The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-02-17

Away down in the marshes of south
ern Babylonia, just on the border of
the great plateau of central Arabia, and
accessible from the modern town of
Nasarieh and the lower Euphrates River
only By canoe, which one must paddle
through intricate waterways winding
among forests of reeds, stands the best
preserved and one of the most famous
of all the great temples of ancient
Babylonia.
No tourist has ever visited the spot,
and the few explorers who have ven
tured into the inhospitable region have
taken their lives in their hands, for
the waterways among the reeds are
labyrinth through which only the ex-
perieneed guide can find his way, where
the wild boar unexpectedly charges up
on the intruder. and beyond the
marshes the Arabsl are the fiercest of
the desert tribes over whom the Turk
ish government has little or no control
About the temple, which still rears
its lofty tower above the surrounding
marshy plain, lies the ruins of Ur OF
the Chaldees, the birthplace of Abra-
ham and of the Hebrew race.
The scholars of the past have long
associated Ur witl$ the modern city
of Urfa, lar in the forth near the foot
hills of Armenia The similarity or the
names Ur and Urfs has led the earlier
generations to belieSA that they We're
the same. s-.a- -Housh IN
80 ,,-,-called Odessa.
M .bression was supported by the
osque of Ibrahim, which stands
greateenter of Urfa, and in which the
IN 8a tradition says that Abraham
Us slain. There the grave of Terah,
Abraham's father, is pointed out, and
in the courtyard of the mosque is a
pool now filed with fishes sacred to
the memory of Abraham. A days
journey to the south is the city of
Haran, where Abraham rested while on
his way from Ur across the desert to
Palestine.
THE LIKENESS OF JESUS.
Such traditions, leading Christian
scholars to identify Ur with Urfa, are
chiefly ALohammedan. Although the
city has recently lost the distinction
of being the birthplace of Abraham, 1t
is still of interest to the Christian; for
there lived the dynasty of kings named
Abgar, one of whom is said to have
sent an artist to Jesus that he might
paint the Savior's likeness. The story
goes that Jesus, refusing the artist s
request, asked for his handkerchief,
and, laying it upon His own face, hand
ed it back with His likeness upon it.
oh ctrI
at Busreh, while exploring the various
mounds of southern Babylcnia, happen
ed upon the extensive ruins few miles
west of Nasarieh. Among the Arabs
the mounds are known as Mugheir,
or Pitch, because the great square
bricks of the temple tower are laid In
bitumen, the native pitch of the coun-
try.
While searching among the ruins Mr..
Tayfor found numerous bricks stamped
with inscriptions in the wedge-shaped
characters of ancient Babylonia. bearing
the name of Urgur, who called himself
the king of Ur. Still other bricks and
inscriptions were found containing the
same name of Ur. Later 1t was learn
ed that the country in which the ruins
stand was the well-known Babylonian
province of Chaldea-
Mr.. TAYLOR had discovered Or OF the
ChaIdees. the birthplace of Abraham,
~ as important as any In history; 1t
We tie world the Hebrew nation; the
Hebrews gave Jesus; and Jesus gave
us Christianity.
1t is in a similar manner tnat the
early names os others OF the Bapyio-
nian cities have been recovered; the
names of Cutha and Sippa, two cities
n n a
r;tans were taken, and OF Erech,
CITY men toned in the book OF Genesis.
ar A score others, were read upon the
n-,,Aks from their ruins; yet in spite
., This positiye naturalization Or and
ITrfa have so long been associated with
aacb other that even now learned men
still call them one
THE most important OF the inscriptions
found at Ur, and one OF the most VAIN
able ever discovered in BaoyIonia' -
a cylinder of baked clay covered with
minnie Babylonian writing It's lhscIlp-
ton related how Nabonidus. the KING
of .RahvIon. restored the ancient tenn
pie of Ur- rax,or
Ar tho very moment when Mr.. Iaylor
found If in the walls OF the TEMPE d.
r. some German critics were adVanc-
ing the theory that Belsnazzar, wno'
So the story in the book OF pai,iel a.
saw the fingers of a hand "ritiS ~, -
doom upon the wall, was put my 80
cbaracter: that he never existed out
side of a legend .,a
when the long inscription upon .ne
cylinder from Ur was read' -,
found to end with the prayer OF "iAe"
the closing words were thus;
May reverence for thy great ais nv
dwell in the heart of Beishazzar' ~
frstborn son. May he commit no s ~
and with the fulness of life may ne
satisfied" The supposed mythical 6el-
shazzar was at once restored 10 nls.o
and since then numerous inscrlp.i
among others leases for the No.
which he rented, have come TO hsh
The ruins of Or are now a cn''-