BEYROUTH—SYRIA
Damascus is an Oriental city and is still innocent of the ways of the western world. Its bazaars give one a glimpse of life as it was before Europe and America were known to history. The government is erecting public buildings according to modern plans; but the covered streets, lined with little booths, the homes of the people, the dress, the customs and the habits are the same that they were when Saul of Tarsus wandered down the street "called Straight" in search of the one who was to restore his sight. (This street though straight as compared with the other streets, is hardly deserving of the name which it still bears.)
As in Cairo, the different trades have different sections. The dealers in sugar occupy one quarter; the silversmiths, the candy manufacturers, the blacksmiths, the carpenters—each class has its cluster of shops. The Arabian horse being the pride of the Bedouin, we were not surprised to find much attention paid to the manufacture of saddles, saddle bags, bridles and trappings, only they were for the most part made of wool and cotton rather than of leather. Bright colors, tassels, fringes, shells and ostrich feathers are employed in the ornamentation of the horse, the donkey and the camel.
THE BIG TAIL SHEEP.
The candies of Damascus are good and very cheap, and nuts of all kinds are to be found in abundance, an excellent variety of walnut being grown within the city limits. Naturally this city is a market for Persian rugs and large stocks are kept on hand. While the people make everything which enters into the daily life of the country, they are especially skilled in brass, damascene ware and the inlaying of wood with mother-of-pearl.
Damascus is not especially noted for places of historical interest. The tourist is shown the house of Ananias and the window through which Paul was let down from the wall, but it is doubtful whether the identity of these places has been really established. A house, known as the house of Naaman the Leper, is now very appropriately used for a leper's home. There is no uncertainty about the river Abana, and another river near Damascus known as Pharpar. An ancient wall surrounds the city, and one of the largest mosques in the world occupies ground first dedicated to a heathen temple and afterward to the church of St. John the Baptist, erected by Arcadius, the son of Theodosius.