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BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS DRA WN FROM THE MANNERS
AND CUSTOMS, THE SCENES AND SCENERY, OF

THE HOLY LAND

LEBANON, DAMASCUS

AND

BEYOND JORDAN

WILLIAM M. THOMSON, D.D.

FORTY-FIVE YEARS A MISSIONARY IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE

147 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS

F R A N ICI. F N SQUARE
I <S <S 6

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

9AYNE S. VUCINI

PREFACE

The previous volumes of this work — " Southern Palestine
and Jerusalem" and "Central Palestine and Phoenicia" — were
mainly devoted to the Promised Land west of the Jordan.
The present volume — the third and last — relates to the Leb-
anon, Coelesyria, Anti- Lebanon, Damascus, Bashan, Gilead,
and the regions " beyond Jordan eastward.'' Though not
originally included in the Land of Promise, those adjacent
districts were closely connected witli it. Some of them
were the first that were occupied by the patriarchs of old,
others were the first taken possession of by the Hebrew
nation, and all of them were most intimately associated
with the children of Israel in their social, civil, and re-
ligious institutions, and in their secular history. In trav-
ersing those regions, therefore, we are still in the land of
the Bible, and drawing our Biblical illustrations from the
manners and customs, the scenes and the scenery of the
Holy Land.

The tours and the excursions described in this vohmie
take a much wider range than those in the i)receding por-
tions of this work, and tliey lead to and tlirough various
regions rarely visited by the ordinary traveller, Ijut which

iv PREFACE.

are invested with peculiar and surprising interest. Leb-
anon, little more to the average reader of the Bible than
a vague geographical expression, is not a single mount, but
a long and lofty mountain range, abounding in picturesque
and magnificent scenery, from which the inspired prophets
and poets of the sacred Scriptures have derived some of
their most exalted and impressive imagery. And the an-
cient cities in the regions beyond and east of the Jordan,
whose prostrate temples, theatres, colonnades, and public
and private buildings amaze and astonish the modern trav-
eller, are not mere names, but impressive realities.

In the preparation of this volume the author has availed
himself of the valuable archaeological researches of the
American Palestine Exploration Society and the Palestine
Exploration Fund of England ; and he has also incorporated
into it many important and interesting observations derived
from the publications of eminent writers and travellers who
have recently visited the regions east of the Jordan.

The pictorial illustrations of manners and customs have
been designed from photographs of living subjects, and the
scenic views were composed from photographs taken by the
author and by the exploration societies of England and
America; and all of them have been drawn and engraved
in London, Paris, and New York.

Great attention has been bestowed upon the spelling of
proper names, and all who have any knowledge of the sub-
ject will appreciate its importance. The system adopted for
this work is that of Dr. Edward Robinson, drawn up by
himself and his fellow-traveller. Dr. Eli Smith, and submitted
to the general meeting of the Syrian Mission. After care-

PREFACE. V

fill examination, in which the author participated, it was
adopted by the mission ; and it has gradually grown in
public favor — has been accepted by the Palestine Explo-
ration Fund of England, by the American Exploration So-
ciety, by recent writers, and in guide-books to the Holy
Land. In addition to the ancient names of places which
occur in our English Bible, the present Arabic names are
added in all important cases — a feature, in this work, of
much importance.

This volume of the Land and the Book is supplied with
two carefully prepared indexes — one of texts, and the other
of names and subjects — and the attention of the reader is
directed to them, as they will facilitate reference to those
parts of the work where the Scripture passages illustrated,
and the subjects treated of, are to be found.

The present inhabitants of the Lebanon and of the re-
gions beyond Jordan eastward are divided into many sects
and tribes, differing in appearance and in manners and cus-
toms, and professing various antagonistic creeds and re-
ligions. We shall meet in our travels the courteous and
warlike Druse, the industrious but superstitious Maronite,
the orthodox Greek and the energetic Greek Catholic, the
fanatical Muhammedan, the heretical Mutawaly, tlie heathen
Nusaireh, the crafty Israelite, and the roving son of Ishmael ;
and the enervated and indolent Osmanli Turk is the lord of
the land, dreaded but not respected by all his subjects, whose

united prayer is, " O Lord, how long !"

W. M. T.

CONTENTS.

SIDON TO BEIRUT.

Sidon from the North. — Ancient Wall. — Boats drawn up on the Shore. — The Gardens of
Sidon. — The Banana-tree. — Na'urah, or Water-wheel. — The Aqueduct. — El Auwaly,
the Bostrenus. — The Bridge. — Bridges not Mentioned in the Bible. — Bridges in the
Time of the Romans. — The Khan. — Migration of an Arab Tribe. — A Winter Storm.
— An Officer of Sa'id Beg. — Personal Experience. — A Bridal-party. — The Road from
Sidon to Beirut. — Dahar June, the Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope. — The Burial
of Lady Hester. — Eccentricities of Lady Hester. — Neby Yiinas, Tomb of Jonah. — The
Mother of Samuel. — " Horned Ladies." — Biblical Allusions to Horns. — The Story of
Jonah and the Whale. — Berja. — El Jiyeh, Porphyreon. — Arabs at a Well. — Tattooing.
— The Hebrews Forbidden to print Marks upon themselves. — Along the Sandy Beach,
and over the Rocky Headlands. — Nukkar es Sa'diat. — Defeat of Ptolemy's Army by
Antiochus. — The Shepherd and the Sheep. — Ed Damilr, the Tamyras. — The Mulberry
Gardens of Mu'allakah. — Sugar and the Sugar-cane. — The .Sweet Cane of the Bible. —
"The Burnings of Lime." — Lime Mentioned Twice in the Bible. — El Bellan, Thorn
Bush. — Biblical Allusions to Thorns. — Raw or Burnt. — Pots and Plots. — " The Crack-
ling of Thorns under a Pot." — Khan Khulda, Heldua. — Ghiifr en Naimeh. — One of
St. Helena's Towers. — Broken Sarcophagi. — Esh Shuweifat. — Olive-grove. — Beauty
of the Olive-tree. — " Oil out of the Flinty Rock." — Oil-presses. — Grafting. — " A Wild
Olive-tree." — The Flower of the Olive. — " The Labor of the Olive." — " The Shaking
of an Olive-tree." — The Gleaning of the Olive. — "Thy Children shall be like Olive-
plants round about thy Table." — Dukkan el Kusis. — "A Sea of Sand." — El Ghiidir.
— El Kalabat. — Ibrahim Pasha and the Emir of Shuweifal. — The Goodly Lebanon. —
Picturesque Villages. — The Pines. — Arrival at Beirut Page 5

II.

BEIRUT.

Beirut and its Surroundings. — The Plain of Beirut. — Gooilly Lebanon. — Beirut from the
.Sea. — Beirut not a Biblical City. — History of Beirut. — Colonia Augusta Felix Julia,
Berytus. — Herod the Great. — Agrippa. — Titus. — Law School. — Earthquake. — Theo-

viii CONTENTS.

prosopon. — The Crusaders. — The Saracens. — Miracle of the Holy Cross. — Palace and
Gardens of Fakhr ed Din. — The Saraya. — Muhammed 'Aly. — Bombardment of Bei-
rflt. — Population of Beirut. — Railroad. — Antiquities about Beirut. — Ancient Aque-
duct. — Tunnel. — The Wife of Haroun er Raschid. — Ruined Temple at Deir el Ku-
I'ah. — "The Smell of Lebanon." — Magnificent Prospect. — Roofs with Battlements.
— The Holy Land and the Holy Book. — House-tops. — Samuel and Saul. — David's
Palace. — The Inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the House-tops. — Proclamations from
the House-tops. — The Year of Jubilee. — Peter Praying upon the House-top. — House-
tops in the Time of Christ. — The Sparrow upon the House-top. — In the Streets of
Beirut. — Coffee and Coffee - shops. — Shopkeepers. — Pipe - stems. — Cigarettes. — The
Letter -writer. — Writing and Writing Materials. — The Open Letter. — Seal Rings. —
The Call to Prayer. — Moslems Praying in the Mosk. — Hypocrisy. — The Pilgrimage to
Mecca. — Praying Seven Times a Day. — The Sanctimonious Judge. — Praying towards
Mecca and Jerusalem. — Shops and Streets. — The Crowded Street. — Hewers of Wood
and Drawers of Water. — The Gibeo'nites. — Shaving the Head. — Paul at Cenchrea. —
Barbers' Shops. — Street of the Auctioneers. — No Provision for Lighting the Streets.
— Bidding the Guests to the Supper. — Dining amongst the Orientals. — Sitting at
Meat. — Rice, Stews, and Meats. — Etiquette at Meals. — Washing the Hands. — Elijah
and Elisha. — Ceremonial Etiquette. — Pipes, Nargilehs, and Coffee-cups. — Talking to
be Heard. — Garments, Ancient and Modern. — Elijah's Mantle. — Joseph's Coat of
Many Colors. — Rending the Clothes. — Linen, Woollen, Cotton, and Silk. — Manners
and Customs. — Boots and Shoes. — Putting off the Shoes. — The Head and the Feet. —
Costume of the Women. — Domestic Relations. — The Harem. — Naming the Father
after his Eldest Son. — Significant Names, Ancient and Modern. — Sleeping without
Change of Garments. — Co-operative House-keeping. — "Saving your Reverence." —
Matrimony. — Sous and Daughters. — Marriage with Slaves Page 43

III.

THE DOG RIVER, AND THE SUBURBS OF BEIRUT.

CONTENTS. ix

Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Huxley in 1873. — Description of the Caverns of the Dog River.
— The Screen. — Professor Robertson's Account. — The Cathedral. — Ma-wveil's Column.
— The Hermit's Pillar. — The Gallery. — The Dome. — Willow Point and Light-house.
— The Elephant's Cave. — Bliss's Straits. — The Draperies. —The Pantheon.— Clayton's
Passage. — The Styx. — Rustum Pasha's Chandelier. — Chaos. — Huxley and Brigstocke's
Rapids. — Personal Incident. — Attempt to Explore the Caverns above the Rapids De-
scribed by Professor Robertson. — Temperature of the Air and Water in the Caverns.
— Depth of the Water. — The Caves of Nahr el Kelb compared with Celebrated
Caverns in other Countries. — Ride up the River Gorge. — The Aqueduct. — Grand
and Picturesque Scener)% — The Weir. — The Road over the Tunnel and to the Sea.
— Ride around the Western Suburbs of Beirut. — The Barracks and Hospital. — The
Capuchin Monastery and Church. — Institute of the Deaconesses. — German Church.
— Khan Antun Beg.-^Ottoman Bank. — Consulates. — Post-offices. — Moslem Cemetery.
— Hotels. — Remains of Ancient Baths. — Modern Bathing-houses. — Minat el Husn. —
Sponge Divers. — Petroleum Warehouses. — Ship-building Yard. — Potteries and Tan-
neries. — Inhabited Well. — The Hospital of St. John. — Tiie Medical Hall. — Syrian
Protestant College. — Tee Observatory. — Unequalled Site and Magnificent Prospect. —
Jackals and Hyenas. — The Light-house. — Extended Outlook. — French Company. —
Numerous Inlets. — Deep Caverns. — Seals or Sea-cows. — The Rousha. — Perpendicular
Cliffs. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Conscription. — Refugees. — Fugitives in the Caves and
on the Rousha. — The Rousha in a Winter Storm. — Petrified Echini in the Rocks. —
The Sand Sea. — Gardens and Houses Over\vhelmed by the Sand. — Woe -begone Don-
keys. — The Quarries. — Narrow Lanes. — Prickly-pear Hedges. — Fruit of the Prickly-
pear. — Pine-groves. — Sowing the Pine. — ^\'^enerable Pine-trees Planted by Fukhr ed
Din. — The Sycamore. — Zaccheus. — Sycamore Figs. — Gatherers of Sycamore Fruit. —
The Power of Faith Illustrated by the Sycamore. — The Black Mulberr}-. — The Syca-
more in Egypt. — Biblical References to the Sycamore. — 'Assur. — The Cemeter)-. —
The Press. — The Bible Warehouse. — Anglo-American Churcii. — Female Seminar)'. —
Mecca Pilgrims. — Fanatical Moslem Ders-ishes and the Priest of Baal. — The Dou^ch.
— Riding over Prostrate Men and Boys I'^y*-' 91

IV.

BEIRUT TO SHEMLAN.

X CONTENTS.

— Syrup. — Dukkan el Wurwar. — Nahr el Ghudir. — Wady Shahiiir. — Kefr Shima. —
Terraced Hill-sides. — Sarcophagi. — Protestant Chapel. — Soap. — Ascent of the Moun-
tain. — Deir el Kurkufeh. — Anemones and Cyclamens. — Pine-grove. — Sandstone For-
mation. — Road to Aitath. — 'Ain Bsaba. — Mountain Scenery. — 'Ain 'Anoub. — Village
Fountain. — Road to Shemlan. — Summer Eve on Lebanon. — Shemlan. — Lebanon a
Range of Mountains. — Dean Stanley. — "The White Mountain." — Rains and Snows
on Lebanon. — Geological Characteristics of Lebanon. — Conspicuous Summits of Leb-
anon. — The Rivers of Lebanon. — The Natural Bridge. — Temple of Venus. — Birth-
place of Adonis. — Cedar-groves. — Convent of Kanobin. — Orthosia. — The Seaward
Face of Lebanon. — The Orontes. — The Eastern Side of Lebanon. — El Berdflny. —
Fountains at Meshghurah. — Villages on Lebanon. — Biblical Allusions to Lebanon. —
Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah. — Goodly Lebanon. — The Province of Tripoli and that
of Sidon. — Districts of Lebanon. — Emir Beshir Shebah. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Allied
Powers. — Civil Wars and Massacres. — The Present Form of Government. — Population
of Lebanon. — The Muhammedans and Metawileh. — The Greeks and Greek Catholics.
— The Maronites and Druses Page I2i

TOUR THROUGH SOUTHERN LEBANON.

Southern Lebanon. — The Bells of the Mules, and the Song of the Muleteers. — Wander-
ing about the Mountains. — 'Ainab. — Natural Tells. — Perpendicular Strata. — Dukkan
'Ainab. — Beit Tulhiik. — Original Inhabitants of Lebanon. — The Phoenicians. — Rock-
cut Tombs. — 'Ain Kesur. — The Wady below 'Abeih. — 'Abeih. — Old Palaces. — Burn-
ing of 'Abeih in 1845. — Escape of the Christians in i860. — Mutaiyar 'Abeih. — Mag-
nificent Prospect. — Kefr Metta. — Villages and Houses on Lebanon. — Beit el Kady.
— El Fiizur. — Traces of Glacial Action. — Tropical Climate and Fruits. — Cloud-bursts.
— Jisr el Kady. — Mills. — Nahr el Gabun and Nahr el Kady. — Villages Inhabited by
Druses and Maronites. — Bridges, Ancient and Modern. — Adventure with a Panther.
— Wild Beasts in the Holy Land in Bible Times. — Bshetfin. — Stagnation of the
Druses and Enterprise of the Christians.^Luxuriant and Fertile Fields. — Deir el
Kamar. — The Massacres of i860. — A Border Land of Antagonistic Tribes. — Revenge-
ful Spirit of the Maronites.— Beit Abu Nakad.— Bteddin.— The Emir Beshir.— Beit
Shehab. — Palace at Bteddin.— B'aklin. — Simekaniyeh.— Battle-field of the Druses. —
Esh Shuf. — Civil Wars. — Description of the Sceneiy and Geology of Lebanon by Dr.
Anderson. — El Judeideh. — Beit Jumblat.— Sheikh Beshir.— Palaces at Mukhtarah. —
Vicissitudes of Fortune.— Sa'id Beg Jumblat. — 'Ammatur. — Gray Squirrels. — Oak-
grove and Fountain of Bathir. — Fountains and Cliffs between Bathir and Jezzin. —
The Auwaly. — Merj Bisiy. — Ruins of an Ancient Temple.— Emir Fakhr ed Din Be-
sieged and Captured in a Cavern. — Cascade below Jezzin. — The Ambassador and his
Family. — Jeba'ah. — Neby Safy. — Jerjii'a. — Neby Sijud. — Jermuk. — Jebel er Riham.
— Globular Iron-ore. — High-places, Ancient and Modern. — Jezzin. — Hunting-ground
of the Shehab Emirs.— Taumat Niha. — Ancient Highway from Sidon to Damascus.
—Kefr Hiineh.— Smuggling Tobacco.— Circular Lake.— Descent to the Litany.— Jisr
Biirghuz. — Magnificent Prospects. — Meshghurah. — Villages upon the South-eastern

CONTENTS. XI

Slopes of Lebanon. — Rapid Restoration to Prosperity after Civil Wars. — Schools. —
Jisr Kur'un. — Geodes. — The Biika'a originally a Lake. — Kamid el Lauz. — Luz. —
Sughbin. — Jisr Jubb Jenin. — Geodes of Chalcedony and Agate. — Vineyards. — Ascent
of Lebanon. — View over the BCika'a. — Manna. — The Cedars of el Haruk and el
Ma'asir. — Hiram and Solomon. — Fountains of el Baruk. — Aqueduct of Sheikh Be-
shir. — Description of Wady el Fureidis and Wady 'Ain Zahalteh by Dr. .\nderson.
— Scener}' around 'Ain Zahalteh. — Fountains of Nahr el Kady. — Avalanche at Kefr
Nebrakh. — Burj el 'Amad. — Beit el '.\mad. — Sheikh Khuttar. — Cedars at 'Ain Za-
halteh. — Sources of the Damur and the .Vuwaly. — Problem of Fountains. — Sandstone
Formation and Pine-groves.— Btathir. — Beit 'Abd el Melek. — Silk Factories. — Bham-
diin during the Civil Wars. — Wady el Ghabun. — Bhauwarah. the Residence of Colonel
Churchill. — Churchill's History of Lebanon. — A Glorious Prospect . . . Page 141

VI.

SHEMLAN TO THE NATURAL BRIDGE.

Summer Resorts on Lebanon. — 'Aitath. — Beit Tulhuk. — Suk el Ghurb. — Ancient Church.
— The Sweating Picture. — Convent of St. George. — Monks. — Wady Shahrur. — In-
habited Tree. — 'Aleih.- -Tragedies in the Old Palace. — Ibrahim Pasha. — Tragedy of
the Three Brothers. — Decline of Feudal Princes. — Wady Hummana. — Coal .Mine. —
Muhammed Aly. — Petrified Pine-cones. — District of el Metn. — The Emirs of Beit el
Lema. — Brummana. — The Damascus Road. — El Mugheiteh. — Snow Blockade. — Jebel
Keniseh. — Summit Level. — Khan Murad. — Cold Winds. and Malignant Fevers.— A
Glorious Prospect. — El Biika a. — Anti-Lebanon. — Eastern Side of Lebanon. — Shtora.
— The Road to Damascus. — Temple at Mejdel 'Anjar. — Neb'a 'Anjar.— Intermitting
Fountain. — Deir el Ghiizal. — Kiibb Elias. — Mekseh. — Extensive Views over Coelesyria.
— Zahleh. — El Berdiiny. — "Vine and Fig-tree." — El Mu'allakah. — Burning of Zah-
leh. — Prosperity of Zahleh. — Kerak Nuh. — Ascent of Lebanon. — Bituminous Shale. —
Globular Iron Ore. — Limestone Pinnacles. — Neb'a Silnnin. — Temples on Lebanon. —
Temple near 'Anturah. — Husn Niha. — Tomb of Noah. — Tomb of Seth. — Origin of
Primitive Sanctuaries. — Rock-cut Tombs. — The Druses and their Religion. — Druse
Funerals. — Feudal Families of the Druses. — Lex talionis, or Blood Revenge. — Moses
and the Hebrews. — Matrimonial Alliances. — Abraham and Jacob. — Betrothal. — Noc-
turnal Incident. — Bears and Wolves. — Ascent of Sunnin. — Outlook from the Sum-
mit of Lebanon. — Sirocco. — Descent of Lebanon. — Druse War-song. — Bringing Grain
to the Mill. — Grinding at the Mill. — Baking Bread in the Tanniir. — Native Bread. —
The Use of Leven.— The Staff of Life. — Cone-shaped Oven. — City Ovens.— Ovens
in the Time of the Hebrews. — Baking upon the Saj. — Wady Biskinta. — tniHin \ui-
tures. — Eagles. — Pinnacles of Limestone. — Casts of Fossil Shells. — Dr. Anderson's
Description of the Fossils of Syria. — Kul'at el Fukra. — Tiberius Claudius. — The Tem-
ple in the Midst of Rocky Pinnacles Described \>y Dr. Robinson. — Remains of a
Tomb. — Road from the Dog River to the Natural Bridge. — 'Ajeltun. — Fantastii
Rock .Scenery. — Wady es Salib.— Canal from Nahr el Leben.— Irrigation.— Sowing
Wheat in Autumn. — Neb'a el Leben.— Milk and Honey.— The Natural Bridge.—
District of el Kesrawan. — The Maronites. — Feudal Families.- Monastery BclK . iSS

xii CONTENTS.

VII.

THE NATURAL BRIDGE TO THE CEDARS.

Bird's-eye View of the Kesravvan. — Picturesque Hamlets and Flourishing Villages. — Con-
vents Isolated in Winter. — Nahr es Salib. — Flooded Fields and Ploughed-up Roads. —
Cascade. — Neb'a el 'Asal. — Wady Shebruh. — Volcanic Action and Fields of Trap-
rock. — Energy and Industry of the People. — Products of the Soil. — Lebanon Wine. —
Ziik Miisbah. — 'Arak. — Sacramental Wine used by Papists and Greeks. — The Juice
of the Grape. — The Wine Used at the Last Supper and the Feasts of the Jews. —
" Unfermented Wine." — Wine, Ancient and Modern. — The Wine of the Bible. — The
Hebrew Debash and Arabic Dibs. — Winter on Lebanon. — Monotonous Life of the
Natives. — Mountain Houses. — Miscellaneous Company. — Animals, Smoke, and Fleas.
— Smoking and Sleeping. — The Return of Spring. — Biblical Allusions to Manners
and Customs. — Ancient and Modern Habitations. — Reminiscences of a Former Tour.
— Lost in a Fog. — Magnificent Prospect. — The Lebanon Range. — Descent to 'Afka.
— Walnut and Sycamore Trees. — Venus and Adonis. — Goats in the Clefts of the
Rock. — A Tremendous Cliff. — Scene from the Bridge. — Mugharat 'Afka. — Source
of the Adonis. — Three Cascades. — Temple of Venus. — Syenite Columns. — The Wor-
ship of Adonis. — Destruction of the Temple by Constantine. — Retrospective. — The
Damsels of Phoenicia. — "Women Weeping for Tammuz." — The Poetry of Milton,
and the Vision of Ezekiel. — "Smooth Adonis ran purple to the Sea." — Ancient and
Modern 'Afka. — Metawileh. — The Valley of Nahr Ibrahim. — Bridge. — Emir Ibrahim.
— Mar Maron. — Burj Fatiah. — Ancient Aqueduct. — Plateau. — Wady el Muneitirah. —
Wady el Mugheiyireh. — Eagles and Ravens. — Natural Bridge. — Grotto at el 'Aukiirah.
— Wine-vats. — El 'Aukurah. — Trap -rock. — Burckhardt. — Native Hospitality. — The
Avenger of Blood. — Lofty Plateau. — Arab Encampment. — Transportation of Sheep
to Egypt. — Pasture-lands of the Kurds. — Funnel-shaped Pits. — Jebel Jaj. — El Mesh-
nakah. — Burr el Haithy. — "Timber of Cedar." — Wady Fedar. — M. Renan's De-
scription of the Ruins at el Meshnakah. — Rock-cut Tombs. — "Baal a la tete
Rayonee." — Figures Carved in the Rock at el Ghineh. — "The Image of Venus." —
Ard 'Akhlk. — Hid Treasure. — Inscriptions on the Rocks. — Dr. De Forest. — M.
Renan. — The Emperor Adrian. — Tannurin el Foka. — Fog in Autumn. — Fossil Fish.
— Hakil. — Duma. — Iron Ore. — Wady Tanniiiin. — Ard Tannurin. — Wady ed Duweir.
— Wady el Jauzeh. — Jebel en Niiriyeh. — Theoprosopon. — Nahr el Jauzeh. — Kiil'at el
Museilihah. — Black-mail. — Cedar-grove. — The Emir Beshir and the British Fleet. —
Manufacture of Pitch. — Trees Cut Down will often Sprout Again. — Riiins of a Con-
vent. — Amyun. — El Kiirah. — El Hadith. — Wady el Kadisha. — The Holy River. — Deir
Kanobin. — Maundrell's Visit to Kanobin. — As'ad esh Shidiak. — Hasrun. — Convers-
ing Across the Chasm. — Exceptional Cultivation. — Gorge of the Kadisha Described
by Dr. Robinson. — "The Beauty and the Grandeur of Lebanon." — Bsherreh. —
Bridge over the Holy River. — Productiveness of the Soil. — The Cedars of God. —
A Sabbath of Rest among the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Cedar pre-eminently the
Biblical Tree. — El Arz. — Biblical Allusions to the Cedar. — Cedar Wood. — The Palaces
of David and Solomon and the Temple of the Lord. — The Temples of Zerubbabel

CONTENTS. xiii

and Herod and the Graven Images of a God. — Fragments of Cedar among the Ruins
of Nineveh. — Cedar not Mentioned in the New Testament. — Juniper. — Pine. — The
Thistle and the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Destruction of the Ancient and Modern
Cedar. — Sunday-school under the Cedars. — The Cedar-tree of the Bible. — The Lo-
cality of the Cedars Described by Dr. Robinson. — Dean Stanley. — Canon Tristram. —
Glacial Moraines. — The present Cedar-grove. — Age of the Cedars. — The Glory of
Lebanon. — Four Cedar-trees Intertwined and Growing together. — De.an Stanley's
Description of Old and Young Trees supporting one another. — Graceful Form and
Shape of the Cedar. — Vain Effort to Protect the Young Cedars. — Lebanon could be
Covered with Cedars. — Cedars in the Parks and Gardens of Europe. — "Full of
Sap." — The Cedar not Used for Building Purposes.— Feast of the Cedars. — Modern
Chapel. — Decline of Religious Zeal Page 232

VIII.

THE CEDARS TO HURMUL AND B.VALBEK.

The Summit-level of the Lebanon Range. — The Cedar Mountain.— Jebel Mflkhmal. —
Pass over Lebanon Described by Dr. Buchanan. — Ehden.— Paradisus.— Viisuf Karam.
— Pass around the West End of Lebanon. — Tripolis.— El Mina. — Small Islands
North-west of Tripoli.— The Castle of Tripoli.— Librar>' at Tripoli Burnt during the
Crusades. — Burckhardt. — Tarablus esh Sham. — Terminus of the Euphrates Valley
Railroad.— Ruwad, Arvad.— Cyclopean Wall.— .-Mexander the Great.— Tartus, Tor-
tosa.— Castle and Church at Tartus.— Bombardment of Tartus.— Antaridus.— Ancient
Quarries.— Idol-temple. — Remains near 'Ain el Haiyeh.— Sepulchral Monuments.—
M. Renan.—Marathus.— Area.— Tell 'Arka.— Temple of Alexander.— The Emperor
Severus. — The Holy Lance. — Ruins of Area.— Tunnel. — Fossil Shells.— Exuberant
Verdure and Grand Sceneiy. — Nahr el Barid.—Orthosia.— Ruined Temple on llarf
es Sphiry.— Dining with the Beg at Sir.- The Man of Uz.— The Sabbatical River.
— Fauwar ed Deir.— Intermitting Fountains.— Gray Squirrels and Walnut-trees.—
Fountain and Overhanging Cliff.— View from the Pass above Sir.— Cloud-burst. —
Homer.— Tydens. — Dislocated Strata. —Wheat and Snow.— Sheepfolds. — '.\in el
Beida.— Natives Making Tar.— A Mountain Meadow.— Et Tubban.— Water-shed.—
Wady Farah.—" Boundless Contiguity of Shade."— 'Ain el Ayun.— D.ihar el Kudhib.
—A Camp-fire on Lebanon.— Personal Incident at 11 uimul.— Local Rebellion.—
Hiii-mul. — Woodland Scenery on Lebanon Descril)ed by Van de VeUle. — " The En-
trance of Hamath."— Dr. Robinson.— Ribieh.— Pharaoh and Josiah.— Nebuchadnezzar
and Zedekiah.— A Dreadful Massacre.— The Camping-ground of Fierce Con<iuerors.
— The Hittites.— The Kheta.— Egyptian Inscriptions.— Ramescs II.— M. Ebers.—
Battle near Kadesh between the Egyptians and the Kheta.— The "Right Arm" of
Rameses IL— Pentaur.— The Iliad of the Egyptians. — " I was alone."— Rameses II.
Fighting the Kheta, with Two Lions at his Side.— A Warlike and Powerful People.—
The Report of the Spies sent by Moses.— Frequent Communication between Kff,'pt
and Syria in Patriarchal Times.— Egyptian Innuence in Syria.— Site of Kelesh.—
Kedes.— Laodicea.— Tell Neby Mindau.— Lake <.f Hums or Kedes.— Stone Dam.—
Abulfeda.— Canal to Hums. — Rivulets an<l Corn-lKldv— The Fountains of llie Oron-

xiv CONTENTS.

tes Described by Van de Velde. — Neb'a el 'Asy. — The Orontes. — The Monk's Cavern.
— Kamii'a el Hiirmul. — Hunting Scenes Delineated on the Kamu'a. — Outlook over
the Plain from the Kamu'a. — The Canal from 'Ain Lebweh to Ka'a. — Perpendicular
Banks above Neb'a el 'Asy. — Ras Ba'albek. — Conna. — Wady Flkeh. — El 'Ain. —
Ain. — The Water-shed. — A Night in a Bedawin Encampment. — Lebweh. — Lybo. —
Saracen and Crusader. — Neb'a Lebweh. — An Oasis in the Desert. — Lake Yemmuneh.
— Disappearance of the Water of the Lake. — Ruined Temple at Yemmuneh. — Vil-
lages on the Hill-sides, not in the Plain. — Lone Column in the Buka'a. — Ancient
Temple and Rock-cut Tombs at Nahleh Page 270

IX.

BAALBEK TO DAMASCUS.

Ba'albek and el Buka'a. — Approach to Ba'albek from the Cedars, and from Zahleh. —
Personal Experience. — The Cardinal Points. — Position of Ba'albek. — The Ancient
City.— The Old Wall.— Doric Column.— Remains of the Old Town.— Statues.— The
Modern Town. — The Acropolis. — Artificial Platform of the Great Temple. — Stairway
Leading to the Platform. — The Portico. — Latin Inscription. — Antoninus Pius and Julia
Domna. — Massive Square Towers. — Large Stones. — Vaults. — Main Entrance. — The
Hexagonal Court. — The Triple Gate. — The Great Court. — Niches, Recesses, and
Chambers. — The Eastern, Northern, and Western Sides of the Court. — Raised Plat-
form. — The Temple of the Sun. — The Peristyle. — The Six Columns. — The Walls of
the Temple Platform. — Cyclopean Stones and Walls. — Trilithon. — The Three Great
Stones. — Seven Stones in the West Wall. — Nine Stones Parallel to the North Wall. —
Vaults and Galleries under the Platform. — Temple of Jupiter. — The Pantheon at
Athens. — Platform of the Temple. — The Portico. — The Peristyle. — The Vestibule. —
The Portal. — Mr. David Roberts. — The Hanging Keystone. — The Assyrian Eagle. —
Stairway to the Top of the Temple. — The Nave of the Temple. — Fluted Columns and
Sculptured Niches. — The Sanctum. — Sacrificial Procession. — Vaulted Chambers. —
Moslem Iconoclasts. — Nine Columns on the North Side of the Peristyle. — Entablature
and Roof of the Peristyle. — Lieutenant Conder. — Three Columns on the West Side
of the Temple. — The Leaning Column on the South Wall of the Temple. — Four
Standing Columns. — Fluted Columns of the Portico. — Saracenic Tower. — The Octag-
onal Temple. — Columns, Niches, and Festoons. — Ionic and Corinthian Columns
around the Interior Walls. — A Christian Church. — Ras el 'Ain. — Coelesyria. — El
Buka'a. — The Orontes and the Leontes. — El Berdilny and Nahr 'Anjar. — The Grave
of Noah and the Tomb of Seth. — Toi and David. — The Hittites and the Egyptians.
— The History of Ba'albek. — Baal-gad. — The Plain of Aven. — Heliopolis. — Julia,
Augusta Felix. — The Emperor Trajan. — John of Antioch. — Antoninus Pius and
Septimus Severus. — Julia Domna and Heliogabalus. — Venus Worshipped at Ba'al-
bek. — The Emperor Constantine. — Muhammedan Vandalism. — Kul'at Ba'albek. —
The Quarries. — The Great Stone in the Quarry. — Kubbet Diiris. — The Road to
Damascus. — Emirs of Beit Harfiish. — Bereitan. — Khuraibeh. — A Donkey Fallen
under its Load. — The Humane Laws of Moses. — Nahr Yahfiifeh. — A Roman Bridge.

CONTENTS. XV

— Surghaya. — Volcanic Plain. — Tlie Water -shed. — '.\in Hawar. — Ez Zebedany. —
The Plain, the Gardens, and the Vineyards. — The Source of the Barada. — The
Lofty Range of Anti-Lebanon. — Bliidan. — Wild and Romantic Scenery in Suk Wady
Barada. — The Pass. — The Bridge. — Ancient Roadway Cut in the Rock. — Latin In-
scriptions. — "Abila of Lysanias." — Rock-hewn Aqueduct and Rock-cut Tombs. —
Ancient Quarries. — The Tomb of Abel. — Ruins of a Small Temple. — Plain and \'il-
lage of Suk Wady Barada. — A Devout Hermit. — (Jibbon. — Kefr el 'Awamid. — An-
cient Temple. — Ride along the Canal. — .\ Succession of Surprises. — "Ain el Fijeh.
— The most Copious Source of the Barada. — Massive Remains of Platforms and Tem-
ples. — Fever and Ague. — 'Ain el Khudra. — Grand Scenery and Execrable Road. —
Tunnel through the Cliff. — Zenobia and Palmyra. — Bessima. — Es Sahra. — French
Carriage-road. — Dummar. — Kubbet en NCisr. — First and Finest View of Damascus. —
Description of the Scene by Lieutenant Van de Velde and Mr. Addison. — The Barada
Described by Dean Stanley. — The Canals and Streams from the Baraila. — The Main
Stream. — The Paradise of the Prophet. — The Mountains and the Plain. — Ilcrmon.
— Xahr el A'waj, the Pharpar. — Jebel Kasyiin. — .\dam and Abraham. — Cain ant!
Abel. — Es Salahiyeh. — Broad Paved Road. — The Tent and the Hotel . Page 317

DAMASCUS.

Damascus and the Manners and Customs of the East. — One of the Oldest Cities in tlie
World. — Thebes and Memphis, Babylon and Nineveh. — Damascus the Capital of
Syria. — Biblical Histoiy of Damascus. — Abraham and Chedorlaomer. — Hobah. — Dam-
mesek, Dimeshk. — Esh Sham.— Damascus Founded l>y the Great Grandson of Noah.
— Josephus and Nicolaus. — Abraham Reigned at Damascus. — Eliezer of Damascus. —
Abraham's Place of Adoration. — Burzeh. — The Site of Hobah. — David. — The Tribes
of Naphtali and Manasseh. — "David put Garrisons in Damascus." — lladad.— Solo-
mon. — Rezon. — Abijam King of Judah ; Tabrimon of Syria ; and Baaslia of Israel. —
Asa Sends Presents of Silver and Gold. — Invasions of Ben-hadad I., King of Damas-
cus. — "Streets in Samaria." — Ben-hadad II. — Ahab.— Invasions of Bcn-liadad II.—
Aphek. — Flight of Ben-hadad II.— "Streets in Damascus."— Deatli of Ahal).—

I Jehoram.— Naaman the Syrian Leper. — "A Little Captive Maid." — Jehoram Rends
his Clothes. — Elisha, "a Prophet in Israel." — The Jordan and the " Rivers of Damas-
cus." — The "Blessing" of Naaman. — Two Mules' Burden of Eartii.— .\n .\llar to
Jehovah in Damascus.— Ben-hadad's Attemjit to Capture Elisha. — Siege of Samaria.
— "A Great Famine."— Flight of the Syrian Army.— The Ilillilc Confederacy.—
Elijah and Elisha. — Visit of Elisha to Damascus.— Death of Ben-hadad.— Ha/.ael
King over Syria. — " Joash Beat Ben-hadad [III.] three times."— Jeroboam II. Re-
covers Damascus.— Pekah.—Tiglath-pileser Captures Damascus.— Pattern of an Ali:u
sent to Urijah by Ahaz. — Sennaclierib, Nebuchadnezzar, an<l Darius.— Amos and
Isaiah.— Jeremiah and Ezekiel.—Zechariah.— Macedonian, Greek, and Roman Con-
quests. — Parmenio. — Alexander the Great.— Pompey Receives the Ambas.sadors from
Syria, Judica, and Egypt in Damascus. — Sexlus Civsar. — Herod the Cireal.— Saul,

VI CONTENTS.

called Paul. — Spread of Christianity in Damascus. — John the Baptist.— Muhammedan
Conquest of Syria. — Siege of Damascus. — Gibbon. — Massacre of Christians by the
"Sword of God." — Damascus the Capital of the Muhammedan Empire. — Baneful
Influence of Islam. — Decline of Damascus. — Descendants of Ishmael. — A Hebrew of
the Hebrews. — Garments Ancient and Modern. — Hotel at Damascus. — Citron and
Lemon, Roses and Jessamine. — Court of the Khalifs of Islam. — The King and Queen
of the "Arabian Nights." — The Streets and Bazaars of Damascus. — The Horse-market.
—The Hangman's Tree. — Saddlers Street.— Street of the Coppersmiths. — Castle of
Damascus. — Ancient Bows and Arrows. — The Fosse. — Street of the Auctioneers. —
Siik el Arwam. — Oriental Bargains. — Given Away for Nothing. — Intricacy of the
Streets in Eastern Cities. — Donkeys and Camels. — Khan As'ad Pasha. — Caravans
from Bagdad and Elsewhere. — Importunate Christians.— Intense Fanaticism. — A Mos-
lem Shopkeeper. — Fate, or God's Decree. — The Wiles of Satan. — Sanctimonious
Moslems. — Bazaar of the Goldsmiths. — Manufacture of Gold and Silver Filigree. —
South Side of the Great Mosk. — Ancient Remains. — Triple Gate. — Greek Inscription.
— "Thy Kingdom, O Christ." — Book Bazaar. — Copies of the Koran. — Manuscript
Books. — Arch and Pediment of an Ancient Gateway. — Bab el Barid. — Slippers. —
"The House of Rimmon."— Greek and Roman Temple. — Church of St. John the
Baptist. — A Basilica. — Dimensions of the Great Mosk. — Rows of Columns. — Triple
Roof. — Central Dome. — Stained-glass Windows. — Texts from the Koran. — Praying
Rugs.— Lamps and Chandeliers. — Praying Niches.— The Head of John the Baptist.—
Court of the Great Mosk. — Colonnades. — Ornamented Piers and Arches. — Corinthian
Columns. — Saracenic Fountain and Pavilion. — Domes of the Hour, and of the Treas-
ure. — Visit to the Great Mosk by a Party of Ladies and Gentlemen.— Photographs. —
Minarets of the Great Mosk. — View from the Gallery of Madinet el 'Arus. — Rim-
mon. — Baal. — Tombs of Saladin and the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. — Public Baths.
— Baths not mentioned in the Bible. — "Pools." — Hot and Cold Water Baths Intro-
duced by Herod the Great.— Baths the Resort of Evil .Spirits.— Street Calls and Cries.
— "Drink, O Thirsty!" — The Colporteur in Damascus. — " The Bread and Water of
Everlasting Life." — Private Houses in Damascus. — The Entrance. — The Court.— The
Marble Fountain. — El Lewan. — Reception-rooms. — Panels in the Roofs and Window-
shutters Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl. — The Harem.— Coffee-shops along the Banks
of the Barada. — Oriental Music and Singing. — The Orchestra. — Musical Instruments.
— Greek and Albanian Music. — Biblical Music. — Music in the Time of the Prophets.
— Samuel and Saul. — Saul among the Prophets. — Elisha and the Minstrel. — David
and Saul. — The Harp and Viol, the Tabret and Pipe. — Ride through the Suburbs of
Damascus. — The Gardens.— Canon Tristram. — Flowing Streams and Golden Fruit. —
Camping in a Garden. — Canal of et Taurah.— Es Salihiyeh.— Villa of the British
Consul.— E.xuberant Vegetation. — The Myrtle. — Fountains and Streams in the Gar-
dens, and in the Courts of Public and Private Buildings. — Making Kaif under the
Trees. — Nahr el Yezid. — Jebel Kasyun. — The Barada, the Abana. — The A'vvaj, the
Pharpar. — Bardines. — The Golden -flowing River. — Chasm of the Barada. — Dams
and Canals. — Net-work of Watercourses. — The Main Stream of the Barada. — Lake
'Ataibeh. — Cufic Inscription. — Carriage -road. — Mud Walls. — Sun-dried Bricks. — El
Merj, the Meadow. — Speeding the Departing, and Welcoming the Coming. — Cara-

CONTENTS. xvii

vans and Pilgrims. — The Haj.— Et Tekiyeh.— Hospital for Poor Pilgrims. — Mosk of
Sultan Selim. — Muhammedan Burj-ing- ground. — Graves of Muhammed's Wives. —
Fatimeh. — The Myrtle and the Palm. — Funeral Mourning.— Mary at the Grave. —
Hired Mourners. — Biblical References to Mourning. — Esau and Job.— David and
Jeremiah.— Floods of Tears. — "Jesus Wept." — Tear Bottles.— Smiting the Thigh.—
El Meidan. — Labyrinth of Crooked Lanes. — Bab es Saghir. — Moslem Funeral Pro-
cession. — "That Eternal Truth and Necessary Fiction." — Ancient Stones in the
City Wall. — Bab Kisan. — Traditional Place of Paul's Escape. — Christian Cemete-
ries. — Spot where Paul was Converted. — Bab esh Shurky. — Extensive View from
the Top of a Mound. — Throwing Dust in the Eyes of European Commissioners. —
Leper Hospital. — House of Naaman the Leper. — Leprosy in Damascus. — Roman
Triple Gate. — Saracenic Tower. — Gates of Damascus. — "The Street called Straight."
— Double Colonnade Described by Dr. Porter. — Christian Quarter. — Armenian Con-
vent. — Syrian and Greek Catholic Churches. — House of Ananias. — The Jews in
Damascus, Ancient and Modern. — The Jewish Synagogue. — Paul Preached in the
Synagogues at Damascus. — The Orthodox Greek Church. — Massacre of the Christians
in i860. — The Moslem Quarter. — Damascus Blades and Damask Silks. — Population
of Damascus. — House of Judas. — Locks and Keys. — Key on the Shoulder. — Locks
and Keys in the Time of David and Solomon. — Suk el 'Attarin. — Attar of Roses. —
Dr. Beke. — Rev. J. Crawford. — Extent of the Damascus Gardens Eastward. — The
Eastern Plain Destitute of Trees. — Licorice Plant. — Villages on the Plain. — The
Barada. — Harran el 'Awamid. — The Southern Lake. — Bedawin. — Columns of Basalt.
— Remains of an Ancient Temple. — Greek Inscription. — The Biblical Haran. — Pur-
suit of Jacob by Laban. — Harran el 'Awamid and Mount Gilead. — Tradition of the
Jews. — Return to Damascus Page 361

DAMASCUS TO EL MUSMEIH.

