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contain 3000 to 4000 spectators.[...] The “Kasne” is of wonderful beauty and ow-
ing to the greater hardness of the rock it is wonderfully preserved all the ornaments
being in so perfect a state as if they had been chiselled today The internal walls are
abt. 50 feet high. The principal door is 33’ and the side doors 20’ high. The temple
is in 2 stories high. The 2d story is inaccessible. At the top there is a ball in which
according to the belief of the natives treasures are hidden and seldom one of them
passes without aiming a shot at it to pierce it.”
From Petra Schliemann makes a stopover at the Dead Sea. The nights were un-
pleasantly hot and the next day he goes for a swim:
[page 198, Greek] “Yesterday, all night long the wind was so hot that we had to
sleep completely naked. Yet, we were literally dripping with sweat as if we had
used the steam bath. Not only did we keep the main door open but also, we tried to
keep the persons inside the tent to a minimum so as to let the wind flow freely in-
side the tent. Although the flies kept on disturbing our sleep, I was feeling so tired
that I slept right away until four in the morning without getting bothered by the
fly bites. Then Schmitten [his travel companion] approached me asking if I would
like to accompany him to the Dead Sea, where he wanted to bathe. I was pleased
to say yes. The bottom of the sea was full of rocks, which made our way into the
sea quite unpleasant. We managed to dive deep into the sea and I drove myself to a
considerable depth without touching bottom. A drop of water fell into my eye and
caused me unprecedented pain.”
Next Schliemann travels on to Damascus. He thinks the city is magnificent but he
feels lonely and depressed:
[page 221, Greek ] “I have already asked my interpreter to leave tomorrow morn-
ing, as I feel quite lonely here. It is rather unpleasant for someone to visit Damas-
cus without any company. Imagine how lonesome it might be to come here being
in a bad mood like I am.”
Apparently Schliemann had had these feelings of depression for some time now.
He arrives in Beirut and notes:
[page 224, Greek] “In the distant lies the city of Beirut and its port. I could also
clearly make out the Russian steamboat on which I would have to get in order to
leave Beirut. This panoramic view that I marvelled at from a height of 10,000 feet
is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen while the feelings of depression that
have been burdening me for quite a long time now have started to fade away bit
by bit.”