Note 8 — CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD F. BURTON, K.C.M.G. (continued 4)

Burton writes of Syria in 1870. The journey from Beyrut to Damascus has now been made easy by the opening of the railway. The line rises some four thousand feet, crosses two ranges of mountains on the Lebanon, and passes through some beautiful scenery. After traversing the Plain of Bakaa through the Anti-Lebanon, the railway enters the Yahfâfeh, continuing to Sûk Wady Barada, the ancient Abila, where is seen the rock-cut aqueducts made by Zenobia to convey the water of the Abana to Palmyra; then, passing the beautiful fountain of Fijeh and the remains of an old temple, the train follows the River Abana until it arrives at Damascus.—​W. H. W.