Damascus the Capital City of Islam. — The Religion Established by Muhammed. — Life
and Character of the Arabian Prophet. — The Caaba. — Khadija. — Muhammcil Asserts
his Prophetic Mission. — El Hegira. — The Crescent and the Star. — Conversion of the
Inhabitants of Yathreb. — Jewish Colonies. — Inconsistencies in the Character of Mu-
hammed Described by Mr. Muir. — "Weeping with them that Wept," yet taking
Pleasure in cruel Assassination and Massacre. — Death of Muhammed in Medina, and
his Burial in the House of 'Ayesha. — El Haram. — "The Illiterate Prophet." — The
Koran Revealed by the Angel Gabriel and Transcribed upon the ShouMer-blades of
Camels and Goats. — Compilation and Revision of the Koran. — Muhammedan Rever-
ence for the Koran. — The Death Penalty. — The Pentateuch, the Psalms, and tiie
Gospels of Jesus. — The Patriarchs Inspired Messengers. — Jesus Mentioned with Re-
spect in the Koran. — Muhammed the Last and Best of God's Prophets. — Moslems
are Unitarians and Fatalists. — Apostasy Imperils Life. — The Attributes of Goil. —
Spiritual Beings. — Worship of Saints. — The Resurrection of the Body. — Judgment
at the Last Day. — Paradise. — Wine Prohibited. — Prayer. — Al)hili()ns. — Friday, the
Assembly. — Alms-giving. — Bread Tlinjwn to Dogs. — Alms Forbidden to Christians

xviil CONTENTS.

and Jews.^Rigid Fast during Ramadan. — Necessary Preparations for a Tour through
Bashan and Gilead. — Pilgrimage to Mecca. — El Haj. — Damascus the Starting-place
of the Syrian Pilgrims. — Emir el Haj. — Departure of the Pilgrims from Damascus.—
The Mahmel. — Escort of Bedavvin Mounted on Camels. — Pilgrims on Camels, Horses,
and Mules. — Return of the Haj from Mecca. — Forlorn and Woe-begone Appearance

of the Pilgrims. — Bab Allah. — "Bab el Maut, the Gate of Death." — Burckhardt.

Pilgrims that now Pass through the Suez Canal. — Mr. Muir's Estimate of the Benefits
Conferred upon the World by Islam. — The Continuation of Derb el Haj. — The Ghu-
tah. — Abulfeda. — One of the Four Paradises of the Earth. — INIoslem Legend. — The
Plain of Damascus Crowded with Villages. — Absence of Important Ruins. — The
Merj. — Jebel el Aswad. — Quarries of Basalt. — The Pharpar. — El Kesweh. — El 'Awaj.
— The Sabirany. — Wady Barbar. — 'Ain Menbej, an Intermitting Fountain. — Roman
Road. — Jebel Mani'a. — Villages. — Jebel esh Sheikh. — Aklim el Bellan. — Kul'at
Jendal. — Ascent of Hermon. — Wady el 'Ajam. — Moslem Villages. — Bedawin and
Kurds. — Cold Winds. — S'as'a. — Ancient Road. — El Kuneitirah. — Paul's Journey to
Damascus. — Juneh. — Deir 'Aly. — Frogs. — Greek Inscriptions. — Leboda. — Marcion. —
The Marcionites. — El Jeidur. — Jetur. — The Hagarites. — The Half Tribe of Manas-
seh. — The Captivity. — Alexander the Great. — Seleucidze. — Iturea. — Aristobulus. —
Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea. — John the Baptist. — El Jaulan. — Golan, a City of Refuge.
— Gaulanites. — Elevated Lava Plateaus. — Wuld 'Aly Bedawin. — No Inhabited Vil-
lages. — Lava Bowlders. — Robbers. — Ruins of Old Towns and Deserted Villages. —
Ez Zughbar. — A World once on Fire. — El Merjany. — Good Water. — Basaltic Soil. —
Burckhardt. — Column of the Morning. — Small Temple. — Subterraneous Aqueduct. —
Private Habitations at El Burak Described by Dr. Porter. — Stone Walls, Doors, Win-
dows, and Roofs. — Stone Gate. — Saltpetre Manufactories. — El Liwa. — Wady Liwa.
— Arabs of the Lejah. — Villages and Towns in Ruins. — Cultivation and Winter Tor-
rents. — Um ez Zeitian. — Druses. — Hid Treasure. — Ard el Bathanyeh. — Batanis. —
M. Waddington. — Inscriptions. — The Ancient Names of Places still Preserved. —
Jebel Hauran. — Ard el Bathanyeh Described by Dr. Porter. — Ibrahim Pasha. — El
Harrah. — Mr. Cyril C. Graham's Adventurous Tour in the Harrah. — A Desert Waste.
— Ancient Wells. — Deserted Places. — Rock Inscriptions. — Himyritic Writing. — Kings
of the Himyri. — Dr. J. G. Wetzstein. — The Safah. — Volcanic Soil. — Arabs of the Le-
jah. — Nomadic Tribes of the Desert. — The Apostle Paul. — Early Christian Churches
East of the Jonlan. — Origin. — "The Region of Argob." — Trachonitis. — Zenodorus.
— Robbers' Caverns. — Caesar, Herod, Philip, Agrippa. — El Lejah, an Asylum. —
Dr. Porter's Description of the Lejah Page 418

XII.

EL MUSMEIH TO EDHRA' AND KUNAWAT.

Howling Jackals and Barking Dogs. — El Musmeih, Phseno. — Rock -cut Road. — Cis-
terns. — Roman Legions. — An Episcopal City. — Temple at el Musmeih. — Shell-
shaped Roof. — Columns with Wreaths or Bands. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and
Lucius Aurelius Verus. — Greek Inscription. — Trachonitis, el Lejah. — Governor's Pal-
ace and Bishop's Residence. — Ruins of Private Houses. — Influence of External Nature

CONTENTS. xix

upon Human Character.— The Border of the Lejah. — Rocky Labyrinths. — Fountains
and Streams. — The Egj'ptian Army driven out of the Lej.ih. — Regular Troops of no
Avail in the Volcanic Clefts and Chasms of the Lejah. — Shaarah. — Tower, Temple,
and Inscription. — Manufacture of Saltpetre. — The Outer and the Inner Lej.ih. — Oozy
Black Mud. — Stream from Tibny. — Scarcity of Water. — "Deceitful Brooks" and Job's
"Miserable Comforters." — The Guides of Ancient and Modern Caravans "Con-
founded and Ashamed." — Personal Experience in the Wilderness of Wandering. —
Deserted Villages and Partially Cultivated Plain. — Es Sunamein, the Two Idols. —
Mecca Pilgrims. — Acre. — Stone Walls, Doors, Windows, and Roofs. — Towers, Tem-
ples, and Inscriptions. — Fortuna, the Goddess of Luck. — Tell Kusweh. — Khub.ib. —
Ox Ploughing and Taxation. — Manufacture of Lava Millstones. — A Century Old. —
Boys' School. — Desire for Education. — Manners and Customs, Dress and Appearance
of the People in the Lejah. — Intemaents in Open Pens of Lava Fragments. — Shuk-
rah. — Muddy Causeway. — Melihat Hazkin. — Ruined and Deserted Towers. — Saints'
Tomb. — Gray Wolf. — Tibny. — A French Monk. — A Mass of Prostrate Buildings. —
Wheat Concealed in Cisterns. — Bedawin Robbers. — Storehouses of Joseph in Egypt.
— Luhf el Lejah. — Plain of the Hauran. — Ruins of Ancient Cities. — Ancient Fire-
proof Houses. — Houses Burned Down on Lebanon. — Healthy Climate and Extensive
Prospects. — El Hauran. — En Nukrah, el Lejah, and el Jebel. — Dr. Eli Smith's List
of Two Hundred and Thirty-nine Sites of Towns and Villages. — Moslems, Druses,
and Christians. — Greeks and Greek Catholics. — Sites of Seventy-five Villages and An-
cient Towns within and around the Lejah. — "Threescore Cities Fenced with High
W^alls." — "The Kingdom of Og in Bashan." — Approach to Edhra' through Lava De-
files and along a Rock-cut Road. — Site of Edhra'. — Exploits of the Hebrews in the
Time of Moses. — M. W'addington. — Edrei. — Zorava. — Der'a. — The Conflict Between
Og, King of Bashan, and the Hebrews. — Edhra' identical with the City mentioned by
Moses. — Extensive Ruins. — Subterranean Residences. — Description of the Stone
Roofs and the Supporting Arches. — Ancient Architects. — Window-shutters and Doors
made of Lava Slabs. — The Church of St. Elias. — Greek Inscriptions. — The Church of
St. George Described by M. Waddington. — Quadrangular Structure Described by
Burckhardt. — Square Tower. — Columns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Ruined Vaults
and Prostrate Columns. — Excursion into the Lejah. — Air-bubbles of Hard Rock. —
Masses of Lava, and Petrified Waves. — Shivered Hills and Funnel-shaped Pits. —
Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Bedawin Shepherds Professional Robbers. — "All
Thieves." — Scarcity of Pasture. — Deterioration of the Lejah. — No Wild .\nimals and
but few Birds. —Reservoirs in Caverns. — Native Traditions. — Few Springs and no
Never-failing Fountains. — Caverns mentioned by Josephus. — Subterranean Dwellings,
Pools of Water and Corn in Granaries. — Herod the Great. — Robbers of Trachonitis
and the Bedawin of the Lejah. — Greek, Cufic, and Nabathean Inscriptions. — M. Wad-
dington. — Harran. — Blood Feuds. — Law of Revenge. — Burckhardt's Visit to Dama. —
Rock-cut Cisterns. — Encampment of Medlej Bedawin. — Tents Concealed in the Crer-
ices and Fissures of the Rocks. — Modern Villages and Ancient Sites. — Remarkable
Preservation of Ruined Towns and Cities. — Pompeii. — Houses Constructed of Imper-
ishable Lava. — Temples and Public Edifices in the Lejah erected before the Christian
Era. — Ruins at Nejran.— Church with Two Towers. — Blood-money. — Terei)inlh-oii

XX CONTENTS.

used instead of Olive-oil. — Disappearance of the old Earthen Lamp. — Petroleum
from Pennsylvania. — "The Smoking Flax and the Bruised Reed." — The Servant of
the Lord. — Fire out of the Heel, and Ink out of the Mouth. — The Stream in Wady
Kunawat. — Shuhba Described by Dr. Porter. — A Roman City. — Streets and Gates,
Temples, Baths, and Public Buildings. — Theatre at Shuhba. — M. Waddington and the
Count De Voglie. — The Emperor Philip. — Philippopolis. — Shuhba and the Shehab
Emirs. — Nur ed Din and Saladin. — The Crusaders. — The Monguls. — The Emir
Beshir. — Muhammed Aly. — Civil Wars and the Massacres of i860. — A Long Pedigree,
from "the Beginning" to the Present Hour. — Temple at Suleim. — Neapolis. — Cav-
ernous Cistern. — Ruins of an Old Town. — The Village School and Native Teacher. —
Desire for Education. — Moments lengthened into Hours. — Proverbial Hospitality. —
Graeco-Roman Population East of the Jordan. — A Succession of Temples and Public
Buildings. — More Greek Inscriptions than in all Syria and Palestine. — Cities of the
Decapolis. — "Jesus went through the Borders of the Decapolis." — Roman Road. —
Oak Woods. — Approach to Kunawat. — River of Kunawat. — Theatre in Wady Kiina-
wat. — Outlook over the Plain of the Hauran to distant Hermon. — Nymphaeum, or
Public Bath. — Round Tower. — Cyclopean Walls. — Oldest Ruins of Kenath. — Main
Street. — Houses with Sculptured Doors. — A Natural Fortification. — The City Wall. —
Paved Area. — Es Serai, or Convent of Job. — Beautiful Door-way. — Sculptured Figures
and Clusters of Grapes. — Colonnades. — Heathen Edifices and Christian Churches. —
Large Vaulted Cisterns. — Roman Prostyle Temple. — Colossal Head in High-relief.
— Heads of Baal and Ashtoreth. — American Palestine Exploration Society. — Worship
of Ashtoreth. — Syria Dea. — Ashtoreth Karnaim. — Peripteral Temple. — Dedicated to
Helios or the Sun. — Biblical History of Kenath. — Jair, Nobah, Gideon. — Josephus
and Herod the Great. — Ptolemy and Pliny. — Eusebius and the Peutinger Table. —
Kunawat the Biblical Kenath or Nobah. — M. W^addington. — Greek Inscriptions. —
King Agrippa. — Statue of Herod the Great.— Si'a. — Streams at Kunawat. — No Water
even for Money. — The Population of the Hauran Increasing. — Primitive School
and Venerable School - master. — Boards instead of Books. — Remarkable Zeal for
Instruction Page 447

XIII.

KUNAWAT TO EL BUSRAH.

CONTENTS. XXI

Shuhite. — Job. — Greek Inscriptions. — M. Waddington. — Soada. — Dionysias. — The
Capital of Jebel ed Druse. — Square Tower. — Roman Road. — An Agricultural Region.
— Megeidel and er Resas. — Nahr *Ary. — Flour-mills. — Kuleib Hauran. — Extinct
Volcano. — Burckhardt.— El 'Afineh. — Hebran. — Ancient Aqueduct. — Roman Road.
— Heavy Rains and Lively Streams. — El Kureiyeh. — Kerioth. — 'Ary, Ariath. — Isma'il
el Atrash. — Burckhardt and Shibly Ibn Hamdan. — Druse Hospitality.— Mujeimir and
Wetr. — Deir Zubeir. — Roman Road. — Roman Bridge. — Mosk of el Mebruk. — El
Koran. — The Instinct of the Camel. — Incident in the Career of Muhammed. — Ruins
at Um el Jemal Described by Dr. Merrill. — Bedawin Encampment. — Hundreds of
Camels. — Heavy Robbery. — The Perpetual Desert. — Scores of Ruined Towns. —
Swallows and Gazelles. — Ruins at Um el Jemal. — City Gate. — Streets and Avenues.
— Private Houses. — Churches and Crosses. — Greek, Latin, and Nabathean Inscrip-
tions. — Ninth Dalmatian Horse. — Vexillarii. — Square Tower. — Uriel, Gabriel, and
Emmanuel. — Genii of the Cardinal Points. — The God Dusares. — Camels laden with
Stones from the Ruins at Um el Jemal. — Deserted for Centuries. — Fragments of
Black Pottery. — Beth-gamul. — Plan of the City of Bozrah. — The Castle. — Ci^>terns. —
Subterranean Vaults. — Theatre within the Castle. — Outlook from the Seats in the
Theatre. — Dr. Porter's Description of the View from the Keep of the Castle. — Roman
Highways. — Towns and Villages on the Plain. — " Without Inhabitant and without
Man." — Corinthian Columns near the Centre of the City. — Colonnade or Temple. —
Ruins of a Bath. — Triumphal Arch. — Julius, Prefect of the Parthian Legion. —
Deserted Bazaar. — The Khalif 'Omar. — Mosk at el Busrah. — House of the Jew. — Col-
umns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Cufic and Arabic Inscriptions. — Convent and
House of Boheira. — Burckhardt's Account of the Monk Boheira. — The Instructor of
Muhammed. — Stifling Sirocco. — Bedawin Shepherds and their Flocks. — Cathedral at
Busrah. — Sergius, Bacchus, and Leontius. — Archbishop Julianus. — Job. — Leper Hos-
pital. — The Emperor Justinian. — Beautiful Cufic Inscription. — Triumphal Arch. —
Palace of the Yellow King. — Bab el Hawa. — Roman Guard-house. — 'Aiyun el Mcrj.
— Temple. — Antonia Fortuna, Wife of Caesar. — Springs and Fountains. — Large
Reservoirs. — Mercantile Caravans. — Masons' Marks. — Aramaic Letters. — History of
el Busrah. — Bozrah of Edom. — El Busaireh. — Tophel. — The Judgments of Jeremiah.
— "The Line of Confusion and the Stones of Emptiness." — Judas Maccabeus slew
all the Males of Bosora. — The City Burned. — Carnaim.— A. Cornelius Palma. — Nova
Trajana Bostra. — A Military Colony.— Roman Higli ways. —The Euiihrales and the
Persian Gulf.— The Bostrian Era.— Philip the Arabian.— Roman Emperor.— Early
Introduction of Christianity into Bozrah. — Origen. — Bishop Beryllus. — Ecclesiastical
Councils held at Bozrah. — Trading Caravans. — Visits of Muhammed to el Busrah. —
Abu Talib. — The Monk Boheira. — Khadija.— Capture of el Busrah by the Moslems.
— Khalid, the Sword of God. — Treachery of Romanus.— Baneful Rule of Isl.im. —
Sulkhad.—Salcah.— Moses, Joshua.— Og reigned in Salcah.— The Castle at Sfilkliad
Described by Dr. Merrill.— The Crater.— Interior of the Castle.— Inscriptions.-
Masons' Marks.— Busts of Animals. — Lions and Palm-tree.— A Frontier Fortress.-
The Ancient Town at Siilkhad.— Druses from the Lebanon.— Siilkhad Visited by Dr.
Porter. — Deserted Houses and Streets. — View from the Castle. — Bashan, Moab,
Arabia. — Thirty Deserted Towns. — "Judgment upon the Plain and the Cities of

XXU CONTENTS.

Moab, far and near." — El Kureiyeh, Kerioth. — Biblical and Secular History of
Kerioth. — Ruins at el Kureiyeh. — Triple Colonnade. — Greek Inscriptions. — Seat of
a Bishop. — Burckhardt. — Dr. Porter. — Isma'il el Atrash. — Druse Families . Page 492

XIV.

EL BUSRAH TO DER'A AND JERASH.

The Country between el Busrah and Jerash. — Plain of el Hauran. — Roman Road. —
Boundary Line between Gilead and Bashan. — Few Villages. — Volcanic Waste. —
Waving Wheat and Barley, — Broken Lava. — Remarkable History of the Hauran. —
Migration of Abraham. — The Region West and East of the Jordan. — A Fierce Race.
— The Rephaims, Zuzims, Emims, Horites. — The Invasions of Chedorlaomer. — March
around the South End of the Dead Sea. — En-misphat. — Amalekites, Amorites. — Defeat
of the Five Kings. — Capture of Sodom. — Lot carried away Captive. — Pursuit of Chedor-
laomer by Abraham. — Night Attack. — Recovery of Lot and Restoration of the other
Captives. — Melchizedek. — Salem, Jerusalem. — A March of about two thousand Miles.
— Arrival of the Hebrews led by Moses. — Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites. — Sihon
and Og. — Reuben, Gad, and the Half Tribe of Manasseh. — Captives in Mesopotamia.
— Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. — Alexander the Great. — The Ptolemies and
the Seleucidse. — The Romans. — Byzantines and Muhammedans. — Illustration of the
Sacred Record by the Physical Features of the Country and the Manners and Customs
of the People. — Ishmael. — The Promise to Hagar wonderfully fulfilled. — Ishmaehtes.
— Muhammedanism. — Ishmael the Ancestor of the Moslems. — Divine Predictions con-
cerning the Descendants of Abraham. — The River Zeidy. — Ghusam. — Central Parts
of Plains destitute of Villages. — Agricultural Hamlets. — Various Native Races. —
Nebaioth, Nabatheans. — Caravan Trade between Arabia, India, and Africa. — Petra,
Sellah. — The Nabatheans unconquered by the Persians, Greeks, or Romans. — Expedi-
tion of yElius Gallus. — Ruin of the Nabatheans by the Abandonment of the Arabian
Caravan Lines. — Aretas. — Paul. — Herod Antipas. — John the Baptist. — The Ghas-
sanide. — Palmyra. — Zenobia. — Indigenous Tribes. — Roman Bridge over the Zeidy. —
Traces of Chariot-wheels. — Et Taiyibeh. — Large Tower. — Um el Meiyadin. — Volcanic
Rock and Cretaceous Limestone. — Hill-sides aglow with red Anemones. — Villages. —
Ghurs. — Camels carrying Wheat to Acre. — Caravan Route. — Company of Ishmaelites.
— Balm of Gilead. — Joseph sold into Egypt. — Fanatical Moslems. — Turkish Firman. —
M. Waddington. — The Capital City of Og. — The Hebrew Invasion and the Conquest
of Bashan. — Edhr'a, Edrei. — Der'a, Adara. — The Onomasticon and the Pentinger
Table. — Eusebius. — Muhammedan Conquest. — Situation of the Ancient Town and the
Modern Village of Der'a. — Extensive Cemetery. — Prospect from Tell Kerak. — El
Jaulan, Lake Huleh, and Mount Hermon. — Tell 'Ashtarah. — Ashteroth Karnaim. —
The principal Divinity of the Phoenicians. — Temple at Carnaim. — The Maccabees. —
Atargatis. — Twenty-five Thousand slain at Carnaim. — Josephus. — The Onomasticon.
— Eusebius. — Dr. Merrill's Description of Tell 'Ashtarah. — A strongly fortified Place.
— Cyclopean Remains. — Massive Entrance. — Timotheus's defeated Army. — Large rock-
cut Reservoir. — Roman Baths. — Aqueduct. — Mosk and square Tower. — Sarcophagus

CONTENTS. xxiii

with Lion's Head. — Church and Monastery. — Remains of an ancient Structure. —
Masons' Marks. — Three Cities, one beneath the other. — Dr. Wetzstein's Subterranean
Residence of Og. — Crusaders at Der'a. — Ragged Arab Tents. — Bedawin, Gypsies, ami
Vagabonds. — Fortune - telling. — Burning Straw. — Romping Children. — Abundant
Harvests. — Blasted Plain. — Luxuriant Grass, waving Wheat, and brilliant Flowers. —
Mountainous and wooded Region. — Cities of the Decapolis. — The Zeidy. — Cxscades
and Rapids. — Country east of the Jordan dotted with Villages, abandoned to the
Bedawin. — Dr. Merrill's Search for the ancient Golan. — Wady or Nahr 'Allan. — Beit
er Ras, Capitolias. — Roman Road. — Ruins of Public Buildings and great Arches. —
Corinthian and Ionic Columns. — Ornamental Work and fine Eagles. — Inscriptions. —
Underground City. — Subterranean Dwellings. — Irbid. — Cyclopean Walls described by
Dr. Merrill. — Substructures of strong Towers. — Arbela. — Beth-arbel. — Eidiin, Dion.
— Haj Road. — Pilgrim Caravan to Mecca. — Burckhardt at Remtheh. — Last inhabited
Village of the Hauran. — Cavernous Habitations at Remtheh. — Dr. Merrill's Experi-
ence at Remtheh. — No W^ater for Ten Hours. — Migration of the Wulid 'Aly. — "One
hundred thousand Camels." — Contrivance for the Comfort of the Sheikhs* Wives. —
The Ship of the Desert. — Bedawin Migrations and Hebrew Invasions. — Distress of
Moab. — Pasture and Provender for the Camels and Caravans of the Bedawin. — Life
of the wandering Ishmaelites. — Contempt for the Fellahin. — The Denizens of the
Desert number Hundreds of Thousands. — Wooded Hills. — Ilawarah. — Beautiful and
Productive Region. — Tell Husn. — Ruined Castle. — Church and Columns. — Rock-cut
Tombs. — El Husn. — No Fountains. — Dry Cisterns. — Greeks, Muhammedans, and
Protestants. — No Distinction in Dress and Manners between the different Sects. —
Freedom of Speech and Action. — Extensive Forest. — Mahnch. — Canon Tristram. —
Biblical References to Mahanaim. — A Levitical City. — The Capital of Ish-boshcth. —
The Refuge of David. — The Chamber over the Gate at Mahanaim. — David's Grief
at the Death of Absalom. — A Station of Solomon's Purveyors. — Josephus. — Site of
Mahanaim described by Modern Writers. — Beisan. — Suggestion of Dr. Porter and
Conclusion of Dr. Merrill. — Jegar-sahadutha and Mizpah. — Galecd or Watch-lower. —
Josephus. — The Land of Gilead. — Covenant between Laban and Jacob. — False Gods
in the Family of Jacob. — The Call of Abraham. — Jacob at Mahanaim. — Jacob hideth
the Strange Gods. — Worship of the True God at Beth-el. — Oppressive Heat. — Birket
ed Deir. — Thousands of Flowers. — Cultivated Region.— Forest of Oak, Pine, Tere-
binth, and Hawthorn. — Urn el Khanzir. — Shepherds, Milk, and fine Flocks. — Ride
through the Forest in the Land of Gilead. — Pine-trees. — Forest Fires.— Wheat
amongst Blackened Stumps.— Wady ed Deir. — Camp amongst Olive-trees.— N'iilage
of es Suf. — Jerash Deserted and Unsafe Page 531

XV.

JERASH TO 'AJLUN, AND ES SALT.

The Sheikh of Suf.— Experience of Canon Tristram and iiis Party.— The 'Adwan levy a
Fine on the Sheikh of Suf.— Remains of Anliciuily at Suf.— Stream in Wady e<l Deir.
— Olive-trees and Woods of Oak and Pine. — Muzar Abu Bekr.— Old Coins for Sale. —

^iv CONTENTS.

Broken Sarcophagi. — Cemetery of Ancient Gerasa. — Entering Jerash through a Breach
in the Wall. — General Survey of the City. — Seil Jerash. ^The Site and the City of
Jerash. — Remains of Private Houses and Public Buildings beyond the City Gate. — The
Triumphal Arch. — The Emperor Trajan. — The Stadium. — Naval Combats. — The City
Gate. — Ruins of a beautiful Temple. — Remains of a large Theatre. — Grand Colonnade
of the Forum. — Fifty-five Columns still standing. — The Main Street lined with Col-
umns. — The Pavement and the Ruts made by Chariot-wheels. — Side Street, Gate in
the West Wall, Bridge across the Stream. — Pedestals for Colossal Statues. — Sections of
the Colonnade along the Main Street. — The Apse of a Beautiful Building. — Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus. — Side Street and Bridge. — The Propylaeum. — Antoninus Pius. —
Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun. — Earthquake Shocks. — Burckhardt. — The City Wall,
small Temple, and Church. — Rows of Prostrate Columns and others still standing with
their Entablatures. — Square Pedestals covered with a low Dome. — Portico of a Theatre.
— Ruined Theatre designed for Gladiatorial Combats. — Northern Gate of the City. —
Guard-house. — Street Pavement. — Groups of Columns with Ionic Capitals. — Ruins of
a Bath with Columns in Front. — Aqueduct. — 'Ain Jerwan. — Original Site of Jerash. —
Great Clumps of Oleander. — Ruins on the Eastern Side of the Stream. — Temple and
Church. — Spring and Aqueduct. — Bridge and Bath. — Jerash a City of Columns. — Not
mentioned in the Bible and almost unknown to History. — Dr. Porter. — Mahanaim. —
Dr. Merrill. — Ramoth-gilead. — Gerasa. — Josephus. — Alexander Jannteus. — A City of
the Decapolis. — Gerasa burnt by the Jews and captured by Vespasian. — Gerasa a
flourishing City for half a Centuiy. — The Seat of a Bishop. — No Trace of Muhammedan
Work or Worship. — William of Tyre. — The Crusaders. — Jerash deserted in the Thit-
teenth Centuiy. — Trading Caravans and Mercantile Stations. — Ezion-geber. — Petra. —
Palmyra. — A Store-city of Solomon. — The Nabatheans. — Superior Skill and Enterprise
of the Greeks and Romans. — Western Civilization and Classic Taste. — The stately
Forum and the luxuriant Bath. — Decline of Commerce and Abandonment of the
Grseco-Roman Cities East of the Jordan. — Prophecy translated into History. — The
Lord's Sacrifice in Bozrah. — Fulfilment of Prophecy. — The Olive Groves of Suf and
the Oak Woods of Jebel 'Ajlun. — Dr. Eli Smith. — Luxuriant Pasture and brilliant
Wild Flowers. — 'Ain Jenneh. — The W^alnut and Olive. — Great Variety of Fruit-trees.
— Large Fountains and Abundance of Water. — Evening Ride through venerable Oak
Forests. — Jebel 'Ajlun. — "The Land of Gilead."— Jacob and Laban. — Mizpah and
Galeed. — Mahanaim. — Shechem and the Damieh Ford. — Wady 'Ajlun and the Jordan
Valley. — A Present of Sheep and Goats, Camels and Cattle for Esau. — Meeting between
Esau and Jacob. — Interview between Joseph and his Brethren. — Peniel. — City and
Tower at Penuel. — Gideon. — Jeroboam built a Palace at Penuel. — Josephus. — Dr.
Merrill locates Penuel at Tellul edh Dhahab. — The Hills of Gold. — Canaan's Ford. —
The Wood of Ephraim. — "A Great Oak" with "Thick Boughs." — The Death of
Absalom and the Biblical Narrative of the Battle. — Kul'at er Rubiid. — Outlook from
the Fortress. — From Hermon to Hebron, and from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea,
while Jordan rolls between. — Famous Historical Events. — From Chedorlaomer to
David. — Elijah and Elisha. — From Judas Maccabeus to Herod the Great. — The Baptist
and the Redeemer. — The Moat and Foundations of Kiil'at er Rubiid. — Indications of
a more ancient Fortress. — The present Castle. — Saladin. — The Crusaders, — Abulfeda.

CONTENTS. XXV

—A singular Transposition of Names.— The Village of 'Ajlun.— Modern Chapel and
Old Mosk. — Unsafe Region between 'Ajliin and es Salt. — Villages on the I'lain of
the Ghor and upon the Hills of Samaria.— Sunken Channel of the Jordan. — Kefronjy.
— The Course of the Jabbok through the Plain to the Jordan.— Dr. Merrill.— Succoth
and Tell Deir 'Alia. — Jacob encamped in Wady Fari'a. — 'Ain Thaluth. — Khirbet
Thaluth. — Indications of former Cultivation. — 'Ain Um el Jalud. — El Khudr, St. George.
— Dibbin, et Tekitty, and Reimun. — Um el Jauzeh. — Limestone Strata. — Dense Oak
Woods. — Kusr Nejdeh. — Captain Warren. — Tropical Climate. — Eruit - trees and
Flowers. — Burmeh. — Olive Groves. — Sandstone Formation. — The Zerka in Spring and
Summer. — Luxuriant Wild Oats and thriving Clover. — Impenetrable Thickets of tall
Oleander. — The Ford of the Christian Woman. — Visit from the Sheikh of a Bedawin'
Encampment. — Bulls of Bashan. — Bedawin Boys and Girls. — Bakhshish. — Gorge of the
Zerka. — El Belka and Jebel 'Ajlun. — Sihon and Og. — The Zerka or Blue River. —
Wooded Heights and Fertile Plain of the Belka. — Waving Wheat and Barley, and
Wild Flowers bright and gay. — Clumps of Oak and Pine trees. — Many Birds and large
Coveys of Partridges. — 'Ain 'Allan. — Green Fig-trees. — Khirbet 'Allan. — SIhan. —
Khirbet ez Zi. — Neby Osh'a. — Pilgrims and Votive Offerings. — Sacrifice and Feast-
ing. — Annual Fair. — Es Salt a Commercial Centre. — The Prophet Hosea. — Elijah
and Joshua. — Outlook from Jebel Osh'a described by Dr. Merrill. — From Mount
Hermon to the Dead Sea. — Jebel Osh'a and Mount Nebo. — The Spot where Moses
stood Page 557

XVI.

ES SALT TO 'AMMAN.

xxvi CONTENTS.

Ruins of the Castle. — "A Lovely Landscape." — Rev. A. E. Northey. — Canon Tris-
tram. — Great Stones. — Colossal Lions. — Ionic Cornices and Egyptian Capitals. — Rock
Dwellings and Stables excavated in the Limestone Cliffs. — Cisterns, Caves, and Up-
right Stones, with Checker Pattern. — Ruins of Public Buildings and Private Dwellings.
— Aqueduct and Large Reservoir. — Fossils and Curious Petrifactions. — Oleanders over
Thirty Feet high. — The Dead Sea. — Wady Sha'ib. — Bedawin Encampments. — The
Stolen Pitchfork and the Christian Guide. — Mukam of Neby Sha'ib. — Votive Offer-
ings. — Resentful Wrath of a Moslem Saint. — Abundance of Water and Luxuriant Vege-
tation. — Golden Daisies and Wild Lupins. — Heavy Crops of Wheat and Barley. —
Flour-mills. — Plain of el Buk'ah. — Favorite Camping -ground of the Bedawin. — El
Buk'ah described by Captain Warren. — Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Khirbet el Basha.
— Khirbet es Safut. — The Gate of 'Amman. — Ard el Hemar. — A Rough and Unculti-
vated Region. — From Kul'at ez Zerka to Yajuz. — Permanent Fountains of the Zerka.
— The Jabbok. — The Strong Border of Ammon. — Kul'at ez Zerka. — The Haj. — En-
campment of Bedawin. — Migration in Search of Pasture. — Bedawin Women moving
Camp. — Biblical References to taking down and setting up Tents and Tabernacles. —
An Uncultivated Region. — Storks and Partridges. — Fine old Oaks. — Extensive Pros-
pect. — Hermon, Sulkhad, and Kuleib Hauran. — Shouting Shepherds and Barking Dogs.
— Bedawin Encampment. — Forests of Oak and Terebinth Trees. — Yajuz. — Exuberant
Pasture. — Fountains and Flocks. — Small Roman Temple. — Great Terebinths. — Large
Stone in the Trunk of a Tree. — Open Enclosures with Massive Walls. — Bedawin Ceme-
tery. — The Grave of Nimr el 'Adwan. — Ruins at Yajuz. — Large Disc or Millstone. —
Extensive Quarries. — Female Statue broken by the 'Adwan. — The Moabite Stone. —
Sculptured Eagles and Lions. — Gadda. — El Jebeiha, Jogbehah. — Outlook over Reu-
ben, Gad, and Manasseh. — Hermon, Jerash, and el Buk'ah. — Ruins buried beneath the
Surface at el Jebeiha. — Highly Cultivated and Densely Populated Region. — Curious
Rock Strata. — Wady el Haddadeh. — Noisy Torrent. — Total Desolation and Utter
Loneliness at 'Amman. — Rabbath Ammon and the Grseco-Roman City of Philadelphia.
— The Site of a Great Capital. — Situation of the City. — Overthrown by Earthquakes.
— Corinthian Temple or Tomb. — Large Caravansaiy, Church, and Mosk. — The Basilica.
— Imposing Structure. — Roman Bridge. — Banks of the Stream lined with Masonry. —
Full of Fish. — Primitive Fishing by the Bedawin. — Ruins of an Old Mill. — The Great
Theatre. — Seats for Eight Thousand Spectators. — The Forum. — Colonnade of over
Fifty Corinthian Columns. — Odeon. — Northern Wall of the City. — Gate-way of the
City. — Remarkable Rock-cut Tomb. — Large Temple. — Main Street lined with Col-
umns. — Ruined Houses upon the Steep Declivity of the Hill. — " The Line of Confu-
sion, and the Stones of Emptiness." — The Citadel-hill. — Square Watch-tower. — Pe-
ripteral Temple within the Citadel. — Greek Inscription in Large Letters. — Beautiful
Church or Mosk within the Citadel described by Canon Tristram and Captain Conder.
— Massive Walls of the Citadel. — Large and Deep Cisterns. — Underground Reservoir.
—Concealed Passage. — Antiochus the Great. — Biblical Interest in Rabbath Ammon. —
The Iron Bedstead of Og. — Captain Conder's Suggestion regarding Og's Throne. — In-
dependence of Rabbath Ammon. — The Siege of Rabbath by Joab. — Duration of the
Siege. — Capture of the City of Waters. — Joab's Message to David. — The Citadel taken
by David. — Remarkable Fulfilment of Prophetic Denunciations. — Droves of Camels,

CONTENTS. xxvii

and Numerous Flocks. — Ammon denounced by the Prophets. — Nothing but Ruins at
Rabbath, and Ammon a Perpetual Desolation. — Ptolemy of Egypt. — Philadelphia men-
tioned by Greek and Roman Writers and Josephus. — The Citadel besieged and Cap-
tured by Antiochus and Herod the Great. — A City of the Decapolis. — Seat of a Bishop.
— Sunday amongst the Ruins at 'Amman. — Reproduction of Patriarchal Times. — The
Solemn Storks. — Three Sabbaths at 'Amman. — Old Woman and her Daughter. —
Grain preserved in the Theatre. — Absence of Trees. — A Plough for Firewood. — Nat-
ural Phenomena. — Disappearance and Re-appearance of the Stream between 'Amman
and Kul'at ez Zerka Page 589

XVII.

'AMMAN TO 'AYUN MUSA.

Noisy Rooks. — Solemn Storks. — Ascent to the Plain south of 'Amman. — No Roads and
no Fences. — The Land of the Ammonites. — Jephlhah's Victorious Campaign. — Aroer
to Minnith. — Tyre supplied with Wheat from Minnith. — No Inhabited Place upon the
Belka. — Abu Nugla. — Excursion to Mushatta. — The sterile Desert. — Luxuriant Wheat.
— Camps of the Beni Sakhr. — Commotion in the Camp. — Uneasy Guides. — Rualla Bed-
awin. — Blood Feud.— Haj Road to Mecca. — Route of the Egyptian Haj.— En Nukhl. —
" The Wilderness of the Wanderings."— Khan MCishalla.— Massive Enclosing Wall de-
fended by Twenty-five Towers.— Octagonal Towers. — The Fa9ade.— Elegant Sculpture,
unparalleled by that of any Age or Nation.— Twenty-two Animals and fifty-five Birds
carved in Stone. — Entrance Gate-way.— The Middle Division of the Enclosure.— Cham-
bers for the Guard and Garrison. — Court.— Triple Gate of the Palace.— Court.— Entrance
Gate-way to the Audience-chamber. — The Audience-chamber. — Side Chambers. — Walls,
Vaults, and Domes constructed of Brick.— Large Size and Extraordinary Number of the
Bricks. — Bedawin Tribal Marks. — Rude Arabic Characters.— Desolate and Lonely Site.
— Material and Workmen transported from a Distance. — The wonderful Palace of Mush-
atta discovered by Canon Tristram.— Mr. James Fergusson.— Chosroes H. — Shahr Barz.
—Dr. Merrill.— Mushatta, a Church and Convent.— Mushatta never finished.— Its Origin
and Purpose unknown.— The Wintering Place.— But little Debris and less Destruction.
—Dread of the Rualla Bedawin.— The Haj Road and the Advance of the Hebrews
along the Eastern Frontiers of Edom and Moab.— Entrance into the Territory of Sihon.
—The Amorites and Moabites.— Reuben and Gad.— The Boundaries of Moab and of
the Amorites.— A rolling Country.— Green Wheat-fields.— Quails and Gazelles.— The
Jackal and the Fox.— Temple and Church at Madcba.— A large Reservoir.— Ziza.—
Tanks and Cisterns. — Ruined Houses.— Remains of Temples and Public Buildings.—
Roman Suburb at Madeba.— Colonnade.— Biblical History of Medeba.— " The Plain
of Medeba."— Great Battle in the Time of David.— Thirty-two thousand Cltariots.—
Joab and Abishai defeat the Amorites and Syrians.— Medeba taken by Sihon.— Capt-
ured and re-captured by the Ammonites and Moabites.— Secular History of Me.leba.—
The Nabatheans.— Slaughter of a Wedding -jjarty near Medelja.— John Maccabeus.-
Hyrcanus I. besieged Medeba.— A History of Conquest, Bloodshed, and Sieges.— Me-
deba the Seat of a Bishop.— The Besom of Destruction.— Devastating Bedawin.—

XXviii CONTENTS.

