FROM JERUSALEM TO ALEPPO 



Being flic experiences and i)nprcssii)iis of the ivritcr zuliilc making a trip starting 

 from Jerusalem via Jaffa and Tripoli of Syria to the Cedars of Lebanon, 

 through the Lebanon pass to Baalbek, and on to Homs, Hama, and .lleppo, 

 during the months of August and September, 1912, and illustrated b\ photo- 

 graphs taken specially on the trip by members of the American colony. 



By John D. Whiting, of the American Colony, Jerusalem 



THE chief boatman at Jatta called 

 out "Yalla! Yalla !" to his men, 

 who were making their way de- 

 liberately to the large row-boat in which 

 we were se.ited. The steamer was soon 

 to leave, and the call of the chief had the 

 result of electrifying the men, and in a 

 few moments eight brown, muscular 

 boatmen were pulling us through the 

 narrow opening between the rocks to 

 whicli tradition states Andromeda was 

 cliained, to be eaten by a sea monster. 



Tiiese rocks have been the terror of pil- 

 grims and tourists for centuries, but the 

 Jaffa boatmen are renowned for their 

 skill as well as courage and endurance. 



We were now able to compose our- 

 selves and count our packages. We had 

 only decided after dinner the evening be- 

 fore to take the trip, and ]\Ir. Larson 

 and Mr. Baldwin, my two companions, 

 were up all hours of the night getting 

 ready. Yes, the pieces were there ; thir- 

 teen in all. 



It might seem strange for three men to 

 need so much baggage, but the fact is we 

 had only two small suit-cases between us, 

 and the balance was photographic ap- 

 paratus of all kinds and a couple of 

 heavy boxes of plates. 



A few hours of slow steaming brought 

 us round the promontory of Mount Car- 

 mel, which figures so largely in Old Tes- 

 tament history, and which, since Haifa 

 during the j^ast half century has grown 

 so raj^idly in importance, has become 

 quite a summer resort. 



The sun was almost setting as the large 

 barges were being filled and emptied as 

 fast as possible by yelling Arabs, who 

 can do no sort of work without exercis- 

 ing their lungs as well as muscles. 



TIIK SYRIAN EMIGRANT 



The lower decks of the steamer were 

 packed with steerage or deck passengers, 

 who, from the time we were nearing 

 Beirut, occupied themselves in arrang- 

 ing their toilet preparatory to disem- 

 barking. 



From their appearance many could 

 have been taken for Italians, but one had 

 only to watch a few moments to see that 

 they were Syrians who had been seeking 

 their fortunes in America. Suit-cases 

 and ponderous trunks were opened, dis- 

 closing a mixture of old clothes, silk 

 dresses, patent-leather shoes of distinct- 

 ive American type, onions, garlic, bread, 

 and the like, thrown in together with 

 true Arab shiftlessness. Their attire and 

 talk disclosed that they were just return- 

 ing from various parts of America, and 

 their gala dress and glad faces that they 

 were nearing their native homes. 



The entire costumes of both men and 

 women were of the Occident, while the 

 head-gear just donned was that of their 

 native land, to which they had been used 

 from their youth, until laid aside, with 

 their Oriental costumes, when they 

 launched out to seek their fortune in a 

 foreign land. They are extremely proud 

 of returning clad in a foreign costume, 

 but few. especially of the men, want to be 

 seen by their countrymen wearing hats. 



Some landed at Beirut, while the 

 larger portion waited to disembark at 

 Tripoli. Some had been very successful 

 in their enterprises and were talking of 

 soon going again to the land of their 

 adoption ; some had made the trip back 

 to Syria with the sole object of getting 

 married and returning to pursue their 

 fortune-making, while a few had been 



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