"Two days' journey brings one to Damascus, the great city, which is the extremity of the dominion of Nor-al-din, the King of the Togarmim, called Turks. It is a fair city of large extent surrounded by walls, with many gardens and parks, extending over 15 miles, and no more fruitful district can be seen in all the land. From Mount Hermon descend the rivers Amana and Pharpar, for the city is situated at the foot of Mount Hermon. The River Amana flows through the city, and by means of aqueducts the water is conveyed to the houses of the wealthier inhabitants, and into the streets and market places. The Pharpar flows through their gardens and parks. . . .
"Baal-bec, which is on an incline of the Lebanon range, is the Baalath, which Solomon built for Pharaoh's daughter. The palaces are formed of huge stones each 20 spans in length and 12 in breadth, and there are no interstices between the stones, and it is said that no one but Asmodeus could have put such a building together. At Tadmor, in the wilderness, which Solomon built, are likewise found buildings composed of enormous stones."
Benjamin then gives a circumstantial account of various places in Babylon, and he dwells more especially upon the beauties of the city of Bagdad, bestowing high praise upon the Caliph Emir-al-Mumenin al 'Abassi, and giving a full description of the public appearance of the Caliph during Ramadan. He then proceeds to describe the status of the Jewish community at Bagdad, and enlarges upon the great respect shown to Daniel, the chief of the captivity, who traced his descent back to David. When paying a visit to the Caliph, this Jewish prince is the only one allowed to sit by the side of the Caliph, in obedience to the injunction of Mohammed, who wished full effect to be given to the Scriptural passage, "And the sceptre shall not depart from Judah."
In the neighbourhood of Babylon, Benjamin states, are to be seen the remains of a palace of Nebuchadnezzar, but people are afraid to go there on account of the multitude of serpents and scorpions. A synagogue, stated to have been built by Daniel, was still used in Benjamin's time as a place for prayer; as was also the synagogue of Ezekiel, the prophet, near the River Euphrates. The tomb of the latter and the tombs of other Jewish notabilities, to which the Jews made periodical visits, were duly pointed out to the traveller.
Benjamin next gives an account of what happened to the coffin of Daniel, near Shushan. The inhabitants of the two sides of the river could not agree as to who should have charge of the remains of the prophet. In the end it was agreed that they should each have charge of the coffin alternately for a year. The ruler of Persia—Sanjar—thought this derogatory, and it was therefore arranged that the coffin should be suspended over the centre of the river. Rabbi Petachia, who visited the spot a few years after Rabbi Benjamin, gives a similar account, and remarks that the coffin, which was made of burnished copper, looked in the distance lustrous like glass.
