which it was applied from remote antiquity. And not only was lime itself known from ancient times, but the kiln and the fuel to burn it with were very much like these we have before us.
' Jer. vi. 20. - Isa. xx.\iii. 12. ^ Deut. xxvii. 2.
EL BELLAN, THE THORNS.— BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS TO THORNS. 29
This kind of thorn seems to cover tlie entire face of the moun- tain. What is the name of it?
It is the Poterium spinosum of the botanist. The Arabs call it bellan, and it abounds in almost every part of Syria and Palestine, and is also to be found in the Wilderness of the Wandering.
Is it ever mentioned specifically in the Bible?
Not by its modern Arabic name ; but these thorns are so om- nipresent and obtrusive that they could not have escaped notice, and I suppose they are the same as those, to which " Da\id in his last words " likened " the sons of Belial," which are " as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands : but the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place."' The Arabic translation is more specific: "The sons of Belial are all like thorns thrust aside, for they cannot be taken by the hand ; and the man who would touch them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. And they shall be burned in the fire in their place." This description applies perfectly to the bellan. Those men first tear them loose from the rocks with their iron mattocks and scythes, and then thrust them away into heaps with a long forked stick. When the purpose is merely to clear the ground for ploughing and sowing the grain, they are simply set fire to on a windy day and "burned in their place."
David, in the fifty-eighth Psalm, has a curious allusion to thorns. Concerning the wicked, who " go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies," he says : " Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath."' Is the allusion there also to this bellan?
The poetical figure in that passage is tangled somewhat, like the bellan itself, but the reference is to cooking in pots by kindling fires under them, possibly with this thorn-bush. I have often watched the operation with much interest. These thorns burn with a sud- den and intensely hot blaze, but that very vehemence often creates a little whirlwind which whisks the flame from the blazing bush into the air, so that the pots do not " feci the thorns" at all. As suddenly as the wind catches up in its wings the flame of the burn- ' 2 Sam.xxiii.6, 7. " I'-^-a. Kiii. 3. <;■
30 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
ing bushes, so suddenly shall the whirlwind of divine indignation drive away those incorrigible sinners.
Dr. Alexander has some curious remarks in his exposition of the latter part of that passage. " Both living and in his wrath " he translates " whether raw or done," meaning that whether the flesh which is in the pot is cooked or is raw, he will blow it or them away. The Arabic translation reads thus : " Before that your pots feel the thorns, whether raw or burnt, he will scoop them away." In either case the essential elements in the figure are retained, and some of the obscurities are aptly illustrated by the ephemeral flames of the bellan under the pots of Arab peasants.
The complicated figure in that passage will bear even farther illustration. There is no proverbial metaphor more familiar to Arab ears than one which compares secret plots and machinations to a covered pot on a fire. To intimate that the plot is brewing they say, with a knowing shake of the head, " the pot is boiling," or sim- ply, " it is boiling." Now, the pot is the representative of dark and treacherous schemes; those who kindle the fire and sit round watch- ing it are the wicked plotters, and the Psalmist says that ere the pot can feel the flame, and while the schemes they are concocting are still immature or raw, the Lord in his indignation will blow out and away both the plot and the plotters. David had, no doubt, often seen during his shepherd boyhood, and his exile life and wan- derings, all the circumstances which suggested the complicated fig- ure in that ninth verse of his psalm. To understand it perfectly one must actually witness the process of cooking in the open coun- try— a pot or pan placed upon two or three stones, bellan thorns ignited under it ; the blaze flashing up fiercely, creating or increas- ing the wind which whirls and whisks the flame into the air, and the meat thus left half raw, half burnt, to the utter disgust and dis- appointment of both cook and expectant guests. So will it be with those sons of Belial — their plot defeated and blown away, and they with it, to utter destruction.
In "the words of the Preacher," "the laughter of the fool" is compared to "the crackling of thorns under a pot."*
Yes, the laughter of a fool he rightly calls "vanity" — mocking, ' Eccles. i. I ; vii. 6.
KHAN KHULDA.— ST. HELENA'S TOWER.
31
tantalizing:, and annoying — just like the blaze of the bcllan which flashes up in the face, burns the hands, blinds the eyes, and dies out suddenly before the pot can feel the heat. The ephemeral charac- ter of the blazing bellan is alluded to by the Psalmist when he says of his enemies, " They compassed me about like bees ; they are quenched as the fire of thorns."'
The name of this way-side inn, on the left, which we are now approaching is Khan Khulda, and it probably occupies the site of Mutatio Heldua, an unimportant place mentioned in the Jerusalem Itinerary about the fourth century of our era as twelve Roman miles south of Beirut. There is another khan, below the gardens of Mu'allakah, and about a mile south of this one, called Ghufr en
LENA'S TOWERS NEAR TYKE.
Na'imeh, which may mark the site of Heldua. However that may be, there are at this place some old foundations and remains of antiquity which we should not pass by without visiting.
' Psa. c.wiii. 12.
32
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
The debris on the top of that half-natural, half-artificial mound marks the site of one of those signal stations or beacons which St. Helena built along the road from Jerusalem to Constantinople, to convey to her royal son the first tidings of the discovery of the true
ANCIENT SARCOPHAGI.
cross, for which she was then searching in the rub- bish of the Holy City. More pro- bably it was one of a system of watch-towers for the defence of the coast, such as are still in use along the shores of Spain and Algiers. Marc Antony spent some time at a fort between Beirut and Sidon, called Dukekome, waiting for Cleopatra. Perhaps this tower-crowned hill marks the spot wdiere those mighty revellers met and feasted. I remember when the tower was destroyed to supply the demand for building material in Beirut.
The most remarkable relics of past ages are those broken sar- cophagi on the side of the mountain. Their number is surpris- ing, since for ages the inhabitants have been breaking them up for building-stone, or burning them into lime. They are of all sizes : some eight feet long, and in fair proportion, the resting-place of giants ; others were made for small children. Many are hewn in the live rock ; others are single cofifins cut out of separate blocks.
OLIVE GROVES OF ESH SHUWEIFAT. 33
All had heavy Hds, of various shapes, but with the corners raised. On one is a cherub with wings expanded, as if about to {\y away to the " better land ;" another has a palm branch, emblem of immor- tality ; a large one has three warlike figures, the chosen compan- ions, perhaps, of some ancient hero. They are without inscriptions, and have nothing about them to determine their age or origin; and on none of them is there a single mark or scratch which might indicate that those who made them had an alphabet. They are, no doubt, very ancient. Lift the lid, and the dust within differs not from the surrounding soil from which grows the corn of the current year. And so it was twenty centuries ago, I suppose.
From Khan Khulda to Beirut is about three hours, and. as the road leaves the sea-coast and follows the border of this little plain, the scene is varied and the ride becomes more interesting.
