MacNamara diary, 19 August 1916-29 May 1919 / John Patrick MacNamara - Page 201
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[Page 201]
very reasonable considering what they get for it.
The course ranges from the primary stage upwards & one can take even the degrees of B.A., M.A., dentist, medicine, etc. I would have thought that it would be called a University but tis only a College. The Rooms of the boarders are very nice roomy & clean. The Professors are all American, except perhaps those for languages. The pupils are of all nationalities & tongues but the common language is English. Everyone is taught English & encouraged to speak it, for their own good.
The military have taken over a Turkish Baths & converted it into baths for the troops. We went round there & had a cold bath today as the hot water is off but tomorrow we are going round for a hot bath & cold one after. It is a good clean place & is a good idea. Tis not often they give such concessions to the Tommies.
There is no sign now of the want & poverty that was in evidence when our people took over the place. There is plenty of bread to be had & no scarcity of vegetables.
There are some decent tram rides to be had in & around Beirut notably out to the Dog River & to the Pine Forests. There are in Beyrout the best horses that I have seen over here. Some pairs we saw in carriages were worth about £100 each. Before the war there were several hundred