Beirut (b-rt´) lies on a bay at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the port of Syria. It is 55 miles northwest of Damascus with which it is connected by railroad. It is not a large city, but it is important to Syria. It has about 150,000 people-as many as Atlanta, Ga., has. What other cities of the United States are about the same size? Beirut is the chief distributing center of Syria. That is, the products of Syria are sent out to the world through this city. And goods from other countries come into Syria through Beirut. Its annual commerce amounts to $10,000,000. Most of its trade is with Great Britain and France. It exports oranges, lemons, wool, silk, and oils. It imports iron and cotton goods. It has some silk factories, and makes some pottery. Beirut is an old, old city. It was one of the harbors of the Phoenicians (f-nsh´ -än). These daring sailors went westward far beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar). They even went to the land now called England. The letters used in printing this article were borrowed from the Phoenicians. They were not only sailors, you see, but they were lovers of knowledge also. There are in Beirut today a university, and an observatory to study the heavenly bodies. Beirut was taken by the Egyptians, and then by the Romans. Augustus Caesar named it Berytus after his daughter, Julia Felix Augusta Berytus. It still keeps the name in a slightly changed form. The Turks finally got hold of the city. It is now best known, perhaps, because it is a center of Christian missionary work. Observe the ships in the harbor, and the Lebanon hills beyond. Study the houses, and the general lay-out of the city. Does it look like an American city? Keystone ID: 11151 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.