DAMASCUS,
a city of Syria, and the capital of an
important Pashalik of Asiatic Turkey, is situated
in a fertile Plains at the east base of the
Antilibanus ridge, about 180 miles south by west
of Aleppo, in 33° 27‘ N. lat., and 36° 23'
E. long. It is one of the most ancient towns in
the world, being mentioned as existing in the
time of Abraham. (Genesis xiv. amid xv.) Its
ancient name was Damesk, but the present
natives call it Scham which is also the name of Syria,
amid sometimes Scham Shereef, i.e., ‘the
noble.' it is one of very few places which have
maintained a flourishing existence in all ages.
Though often taken and devastated, it has always
risen again, and has always been mentioned as one
of the most delightful situations in the world.
It appears to have been in time of
David or of Solomon (1 Kings Xi. 24) the capital
of an independent kingdom, which afterwards,
under the name of the kingdom of Syria, was
engaged in wars with the Jews. It was
subsequently annexed to the empire of Assyria,
afterwards to that of Persia; it then fell into
the hands of the Macedonians, the Romans, amid
lastly of the Arabians, A.D. 624, when it was
taken by the lieutenants of the Caliph Abu-Bekr
after the defeat of the forces of the emperor
Heraclius in its neighborhood It became for a the
residence of the caliphs. After other
vicissitudes was taken by the Turks under Sultan
Selim. In the late war between the Porte and
Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, Damascus was taken
by the troops of the latter, to whom it was
formally ceded by the sultan by the peace of
1833. The Pashalik of Damascus extends from north
to south, from Hannah on the Orontes down to the
deserts of southeast of the Dead Sea, a length of
about four degrees of latitude; amid it
encompasses the country of Haouran, amid the
other districts on lime east side of the Jordan
and the Dead Sea, besides the greater part of
Judea west of the Jordan, including Jerusalem and
Nablous. To the east it is bounded by
deserts, which divide it from the valley of
the Euphrates, to the north by the
Pashalik of Aleppo, amid to the west by the
Pashalik of Acre.
The
view of Damascus from the neighboring mountain of
Saleyeh, an offset of the Antilibanus to the
northwest of the city is very impressive ; it
comprises the town, with its numerous domes and
minarets, the extensive woods, orchards, and
gardens with which it is surrounded, clothed in a
perpetual verdure of various hues, amid beyond it
the vast level plain stretching to the cast
farther than the eye can reach, and bounded to
the southeast by the distant mountains of
Haouran. the river Barrady amid other streams
descend from the mountains furnish the city and
the Plain of Damascus with a constant supply of
water, which is distributed into numerous canals
for irrigation, and is the main cause of the
extraordinary fertility of the country. The town
is about six miles in circumference, is
surrounded by old brick walls falling to ruin in
several places, and is said to contain, according
to Buckingham and Richardson, about 150,000
inhabitants ; but according to others above
200,000, of whom 12,000 are Christians, and about
as many Jews. The rest are Mohammedan Syrians,
Arabs, and Turks. The native Mohammedans have
long had the reputation of being the most
fanatical and intolerant in Turkey ; but Dr.
