Tourists Lured by Ja’ita
Underground Wonders
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Some of the spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations
cf the Ja’ita Caverns.
i Less than an hour's drive
from Beirut, Lebanon, near
the sparkling-blue bay of
Jounieh, is found one of the
underground wonders of the
world ,
Sighiseers and archeological
sleuths for years have been
left breathless as they paddle
small boats slowly into Mag
harat Ja ita, the Dog River
.caverns, and behold the won
drous colors and exotie Shapes
of the stalagmites and stalac
ties, eroded-rock formations
arid growths of molds.
Still much less commercial
ized than the famous '‘Blue
Grotto”’ of the Isle of Capri,
Ja’ita has an unsullied igran
ideur reminiscent of an Ori
ental temple. The black waters
of the subterranean river, on
I which the curious enter, re
flect in shimmering elegance
the wonders of the artificially
illuminated formations which
transform the depths of the
earth into a wonderland.
Ja’ita has been known to the
modern world only since 1836,
when an archeologist by the
namt of Dr. Thompson, first
stumbled on the cavern while
exploring the remains of an
cient 4ife and civilization
which pervade the Lebanese
coast. At the entrance he dis
covered a mass of bone brecias
composed of bones and teeth
and chipped flints. The com
ponents had been gradually
cemented together into a hard,
rock-like formation, a lasting
reminder of the primieval be
ings who once inhabited the
cavern.
Dr. Thompson’s find was left
alone for nearly 40 years un
til revisited in 1873 by a party
consisting of President Emer
itus Dr. Daniel Bliss, founder
of the American University of
Bttriit, Dr. R. W. Brigstocke,
and Messrs. W. J. Maxwell and
H. Huxley, engineers engaged
in constructing the Beirut
water works.
Forging beyond the entrance
on a raft of planks and in
flated goat skins, the team
penetrated the Ja’ita cavern
to a depth of some 200 yards
before being halted by a huge
boulder. Even at this depth
the candle-lit cavern suggested
to the explorers the interior
of a cathedral.
Bishop Stewart At
Kadesh Church On
Sunday, February 5
Bishop William Stewart of
Washington, D. C., will preach j
at the Kadesh A.M.E. Zion)
Church Sunday night, February!
5, at 7:30 o’clock. The Bishop's'
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Wall design jorms to streamline and
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i Get our suggestions, without obligation, B
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Returning a week later. Dr.
Bliss and his companions
clambered over the boulder
carrying a small boat, and went
deeper. They passed a maze of
mammoth, eerie-white stalag
mites, but finally were halte’d
at a depth of about 1,000 yards
by rapids.
Since then many have taken
up the challange of the Ja'ita
caverns, and to date the quest
of eye-filling beauty and ad
venture has carried explorers
to a distance of over 6,200
yards. Not only have the won
ders been more fully recog
nized and photographically
recorded through the years,
but also, in the early ’sos,
topographical maps of the in
terior were drawn.
In 1958 a further, higher
cavern was found which is
said to be older and even more
breathtaking. There is no water
in the higher cavern, but the .
few who have witnessed it
maintain that it is full of sta--
lactites and stalagmites of all
shapes and sizes, even more
attractive than the delightful
lower sections.
I Construction plans for the'
upper cavern are currently be
ing made, while improvements
are constantly carried out on
the facilities of the original
Ja’ita cavern. The newly-found
cavern will be electrified, and
here paths will be paved for
the sightseers to allow an ease
of entry provided by small
aluminum-sheathed boats on
the black waters below. j
I Plans are also being dis
cussed for the purchase of
about 20,000 square yards of
land surrounding the Ja’ita
caverns to be turned into a
park, parking area, and shel
ters for the public. , 1
The upper cavern will be
opened to the public in Sep
tember, 1961. ‘
■ While the Ja’ita caverns are
a recent addition to the tour
ist’s list of ‘must-see’ places
in Lebanon, their attraction
is gaining a momentum far
surpassing expectations. The
world-renowned temples of
Baalbek are even feeling the
competition as the dazzling
underground wonders of Ja’ita
gain a reputation as one of the
world’s outstanding sights of
natural beauty.
district includes North Carolina,
Tennessee, Virginia and Albe
marle Conferences. He is an
able preacher and all members
of the congregation as well as
members of other churches are
cordially invited to hear him.
j The Rev. L. A. Williams is pas-j
I tor of Kadesh Church and hopes
j the church will be filled to ca
pacity for the occasion.
-~
THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 2, 1961.
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