The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-01-14
Beirut. The City Of Sunsets.

Beirut, The City Of Sunsets.
Washington, Jan. 6.-Beirut, the
ancient syrian city featured in re-
cen: dispatches because Of MoSlem
opposition to changes in street
naming and police innovations, is
described in a bulletin Of the Nat
ional Geographic Society by
former resident of the city as fol-
lows:
Picture, ncstling at, the base Of
the Lebanon, q. many tinted city
pushed out into the setting sun by
the pressure of famous mountain
range, which. just east Of the city
and robbing it Of the early morn
ing light, towers to $500 feet in a
beautiful mountain whose snowy
heights form the crystal screen
upon which is projected the rose
glow of the worlds most colorful
sunsets.
"The backbone Of the city
stretches to the west from low
alluvial plain which almost makes
Beirut an island The wharves to
the north. looking away from the
more famous but inferior ports Of
Tyre and Sidon to the south and
toward the other Phoenician ports
of Tripoli and Alexandretta and
Selecuia, all Of which have old
Phoenician names long since for
gotten by the inhabitants. Berry
tus was the name of Beirut.
Curves Like Bay OF Naples.
t.'The waterfront is commonplace
enough most Of the year, even
though just outside the disfguring
breakwater there lies the biuest.
most nearly perfect curve of bay
east fo Naples. 1t bears the name
Of st. George and although it is the
French that have improved it. the
British have made it notable on
their beautiful gold coins, now ex-
tinct, which once showed st. George
killing a dragon or rather The
dragon. Mythology will tell YOU
who St. George was and why he
killed the. dragon and why the
British put it on their coins and
his cross on their Union Jack. But
here st. George slew the dragon
and threw llf down well-noth-
ing harms an Oriental well-and
if you don't, believe it. the well is
still there and if you. go there on
a dark night and gaze down into
the inky waters. you will see the
dragon s eyes!
s'The streets are narrow and full
of life. The buildings are kalso-
mined in various hues, ugly near
at hand, but truly TurneresQue
from distance. On one of the
highest points at the eastern end
of the high rib which the city
stradd'os there is. or was. a mill
tary tracks. Beirut has tram
lines which run along the, backbone,
and near the center of the city
there is a small park embroidered
with bootblacks with small shoe
blacking boxes, around which the
trans turn. Here there is anoth-
er line of trans which runs to the
south to a beautiful grove OF pines
which were planted to save the
city from the drifting sands.
The western end Of the lime
stone ridge is called Ras Beirut, or
the point of Beirut, and near the
extremity of this section there is
one of the loveliest college cam
puses on earth, with more than
score of principal buildings. Pos
sibly nowhere else on earth has
Americas name been more rever-
ed and so lovely is the scene of the
deep blue bay and snowy noun
tain range that there has long
been a standing argument between
this college and the Robert Col
.ege, at Roumeli Hissar. outside
Constantinople on the Bosphorus,
as to which has the loveher view.
Nature Provides Swimming Pools.
"In from the west and north
sweep the waves which are eating
away at the limestone cliffs each
year the shoreline recedes before
the fierce battle with the wate. s
upon which the Phoenician argo-
sizes set out in search Of fame and
commerce. At one place the dash
ing waves have cut entiI ely around
two towering masses Of rock and
bored a huge hole through the
side Of one of them SO that when
the storms come Pigeon Rocks re-
veal spirited picture of angry
waves and steady stone. Narrow
coves extend in from the sea and
/ in these one finds some Of the
! finest natural swimming pools any
where for the bottom is deep and
the water clear and the sides rise
gradually so that one can dive from
varying heights from the waters
edge to thirty feet.
''These coves form the play
ground of the college students and
each has it's name. There is the
Preparatory Cove where the young
American teachers swim. The cliffs
are pierced in places by deep
caves and it is a wonderful ad-
venture for a seasoned swimmer
to breats the beating waves and
wait outside the narrow mouth OF
one Of these till the beating waves
| lower a little and then enter
! through the narrow mouth which