The Quaker City has arrived in Beirout, Lebanon. The touristswere broken up into groups, Mark Twain's group was to take 'the long trip".
Well, out of our eight, three were selected to attend to all business connected with the expedition. The rest of us had nothing to do but look at the beautiful city of Beirout, with its bright, new houses nestled among a wilderness of green shrubbery spread abroad over an upland that sloped gently down to the sea; and also at the mountains of Lebanon that environ it; and likewise to bathe in the transparent blue water that rolled its billows about the ship (we did not know there were sharks there.) We had also to range up and down through the town and look at the costumes. These are picturesque and fanciful, but not so varied as at Constantinople and Smyrna; the women of Beirout add an agony—in the two former cities the sex wear a thin veil which one can see through (and they often expose their ancles,) but at Beirout they cover their entire faces with dark-colored or black veils, so that they look like mummies, and then expose their breasts to the public.
September 10 Tuesday – QC arrived at Beirut before dawn.
September 11 Wednesday – Clemens, Dr. George Birch, William Church, Joshua Davis, William Denny, Julius Moulton, Dan Slote, and Jack Van Nostrand left Beirut, Lebanon on horseback at 3 PM. They camped that night about ten miles east of the city.
September 12 Thursday – The group broke camp at 6:30 AM and stayed that night near Zahlah, about two thirds of the way between Beirut and Baalbek. From Sam’s notebook:
“Passed up the Valley & camped on l. side under the dews of Hermon. –first passing through a dirty Arab village & visiting the tomb of Noah, of Deluge notoriety” [MTNJ 1: 417].
September 13 Friday – Sam and group broke camp at 6:30 AM and visited Baalbek before returning south to camp at Sirghaya.
September 14 Saturday – Sam and group arrived at Damascus.
September 15 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook:
September 16 Monday – Sam and group left Damascus at noon, and camped that night at Kefr Hauwar. Meanwhile, the QC arrived at Mt. Carmel at 10 AM and left again at noon, arriving at Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv) at 8 PM.
September 17 Tuesday – Sam and group departed Kefr Hauwar in the AM and camped that night at Baniyas, once the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi. From Sam’s notebook:
September 18 Wednesday – Sam and group departed Baniyas at 7:15 AM, and camped that night at Ain Mellahah, near Lake Huleh (now called Bahret el Hule). From Sam’s notebook:
“It was first, ages ago, the Phoenician Laish—a lot of Danites from Sodom, 600, came over, like a pack of adventurers as they were, captured the place & lived there as sort of luxurious agriculturists, till Abraham hazed them in after times” [MTNJ 1: 422].
September 19 Thursday – Sam and group left Ain Mellahah at 7 AM and camped that night at Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee.
September 20 Friday – Sam and group left Tiberias in the AM and camped that night at Nazareth.
September 21 Saturday – Sam and group left Nazareth and camped that night at Janin. From Sam’s notebook:
“Left Nazareth & its chalk hills at 7.30 [AM], came down a high, steep mountain & galloped across the Plain of Esdraelon to Endor, the rustiest of all, almost—a few nasty mud cabin,—many caves & holes in the hill from which the fierce, ragged, dirty inhabitants swarmed. Pop. 250” [MTNJ 1: 427].
September 22 Sunday – Sam and group left Janin at 2 AM and camped that night at Lubban. From Sam’s notebook:
“Camped at 7 PM at an Arab Village—Lubia (Libonia of the Bible). Tents behind. Slept on the ground in front of an Arab house. Lice, fleas, horses, jackasses, chickens, & worse than all, Arabs for company all night” [MTNJ 1: 431].
September 23 Monday – Sam and group left Lubban at 2:30 AM and reached Jerusalem at noon.
September 24 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Jerusalem at the Mediterranean Hotel to Mr. Esais ordering a Bible to be sent to his mother. He forwarded the note with a Mr. Weintraub [MTL 2: 94-5]. Note: this Bible is now at the MTP.
September 25 Wednesday – Sam and group left Jerusalem at 8 AM for a two-day side trip, camping that night near Jericho.
September 26 Thursday – Sam and group left Jericho at 2 AM and visited the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Sam swam in the north end of the Dead Sea and tried to ride his horse into it, but fell off [Rasmussen 107]. That night they camped at Mar Saba.
September 27 Friday – Sam and group left Mar Saba at 3 AM and visited Bethlehem. They returned to Jerusalem at noon. (Thus Clemens stayed at the Hotel Mediterranean hotel from Sept. 23 to the 29)
September 28 Saturday – From Sam’s notebook: “Went all through the Holy Sepulchre again” [MTNJ 1: 442].
September 29 Sunday – Sam and group left Jerusalem at 3 PM and reached Ramla in the evening.
Sam’s “Holy Land Excursion. Letter from Mark Twain Number Ten” dated Aug. “Naples, Italy” ran in the Alta California [McKeithan 76-83].
September 30 Monday – Sam and group left Ramla in the AM and arrived at Jaffa after a 3-hour trip to board the QC.
October 1 Tuesday – QC departed Jaffa at 7:30 AM Sam wrote at sea to his nephew Sammy Moffett, enclosing a pressed rose in a New Testament [MTL 2: 95-7]. From Sam’s notebook: “Oct 1.—Sailed for Egypt” [MTNJ 1: 443].
Sam’s “Holy Land Excursion. Letter from Mark Twain Number Eleven” dated Aug. “Naples” ran in the Alta California [McKeithan 83-9].