(Walk or drive.) The long bazaar which leads from the citadel to the Jâmi' es-Sinânîyeh (p. 353) continues in a S.E. direction as the Sûk es-Sinâniyeh. This last is a very broad bazaar, and is entirely covered by a wooden roof resting upon stone arches, 29 ft. in height. This is an emporium for the requirements of the Beduins and the peasantry, such as clothing, sheepskins, boots, weapons, pipes ('sebîls', smoked without a tube), milking tubs, coloured round straw mats which serve as dining-tables, and oaken mortars for coffee (considered the best). — On quitting this bazaar we observe the handsome Medreseh es-Sinânîyeh, with stalactite enrichments on the gateway and windows. On the right we next see the Jâmi' es- Sabunîyeh, built of layers of black and white stone, and adorned with tasteful arabesques. Opposite is the entrance to the cemetery Makbaret Bâb es-Saghîr (p. 358). Crossing the cemetery diagonally, we reach the Esh-Shaghûr quarter. Further on, to the left, is a tomb covered by two domes; on the right is the Jâmi' esh-Sheibânîyeh and several dilapidated schools (medreseht). On the right, where the street bends, rises the mosque Jâmi' el-Idên. We follow the bend, and soon see the Meidân lying before us to the S.
The suburb of Meidân, which is fully 1 M. in length, deserves a visit, as its character is materially different from that of the city itself. The whole suburb is of comparatively modern origin, and the numerous dilapidated mosques on each side of the road have stood at most for a century or two. The bazaar at first still continues, part of it being occupied by smiths, and part by corn dealers, whose grain is heaped up in open sheds. The houses are poorer than those in the interior of the town. — The most interesting scene to be witnessed in this quarter is the arrival of a caravan. A long string of camels stalks through the street, accompanied by ragged Beduins with matted hair and wild appearance. In the midst of the procession may be seen the Haurânian bringing his corn to market, or the Kurd shepherd, clad in his square cloak of felt, driving his flock to the slaughter-house. The Beduins, poor as they seem, often ride beautiful horses, guiding them with a halter only, and they are usually armed with a long lance or, more rarely, with a gun. In the midst of the noisy city these semi-savages are quite out of their element. Some of the Beduins, called Slebî's, live chiefly by gazelle hunting, and wear gazelle skins, but these rarely come to the town. Sometimes a Druse of high rank (p. xciv) may be seen riding in at the head of an armed troop. His appearance is imposing. His turban is snowy white, he is equipped with a lance, handsome pistols, a sword, and perhaps a gun also, and his horse is often richly caparisoned. There are two days in the year when examples of almost all these types may be seen at once, vix. the day on which the great caravan of pilgrims starts for Mecca, and (still more favourable) the day of its return. The Pilgrimage (p. xci) properly begins at Damascus, where the holy tent of the pilgrim-caravan is preserved in the great mosque. But since steamboats have plied on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, few Persians and N. Africans come to Damascus for the purpose of undertaking thence the fatiguing journey to Medina over land (27 days). Circassians, however, and inhabitants of Central Asia are still to be seen. The gate at the end of the Meidân is called Bawwâbet Allâh, or God's Gate, on account of its connection with the pilgrimage. In 1897 the pilgrimage-caravan returned at the beginning of July, and each successive year it arrives about twelve days earlier than the year before. On these occasions are seen the gro tesque camel litters, rudely made of wood, covered with coloured cloth, and open in front, containing two inmates reclining on beds. The litter is sometimes borne by two camels, one before and the other behind, which are trained to keep step with each other. The camels are adorned with a headgear of leather straps, to which shells, coins, and small bells are attached. A handsome, richly caparisoned camel bears a large litter, which is hung with green cloth embroidered with gold, and contains an old Korân and the green flag of the prophet. The pilgrims, who have an eye to business as well as religion, bring back goods from Mecca; the Damascus merchants therefore travel as far as the Hauran to meet the returning cavalcade. The party is accompanied by many half-naked dervishes and by an escort of soldiers, Druses, and Beduins.
