Introductory material (continued 4)

MAR DJORDJOS.

[p.159]which were too high to be legible from below. In other places, amidst half effaced inscriptions, the name of El Melek el Dhaher is distinguished. I saw no Greek inscriptions, nor any remains of Grecian architecture. The following is upon a stone at the entrance of one of the peasants' huts, of which there are about fifty within the castle and on the parapets:

[Latin].

There are roses sculptured over the entrance of several apartments.

If Syria should ever again become the theatre of European warfare, this castle would be an important position; in its neighbourhood the Libanus terminates and the mountains of northern Syria begin; it therefore commands the communication from the eastern plains to the sea shore. El Hossn is the chief place of a district belonging to the government of Hamah; the Miri is rented of the Pasha of Damascus, by the Greek family of El Deib, who are the leading persons here. There is an Aga in the castle, with a few men for its defence. Having examined Hossn, we descended to the convent of Mar Djordjos (St. George), which lies half an hour to the N.W. and there passed the night. In the Wady towards the convent chestnut trees grow wild; I believe they are found in no other part of Syria. The Arabs call them Abou Feroue [Arabic], i.e. "possessing a fur."

March 2d.—The Greek convent of St. George is famous throughout Syria, for the miracles which the saint is said to perform there. It is inhabited by a prior and three monks, who live in a state of

SZAFFYTTA.

[p.160]affluence; the income of the convent being very considerable, passengers of all descriptions are fed gratis, and as it stands in the great road from Hamah to Tripoli, guests are never wanting. The common entertainment is Bourgul, with bread and olives; to Christians of respectability wine is added. The convent has large vine and olive plantations in its neighbourhood; it collects alms all over Syria, Anatolia, and the Greek islands, and by a Firmahn of the Porte, is declared to be free from all duties to the Pasha. Youssef Pasha of Damascus, however, made them pay forty thousand piastres, on the pretence that they had built a Khan for poor passengers without his permission. The prior, who is chosen by the brotherhood of the convent, is elected for life, and is under the immediate direction of the Patriarch of Damascus. Caravans generally stop at the Khan, while respectable travellers sleep in the convent itself. A spring near the convent is said to flow only at intervals of two or three days. The prior told me that the convent was built at the same time with the castle of Hossn.

We left Mar Djordjos in a heavy rain, descended into the Wady Mar Djordjos, and after two hours slight descent reached the plain near a spring called Neba el Khalife [Arabic], round which are some ancient walls. A vast plain now opened before us, bordered on the west by the sea, which, however, was not yet distinguishable; on the N. by the mountains of Tartous, on the E. by the Anzeyrys mountains, and on the south by the Djebel Shara [Arabic], which is the lower northern continuation of the Djebel Libnan and Djebel Akkar. To the right, distant about three hours, we saw the castle of Szaffytta [Arabic], the principal seat of the Anzeyry, where their chief El Fakker resides. It is situated on the declivity of the Anzeyry mountains; near it stands an ancient tower, called Berdj Mar Mykhael, or St. Michael's Tower. About seven hours from Szaffytta, towards Kalaat Maszyadt,

[p.161]are the ruins of a temple now called Hassn Soleiman, which, according to all reports, is very deserving of the traveller's notice; as indeed are all the mountains of Szaffytta, and the whole Anzeyry territory, where are the castles of Merkab, Khowabe, Kadmous, El Aleyka, El Kohf, Berdj Tokhle, Yahmour, Berdj Miar, Areyme, and several others. It would take ten days to visit these places.

We continued along the foot of the hills which form the Djebel Shara; they are inhabited by Turkmans and Kurdines. We passed several torrents, and had great difficulty in getting through the swampy soil. After a march of five hours and a half, we came to a rivulet, which had swollen so much from the rain of last night and this day that we could not venture to pass it. We found several peasants who were as anxious to cross it as ourselves, but who could not get their mules over. As the rain had ceased, we waited on the banks for the decrease of the waters, which is usually as rapid as their rise, but it soon appeared that the rain still continued to fall in the mountains, for the stream, instead of decreasing, became much larger. In this difficulty we had to choose between returning to the convent and sleeping in the open air on the banks of the rivulet; we preferred the latter, and passed an uncomfortable night on the wet ground. By daylight the waters had so far decreased, that we passed over without any accident.

March 3rd.—On the opposile side we met with another and larger branch of the same stream, and at the end of an hour and a quarter reached the Nahr el Kebir (the ancient Eleutherus), near a ruined bridge. This is a large torrent, dangerous at this period of the year from its rapidity. The Hamah caravans have been known to remain encamped on its banks for weeks together, without being able to cross it. On the opposite side stands a Khan, called Ayash, with the tomb of the saint, Sheikh Ayash [Arabic],

TEL ARKA.

[p.162]which is usually the third day's station of the caravans from Hamah to Tripoli. Having crossed the river we followed the northern swellings of the mountain Akkar in a S.W. direction, having the plain all the way on our right. In one hour and a quarter from the Khan, we passed at half an hour's distance to the S. an insulated hillock in the plain, on which are some ruined buildings called Kella [Arabic], and to the east of it half an hour, another hillock called Tel Aarous [Arabic]; and at the same distance S.E. of the latter, the village Haytha [Arabic].

At two hours and a quarter from the Khan Ayash we passed the torrent Khereybe, coming down the Wady of that name, on our left, and the castle and village Khereybe, at a quarter of an hour from the road. Two hours and three quarters, is the village Halbe, on the declivity of the mountain. Three hours and a half, an old mosque upon the mountain above the road, with a village called El Djamaa ([Arabic] the mosque). Near to it, and where the mountains runs out in a point towards the north, is a hill called Tel Arka, which appears by its regularly flattened conical form and smooth sides to be artificial. I was told that on its top are some ruins of habitations, and walls. Upon an elevation on its E. and S. sides, which commands a beautiful view over the plain, the sea, and the Anzeyry mountains, are large and extensive heaps of rubbish, traces of ancient dwellings, blocks of hewn stone, remains of walls, and fragments of granite columns; of the latter I counted eight, six of which were of gray, and the other two of fine red granite. Here then must have stood the ancient town of Arca, where Alexander Severus was born: the hill was probably the citadel, or a temple may have stood on its top. On the west side of the hill runs the deep valley Wady Akka, with a torrent of the same name, which we passed, over a bridge near a mill. From thence the direction of our road continued W.S.W. From an elevated spot, at four

TRIPOLI.

[p.163]hours and a half, Sheikh Ayash bore N.E. b. N. In five hours we reached the sea-shore; the sea here forms a bay extending from the point of Tartous as far as Tripoli. We now turned round the mountains on our left, along the sea-beach, and passed several tents of Turkmans. Five hours and a half, at a short distance to the left, is an ancient tower on the slope of the mountain, called Abou Hannein [Arabic]. Five hours and three quarters is Khan el Bered, with a bridge over the Nahr el Bered, or cold river. At six hours and a half is the village Menny, to the left, at the foot of the mountain, the road lying through a low plain half an hour in breadth, between the mountain called Torboul and the sea; that part only which is nearest to the mountain is cultivated. In nine hours we arrived at Tripoli, and alighted at the house of the English agent Mr. Catziflis.

This city, which is called Tarabolos by the Arabs, and Tripoli by the Greeks and Italians, is built on the declivity of the lowest hills of the Libanus, and is divided by the Nahr Kadisha [Kadisha, in the Syrian language, means the holy [Arabic], the proper name of the river is Nahr Abou Ali.] into two parts, of which the southern is the most considerable. On the N. side of the river, upon the summit of the hill, stands the tomb of Sheikh Abou Naszer, and opposite to it, on the S. side, the castle, built in the time of the crusades; this castle has often been in a ruined state, but it has lately been put into complete repair by Berber Aga. Many parts of Tripoli bear marks of the ages of the crusades; amongst these are several high arcades of gothic architecture, under which the streets run. In general the town is well built, and is much embellished by the gardens, which are not only attached to the houses in the town, but cover likewise the whole triangular plain lying between it and the sea. Tripoli stands in

[p.164]one of the most favoured spots in all Syria; as the maritime plain and neighbouring mountains place every variety of climate within a short distance of the inhabitants. The Wady Kadisha, higher up than Tripoli, is one of the most picturesque valleys I ever saw. At half an hour from the town is an aqueduct across the Wady, built upon arches; the natives call it Kontaret el Brins [Arabic], a corruption, perhaps, of Prince. It conveys the water used for drinking, into the town, by means of a canal along the left bank of the Kadisha. A few yards above the aqueduct is a bridge across the stream.

I estimate the inhabitants of Tripoli at about fifteen thousand; of these one-third are Greek Christians, over whom a bishop presides. I was told that the Greeks are authorized, by the Firmahns of the Porte, to prevent any schismatic Greek from entering the town. This may not be the fact;—it is however certain, that whenever a schismatic is discovered here, he is immediately thrown into prison, put in irons, and otherwise very ill-treated. Such a statement can be credited by those only who are acquainted with the fanatism of the eastern Christians. There is no public building in the town deserving of notice. The Serai was destroyed during the rebellion of Berber. The Khan of the soap manufacturers is a large well built edifice, with a water basin in the middle of it.

Ten minutes above the town, in the Wady Kadisha, is a convent of Derwishes, most picturesquely situated above the river, but at present uninhabited. At half an hour's walk below the town, at the extreme angle of the triangular plain, is El Myna, or the port of Tripoli, which is itself a small town; the interjacent plain was formerly covered with marshes, which greatly injured the air; but the greater part of them have been drained, and converted into gardens. The remains of a wall may still be traced [p.165]across the triangular plain; from which it appears that the western point was the site of the ancient city; wherever the ground is dug in that direction the foundations of houses and walls are found; indeed it is with stones thus procured that the houses in the Myna are built.

