ARRIVAL. The steamers anchor in the harbour (Pl. F, G, 1). The landing
is better managed than at Jaffa. Boat for 1 pers. 2 fr.; less for a
party, as may be arranged. The hotels and tourist-agents send their
men on board. The _Douane_ (Pl. F, 1; passport and custom-house
formalities; comp. p. 537) is close to the landing-place.—To the E. of
the Douane lies the RAILWAY STATION (_Gare_; Pl. F, G, 1).
HOTELS. *_Hôt. d’Allemagne_ (Pl. a; E, 1), well spoken of, _Hôt.
d’Orient_ (Pl. b; E, 1), both near the sea; _Gassmann’s Hotel_ (Pl. c;
F, 1), in the Sûk ed-Jemîl; pens. at these 12–15 fr. (less for a
prolonged stay); _Hôt. Victoria_ (Pl. d; E, 1), plainer,
etc.—RESTAURANTS. _Blaich_, _Jean Schröter_, both near the Hôt.
d’Allemagne.
ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS. Four different lines traverse the town (comp.
Plan); of these the _Blue Line_ runs from the Place des Canons to the
Lighthouse (Phare; Pl. A, 2), near the Râs Beirût (p. 483).
CARRIAGES. Drive 1 fr.; per hr. in town 2, in country 2–3 fr. (more on
Sun.). Longer drives as may be arranged.—HORSES. Half-day 1, whole day
1½ mejidieh.
POST OFFICES. Turkish (_Poste Turque_; Pl. F, 1); British, French,
German, and others, Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1).—TELEGRAPH OFFICE
(Internat.; Pl. F, 2), Derb el-Kebîreh (p. 483).
BANKS. _Banque Ottomane_ (Pl. F, 1), _Anglo-Palestine Co._, _German
Palaestina-Bank_, all at the harbour.—For the Turkish money, see p.
536.
CONSULATES. British (Pl. 2; G, 2): consul-general, _H. A.
Cumberbatch_; vice-consul, _H. E. W. Young_.—United States (Pl. 6; C,
2): consul-general, _G. B. Ravndal_; vice-consul, _L. Memminger_.
STEAMBOAT AGENCIES. _Khedivial Mail_, opposite the custom-house;
_Austrian Lloyd_, _Messag. Maritimes_, and _Russian Steam Navigation &
Trading Co._, all in Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1); _Società Nazionale_,
opposite the German Bank.—TOURIST AGENTS. _Thos. Cook & Son_, in the
Hôtel d’Orient; _Agence Lubin_, Khân Antûn Beg (Pl. F, 1).
CHURCHES. _American Presbyterian Mission_ (Pl. F, 2); services on Sun.
at 11 a.m. in English and at 9 a.m. in Arabic. Among the many other
missions and schools are the _British Syrian_, the _Ch. of Scotland
Jewish_, the _Syrian Prot._, and a number of German, French, etc.
_Beirut_ (Fr. _Beyrout_, Arab. _Beirût_; pop. 190,000), the chief
commercial place in Syria (_Esh-Shâm_), and the capital of the Turkish
vilayet (province of a _vali_ or governor) of that name, is beautifully
situated, in 33° 50′ N. lat. and 35° 30′ E. long., on the S. shore of
_St. George’s Bay_, between _Râs Beirût_ (p. 483) and _Mt. St. Dimitri_.
To the E. rises _Lebanon_ (p. xxxiv), with _Jebel Keneiseh_ and _Jebel
Sannîn_ (p. 483). The climate is mild and pleasant (mean temperature of
Jan. 56° Fahr., of Aug. 81°), and the rainfall is considerable (34 in.).
The sea-breezes render the summer bearable, but they are apt to fail in
August and September. Many of the citizens then seek refuge in the
summer quarters of Lebanon, to which Egyptians and Cypriotes also
resort.
