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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1913)
Ommia Sunday Bee, Magazine Page 0 at, ,4 To ProbeThe Secrets & Strangest Citys 3000Tomb 7e Mysteries of RockHewn The Hm foftfefiMMe Skaft Btwn the liiowtUit, WWcfc Wu the Chi Entrance to Petra. ON of the great wysterie ot the ages ii to be exp)lR4, if tha-Uteftt Gorman expedition baa lli way. This expedition, under the special patronage of the Kaiser, who is tremendously latereeted in Anything that wilt clear p the his lory of nations long dead and gone,, is to open'no less than threo thou and tombs, that have resaalned In vlslato these thirty-five centuries' or more. for tho expedition is to go to Petra, that mighty rock-fortress, known in the Bible as Bela. tho Rock, and there they will tear open tho thousands ot tombs that have been hollowed out of the living rocks, In which It ' is expected that many treasures of ancient times will be brought to light. This city has been described as an "eagle's nest" on tho top of the rock, and It was a mighty large nest with some very powerful eagles In )t It was tho'capltnl of the'Naba teaus, the direct descendants ot Ish- Chrl3tophera Complaint. L.uU McStubblns had been a bride but a short time when the itartllng truth wan forced upon her that her younff huttband was not exactly a Uetoialler- One evening: few week after the wedding; the alt-let old cold water crank. Papa McStubblna. dropped In to call. He found h!4 daughter all alone. After a while Ik- anked.' "Where la Chrlslopherr ."We'l the fact la ChrUtophrr Jsu . f-ellnir v -y well this evening-. It that bo? What aeein the roatterT" ."WeHerv the fact l r ChrU topher I suffering; from a bad at tack of of tiroplnqulty." Propinquity. propinquity," re rrpeatfcd the puxsled old tgetiUcrnan. "That's a disease 1 never heard ot You murt be mistaken. "Oh. no, father! Lot me explain. Propinquity means nearness, doesn't itr n think so. "And to be pear Is to be close, ,Wt Itr Ero yes ye, "And when' we speak of a man c.a elns close we mean that he Is Alnuy, don't wr "Certainly. t "And when a man Is' etlngy we 'all him tight., don't xjoX T believe so." y "Welt,"be noncluded wljh a sljsh. that' what's the matter with Chris topher." o TV pilorros. (J I PVOHOcn-woco maol, the brother of Isaac, who was sent out into tho desert on account of the Jealousy of Qarah, and settled upon this mighty rock, founding a nation that was to, a wo Its contem poraries in later times. Hngar, his mother, had inspired her son with hatred of all men, for flho had been treated most cruelly, sent out Into the desert with her little boy, and a Jar of water and a loaf of bread. . She had no love lor mankind in her breast, asd her torn, was noted as a mighty hunter among men. It was, to his uncle, Ishraael, that Esau, the rough and wild brother of Jacob, fled when his mother, Rebecca, tna&it uoplMMKt fw.feta'ftt'kowe, after the flight of. her favorite, Jacob who had deceived his brother and his fattier, and It is uo-wooder that Jacob was afraid, when , after spending twenty years with bis maternal uncle, Labn, 'he returned .to face the hosts of hia fierce brother. But Ewm surprised ' ihlm by his brotherly feeling, and all wont well so far as he was concerned. ', It was quite otherwise with tho car avans which passod between Egypt and Assyria, whoso main route lay near the city of Sela. From Its mighty fortresses tho hordes camo down In hasto and foil upon tho treas ures being transported from one country to tho other, never hesitating to slay If tJieyJtnust, and bearing" to their homes the gold, tho silk and wool, tho ebony carvings, all that the merchants might be carrying, or that sovereigns might be sending from Egypt to Assyria, and viCo versa. It la known from the Tel Amarna Ubleta, written In Assyrian, but dis covered in Egypti that the relations between these great countries were . moot intimate. Intermarriages be-, tween princes and princesses of both lx4s betas entered into to preserve the peace, and many expeditions pase-lac near the rock-fortress during each year. It was in thta way that tho Naba tcans built up an enormoua wealth, . gathering around them tho wildest, and at the samo time, tho most ad venturous spirits of their day, and preying upon tho richest commerce of their ago. It is recorded in tho Bible as ono of tho groat victories ot AmazI&h.Klng ot Jerusalem, in the ninth century B. C. that he succeeded in conquer ing the Edomltes, captured Sela, the capital, and cast from "the ateep ot tho rock" ten thousand captives who were dashed into pieces on the rocks below. He gave a now name to Sela at this time, as was the custom, and it was then known aa Jechteel, but is not ngaln mentioned by that samo In history. Tho reputed wealth stored In Sela was so great that It attracted the at tention of Autigonus, the Syrian mon arch, and ho sent his general, Athcnes, to take it captive (312 