This Emperor Marcus Aurelius, must have cut this road through the rocks about the year 173 A.D.  But there is another inscription higher up, with arrow-headed characters and several other tablets.  They are Assyrian and Egyptian.  One of the Assyrian tablets was cut by Sennacherib 2500 years ago, and one of the Egyptian by Sesostris, king of Egypt, 3100 years ago.  Don’t you feel very young and small in looking at such ancient monuments?  All of those men brought their armies here, and found the path so bad along the high precipice overhanging the sea, that they cut a road for their horses and chariots in the solid limestone rock.  Just think of standing where Sennacherib and Alexander the Great passed along with their armies!

What a steep and narrow road!  We will dismount and walk over this dangerous pass.  It is not pleasant to meet camels and loaded mules on such a dizzy precipice, with the high cliff above, and the roaring waves of the sea far below!  It is well we dismounted.  Our horses are afraid of those camels carrying long timbers balanced on their backs.  Let us turn aside and wait until they pass.

Seeing these camels reminds me of what I saw here in 1857.  I was coming down the coast from Tripoli and reached the top of this pass, in the narrowest part, just as a caravan of camels were coming from the opposite direction.  I turned back a little, and stood close under the edge of the cliff to let the camels go by.  They were loaded with huge canvas sacks of tibn, or cut straw, which hung down on both sides, making it impossible to pass them without stooping very low.  Just then I heard a voice behind me, and looking around, saw a shepherd coming up the pass with his flock of sheep.  He was walking ahead, and they all followed on.  I called to him to go back, as the camels were coming over the pass.  He said, “Ma ahlaik,” or “don’t trouble yourself,” and on he came.  When he met the camels, they were in the narrowest part, where a low stone wall runs along the edge of the precipice.  He stooped down and stepped upon the narrow wall, calling all the time to his sheep, who followed close upon his heels, walking in single file.  He said “tahl, tahl,” “come, come,” and then made a shrill whirring call, which could be heard above the roaring of the waves on the rocks below.  It was wonderful to see how closely they followed the shepherd.  They did not seem to notice the camels on the one side, or the abyss on the other side.  Had they left the narrow track, they would either have been trodden down by the heavily laden camels, or have fallen off into the dark waters below.  But they were intent on following their shepherd.  They heard his voice, and that was enough.  The cameleers were shouting and screaming to their camels to keep them from slipping on these smooth rocks, but the sheep paid no attention to them.  They knew the shepherd’s voice.  They had followed him before, through rivers and thickets, among rocks and sands, and he had always led them safely.  The waves were dashing and roaring on the rocks below, but they did not fear, for the shepherd was going on before.  Had one of those sheep turned aside, he would have lost his footing and been destroyed and thrown the whole flock into confusion.