We have in the East great khans, but they bear little relation to our hotels. Ring, eat, and pay, is not the law in the East. They have no bells in Damascus, nor even the silver call or whistle which our grandmothers used in England. Bells in churches and in houses are alike an abomination to the Moslems; and the Maronites alone, by permission of the Government, have a right to use them.
東方有大可汗，可汗不同于我們所說的賓館。按鈴點餐、就餐、結賬在東方都是不合法的。大馬士革沒有鐘，甚至沒有我們英國的祖母輩們使用的銀鈴和口哨，因為穆斯林極其厭惡在教堂或者屋子里掛鐘，只有獲得政府許可的馬龍派教徒才能使用。
The Khan in Damascus is a large circular building surmounted by a noble dome, in which the great merchants have their goods and wares of all kinds; and in which the traveller can find a resting-place for himself and his camels, and be supplied with water from the central fountain;—but there are no tables spread for the travellers, and no beds ready made for the weary pilgrims: you must find your dinner as you best can, make your own bed, and when you rise, take it up, and walk. The Khan is, however, a very noble building, and excites not a little astonishment among the Orientals.
大馬士革的可汗是一種高大的圓形建筑，頂部是氣派的圓頂，大商販們會在這里存放自己各種各樣的東西和貨物；過往的游客和駱駝們也會在這里歇歇腳，這里為他們提供中央噴水池的水喝，但是不會為他們準備桌子，也不會為疲憊的朝圣者準備床鋪，你必須自己為自己找尋盡量好些的食物，自己為自己準備床鋪，起床收拾好之后就可以離開了。不管怎么說，可汗在東方人眼里是一種特別尊貴的建筑，往往會令他們嘆為觀止。
In European cities your attention is arrested by bookshops, pictures, placards, caricatures, &c.; now in Damascus we have nothing of the sort. Among the Jews you may find a few miserable stalls, from which you may pick up a copy of the Talmud, or some old rabbinical prayer-book. The sheikh? who sold me the Koran, laid his hand upon his neck, and told me to be silent, for were it known that he had done so, he might lose his head. In the schools they are taught only to read the Koran, and to master the simplest elements of arithmetic and writing.
書店、畫、廣告牌、人物漫畫等在歐洲的城市里極具吸引力，但是這些在現在的大馬士革都沒有。或許你能在猶太人生意慘淡的小攤里找到一本復印版猶太法典或者一些陳舊的希伯來語祈禱書，有一個大概是伊斯蘭教教長的人？賣給了我一本《古蘭經》，他當時把手橫在自己的脖頸上讓我不要把這事兒透露出去，因為一旦有人知道了他可能就會喪命。學生們在學校里只學習《古蘭經》以及掌握最簡單的算術和寫作的要領。
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