The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-29
A VISIT TO DAMASCUS
A TRAxslER ,WRiFEsi or Nfs.Ar f+s
SAW N THIS FAMOUS oTv.

SAW w THIS FAMOUS 0Tv.
ia Extensive and Interesting BaGaass-Ghs
Wouaerrol Walls Of Damascus and tho
View Ono Has From Thesn--Ghe uoham-
medan Women and Their nfasks,
The bazaars of Damascus are quito
extensive and more interesting than
those Of Cairo, with which they npe ire
quently compared. because they are en-
t1rely untouched by European nflu-
'enccs They arc generally covered, and
some Of them haVo lofty roofs. In them
are found all tho products Of the cast.
Caravans 80 from here. 10 Bagdad and
beyond, and great deal Of merchan-
disc is carried to aud fro. There arc spo-
c1al largo, pretentious buildings, with
numerous domes, in which wholesale
trade Is carried on It was rainy day
when we first went through tho bazaars,
and we appreciated the advantages Of go
ing shopping under cover.
The largest bazaar Is in "the street
called Straight F" It's great roof extends
for 1000 feet with small shops Oh each
side 1t bswide enough for carriages.
BY the way, this street is straight
though Mark Twain mnlo a reelection
Indicating that the expression In the
Biblo (seo Aots) was ironical Tho con-
Sui who represents the United States
government i'll Damascus is Syrian,
and that fact makes him q permanent
officer. He is not Obliged to turn over
his office 10 somebody else when u new
administration comes into power.
He received us very politely and de-
tailed q 'kawass" "a sort of official mil
itary escort-to attend us while wo re-
manned in the city. This Is rather desir-
able, as it insures respectful treatment
Without such an escort we might have
unkind remarks thrown at Us, though
we should not understand them The
"kawass' could not talk English, but
another young man from the consul's
Office also went with us He spoke Eng
lish and was an intelligent and agree
able guide He took US to sec tho into
riors of two very handsome houses, one
Mohammedan' and the other Jews
We did not sec tho proprietor Of the
first, but tho Jew took US into his libra
~ and showed us copies Of tho Jewish
Scriptures Oh double rolls, AS tho road
or proceeds he uIrolls from ono to tho
other. We also visited an English mis-
sion school for girls, III which the pupils
had pretty and bright faces They are
mostly Crock Christians, but our ska
wass, " VINO is n Mohammeda1l, seemed
to take great pleasure III pointing out
his daughter in one of tho classes.
Of the walls Of Damascus only tire
lower courses date from Roman times.
Above these courses is Arabian work,
and, still higher, Turkish 1t is rather
unfavorablo to strong emotions when
looking at the place where Paul was let
down to observe that this part of tho
wall is Turkish, not moro than 800
years odd.
About tho most satisfactory thing we
did i'll Damascus was ride to the
northern suburbs, where from tho slope
OF hill we got % fine view of the whole
irrigated valley, with the city set in a
frame f verdurc. All outside of this
was brown and barren. Tho domcs and
minarets of the city make very pretty
picture, i'll the center Of which stand
the citadel and the great mosque, which
was partially destroyed by fire only last
year. Our guide pointed out to us the
caravan roads to Mecca and Palmyra,
extending across the great desert to the
horizon This view gave us by far the
best idea OF Damascus and its surround
lnSs. Twenty miles away we caught the
CLEAN Of lake, into which the Barada
(the ALBANIA of Scriptures) pours its flood.
Except in the spring it is rather mo-
rass than lake.
Our hotel. at Damascus, tho Hotel
DiamatTi- Kara, WIS formerly the palace
of wealthy pasta, and it contained in
teresting specimens of decorative work
Of the first class 1t is very well kept
far better than any hotel in Jerusalem.
In fact, the Jerusalem hotels arc the
poorest we have encountered so far in
our travels Our Damascus hotel was
built around q central court, embolhsh-
eel by handsome fountain and orange
and lemon trees. Every window OH the
street in Damascus, the streets being
narrow. Is covered by wooden lattice
You can hook out through it, but you
CanIOt 500 into the room across tho way
1t is considered very improper to raise
this lattice You might see q Mohe,n-
medan woman, or she might see you,
which would make trouble. A very DO
ouliar effect is produced by figured
muslin which many of the Mohamn,e-
dan women wear over their faces. 1t
makes them look like masqueraders
with masks You SEQ something that
looks like features, but it is not. A
roguish eye may be twinkling under the
gauzy material, but it is completely dis
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