It will be seen that this book is written from a more intimate and personal viewpoint than the volume on Palestine. I could not write otherwise of the country which was for years my own home and where to-day I have many cherished friends among both Syrians and Franks. In fact, I must write very slowly; for every now and then I lay down my pen and, with a homesick lump in my throat, dream over again the happy days in that land of wondrous beauty which I still love with all my heart. LEWIS GASTON LEARY Pelham Manor, N. Y., October 15, 1913. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I THE WHITE MOUNTAIN 1 II THE LEFT-HAND LAND 6 III THE CITY OF SATURN 26 IV THE SPIRIT OF OLYMPIA 44 V ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 60 VI THE LAND OF UZ 72 VII THE EARTHLY PARADISE 88 VIII THE PORT OF THE WILDERNESS 95 IX THE RICHES OF DAMASCUS 110 X THE DESERT CAPITAL 128 XI SOME SALT PEOPLE 144 XII THE CEDARS OF THE LORD 163 XIII THE GIANT STONES OF BAALBEK 184 XIV HAMATH THE GREAT 201 THE ILLUSTRATIONS Evening in the harbor of Beirut _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE Along the coast north of Beirut 4 Looking up the western slopes of Lebanon 5 Lebanon soldiers 16 Village of Deir el-Kamr 17 Bay of Beirut and Mount Sunnin 26 Pine groves of Beirut 27 Bridge over the Dog River 36 Procession in Beirut 38 Students of the American College 48 Cape of Beirut viewed from Lebanon 49 Old Bridge over the Barada River 70 Cascade in the Yarmuk Valley 71 A caravan 82 Damascus—a distant view 83 Damascus—one of the more modern avenues 100 A Syrian café 101 Damascus—court of a private residence 112 Damascus—Moslem cemetery 113 Damascus—The Street called Straight 120 Damascus—The Omayyade Mosque 121 Palmyra—General view of the ruins 134 Palmyra—the Triple Gate 135 Funeral procession of the patriarch 160 A summer camp in Lebanon 161 The Cedar Mountain 170 Source of the Kadisha River 171 The oldest Cedar of Lebanon 182