BEYROUT, Beirout, or Bairut, the most important seaport town of Syria, on the coast of the Mediterranean, in the pashalic of Acre, 57 miles W.N.W. of Damascus. It is situated on rising ground on the northern side of the promontory of the Jebel-er-Rosheh, which forms the spacious bay of St George’s, a short distance to the west of the mouth of a stream to which it gives its name—Nahr-Beirut, the ancient Magoras. The surrounding hills consist of reddish sand, interspersed with rocks, and covered with a light soil. The roadstead to the N.E. of the town is sheltered from the S.W. wind, but is exposed to the W. and the N.W. The ancient harbour is now choked up, and all that remains of the artificial erections is a pier or causeway at the N.W. extremity of the town, at which boats can discharge. It is supported on arches of unequal size, and is partly constructed of ancient marble columns, many of which still stand along its front, and are used for mooring the lesser vessels. In 1874 the authorities determined to construct a small harbour, and <£10,000 was allotted for the purpose. The city proper is an irregular square, open towards the sea, and surrounded on the land sides by a substantial tower-flanked wall, built by Djezzar Pasha. At the N.W. corner are two castellated buildings, built on the rocks. The streets are wider than is usual in Syrian towns, and are paved with large stones; the houses are for the most part lofty and spacious. Formerly, there were deep channels of water flowing down the middle of the streets, but these have been removed. The suburbs of the city, which extend around it with a radius of a mile and a half, are beautifully situated, interspersed with gardens, and planted with fruit trees. During the hot season the wealthier inhabitants remove ...