B. a) There was only one way in which he could capture this fortress, (stand ing as it did hundreds ot feet above tho plain, and accessible only by steep denies through the rocks, and that was to watch until tho men were away, This ho did, but no sooner had ho taken possession than the men returned, and. aided by their hotter knowledge of tho place, ho In turn wai surprised and his entire force massacred. The Kabateans then sent magnificent present to tho mon arch, begging that they he allowed to continue their commerce and agree ing to pay a heavy tax. Ttw son ot AnUgonus, Demetrius, tried, too, to capture Petra, as It was now called, but bo failed miserably, tho tax Was no longer paid, and a mighty kingdom was formed onco more under the headship of the Nabateans, with Petra as tho capital. It included all ot what Is known as Arabia Felix and the Hauran, that part of Palestine lying east ot tho River Jordan. Tho first king of this great power was Aretaa I., who is mentioned in tho book ot II. Maccabees, and was succeeded by three kings of the ramo name, and by other monarchs up to i MP I mi I Mil i i tho end ot tho independent epclttenco of tho government (106 A. P.). It was the third Aretas who had fallen in lovo with the art of the Greeks and Romans and gavo this character to the art of tho capital city, Petra. Ho is responsible tor the most mag nificent of the architectural remains, Which have been most remarkably preserved on account ot their shelt ered position. Tho palaces and tem ples were hewn out of the living, rock along the steles ot tho steep ascent to the' city prppcr, and being thus 'pro tected from etorm and sun the col umns stand' to-day almost as if hewn out last year, or ten years ago at most. ' The city was surrounded by natu ral walls of rocky mountains, watered by a perpetual stream. Tho chief en trance wn from the east down n dark gorge, only ten or twelve feet wide, called tho Slk, or Shaft, being really n split in the huge sandstone rocks. Hero was hewn out that won derful ''Treasury ot Pharaoh," so- caiiea, oecause at ono time it hold many of the great treasures of Egypt, and the explorers aro of tho opinion that far back in its rocky recesses thoro aro still many ot these treasures, it they can only find them. Further along this gulch Is tho great theatre, also hollowod out of the mountain, side, and all around aro tho thousands ot tombs, each ending in a tower, when they belong to tho earlier period. The capital Itself must have occupied space ot about one and three quarter cquaro miles, giving room for a numer ous population, and ono that grew very wealthy out ot the spoils ot the then civilized world. Preliminary ox ploratlon has shown that originally the Inhabitants of this One of the district were cave-dwellers, and for many ages tho people wero satisfied with these homes dug Into the slilcn of tho mountains. But as they be camo moro civilised thoy built houses llko tho surtoundlng tribes, and tho caves became tho tombs of the dead. Copyright, 191. The Ramparts Around "The Great High Place," and, in tho Foreground, the Ancient Altar with the Suggested Crypt of Sacrifice. Thoy. could not forget that these were once' homes, ahditin factthoy must havo believed In a kind of resurrec tion, for, they made tho tombs look like hilftfes'sasimucsias poeslble. tfhel the familiar (pylons.-the jo$p; etin' ,( tower, an4 all crowned by a papet , lOrnameat, just URe nouse xor uie living.- t Is what' is termed the second period WO And the tombs with seml-clrcular arches', which rcsembleTtho tombs ot Northern Syria, and in the most mod , era period wo And the elaborate fa cades of. the Roman temjijes. In tho second period the shape o.the tombs, being a combination ot Syrian, Greek and Egyptian, helps to fix'thelr date as of tho tlmo when thoPtolemles ruled In Egypt, toward the end of tho Becond century B. C. Petra was definitely annexed to the Roman realm 106 A. D., and coins riro found bearing tho inscription, Adriano Petra, as a trlbuto to the complncency of tho Emperor Hadrian toward this city. It was at this time, doubtless, tho most beautiful Sf tho temples erected to Isls was built. After this time tho building ot the tombs stops, for it is now only tho Province . of Arabia, to bo later di vided (205) into two parts, with Petra as tho southern capital. The history thenceforward Is ot little iri tcrcst Among the latest discoveries made at Petra, however, are some so as tounding that they are the cause of the formation of this new expedition. The great "High-place" has been laid bare, with Its great altar for burnt otTerlngs, a mighty , rock-hewn altnr, and near it a place for killing tho victims, as well as a shallow court In front In which the water was prob ably kept It Is known now from some of the Nabatean Inscriptions which have been deciphered that tho chief god of Petra was Dhu-shara, the Lord and owner ot Shora, as the mountain was called, and