From the Myna northward to the mouth of the Kadisha runs a chain of six towers, at about ten minutes walk from each other, evidently intended for the defence of the harbour; around the towers, on the shore, and in the sea, lie a great number of columns of gray granile; there are at least eighty of them, of about a foot and a quarter in diameter, lying in the sea; many others have been built into the walls of the towers as ornaments. To each of the towers the natives have given a name. The most northern is called Berdj Ras el Nahr, from its being near the Kadisha; those to the south are Berdj el Dekye, Berdj el Sebaa [Arabic], or the lion's tower;[The natives say, that on the shield carved above The gateway of this tower two lions were formerly visible.—These were the arms of Count Raymond de Thoulouse. I saw at Tripoli a leaden seal of the Count, with a tower, meant probably for the Berdj el Sebaa, on the reverse.] Berdj el Kanatter [Arabic]; Berdj el Deyoun [Arabic], and Berdj el Mogharabe [Arabic].

The harbour of Tripoli is formed by a line of low rocks, stretching from the point of the Myna about two miles into the sea, towards the north; they are called by the natives Feitoun [Arabic]. On the north the point of Tartous in some measure breaks the impetuosity of the sea; but when the northern winds blow with violence, vessels are often driven on shore. In a N.N.W. direction from the harbour extends a line of small islands, the farthest of which is about ten miles distant from the main land. They are named as follow: El Bakar [Arabic], which is nearest to the harbour, Billan [Arabic], about half a mile in circumference, with remains of [p.166]ancient habitations, and several deep wells; there are several smaller rocks, comprised under the general name of El Mekattya [Arabic], whose respective appellations are, [Arabic]—next is Sennenye [Arabic], Nakhle, or El Eraneb [Arabic], with several palm trees, formerly inhabited by a great number of rabbits; El Ramkein [Arabic], and Shayshet el Kadhi [Arabic].

The inhabitants of the Myna are chiefly Greek sailors or ship-wrights; I found here half a dozen small country ships building or repairing. There is also a good Khan. On the southern side of the triangular plain is a sandy beach, where the sand in some places has formed itself by concretion into rocks, in several of which are large cisterns. In the bottom of the bay formed by the plain and by the continuation of the shore to the south, is a spring of sweet water, and near it large hillocks of sand, driven up from the shore by the westerly winds. The sea abounds in fish and shell fish; the following are the names of the best, in French and Arabic; they were given to me by a French merchant, who has long resided in Tripoli; Dorade [Arabic], Rouget [Arabic], Loupe [Arabic], Severelle [Arabic], Leeche [Arabic], Mulaye [Arabic], Maire noir [Arabic], Maire blanc [Arabic], Vieille [Arabic]; these are caught with small baskets into which bait is put; the orifice being so made that if the fish enters, he cannot get out again. It is said that no other fish are ever found in the baskets. The names of some others fit for the table are Pajot ([Arabic or Arabic]). [Arabic]. [Arabic], and [Arabic].

Half an hour north of Tripoli, on the road we came by, is the tomb of Sheikh El Bedawy, with a copious spring near it, enclosed by a wall; it contains a great quantity of fish, which are considered sacred by the Turks of Tripoli, and are fed daily by the guardians of the tomb, and by the Tripolitans; no person dares kill any of them; they are, as the Turks express it, a Wakf to the tomb. The same kind of fish is found in the Kadisha.

[p.167]The commerce of Tripoli has decreased lately, in proportion with that of the entire commerce of Syria. There are no longer any Frank establishments, and the few Franks who still remain are in the greatest misery. A French consul, however, resides here, M. Guys, an able antiquary, and who was very liberal in his literary communications to us. He has a very interesting collection of Syrian medals. Mr. Catziflis, who is a Greek, is a very respectable man, and rendered considerable services to the English army during the war in Egypt. He is extremely attentive and hospitable to English travellers.

The principal commerce of Tripoli is in silk produced upon the mountain, of which it exports yearly about 800 quintals or cwt., at about £80. sterling per quintal. Formerly the French merchants used to take silk in return for their goods, as it was difficult to obtain money in the Levantine trade; it is true that they sold it to a disadvantage in France; yet not so great as they would have done had they insisted on being reimbursed ready money, upon which they must have paid the discount. The silk was bought up at Marseilles by the merchants of Barbary, who thus procured it at a lower rate than they could do at Tripoli. This intercourse however has ceased in consequence of the ruin of French trade, and the Moggrebyns now visit Tripoli themselves, in search of this article, bringing with them colonial produce, indigo, and tin, which they buy at Malta. The sale of West India coffee has of late increased greatly in Syria; the Turks have universally adopted the use of it, because it is not more than half the price of Mokha coffee; a considerable market is thus opened to the West India planters, which is not likely to be interrupted, until the Hadj is regularly re- established, the principal traffic of which was in coffee.

The next chief article of exportation is sponges; they are procured on the sea shore; but the best are found at a little depth in

[p.168]the sea. The demand for them during the last two years has been very trifling; but I was told that fifty bales of twelve thousand sponges each might be yearly furnished; their price is from twenty-five to forty piastres per thousand. Soap is exported to Tarsous, for Anatolia and the Greek islands, as well as alkali for its manufacture, which is procured in the eastern desert. It is a curious fact, that soap should also be imported into Tripoli from Candia; the reason is that the Cretan soap contains very little alkali; here one-fourth of its weight of alkali is added to it, and in this state it is sold to advantage. The other exports are about one hundred or one hundred and twenty quintals of galls from the Anzeyry mountains: of yellow wax, from Libanus, about one hundred and twenty quintals, at about one hundred and fifty piastres per quintal; of Rubia tinctorum [Arabic], which grows in the plains of Homs and Hamah, about fourteen hundred quintals, at from twenty to twenty-four piastres per quintal; of scammony, very little; of tobacco, a few quintals, which are sent to Egypt.

The territory of Tripoli extends over the greater part of Mount Libanus. The Pashalik is divided into the following districts, or Mekatta [Arabic], as they are called: viz. El Zawye [Arabic], or the lower part of Mount Libanus to the right of the Kadisha,—Djebbet Bshirrai [Arabic], which lies round the village of that name near the Cedars.—El Kella [Arabic],—El Koura [Arabic], or the lower part of Mount Libanus to the left of the Kadisha.—El Kattaa [Arabic], or the mountains towards Batroun;—Batroun [Arabic],—Djebail [Arabic],—El Fetouh, over Djebail, as far as Kesrouan.—Akkar [Arabic], the northern declivity of Mount Libanus, a district governed at present by Aly Beg, a man famous for his generosity, liberality, and knowledge of Arabian literature.—El Shara [Arabic], also under the government of Aly Beg.—El Dhannye [Arabic].—The mountains to the N. and N.W. of Bshirrai.—El Hermel [Arabic], towards Baalbec, on the

[p.169] eastern declivity of the Libanus; Szaffeita [Arabic], and Tartous [Arabic]. The greater part of the mountaineers are Christians; in Bshirrai they are all Christians; in Akkar, Shara, and Koura, three- fourths are Christians. The Metawelis have possessions at Djebail, Dhannye, and Hermel. About eighty years since the latter peopled the whole district of Bshirrai, El Zawye, Dhannye, and part of Akkar; but the Turk and Christian inhabitants, exasperated by their vexatious conduct, called in the Druses, and with their assistance drove out the Metawelis. Since that period, the Druses have been masters of the whole mountain, as well as of a part of the plain. The Emir Beshir pays to the Pasha of Tripoli, for the Miri of the mountain, one hundred and thirty purses, and collects for himself upwards of six hundred purses. The duties levied upon the peasants in this district are generally calculated by the number of Rotolas of silk which the peasant is estimated to get yearly from his worms; the taxes on the mulberry trees are calculated in proportion to those on the silk. The peasant who rears silk-worms is reckoned to pay about twenty or twenty-five per cent. on his income, while he who lives by the produce of his fields pays more than fifty per cent.

I obtained the following information respecting the modern history of the Pashas of Tripoli.

Fettah Pasha, of three tails, was driven out of Tripoli by the inhabitants, about 1768, after having governed a few years. He was succeeded by Abd-er-rahman Pasha, but the rebels still maintained their ascendancy in the town. He had formerly been Kapydji for the Djerde or caravan, which departs annually from Tripoli to meet the Mekka caravan on its return. He made Mustafa, the chief of the rebels, his Touenkdji, and submitted to his orders, till he found an opportunity of putting him to death at Ladakie, whither he had gone to collect the Miri. The town was at the

[p.170]same time surprised, the castle taken, and all the ring-leaders killed. Abd-er-rahman Pasha governed for about two years.

Youssef Pasha, the son of Othman Pasha of Damascus, of the family of Adm, governed for eight or ten years, and was succeeded by his brother,

Abdullah Pasha, who remained in the government upwards of five years, and was afterwards named Pasha of Damascus. He is at present Pasha of Orfa.

Hassan Pasha, of the family of Adm, remained two years in office.

Hosseyn Pasha was sent with the Djerde, to kill Djezzar, who was on his way back from Mekka; but Djezzar poisoned him, before he could execute his design.

Derwish Pasha governed two years. One of the chiefs of his troops, Hassan Youssef, usurped the greater part of the authority until he was killed by the Pasha's orders.

Soleiman Pasha, now Pasha of Acre, governed at Tripoli about 1792, while Djezzar was at Damascus.

