The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1919-02-13
Mn THE path of the VIC
N torious British expedition
NB in Palestine as it moved
g northward Law the noun

NSRNB in Palestine as it moved
uA-A1 northward lay the noun
tain ranges of the Lebanon. and
Aleppo, the taking of which city
gave complete control to the Syrian
end Of the Bagdad railway and of
the important port of Alexandret-
ia, the best harbor in the country.
From Damascus the railway to the
north traverses the Beka'a. long
fertile valley between the Lebanon
and Anti Lebanon ranges. In the
middle of this valley on the slope
of the latter range is situated tne
ancient town of Baalbek celebrated
for its wonderful ruins.
Baalbek is small and prosper
Gus town, a large part of the popu-
lation being Christian, says Coun-
try Life, and it is the seat of the
government of a province of the
same name and a military center.
Ya'kubi, an Arab writer of the
ninth century, speaks of Baalbek
as one of the finest towns of Syria,
and other writer's make allusion to
this beautiful spot and its wonder
full ruins. It is spoken of by the
geographer, Nur Kaddasi, as the
coolest place in Syria.
As the name Baalbek, which is
Semitic in origin, implies, it was
connected from early times with
the worship of the sun, probably
meaning the city Of Baal in the
Beka'a, by which the plain is
known. The Phoenicians here
erected a great temple to Baal con.
structed with colossal stones after
their manner. This was afterwards
utilized and reconstructed in the
Graeco- Roman period when the
name Baalbek took the Greek
form of Heliopolis. Julius Caesar
gave it the privileges of Roman
colony, and later, Antoninus Plus.
in the last part of the second, CEN
tury, A. D., built the beautiful
temple of Jupiter, and the great
temple of the sun was erected
about the same time. These two
temples would appear to be repre-
sented on coins of the time of
Septimus Seyerus some thirty
years later, and they carry the in
scription on the reverse, "Colonia
Heliopolis Jovi Optimo Maximo
Heliopolitani."
The great temple of the sun is
erected ON the site of the Phoeni-
clan temple of Baal, and at the ives.
tern end of the sub-structure are
to be seen three colossal monoliths
which. with other lesser ones, are
placed in the wall at height of 20
feet from the ground level, and
measures respectively 64 feet, 63h
feet and 81 feet in length. by 13
feet in thickness and about the
same in breadth. The writer notes
that they are so beautifully squared
and fitted that, although without
mortar, it would be difficult to put
a knife between them.
The quarry from which these
gigantic stones were brought is
about half a mile away: and there
another one, still larger is to be
seen. This is 68 feet long and, be-
ing squared on all sides, was left IN
process of being cut from the rock
below, when rollers would have
been placed under it. But of what
were they, and what power was
sufficient to move and control this
immense mass of limestone rock9
: The Roman builders would ap-
pear to have largely re- used the
stones of the earlier Phoenician
work. The temple of the sun itself
had "a columns, II each on the
north and south sides, and ten each
on the east and west sides. On the
south side six of these great
columns still remain standing.
They are Is feet in height, includ-