What a large village that is on the foot-hills east of us I
It is esh Shuweifat, one of the most important towns on Leba- non, and its prosperity is mainly due to the extensive olive-groves below and north of it — the largest in the country. This sand de- sert, on our left, interposed between those olive-groves and the sea, extends northward quite to the suburbs of Beirut.
That forest of olive-trees naturally attracts one's thoughts to them, and to the many Biblical references to the olive, some of which I do not yet fully comprehend. Thus Hosea says, " His beauty shall be as the olive tree."' It is more picturesque than beautiful, but perhaps the eye needs to be educated before it can distinguish properly and decide correctly.
The olive-tree and its fruit make the face of man to shine in more senses than one, and this noble grove, spreading like a silver sea over the plain and along the base of the hills, and rolling far up their ascending terraces, is beautiful ; and it speaks of peace and plenty, food and gladness. To a stranger it is destitute of pleasing associations; but to me it is delightful and refreshing to ride through it, especially when the trees are bowed down with purple berries, or when the ground is covered with flowers.
Moses, in that last ode which he taught the children of Israel, speaks of " oil out of the flinty rock;" and I had supposed th.it the
' IIos. xiv. 6.
34 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
tree delighted in hard, rocky soil ; but this vast grove spreads over a soft and sandy plain.'
You were not mistaken — only misled by appearances. The sub- stratum of this plain is chalky marl, abounding in flint, and the sand is merely an intruder blown in from this desert on our left. The olive is found, also, in places where there is no rocky basis ; but it is in soil such as this that the tree flourishes best, both in the plains and upon the mountains. It insinuates its roots into the crevices of this flinty marl, and draws from thence its stores of oil. If the overlying earth is so deep that its roots cannot reach the rock be- neath, I am told that the tree languishes, and its berries are small and sapless. There is, however, another explanation of that figure of Moses. In ancient times generally— and in some places at the present day — the olives were ground to a pulp in large stone basins, * by rolling a heavy stone wheel over them, and the oil was then expressed in stone presses established near by. Frequently those presses, with their floors, gutters, troughs, and cisterns, were all hewn out of solid rock, and thus literally " the rock poured out rivers of oil," as Job affirms in his parable."
I notice that the branches of some trees have been cut off, and then grafted ; why is that done ?
The olive, in its natural wild state, bears no berries, or but few, and those small and destitute of oil.
St. Paul has an extended reference to grafting. He says: "If some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree ; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." And then, in the twenty-fpurth verse : " For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafl'ed contrary to nature into a good olive tree,"' etc. The olive, says the apostle —and so you say — is wild by nature, and it must be grafted by the good before it will bear fruit; but the apostle speaks of grafting the wild into the good, not the good upon the wild.
True ; but observe, he expressly states that this is " contrary to nature," as it really is. In the kingdom of nature generally, cer- I Deut. xxxii. 13. " Job xxix. 6. ^ Rom. xi. 17, 18, 24.
THE WILD OLIVE-TREE AND THE GOOD OLIVE-TREE. 35
tainly in the case of the oHve, the process referred to by the apostle never succeeds. Graft the good upon the wild, and, as the Arabs say, " it will conquer the wild," but you cannot reverse the process with success. If you insert a wild graft into a good tree, it will conquer the good. It is only in the kingdom of grace that a pro- cess thus contrary to nature can be successful ; and it is this circum- stance which the apostle has seized upon to magnify the mercy shown to the Gentiles by grafting them, a wild race, contrary to the nature of such operations, into the good olive-tree of the Church, and causing them to flourish there, and bring forth fruit unto eter- nal life. The apostle lived in the land of the olive, and was in no danger of falling into a blunder in founding his argument upon such a circumstance in its cultivation.
But have all the trees in this vast grove of esh Shuwcifat been reclaimed from a wild state by grafting?
Certainly not. The apostle himself speaks of the root of the good olive, implying that, by some means or other, it had been changed. As explained by the natives, the process by which that result is reached is quite simple. There are knobs, or large warts, so to speak, on the body of the trees. Cut off one of those which has a branch growing out of it, above the place where it has been grafted ; plant it in good soil, water it carefully, and it will strike out roots and grow. It is now a good tree from the root, and all scions taken from it are also good by nature. But if the knob be taken below the grafting, the tree grows wild again. The greater part of this grove is now " good " from the root. I am told, however, that there is a tendency to degenerate, and that it is often an improve- ment to graft even " a good olive tree " with one that is still better.
Eliphaz says of the wicked man, " He shall cast off his flower as the olive."' What is there in the casting off of olive-flowers which can illustrate the rejection and ruin of those who trust in vanity, for which purpose the figure was emi)loyed .''
The olive is the most prodigal of all fruit-bearing trees in flow- ers. It bends under the weight of them. But then not one in a hundred comes to maturity. The tree casts them off as if they were of no more value than flakes of snow, which they closel)-
' Jol) XV. 33.
^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
resemble. So it will be with those who put their trust in vanity : " for vanity shall be their recompense. They shall be cut off before their time, and their branch shall not be green." ' Cast off, they disappear, and no one asks after them ; so the olive seems to throw off in contempt the flowers that signify nothing, and turns all its fatness to those which will mature into good and fruitful berries at the end of the season, when the owners and olive-gatherers go forth to shake their trees after the rains in the autumn.
The olive-tree is of slow growth, and the husbandman must have long patience. Except under circumstances peculiarly favorable, it bears no berries until the seventh year, nor is the crop worth much until the tree is ten or fifteen years old ; but then " the labor of the
olive " is very pro- fitable, although it sometimes " fails," as implied in the prayer of Habakkuk,^ and it will continue to yield its fruit to ex- treme old age, like the excellent of the earth. So long as there is a mere fragment re- maining, though externally the tree looks as dry as a post, yet it continues to yield its oily berries, and for twenty generations the owners gather fruit from the faithful old patriarch. The tree also requires but little care, and will revive again when the ground is dug or ploughed, and begin afresh to yield as before. Vineyards forsaken die out almost immediately, and mulberry orchards ne- glected run rapidly to ruin, but not so the olive. I saw the deso-
' Job XV. 31, 32. ^ Hab. iii. 17.
OLIVE-BRANCH.
LONG LIFE AND UNFAILING PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE OLIVE. 37
late hills of Jebel el A'alah, above Antioch, covered with such gro\es, although no one had paid attention to them for half a century.
Is it upon this tenacity of life in the olive that Job bases his affecting comparison in regard to the frailty of man : " There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground ; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?"'