Traces of old Roads. — Ancient Names of Persons and Places well known by the roam-
ing Denizens of the Desert. — Monuments of Remote Antiquity. — The Dolmens. —
Pillars of Witness and Votive Monuments. — Stone Circles, Menhirs, Disc-stones, and
rock-cut Tombs. — Menhirs alluded to in the Bible. — Disc-stones. — Agricultural Capa-
bility of the Belka. — The Region between Madeba and Abu Nugla. — The Beni Sakhr.
— Thousands of Camels. — The numberless Camels of the Midianites. — Fifty thousand
Camels taken from the Hagarites. — Golden Ear-rings of the Ishmaelites. — The Bed-
awin Lineal Descendants of the Hagarites. — Oi^naments and Garments similar to those
of the Midianites. — The Wheat in the Valleys more luxuriant than on the Plain. —
Cretaceous Limestone Ridges. — A double Supply of Rain-water. — Arabic Proverbs
and Biblical Utterances. — A high Appreciation of Water. — Surprising Number of
Cisterns excavated in the Cretaceous Rock. — The 'Adwan and the Broken Cisterns.^
Extensive View over Ancient Moab. — Kerak. — Dibon. — The Moabite Stone. — King
Mesha. — Two hundred thousand Lambs and Rams. — Baal-meon. — Ruins at Ma'in
described by Canon Tristram. — Beth-meon. — Biblical History of Beth-meon. — One of
the High-places of Baal. — Balak and Balaam. — The Birthplace of Elisha. — Ma'in a
shapeless Mass of Ruins. — Threshing-floors. — Bedawin taking Wheat out of a deep
Cistern. — Grain concealed from hostile Tribes. — Entrance to a deep Pool of Water
reluctantly disclosed. — No Wood to boil the Kettle. — The Zerka Main. — Excursion
to Callirrhoe. — Bedawin Encampment. — Camels and Flocks of Sheep and Goats. —
Fresh Cheese. — " Houses of Hair." — A pretty Pastoral Scene. — A magnificent View
of the Dead Sea. — Changeable Color of the Water. — A hopeless Wilderness. — Tre-
mendous Gorge of the Zerka Ma'in. — Lieutenant Conder's Description of the Gorge
and the Hot Springs of Callirrhoe. — " The Black Grackle." — The Hot Sulphur Springs
of Callirrhoe. — The Stream from the Zerka Main. — Pools full of Fish. — Tunnel
through Tufaceous Sulphur. — A thermal Bath at 140° Fahrenheit. — The Mules found
by Anah in the Wilderness. — Anah discovers Callirrhoe. — Visit of Herod the Great
to Callirrhoe. — Baaras. — Fountains of Hot Water described by Josephus. — Medicinal,
and good for Strengthening the Nerves. — " Mines of Sulphur and Alum." — John the
Baptist beheaded in the Castle of Machserus. — Herod's Supper, and the Dancing of
Herodias's Daughter. — " The Head of John the Baptist in a Charger." — War between
Aretas and Herod. — "The Destruction of Herod's Anny a Punishment from God." —
Vain Attempt to reach the Shore of the Dead Sea from the Sulphur Springs of Callir-
rhoe. — The Ibex. — Stupendous Cliff of Columnar Basalt. — A gigantic Organ. — Kufeir
Abu Bedd. — Disc-stones in Moab. — Mensef Abu Zeid. — Two large Wolves. — Shefa
Neba, the Crest of Nebo. — Sahl Neba. — Jebel Neba, " the Mountain of Nebo." —
Elevated Plateau of the Belka, and great Depression of the Shittim Plain. — Preserva-
tion of ancient Biblical Names. — The unchanged Name of Nebo. — View from Jebel
Neba. — El Muslubiyeh. — The grassy Ravine between Jebel Neba and Jebel Siaghah.
— Ruined Temple on Jebel Siaghah. — The City of Nebo. — View from the Ruins on
Jebel Siaghah. — The Headland or Ras of Siaghah. — "The Mountain of Nebo, and
the Top of Pisgah." — Here Moses must have stood. — The View of the Promised Land.
— The Outlook from Ras Siaghah. — The Names Neba and Siaghah, and Nebo and
Pisgah. — Siaghah an Arabic Form of the Hebrew Pisgah. — Descent to 'Ayun Musa. —
Approach of the Hebrews to the Land of Promise. — " The Mountains of Abarim." —

CONTENTS. xxix

Descent of the Israelites to "the Plains of Moab." — Balak and Balaam. — Balaam's
Sublime Conceptions regarding the God of Israel. — Thrice seven Altars and twice as
many Sacrifices. — Jebel Neba the first Station. — Balaam's Parable. — "The Field of
Zophim." — The Grassy Vale between Jebel Nel)a and Jebel Siaghah. — The Parable
of Balaam. — "The Top of Peor." — The Summit of Siaghah. — Balaam's Parable. —
Wrath of Balak, and Flight of Balaam. — What "the Son of Beor saw and said." —
Balaam an Unprincipled Man. — .Slain in Battle fighting against Israel. — Obstinate
and Puzzling Questions Page 625

XVIII.

THE FOUNTAINS OF MOSES TO THE FORD OF THE JORDAN NEAR

JERICHO.

The Fountains of Moses. — The Stream from the Fountains. — Ashdoth-pisgah. — Tul'at
es Sufa and the Field of Zophim. — Ascent of Nebo. — The Servant of the Lord and
the Land of Promise. — Khurbet Barzeleh. — Grave of Neby 'Abd Allah. — " From the
Ancient Times." — Rude Sketches on the Tomb of a Prophet. — A Sanctuary. — The
Plain of the Belka and the Plains of Moab. — Heshbon. — Fine Pavement. — Singular
Edifice. — Jewish, Roman, and Sai-acenic Architecture. — Cisterns. — Reservoir. — Fish-
pools in Heshbon. — Ruined Cities of Moab. — Prophecy and History. — "The Cry of
Heshbon." — Biblical History of Heshbon. — Captured by Alexander Jannanis. —
Elealeh. — "The Height." — View from el 'Al over the Plain of Moab. — "The Pride
of Moab." — Descent to 'Ain Hesban.— Road to Hesban. — The Turkish Government
and the Survey of Moab. — "The Land of Giants." — Rephaims and Emims. — The
Children of Lot, Moab and Ammon. — The Amorites. — The Hebrews. — The roving
Bedawin. — Ancient Biblical Names remaining Unchanged. — Kubalan el Fadil. — A
Bedawin Sheikh described by Captain Conder. — The Black Tents of an Arab Encamp-
ment. — A Noisy Welcome.— Sheikh 'Ali Diab.— A Patriarchal Scene.— 'Ain Hesban.
— Lujcuriant Wheat and Barley. — Flour-mills. — The Stream from the Fountain. — Fish-
pools. — The Eyes of the Prince's Daughter.— Captain Conder. — "The Gate in Bcth-
rabbim." — Road from 'Ain Hesban to the Jericho Ford.— Canon Tristram.— Northern
and Southern Sides of Wady Hesban. — Circle of Dolmens.— The Region between the
Mountains and the Plain in the Time of the Hebrews and at the Present Day.— View
over the Plain of Abel-shittim. — Valleys and Streams and principal Hills around and
upon the Plain.— Beth- jeshimoth.— The little City Zoar.— Beth- haran. — Herod the
Great and the Warm Baths at Tell el Hammam.— Tell Kefrein, Abel-shittim.— Tell
Nimrtn, Beth- minrah.— Tell el Hammam.— M'hadhar or Um Halhir.— Hubliisa.-
Warm Sulphur Springs, Baths, and .Aqueduct at Tell el Hammam.— Clumps of Scraggy
Trees. —Apple of .Sodom. —Tell Ektanu and Tell er Ramch. — Betharamphtiia.-
Julius or Livias.— The Streams in the Wadies. — Group of Dolmens. — Large Disc-stone.
—"The Dish of Abu Zeid."— Flooded Wheat-fields.— Plain of Abel-shittim and the
Acacia-trees.— Tell Kefrein and Kirjathaim.— Abel-shittim.— Completion of Deuter-
onomy and the Last Address of the Hebrew Law-giver.—" The Favor of Ciod."— The
Spies sent to Jericho.— Deserted Condition of the Plain, and Bustling Activity of the

XXX CONTENTS.

Hebrew Encampment. — The Goodly Tents of Israel. — The Plain of Abel-shittim and
the Camp of the Hebrew Nation. — " From Beth-jesimoth unto Abel-shittim." — Ample
Space for the Tribes to Encamp. — Route of the Israelites from the Red Sea. — Expe-
ditions for the Subjugation of Gilead and Bashan. — " Seeing is Believing." — Testimony
of the Land to the Truth of the Book. — Passage of the Children of Israel into the
Land of Canaan. — High Bluffs on the Banks of the Jordan. — Dividing of the Waters,
and the Passing Over of the People. — The Command of the Lord to Joshua. — Return
of the Waters of the Jordan. — The Camp at Gilgal near Jericho. — Under the Palm
Groves. — "Jerusalem the Mother of us All." — The Land of the Book . . Page 657

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Damascus of Syria— Dimeshk esh Sham Frontispiece

SiDON FROM THE NORTH — SaIDA faces page 5

Druse Princesses from Mount Lebanon ■" 20

Beirut — Berytus — Mount Lebanon — Jebel SCnnIn " 4^

Street of the Auctioneers — Suk ed Dellalin " 74

Syrian Gentlemen of various Sects " 84

Syrian Ladies " SS

The Weir across Nahr el Kei.b " 106

Fountain and Village of el BarCk " 1S2

Zahleh " -""

Casts of Fossil-shells collected on Lebanon " 223

Source of the Adonis— Mugharat 'Afka " 242

The Cedars— El Arz " 264

Tripoli — Tarabulus " 276

Ba'albek and Lebanon " 320

Temple of Jupiter " 33°

Court and Lew an of a Private House in Damascus " 39«

Muhammedan Funeral Procession " 4"4

Palace or Convent of Job— Es Serai ur Deir EvCb " 4S4

Ruined Temples or Public Edifices " 5'^'

Forum at Jerash " 5^'-*

XXXU FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun faces page 568

Octagonal Tower at Mushatta " 632

MAP OF THE LEBANON, CGELESYRIA, ANTI-LEBANON, AND

THE REGION ABOUT DAMASCUS faces page 5

MAP OF THE REGION EAST OF THE JORDAN, OR BASHAN,

GILEAD, AND MOAB between pages 422, 423

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.

PAGE

Boats drawn up on the Beach .... 6

Sidon and its Gardens 7

The Banana — El Mouz { g

The Water-wheel — En Na'urah . . i
The Bostrenus — El Auwaly . . . . lo
Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope —

Dahar June 14

Grave of Lady Hester Stanhope . . .15
Tomb of Jonah — Neby Viinas . ... 18
Tattooed Egyptian Woman . . ■ ( ^^

Specimens of Tattooing ^

The Tamyras — Ed Damur 25

One of St. Helena's Towers near Tyre. 31

Ancient Sarcophagi 32

Olive-branch 36

Old Olive-tree 4°

Ancient Aqueduct over the Beirut River. 50
House-tops, showing Roofs and Ijaltle-

ments . . . . • 53

Terrace covered with \'ines .... 58

The Sparrow 59

The Letter-writer 61

Writing and Writing Material.-, . . .62
Modern Arab Ink-horn . . . .63

The Call to Prayer — El Muezzin ... 64

The Mosk — El Jami'a 65

Moslems at Prayer 66

Tlie Street— Es Siik 70

Shaving the Head 72

l!arber-shop — Auctioneer 73

Sitting at Meat — Party at Dinner . . 76
Stool and Tray — Pitcher and Basin . . 77

Washing the Hands 7^

Pipes, Nargilchs, Coffee-cups, and Tray. 3o
C

PAGE

Head-dress of a Syrian Lady . . . . S7

Assyrian Tablet, with Cuneiform In- ]

• • I

scnption

Egyptian Tablet, with Suppo.sed \ 93

Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics and Figures . . . j

Map of the Grottoes at Nahr cl Kelt) / ^^^

The Screen '

Maxwell's Column ( j^j

The Pantheon '

Chaos 103

Pigeon Island — Er Rousha .... icx)

The Pines— El Hiirsh 112

The Sycamore — El Jimais . . . i ^

Sycamore Figs ^

Seller of Sycamore Fruit 115

.\nglo-American Church 117

The Treading — Ed Uouseh . . . • HQ

The Silk-worm, Cocoon, Butterfly, and

Chr>-salis 124

The Palm— En Nukhl 127

Dates — Thamr I2()

The Carob— Kl Kharnul) 130

Carob Pods— The Husks 131

The Fountain— El "Ain 134

Dur/.y and Durzieh 152

Palace at Bteddin ^h"^

The Palace of Sa'id Beg Jumblal at el

Mukhlarah K'2

Water- fall below jczzin ....

Saint's Tomb — F.l Mukani . . .

The Cedar — El .Arz

Ruined Temple near Kul'al cl Fukra

The Natural Bridge— Jisr el Hajr .

105
170
180
225
228

XXXIV

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.

PAGE

Kul'at el Museilihah 255

An Aged Cedar of Lebanon .... 267

Intermitting Fountain 289

Monument Commemorative of the Chase

— Kamu'a el Hiirmul 307

Figures on the East Side .... 1
Figures on the North Side . . . |- 308
Figures on the West Side . . . . )
Figures on the South Side .... 309
Lake on Lebanon — Birket el Yem-

muneh 314

Plan of the Courts and Temples at

Ba'albek 322

Shell -shaped and Rectangular Niches

and Semicircular Recess around the

Great Court 324

The Six Columns on the South Side of

the Peristyle 326

The Three Great Stones in the West

Wall 327

Portal and Key-stone of the Temple of

Jupiter 331

Interior of the Temple of Jupiter . . 332
The Leaning Column on South Wall of

the Temple 334

Ruins of the Portico of the Temple of

Jupiter 335

The Octagonal Temple 337

The Great Stone in the Quarry . . . 342

Kubbet Diiris 343

Falls of the Barada — The River Abana 349
The Barada and the.Fijeh — The Meet-
ing of the Waters 353

Diamond, Pearl, and Gold Ear-rings —

Diamond Necklace 376

Arch and Pediment of an Ancient Gate-

vfc'ay 378

Church of St. John the Baptist — Jami'a

es Setyed Yehya 380

Tomb of St. John the Baptist — Miikam

es Seiyed Yehya 383

Ornamented Piers and Arches in the

Court of the Great Mosk .... 385

Specimens of Tessellated Pavement . . 389

Specimens of Wood Panel-work . . . 391

Mode of Playing the Kanun . . ■ \ n -,

Mode of Playing the Kamanjeh . . )

Tambourine — Deft } „ „

I 393
Castanets )

PAGE

Derbekkeh 39-^

Inner Court of a House at Salihiyeh . 397
Mosk of Sultan Selim in the Tekiyeh . 400
Women Weeping at the Grave . . . 402
Lachiymatories, or Tear-bottles . . . 404
South Wall of Damascus — Where Paul

was let down 406

The East Gate — Bab esh Shiirky . . 408
"The Street called Straight" . . . 410

Lock and Key 413

Remains of a Temple at Harran el

'Awamid 416

Temple at el Musmeih — Phsena . . . 451

Temple at Suleim 479

Temple at Kunawat 485

Antique Head at Kunawat .... 487
Peripteral Temple at Kiinawat . . . 488

Temple at 'Atil 495

Temple at es Suweideh 499

Church and Convent at Um el Jemal . 509
Theatre within the Castle at el Busrah. 514
Cufic Inscription at el Busrah . . . 520
Reservoir and Ruined Mosk at el Busrah 522

Ruins of el Busrah 525

Castle of Salchah — Kiil'at Siilkhad . . 528

Triumphal Arch at Jerash 561

Temple at Jerash 562

Theatre at Jerash 563

Section of the Colonnade along the

Main Street at Jerash 565

Niches in the Semicircular Recess of

an Elegant Building 566

Propylceum of the Temple of the Sun. 567
Northern Theatre at Jerash . . . .570
Colossal Lions on the Fa9ade of the

Palace of Hyrcanus 598

Rock Chambers and Stables excavated

in the Limestone Cliffs at 'Arak el

Emir 599

Ruined Temple or Tomb 609

Exterior of an Imposing Structure . . 610
Interior of an Imposing Structure . .611
Roman Bridge, and Banks of the Stream 612
Theatre and Odeon at 'Amman . . . 613
Rear Wall of a Large Temple . . .615
Peripteral Temple within the Citadel . 617
Decorated Arches in the Church or

Mosk on the Citadel-hill . . . .618
Khan Mushatta — The Wintering Place. 631

INTRODUCTION.

Palestine, both east and west of the Jordan, may be
fairly regarded as the divinely prepared tablet whereon God's
messages to men have been graven in ever-living characters.
This fact invests even the geography and topography of the
Holy Land with special importance. But there are other
considerations which impart to it a deeper and more prac-
tical interest. From this land we have received that mar-
vellous spiritual and figurative nomenclature of the Bible
through which nearly all true religious knowledge has been
communicated to men. Here it was devised and first used,
and here are found its best illustrations. We learn from
history that it required fifteen centuries of time, and an
endless array of providential arrangements, co - operating
with human and superhuman agents and agencies, to bring
this medium of intercourse between God and man to the
needed perfection.

Numerous and complicated as were the instrumentali-
ties employed, and for so many generations of human his-
tory, still they may be all grouped under two fundamental
expedients —

The selecting, training, and governing of a peculiar peo-
ple ; and,

2 INTRODUCTION,

The creating and preparing an appropriate home for
them.

Abraham and Canaan, the Hebrew Nation and the Land
of Promise, the long ongoing and outworking of the Mosaic
Economy, in conjunction with the people of God and the
physical phenomena of their earthly Inheritance — by and
through all these did the Spirit of Inspiration evolve and
perfect man's religious language. Palestine, fashioned and
furnished by the Creator s hand, was the arena, and the He-
brew people and the surrounding nations were the actors
brought upon it, and made to perform their parts by the
Divine Master. When the end and aim had been reached,
the spiritual and figurative nomenclature fully developed
and matured, the Gospel of Salvation was sent forth on its
high mission of mercy amongst the nations of the earth.

Like other books, the Bible has had a home, a birth-
place ; but, beyond all other examples, this birthplace has
given form and color to its language. The underlying ba-
sis of this wonderful dialect of the kingdom of heaven is
found in the land itself. But as in the resurrection " that
was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural ;
and afterward that which is spiritual," so man's religious
language was preceded by and grew out of the natural
and the mundane. The material out of which was formed
our spiritual dialect was of the earth earthy, requiring to
be transformed and transfigured ere it could become a fit
medium for things heavenly.

To study to the best advantage the transfiguration of
that language, we must resort to Palestine, where it was first
learned and spoken. That land, we repeat, has had an all-
pervading influence upon the costume and character of the
Bible. Without the former, the latter, as we now have it,
could not have been produced. To ascertain this fact, and

INTRODl'CTIOX. ^

to notice by what process of analogy and of contrast the
physical and the nunidane came to signify and illustrate
things spiritual and heavenly, may well occupy much of our
attention during this pilgrimage through the Holy Land.

Let us, therefore, deal reverently with it, walk softly over
those acres once trodden by patriarchs, prophets, and poets,
and even by the sacred feet of the Son of Ciod himself.
Let us put off the soiled sandal of worldliness and sin as
we enter this consecrated domain. There is design in this
peculiar grouping of mountains and plains, hills and valleys,
lakes and rivers, the desert and the sea, all in intimate as-
sociation with the marvellous and miraculous incidents and
phenomena recorded in the Bible.

The Land and the Book constitute the all-perfect text
of the Word of God, and can be best studied together. To
read the one by the light of the other has been the privilege
of the author for more than forty years, and the govern-
ing purpose in publishing is to furnish additional facilities
for this delightful study to those who have not been thus
exceptionally favored.

The sites and scenes described in the work were visited
many times during the author's long residence in the coun-
try ; and the results, so far as they bear on Biblical illustra-
tion, appear in the current narrative. The conversations are
held by the way-side, on horseback, in the open country, or
in the tent, and the reader is at liberty to regard himselt
as the authors travelling companion, in full sympathy with
the purpose and aim of this pilgrimage through the Holy
Land.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

SIDON TO BEIRUT.

Sidon from the North. — Ancient Wall. — Boats drawn up on the Shore. — The Gardens of
Sidon. — The Banana-tree. — Na'urah, or Water-wheel. — The Aqueduct. — El Auwaly,
the Bostrenus. — The Bridge. — Bridges not Mentioned in the Bible. — Bridges in the
Time of the Romans. — The Khan. — Migration of an Arab Tribe. — A Winter Storm.
— An Officer of Sa'id Beg. — Personal Experience. — A Bridal-party. — The Road from
Sidon to Beiriit. — Dahar June, the Residence of Lady Hester Stanhope. — The Burial
of Lady Hester. — Eccentricities of Lady Hester. — Neby Yunas, Tomb of Jonah. — The
Mother of Samuel. — " Horned Ladies." — Biblical Allusions to Horns. — The Story of
Jonah and the Whale. — Berja. — El Jiyeh, Porphyreon. — Arabs at a Well. — Tattooing.
— The Hebrews Forbidden to print Marks upon themselves. — Along the Sandy Beach,
and over the Rocky Headlands. — Nukkar es Sa'diat. — Defeat of Ptolemy's Army by
Antiochus. — The Shepherd and the Sheep. — Ed Damur, the Tamyras. — The Mulberry
Gardens of Mu'allakah. — Sugar and the Sugar-cane. — The Sweet Cane of the Bible. —
"The Burnings of Lime." — Lime Mentioned Twice in the Bible. — El Bcll.in, Thorn
Bush. — Biblical Allusions to Thorns. — Raw or Burnt. — Pots and Plots. — " The Crack-
ling of Thorns under a Pot." — Khan Khulda, Heldua. — Ghiifr en Na'imeh. — One of
St. Helena's Towers. — Broken Sarcophagi. — Esh Shuweifat. — Olive-grove. — Beauty
of the Olive-tree. — " Oil out of the Flinty Rock." — Oil-presses. — Grafting. — " A Wild
Olive-tree." — The Flower of the Olive. — " The Labor of the Olive." — " The Shaking
of an Olive-tree." — The Gleaning of the Olive. — "Thy Children shall be like Olive-
plants round about thy Table." — Dukkan el Kusis. — "A Sea of Sand." — El Ghiidir.
— El Kalabat. — Ibrahim Pasha and the Emir of Shuweifat. — The Goodly Lebanon. —
Picturesque Villages. — The Pines. — Arrival at Beirut.

May 27th.
To one riding along the sandy beach, and approaching Sidon
from the north, the appearance of the city i.s quite impo.sing.
About a quarter of a mile out to sea, and itself not nuich more
than tliat in length, lies the Jezireh — a low, rocky island, in the lee
of which ships and large coasting craft cast anchor. Nearer the
A

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

BOATS DRAWN UP ON THE BEACH.

shore is the sea cas-

tle and its bridge of many
arches connecting it with the
city, which is built upon a
promontory that rises gradually southward to the old land castle
of St. Louis, which is nearly two hundred feet above the level of
the sea. The city itself is seen to the best advantage, however,
from the villages on the foot-hills east of the gardens, from where
nearly every house is visible.

Before we turn up to the right, among the gardens, I call your
attention to the remains of that ancient wall, and to this sheltered
beach, upon which some sailors are repairing their " ships." When
the stormy season commences this space will be crowded with
Sidon's dismantled fleet. It is the invariable custom to lay up
those frail craft for the winter, and that has always been the prac-
tice along this coast, I suppose. The Phoenicians rarely had har-
bors where ships could ride in safety during the storms of winter,
and hence they drew them up on shore. They could thus dispense
with harbors, and could and did build towns along the coast, wher-
ever there was a bit of sandy beach large enough for their vessels.
When the spring opened they probably did just what these modern

SIDON AND ITS GARDENS. 7

mariners now do — re-pitched, launched, and rigged up their ships,
and prosecuted their business until the next winter, when they
again dismantled and hauled them on shore. The Greeks did the
same even with their war-ships, and Homer's heroes built a forti-
fication around their navy to protect it from the Trojans ; and, in-
deed, Sidonian ships were there to aid the beleaguered city of Troy.

Instead of following the ordinary route along the shore to. the
mouth of the Auwaly, we will pass through the gardens to the
bridge over that river. The ride is much pleasanter, and you will
get a better idea of the extent and character of these celebrated
gardens — the glory of Sidon, and the source of much of the wealth
and prosperity of its present inhabitants.

We have seen nothing like them in this country except at Jaffa,
and in many respects these are more beautiful and larger. Can

SIDON AND ns CM

8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

anything of the kind be richer or more delightful than those orange
and lemon trees, loaded with golden fruit, single or in compact clus-
ters, decked with leaves of liveliest green, and spangled all over with
snow-white flowers of sweetest fragrance ? With distance to lend
enchantment, Sidon's fair daughters gliding through these verdant

EL MOUZ — THE BANANA.
EN NA'URAH — THE WATER-WHEEL.

bowers might pass for
"ladies of the Hesperides," as
Milton has it, set to watch
those golden apples. Then these banana- trees, with their large
bunches of green and ripe fruit, and their extraordinary leaves, a
dozen feet long, and drooping like great pendent ears, are exceed-
ingly picturesque.

Commerce has made all the world familiar with the fruit of that

tree, but as it cannot endure the frost it is never seen in northern

countries. Here there are thousands of them, and Sidon is justly

celebrated for the quality as well as the quantity of its bananas.

The na'urah, or water-wheel, with its ropes of twisted myrtle

THE AQUEDUCT.— BRIDGE OVER THE AUWAl.V. 9

branches, its dripping buckets, its groaning well -sweep — to which
a mule or a camel is harnessed — and its birkch, or reservoir, into
which the water raised from the well falls with monotonous splash,
is almost exactly like those we saw at Jaffa.

To these gardens the inhabitants of Sidon come, and around
those birkehs they sit and "kaiyef" — eat, drink, smoke, and make-
merry — especially in the spring and early summer, when the lettuce
is fresh and crisp, or the apricots ripe and luscious.

When I resided in Sidon, many years ago, one of my favorite
walks was along the aqueduct which brings the water from the Au-
waly through the gardens and into the city. All this wilderness of
fadeless verdure, this paradise of fruits and flowers, derives its life
from that aqueduct; and from the many shallow wells which the
gardeners dig. The aqueduct not being kept in good repair, a part
of the city is deprived of any benefit from it, and a large quantity
of water runs to waste in the gardens, and along the road, as we
have found to our annoyance during most of this ride.

Here we are at Jisr el Auwaly, as this picturesque bridge is
called. It is a fine stone structure, spanning the river by a single
arch, and is said to have been built, more than two hundred and
fifty years ago, by an Italian architect in the employ of the Emir
Fakhr ed Din, concerning whom we shall have more to say when
we visit the region of that chief's exploits on Lebanon. The
bridge occupies the site of one more ancient, erected by the Ro-
mans, or the Phoenicians, whose builders have left the marks of
their handiwork on some of the large bevelled stones in the foun-
dation. The Auwaly has been identified by Dr. Robinson with the
Bostrenus of the ancient geographers, " described by Dionysius Vc-
riegetes as the 'graceful' river upon whose waters 'flowery' Sidon
was situated, though it is actually two miles south of it."

How quietly the river glides, between these green and bushy
banks, towards the sea! Is it so deep as to require a bridge?

Only during the stormy season in winter; but, as often happens

to many other streams along this coast, the waves of the sea dam

up their mouths, especially in the summer and autumn, when the

current is too feeble to keep the channel open, and the ford is

thus rendered almost impracticable.
A*

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Is it not surprising that bridges are not once mentioned in the
Bible, not even in the New Testament, at which time there were at
least Roman bridges in many parts of this country?

The Hebrews do not appear to have understood the art of
bridge making. When they were commanded by Joshua " to pass

EL AUWALY — THE BOSTRENUS.

over Jordan," a way was miraculously opened for them — " the wa-
ters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap,
and those that came down toward the sea, even the salt sea, failed
and were cut off: and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground." '
And so late as the reign of David, when he returned from Maha-

' Josh. iii. l6, 17.

BRIDGES.— OLD KHAX.— MIGRATION OF AN ARAB TRIBE. n

naim to the Jordan, "there went over a ferr>' boat to carry over the
king's household," which implies that there were then no bridges,
and that the main body of his army forded the river.'

The Romans were the great bridge builders, and it was not
till after the conquest of the country by them that bridges were
erected. Not long before the birth of Christ, Herod the Great
must have thrown across the Tyropoeon that stupendous bridge,
now familiarly known as " Robinson's Arch ;" and farther up the
valley the grand viaduct, "Wilson's Arch," was probably built
about the same time, and by the same architects. Herod was a
great builder of castles, temples, theatres, and other public edi-
fices, and he, perhaps, constructed or repaired some of the bridges
over the Jordan, whose ruins indicate a Roman origin.

I have passed more than one night at this old khan on our left,
and the sight of it revives the memory of other days, and of curious
personal experiences. On my way from Beirut to Hasbeiya, many
years ago, I arrived at this place about sunset. It was the 3d of
December, and a winter-storm was coming on in all its might and
majesty. Lightnings blazed along the mountain -tops, and loud
thunder echoed through the wadys of the upper Auwaly. As
evening deepened into night the wind began to moan amongst
the rocks and trees, and volumes of black vapor, rolling in from
the sea, settled on the heights of Lebanon like "a horror of
great darkness." The long-expected and much-desired rains had
commenced, and we were glad to take shelter in that dismal khan.

When the day dawned, for want of other amusement, I watched
the migration of a tribe of Arabs which had been cncampctl on
the mountains. They were evidently fleeing from some api)re-
hended danger. Ragged boys and girls urged forward droves of
cattle, as lean as Pharaoh's types of the seven years of famine;
men, riding lank and shaggy mares, hurried onward the slow-paced
camels, loaded with tents and the multifarious furniture of their
camp; women staggered along with small children on their backs;
old people were strapped fast on the loads; and the little babes up
there, too, took the pelting rain as merrily as unfledged (lucl<liiigs.
Last of all came large flocks of sheep and goats, with their surly

' 2 Sam. xi.\. 18.

12 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

canine guards and insolent shepherds. Over the bridge rushed the
whole caravan, as if the avenger of blood was behind them.

A circumstance which occurred the evening before explained
the reason of that hasty migration. The chief of a troop of
horsemen, a few miles back, had called on me and inquired if my
companion could read Arabic, handing to him a letter which con-
tained an order frojn Sa'id Beg to capture all the men of a particu-
lar Arab encampment, as they were accused of robbing the house
of a Maronite priest. The Arabs, however, had got the start of the
officer, and by sunrise were on the south side of the Auwaly, and
within the jurisdiction of the Governor of Sidon. I was amused at
the way in which my companion reproved the sheikh, and, by im-
plication, his master. It was thoroughly Arabic. "Why," said he,
" can't the keeper of this khan read ? No ! Well, that's a pity. It
would be better if every khanjy could read, and then it would not
be necessary for an officer of Sa'id Beg to show his letters to any
chance traveller that comes along. They might contain things
which ought not to be published. I would advise the Beg not to
rent any of these khans to one who can't read." " Why," said I,
" not tell the officer himself that it was a shame for one in his sta-
tion not to know how to read ?" " What ! and insult the officer of
Sa'id Beg? Of course, that is what I meant, and he understood it;
but it would never do to say all that to his beard."

Though it rained hard, I pursued my journey to Hasbeiya, for
I had no desire to repeat the experiment of the past night in that
way-side inn. Our host, with his cats and kittens, his barley and
straw, bread and olives, leben and oil, and every other article of his
trade, shared with us, and our saddles, baggage, and beds, this one
low, dark vault. A few burning brands, or brands that would not
burn, enabled us, with a great deal of persuasion, to boil a little wa-
ter for tea, with no more serious penalty than that of being nearly
blinded by a cloud of pungent smoke. The privacy of our apart-
ment was farther invaded by a native bridal-party, who appeared
determined, bride and all, to share with us the privileges of our
smoky vault. They kept up a violent row with our host until a
late hour, when, buying a few piastres' worth of bread, they kin-
dled a fire in that field on the other side of the road, and, huddling

SIDON TO BEIRUT.— LADV HESTER STANHOPE'S RESIDENCE. 1 3

round it, kept up a dismal concert, singing, shouting, and clapping
hands, until morning, when, cold, wet, and woe-begone, they set off
to find the bishop, not, as it appeared, to be married, but to get
unmarried. The young lady had been betrothed, nolens volens, to
a man she did not like, and was now, with her friends, going to get
his lordship to cancel the espousals.

It is about twenty-seven miles from Sidon to Beirut, and, owing
to the character of the road, it will take nearly eight hours of weary
plodding to accomplish that distance. The ride is one of the least
interesting and most tedious in the country. The traveller winds
along the beach with the noisy surf dashing over the horses' feet
and his own, to the discomfort of both ; or he flounders over rocky
headlands, or wades through leagues of deep sand. And to pass
from one to another of these annoyances in tiresome succession is
the wayfarer's only relief. The sea never wearies, and with a mo-
notony that varies not wave chases wave towards the shore ; then
hesitates, raises its crest and plunges forward,, striking the shore
with a heavy thud, and sending the quivering, feathery foam far up
the sandy beach. In the clear light of a midsummer moon this
ride is not without its charms; but even then utter solitude sad-
dens, ceaseless repetition wearies, and one rejoices to escape from
the deafening "plunge of the implacable sea" into the narrow
alleys and sombre pine groves in the suburbs of Beirut.

The residence of Lady Hester Stanhope was somewhere on
these mountains, above our road, was it not?

A ride of two hours to the north-east would bring us to Dahar
June, a high conical mount, on whose breezy summit her ladyship
lived ; and there she died and was buried.

It would have been an interesting episode in our day's travel to
have seen the place of her residence and to have visited her tomb.

The history of that place is peculiar. It belonged to a wealthy
Christian of Damascus, who built the original hou.se, to which Lady
Hester added some twenty-five or thirty rooms. At his death, soon
after that of Lady Hester, the property was left to an only son, who
quickly dissipated it. He then turned Moslem, ami finally hung
himself in a neighboring house. His Moslem wife, fearing that the
Christians would one day deprive her of the pl,ui\ tore down the

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

buildings, and sold the material to the people of June. Thus the
destruction has been intentional, rapid, and complete.

A melancholy change has come over the scene since I first vis-
ited it. The garden, with its choice flowers, its shaded walks, and

imi

DAHAR JUNE — RESIDENCE OF
LADY HESTER STANHOPE.

trellised arbors, is utterly
and not one room of all
[ester's large establishment re-
ire. The tomb also is sadly
changed. It w^as then embowered in
dense shrubbery, and covered with an
arbor of running roses, not a vestige
of which now remains, and the stones of the vault itself are broken
and displaced. There is no inscription — not a word in any lan-
guage — and unless some measures are adopted for its protection
the last resting-place of her ladyship will soon be entirely lost.
The British consul at Beirut requested me to perform the reli-

BURIAL OF LADY HESTER STANHOPE.

gious services at the burial of Lady Hester. It was an intensely
hot Sabbath in June, 1839. ^Ve started on our melancholy errand
at one o'clock, and reached the place about midnight. After a
brief examination, the consul decided that the funeral should take
place at once. The vault in the garden was hastily opened, and
the bones of a French general \vho died there, and was buried by
her ladyship in the vault, were taken out and placed at its head.

The body, in a plain deal box, was carried by the .servants to
the grave, followed by a mixed company, with torches and lanterns,
to enable them to thread their way through the winding alleys of

GRAVE OF LADY HKSTER STANHOPE.

the garden. I took a wTong path, and wandered some time in the
mazes of those labyrinths. When at length I entered the arbor
the first thing I saw w^ere the bones of the general, in a ghastly
heap, with the head on the top, having a lighted taper in either
eye-socket — a hideous spectacle. It was difificult to proceed with
the service under such circumstances. The consul afterwards re-
marked that there were some curious coincidences between that
and the burial of Sir John Moore, her ladyship's early love. In si-
lence, on the lone mountain at midnight, " our lanterns dimly burn-
ing," with the flag of her country around her, she " lay like a war-
rior taking his rest," and we left her alone in her glory. There was
but one of her own nation present, and his name was Moore.

The morning after the funeral the consul and I went round the

l6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

premises, and examined thirty- five rooms, which had been sealed
up by the vice-consul of Sidon to prevent robbery. One had forty
or fifty oil-jars of French manufacture, old, empty, and dusty. An-
other was filled with Arab saddles, moth-eaten, tattered, and torn.
They had belonged to her mounted guard. Superannuated pipe-
stems without bowls were in one room. Two more rooms were
devoted to medicines ; and one to books and papers, mostly in
boxes and ancient chests. Nothing of much value was found any-
where, and the seals were replaced, to await legal action. The
crowd of servants and greedy retainers had appropriated to them-
selves her most valuable effects.

She told an acquaintance that once, when she was supposed to
be dying of the plague, she could hear the servants breaking open
chests, and ripping off the embroidered covers of cushions. " Oh !
didn't I vow," said she, " that if I recovered I would make a scat-
tering among them !" and she performed her vow. But each suc-
ceeding set, like the flies in the fable of the fox, were as greedy as
their predecessors; and when she died nothing valuable escaped
their rapacity. What a death ! Without a European attendant —
without a friend — alone, on the top of a bleak mountain, her lamp
of life grew dimmer and dimmer, until it went quite out in rayless
night. Such was the end of the once gay and brilliant niece of Pitt,
presiding in the saloons of the master-spirit of Europe, and familiar
with the intrigues of kings and cabinets.

On most subjects Lady Hester was not merely sane, but well-
informed and extremely shrewd. She possessed great powers of
conversation, and was quite fascinating when she chose to make
herself agreeable. With Mr. Abbott, then the British consul, and
his lady she would sit talking long into the night over the stir-
ring times of the last century and those bf the present with inex-
haustless spirit and keen delight. But nothing could tempt her
back to England. At length her income was greatly reduced by
cancelling numerous debts. But she was unsubdued ; and alone in
her mountain retreat she spent the remnant of her days in haughty
pride and stubborn independence.

She was wholly unique. Bold as a lion, she wore the costume of
an emir, weapons, pipe, and all ; nor did she fail to rule her servants

ECCENTRICITIES OF LADV HESTER STANHOPE. 1 7

and her Albanian guards with absolute authority. Now ridini:^ at
the head of the Bedawin Arabs, queen of the desert, on a visit to
Palmyra; now intriguing with venal pashas and cunning emirs; at
one time treating with contempt nobles, generals, and consuls, bid-
ding defiance to law, and thrashing the officers sent to her lodge ;
at another eluding or confounding her creditors ; to-day charitable
and kind to the poor, to-morrow oppressive, selfish, and tyrannical
in the extreme. She kept spies in the principal cities and at the
residences of pashas and emirs, and knew all that was going on in
the country. Her garden of several acres was walled round like a
fort ; and crowning the top of the conical hill, with deep wadys on
all sides, its appearance from a distance was quite imposing. But
the site was badly chosen ; the water was distant, far below, and
had to be carried up on mules. She, however, had the English
taste for beautiful grounds, and spared neither time, labor, nor ex-
pense to convert that barren hill into a maze of shady avenues and
a paradise of sweet flowers.

There was no limit to her eccentricities. In some things she
was a devout believer — an unbeliever in many. She read the stars,
and calculated nativities and claimed the gift of second -sight, by
which she pretended to foretell coming events. She practised al-
chemy, and in pursuit of that vain science was often closeted with
strange companions. She had a mare whose backbone sank sud-
denly down at the shoulders and rose abruptly near the haunches.
That deformity her vivid imagination converted into a miraculous
saddle, on which she was to ride into Jerusalem as queen by the
side of some Messiah, who was to introduce a fancied millennium.
Another mare had a part to play in that august pageant, and both
were tended with extraordinary care. A lamp was kept burning
in their comfortable stables, and they were served with sherbet and
other delicacies. Nothing about the premises .so excited my com-
passion as those poor pampered animals, upon which I.ady Hester
had lavished her affection for the last fourteen years. They were
soon after sold at auction, when hard work and low living quickly
terminated their miserable existence.

Lady Hester was a doctor, and most positive in her prescrip-
tions to herself, her servants, her horses, and even to her chickens.

l8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and often did serious mischief to all her patients. She had many
whimsical tests of character both for man and beast, and, of course,
was often deceived by both to her cost. She could be extremely
sarcastic, and the margins of some books which I purchased at the
auction were " illuminated " with her caustic criticisms.

Such was Lady Hester in her mountain retreat on Lebanon.
Alas! she must have drained to the dregs many a bitter cup. Her
sturdy spirit there fought out alone a thousand desperate battles,
and lost them all. Let those who are tempted to revolt against
society, and war with nature, God, and man, come to Dahar June —
sit and moralize on the fragments of that broken tomb, amidst ruins
without beauty to charm, or age to make venerable — itself a ruin of
yesterday, and fast sinking into oblivion. Will such a melancholy
end compensate for such an erratic life ?

What is that low building on our right, which we are now
passing, with its white dome and tall cypress-tree ?

NEBY YOnAS — TOMB OF JONAH.

NEBY YUNAS.— vows.— " HORNED LADIES." IQ

Neby Yunas, one of the many shrines dedicated to the prophet
Jonah. The mukam en Neby, sanctuary of the prophet, is in that
room with the white dome over it. The arched buildinsj; nortli of it
is an ordinary way-side inn, so numerous along this coast, having a
covered portico in front, back of which are rooms for nati\e tra\el-
lers, and stables for their animals. In former times Neby Yunas
was much frequented by ^Moslems, and Druses from the mountains,
especially by Druse sittat, or princesses, who came with their sor-
rows, their prayers, and their vows, for the same blessing which
the mother of Samuel sought " in bitterness of soul " to obtain at
Shiloh.' The vows of some are made in times of sickness, either
of their friends or themselves, and they come here from all parts
of the country to fulfil them upon their recovery.

I have repeatedly pitched my tent on the smooth sandy terrace
east of that mukam, and have seen more than one group of "horned
ladies" resort to the shrine of the prophet to obtain the interces-
sion of the Neby in their behalf, and to fulfil vows which they had
made. But such companies are rarely seen now ; the progress of
civilization, and the general spread of education in this country,
have robbed the prophet of much of his prestige and patronage,
and his shrine is now almost deserted.

Do you imagine that such horns have any connection with
those so often alluded to in the Bible?

No. These tanturs grew, like other horns, from small begin-
nings and by slow degrees, and pride nourished them. At first
they were merely designed to finish off the head-dress, so as to raise
the veil a little from the face. Specimens of that primitive kind
arc still found in remote and semi-civilized districts. I have seen
them only a few inches long, made even of common pottery. B>-
degrees the more fashionable ladies used tin, and lengthened them :
then rivalry made them of silver, and still farther prolonged and or-
namented them; until finally the princesses of Lebanon antl llcr-
mon wore horns of silver and gold, decked with jewels, and .so long
—some nearly eighteen inches— that a servant had to spread the
veil over them. But the day for those most preposterous appeiul-
ages to the female head has passed away. After the wars between

' I .Sam. i. lo, ii.

