Damascus (1934)

so in the very middle of an oasis where luxurian trees temper the sun scorching rays and where the life-giving waters of the river barada come roaring down from mount hermon changing the burning desert sands into a tropical paradise lies damascus right at the edge of the arabian desert here the soil is so rich that even the laziest farmer can make a good living with this crude old plow damascus is the oldest inhabited city on earth we can trace its history back four thousand five hundred years but it must be much older than that for the orientals believe that this is where the garden of eden used to be and if adam and eve used the plow it must have looked something like this history tells us that when mohammed got his first and only glimpse of damascus from a hilltop he exclaimed man can have but one paradise mine is fixed above and so he passed on it was on this spot that muhammad made his great renunciation however as we are not prophets we decided to take a chance and so we went down into damascus where we found a picturesque jumble of modern houses old masks minarets and still older ruins that bear silent witness to the many fierce battles that were for it down through the centuries the tower in the distance is the minaret of the bride built twelve hundred years ago these ruins surround the tomb of saladin the great warrior who fought the crusaders and stopped richard the lionheart between ancient roman columns we get glimpses of the minaret of isa the oldest and tallest tower in syria the muslims believe that on judgment day christ will appear on this minaret the courtyard of the omadi the oldest and most imposing mosque in damascus partially destroyed by fire it is now being rebuilt here one stood a pagan temple which was converted into a byzantine basilica dedicated to saint john the baptist sixteen hundred years ago four hundred years later this basilica was made over into a mosque yet the muslims still revere the memory of saint john whose head enclosed in a box of gold is said to be buried under the mosque all that remains of what was once a beautiful roman triumphal arch built two thousand years ago and as we look down we see the famous street call straight known to abraham and king david and where ananias went to the house of judas to inquire for saul of tarsus shops called bazaars lined this busy street which follows a straight line right across the city from east to west in this far-off land where the easy-going spirit of the east prevails the marketplace offers the nearest approach to bustle and activity the buyers may be eager and the sellers more eager still but these orientals make haste slowly sheep raising is profitable here thanks to the rich pastor lands around damascus and wool is an important item of commerce caravans of camels bring the wool to the marketplace or deliver it to distant points a general laziness pervades the whole place camels move about slowly majestically and some of them realizing that they have reached their journey's end squat down to rest without waiting for an invitation kipling was right you cannot hurry the east and we had to wait patiently while our native guide dragon they call him got himself all dolled up by an open-air barber the outfit is simple enough but it seems to satisfy the natives and now a few finishing touches a few dabs of face powder to make him smell nice and a mustache trim and he is all set oh ally ally you feeling better now well that's fine let's go and so ally takes us first to a stone cutter's tent here we were amazed at the fine work these clever workers turn out with their primitive tools they do not have even a blueprint or a drawing to guide them they seem to dream their designs which they proceed to transfer directly to the stone next we marvel at the skill of this workman with his crewed outfit just a rough old file and a vice that had seen better days he is filing and shaping pieces of mother of pearl and makes them fit accurately in the hollows of a wooden ornament which he has carved out for the purpose damascus is famous for the beauty and delicacy of all kinds of inlay work carried out with ivory bone and mother of pearl a fine example a chair back exquisitely inlaid [Music] their beautiful designs often include quotations from the quran this inscription means he who has patience gets what he wants [Music] now could any woman resist the temptation of buying this beautiful glove box i ask you a woodturner making spindles for a frame of latticework and as two hands are not sufficient he has trained his foot to help out with one hand he draws a bow back and forth the string of the bow is wound around the shaft of the lathe and makes a turn and considering the crudity of the outfit the accuracy of the final result is astonishing after gouging a design out of metal the artist hammers fine silver wire into the grooves producing a beautiful metal inlay [Music] and this is how the grooves are cut into the metal with a graving tool oh it takes a sharp eye and a steady hand but other metal objects are hammered out and chased without the use of inlay work like this beautiful tray for instance a typical arabian coffee pot hammered out of brass [Music] and a brass bowl with arabic inscriptions taken from the koran [Music] old age broods over this place the strange old age of the east that is like no other antiquity romantic fatalistic and how wonderfully serene just outside of damascus stands the mosque and pilgrim's house built by the turkish sultan saline more than 400 years ago as a resting place for the weary pilgrims returning from mecca twice daily from the top of one of these graceful minarets of yellowstone the muslim chants is called to prayer let's listen [Music] come to prayer [Music] i testify there is no god but god [Music] i testify that muhammad is the apostle of god and as the muslims reverently kneel in accordance with their faith we silently leave damascus the magic city immortal 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