It is very likely that it was the olive-tree which the patient man of Uz had in mind ; for although the facts mentioned apply to other trees in this country, yet they are particularly appropriate to the olive. That tree will thus revive ''through the scent of water" after the root has waxed old in the earth, and the stock, to all appearance, become entirely dead. I have seen olive trees which seemed to have neither green wood nor live bark revive and bear a crop of olives when properly cultivated. The next verses in Job's entreaty refer to other facts equally striking and common in this Eastern land : " As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood drieth up ; so man lieth down, and riseth not ; till the heavens be no more, they shall not wake, nor be raised out of their sleep." No one will reside long in this country without becoming more or less familiar with some of the phenomena referred to. The waters fail from the sea, and the clouds bring no refreshing rain ; the Hoods dry up. the land is parched, and eveiy green thing languishes : famine stalks abroad, and pestilence follows in her footsteps ; then men lie down and die, nor will they rise up again till the heavens be no more.
If the olive bore every year its value would be doubled ; but, like most other trees, it yields only every alternate year. Even with this deduction it is amongst the most valuable species of property in the country. Large trees, in a good season, will yield from ten to fifteen gallons of oil. and the olive crop from an acre of such trees is worth at least one hundred dollars.
The value of this tree is enhanced by the fact that its fruit is indispensable to the comfort, and almost the existence, of the
-Job xiv. 7-10.
38 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
poorer classes of the community. The BibHcal references to that subject are not exaggerated. The berry, pickled, forms the general relish to the farmer's dry bread. He goes forth to his work in the field at early dawn, or sets out on a journey, with no other provi- sion than olives wrapped up in tough paper-like loaves, and with that he is contented. Then almost every dish is cooked in oil, and without it the good-wife would be confounded ; and when the oil fails the lamp in the dwelling of the poor expires. Moreover, the entire supply of soap made in this country is from the produce of the olive. Habakkuk, therefore, gives a very striking attestation of his faith in God when he says, " Although the labour of the olive shall fail, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." '
Isaiah thus refers to the gathering of the olive : " Yet glean- ing grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof."^ Have you noticed the circum- stances alluded to by the prophet?
Very often ; and it is the language of familiar acquaintance with the subject. As you may never have an opportunity to watch the process, I will describe it as it occurs in such places as Hasbeiya. Early in autumn the berries begin to drop of themselves, or are shaken off by the wind. They are allowed to remain under the trees for some time, guarded by the watchmen of the town. Then a proclamation is made by the governor that all who have olive- trees should go out and pick what has fallen. Previous to that, not even the owners are allowed to gather olives in the groves. The proclamation is repeated once or twice, according to the season. In November comes the general and final summons, which sends forth all Hasbeiya. No olives are then safe unless the owner looks after them, for the watchmen are removed, and the groves are alive with men, women, and children. Everywhere the people are in the trees " shaking " them to bring down the fruit.
That is what the prophet had in mind. The effort is to make a clear sweep of the whole crop ; but, in spite of shaking and beat- ing, there is always a gleaning left : " two or three berries in the ' Hab. iii. 17, 18. '•' Isa. xvii. 6.
THE "SHAKING OF THE OLIVE." 39
top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches." Those are afterwards gleaned by the very poor, who have no trees of their own, in seeming accordance with the com- mand, " When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go o\'er the boughs again : it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow ;" ' and they gather enough to keep a lamp in their habitation during the dismal nights of winter, and to cook their mess of pottage and bitter herbs.
The " shaking of the olive " is the severest operation in Syrian husbandry, particularly in mountainous regions. When the procla- mation goes forth to " shake," there can be no postponement. The rainy season has already set in ; the trees are dripping with the last shower, or bowing under a load of moist snow ; but the owners must shake them, drenching themselves and those below with an artificial storm of rain, snow, and olives. No matter how piercing the wind, or how blinding the rain, that work must go on from earl)' dawn to dark night ; and then the weary laborer must carry on his aching back a heavy load of dripping berries two or three miles, it may be, up the mountain to his home. The olive-groves are mostly held in common — not owned in common, but planted on the same general tract of land, without hedges, fences, or walls, and the trees are like those in a natural forest. This tree belongs to Zeid, that to 'Abeid, as they say, and so on through the whole grove. This vast grove below Shuwcifat, along which we have been riding for the last hour, has many owners, and in "shaking time " every one must look sharply after his own. There is a great confounding of meum and tuum in the average conscience of olive-gatherers.
To what particular circumstance docs the Psalmist refer in the one hundred and twenty-eighth Psalm, where he says, " Thy chil- dren shall be like olive plants round about thy table ?"
Follow mc into the grove, and I will show you what ma)- h.ivc suggested the comparison. This aged and decayed tree is sur- rounded, as you see, by several young and thrifty shoots, which spring from the root of the venerable parent. They seem to up- hold and protect it. Thus do good and affectionate children gatlur round the table of the righteous. Each contributes something to
' Dcut. xxiv. 20.
40 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
the common welfare of the whole — a beautiful sight, with which may God refresh the eyes of all our friends.
OLD OLIVE-TREE.
What a magnificent tree that is which we have just passed!
It is, indeed, a grand old sycamore, under whose grateful shade many a weary traveller seeks protection from the burning sand and the scorching sun. There he dismounts to rest, to drink a cup of coffee, and smoke a nargileh, which the khanji at Dukkan el Kusis is always ready to supply.
Here we leave this pleasant grove for that singular sea of sand, which rolls quite back to the gardens of Beirut. Geologists tell us that this sand has travelled long and far before it reached its pre-
A DREARY DESERT OF DRIFTIN'G SEA. 41
sent resting-place. That, in fact, its original home was in the great African desert, and, during the countless ages of the past, it has been drifted first by the wind into the sea, and then by the current along the northern coast past Egypt, and around the head of the sea, until, stopped by the Cape of Beirut, it has been thrown out b\' the waves on to this plain. Others say that it is the sand of the Nile transported hither by the northern current in this part of the Mediterranean. I believe that we need look no farther than the immediate neighborhood for the origin of this desert. The rock on the shore is a soft sandstone, which is continually disintegrating b\" the action of wind and wave. The loose sand is cast up upon the beach, and the strong south-west winds which blow across the plain are constantly spreading it inward under our very eyes.
No doubt the Damur and the Ghudir — the latter just ahead of us — bring down a great amount of sand during the winter rains, which is also thrown on shore by the sea. This sand is continualK- driven in upon these fields like another deluge. Entire mulberry gardens about Beirut, with their trees and houses, have been thus overwhelmed since I came to the country; and the day is not dis- tant when it will have swept over the cape to the bay on the north of the city, unless its course can be arrested. I never take this ride without watching, with weary interest, this ever- changing desert. Upon the great sand-waves, which swell up from twenty to fifty feet high, the west wind makes small but well-defined wavelets, the counterpart in miniature of those it has just left on yonder noisy sea. Should these ripples be caught and fixed by some tranquil- lizing and indurating agency, we would there have a vast forma- tion of wavy sandstone the origin of which might puzzle the student of earth's rocky mysteries to explain.
