by desert ways to baghdad - Facsimile Books & other digitally ...

CHAPTER XIX
BABYLON
HP*HE eastern gate of heaven was unbarred;
JL Shamas, the Sun-god of Babylonia, flamed forth
and stepped upon the Mount of Sunrise at the edge
of the world. As he had poured the light of heaven
upon the luxuriant gardens and fertile cornlands of
the Babylonians, so was he pouring it upon the same
spot, now an arid and deserted wilderness. We were
crossing it on our way to visit Babylon. It was pitch
dark when we had left Baghdad in the procession of
covered arabas which conveyed pilgrims to Kerbela
and merchants to Hillah. We had been roused at
2 a.m., and had threaded our way silently through the
sleeping streets by the light of a dim lantern. Huddled
human forms lay about in angles and on doorsteps ;
and at every moment we stumbled over the out
stretched limbs of a yellow dog. We crossed the
Tigris in one of the round native boats, and landed
within a few minutes' walk of the khan from where the
arabas started. We had an araba to ourselves ; an
oblong wooden box on four wheels, with a light
canvas top and canvas sides that could be rolled up
or let down at pleasure ; a narrow wooden plank, with
345