The following mosques are situated in the Meidân, but some of them are in a ruinous condition, and there are several leaning minarets. On the right, the Jâmi' Sîdî Jumân. Then, on the right, the handsome Jâmi' Menjek, built about the middle of the last cent. (?), with columns painted red at the entrance and in the court. On the left, the Jâmi' er-Rifâ'i. On the left lies the Hukla quarter of the town, which contains several handsome houses and some weaving-factories. Opposite a guard-house is the more recently built mosque Kâ'at et-Ta^niyeh. Next comes the Mesjid Sa'adeddîn, and on the right the beautiful mosque Kâ'at el-Ula, with fine arabesques and a stalactite gate between two domes, but sadly dilapidated. On the left is the mosque Shihâbeddîn. By the gate is the mosque Mastabet Sa'adeddiîn. The gate itself is poor. Outside lies a cemetery, beyond which olive plantations begin.
We return to the Jâmi' el-Idên (p. 356), and thence visit the Makbaret Bâb es-Saghîr, or Burial Ground. Two of the wives of the prophet, and his daughter Fatima, are interred here. Over their grave rises a modern dome made of clay. Mu'âwiya, the ancestor of the Omayyades, is said also to have been buried here, but no trace of his tomb now exists. Beyond the burial-ground stands the mosque Jâmi' el-Jerâh, which is said to contain the tomb of Abu 'Ubeida, the conqueror of Damascus. An old-fashioned gate leads hence into the Shaghûr quarter (p. 356), but as it presents no attraction we follow the road leading round the outside of the walls. The City Wall contains masonry of very different kinds. The two or three lowest courses are Roman, jointed without mortar, the central part is of the Arabian, and the upper part of the Turkish period. Round and square towers flank the wall at intervals, but most of them are in a tottering condition. One of them bears an inscription containing the name of Nûreddin and the date 664 (1171). To the right, a little farther on, we observe a tomb among the fields with a white dome, where Bilâl el-Habeshi (of Ethiopia), Mohammed's muezzin, is said to be buried. Adjacent to it is a minaret. After 2 min. more we pass a built-up gate in the town-wall. This was the old Bâb Kîsân, which was erected by a person of that name in the time of Mu'âwiya on the site of an older gate. Opposite this gate, about 50 paces distant, is the Tomb of St. George, which is much revered by the Christians. The saint is said to have assisted St. Paul to escape from Damascus, and the window (above the Turkish wall!) is still pointed out whence the apostle was let down in a basket by night (Acts ix. 25; 2 Cor. xi. 32, 33). The conversion of St. Paul was localised in the middle ages at the village of Kaukab, about 6 M. to the S.W. of the town, but since the last century tradition has conveniently fixed the site nearer the Christian burial grounds, which lie about 1/2 M. to the E. of the Bâb Kîsân, and where Henry Thomas Buckle, the eminent English historian (d. 1862) is interred.
About 450 paces farther we reach the S.E. corner of the wall, where we perceive the remains of an ancient tower with drafted stones. Nearly opposite is a spot where the caravans which travel between Damascus and Bagdad via Palmyra two or three times a year generally encamp. These merchants bring Persian carpets and tumbak (tobacco for the water-pipe, which grows in Persia only, see p. xxxix.) from Bagdad, and carry back European and other wares. This trade is chiefly in the hands of the 'Agêl Beduins (p. 390); the caravan has frequently been plundered on the route. — The greenish herb with white flowers and an unpleasant smell which grows wild outside the gates of Damascus is the Peganum harmala.
We now turn to the left and follow the wall, near which ropemakers busily ply their craft. Here, too, the substructions are ancient. On the wall above are several houses of the Jewish quarter. We thus reach the Bâb esh-Sherki, the East Gate of the city, which is of Roman origin. It consisted, as the remains of the arch indicate, of a large gateway, 38 ft. high and 20 ft. wide, and two smaller gates of half the size; but the principal gate and the smaller S. gate have long been built up. The small gate on the N. side is the present entrance to the town. Above the gate rises a minaret, which is too dilapidated to be ascended.
From the E. Gate back to the Bazaar. along the Straight Street (p. 352). Within the gate we turn into the first lane to the right, and in 3 min. reach what is traditionally known as the House of Ananias, now converted into a small church, with a crypt, and belonging to the Latins. We are now in the Christian Quarter, where the lanes are narrow and poor, and the houses are in a ruinous condition, partly owing to the events of 1860 (p. 344). The second street on the right leads to the Leper House, or Hadira (4 min. from the gate), containing about a dozen patients, to alleviate whose misery the visitor will gladly contribute. The Churches of the Christian quarter have all been rebuilt since 1860, and are devoid of interest.