Richardson's account of them, and the reception
which he and the rest of Lord Belmore's met with,
does not confirm this bad report of the
Damascenes (Richardson's Travels along the
Mediterranean and Parts Adjacent, in company with
the Earl of Belmore, in 1816-18.) Seetzen, who
visited Damascus in 1806, gave also rather a
favorable account of the inhabitants. There is a
Franciscan convent long established in the city,
and the Greek patriarch of the church of Antioch
usually resides there. When Dr. Richardson
visited Damascus, Lord and Lady Belmore lodged at
the French consul's, who appeared to live in
perfect comfort and security in the midst of this
fanatical population. A frightful insurrection
however took place seine rears after, ostensibly
on the news of an English consul coming to reside
in the city, but the real source of the tumult
appears to have been a ‘long-brooding
discontent at the weak amid oppressive rule of
the Porte and its pashas. Since that time, the
pasha of Egypt and his son Ibrahim have enforced
strict order and rational tolerance in Damascus,
amid the English consul-general and English
merchants, in their Frank costume, live in and
walk about the town in perfect safety. (Dr. Hogg,
Visit to Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Damascus,
‘2 vols. 8vo., 1835; Michaud et Poujoulat,
Correspondence d'Orient, 1833-35.) M. Poujoulat
himself, Who was much alarmed on entering the
gates at hearing sonic fellow proposing to burn
him as a Frank, yet honestly says, ‘I could
cite evidence greatly in favor of the Damascus
Moslem. A Greek Catholic, who has had commercial
relations with them for years, told me that he
never had occasion to complain of them. I myself
have frequently¿ met Moslems in Christians
houses, who treated me with great kindness. I
cannot speak of the lower orders and the
population of the suburbs, who probably resemble
the same I classes iii most great cities.' The
same writer gives the following statistical list
:—‘ They reckon at Damascus 129 tanners
22 establishments for printing stuffs, 75 dyers
of stuff, 120 dyers of silk, 34 houses of
silk-winders, 748 merchants of damask cloth, 21 1
grocers, 68 tobacco manufacturers, 7¿ saddlers,
11 tent merchants, 47 coppersmiths, so
ironmongers. 54 farriers, 70 fur merchants, 98
lacemen, 24 corn-merchants, 148 bakers, 58
millers, 122 coffeehouses, 32 confectioners, 59
public baths, 129 butchers, 7 1 tailors, 43 shops
fur pipes, 6 watchmakers, 200 haberdashers'
stores, 4 glass-manufactories, 19 armorers. 4
soap factories, 143 weavers, and
more than 400 public cooks.' The manufacture of Damascus
blades, once so famous, has declined long since:
but good sabers are still made. Saddles amid
bridles, both rich and highly finished; fine
cabinetwork, inlaid with ivory and
mother-of-pearl, and rich jewelry, are among the
articles of Damascene industry. ‘The
Shopkeepers of Damascus,' says Dr. Richardson,
‘ are generally clean and well dressed, very
comfortable in their appearance, and extremely
civil to strangers. The bazaars are better
lighted and have a more elegant appearance than
those of Cairo or Constantinople. Every class of
commodity has its own street or bazaar: in one
they sell nothing but shoes, another is occupied
by the goldsmiths,' &c. The town is well
supplied with ice; and ice-water, mixed with the
juice of figs or currants, is sold and drank in
profusion. The best coffeehouses of Damascus arc
situated in the skirts of the town, on the edge
of that branch of the river Barrady which
supplies the gardens ; they are built of wood,
and are cool and well shaded from the sun,
which is their chief attraction. The streets
arc narrow, amid many of them have a gloomy
dilapidated appearance, being lined by dead brick
walls, with small mean-looking doors here and
there which open into the courts of the respective
houses, which are not seen from the streets.
Many of these houses are splendid in their
interior, the courts being paved with marble and
refreshed by fountains, with arcades and divans
around. There are no carriages at Damascus, and
but few carts; camels, horses, mules, and donkeys
constituting the means of carriage or conveyance
The great khan is a sumptuous building, the
masonry being formed of alternate layers of black
and white marble, like the Florence cathedral.
The spacious square court within has a handsome
fountain in the middle, and is surrounded by a
fine arcade of pointed arches, enriched with
moldings. On the ground-floor are the entrances
to chambers and magazines, and a staircase and
gallery lead to another series of apartments
above. The principal mosque is also a fine
building: it was originally a Christian temple of
the Corinthian order, said to have been built by
the Emperor Heraclius. There is also an extensive
citadel.
Beirut
is considered as the port of Damascus. The
exports from Damascus are chiefly raw silk,
galls, madder, gums, opium, and dried fruit; but Damascus
is also a great place of depot and market of
goods both from India and from Europe. The great
Hajji caravan goes every year from Damascus to Mecca.
Other caravans proceed to Aleppo, to Hit on the
Euphrates, and thence to Bagdad. From Damascus to
Hit is about eleven caravan days
The Penny Cyclopedia The Society For
The Diffusion OF USEFUL Knowledge. Volume VIII.
Copyright Dionysius. - London: Charles Knight,
22, Ludgate Street: New York, William Jackson; Boston,
Joseph! H. FRANCIS; Philadelphia, Orrin Rogers; Baltimore,
W. N. Harrison. M DCCC XXXVII.