Damascus, Thursday, March 22. — At daylight I was accompanied to an excellent bath by one of the servants of the convent, and remained there in the delightful enjoyment which it afforded until nearly noon. This bath is called the Bath of Musk, and belongs to the family of Ahmed Bey, a family that has furnished more Pashas to different provinces of the state than any other throughout all Turkey, whether in Europe or Asia. As that family is now much poorer than formerly, notwithstanding the lucrative employment of so many of its members, while at the same time they endeavour to maintain such a show of grandeur as they think necessary for the maintenance of their dignity, great funds are still required for their disbursements as before, and to raise these, a number of the palaces, gardens, and baths, belonging to the family, and once appropriated solely to their use, are now opened (as I learnt) to the public, of which the bath alluded to is an instance, and from this source a considerable annual sum is raised. From the great expense and care bestowed on its first construction, it is justly deemed one of the finest baths of the city; and though those of Cairo are renowned for their costliness and convenience, I thought this much superior to any that I had seen in the capital of Egypt.
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