These sandy invasions are not found to an\' injurious extent north of Beirut, but as one goes south they become broader ami more continuous. They .spread far inland round the Bay of Acre. They begin again at Caesarea, and reach to the river 'Aujeh ; and then south of Jaffa, past Askelon and Gaza, they roll in their deso- lating waves wider and still wider, until the}- subside in the great desert that lies between Arabia and Africa. Let us ride up to the crest of that bold sand-wave, and take a look at this prosjiect. so
42 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
eminently Syrian. The local name of this desert of shifting sand is el Kalabat. Ibrahim Pacha told the Emir of Shuweifat that he had three different seas beneath his feet — the blue Mediterranean, this yellow Kalabat, and the silvery sea of that olive Sahra. All he saw is before us ; with the goodly Lebanon for the background, ris- ing range above range, up to where Sunnin lifts his snowy head to the blue firmament of heaven. Picturesque villages sleep at his feet, cling to his sides, or stand out in bold relief upon his ample shoulders, giving variety and interest to the scene.
We have now reached the extensive pine-groves in the suburbs of Beirut ; but, instead of passing through them, let us continue our course over the sands, and in half an hour we will reach the western part of the town, and our weary ride will be ended.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PROSPEROUS CITY OF SYRIA. 43
II. BEIRUT,
Beirut and its Surroundings. — The Plain of Beirut. — Goodly Lebanon. — Beirut from the Sea. — Beirut not a Biblical City. — History of Beinlt. — Colonia Augusta Felix Julia, Berytus. — Herod the Great. — Agrippa. — Titus. — Law School. — Earthquake. — Theo- prosopon. — The Crusaders. — The Saracens. — Miracle of the Holy Cross. — Palace and Gardens of Fakhr ed Din. — The Saraya. — Muhaninied 'Aly. — Bombardment of Bei- rut.— Population of Beirut. — Railroad. — Antiquities about Beirut. — Ancient Aque- duct.— Tunnel. — The Wife of Haroun er Raschid. — Ruined Temple at Deir el Ku- I'ah. — "The Smell of Lebanon." — Magnificent Prospect. — Roofs with Battlements. — The Holy Land and the Holy Book. — House-tops. — Samuel and Saul. — David's Palace. — The Inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the House-tops. — Proclamations from the House-tops. — The Year of Jubilee. — Peter Praying upon the House-top. — House- tops in the Time of Christ. — The .Sparrow upon the House-top. — In the Streets of Beirut. — Coffee and Coffee - shops. — Shopkeepers. — Pipe - stems. — Cigarettes. — The Letter -writer. — Writing and Writing Materials. — The Open Letter. — Seal Rings. — The Call to Prayer. — Moslems Praying in the Mosk. — Hypocrisy. — The Pilgrimage to Mecca. — Praying Seven Times a Day. — The Sanctimonious Judge. — Praying towards Mecca and Jerusalem. — Shops and Streets. — The Crowded Street. — Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water. — The Gibeonites. — Shaving the Head. — Paul at Cenchrea. — Barbers' Shops. — Street of the Auctioneers. — No Provision for Lighting the Streets. — Bidding the Guests to the Supper. — Dining amongst the Orientals. — Silting at Meat. — Rice, Stews, and Meats. — Etiquette at Meals. — Washing the Hands. — Elijah and Elisha. — Ceremonial Etiquette. — Pipes, Nargilehs, and Coffee-cups. — Talking to be Heard. — Garments, Ancient and Modern. — Elijah's Mantle. — Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. — Rending the Clothes.— Linen, Woollen, Cotton, and Silk. — Manners and Customs. — Boots and Shoes. — Putting off the Shoes. — The Head and the Feet. — Costume of the Women. — Domestic Relations. — The Harem. — Naming the Father after his Eldest Son. ^Significant Names, Ancient and Modern. — Sleeping without Change of Garments. — Co-operative House-keeping. — "Saving your Reverence." — Matrimony. — Sons and Daughters. — Marriage with Slaves.
May 2Sth.
Beirt!>t i.s .said to be not only the most prcspcrous city of Syria, but also the most beautiful; and as we escaped from the deep sand, and rode along the broad macadamized lanes in the southern suburbs of the town last ni"ht, with fine houses and well-
44 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
patronized shops on either side, and busy crowds of well-dressed natives, I could see ample corroboration of that statement.
The city itself and the surroundings possess that natural beauty and picturesqueness which never wearies, and is always remembered with delight, even by those who make but a short stay here.
That I can readily believe, and no wonder, for the scenery is on a scale so grand and so varied ; but it is almost impossible to get an adequate idea of the whole.
Follow me, then, to the terrace of our house, for it commands the entire prospect of the sea, the city, and the mountains.
The Bay of Beirut is truly magnificent, and the city is even more extensive and beautiful than I had imagined. How clear and transparent is the atmosphere, and how sharply defined are the hills and valleys, the villages, the houses, and even the rocks and trees on lofty Lebanon !
That snow on its summit is thirty miles away, and yet you could almost read your own name if written with a bold hand on its calm, cold brow. You perceive that the city and its suburbs are situated on the northern slope of a triangular plain, whose base-line is the shore, from Ras Beirut southward to Nahr el Yabis, some six miles distant on the road to Sidon. The perpendicular line runs in eastward from the Ras about five miles to the foot of Sunnin, at the end of St. George's Bay. The hypothenuse is the long line of the mountains from north-east to south-west. The entire plain is a projection seaward from the general direction of the coast, and along the base of the hills it is so low as to appear like an island to one sailing up from Sidon. The surface rises gradually from the south to the immediate vicinity of the city, where in some places it is about three hundred feet above the sea, and it falls rapidly down towards the roadstead on the north by a succession of broad and irregular terraces. It is that feature which imparts such variety and beauty to Beirut and its environs.
The substratum of the plain — a white marl, passing into com- pact limestone, and enclosing nodules of flint and thin seams of chert — is similar to that of the adjoining hills of Lebanon. Upon that rests a very large formation of arenaceous, unstratified stone, which is easily wrought, and hence has been used from time imme-
GENERAL VIEW OF BEIRUT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 45
morial for building purposes. It is mixed with comminuted shells and corals, and is very porous, absorbing water with great rapidity. This, indeed, is almost the only defect in that otherwise admirable building stone, for it renders the houses very damp in winter. The quarries are to the south-west of the city, and from them a broad belt of loose, movable sand stretches inward from the shore, quite down to the point at Nahr el Vabis. The south-eastern part of the plain is covered with a dense olive-grove, one of the largest and most productive in Syria, while in the centre are beautiful pine forests, planted, or rather sowed, by successive governors at differ- ent times, from the famous Druse chief, Fakhr cd Din, two hun- dred and fifty years ago, to the recent representative of the Sublime Porte at Beirut. In the suburbs, where they can be irrigated, there are gardens of orange and lemon trees: fig, almond, and apricot trees abound, and the mulberry-tree is found everywhere ; and here and there
The palm-tree rears his stalely head on high, And spreads his feathery plume along the sky ;
while the kharnub. sycamore, prickly oak, and many a bush and shrub of humbler name, cast abroad their grateful shade, and draw their green mantles over the lovely scene.
