El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-10-09

e Presbyterian College OF Damascus.
rcpean traveller misses a chance TO
visit this mosque, although nobody is
allowed TO enter the structure with
his shoes on
streets Very Crowded.
The inn of Ahmad Pasha is another
old antique structure famous for its
mosaic gate and ancient, artistic and
picturesque paintings such as modern
artists fail 10 produce in duplicate
The metropolis broadway is more
crowded than the one in New York
city In busy hours on the narrow
streets q pedestrian has TO push side
ways 10 set through the crowd and a
man on horseback has to call out
continually all the way through to
get past ANY New Yorker used to
the subways would meet no difficulty
in this crowded, above ground sub
way, however.
The oriental pastries Of baklawa
flour. Turkish talcum, kenafee
mOrabbas and hOlaway are the native
delicacies- Bedouins and Arabs are
very fond OF sweets Many Of them
said that their visit 10 the metropolis
from the desert was TO enjoy the
sweets Of baklawa-
America. France and England have
established in Syria several schools
and colleges. one Of which is the IA
medical college Of Beirut. for Ameri-
cans Twelve hundred TO 1900 stu
dents attend this college Many Amer
lean boys are among these students.
Every young Syrian Christian has his
graduation at either of these schools. .
Ihey know that the prosecution Of the
Turks forces them some day sooner or
later TO immigration. For this rea-
son they learn either French or Eng
lish or both besides their own native
Arabic language.
Cruelty Of Turks By-WOrd.
They learn from their parents about
how their grandfarhers met death {
when massacred by the Turks in 1860. {
Ancestors relate the tragedy which /
old Christian met from the Kurds and
warn their descendants Of the cunning
and cruel Turks. At that time France. I
through the influence Of the European
governments, except Germany, inter I
fered and landed forces to prevent the I
massacre OF the remnants Of the
Christians These European govern /
ments caused and forced the restitu-
ton OF one part OF Syria-Lebanan. /
Under the observation Of the allies il I
has an army of its own and pays a I
certain amount Of tax according 10 a Z
treaty forced by France.
The ablebOdied and hardworking 4
tribe of DrOuze differs greatly from /.
the Arabs or Dedouins. especially in /
self supporting and religious rites. I
The Arab does not have 10 work for I
a living His professional earning
Is TO ride his camel and invade. in /
dividually, or Join with his own tribe
for the same purpose A DrOuze in ;
general is a farmer. Hawran, the
most fertile district in Syria. is the I
Drouze headquarters. He takes good /
care Of his land and in some of his /
wheat fields man on horseback may (
disappear and lose his way.
A Secret Religion.
Il is familiar knowledge that the
NOhammedans and Bedouins worship ]
the prophet Mohammed, but IL is not
known who the Drouzes worship. Ell
Okkal. the sheiks Of the DrOuzes.
meet once or twice a week in their
mosque and no others are allowed TO
convene with them. as they are very
precautions as TO who they deliver
their religious secrets When a !
young Drouze becomes married. he IL
allowed to accompany his father 20 {
the mosque and his father viii intro
duce him TO the sheik and the shefk
VIII convert him But he has 10 have
a fun beard and mustache, otherwise /
MS conversion Is not true, and he will Z
not be allowed TO attend meetings
This tribe never accepts OF allows I
any others OF a different religion 10 4
attend a mosque meeting and. no
matter how a seeker is politically
estimated or financially supported, If I
seeking the conversion he is assured
Of failure, as they do not care TO in
crease their membership. as their re-
ligion belongs TO them and their de-
scendants-
If any Of the members tells the
secret, he is TO be murdered by his 4
brothers in religion sooner or later. it
is said
The land OF Hawran is the fertile 4
land of crops. and from there they
convey their wheat to Damascus and
sell the crop or trade it off for mus
Inns. shoes or other necessities
Resist the Turks.
They do not pay any tax to the
Turks. The sultan every other year
sends his forces TO subdue them. but
every effort has been a failure Very
often they get aid from their neigh
Dor Arabs OF Bedouins.
Their rocky country and their mar
row roads enable them TO be pro-
tected and to defeat their enemy. Re
incarnation is one OF their beliefs.
When warning, they advance boldly.
even to stop the firing of cannon.