20 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the Maronites and Druses in 1841 and 1845, the Maronite clergy-
thundered their excommunications against them, and very few
Christians now wear them. Even the Druse women have cast
them off, and the "horn," or tantur, has entirely disappeared from
the land, and given place to modern fashions, more convenient,
perhaps, though far less picturesque.

I do not suppose that horns like these were worn by the Jews,
nor, indeed, by any nation of such antiquity. So remarkable an
article of dress, had it been in existence, would certainly have been
noticed by authors who enter so minutely into such matters as
many did. The horns of animals, where the Creator alone planted
them, were their weapons of defence ; and man, who lays all nature
under tribute to enrich his store of images and figures, very early
made them synonymous with power, and then for what that will
always confer upon the possessor. To exalt the- horn, an expres-
sion often occurring in the poetic and prophetic parts of the Bible,
means to advance in power, honor, and dominion. To defile it in
the dust is a figure drawn from the condition of a dying ox or stag,
who literally defiles his horn in dust, mingled with his own blood.
It is painfully significant of defeat, disgrace, and death, and for a
prince like Job it was to be dishonored and utterly overthrown.'

It is not certainly known why the corners of altars were finished
off like horns. Several purposes may have been attained by that
custom. Such horns were probably intended to symbolize the ma-
jesty and power of the being in whose honor the altar was reared,
and to whom the sacrifice was offered ; or the design may have
been suggested by the horns of the victims to be slain. As altars
early became sanctuaries, it was natural that the suppliant should
lay hold of the horns. In fact, there was often nothing else about
them which he could grasp with his hand. That natural, signifi-
cant, and very expressive act is often mentioned in the Bible.

The custom of making vows seems to have been prevalent in
this country from the earliest times. Thus the devout Psalmist
says : " I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my
mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.'" This he repeats in
the one hundred and sixteenth Psalm, with the addition that he

' Job xvi. 15. - Psa. Ixvi. 13, 14.

vows ANCIENT AND MODERN. 2 1

would do SO " in the presence of all his people," and, also, that he
would offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving *' in the courts of the
Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem." *

Yes, and long before the time of the Psalmist, Jacob vowed a
vow at Bethel, as you remember, which reads very like one of those
carefully conditioned contracts, in the drawing up of which his de-
scendants have always been so celebrated. Doubtless the custom
was far older than the time of Jacob, and it was continued down to
that of Paul, who shaved his "head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow,"
which necessitated the most disastrous journey he ever made ; en-
snared him into an ostensible compliance with abrogated rights, dif-
ficult to justify; depriving him of liberty; nearly cost him his life,
and ultimately sent him, through storm and shipwreck, a prisoner in
chains to Rome, there to die. There can be no objection to vows,
when made to the proper person, for things lawful and right, and
faithfully performed. But few of the vows in this country con-
form to the conditions above stated. They are not made directh-
to God, but to saints or to their shrines.

That is true of every Christian sect in the land ; and, what is
very surprising, many non-Christians make vows and pilgrimages to
Christian shrines. The large convent of Mar Jirjis el Humcira. St.
George, near Kul'at el Husn, is largely enriched by the vows of the
semi -pagan Nusairiyeh. The Druses, also, who are half atheists,
still pay their vows at the shrines of reputed saints, as we have just
seen at Neby Yunas. I once saw a large gathering of Bedawin
Arabs at Neby Safy, south-east of Sidon, slaughtering victims and
performing vows which they had made while in the desert east of
the Jordan. In every case such vows are not to God, but to de-
parted beings, real or fictitious, whose spirits are supposed to fre-
quent certain consecrated shrines. This at once draws a broad line
of distinction between vows made by the natives of this country
at the present day and those which were sanctioned by Moses,
and practised by the people of God in ancient times.

How do you suppose that the name and the story of Jonah
came to be attached to this locality?

It is possible that in some former age a wh.ile was driven ashore

' Psa. cxvi. l8, 19.

22 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

during one of the wild storms which prevail along this coast in win-
ter, as happened quite recently not far from Tyre, and something
in the attending circumstances may hav^e suggested the experience
of that prophet to the people in the neighborhood. Superstition
would speedily render the site sacred, and in due time a shrine
would be erected to confirm the faith of those who resorted to it.
There are many mukams with white -domed vaults all over this
Eastern land whose origin is shrouded in equal uncertainty. Not
a few of them are evidently ancient ; but when and through w^hat
means they were established is now unknown.

This part of the coast seems to be entirely deserted ; there is
not a human habitation in sight.

On the narrow plain east of the khan there are a few^ houses,
and upon the hills above are several villages. One called Berja is
celebrated for the sweetest and purest olive -oil in this region — a
fact of much importance to the Greeks and Maronites, who are
restricted to the use of oil in cooking during their stringent fasts.

In the Jerusalem Itinerary, Porphyreon is located in this neigh-
borhood, and the sand hillocks that extend for some distance north
of the khan, towards the village of el Jiyeh, probably cover the
remains of that ancient town. Twenty years ago I saw men dig-
ging out old building -stones in various places along those sand
hills, and shipping them to Beirut, to meet the extraordinary de-
mand in that city for such durable material.

Though abandoned by civilized people, or because thus for-
saken, this neighborhood is frequented by remnants of Arab tribes,
and there is a group of their tents, and a number of women and
children watering their flocks at that well. We will soon be sur-
rounded by them, clamoring for bakhshish, and urging us to drink
out of their water-bottles.

They are apparently amongst the very poorest and most de-
graded of their race. Their very donkeys and dogs are lean and
lank, and seem to be pinched up with hunger.

They are by no means so poverty-smitten as their appearance
would indicate, and you may with a safe conscience button up your
pocket and spare your pity. Not only are they importunate beg-
gars, but cunning thieves also ; for when passing this way, on a for-

TATTOOING.

mer occasion, one of those degenerate Bedawin stole our water-bot-
tle from which he had just slaked his own real or pretended thirst.

The desire for personal adornment has prompted these women
to tattoo themselves most profusely — forehead, face, lips, chin, chest,
arms, hands, and even
their feet, with the
rude designs and cu-
rious figures of that
most ancient art.

The effect is any-
thing but agreeable to
our taste, yet Orientals
have a passion for it.
The practice of mark-
ing religious signs and
tokens upon the hands
and the arms is almost
universal amongst the
Arabs, of all sects and
classes. The Christian
pilgrim to Jerusalem
has the operation per-
formed there, as it is
the most holy place
known to his religion.
I have watched the
process of tattooing,
and it is not a little
painful. A number of
common needles are
bound together in the
shape of the desired
figure, or so that the

design can be marked out with sufficient exactness. The skin be-
ing punctured in the required pattern, certain mixtures of coloring
matter are rubbed in, and the place bound with a tight b.md.p^c
Gunpowder, variously prepared, is commonly cmployetl, and it is

TATTOOED EGYPTIAN WOMAN.

liil

iiU

SPECIMENS OF TATTOOING.

24 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

that which gives to the tattooing of these Bedawin its bluish
tinge. Mr. Lane tells us that in Egypt, where this singular cus-
tom is very general, smoke-black mixed with milk is used, and
subsequently a paste of fresh-pounded leaves of clover, or white
beet, is applied, so as to give a blue color to the marks.

It is now well ascertained that tattooing prevailed in Egypt
even before the time of Moses. In Leviticus the Hebrews were
forbidden not only to make any " cuttings " in their flesh for the
dead, but also to "print" any marks upon themselves." No doubt
those cuttings and prints had an idolatrous signification which
Moses desired to condemn. The allusions in Revelation to reli-
gious marks are too numerous to be specified. Isaiah, however, has
an impressive reference to them, which we may quote, to strengthen
our trust in the watchful providence of our heavenly Father: "Can
a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compas-
sion on the son of her womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will I not
forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my
hands; thy walls are continually before me.'"" As to these Arabs,
whose blue markings started us off upon this digression, we shall
have many occasions to notice their strange ways and singular
customs when we go amongst them, in their special domain east of
the Jordan. Those dingy black objects peeping out of the bushes
on the mountain-side are their tents, and they are found spread
over the whole country, from Egypt to Mount Taurus.

This is indeed a tantalizing and wearisome ride. Plodding
through the deep sand along the shore one longs for the rocky
pathway over the headland ; but once there the ceaseless clatter of
our iron-shod horses, as they slip, slide, and stumble along on the
smooth stones, makes one quite nervous.

We shall soon escape from Nukkar es S'adiat, as this low prom-
ontory is called. Here, it is supposed, Antiochus the Great de-
feated the army of Ptolemy, commanded by his general, Nicolaus.
This nukkar is well adapted to be the scene of bloody tragedies,
being a difficult pass over one of " the roots of Lebanon," thrust
out into the sea and ending there — a strong military position, espe-
cially as against an enemy marching from the north.

' Levit. xix. 28. " Isa. xlix. 15, 16.

ED DAMUR. THE TAMYRAS.— THE SHEPHERD.

And now for a gallop over this stretch of sand to the river Du-
mur, where we will rest for half an hour and take our lunch.

There is something worth seeing. That shepherd is about to
lead his flock through the river; and — as our Lord says of the
good shepherd — " he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him :
for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow." '

They follow, but not all in the same manner. Some enter
boldly, and come straight across. Those are the favored ones

ED DAMUR— Til L lA.MVRA.-^

of the flock, who keep hard by the footsteps of the shephcnl
through green meadows, by the still waters, feeding upon the moun-
tains, or resting at noon beneath the shadow of great rocks. And
now others enter, but in doubt and alarm. Far from their guide,
they miss the ford, and are carried down the river, some farther
than others, yet, one by one, they struggle over and make a safe

' John X. 4.

25 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

landing. Notice those little lanibs. They refuse to enter, and must
be driven into the stream by the shepherd's dog, mentioned by Job
in his " parable." Poor things ! how they leap, and plunge, and
bleat in terror ! That weak one will be swept quite away, and per-
ish in the sea. But the shepherd himself leaps into the stream, lifts
it into his bosom, and bears it trembling to the shore. All now are
safely over, and how happy they appear ! The lambs frisk and gam-
bol about, while the older ones gather round their faithful shepherd,
and look up to him in subdued but expressive thankfulness.

Can you watch such a scene, and not think of that Shepherd
who leadeth Joseph like a flock, and of another river which all his
sheep must cross? He, too, goes before, and, as in the case of this
flock, they who keep near him fear no evil. They hear his encour-
aging voice saying, " When thou passest through the waters, I will
be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." '
With their eyes fastened on him, they scarcely heed the stream, or
feel its cold and threatening current. The majority, however, "lin-
ger, shivering on the brink, and fear to launch away." They lag
behind, look down upon the dark river, and, like Peter on stormy
Gennesaret, when faith fails, they begin to sink. Then they cry for
help, and not in vain. The good Shepherd hastens to their rescue,
and none of all his flock ever perish. Even the weakest lambkins
are carried safely over. I once saw flocks crossing the Jordan
" to Canaan's fair and happy land," and there the scene was even
more striking and impressive. The river was broader, the current
stronger, and the flocks larger, while the shepherds were more pict-
uresque and their occupation more Biblical. The danger, too, with '
which many poor sheep were threatened — of being swept down
into that mysterious Sea of Death which swallows up the Jordan
itself — was more certain and suggestive.

This name, Damur, is a mere variation of the Tamyras of Strabo,
the Damouras of Polybius, I suppose.

Yes, if the variation is not that of the Greeks and Romans,
probably Damur is nearer the original name. The main source of
this river is near 'Ain Zahelteh, a village five hours to the east, upon
the lofty range of Lebanon. Other streams from the north unite

' Isa. xliii. 2.

BROKEN BRIDGE.— SCENERY.— MULBERRY GARDENS.

with it at Jisr el Kacly, on the road from Beirut to Deir el Kamar.
Below that the river turns to the south-west, and enters the sea just
south of the long, straggling village of INIu'allakah. Though not
more than twenty -five miles long, yet, from the extent of those
high mountains which pour down their floods into its channel, the
Damur rises suddenly in winter, and becomes a turbulent, unford-
able river. Men and animals have been carried off by it and per-
ished at the ford, or were swept away into the sea.

That broken bridge was built by the Emir Beshir Shehab, some
sixty years ago, but it soon gave way before the violence of the
stream. The emir erected his on the ruins of one more ancient,
built probably by the Romans, and with no better success than
they. The river frequentl}^ changes its channel, and though a heavy
wall was built running up the stream to confine it to its proper bed.
still in winter it sets all bounds at defiance. During great floods
it spreads through these gardens, tears up the mulberry-trees, and
carries them down to the sea. The scenery around the head of
this river is not so wild as in many other places ; but the basins
of the different tributaries open out prospects which, when sur-
veyed from the lofty declivities of Lebanon, are rarely surpassed
for depth, breadth, vastness, and variety. The view from Mutyar
Abeih is particularly impressive.

To escape the deep sand between this and Khan Kluilda wc
will pass up the river for a short distance, and then ride through
the mulberry gardens of Mu'allakah.

They appear to be quite extensive, but the branches of the
trees have all been cut off, leaving only the glaring and bare
trunks, some eight or ten feet high.

The silk -growers adopt that method in order that the young
branches may grow during the summer. They say that next spring
the leaves of those branches will contain more glutinous matter —
from which sub.stance the silk-worms spin their cocoons — than is
found in the leaves growing upon the old branches.

I noticed hedges of the ordinary reed cane near the river and
along the water-courses, and here are fields of genuine sugar-cane.

It is said that the sugar-cane was originally taken from this
coast to Europe during the Crusades; and, after America was dis-

28 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

covered the Spaniards carried it to the West Indies, from where it
was introduced into the Southern States. The people of this coun-
try, however, do not make any sugar; but during the season the
cane is cut and taken in large bundles to the cities, where it is
sold, mostly to the lower classes, and especially to children, who
chew the stem for its sweet juice — hence its name, Kussab Muss.

Is this " the sweet cane from a far country " mentioned by the
prophet Jeremiah?'

The sweetness was, probably, not that of taste, but of smell, and
may have had reference to the aromatic properties of some root,
plant, or leaf, possibly from Arabia or India. The sugar-cane, being
a perisliable article, could not have been brought as a luxury from
a far country, since it would have withered and decayed on the
way, and have lost all its sweetness.

For what purpose are those people cutting up the thorn-bushes
amongst the rocks, with their mattocks and hand scythes, and gath-
ering them together into such large bundles?

To be burnt as fuel in that lime-kiln. We have there a strik-
ing illustration of a passage in Isaiah: "And the people shall be
as the burnings of lime : as thorns cut up shall they be burned in
the fire."° This picture from real life is in curious fidelity with the
scene depicted by the prophet, for when the thorns are merely to
be destroyed they are not " cut up," but set on fire where they
grow, to clear the ground for the plough.

Does that passage in Isaiah to which you have just referred
contain the earliest mention of lime in the Bible?

The Hebrews were acquainted with lime and its uses in very
early times. Moses directs the people of Israel, when they " pass
over Jordan," to "set up great stones, and plaister them with plais-
ter."^ The word in the Hebrew is the same as that translated lime
in Isaiah, and also in Amos ii. i,the only places in the Bible where
lime is mentioned — a fact somewhat remarkable, considering the
importance of that article, and the many and varied purposes to
which it was applied from remote antiquity. And not only was
lime itself known from ancient times, but the kiln and the fuel to
burn it with were very much like these we have before us.

' Jer. vi. 20. - Isa. xx.\iii. 12. ^ Deut. xxvii. 2.

EL BELLAN, THE THORNS.— BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS TO THORNS. 29

This kind of thorn seems to cover tlie entire face of the moun-
tain. What is the name of it?

It is the Poterium spinosum of the botanist. The Arabs call it
bellan, and it abounds in almost every part of Syria and Palestine,
and is also to be found in the Wilderness of the Wandering.

Is it ever mentioned specifically in the Bible?

Not by its modern Arabic name ; but these thorns are so om-
nipresent and obtrusive that they could not have escaped notice,
and I suppose they are the same as those, to which " Da\id in
his last words " likened " the sons of Belial," which are " as thorns
thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands : but the
man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff
of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same
place."' The Arabic translation is more specific: "The sons of
Belial are all like thorns thrust aside, for they cannot be taken by
the hand ; and the man who would touch them must be armed
with iron and the staff of a spear. And they shall be burned in
the fire in their place." This description applies perfectly to the
bellan. Those men first tear them loose from the rocks with their
iron mattocks and scythes, and then thrust them away into heaps
with a long forked stick. When the purpose is merely to clear the
ground for ploughing and sowing the grain, they are simply set fire
to on a windy day and "burned in their place."

David, in the fifty-eighth Psalm, has a curious allusion to thorns.
Concerning the wicked, who " go astray as soon as they be born,
speaking lies," he says : " Before your pots can feel the thorns, he
shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his
wrath."' Is the allusion there also to this bellan?

The poetical figure in that passage is tangled somewhat, like the
bellan itself, but the reference is to cooking in pots by kindling fires
under them, possibly with this thorn-bush. I have often watched
the operation with much interest. These thorns burn with a sud-
den and intensely hot blaze, but that very vehemence often creates
a little whirlwind which whisks the flame from the blazing bush
into the air, so that the pots do not " feci the thorns" at all. As
suddenly as the wind catches up in its wings the flame of the burn-
' 2 Sam.xxiii.6, 7. " I'-^-a. Kiii. 3. <;■

30 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ing bushes, so suddenly shall the whirlwind of divine indignation
drive away those incorrigible sinners.

Dr. Alexander has some curious remarks in his exposition of
the latter part of that passage. " Both living and in his wrath " he
translates " whether raw or done," meaning that whether the flesh
which is in the pot is cooked or is raw, he will blow it or them
away. The Arabic translation reads thus : " Before that your pots
feel the thorns, whether raw or burnt, he will scoop them away."
In either case the essential elements in the figure are retained,
and some of the obscurities are aptly illustrated by the ephemeral
flames of the bellan under the pots of Arab peasants.

The complicated figure in that passage will bear even farther
illustration. There is no proverbial metaphor more familiar to Arab
ears than one which compares secret plots and machinations to a
covered pot on a fire. To intimate that the plot is brewing they
say, with a knowing shake of the head, " the pot is boiling," or sim-
ply, " it is boiling." Now, the pot is the representative of dark and
treacherous schemes; those who kindle the fire and sit round watch-
ing it are the wicked plotters, and the Psalmist says that ere the
pot can feel the flame, and while the schemes they are concocting
are still immature or raw, the Lord in his indignation will blow out
and away both the plot and the plotters. David had, no doubt,
often seen during his shepherd boyhood, and his exile life and wan-
derings, all the circumstances which suggested the complicated fig-
ure in that ninth verse of his psalm. To understand it perfectly
one must actually witness the process of cooking in the open coun-
try — a pot or pan placed upon two or three stones, bellan thorns
ignited under it ; the blaze flashing up fiercely, creating or increas-
ing the wind which whirls and whisks the flame into the air, and
the meat thus left half raw, half burnt, to the utter disgust and dis-
appointment of both cook and expectant guests. So will it be with
those sons of Belial — their plot defeated and blown away, and they
with it, to utter destruction.

In "the words of the Preacher," "the laughter of the fool" is
compared to "the crackling of thorns under a pot."*

Yes, the laughter of a fool he rightly calls "vanity" — mocking,
' Eccles. i. I ; vii. 6.

KHAN KHULDA.— ST. HELENA'S TOWER.

tantalizing:, and annoying — just like the blaze of the bcllan which
flashes up in the face, burns the hands, blinds the eyes, and dies out
suddenly before the pot can feel the heat. The ephemeral charac-
ter of the blazing bellan is alluded to by the Psalmist when he says
of his enemies, " They compassed me about like bees ; they are
quenched as the fire of thorns."'

The name of this way-side inn, on the left, which we are now
approaching is Khan Khulda, and it probably occupies the site of
Mutatio Heldua, an unimportant place mentioned in the Jerusalem
Itinerary about the fourth century of our era as twelve Roman
miles south of Beirut. There is another khan, below the gardens
of Mu'allakah, and about a mile south of this one, called Ghufr en

LENA'S TOWERS NEAR TYKE.

Na'imeh, which may mark the site of Heldua. However that may
be, there are at this place some old foundations and remains of
antiquity which we should not pass by without visiting.

' Psa. c.wiii. 12.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The debris on the top of that half-natural, half-artificial mound
marks the site of one of those signal stations or beacons which St.
Helena built along the road from Jerusalem to Constantinople, to
convey to her royal son the first tidings of the discovery of the true

ANCIENT SARCOPHAGI.

cross, for which
she was then searching in the rub-
bish of the Holy City. More pro-
bably it was one of a system of watch-towers for the defence of
the coast, such as are still in use along the shores of Spain and
Algiers. Marc Antony spent some time at a fort between Beirut
and Sidon, called Dukekome, waiting for Cleopatra. Perhaps this
tower-crowned hill marks the spot wdiere those mighty revellers
met and feasted. I remember when the tower was destroyed to
supply the demand for building material in Beirut.

The most remarkable relics of past ages are those broken sar-
cophagi on the side of the mountain. Their number is surpris-
ing, since for ages the inhabitants have been breaking them up for
building-stone, or burning them into lime. They are of all sizes :
some eight feet long, and in fair proportion, the resting-place of
giants ; others were made for small children. Many are hewn in
the live rock ; others are single cofifins cut out of separate blocks.

OLIVE GROVES OF ESH SHUWEIFAT. 33

All had heavy Hds, of various shapes, but with the corners raised.
On one is a cherub with wings expanded, as if about to {\y away to
the " better land ;" another has a palm branch, emblem of immor-
tality ; a large one has three warlike figures, the chosen compan-
ions, perhaps, of some ancient hero. They are without inscriptions,
and have nothing about them to determine their age or origin;
and on none of them is there a single mark or scratch which might
indicate that those who made them had an alphabet. They are, no
doubt, very ancient. Lift the lid, and the dust within differs not
from the surrounding soil from which grows the corn of the current
year. And so it was twenty centuries ago, I suppose.

From Khan Khulda to Beirut is about three hours, and. as the
road leaves the sea-coast and follows the border of this little plain,
the scene is varied and the ride becomes more interesting.

What a large village that is on the foot-hills east of us I

It is esh Shuweifat, one of the most important towns on Leba-
non, and its prosperity is mainly due to the extensive olive-groves
below and north of it — the largest in the country. This sand de-
sert, on our left, interposed between those olive-groves and the sea,
extends northward quite to the suburbs of Beirut.

That forest of olive-trees naturally attracts one's thoughts to
them, and to the many Biblical references to the olive, some of
which I do not yet fully comprehend. Thus Hosea says, " His
beauty shall be as the olive tree."' It is more picturesque than
beautiful, but perhaps the eye needs to be educated before it can
distinguish properly and decide correctly.

The olive-tree and its fruit make the face of man to shine in
more senses than one, and this noble grove, spreading like a silver
sea over the plain and along the base of the hills, and rolling far
up their ascending terraces, is beautiful ; and it speaks of peace
and plenty, food and gladness. To a stranger it is destitute of
pleasing associations; but to me it is delightful and refreshing to
ride through it, especially when the trees are bowed down with
purple berries, or when the ground is covered with flowers.

Moses, in that last ode which he taught the children of Israel,
speaks of " oil out of the flinty rock;" and I had supposed th.it the

' IIos. xiv. 6.

34 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

tree delighted in hard, rocky soil ; but this vast grove spreads over
a soft and sandy plain.'

You were not mistaken — only misled by appearances. The sub-
stratum of this plain is chalky marl, abounding in flint, and the sand
is merely an intruder blown in from this desert on our left. The
olive is found, also, in places where there is no rocky basis ; but it
is in soil such as this that the tree flourishes best, both in the plains
and upon the mountains. It insinuates its roots into the crevices
of this flinty marl, and draws from thence its stores of oil. If the
overlying earth is so deep that its roots cannot reach the rock be-
neath, I am told that the tree languishes, and its berries are small
and sapless. There is, however, another explanation of that figure
of Moses. In ancient times generally— and in some places at the
present day — the olives were ground to a pulp in large stone basins,
* by rolling a heavy stone wheel over them, and the oil was then
expressed in stone presses established near by. Frequently those
presses, with their floors, gutters, troughs, and cisterns, were all hewn
out of solid rock, and thus literally " the rock poured out rivers of
oil," as Job affirms in his parable."

I notice that the branches of some trees have been cut off, and
then grafted ; why is that done ?

The olive, in its natural wild state, bears no berries, or but few,
and those small and destitute of oil.

St. Paul has an extended reference to grafting. He says: "If
some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive
tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the
root and fatness of the olive tree ; boast not against the branches.
But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee."
And then, in the twenty-fpurth verse : " For if thou wert cut out
of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafl'ed contrary
to nature into a good olive tree,"' etc. The olive, says the apostle
—and so you say — is wild by nature, and it must be grafted by the
good before it will bear fruit; but the apostle speaks of grafting
the wild into the good, not the good upon the wild.

True ; but observe, he expressly states that this is " contrary to
nature," as it really is. In the kingdom of nature generally, cer-
I Deut. xxxii. 13. " Job xxix. 6. ^ Rom. xi. 17, 18, 24.

THE WILD OLIVE-TREE AND THE GOOD OLIVE-TREE. 35

tainly in the case of the oHve, the process referred to by the apostle
never succeeds. Graft the good upon the wild, and, as the Arabs
say, " it will conquer the wild," but you cannot reverse the process
with success. If you insert a wild graft into a good tree, it will
conquer the good. It is only in the kingdom of grace that a pro-
cess thus contrary to nature can be successful ; and it is this circum-
stance which the apostle has seized upon to magnify the mercy
shown to the Gentiles by grafting them, a wild race, contrary to the
nature of such operations, into the good olive-tree of the Church,
and causing them to flourish there, and bring forth fruit unto eter-
nal life. The apostle lived in the land of the olive, and was in no
danger of falling into a blunder in founding his argument upon such
a circumstance in its cultivation.

But have all the trees in this vast grove of esh Shuwcifat been
reclaimed from a wild state by grafting?

Certainly not. The apostle himself speaks of the root of the
good olive, implying that, by some means or other, it had been
changed. As explained by the natives, the process by which that
result is reached is quite simple. There are knobs, or large warts, so
to speak, on the body of the trees. Cut off one of those which has a
branch growing out of it, above the place where it has been grafted ;
plant it in good soil, water it carefully, and it will strike out roots
and grow. It is now a good tree from the root, and all scions taken
from it are also good by nature. But if the knob be taken below
the grafting, the tree grows wild again. The greater part of this
grove is now " good " from the root. I am told, however, that
there is a tendency to degenerate, and that it is often an improve-
ment to graft even " a good olive tree " with one that is still better.

Eliphaz says of the wicked man, " He shall cast off his flower as
the olive."' What is there in the casting off of olive-flowers which
can illustrate the rejection and ruin of those who trust in vanity,
for which purpose the figure was emi)loyed .''

The olive is the most prodigal of all fruit-bearing trees in flow-
ers. It bends under the weight of them. But then not one in a
hundred comes to maturity. The tree casts them off as if they
were of no more value than flakes of snow, which they closel)-

' Jol) XV. 33.

^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

resemble. So it will be with those who put their trust in vanity :
" for vanity shall be their recompense. They shall be cut off before
their time, and their branch shall not be green." ' Cast off, they
disappear, and no one asks after them ; so the olive seems to throw
off in contempt the flowers that signify nothing, and turns all its
fatness to those which will mature into good and fruitful berries
at the end of the season, when the owners and olive-gatherers go
forth to shake their trees after the rains in the autumn.

The olive-tree is of slow growth, and the husbandman must have
long patience. Except under circumstances peculiarly favorable, it
bears no berries until the seventh year, nor is the crop worth much
until the tree is ten or fifteen years old ; but then " the labor of the

olive " is very pro-
fitable, although it
sometimes " fails," as
implied in the prayer
of Habakkuk,^ and
it will continue to
yield its fruit to ex-
treme old age, like the
excellent of the earth. So long
as there is a mere fragment re-
maining, though externally the tree looks as dry as a post, yet it
continues to yield its oily berries, and for twenty generations the
owners gather fruit from the faithful old patriarch. The tree also
requires but little care, and will revive again when the ground is
dug or ploughed, and begin afresh to yield as before. Vineyards
forsaken die out almost immediately, and mulberry orchards ne-
glected run rapidly to ruin, but not so the olive. I saw the deso-

' Job XV. 31, 32. ^ Hab. iii. 17.

OLIVE-BRANCH.

LONG LIFE AND UNFAILING PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE OLIVE. 37

late hills of Jebel el A'alah, above Antioch, covered with such gro\es,
although no one had paid attention to them for half a century.

Is it upon this tenacity of life in the olive that Job bases his
affecting comparison in regard to the frailty of man : " There is
hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that
the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof
wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground ; yet
through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like
a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up
the ghost, and where is he?"'

It is very likely that it was the olive-tree which the patient
man of Uz had in mind ; for although the facts mentioned apply to
other trees in this country, yet they are particularly appropriate to
the olive. That tree will thus revive ''through the scent of water"
after the root has waxed old in the earth, and the stock, to all
appearance, become entirely dead. I have seen olive trees which
seemed to have neither green wood nor live bark revive and bear a
crop of olives when properly cultivated. The next verses in Job's
entreaty refer to other facts equally striking and common in this
Eastern land : " As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood drieth
up ; so man lieth down, and riseth not ; till the heavens be no more,
they shall not wake, nor be raised out of their sleep." No one will
reside long in this country without becoming more or less familiar
with some of the phenomena referred to. The waters fail from
the sea, and the clouds bring no refreshing rain ; the Hoods dry up.
the land is parched, and eveiy green thing languishes : famine stalks
abroad, and pestilence follows in her footsteps ; then men lie down
and die, nor will they rise up again till the heavens be no more.

If the olive bore every year its value would be doubled ; but,
like most other trees, it yields only every alternate year. Even
with this deduction it is amongst the most valuable species of
property in the country. Large trees, in a good season, will yield
from ten to fifteen gallons of oil. and the olive crop from an acre
of such trees is worth at least one hundred dollars.

The value of this tree is enhanced by the fact that its fruit
is indispensable to the comfort, and almost the existence, of the

-Job xiv. 7-10.

38 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

poorer classes of the community. The BibHcal references to that
subject are not exaggerated. The berry, pickled, forms the general
relish to the farmer's dry bread. He goes forth to his work in the
field at early dawn, or sets out on a journey, with no other provi-
sion than olives wrapped up in tough paper-like loaves, and with
that he is contented. Then almost every dish is cooked in oil, and
without it the good-wife would be confounded ; and when the oil
fails the lamp in the dwelling of the poor expires. Moreover, the
entire supply of soap made in this country is from the produce of
the olive. Habakkuk, therefore, gives a very striking attestation of
his faith in God when he says, " Although the labour of the olive
shall fail, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of
my salvation." '

Isaiah thus refers to the gathering of the olive : " Yet glean-
ing grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or
three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the
outmost fruitful branches thereof."^ Have you noticed the circum-
stances alluded to by the prophet?

Very often ; and it is the language of familiar acquaintance with
the subject. As you may never have an opportunity to watch the
process, I will describe it as it occurs in such places as Hasbeiya.
Early in autumn the berries begin to drop of themselves, or are
shaken off by the wind. They are allowed to remain under the
trees for some time, guarded by the watchmen of the town. Then
a proclamation is made by the governor that all who have olive-
trees should go out and pick what has fallen. Previous to that, not
even the owners are allowed to gather olives in the groves. The
proclamation is repeated once or twice, according to the season.
In November comes the general and final summons, which sends
forth all Hasbeiya. No olives are then safe unless the owner looks
after them, for the watchmen are removed, and the groves are alive
with men, women, and children. Everywhere the people are in the
trees " shaking " them to bring down the fruit.

That is what the prophet had in mind. The effort is to make
a clear sweep of the whole crop ; but, in spite of shaking and beat-
ing, there is always a gleaning left : " two or three berries in the
' Hab. iii. 17, 18. '•' Isa. xvii. 6.

THE "SHAKING OF THE OLIVE." 39

top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful
branches." Those are afterwards gleaned by the very poor, who
have no trees of their own, in seeming accordance with the com-
mand, " When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go o\'er
the boughs again : it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and
for the widow ;" ' and they gather enough to keep a lamp in their
habitation during the dismal nights of winter, and to cook their
mess of pottage and bitter herbs.

The " shaking of the olive " is the severest operation in Syrian
husbandry, particularly in mountainous regions. When the procla-
mation goes forth to " shake," there can be no postponement. The
rainy season has already set in ; the trees are dripping with the last
shower, or bowing under a load of moist snow ; but the owners
must shake them, drenching themselves and those below with an
artificial storm of rain, snow, and olives. No matter how piercing
the wind, or how blinding the rain, that work must go on from earl)'
dawn to dark night ; and then the weary laborer must carry on his
aching back a heavy load of dripping berries two or three miles, it
may be, up the mountain to his home. The olive-groves are mostly
held in common — not owned in common, but planted on the same
general tract of land, without hedges, fences, or walls, and the trees
are like those in a natural forest. This tree belongs to Zeid, that
to 'Abeid, as they say, and so on through the whole grove. This
vast grove below Shuwcifat, along which we have been riding for
the last hour, has many owners, and in "shaking time " every one
must look sharply after his own. There is a great confounding of
meum and tuum in the average conscience of olive-gatherers.

To what particular circumstance docs the Psalmist refer in the
one hundred and twenty-eighth Psalm, where he says, " Thy chil-
dren shall be like olive plants round about thy table ?"

Follow mc into the grove, and I will show you what ma)- h.ivc
suggested the comparison. This aged and decayed tree is sur-
rounded, as you see, by several young and thrifty shoots, which
spring from the root of the venerable parent. They seem to up-
hold and protect it. Thus do good and affectionate children gatlur
round the table of the righteous. Each contributes something to

' Dcut. xxiv. 20.

40 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the common welfare of the whole — a beautiful sight, with which
may God refresh the eyes of all our friends.

OLD OLIVE-TREE.

What a magnificent tree that is which we have just passed!

It is, indeed, a grand old sycamore, under whose grateful shade
many a weary traveller seeks protection from the burning sand and
the scorching sun. There he dismounts to rest, to drink a cup of
coffee, and smoke a nargileh, which the khanji at Dukkan el Kusis
is always ready to supply.

Here we leave this pleasant grove for that singular sea of sand,
which rolls quite back to the gardens of Beirut. Geologists tell us
that this sand has travelled long and far before it reached its pre-

A DREARY DESERT OF DRIFTIN'G SEA. 41

sent resting-place. That, in fact, its original home was in the great
African desert, and, during the countless ages of the past, it has
been drifted first by the wind into the sea, and then by the current
along the northern coast past Egypt, and around the head of the
sea, until, stopped by the Cape of Beirut, it has been thrown out b\'
the waves on to this plain. Others say that it is the sand of the
Nile transported hither by the northern current in this part of the
Mediterranean. I believe that we need look no farther than the
immediate neighborhood for the origin of this desert. The rock on
the shore is a soft sandstone, which is continually disintegrating b\"
the action of wind and wave. The loose sand is cast up upon the
beach, and the strong south-west winds which blow across the plain
are constantly spreading it inward under our very eyes.

No doubt the Damur and the Ghudir — the latter just ahead of
us — bring down a great amount of sand during the winter rains,
which is also thrown on shore by the sea. This sand is continualK-
driven in upon these fields like another deluge. Entire mulberry
gardens about Beirut, with their trees and houses, have been thus
overwhelmed since I came to the country; and the day is not dis-
tant when it will have swept over the cape to the bay on the north
of the city, unless its course can be arrested. I never take this ride
without watching, with weary interest, this ever- changing desert.
Upon the great sand-waves, which swell up from twenty to fifty
feet high, the west wind makes small but well-defined wavelets, the
counterpart in miniature of those it has just left on yonder noisy
sea. Should these ripples be caught and fixed by some tranquil-
lizing and indurating agency, we would there have a vast forma-
tion of wavy sandstone the origin of which might puzzle the
student of earth's rocky mysteries to explain.

These sandy invasions are not found to an\' injurious extent
north of Beirut, but as one goes south they become broader ami
more continuous. They .spread far inland round the Bay of Acre.
They begin again at Caesarea, and reach to the river 'Aujeh ; and
then south of Jaffa, past Askelon and Gaza, they roll in their deso-
lating waves wider and still wider, until the}- subside in the great
desert that lies between Arabia and Africa. Let us ride up to the
crest of that bold sand-wave, and take a look at this prosjiect. so

42 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

eminently Syrian. The local name of this desert of shifting sand
is el Kalabat. Ibrahim Pacha told the Emir of Shuweifat that he
had three different seas beneath his feet — the blue Mediterranean,
this yellow Kalabat, and the silvery sea of that olive Sahra. All he
saw is before us ; with the goodly Lebanon for the background, ris-
ing range above range, up to where Sunnin lifts his snowy head to
the blue firmament of heaven. Picturesque villages sleep at his
feet, cling to his sides, or stand out in bold relief upon his ample
shoulders, giving variety and interest to the scene.

We have now reached the extensive pine-groves in the suburbs
of Beirut ; but, instead of passing through them, let us continue our
course over the sands, and in half an hour we will reach the western
part of the town, and our weary ride will be ended.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PROSPEROUS CITY OF SYRIA. 43

II.
BEIRUT,

Beirut and its Surroundings. — The Plain of Beirut. — Goodly Lebanon. — Beirut from the
Sea. — Beirut not a Biblical City. — History of Beinlt. — Colonia Augusta Felix Julia,
Berytus. — Herod the Great. — Agrippa. — Titus. — Law School. — Earthquake. — Theo-
prosopon. — The Crusaders. — The Saracens. — Miracle of the Holy Cross. — Palace and
Gardens of Fakhr ed Din. — The Saraya. — Muhaninied 'Aly. — Bombardment of Bei-
rut. — Population of Beirut. — Railroad. — Antiquities about Beirut. — Ancient Aque-
duct. — Tunnel. — The Wife of Haroun er Raschid. — Ruined Temple at Deir el Ku-
I'ah. — "The Smell of Lebanon." — Magnificent Prospect. — Roofs with Battlements.
— The Holy Land and the Holy Book. — House-tops. — Samuel and Saul. — David's
Palace. — The Inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the House-tops. — Proclamations from
the House-tops. — The Year of Jubilee. — Peter Praying upon the House-top. — House-
tops in the Time of Christ. — The .Sparrow upon the House-top. — In the Streets of
Beirut. — Coffee and Coffee - shops. — Shopkeepers. — Pipe - stems. — Cigarettes. — The
Letter -writer. — Writing and Writing Materials. — The Open Letter. — Seal Rings. —
The Call to Prayer. — Moslems Praying in the Mosk. — Hypocrisy. — The Pilgrimage to
Mecca. — Praying Seven Times a Day. — The Sanctimonious Judge. — Praying towards
Mecca and Jerusalem. — Shops and Streets. — The Crowded Street. — Hewers of Wood
and Drawers of Water. — The Gibeonites. — Shaving the Head. — Paul at Cenchrea. —
Barbers' Shops. — Street of the Auctioneers. — No Provision for Lighting the Streets.
— Bidding the Guests to the Supper. — Dining amongst the Orientals. — Silting at
Meat. — Rice, Stews, and Meats. — Etiquette at Meals. — Washing the Hands. — Elijah
and Elisha. — Ceremonial Etiquette. — Pipes, Nargilehs, and Coffee-cups. — Talking to
be Heard. — Garments, Ancient and Modern. — Elijah's Mantle. — Joseph's Coat of
Many Colors. — Rending the Clothes.— Linen, Woollen, Cotton, and Silk. — Manners
and Customs. — Boots and Shoes. — Putting off the Shoes. — The Head and the Feet. —
Costume of the Women. — Domestic Relations. — The Harem. — Naming the Father
after his Eldest Son. ^Significant Names, Ancient and Modern. — Sleeping without
Change of Garments. — Co-operative House-keeping. — "Saving your Reverence." —
Matrimony. — Sons and Daughters. — Marriage with Slaves.

May 2Sth.

Beirt!>t i.s .said to be not only the most prcspcrous city of
Syria, but also the most beautiful; and as we escaped from the
deep sand, and rode along the broad macadamized lanes in the
southern suburbs of the town last ni"ht, with fine houses and well-

44 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

patronized shops on either side, and busy crowds of well-dressed
natives, I could see ample corroboration of that statement.

The city itself and the surroundings possess that natural beauty
and picturesqueness which never wearies, and is always remembered
with delight, even by those who make but a short stay here.

That I can readily believe, and no wonder, for the scenery is on
a scale so grand and so varied ; but it is almost impossible to get
an adequate idea of the whole.

Follow me, then, to the terrace of our house, for it commands
the entire prospect of the sea, the city, and the mountains.

The Bay of Beirut is truly magnificent, and the city is even
more extensive and beautiful than I had imagined. How clear
and transparent is the atmosphere, and how sharply defined are
the hills and valleys, the villages, the houses, and even the rocks
and trees on lofty Lebanon !

That snow on its summit is thirty miles away, and yet you
could almost read your own name if written with a bold hand on
its calm, cold brow. You perceive that the city and its suburbs are
situated on the northern slope of a triangular plain, whose base-line
is the shore, from Ras Beirut southward to Nahr el Yabis, some six
miles distant on the road to Sidon. The perpendicular line runs in
eastward from the Ras about five miles to the foot of Sunnin, at
the end of St. George's Bay. The hypothenuse is the long line of
the mountains from north-east to south-west. The entire plain is
a projection seaward from the general direction of the coast, and
along the base of the hills it is so low as to appear like an island
to one sailing up from Sidon. The surface rises gradually from the
south to the immediate vicinity of the city, where in some places
it is about three hundred feet above the sea, and it falls rapidly
down towards the roadstead on the north by a succession of
broad and irregular terraces. It is that feature which imparts
such variety and beauty to Beirut and its environs.

The substratum of the plain — a white marl, passing into com-
pact limestone, and enclosing nodules of flint and thin seams of
chert — is similar to that of the adjoining hills of Lebanon. Upon
that rests a very large formation of arenaceous, unstratified stone,
which is easily wrought, and hence has been used from time imme-

GENERAL VIEW OF BEIRUT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 45

morial for building purposes. It is mixed with comminuted shells
and corals, and is very porous, absorbing water with great rapidity.
This, indeed, is almost the only defect in that otherwise admirable
building stone, for it renders the houses very damp in winter. The
quarries are to the south-west of the city, and from them a broad
belt of loose, movable sand stretches inward from the shore, quite
down to the point at Nahr el Vabis. The south-eastern part of the
plain is covered with a dense olive-grove, one of the largest and
most productive in Syria, while in the centre are beautiful pine
forests, planted, or rather sowed, by successive governors at differ-
ent times, from the famous Druse chief, Fakhr cd Din, two hun-
dred and fifty years ago, to the recent representative of the Sublime
Porte at Beirut. In the suburbs, where they can be irrigated, there
are gardens of orange and lemon trees: fig, almond, and apricot
trees abound, and the mulberry-tree is found everywhere ; and here
and there

The palm-tree rears his stalely head on high,
And spreads his feathery plume along the sky ;

while the kharnub. sycamore, prickly oak, and many a bush and
shrub of humbler name, cast abroad their grateful shade, and draw
their green mantles over the lovely scene.

The view of the city from the roadstead on the north is the
most impressive, I believe?

In that I entirely concur. Coming into the harbor at earl\-
dawn, the scenery is grand, and even sublime. Goodl)' Lebanon,
towering to a height of over eight thousand feet, with a diadem
of stars around his snowy brow, with his head in heaven antl his
feet upon the sea, looks like some august monarch of the universe,
to be saluted with profound admiration and respect. And as morn-
ing brightens to glorious day, what a magnificent panorama is re-
vealed all around the city! The mountains of el Metn and tlic
Kesravvan, on the east and north -cast, rugged, steep, and lofty,
shaded with pine -forests, and dotted with villages, churches, and
convents; the wild gorge of the Dog River, with snowy Sunnin
beyond and above; the deep Bay of St. George sweeping around
the base of the hills; the sandy ridge of Brummana, and Deir el
Kul'ahjWith the deep ravine of Nahr Beirut; the hills of el GIhuI).

46 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

bold and bright against the southern sky, extending from Aleih to
Abeih, with villages, hamlets, and factories, and terraced vineyards
and fruitful gardens ; and the city itself, with its white houses
facing seaward, some seated on overhanging cliffs, others grouped
on verdant terraces and commanding hill -tops, or stowed away
along retiring glens, half revealed, now quite concealed by mul-
berry and China trees, and waving festoons of vines and cunning
creepers of many colors — such is Beirut, under a bright and pure
sky, with the glorious Mediterranean around it, and ships and boats
of various nations sailing in and out or lying at anchor in the bay.

Is it probable that the Berothai of 2 Samuel viii. 8, from which
"King David took exceeding much brass," was Beirut?

I think not ; nor is it likely that the Berothah mentioned in
Ezekiel xlvii. i6, as one of the places in the northern boundary of
the land of Israel, was this city. From the similarity of names, and
the geographical position of both, Ezekiel's Berothah and Samuel's
Berothai were probably identical, and, of course, neither of them
was Beirut. Some go still farther back and assert that it was
founded by the Giblites, or " stone-squarers," mentioned by Joshua,
and also in the fifth chapter of i Kings.'

Since Beirut is not mentioned in the Bible, we must look else-
where, I suppose, for evidences of its antiquity.

Nor are those altogether wanting. Stephanus of Byzantium
ascribes the foundation of the city to Kronos, the harvest god, an
origin, of course, mythical, but indicating the general belief in its
extreme antiquity. Others claim for Beirut the distinction of be-
ing one of the oldest of Phoenician towns. It was not, however,
until the second century of our era that this place is mentioned,
under its Greek name of Berytus, by Strabo, who relates that it was
destroyed by Tryphon of Syria, and afterwards rebuilt by the Ro-
mans. They established a colony here during the reign of Augus-
tus, and it was called Colonia Augusta Felix Julia, Berytus.

Here, on the advice of Augustus, Herod the Great appeared in

court as the accuser of his two sons, whom he afterwards sent to

Sebaste, Samaria, where they were strangled. Herod Agrippa II.

adorned and beautified Berytus with colonnades, porticoes, theatres,

' Josh. xiii. 5 ; i Kings v. i8.

GLADIATORIAL SHOWS.— DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKE. 47

baths, and other pubhc buildings, and their remains are scattered
over the gardens, and buried beneath the rubbish of the ancient
city. It was in the theatres of Agrippa, I suppose, that Titus cele-
brated his own victories over Jerusalem, and his father's birthday,
by gladiatorial shows, in which the miserable captives of Zion per-
ished in great numbers, fighting with wild beasts and with one
another, as Josephus informs us.

Though none of the apostles appear to have visited Beirut, yet
Ciiristianity was early established here, and this city became the
seat of a bishopric. Under the Christian emperors of Constantino-
ple it continued to prosper down to the reign of Justinian. It was
then one of the most celebrated seats of learning in the empire, and
its law-school, which flourished for a period of over three centuries,
was frequented by youth from the first families in the state, and
by graduates of the schools of Athens and Alexandria. Then, as
now, was the golden age of Beirut's literary fame, and then, as
now, it was the most beautiful city on this coast. But its decline
commenced under the reign of that emperor.

On the 9th of July, A.D. 551, one of those awful earthquakes,
which repeatedly shook the Roman world in the time of Justinian,
seems to have entirely destroyed Beirut, overthrown her colleges,
churches, temples, theatres, and palaces, and buried multitudes of
the inhabitants beneath the ruins; and, although the city was re-
built, it nev^er regained its former magnificence. You can scarcely
walk through the gardens or dig a foundation for a house without
coming upon the memorials of that dreadful calamity. It is amaz-
ing to see how deeply some of those ruins are entombed, suggest-
ing the idea that the very terraces on which such costl)' structures
stood were upheaved and precipitated on those below. And this
corresponds with the history of that fearful time. We are told that
"enormous chasms were opened, huge and heavy bodies were dis-
charged into the air, the sea alternately advanced and retreateil be-
yond its ordinary bounds," and a mountain was torn from that bold
promontory — then called Theoprosopon, the face of God. and now
■ Ras-esh Shukkah — and cast into the sea, where it formed a mole for
the harbor of Batrun. Perhaps its Arabic name, implying the cape
of the split or cleft open, may be a witness of that catastrophe.

48 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Beirut shared in all the troubles and revolutions which accompa-
nied and grew out of the conquest of this country by the Muham-
medans. In the time of the Crusades, it was taken by Baldwin
in 1 1 lo, and, during the two hundred years of Frank rule on this
coast, it was several times captured and recaptured by Saracen and
Christian. Since the close of the thirteenth century few signal
events have happened to vary the monotony of its story. But in
the eighth century an illustrious miracle spread the name and fame
of this city far and wide. Some image-hating Hebrews, in scorn
and mockery, attempted, it is said, to go through the acts of the
Crucifixion upon a holy image and cross ; when, as they thrust a
spear into its side, to their confusion and horror, a large quantity
of blood and water gushed forth. Without resorting to supernatu-
ral interference, a little manoeuvring, or a little money, could have
set either real or spurious Jews at work to bring about the miracle.
But Beirut has no need of such doubtful claims to immortality.
Judging from the scanty and indefinite notices by the pilgrims of
the mediaeval ages, the number of its inhabitants varied from five
to ten thousand, engaged in commerce and in the manufacture
of olive oil and soap, and the culture of silk, which for several cen-
turies continued to be the staple productions of this region.

In the early part of the seventeenth century the famous Druse
emir, Fakhr ed Din, " the glory of religion," established himself in
Beirut. He is said to have filled up the port to prevent the land-
ing of pirates; and to have planted the extensive pine -groves in
the vicinity of the city. He built a large palace in the north-east-
ern part of the town, and, after his return from Italy, he adorned
it with ample gardens. That palace, though in a very dilapidated
condition, is now the Saraya, or official residence of the Pasha, but
the gardens have long since disappeared.

When Muhammed 'Aly wrested Syria from the Sultan, in 1830-
'31, he made Beirut the chief quarantine station on the coast, and
obliged all ships to come to this port. But during the month of
September, 1840, the combined English and Austrian fleet bom-
barded the castles and fortifications, and compelled the Egyptian
troops, under Suleiman Pasha, to evacuate the place. Beirut was
restored to the Turk ; and as European merchants were already set-

POPULATION OF BEIRUT.— ANCIENT AQUEDUCT. 49

tied here, and the foreign consuls had selected it for their residence,
that Government made it the capital of the country. Forty years
ago, when I came to Beirut, there was scarcely a house outside of
the walls fit to live in ; now hundreds of convenient dwellings, and
not a few large and noble mansions, adorn its beautiful suburbs,
and two-thirds of the population reside in the gardens. The mas-
sacres of i860 led many of the inhabitants of Damascus, the Leba-
non, and elsewhere, to settle in Beirut, which added largel)' to its
inhabitants, and many of the public buildings that attract the no-
tice of visitors now have been erected since that deplorable event.

The population is now estimated at eighty thousand, more than
one -half of which is made up of the various Christian sects and
denominations. No city in Syria, perhaps none in the Turkisii
Empire, has had so rapid an expansion. And it must continue to
grow and prosper, with but one pro\'iso to cast a shade of doubt
upon its bright future. Should a railroad ever connect the head
of this sea with the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, that A\ill in-
evitably dictate where the emporium of Syria is to be. If Beirut
can attract that line of trade and travel to its door, it will rank
amongst the important cities of the world ; if it cannot, then must
it wane before some other rival queen of the East.

Are there many antiquities about Beirut?

There are columns and sarcophagi in abundance, and some of
them have inscriptions which tell their own stor\'. .An ancient
aqueduct has been discovered, cut through the rock, and passing
beneath the city at Bab Y'akob. It must either have had a more
permanent supply of water than at present, which fails in dry
weather, when it is most needed, or have been connected wilJi the
ancient aqueduct which brought water from Lebanon to Ber)-tus.

Are the existing remains of that ancient work extensive?

More so than most travellers, or even natives, are aware of.
The supply of water for that aqueduct came from a fountain in the
bed of the Beirut River, below Deir el Kul'ah. The aqueduct from
it was conducted along the hill-side above the north bank of the
river for a mile or more. It was then carried over the river upon
a series of lofty arches. The first and lowest tier hat! onl\- two
arches, the second three. The next tier above had fifteen, and the
D

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ANCIENT AQUEDUCT OVER
THE BEIRUT RIVER.

■ ' \ fourth or highest tier had

twenty- five arches, and the canal upon
them was about one hundred and sixty-
feet above the bed of the river. The
wall of the aqueduct was twenty feet broad, and was built of
well-cut stone, and the entire structure must have presented a
grand and very imposing appearance.

Though carried over the river at so great an elevation, the ca-
nal, on the Beirut or west bank, met with perpendicular cliffs, and
passed directly into them by a tunnel cut in the solid rock. I once
crept into it a distance of a few feet, beyond which it is now choked
up with rubbish. The tunnel, excavated along and within the face
of the cliff, was conducted in a direction nearly north for a con-
siderable distance, and at intervals of a few rods shafts were sunk
from the top and covered over with massive arches, to prevent the

ANCIENT AQUEDUCT.— TEMPLE AT DEIK El. KULAM. 51

debris from the cliff falling into and choking up the canal. They
are still quite perfect, and are amongst the best specimens of an-
cient vaults. The great elevation of the aqueduct over the ri\er
shows that the design was to carry the water to the highest terraces
in the suburbs of Beirut, and that this was actually done is demon-
strated by many channels which have been discovered in the gar-
dens to the west and south of the city.

Descending to the margin of the plain, the canal was led along
the base of the hills southward, past Khan esh Shiah, and thence
westward to the vicinity of Beirut, and the water was distributed
through many pipes to various parts of the city. As the plain west
of esh Shiah is quite low, the canal had to be elevated by a long
line of arches, erected upon a broad and massi\'c wall. It was built
solid throughout, of large, well-squared stone, and was about fort\- •
feet wide at the base. No traces of the arches now exist, but
masses of tufaceous deposit remain formed by the trickling of the
water through the aqueduct, similar to those along the ancient
canals of Tyre and Acre. The wall itself, however, was nearly en-
tire when I first came to this country ; but the rapid growth of
Beirut created such a demand for building-stone that the greater
part of it has been quarried and brought to the city. In that pro-
cess, palm and olive trees, which had grown old upon the top, were
undermined and thrown away; and where the work of quarrying
has been completed, and the ground levelled, mulberry -trees are
now flourishing upon it. The Arabs, as a matter of course, ascribe
the building of that aqueduct to Sit Zebeideh, the wife of Ha-
roun er Raschid ; but, whether constructed by Phoenicians, Greeks,
or Romans, it was an admirable work, and a great blessing to the
inhabitants of ancient Berytus.

What place is Deir el Kul'ah?

Deir el Kul'ah is the name of a Maronite convent situated on
the southern termination of that bold ridge of Lebanon east of
Beirut. It occupies the site of an ancient temjile, the walls of
which have been thrown down to the very foundation, either by
over- zealous Christians of early days, or b\' fanatical Moslems of
later times. This must have been no easy achievement, for the
walls were built with great blocks of hard breccia marljlc, from

52 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

eight to fourteen feet long, four broad, and five thick, resting on
the everlasting rock of the mountain ; and it is evident that nei-
ther earthquake nor any other known natural agency could have
effected such an overthrow. With the single exception of Ba'al-
bek, it must have been the largest and most splendid temple on or
amongst these mountains. The body of the edifice was one hundred
and six feet long and fifty-four wide, having a grand portico thirty
feet broad on the west end, making the entire length from south-
east to north-west one hundred and thirty-six feet. The portico
was supported by a double row of columns, four in each row. The
lower parts of four or five of these still stand upon their original
bases, and are nearly six feet in diameter. There were no columns
either on the east end or along the sides, but the portico must have
presented a magnificent appearance.

Though fronting north-west instead of to the east, that temple
was no doubt dedicated to Baal, like many others on and around
Lebanon and Hermon. This is confirmed by Greek and Latin
inscriptions found mostly built into the walls of the convent. In
common with other visitors I have repeatedly transcribed them,
and about a dozen have been discovered, copied and deciphered.
One inscription in the kitchen of the convent, " being interpreted,"
reads: " Balmarkos, Sovereign, Lord of Sports." It is pleasant to
find that his Sovereign Lordship assumed a character so amiable in
presence of this beautiful city. It must have been a favorite resort
of the Beiruteens for making " kaif," sport, and there I have found
the aromatic "smell of Lebanon" exceedingly grateful, and the
glorious prospect most exhilarating.

Seated on the very last ledge of that lofty headland overhang-
ing the gorge on three sides, with the Beirut River two thousand
feet below% the eye w^anders mountainward up two tremendous ra-
vines to snowy Sunnin, over eight thousand feet high, on the north-
east, and to Jebel Keniseh, more than six thousand feet high, on
the south-east — a wilderness of gigantic cliffs and well -wooded
ridges, where nestle many picturesque hamlets under oak-groves or
amongst dark forests of fragrant pine. Southward, and westward,
and northward lies the whole plain, with the city beyond, and the
view has no other limit than the utmost horizon along the van-

HOUSE-TOrS.— ROOFS.— BATTLEMENTS.

ishing verge of the " great and wide sea." Such panoramic scenes
can neither be painted nor described, they must be seen and felt.
On the north of that site are the remains of an ancient town now
covered and concealed by a thick grove of young oak-trees. To
that town and to the temple at Deir el Kul'ah an aqueduct brought
the cool water from its distant source north-east of Brummana.

HOUSE-TOrS, SHOWING ROOFS AND BATTLEMENTS.

The flat roofs of these Beirut houses afford such a delightful
promenade, and the prospect is so beautiful, that one can scarcely
keep away from them by day or night. So absorbed was I just now
in gazing about and listening to your peroration, that, if it had not
been for the parapet, I should have walked (juitc off the terrace,
and then found myself on the ground below with a broken limb.

54 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

A very practical illustration, that, of the wisdom and humanity
of the command in Deuteronomy xxii. 8 : " When thou buildest a
new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that
thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from
thence." That ordinance ought to be enforced by law wherever
the roofs are flat, and resorted to for relaxation, for sleeping, or for
business. . Roofs were appropriated to similar purposes at a very
early age. Rahab had evidently placed her flax on the roof of
her house, at Jericho, to preserve it ; and when the Hebrew spies
were sought for by the men of that city, she " brought them up
to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof."'

Ordinary houses have no other place where the inmates can
either " smell the air," dry the clothes, set out their flower-pors, or
do numberless other things essential to their health and comfort.
This is particularly true within the city walls ; and in villages the
roof is very useful. There the farmer suns his wheat for the mill,
and the flour when brought home, and dries his figs, raisins, and
other fruits in safety both from animals and from thieves.

Though we may have travelled beyond the limits of the Holy
Land, I see abundant evidence that we are still surrounded by
scenes and scenery that aptly illustrate the Holy Book ; and I am
glad that it is so, for it is this that imparts the greatest interest to
our rambles, and constitutes their chief value.

This land of Syria and Palestine — these mountains and valleys,
hills and plains, rivers and lakes, the sea and the sky — claims no
inherent attractions over other countries, and, the Bible left out,
other parts of the world may surpass it in interest and importance.
We must, therefore, ever keep in view the purpose and aim of our
travels. Nor will that be difficult, for we shall continually be re-
minded of it by many and varied incidents and experiences. This
subject of house-tops is a very Biblical one, and will bear farther
illustration by the actual habits of the people at this day.

For a great part of the year the roof, or " house-top," is the
most agreeable place about the house, especially in the morning
and evening. There many sleep during the summer, both in the

' Josh. ii. 6.

SAMUEL AND SAUL.— DAVID'S PALACE.— HOUSE-TOPS. 55

city and the country, and in all places where malaria does not ren-
der it dangerous. This custom is very ancient. Though, according
to our translation of i Samuel ix. 25, 26, Samuel calls Saul to the
top of the house, that he might send him away, instead of from
it, yet, taking the whole passage together, there can be no doubt
but that the process should be reversed. The Arabic has it thus :
Samuel " conversed with Saul upon the roof ; and early at the dawn
Samuel called Saul from the roof," etc., etc. This is natural, and
doubtless the correct history of the case. Saul, young, vigorous,
but weary with his long search, would desire no better place to
sleep than on the roof. But there should always be battlements,
and they should be kept in proper repair. The Moslems generally
build very high parapets, in order to screen their harem from ob-
servation ; but the Christians are very negligent, and do bring blood
upon their houses by a disregard of that law of Moses.

Your remark about the Moslems suggests the thought that if
Uriah's house had been thus protected, David might have been
saved from a series of crimes, and Israel from dreadful calamity.

True ; but then the roof of David's palace was probably so high
that he could look directly down into the courts of the neighboring
houses. There are such in most cities, and one can scarce!}' com-
mit a greater offence than to frequent a terrace which thus com-
mands the interior of other people's dwellings.

Isaiah has a reference to house-tops in the twenty-second chap-
ter which I do not quite understand. He says, verse first, " What
aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house-tops?"
For what purpose did the inhabitants of Jerusalem go there?

That is a remarkable passage. Verse second goes on to say,
"Thou art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city;" from
which one might suppose that the people had gone to the roofs to
eat, drink, clap hands, and sing, as the Arabs delight to do in the
mild summer evenings. But, from verses fifth to seventh, it is plain
that it was a time of " trouble, and of treading down, and of per-
plexity ;" which naturally suggests the idea that the inhabitants
had rushed to the tops of the houses to get a sight of those chari-
ots and horsemen of Elam and Kir, with whom their choice \'allcys
were full, and who were thundering against the gates of the city.

^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

And, as Oriental houses have no windows looking into the streets,
or, if there are such, they are closely latticed, there is no place
but the roof from whence to obtain a view of what is going on
without. When, therefore, anything extraordinary occurs in the
streets the people rush to the roofs and look over the battlements.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem, at the time of that Assyrian in-
vasion, were probably seized with frenzy and madness, as they
were centuries after, when the city was besieged b}^ the Roman
legions under Titus. Then, according to Josephus, some revelled in
drunken feasts, and kept the place in alarm by their stirs and tu-
mults ; some were engaged in plunder and murder; some wept bit-
terly, because of the spoiling of the daughter of God's people. It
was a day of universal and utter confusion. Nobody could sit still,
but all hurried to the house-tops, either to join in untimely riots
of fanaticism and drunken despair, or to watch with fear and trem-
bling the assault upon their walls and gates.

Was it not customary in the time of our Saviour to make public
proclamations from the tops of the houses?

Such an inference may be drawn from Matthew x. 27, and Luke
xii. 3. Our Lord spent most of his life in villages, and accordingly
the reference there probably was to a custom observed only in such
places, never in cities. At the present day local governors in coun-
try districts cause their commands thus to be published. Their
proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people
have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier as-
cends the highest roof at hand, and in a long-drawn call admonishes
all faithful subjects of the Prophet, within the hearing of his voice,
to pray to him. He then proceeds with the announcement in a set
form, and demands obedience thereto.

It w^as somewhat in this manner, I suppose, that the year of
Jubilee was proclaimed throughout the land, according to the com-
mand in Leviticus, twenty-fifth chapter and tenth verse.

The proclamation of that ordinance, so unique and unparal-
leled in the legislation of the world, was to be made with trumpets.
Whether straight, like those seen on the Arch of Titus, at Rome,
or crooked, like those rams' horns with which the walls of Jericho
were blown down, is not known. That joyful proclamation was

THE YEAR OF JUBILEE.— rRAVING UTON THE IIOUSE-TOr. 57

to be made by the priests, in the first instance ; but as it was to
be made " throughout all the land," on one and the same day,
the great day of atonement, it is scarcely possible that there were
priests enough furnished with "trumpets" to sound the news in
every village or hamlet, and in ever}' city and town in all their bor-
ders. Maimonides tells us that every Hebrew at the Jubilee blew
nine blasts, so as to make the trumpet literally sound throughout
the land. Accustomed as I have been to proclamations made from
house-tops by the human voice, I can fanc}* that the sound of the
Jubilee trumpets from the Temple of the Lord would be instantly
caught up and heralded abroad from ever}'' hill-top and mountain
height, even to the utmost border of the land. The expectant
and joyful nation would then neither need nor wait for the mere
sound of trumpets and rams' horns, but the people themselves
with their own glad voices would proclaim aloud the acceptable
year of the Lord :

The year of Jubilee is come :
Return, ye ransomed captives, home.

It is plain that the roofs were resorted to for worship, both true
and idolatrous. We read, in Zephaniah i. 5, of "them that worship
the host of heaven upon the house-tops ;" and from Acts x. 9 w'e
learn that at Joppa " Peter went up upon the house-top to pray
about the sixth hour," before the arri\al of the men from Caesarea.

All this is very natural. The Sabeans of Chaldea and Persia
could find no more appropriate place for the performance of their
idolatrous worship of the heavenly bodies than the open terraces,
with the stars shining down upon them so kindly. And as few, if
any, ancient dwellings had closets into which the devout could re-
tire for prayer, I suppose Peter was obliged to resort to the roof of
Simon's house for that purpose; and when surrounded with battle-
ments, and shaded by vines trained over them, like those of the
present day, they would afford a very agreeable retreat, even at " the
sixth hour," or about noon — the time when Peter w'as favored witii
that singular vision, by which the kingdom of heaven was throw 11
open to the entire Gentile world.

Our Lord says, " Let him which is on the house-top not come

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

TERRACE COVERED WITH VINES.

down to take any thing out of his house," ' Is it a correct inference
from this that the stairway landed on the outside of the house?

Probably outside of the house, but within the exterior court.
It would be neither agreeable nor safe to have the stairs land out-
side the enclosure altogether, and it is rarely done, except in moun-
tain villages, and where roofs are but little used. They not unfre-
quently end at the lewan, but more commonly in some part of the
lower court. The urgency of the flight recommended by our Lord
is enhanced by the fact that the stairs probably did lead dou'ii into
the court or lewan. He in effect says, though you must pass by
the very door of your room, do not enter; escape for your life,
without a moment's hesitation or delay.

' Matt. xxiv. 17.

THE SPARROW UPON THE HOUSE-TOP.— DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 59

No traveller in Syria will need an introduction to the sparrow
on the house-top. They are a tame, troublesome, vivacious, and
impertinent generation, and nestle just where they are not wanted.
They stop up the stoves-pipes and water-gutters with their rubbish,
build nests in the windows and under the beams in the roof, and
would stuff your hat full of stubble if they found it hanging in a
place to suit them. They are extremely pertinacious in asserting
their right of possession, and have not the least reverence for any-
place or thing. David alludes to these characteristics of the spar-
row in the eighty-fourth Psalm, when he complains that they had

THE SPARROW,

appropriated even the altars of God for their nests. Concerning
himself, he says, " I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the
house-top."' When one of them has lost its mate — a matter of
every-day occurrence — he will sit on the house-top alone, and
lament by the hour his sad bereavement. As these birds are not
much relished for food, five sparrows may still be sold for " two
farthings ;" and when we sec the eagerness with which they are
destroyed as a worthless nuisance, we can appreciate the assurance
that our heavenly Father, who takes care of them, so that not one
can fall to the ground without his notice, will surely take care of
us, who "are of more value than many s[)arrows."'

' Psa, cii. 7. '■' Matt. x. 29, 31 ; Luke .\ii, 6, 7.

6o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Let US now descend from the house-top, and visit some of the
shops and streets in the city.

A stroll through an Oriental town is always either amusing or
instructiv'e ; and in no other way, I suppose, can a stranger gain so
rapid an insight into the manners and customs of the people. We
hav^e already passed several coffee-shops, with picturesque groups
of natives, seated on low stools, or upon large mats, sipping black
coffee from tiny porcelain cups, and sending forth clouds of smoke
from long pipes, or from those wonderfully contrived and bubbling
nargilehs.

You may regard the custom of frequenting coffee-shops with
the greater satisfaction, because that mode of spending time and
obtaining rest and refreshment is free from the degrading and
ruinous vices attending saloons and dram-shops in other countries.
I do not mean that everything indulged in by the frequenters of
Oriental cafes is innocent. Many of them waste much time at
card-playing and other methods of gambling. But even in those
matters the stakes are insignificant, and the consequences not very
mischievous. Until something better can take their place, we may
pass on and leave the Oriental in peaceful possession of his cafe,
and its cheap and harmless attractions.

Here is a shopkeeper whose small stock in trade consists en-
tirely of coffee-cups, pipes, and tobacco.

As in other lands so it is here : many of the occupations of
the middle classes have reference to the necessities and habits of
the people. Next to him is another who has in his shop a small
turning -lathe, by means of which he perforates long pipe -stems,
and then fits them with bowls of colored clay, and mouth-pieces
of glass, bone, or amber. The amount of capital invested in that
business, and the gain accruing, is extremely small ; but those who
follow such avocations are simple in their habits and frugal in their
mode of life.

In the matter of smoking, as in others far more important,
the people of Beirut have departed greatly from former customs.
Amongst native Christians especially, the cigarette has taken the
place of the more luxurious pipe, and the elegant and complicated
nargileh. Still, there is quite a display of them in many houses.

THE LETTER -WRITER.

THE LETTKR-WRITKR.

Here on our right is something sufficiently Oriental, I suppose,
though there is no mention of such a custom in BibHcal times.

That old man sitting by the mosk is a letter-writer. He has his
paper near him, and his scissors to trim it to the required shape and

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

size. And now he takes the ink-horn, or what answers to that very-
ancient article of the " scribes," from his girdle, and points one of
those " reeds " so often mentioned by the sacred writers. All this
seems Biblical enough. But there comes a woman, veiled from
head to foot, and takes her station by his side. See, she is whis-
pering from behind her veil the desired message. That is suffi-

WRITING AND WRITING MATERIALS.

LETTER-WRITING.— INK-HORN.— ORIENTAL LETTERS. 63

cient, the introduction consisting of complimentary phrases ; the
salams, etc., go in according to rule, and to all alike.

Why, it is a kind of Moslem confessional, and that aged head
must be full of the secrets and the scandal of half the city.

I suppose, like other confessors, he keeps the faith, and may be
trusted. Still, letter-writing is not a thriving business in this coun-
try, since even Moslem women are now learning to write.

The writing materials are very curious, and the mode of using
them is peculiar, to say the least.

They do not carry ink-horns now, as the prophets and scribes
of old did, but have a metal or ebony case for their reed pens, with
a bulb of the same material, attached to the upper end, for the ink.
That case they thrust through the girdle, and carry with them at
all times. When they are to write a letter, for example, they open
the lid of the ink -bulb, draw out a long reed pen from the case,

MODERN ARAB INK-HORN.

double over the paper, and begin from the right side, holding the
paper in the hand, without any other support. To be very respect-
ful, they take a large sheet, and the lines should incline upward
towards the left corner of the paper. They have formal introduc-
tions expressing sentiments of the highest regard and esteem, no
matter to whom they are writing, friend or enemy. After that,
which, if it have any meaning, is egregious flattery, they make an
epitome of the letter they are to answer, repeating it, word for
word, as we often find done in the Bible. They date at the top,
but mention of the place is not always considered essential ; and
I have often been at a loss to discover where to address my reply.
The letter should be folded long, like documents on file, placed

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

within an envelope made for the
occasion, and the address written
across it. It must be sealed. The
" open letter," therefore, or paper
sent by Sanballat to Nehemiah, was
an insult.' Nearly ev-
erybody wears a seal-
ring, either on the fin-
ger, suspended from his
watch-chain, or attach-
ed to his purse, hav-
ing his name engraven
upon it ; and this he
affixes to all important
letters and documents
— another Biblical cus-
tom preserved in its
fullest extent." Ara-
bic books begin where
ours end, their first
page being our last.

EL MUEZZIN — THE CALL TO PRAYER.

It is now quite time to turn our steps homeward. The muez-
zin calls " the faithful " to sunset prayers, from that tall and slen-
der minaret ; and dinner will be waiting. Rich and poor, all sects
and classes in the East, generally dine when the day's work is
done, as was the custom in ancient Biblical times.

See those men in that mosk. One has spread his cloak, and
others their Persian rugs, towards the south. They are preparing
• Neh. vi. 5. 2 I Kings xxi. 8.

INTERIOR OF A MOSK.-MOSLE.MS AT PRAYER. 65

to say prayers— perform them, rather— in this most pubhc place,
and in the midst of all this noise and confusion.

That man, standing with his face towards Mecca, raises his open
hands till the thumbs touch the ears, exclaiming aloud, Allah hu

EI, JAMI A — THE MOSK.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

akbar — " God is most great." After uttering mentally a few short
petitions, the hands are brought down, and folded together near the

girdle, while he recites the first
chapter of the Koran, and two or
three other brief passages from
the same book. And now he
bends forward,
rests both hands
upon his knees,
and repeats three
times a formula
of praise to "God
the most great."
Then, standing
up erect, he cries

Allah hu akbar, as at the
beginning. He then
drops upon his knees,
and bends forward until
his forehead touches the
ground, between his ex-
panded hands. This he
does three times, mutter-
ing all the while short
formulas of prayer and
praise. The next move-
ment will bring him to
his knees, and then, set-
tling ' back upon his
heels, he mumbles over
various small petitions,
with sundry exclama-
tions, according to form and custom. He has now gone through
one regular Rekah ; and, standing up as at the first, and on the

MOSLEMS AT PRAYER.

PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.— NUMBER OF DAILY rKAVERS. 67

same spot, he will perform a second, and, if specially devout, even
a third, with the same genuflections.

They seem to be wholly absorbed in their devotions, and mani-
fest a power of isolation and abstraction quite surprising.

That is the result of habit and education ; small children imi-
tate it to perfection. There is certainly an air of great solemnity
in their mode of worship, and, when performed by a large assembly
in the mosks, or by a detachment of soldiers in concert, guided in
their genuflections by an imam or dervish, chanting the service, it is
quite impressive. I have seen it enacted by moonlight, on the wild
banks of the Orontes, in the plain of Hamath, and the scene was
something more than romantic. But, alas ! it was by as villanous
a set of robbers as could be found, even in that lawless region.

You think, then, that this solemn ceremony is mere hollow-
hearted hypocrisy?

Not exactly that ; at least not necessarily so, nor in all cases.
I would be glad to believe there was ordinarily any corresponding
moral and religious feeling connected with this exterior manifesta-
tion of devotion. The Moslems themselves, however, have no such
idea. They are rather afraid of any one who is especially sancti-
monious and given to prayer — their prayers, I mean. They have
a proverb to this effect: "If your neighbor has made the pilgrim-
age to Mecca once, watch him ; if twice, avoid his society ; if three
times, move into another street." And, certainly, no one acquainted
with the people will feel his confidence in an individual increased
by the fact that he is particularly devout.

How often, during the day and night, do the orthodox Mu-
hammedans perform their regular prayers ?

The orthodox number is five; the first at sunset, called salat
el mugrib, because, according to Oriental usage, the day com-
mences at that time. The second is about an hour and a half
later, and is called salat el 'eshe. The third is at the dawn, and
the fourth is at noon, called respectively, salat cs subh and salat
ed duhr. The fifth, which is salat el 'asr, comes midway be-
tween noon and sunset. Those who are especially devout observe
two additional seasons, one soon after midnight, and the other
about an hour before daybreak, seven in all. and to some such

68 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

custom in Biblical times there seems to be an allusion in Psalm
cxix. 164: "Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy
righteous judgments." But the times most scrupulously observed
are three — at sunset, in the morning, and at noon. In this, also,
they apparently conform to the seasons of devotion mentioned
by David in Psalm Iv. 17: "Evening, and morning, and at noon,
will I pray, and call aloud : and he shall hear my voice."

It is, to say the least, interesting and suggestive to notice these
correspondencies between the periods of prayer amongst the Mos-
lems and those of the Hebrews in the olden times.

Many of these people are ostentatiously devout when abroad,
somewhat after the fashion of the Pharisees, I suppose. Look at
that fine, portly man, for instance, walking slowly and a little in
advance of his retainers and servants. He is the judge, or kady,
returning from the mehkameh, or court of justice. That is his
"walk" before the public, whatever his "conversation" or behavior
may be at home. No matter what dark schemes he may have
been cogitating to sell justice at the highest available price, no
sooner does he leave his door and make his appearance abroad than
he subsides into serenest gravity. With an austere and sanctimo-
nious air he passes along, a mesbahah, or string of beads, in his
hand, his eyes half closed, and his lips moving incessantly in pious
ejaculations — brief prayers and citations from the Koran. In all
this there is no appearance of affectation. Habit, from his early
childhood, has made it natural, and let us hope that he himself is
scarcely conscious of acting the hypocrite.

When in the mehkameh he will pause at the call of the muez-
zin, rise from his divan, and, with an attitude and air of the utmost
devotion, betake himself to his carpet and prayers, in the presence
of the entire court, and of the victims, too, of his legal villanies.
This kady is neither exceptional nor exaggerated, and alas! his
kind of piety is associated with the most tiger-hearted fanaticism.
Just such men planned and guided those diabolical butcheries and
massacres in i860, and those which have, in by-gone days, shocked
and horrified the civilized world ; nor will they hesitate to repeat
such atrocities whenever and wherever the opportunity offers.
There is something so terrible in this phase of human nature that

MUHAMMEDAN KIIiLEH.— MECCA AND JERUSALEM. 69

no mantle of charity is sufficiently ample to hide its inexpressible
ugliness and fiendish crueltx'.

What opposite conclusions different persons can and do draw
from the same premises ! One who looks merely at the surface, or
who is ver>' " liberal," or very indifferent, may connect out-of-door
or formal praying towards Mecca with the venerable custom of the
pious Israelite turning towards the Temple in Jerusalem, when, like
Daniel in Babylon, " he prayed and gave thanks before his God." '

I think it probable that Muhammed, or the Arabs before him,
borrowed that custom from the Jews; and, to this extent, there is
a relation between them. He did not need to originate the idea
of a Kibleh — south. That was an ancient custom. He, however,
changed his Kibleh more than once before success enabled him to
fix it permanently in Mecca, towards Beit Allah, where the Black
Stone is, and the well Zemzem. It seems evident, from the way
in which Solomon mentions praying towards the Temple, at the
very dedication of it, that it had been the custom of the children
of Israel from remote antiquity to direct their faces in prayer to-
wards the place where the ark and the altar were located. They
being permanently established in Jerusalem by David, the ceremo-
nious Jew had already learned to turn in his devotions towards the
Holy City chosen by Jehovah for his special dwelling-place.''

The enlightened Christian, who has learned that "neither in this
mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem," shall men worship the Father, who
is a Spirit, and must be worshipped "in spirit and in truth "^ — such
a one will be reminded by the praying Moslem in the street and
at the mosk of those who " love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men."
And he will remember with solemnity the admonition of our Lord,
" When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are " —
either as to place, attitude, motive, or form — in public to be seen of
men, using " vain repetitions," as these Moslems still do.' They are
obliged to repeat some expressions thirty times ; others many hun-
dred times. Would that these remarks did not apply to nominal
Christians in this land as well as to Moslems !

Some of these crooked, narrow streets, with gutters in the mid-
' Dan. vi. 10, 11. '^ i Kings viii. 44, 48. •' Jolin iv. 21, 24. ' Matt. vi. 5, 7.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

die, and no sidewalks ; with these closet -h'ke shops, whose raised
platforms extend so far into the thoroughfare ; with low vaulted

ES SUK — THE STREET.

arches overhead, upon which houses appear to be built, and with
kiosks and latticed windows almost meeting from the opposite
sides, are anything but cheerful and convenient.

Especially the latter, when the street is crowded with men.

"DRAWERS OF WATER. •—SlIAVIXCi THE HEAD. 71

women, and children, horses, camels, donkeys, and dogs — all con-
tributing to the noise and confusion, shouting, calling, crj'ing, growl-
ing, braying, barking, biting, and fighting. This man warns the
throng to be careful lest they get their clothes wet by coming in
contact with his burden — a water-bottle made out of the whole
skin of an ox. Those boys are shouting, at the top of their voices,
" Your back ! your face !" admonishing the crowd to look sharply
before and behind, or they may be knocked down, run over, crushed
against the wall ; or have their clothes torn, and their faces lace-
rated by the sticks of wood on the backs of the donkeys : a very
necessary admonition.

That I perceive well enough, and both the donkey-boys and the
water-carrier remind me of that Biblical expression, now passed into
a proverb — " Hewers of wood and drawers of water."

Their occupation is one of slavish toil, and they are to be en-
countered everywhere — at the entrance to private houses, in the
crooked streets, on the broad carriage -roads, and in the narrow
lanes in the suburbs of the town. Beirut still depends largely upon
hewers of wood and drawers of water, and they are a necessity here
to-day, as were the Gibeonites when they wxre employed in the
same service about the sanctuary.'

Well, that is a strange sight, and one which I did not expect
to .see in a civilized city like Beirut. This barber has established
himself on the flag-stones in that sheltered corner, and is plying
his art upon the head of that muleteer seated on the mat in front
of him, and meekly holding the basin under his own chin. He is
actually shaving the man's head as bare as the palm of my hand I
Are we to suppose that Paul submitted to an operation like that
when he shaved his head at Cenchrea, and again at Jerusalem?'

I see no reason to doubt it. Then, as now, it may have been
the custom to shave the head in the public street. The poor, and
especially the laboring classes amongst the Christians, get shaved
anywhere — on the roadside, beneath the shade of some patriarchal
tree, at the khan or way-side inn, and in villages and towns, on the
thoroughfares, or in the streets.

Ignorant and fanatical Moslems reserve a lock of hair on the
' Josh. ix. 23, 27. * .\cts xviii. iS ; xxi. 24.

72 • THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

top of the head, not only to distinguish them from Christians, but
also, if they fall in battle against " the unbelievers," to allow of the
head being carried by it, when severed from the body. Otherwise
the impure hand of "the infidel" would be inserted into the mouth
of " the believer," and thus defile it. There are barber -shops for

SHAVING THE HEAD.

the well-to-do and intelligent Moslems, like this one on our left ;
and others fitted up in European style, and patronized by foreign
residents, travellers, and the better class amongst the Christians.

What a Babel of discordant sounds ! and yet what a perfect
paradise for the relic hunter, the antiquarian, and the artist these
old curiosity shops are, crammed full with such an extraordinary
collection of Oriental articles of every shape and description !

We are now in " the street of the auctioneers," and these men,
besetting us on every side, and jabbering at us so incoherently, are
the dellalin, or auctioneers. They wear swords round their waists,
daggers and pistols stuck into their girdles, carry guns on their
shoulders, and cast-off finery on their arms, from the embroidered
and spangled veil to the elegant cloth jacket gleaming in purple
and gold, and from a praying-rug to a red fez cap or a green tur-
ban — all " going, going, gone," to the highest bidder.

No wonder that " the buyer," in Solomon's time, if he ever ex-

BARBER-SHOP.— AUCTIONEER.

BARBER-SHOP — Al'CTIONEF.R.

pcrienccd any such ordeal as this, should exclaim, in order to
escape from their importunities, " It is naught, it is naught: but
when he is gone his way, then he boastcth." '

' I'rov. XX. 14.

74 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Already the shades of evening fall heavily along these gloomy
streets, and I see no provision for lighting them.

There is none ; and you observe that the shopkeepers are shut-
ting up, and leaving for home. Thenceforward until morning the
streets are deserted and silent, with only here and there a company
returning from a visit, with a servant carrying a lantern before them.
The city guard creeps softly about in darkness, and apprehends
all found walking the streets without a light. Beirut is gradually
departing from many of these customs, and some of the shops
in the suburbs are patronized until a late hour ; still enough of
them remain to afford a type of all that can be seen elsewhere,
except at Damascus. That city is wholly different, and carries one
back to the age of the Caliphs and the creations of the " Thou-
sand and One Nights."

May 31st.

The friend at whose house we dined last evening sent a ser-
vant to call us when dinner was ready. Is this custom strictly
observed by all classes in the community, at the present day?

Not very generally amongst the common people, nor in cities,
where European manners have greatly modified the Oriental ; but
on Lebanon it still piievails. If a sheikh, beg, or emir invites, he
sends a servant at the proper time. This servant often repeats the
formula mentioned in Luke xiv. 17: "Come; for all things are now
ready," or the supper is ready. The fact that this custom is mainly
confined to the wealthy and to the nobility is in agreement with
the same parable, where the certain man "who made a great sup-
per, and bade many," was presumably of that class.' It is true
now, as then, that to refuse is an affront to the maker of the feast,
nor would such excuses as those in the parable be more acceptable
to a Druse emir than they were to the lord of that " great supper ;"
very few, however, would manifest their displeasure by sending
servants into the highways and hedges after the poor, the maimed,
the halt, and the blind. All those characters are found in the
streets, and I have known rich men who exemplified the parable
even in that particular; it was, however, as matter of ostentation,
to show the extent of their benevolence, or the depth of their

' Luke xiv. i6.

ORIENTAL DINNERS. 75

humility and condescension. Nevertheless, it is pleasant to find
enough of that parable still practised to show that originally it was,
in its details, in close conformity to the customs of this country.

Orientals certainly are far behind the day in almost every
branch of domestic economy ; especially is this noticeable in the
absence of a dining-room, in the deficiency of their tabic furni-
ture, and their primitive mode of eating.

The common custom, even of the better class, is to bring a
polygon stool, about fourteen inches high, into the general sitting-
room. On this is placed a tray of basket-work or of copper, upon
which the food is arranged. The bread lies on the mat or upon
the tray, and a cruise of water stands near by, from which all drink-
as they have need. On formal occasions this is held in the hand
by a servant, who waits upon the guests. Around this stool and
tray the guests gather, sitting on the floor. The rich have knives
and forks, and even silver spoons; but they rarely use them.

This is a very meagre set-out, certainly.

It is all they want, and more convenient than our custom, and
less expensive. High tables and chairs would not only be out of
place, but in the way at all times. They do not have a dining-
room, and hence they want furniture that can be easil)- brought in
and removed. They eat out of the same dish, for it is within the
reach of all. The dishes are composed generally of rice and stews,
of beans, cracked wheat, or other vegetables, with leben or curdled
milk, or salads, as the case may be, in deep dishes or bowls. Some
use wooden or metal spoons for their boiled rice and thick stews,
but the most common mode is to double up bits of the thin bread,
and dip them into the dish. There is frequent reference to this
custom in some of the most interesting and solemn scenes of the
Bible. As the meat is always cut up in the stews, or else cooked
until it is ready to fall to pieces, knives and forks are not neces-
sary ; and when they have chicken the flesh is easily torn to jiieces
with the fingers. Nor do they see any vulgarity in this. Polite
Orientals will tear off the best bits, and either lay them on the
guest's plate, or insist u[)on putting them into his mouth. I ha\e
had this done to me by fingers not particularl\- fair, or even clean.

Their customs demand much less labor than ours. If our s\-s-

liiiiii'r^

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

^ Jll

SITTING AT MEAT — PARTY AT DINNER.

tern was introduced, and the females of the family — who do all the
work — were required to carry it out, their labor would be increased
tenfold. Not only must the dining-room be provided, but also en-
tirely new furniture procured, and the table, table-linen, and chairs
be kept clean and bright. Indeed, an entirely new and foreign

IMITATING EUROPEAN MANNERS.

department must be instituted, and maintained under every dis-
advantage. Where this has been attempted in the native famiHes,
imitating European manners, it has generally proved a failure.
The kni\es, forks, and spoons are rusty; the plates, dishes, and
glasses ill assorted, dirty, badly arranged, and not sufficient in num-
bers ; and the chairs and the table are rickety, and the cooking is
the worst of all. The Arabs should retain their own dietetic regu-
lations, at least until they arc better prepared for a change. For
their own needs their cooking is good, and their set-out respectable.

la i::/Ji/^IE-h^J*i^'

STOOL AND TRAY — riTCHER AND BASIN.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

After such a meal as we have described, washing the hands is
indispensable. The pitcher and basin are brought in, and the ser-
vant pours water over the hands of the guests, who dry them upon
a napkin placed for the purpose on his shoulder.

If there is no servant, they perform this ofifice for each other.
Great men have those about them whose duty it is to pour water

WASHING THE HANDS.

on their hands. Thus it was in ancient times. One of the servants
said to Jehoshaphat, " Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which
poured water on the hands of Elijah."' It was a pitcher and basin

' 2 Kincs iii. ii.

SOCIAL REUNIONS.— COFFEE AND PIPES. 79

somewhat like the tusht and ibrick of this day, I suppose, that our
Lord used at the close of the last supper with his disciples, w^hen
he girded himself with a napkin, and Avashed, not their hands, but
their feet, and thus gave the most affecting lesson on humility the
world has ever seen or heard.'

The invited friends of our host, who came in after dinner to
spend the evening, belonged to some of the most intelligent and
wealthy families of Beirut.

I begin to understand their " reunions," and have been much
impressed with the graceful politeness observed even between inti-
mate friends on such occasions. When one enters the room all
rise to their feet, and stand steadfast and straight as palm-trees to
receive him. The formal salams are given and taken all round the
room with the dignity of princes and the gravity of a court; and
when the new-comer reaches his seat the ceremony is repeated, all
sitting, in precisely the same words. In one of their full divans,
therefore, a man gives and receives about fifty salams before he is
fairly seated and at his ease.

Then comes the formality of coffee-drinking and the social cus-
tom of smoking. Some use the extemporaneous cigarette. Others
have pipes with long stems of cherry or other w^ood, ornamented
with amber mouth -pieces of considerable value. The nargileh,
however, wnth its flexible tube of various-colored leather, seems to
be the greatest favorite. The tube of the one brought to me the
other evening was at least twelve feet long, of crimson leather,
corded w^ith silver wire ; the bottle, with its plate, was very large,
of thick cut-glass, inlaid with gold, really rich and beautiful. I,
however, could produce no effect upon the water in the bottle.
One needs a deep chest and great powers of inspiration to entice
the smoke of the burning timbek down the tube, through the
water, and along the coiled sinuosities of the snake -like nabridj ;
and yet I saw a lad make the water in the glass bubble like a
boiling caldron without any apparent effort. The sipping of black
coffee, from tiny cups, set in holders of china, brass, or silver and
gold filigree, I like wcU enough, but not the fumigation. A cloud
soon fills the room so dense that one can scarcely see, and I was

' John xiii. 4, 5.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

PIPES, NARGILEHS, COFFEE-CUPS, AND TRAYS.

driven to the open court to escape suffocation. Another thing
which surprises me is the vehemence of the speakers. Head and
shoulders, hands and feet, the whole body, in fact, is wrought into
violent action to emphasize their meaning. When fairly roused,
all talk together at the top of their voices, and above anything of

GARMENTS, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 8 1

the kind I have ever heard. Noticing my surprise, one said to
me, " You talk as if you were afraid to be heard, and we as if we
feared we should not be." I wonder how you can distinguish the
words or comprehend a single sentence.

We are used to it ; and, unless a stranger calls attention to that
which has confounded you, we hardly notice it. I wish you could
have understood the discussions the other evening, for they em-
braced some of those grand and impressive themes which can and
ought to stir the deepest fountains of feeling in the human breast.
The Arabs delight in such subjects.

My two young friends, who spoke English, kept me informed
of the leading topics, and I was able to appreciate some of the re-
marks which so interested the company. We finally took a corner
to ourselves, and compared Oriental and Occidental manners and
customs. They maintained that we had invented and shaped ours
on purpose to contradict theirs— theirs, the original ; ours, copies
reversed or caricatured. Of course, the weighty questions about
beards, and mustaches, and shaved heads were duly discussed with
respect to appearance, convenience, cleanliness, and health.

Escaping from the tangle of the beard, we fell into another
about garments, long and short, tight and loose ; and there they
were confident of victory. Our clothes seem to them uncomforta-
ble and inconvenient ; and that is true, if we must sit as the Ori-
entals do ; but with chairs and sofas their objection has but little
force, while for active life our fashions are far the best. Long,
loose clothes are ever in the way, working, walking, or riding ; and
I suspect that they aid materially in producing that comparative
inactivity which distinguishes Orientals from Occidentals. As to
the mere matter of picturesqucness, we may admit their claim to
some apparent superiority. The masters of the brush and the
chisel, and the sons of song in every age and country, have so
decreed, and it is vain to deny.

These matters of dress and costume have a certain Biblical in-
terest, and therefore form a necessary part of our study. The gar-
ments of our first parents, in addition to their primary intention,
had, as I believe, a typical significance. The skins with which those
two sinners, penitent and reconciled, were clothed were, probably,

82 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

those of lambs offered in sacrifice, and they not obscurely sym-
bolized the robes of righteousness purchased for penitent believers
by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on Calvary. And in many sub-
sequent religious incidents and institutions garments are invested
with a typical signification.

Such facts elevate the subject far above the category of mere
trivialities. And, indeed, that cannot be a matter of indifference to
the Christian student and philosopher in which all men, all women,
all children, of every age and country, have felt, do, and will ever
continue to feel, an absorbing interest, and upon which is expended
an infinite amount of time, money, and labor. It would be a curi-
ous exercise of ingenuity to trace out the very gradual development
of human costume, from the first fig-leaves and coats of skins to the
complicated toilets of a highly-civilized society.

We, however, must restrict ourselves to the Bible. The list of
garments is not extensive until the times of the later prophets —
aprons of fig-leaves, man's first vain invention to hide the naked-
ness of sin. Coats of skin, given in mercy by our heavenly Father
— cloaks, mantles, shirts, breeches, girdles, bonnets, and sandals, in-
vented at various dates, and most of them consecrated to religious
purposes by Moses in the garments of the Hebrew priesthood.

It is a remarkable fact, that after the first mention of coats in
Genesis iii. 21, we hear no more about garments of any kind for
sixteen or eighteen hundred years. Shem and Japheth, after the
Deluge, had a garment so large that they laid it on their shoulders,
in order to cover their father. Several hundred years later — in
Abraham's day — we read of shoes, and of raiment presented to Re-
bekah ; and she covered herself with a veil when Isaac met her.
Later in life, she had goodly raiment of her son Esau with her in
the house. Then comes the coat of many colors, the occasion of
sad calamities to Joseph ; Reuben, not finding the lad in the pit,
rent his clothes — the first time this action is mentioned. Jacob
also rent his; and, in after- ages, this expression of grief becomes
common, and is so to this day, as the fabrics out of which the gar-
ments were made became of a finer texture, and more easily torn.

The materials first used were skins of animals, and some people
are clothed with them at this day. Afterwards coarse cloth woven

GARMENTS, ANXIENT AND MODERN. 83

from the hair of goats and camels was used, and Hnen, woollen, and
cotton fabrics were introduced. Silk is mentioned in Genesis xli.
42, margin ; Proverbs xxxi. 22, and in Ezekiel xvi. 10, 13, but I sup-
pose " fine linen " was meant. There is no reason to believe that
Solomon's "virtuous wife" was acquainted with the manufacture
of silk; nor was cotton, probably, known to the Jews until the
Captivity. The Egyptians, and of course the Hebrews, were early
skilled in embroidery with tissue of silver and gold ; and Orientals
are still extravagantly fond of embroidered garments. The favorite
colors, as every reader of the Bible knows, were blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and the same taste prevails in Syria, and in Oriental
countries generally, to this day.

The whole subject of garments and fabrics, shape and color, is
much more obscure than most people suppose. The ancient He-
brew costume is thought to have resembled, more or less closely,
the Oriental dress of our day. But which? We shall select that
of the Syrian Arab and Bedawin of the desert, which in all pro-
bability do approach nearest to that of the Hebrews ; and by
describing the various articles, as well as the ordinary mode of
wearing them, their use will be sufficiently apparent. You need
not attempt to remember, or even pronounce, the Arabic names ;
but it is difficult to talk about nameless things, and therefore we
cannot dispense with these hard words.

LIST OF GARMENTS WORN BV SYRIAN ARABS AND BEDAWIX.

Kumis, a long shirt of cotton, linen, or silk. yeh, overlapping in front, has pockets for

Those of the Bedawin are made of cot- purse and handkerchief.

ton, the most important item in their Gumbaz, an open gown of cotton, silk, or

wardrobe. cloth, with long sleeves, overlapping in

Libas, drawers of cotton. front, girded tightly about the loins by

Shintian, or Sherwal, very full, loose trousers the zunn.ir.

of cotton, linen, or cloth. Zunnar, girdle of leather, cotton, silk, wool-

Dikky, a cord or sash of cotton or silk, with len, or camel's hair shawl.

which the trousers are gathered and tied Sulta, an outer jacket worn over the gumbaz.

round the waist. Kubran, a heavy jacket of cotton, linen, or

Suderiyeh, a waistcoat, without sleeves, l)ut- cloth, with open or slashed sleeves fasteneil

toned up to the neck, of cotton, linen, by buttons.

cloth, silk, or velvet. Jibl)eh, a long loose mantle of cotton or clolii,

Mintian, a jacket of cotton, linen, or cloth, very full.

with long sleeves, worn over the suderi- '.\ba, 'Abaiyeh, Mashlah, a cloak, of various

84 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

forms and materials. It is often richly or- Tlie Bedawin wear the keffiyeh only, a par-

namented with gold and silver thread in- ty-colored handkerchief, woven with gold

woven with the cloth. The most common tissue, thrown over the head, and confined

is made long and full, of wool, goats' or there by a twisted rope of goats' or camels'

camels' hair, so that the owner wraps him- hair, called 'akal. This is a picturesque

self in it to sleep. and very distinctive article in the costume

Burnus, long loose cloak of white wool, with of an Arab of the Desert.

a hood to cover the head. For the feet there is, first —

For the head there is, first, the Jerabat and Kalsat, socks and stockings of

Arkiyeh and Takiyeh, a cotton cap, fitting every variety, and of all colors.

closely to the head, whether shaven or not. Kalshin, a slipper of soft morocco leather,

If the head is shaved, a soft felt cap is red, yellow, or black.

often worn under the takiyeh. Babuje, a half slipper, answering in part to

Tarbiash, or Fez, a thick red felt cap. The the ancient sandal, which is not now used

best come from Algiers. except by the Bedawin of the desert.

Laffeh, the Turban, a shawl of wool, cotton, Surmaiyeh, a shoe, commonly of red mo-
or silk, wound around the tarbush. The rocco. Christian priests wear black shoes,
Turks now wear nothing but the fez, and but with Moslem sheikhs the favorite color
many Arabs only the tarbush, with its long is yellow.

tassel. Others have a small colored hand- Jezmah, a boot of red morocco, stout and

kerchief or mandeil tied round the tarbush. clumsy.

There are variations and additions to this Hst in different regions
inhabited by the Arab race ; being, however, only sHght departures
from existing types and patterns, they need not be described.

To the BibHcal student, these matters are interesting so far only
as they throw light on the sacred Scriptures ; and this they do in
many passages. For example, it w^as the 'aba or mashlah, I sup-
pose, with which Shem and Japheth covered their father.' Joseph's
" coat of many colours " may have been the kumis, or shirt, and is
thus translated in the Arabic Bible." It was the jibbeh, probably,
that he left in the hands of the wife of Potiphar.' The 'Aba, or
Mashlah, may represent the mantle which fell from Elijah, and was
taken up by Elisha, or the cloak, in the precept, " If any man will
sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also."* It was possibly the jibbeh that our Saviour laid aside when
he washed the feet of the disciples." It can be so worn or taken
off, and, like the suderiyeh, or waistcoat, rent in grief or rage, as to
correspond with every allusion to such matters in the Bible. The
same applies to the zunnar or girdle, to the surmaiyeh and babuj

' Gen. ix. 23. '^ Gen. xxxvii. 3, 23, 31. ^ Gen. xxxix. 12.

* 2 Kings ii. 8, 13 ; Matt. v. 40. ^ John xiii. 4, 5.

rUilIXG OFF THE SHOES.— COVERING THE HEAD. 85

— the shoes and slippers — and, in fact, to all other articles of dress
which we have described.

Let us turn philosophers while we look farther into Oriental
manners, customs, and costumes. Search deep enough, and I be-
lieve you will generally find that the customs of a people are the
result of two causes — necessity and compensation. The Oriental
costume, for example, is light and loose, because the climate is
warm. The natives do not sit on chairs, because they are hard
and uncomfortable, and in this country a recumbent posture is
required to insure rest and comfort. Under these circumstances,
tight garments are very inconvenient and incongruous.

Then, as you observe, they scrupulously drop their boots, shoes,
or slippers at the door when they enter a room, and keep on their
head-dress. This seems strange to us, but it is necessary. As
they sit on the mat, rug, or divan, with their feet under them, shoes
would soil both couch and clothes, and, besides, would make a very
uncomfortable seat. The demands of propriety and comfort in-
troduced and enforced the custom of dropping the shoes at the
entrance into the sitting-room, and it was thence extended to every
place entitled to respect. From this to the idea of defilement from
the shoe was but a step, and certain to be taken. Hence the strict
requisition to put it ofT on entering sacred places of every kind.
Muhammedans have preserved this idea in all its force, and none
can enter their mosks or holy shrines with shoes on. This custom
was probably established in Egypt before Moses was born, and he
was trained up to regard it as obligatory. When, therefore, God
appeared to him in the burning bush, he needed only to be re-
minded that the place whereon he stood was holy ground, to make
the direction to put off his shoes at once intelligible and reasonable.'

Then the people keep their head-dress on, both because the
shaven head requires to be concealed, and also for the sake of
health. Always covered and closely shaved, the head becomes ten-
der, and liable to colds on the least exposure. The shaving of the
head, I suppose, had reference, originally, to cleanliness, and to avoid
scab and other cutaneous diseases, which are generally prevalent,
and difficult to cure. It is undoubtedly better to keep the head

' E.xod. iii. 5.

86 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

clean and cool, and accustomed to bear change of temperature, with
only the beautiful covering which God has spread over it. It is
also best and most becoming to keep the feet covered and warm.
But in this climate people do not often suffer from cold feet, and
the requirements of decency are secured by concealing them under
their loose garments. The ablutions which Muhammed required
before public worship have as much reference to propriety as to
spiritual or ceremonial purity. Becomingly dressed in loose, flowing
robes, and thoroughly cleansed hands, feet, and face, their prayers
are not only proper, but striking and solemn.

In the time of Moses "garments," I presume, had attained
nearly their present form and shape amongst tribes purely Ori-
ental ; I mean as to pattern, not as to the number, nature, and
quality of the materials. Those have greatly multiplied and im-
proved, both in variety, skilful workmanship, fineness of fabric, and
in the combination of brilliant colors.

The costume of the women corresponded in most respects, I
suppose, to that of the men, with, of course, certain additions. As
was to be expected, it developed faster than the other. Even
during the life of Jacob there were garments appropriate to maid-
ens, others to married women, and others again for widows. That
implies a great variety in female attire ; and it went on enlarging,
until their toilets became as complicated and mysterious in Jerusa-
lem as they now are in the capitals of Europe and America. In
the third chapter of Isaiah we have a catalogue, about as intelligi-
ble to the English reader as the Hebrew seems to have been to our
translators : " Cauls, round tires like the moon, chains or sweet balls,
mufflers or spangled ornaments, tablets or houses of the soul," ' etc.

The female costume of the present day differs from that of the
men mostly in the veils and in the head-dress, which, with the tar-
bush for the basis, is complicated by an endless variety of jewels
and other ornamental appendages ; these, however, you will not
easily get permission to inspect, and to request it would be, in
most cases, a serious affront.

The dress of Oriental women is not so complicated as that
of European ladies, and shows more the shape of the person, and

' Isa. iii. 18-23.

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC CUSTOMS.

they are not expected or allowed to mix in society with men,
nor to be seen by them. Their in-door dress is not contrived to
meet the demands of a public thoroughfare, and when the)- go
abroad they are closely veiled from
head to foot. The reasons — and
such there are — for confining the
women very much to their homes,
and of closely veiling them when
abroad, are found in the character
and customs of Oriental people ;
and the veils cannot be safely
abolisljied, nor their domestic regu-
lations relaxed, until a pure and
enlightened Christianity has pre-
pared the way. When, therefore,
you find few ladies to welcome and
entertain you at your calls, .and
rarely see them in social gather-
ings, you may moderate your re-
gret by the reflection that this is
the result of a great moral neces-
sity. The same necessity forbids
an Arab to walk arm-in-arm with
his wife. Neither does a man eat
with his wife and daughters in
many families, because the meal is
in the public room, and often be-
fore strange men. So, also, the ladies are accommodated in church
with a part railed off, and latticed, to shield them from public gaze.
Moslem women seldom join in the prayers at the mosks.

These customs are often carried to extremes by pride antl jeal-
ousy, and then they are not only absurd, but unreasonable. i'Dr
example, a Druse sheikh or wealthy Moslem, when he calls a ph\-
sician for any of his harem, makes a great mystery of the matter.
The patient is closely veiled, and if the doctor insists upon seeing
her tongue, there is much cautious manccuvriiig to avoid exposing
the face. I have known cases where the tons/ue was thrust through

HEAD-DRESS OF A SYRIAN LADY.

88 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

a rent in the veil made for the purpose. This is sufficiently absurd,
and yet I am acquainted with sheikhs who carry these jealous pre-
cautions to a still more ridiculous extreme. They never allow their
wives to go out of the harem, or women's apartments, except at
night, and not even then until servants are sent in advance to
clear the roads, and forbid any man to approach.

The reluctance of even enlightened Christian men to speak of
the females of their families is amusing to us, and certainly not very
complimentary to the ladies. For example, according to the genu-
ine old regime, a man, when absent from home, never writes to his
wife, but to his son, if he have one, though not a month old ; and
often he addresses his letter to a fictitious son, whom, according to
precedent, he imagines he has or ought to have.

This has its origin in the odd custom, that, when a man is
married and has no son, the world gives him one by a courtesy
peculiarly Oriental, and then calls him by his supposed son's name.
Even unmarried men are often dignified by the honorable title of
Abu somebody or other, the name bestowed being decided by that
which he previously bore. Elias becomes Abu Nasif, Butrus is
called Abu Salim, and so on, according to the established custom
of naming first-born sons. Thus Tannus, the father of the infant
Besharah, for example, is no longer Tannus, but Abu Besharah, and
this not merely on all occasions, but also in legal documents. It
is, in fact, noTonger respectful to call him Tannus. So, also, the
mother is ever afterwards called Um Besharah, mother of Besharah.
Nearly all Bible names were significant, and were conferred with
reference to some circumstance connected with the birth of the
child. Leah called her first-born Reuben— behold a son—" for she
said. Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction ;" the second
was named Simeon— hearing— for the Lord had heard her prayer ;
and thus it was with Rachel in the case of her sons.'

That custom is still observed amongst the Arabs, and they have
other names to which they are very partial. All sects join the
name of God to one of his attributes or qualities, in order to give
appropriate and significant names to their children. Thus, Fudle
Allah— God's bounty ; 'Abd Allah— servant of God. So the word

' Gen. xxix. 32, 33.

SIGNIFICANT NAMES.— GARMENTS AND SLEEPING. 89

din — religion — enters into many favorite names, as Amin ed Din —
faithful in religion ; Shems ed Din — sun of religion ; Salah ed Din
— goodness of religion, contracted by us into Saladin, the antago-
nist of England's lion-hearted Richard, and the terror of Crusaders.
And as the parents assume the names of their eldest son, we hear
them addressed as the father or the mother of God's bounty, Abu
or Um Fudle Allah, and the mother of the servant or slave of God,
Um 'Abd Allah, or Um 'Abd el Kadir.

For their daughters, the Arabs are fond of flowery and poetic
names. We have all about us, amongst the rich and the poor, suns,
stars, and moons, roses, lilies, and jessamines, diamonds and pearls,
and other beautiful epithets ; but the parents do not assume the
names of their daughters.

There are many minor matters in which the East and the West
are as far apart socially as they are geographically. For example,
a whole family, parents, children, and servants, sleep in the same
room, and with slight change of garments, or no change at all.
Such customs are alluded to in the Bible. The latter is implied in
the reason assigned by Moses for the return of a garment taken in
pledge from a poor man before the sun goes down : " It is his rai-
ment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?'" and the former in the
plea of the lazy man in the parable about importunity : " My chil-
dren are with me in bed ; I cannot arise and give thee."^ The long,
loose garments worn by these people remove, or at least mitigate,
the impropriety of this practice ; but, still, it is objectionable. So,
also, a whole family continue to reside under the same roof, father,
sons, and grandsons, in one common household. This also is an-
cient ; but it is repugnant to our ideas, and has many disadvantages.
Nor does the fact that they can live cheaper by such " co-opera-
tive " house -keeping compensate for the confusion and want of
family government occasioned by the system. There never can
be well-regulated households until this custom is so modified as to
call forth greater personal responsibility and independence in the
younger branches of the family.

Such customs we can excuse, but there are others which admit
of no apology. They are degrading to both sexes. The Arabs

' Exod. xxii. 27. ' Luke xi. 5-3.

90 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

have a word — " ajellack," an equivalent to " saving your reverence"
— with which they preface the mention of anything offensive or
unclean. Thus, ajellack a donkey, or a dog, or my shoes ; so, when
compelled to speak of their wives, they say, " ajellack my wife is so
and so." These and similar expressions enable us to understand
why it is that acquaintance before marriage is ordinarily out of the
question. It could not be secured without revolutionizing an ex-
tended system of domestic regulations and compensations. There-
fore the present plan of arranging matters matrimonial through the
intervention of friends and relatives, as it was in times most remote,
will be continued, with all its evils, until a change is brought about
in the condition of the women. This can only be effected by a
Christian education, and the deviation of the marriage relation.

Amongst both Moslems and Christians the birth of a son is
always a joyful event in a family, but that of a daughter is often
looked upon as a calamity. The father sometimes refuses to see
his child, or speak to the mother ; and the friends and relatives con-
dole with the unfortunate husband. In those communities where
divorce is permitted, that is often the only reason assigned by the
husband for sending away his wife. This accounts for the desire
which many wives manifest to become the mother of sons, not a
whit less vehement than that of Rachel.' They make vows, as
did Samuel's mother in Shiloh, when she was in bitterness of soul,
and wept sore, and vowed a vow unto the Lord, and they also go
on pilgrimages to shrines that have obtained a reputation in those
matters."* The circumstance mentioned in Genesis xvi. 4, which
made Hagar insolent towards her mistress, has the same effect now ;
and the devices which produced such heart-burnings in the families
of the patriarchs, are equally mischievous at the present day. If
the first wife has no children, the husband marries another or takes
a slave. And it not unfrequently happens that the fortunate slave,
when the mother of a son, is promoted to the post of honor and
authority, and, of course, she becomes insolent towards her mistress.
' Gen. XXX. i. ' i Sam. i. 10, 11.

THE DOG RIVER.— THE SUBURBS OF BEH^lUT. 9I

III.

THE DOG RIVER, AND THE SUBURBS OF BEIRUT.

Excursion to the Dog River.— Eastern Suburbs of Beirut.— The View from Mar Mitr.—
The Reservoirs.— Chapel of St. George.— St. George and the Dragon.— The Quaran-
tine.— The Beirut River.— Jebel Keniseh and Sunnin.— Bridge over Nahr Beirut.—
Emir Fukhr ed Din.— The Mulberry Gardens.- St. George's Bay.— Ride along the
Beach.— The River of Death.— Ant Elias.— Narrow Plain.— Fountain and River of Ant
Elias.— Beirut Water- works.— The Tunnel.— The Promontory of Nahr el Kelb.— The
Ancient Road.— View from the Summit of the Pass.— A Roman Mile-stone.— Sculptured
Tablets.— Eg>'ptian Tablets Described by Wilkinson.— Layard's Opinion of the Assyrian
Tablets.— Dr. Robinson's Observations on the Antiquity of the Tablets.— Greek Inscrip-
tions.— Professor J. A. Paine.— Cuneiform Inscription.— Napoleon III.— The Dog, and
the Rock in the Sea.— Inscription of Marcus Antoninus.— The Greek "Wolf" and
the Arab " Dog."— Inscription of Sultan Salim.— Scenery of Nahr el Kelb.— A Wild
Cabbage.— Bone and Flint Deposits.— Canon Tristram.— Mr. Dawkins.— Fossil Teeth
and Arrow-heads.— Prehistoric Savages.— Lebanon aljounds in Caverns, Fossils, and
Minerals.— Visit to the Caverns of Nahr el Kelb in 1836.— The Caverns Explored by
Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Huxley in 1873.— Description of the Caverns of the Dog River.
—The Screen.— Professor Robertson's Account.— The Cathedral.— Maxwell's Column.
—The Hermit's Pillar.— The Gallery.— The Dome.— Willow-point and Light-house.
—The Elephant's Cave.— Bliss's Straits.— The Draperies.— The Pantheon.— Clayton's
Passage.— The Styx.— Rustum Pasha's Chandelier.— Chaos.— Huxley and Brigstocke's
Rapids.— Personal Incident.— Attempt to Explore the Caverns above the Rapids De-
scribed by Professor Robertson.— Temperature of the Air and Water in the Caverns.
— Depth of the Water. — The Caves of Nahr ei Kelb compared wiili Celebrated
Caverns in other Countries. — Ride up the River Gorge.— The Aqueduct. — Gran.l
and Picturesque Scenery.— The Weir.— The Road over the Tunnel and to the Sea.
—Ride around the Western Suburbs of Beirut.— The Barracks and Hospital.— The
Capuchin Monastery and Church.— Institute of the Deaconesses.— German Church.
—Khan Antun Beg.— Ottoman Bank.— Consulates.— Post-ofifices.— Moslem Cemetery.
—Hotels.— Remains of Ancient Baths.— Modern Bathing-houses.— Minat el Husn.—
Sponge Divers.— Petroleum Warehouses.— Ship-l)uil<ling Yard.— Potteries and Tan-
neries.— Inhabited Well.— The Hospital of St. John.— The Medical Hall.— Syrian
Protestant College.— Lee Observatory.— Unequalled Site and Magnificent Prospect.—
Jackals and Hyenas.— The Light-house.— Exlende.l Outlook.— French Company.—
Numerous Inlets.- Deep Caverns.— Seals or Sea-cows.— The Rousha.— Perpendicul.nr

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Cliffs. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Conscription. — Refugees. — Fugitives in the Caves and
on the Rousha. — The Rousha in a Winter Storm. — Petrified Echini in the Rocks. —
The Sand Sea. — Gardens and Houses Overwhelmed by the Sand. — Woe-begone Don-
keys. — The Quarries. — Narrow Lanes. — Prickly-pear Hedges. — Fruit of the Prickly-
pear. — Pine-groves. — Sowing the Pine. — Venerable Pine-trees Planted by Fukhr ed
Din. — The Sycamore. — Zaccheus. — Sycamore Figs. — Gatherers of Sycamore Fruit. —
The Power of Faith Illustrated by the Sycamore. — The Black Mulberry. — The Syca-
more in Egypt. — Biblical References to the Sycamore. — 'Assur. — The Cemetery. —
The Press. — The Bible Warehouse. — Anglo-American Church. — Female Seminary. —
Mecca Pilgrims. — Fanatical Moslem Dervishes and the Priest of Baal. — The Douseh.
— Riding over Prostrate Men and Boys.

June 2d.

The cool breeze from the sea this morning renders our ride to
the Dog River very pleasant.

We have been passing for half an hour through the eastern sub-
urbs of Beirut, and appear to be still within the limits of the town.

From the top of that hill, called Mar Mitr, the very best view
of the city, the surroundings, and the boundless sea to the north
and west, is obtained. Early in the morning, and late in the after-
noon, that beautiful prospect is seen to the best advantage. At
the foot of the hill is the main reservoir which receives the water
brought to the city from the Dog River, a distance of about ten
miles. The water is also forced up a steep incline to the top of the
hill, where there is another reservoir, and from that it is distributed
through the suburbs and about the city.

These fragments of old buttresses on the roadside are said to
be the remains of the traditional chapel of St. George, the tutelary
saint of England, and they are associated with that fabulous ex-
ploit of his which gave to Beirut its greatest glory in the days
of legendary lore. Here it is believed that St. George washed his
hands after slaying the dragon, and the deep bay of St. George
down yonder owes its name to that contest on its shores. There
it was that St. George killed the dragon ; exactly when, or what
particular dragon, is not known, but he must have killed him, for
he has not been seen since, and all agree that he is dead. In the
gardens, to the north-east of those old buttresses, near a dilapidated
mosk, probably built on the actual site of the chapel, is an old pit
or well, into which the slain monster was cast. The place is now
in the hands of the Moslems.

THE QUARANTINE.— XAHR BEIRUT.— ST. GEORGE'S BAY. 93

Those extensive buildings covering that rocky promontor)-,
whose cHffs descend almost perpendicularly into the sea, belong
to the Quarantine department. I have a vivid recollection of the
dangers and discomforts of repeated imprisonments there with
plague-stricken patients in alarming proximity. The plague has
long since been extirpated, and the quarantine buildings are now
rarely used except for militar}' purposes.

This is the Beirut River, I suppose, which you liave mentioned
in connection with the ruined aqueduct?

It is also the ancient Magoras, and its main permanent source
is a remitting fountain in the bed of the stream below Deir el
Kul'ah. The river drains a portion of the plain, and tliat magnifi-
cent sweep of lofty mountains, including Jebel Keniseh and Sunnin
— a wild and wooded region abounding in scenery of great natu-
ral beauty. Nahr Beirut, as you see, has a wide channel, requir-
ing this long bridge of seven arches, with broad and massive piers,
to cross it. The bridge is said to have been built by the Emir
Fakhr ed Din, but he probably only repaired a more ancient one.
The amount of water is now very small, but in the rainy season
the shallow stream is swollen to a broad and turbid river, sweep-
ing everything before it, and giving to the water of the bay for
miles out to sea a pale red color.

A ride of nearly half an hour, through the most flourishing. mul-
berry gardens we have yet seen, has brought us out upon the sandy
shore, near this dismantled wreck.

St. George's Bay affords comparative shelter to vessels, and is
the safest anchorage for ships on this coast, from Egypt to Asia
Minor. Still, many foreign vessels, and untold numbers of native
craft, have been cast high and dry upon this beach during excep-
tionally severe storms in winter.

For an hour or more we can ride along the beach, with these
noisy wavelets tumbling over the feet of the horses, and the light
surf occasionally wetting our own. But both they and we prefer
the dull, unchanging monotony of this restless sea to the weary
plodding through the deep sand just above the shore.

That ravine on our right is the dry bed of Nahr el Maut, the
River of Death. Its source is in those mountains below the vil-

Q4 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

lage of Brummana, and, descending to the plain, it has hardly the
strength to force its way through the sand to the sea ; hence this
stagnant and unhealthy region near its mouth, and thence, also, its
very significant and ominous name.

This village straggling along the foot-hills of Lebanon is Ant
Elias ; and the narrow stretch of plain between it and the sea is
covered with mulberry and vegetable gardens, and even fruit-trees.
The fountain of this river of Ant Elias, which we are now crossing,
bursts forth from the roots of the mountain, but not at a sufficient
elevation to carry its life-giving contributions to all parts of the
plain. As it is a never-failing fountain, and very copious, its waters
drive a number of mills, where most of the wheat is ground that
supplies the flour dealers of Beirut.

It is a grateful change to see those green and waving wheat-
fields, and to leave the deep, tiresome sand and the deafening surf,
and tread the firm earth once more.

These low buildings, on our right, were erected a few years ago
by the Beirut Water-works Company ; and there is the machinery
which forces the water around the bay, under the Beirut River,
and up to the reservoir on Mar Mitr — a distance of over six miles.
The water from the Dog River is brought through the mountain
ridge by a tunnel half a mile long, and that portion of it which is
used to drive the machinery runs uselessly away into the sea be-
low. I was present when the water was turned on, and witnessed
the first revolution of the wheels that now force it through so
many miles of iron pipe up to the reservoir.

Over that rocky promontory ahead of us, which juts out into
the sea for about half a mile, is the famous pass of Nahr el Kelb,
cut in the rock at an elevation of more than a hundred feet above
the water. The pavement of this ancient road is so execrable that
timid riders prefer to walk. Our nerves, however, are sufficiently
educated to allow us to retain our place in the saddle even when
descending to the river on the other side of the pass, where the
winding way — a succession of broad, rough, and slippery steps — is
really dangerous to the horse and his rider.

We are now on the summit of the pass, and can rest a while,
and enjoy this extensive and varied prospect of rugged mountains

ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN TABLETS.

and fruitful pla-ins, the river gorge,
the crescent- shaped bay, the dis-
tant city, and the boundless ex-
panse of this great and wide sea.
Here, by the roadside, on this
fragment of a granite column, pro-
bably a Roman mile-stone, is a
brief, half -defaced Latin inscrip-
tion, and there are others, still
more obliterated, cut into the
limestone rock of the cliff. The
most ancient roadway was much
higher up the pass than the pre-
sent one, and in the face of the
rock above it are those remarkable
sculptured tablets of the Egyp-
tians and Assyrians, probably com-
memorating their presence here,
and their passage over this for-
midable and rocky promontory.

The Egyptian tablets are so
worn away by time that they are not easily decipherable. The

Assyrian warriors are life §ize, and re-
presented in military costume. They
are in better preservation, and a con-
siderable part of one of them is cov-
ered with a long cuneiform inscription,
enough of which remains legible to
enable the expert in such matters to
form an opinion of its general tenor.

Regarding the
Egyptian sculp-
tured tablets. Sir
J. G. Wilkinson
supposes that the
stela; seen by He-
rodotus in Syria

ASSYRIAN TAHLET, WITH CUNEIFORM
INSCRIPTION.

EGYPTIAN TARl.ET, WITH SIP-
POSKI) IllKK(i(;i.Vl'll!( S.

iiii;K()(;i.Yi'in(s anu

I'TGUKKS.

^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

were doubtless those on the rock near Berytus [Beirut], at the
mouth of the Lycus [Dog River], engraved by Rameses II. [Sesos-
tris].' One is dedicated to Ra, another to Ammon, and a third
to Phtha. Almost the only hieroglyphics now traceable are on the
jambs of the tablets, which have one of the usual formulas : *' The
good god [Pharaoh], the powerful king of kings, Rameses; to whom
life has been given like the sun." But the lines below the figure
of the king, who slays the foreign chiefs before the god, and which
should contain the mention of his victories, are too indistinct, and
so greatly defaced as to be entirely illegible.

The Assyrian tablets Mr. Layard regards as all referring to Sen-
nacherib, the king who built the palace at Kouyunjik, and whose
army of one hundred and eighty-five thousand men was smitten in
the night by " the angel of the Lord."'

Altogether there are three Egyptian tablets, and six Assyrian.
" Looking back from our day," says Dr. Robinson, " the Assyrian
tablets have continued to commemorate the progress of the As-
syrian hosts for more than five -and -twenty centuries; while the
Egyptian, if proceeding from Sesostris, have celebrated his prowess
for thirty-one centuries. They reach back to hoary antiquity, even
to the earliest days of the Judges of Israel, before Jerusalem was
known."' Certainly a very interesting and impressive statement.

Professor J. A. Paine, of the American Palestine Exploration
Society, *' discovered three Greek inscriptions, one on a stone in a
Roman wall, and two cut in the rock." According to his interpre-
tation it would appear that the Phoenicians first made this road,
and that the Romans afterwards repaired portions of it. Across
the river, on the face of the cliff, above the road, and below the
canal that conducts the water to the mills, a long cuneiform in-
scription has been discovered recently by Mr. J. Loytved, Danish
vice-consul, but its purport has not yet been ascertained. We must
not forget to mention that the Emperor Napoleon III. appropri-
ated one of the Egyptian tablets, and caused to be engraved there-
on an inscription commemorating the occupation of the Lebanon
district by a French army in i860, after the massacres of that year.

' Notes on Herodotus, vol. ii., p. 15S. - 2 Kings xix. 35, 36.

^ Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 622.

THE DOG RIVER.— INSCRIPTIONS.— BONE DEPOSITS. 97

Let us now descend to the khan at the foot of the pass, where
we can lunch and admire at our leisure the extraordinary scenery
of this imposing gorge or deep chasm between the mountains.

That rock, lying in the sea below us, and constantly washed
by the waves, has a fanciful resemblance to the body of a dog, and
native tradition ascribes to it the origin of the name Nahr el Kelb,
the Dog River. It is supposed to be the image of a dog that once
stood upon a pedestal at the head of the pass. On the face of
this rock, above the road to our right, is the Latin inscription of
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. From which it appears that, in the
latter part of the second century, at the time when the Roman
Emperor made or mended this road, the river was called Lycus.
Account for it as we may, it is certain that since then the Greek
"Wolf" has disappeared and given place to the Arab " Dog."

On these low cliffs above the road, near the bridge, is a much
defaced Saracen inscription. The caligraphy of what remains is so
involved that not even the most skilful native scholars can de-
cipher more than that Sultan Selim repaired this bridge.

This scene is altogether unique — the perpendicular cliffs on
either side towering to the sky, with the river and the bridge be-
tween ; those ancient roadways, overhanging the sea, and winding
zigzag up the rocky pass ; the remarkable tablets, with their un-
solved hieroglyphics, and stern warriors clad in coats of mail — all
these fascinate the imagination, and, with the lofty mountains, the
running stream, the rolling sea, and the fleeting clouds, form a
vision as wild as it is picturesque and romantic.

I once attempted to ascend to the top of the cliffs on the
southern side, but failed, and was obliged to descend — a much more
difficult feat. I was not altogether unrewarded, for I found a verita-
ble cabbage bush, growing out of a crevice in the rock, half-way up
the pas.s. Leaf, color, smell, and taste were unmistakably cabbage;
but the stalk was slender and woody, and about three feet high.

Several bone and flint deposits have been found on this pro-
montory. The bones are embedded in two different formations;
one a soft, tufaceous deposit, along the cliffs on the west side of
the pass, and just before the ascent begins; the other a hard, sta-
lagmitic floor, probably of an old cavern, on the top and over the

q3 the land and the book.

centre of the pass. Canon Tristram, who first discovered the for-
mation, submitted specimens of the deposit to W. B. Dawkins, Esq.,
of the Geological Survey of England, who determined the teeth of
an ox resembling the Bos primigenius, and others were assigned to
the reindeer and elk. Such are the facts, briefly stated.