The view of the city from the roadstead on the north is the most impressive, I believe?
In that I entirely concur. Coming into the harbor at earl\- dawn, the scenery is grand, and even sublime. Goodl)' Lebanon, towering to a height of over eight thousand feet, with a diadem of stars around his snowy brow, with his head in heaven antl his feet upon the sea, looks like some august monarch of the universe, to be saluted with profound admiration and respect. And as morn- ing brightens to glorious day, what a magnificent panorama is re- vealed all around the city! The mountains of el Metn and tlic Kesravvan, on the east and north -cast, rugged, steep, and lofty, shaded with pine -forests, and dotted with villages, churches, and convents; the wild gorge of the Dog River, with snowy Sunnin beyond and above; the deep Bay of St. George sweeping around the base of the hills; the sandy ridge of Brummana, and Deir el Kul'ahjWith the deep ravine of Nahr Beirut; the hills of el GIhuI).
46 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
bold and bright against the southern sky, extending from Aleih to Abeih, with villages, hamlets, and factories, and terraced vineyards and fruitful gardens ; and the city itself, with its white houses facing seaward, some seated on overhanging cliffs, others grouped on verdant terraces and commanding hill -tops, or stowed away along retiring glens, half revealed, now quite concealed by mul- berry and China trees, and waving festoons of vines and cunning creepers of many colors — such is Beirut, under a bright and pure sky, with the glorious Mediterranean around it, and ships and boats of various nations sailing in and out or lying at anchor in the bay.
Is it probable that the Berothai of 2 Samuel viii. 8, from which "King David took exceeding much brass," was Beirut?
I think not ; nor is it likely that the Berothah mentioned in Ezekiel xlvii. i6, as one of the places in the northern boundary of the land of Israel, was this city. From the similarity of names, and the geographical position of both, Ezekiel's Berothah and Samuel's Berothai were probably identical, and, of course, neither of them was Beirut. Some go still farther back and assert that it was founded by the Giblites, or " stone-squarers," mentioned by Joshua, and also in the fifth chapter of i Kings.'
Since Beirut is not mentioned in the Bible, we must look else- where, I suppose, for evidences of its antiquity.
Nor are those altogether wanting. Stephanus of Byzantium ascribes the foundation of the city to Kronos, the harvest god, an origin, of course, mythical, but indicating the general belief in its extreme antiquity. Others claim for Beirut the distinction of be- ing one of the oldest of Phoenician towns. It was not, however, until the second century of our era that this place is mentioned, under its Greek name of Berytus, by Strabo, who relates that it was destroyed by Tryphon of Syria, and afterwards rebuilt by the Ro- mans. They established a colony here during the reign of Augus- tus, and it was called Colonia Augusta Felix Julia, Berytus.
Here, on the advice of Augustus, Herod the Great appeared in
court as the accuser of his two sons, whom he afterwards sent to
Sebaste, Samaria, where they were strangled. Herod Agrippa II.
adorned and beautified Berytus with colonnades, porticoes, theatres,
' Josh. xiii. 5 ; i Kings v. i8.
GLADIATORIAL SHOWS.— DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKE. 47
baths, and other pubhc buildings, and their remains are scattered over the gardens, and buried beneath the rubbish of the ancient city. It was in the theatres of Agrippa, I suppose, that Titus cele- brated his own victories over Jerusalem, and his father's birthday, by gladiatorial shows, in which the miserable captives of Zion per- ished in great numbers, fighting with wild beasts and with one another, as Josephus informs us.
Though none of the apostles appear to have visited Beirut, yet Ciiristianity was early established here, and this city became the seat of a bishopric. Under the Christian emperors of Constantino- ple it continued to prosper down to the reign of Justinian. It was then one of the most celebrated seats of learning in the empire, and its law-school, which flourished for a period of over three centuries, was frequented by youth from the first families in the state, and by graduates of the schools of Athens and Alexandria. Then, as now, was the golden age of Beirut's literary fame, and then, as now, it was the most beautiful city on this coast. But its decline commenced under the reign of that emperor.
On the 9th of July, A.D. 551, one of those awful earthquakes, which repeatedly shook the Roman world in the time of Justinian, seems to have entirely destroyed Beirut, overthrown her colleges, churches, temples, theatres, and palaces, and buried multitudes of the inhabitants beneath the ruins; and, although the city was re- built, it nev^er regained its former magnificence. You can scarcely walk through the gardens or dig a foundation for a house without coming upon the memorials of that dreadful calamity. It is amaz- ing to see how deeply some of those ruins are entombed, suggest- ing the idea that the very terraces on which such costl)' structures stood were upheaved and precipitated on those below. And this corresponds with the history of that fearful time. We are told that "enormous chasms were opened, huge and heavy bodies were dis- charged into the air, the sea alternately advanced and retreateil be- yond its ordinary bounds," and a mountain was torn from that bold promontory — then called Theoprosopon, the face of God. and now ■ Ras-esh Shukkah — and cast into the sea, where it formed a mole for the harbor of Batrun. Perhaps its Arabic name, implying the cape of the split or cleft open, may be a witness of that catastrophe.
48 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
Beirut shared in all the troubles and revolutions which accompa- nied and grew out of the conquest of this country by the Muham- medans. In the time of the Crusades, it was taken by Baldwin in 1 1 lo, and, during the two hundred years of Frank rule on this coast, it was several times captured and recaptured by Saracen and Christian. Since the close of the thirteenth century few signal events have happened to vary the monotony of its story. But in the eighth century an illustrious miracle spread the name and fame of this city far and wide. Some image-hating Hebrews, in scorn and mockery, attempted, it is said, to go through the acts of the Crucifixion upon a holy image and cross ; when, as they thrust a spear into its side, to their confusion and horror, a large quantity of blood and water gushed forth. Without resorting to supernatu- ral interference, a little manoeuvring, or a little money, could have set either real or spurious Jews at work to bring about the miracle. But Beirut has no need of such doubtful claims to immortality. Judging from the scanty and indefinite notices by the pilgrims of the mediaeval ages, the number of its inhabitants varied from five to ten thousand, engaged in commerce and in the manufacture of olive oil and soap, and the culture of silk, which for several cen- turies continued to be the staple productions of this region.
In the early part of the seventeenth century the famous Druse emir, Fakhr ed Din, " the glory of religion," established himself in Beirut. He is said to have filled up the port to prevent the land- ing of pirates; and to have planted the extensive pine -groves in the vicinity of the city. He built a large palace in the north-east- ern part of the town, and, after his return from Italy, he adorned it with ample gardens. That palace, though in a very dilapidated condition, is now the Saraya, or official residence of the Pasha, but the gardens have long since disappeared.
