The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1873-12-06


in the widest confusion, are heaped i'm
mense columns, some leaning, some broken,
some PROSTATE colossal capitals, archi-
trayes and lintels, beautifully wrought, NIL
lying in most magnificent chaos of gran
deur beauty and ruin. These two tenn
pies form the most extensive and beautiful
ruin in the world, excepting the Temple
of Karnak. At little distance from the
Great Temple is the Temple of Venus,
which is a perfect gem. 1t is n circular
celia, not more than twenty-five feet in
diameter, surrounded by row of marble
columns supporting cornice of most beau
tiful workmanship Itisin vain to attempt
an elaborate description Of these ruins. To
be appreciated they must be seen. Near
by, at the foot of anti-Lebanon, is the
quarry from which the immense stones for
its construction were obtained. One block,
seventy feet long, still remains there, cut
out more than fifteen centuries ago. Any
traveller going to Damascus will be amply
repaid for spending one or two days in
visiting Baalbeck.
The proprietor Of the hotel at Sthorer
will conduct travellers there and provide
for them over night for reasonable com
pensation. Resuming our journey again
by diligence, We mount and cross the anti
Lebanon range, $500 feet high. At about
three o'clock in the afternoon, as we begin
to descend towards Damascus, the valleys
and defiles of the mountains take a wild,
weird appearance, and the crags tower
above us, the picture of utter desolation
As we pass down We come into one lone
valley, called the Valley of Death, where
robbers have haunted and murdered for
ages. The valley is confused mass of
broken rocks and towering crags, with
numerous caves and hiding places for ban
ditti. Not dwelling or a green thing is
to be seen. Suddenly, as you turn around
a crag, you come upon little stream with
fringe Of green on its banks. You fol
low its windings down. The valley be-
comes wider and wider, and filed with most
beautiful trees and flowers. This little
stream, which makes the desert to blossom,
is the Arbana. Follow its pure and war
bling current and it will conduct you
through fairy scenes of beautiful orchards
Of apricots, fragrant gardens, and smiling
fields to the very heart of Damascus. As
you 90 down this beautiful valley on the
smooth, broad road, horses, driver and
passengers are full of exhilaration and
with the sound of the horn, the crack Of
the whip, and the full gallop of fine
team, we come into Damascus, the most
ancient city of the world This little river
of Arbana, not twenty feet wide, is what
has made Damascus a city, a beautiful
garden in the midst of desert, and this
has preserved its existence so many thous-
ands Of years A river in these hot cimes
is what fine harbor is on the sea coast.
Little rirulets and canals, taken off from
the Arbana, and directed through all parts
Of the city, water innumerable gardens,
and give flowing fountain to the court
Of almost every house in Damascus
Every house in Damascus, of any preten-
sion, has court around it, in which are
blooming orange and lemon trees and
exquisite flowers, while fountain is
throwing up its cooling spray in the cen
tire. Larger houses have fine garden
filed with trees, with little stream Of |
pure water purling throughit. The whole
city is filled with gardens and fountains
The inhabitants who have no such home
comforts close their shops at three O'Clock
and repair to the public gardens, where
they take their coffee and spend the rest
of the day in these shady retreats, where
there is constant music of birds and of |
streams The women go with their fam
lilies to these gardens and spend the after
noon and evening, taking their food with
them. This outdoor life seems blessed !
resource in these hot climates. Here they I
have their amusements, and during the
evenings bands of music are playing under
the trees, which are lighted up with Ian
terms of different colors. Everything is
Eastern, fairy and delightful, externally.
The most noticeable features, internally,
in Damascus are its gardens, fountains and
bazaars. The bazaars contain the light
fabrics of all nations, from Lowell prints
to the richest cashmeres of Thibet, and all
the intervening wares Of all intervening
nations. Here ladies' like to purchase
jewelry, embroidered table covers and
fabrics worked with gold and silver thread.
Externally, Damascus is an oasis in a des-
ert. The River Arbana runs through it,
and Parphar about three miles to the
south. Their banks, as they stretch out
into the desert, are lines of living green
amid the sandy wastes, on the northeast of
the city Extending up from anti-Leban-
on, far out into the desert, is II range of
most desolate, forbidding-looking rocks,
looking from their aridness like mountains
of salt, with broken rocks piled in everlast-
ing confusion around their bases. To the
southwest rises Hermon, and to the east
lies the desert waste. Only one building
in Damascus possesses any great attrac-
ton for its magnifcencc, and that is the
Grand Mosque.
This was once an immense heather tenn
pie. Afterward, as was customary where
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