_Berytus_ (‘fountain’) is mentioned in the tablets of Tell el-Amarna
(p. 456) as the seat of the Egyptian vassal Ammunira. It lay in the
territory of the _Giblites_, a northern branch of the Phœnicians. In
140 B.C., during the wars of the Diadochi, the town was entirely
destroyed. The Romans rebuilt it and named it _Colonia Julia Augusta
Felix Berytus_, after the daughter of Emp. Augustus. In the 3rd cent.
its school of Roman law became renowned. From that time down to the
present day it has been noted also for its silk-industry, which was
transplanted to Greece and to Sicily. In 529 the prosperity of the
town was destroyed by an earthquake. Since its conquest by the Arabs
in 635 it has been in the possession of the Moslems, except during the
brief Crusaders’ occupation. Like Saida (p. 469) it was a favourite
residence of the able Druse prince _Fakhreddîn_ (1595–1634), who in
league with the Venetians wrested Central Syria from the Turks. They,
however, later recaptured Beirut. During the 19th cent. Beirut
gradually attained a new lease of prosperity. Under the Egyptian rule
its sea-borne commerce increased, while Saida and Tripoli declined. In
1840 the town was bombarded by the British fleet and recaptured for
the Turks. After the massacre of Christians in 1860 (see p. 485) many
Christians from central Syria settled at Beirut.
The Moslem inhabitants (about 65,000) are in a considerable minority.
Among the Christians there are 64,000 Greeks, 40,000 Maronites, and 2100
Protestants. The Jews number about 5500. An unusually large percentage
of the natives can read and write. The chief language is Arabic.
Beirut offers few sights. The poor and closely built _Old Town_ contains
the _Great Mosque_ (Pl. F, 2), once a Crusader’s church, the _Greek
Churches_, and the _Maronite Cathedral_ (Pl. F, 2).
The _Sûks_ or markets have lost much of their Oriental character. Most
of the genuine native products come from Lebanon (keffîyehs or
head-cloths, embroidery, woven stuffs, slippers, bridal chests, etc.).
The filigree-work has long been noted (sold by weight).
The native population may be studied also in the large _Place des
Canons_ or _Place de l’Union_ (Pl. F, 2), on the S. side of the _Serâi_
or government-buildings. The numerous Arabian cafés are for men only.
The broad streets of the NEW TOWN skirt the picturesque hill-sides.
Palm, orange, and lemon trees abound in the beautiful gardens. The
_Damascus Road_ (tramway; Pl. G, 4, 5) leads to the S. in ½ hr. to the
_Bois de Pins_ (Pl. G, F, 6), a pine-wood planted by Fakhreddîn for
protection against the sand of the dunes.
The finest point of view is *_Mt. St. Dimitri_ (Pl. H, 3–5; best by
evening light), ½ hr. to the S.E. of the old town. From the Place des
Canons we follow the Derb en-Nahr (Pl. G, 2) and the Tripoli road, turn
to the right beyond the Greek Orthodox Hospital (Pl. H, 2), and then
ascend to the left.
From the Place des Canons (tramway, see p. 481) the Derb el-Kebîreh (Pl.
F, E, 2) and Derb el-Prusiani lead to the W., below the dunes, to the
_Râs Beirût_. After ½ hr. we reach the _Lighthouse_ (Phare or Fanâr; Pl.
A, 2). Thence the road descends in windings to the sea and farther on to
the ‘_Pigeons’ Grottoes_’ (reached by boat from the harbour in ½ hr.; 1½
mej.). The light is best near sunset.
* * * * *
FROM BEIRUT TO DAMASCUS, 91½ M., narrow-gauge railway (20 M. being on
Abt’s rack-and-pinion system). Two trains daily in 9¼–11 hrs. (fare 110
pias. 10 or 75 pias.). The passenger should have the exact fare ready
before booking. _Reyâk_ is the diningstation for the day-train.
This Railway Company (French) has its own rate of exchange: 1 napoleon
= 87 pias.; 1 sovereign = 110 pias.; 1 mejidieh = 18½ pias.
The train runs from the harbour to the E., close to the sea, to the (1½
M.) _Chief Station_, and through the valley of the _Nahr Beirût_ at the
E. base of _Mt. St. Dimitri_, soon turning to the S. to (4½ M.)
_El-Hadet_. It then rapidly ascends the slopes of _Lebanon_.
