The Minneapolis journal., 1906-07-22

formerly occupied by images Our
guide, Mr.. Alouf, whose pamphlet on
Baalbek gives the results Of his hfteen
years study Of the ruins, insists that
the great court was really pantheon
and contained ell the gods at that time
worshiped by the eonquerors and by
the native population.
The temple Of Jupiter. n9qst haye
been most impressive building It
seaS ssssss snS tZs4s,,a ssf sbops soz y ss
seDxe sreuad 'ne f a measured s . 51o sDe feet
length, and 160 IN breadth. It's outer
wall supported ffty~four columns in
Corinthian style, each column being
seventy feet in height, seven feet In
diameter and composed Of three pheces.
Six of these columns are still standing,
one mountain torrent. The si4 columns
with the capitals and .oornice give
some idea Of. the magnifcence Of the
temple before it's. decay. The stone
used Is taken from limestone quarry
near the city, and the carving Is e9-
cellent Enormous masses Of stone lie
scattered over the ground1parts Of.
iS e psss ppssnen sa eor4f sn aas ess ss''Rs snRs
blocks were ever lifted into place is
still matter Of conjecture. No NOR
tar was used, and yet lq SOME Rlases
the joints are so nicely fitted and the
stones SO accurately cut that a knife
blade cannot be inserted after lapse
Of nearly twenty centuries.
wonderful temple, and elaborate as is
It's ornamsatation, the most remarkable
feature is the size Of the stones en-
ployed. - The guide first shows num-
| ber Of blocks about thirty three feet
long, fourteen feet high and ten feet
thick. After ones wonder has had
sufficient time to express Itself, three
sixty-fpur feet in length. fourteen feet
| in height and twelve In thickness. The
estima ated weight%of one Of these stones
| ism early 1000 tons, and 1t is calculated
that It would require 10000 horsepower
| At the quarry a companion block,
seventy two feet long and about fifteen
seen, chiseled from the stone about it,
but not entirely separated from the
stratum beneath it. This was prob
ably intended for the sustaining wall
around the temple. Whether it re-
manned at the quarry because the work
was interrupted or because the build
ers despaired Of being able to move It
I
| to reveal After the decline of pagan
ism the Christians built a church In
the great court, using the stones and
pillars for the walls. Then came the
| Mohammedans and turned the courts
and temple into fortress, making use
| Of the walls of the church.
| A little way distant from the great
temple is smaller temple dedicated
to Bacchus, which would Of itself be
sufficient to distinguish city but. for
its more famous rival. This temple is
about 225 feet long. by 40 feet wide,
and a row Of so columns. of which Ia
are futed, surround 1t. These columns
are sixty feet In height and about six
feet in diameter. While smaller in It's
dimension, this temple is even more
elaborately carved than the larger one.
Some of the clusters Of grapes are less
than two inches in length, but exquis-
itely wrourht. This temple is in much
better state of preservation than the
great temple, and is therefore in some
respects even more interesting.
Emperor William Of Germany visited
Baalbek in 1898 and was so impressed
r. by the ruins that he obtained permis-
sion from the sultan to~clear away the
debris, and the travelling world is under
obligations to him for having made 1t