ABSTRACT
M Y stay in Beyrout was too short to allow me to visit the old Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, which would have interested me very much, but I was fortunate enough to make an excursion on horseback to the Cedars of Lebanon with two very pleasant companions, one of whom was a German merchant, Consul Luetticke, who knew Syria inside out and possessed more scientific knowledge regarding the country than many a university professor. The scanty baggage we took on this expedition was stowed away in our saddle-bags and those of our two mounted grooms. Leaving behind us the narrow strip of coast with its luxuriant groves of orange, mulberry and olive trees, we reached the plateau of Shueir, where we found a clean little inn with excellent beds. We preferred doing the cooking ourselves, Herr Luetticke being a past-master in this art. The following days took us over wild and picturesque country, half-way up the snow-clad mountain of Sannïn. There the famous spring of Afka rushes forth out of a deep cave in the side of the perpendicular rock. This is the source of the Adonis River, and is the scene of the legendary love between Venus and Adonis, sung by so many poets of former ages down to Shakespeare. In the beginning of summer, the melting snows swell the waters of the Adonis River, now called Nahr Ibrahim, which are coloured by the red soil of the slopes of the mountain. This was believed to be the blood of Adonis oozing out of
The descent from Mount Sannïn on horseback was
not easy. There were no roads, only rough tracks, but our horses passed over rocks and cliffs without harm. A natural bridge led us across the torrents of two springs, Nab'al lab an ) the Spring of Milk, and Nab'al 'asal, the Spring of Honey. In the deep-cut valley of Faraya we enjoyed the hospitality of the Maronite Sheikh. Unlike the Muhammedans, who hid their womenfolk from the gaze of a stranger, the Sheikh allowed his handsome young wife to sit with us at table, after she had prepared an excellent and most welcome dinner for us. I have often been struck by the easy, yet dignified manner in which the Arab ladies of Syria and Palestine conduct conversation.