10½ M. _Areiya_, 13 M. _Aleih_ (2460 ft.), two summer resorts in the
Lebanon. The train threads a tunnel to the highest point of the line
(4879 ft.). We then descend, enjoying fine views, to the right and left,
of _Jebel el-Barûk_ (6749 ft.) and _Jebel Keneiseh_ (6660 ft.), to (35
M.) _El-Muallaka_, a large village, and station for the Christian town
of _Zahleh_ (3101 ft.) on the S. spurs of _Jebel Sannîn_ (8556 ft.;
snow-capped in early summer).
We next traverse the lofty valley of _El-Bikâ_, the ancient _Bucca
Vallis_, watered by the _Nahr el-Lîtânî_ (_Leontes_), once the most
fertile part of _Coelesyria_ (‘hollow Syria’).
41 M. =Reyâk= or _Rayak_ (Buffet; halt of ½ hr.), junction for Baalbek
(Heliopolis) and Aleppo (Haleb).
Passing through the narrow _Wâdi Yahfûfeh_ we next ascend the
_Anti-Lebanon Mts._; 54½ M. _Sarrâyâ_ or _Zerghaya_ (4610 ft.) lies
between their two main ranges, on the watershed between the Bikâ and the
plain of Damascus.
Beyond (61 M.) _Ez-Zebedâni_ (3888 ft.) the train enters the valley of
that name, famed for its fruit and watered by the _Nahr Baradâ_ (Gr.
_Chrysorrhoas_, ‘gold stream’). 71½ M. _Sûk Wâdi Baradâ_ (‘market of
Baradâ vale’), at the end of a defile.
76½ M. _Aïn Fîjeh_, the chief source of the Baradâ, has remains of a
Roman Nymphæum (see p. 241). 85 M. _Dummar_, a villa-suburb of Damascus.
The city with its minarets soon comes in sight.
The floor of the Baradâ valley, between (left and right) _Jebel Kâsyûn_
(p. 489) and the hills of _Kalabât el-Mezzeh_, is well planted with
trees. At the mouth of the valley the river divides into seven branches
which water the great plain of Damascus.
Skirting large meadows (_merj_), then orchards, and a _Roman Aqueduct_,
the train reaches (89½ M.) _Damascus-Beramkeh_ (see below), where it is
usual to alight, and lastly runs past the W. side of _El-Meidân_ (p.
487) to (91½ M.) _Damascus-Meidân_.
* * * * *
=Damascus.=—RAILWAY STATIONS. =1.= _Beramkeh_ or _Baramki_, near the
hotels and the Serâi.—=2.= _Meidân_, near the Bauwâbet Allah, chief
station of the Beirut line.—=3.= _Kadem_, for the Hejâz line (p. 469;
no cabs).—Cabs and tramway, see below.
HOTELS. _Hôt. Victoria_, _Hôt. d’Orient_, _Palace Hotel_, all near the
Beramkeh Station and the Serâi; _Hôt. d’Angleterre_, to the E. of the
Serâi Square; pens. 10–15 fr. (or more when crowded), in the quiet
season 6–10 fr.; good wine of the country (from Shtôra) 1½–5 fr.
ARABIAN CAFÉS, the largest and most interesting in the East, mostly on
an arm of the Baradâ, in the Serâi Square, on the Beirut road, the
Aleppo road, etc.—Visitors should beware of the cold night-air from
the river after a hot day.
CABS in the Serâi Square, 6–7 pias, per drive, or 10–12 pias. per hr.
(always to be agreed upon beforehand); but more on holidays and in the
height of the season.—ELECTRIC TRAMWAY (3¼ M.) from the El-Meidân
quarter viâ the Serâi Square to the suburb of Es-Sâlehîyeh (p. 489).
POST OFFICE and INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH OFFICE, Serâi Square.
CONSULS. British, _G. P. Devey_, near the Beramkeh Station.—United
States Consular Agent, _N. Meshâka_, in the Christian quarter.
