products of neariy all nations — Indian muslins, Man- chester prints, Persian carpets, Lyons' silks, Birming- ham cutlery. Cashmere shawls. Mocha coffee, and Dutch sugar.
4. Top^rc^y, Antiquities, etc, — ^The old dty, the nucleus of Damascus, stands on the south bank of the river, and is smrrounded by a tottering wall, the foun- dations of which are Roman, and the superstructure a patchwork of all succeeding ages. It is of an irregu- lar oval form. Its greatest diameter is marked by the ** street called Straight,*'' which intersects it f^om east to west, and is about a mUe long. This street was anciently divided into three avenues by Corinthian col- onnades, and at each end were triple Roman gateways, still in a great measure entire. In the old city were the Christian and Jewish quarters, and the principal buildings and baxaars. On the north, west, and south are extensive suburbs. The internal aspect of the city is not prepossessing, and great is the disappoint^ ment of the stranger when he leaves the delicious en- virons and enters the gates. Without, nature smiles joyously, the orchards seem to blush at their own b^uty, and the breese is laden with perfumes. With- in, all is different. The worlcs of man show sad signs of neglect and decay. The houses are rudely built; the limes are paved with big rough stones, and par- tially roofed with ragged mats and withered branches ; kmg-bearded, fiinatical-visaged men squat in rows on dirty stalls, telling their beads, and mingling, with muttered prayers to Allah and his prophet, curses deep and terrible on all infidels. The bazaars are among the best in the East See Bazjub. They are narrow covered lanes, with long ranges of open stalls on each side ; in these their owners sit as stiff and statue-like as if they had been placed there for show. See Mbbchant. Each trade has its own quarter. Eveiy group in the bazaars would form a lively picture. All the costumes of Asia are there, strangdy grouped with panniered donkeys, gayly-ca- parisoned mules, and dreamy-looking camds. The principal khans or caravansaries are spacious build- ings. They are now used as stores and shops for the principal merchants. The great khan, Assad Pasha, is among the finest in Turkey. A noble Saracenic portal opens on a large quadrangle, ornamented with a marble fountain, and covered by a series of domes supported on square pillars. Many of the mosques are fine specimens of Saracenic architecture. Their deep- ly-moulded gateways are very beautiAil, and the inter- laced stone-work around doors and windows is unique. They are mostly built of alternate layers of white and bladL stone, with string courses of marble arranged in chaste patterns. But they are all badly kept, and numy of them are now ruinous.
The private houses of Damascus share, with the plain, the admiration of all visitors. No contrast could be greater than that between the outside and inside. The rough mud-walls and mean doors give poor promise of taste or beauty within. The entrance is always through a narrow winding passage sometimes even a stable-yard — to the " outer court," where the master has his reception-room, and to which alone male visit- ors are admitted. Another winding passage leads to the harem (q. v.), which is the principal part of the house. Here is a spacious court, with tesselated pave- ment, a marble basin in the centre, jete d'eau around it, orange, lemon, and citron trees, floweriog shrubs, jessamines and vines trained over trellis-work for shade. The rooms all open on this court, intercom- munication between room and room being almost un- known. On the south side is an open alcove, with marble floor and cushioned dais. The decorations of some of the rooms is gorgeous. The walls of the older houses are wainscoted, carved, and gilt, and the ceil- ings are covered with arabesque ornaments. In the new houses painting and marble f^^etWork are taking the place of arabesque and wainscoting.
DAMASCUS
652
DAMIAJT
The principal building of Damascns is the Grtat Motque^ the domes and minarets of which are every- where conspicuous. It occupies one side of a large quadrangular court, flagged with marble, arranged in patterns, and ornamented with some bttsutiful foun- tains. Within the mosque are double ranges of Co- rinthian columns supporting the roof, in the style of the old basilicas. The walls were once covered with Mosaic, representing the holy places of Islam ; but this is nearly all gone. In the centre is a spacious dome. The building was anciently a temple, with a large cloistered court, like the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra. In the time of Constantine it was made a church and dedicated to John the Baptist, whose head was said to be deposited in % silver casket in one of the crypts. In the 7th century the Moslems took posses- sion of it, and it lias since remained the most venera- ted of their mosques. It is a singular fact, however, that though it has now been for twelve centuries in possession of the enemies of our fkith, though during the whole of that period no Ohristian has ever been permitted to enter its precincts, yet over its principal door is an inscription embodying one of the grandest and roost cheering of Christian truths (Psa. cxlv, 18).
The CcuUe is a large quadrangular structure, with high walls and massive flanking towers. It is now a mere shell, the whole interior being a heap of ruins. The foundations are at least as old as the Roman age. It stands at tlie north-west angle of the ancient wall.