ips from
Tripoli to Homs and Zuara in the Caproni mail plane.

The mail to Homs is carried on Wednesday and that to Zuara on Saturday.
The planes are more than twenty meters from tip to tip and can ascend to
six thousand meters; they are 18 cylinder, 450 horsepower with three
complete engines, either of which is sufficient to operate a machine in
case of accident. Then, the cost of building such a machine was
approximately $16,000.00. They carry two thousand pounds of mail matter
or explosives or ten men. The seat John occupied was in the very bow.
When occupying this seat the pressure of the wind from the speed of
flying is quite a strain on the neck, chest and back. Your head will be
twisted as though wrenched by strong invisible hands, your back grows
tender from pressure on the back rail and must be rested by leaning
forward with your head adjusted at a certain angle with the wind.

The distance from the aviation field near Tripoli to Homs is 110
kilometers and is usually made in fifty minutes. It takes seven hours by
steamer. The steamer follows no schedule and may return in a few days or
sail on to Genoa or Syracuse or Bengasi.

The plane route in general follows the shore line. The blue
Mediterranean from two thousand meters above is not blue but black. You
can see to quite a depth and where the bottom is distinct the white sand
looks blue and not the water. The colors do not blend--the inky black
deep water, the blue shallows, the brown desert, with rare patches of
white rectangular houses and the green oases of corn, alfalfa and palm
trees. The palms, almost the only trees, look like inverted green
feather dusters.

And so, on to the aviation field near the magnificent ruins of ancient
Lebna. The extent of these ruins, great arches, portals and columns of
marble, porphyry and cut stone overlooking the sea, though half buried
by sand dunes, presents conclusive evidence of a former populous and
magnificent city.

In the morning, when they expected to return to Tripoli, a heavy fog
drifting from the southwest rested over the sea, and though conditions
were not ideal, they started home.

The fog, far below, covering the sea as far as vision reached, looked
like an immense broken billowy ice field, or millions of big powder
puffs jammed together in an immense plain. Following the distinguishable
shore line they came within fifteen miles of Tripoli where the fog, with
dangerous perverseness, extended far into