DRAGOMANS (Arabic _terjumân_), about 10 fr. a day during the season,
desirable for new-comers (comp. p. xxvi), and essential in visiting
the Omaiyade Mosque. Travellers should beware of trusting them with
money or purchases.
BANKS. _Banque Ottomane_, _German Palaestina-Bank_, both in the Sûk
el-Asrunîyeh (p. 486).—PHOTOGRAPHS sold by _Suleimân Hakîm_, at the E.
end of the Straight Street (p. 487).—BATHS. The _Hammâm el-Khaiyâtin_
and the _Hammâm ed-Derwîshîyeh_ or _el-Malikeh_, among others, are
worth seeing.
CHURCHES. _English Church_ (_St. John’s_), of the London Jews Society,
in the Hammâm el-Kari Quarter; _Rev. J. E. Hanauer_; Sun. service at
10.30. Also Edinburgh Medical, British Syrian Mission, Irish
Presbyterian, and other missions, with excellent schools, hospitals,
etc.—The Latins, the Greeks, and the Jews also have their own schools.
SIGHTS (when time is limited). 1st Day, in the forenoon, _Serâi
Square_, the _Bazaars_, and _Meidân_ (pp. 486, 487); afternoon,
_Es-Sâlehîyeh_ and _Jebel Kâsyûn_ (p. 489).—2nd Day. _Mosque of the
Omaiyades_ (p. 488).
_Damascus_ (2268 ft.), formerly called _Dimishk_, a name still sometimes
used, but commonly called by the natives _Esh-Shâm_ (a term applied also
to the whole of Syria; p. 482), lies on the borders of the _Syrian
Desert_ (p. xxxiii) in the _Rûta_, a beautiful oasis between
Anti-Lebanon and the ‘_Meadow Lakes_‘, into which fall all the branches
and canals of the Baradâ. As the Koran pictures paradise as a garden,
where luscious fruits drop into the mouth, the Arabs have ever regarded
Damascus, with its luxuriant orchards, as the prototype of that blissful
abode. The Rûta does not, however, and least of all in winter, impress
Europeans quite so favourably. Yet in May, when the walnut-tree is in
full leaf and the vine climbs exuberantly from tree to tree, or still
later, when the apricot-trees in the midst of their rich carpet of green
herbage bear their countless golden fruits and the pomegranates are in
the perfection of their blossom, the gardens are truly beautiful.
HISTORY. With regard to the foundation of Damascus, which like the
whole of Syria belonged from about 1500 B. C. onwards to Egypt and to
the Hittite empire (p. 547) alternately, countless traditions are
current among the Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans. After David had
temporarily extended his sway to Damascus, there arose here, in
Solomon’s time, an independent Aramæan kingdom under Rezon (1 Kings,
xi. 23–25). In the protracted struggles between the neighbouring
kingdoms of Israel and Judah the Syrian kings generally succeeded, by
means of judicious alliances, in maintaining their independence. In
the annals of the Assyrians, who destroyed Damascus in 732, the town
is called _Dimaski_ and the kingdom _Imîrisu_. From that time onwards
Damascus lost its political importance; but it continued, especially
under the sway of the Seleucides of Antioch during the period of the
Diadochi, to prosper as a trading and industrial city and as the
starting-point of the caravan traffic with Mesopotamia and Persia.
When it became a Roman provincial city it formed a political bulwark
against the Arabs (Nabatæans) and Parthians. In 611 A. D., under the
Byzantine emperor Heraclius, many of its inhabitants were carried into
captivity by the Sassanide _Chosroes II._
With its conquest by the Arabs in 635 begins the most brilliant period
in the history of the city. Under _Mûawiya_ (661–79), founder of the
dynasty of the _Omaiyades_, the greatest of Arabian princes, it became
the seat of the caliphate. But when the _Abbasides_ removed their
residence to Mesopotamia in 750 Damascus again sank to the position of
a provincial town. It fell successively into the hands of the Egyptian
Tulunides and Fatimites (p. 443), and at length in 1075 succumbed to
the Seljuks (p. 542). In 1148 it was unsuccessfully besieged by Conrad
III. Under _Nûreddîn_ and _Saladin_ (p. 443) Damascus was the chief
base of all the wars against the Crusaders. During the conflicts
between the Mongols, who under _Hûlagû_ had captured the city in 1260,
and the Egyptian Mameluke sultans, Damascus was specially favoured by
_Beybars_ (1260–77). During the great predatory expedition of the
Mongols under _Timur_ (1399–1400) many scholars and artists, including
the city’s famous armourers, were exiled to Samarkand. In 1516 the
Turkish sultan _Selim I._ (p. 542) entered the city as its final
conqueror. In 1860 there took place a great massacre of Christians in
which the Christian quarter was utterly destroyed and about 6000
Christians killed.