Khalyl Pasha, son of Abdullah Pasha, was driven out by the rebellious inhabitants, during the invasion of Syria by the French. One of the ring-leaders, Mustara Dolby, took possession of the castle, and reigned for two years. He was succeeded by Ibrahim Sultan, who was driven away by Mustafa Aga Berber, a man of talents and of great energy of character. He refused to pay the Miri into the hands of Youssef Pasha of Damascus, who had also been invested with the Pashalik of Tripoli, and having fortified the castle, he boldly awaited with a few trusty adherents the arrival of Youssef, who approached the town with an army of five or six thousand men. All the inhabitants fled to the mountain, except the French consul, a secret enemy of Berber. The army of Youssef no sooner entered the city, than they began

[p.171]plundering it; and in the course of a few months they completely sacked it, leaving nothing but bare walls; every piece of iron was carried off, and even the marble pavements were torn up and sold. The son of the French consul gained considerable sums by buying up a part of the plunder. The castle was now besieged, and some French artillerymen having been brought from Cyprus, a breach was soon made, but though defended by only one hundred and fifty men, none had the courage to advance to the assault. After a siege of five months Soleiman Pasba of Acre interceded for Berber, and Youssef Pasha, glad of a pretext for retreating, granted the garrison every kind of military honours; the remaining provisions in the castle were sold to the Pasha for ready money, and in February, 1809, Berber, accompanied by the officers of Soleiman Pasha, left the castle and retired to Acre. He was again named governor of Tripoli, when Soleiman Pasha of Acre and Damascus was, in 1810, invested with the Pashalik of Tripoli.

Seid Soleiman, Pasha of Damascus, received the same charge in 1812.

During our stay at Tripoli, Berber was in the neigbbourhood of Ladakie, making war against some rebel Anzeyrys; the castle of Tripoli was intrusted to the command of an Aga of Arnaouts, without being under the orders of Berber. It is very probable that Berber may yet become a conspicuous character in Syrian affairs, being a man of great spirit, firmness, and justice. The town of Tripoli was never in a better state than when under his command.

March 12th.—Having spent ten days at Tripoli very pleasantly, I took leave of my companion, who went to Ladakie and Antioch, and set out with a guide towards Damascus, with the intention of visiting the Kesrouan, and paying my respects to the chief of the

DEIR KEIFTEIN.

[p.172] mountain, the Emir Beshir, at Deir el Kammar. On the way I wished to visit some ruins in the Koura, which I had heard of at Tripoli. I therefore turned out of the great road, which follows the sea shore as far as Beirout. We set out in the evening, ascended the castle hill to the S. of the town, and arrived after an hour and a half at Deir Keiftein [Arabic], where I slept. The road lay through a wood of olive trees, on the left bank of the Kadisha; over the lowest declivities of the Libanus. It is a part of the district El Koura, the principal produce of which is oil. The Zawye, on the other side of the Kadisha, also produces oil, and at the same time more grain than the Koura. Every olive tree here is worth from fifteen to twenty piastres. The soil in which the trees grow is regularly ploughed, but nothing is sown between the trees, as it is found that any other vegetation diminishes the quantity of olives. The ground round the stem is covered to the height of two or three feet with earth, to prevent the sun from hurting the roots, and to give it the full benefit of the rains. We met with a few tents of Arabs Zereykat and El Hayb, who were pasturing their sheep upon the wild herbs by the road side.

At half an hour's distance to the right runs the Djebel Kella [Arabic] in a north-easterly direction towards the sea; this mountain is under the immediate government of Tripoli, the Emir Beshir, to whom the whole Libanus belongs, not having been yet able to gain possession of it. The following are the principal villages of the Kella: Deyr Sakoub, Diddy, Fya, Kelhat, Betouratydj, Ras Meskha, Bersa, Nakhle, Beterran, Besh, Mysyn, Afs Dyk.

Keiftein is a small Greek convent, with a prior and two monks only; a small village of the same name stands near it. In the burying ground of the convent is a fine marble sarcophagus, under which an English consul of Tripoli lies buried. A long English nscription, with a Latin translation, records the virtues of John

DEIR DEMITRY.

[p.173] Carew, Esq. of Pembrokeshire, who was fifty years consul at Tripoli, and died the 5th of May, 1747, seventy-seven years of age.

March 13th.—Our road lay through the olive plantations called El Bekeya [Arabic], between the Upper Libanus and the Djebel Kella. Half an hour to the right of the road, upon the latter mountain, is the village Nakhle, below it, Betouratydj, farther up the hill Fya, then, more to the south, Bedobba, and lastly, Afs Dyk; these villages stand very near together, although the Kella is very rocky, and little fit for culture; the peasants, however, turn every inch of ground to advantage. Half an hour from Keiftein is the village Ferkahel [Arabic], on the side of the river; we saw here a few old date trees, of which there are also some at Nakhle. The inhabitants of the Koura are for the greater part of the Greek church; in Zawye all the Christians are Maronites. At one hour from Keiftein is the village Beserma [Arabic]. One hour and three quarters, continuing in the valley between the Libanus and the Kella, is the village Kfer Akka; we here turned up the Libanus. Half an hour from the Kfer Akka, on the side of the mountain, is a considerable village called Kesba, with the convent of Hantoura [Arabic]. At the same distance S. of Akka, is the village Kfer Zeroun [Arabic]. Two hours and a quarter from Keiftein, on the declivity of the mountain, is the convent of St. Demetrius, or Deir Demitry. I here left my mare, and walked up the mountain to see the ruins of which I had been informed at Tripoli. In twenty minutes I reached the remains of an ancient town, standing on a piece of level ground, but with few houses remaining. These ruins are called by the people of the country Naous or Namous, which name is supposed to be derived from the word [Arabic], i.e. a burying-place; but I think its derivation from the Greek [Greek] more probable. On the S. side stand the ruins of two temples, which are worth the

NAOUS.

[p.174]traveller's attention. The smaller one is very much like the temple of Hossn el Forsul, near Zahle, which I had seen on my way to Baalbec; it is an oblong building of about the same size; and is built with large square stones. The entrance is to the east. The door remains, together with the southern wall and a part of the northern. The west wall and the roof are fallen. In the south wall are two niches. Before the entrance was a portico of four columns, with a flight of steps leading up to it. The bases of the columns and fragments of the shafts, which are three feet in diameter, still remain. At about forty paces from the temple is a gate, corresponding to the door of the temple; a broad staircase leads up from it to the temple. The two door-posts of this outer gate are still standing, each formed of a single stone about thirteen feet high, rudely adorned with sculpture. At about one hundred and fifty yards from this building is the other, of much larger dimensions; it stands in an area of fifty paces in breadth, and sixty in length, surrounded by a wall, of which the foundation, and some other parts, still remain. The entrance to this area is through a beautiful gate, still entire; it is fourteen feet high and ten feet wide, the two posts, and the soffit are each formed of a single stone; the posts are elegantly sculptured. At the west end of this area, and elevated four or five feet above its level, stood the temple, opposite to the great gate; it presents nothing now but a heap of ruins, among which it is impossible to trace the original distribution of the building. The ground is covered with columns, capitals, and friezes; I saw a fragment of a column, consisting of one piece of stone nine feet in length, and three feet and a half in diameter. The columns are Corinthian, but not of the best workmanship. Near the S.W. angle of the temple are the foundations of a small insulated building.

BESHIZA.

[p.175]In order to level the surface of the area, and to support the northern wall, a terrace was anciently raised, which is ten feet high in the north-west corner. The wall of the area is built with large blocks of well cut stone, some of which are upwards of twelve feet in length. It appears however to have undergone repairs, as several parts of the wall are evidently of modern construction; it has perhaps been used as a strong-hold by the Arabs. The stone of the building is calcareous, but not so hard as the rock of Baalbec. I saw no kind of inscriptions. The Naous commands a most beautiful view over the Koura and the sea. Tripoli bears N.

I descended to the convent of Mar Demitry, in which there is at present but one monk; and turning from thence in a S.W. direction, reached in half an hour the wild torrent of Nahr Beshiza [Arabic]; which dries up in summer time, but in winter sometimes swells rapidly to a considerable size. When Youssef Pasha besieged Tripoli, intelligence was received at a village near it, that a party of his troops intended to plunder the village; the inhabitants in consequence fled with their most valuable moveables the same evening, and retired up the Wady Beshiza, where they passed the night. It had unfortunately rained in the mountains above, and during the night the torrent suddenly swelled, and carried away eight or ten families, who had encamped in its bed; about fifteen persons perished. On the right bank, near the stream, lies the village Beshiza, and at ten minutes from it to the S.E. the ruins of a small temple bearing the name at present of Kenyset el Awamyd [Arabic], or the church of the columns. The principal building is ten paces in length on the inside, and eight paces in breadth. The S. and W. walls are standing, but the E. has fallen down; the S. wall has been thrown out of the perpendicular by an earthquake. The entrance is from the west, or rather from the N.W. for the temple does not face the four cardinal

AMYOUN.

[p.176]points; the northern wall, instead of completing the quadrangle, consists of two curves about twelve feet in depth, and both vaulted like niches, as high as the roof, which has fallen in. In the S. wall are several projecting bases for statues. The door and its soffit, which is formed of a single stone, are ornamented with beautiful sculptures, which are not inferior to those of Baalbec. Before the entrance was a portico of four Ionic columns, of which three are standing; they are about eighteen feet high, and of a single stone. Opposite to each of the exterior columns of this portico is a pilaster in the wall of the temple. There are also two other pilasters in the opposite or eastern wall. Between the two middle columns of the portico is a gate six feet high, formed of two posts, with a stone laid across them; this is probably of modern date, as the exterior of the northern wall also appears to be; instead of forming two semicircles, as within, it is polygonal. Between the door and the pilaster, to the northward of it, is a niche. The entablature of the portico is perfect. In the midst of the building stands a large old oak tree, whose branches overshadow the temple, and supply the place of the roof, rendering the ruin a highly picturesque object. I saw no inscriptions.

Half an hour to the west of Beshiza lies the village of Deir Bashtar [Arabic]. From the temple we turned N.-eastward, and at the end of half an hour passed the village Amyoun [Arabic], the chief place in the district of El Koura, and the residence of Assaf Ibn Asar, the governor of that province; he is a Greek Christian, and a collector of the Miri, which he pays into the hands of the Emir Beshir. Many Christian families are governors of provinces and Sheikhs of villages in the mountains: in collecting the

[p.177]Miri, and making the repartitions of the extraordinary demands made by the Emir, they always gain considerable sums; but whenever a Sheikh has filled his purse, he is sure to fall a victim to the avidity of the chief governor. These Sheikhs affect all the pomp of the Turks; surpass them in family pride, and equal them in avarice, low intrigue, and fanatism. The governor of the province of Zawye is also a Christian, of the family of Dhaher.

Instead of descending towards the sea shore, which is the usual route to Batroun, I preferred continuing in the mountain. At an hour and a quarter from Amyoun, after having twice passed the Beshiza, or, as it is also called, the Nahr Aszfour, which runs in a very narrow Wady descending from the district of Laklouk, we reached the village of Keftoun, where is a convent. Above it lies the village of Betaboura, and in its neighbourhood Dar Shemsin and Kferhata. West of Amyoun is the village of Kfer Hasir [Arabic]. The industry with which these mountaineers cultivate, upon the narrow terraces formed on the steep declivity of the mountain, their vines and mulberry trees, with a few acres of corn, is really admirable. At two hours the village of Kelbata was on our right; a little farther, to the right, Ras Enhash. [Arabic]; below on the sea shore, at the extremity of a point of land, is a large village called Amfy [Arabic], and near it the convent Deir Natour. It is with great difficulty that a horse can travel through these mountains; the roads are abominable, and the inhabitants always keep them so, in order to render the invasion of their country more difficult. The direction of Batroun, from the point where the road begins to descend, is S.W.b.W.

We descended the mountain called Akabe el Meszabeha, near the Wady Djaous, which lower down takes the name of Nahr Meszabeha. Two hours and a half from Amyoun, on the descent, is a fine spring, with a vaulted covering over it, called Ayn el Khowadja [Arabic]. At the end of three hours we reached

BATROUN.

[p.178] a narrow valley watered by the last mentioned river, and bounded on the right hand by Djebel Nourye, which advances towards the sea, and on the left by another mountain; upon the former stands the village Hammad, and on the point of it, over the sea, the convent of Mar Elias. At three hours and a quarter, and where the valley is scarcely ten minutes in breadth, a castle of modern construction stands upon an insulated rock; it is called Kalaat Meszabeha [Arabic], its walls are very slight, but the rock upon which it stands is so steep, that no beast of burthen can ascend it. This castle was once in possession of the Metaweli, who frequently attacked the passengers in the valley. Near it is a bridge over the Wady. At three hours and three quarters, where the valley opens towards the sea, is the village Kobba [Arabic], at the foot of the Djebel Nourye, with an ancient tower near it. At the end of four hours and a quarter we reached Batroun [Arabic], where I slept, in one of the small Khans which are built by the sea side.

Batroun, the ancient Bostrys, contains at present three or four hundred houses. Its inhabitants are, for the greater part, Maronites; the rest are Greeks and Turks. The town and its territory belong to the Emir Beshir; but it is under the immediate government of two of his relations, Emir Kadan and Emir Melhem. The principal man in the town is the Christian Sheikh, of the family of Khodher. The produce of Batroun consists chiefly in tobacco. There is no harbour, merely an inlet capable of admitting a couple of coasting boats. The whole coast from Tripoli to Beirout appears to be formed of sand, accumulated by the prevailing westerly winds, and hardened into rocks. An artificial shelter seems to have been anciently formed by excavating the rocks, and forming a part of them into a wall of moderate thickness for the length of one hundred paces, and to the height of twelve feet. It was probably behind this wall that the boats of Bostrys anciently found shelter

DJEBAIL.

[p.179]from the westerly gales. I saw but one boat between the rocks of Batroun.

March 14th.—Our road lay along the rocky coast. In three quarters of an hour we came to a bridge, called Djissr Medfoun [Arabic], which crosses a winter torrent. The territory of Batroun extends to this bridge; its northern limits begin at the village of Hammad, upon the Djebel Nourye, which terminates the district of Koura; beyond the bridge of Medfoun is the village Aabeidat [Arabic] to the left. The mountain reaches quite down to the sea shore. The direction of our road was S.b.W. At two hours, upon a hill to the left of the road, called Berdj Reihani [Arabic], stands a ruined arched building; on the road below it are three columns of sand stone. Up in the mountain are the Greek villages of Manszef [Arabic], Berbar [Arabic], Gharsous [Arabic], and Korne [Arabic]. In three hours and a quarter we passed a Wady, without water, called Halloue [Arabic]. At every three or four miles on this road small Khans are met with, where refreshments of bread, cheese, and brandy are sold. Close to the sea shore are many deep wells, with springs of fresh water at their bottom. Three hours and a half is Djebail [Arabic], the ancient Byblus. Above it, in the mountain, is the convent Deir el Benat, with the village Aamsheit [Arabic]. I passed on the outside of Djebail without stopping. The town is enclosed by a wall, some parts of which appear to be of the time of the crusades. Upon a stone in the wall I saw a rose, with a smaller one on each side. There is a small castle here, in which the Emir Beshir keeps about forty men. A few years ago Djebail was the residence of the Christian Abd el Ahad; he and his brother Djordjos Bas were the head men of the Emir Beshir, and in fact were more potent than their master. Djordjos Bas resided at Deir el Kammar. The district of Djebail was under the command of Abd el Ahad, who built a

[p.180]very good house here; but the two brothers shared the fate of all Christians who attempt to rise above their sphere; they were both put to death in the same hour by the Emir's orders; indeed there is scarcely an instance in the modern history of Syria, of a Christian or Jew having long enjoyed the power or riches which he may have acquired: these persons are always taken off in the moment of their greatest apparent glory. Abd el Hak, at Antioch; Hanna Kubbe, at Ladakie; Karaly, at Aleppo; are all examples of this remark. But, as in the most trifling, so in the most serious concerns, the Levantine enjoys the present moment, without ever reflecting on future consequences. The house of Hayne, the Jew Seraf, or banker, at Damascus and Acre, whose family may be said to be the real governors of Syria, and whose property, at the most moderate calculation, amounts to three hundred thousand pounds sterling, are daily exposed to the same fate. The head of the family, a man of great talents, has lost his nose, his ears, and one of his eyes, in the service of Djezzar, yet his ambition is still unabated, and he prefers a most precarious existence, with power, in Syria, to the ease and security he might enjoy by emigrating to Europe. The Christian Sheikh Abou Nar commands at Djebail, his brother is governor or Sheikh of Bshirrai.

Many fragments of fine granite columns are lying about in the neighbourhood of Djebail. On the S. side of the town is a small Wady with a spring called Ayn el Yasemein [Arabic]. The shore is covered with deep sand. A quarter of an hour from Djebail is a bridge over a deep and narrow Wady; it is called Djissr el Tel [Arabic]; upon a slight elevation, on its S. side, are the ruins of a church, called Kenyset Seidet Martein [Arabic]. Up in the mountains are two convents and several Maronite villages, with the names of which my Greek guide was unacquainted. In half an hour we came to a pleasant grove of oaks skirting the

MEINET BERDJA.

[p.181]road; and in three quarters of an hour to the Wady Feidar [Arabic], with a bridge across it; this river does not dry up in summer time. A little farther to the right of the road is an ancient watch- tower upon a rock over the sea; the natives call it Berdj um Heish [Arabic] from an echo which is heard here; if the name Um Heish be called aloud, the echo is the last syllable "Eish," which, in the vulgar dialect, means "what?" ([Arabic] for [Arabic]). Many names of places in these countries have trivial origins of this kind. At two hours and a half we crossed by a bridge the large stream of Nahr Ibrahim, the ancient Adonis. Above us in the mountain is the village El Djissr. The whole lower ridge of mount Libanus, from Wady Medfoun to beyond Nahr Ibrahim, composes the district of El Fetouh [Arabic], which is at present under the control of Emir Kasim, son of the Emir Beshir, who resides at Ghadsir in Kesrouan; he commands also in Koura. At two hours and a half, and to the left of the road, which runs at a short distance from the sea, is the convent of Mar Domeitt [Arabic], with the village of El Bouar [Arabic]. The soil is here cultivated in every part with the greatest care. In three hours and a quarter we came to a deep well cut in the rock, with a spring at the bottom, called Ayn Mahous [Arabic]. At three hours and a half is a small harbour called Meinet Berdja [Arabic], with a few houses round it. Boats from Cyprus land here, loaded principally with wheat and salt. To the right of the road, between Meinet Berdja and the sea, extends a narrow plain, called Watta Sillan [Arabic]; its southern part terminates in a promontory, which forms the northern point of the Bay of Kesrouan. Near the promontory stands an ancient tower, called Berdj el Kosszeir [Arabic]. In four hours and a quarter we reached Djissr Maammiltein [Arabic], an ancient bridge, falling into ruins, over a Wady of the same name. The banks of this Wady form

ENTRANCE INTO KESROUAN.

[p.182] the boundary of separation between the Pahaliks of Saida and Tripoli, and divide the district of Fetouh from that of Kesrouan.

The country of Kesrouan, which I now entered, presents a most interesting aspect; on the one hand are steep and lofty mountains, full of villages and convents, built on their rocky sides; and on the other a fine bay, and a plain of about a mile in breadth, extending from the mountains to the sea. There is hardly any place in Syria less fit for culture than the Kesrouan, yet it has become the most populous part of the country. The satisfaction of inhabiting the neighbourhood of places of sanctity, of hearing church bells, which are found in no other part of Syria, and of being able to give a loose to religious feelings and to rival the Mussulmans in fanatisim, are the chief attractions that have peopled Kesrouan with Catholic Christians, for the present state of this country offers no political advantages whatever; on the contrary, the extortions of the Druses have reduced the peasant to the most miserable state of poverty, more miserable even than that in the eastern plains of Syria; nothing, therefore, but religious freedom induces the Christians to submit to these extortions; added perhaps to the pleasure which the Catholics derive from persecuting their brethren of the Greek church, for the few Greeks who are settled here are not better treated by the Maronites, than a Damascene Christian might expect to be by a Turk. The plain between the mountain and the sea is a sandy soil; it is sown with wheat and barley, and is irrigated by water drawn from wells by means of wheels. At five hours and a quarter is Ghafer Djouni [Arabic], a market place, with a number of shops, built on the sea side, where there is a landing place for small boats.

The Beirout road continues from hence along the sea coast, but I wished to visit some convents in Kesrouan, and therefore

ANTOURA.

[p.183]turned up the mountain to the left. At the end of five hours and three quarters I came to a wood of firs, which trees are very common in these parts; to the right is the village Haret el Bottne [Arabic]. Six hours and three quarters Zouk Mykayl [Arabic], the principal village in Kesrouan, where resides the Sheikh Beshera, of the family of Khazen, who is at present the governor of the province. The inhabitants of Zouk consist, for the greater part, of the shopkeepers and artizans who furnish Kesrouan with articles of dress or of luxury. I observed in particular many makers of boots and shoes. Seven hours, is Deir Beshara; a convent of nuns. At the end of seven hours and a quarter, I arrived at Antoura, a village in a lofty situation, with a convent, which formerly belonged to the Jesuits, but which is now inhabited by a Lazarist, the Abbate Gandolfi, who is the Pope's delegate, for the affairs of the eastern church. I had letters for him, and met with a most friendly reception: his intimate acquaintance with the affairs of the mountain, and of the Druses, which his residence of upwards of twelve years, and a sound understanding, have enabled him to acquire, renders his conversation very instructive to the inquisitive traveller.

March 15th—I left Antoura in the evening, to visit some convents in a higher part of the mountains of Kesrouan. Passed Wady Kheredj [Arabic], and at three quarters of an hour from Antoura, the ruined convent of Bekerke [Arabic], once the residence of the famous Hindye, whose history Volney has given. Now that passions have cooled, and that the greater part of the persons concerned are dead, it is the general opinion that Hindye's only crime was her ambition to pass for a saint. The abominable acts of debauchery and cruelty of which she was accused, are probably imaginary: but it is certain that she rigorously punished the nuns of her convent who hesitated to believe in her sanctity, or who doubted the visits of Jesus Christ, of which she boasted. Hindye died about

HARISSA—GHOSTA.

[p.184]ten years since in retirement, in the convent of Seidet el Hakle. At one hour and a half from Antoura, on the top of the mountain, is the convent of Harissa, belonging to the Franciscans of Terra Santa, and inhabited at present by a single Piedmontese monk. On the breaking out of the war between England and the Porte, Mr. Barker, the Consul at Aleppo, received from the Emir Beshir an offer of this convent as a place of refuge in his territory. Mr. Barker resided here for two years and a half, and his prudent and liberal conduct have done great credit to the English name in the mountain. The French consuls on the coast applied several times to the Emir Beshir, by express orders from the French government, to have Mr. Barker and his family removed; but the Emir twice tore their letters in pieces and returned them by the messenger as his only answer. Harissa [Arabic] is a well built, large convent, capable of receiving upwards of twenty monks. Near it is a miserable village of the same name. The view from the terrace of the convent over the bay of Kesrouan, and the country as far as Djebail, on one side, and down to Beirout on the other, is extremely beautiful. The convent is situated in the midst of Kesrouan, over the village Sahel Alma.

March 16.—I slept at Harissa, and left it early in the morning, to visit Ayn Warka. The roads in these mountains are bad beyond description, indeed I never before saw any inhabited country so entirely mountainous as the Kesrouan: there are no levels on the tops of the mountain; but the traveller no sooner arrives on the summit, than he immediately begins the descent; each hill is insulated, so that to reach a place not more than ten minutes distant in a straight line, one is obliged to travel three or four miles, by descending into the valley and ascending again the other side. From Harissa I went north half an hour to the village Ghosta [Arabic], near which are two convents called Kereim and Baklous. Kereim

AYN WARKA.

[p.185]is a rich Armenian monastery, in which are twenty monks. The silk of this place is esteemed the best in Kesrouan. A little farther down is the village El Basha. One hour and a quarter Ayn Warka [Arabic], another Maronite convent. I wished to see this place, because I had heard that a school had lately been established here, and that the convent contained a good library of Syrian books; but I was not so fortunate as to see the library; the bishop, although he received me well, found a pretext for not opening the room in which the books are kept, fearing, probably, that if his treasures should be known, the convent might some day be deprived of them. I however saw a beautiful dictionary in large folio of the Syriac language, written in the Syriac character, which, I suppose, to be the only copy in Syria. Its author was Djorjios el Kerem Seddany, who composed it in the year 1619. Kerem Seddany is the name of a village near Bshirrai. This dictionary may be worth in Syria eight hundred or a thousand piastres; but the convent would certainly not sell it for less than two thousand, besides a present to the bishop.

The school of Ayn Warka was established fifteen years since by Youssef, the predecessor of the present bishop. It is destined to educate sixteen poor Maronite children, for the clerical profession; they remain here for six or eight years, during which they are fed and clothed at the expense of the convent, and are educated according to the literary taste of the country; that is to say, in addition to their religious duties, they are taught grammar, logic, and philosophy. The principal books of instruction are the Belough el Arab, [Arabic], and the Behth el Mettalae [Arabic], both composed by the bishop Djermanous [Arabic]. At present there is only one schoolmaster, but another is shortly expected,

BEZOMMAR.

[p.186]to teach philosophy. The boys have particular hours assigned to the different branches of their studies. I found them sitting or lying about in the court-yard, each reading a book, and the master, in a common peasant's dress, in the midst of them. Besides the Arabic language they are taught to speak, write, and read the Syriac. The principal Syriac authors, whose books are in the library, are Ibn el Ebre [Arabic], or as the Latins call him, Berebreo, Obeyd Yeshoua [Arabic], and Ibn el Aassal [Arabic], their works are chiefly on divinity. The bishop is building a dormitory for the boys, in which each of them is to have his separate room; he has also begun to take in pupils from all parts of Syria, whose parents pay for their board and education. The convent has considerable landed property, and its income is increased by alms from the Catholic Syrians. The boys, on leaving the convent, are obliged to take orders.

From Ayn Warka I ascended to the convent of Bezommar [Arabic], one hour and a quarter distant. It belongs to the Armenian Catholics, and is the seat of the Armenian patriarch, or spiritual head of all the Armenians in the East who have embraced the Catholic faith. Bezommar is built upon the highest summit of the mountain of Kesrouan, which is a lower branch of the southern Libanus. It is the finest and the richest convent in Kesrouan, and is at present inhabited by the old patriarch Youssef, four bishops, twelve monks, and seventeen priests. The patriarch himself built the convent, at an expense of upwards of fifteen thousand pounds sterling. Its income is considerable, and is derived partly from its great landed possessions, and partly from the benefactions of persons at Constantinople, in Asia Minor, and in Syria. The venerable patriarch received me in his bed, from which, I fear, he will never rise again. The Armenian priests

STATE OF KESROUAN.

[p.187]of this convent are social and obliging, with little of the pride and hypocrisy of the Maronites. Several of them had studied at Rome. The convent educates an indefinite number of poor boys; at present there are eighteen, who are destined to take orders; they are clothed and fed gratis. Boys are sent here from all parts of the Levant. I enquired after Armenian manuscripts, but was told that the convent possessed only Armenian books, printed at Venice.

I left Bezommar to return to Antoura. Half an hour below Bezommar is the convent Essharfe [Arabic], belonging to the true Syrian church. The rock in this part is a quartzose sand-stone, of a red and gray colour. To the left, still lower down, is the considerable village Deir Aoun [Arabic], and above it the Maronite convent Mar Shalleitta [Arabic]. I again passed Mar Harissa on my descent to Antoura, which is two hours and a half distant from it.

March 17th.—The district of Kesrouan, which is about three hours and a half in length, from N. to S. and from two to three hours in breadth across the mountains, is exclusively inhabited by Christians: neither Turks nor Druses reside in it. The Sheikh Beshara collects the Miri, and a son of the Emir Beshir resides at Ghazir, to protect the country, and take care of his father's private property in the district. The principal and almost sole produce is silk; mulberry trees are consequently the chief growth of the soil; wheat and barley are sown, but not in sufficient quantity for the consumption of the people. The quantity of silk produced annually amounts to about sixty Kantars, or three hundred and thirty English quintals. A man's wealth is estimated by the number of Rotolas of silk which he makes, and the annual taxes paid to government are calculated and distributed in proportion to them. The Miri or land-tax is taken upon the mule loads

[p.188]of mulberry leaves, eight or ten trees, in common years, yielding one load; and as the income of the proprietors depends entirely upon the growth of these leaves, they suffer less from a bad crop, because their taxes are proportionally low. The extraordinary extortions of the government, however, are excessive: the Emir often exacts five or six Miris in the year, and one levy of money is no sooner paid, than orders are received for a fresh one of twenty or thirty purses upon the province. The village Sheikh fixes the contributions to be paid by each village, taking care to appropriate a part of them to himself. Last year many peasants were obliged to sell a part of their furniture, to defray the taxes; it may easily be conceived therefore in what misery they live: they eat scarcely any thing but the worst bread, and oil, or soups made of the wild herbs, of which tyranny cannot deprive them. Notwithstanding the wretchedness in which they are left by the government, they have still to satisfy the greediness of their priests, but these contributions they pay with cheerfulness. Many of the convents indeed are too rich to require their assistance, but those which are poor, together with all the parish priests and church officers, live upon the people. Such is the condition of this Christian commonwealth, which instead of deserving the envy of other Christians, living under the Turkish yoke, is in a more wretched state than any other part of Syria; but the predominance of their church consoles them under every affliction, and were the Druse governor to deprive them of the last para, they would still remain in the vicinity of their convent.

Contributions are never levied on the convents, though the landed property belonging to them pays duties like that of the peasant; their income from abroad is free from taxes. Loans are sometimes required of the convents; but they are regularly reimbursed in the time of the next harvest. The priests are the most

NAHR EL KELB.

[p.189]happy part of the population of Kesrouan; they are under no anxiety for their own support; they are looked upon by the people assuperior beings, and their repose is interrupted only by the intrigues of the convents, and by the mutual hostilities of the bishops.

The principal villages in Kesrouan, beginning from the north, are Ghadsir [Arabic], Djedeide [Arabic], Aar Amoun [Arabic], Shenanayr [Arabic], Sahel Alma [Arabic], Haret Szakher [Arabic], Ghozta [Arabic], Deir Aoun [Arabic], Ghadir [Arabic], Zouk Mikayl [Arabic], Djouni [Arabic], Zouk Meszbah [Arabic], Zouk el Kherab [Arabic], and Kornet el Khamra [Arabic].

March 18th—I left my amiable host, the Abate Gandolfi, and proceeded on my road to Deir el Kammar, the residence of the Emir Beshir. One hour from Antoura is Deir Lowyz [Arabic]. Between it and the village Zouk Mikayl lies the village Zouk Meszbah, with Deir Mar Elias. South of Deir Lowyz half an hour is the village Zouk el Kharab; half an hour E. of the latter, Deir Tanneis [Arabic], and about the same distance S.E. the village Kornet el Khamra. From Deir Lowyz I again descended into the plain on the sea shore. The narrow plain which I mentioned as beginning at Djissr Maammiltein, continues only as far as Djouni, where the country rises, and continues hilly, across the southern promontoy of the bay of Kesrouan, on the farther side of which the narrow plain again begins, and continues as far as the banks of the Nahr el Kelb. I reached this river in half an hour from Antoura, at the point of its junction with the sea, about ten minutes above which it is crossed by a fine stone bridge. From the bridge the road continues along the foot of the steep rocks, except where they overhang the sea, and there it has been cut through the rock for about a mile. This was a work, however, of no great labour, and hardly deserved the

EL MELLAHA.

[p.190]following magnificent inscription, which is engraved upon the rock, just over the sea, where the road turns southward:

IMP CAES M AVRELIVS ANTONINV S . PIVS . FELIX . AVGVSTVS PART . MAX . BRIT . MAX . GERM . MAXIMVS PONTIFEX . MAXIMVS MONTIBVS INMINENTIBVS LICO FLVMINI CAESIS VIAM DELATAVIT PER . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANTONINIANAM SVAM

The last line but one has been purposely erazed. Below the frame in which the above is engraved, is this figure.

Higher up in the road are several other places in the rock, where inscriptions have been cut, but the following one only is legible:

INVICTIM ANTONIN FELIX AUG MV . . IS NISIM[In the year 1697 Maundrell read this inscription as follows: Invicte Imp. Antonine P. Felix Aug. multis annis impera. Ed.]

According to the opinion of M. Guys, the French consul at Tripoli, which seems well founded, the Emperor mentioned in the above inscriptions is not Antoninus Pius, but Caracalla; as the epithet Britannus cannot be applied to the former, but very well to the latter. Opposite to the bridge is an Arabic inscription, but for the greater part illegible.

The road continues for about half an hour through the rock over the sea, above which it is no where higher than fifty feet. At the southern extremity is a square basin hewn in the rock close by the sea, called El Mellaha, in which the salt water is sometimes collected for the purpose of obtaining salt by evaporation. On the summit of the mountain, to the left of the rocky road, lies the Deir Youssef el Berdj [Arabic]; half an

PLAIN OF BEIROUT.

[p.191]hour south of it, in the mountain, is the village Dhobbye [Arabic], and behind the latter the village Soleima [Arabic], with a convent of the Terra Santa. The road from El Mellaha continues for an hour and a half on the sandy beach; about three quarters of an hour from the basin we passed the rivulet Nahr Antoun Elias, so called from a village and convent of that name, to the left of the road. Near the latter lies the village of Abou Romman [Arabic], in the narrow plain between the mountain and the sea, and a little farther south, El Zeleykat [Arabic]. The district of Kesrouan [Arabic], extends, to the south, as far as a small Khan, which stands a little beyond the Mellaha; farther south commences the Druse country of Shouf [Arabic]. At the termination of the sandy beach are seen ruins of Saracen buildings, with a few houses called Aamaret Selhoub [Arabic].

We now left the sea shore to our right, and rode across the riangular point of land on the western extremity of which the town of Beirout is situated. This point projects into the sea about four miles beyond the line of the coast, and there is about the same distance in following that line across the base of the triangle. The road we took was through the fine cultivated plain called El Boudjerye [Arabic], in a direction S. by W. Two hours and three quarters from El Mellaha is the village Hadded [Arabic]. Before we came to it, we crossed the Nahr Beirout, at a place where I saw, for the first time, a grove of date trees. Beyond the river the country is called Ard el Beradjene, from a tower by the sea side called Berdj el Beradjene [Arabic]; the surrounding country is all planted with olive trees. In three hours and a quarter we crossed the Wady Ghadiry [Arabic], on the other side of which lies the village Kefr Shyna [Arabic]. Upon the hills about three quarters of an hour S.E. of the place where the Ghadiry falls into the sea, stands the convent Mar Hanna el Shoeyfat. At the end of three hours and

KEFRNOUTA.

[p.192]a half, the road begins to ascend: the Emir Beshir has had a new road made the greater part of the way up to Deir el Kammar, to facilitate the communication between his residence and the provinces of Kesrouan and Djebail. At the end of four hours is a fine spring, with a basin shaded by some large oak trees; it is called Ayn Besaba [Arabic]. At four hours and a half, the road still ascending, is the village Ayn Aanab [Arabic], remarkable for a number of palm trees growing here at a considerable elevation above the sea. The mountain is full of springs, some of which form pretty cascades. On the front of a small building which has been erected over the spring in the village, I observed on both sides two figures cut upon the wall, with open mouths, and having round their necks a chain by which they are fastened to the ground. Whether they are meant for lions or calves I could not satisfy myself, nor could I learn whether they have any relation to the religious mysteries of the Druses.

The country from Kefr Shyna is wholly inhabited by Druses. The village of Aanab is the hereditary seat of the family of Ibn Hamdan, who are the chiefs of the Druses in the Haouran. At five hours and a half is the village Ayn Aanoub [Arabic]; a little above it the road descends into the deep valley in which the Nahr el Kadhi flows. The mountain is here overgrown with fine firs. Six hours and a half, is a bridge (Djissr el Khadhi) under which the Nahr flows in a rocky bed. The Franks on the coast commonly give to the Nahr Kadhi the name of Damour, an appellation not unknown to the natives. On the other side of the bridge the road immediately ascends to the village Kefrnouta, on the N. side of the river, where it turns round the side of the mountain to Deir el Kammar, distant seven hours and a quarter from El Mellaha. I rode through El Kammar, without stopping, and proceeded to the village of Beteddein, where the Emir Beshir is building a new palace.

BETEDDEIN.

[p.193]The town of Deir el Kammar is situated on the declivity of the mountain, at the head of a narrow valley descending towards the sea. It is inhabited by about nine hundred Maronite, three hundred Druse, and fifteen or twenty Turkish families, who cultivate mulberry and vine plantations, and manufacture all the articles of dress of the mountaineers. They are particularly skilful in working the rich Abbas or gowns of silk, interwoven with gold and silver, which are worn by the great Sheikhs of the Druses, and which are sold as high as eight hundred piastres a piece. The Emir Beshir has a serai here. The place seems to be tolerably well built, and has large Bazars. The tombs of the Christians deserve notice. Every family has a stone building, about forty feet square, in which they place their dead, the entrance being always walled up after each deposit: this mode of interment is peculiar to Deir el Kammar, and arose probably from the difficulty of excavating graves in the rocky soil on which it is built. The tombs of the richer Christian families have a small Kubbe on their summit. The name of this town, signifying the Monastery of the Moon, originates in a convent which formerly stood here, dedicated to the Virgin, who is generally represented in Syria with the moon beneath her feet. Half an hour from Deir el Kammar, on the other side of the valley, lies Beteddein [Arabic], which in Syriac, means the two teats, and has received its name from the similarity of two neighbouring hills, upon one of which the village is built. Almost all the villages in this neighbourhood have Syriac names.

March 19th.—The Emir Beshir, to whom I had letters of recommendation, from Mr. Barker at Aleppo, received me very politely, and insisted upon my living at his house. His new palace is a very costly edifice; but at the present rate of its progress five more years will be required to finish it. The building consists of a large quadrangle, one on side of which are the

[p.194]Emir's apartments and his harem, with a private court-yard; two other sides contain small apartments for his people, and the fourth is open towards the valley, and Deir el Kammar, commanding a distant view of the sea. In the neighbouring mountain is a spring, the waters from which have been conducted into the quadrangle; but the Emir wishes to have a more abundant supply of water, and intends to bring a branch of the Nahr el Kadhi thither; for this purpose the water must be diverted from the main stream at a distance of three hours, and the expense of the canal is calculated at three thousand pounds sterling.

The Emir Beshir is at present master of the whole mountain from Belad Akkar down to near Akka (Acre), including the valley of Bekaa, and part of the Anti-Libanus and Djebel Essheikh. The Bekaa, together with a present of one hundred purses, was given to him in 1810, by Soleiman Pasha of Acre, for his assistance against Youssef Pasha of Damascus. He pays for the possession of the whole country, five hundred and thirty purses, of which one hundred and thirty go to Tripoli and four hundred to Saida or Acre; this is exclusive of the extraordinary demands of the Pashas, which amount to at least three hundred purses more. These sums are paid in lieu of the Miri, which the Emir collects himself, without accounting for it. The power of the Emir, however, is a mere shadow, the real government being in the hands of the Druse chief, Sheikh Beshir.[Beshir is a proper name borne by many people in the mountain. The accent is on the last syllable: the sound would be expressed in English by Besheer.] I shall here briefly explain the political state of the mountain.

It is now about one hundred and twenty years since the government of the mountain has been always entrusted by the Pashas of Acre and Tripoli to an individual of the family of Shehab [Arabic], to which the Emir Beshir belongs. This family derives its origin

[p.195]from Mekka, where its name is known, in the history of Mohammed and the first Califes; they are Mussulmans, and some of them pretend even to be Sherifs. About the time of the crusades, for I have been unable to ascertain the exact period, the Shehabs left the Hedjaz, and settled in a village of the Haouran, to which they gave their family name;[A branch of the family is said to inhabit some mountains in Mesopotamia, under the command of Emir Kasem.] it is still known by the appellation of Shohba; and is remarkable for its antiquities, of which I have given some account, in my journal of a tour in the Haouran. The family being noble, or of Emir origin, were considered proper persons to be governors of the mountain; for it was, and still is thought necessary that the government should not be in the hands of a Druse. The Druses being always divided into parties, a governor chosen from among them would have involved the country in the quarrels of his own party, and he would have been always endeavouring to exterminate his adversaries; whereas a Turk, by carefully managing both parties, maintains a balance between them, though he is never able to overpower them completely; he can oppose the Christian inhabitants to the Druses, who are in much smaller numbers than the former, and thus he is enabled to keep the country in a state of tranquillity and in subjection to the Pashas. This policy has long been successful, notwithstanding the turbulent spirit of the mountaineers, the continual party feuds, and the ambitious projects of many chiefs, as well of the Druses as of the reigning house; the Pashas were careful also not to permit any one to become too powerful; the princes of the reigning family were continually changed; and party spirit was revived in the mountain whenever the interests of the Porte required it. About eighty years ago the country was divided into the two great parties of Keisy [Arabic], whose banner was red, and Yemeny [Arabic], whose banner was white, and the whole Christian population

[p.196]ranged itself on the one side or the other. The Keisy gained at length the entire ascendancy, after which none but secret adherents of the Yemeny remained, and the name itself was forgotten. Then arose the three sects of Djonbelat, Yezbeky, and Neked. These still exist; thirty years ago the two first were equal, but the Djonbelat have now got the upper hand, and have succeeded in disuniting the Yezbeky and Neked.

The Djonbelat [Arabic] draw their origin from the Druse mountain of Djebel Aala, between Ladakie and Aleppo: they are an old and noble family, and, in the seventeenth century, one of their ancestors was Pasha of Aleppo; it forms at present the richest and most numerous family, and the strongest party in the mountain.

The Yezbeky [Arabic], or as they are also called, El Aemad [Arabic], are few in number, but are reputed men of great courage and enterprize. Their principal residence is in the district of El Barouk, between Deir el Kammar and Zahle.

The Neked, whose principal Sheikh is at present named Soleiman, inhabit, for the greater part, Deir el Kammar; seven of their principal chiefs were put to death thirteen years ago in the serai of the Emir Beshir, and a few only of their children escaped the massacre; these have now attained to years of manhood, and remain at Deir el Kammar, watched by the Djonbelaty and the Aemad, who are united against them.

The Djonbelat now carry every thing with a high hand; their chief, El Sheikh Beshir is the richest and the shrewdest man in the mountain; besides his personal property, which is very considerable, no affair of consequence is concluded without his interest being courted, and dearly paid for. His annual income amounts to about two thousand purses, or fifty thousand pounds sterling. The whole province of Shouf is under his command, and he is in partnership

[p.197] with almost all the Druses who possess landed property there. The greater part of the district of Djesn [Arabic] is his own property, and he permits no one to obtain possesions in that quarter, while he increases his own estates yearly, and thus continually augments his power. The Emir Beshir can do nothing important without the consent of the Sheikh Beshir, with whom he is obliged to share all the contributions which he extorts from the mountaineers. It is from this cause that while some parts of the mountain are very heavily taxed, in others little is paid. The Druses form the richest portion of the population, but they supply little to the public contributions, being protected by the Sheikh Beshir. It will be asked, perhaps, why the Sheikh does not set aside the Emir Beshir and take the ostensible power into his own hands? Many persons believe that he entertains some such design, while others, better informed perhaps, assert that the Sheikh will never make the attempt, because he knows that the mountaineers would never submit to a Druse chief. The Druses are certainly in a better condition at present than they would be under the absolute sway of the Sheikh, who would soon begin to oppress instead of protecting them, as he now does; and the Christians, who are a warlike people, detest the name of Druse too much ever to yield quietly to a chief of that community. It is, probably, in the view of attaching the Christians more closely to him, and to oppose them in some measure to the Druses, that the Emir Beshir, with his whole family, has secretly embraced the christian religion. The Shehab, as I have already mentioned, were formerly members of the true Mussulman faith, and they never have had among them any followers of the doctrines of the Druses. They still affect publicly to observe the Mohammedan rites, they profess to fast during the Ramadhan, and the Pashas still treat them as Turks; but it is no longer matter of doubt, that the greater part of the Shehab, with

[p.198] the Emir Beshir at their head, have really embraced that branch only of the family which governs at Rasheya and Hasbeya continue in the religion of their ancestors.

Although the Christians of the mountain have thus become more attached to their prince, their condition, on the whole, is not bettered, as the Emir scarcely dares do justice to a Christian against a Druse; still, however, the Christians rejoice in having a prince of their own faith, and whose counsellors and household are with few exceptions of the same religion. There are not more than forty or fifty persons about him who are not Christians. One of the prince's daughters lately married a Druse of an Emir family, who was not permitted to celebrate the nuptials till he had been instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, had been baptized, and had received the sacrament. How far the Shehab may be sincere in their professions, I am unable to decide; it is probable that if their interests should require it, they would again embrace the religion of their ancestors.

In order to strengthen his authority the Emir Beshir has formed a close alliance with Soleiman Pasha of Acre, thus abandoning the policy of his predecessors, who were generally the determined enemies of the Turkish governors; this alliance is very expensive to the Prince, though it serves in some degree to counterbalance the influence of the Sheikh Beshir. The Emir and the Sheikh are apparently on the best terms; the latter visits the Emir almost every week, attended by a small retinue of horsemen, and is always received with the greatest apparent cordiality. I saw him at Beteddein during my stay there. His usual residence is at the village of Mokhtar [Arabic], three hours distant from Beteddein, where he has built a good house, and keeps an establishment of about two hundred men. His confidential attendants, and even the porters of his harem, are Christians; but his bosom friend

[p.199] is Sheikh el Nedjem [Arabic], a fanatical Druse, and one of the most respected of their Akals. The Sheikh Beshir has the reputation of being generous, and of faithfully defending those who have put themselves under his protection. The Emir Beshir, on the contrary, is said to be avaricious; but this may be a necessary consequence of the smallness of his income. He is an amiable man, and if any Levantine can be called the friend of an European nation, he certainly is the friend of the English. He dwells on no topic with so much satisfaction as upon that of his alliance with Sir Sidney Smith, during that officer's command upon this coast. His income amounts, at most, to four hundred purses, or about £10.000. sterling, after deducting from the revenue of the mountain the sums paid to the Pashas, to the Sheikh Beshir, and to the numerous branches of his family. His favourite expenditure seems to be in building. He keeps about fifty horses, of which a dozen are of prime quality; his only amusement is sporting with the hawk and the pointer. He lives on very bad terms with his family, who complain of his neglecting them; for the greater part of them are poor, and will become still poorer, till they are reduced to the state of Fellahs, because it is the custom with the sons, as soon as they attain the age of fifteen or sixteen, to demand the share of the family property, which is thus divided among them, the father retaining but one share for himself. Several princes of the family are thus reduced to an income of about one hundred and fifty pounds a year. It has constantly been the secret endeavour of the Emir Beshir to make himself directly dependent upon the Porte, and to throw off his allegiance to the Pasha; but he has never been able to succeed. The conduct of Djezzar Pasha was the cause of this policy. Djezzar, for reasons which have already been explained, was continually changing the governors of the mountain, and each new governor was obliged to promise him large sums for his investiture. Of these sums few

[p.200]were paid at the time of Djezzar's death, and bills to the amount of sixteen thousand purses were found in his treasury, secured upon the revenue of the mountain. At the intercession of Soleiman Pasha,who succeeded Djezzar at Akka, and of Gharib Effendi, the Porte's commissioner (now Pasha of Aleppo), this sum was reduced to four thousand purses, of which the Emir Beshir is now obliged to pay off a part annually.

By opposing the Druse parties to each other, and taking advantage of the Christian population, a man of genius and energy of the Shehab family might perhaps succeed in making himself the independent master of the mountain. Such an event would render this the most important government in Syria, and no military force the Turks could send would be able to overthrow it. But at present the Shehab appear to have no man of enterprise among them.

The Shehab marry only among themselves, or with two Druse families, the Merad [Arabic], and Kaszbeya [Arabic]. These and the Reslan [Arabic], are the only Emir families, or descendants of the Prophet, among the Druses. These Emirs inhabit the province called El Meten. Emir Manzour, the chief of the Merads, is a man of influence, with a private annual income of about one hundred and twenty purses.

I shall now subjoin such few notes on the Druses as I was able to collect during my short stay in the mountain; I believe them to be authentic, because I was very careful in selecting my authourities.

With respect to the true religion of the Druses, none but a learned Druse can satisfy the enquirer's curiosity. What I have already said of the Anzeyrys is equally applicable to the Druses; their religious opinions will remain for ever a secret, unless revealed by a Druse. Their customs, however, may be described; and, as far as they can tend to elucidate the mystery, the veil may be

[p.201] drawn aside by the researches of the traveller. It seems to be a maxim with them to adopt the religious practices of the country in which they reside, and to profess the creed of the strongest. Hence they all profess Islamism in Syria; and even those who have been baptised on account of their alliance with the Shehab family, still practise the exterior forms of the Mohammedan faith. There is no truth in the assertion that the Druses go one day to the mosque, and the next to the church. They all profess Islamism, and whenever they mix with Mohammedans they perform the rites prescribed by their religion. In private, however, they break the fast of Ramadhan, curse Mohammed, indulge in wine, and eat food forbidden by the Koran. They bear an inveterate hatred to all religions except their own, but more particularly to that of the Franks, chiefly in consequence of a tradition current among them that the Europeans will one day overthrow their commonwealth: this hatred has been increased since the invasion of the French, and the most unpardonable insult which one Druse can offer to another, is to say to him "May God put a hat on you!" Allah yelebesak borneita [Arabic].

Nothing is more sacred with a Druse than his public reputation: he will overlook an insult if known only to him who has offered it; and will put up with blows where his interest is concerned, provided nobody is a witness; but the slightest abuse given in public he revenges with the greatest fury. This is the most remarkable feature of the national character: in public a Druse may appear honourable; but he is easily tempted to a contrary behaviour when he has reason to think that his conduct will remain undiscovered. The ties of blood and friendship have no power amongst them; the son no sooner attains the years of maturity than he begins to plot against his father. Examples are not wanting of their assailing the chastity of their mothers, and towards their sisters such

[p.202] conduct is so frequent, that a father never allows a full grown son to remain alone with any of the females of his family. Their own religion allows them to take their sisters in marriage; but they are restrained from indulging in this connexion, on account of its repugnance to the Mohammedan laws. A Druse seldom has more than one wife, but he divorces her under the slightest pretext; and it is a custom among them, that if a wife asks her husband's permission to go out, and he says to her "Go;" without adding "and come back," she is thereby divorced; nor can her husband recover her, even though it should be their mutual wish, till she is married again according to the Turkish forms, and divorced from her second husband. It is known that the Druses, like all Levantines, are very jealous of their wives; adultery, however, is rarely punished with death; if a wife is detected in it, she is divorced; but the husband is afraid to kill her seducer, because his death would be revenged, for the Druses are inexorable with respect to the law of retaliation of blood; they know too that if the affair were to become public, the governor would ruin both parties by his extortions. Unnatural propensities are very common amongst them.

The Akal are those who are supposed to know the doctrines of the Druse religion; they superintend divine worship in the chapels or, as they are called, Khaloue [Arabic], and they instruct the children in a kind of catechism. They are obliged to abstain from swearing, and all abusive language, and dare not wear any article of gold or silk in their dress. Many of them make it a rule never to eat of any food, nor to receive any money, which they suspect to have been improperly acquired. For this reason, whenever they have to receive considerable sums of money, they take care that it shall be first exchanged for other coin. The Sheikh El Nedjem, who generally accompanies the Sheikh Beshir, in his visits to the Emir, never tastes

[p.203] food in the palace of the latter, nor even smokes a pipe there, always asserting that whatever the Emir possesses has been unlawfully obtained. There are different degrees of Akal, and women are also admitted into the order, a privilege which many avail themselves of, from parsimony, as they are thus exempted from wearing the expensive head-dress and rich silks fashionable among them.

A father cannot entirely disinherit his son, in that case his will would be set aside; but he may leave him a single mulberry tree for his portion. There is a Druse Kadhi at Deir el Kammar, who judges according to the Turkish laws, and the customs of the Druses; his office is hereditary in a Druse family; but he is held in little repute, as all causes of importance are carried before the Emir or the Sheikh Beshir.

The Druses do not circumcise their children; circumcision is practised only in the mountain by those members of the Shehab family who continue to be Mohammedans.

The best feature in the Druse character is that peculiar law of hospitality, which forbids them ever to betray a guest. I made particular enquiries on this subject, and I am satisfied that no consideration of interest or dread of power will induce a Druse to give up a person who has once placed himself under his protection. Persons from all parts of Syria are in the constant practice of taking refuge in the mountain, where they are in perfect security from the moment they enter upon the Emir's territory; should the prince ever be tempted by large offers to consent to give up a refugee, the whole country would rise, to prevent such a stain upon their national reputation. The mighty Djezzar, who had invested his own creatures with the government of the mountain, never could force them to give up a single individual of all those who fled thither from his tyranny. Whenever he became

[p.204] very urgent in his demands, the Emir informed the fugitive of his danger, and advised him to conceal himself for a time in some more distant part of his territory; an answer was then returned to Djezzar that the object of his resentment had fled. The asylum which is thus afforded by the mountain is one of the greatest advantages that the inhabitants of Syria enjoy over those in the other parts of the Turkish dominions.

The Druses are extremely fond of raw meat; whenever a sheep is killed, the raw liver, heart, &c. are considered dainties; the Christians follow their example, but with the addition of a glass of brandy with every slice of meat. In many parts of Syria I have seen the common people eat raw meat in their favourite dish the Kobbes; the women, especially, indulge in this luxury.

Mr. Barker told me that during his two years residence at Harissa and in the mountain, he never heard any kind of music. The Christians are too devout to occupy themselves with such worldly pleasures, and the Druses have no sort of musical instruments.

The Druses have a few historical books which mention their nation; Ibn Shebat, for instance, as I was told, gives in his history of the Califes, that of the Druses also, and of the family of Shehab. Emir Haidar, a relation of the Emir Beshir, has lately begun to compile a history of the Shehabs, which already forms a thick quarto volume.

I believe that the greatest amount of the military forces of the Druses is between ten and fifteen thousand firelocks; the Christians of the mountain may, perhaps, be double that number; but I conceive that the most potent Pasha or Emir would never be able to collect more than twenty thousand men from the mountain.

The districts inhabited by Druses in the Pashalik of Saida are the following. El Tefahh, of which one half belongs to the

[p.205] Pasha. El Shomar [Arabic], belonging for the greater part to the Pasha. El Djessein, one half of which belongs to the Porte. Kesrouan. El Metten. El Gharb el Fokany. El Gharb el Tahtany; in which the principal family is that of Beit Telhouk [Arabic]. El Djord [Arabic], the principal family there is Beit Abd el Melek. El Shehhar [Arabic]; the principal family Meby el Dein [Arabic]. El Menaszef, under Sheikh Soleiman of the family of Abou Neked [Arabic]. El Shouf [Arabic], the residence of the Sheikh Beshir. El Aarkoub [Arabic], or Ard Barouk [Arabic], belonging to the family of Aemad; and El Kharroub [Arabic], belonging to the Djonbelat.

In 1811, the Druses of Djebel Ala, between Ladakie and Antioch, were driven from their habitations by Topal Aly, the governor of Djissr Shogher, whose troops committed the most horrible cruelties. Upwards of fifteen hundred families fled to their countrymen in the Libanus, where they were received with great hospitality; upwards of two hundred purses were collected for their relief, and the Djonbelat assigned to them convenient dwellings in different parts of the mountain. Some of them retired into the Haouran.

March 21st.—It was with difficulty that I got away from Beteddein. The Emir seemed to take great pleasure in conversing with me, as we spoke in Arabic, which made him much freer than he would have been, had he had to converse through the medium of an interpreter. He wished me to stay a few days longer, and to go out a hunting with him; but I was anxious to reach Damascus, and feared that the rain and snow would make the road over the mountain impassable; in this I was not mistaken, having afterwards found that if I had tarried a single day longer I should have been obliged to return along the great road by the way of Beirout. The Emir sent one of his horsemen to accompany me,

WADY DHOBBYE.

[p.206] and we set out about mid-day. Half an hour from Beteddein is the village Ain el Maszer [Arabic], with a spring and many large walnut trees. To the left, on the right bank of the Nahr el Kadhi, higher in the mountain, are the villages Medjelmoush [Arabic] and Reshmeyia [Arabic]. At one hour is the village Kefrnebra [Arabic], belonging to the Yezdeky, under the command of Abou Salma, one of their principal Sheikhs. The road lies along the mountain, gradually ascending. At one hour and a quarter are the two villages Upper and Lower Beteloun [Arabic] One hour and three quarters, the village Barouk [Arabic], and near it the village Ferideis [Arabic]; these are the chief residence of the Yezdeky, and the principal villages in the district of Barouk. They are situated on the wild banks of the torrent Barouk, whose source is about one hour and a half distant. The Sheikh Beshir has conducted a branch of it to his new palace at Mokhtar; the torrent falls into the sea near Saida. From Barouk the road ascends the steep side of the higher region of the mountain called Djebel Barouk; we were an hour and a half in ascending; the summit was covered with snow, and a thick fog rested upon it: and had it not been for the footsteps of a man who had passed a few hours before us we should not have been able to find our way. We several times sunk up to our waists in the snow, and on reaching the top we lost the footsteps, when discovering a small rivulet running beneath the snow, I took it as our guide, and although the Druse was in despair, and insisted on returning, I pushed on, and after many falls reached the plain of the Bekaa, at the end of two hours from the summit; I suppose the straight road to be not more than an hour and quarter. The rivulet by which we descended is called Wady Dhobbye [Arabic]. We had no sooner entered the plain than it began to snow again, and it continued to rain and snow for several days. Small caravans