f John the Baptist was shown. The Christian church was destroyed,
and the present mosque erected. Antique columns were collected
in towns of Syria, and used in the decoration. The pavement and
lower walls are covered with rarest marbles. The ceiling, from
which hang six hundred golden lamps, is of wood, inlaid with gold.
The urn above the altar is said to still contain the remains of
the head of John the Baptist.]

[Illustration: BAALBEC, SYRIA.--These magnificent ruins have excited
the wonder and admiration of every beholder. In view of the fact
that the Jewish style of architecture is mingled with that of the
Doric and the Corinthian order, this building is supposed to have
been the house that Solomon built for his Egyptian wife. It may
be surpassed in classical taste by the Temple of Athens, and, in
some respects, Rome may rival it. Even in magnitude the Nile exceeds
it, but there is something about Baalbec that causes it to stand
alone, and makes it peer of all. Its origin is not known, yet it
passed through the Greek, Arab and Roman hands, and suffered assaults
by the Crusades.]

[Illustration: MECCA, SYRIA.--The pilgrimage to Mecca, which every
Muslim is bound to undertake once in his life, is a most curious
religious custom. In the neighborhood of Mecca the pilgrims undress,
laying aside even their head-gear, and put on aprons and a piece of
cloth over the left shoulder. They then perform the circuit of the
Ka'ba, kiss the black stone, hear the sermon on Mount Arafat, near
Mecca, pelt Satan with stones in the Valley of Mina, and conclude
their pilgrimage with a great sacrificial feast. The picture shows the
famous cemetery of Mecca, the bodies all buried above the ground.]

[Illustration: KALBADEVIE ROAD, BOMBAY, INDIA.--The city of Bombay,
under English rule, with a population of nearly a million inhabitants,
is one or the most flourishing cities in India, on account of its
nearness to the Suez Canal. The approach from the sea discloses
one of the finest panoramas in the world, the only European analogy
being the Bay of Naples. The town itself consists of well-built and
usually handsome native bazaars, and of spacious streets devoted
to European commerce, of which the above is one of the principal
avenues.]

[Illustration: BENARES, INDIA.--The city here represented is the
religious centre of Hindooism, and one of the oldest cities on the
globe. The bank of the Ganges is entirely lined with stone, and
there