that side by side with him was a great feminine god dess. Allot really tho ancient goddess of the Arabs. Dhu-shara was worshipped under 3,000 Tombs on the Cliffs of Petra. the form of a great black rectangular stone, lust llko tho Kaaoa or tno Arabs, and his Holy Place was care fully guarded and marked off. At tho borders wero two great obelisks, possibly Idols ot tho two divinities, but certainly marking the boundary by the 8tar Company, dreat Britain of the Haram, qr sacred place, into which none but the priests might -outer. With the ' discovery of the great altar comes another notable And, which may go far toward explaining the mysteries con nected with the awful worship of Dhu-shara. Below this altar there seems to have been a crypt, going far Into the bowels of the moun tain, and In it was thrown the remains of the victims sacrificed to the god and his cruel mate. Whether human sacrifices were offered is not known, but the exploration of this crypt will tell us much of the distant past Most light upon that past is expected from the opening, of the- tombs, which number three thousand or more. If ten a day are opened it will take moro than three years to The Colossal Ruins Known as Wealth of How to Cultivate Good Manners in Childhood By Mrs. FRANK LEARNED Author of "Tho Etiquette of New York To-day." A JAWTER who was harassed with anxious .problems made a rule in his family that each one should come to theblo with n pleasant greeting ond contribute his share of cheerful talk. For his own part he inade the hours-at meals delightful his conversion and powers of charm. Children; realized mac grievance in -temper, r,uaeness, discourtesy - or contradictions were offences to bo punished gently, but firmly, for tho simple reason that tho feelings and rights of others must be respected and the great law of un selHshness and making others happy must be understood. Self-control was taugnt oy mo example oi me paronw, who tried to preserve patience and calmness and not to reorove irritably, taught by tno example ot the parents. Homo is the great moral school where real character la mostly Rljchta t- jpezra, uu f miner isnmaei ana Esau Fled, into Which Years the Treasures of 1 : the Ancient World, to Be Soloed Through Its Dead and cost certainly "Pharaoh's Treasury. Hewn Outs ide of the Mountain. It Held tha Egypt for Ages. It Il SO Feet High. formed. All the minor moralities ot Hfo may be made easy to a child. Habits of being courteous, prompt, considerate neat, should bo taught early In childhood. Good habits may b0 incorporated with the character uuu nn. uo niiuumucuua uuu uro- ceed from almost unconscious sources. It. must, bo remembered, however, that "bundles of habits" are not In themselves character. The small acts of courtesy prac tised at home will become. In a 5 the Character the culUva! tlon of true kindness, which prompt. measure, automatic, but there must ono to ao uie pleasant or tno unself- isa uuug naturally and slmnlv.. be- cause It would be an unhannmeskth do a disagreeable thing. The relationship of tho family must exist in all worthiness before the eyes of children, it there is to bo high development of- character, bo- cause cnuaren judge only by what they observe: what they see is the pattern for their imitation. So much may be dono by parents in the per- alstent. patient example of sweet- complete the work, but it is doubtful If this number can bo averaged without a host of workmen, for all are in the faces of. tho cliffs, and scaffolding will bavo-to bo erect ed to reach most of them. When they are forced open, by pick and dynamite, what treasures of ancient times may bo brought to light none can well imagine or picture! : All are awaiting the results with bated , breath, for the history of the Nabateans.la; so closely interwoven with that of the -' brews, of tho Egyptians and the Babylon' lans, that we may have a flood of light upong all tho civilization of ancient times, simply; by the opening of these tombs but it is a tremendous task, which will consume years fortunes, though the results will repay all efforts. ness of temper, cheerfulness and courtesy. Tho father in a household may show chivalrlc treatment ot .the motner in so beautiful a way that the children will naturally imitate his unfailing consideration and ten- aeraess mwnrn hnr Those who aro scrupulously atten tlve to every conventional rule among strangers and who aro thoughtful of tho comfort and con venience Of tho households where they may be visiting sometimes lff- nore courtesy Wnen toBeTrhw maThiSa JLfS m?..M meals , , " i... VC "7'v rJ,y,u" 4ur- ? hesitate to uuu iBuii wun the food. In fact some persons assume that they havo a certain right not to commit tho comfort of others at home. . II. 18 wpH to make a rule to. come jU ureaKiam witn a cheerful greet- lng. An amlahln "Onna Z.1i Ii. hi a nopelbVifn u u ?ir ii??,nnA?f .for. a day food at all un ess i oleasant about !l y something !