Bædeker: (1898)  El-Kunêtra, a neatly and regularly built village, situated 3040 ft. above the sea-level, whence an ancient Roman road leads to Baniyas. The village is the seat of the government of Jôlân (a Kâimmakâm under the Mutesarrif of the Haurân); 1300 inhabitants, mostly Circassians. International Telegraph. Little is left of the ancient village. This is the best place on the route for spending the night. Travellers are cautioned against sleeping in the open air, as heavy dews fall here.

Al Kiswah is about one half mile from Tal Kawkab, the location of the Abbey of St. Paul the Messenger. Ian Strathcarron identifies this location as the site of Saul's conversion to Christianity.

September 14, 1867: Ayn al Fījah.

Sam and companions camped here the night of September 13, 1867. They traveled to Damascus in the morning. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

From Bædeker:  54 M. Sarghdyd {Zerghaya; comp. p. 368), on the watershed.
This is the highest point (4610 ft.) attained by the line in the AntiLibanus and commands a fine mountain-view. The railway descends towards the S.W. to (20 min.) —

...at the village of Surghâya, in a verdant but confined situation.

The site of a station on the Beirut-Damascus railway line.

The train was a product of the industrial revolution and was first created to transport goods, which was its main purpose in Lebanon when the railway was first built. During the Ottoman empire, it was necessary to connect Damascus to the coast. Beirut, with its brand new port, benefited from the project, which was carried out by the French. The British wanted to build a railway between Jaffa and Damascus to bypass the Beirut line, but the project was never carried out.

Noah's tomb - or as our man has it 'the tomb of the honored old navigator' is on the outskirts of a new town called Karaq.

Bædeker (1898) Route 10 page 121

The large *Church of St. Mary, erected over the traditional birth place of Christ, lies in the E. part of the town, above the Wâdi el-Hrobbeh, and is the joint property of the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians.

Sam and companions, en route between Mar Saba and Jerusalem, visit Bethlehem September 27, 1867. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

See Bædeker (1898) Bethlehem

Murray Route 9 page 207

After visiting the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, Sam and companions camped at Mar Saba September 26, 1867. They departed Mar Saba at 3:00am September 27, 1867 en route to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

Bædeker on Mâr Sâbâ

See Murray Route 9 page 204

The Dead Sea. — History. The Dead Sea was called by the Hebrews the Salt Sea. and by the prophets the Eastern Sea also. The Greeks and Romans named it the Sea of Asphalt and the Dead Sea. The Arabs give it the same name, but more commonly call it Bahr Lût, or Lake of Lot, Mohammed having introduced the story of Lot into the Koran.