Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1880-07-06
Letter from Rev. DR.. HOge.
Correspondence Central Presbyterian

Letter from Rev. DR.. HOge. II
Correspondence Central Presbyterian II
DAMASCUS, May 9Th, 1880.
Messrs. Editors,-I doubt whether any
one ever made journey OF this length
with as little care and trouble, or with
more of unalloyed enjoyment. For the
first time since it commenced L am now
separated from the friends with whom I
have travelled. The lady land the life) of
our little party was so Wearled by the
long ride on horseback from Sidon to
Beirut that she was not willing to en-
counter the fatigue of the trip to Baalbek |
and Damascus, but preferred to rest at
Beirut, where there is so much to see
and enjoy, and her husband remaining |
with her. made arrangements for per-
forming the journey alone. Not alone |
either, for the Rev. DR.: Post of Beirut, |
to whose kindness 1 am indebted in
many ways, selected guide to accom-
pany me-a native Syrian, Farah NAH
loot, by name, whose native tongue is
the Arabic, and who also speaks Eng
lish very we'll. Without his aid as in
terpreter, l could not have engaged
horses on the road, or settled bills, or
found my way from place to place. Dur
ing all the trip l found Mahloof atten-
tive, efficient and honest. In this land
where all the men go armed, he carries
a revolver in his belt and a long knife
stuck in sheath on the inside of his
boot. Thus attended L left Beirut by
diligence at A. o'clock in the morn
ing, having secured a seat in the BAN
quette.
BAALBEK.
At II A. M, we arrived at Sh'tora,
where 1 left the diligence, and where
Mahloof hired horses for us on which to
make the journey to Baalbek. 1t is a
ride ordinarily performed in about seven
hours-and most interesting one it is.
The road is an Indifferent one, but good
enough for horseback riding, and runs
nearly all the way from Sh 'tora to Baal-
bek along a beautiful plain with the
great range of the Lebanon mountains
on the left and the Anti Lebanon on
the right. When there are no clouds
drifting across the sky the whole coun-
try is utterly shadowless, owing to the
absence of trees, and lies under the
bright glare of the sun, until towards
evening when the mountains begin to
cast their shadows on one another and
over the vast plain. Then the effect of
commingled light and shade is very fine,
and then the beautiful colors which
give such charm to Syrian landscape
come into play. AS we approached
Baalbek at the close of the day, all this
was displayed in its perfectio on, and
added greatly to the enjoyment of the
ride. Nopicture is more distinct in my
memory. The Lebanon mountains on
the north were covered with snow, tn c
sides were brown and red, and the plain
at the base was of vivid green. On
the south, the purple AntieLebanon
range was slightly yelled in mist, anG
directly in front rose the tall columns
which still surmount the ruined temples
of Baalbek amidst fringe of slim pop.
lar tree, stretching entirely across tbs
plain, from mountain to mountain.
found good quarters in the hotel Pal
myra, which was once the residence of 6
wealthy gentleman of Baalbek, before il
was converted into public house. L
is good specimen of oriental building
entered by low, narrow doorway
opening into a large, paved cour
through the middle of which runs s
rushing stream of clear water, with ar
oval basin in the centre where the watel
is whirled about in swift eddy, making
welcome sound. The rooms of tn,
house are ranged around the sides of tn,
open court, and stone stairway leads tt
the upper chambers in front of which il
a terrace paved with white marble, di
vided by narrow strips, marking it of
into squares and IOzenges. My chamber
had six windows on the lower tier and
three on the upper, with curious V
carved wooden cOrnice running around
the ceiling The diyan crosses the room
and the chairs were covered with yellow
silk, and all the furniture of the quaint
est and most antique style. [ saw NJ
one at the hotel Palmyra except the
italian servant girl who waited on me
the landlord not being at home. [ wa.
the only guest, and in the night the 81
lence was most profound, with the eX
ception of the pleasant splash of the wa
ter in the fountain. There is such {
thing as being alone and not being lone
ly. The next morning I surveyed tn,
vast ruins which attract travellers tt
Baalbek from every part Of the world
Nothing that [ saw in Egypt impressed
me more. [ sent Mahloof back to tn,
hotel that l might survey the ruins un
disturbed by the presence of any one.-
The great temple and the smaller tenn
pie of the sun close beside it, may have
been the work of the old Romans, bu
who laid the foundations of the more an
Gent structures once rising from them
and who were the engineers who could
raise stones of such magnitude and adj
just them in their places in the walls
Three of these stones which lie end tt
end in the same course, forty feet from
heground, measures respectively sixty
one, sixty-two, and sixty-three feet in
length, and thirteen feet in width, ant
there is another stone in the quarry
near by, land never removed from it,
which is seventy-one feet long, fourteen
wide, and thirteen feet thick. Three
vast columns in one of the temples an(
six in the other still tower over the
broken arches, capitals. and columns
which lie in indescribable confusion
around. There are no other ruins sc
grand, and in their very desolation they
are more impressive than any existing
structure. The modern Baalbek does
not differ in appearance from other Sy
rian towns, and will not waste time in
speaking of it.
ZAL'LEH.
The next night spent at Zal'leh,
large town built upon the upper slopes
of what looks like a mountain ridge
cleft in twain. The houses rise from thu
margin of the narrow valley up the in
clOnoc of tho rooupfoinS which form 6