DAMASCUS Few cities possess greater interest for the sacred historian and antiquary than Damascus. It is the oldest city in the world. It was closely connected during a long period with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It occupies a place of considerable prominence from the time of Abraham to that of Paul ; and it be came the seat of one of the most flourishing of the early Christian churches. Damascus has besides been a witness of the stirring events of full four thousand years, and has in succession been ruled by the mightiest monarchs and dynasties of the earth.
Some derive the name Damascus from an unused root pb197, signifying to be active,' and ex plain it as indicating the commercial activity for which the city has always been noted (Gesenius, Thesaurus, s. v.) The Arabic name is the same as the ancient Hebrew, c j. Some modern writers affirm that the name of the city is r Sham, or with the article. This, however, is the proper name of Syria, though it is sometimes in conversation applied to the city as a contraction of the full name ? given to it by all native writers.
I. Situation. —Damascus occupies the most beautiful site in Syria, or perhaps in all Western Asia. At the eastern base of Antilibanus lies a vast plain having an elevation of about 2200 feet above the level of the sea. It is bounded on the south by the river Awaj, the ancient Pharpar, which separates it from Iturea. On the east a little group of conical hills divides it from the great Arabian desert. Its form is triangular, and its area about 50o square miles. Only about one half of this is now inhabited, or indeed habitable ; but in richness and beauty this half is unsurpassed. It owes all its advantages to its rivers. Without them it would be an arid desert ; by them it has been made a paradise. While one looks from the brow of Lebanon over that matchless scene of ver dure, he cannot but acknowledge the truth and appropriateness of Naaman's proud exclamation— `Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?' (2 Kings v. 12.) The Abana, now called Barada, descends through a sublime ravine from the very centre of Antilibanus, intersecting several parallel side ridges. The last of these it passes by a narrow gorge, and on entering the plain flows due east across it for twenty miles, when it empties its waters into two lakes, or rather marshes. Both before and after it enters the plain a number of dams are built across the channel at different elevations, turning a part of the abundant waters into large canals, some of which are tunnelled through the rock along the sides of the ravine. By means of these not only is there an unlimited supply of water conveyed to the innumerable fountains of the great city, but the whole surrounding plain is irrigated. The ravine of the Abana is a real cornucopia, pouring out a perennial flood of fruit and flowers upon the broad plain. The Pharpar takes its rise high up on the side of Hermon. After descending into the plain it flows eastward across it, passing about seven miles south of the city, but sending out several large streams which irrigate the plain almost up to the gates. It falls into Lake Heijaneh about twenty miles south-east of Damascus. It may be right here to state that the description given of the plain and rivers of Damascus in Mr. Rawlinson's valuable essay on the geography of Mesopotamia and the adjacent countries, in his edition of Hero dotus (i. 547, sq.) is altogether inaccurate. The
canals taken from the Barada do not again unite with the main stream, nor does the Awaj at any point join that river. The lakes into which the Barada and Awaj empty their waters are not the same, nor do they ever unite. It seems strange that Mr. Rawlinson should have embodied such statements in his text, while, as it appears from a note, he had before him the results of the explora. tions made by the writer of this article, as com municated to the Royal Geographical Society (journal R. G. S. xxvi. 43, .sy.) The first view of Damascus obtained by those who approach it from the west can never be forgotten. It is not surpassed for beauty by any landscape in the world. The road winds through the defiles of Antilibanus, then across a broad steppe or terrace, bare, barren, and stony. The ridge which forms the supporting wall of this terrace is naked lime. stone, almost as white as snow. Over its crest the old road is carried by a deep cutting. On passing this the whole plain and city of Damascus burst in a moment on the view. The brilliant verdure is rendered more striking by contrast with the pain ful barrenness of the desert behind. The wild gorge of the Abana is close on the right. The city stands on the banks of the main stream about two miles distant, and 500 feet below the pass. The modern architecture of the East does not bear close inspection, but when seen from a distance it is sin gularly imposing. Tapering minarets and swelling domes, tipped with golden crescents, rise up in every direction from the confused mass of white terraced roofs ; while in some places their tops gleam like diamonds amid the deep green foliage. In the centre of the city stands the great mosque, and near it are the massive towers of the castle. Beneath our feet lies the Merj, the Ager Damns cenus of the early travellers—a long green meadow, stretching from near the mouth of the gorge to the western end of the city. The Barada winds through it ; and at its eastern end, on the banks of the stream, is one of the most beautiful of the mosques. The gardens and orchards, which have been so long and so justly celebrated, encompass the whole, sweeping along the base of the hills, and extending on both sides of the river more than ten miles eastward. They cover an area about thirty miles in circuit, not uniformly dense, but with open glades at intervals, and villages like white specks among. Beyond this circuit are clumps of trees and groves clotting the vast plain as far as the eye can see. The varied tints of the foliage add greatly to the beauty of the picture. The sombre hue of the olive, and the deep green of the walnut, are relieved by the lighter shade of the apricot, the silvery sheen of the poplar, and the russet tinge of the pomegranate ; while lofty cone-like cypresses appear at intervals, and a few palms raise up their graceful heads. In early spring the blossoms of the fruit-trees give another charm to the scene— lying like foam upon that verdant sea. The gor geously coloured foliage thus surrounding the bright city ; the smooth plain beyond, now bounded by bare hills, and now mingling with the sky on the distant horizon; and the wavy atmosphere quivering under a shower of sunbeams, that make forest, plain, and mountain tremble, give a soft ness, an aerial beauty, to the whole picture, that ravishes the mind of the beholder.