When a boy is old enough to have a wife, let us say at seventeen, his parents begin to look about for a suitable girl. The mother goes to the harems of her acquaintances, and asks about the daughters. She also visits the girls’ schools, and when she has found a maiden who she thinks may suit she invites the mother of the girl to meet her at the bath. This is one of the chief places of gossip and pleasure and it is not uncommon for ladies to meet there. To the bath comes the prospective bride with her mother for her first interview with her would-be mother-in-law. The two talk and gossip together. After the bath is over they have something to eat. There is more talking, and the girl is sized up mentally and physically. Upon her return home the mother of the groom tells her husband the result of her investigations, and if he is pleased, negotiations are begun with the parents of the bride. If agreeable, the dowry is fixed and the betrothal is made. Neither the marriage nor the betrothal can be consummated without the consent of the girl. The man, or a Mohammedan priest, appears at the door of the harem of the bride’s mother. The girl, who is behind the door, is asked if she will consent to the match. She has to answer “I will!” three separate times, after which the amount of the dowry may be paid over in the presence of witnesses. [Illustration: Man is dwarfed by the enormous portal of the Temple of Bacchus considered the finest architectural feature of the structure. This is one of the most beautiful and best preserved ruins in Syria] [Illustration: Standing out against the sky are these mighty columns, all that remain of the fifty-four that once surrounded the Great Temple of the Sun at Baalbek. They are visible to the traveller long before he reaches the ruins] In all oriental countries the wedding ceremonies are very important. The marriage is always an occasion of protracted festivities, and not to be invited is to suffer a grave insult. One of the proverbs here is, “He who does not invite me to his marriage will not have me at his funeral.” Among the Mohammedans the wedding ceremonies often last a week, during which there is feasting on the part of both families. The dinners are given before the wedding, and at the time of the ceremony sums of money are thrown to the beggars. The wedding feasts usually begin Monday. Tuesday the bride is taken to the bath where there is a feast, the bridegroom paying the expenses of the bathing and eating.