When Muhammed 'Aly wrested Syria from the Sultan, in 1830- '31, he made Beirut the chief quarantine station on the coast, and obliged all ships to come to this port. But during the month of September, 1840, the combined English and Austrian fleet bom- barded the castles and fortifications, and compelled the Egyptian troops, under Suleiman Pasha, to evacuate the place. Beirut was restored to the Turk ; and as European merchants were already set-
POPULATION OF BEIRUT.— ANCIENT AQUEDUCT. 49
tied here, and the foreign consuls had selected it for their residence, that Government made it the capital of the country. Forty years ago, when I came to Beirut, there was scarcely a house outside of the walls fit to live in ; now hundreds of convenient dwellings, and not a few large and noble mansions, adorn its beautiful suburbs, and two-thirds of the population reside in the gardens. The mas- sacres of i860 led many of the inhabitants of Damascus, the Leba- non, and elsewhere, to settle in Beirut, which added largel)' to its inhabitants, and many of the public buildings that attract the no- tice of visitors now have been erected since that deplorable event.
The population is now estimated at eighty thousand, more than one -half of which is made up of the various Christian sects and denominations. No city in Syria, perhaps none in the Turkisii Empire, has had so rapid an expansion. And it must continue to grow and prosper, with but one pro\'iso to cast a shade of doubt upon its bright future. Should a railroad ever connect the head of this sea with the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, that A\ill in- evitably dictate where the emporium of Syria is to be. If Beirut can attract that line of trade and travel to its door, it will rank amongst the important cities of the world ; if it cannot, then must it wane before some other rival queen of the East.
Are there many antiquities about Beirut?
There are columns and sarcophagi in abundance, and some of them have inscriptions which tell their own stor\'. .An ancient aqueduct has been discovered, cut through the rock, and passing beneath the city at Bab Y'akob. It must either have had a more permanent supply of water than at present, which fails in dry weather, when it is most needed, or have been connected wilJi the ancient aqueduct which brought water from Lebanon to Ber)-tus.
Are the existing remains of that ancient work extensive?
More so than most travellers, or even natives, are aware of. The supply of water for that aqueduct came from a fountain in the bed of the Beirut River, below Deir el Kul'ah. The aqueduct from it was conducted along the hill-side above the north bank of the river for a mile or more. It was then carried over the river upon a series of lofty arches. The first and lowest tier hat! onl\- two arches, the second three. The next tier above had fifteen, and the D
50
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
ANCIENT AQUEDUCT OVER THE BEIRUT RIVER.
■ ' \ fourth or highest tier had
twenty- five arches, and the canal upon them was about one hundred and sixty- feet above the bed of the river. The wall of the aqueduct was twenty feet broad, and was built of well-cut stone, and the entire structure must have presented a grand and very imposing appearance.
Though carried over the river at so great an elevation, the ca- nal, on the Beirut or west bank, met with perpendicular cliffs, and passed directly into them by a tunnel cut in the solid rock. I once crept into it a distance of a few feet, beyond which it is now choked up with rubbish. The tunnel, excavated along and within the face of the cliff, was conducted in a direction nearly north for a con- siderable distance, and at intervals of a few rods shafts were sunk from the top and covered over with massive arches, to prevent the
ANCIENT AQUEDUCT.— TEMPLE AT DEIK El. KULAM. 51
debris from the cliff falling into and choking up the canal. They are still quite perfect, and are amongst the best specimens of an- cient vaults. The great elevation of the aqueduct over the ri\er shows that the design was to carry the water to the highest terraces in the suburbs of Beirut, and that this was actually done is demon- strated by many channels which have been discovered in the gar- dens to the west and south of the city.
Descending to the margin of the plain, the canal was led along the base of the hills southward, past Khan esh Shiah, and thence westward to the vicinity of Beirut, and the water was distributed through many pipes to various parts of the city. As the plain west of esh Shiah is quite low, the canal had to be elevated by a long line of arches, erected upon a broad and massi\'c wall. It was built solid throughout, of large, well-squared stone, and was about fort\- • feet wide at the base. No traces of the arches now exist, but masses of tufaceous deposit remain formed by the trickling of the water through the aqueduct, similar to those along the ancient canals of Tyre and Acre. The wall itself, however, was nearly en- tire when I first came to this country ; but the rapid growth of Beirut created such a demand for building-stone that the greater part of it has been quarried and brought to the city. In that pro- cess, palm and olive trees, which had grown old upon the top, were undermined and thrown away; and where the work of quarrying has been completed, and the ground levelled, mulberry -trees are now flourishing upon it. The Arabs, as a matter of course, ascribe the building of that aqueduct to Sit Zebeideh, the wife of Ha- roun er Raschid ; but, whether constructed by Phoenicians, Greeks, or Romans, it was an admirable work, and a great blessing to the inhabitants of ancient Berytus.
What place is Deir el Kul'ah?
Deir el Kul'ah is the name of a Maronite convent situated on the southern termination of that bold ridge of Lebanon east of Beirut. It occupies the site of an ancient temjile, the walls of which have been thrown down to the very foundation, either by over- zealous Christians of early days, or b\' fanatical Moslems of later times. This must have been no easy achievement, for the walls were built with great blocks of hard breccia marljlc, from
52 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
eight to fourteen feet long, four broad, and five thick, resting on the everlasting rock of the mountain ; and it is evident that nei- ther earthquake nor any other known natural agency could have effected such an overthrow. With the single exception of Ba'al- bek, it must have been the largest and most splendid temple on or amongst these mountains. The body of the edifice was one hundred and six feet long and fifty-four wide, having a grand portico thirty feet broad on the west end, making the entire length from south- east to north-west one hundred and thirty-six feet. The portico was supported by a double row of columns, four in each row. The lower parts of four or five of these still stand upon their original bases, and are nearly six feet in diameter. There were no columns either on the east end or along the sides, but the portico must have presented a magnificent appearance.
Though fronting north-west instead of to the east, that temple was no doubt dedicated to Baal, like many others on and around Lebanon and Hermon. This is confirmed by Greek and Latin inscriptions found mostly built into the walls of the convent. In common with other visitors I have repeatedly transcribed them, and about a dozen have been discovered, copied and deciphered. One inscription in the kitchen of the convent, " being interpreted," reads: " Balmarkos, Sovereign, Lord of Sports." It is pleasant to find that his Sovereign Lordship assumed a character so amiable in presence of this beautiful city. It must have been a favorite resort of the Beiruteens for making " kaif," sport, and there I have found the aromatic "smell of Lebanon" exceedingly grateful, and the glorious prospect most exhilarating.
Seated on the very last ledge of that lofty headland overhang- ing the gorge on three sides, with the Beirut River two thousand feet below% the eye w^anders mountainward up two tremendous ra- vines to snowy Sunnin, over eight thousand feet high, on the north- east, and to Jebel Keniseh, more than six thousand feet high, on the south-east — a wilderness of gigantic cliffs and well -wooded ridges, where nestle many picturesque hamlets under oak-groves or amongst dark forests of fragrant pine. Southward, and westward, and northward lies the whole plain, with the city beyond, and the view has no other limit than the utmost horizon along the van-
HOUSE-TOrS.— ROOFS.— BATTLEMENTS.
