The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1916-09-29

| magmncently Sculptured. The entaOla-
ture presents 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 a Greek key design. On the up-
per cornice, above each column, there
are some lions heads, with gaping
| laws, which served as an issue for the
rain water"
| The part from the tooth pattern to
| the top is only half the total height,
yet when I stood on the ground In
front of one of these great blocks OF
exquisitely carved stone, which had
fallen from its lofty height, could
hardly reach up and touch the lions
! Jaws. How the Romans ever lifted
these massive blocks to their lofty po-
sition above the capitals of the columns
Is a mystery. The Romans, prodigal as
they seem to have been. never invested
real money in the provinces. The
| wealth with which this wonderful tenn
pie was built was raised in Syria It.
self. Yet today the Turk. exacting in
| his demands. derives but pittance
from this fertile district.
The temple of Bacchus which is the
best preserved of Syrian ruins, is quite
apart from the great temple of Jupi-
| ter. Helios, Baal, or the Sun. The
| finest thing about this temple is the
front door, solid stone. 43 feet high and
| just half as broad. Hospitality with
capital H The stone of the doorway
| Is carved in the most intricate and
| lacelike designs. Next to the door Is
q charming beadwork and leaf design.
| Then d twisted rope and conventional
vine and wheat design. Then more fill
| gree that might have been carved with
| q tool as fine as a cambric needle, and
some figures of satyrs and bacchantes,
not so conventional. The door posts
are nearly two feet wide, and the
whole Is made up of sculpture that
would grace even England's master
piece, Melrose Abbey.
The great size and stability Of the
| temples inspire confidence in the
climber. A stairway leads to the top
! of the celia walls-the solid walls OF
! the temple proper-which project for
| so feet above the ground.
Where Oracle Was Housed.
This smaller temple is 227 feet long
and about half as wide, facing the ris-
| ing sun, and formerly approached by a
| fine staircase, which was destroyed
when the Arabs built q fortress and
wall in front of the earlier temple. OF
| the IL columns which once surrounded
! it, only 10 remain in place, yet from
| the back the temple seems almost COM
plete. On the south side one of the so
| foot columns has fallen against the
i side of the temple. but so securely are
its drums clamped together that it re-
| mains whole although 1t has smashed
| hole In the wall.
The keystone above the doorway
dropped so far arter the earthquake in
| 1859 that a pier of stones was neces-
sary to hold it in place, but the stone
| has now been raised to it's original DO.
sition, and the familiar carving of the
Roman eagle with long garlands In its
beak can be seen. TWAS in this temple
| that the oracle of Baalbek wls.heused
and the secret passage by means OF
| which the priests entered the statue to
proclaim the fate of the land can still
be seen.