Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-06-28
SCENES IN SYRIA.
CORRESPONDENCE OF TER Rev
DIR. DWINEIL..
The City Of Damascus = Ruins OF
Baalbec-Efoant Lebanon and
Other Points Of Interest.

and published in the Bulletin, Rev /. &.
Dwinell, DID,, refers to scenes along his
| trip through Syria as follows:
Damascus has remarkable physical
| origin and dependence. 1t has d population
| of 125, 0OO The Mussulman boasts of $50
mosques and 600 minarets in it. There are
fine schools of theology, Jurisprudence and
philosophy for the defense OF the Noham
| medan faith and the study of the Koran. 1t
| is regarded by the Arab from the deserts as
an earthly paradise, and it furnished Mo-
manned the suggestion of his ideal of the
celestial paradise Yet this city, with its
countless tropical groves and playing fount-
aims and teeming Oriental life-the richest
and the most Oriental of all the cities of the
East-standing on the western side OF the
great Syrian desert, really springs from be-
| meath the mountain rocks of Anti Lebanon.
| The water which gives life to Damascus
| comes forth as a great fountain, which, as if
| hurrying from some mighty subterranean
! conflict, issues, roaring and foaming and
tumbling, full-grown river, much as the
! Jordon issues from Mt. Hermon, but from
narrower opening through the rocks, with
more violence and percipitancy and more
eagerness to get away No wonder it is in
| haste to come abroad 1t is not, however,
| its mission to find freedom and escape from
! what is behind, but to discharge the bless
| ing hidden in it below. In it and the
smaller stream uniting with it few yards
| below-the ALBANIA of ancient times, the
| Barada of modern-are hidden all " the
promise and potency of Damascus. Moth
ing else physically has made this
PARADISE ON THE DESERT
A possibility and spread it out with all its
| 1ifa and hSantv on the
sands. On our way to Baaibec we follow
up the smaller of these streams, which still
carries the joint name, the Barada, through
much wild scenery among the spurs OF
Anti Lebanon; but all along the stream
small, beautiful valleys open out here and
| there, covered with verdure, in each of
which nestles village-the series resemb-
| ling string of pearls on thread Of silver
when seen at distance, but the vision of
| beauty dissolves when seen close at band.
| In crossing Anti-Lebanon, from some OF
| the high points overlooking the large val
| leys between this range and the Lebanon
range we had some most unique and pleas
ing scenery. This valley, formerly called
| Coelesyria, is thirty or forty miles long and
| from four to ten wide, and Baalbec is ct
| the head Of a branch of ii looking towards
the east and near the north end Of the main
valley.
| MOUNT LEBANON COUNTRY.
At this time many of the fields had been
freshly piowed, others were in all stages of
cultivation, and our eyes took in the whole
range OF the valley for miles up and down
| and across, as the lands were cultivated far
| up the sides of Lebanon opposite US towards
| the regions covered with snow, in one con-
| tinuous, broad, thick belt. The result was
| that the whole landscape in the valley and
up the mountain side was splendid mo-
| sale of more colors than l ever elsewhere
saw blended in one view There was the
| black earth of the freshly plowed alluyial
soil of the center of the valley; then fields
of brown of all shades; then above them
| the terra cottas higher the grays, then the
white; intersperSed with these, in the por-
| ton under cultivation, were fields in all
stages of green and yellow and other fields
brilliant with flowers. Now remember that
| this valley is very fertile and is laid off and
worked in small, regular fields, without
fences or visible seams, and that we were
above it and looking down on it, and that
the scene was further s0fened by the rich,
mellow Syrian light idealiZng the whole
vision; and imagine this carpeting of ma
ture, in regular figures and brilliant colors,
stretching away fox miles till your eyes are
weary looking for the end, and such car
pet you will have before you as you never
saw equalled for brilliancy and purity of
color in any parlor. If the view from the
| minaret on the Mount of Olives is the most
impressive have ever seen, that on the top
of the hill back of Nazareth the most filed
with recognizable points Of sacred story,
that on the precipicc above the Sea of Cali
lee the most beautiful, this is the most
fairy like.
THE BUNS or BAALBEC.
But now we are in sight of Baalbec, We
hasten on. A strange sensation comes over
me as ! enter among these ruins. am
awed. more than curious. The immense
Corinthian columns, with the topping
architraveS, frieze and cornice throwing
their weight far moro on one side than the
other-six of them standing alone in row
sheer up in the air sixty feet, with that
nodding visor of massive rock seventeen
feet high on their heads in addition; the
massive fragments of capitals, pillars and
hewn rocks. once parts of grand temples,
lying thick about ME over acres Of ground
the clear outlines and walls, and peristyle
on one side of the smaller temple in the
grand temple area; the cyclopean walls
which still surround this area, the lower
and larger portions of which | see at
glance are the work of the ancients these
things are speaking to me now with voices
from another world, and / must hear. The
old Roman, the newer and builder and or
ganizer, is before me, lifting up these rocks
into Chiseied symmetry and beauty ! see
him wherever he marches his legions, Civ
ing laws, building roads, throwing aque-
ducts across the country on enduring stone
columns and arches, spanning rivers with
masonry, erecting columns to be seen
through long distances and ages, and rails
ing temples which the rayageS of time re-
spect He is here | shall not attempt d
description OF the ruins at Baalbec. 1t
would be confusing to one who has not seen
Their, they are 50 many, so various, so com
plicated. There are great stones here built
in the wall nineteen feet from the ground,
sixty-four feet long and thirteen feet high,
and as many thick Three Of them, the
largest stones ever handled, it is said, and
built into masOnary, and yet the dressing
so accurate that hardly any joint is visible
where they connect with the other parts of
the wall. There are sights at every turn
that excite wonder and admiration.
ANCIENT TEMPLES.
1t IS generally supposed that of the two
ancient temples in the area, the smaller and
later one, which is now in very good state
of preservation, was the Temple of the Sun,
and the larger one, which is PROSTATE, with
the exception of the six grand columns
which overlook the whole place and region,
was devoted to the worship of Jupiter.
This think a mistake. Baalbec from the
earliest historical period, as its name shows,
was devoted to Baal-worship, and that was
sur-worship. Sun worship was the feature
of the place, and gave the name to the
place, and the older and larger and more
imposing temple, occupying the central and
higher position, and looking directly out
towards the east, would naturally be de
voted to that worship. The other temple is
much smaller, and in a much lower subor-
dinate position, and while facing east was
farther back and did not advance to the
front to be first to greet the rising god of
the day. 1t bears evidence in the dispro-
portionate swell of the Corinthian columns
above the base, in the grouping of different
STYLES of architecture, in the ornamentation
ofthe temple walls in the interior, one side