The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-19

do about as he pleased. As the Kaiser travelled he flattered the Mohammedans, the Christians and Jews. He was alive to every possibility, and he stamped Made in Germany" upon every city he visited In Damascus he laid a golden crown and bouquet of artificial flowers on the tomb of Saladin, the famous sol- dier who fought the Crusaders; and about Jerusalem he built hospitals and schools and started a great sanatorium. Here at Baalbek the Sultan gave him carte blanche, and he has erected in the Temple of the Sun tablet bearing an inscription In German and Turkish testi- flying to his regard for the Sultan and his pleasure at visiting the ruins. Shortly after leaving he sent German scientists, and they organized an army of natives and put them to work excavating the tenn ples. The Germans laid down a rail- road track. and by means of dirt cars they have carried away mountains of earth and debris. They have used modern ma chinery to lift the vast stones into place and have for the first time given us an adequate view of these most wonderful temples
 The Story of Baalbek
 But first let me tell you something about the origin of these structures and the god whom they commemorated. The
 
 of the world. They say that Adam lived here, and that it was between here and the Mediterranean that Cain killed Abel. One of Adams favorite residences was Damascus, and Seth lived at Nebi Schitt, @ nest in the Lebanon mountains. They will show you where Noah was buried and the town in which Ham lived. They also think that Nimrod reigned in this valley, and they have a tradition that when an angel called upon him he threw the holy one into blazing furnace, from which he came out unharmed. They lo- cate the Tower of Babel at Baalbek and believe that Nimrod built 1t. Another legend states that Abraham reigned at Damascus and came here frequently It is also well known that Solomon and 6 city named Baalath, in which other gods than Jehovah were worshiped Indeed, 1t is said that Solomon, in order to please his concubines, built temple here and that he had a castle which he gave as a present to Balkis. the Queen of Sheba
 Baalbek was well known in tho days of the Phoenicians. and it was great city in the time of Christ It was about hundred years after that that the finest of the temples. the ruins of which still exist, were constructed It was when the Roman civilization was still in the height of its glory, and when the emperors were building cities in north Africa, in Asia Minor and in other parts of the world. They put up the temples here in honor of Baal, and had in them smaller temples to Venus and Bacchus. They worshipped Baal, the god of the sun. as one of the greatest of their deities. although they had other gods without number.
 The God Baal
 As to the worship of Baal, there have been gods of that name back almost to the beginnings of history It is ques- ton. indeed. whether the word Baal did not mean lord being a general term for male gods of various kinds. Later on the Greeks considered Baal the god of the sun. chasing him with the god repre- sented by Helios and the city of Heliopc- lis in Egypt. The worship of Baal runs through the Bible. Samuel rebuked the Israelites for lowing down to him. and Jesebel had 400 priests of Baai who were confounded by Elijah. Indeed, 1t is a question whether Beelzebub or the devil was not BaalEebub. term to show the horrors and nicknanes of the false gods of Baal.
 Here at Baalbek the finest statue was of this god. It was of gold. and It rsprs-