Chapter XI: Part 11

Having returned to the four cubical pedestals (d), I followed to the left the continuation of the street (c), by which I had first approached those pedestals, and which having crossed the main street at the pedestals, leads south-westward to the river, where it terminated at a broad flight of steps, leading down to the bridge (k); of the colonnade of this street (i), some broken shafts

[p.263]only are standing. The bridge is fourteen feet wide, with a high centre arch and two lower ones; it is built with great solidity, and its pavement is exactly of the same construction as that which I observed in the streets of Shohba;[See page 70.] its centre is broken down. An aqueduct is traced from the side of the building (u), passing near the two bridges, towards the southern gate of the town. Such weremy observations of the ruins on the right bank of the Wady.

On the left bank little else remains than heaps of ruins of private habitations, and numerous fragments of columns. I must confess, however, that I did not examine the part of the town towards the south gate; but I have reason to believe, from the view which I had of it while on the temple hill, that nothing of consequence, either as to buildings or columns, is there to be met with. The only buildings which I observed to the left of the river are near to it, upon a narrow plain which stretches along its banks. Nearly opposite to the temple (m), are the remains of a building (y) similar in construction to that marked (u), on the right bank. I supposed it to be a bath; a stream of water descends from a spring in the mountain, and after flowing through this division of the town, passes this building, and empties itself into the river. The arched rooms of the building (y) are loftier than those in (u). Near the former stand four columns; two insulated, and two with entablatures; also two broken shafts, the only fluted ones that I saw in the city. On the left bank of the river, nearly opposite to the town-gate (w), is a ruined building (x), which appears to have been a small temple; a single column is standing amidst a heap of broken ones.

Between this spot and the building (y) are the remains of an aqueduct.

Besides the one hundred and ninety columns, or thereabouts,

[p.264]which I have enumerated in the above description, there are upwards of one hundred half columns also standing. I did not see any marks of the frusta of the columns having been joined by iron hooks, as at Palmyra. Of the private habitations of the city there is none in a state of preservation, but the whole of the area within the walls is covered with their ruins.

The stone with which Djerash is built is calcareous, of considerable hardness, and the same as the rock of the neighbouring mountains; I did not observe any other stone to have been employed, and it is matter of surprise that no granite columns should be found here, as they abound in Syrian cities of much less note and magnificence than Djerash.

It had been my intention to proceed from Djerash to the village of Djezaze, in my way to the castle of Szalt in the mountains of Belka, from whence I hoped to be able to visit Amman. After many fruitless enquiries for a guide, a man of Souf at last offered to conduct me to Szalt, and he had accompanied us as far as Djerash; but when, after having surveyed the ruins, I rejoined my companions, he had changed his mind, and insisted on returning immediately to Souf; this was occasioned by his fear of the Arabs Beni Szakher, who had for sometime past been at war with the Arabs of Djebel Belka and the government of Damascus, and who were now extending their plundering incursions all over the mountain. The name of the Beni Szakher is generally dreaded in these parts; and the greater or less facility with which the traveller can visit them, depends entirely upon the good or bad terms existing between those Arabs and the Pasha; if they are friends, one of the tribe may easily be found to serve as a guide; but when they are enemies, the traveller is exposed to the danger of being stripped; and, if the animosity of the two parties is very great, of even being murdered. The Mutsellim of Damascus had given me letters to the chief of the

AATYL.

[p.265]Arabs El Belka, and to the commander of the Pasha's cavalry, who had been sent to assist them against the Beni Szakher. The allies were encamped in the neighbourhood of Kalaat el Zerka, while the Beni Szakher had collected their forces at Amman itself, a place still famous for the abundance of its waters. Under these circumstances, I determined to proceed first to Szalt, hoping that I might from thence attain Amman more easily, as the inhabitants of Szalt, who are always more or less rebellious towards the government of Damascus, are generally on friendly terms with the Bedouins. The fears of my guide, however, prevented me from executing this plan, and I was most reluctantly obliged to return to Souf, for it would have been madness to proceed alone.

We returned to Souf, not by the road over the mountain, but in following the course of the rivulet in the valley El Deir, which we reascended up to the village; we found the greater part of the narrow plain in the valley sown with wheat and barley by the people of Souf. Half an hour from the town, in the Wady, are the remains of a large reservoir for water, with some ruined buildings near it. This is a most romantic spot; large oak and walnut trees overshade the stream, which higher up flows over a rocky bed; nearer the village are some olive plantations in the Wady. We reached Souf in two hours from Djerash. I enquired in vain for a guide to Szalt; the return of the man who had engaged to conduct me made the others equally cautious, and nobody would accept of the fifteen piastres which I offered. I thought in unnecessary, therefore, to stop any longer at Souf, and left it the same evening, in order to visit Djebel Adjeloun. Our road lay W.N.W. up a mountain, through a thick forest of oak trees. In three quarters of an hour from Souf we reached the summit of the mountain, which forms the frontier between the district of Moerad and the Djebel Adjeloun. This is the thickest forest I had yet seen in

RABBAD.

[p.266]Syria, where the term forest ([Arabic] or [Arabic]) is often applied to places in which the trees grow at twenty paces from each other. In an hour and a half we came to the village Ain Djenne [Arabic], in a fertile valley called Wady Djenne, at the extremity of which several springs issue from under the rock.

May 3d.--There are several christian families at Ain Djenne. In the neighbouring mountain are numerous caverns; and distant half an hour, is the ruined village of Mar Elias. When enquiring for ruins, which might answer to those of Capitolias, I had been referred to this place, no person in these mountains having knowledge of any other ruins. An olive plantation furnishes the principal means of subsistence to the eighty families who inhabit the village of Ain Djenne.

We set out early in the morning, and descended the valley towards Adjeloun [Arabic], which has given its name to the district: it is built in a narrow passage on both sides of the rivulet of Djenne, and contains nothing remarkable except a fine ancient mosque. I left my horse here, and took a man of the village to accompany me to the castle of Rabbad [Arabic], which stands on the top of a mountain three quarters of an hour distant from Adjeloun. To the left of the road, at a short distance, is the village Kefrandjy. From Ain Djenne Kalaat el Rabbad bears W. by N.; it is the residence of the chief of the district of Adjeloun. The house of Barekat, in whom this authority has for many years resided, had lately been quarrelling about it among themselves; the chief, Youssef el Barekat, had been besieged for several months in the castle; he was now gone to the Aga of Tabaria, to engage him in his interests; and his family were left in the castle with strict orders not to let any unknown persons enter it, and to keep the gate secured. I had letters of recommendation to Youssef from the Mutsellim of Damascus; when I arrived at the castle-gate, all the inhabitants

OBEID.

[p.267]assembled upon the wall, to enquire who I was, and what I wanted. I explained to them the nature of my visit, and shewed them the Mutsellim's letter, upon which they opened the iron gate, but continued to entertain great suspicions of me until a man who could read having been sent for, my letter was read aloud; all the family then vied in civilities towards me, especially when I told them that I intended to proceed to Tabaria.

Kalaat Er-Rabbad is very strong, and, as appears from several Arabic inscriptions, was built by Sultan Szelah-eddyn [Arabic]; its date is, therefore, that of the Crusades, and the same as that of many castles in other parts of Syria, which owe their origin to the vigilance, and prudence of that monarch; I saw nothing particularly worth notice in it; its thick walls, arched passages, and small bastions, are common to all the castles of the middle ages. It has several wells; but on the outside, it is distinguished by the deep and broad ditch which surrounds it, and which has been excavated at immense labour in the rock itself upon which the castle stands. Rabbad is two hours distant from the Ghor, or valley of the river Jordan, over which, as well as the neighbouring mountains, it commands a fine prospect. It is now inhabited by about forty persons, of the great family of El Barekat.

I returned from Kalaat Rabbad to Adjeloun, where I rejoined my companions, and after mid-day set out for El Hossn, the principal village in the district of Beni Obeid. Our road lay up the mountain, in the narrow Wady Teis. At half an hour from Adjeloun we passed the spring called Ain Teis [Arabic]. At two hours the district of Djebel Adjeloun terminates, and that of Obeid begins. The country is for the greater part woody, and here the inhabitants collect considerable quantities of galls. Our road lay N.E.; the summits of the mountain bear the name El Meseidjed [Arabic]. At three hours and a half is a Birket of rain-water, from whence the

EL HOSSN.

[p.268]road descends over barren hills towards El Hossn, distant five hours and a quarter from Adjeloun.

El Hossn is the principal village of the district called Beni Obeid; it stands on the declivity of the mountain, and is inhabited by upwards of one hundred families, of which about twenty-five are Greek Christians, under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Jerusalem. I saw nothing remarkable here but a number of wells cut out of the rock. I happened to alight at the same house where M. Seetzen had been detained for eleven days, by bad weather; his hospitable old landlord, Abdullah el Ghanem, made many enquiries after him.

May 4th.--I found very bad company at El Hossn. It is usual for the Pasha of Damascus to send annually one of the principal officers of his government to visit the southern provinces of the Pashalik, to exact the arrears of the Miri, and to levy new extortions. The Aga of Tabaria, who was invested this year with the office, had just arrived in the village with a suite of one hundred and fifty horsemen, whom he had quartered upon the peasants; my landlord had seven men and fifteen horses for his share, and although he killed a sheep, and boiled about twenty pounds of rice, for supper, yet the two officers of the party in his house were continually asking for more, spoiled all his furniture, and, in fact, acted worse than an enemy would have done. It is to avoid vexations of this kind that the peasants abandon the villages most exposed to such visits.

We left Hossn late in the morning and proceeded to Erbad [Arabic], one hour and a quarter N.N.E. from the former. Our road lay over the plain. Erbad is the chief place in the district of that name, likewise called the district of Beni Djohma [Arabic], or of Bottein [Arabic], from the Sheikh's being of the family of Bottein. The names of Beni Obeid, and Beni Djohma, are probably derived

HEBRAS.

[p.269]from Arab tribes which anciently settled here; but nobody could tell me the origin of these appellations. The inhabitants do not pretend to be descendants of those tribes, but say that these were their dwelling places from time immemorial.

The castle of Erbad stands upon a low hill, at the foot of which lies the village. The calcareous rock which extends through Zoueit, Moerad, Adjeloun, and Beni Obeid, begins here to give way to the black Haouran stone, with which all the houses of Erbad are built, as well as the miserable modern walls of the castle. A large ancient well built reservoir is the only curiosity of this place; around it lay several handsome sarcophagi, of the same kind of rock, with some sculptured bas- reliefs upon them. Part of the suite of the Aga of Tabaria, consisting of Moggrebyns, was quartered at Erbad. From hence I wished to visit the ruins of Beit el Ras [Arabic], which are upon a hill at about one hour and a half distant. I was told that the ruins were of large extent, that there were no columns standing, but that large ones were lying upon the ground. From Beit el Ras I intended again to cross the mountain in order to see the ruins of Om Keis, and from thence to visit the Djolan.

We were shewn the road from Erbad, but went astray, and did not reach Beit el Ras. One hour and a half N. by W. of Erbad we passed the village Merou [Arabic]; from thence we travelled W.N.W. to El Hereimy [Arabic], two hours from Erbad; and from El Hereimy N.N.W. to Hebras [Arabic], three hours from Erbad. Hebras is the principal village in the district of Kefarat, and one of the largest in these countries. It is inhabited by many Greek Christian families. One hour and a half to the N.E. of it are the ruins of Abil [Arabic], the ancient Abila, one of the towns of the Decapolis; neither buildings nor columns remain standing; but I was told that there are fragments of columns of a very large size.

OM KEIS.

[p.270]May 5th.--I took a guide from hence to shew me to Om Keis, which, I was told, was inhabited by several families. I there intended to pass the night, and to proceed the next day to Feik, a village on the E. side of the lake of Tabaria. In half an hour from Hebras we passed the spring Ain el Terab [Arabic], in a Wady, which farther to the north-westward joins the Wady Szamma, and still lower down unites with the Wady Sheriat el Mandhour. At one hour and a quarter to our right was the village Obder [Arabic], on the banks of Wady Szamma, which runs in a deep ravine, and half an hour farther north-west, the village Szamma [Arabic]. The inhabitants of the above villages cultivate gardens of fruit trees and all kinds of vegetables on the side of the rivulet. The villages belong to the district of Kefarat. To the left of our route extends a country full of Wadys, called the district of Serou [Arabic], to the southward of which begins that of Wostye [Arabic]. At one hour and a half to our left, distant half an hour, we saw, in the Serou, the village Faour [Arabic]. Between Hebras and Szamma begins the Wady el Arab [Arabic], which continued to the left parallel with our route; it is a fertile valley, in which the Arabs Kelab and others cultivate a few fields. There are several mills on the water-side. Our route lay W. by N. and W.N.W. across the Kefarat, which is uneven ground, rising towards the west, and is intersected by many Wadys. At the end of three hours and a quarter we reached Om Keis [Arabic].

Om Keis is the last village to the west, in the district of Kefarat; it is situated near the crest of the chain of mountains, which bound the valley of the lake of Tabaria and Jordan on the east. The S. end of the lake bears N.W. To the N. of it, one hour, is the deep Wady called Sheriat el Mandhour, which is, beyond a doubt, the Hieromax of the Greeks and Jarmouk of the Israelites.

To the south, at the same distance, flows the Wady el Arab,

[p.271]which joins the Sheriat in the valley of El Ghor , not far from the junction of the latter with the Jordan. I am doubtful to what ancient city the ruins of Om Keis are to be ascribed.[It was probably Gamala, which Josephus describes as standing upon a mountain bordered by precipices. Gadara appears from the authorities of Pliny and Jerom to have been at the warm baths, mentioned below, on the north side of the Sheriat el Mandhour; Gadara Hieromiace praefluente. Plin. Nat. Hist. l.i.c.18. Gadara, urbs trans Jordanem contra Scythopolin et Tiberiadem, ad orientalem plagam, sita in monte, ad cujns radices aquae calidae erumpunt, balneis super aedificatis,--Hieron. in Topicis.]

At Om Keis the remains of antiquity are very mutilated. The ancient town was situated round a hill, which is the highest point in the neighbourhood. To the east of the hill are a great number of caverns in the calcareous rock, some of which have been enlarged and rendered habitable. Others have been used as sepulchral caves. Great numbers of sarcophagi are lying about in this direction: they are all of black stone, which must have been transported from the banks of the river below: the dimensions of the largest are nine spans in length by three in breadth; they are ornamented with bas-reliefs of genii, festoons, wreaths of flowers, and some with busts, but very few of them are of elegant wor[k]manship. I counted upwards of seventy on the declivity of the hill. On the summit of the hill are heaps of wrought stones, but no remains of any important building: on its west and north sides are the remains of two large theatres, built entirely of black stone. That on the W. side is in better preservation than the other, although more ruined than the theatres at Djerash. The walls and the greater part of the seats yet remain; a tier of boxes intervenes between the rows of seats, as at Djerash, and there are deep vaulted apartments beneath the seats. There are no remains of columns in front of either theatre. The theatre on the north side of the hill, which is in a very dilapidated state, is remarkable for its great depth,

[p.272]caused by its being built on a part of the steepest declivity of the hill; its uppermost row of seats is at least forty feet higher than the lowest; the area below the seats is comparatively very small. From these two theatres the principal part of the town appears to have extended westwards, over an even piece of ground at the foot of the hill; its length from the hill was at least half an hour. Nothing is at present standing; but there are immense heaps of cut stones, columns, &c. dispersed over the plain. A long street, running westward, of which the ancient pavement still exists in most parts, seems to have been the principal street of the town. On both sides there are vast quantities of shafts of columns. At a spot where a heap of large Corinthian pillars lay, a temple appears to have stood. I here saw the base of a large column of gray granite. The town terminates in a narrow point, where a large solid building with many columns seems to have stood.

With the exception of the theatres, the buildings of the city were all constructed of the calcareous stone which constitutes the rock of every part of the country which I saw between Wady Zerka

SHERIAT EL MANDHOUR.

[p.273]and Wady Sheriat. In Djebel Adjeloun, Moerad, and Beni Obeid, none of the basalt or black stone is met with; but in some parts of El Kefarat, in our way from Hebras to Om Keis, I saw alternate layers of calcareous and basaltic rock, with thin strata of flint. The habitations of Om Keis are, for the greater part, caverns. There is no water but what is collected in reservoirs during rains; these were quite dried up, which was the occasion, perhaps, of the place having been abandoned, for we found not a single inhabitant.

My guide being ignorant of the road to Feik, wished to return to Hebras; and I was hesitating what to do, when we were met by some peasants of Remtha, in the Haouran, who were in their way to the Ghor, to purchase new barley, of which grain the harvest had already begun in the hot climate of that valley. I joined their little caravan. We continued, for about half an hour from Om Keis, upon the high plain, and then descended the mountains, the western declivity of which is entirely basaltic. At the end of two hours from Om Keis, we reached the banks of the Sheriat el Mandhour, or Sheriat el Menadhere (Arabic] or Arabic) which we passed at a ford. This river takes the additional name of the Arabs who live upon its banks, to distinguish it from the Sheriat el Kebir (Great Sheriat), by which the Jordan is known. The Sheriat el Menadhere is formed by the united streams of the Nahr Rokad [Arabic], which flows from near Ain Shakhab, through the eastern parts of Djolan; of the Hereir, whose source is in the swampy ground near Tel Dilly, on the Hadj route, between Shemskein and El Szannamein: of the Budje, which comes from Mezareib, and after its junction with the Hereir, is called Aweired [Arabic], and of the Wady Hamy Sakkar, besides several other smaller Wadys. The name of Sheriat, is first applied to the united streams near Szamme. From thence it flows in a deep bed of tufwacke; and its banks are cultivated by the Arabs Menadhere (sing. Mandhour), who live under

VALLEY OF THE GHOR.

[p.274]tents, and remove from place to place, but without quitting the banks of the river. They sow wheat and barley, and cultivate pomegranates, lemons, grapes, and many kinds of fruit and vegetables, which they sell in the villages of the Haouran and Djolan. Further to the west the Wady becomes so narrow as to leave no space between the edge of the stream, and the precipices on both sides. It issues from the mountain not far from the south end of the lake of Tabaria, and about one hour lower down is joined by the Wady el Arab; it then empties itself into the Jordan, called Sheriat el Kebir, at two hours distant from the lake; D'Anville is therefore wrong in making it flow into the lake itself. The river is full of fish, and in the Wady its course is very rapid. The shrub called by the Arabs Defle [Arabic], grows on its banks; it has a red flower, and according to the Arabs is poisonous to cattle. The breadth of the stream, where it issues from the mountains, is about thirty-five paces, its depth (in the month of May) between four and five feet.

We had now entered the valley of the Ghor [Arabic], which may be compared to the valley of the Bekaa, between the Libanus and Anti- Libanus, and the valley El Ghab of the Orontes. The mountains which enclose it are not to be compared in magnitude with those of the Bekaa; but the abundance of its waters renders its aspect more pleasing to the eye, and may make its soil more productive. It is one of the lowest levels in Syria; lower than the Haouran and Djolan, by nearly the whole height of the eastern mountains; its temperature is hotter than I had experienced in any other part of Syria: the rocky mountains concentrating the heat, and preventing the air from being cooled by the westerly winds in summer. In consequence of this higher degree of heat, the productions of the Ghor ripen long before those of the Haouran. The barley harvest, which does not begin in the upper plain till fifteen days later

SZAMMAGH.

[p.275]we here found nearly finished. The Haouran, on the other hand, was every where covered with the richest verdure of wild herbage, while every plant in the Ghor was already dried up, and the whole country appeared as if in the midst of summer. Volney has justly remarked that there are few countries where the changes from one climate to another are so sudden as in Syria; and I was never more convinced of it than in this valley. To the north was the Djebel El Sheikh, covered with snow; to the east the fertile plainsof Djolan clothed in the blossoms of spring; while to the south, the withered vegetation of the Ghor seemed the effect of a tropical sun. The breadth of the valley is about an hour and a half, or two hours.

From the ford over the Sheriat we proceeded across the plain in a N.W. direction; it was covered with low shrubs and a tree bearing a fruit like a small apple, very agreeable to the taste; Zaarour [Arabic] is the name given to it by the inhabitants of Mount Libanus; those of Damascus call it Zaaboub [Arabic]; and the Arabs have also another name for it, which I forget. In an hour and upwards, from the ford, we reached the village Szammagh [Arabic], situated on the most southern extremity of the lake of Tabaria; it contains thirty or forty poor mud houses, and a few built with black stone. The Jordan issues out of the lake about a quarter of an hour to the westward of the village, where the lake ends in a straight line, extending for about forty minutes in a direction nearly east and west. From hence the highest point of Djebel el Sheikh bears N.N.W.; the town of Szaffad N. by E. Between the lake and the first bridge over the Jordan, called Djissr el Medjami, at about two hours and a half from hence, are two fordable passages across the river.

Excepting about one hundred Fedhans around Szammagh, no part of the valley is cultivated in this neighbourhood. Somewhat

HOT WELLS.

[p.276]lower down begin the corn fields of the Arabs el Ghor, who are the principal inhabitants of the valley: those living near Szammagh are the Arabs el Sekhour, and the Beshaatoue. The only villages met with from hence as far as Beysan (the ancient Scythopolis), are to the left of the Jordan, Maad [Arabic], at the foot of Djebel Wostye, and El Erbayn [Arabic]. From Szammagh to Beysan the valley is called Ghor Tabaria. I swam to a considerable distance in the lake, without seeing a single fish; I was told, however, that there were privileged fishermen at Tabaria, who monopolize the entire fishery. The beach on this side is a fine gravel of quartz, flint, and tufwacke. There is no shallow water, the lake being of considerable depth close in shore. The only species of shell which I saw on the beach was of the smallest kind, white and about an inch and a half long. There are no kinds of rushes or reeds on the shores in this neighbourhood.

May 6th.--The quantities of mosquitos and other vermin which always by preference attack the stranger accustomed to more northern climates, made me pass a most uncomfortable night at Szammagh. We departed early in the morning, in order to visit the hot wells at the foot of the mountain of Om Keis, the situation of which had been pointed out to me on the preceding day. Returning towards the place where the Sheriat issues from the Wady, we followed up the river from thence and in one hour and three quarters from Szammagh, we reached the first hot-well. The river flows in a deep bed, being confined in some places on both sides by precipices of upwards of one hundred feet in height, whose black rocks present a most striking contrast with the verdure on their summits. For several hundred yards before we arrived at the hot-well, I perceived a strong sulphureous smell in the air. The spring is situated in a very narrow plain, in the valley, between the river and the northern

HOT WELLS.

[p.277]cliffs, which we descended. The plain had been covered with rich herbage, but it was now dried up; a great variety of shrubs and some old palm trees also grow here: the heat in the midst of the summer must be suffocating. The spring bubbles up from a basin about forty feet in circumference, and five feet in depth, which is enclosed by ruins of walls and buildings, and forms below a small rivulet which falls at a short distance into the river. The water is so hot, that I found it difficult to keep my hand in it; it deposits upon the stones over which it flows a thick yellow sulphureous crust, which the neighbouring Arabs collect, to rub their camels with, when diseased. Just above the basin, which has originally been paved, is an open arched building, with the broken shaft of a column still standing; and behind it are several others, also arched, which may have been apartments for the accommodation of strangers; the large stones forming these structures are much decayed, from the influence of the exhalations. This spring is called Hammet el Sheikh [Arabic], and is the hottest of them all. At five minutes distance, ascending the Wady, is a second of the same kind, but considerably cooler; it issues out of a basin covered with weeds, and surrounded with reeds, and has some remains of ancient buildings about it; it is called Hammet Errih [Arabic], and joins the waters from the first source. Following the course of the river, up the Wady, eight more hot springs are met with; I shall here mention their names, though I did not see them. 1. Hammet aand Ettowahein [Arabic], near some mills; 2. Hammet beit Seraye [Arabic]; 3. Hammet Essowanye [Arabic]; 4. Hammet Dser Aryshe [Arabic]; 5. Hammet Zour Eddyk [Arabic]; 6. Hammet Erremlye [Arabic]; 7. Hammet Messaoud [Arabic]; 8. Hammet Om Selym [Arabic]; this last is distant from that of El Sheikh two hours and a half. These

FEIK.

[p.278]eight springs are on both sides of the Wady, and have remains of ancient buildings near them. I conceive that a naturalist would find it well worth his time to examine the productions of this Wady, hitherto almost unknown. In the month of April the Hammet el Sheikh is visited by great numbers both of sick and healthy people, from the neighbourhood of Nablous and Nazaret, who prefer it to the bath of Tabaria; they usually remain about a fortnight.

We returned from the Hamme by the same road we came; on reaching the plain of El Ghor we turned to our right up the mountain. We here met a wild boar of great size; these animals are very numerous in the Ghor, and my companions told me that the Arabs of the valley are unable to cultivate the common barley, called here Shayr Araby [Arabic], on account of the eagerness with which the wild swine feed upon it, they are therefore obliged to grow a less esteemed sort, with six rows of grains, called Shayr Kheshaby [Arabic], which the swine do not touch. At three quarters of an hour from the spot where we began to ascend, we came to a spring called Ain el Khan, near a Khan called El Akabe, where caravans sometimes alight; this being the great road from the Djolan and the northern parts of the Haouran to the Ghor. Akabe is a general term for a steep descent. In one hour we passed a spring called Ain el Akabe, more copious than the former. From thence we reached the summit of the mountain, one hour and a quarter distant from its foot, where the plain commences; and in one hour and three quarters more, entered the village of Feik, distant about four hours and a half from Szammagh, by the road we travelled.

One hour to the E. of Szammagh, on the shore of the lake, lies the village Kherbet Szammera [Arabic], with some ancient buildings: it is the only inhabited village on the E. side of the lake, its

[p.279]site seems to correspond with that of the ancient Hippos. Farther north, near the shore, are the ruined places called Doeyrayan [Arabic], and Telhoun [Arabic]. Three quarters of an hour to the N. of Khan el Akabe, near the summit of the mountain, lies, the half ruined, but still inhabited village of Kefer Hareb [Arabic].

The country to the north of the Sheriat, in the direction of Feik, is, for a short distance, intersected by Wadys, a plain then commences, extending northwards towards the Djebel Heish el Kanneytra, and eastwards towards the Haouran.

Feik is a considerable village, inhabited by more than two hundred families. It is situated at the head of the Wady of the same name, on the ridge of a part of the mountain which incloses the E. shore of the lake of Tabaria, and it enjoys a fine view over the middle part of the lake. The rivulet of Feik has three sources, issuing from beneath a precipice, round the summit of which the village is built in the shape of a crescent. Having descended the hill for three quarters of an hour, a steep insulated hill is met with, having extensive ruins of buildings, walls, and columns on its top; they are called El Hossn, and are, perhaps, the remains of the ancient town of Regaba or Argob.

Feik [Arabic], although situated in the plain of Djolan, does not

[p.280]actually belong to that district, but constitutes a territory of itself; it forms part of the government of Akka, and is, I believe, the only place belonging to that Pashalik on the E. side of the Jordan; it was separated from the Pashalik of Damascus by Djezzar Pasha. There being a constant passage through Feik from the Haouran to Tabaria and Akka, more than thirty houses in the town have open Menzels for the entertainment of strangers of every description, and supply their cattle, gratis. The landlords have an allowance from the government for their expenses, which is made by a deduction from the customary taxes; and if the Menzel is much frequented, as in the case of that of the Sheikh, no Miri at all is collected from the landlord, and the Pasha makes him also an yearly allowance in money, out of the Miri of the village. The establishment of these public Menzels, which are general over the whole country to the S. of Damascus, does great honour to the hospitable spirit of the Turks; but it is, in fact, the only expense that the government thinks itself obliged to incur for the benefit of the people of the country. A peasant can travel for a whole month without expending a para; but people of any distinction give a few paras on the morning of their departure to the waiter or watchman [Arabic]. If the traveller does not choose to alight at a public Menzel, he may go to any private house, where he will find a hospitable landlord, and as good a supper as the circumstances of his host can afford.

I observed upon the terraces of all the houses of Feik, a small apartment called Hersh [Arabic], formed of branches of trees, covered with mats; to this cool abode the family retires during the mid-day heats of summer. There are a few remains of ancient buildings at Feik; amongst others, two small towers on the two extremities of the cliff. The village has large olive plantations.

May 7th.--Our way over the plain was in the direction N.E. by E.

DISTRICT OF DJOLAN.

[p.281]Beyond the fields of Feik, the district of Djolan begins, the southern limits of which are the Wady Hamy Sakker, and the Sheriat. Djolan appears to be the same name as the Greek Gaulanitis; but its present limits do not quite correspond with those of the ancient province, which was confined to a narrow strip of land along the lake, and the eastern shore of the Jordan. The territory of Feik must have formed part of Hippene; the mountain in front of it was mount Hippos, and the district of Argob appears to have been that part of the plain (making part of Djolan), which extends from Feik northwards for three or four hours, and which is enclosed on the east by the Djebel Heish, and on the west by the descent leading down to the banks of the lake.

Half an hour from Feik we passed, on our left, a heap of ruins called Radjam el Abhar [Arabic]. To the S.E. at about one hour distant, is the village Djeibein [Arabic]; to the left, at three quarters of an hour, is the ruined village El Aal [Arabic], on the side of the Wady Semak [Arabic], which descended from the Djebel Heish: there is a rivulet of spring-water in the Wady, which empties itself into the lake near the ruined city of Medjeifera [Arabic], in this part the Wady is full of reeds, of which the people make mats. On the other side of the Wady, about half an hour distant from it, upon a Tel, is the ruined city called Kaszr Berdoweil [Arabic] (Castle of Baldwin). The plain here is wholly uncultivated, and is overgrown with a wild herb called Khob [Arabic], which camels and cows feed upon. At one hour and three quarters is a Birket of rain water, called Nam [Arabic], with a spring near it. At two hours and a quarter are the extensive ruins of a city, called Khastein [Arabic], built with the black stone of the country, but preserving no remains of any considerable building. Two hours and three quarters, on our left, is Tel Zeky [Arabic], to the left of which, about one hour and a half, is the southern extremity of the Djebel Heish, where stands a Tel

TSEIL.

[p.282]called El Faras. The Djebel Heish is separated from the plain bya stony district, of one hour in breadth, where the Arabs of the country often take refuge from the extortions of the Pasha. In three hours we passed Wady Moakkar [Arabic], flowing from the mountain into the Sheriat. Here the direction of our road was E.S.E. The Arab who accompanied me presented me with a fruit which grows wild in these parts, and is unknown in the northern parts of Syria, and even at Damascus; it is of the size of a small egg, of the colour of the Tomato or love-apple, of a sweet agreeable taste, and full of juice. It grows upon a shrub about six inches high, which I did not see, but was told that its roots were three or four feet in length, and presented the figure of a man in all its parts. The fruit is called by the Arabs Djerabouh [Arabic].

At three hours and a quarter, at a short distance to our left, was the ruined village Om el Kebour [Arabic]. In three hours and a half we passed Wady Seide [Arabic]; and at the end of three hours and three quarters reached the bridge of Wady Hamy Sakker We met all the way Arabs and peasants going to the Ghor to purchase barley.

The bridge of Hamy Sakker [Arabic] is situated near the commencement of the Wady , where it is of very little depth; lower down it has a rapid fall, and runs between precipices of perpendicular rocks of great height, until it joins the Sheriat, about two hours and a half from the bridge. The bridge is well built upon seven arches. At four hours we reached a spring called Ain Keir [Arabic], and a little farther another called Ain Deker [Arabic]. The rocky district at the foot of Djebel Heish extends on this side as far as these springs. In five hours we passed Wady Aallan [Arabic], a considerable torrent flowing towards the Sheriat, with a ruined bridge; and in five hours and a half Tseil, [Arabic], an inhabited village. Here the plain begins to be cultivated. There

[p.283]are no villages excepting Djeibein to the south of the road by which we had travelled, as far as the banks of the Sheriat. The inhabitants of the country are Bedouins, several of whose encampments we passed. Tseil is one of the principal villages of Djolan, and contains about eighty or one hundred families, who live in the ancient buildings of the ruined town; there are three Birkets of rain water belonging to it. The only building of any size is a ruined mosque, which seems to have been a church. In coming from Feik the soil of the plain is black, or gray; at Tseil it begins to be of the same red colour as the Haouran earth.

After dinner we continued our route. In half an hour from Tseil we passed on our left Tel Djemoua [Arabic]. The greater part of the plain was covered with a fine crop of wheat and barley. During the years 1810 and 1811, the crops were very bad all over Syria; the rains of last winter, however, having been very abundant, the peasants are every where consoled with the hopes of a good harvest. It was expected that the Haouran and Djolan would yield twenty-five times the quantity of the seed sown, which is reckoned an excellent crop. Half an hour north of Tel Djemoua lies Tel Djabye [Arabic], with a village. At one hour and three quarters from Tseil is the village Nowa [Arabic], where we slept. This is the principal village in the Djolan, and was formerly a town of half an hour in circumference. Its situation corresponds with that in D'Anville's map of Neve. There are a number of ruined private dwellings, and the remains of some public edifices. A temple, of which one column with its entablature remains, has been converted into a mosque. At the S. end of the village is a small square solid building, probably a mausoleum; it has no other opening than the door. Beyond the precincts of the village, on the N. side, are the ruins of a large square building, of which the sculptured entrance only remains, with heaps of broken columns before it. The village

EL KESSOUE.

[p.284]has several springs, as well as cisterns. The Turks revere the tomb of a Santon buried here, called Mehy eddyn el Nowawy [Arabic].

May 8th.--Our route lay N.E. At two hours from Nowa is the village Kasem [Arabic], which forms the southern limits of the district of Djedour, and the northern frontier of Djolan; some people, however, reckon Djolan the limits of Nowa. One hour E.b.S. of Kasem stands the village Om el Mezabel [Arabic]; one hour and a half E.N.E. of Kasem. the great village Onhol [Arabic]. In two hours and a half from Nowa we passed, to the left, distant about half an hour, the Tel el Hara [Arabic], with the village of the same name at its foot; this is the highest Tel in the plains of Haouran and Djolan. Three hours and a quarter is the village Semnein [Arabic]; and three hours and three quarters, the village Djedye [Arabic]. The plain was badly cultivated in these parts. From hence our road turned N.N.E. At five hours is Kefer Shams [Arabic], with some ancient buildings; all these villages have large Birkets. At five hours and three quarters is Deir e Aades [Arabic], a ruined village in a stony district, intersected by several Wadys. Six hours and a quarter, Tel Moerad [Arabic]; eight hours Tel Shak-hab [Arabic], a village with a small castle, and copious springs; it lies about an hour and a half to the west of Soubbet Faraoun. The cattle of a large encampment of Naym wa spread over the whole plain near Shak-hab. At eight hours and three quarters, there was on our left a rocky country resembling the Ledja; it is called War Ezzaky [Arabic], and has a ruined Khan called Ezzeiat [Arabic]; the millstones for the supply of Damascus are hewn in this War, which consists of the black Haouran stone. In ten hours we reached Khan Denoun; and in ten hours and three quarters, long after sun-set, the village El Kessoue.

May 9th.--We arrived early in the morning at Damascus.

[p.285]

POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY TO THE

SOUTHWARD OF DAMASCUS

WITH

REMARKS ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE HAOURAN.

Before I submit to the reader, a few general remarks upon the inhabitants of the Haouran, I shall briefly recapitulate the political divisions of the country which extends to the southward of Damascus, as far as Wady Zerka.

1. El Ghoutta [Arabic]. Under this name is comprehended the immediate neighhourhood of Damascus, limited on the north by Djebel Szalehie, on the west by the Djebel el Sheikh, on the south by Djebel Kessoue, and on the east by the plain El Merdj. It is under the immediate government of the Mutsellim of Damascus. All the gardens of Damascus are reckoned in the Ghoutta, which contains upwards of eighty villages, and is one of the most fertile districts in Syria.

2. Belad Haouran [Arabic]. To the south of Djebel Kessoue and Djebel Khiara begins the country of Haouran. It is bordered on the east by the rocky district El Ledja, and by the Djebel Haouran, both of which are sometimes comprised within the Haouran; and in this case the Djebel el Drouz, or mountain of the Druses, whose chief resides at Soueida, may be considered another subdivision of the Haouran. To the S.E. where Boszra and El Remtha are the farthest inhahited villages, the Haouran borders upon the desert. Its western limits are the chain of villages on the Hadj road, from Ghebarib as far south as Remtha. The greater part of its villages will he found enumerated in the two Journals.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY

[p.286]The Haouran comprises therefore part of Trachonitis and Ituraea, the whole of Auranitis, and the northern districts of Batanaea. Edrei, now Draa, was situated in Batanaea.

3.Djedour [Arabic]. The flat country south of Djebel Kessoue, east of Djebel el Sheikh, and west of the Hadj road, as far as Kasem or Nowa, is called Djedour. It contains about twenty villages.

The following are the names of the inhabited villages of the country called Djedour; El Kenneya [Arabic], Sheriat el Ghoufa [Arabic], Sheriat el Tahna [Arabic], Deir Maket, [Arabic], Um el Mezabel [Arabic], El Nakhal [Arabic], El Szannamein, Teil Kefrein, Merkasem, Nawa, where are considerable ruins; Heitt [Arabic], El Hara, Akrebbe eddjedour [Arabic], Essbebhara, Djelein [Arabic], Namr [Arabic], Essalemie [Arabic], [Arabic], El Nebhanie [Arabic], Deir el Ades, Deir el Bokht, [Arabic], Kafershamy, Keitta [Arabic], Semlein, Djedeie, Thereya [Arabic], Um Ezzeijtoun [Arabic].

The greater part of Ituraea appears to be comprised within the limits of Djedour. The governor of Djolan usually commands also in Djedour.

4. Djolan [Arabic], which comprises the plain to the south of Djedour, and to the west of Haouran. Its southern frontier is the Nahr Aweired by which it is separated from the district of Erbad, and the Sheriat el Mandhour, which separates it from the district El Kefarat. On the west it is limited by the territory of Feik, and on the northwest by the southern extremity of Djebel Heish. Part of Batanaea, Argob, Hippene, and perhaps Gaulanitis, is comprised within this district. The maps of Syria are in general incorrect with regard to the mountains of Djolan. The mountain El Heish, which is the southern extremity of Djebel el Sheikh, terminates (as I have mentioned before) at Tel el Faras, which is about three hours and a half to the north of the Sheriat or Hieromax; and the mountains begin again at about the same distance to the south of the same river, in

TO THE SOUTH OF DAMASCUS

[p.287]the district of Wostye; leaving an open country between them, which extends towards the west as far as Akabe Feik, and Akabe Om Keis, which are the steep descents forming the approaches to the lake of Tabaria, and to the Ghor of Tabaria from the east. The maps, on the contrary, make the Djebel Heish join the southern chain of Wostye, instead of leaving an open country of near eight hours between them. The principal villages of Djolan, beginning from the south, are the following: Aabedein [Arabic], Moarrye [Arabic], Shedjara [Arabic], Beiterren [Arabic], Sahhem [Arabic], Seisoun [Arabic], Kefr Essamer [Arabic], Seiatein [Arabic], Beit Akkar [Arabic], Djomra [Arabic], Sheikh Saad [Arabic], near Tel Sheikh Saad, Ayoub [Arabic], Deir Ellebou [Arabic], Kefr Maszer [Arabic], Adouan [Arabic], Tel el Ashaara [Arabic], Tseil, El Djabye [Arabic], Esszefeire [Arabic], Djernein [Arabic], El Kebbash [Arabic], Nowa [Arabic]. The Aga of Haouran is generally at the same time governor of Djolan.

5. El Kanneytra [Arabic] comprises the mountain El Heish, from the neighbourhood of Banias to its southern extremity. It is the Mount Hermon of the ancients. Its chief place is Kanneytra (perhaps the ancient Canatha), where the Aga el Kanneytra resides.

6. Belad Erbad, or Belad Beni Djohma [Arabic], likewise called El Bottein, which name it derives from the family of Bottein, who are the principal men of the country. It is limited on the north by the Aweired, which separates it from the Djolan, on the east by the Hadj route, on the south by the territory of Beni Obeid, and on the west, by the rising ground and the many Wadys which compose the territory of El Kefarat. The greater part of Batanaea is comprised within its limits; and it is remarkable that the name of Bottein has some affinity with that of Batanaea. Its principal villages are: Erbad [Arabic] (the Sheikh's residence), El Bareha [Arabic], Kefr Djayz [Arabic], Tokbol [Arabic], El Aaal [Arabic] (by some reckoned in Djolan), Kefr Youba [Arabic], Djemha

POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY

[p.288][Arabic]. The ruined villages and cities of Belad Erbad are as follows: Djerye [Arabic], Zebde [Arabic], Hanneine [Arabic], Beit el Ras [Arabic], Ain ed Djemel [Arabic].

7. El Kefarat [Arabic], a narrow strip of land, running along the south borders of the Wady Sheriat el Mandhour from the frontiers of Belad Erbad to Om Keis. Its principal village is Hebras.

8. Esserou [Arabic]. This district lies parallel to El Kefarat, and extends from Belad Erbad to the Ghor. It is watered by Wady el Arab. Its principal village is Fowar [Arabic].

The Kefarat as well as the Serou are situated between the Sheriat and the mountains of Wostye. They may be called flat countries in comparison with Wostye and Adjeloun; and they appear still more so from a distance; but if examined near, they are found to be intersected by numerous deep valleys. There seems, however, a gradual ascent of the ground towards the west. The valleys are inhabited for the greater part by Bedouins.

9. Belad Beni Obeid [Arabic] is on the eastern declivity of the mountains of Adjeloun. It is bordered on the north by Erbad, on the west by the mountain Adjeloun, on the east and south by the district Ezzoueit. The southern parts of Batanaea are comprised within these limits. Its principal village is El Hossn, where the Sheikh resides. Its other villages are: Haoufa [Arabic], Szammad [Arabic], Natefa [Arabic], El Mezar [Arabic], Ham [Arabic], Djehfye [Arabic], Erreikh [Arabic], Habdje [Arabic], Edoun [Arabic]. In the mountain near the summit of Djebel Adjeloun, in that part of the forest which is called El Meseidjed, are the following ruined places: Nahra [Arabic], Kefr Khal [Arabic], Hattein [Arabic], Aablein [Arabic], Keferye [Arabic], Kherbat [Arabic], Esshaara [Arabic], Aabbein [Arabic], Sameta [Arabic], Aabeda [Arabic], Aafne [Arabic], Deir Laouz [Arabic].

11. El Koura [Arabic] Is separated from Adjeloun on the S.W.

COUNTRY TO THE SOUTH OF DAMASCUS

[p.289]side by Wady Yabes [Arabic], which empties itself into the Jordan, in the neighbourhood of Beysan. To the west and north-west it borders on Wostye, to the east on Belad Beni Obeid. It is a mountainous country which comprizes the northern parts of the ancient Galaaditis. Its principal villages are, Tobne [Arabic], where resides the Sheikh or el Hakem, who exercises his influence likewise over the villages of Omba [Arabic], Szammoua, [Arabic], Deir Abou Seid [Arabic], Hannein [Arabic], Zemmal [Arabic], Kefer Aabeid [Arabic], Kefer Awan [Arabic], Beit Edes [Arabic], Khanzyre [Arabic], Kefer Radjeb [Arabic], Kefer Elma [Arabic].

12. El Wostye [Arabic]. To the south of Serou, and east of the Ghor Beysan.