The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-02-23
IN MODERN DAMASCUS.
the Charming PietuResQue
Ba1aP1.

Cross-legged upon red velvet couch
the citizen of Damascus smokes his
cigarette or nargileh, sips his coffee or
araki-a strong drink favored with anise
scotland looks dreamily out upon the
world. In the heat of the day his IA
worite retreat is the shadow of orange
or mulberry trees On the banks of those
rivers which Naaman preferred to ''alI
the waters of Israel" The ripping
Barada is flute note in the lazy drone
of conversation. When the dark blue
shadows have crept down the noun
tains the Damascene seeks the crowd
ed street or square and his long robes
and turban are added to the bright
lines that extend in front Of the cafes
There he sits for hours without open
ing his lips, except to draw in the thin,
acrid smoke of the hubble bubble.
Thus the sober citizen takes his pleas
ure.
If he is "a young man about town"
lie may plunge recklessly into the ex-
elements of the cafe chantant, and,
still with coffee and nargIieh before
him, listen to adaptations of western
songs and sketches" sung and played
by Greeks and Da1matians. Women
may not share these public amuse-
ments, and not even a progressive
county councillor could find fault with
the performance. It is blameIessIy
dull, and as respectable and almost az
stupid as suburban drawing-room
party. The only difference is that all
the ladies smoke-openly-and that
the dancing girls would shrink from
the skirt dance. Like the japanese
geislas and the Indian nautch dancers,
they seldom move their feet from the
floor.
Not even in Damascus, where nature
has laughed and been radiant for CEN
turtles of centuries, the oriental is dull
person whose features rarely relax
from their intent look of dignifed con-
temptation. There is only one place
in which he appears natural man,
and that is the bazaar. There, in these
long passages with vaulted roof. life
palpitates hot blooded. Sleek Syrian.
hungry Turk. apple-cheeked Druse
and stately Bedouin are men and wom-
en- when they come to barter. The ba-
Ears of Damascus are famous in the
east. Their Importance has become
less since the opening of traffic in the
Red sea and the Persian gulf, yet their
picturesque interest is still great. They
form labyrinth of courts and arcades,
open to the sky or under lofty-vaulted
roof-arcades long, straight and broad,
with modern shops; arcades narrow.
winding and ancient, with dark re-
cesses where figures in turbans and
long robes squat among the merchan-
disc thumbing the koran or reciting
prayers.
As in western Europe, when trades
were guilds, each set of merchants had
its own quarter. though the tendency
is to remove these landmarks. There
is, for example, the silk bazaar, where.
unless you haggle over paras, you are
likely to pay dear for embroideries and
delicate tissues of Damascus and A1ep-
pc. The goldsmith's bazaar is disap-
pointing. It is gloomy court with
beggarly array of coins and antiques"
in locked cases. The sound of the
hammer leads one to the coppersmith's,
who make those enormous trays with
which the peasants and Bedouin meas
ure their neighbours hospitality. Mar.
row strips Of Persian carpet, "Damas-
Gus" blades forged at Solingen, GRIM
son leather slippers embroidered with
silver thread, gaudy saddles and
brides, catch the eye as one canters
through arcade after arcade.-London
Standard