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Show "Oldest City I A 1 If RM J fit V m me World t-. . . f..y.N-.v3.-.i t::r : -ry .::::? : " - - 1Jir" " $ - . '"htK "-" Tf f v 4 . fc, ms , . E s . v. 3 V i .ia-jrisrir3:"v; lt N . v - ,JL .o' . WHEN General Allenby and his victorious army captured Damascus from the Turks, they took what is called the "oldest city in the world." The claim Is based upon frequent mention in the Old Testament where it is referred to, by various names that serve to identify it, and in the New Testament. Josephus affirms that it was founded by Uz, the son of Aram, who gave to the region the name of Syria, which it has retained to this day. Damascus was a flourishing trade center in Abraham's time. One of the earliest "novels" in all literature (equally so whether true or fanciful) is the story of the Jewish maid taken captive by Naaman, a Syrian general (H Kings). Naaman was a leper, but the captive suggested getting the advice ad-vice of a prophet at Samaria. He did so, but when told to bathe In the Jordan Jor-dan he was vexed, saying that plenty of water existed nearer home. However, How-ever, he did go to the Jordan and was cleansed. Good story. If you doubt it, the next time you visit Damascus any of the old inhabitants inhab-itants will point out Naaman's house. Elishn figures In the early history of Damascus. Ben-hadad (910 15. C, at a guess), a king of Damascus, was murdered, and the assassin Improved conditions 6o greatly that king killing became popular. The king of .Tudea resented the success of the upstart monarch and, with help from ttie. niler of Assyria, took the city and killed Its ruler. This made good a prediction of Isaiah. The early prophets appear to have "had it in" for the people at Damascus; Damas-cus; they spent a great deal of time in prophesying 111 of that city. And. bad cess to their activities, most of their predictions came true. The city was under the sway of Assyria As-syria for nearly l.OtK) years n mere i episode In Its history. Its people first j awakened when the Itomans under Poinpey moved In, about 04 It. O. i Herod had controversies with the Syrian rulers In which he came oft second best. Made Familiar by St. Paul. It lu In "Vow Tpyfimunf titni Ihnt Damascus under the kalifs, and of Its many trials which followed the removal re-moval of the kalifate to Bagdad; of the coming of the Egyptians, the Car-mathians, Car-mathians, and the Seljuks; of the campaigns cam-paigns and mighty conquests of the Saladln; of the ravages of the Mongols, Mon-gols, and of the final inclusion of Damascus within the Ottoman empire, early in the sixteenth century, followed fol-lowed by a long 400 years of stagnation. stagna-tion. Beautiful, From a Distance. The modern Damascus, like thn Damascus of all the ages, is, in Its distant view, as are many Eastern cities, a place of great beauty. It lies at the northern edge of the plain of Ghutah, at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon, 2,250 feet above the sea, anj all around, for a circuit of 00. miles, extend ex-tend the famous orchards, gardens, vineyards, and fields of Damascus, which have always made its fertility proverbial throughout the East. The Arabs regard It as one of their four earthly paradises. Close at hand, the city Is not so beautiful. The rough mud walls of the houses contrast strangely with the splendors within, for the houses of Damascus, with their mosaics and carved wood, and their ceilings rich In arabesque ornaments, elaborately gilded, are amongst the most beautiful In the East. The bazaars, however, are the great feature fea-ture of Damascus. The masses of Color and the wonderful 'effects of light and shadow which they present have made them the delight of painters. paint-ers. As one writer has described such n scene, here are displayed all the riches of the Orient ; rnre carpets and rugs from Persia, nnd shawls, scarfs and kerchiefs of every dye from the far Interior of Asia, with Told and silver embroideries In exquisite taste or of barbaric splendor. There Is no i pavement, but the ground is hard from I the tread of ninny feet, for n motley. I throng Is ever passing to nnd fro, of turbaned men and of women closely j veiled ; n musician playing his tambourine, tam-bourine, nnd cavaliers or a train of cnmels slowly filing through. The long streets nre dim nnd cool, being one eeems to bo brought Into most In- j limate touch with Damascus. Tb" memorable Journey of St Paul to the city of Jerusalem, and all that bap- J pined during and after It; the "street which Is called Straight;" the bouse! of Jinlns; the visit of Ananias; the subsequent preaching of St. Paul In the synagogues; the plots to kill him, and his escape from the cily by night, are all names and incidents familiar to Christians the world over. It was to Damascus, too, that SI. Paul returned re-turned after Ills three years' sojourn In the wilderness, nnd In no other period In Its long history does the an-clenl an-clenl clly on the banks of Hie Abana seem to come so clearly Inlo view. Later on, under Trajan, Damascus beciiine a Roman provincial city, and, on the clabllshrnont of Christianity, ihe seat of a bishop, who ranked next In ii n I liorily afler the patriarch of An-lloeh. An-lloeh. Even when this point Is reached, a wenllh of history sllll IIch ahead: There Is the great slory of nrrnea in nign noove, mm uiriniKii apertures the sunlight falls In misty streams on the gorgeous wares nnd moving multitudes beneath. Then, the old city walls nre still there; nnd the Reman gateways; and the Derb el-Mlstnklm, el-Mlstnklm, or the "street which Is cnllcd Straight," still runs through the city, from the eastern to the western gate, as It did nineteen hundred years ago, In the days of St. Paul. Relics In England. A few years ngo there was sold by auction the spear that was used by a n In 1 dervish to kill General Gordon. The relic ultimately fetched 30 guineas. On another occasion the sword used by Lord Cardigan In the lialtle of Balaclava Bala-clava was disposed of at t)ie same auction auc-tion mart for guineas. A very different dif-ferent war relic realized n very different differ-ent price. This was the silver-gilt table ta-ble service used by Napoleon In the course of his iiiiiny campaigns and it I vent for 050. London Tlt-ltlts. M - - ' - ' : .... . ; W v ' . I 'M ' " ' " - v -j ! y ., :m - , M ; y-::.i. - l'r-::J:i -Vi- : ytyl-- -iy;''v:':; '" " -'; f '' ' ' f " t.to'J ci. 1 . &J - i " i '" ' ' ' J -ft w f - l y:a .: "' , ' i.; r ,"a . ' ' : - ' ., . ' ' . ( , ..., ,; I Main Market of Daniiiocun. J |