THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



61 



desert to "the Great Sea," needs no iden- 

 tification. It is the land of the patriarchs 

 and prophets and apostles — "the Holy 

 Land." Its population numbers about 

 three and a half millions, of Semitic ori- 

 gin, speaking the Arabic language, and 

 yet with so many races intermingled 

 through the centuries of the various con- 

 quests and occupations that the people 

 cannot claim any one race as their own. 

 Greek, Roman, and European Crusader 

 have all blended with the ancient Semitic 

 stock to produce the Syrians of today, 

 whom Lord Cromer, in his Memoirs, 

 termed "the cream of the East." 



In Syria was the one green spot of 

 Turkey — the Lebanon Mountains. In 

 i860, because of massacres, the European 

 Powers insisted that these mountains be 

 made autonomous. And since that date 

 this little district has been a living dem- 

 onstration of what good government will 

 produce and of what the people of the 

 land are capable of becoming. 



The steep mountain sides have been 

 terraced to a height of 4,000 feet and 

 planted to olives, figs, and vines. Taxes 

 -have been low, safety to person and prop- 

 erty secured, good roads built and kept 

 in repair. The people have constructed 

 more comfortable homes and have sent 

 their sons to schools and college. 



The story of the achievements of the 

 Lebanon and its sons during these sixty 

 years of autonomy would be a thrilling 

 narrative in itself. Now that autonomy 

 has been taken away, the Lebanon is 

 prostrate in famine. 



NATURAL FEATURES 



Practically the whole Turkish Empire 

 is of the same surface configuration — 

 high mountain ranges along the sea-coast, 

 with elevated plain and plateau in the in- 

 terior. These inner plains are generally 

 fertile, being constantly renewed by soil 

 washed from the surrounding mountains. 

 Where rain is sufficient, or where water 

 can be obtained for irrigation, they pro- 

 duce fine crops of grain. 



In ancient times the mountains were 

 everywhere covered with forests. The 

 cedars of Lebanon not only furnished 

 timber for the building of Solomon's 

 Temple in Jerusalem, but the kings of 

 Egypt annually floated large rafts of logs 



from the Syrian coast to supply the de- 

 mands of the cities of the Nile. This 

 constant demand from foreign lands, to- 

 gether with the lack of any system of 

 reforestation, has practically denuded the 

 mountains of the whole land. 



Once more to cover the mountains and 

 hills with pine and cedar and oak would 

 be a simple task if carried on systematic- 

 ally. The chief enemy today of refor- 

 estation by nature is the herds of goats, 

 which every spring roam over the whole 

 country and devour every green thing. 

 The little seedling trees suffer especially. 



POPULATION OP THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 



The population of the Ottoman Em- 

 pire, not including Arabia, is about 18,- 

 000,000, or was before the war. In giv- 

 ing statistics on any subject regarding 

 Turkey one speaks in approximate terms, 

 for only estimates can be given, as no 

 thorough census is taken or other statis- 

 tics systematically gathered. Among the 

 various races this total was distributed as 

 follows : Turks, 7,000,000 ; Syrians and 

 Arabs, 4,500,000; Kurds, 2,000,000; Ar- 

 menians, 2,000,000; Greeks, 1,500,000; 

 Jews, 500,000 ; other races, 500,000. 



All of these peoples can trace their his- 

 tory back to the period when fable and 

 legend blend with the beginnings of his- 

 toric facts. And all, except the Turks, 

 have inhabited, from time immemorial, 

 the districts in which they are now found. 



These races represent the three great 

 monotheistic religions, which have also 

 originated within the boundaries of the 

 Turkish Empire. About two-thirds of 

 the entire population are Mohammedan, 

 but of different sects. The Christians, 

 also, are divided into many sects, repre- 

 senting nearly all the great divisions of 

 the church. 



The Christian races are the most pro- 

 gressive part of the population ; they have 

 been most responsive to education and 

 have made some progress in establishing 

 schools of their own. The Turks are the 

 most backward of all ; yet under proper 

 encouragement and facilities they are 

 capable of good progress. In competition 

 with Greeks, Armenians, and Syrians, 

 however, they invariably fall behind. 



It should be noted that of 48 Grand 

 Viziers who have risen to prominence 



