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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 19 13 



country by which it 

 is approached, while 

 in early Spring the 

 mountain tracks are 

 very muddy. This 

 makes the season for 

 visiting the famous 

 old grove a short one 

 at best. 



There are two 

 places from which 

 the excursion can be 

 made; those of the 

 towns of Baalbec or 

 Tripoli. In the pres- 

 ent instance the trip 

 was made from Tri- 

 poli, on the coast. 

 This ancient town is 

 noted for its silk- 

 weaving, and many 

 hand looms can still 

 be seen in operation 

 turning out girdles 

 of gorgeous colors 



A party of native Syrians grouped at the base of one of the gnarled old Cedars 



On the land side the city is skirted 

 by fertile plains, where the orange and lemon are culti- 

 vated in large quantities. From here it is a long day's ride 

 on horseback to Bsherreh, the town from which the Cedars 

 are visited. It is, in many respects, an interesting and de- 

 lightful journey in late Spring or early Summer, despite 

 the discomforts that have preceded it. The route lies along 

 the Wadi Kadisha, or Sacred Valley, by a well-built car- 



riage road. It is up- 

 hill all the way, a 

 climb of over five 

 thousand feet. As 

 one passes over the 

 hills one notices how 

 they have been care- 

 fully terraced and 

 planted with vines, 

 from which, at this 

 time of the year, 

 hang large clusters 

 of ripe fruit, unpro- 

 tected except by a 

 low stone wall. 



As one ascends 

 picturesquely located 

 villages are passed, 

 surrounded by gar- 

 dens of mulberry 

 trees, with the leaves 

 of which the inhabi- 

 tants feed the silk 

 worms. The cultiva- 

 tion of silk, growing grapes and raising goats are the prin- 

 cipal occupations of the dwellers in the Lebanon. A strik- 

 ing fact which the traveler through this region notices is 

 the number of people who have emigrated to the United 

 States and returned home to spend their money in their 

 native land. They have, apparently, all prospered in 

 America, and speak highly of its opportunities. With their 

 money they have built modern houses, picturesque dwell- 



These are some of the smaller trees in the famous old grove of the Cedars of Lebanon 



