New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-09-22

Here all e0rts OF common Sums eno aN"s's "ev
sold, and the street was flied with crowds q
Felahs and Desert Arabs. Two large sycsmorcs
shsded il, and the Seraelio Of the Pasha OF Da-i
msscus, plain two story building faced the en-
trance Of the main bazaar, which brsnched OF
into the city. w. turned into THE, and after pass
ing through several small bazsars. stocked with
dried fruits, pipes and pipebowis, groceries, &C..
reached a large passage, covered with a steep
wooden roof. and entirely occupied by vendors Of
silk stuffs. Out of this we passed through smother,
devoted TO saddles and brides; then another. fun
Of spices and at last reached the grand bazaar,
where all the richest stufs Of Europe and the East
were displayed in the shops. We rode wiy along
through the cool twilight, crossed here and there
by long pencils Of white light falling through aper-
lures in the roof and illuminating the gay turbans
and silk caftans Of the lazy merchants. But ous
Of this bazaar, at intervals opened the grand gate
of Khan giving US view Of its marble court il
fountains and the dark arches OF its store rooms;
or the door Of mosque with its mosaic door and
pared corridor The nterminable lines of bazaar,
with their atmospheres of spice and fruit and fro.
grant tobacco; the hushsd trs ad Of the slppered
crowds; the plash of falling fountains, and the
bubhlpg of innumersble nsrghilehs; the pistar-
esque merchants and their customers, no longer
in the big trowsers of Egypt, but the long caftans
and abas of Syria the absence ofFrank faces and
Dr., sses-in all these there was the true spirit OF
the ORIENT, and 90 far, we were charmed with
Damascus.
At the hotel in the Soog el-Harab, or Frank
quarter, the Illusion was not dissipated. IL had
once been thu house Of some rich merchant. Tho
court into which we were ushered was paved with
mu ble snd had in the center great stone basin,
surrounded with vases Of ho~ering plants. Two
large lemon trees shaded the entrance, and av'nc,
climbing to the top OF the house, made leafy
srbor the fiat roof The walls Of the houso
painted in horizontal bars of blue, white. orange
and white-a gay grctosqueness of style which
| does not offend the eye under an eastern sun. On
| the southern side OF the court is the iirdn, an
| arrangement for which the houses Of Damascus
are noted. Its Awaited apartment, 20 feet high.
entirely open toward the court except a foe
| pointed arch at the top. decorated with encaustic
ornaments of the most brilliant colors. In front,
a tesselated pavement Of marble leads to the doors
of the chambers each side. Beyond this is
| raised floor covered with mating, aud along tho
farther end divsn, whose piled cushions ara tho
|
Although not naturally indolent, find il mpos-
sble to resist the fascination Of this lounge.
Leaning back, cross-legged, against the cushions,
with the inseparable pipe in ones hand, the view
of the court, the water basin, the flowers and
lemon trees the servants and drsgomen going back
and forth, or smoking th'ir narghilehs in the
sbade-al framed in the beautiful archcd en-
trance. is so perft city Oriental, true tableau
i,om the times of good old Haroun Al-Raschid,
that one is surprised to find how many hours
have slipped away while he has been silently en-
joying it.
Opposite the Htcan is large room paved with
marble, with handsome fountain in the center.
Ii is the finest in the hotel, and now occupiedby
Lord Dalketh and his friends. Our room is on
the upper floor and is rich in decorations that
have not yet finished the study Of them. Along
the side looking down the court, we have
mosaic floor of white, red, black and yellow mar
bile. Above this is raised second floor, carpeted
and furnished in European style. The walls, icrs
height Of 10 feet, are covered with wooden panel
ing, painted with arabesque devices in the gayest
colors and along the top there is a series of Ara
bic inscriptions in geld. There are number OF
inches or open closets in the walls. whose arcbed
tops are adorned with pendent wooden ornaments,
resembling stalactites, and at the corners OF tho
room the heavy gided and painted cornice drops
INTO similar grotesque in;rustations. space OF
bare white wall int. rvencs between this corni;o
and the ceiling, which is formed Of slim poplar
| logs, laid side by side and so covered with paint
| and with scales and stripes and network devices in
| gold and silver, that one would take them to be
the magic serpents that guard the Valley OF Dm-
nonds. My most satisfactory remembrance Of
| Damascus will be this ROOM
NV walks through the city have been almost
entirely confined TO the bazaars, which Of i'm
| mense extent. One can walk for many miles,
without going beyond the cover Of their peaked
wooden roofs, and in all this round will find no
| two precisely alike. One 10 devoted entirely to
| sosp another TO tobacco through which you
cough and sneeze your way TO the bazaar OF spices,
and delightedly inhale it's perfumed air. Then
| there il the bazaar of sweetmeatsj ofyegetables;
Of red slippers; Of shawls; Of caftans; Of bakers
and ovens of wooden ware; of je~el'y-a great
stone building, covered with vaulted passages;
of A,ppo silks; of Bagdad carpets; of Indian
stuffs; of coffee and so on, through seemingly
endless variety. As have already remarked,
along the line Of the bazaars are many khan, tho
resort Of merchants from all parts OF Turkey and
Persia, and even India. They are large. stately
buildings, and some Of them have supsrb gate
WAYS of scuptured marble. The interior courts
are paved with stone, with fountains On the CEN
ter. and many of them are covered with domes
resting on massive pillars. The largest has a root
of nine domes, supported by four grand phlafs'
whico enclose fountain. The mosques INTO
which no Christian is allowed TO enter are IN gen.
enl inferior to those Of Cairo, but their outer
courts are always paved with marble, adorned
with fountains, and surrounded BY light and ele-
cant corridors. The grand mosque 10 an imposing