The innocents abroad; . temples are builtupon massive substructions that might support a world, almost;the materials used are blocks of stone as lar^e as an omnibus—very few, if any of them, are smaller than a carpenters toolchest—and these substructions are traversed by tunnels ofmasonry through which a train of cars might pass. Withsuch foundations as these, it is little wonder that Baalbec haslasted so long. TheTemple of the Sun isnearly three hundredfeet long and onehundred and sixty feetwide. It had fifty-four columns aroundit, but only six arestanding now—^theothers lie broken atits base
The innocents abroad; . temples are builtupon massive substructions that might support a world, almost;the materials used are blocks of stone as lar^e as an omnibus—very few, if any of them, are smaller than a carpenters toolchest—and these substructions are traversed by tunnels ofmasonry through which a train of cars might pass. Withsuch foundations as these, it is little wonder that Baalbec haslasted so long. TheTemple of the Sun isnearly three hundredfeet long and onehundred and sixty feetwide. It had fifty-four columns aroundit, but only six arestanding now—^theothers lie broken atits base, a confusedand picturesque six columns areperfect, as also aretheir bases, Corinthiancapitals and entabla-ture—and six moreshapely columns donot exist. The col-umns and the entab-lature together areninety feet high—a ,. 1 . T /. TEMPLE OP THE SUN, BAALBEC. prodigious altitude lor shafts of stone to reach, truly—and yet one only thinks of their beauty and symmetry when looking at them; the pillars. 448 MAGNIFICENT BAALBEC. look slender and delicate, the entablature, with its elaboratesculpture, looks like rich stucco-work. But when you havegazed aloft till your eyes are weary, you glance at the greatfragments of pillars among which you are standing, and findthat they are eight feet through; and with them lie beautifulcapitals apparently as large as a small cottage; and also singleslabs of stone, superbly sculptured, that are four or five feetthick, and would completely cover the floor of any ordinaryparlor. You wonder where these monstrous things camefrom, and it takes some little time to satisfy yourself that theairy and graceful fabric that towers above your head is madeup of their mates. It seems too preposterous. The Temple of Jupiter is a smaller ruin than the one I havebeen speaking of, and yet is immense. It is in a tolerablestate of preservation. One row of nine columns stands almostuninjured. They are sixty-five feet high and support a sort ofporch
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectvoyagesandtravels
