Marco Polo, the celebrated Venetian traveller of the thirteenth century, says, “We will speak of the Old Man of the Mountain.  This prince was named Alaodin.  He had a lovely garden full of all manner of trees and fruits, in a beautiful valley, surrounded by high hills; and all round these plantations were various palaces and pavilions, decorated with works of art in gold, with paintings, and with furniture of silk.  Therein were to be seen rivulets of wine, as well as milk, honey, and gentle streams of limpid water.  He had placed therein damsels of transcendent beauty and endowed with great charms, who were taught to sing and to play all manner of instruments; they were dressed in silk and gold, and continually walked in these gardens and palaces.  The reasons for which the Old Man had these palaces built were the following.  Mahomet having said that those who should obey his will should go to paradise, and there find all kinds of luxuries, this prince wished it to be believed that he was the prophet and companion of Mahomet, and that he had the power of sending whom he chose to paradise.  No one could succeed in entering the garden, because an impregnable castle had been built at the entrance of the valley, and it could only be approached by a covered and secret way.  The Old Man had in his court some young men from ten to twenty years of age, chosen from those inhabitants of the hills who seemed to him capable of bearing arms, and who were bold and courageous.  From time to time he administered a certain drink to ten or twelve of these young men, which sent them to sleep, and when they were in deep stupor, he had them carried into the garden.  When they awoke, they saw all we have described:  they were surrounded by the young damsels, who sang, played instruments together, caressed them, played all sorts of games, and presented them with the most exquisite wines and meats (Fig. 317).  So that these young men, satiated with such pleasures, did not doubt that they were in paradise, and would willingly have never gone out of it again.

“At the end of four or five days, the Old Man sent them to sleep again, and had them removed from the garden in the same way in which they had been brought in.  He then called them before him, and asked them where they had been.  ‘By your grace, lord,’ they answered, ’we have been in paradise.’  And then they related, in the presence of everybody, what they had seen there.  This tale excited the astonishment of all those who heard it, and the desire that they might be equally fortunate.  The Old Man would then formally announce to those who were present, as follows:  ’Thus saith the law of our prophet, He causes all who fight for their Lord to enter into paradise; if you obey me you shall enjoy that happiness.’  By such words and plans this prince had so accustomed them to believe in him, that he whom he ordered to die for his service considered himself lucky.  All the nobles or other enemies of the Old Man of the Mountain were put to death by the assassins in his service; for none of them feared death, provided he complied with the orders and wishes of his lord.  However powerful a man might be, therefore, if he was an enemy of the Old Man’s, he was sure to meet with an untimely end.”