That they are the teeth and bones of animals is certain, and
they were probably brought there gradually, during the ages in
which those deposits were forming, for they are mingled with flint
chippings. The flint chips are innumerable, and vary in size from
a finger-nail to an average hand. I picked up a well-shaped spear-
head, and found flints which seem to have been intended for ar-
row-heads. They were, however, far less perfect than Indian arrow-
heads. I have collected hundreds of those specimens in America.
Those flints present a most obscure problem to solve connected
with this locality. We may imagine that prehistoric savages se-
lected this easily defended cape for their permanent home, and
that they pointed their spears and arrows with flint ; and conse-
quently there would be brought to this locality great quantities
to be manufactured into weapons. Whether this be so or not, it
is certain that the Lebanon abounds in caverns, fossils, and minerals
of various kinds, and will well repay m^ore thorough and scientific
exploration than has hitherto been bestowed upon it. I have
been told that there are other bone deposits higher up in the river
^^oree, and also that bones have been discovered in the caves out
of which the river itself flows.

How far are those caves from this bridge?

About four miles. I have been there several times; and, while
seated in this cool shade, I will give you a description of them.
My first visit was made in September, in the year 1836. Having
heard from the natives vague accounts of those caverns, I deter-
mined to find and explore them. Mr. Hebard was my companion :
and as we were to penetrate into regions then unknown, the. excur-
sion had all the excitement of first discovery.

Where the river gorge turns to the south the ravine becomes
too narrow, wild, and rocky for any but a goat-path, and the road
to the caves leads over the steep shoulder of the mountain on the
north side for an hour and a half. It then descends by a very

THE GROTTOES OF NAUR EL KELB. 99

slippery track to the river, in the immediate vicinity of the caves.
There are three of them, and all on the north side of the ravine.
Out of the first gushes a large part of the river, but without a boat
it cannot be explored. A few rods farther up the valley is the
second cave. It runs under the mountain in a straight line for
eighty paces, and then descends into an abyss of water. On the
west side of the main entrance is a passage parallel to the cave,
and of about the same dimensions, with which it communicates by
a large aperture. This tunnel trends round to the west, and unites
with the first or lower cave near its mouth. Strike or jump on the
floor of the passage, and one is startled b)- a dull, hollow sound
beneath, and inclined to walk softly over such unknown depths.

About forty rods higher up the ravine is the third and largest
cave. The entrance to it is a wide and low opening in the face
. of the rock, and is so concealed by large rocks that one might pass
within a few feet of it without suspecting its existence. Soon the
passage becomes high enough to walk erect, and turns round to-
wards the west. Torches are necessary, as the interior of the cave
is utterly dark. A gallery runs round three sides of it, and the
river, which crosses the lower part of the cavern, disappears at the
north-west corner with a loud noise. At the north-east, where it
enters the cave, there is a pool of water, clear and smooth as a mir-
ror, and deliciously cool. How far the cavern extended under the
mountain I had no means of ascertaining. I fired a gun there ; the
echoes were loud and oft-repeated. That cave abounds in stalac-
tites and stalagmites, some of which are of great size, reaching from
the roof to the floor, and were grooved like fluted columns. They
also hang like inverted candles from the roof above the pool. I
longed for a boat to explore the mysteries of those dark and wa-
tery labyrinths, and to discover the hidden sources of the river itself.

This, in brief, is what I saw in those caverns, about forty- fi\'e
years ago. Long after that I had my desire gratified to examine
them more carefully. In September, 187;:^, Messrs. Maxwell and
Huxley, agents and engineers of the comjjany organized in London
to supply Beirut with water from the Dog River, resolved to e.x-
• plore the caves, and, after overcoming many difficulties, the)- fmalh'
succeeded. They had small boats, or rafts, made in the lower cave,

lOO

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and by their aid soon became familiar with its intricacies. I was
invited to accompany the party, consisting of Mr. Huxley, Dr.
Brigstocke, and Mr. Park-
er, on one of their explor-
ing excursions. bbss- straits
We reached the '^■'"^

MAP OF THE GROTTOES.

entrance of the cavern at ten o'clock,
and descending to the river, which crosses
the cave, as described in the account of
my first visit, we were quickly paddled,
in a low boat, up to the rock called the
Screen. The Screen is one mass of
rock, that appears to have fallen from the roof above, and com-
pletely blocks up the narrow passage of the river, allowing the
water to pass beneath it. It is about fifteen feet high, smooth
and slippery, and it was
with some difficulty that
we climbed to the top, and
descended on the other
side to where the boats
were in which our excur-
sion was to be made.

Up to the Screen there
was nothing very striking
to be observed, except the
grand vault that spanned
the deep and still waters
of the Dark Lake, as the ex-
plorers call it. Numerous
stalactites hung from the
roof of. the vault, and the
cool and clear water was

THK SCREF.N.

PROF. ROBERTSON'S DESCRIPTION OF THE GROTTOES. lOI

twenty feet deep on the lower side of the Screen. Above the
Screen a great cavern extends in the same general direction, nearly
north-east, farther than our lamps and candles enabled us to see.
This was called the Cathedral by those who first discovered it — a
party consisting of Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Huxley, of the Water-
works Company ; Dr. Bliss, President of the Syrian Protestant Col-
lege ; and Dr. Brigstocke, formerly of the Royal Navy.

In a description of those caverns, written by Professor James
Robertson, of the University, Glasgow, he says: "These four, to
use their own words, ' bound themselves in a solemn league that
they would either explore some of the mysteries mentioned by
Dr. Thomson, or show that no other man could.' " When the
party had, with great difficulty, scaled the top of the Screen, they
" could discern, by the dim light of their candles, that they were
in the presence of a continuation of the cavern, of much vaster
proportions than they could have anticipated. Groping his way
along the lofty ledge, Mr. Maxwell reached a projecting point at
the farther end ; and as he fixed his candle, and took out his note-
book and compass for observation, his position at once suggested
to his companions the pulpit in a great cathedral, the screen of
which was the barrier of rock w^hich they had just surmounted."

" A magnesium wire was ignited, and the beauties of this sub-
terranean temple of Nature's w^orkmanship burst upon their view.
The floor was a lake of purest water, whose reflection intensified
the brightness of a roof and walls glistening and sparkling as with
a million of gems. In the words of one of the party, 'from the
lofty vaulted roof and precipitous sides hung massive stalactites,
between which the rocks were studded with others of a more slen-
der and graceful shape, while from below shot up in wild profu-
sion stalagmites which towered aloft, in some cases almost reaching
their pendent companions.' " '

From the Cathedral onwards the cavern has an average widlli
of forty feet ; but the roof was too high, in most places, to be
seen by the aid of our brightest lights. There are many strangely
shaped galleries on either side, and stalactites and stalagmites of
every possible hue, from jet black to pure white, and of every size,

' Good WonK, November, ii^75, pp. 770, 771.

102

THE LAND AND THE BOOK

MAXWELL S COLUMN.

from that of a candle up to
Maxwell's Column, which is
fifty-five feet in circumfer-
ence, and rises over sixty
feet to the lofty vault above.
That splendid column,
" standing out in bold re-
lief, with fine fluted front,
and continued to the rear
in a mass of pendent dra-
pery, like a great curtain
let down in graceful folds
from the roof," is an emi-
nently appropriate monu-
ment to the leader of that
exploring party. It is four
hundred yards from the
Pulpit, and between them
is the Hermit's Pillar, and
on the opposite side is the Hermit's Gallery. The lofty roof is
called the Dome. Then follows Willow Point, a wonderful sta-
lactite group resembling the

drooping branches of that
tree ; and near to it is Wil-
low Point Light - house.
About two hundred yards
farther on is the Elephant's
Cave, beyond which is Bliss'
Straits, the narrowest and
most intricate part of the
cavern. Some three hun-
dred yards farther eastward
is an extraordinary display
of pendent stalactites called
the Draperies.

" Still another two hun-
dred yards, and the explor- the pantheon.

THE GROTTOES OF NAUR EL KELB.

lO:

ers, now more than half a mile under Ljround. find themselves in
a spacious cavern, whose roof is lost in the gloom. Under this
dome, standing out clear as alabaster in the midst of the darkness,
is one of the most beautiful stalagmite formations of the grottoes,
which, from its resemblance to the Pantheon, has been distin-
guished by that name." Not far from it, where the cavern is nar-
row, and the roof very low, is Clayton's Passage. " Instead of the
former dazzling whiteness, the walls of the cavern now presented
a dull, dark appearance, as if coated over with pitch, and suggested
for the waters the name of
the Styx." A peculiar clus-
ter of stalactites is called
Rustum Pasha's Chande-
lier, in honor of the Gover-
nor-general of Lebanon.

Above the place where
the water shoals, and the
boat was brought to land,
there were bowlders and
large fragments of rock, as
black as Erebus, piled up
in one confused mass ;
hence the name Chaos.
Through that debris the
river finds its way from
above, but how it enters
the pool, or the Styx, we
could not discover.

After lunch wc climbed up the slippery rocks of Chaos with
great caution, each of us having a long stick in one hand, to steady
ourselves by, and a lighted candle in the other, to show where wc
could safely plant our feet. Finally, we came to Huxley and Brig-
stocke's Rapids, where the river rushes down to and amongst the
chaotic mass of rocks below. We groped our way with difificulty,
some on one side, some on the other. The stream is there very
narrow, and, in attempting to leap to the opposite bank, I fell in
and had to swim out. Though we reached a point where the river

104 ^^^ LAND AND THE BOOK.

again expands into an upper lake, there was no practicable passage
along its banks, and we were obliged to retrace our steps to our
boats at the lower end of Chaos.

The mystery of the upper lake and cavern remains yet to be
solved. Professor Robertson informs us that " in the autumn of
the following year [1874] three of the party attempted to find out
what lay beyond, and for this purpose provided themselves with a
small boat, which they carried in pieces, and put together on the
rocks at the foot of the cataract. But, owing to a severe winter,
the water was found running at double the speed of the previous
year, and it was evident their frail craft could not live in such a
torrent. All they could do, by scrambling a few yards along the
slippery face of the rock, was to observe that there was smooth
water and no sound on the other side ; but future explorers must
have the credit of making known what lies beyond Huxley and
Brigstocke's Rapids." '

The temperature of the atmosphere in the cave was sixty-two
degrees, the air pure and sweet, and that of the water sixty de-
grees. In some places, where the cavern is broad, the water is
not more than two feet deep ; in other parts the depth is twenty,
or even thirty feet. Though I was for several hours in clothes wet
as water could make them, I experienced no inconvenience. We
emerged from the mouth of the cavern after sunset, having been
underground about eight hours.

Professor Robertson closes his account of the grottoes of Nahr
el Kelb with the remark that, " though for size not to be men-
tioned in the same breath with the Kentucky Caves, they possess
features resembling those of that immense labyrinth. And though
devoid of animal remains, they will bear comparison with any of
the bone caves in the gorgeousness of their draperies and the
grandeur of their stalactites. The caves of Derbyshire will bear
no comparison with them. Adelsberg has been explored to a
greater length ; but the distinctive feature of the Dog River caves
is that the river itself has been followed three-fourths of a mile
underground ; for from Thomson's Cavern to the Rapids there was
no perceptible increase or diminution of the waters.""

> Good Words, November, 1875, p. 773. "' Good Words, November, 1S75, p. 773.

THE AQUEDUCT.— THE WEIR. IO5

Instead of returning to Beirut by the way we came, we will
pass up the river to the Weir, constructed by the Water-works
Company to turn so. much of the stream as was needed into their
aqueduct. This detour will afford a good view of the wild, rocky
scenery in one of the most striking specimens of a picturesque
river gorge to be found even on goodly Lebanon.

That aqueduct, on the other side of the river, appears to be
carried along the very face of the perpendicular rock overhanging
the north bank of the stream ; and the oleander bushes that border
its course, the feathery tufts of the waving cane, and the festoons of
pendent creepers that fringe its winding way are all very beautiful.

It conveys the water of the river to the mills both above and
below the bridge. From a point a short distance beyond this the
view westward of the aqueduct and the mills, the river and the
bridge, the rocky roadway zigzagging over the pass, and the far-
off sea, presents a picture of more than ordinary attractions to the
tourist and the artist. As we advance up the glen the cliffs on
either side become more lofty and imposing ; pine-groves creep up
the mountain-side, and here and there a Maronite convent crowns
the summit of the gray crags. The admirer of grand and roman-
tic scenery will be amply rewarded for the loss of time, and the
trouble it will cost in order to reach the Weir.

The magnificent mountain scenery above and around this weir
makes it the most picturesque dam we have seen in the country,
and the strongest and best built.

The engineers of the Water-works Company desired to take the
water direct from the caverns, but the land there belongs to the
owners of the mills below the mouth of the f^rst cave. They would
not sell their rights upon any terms, and the present aqueduct was
necessarily commenced much lower down the river. The engineers
found great difficulty in constructing a dam capable of resisting the
winter floods, but they have succeeded, and Beirut is now provided
from here with the pure water of the Dog River.

We must return for some distance by the same watery way,
along the bank and through the river, until we can turn out of the
bed of the stream into the road over the promontory of Nahr el
Kclb made by the engineers of the company. It follows the line

Io6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

of the tunnel through the mountain, and there are shafts sunk at
intervals to the water below. We will reach the sea near the works
which they constructed to force the water thrpugh the iron pipes
up to the reservoir on the top of Mar Mitr, that hill above the
road which we noticed in passing this morning.

And now that we are by the sad sea waves once more we may
vary the monotony of this tedious ride by a long canter over the
beach ; and a brisk pace through the mulberry gardens will bring
us to our home about sunset, in the cool of the evening.

June 5th.

Beirut has spread so extensively in every direction over the'
Ras, or cape, and through the mulberry gardens, that one must
ride around it before he can form any adequate idea of the place.
Our horses are ready, and this morning we will descend directly to
the sea-shore by the French road that passes along the west side
of the old town, near the line of the ancient wall.

These extensive buildings on our left are the Government bar-
racks and the hospital ; and this edifice across the way is the Capu-
chin monastery and church, built against a portion of the former
land castle of Beirut in this vicinity.

The broad road on our left leads westward along the ridge to
Ras Beirut, and that large establishment on the north side of it,
surrounded by a high wall, and embowered in trees, is the institute
and high school of the Prussian Deaconesses of Kaiserwerth, and
there also is the German church.

A short distance down that narrow street is Khan Antun Beg,
the most attractive public building in Beirut. Private families oc-
cupy the upper stories, and merchants have of^ces and warehouses
in the lower portions. The Imperial Ottoman Bank and the Con-
sulates and post-offices of several foreign countries are also located
there. Here on the right is a Moslem cemetery, occupying an ex-
ceedingly valuable site for business purposes ; and there, above the
sea and the road, and commanding a fine prospect of the bay and
the mountains, are some of the principal hotels of the place.

The shore, I perceive, is quite irregular, rocky and precipitous
in some parts, having numerous coves and indentations which may
have been utilized as harbors in ancient times.

THE WKIK ACROSS NAUR EL KELlJ.

THE SUBURBS OF BEIRUT. 10/

They, no doubt, were ; and this rubble-work, these old founda-
tions, and those excavations in the rock are, probably, the remains
of ancient baths, and places of public resort. . They must have been
as generally frequented as their miserable successors, constructed
of wood and covered over with mats, are at this day.

This inlet, larger and better protected than the rest, is Minat
Husein, commonly called Minat el Husn, "the beautiful harbor;"
but the water is not deep enough for ships, and its accommoda-
tions are very limited. Even these picturesque Greek sloops, or
" sponge divers," as they are styled, now riding at anchor so closely
and quietly there, would be dashed to pieces during the winter
storms. These low warehouses are mainly used for the storage of
cargoes of petroleum from America, or of coal for the steamers.
And on the point opposite that coffee-shop is the ship-building
yard, where vessels of small tonnage are repaired, and new ones con-
structed after the model and rig of the old-fashioned bomb-ketch.

Here are the potteries and tanneries, but as we have seen the
same industries at Jaffa, Gaza, and elsewhere we need not turn
aside to examine them. These steps cut in the rock lead down,
as you perceive, to the water in this well. It is " inhabited " by a
saint or a demon, I am not certain which. At any rate, either the
well or the spirit, or both, are " possessed " of healing virtues, for
the walls are sometimes dimly illuminated with burning rag-wicks
in small oil-lamps, votive offerings to the genius of the place.

That building on the hill is the Hospital of St. John, and is in
charge of the Prussian Deaconesses of Kaiserwerth. These on the
ridge above us are, first, the Medical Hall of the Syrian Protestant
College ; then the College itself, and next to it is the house of the
President. Beyond that, and advantageously situated on a project-
ing spur of the main ridge, which descends steeply to the sea, is
the Lee Observatory, erected in part by the gift of the Hon. Henry
Lee, M.P., of Manchester, England.

They occupy a conspicuous position, and must command a'
magnificent prospect far out to sea, over the city, across the bay,
and up to the lofty summit of Lebanon.

There is no site equal to it at the head of the Mediterranean,
and the extensive grounds are becoming more attractive. Fine

I08 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

houses are being built in this neighborhood, the residences mostly
of Europeans and Americans. When I first came to this country
there was not a house on all the cape above us. I have seen not
only foxes and jackals but hyenas also prowling about amongst
the rocks. The former have almost entirely withdrawn to the
mountains, and are now rarely seen or heard in this region, and
the latter have long since disappeared.

We will continue our ride westward for half an hour, along
the shore, to Ras Beirut, at the extreme end of the cape.

There is the light-house, I suppose, so welcome to the eyes of
sailors approaching this cape on a dark and stormy night ?

It is called el Fanar, and it commands an extended outlook
over the sea — north as far as Ras esh Shukah, or Theoprosopon,
and southward down to the Ladder of Tyre, a distance of more
than eighty miles ; while the outlook westward over this " great
and wide sea" is boundless. The light-house system on this coast
is in the hands of a French company.

These numerous inlets are quite peculiar, and seem as though
made specially to enable fishermen to reach the land along this
rocky shore, as appears from these small boats anchored in them.

Some of them lead into extensive caverns. I have often
brought my boat into the inlet above which we are now standing,
and landed in the deep and dark cave beneath our feet. There are
several other caverns in these bold and precipitous cliffs, which can
be easily entered and explored in a boat when the water is calm.
Aside, however, from the fact that they have been formed by the
action of the waves, there is nothing within them of special inte-
rest to see or to discover. Pigeons and swallows are generally seen
flying in or out of these caves, and on one occasion I was startled
and astonished by the floundering past me of two seals, or sea-cows,
as they are called by the natives. They must have entirely lost
their reckoning and been driven upon these shores by the winter
storms, and had taken refuge in one of the caves. Some fisher-
men subsequently caught one of them, and it was exhibited to
wondering crowds in the market-place of the city.

There is the Rousha. Those two gigantic and weather-beaten
crags, the last remnant of the old coast line, stand out alone in grim

ER ROUSHA— PIGEON ISLAND.

109

ER ROUSHA — PIGEON ISLAND.

isolation, as if in defiance of the elements that have overthrown and
swept away all that once rose above this tumultuous sea, and con-
nected them with the main-land. The rock of which they are com-
posed, being harder and more compact, has resisted the action of
the water, while all east of them has been washed away, and the
waves now break against the perpendicular cliffs in wild commo-
tion. It is possible that this semicircular and rock-bound bay at
our feet was once covered by a series of deep and lofty caverns,
the superincumbent roof of wiiich was shaken down by earth-
quakes, and the fallen rubbish has been carried out to sea b)'
storms and tempests during the long ages of the past.

no THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Ibrahim Pasha, after the conquest of this country by the Egyp-
tians, enforced a sweeping conscription amongst the Moslems, in
order to recruit his army then marching northward against the
Sultan. The people regarded such a conscription with abhorrence,
and to escape from it young and old sought the protection of the
European consuls, merchants, and foreign residents. Our houses
were crowded with refugees. Many fled to the mountains ; others
hid in old wells, empty cisterns, and caves. A few, pursued by
the Egyptian soldiers, fled to this place ; and while some vainly
endeavored to conceal themselves in the caverns below, others
threw themselves into the sea, and, swimming to the Rousha,
climbed to the top of those rocky pinnacles. There they were
besieged, however, and fired upon by the soldiers, and finally hun-
ger and thirst compelled them to surrender.

These perpendicular cliffs rise to a height of about two hun-
dred feet above the sea, and the Rousha towers still higher.
During the winter storms it is sometimes dangerous to stand here.
Creeping up to the edge and looking down, the scene is weird and
wild beyond description. Far as the eye can follow tumultuous
" white caps " advance rank on rank. The fierceness of the gale,
the dashing of the great waves high up the cliffs, and the deafen-
ing roar, are but features in the great struggle below; and the
Rousha, swept by the waves, and half- concealed by the flying
spray, presents an appearance as grand as it is sublime.

In the chalky rocks some distance to the south of this are
numerous petrified echini, in admirable preservation, like those in
the cliffs below Burj el Musheirifeh, at the south-western extremity
of the Ladder of Tyre. I have collected many specimens of them.

We will now ride over the sandy desert, south-eastward to the
quarries, from which' the building-stone of Beirut is taken.

This sand-sea is the same which spreads southward for several
miles, I suppose, that we crossed in coming from Sidon ?

Its origin was probably in this vicinity, and its billow^s, some
twenty, some forty, and some even sixty feet high, have rolled in-
wards and spread themselves far and wide for miles over the plain.
Were it not for the modern residences and broad streets on Ras
Beirut, this sea of sand would sweep over the cape northward and

QUARRIES.— CACTUS HEDGES.— THE PINES. I I 1

reach the sea at IMinat el Husn. It has already overwhelmed most
of the mulberry gardens, and half-buried many of the low houses
on the outskirts of the city in that direction.

These long lines of stolid, woe-bcgone donkeys, toiling through
this deep sand with such heavy loads of rough stone upon their
backs, are evidently coming from the quarries.

All the houses of Beirut have thus been upon the backs of
donkeys. The quarriers not only dig down these high ridges on
our right, but penetrate through the superincumbent soil to a
considerable depth, until the formation gives out, or becomes so
friable as to be useless. This entire south-western part of the
plain has been thus ransacked, and the mulberry-trees which you
now see 'growing above quarries were planted there after they
had been worked out, and the soil replaced over them.

We will now have a pleasant ramble eastward, through nar-
row lanes with low walls, surmounted by impenetrable prickly-pear
hedges, an example of what all the pathways around the city were
like fifty years ago. These cactus hedges grow to a very large
size here, and the prickly pears are arranged upon the thorny
leaves as closely as they can be packed. I have counted upwards
of fifty " pears " on a single leaf. When the thorny rind of the
fruit is removed the "core" is a mass of seeds and pulp, about the
size of a hen's egg. In July and August great quantities of prickly
pears are eaten, not only by the natives but also by foreigners, who
soon become extremely fond of them. Eaten in the morning, after
they have lain in cold water over night, they are delicious.

We are now passing along the pine-groves south-west of Beirut
which we saw on our way from Sidon.

They are all alike, with no mixture of any other kind of tree,
and quite the feature in this neighborhood.

They were sown just as wheat or corn would be. The pine
seeds, brought from the forests on Lebanon, were scattered over
the sandy soil, and ploughed under during the rainy season. The
young plants were, of course, too close together, and were gradu-
ally thinned out, and the rest pruned as they grew uj). I saw this
grove thus sown in the winter of 1846, by Mahmiid Beg, the Egyp-
tian Governor of Beirut. Farther south are extensive groves of

112

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

EL hOrSH — THE PINES.

these trees only a few years old. Above that dense forest of larger
trees to the eastward towered many splendid old pines, which were
said to have been sown by Fakhr ed Din, the famous Druse emir.
They rose without a limb to a height of seventy or eighty feet, and
then spread out their branches like an immense parasol, covered

THE SVCAMORE-TREE.— THE TROPHET AMOS. II3

over with green leaves. They added greatly to the picturesque
appearance of that grove ; but year after year one or more of them
was struck by lightning and killed, or thrown down by the wind,
and now but few of those venerable patriarchs remain.

I am always expecting to look upon sights and scenes that
suggest topics of Biblical interest, and here is one. This large old
tree is a striking specimen of the Syrian sycamore. I once heard
an itinerant preacher in the " backwoods " puzzle himself ajid his
hearers with a doubtful criticism about the tree into which Zac-
cheus climbed to see Jesus.' He and his audience were familiar
only with the sycamores of our flat river bottoms, tall as a steeple,
and smooth as hypocrisy. " Why," said the orator, " a squirrel
can't climb them." The conclusion reached was that the syca-
more must have been a mulberry-tree.

Nothing is easier than to climb these sycamores ; and, in fact,
boys and girls are often seen in them. The sycamore is found
by the way-side, and in open spaces where several roads meet, just
where Zaccheus found it ; and as its giant branches stretch quite
across the roadway, those on them can look directly down upon the
crowd passing beneath. It is admirably adapted to the purpose
for which he selected it. It is a remarkable tree. It not only bears
more than one crop of figs during the year, but the fruit grows
on short stems along the trunk and large branches, and not at the
end of twigs, as in other fruit-bearing trees. The figs are small,
and of a yellow color. At Gaza and Askelon they are of a purple
tinge, and much larger than in this part of the country. They are
carried to market in great quantities, and aj pear to be more valued
there than here. Still, they are, at best, very insipid, and only the
poorer classes gather sycamore figs and eat them. This agrees
with and explains the allusion of Amos. He had aroused the
wrath of Jeroboam by the severity of his rebukes, and. being
advised to flee for his life, excuses himself by a statement which
implies that he belonged to the humblest class of the community:
" I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son ; but I was an
herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit."'

The sycamore is easily propagated merely by planting a stout

' Luke xix. 1-6. '•' Amos vii. 14. See illustralion on page 115.

114

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

EL JIMAIS — THE SYCAMORE.

branch in the ground, and watering it until it has struck out roots,
which it does with great rapidity, and in every direction. It was
probably with reference to this latter fact that our blessed Lord
selected it to illustrate the power of faith.
" If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed,
ye might say unto this sycamine tree. Be
thou plucked up by the root, and be thou
planted in the sea; and it should obey you."'
Now, look at this tree — its ample girth, its
widespread limbs, branching off from the
trunk only a few feet above the ground ;
then examine its roots, almost as thick, as
numerous, and as wide-spread into the deep
soil as the branches extend into the air— a very type of invincible
steadfastness. What power can pluck up such a tree? Heaven's

' Luke xvii. 6.

SYCAMORE FIGS.

THE POWER OF FAITH.— THE SYCAMINE -TREE.

I I

thunder-bolt may strike it down, the wild tornado may tear it to
fragments, but nothing short of miraculous power can fairly pluck
up these Syrian sycamores by the roots.

I have but faint ideas of a faith that could pluck up and plant
in the sea such a tree as that ; and these facts certainly add creat

SELLER OF SYCAMORE FRUIT.

emphasis to the " parable of our Lord." You arc doubtless aware,
however, that most critics maintain that tlic s)xaniinc-trce men-
tioned in the New Testament was the black mulberry.

I have ventured to adopt the rendering of the Arabic Bible,

Il6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

where the sycamine is translated sycamore, believing that there is
no certain evidence that the mulberry was known in this country
in Biblical times, although our translators have mentioned it in one
or more places. The mulberry, whether black or white, is more
easily plucked up by the roots than other trees of the same size
in the country, and that is oftener done. Hundreds of them are
uprooted every year in this vicinity and brought to the city, where
the trunks are sold to carpenters, and the roots and branches are
used for firewood. Many are also undermined by the winter tor-
rents and swept away into the sea. It is not probable that He
who spoke as " never man spake " would select a mulberry-tree,
even if it existed at that time, with its short, feeble roots, to illus-
trate the irresistible power of faith.

In regard to the sycamore, it may be well to notice that in the
dry, hot climate of Egypt the wood was very durable, and was ex-
tensively used for boxes, idols, and mummy cases. In this country
neither the wood nor the fruit are of much value, and the tree caiv
not bear the cold. A sharp frost will kill it ; and this agrees with
the fact that they were so killed in Egypt. Amongst the wonders
wrought by the Lord " in the field of Zoan," David says, " He de-
stroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost." '
A frost keen enough to kill the sycamores would be a great
"wonder" at the present day in that same field of Zoan.

The sycamore flourishes best in sandy plains and warm vales.
In the time of David they appear to have been planted in groves,
like the olive, for we read that he appointed an overseer " over the
olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the low plains."^
They must have been esteemed of little value in the days of Solo-
mon, for, when even silver was nothing accounted of in Jerusalem,
he made " cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale,
for abundance."' In the time of the prophet Isaiah the cedar
takes the place of the sycamore, and " Ephraim and the inhabitants
of Samaria say, in pride and stoutness of heart, the sycamores are
cut down, but Ave will change them into cedars."*

Our road has brought us into 'Assur, as this sandy open space
just south of the old wall of the city is called. It was formerly

' Psa. Ixxviii. 43, 47. ^ I Chron. xxvii. 2S. ^ I Kings x. 27. ■• Isa. ix. 9, 10.

THE PROTESTANT CEMETERY. — THE MISSION PREMISES. II7

much larger than now, and shaded by a number of wide-spreading
sycamore-trees, but they have nearly all disappeared.

The Protestant Cemetery, where rest in peace many who were
greatly beloved in their day and generation, even by the natives
of every class and creed, and whose memory is revered by all, is
directly above the west end of 'Assur. The printing establishment
of the American Mission overlooks the cemetery, and adjoining it
is the Bible House. The Anglo-American church edifice is far-
ther up, on the same premises, and back of that is the large and
flourishing Female Seminary of the Mission.

ANGLO-AMERICAN CHURCH.

I am reminded by the locality of a most extraordinary scene
which I saw enacted in this 'Assur. Early on the morning of May
9th, 1847, tl'^c people of Beirut were seen hurrying along the road
towards Sidon, evidently to participate in some great pageant. I
soon ascertained that two venerated pilgrims were returning from
Mecca, and that the dervishes and their sheikhs, who make some
bold attempts at supernatural manifestations, and sometimes with

llS THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

singular success, were to perform extraordinary feats on that occa-
sion. The whole city, male and female, rushed along the road to
meet the pilgrims, with banners, tambourines, cymbals, and other
musical instruments, singing, dancing, and clapping their hands.
In about an hour they returned. The crowd was now very large,
and the countenances of many exhibited signs of the most intense
excitement and eager expectation.

In front of the procession which now appeared came four flags,
green, yellow, white, and black, the staffs being surmounted with
a double crescent of metal. Behind these were a number of der-
vishes from a distance, dancing with all their might, and performing
their most fantastic and fanatical feats of legerdemain. They were
naked to the waist, wore tall, conical caps of felt, and were the
vilest and most savage -looking creatures I ever saw. Some of
them carried short iron pikes, the heads of which were balls as
large as oranges, with many spikes and chains attached to them.
The sharp end of these instruments they struck with great vio-
lence into their cheeks and about their eyes, and so deeply that
they hung suspended without being held by the hand. I do not
know how this is performed, though I have seen it done since, and
have examined the instrument. Others had long, spindle-like spikes
thrust through from cheek to cheek. I saw that done also by a
dervish in my house ; but he had long before made holes in his
cheeks, which had healed up, like those through the ears for rings.
These his bushy beard completely concealed.

The frantic behavior of the officiating fanatics in that ceremony
reminded me of the conduct of the priests of Baal on Mount Car-
mel, who leaped upon the altar and " cried aloud, and cut them-
selves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood
gushed out upon them.'" I have seen the blood streaming from
wounds self-inflicted by Moslem dervishes and fanatical sheikhs.

After those dervishes came four more flags ; then two very holy
sheikhs, riding on small horses. They pretended to be altogether
absorbed and wrapped up in devotion, prayed incessantly, with their
eyes closed, and took no notice of the large and tumultuous crowd
around them. The frantic people prostrated themselves on the

' I Kings xviii. 26, 2S.

THE DOUSEH UPON 'ASSUR.

119

ground before them, kissed their broad stirrups or the flags, but
most of all the two pilgrims from Mecca, who now made their ap-
pearance, and seemed to be tired out, and in danger of being kissed
to death by relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

Just at the entrance into 'Assur a long pavement of men and
boys was formed in the following manner: the first lay on his face,
with his head to the south ; the next with feet to the south, and so
on, heads and feet, to the end of this living corduroy causeway, the

ED DOUSEH — THE TREADING.

people crowding them along the line as close to one another as
possible. A dense mass of spectators on either side formed a lane,
along which the two sheikhs actually rode, from end to end, on top
of the men and boys. I stood on a terrace directly above them,
and witnessed the whole performance, and saw the men and boys
jump up again apparently unhurt. My Moslem servant was one of
them, and he assured me that the sheikhs' horses were not heavier

I20 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

than cats. The thing is not difficult to explain. The men and
boys were close together, the ground soft and sandy, the horses
small, their shoes flat and smooth, and they walked as if treading
on eggs ; and yet many of the lads were really bruised, and some
seriously injured. The whole scene, however, was demoniacal in
the extreme. It is called ed Douseh, the treading, and is accom-
panied with many superstitious ceremonies.

We have completed the circuit of that part of Beirut and its
suburbs lying west of the Damascus road, and have now returned
to the gate of our house from whence we started this morning.

MOVING TO THE MOUNTAINS. 121

IV.

BEIRUT TO SHEMLAN.

A Mountain House. — Moving to the Mountains. — Modern Summer Residences. — Leba-
non a Favorite Summer Retreat. — Dames de Nazareth. — The Sisters of Charity. —
Silk Factory. — Cocoons. — Export of Silk. — The Pines. — The Damascus Road. — No
Trace of an Ancient Highway over Lebanon. — 'Areiya. — El Miighiteh. — Jebel el
Keniseh. — El Buka'a. — Shtora. — Mejdel 'Anjar. — Anti-Lebanon. — Diligences. — Bag-
gage-wagons. — The Carriage-drive. — Canals. — Rustem Pasha's Bridge. — Khan el Has-
miyeh. — The Plain. — The Palm-tree. — Phoenicia. — Hebrew Women Named after the
Palm-tree. — Biblical Allusions to the Palm-tree. — Palm-branches an Emblem of Re-
joicing. — Bethany, the House of Dates. — Clusters of Dates. — El Hadeth. — Shehab
Emirs. — As'ad esh Shediak. — History of Lebanon. — B'abda. — Geodes of Quartz. —
Blind Beggar by the Way-side. — The Carob-tree. — St. John's Bread. — "The Husks."
— Syrup. — Dukkan el Wurwar. — Nahr el Ghudir. — Wady Shahrur. — Kefr Shima. —
Terraced Hill-sides. — Sarcophagi. — Protestant Chapel. — Soap. — Ascent of the Moun-
tain. — Deir el Kurkufeh. — Anemones and Cyclamens. — Pine-grove. — Sandstone For-
mation. — Road to Aitath. — 'Ain Bsaba. — Mountain Sceneiy. — 'Ain 'Anoub. — Village
Fountain. — Road to Shemlan. — Summer Eve on Lebanon. — Shemlan. — Lebanon a
Range of Mountains. — Dean Stanley. — "The White Mountain." — Rains and Snows
on Lebanon. — Geological Characteristics of Lebanon. — Conspicuous Summits of Leb-
anon. — The Rivers of Lebanon. — The Natural Bridge. — Temple of Venus. — Birth-
place of Adonis. — Cedar-groves. — Convent of Kanobin. — Orthosia. — The Seaward
Face of Lebanon. — The Orontes. — The Eastern Side of Lebanon. — El Berduny.—
Fountains at Meshghurah. — Villages on Lebanon. — Biblical Allusions to Lebanon. —
Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah. — Goodly Lebanon. — The Province of Tripoli and that
of Sidon. — Districts of Lebanon. — Emir Beshir Shebah. — Ibrahim Pasha. — The Allied
Powers. — Civil Wars and Massacres. — The Present Form of Government. — Population
of Lebanon. — The Muhammedans and Metawileh. — The Greeks and Greek Catholics.
— The Maronites and Druses.

July 2d.

We move to our summer residence on the mountains to-day,
and the confusion brings to mind the way such removals were ac-
compHshed half a century ago, and, indeed, until quite recently. In
1836 I rented a house in Brummana for the small sum of one dollar
and a half a month. It had three rooms, such as they were, with
I

122 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

but one door, and a small window without glass, in each room.
The low roofs were black with smoke, festooned with dusty cob-
webs, and infested with a lively colony of fleas. The rooms were
u.sed for raising silk-worms, and possession of them could not be
obtained until the cocoons had been removed, which was done
about the ist of July. The earthen floors were then covered with
a thin coating of clay, and rubbed smooth with a large pebble.
The walls were roughly " whitewashed" with clay, but without lime,
and then the premises were pronounced ready for occupation. It
is needless to add that all the work was done by the women of
the family, who appear to be natural adepts in such occupations.

Every article needed for keeping house, bedding and bedsteads,
tables and chairs, miscellaneous furniture, kitchen utensils, stores of
provisions, and the many et caeteras which our mode of life on the
mountains renders necessary, had to be transported on donkeys,
mules, or camels, and sad havoc of such articles was always made
in the transfer. Broken dishes, dislocated chairs, and crippled ta-
bles rendered " moving to the mountains " not only an aggravation,
but also a source of considerable expense. Of course the tables
and chairs soon made large holes in the soft earthen floors, not-
withstanding the protection of mats and carpets, and they had to
be frequently repaired, not merely to mend the broken places, but
also to expel the fleas that increased in almost countless numbers
and found a congenial element in the fine clay dust.

All these things have now passed away. As the number of
families seeking summer quarters increased the villagers began to
improve their houses, in order to obtain higher rents. New houses
were also built. Earthen floors gave place to concrete cement
or polished marble, and glass windows became common. Quite re-
cently commodious residences have been constructed in the larger
villages, such as Bhamdun, 'Aleih, Suk el Ghurb, 'Aitath, Shemlan.
'Abeih, and some others. Not a few foreign residents of Beirut
now possess commodious dwellings, and gather about them all that
is required to render their summer residences both comfortable
and attractive. Good roads have also been made by the Governor-
general of the Lebanon, and families can now reach their mountain
homes in private carriages or in those hired in the city.

LEBANON A FAVORITE SUMMER RESORT. 1 23

These improvements have, of course, largely increased the cost
of living, during the summer months, on Lebanon ; but the benefit
to health and personal enjoyment abundantly compensate those
who are able to afford the expense. This is emphatically true of
families with small children. In many instances moving to the
mountains is the only means left to save the lives of the little ones
when they have been attacked by those fatal summer complaints
which sometimes defy all medical skill. It is surprising to see how
speedily the cool, invigorating air of the mountains will revive not
only the little sufferers, but also the emaciated victims of the ma-
lignant Syrian fevers. Lebanon is destined to become erelong a
favorite summer retreat for invalids and for those who occupy the
sultry^ valley of the Nile, the sea-board, and the hot plains around
the eastern end of the Mediterranean.

But it is time to start. Salim has taken the tents and our per-
sonal baggage, with all the necessary supplies for the table and the
kitchen, in one of the wagons belonging to the Damascus Road
Company ; and when we arrive at our summer home in Shemlan
we shall find everything comfortably arranged for our reception
and convenience. We, however, will keep to the saddle, not only
because I prefer this mode of travelling to any other in the land,
but also because in that way we shall see more of the country and
its productions than if shut up in a carriage.

What is the distance to Shemlan ?

About ten miles, and, at our usual rate of travel, it will take us
three hours. The elevation of the village above the sea is a little
more than two thousand feet, which gives an average temperature
considerably below that of the plain and the city.

This road is leading us through a part of the suburbs of Beirut
which we have not seen before. That large establishment on the
hill east of us occupies a very conspicuous position.

It is the French educational institution for girls, and belongs to
the Dames de Nazareth. It is not as large, nor does it accommo-
date as many pupils, as the extensive buildings of the Sisters of
Charity, which we noticed just before passing Canon Scpiare ; but
the well-kept grounds and the beautiful garden testify to their skill
and good taste in horticultural pursuits.

124

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

That bustling and crowded establishment on the roadside is one
of the many silk-reeling factories which have sprung up recently

in this vici-
nity. This
is the busy
time of the
year, and,
as you see,
the factory
has a very
animated,
picturesque
and emi-
nently Ori-
ental appearance — groups of men, wom-
en, and children weighing, bargaining, and
selling cocoons ; horses, mules, and donkeys
loaded with cocoons ; boxes, sacks, and bags
filled with cocoons. There are great heaps of
cocoons, white and golden, protected by awnings,
and thousands of cocoons spread out, tier above
tier, in those large temporary drying-houses, open
to the breeze on all sides. Indeed, the very at-
mosphere is permeated
\\ ith a strong odor of
cocoons, and it is any-
thing but faint and
delicate.

The people come
from all parts of
the plain, and from
distant villages on
these mountains,
brineine their co-

THE SILK-WORM, COCOON, BUTTERFLY, AND CHRYSALIS.

coons to the factories. Many cocoons are merely " stifled " in a
furnace or " steamed " in large quantities, to kill the grub, and are
then shipped to Europe. Most of them are taken to Lyons to be

THE CARRIAGE-ROAD TO DAMASCUS. 125

reeled, and the silk manufactured there is then exported to Lon-
don and New York. In fact, it is sent over the world, and even
returns to its native land to deck out in gay colors these very
people who are so anxious now to rid themselves of it for the
French gold with which they must ultimately buy it again. Silk-
culture is the great and absorbing industry of this part of Syria,
and in a favorable season the crop is very remunerative.

Here, on our right, is el Hursh, or the pines — a part of the
same grove which we saw the other day ; but the trees are many
years older and much larger than those on the western side of the
forest. There is a young grove a short distance farther on which
I remember to have seen sown some twenty years ago.

This French road to Damascus, which we are now following, is
certainly well made, and kept in excellent repair.