Damascus consists of several different quarters. The _Jews’ Quarter_, as
in the time of the Apostles, adjoins the ‘Straight Street’ (p. 487), on
the S.E. side of the city; to the N.E. of it is the poor _Christian
Quarter_. The other parts of the town are Moslem. Far towards the S.
stretches the suburb of _Meidân_, inhabited by peasants. The Arabian
houses in the old town are noted for their splendour. They usually
contain a spacious court, adorned with fountains, flower-beds,
orange-trees, etc., and flanked on the S. side by a lofty open arcade
(_lîwân_) with pointed arches.
The population is roughly estimated at 300,000, of whom four-fifths are
Moslems, and there is a garrison of 12,000 men. The Damascenes are
notorious for their ignorance and fanaticism. The city was once a great
centre of learning, but of about a hundred old _medresehs_ or colleges
five only now remain. The famous old weaving industry of the place
(still employing about 10,000 primitive looms for silk, woollen, and
cotton stuffs) is being steadily ousted by European competition. The
busy bazaar traffic here is hardly less picturesque than at Cairo.
We begin our visit at the SERÂI SQUARE, the centre of business, built
over the main branch of the Baradâ (p. 484). A _Monument_ here
commemorates the opening of telegraphic communication with Mecca.
To the E. of the square are the *=Bazaars=. Through the covered _Sûk Ali
Pasha_ (fruit and tobacco) we reach the _Sûk el-Hamîr_ (donkey-market),
beyond which is an open street where corn is sold.
At a large plane-tree here we turn to the right to visit the interesting
_Sûk es-Surûjîyeh_ (saddlers’ market), which ends near the citadel at
the _Sûk en-Nahhâsîn_. This is the bazaar of the coppersmiths, who make
the handsome _kursi_, or trays placed on wooden stands (p. 487) to serve
as tables.
The =Citadel= (no admittance), a huge castle in the style introduced by
the Crusaders, was built in 1219 and was afterwards restored by Beybars
(p. 485). The thick walls stand on ancient substructures of massive
blocks. At the corners rise square towers with bartisans. The chief gate
is on the W. side.
From the W. side of the Citadel the chief thoroughfare of the city
(tramway, see p. 484) leads past the _Military Serâi_ and the _Hammâm
el-Malikeh_ (or _ed-Derwîshîyeh_) to the Meidân suburb (p. 487). On the
left is the _Sûk el-Kharrâtin_, or Turners’ Market.
Opposite the Military Serâi is the entrance to the ‘_Greek Bazaar_‘, a
covered market restored in 1893, one of the largest in the city. Among
the wares, for which buyers can hardly offer too little, are weapons,
antiquities, clothing, pipe-stems, and ‘damascened’ daggers (made in
Germany).
Straight through the Greek Bazaar we come to the _Sûk elHamîdîyeh_, also
renovated, with its attractive Arabian sweetmeatshops. A side-street
leads thence (l.) to the bazaar for _Water Pipes_ (a kind of hookah
smoked by the peasants) and the _Sûk el-Asrunîyeh_, for utensils, glass,
henna (p. 108), and attar of roses (p. 335).
Beyond the _Sûk Bâb el-Berîd_ (on the left) we pass the almost deserted
bazaar-street of the _Booksellers_ (leading to the Omaiyade mosque, p.
488), with an old _Triumphal Arch_; whence a double row of columns once
led to the ancient temple (see p. 488). We then turn out of the
Hamîdîyeh, to the right, into the _Cloth Bazaar_ (chiefly imported
goods). On the right is the _Tomb of Nûreddîn_ (p. 485; unbelievers not
admitted).