DJ
ishing verge of the " great and wide sea." Such panoramic scenes can neither be painted nor described, they must be seen and felt. On the north of that site are the remains of an ancient town now covered and concealed by a thick grove of young oak-trees. To that town and to the temple at Deir el Kul'ah an aqueduct brought the cool water from its distant source north-east of Brummana.
HOUSE-TOrS, SHOWING ROOFS AND BATTLEMENTS.
The flat roofs of these Beirut houses afford such a delightful promenade, and the prospect is so beautiful, that one can scarcely keep away from them by day or night. So absorbed was I just now in gazing about and listening to your peroration, that, if it had not been for the parapet, I should have walked (juitc off the terrace, and then found myself on the ground below with a broken limb.
54 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
A very practical illustration, that, of the wisdom and humanity of the command in Deuteronomy xxii. 8 : " When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." That ordinance ought to be enforced by law wherever the roofs are flat, and resorted to for relaxation, for sleeping, or for business. . Roofs were appropriated to similar purposes at a very early age. Rahab had evidently placed her flax on the roof of her house, at Jericho, to preserve it ; and when the Hebrew spies were sought for by the men of that city, she " brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof."'
Ordinary houses have no other place where the inmates can either " smell the air," dry the clothes, set out their flower-pors, or do numberless other things essential to their health and comfort. This is particularly true within the city walls ; and in villages the roof is very useful. There the farmer suns his wheat for the mill, and the flour when brought home, and dries his figs, raisins, and other fruits in safety both from animals and from thieves.
Though we may have travelled beyond the limits of the Holy Land, I see abundant evidence that we are still surrounded by scenes and scenery that aptly illustrate the Holy Book ; and I am glad that it is so, for it is this that imparts the greatest interest to our rambles, and constitutes their chief value.
This land of Syria and Palestine — these mountains and valleys, hills and plains, rivers and lakes, the sea and the sky — claims no inherent attractions over other countries, and, the Bible left out, other parts of the world may surpass it in interest and importance. We must, therefore, ever keep in view the purpose and aim of our travels. Nor will that be difficult, for we shall continually be re- minded of it by many and varied incidents and experiences. This subject of house-tops is a very Biblical one, and will bear farther illustration by the actual habits of the people at this day.
For a great part of the year the roof, or " house-top," is the most agreeable place about the house, especially in the morning and evening. There many sleep during the summer, both in the
' Josh. ii. 6.
SAMUEL AND SAUL.— DAVID'S PALACE.— HOUSE-TOPS. 55
city and the country, and in all places where malaria does not ren- der it dangerous. This custom is very ancient. Though, according to our translation of i Samuel ix. 25, 26, Samuel calls Saul to the top of the house, that he might send him away, instead of from it, yet, taking the whole passage together, there can be no doubt but that the process should be reversed. The Arabic has it thus : Samuel " conversed with Saul upon the roof ; and early at the dawn Samuel called Saul from the roof," etc., etc. This is natural, and doubtless the correct history of the case. Saul, young, vigorous, but weary with his long search, would desire no better place to sleep than on the roof. But there should always be battlements, and they should be kept in proper repair. The Moslems generally build very high parapets, in order to screen their harem from ob- servation ; but the Christians are very negligent, and do bring blood upon their houses by a disregard of that law of Moses.
Your remark about the Moslems suggests the thought that if Uriah's house had been thus protected, David might have been saved from a series of crimes, and Israel from dreadful calamity.
True ; but then the roof of David's palace was probably so high that he could look directly down into the courts of the neighboring houses. There are such in most cities, and one can scarce!}' com- mit a greater offence than to frequent a terrace which thus com- mands the interior of other people's dwellings.
Isaiah has a reference to house-tops in the twenty-second chap- ter which I do not quite understand. He says, verse first, " What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house-tops?" For what purpose did the inhabitants of Jerusalem go there?
That is a remarkable passage. Verse second goes on to say, "Thou art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city;" from which one might suppose that the people had gone to the roofs to eat, drink, clap hands, and sing, as the Arabs delight to do in the mild summer evenings. But, from verses fifth to seventh, it is plain that it was a time of " trouble, and of treading down, and of per- plexity ;" which naturally suggests the idea that the inhabitants had rushed to the tops of the houses to get a sight of those chari- ots and horsemen of Elam and Kir, with whom their choice \'allcys were full, and who were thundering against the gates of the city.
^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
And, as Oriental houses have no windows looking into the streets, or, if there are such, they are closely latticed, there is no place but the roof from whence to obtain a view of what is going on without. When, therefore, anything extraordinary occurs in the streets the people rush to the roofs and look over the battlements.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem, at the time of that Assyrian in- vasion, were probably seized with frenzy and madness, as they were centuries after, when the city was besieged b}^ the Roman legions under Titus. Then, according to Josephus, some revelled in drunken feasts, and kept the place in alarm by their stirs and tu- mults; some were engaged in plunder and murder; some wept bit- terly, because of the spoiling of the daughter of God's people. It was a day of universal and utter confusion. Nobody could sit still, but all hurried to the house-tops, either to join in untimely riots of fanaticism and drunken despair, or to watch with fear and trem- bling the assault upon their walls and gates.
Was it not customary in the time of our Saviour to make public proclamations from the tops of the houses?
Such an inference may be drawn from Matthew x. 27, and Luke xii. 3. Our Lord spent most of his life in villages, and accordingly the reference there probably was to a custom observed only in such places, never in cities. At the present day local governors in coun- try districts cause their commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier as- cends the highest roof at hand, and in a long-drawn call admonishes all faithful subjects of the Prophet, within the hearing of his voice, to pray to him. He then proceeds with the announcement in a set form, and demands obedience thereto.
It w^as somewhat in this manner, I suppose, that the year of Jubilee was proclaimed throughout the land, according to the com- mand in Leviticus, twenty-fifth chapter and tenth verse.
The proclamation of that ordinance, so unique and unparal- leled in the legislation of the world, was to be made with trumpets. Whether straight, like those seen on the Arch of Titus, at Rome, or crooked, like those rams' horns with which the walls of Jericho were blown down, is not known. That joyful proclamation was
THE YEAR OF JUBILEE.— rRAVING UTON THE IIOUSE-TOr. 57
to be made by the priests, in the first instance ; but as it was to be made " throughout all the land," on one and the same day, the great day of atonement, it is scarcely possible that there were priests enough furnished with "trumpets" to sound the news in every village or hamlet, and in ever}' city and town in all their bor- ders. Maimonides tells us that every Hebrew at the Jubilee blew nine blasts, so as to make the trumpet literally sound throughout the land. Accustomed as I have been to proclamations made from house-tops by the human voice, I can fanc}* that the sound of the Jubilee trumpets from the Temple of the Lord would be instantly caught up and heralded abroad from ever}'' hill-top and mountain height, even to the utmost border of the land. The expectant and joyful nation would then neither need nor wait for the mere sound of trumpets and rams' horns, but the people themselves with their own glad voices would proclaim aloud the acceptable year of the Lord :
The year of Jubilee is come : Return, ye ransomed captives, home.
