Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-06-30

Hama and the coast is carried on by
camel caravans to the railway at El
Mu-alla-ka, and the latter is quite an
important town, having several
schools maintained by the Protestants
to Balbek in carriage through one
of the most beautiful and fertile val.
leys I have ever seen. The ground
was glowing with poppies. buttercups.
anemones and other wild flowers. An.
tome. our driver, was a Protestant
convert from the Orthodox Greek
church, and could talk English well.
He learned it at the PRESBYTERIAN
mission school. The road is good, the
carriage comfortable, the weather de-
| llghtful, and the route for four hours
was panorama OF continuous inter
est until we reached this ancient city
and were received at a hotel that was
only opened last week and is as neat
and comfortable as the most fastid.
ious traveller could wish for
In the village of Kerak-nuh, on the
outskirts of Ell Mu-alla-ka is the omb
of Noah. and the most extraordinary
| object I have seen In Syria. Directly
across the valley on the lower range
of the Anti-Lebanon mountains, is the
tomb of Seth. the third son of Adam
and Eve, which Is in better condition
and regarded with greater reverence
than that of Noah. but Seth was only
fiftv-fve feet tall. according to Mos
lem tradition. while Noah was 152
feet. Noah was so tall that when
they came to Law him in his sepulohre
thev We're Obliged to sink a shaft 1s
feet deep and turn his legs from the
knees downward. because the top of
the hill where they wanted to bury
him would permit grave only 1872
feet long And there It is. The mu-
kan as thew call It, looks like the
coping around a park. being narrow
straight line of masonry about four
feet wide and three feet high. and
prism-shaped at the top. II Is GOV
cred with green cotton cloth the sa
cred color of the Mohammedans) and
ornamented with embroidered blan-
kets or covers. The day we were
there several candles We're burning at
the head and dozen or more towels.
turbans, shawls. and pieces of white
cloth were laid across the tomb in
order to absorb its sanctity. The ar
tlclos. after haNne lain upon the
crave for cer} bin time become sa-
cred and are ca wed to mosques in
the villages thrbS,yhout the country.
where they are placed with great rev
erence upon the altars as relics of the
patriarch Noah Pilgrims come and
kiss them and they have been known
70 work miracles.
Near the head of the tomb were sew
eral wreaths of faded flowers which
faithful devotees had placed there to
secure the assistance of Noah in car
wing out vows that they had made.
As an old woman opened the door for
us to enter the long stone building
which covers the mukam we were fol-
lowed in bv a lot of naked babies with
rat legs and black eyes. who knelt rev.
erently, kissed the masonry and then
held out their hands for balisheesh.
Think of kissing the grave of Noah,
one big lamp with large reflector
hangs in the center of the room and
elves light enough for evening ser
vices. which are often held there for
the benefit of Mohammedan pilgrims
aud persons of eminence who come
long distances to worship, as several
tablets suspended upon the wall testi.
fv by their inscriptions.
Jew aud Persian Greek and Ro-
man. and the various sects of Mos
lens venerate the shrine which has
been here longer than history can re-
'ate. Its origin and the traditions at
'ached to it can be traced to few
centuries after Christ. The tradition
Is that after the food Noah came to
live at Kerak-nuh and died in this lit.
tie village. 152 feet tall and $50 years
old. Besides the shrine there are
other traces of remote antiquity in
he mountains nearby. Numerous
rock-cut tombs of various shapes and
sizes are found near every village and
in lonely gorges where human habita-
tions have never existed. The men
who made them and occupied them
are not known and cannot be traced
1t is certain. however, that they were
there at the time of the Roman inva-
sion.
The grave of Noah is particularly
holy to the Druses. n peculiar sect OF
Moslems, which for centuries has
been contesting with the Maronites
FOR supremacy in the mountains of
Lebanon. They are said to be the
most intelligent and progressive of
all the tribes. but their aggressive and
independent disposition has kept them
almost constantly in wars, preventing
the normal increase in population and
prosperity. They are hospitable and
generous. and particularly friendly to-
ward Protestants and Americans.
Many of their children have been edu-
Gated In the American schools. and
several of the most influential Druse
leaders are graduates of the American
college at Beirut They encourage
medical and educational missionary
work In their villages, appreciating its
value and advantages, but few of
hem are ever converted to Christiani-
ty Some people conend that they are
lnfdels and that they worship idols,
but this is not true. They worship
in secluded places, and perform mys-