Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-09-09
TENSIONS TRAVELS.

miles to the summit Of Lebanon:
The const of Tyre and Sldon occupied
anciently the central and most popu-
lnus portion Of Phoenicin. me noun
tains, towering 10 the regions OF per,
petual snow and ice, with the graceful
sweep Of their waving SUBMITS Stop.
ing sides and mountain del!s covered
with the richest Verdure, adapted 20
every cline. to Alpine frosts, to tropl-
cal suns. and the ocean sleeping nj us
base. or dashed into fury by the tenn
pest, form succession OF Eopuy
prospects, 80 grand, 30 beautiful SO
cndlossly diversified, as to charm the
dullest eye and klndle into poetic FER
vor the coolest heart. Numbefless
mountain streams flow down TO fcrtil-
lie the narrow plain Of the const' ana
open hnrbOrs for a bnundless COM
merce.
Phoonlcia is believed to have been
settled coon after the deluge; ana II
became the earliest and most re-
nowned commercial region OF an
tlquity. when the Israelites conquer
ed the country this coast was ooeu-
pied by powerful maritime towns
which. though given by the Lord TO
the Jews for an inheritance. main,
tanned their Independence through aIl
the vicissitudes and aggression OF the
Jewish nation.
The town OF Beyrout seems original
~ to have been unimpOrtant, ana al
though mentioned by the Greeks pc
fore Alexander is not named in the
history OF the campaigns OF that mon
arch In the second century before
Christ Berytus 1.-THE original name oil
BeyruuD Is said to have been entirely
destroyed In consequence OF a feDeI-
lion against Antiochus VII; but the
Romans afterwards rebuilt II, intro
duccd colony and mined 1t Augusta
Felix after the emperor AUGUSTUS
with view to please his friends. the
Romans, Hcrod Agrippa embellished
l}crytus with baths and theaters, ana
caused gladiatorinl combats to he eN-
hlbitcd there. After the destruc-
ton OF Jerusalem, Titus also
caused numerous Jews to enter the
Lists against one another ut ljerytus.
In the middle of the third century at
ter Christ Roman school OF law
which afterwards became very cele-
| brated, began TO flourish here. The
| trade Of the place was also considera-
| bic, and the Roman empire was at
! that time furnished with silk inbfics
| from Bcrytus nud Tyre. In go Berry
| tus was destroyed by an earthquake
1 after which the town was never re-
| built In its ancient magniilcence, ana
| its school OF law was never re-eslhb-
! lished. In 600 II was stlI in rulns,and
| w. 63S II was taken with case by the
| AlO8lcms In 1925 II was captured by
| the Crusaders under Baldwin. and
| tfillfUiN M LlflI llN6FtHhlbll WIN AtANlN
| intcrmlssion down to the battle OF
! Hattiu In 1881. Beyrout was for a time
| the residence Of the Druse princeFakhr
| ed-Din. This able man by abusing
| the confidence of the Porte, succeeded
| IN founding an independent Kingdom
| for blmscf. He banished the Beduins
and allied himself with the Nenetinnsi
| the natural enemies OF the Turks.
| Beyrout was his faVoritc residence.
and the environs are said to have been
! his gardens. lie favored the native
| Christians aud promoted trade. But
| he was finally captured by the Turks
/ and straugltd at STEAMBOAT The Druss
/ control Of }cyrout terminated about
! 1880 when Emir Bcshir was defeated
/ and hunished, since which the Turks
| have been in possession. Under it's alter
/ Cd circumstances II at length became an
| circumstances II at length became an
| important seaport, while Sidon and
| Tripoi declined. Many OF the Chris
! tians were murdered in Beyruut dur
| ing the general massacre of Christians
| throughout Syria in 1850: but since then
| many European Christians have set
tied ia the city, which has greatly in
| creased in extent. Beyrout now has Il
| good hnrbor, and there are so many
| Icuropcan buildings and other Eu-
| rupeun improvements that the place
! has loft many or It's oriental charac-
tcrestics In part
Syria. in the ordinary modern sense
of thu name. consists Of a long and
narrow district of country lying ON the
east shore OF the Mediterranean. eN
tending from the highlands Of the
| Taurus on the north 10 Egypt on the
! south, between 80 degrees. o minutes
I and 81 degrees north latitude, dis
| taucc Of $40 miles This Includes Pales-
| tine. The country is divided lengthwlse
| into several regions of very different
| character, From moth, to south eN-
tends n range OF hills uud mountains,
broken by hut few transverse valleys.
70 tn. west az these mountains lies
the seabuard Of the Mediterranean
To the cast IL the great Syrian desert
watered, Yields the most luxurious pro
due q. This IL the great interior of the
country and is called desert because
Of It's lack Of water; IT extends at q
mean level Of about 1900 feet 20 the
nrighhorhOud OF the river Euphrates
and is inhabited by independent nom
adic Beduins, IT Is trdversed by nun
eruus caravans. II Syria Is taken il
it's strict sense as meaning that par
Of the country which Is cultivated
It's eastern limit is the desert and h
therefore but vaguely defined.
owing to the great inequalities II
the surface Of the country the climat
varies greatly in different parts o
syria The year as Il rule consists on
~ OF two seansons: the rainy and tn
dry. Spring which is the most pleas
ant part OF the year, last from tn
middle Of March till the middle Of MAY
From the beginning of May TO the en-
of October the sky Is almost unlnter
ruptodly cloudless. Thunder and raj