It is plain that the roofs were resorted to for worship, both true and idolatrous. We read, in Zephaniah i. 5, of "them that worship the host of heaven upon the house-tops ;" and from Acts x. 9 w'e learn that at Joppa " Peter went up upon the house-top to pray about the sixth hour," before the arri\al of the men from Caesarea.
All this is very natural. The Sabeans of Chaldea and Persia could find no more appropriate place for the performance of their idolatrous worship of the heavenly bodies than the open terraces, with the stars shining down upon them so kindly. And as few, if any, ancient dwellings had closets into which the devout could re- tire for prayer, I suppose Peter was obliged to resort to the roof of Simon's house for that purpose; and when surrounded with battle- ments, and shaded by vines trained over them, like those of the present day, they would afford a very agreeable retreat, even at " the sixth hour," or about noon — the time when Peter w'as favored witii that singular vision, by which the kingdom of heaven was throw 11 open to the entire Gentile world.
Our Lord says, " Let him which is on the house-top not come
58
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
TERRACE COVERED WITH VINES.
down to take any thing out of his house," ' Is it a correct inference from this that the stairway landed on the outside of the house?
Probably outside of the house, but within the exterior court. It would be neither agreeable nor safe to have the stairs land out- side the enclosure altogether, and it is rarely done, except in moun- tain villages, and where roofs are but little used. They not unfre- quently end at the lewan, but more commonly in some part of the lower court. The urgency of the flight recommended by our Lord is enhanced by the fact that the stairs probably did lead dou'ii into the court or lewan. He in effect says, though you must pass by the very door of your room, do not enter; escape for your life, without a moment's hesitation or delay.
' Matt. xxiv. 17.
THE SPARROW UPON THE HOUSE-TOP.— DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 59
No traveller in Syria will need an introduction to the sparrow on the house-top. They are a tame, troublesome, vivacious, and impertinent generation, and nestle just where they are not wanted. They stop up the stoves-pipes and water-gutters with their rubbish, build nests in the windows and under the beams in the roof, and would stuff your hat full of stubble if they found it hanging in a place to suit them. They are extremely pertinacious in asserting their right of possession, and have not the least reverence for any- place or thing. David alludes to these characteristics of the spar- row in the eighty-fourth Psalm, when he complains that they had
THE SPARROW,
appropriated even the altars of God for their nests. Concerning himself, he says, " I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top."' When one of them has lost its mate — a matter of every-day occurrence — he will sit on the house-top alone, and lament by the hour his sad bereavement. As these birds are not much relished for food, five sparrows may still be sold for " two farthings ;" and when we sec the eagerness with which they are destroyed as a worthless nuisance, we can appreciate the assurance that our heavenly Father, who takes care of them, so that not one can fall to the ground without his notice, will surely take care of us, who "are of more value than many s[)arrows."'
' Psa, cii. 7. '■' Matt. x. 29, 31 ; Luke .\ii, 6, 7.
6o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
Let US now descend from the house-top, and visit some of the shops and streets in the city.
A stroll through an Oriental town is always either amusing or instructiv'e ; and in no other way, I suppose, can a stranger gain so rapid an insight into the manners and customs of the people. We hav^e already passed several coffee-shops, with picturesque groups of natives, seated on low stools, or upon large mats, sipping black coffee from tiny porcelain cups, and sending forth clouds of smoke from long pipes, or from those wonderfully contrived and bubbling nargilehs.
You may regard the custom of frequenting coffee-shops with the greater satisfaction, because that mode of spending time and obtaining rest and refreshment is free from the degrading and ruinous vices attending saloons and dram-shops in other countries. I do not mean that everything indulged in by the frequenters of Oriental cafes is innocent. Many of them waste much time at card-playing and other methods of gambling. But even in those matters the stakes are insignificant, and the consequences not very mischievous. Until something better can take their place, we may pass on and leave the Oriental in peaceful possession of his cafe, and its cheap and harmless attractions.
Here is a shopkeeper whose small stock in trade consists en- tirely of coffee-cups, pipes, and tobacco.
As in other lands so it is here : many of the occupations of the middle classes have reference to the necessities and habits of the people. Next to him is another who has in his shop a small turning -lathe, by means of which he perforates long pipe -stems, and then fits them with bowls of colored clay, and mouth-pieces of glass, bone, or amber. The amount of capital invested in that business, and the gain accruing, is extremely small ; but those who follow such avocations are simple in their habits and frugal in their mode of life.
In the matter of smoking, as in others far more important, the people of Beirut have departed greatly from former customs. Amongst native Christians especially, the cigarette has taken the place of the more luxurious pipe, and the elegant and complicated nargileh. Still, there is quite a display of them in many houses.
THE LETTER -WRITER.
6i
THE LETTKR-WRITKR.
Here on our right is something sufficiently Oriental, I suppose, though there is no mention of such a custom in BibHcal times.
That old man sitting by the mosk is a letter-writer. He has his paper near him, and his scissors to trim it to the required shape and
62
THE LAND AND THE BOOK.
size. And now he takes the ink-horn, or what answers to that very- ancient article of the " scribes," from his girdle, and points one of those " reeds " so often mentioned by the sacred writers. All this seems Biblical enough. But there comes a woman, veiled from head to foot, and takes her station by his side. See, she is whis- pering from behind her veil the desired message. That is suffi-
WRITING AND WRITING MATERIALS.
LETTER-WRITING.— INK-HORN.— ORIENTAL LETTERS. 63
cient, the introduction consisting of complimentary phrases ; the salams, etc., go in according to rule, and to all alike.
Why, it is a kind of Moslem confessional, and that aged head must be full of the secrets and the scandal of half the city.
I suppose, like other confessors, he keeps the faith, and may be trusted. Still, letter-writing is not a thriving business in this coun- try, since even Moslem women are now learning to write.
The writing materials are very curious, and the mode of using them is peculiar, to say the least.
They do not carry ink-horns now, as the prophets and scribes of old did, but have a metal or ebony case for their reed pens, with a bulb of the same material, attached to the upper end, for the ink. That case they thrust through the girdle, and carry with them at all times. When they are to write a letter, for example, they open the lid of the ink -bulb, draw out a long reed pen from the case,
MODERN ARAB INK-HORN.
double over the paper, and begin from the right side, holding the paper in the hand, without any other support. To be very respect- ful, they