Returning to the Straight Street, we follow it to the W. until we reach a Barrack on the left (4 min.). A street to the right leads from the barrack to the N. through the Christian quarter to the Gate of St. Thomas (p. 360). Proceeding beyond the next bend in the street, and passing a lane on the left, we come to the large Monastery and School of the Lazarists on the right.
From the barrack to the Sûk et-Tawîleh (p. 352) is a walk of 10 min. more, but the whole of this main street may be considered to belong to the bazaar. On the left lies the Jewish Quarter. After 5 min. we come to a cross-street, and in the lane to the left we enquire for the house of Shammai, in which a very richly furnished apartment is shown to visitors. In the Straight Street, farther on, we come to a bazaar chiefly in possession of joiners. Arabian locks, of exceedingly simple but ingenious construction, are also manufactured here. Then we reach the bazaar of the boxmakers and the beginning of the Midhatîyeh (p. 353).]
Continuing our walk along the outer side of the town-wall, we observe on the right, between the Bâb esh-Sherki and the N. E. corner of the town-wall, near the tombs, a dilapidated building also occupied by lepers, which is styled the House of Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings v.). Here again the city-wall contains some ancient materials. The corner tower of the wall was erected by Melik es-Sâlih Eyyûb, one of the last of the Eyyubides (1249). At a bend in the road is the large tomb of Arslân, a famous shêkh of the time of Nûreddîn. If we go through the gate of the tomb eastwards, a few minutes' walk will bring us to the Sûfanîyeh, a large public garden with a café, a very popular place of resort for the Damascenes. The road now turns to the left to the Gate of St. Thomas, crossing an arm of the Baradâ. Here also we observe houses built upon the wall. The Bdb Tumd, or Gate of St. Thomas, is in good preservation. Within this gate lies the Christian Quarter (for the street southwards to the barracks, see p. 359). A road to the W. skirts the old town-wall and the canal of the Baradâ, which is here called El-'Akrabâni. This part of the wall is built of large hewn stones, and probably dates from the Byzantine period. On the left bank of the stream lies the Mahallet el-Farrâin, the quarter of the tanners and furriers. We next reach the Bâb es-Salâm, which apparently belongs to the same period as the Bâb Tûma. A lane called Bên es-Sûrên ('between the two walls') leads hence round the inside of the old wall. The wall on the right is concealed by houses built in front of it, and it is uncertain whether that on the left still exists. We now come to two gates, the inner of which is called the Bâb el-Farâdîs, the outer the Bâb el-'Amâra. The lane next leads to the former Bâb el-Ferej (p. 349). — The whole of this last walk occupies 2-2 1/2 hrs.
The broad road running towards the N. from the Gate of St. Thomas is the great caravan-route to Horns and Palmyra. Near this are several pleasant cafe's and public gardens which may be visited. They are chiefly frequented by Christians, and the favourite beverage here is raki, or raisin brandy. Picnics take place here in the open air, and Arabic songs are frequently heard. The Arabian style of singing is very unpleasing to European ears, and consists of recitative cadences loudly shouted out in a shrill falsetto, sometimes accompanied by a kind of guitar. — After 2 min. we turn into the street to the left (that on the right leads to Jôbar, p. 366). The street first passes through gardens; a road on the right leads to the beautiful cemetery of Ed-Dahdâh, named from a companion of Mohammed who was buried here. We then pass the Jâmi' el-Mu'allak on the left. Continuing to follow the street, we arrive at the market place to which the inhabitants of the Merj district, i.e. the pasture country (p. 366) beyond the extensive gardens of the environs, bring their timber for sale. On the right lies the suburb El-'Amâra. On the left a road leads to the sieve-makers' bazaar and the citadel (p. 348), on the broad main road the market for saddlers (saddles for beasts of burden) begins. A huge plane-tree, with a trunk 29 feet in circumference, marks the beginning of the saddlers' market, strictly so-called (p. 348). — Then follows the Fruit Market. In May apricots are the most abundant fruit. They are often dried, press ed, and made into thin, reddish-brown cakes called kamreddîn. In autumn there are several excellent kinds of grapes, the most esteemed of which have long, thin berries and are very fleshy. Delicious water-melons also ripen in autumn. The bâdinjân, lûbiyeh (beans), bâmiyeh, and other kinds of vegetables are plentiful. — The great street finally leads to the horse-market and the Sûk 'Ali Pasha (p. 347).