Adjoining the S. side of the mosque are the bazaar of the _Joiners_,
where we note the kabkâbs, a kind of patten, the kursistands, and the
bridal chests, and that of the _Goldsmiths_.
To the S. of the great mosque is the region of the KHÂNS (p. 445). We
come first to the _Khân el-Harîr_, or silk-bazaar, now that of the
furriers. Near it is the _House of Asad Pasha_, one of the finest in the
city (admittance with the aid of a dragoman). The *_Khân Asad Pasha_,
with its superb stalactite portal, is the largest of all.
Near this point runs the ancient ‘STRAIGHT STREET’ (Acts ix. 11; now Sûk
et-Tawîleh, or ‘long market’), connecting the Meidân road with the Bâb
esh-Sherki (see below). A few paces to the W., towards the Meidân road,
on the left, is the _Khân Suleimân Pasha_, for Persian carpets and
silks. On the right, where the cloth-bazaar (see above) diverges, is the
_Silk Bazaar_ proper, for the sale of keffîyehs (head-cloths,
‘kerchiefs’), table-covers, embroidery, woollen cloaks (abâyehs) for
peasants and Bedouins, etc.—We next come to the _Sûk el-Attârîn_, or
spice-market, and to the _Meidân Road_.
At the point where we join this road rises the =Jâmi es-Sinânîyeh=,
one of the most sumptuous mosques in Damascus. The chief portal (E.
side), with its rich stalactites, and the minaret enriched with
fayencetiles (kishâni, p. 477) are interesting.
The road forks farther on. We follow the Meidân Road (at first called
_Sûk es-Sinânîyeh_) to the S. Close to the _Jâmi el-Idein_, where the
Meidân Road trends somewhat to the right, we pass, on the left, the
Moslem cemetery _Makbaret Bâb es-Sarîr_, where women weep at the tombs
on Thursdays.
The poor suburb of =Meidân= is modern. Its numerous mosques, including
the fine _Kâat el-Ûla_, are in a ruinous state. The sûk is frequented
by corn-dealers, whose grain is heaped up in open barns, and by
smiths. The arrival of caravans here presents a picturesque scene. The
long strings of camels are attended by ragged Bedouins. Among them are
seen Haurânians, bringing their corn to market, and here and there a
Kurd shepherd with his square felt-mantle driving his sheep to the
shambles. The Bedouins, armed with guns or with long lances, sometimes
ride beautiful horses. The wealthy Druses from Lebanon have a most
imposing appearance. Twice a year almost all these types may be seen
together: on the departure, and again, better still, on the return of
the Mecca pilgrims.
If time permit we may now retrace our steps to the cemetery Makbâret
Bâb es-Sarîr (see above) whence we take a short walk along the =City
Wall=, on the S.E. side of the old town, beyond the Jewish and
Christian quarters (p. 485). Its foundations are Roman, the central
part dates from the days of Nûreddîn and the Egyptian sultan El-Ashraf
Khalîl (1291), and the upper part from the Turkish period. Passing the
camping-ground of the caravans from Bagdad and the _Bâb esh-Sherki_
(E. Gate, originally Roman), we come to the well-preserved _Bâb Tûmâ_
(St. Thomas’s Gate). [About ¾ M. to the S. of the Bâb esh-Sherki are
Christian burial-grounds; in one of which _Henry Thomas Buckle_, the
eminent English historian (d. 1862), is interred.]
Near the Bâb Tûmâ on the Aleppo road, beyond the Baradâ, are public
gardens and pleasant cafés patronized by Christians. We return thence
to the _Citadel_ (p. 486), passing between the Baradâ and the N. side
of the town-wall, here probably Byzantine.
The great *=Omaiyade Mosque= (_Jâmi el-Umawî_), the finest monument of
that dynasty in Syria next to the Dome of the Rock (p. 477), deserves
close inspection. Entrance by the W. gate (_Bâb el-Berîd_), at the end
of the booksellers’ sûk (p. 486). Gratuity to the sheikh who acts as
guide ca. 1 mejidieh each person; addit. charge for slippers 1–2 pias.
each person.
