The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1916-09-22

* being tourist center. For
mass, the Egyptian temples
lead. For intricacy of detail the
Indian gopurams surpass. For delicacy
of design, the Tai Mahal will long hold
the palm. But the ruins at Baalbek
are both impressive and magnificent,
inspiring, satisfying. The pyramid of
Cheops is child's play compared with
the many-ton entablature which sur
mounts the airy columns of the Temple
of the Sun. A house can be moved up
IA hill, but by what machinery did the
builders of Baalbek poise such mass
at such height? asks Maynard Owen
Williams in the Christian Herald.
Baalbek is situated at the base of
the Jebel esh Sherki or Eastern noun
tain, better known to us as the Anti
Lebanon, whose SHOWS sometimes ex-
tend down to the town, itself 1000 feet
above the sea. Numerous springs are
found here, and graceful poplars and
green vegetation stand out in pleasing
contrast with the level brown or pur-
plish tone of the plain.
Fifteen miles away the background
of the picture stretches from 5000
foot Sannin in the south to Dahr ul
Khadib, whose blunt summit is nearly
1000 feet above the sea.
In this charming spot, where nature
must have impressed man with her
grandeur and majesty, he WED with her
In achieving the titanic. AS one stands
beside one of the fallen pillars, whose
round base towers high above his head,
1T seems as though the ambitious build
ers had succeeded. The high contain
ing walls shut in the view to center it
on this mighty pile. But as one rides
across the Bika on his way to the
cedars of Lebanon and looks back on
the ruins, the colossal group becomes
but tiny gem on natures bosom.
Cain Built First Temple.
Cain is said to have built the first
temple at Baalbek, using the mastodon
as his work-animal for transporting
stone. That makes Baalbek rather old.
By the early Phenician period Baalbek
had become famous as the center of
Baal worship. Since then, the Seleu-
eide, the Romans the Byzantines and
the Saracens have ruled there. There
Is nothing in the ruins that tells the
mighty structures, but Baedekers are
handy If not cheap. and Baedeker
and Bible are the prime necessities
of Levantine travel.
Picture that famous church of Paris.
the Madeleine, standing at height of
70 feet above level plain, surrounded
by "a columns nearly eight feet in
diameter, whose bases alone are taller
than man, and you have some
idea of the temple to Helios
which gave Heliopolis it's name.
Today only six Of the mighty col
umns remain erect, like proud SEN
tinels guarding their fallen brothers.
Each column is made up of three
pieces, each % feet In height, making
up with the cornice total height of
so feet. They are Of a tawny shade,
blushing with brighter tint when the
slanting light of sunrise or sunset falls
across their stately height.
Massive Carved corniee.
Michael NJ. Alouf, Syrian of Baal-
bek, thus describes the cornice: 1.-THE
column is surmounted by COrinthian
capital, entablature, frieze and cornice,
magnificently sculptured. The entabla-
ture presents a row of egg patterns
surmounted by consoles with scanthus
leaves, with a number of small lions
and bulls carved on them. Higher up
are tooth patterns and small roses,
then Greek key design. On the up
per cornice, above each column, there
are some lions heads, with gaping
jaws, which served as an issue for the
rain water"
The part from the tooth pattern to
the top is only half the total height,
s.tx,od tho ground In