The antiquity of Damascus was shown by an engineering work between two of the villages near the Barada; it is an ancient aqueduct which was evidently made to carry water from the Fijeh Fountain to Damascus. The name of its builder is unknown, but tradition says it was made by Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, about the middle of the third century. It was never completed, and from the excellence of the water-supply of Damascus it was evidently not needed.
Beyond this aqueduct they wound up a narrow valley or glen, and the greater part of the way were compelled to follow a path cut in the sloping rock. The guide pointed out a spot where the season before a traveller fell from his horse, and was so severely injured against the rocks that he lived only a few hours. The place was favorable to accidents, and it seemed to the boys a remarkable circumstance that a single week should pass in the season of travel without loss of life.
The valley widened a little, but still retained its precipitous or sharply sloping sides; the widenings gave opportunities for fig and olive orchards to find a footing, and by-and-by they came to a small village, where the guide called a halt and the party dismounted.
THE FIJEH SOURCE OF THE ABANA.
They were at Ain Fijeh, or the Fountain of Fijeh, one of the sources of the Abana. It has a right to be called the principal source, as it is much larger than any other, though at a lower elevation. Frank and Fred pronounced it one of the finest springs they had seen in the country, and recalled their visit to the source of the Jordan at Dan.
The spring comes from a cave in a limestone rock, and pours out with a force which suggests a great pressure of water behind it. Directly above the mouth of the cave are the remains of a temple, with portions of the walls standing, and there is a similar building, not quite so badly injured, a little way to the right. The fountain is large enough to form at once a stream three or four feet deep and twenty-five or thirty in width, which goes dashing over the rocks as though it had been flowing for miles down the side of a mountain. The banks of the stream are lined with bushes, and it is impossible to get a view of any distance through them owing to their density.
The camp had been formed on the bank of the stream where there was an open space, and our friends slept through the night lulled by the murmurs of the waters, and the sighing of the wind among the trees that encircled their camping-ground. An early start was made in the morning for another ride among the cliffs of Anti-Lebanon. The route was much like that of the day before, and carried them to a higher elevation, where they often enjoyed views of great extent.
They passed the ruins of Abila, a Roman city of considerable importance at the beginning of the Christian era, and then they wound up and up till the ridge of the mountain was passed, and the descent began to the plain where Baalbec stands. It was a long ride, and in some places a dreary one, and when they reached the famous Temple of the Sun the night had fallen, and the stars were out in the sky.