The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-31
Rv FRANK CARPEN Elk

~,
large oval bowl"
n come down to details. Damascus
is an expansc Of pearly Whil@, tillSe"
with the pink OF its roofs. ne
buildings rise high over the green
and out OF them, like fingers pointing
to heaven, are the n1inarets OF w
MOSQUES. with the mighty dome OF
the Great Mosque in the center. A.
the right Of the latter are the afcntd
roofs of bazaars which have been Ia
nous for ages. and away OIL from lhs
rest is q big yellow building with 9
roof Of red tiles. That is the center
of Nohammedan fanaticism. 1t IS the
barracks where thousands Of Moslem
soldiers are quartered. More thai.
1900 troops are kept there, ana IN
a time Of uprising and massacres'
such as tina of last spring, they form
the greatest danger to Christians.
Damascus is a M~ohaInmedan city.
1t has about 100000 people. ana
four-ffths Of them follow the prophet
It has also about 0 1000 Greeks, 5000
Jews and lesser Inber OF SyflanS,
Armenians. Persians and Druses. The
city has Mohamnnedan schools ana
the students are as dangerous as
those who denounced Col. Roosevelt
in the University Of Cairo. These
people are very GeNOut. one sees
them reading their Korans in their
shops. and at every mosque ] observe
a score or more Of the faithful wash
ing themselves before they go into
their prayers. The mosques are full
of turbaned old men and young men,
who all pray singly and in groups.
! and in many one finds companies OF
worshippers under a leader. There
are male classes listening to the eN-
PLANTATION of the Koran by the priests,
and there are men TeadlnS Singly.
Tie Great Mosque OF Damascus.
But come down with me from the
hill and take a stroll through the city.
This is Sunday, and We shall first
visit the mosques. There are seven
ty large ones, where sermons arc
preached every Friday, and one hun
dred and seventy-seven which might
be called chapels, connected with
which are Mohammedan schools.
Many Of these mosques have libraries,
and in all of them the chief study
taught IS theology, including the
Koran and the traditions of the
prophets. After that comes law, and
then philosophy, logic and grammar.
Modern science are unknown and all
other branches Of learning are en-
tirely neglected.
The chief center of Moslem religious
life is the Great Mosque. n is
one of the finest of Mohammedan
churches. 1t stands right in the
center Of the city and it covers about
seven acres or almost twice as much
space as the capitol at Washington.
1t has q great court paved With
marble, in which is q fountain, said
to mark the halfway station on the
route from Constantinople to Mecca
1t IS there that the Worshipers battle
certain parts o ftheir persons before
going into their prayers. on the
other side OF this enormous court is
the mosque proper the oblong floor
OF which covers over an acre. Many
great columns uphold its roof and
other columns stand between it and
the court.
In a MOhammcdan Church.
Entering this room, we find two
thousand men and perhaps a hundred
women at prayer, Nevertheless the
building seems empty. The wor-
shippers are scattered over the floor.
The women are alone, and thu men
dare not look at them. They are
closely yelled, and they do not notice
Us as We go by. Most Of the men
are on thelr knees, or sitting upon the
; moor. All have removed their shoes
; heIore they came into the church and
they now lie beside or in front Of
theln. The floor is covered with
costly rugs, the presents from devout
Mohammedans. Think of roofing =
large held, upholding the roof by
! mighty columns, and then carpeting
tnat held With oriental rugs anv Of
when would be fit to hang upon Your
: walls as a treasure, and Won have
: some of the outlines of the picture
Which now lies before us.
1hcfe are strange things in the
mosque. In its enter rs a marble
s chapel, composed of stand over the
T ashes o. the head Of John the Bap-
tlSt- Men are sitting before the
!, chapel, with their heads facing Mecca
ana they Use and fall as they pray
1 to john the Eapist, the forerunnay
OF christ, aaG 10 Mohammed as the
E prophet of God. 1t is thus thar -
lglon k l%t!tics. make strange he'd
fellows. 80
ntait u the eiohamme.!an World.
Damascus IS the heart OF the No
e world. At its hacL, i
pefsla. altogether Mohammedan. A.