The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-24
MODERN Lebanon CEDARs.
Survivors of the Groves That Are
Celebrated in Biblical History.

Survivors of the Groves That Are
Celebrated in Biblical History.
From the Chicago Record-Herald.
AT an elevation of about 5000 feet
above the sea, on the left of the road
to Baalbek, is a group of the noblest
specimens of the vegetable kingdom in
the East, which are believed to be
thousands of years old and the rem
nant of the far-famed cedars of Leb-
anon, of which David and Solomon
sang, and from which came the tim
bers for the temple.
Djebel-el-Arz (the mountain of the
cedars), which rises 1900 feet, is gen.
orally covered with snow, and to-day
is draped in mantle of unusual thick
ness, which trails way into the forest
and the foothills; for there were
heavy rain and sharp frost last night.
AS l have explained before, the term
Mount Lebanon is misleading There
is no peak of that name, which is APP
piled to lofty range with several con-
spicuous SUBMITS extending about 100
miles from the neighborhood of Dam
ascus to the sea and being about TWEEN
ty-tive miles broad from base to base.
The most elevated peaks are those that
l have just named, Mount Hermon,
1888 feet; Daharel-Kudhib, 10000 feet;
Jebel- Makmai, 1905; Ell Miskych, TO-,
OBJ; FHm-e Mizab, $500; Sannin, $500
feet. These peaks are broken by rug
ged ridges, precipitous cliffs and deep
gorges. A parallel range, which does
not reach so great a hight, is known
as Anti-Lebanon.
OF all the mighty forests which for
merly covered the slopes of Lebanon
only five remain to-day, and they are
limited in area. The Hottest trees and
those most celebrated for their anti
guilty are found near the town of Be
cherre at an altitude of $500 feet and
are known as 1.-THE Cedars of Cod
THE Cedars of Lebanon which He
hath planted" and according to the
botanists who count their ages by the
circles in their trunks, they are 5000
or 1000 years old. Like the immortal
cliffs that tower above them, they have
watched the passage of a procession
of Kings down the centuries led by
David, Solomon and Hiram, with
rearguard commanded by Kaiser Will
liam II of Germany.
They are not so large nor SO lofty
as the Great Trees of California, but
their antiquity and associations make
them the most sacred and the most
interesting groves in the world, and
pilgrims come here to worship them.
The best authorities are sure that we
makesno mistake when we revere them
as the survivors of that forest whence
Hiram obtained the timber for Solo
mons Temple. The logs must have
been carried down to the coast by hand,
conveyed by sea in RATS to Jaffa and
thence carried over the ountains to Je-
rusalem.
1t is said that 10000 men were at
work in the forest for twelve years
and relieved each other every month
in bodies CT 10000 men, who were or
ganized and managed like an army.
David oblsined here the timber for
his palace, and Zerubbabel in con-
structing the second temple. The tim
bers in the Temple of Diana at Ephe-
sus and in the temples at Baalbek
came from the same forests, and we
know that the Phoenicians shipped
much cedar to Greece, to Egypt and
to other places on the coast of the
Mediterranean, not only before, but
for centuries after the days of Hi
ram, the mighty King of Tyre.
The remaining forest consists of
about 400 trees. The tallest exceeds
100 feet and the largest is Sc feet in
circumference.
In the midst of the forest is a small
chapel in which the Maronites wor-
snip anu MntIS lhSJ liOiH s.eal AtdSlS
on the anniversary of the Transfigu-
ration and other ecclesiastical holi-
days. Below the forest Is a beautiful
lake about half a mile in length and a
quarter OF a mile in breadth, fed 10y
innumerable springs that gush from
the surrounding rocks. Upon the bank
was once a temple to Venus. and ac-
cording TO mythology land the same
story is told Of the Egyptian goddess
Isis). that amiabie lady took refuge
here when she fed from the Typhon
who had killed Adonis, and transform
ed herself into a fish. Her daughter,
Dereetis. was her companion, and SUI
fered a similar fate.