On the site of the mosque there once stood a Roman temple within a
large quadrangle. This was succeeded by the church of St. John, a
three-aisled basilica built by Emp. Theodosius I. (379–95), and so
named from the ‘head of John the Baptist’ (Arabic Yahyâ) preserved in
the Confessio, by which the Damascenes still swear. After the conquest
of the city by the Arabs (p. 485) the E. half of the church was
assigned to the Moslems. Caliph Welîd (705–15) deprived the Christians
of the W. half also; and in 708, with the help, it is said, of 1200
Byzantine artificers, he transformed the church into the present
mosque, which was so magnificent that Arabian authors extolled it as
one of the wonders of the world. Adjacent to it the earliest school of
learning was built by caliph Omar II. (717–20). The mosque was
carefully restored after fires in 1069, 1400, and 1893, but its
ancient glory has departed for ever.
We enter the great COURT, which with the mosque itself forms an immense
rectangle of 143 by 104 yds., and is flanked by two-storied arcades in
the Byzantine style. Behind these are the sleeping-apartments and
studies of the teachers and students. The old marble pavement of the
court, the mosaic incrustation of the walls, and the crown of pinnacles
have disappeared. The fountain of ablution (_Kubbet en-Naufara_) and the
two smaller domed buildings are modern.
Of the three TOWERS the ‘bride’s minaret’ (_Mâdinet el-Arûs_; now being
rebuilt) on the N. side of the court is said to date from the time of
Welîd. The ‘minaret of Jesus’ (_Mâdinet Isâ_), at the S.E. angle of the
mosque, recalls the Crusaders’ edifices. The _Mâdinet el-Rarbîyeh_, at
the S.W. angle, in the Egypto-Arabian style and famed for its view, was
added by Kâït Bey (p. 458).
The INTERIOR (143 by 41 yds.), with its three span-roofs, still has the
form of an early-Christian basilica. Above each of the two rows of
columns, 23 ft. high, which separate the aisles, rises a row of
‘colonnettes’ with round-arch openings, to which similar round-arched
windows in the outer walls correspond. In the centre a threefold
transept, with four huge pillars supporting the dome (Kubbet en-Nisr,
eagle’s dome), indicates the direction of Mecca. The Byzantine
glass-mosaics of the time of Welîd, the superb timber ceiling, and the
mihrâb and mimbar (15th cent.) were all sadly damaged by the fire of
1893. In the central aisle on the E., over the ‘head of John the
Baptist’, rises a modern dome in wood.
On the N. side of the mosque, near the _Bâb el-Amâra_, are the
handsome _Tomb of Saladin_ (Kabr Salâheddîn; adm. 6 pias.) and the
_Medreseh_ and _Tomb Mosque of Sultan Beybars_ (p. 485), the latter,
according to the inscription, built by his son in 1279.
The suburb of =Es-Sâlehîyeh= (tramway, see p. 484), l–1/4 M. to the N.W.
of the Serâi Square, has about 25,000 inhab., mostly descended from
Seljuks, reinforced later by Kurds and by Moslem refugees from Crete.
The finest of the ruinous mosques, but not readily shown, is the
tomb-mosque of _Muhieddîn ibn el-Arâbi_ (d. 1240), adjoined by the tomb
of Abd el-Kâder (p. 221).
From the Cretan quarter at the W. end of the suburb we may ascend, past
a platform affording a good view, to the (1¼ hr.) top of the _Jebel
Kâsyûn_ (3718 ft.). The *View at the small _Kubbet en-Nasr_ (‘dome of
victory’) embraces the city, encircled by the broad green belt of the
oasis of the Rûta, the barren heights of Anti-Lebanon, with the long
chain of _Mt. Hermon_ (9052 ft.; generally snow-capped) to the S.W.; and
to the S.E., beyond _Jebel Mâni_, the distant hill-country of the
_Haurân_.
Fuller details in _Baedeker’s Palestine and Syria_.