DAMASCUS, THE PEARL OF THE DESERT 



69 



STREET SCENE IN DAMASCUS 



A weaver at his loom making curtains or cloth, which will be exported to Europe and 

 sold at a high price. Thousands of men and boys are constantly employed in this manner ; 

 their daily wage is about 12 cents. 



The spick-and-span Turkish officer fresh 

 from Constantinople rubs against the 

 swarthy, sunburnt son of the desert 

 without even a word of scorn or anger ; 

 the Mohammedan shoulders the Jew as 

 if they were brothers in the faith ; the 

 spotless visitor from the Occident jos- 

 tles the not-any-too-clean peasant from 

 the surrounding villages, while Persians, 

 Moors, Afghans, Indians, Egyptians, Su- 

 danese, and others from many parts of 

 the globe hurry along, all intent on some- 

 thing of importance that has brought 

 them to this metropolis of the Orient. 



If you turn aside into the spacious 

 bazaars you are compelled to stop and 

 watch the many kinds of trades that give 

 occupation to all classes of the Damas- 

 cenes. Be it said to the credit of the 

 city that very few idle people are seen 

 in the streets, and the absence of beggars 

 is noticeable, for work is no disgrace in 

 Damascus, and the boys of the city form 

 no insignificant part of the machinery 



that is responsible for the enormous 

 amount of merchandise produced and 

 exported from the town. 



In different streets may be found to- 

 gether the shoe-makers, iron-workers, 

 saddlers, carpenters, bakers, confection- 

 ers, drapers, silk merchants, grocers, 

 stone masons, gold and silver smiths, 

 druggists, and many others, all engaged 

 in their different callings, and those of 

 a mechanical turn of mind are invited 

 to watch the worker at his calling with- 

 out being badgered to buy his wares — a 

 curse in almost every other Oriental city. 



On the streets are to be seen venders 

 of almost everything under the sun, espe- 

 cially in the way of eatables, and, to 

 those who are familiar with the value of 

 the goods offered for sale, the words of 

 the native visitor are plain when he in- 

 forms you that kk in Damascus you can 

 sup or breakfast for nothing," because 

 of the little cost of food. 



On the same street, within a few yards 