It is all that, and as good as any in France itself. Not only
was it the first carriage-road of importance in this country, but also
it is the only one ever constructed over Lebanon. There is no-
where the slightest indication of an ancient highway of this kind
to be seen on the mountains. After passing by the eastern border
of " the pines," it stretches in a straight line across the plain, rising
gradually till it reaches the foot-hills of Lebanon at Khan el Has-
miyeh, from thence it winds up the steep declivities of the moun-
tain to the pretty little village of 'Areiya. It then passes above
the southern cliffs of the Beirut River to the last wild ascent over
the pass of el Mugheiteh, about five thousand feet above the sea,
having below it, on the north, the magnificent scenery around the
head -waters of that picturesque river, dominated by the exalted
majesty of Jebcl el Kcniseh. From the top of the Mugheiteh the
road descends steeply to the Bukaa, and then stretches across the
plain from Shtora to Mejdel 'Anjar. Thenceforward the grading is
less difficult, and the ascent over Anti-Lebanon is comparatively
easy. The distance from Beirut to Damascus is about seventy
miles, and is accomplished in twelve or thirteen hours. Diligences
run daily between the two cities, and long lines of baggage-wagons
are constantly seen passing to and fro along this broad highway.

This long and sloping stretch of road across the plain and up
to the foot-hills of Lebanon appears to be the fashionable carriage-

126 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

driv^e from the city, and I am surprised to see so many of those
vehicles evidently owned by natives.

Carriages made their first appearance in Beirut with the comple-
tion of this road to Damascus, and already they are as common as
in many European cities of the same size. There are quite a num-
ber of coffee-shops along this drive and on the bank of the Beirut
River, to our left ; and every evening they are frequented by the
elite of the city, who spend a passing hour discussing the news and
gossip of the day, smoking cigarettes and nargilehs, sipping black
coffee, and drinking 'arak and sherbet.

These canals convey the water from the river at different eleva-
tions, and by them the whole plain west of us is irrigated. Rustem
Pasha, Governor-general of the Lebanon, has recently constructed
a fine bridge over the river in this vicinity by which to reach his
large and attractive garden. He has also made a drive on the op-
posite bank down to the bridge on the road to the Dog River.
That new bridge is a great convenience to the people of this neigh-
borhood during the floods of winter.

This place to which we are now coming is Khan el Hasmiyeh,
and here most of the carriages stop and then return to the city.
Here, also, the road to Damascus begins to wind up the mountain-
side, and other roads turn off in different directions.

We will now keep along the base of the mountains to the
south, having in full view, below us on the right, the entire plain,
or as Sahil, and the olive-groves westward to the Mediterranean.

What a sea of variegated verdure stretches away to the south-
west far as the eye can follow !

This is one of the richest plains in the country — a perfect wil-
derness of mulberry and fruit trees ; and beyond spread the vast
olive-groves of Shuweifat. There is nothing on the Syrian coast
equal to it. It lies between the mountains and the far-off sea, pro-
tected by the city and the pine-forests, and hedged in by the dis-
tant sand-hills. Its climate and fruits are almost tropical, and one
never wearies gazing upon its varied beauties, or riding along its
shady lanes and through its green alleys.

Those palm-trees — the loftiest and most stately we have seen —
add much to the beauty of the prospect. They stand here and

HEBREW WOMEN NAMED AFTER THE PALM-TREE.

127

there over the plain
like sentinels, with
feathery plumes wav-
ing gracefully upon
their proud heads.

This part of Syria
was called Phoenicia,
"the land of palms,"
by the Greeks ; and
in the time of the
Romans, the medal
of Vespasian, com-
memorating the cap-
ture of Jerusalem, represents Judea as a woman mourning under a
palm-tree. As the tree is tall, slender, and graceful, the daughters
of the Hebrews were sometimes named after it. The wife of Er,
the firstborn son of Judah ; the daughter of David, and the only
daughter of Absalom — both remarkable for their beauty — were all
called Tamar; and the name is still not uncommon in the country.
Erect as rectitude itself, the palm-tree suggests to the Arab poets
many a symbol for their lady-love; and Solomon, long before

EN nOKHL — THK PALM.

128 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

them, has sung, " How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for
delights! This thy stature is like to a palm-tree.'"

Yes : and Solomon's father says, " The righteous shall flourish
like the palm-tree. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth
fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing."^

The royal poet derived that illustration with which he adorns
his sacred ode from the habits of this tree. The palm grows slowly,
but steadily, from generation to generation, uninfluenced by those
alternations of the seasons which affect other trees. It does not
rejoice overmuch in winter's copious rain, nor does it droop under
the drought and the burning sun of summer. Neither heavy
weights which men place upon its head, nor the importunate
urgency of the wind, can sway it aside from uprightness. There
it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and patiently
yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from season to season.
They still bring forth fruit in old age.

The allusion to those planted in the house of the Lord was pro-
bably due to the custom of planting beautiful and long-lived trees
in the courts of temples and palaces, and in all " high places " used
for worship. This is still common ; nearly every palace, and mosk,
and convent in the country has such trees in the courts, and, being
well protected there, they flourish exceedingly. Solomon covered
all the walls of the Temple " round about with carved figures of
cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, within and without.'"
Their presence there was not only ornamental, but appropriate and
highly suggestive. The Jews used palm-branches as emblems of
rejoicing during the feast of ingathering and of tabernacles.'' Chris-
tians do the same on Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Sa-
viour's triumphal entry into Jerusalem from Bethany; for we read,
in John xii. 12, 13, that "much people," on that occasion, "took
branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet" Jesus. Dean
Stanley supposes that Bethany, " the house of dates," derived its
name from the palm-trees that grew on Olivet.' Palm branches
are often woven into an arch and placed over the head of the

1 Song vii. 6, 7. '^ Psa. xcii. 12-14. ^ i Kings vi. 29.

^ Lev. xxiii. 40 ; Neh. viii. 15. ^ Sinai and Palestine, p. 143.

CLUSTERS OF DATES.— EL HADETH.— AS'AD ESH SHEDL\K. 1 29

bier \vhich carries man to his long home, emblematic not only of
patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous — a
flourishing old age and a glorious immortality.

In this country the fruit of the palm-tree is neither so abun-
dant nor so sweet and luscious as in Arabia, Egypt, and some other
regions. But I have seen very large clusters of dates on many of

THAMR — DATES.

the tallest of these trees; and the owners protect the fruit from
hornets and birds by fastening round the clusters parts of old
garments and rice baskets made from the palm-leaf itself.

That village stretching along the foot of the hills for a mile or
more is called el Hadeth. It was the residence of a branch of the
family of Shehab emirs. When I first came to this country I was
acquainted with one of the emirs whose eyes had been put out by
order of his relative, the Emir Beshir of Bteddin. El Hadeth was
also the home of As'ad esh Shediak, the learned and able writer,
and the first Protestant martyr. His brother Yusuf was also one
of the few native scholars of those days, and his history of Leba-
non and its feudal families contains much valuable information.

Directly above and east of el Hadeth is B'abda, a large and

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

flourishing village. An old palace, picturesquely situated on a hill
west of the village, about eight hundred feet above the sea, is now
occupied as a winter residence by the Government of the Lebanon,
to escape the severe cold of Bteddin. The cretaceous hills east of
B'abda abound in geodes of quartz, whose interior is thickly stud-
ded with perfect and brilliant crystals. Some of them are very
large, and when first broken open the pointed crystals sparkle like
diamonds, and are so intensely hard as to cut glass.

EL KHARNUB— THE CAROB.

There is a blind beggar "sitting by the highway side begging.'"
The tree under which he sits is called the Blindman's Tree, and
on the ridge above us are many such kharnub-trees, loaded with

' Mark x. 46.

ST. JOHN'S BREAD.— "THE HUSKS."— XAHR EL GHUDH^. 13I

long flat husks or pods. It is an evergreen, and casts a most
delio-htful and refreshing shade over the weary traveller. In this
country the kharnub-trees do not yield very large crops, but in
Cyprus, Asia Minor, and the Grecian Islands full-grown trees bend
under half a ton of green pods.

The kharnub is sometimes called St. John's Bread, and also
Locust-tree, from a mistaken tradition concerning the food of the
Baptist in the wilderness. Its botanical name is Ceratonia Siliqua,
and there is no reason to
doubt that it was the tree
which bore " the husks that
the swine did eat," and with
which the poor prodigal
" would fain have filled his
belly.'" The "husks" — a
misnomer — are fleshy pods
somewhat like those of the
locust-tree, from six to ten
inches long, containing seve-
ral seeds, and lined with a
gelatinous substance, sweet
and pleasant to the taste
when thoroughly ripe. I
have seen large gardens of
kharnub-trees in Cyprus,
where it is still the food that
the swine do eat. In Syria,
where there are no swine, or
next to none, the pods are

ground up and a syrup expressed, which is much used in mak-
ing certain kinds of sweetmeats and refreshing beverages.

Dukkan el Wurwar, which we arc now approaching, is one of
those "shops" along the way-side, where coffee and refreshments,
food and fodder, can be obtained. It is pleasantly situated above
the valley of Nahr el Ghudir, a small stream which comes down
from Wady Shahrur, and finds its way to the sea through the olive-

' Luke XV. 16.

CAROB PODS — THE HUSKS.

132 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

groves below Shuweifat. That large village on the foot-hills to the
south-west, and directly across the valley, is Kefr Shima. To the
east of it the mountain declivities rise with great regularity ; and,
owing to the character of the soil and the abundant supply of
water, the entire hill -sides are terraced tier above tier, presenting
to the view, in every direction, a varied expanse of olive-groves, fig-
orchards, mulberry- gardens, and vineyards, seldom seen to better
advantage, even on this " goodly Lebanon."

Before turning down the hill -side and crossing the Ghudir, I
wish to point out a place here on our right, where many years ago
I saw uncovered a number of ancient tombs, excavated in the soft
cretaceous rock. In each tomb there was a sarcophagus made,
like common pottery, of baked clay. Those sarcophagi were of all
sizes, from two to six feet in length. There were no inscriptions
on any of them ; and as they appeared to be of no value to the
owners of the field they were destroyed, and the mulberry-trees
that now cover the hill-side were planted in their place.

Here on our right is a small Protestant chapel, one of many
which are now seen all over this part of Lebanon. The inhabitants
of Kefr Shima, Shuweifat, and other neighboring villages are chiefly
engaged in agricultural pursuits and the manufacture of soap from
the oil produced by the extensive olive-groves in this region.

From here the ascent commences, and we must address our-
selves in earnest to this steep and steady climb up the mountain for
about an hour. The path winds round and up the eastern side of
that bold rocky promontory, the summit of which is covered with
a small pine-grove, and crowning the very top is the picturesque
Convent or Deir of Mar Antanus el Kurkufeh. In early spring
the rude stone walls that sustain these terraces are almost con-
cealed under the green leaves and beautiful flowers of scarlet ane-
mones and pink and white cyclamens.

We have risen above the hard limestone rock, over which our
horses have been stumbling ; and here, at this dukkan, we may rest
for a few moments, and refresh ourselves with the cool breeze that
is wafted up the valley from the distant sea.

This pine-grove, through which we are now riding, grows upon
a soft, many-colored sandstone, curiously worn and cut up b}- the

•AIN BSABA.— MOUNTAIN SCENERY.— 'AIN 'ANOUB. 1 33

winter rains. It is a fair specimen of the pine-forests all over Leba-
non ; and it is interesting to notice that wherever on these moun-
tains there is a pine-grove, there, also, the formation is sandstone.

The road up the mountain to 'Aitath, and thence to Shemlan,
has always been considered the shortest, but it is rough and unin-
teresting. We will take this path that turns off here to the right,
and go by the way of 'Ain 'Anoub. That road winds round val-
leys and hills, and up the mountain-side, and the view is eminently
characteristic of Lebanon and its scenery.

Let us water our thirsty horses at this fountain. I have taken
many a lunch and quiet rest beneath that magnificent oak-tree
above the birkeh, or reservoir, into which the water is gathered that
irrigates those vegetable gardens below the road. 'Ain Bsaba is
one of those delicious fountains of cold water for which Lebanon is
so justly celebrated; and like some of them it has its dark legends
of highway robbery and even murder.

The boundless expanse of that beautiful sea ever widens as we
rise higher and higher, until it seems as if the sea and the sky met
in one unbroken line, from the far north to the distant south.

There are hundreds of such limitless prospects on Lebanon,
and others far more imposing and sublime. The character of the
scenery varies with the scene ; sometimes it is historic, at other
times romantic, but always impressive even to fascination.

Opposite to us, across this profound valley, is 'Ain 'Anoub, seen
in profile against the sky. Its houses, clinging one above the other
to the mountain-side, are half concealed by the dense foliage of the
oak. the olive, and the green leaves of the mulberry and the vine;
while of fruit trees the apple, the apricot, the peach, and even the
orange and lemon, are found growing in sheltered nooks.

Although this is the first village fountain I have seen on Leba-
non, my horse seems to be well acquainted with its main purpose,
so far, at least, as he is concerned.

Hereafter it may be well for you to consider your associates at
such fountains, or, in the impetuous rush for the water-trough, you
and your horse will get too warm a welcome from some friendly
mule, which both of you will soon regret and long remember.

Passing through 'Ain 'Anoub, we will take the path that climbs

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

EL AIN — THE FOUNTAIN.

the ridge above the village, instead of following the longer road,
through the olive-groves, and which zigzags up the rocky cliffs
below Shemlan. The distance is not over twenty minutes.

This may be the shortest road ; but it is very steep, and these
broken and rocky steps are not only extremely worn and slippery,
but actually dangerous to life and limb.

AX ORIENTAL SUMMER EVE.— LEBANON A MOUNTAIN-RANGE. 1 35

It has always been so, and the numberless attempts to mend it
have only aggravated the evil. But the worst is past, and we are
coming near the lower part of the village, and will soon reach our
house on the hill-side above the fountain.

The varied sounds and scenes of a summer eve on Lebanon are
strangely impressive. Birds are singing in the highest branches
of the bushes and the trees, and shepherds call to their flocks on
the rock\- hill-sides, and hurry them towards the fold. Boys and
girls are driving the cattle homeward from the field ; and men and
women are on the house-tops, protecting the wheat that was ex-
posed to the sunlight during the day from the dew by night.
And over the hills and across the valleys the deep, rich tones
of the convent bells at Deir el Kurkufeh are wafted, vibrating
through the air.

The glorious sun is setting in the far west,

And its golden rays are gleaming across the silver sea ;
And as the mountain shadows lengthen, and the sunlight dies away,
The purple haze in the valley deepens, and night succeeds the day.

July 29th.

I am delighted with the commanding situation of this village
and the simplicity of our mountain life; it has all the freedom and
independence of tent-life, without many of its uncertainties.

Certainly it is a happy escape from the blazing sun and blinding
glare of the city and the plain. I love the mountains, all of them,
and most of all these noble mountains of " goodly Lebanon," with
which I have been familiar for more than half a lifetime. Over
their rugged ranges I have rambled and scrambled b\' day and by
night, until I can recall at will each peak and crag, their shapes
and features, and give to each its special name.

I anticipate both pleasure and profit from our sojourn on this
mountain, which Moses so longed to see, but could not ; and I am
impatient to begin our rambles over " sainted Lebanon ;" but first
of all I should like to obtain a comprehensive description of it.

You are aware that Mount Lebanon is a misnomer, and conveys
an erroneous impression. It is not a single mount at all, but a lofty
range, or chain, of mountains. Commencing in the rolling hills of

136 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Belad Besharah, and rising higher and higher, the ridge extends for
about one hundred miles, from Jebel er Rihan, south-east of Sidon,
to a profound cHff east of Sir, in the district of ed Dunniyeh, a
day's ride north of the Cedars. Beyond that are the lower but
rugged ridges and wild ravines of Jebel 'Akkar. The average
breadth of Lebanon, from the Mediterranean to the plain of el
Buka'a, Ca;lesyria, is not more than twenty-five miles.

According to Dean Stanley, White, or Snow Mountain, " is the
natural and almost uniform name of the highest mountains in all
countries." ' The ancient Hebrew name, Lebanon, and the modern
Arabic one, Jebel Libnan — White Mountain — was, probably, sug-
gested by the magnificent appearance of this mountain-range when
covered with the snows of winter, rather than by the whitish aspect
of its limestone formation, as some have supposed.

Lebanon is so situated relatively to ''this great and wide sea"
as to attract to itself the moist winds from the Mediterranean in
winter, and the balmy breezes from the sunny South in early
spring. During half the year copious rains water its terraced
sides, and its lofty summits and profound ravines are then buried
under deep snow, which remains there to cool the air of summer,
and sustain, the countless fountains that give life and beauty to
the valleys and fields below.

The geological, as well as the physical, characteristics of this
mountain contribute essentially to its beauty and fertility. Were
the rocks stern granite, barren sandstone, or lifeless gypsum, no
amount of rain and soft breezes would make them fertile. But the
great mass of Lebanon is cretaceous limestone, soft and highly fos-
siliferous, with just enough of friable sandstone and volcanic rock
here and there to mingle with and modify the soil.

The range of Lebanon has a number of conspicuous summits,
the most remarkable of which are Taumat Niha, above Jezzin, five
thousand six hundred feet high ; Jebel el Keniseh, east of Beirut,
six thousand six hundred feet high ; Sunnin, farther north, eight
thousand five hundred feet high ; Fum el Mizab, nine thousand
nine hundred feet high ; and Dahar el Kudhib, above Tripoli and
north of the Cedars, over ten thousand feet high.
' Sinai and Palestine, Note 5, pp. 399, 400.

THE RIVERS ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF LEBANON. 1 37

The rivers of Lebanon, beginning at the south, are ez Zahera-
ny. which rises at the south-western end of Jcbel er Rihan, and
reaches the sea between Sarepta and Sidon ; The Auwaly, the an-
cient Bostrenus, has two main branches ; the southern proceeds
from the fountain of Jezzin, and the stream plunges over a preci-
pice below the town nearly two hundred and fifty feet in perpen-
dicular height. The northern branch comes from the fountains,
above the village, of el Baruk, north-east of el Mukhtarah. The
Auwaly enters the sea two miles north of Sidon. The Damur, the
Tamyras or Damuras of the ancients, also has two branches ; but
its main permanent source is below 'Ain Zahalteh. It empties into
the sea midway between Sidon and Beirut. The river of Beirut,
the ancient Magoras, drains the western slopes of Jebel el Keniseh
and the southern end of Sunnin, and enters St. George's Bay.

North of Beirut is the Dog River, the Lycus, famous for the
ancient tablets in the cliffs over the pass near its mouth, and for
the marvellous caverns out of which it flows. Above the caves it
has two large fountains, which burst out directly under the snows
of Sunnin. The Natural Bridge spans the deep chasm of Neb'a
el Leben, the most southern of those fountains. Nahr Ibrahim,
the Adonis, flows out of the cavern at 'Afka, near which are the
ruins of the temple dedicated to Venus. That river enters the
sea a few miles south of Jebeil, the Biblical Gebal, or Byblus, of
the Greeks, said to be the birthplace of Adonis.

Several smaller streams reach the sea north of Jebeil, but they
need not be described. Nahr el Jauzeh descends from Tannurin
el Foka, between which and el Hadith there are groves of cedars.
That stream reaches the sea near cl Batrun, south of the con-
spicuous cape anciently called Theoprosopon, the face of God, and
now Ras esh Shukah. The next river is the Kadisha, the holy,
because it comes down from near the sacred grove of the Cedars.
It is pre-eminently distinguished for the gigantic cliffs of its gorge
below Bsherreh. Clinging to one of them, about four hundred feet
above the river, is the historical Convent of Kanobin, the chief seat
of the Maronite patriarch. The Kadisha, augmented by its main
tributary, the Abu 'Aly, passes through the city and the luxuriant
gardens of Tripoli, and enters the bay north of it.
K

138 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Nahr el Barid descends from the highest ridges of Lebanon,
above the village of Sir, through a region of wild and magnificent
scenery, and empties into the bay or Jun of 'Akkar, about ten
miles north of Tripoli. It forms the southern boundary of the dis-
trict of 'Akkar, and on its left bank are the remains of a large city,
probably the ancient Orthosia. It is these numerous rivers, with
their countless tributaries and their magnificent gorges, that impart
such variety, beauty, and life to the western, or seaward, face of
Lebanon. " He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run
among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field,"
and " by them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,
which sing among the branches." *

At the north-eastern base of Lebanon Nahr el 'Asy, or the
Orontes, flows out from the great fountain beneath the cliffs near
Mugharat er Rahib, and passing northward by Ribleh, the Riblah
of the Old Testament, it waters the great plain of the Biblical
kingdom of Hamath. The eastern sides of the mountain are far
less imposing than the western and northern slopes. The range
descends abruptly to the plain of el Buka'a, and is comparatively
destitute of brooks and streams of any considerable size ; but along
the south-eastern parts there are some noble fountains and many
flourishing villages. A considerable stream, called el Berduny,
descends from Sunnin, and passing through the town of Zahleh, it
enriches the central portions of the Buka'a. And the large foun-
tains at Meshghurah, south of Taumat Niha, send their noisy
brooks to the Litany, in the valley below. These complete the
list of brooks, streams, and rivers around the entire circuit of this
goodly mountain ; and it is to be noted that nearly all of them are
on the seaward side. There, too, are situated most of the villages
seen from the Mediterranean as one approaches this coast.

The earliest mention of this mountain in the Bible implies that
Lebanon was then considered exceptionally beautiful. It was the
one name mentioned in the earnest prayer of Moses : " I pray thee,
let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that
goodly mountain, and Lebanon.'"' Moses had, no doubt, heard of
its " glory," in Egypt, for we know that long before his day this
' Psa. civ. 10-12. ^ Deut. iii. 25.

DISTRICTS OF LEBANON.— NUMBER OF INHABITANTS. 1 39

country had been traversed by Egyptian armies, the records of
whose expeditions are even now read by learned Egyptologists.

Lebanon is also mentioned by David, Solomon, Isaiah, and other
sacred poets and prophets, who refer to its most striking features
and characteristics. They speak of the head, the countenance, the
sides, the roots of Lebanon ; and of the snow, and the streams that
run amongst the valleys. They sing of the glory of Lebanon, and
the smell of its forests — the cedar, the fir, the pine, and the box
together; and of the birds that sing amongst the branches. To
the ancient seer, poet, and prophet Lebanon was a goodly moun-
tain, which they delighted to praise ; and goodly is still its most
appropriate title of distinction. The Arabs say that Lebanon bears
winter on his head, spring on his shoulders, and autumn in his lap,
while summer lies at his feet.

Lebanon has been divided into two provinces, generally recog-
nized as such by the Turkish Government. They are named
Mu'amalet Tarablus and Mu'amalet Saida, from the respective cities
of Tripoli and Sidon. The dividing line, commencing at the north-
eastern end of the Bay of Juneh, is carried up a ravine called
Mu'amaltein eastward, over the mountains to the Buka'a. Of those
provinces the southern, that of Sidon, is far the largest and most
important. Both are subdivided into districts of very unequal size
called mukata'at, or akalim. The northern division has eight, and
the southern sixteen of those districts; and the population of the
latter is fully double that of the former. In the absence of an
accurate government census it is impossible to ascertain the exact
number of the inhabitants, but the province of Tripoli is supposed
to contain about one hundred and twenty-five thousand, and that
of Sidon one hundred and fifty thousand, or, in all, nearly three
hundred thousand for the entire population of Lebanon.

Very little change has been attempted in the old divisions and
subdivisions of these mountains. The inhabitants cling to them
with tenacity, and for' the administration of government they are
convenient and even necessary. But the various sects have often
asserted and maintained a semi-independence, and the actual rulers
then regulated the affairs of this region to suit their own conve-
nience. Such was the case during the long rule of the Emir Be-

I40 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

shir, of the Shehab family. In i830-'3i Ibrahim Pasha, the warlike
son of Muhammed 'Aly of Egypt, subdued the whole of Syria; but
he continued the Emir Beshir in his government of the Lebanon.

The Allied Powers restored Syria to the Sultan in 1840, who
banished the emir, and he died in exile. Since that time the
civil government of these mountains has undergone some modi-
fications, mainly brought about through the intervention of the
European governments, and consequent upon the calamitous wars
between the Maronites and the Druses. The existing regime was
established by the same foreign interference after the massacres of
i860, and the temporary occupation of this country by the French.
It has succeeded admirably, and comparative peace and prosperity
are assured to this long distracted region.

Religiously, the people of Lebanon are divided into Muham-
medans and Metavvileh, Christians and Druses. The two first are
found in both the provinces, chiefly at the northern and southern
extremities of each, and may exceed thirty-five thousand in num-
ber. The Christians of various denominations reside in all parts of
Lebanon, and constitute the great body of the inhabitants. The
Greeks and Greek Catholics are found mostly in the province of
Sidon, and in the district or aklim of el Kurah, near Tripoli. They
number about seventy-five thousand. The Maronites are by far
the most numerous of the Christian sects — over one hundred and
twenty-five thousand — and occupy almost exclusively the northern
half of Lebanon. Their great stronghold is Aklim el Kesrawan.
The Druses are intermingled with the Christians of all denomina-
tions in the southern half of these mountains, and they do not
number more than forty thousand.

SOUTHERN LEBANON. I4I

TOUR THROUGH SOUTHERN LEBANON.

Southern Lebanon.— The Bells of the Mules, and the Song of the Muleteers.— Wander-
ing about the Mountains.— 'Ainab.— Natural Tells.— Perpendicular Strata.— Dukkan
'Ainab.— Beit Tulhuk.— Original Inhabitants of Lebanon.— The Phcenicians.— Rock-
cut Tombs.— 'Ain Kesur.— The Wady below 'Abeih.— 'Abeih.— Old Palaces.— Burn-
ing of 'Abeih in 1845.— Escape of the Christians in 1S60.— Mutaiyar 'Abeih.— Mag-
nificent Prospect.— Kefr Metta.— Villages and Houses on Lebanon.— Beit el Kady.
—El Fuzur.— Traces of Glacial Action.— Tropical Climate and Fruits.— Cloud-bursts.
— Jisr el Kady.— Mills.— Nahr el Gabun and Nahr el Kady.— Villages Inhabited by
Druses and Maronites.— Bridges, Ancient and Modem.— Adventure with a Panther.
— Wild Beasts in the Holy Land in Bible Times. — Bshetfin. — Stagnation of the
Druses and Enterprise of the Christians.— Luxuriant and Fertile Fields.— Deir el
Kamar.— The Massacres of 1S60.— A Border Land of Antagonistic Tribes.— Revenge-
ful Spirit of the Maronites.— Beit Abu Nakad.— Bteddin.— The Emir Beshir.— Beit
Shehab.— Palace at Bteddin.— B'aklin.-Simekaniyeh.-Battle-field of the Druses.—
Esh Shuf.— Civil Wars.— Description of the Scenery and Geology of Lebanon by Dr.
Anderson.— El Judeideh.— Beit Jumblat.— Sheikh Beshir.— Palaces at Mukhtareh.—
Vicissitudes of Fortune.— Sa'id Beg Jumblat.— 'Ammalur.— Gray Squirrels.— Oak-
grove and Fountain of Bathir.— Fountains and Cliffs between Bathir and Jezzin.—
The Auwaly.— Merj Bisry.— Ruins of an Ancient Temple.— Emir Fakhr ed Din Be-
sieged and Captured in a Cavern.— Cascade below Jezzin.— The Ambassador and his
Family.— Jeba'ah.—Neby Safy.— Jerju'a.— Neby Sijud.— Jermuk.— Jebel er Riham.
— Gloljular Iron-ore.— High-places, Ancient and Modern.— Jezzin.— Hunting-ground
of the Shehab Emirs.— Taumat Niha.— Ancient Highway from Sidon to Damascus.
—Kefr Huneh.— Smuggling Tobacco.— Circular Lake.— Descent to the Litany.— Jisr
Burghuz.— Magnificent Prospects.— Meshghurah.— Villages upon the South-eastern
Slopes of Lebanon.— Rapid Restoration to Prosperity after Civil Wars.— Schools.—
Jisr Kur'un.— Geodes.— The Biika'a originally a Lake.— Kamid el Lauz.— Luz.—
Sughbin.— Jisr Jubb Jenin.— Geodes of Chalcedony and Agate.— Vineyards.— Ascent
of Lebanon. — View over the Buka'a. — Manna. — The Cedars of el Baruk and cl
Ma'asir.— Hiram and Solomon.— Fountains of el Baruk.— Aqueduct of Sheikh Be-
shir.— Description of Wady el Fureidis and Wady "Ain Zahalteh by Dr. Anderxm.
—Scenery around 'Ain Zahalteh.— Fountains of Nahr el Kady.— Avalanche at Kefr
Nebrakh.— Burj el 'Amad.- Beit el 'Amad.— Sheikh Khuttar.— Cedars at 'Ain Za-
halleh.— Sources of the Damur and tlic Auwaly. — Problem of Fountains.— Sandstone

142 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Formation and Pine-groves. — Btathir. — Beit 'Abd el Melek. — Silk Factories. — Vine-
yards. — Bhamdun during the Civil Wars. — Fossils. — Wady el Ghabiin. — Bhauwarah,
the Resic^ence of Colonel Churchill. — Churchill's History of Lebanon. — A Glorious

Prospect.

August nth.

As yet we have seen only a small part of this goodly moun-
tain, while Northern Lebanon, Coelesyria, Anti-Lebanon, Damascus,
and the regions "beyond Jordan," eastward, remain to be traversed.

Southern Lebanon does not lie within the line of our travels,
but we will make a short preliminary excursion through that sec-
tion. The ride will lead us over mountain scenery of great beauty
and fertility seldom visited by travellers, and that will add greatly
to the charm of the present tour.

It is pleasant to listen again to the tinkling bells of the mules
and the echoing song of the muleteers, and to hear their familiar
call of encouragement or caution to the loaded animals, as they
wind, one after the other, in Indian file, up and down the rough
mountain-paths. There is a peculiar fascination, also, in wandering
about these grand mountains, now climbing perilous heights, now
descending into profound depths; at one time looking into dark
ravines from giddy pinnacles, and at another clinging to the sides
of narrow wadies dominated by frowning cliffs, with just enough
of the uncertain or the dangerous to keep one upon the alert.

We have, at the very outset of our trip, a striking example of
Lebanon scenery. In front and above us is Mutaiyar 'Ainab, three
thousand feet high, with the pretty village of 'Ainab rising, house
above house, up the mountain-side, and half concealed in verdure.
On our right are gigantic cliffs, descending abruptly to the high-
way below us, while on every side are terraces of the vine, the fig,
and the olive extending from the very summit of the mountains
far down to those long, rolling ridges, clothed with groves of the
silvery olive, and dotted here and there with villages nearly hidden
away amongst the trees, and beyond them is the boundless expanse
of that bright and beautiful sea.

Are those singular mounds, stretching northwards parallel to
the sea-shore, natural or artificial ?

They are natural tells ; and if you examined the one opposite
to us, that has upon its summit a dilapidated Druse chapel, or

ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF LEBANON. 143

khuhvch, you would discover that the rock strata stand perpen-
dicular to the horizon, suggesting the idea that, when the central
ridge of the mountain was raised up from below, that part of it
was broken off and thrust out seawards, turning the strata per-
pendicular in the mighty upheaval.

We have now reached the Sikeh Sultaneh, or regular road from
Beirut to Deir el Kamar, the largest IMaronite village of Lebanon ;
and this dukkan of 'Ainab is the half-way coffee-shop, where the
wayfarers generally rest and lunch. The water of the village foun-
tain is pure and deliciously cold.

There seem to be remains of ancient buildings, both below the
road and upon the cliffs above the village.

They may be of any age, and are certainly not modern, 'Ainab
belonged to the Druse sheikhs of the Tulhuk family, who were the
feudal chiefs of the upper Ghurb. It has escaped pillage and con-
flagration during the civil wars that so often desolated Southern
Lebanon, owing to the protection afforded it by those sheikhs.

Who are supposed to have been the inhabitants of these moun-
tains at the time of the Hebrew conquest?

Under one name or another, various tribes of Canaanites occu-
pied the northern parts of Palestine, including Hermon, and in all
probability the southern part of Lebanon, which was generally
associated with Hermon. When Joshua overthrew the army of
the confederate kings, gathered from all those tribes " by the wa-
ters of Merom," it is highly probable that many of the fugitives
escaped to these mountains, and established themselves here per-
manently ; for there is no evidence that the Hebrews ever again
interfered with them, or attempted to penetrate into this region.'
The western face of Lebanon, overlooking, as it does, the plain
and the sea-board, and in close connection with them, may have
been governed by the Phoenicians in ancient times, and, in part,
at least, inhabited by them. Many of them were wealthy and
refined, and such would naturally resort to these mountains to
escape the heat of summer, and for reasons of health, just as the
present inhabitants of the coast do now.

The Phoenicians held possession of the seaboard for, perhaps,

' Josh. xi. i-i3.

144 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

two thousand years, but of their sojourn on these beautiful moun-
tains they have left no trace. Like the Hebrews, they seldom in-
scribed any record upon their monuments or tombs. The sarco-
phagus of Ashmanezer, found at Sidon, had a long inscription ; but
that tomb was evidently of Egyptian origin, and neither before nor
since its discovery have I seen a single word on any sarcophagus or
tomb made by the Phoenicians. The Greeks and Romans, on the
contrary, placed a record upon almost everything they constructed.
So did the Saracens, and especially the Arabs.

Almost the only indications of former inhabitants on these
mountains are the ancient rock- cut tombs, and even those are
comparatively few and very rude. They are simply graves cut in
the horizontal face of the cliffs, or hewn out of detached blocks, or
sunk into the flat surface of single rocks. They are from five to
seven feet long, two feet broad, and eighteen inches deep, and were
originally covered with heavy stone lids, about eight feet long, three
feet broad, and two feet thick, having the corners raised more or
less. Generally those rock-cut tombs are found in groups. There
is such a group above Shemlan, and another near the road between
it and 'Aitath ; but none of them have any ornamentation, nor are
there any inscriptions. Hence it is impossible to discover anything
in regard to those who made them. The present inhabitants of
Lebanon are a mingled race of uncertain origin — Maronites, Greeks,
Druses, and Metawileh — and none amongst them can tell who were
their ancestors or from whence they came.

That hamlet of 'Ain Kesur, with its small church, which we are
approaching, is literally founded on the rock, being built upon the
exposed surface of an unbroken layer of limestone which underlies
the entire village. The church occupies an ancient site, and below
it are several of those rock-cut tombs already described. Along the
road between this and 'Aramon, in the valley west of us, are some
larger graves, hewn out of isolated blocks, all empty, of course.

This long wady below 'Abeih, around which we have been rid-
ing, with its well-cultivated terraces rising, rank above rank, from
depths a thousand feet and more quite up to the village, forms
one of Nature's striking and beautiful amphitheatres, and chal-
lenges the admiration of the beholder from every point of view.

'ABEIH.— OLD PALACES.— VIEW FROM THE MUTAIVAR. 145

It does indeed, and I seldom pass this way without stopping,
now and then, to enjoy the prospect. It is seen to the best advan-
tage late in the day, when evening verges towards night. Then the
whole valley is filled with the golden light of the setting sun, and
as the darkness deepens the little pools far below in the terraced
vineyards and gardens gleam " like stars on the sea." The village
of 'Abeih itself is quite pretty, with its large, attractive houses
and curious old palaces. It is situated on the northern side of
the mountain, and commands a noble outlook over valley, hill,
and plain and the wide, wide sea, sweeping round to Beirut, and
extending towards Tripoli far as the eye can follow.

Those old palaces were mainly erected b\' the Emir Nusr ed
Din in 13 15, but have been several times partially destroyed and
again rebuilt. Many tragedies have been enacted in and around
them during the five or six centuries of their existence. In 1845
the Druses under Sheikh Hammud Abu Nakad attacked 'Abeih in
force, and quickly set on fire the houses of the Maronites who had
fled into the palaces, killing those of the men who were not able
to escape in time. An officer of the Pasha, who was then in the
Lebanon, came to 'Abeih, and finally put an end to the fight just
in time to save from indiscriminate slaughter the whole Maronite
population. I was in the village at the time, an unwilling witness to
that shocking scene. During the massacres of i860 the Christians
of this place fled to the plain, and escaped to Beirut, where they
found an asylum in the houses of native and foreign residents.

It is quiet and peaceful enough at present, and had we the time
we might visit the Druse High-school here, on the left, the Ameri-
can Mission Seminary, the old palaces, and other places of interest.
We will pass through the village to 'Ain 'Ali, as the fountain is
called, and from there ascend the mountain-ridge to the celebrated
outlook near a ruined Khuhveh, on the top of Mutaiyar 'iVbeih.

It is, indeed, well worth the climb to stand upon this overhang-
ing cliff and gaze upon that wonderful prospect ! Notwithstand-
ing your repeated allusions to it, I am taken wholly by surprise,
and give up the attempt to comi)rehend depths so profovind, and
scenery so vast and so varied. One can see down to the banks
of the Damur, and faintly hear the roar of that foaming river; and

146 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

then that sublime assemblage of mountains, and wadys, and ravines,
of gorges, and chasms, and cliffs, who can describe it ! In winter,
when the entire range of Lebanon is buried under the deep snow,
this prospect must be magnificent.

Mutaiyar 'Abeih is more than three thousand feet above yon-
der sea, and commands a panorama of almost unequal extent in
this region, and also of great historical interest. Not to dwell upon
the mighty sweep of that beautiful sea on the west, and of the
magnificent mountain scenery of the Lebanon range on the east,
extending from the far south to the distant north, and culmina-
ting in Jebel el Keniseh and Sunnin, nearly the entire seaboard of
ancient Phoenicia lies outstretched before the beholder. Though
Tyre itself is hidden from view by a projecting point of land, the
Ladder of Tyre, south of it, is clearly seen ; while old Sidon ap-
pears surprisingly near. To the north are the plain and the city
of Beirut, the coast of Jebeil and el Batrun, the ancient Gebal and
Botrys, and the bold promontory of Theoprosopon, beyond which
is the city of Tripoli, with its spacious bay; and farther still is the
island of Ruad, the famous seat of the Arvadites. I have counted
more than sixty villages and towns from this lofty stand-point.

But we cannot linger here, and must proceed on our way.
Lead your horse carefully along the edge of the cliff, and down
these low terraces, and in half an hour we shall reach the village
of Kefr Metta, on the southern slope of the ridge, and from there
a steep and winding descent through groves of pine will bring us,
in about an hour, to the Damur, at Jisr el Kady. There we will
lunch near one of those khans and dukkans, found everywhere, at
convenient stopping places, along the roads in these mountains.

With the difference in size and situation the villages on Leba-
non are very much alike, and, I should suppose, that distance
always lends enchantment to their appearance.

They are naturally built around the fountain as a centre, and to
it all roads and paths converge. The houses are low, square, and
solidly built, rarely of more than one story, and seldom exceeding
three rooms, with one door and two windows to each. The roofs
are flat and covered with earth, which is " rolled " in winter, to make
it water-proof. Such houses are as much a part of the mountain

BEIT EL KADV.— EL FUZUR. 147

as the terraced fields, vineyards, and cliffs by which they are sur-
rounded, and upon which they are built ; and it is this grouping
together of house and vine, terrace and cliff, that gives to these
mountain villages and the magnificent scenery which they com-
mand their peculiar beauty and special attractiveness.

Kefr Metta has long been the home of Beit el Kady, a family
that has furnished most of the judges for the Druse nation on
Lebanon. I have been acquainted with several of those judges,
some of whom were learned and dignified, and their legal record
was an honor to their position and their people. The younger
branches of the family, who lived in Kefr Metta in i860, were said
to have participated in the massacres of the Christians at Deir el
Kamar, and were obliged to leave the country to escape condign
punishment for their part in that horrible tragedy.

About an hour's ride below this village there is a remarkable
group of cliffs and fissures, on the right bank of the river gorge,
called el Fuzur, which is well worth visiting. The ride from Kefr
Metta down to the Fuzur is interesting, particularly to geological
students of Lebanon. Passing on the west side of the village, and
descending by a rough path for half a mile, one comes upon a large
formation of amorphous trap and globular basalt. That formation
extends northward under the limestone ridges upon which are situ-
ated Kefr Metta, 'Abeih, 'Ain Kesur, 'Ainab, Shemlan, 'Aitath, Suk
el Ghurb, and other villages. It is at least one hundred feet thick ;
above it is limestone, and below it generally sandstone, which rests
upon limestone. Through that lower limestone, which is very hard
and compact, the Damur has worn its way ; and in the cliffs on the
north side are the fissures of el Fuzur, near the bottom of the river
valley, and about five miles above its entrance into the sea.

The Fuzur itself is a great rift, extending down southward
through the cliff. At the upper end the perpendicular sides are
about twenty -five feet apart; but they gradually approach each
other, in the descent, until they are only five feet asunder at the
lower end. The fissure is about three hundred feet long and nearly
one hundred feet high. The descent, through the fissure, down
which the path winds to the mill, which is some two hundred feet
above the bed of the river, is exceedingly steep. The water is

148 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

brought from the river to the mill by a canal, which winds pictu-
resquely along perpendicular cliffs for half a mile. A little to
the south of the main fissure just described is another, paral-
lel to it, but in no place are the sides more than six feet apart.
Unlike the other, it narrows upwards, and the sides meet above.
Rocks have, at some time, fallen into it, upon which one can pene-
trate the chasm for thirty or forty feet ; and a stone dropped into
the abyss is heard for some seconds rolling away far below. Be-
sides these two fissures there are others running transversely, and
descending directly south towards the river.

Although that labyrinth of rocks and clefts is interesting in
itself, yet it would not on that account alone be entitled to special
notice. It is what certain parts of the Fuzur indicate and suggest
that imparts to it peculiar interest. The sides of the main fissure,
throughout its entire length and from top to bottom, have been
polished by the action, as I believe, of a glacier. In that process
the polishing body, during its passage through the fissure, has
drawn lines and scratches and fine striae with surprising regularity,
descending with the descent of the cleft itself. As the fissure nar-
rows downwards towards the lower end, where it opens out on to
the river-bed, the glacier would necessarily assume the shape and
form of a huge wedge. That would render its passage through the
cleft very slow and regular, which accounts for the beauty of the
polish and the regularity of the striae.

The rock, being intensely hard and unstratified, received a uni-
form polish; and, being protected by a remarkable curve of the
cliff on the upper side, like the moulding of an immense cornice,
by which the fissure was overarched and sheltered from the sun,
the polish would remain as long as the everlasting mountain itself.
In certain places below that natural cornice water has trickled
down, on the upper side of the fissure, coating the surface with a
stalagmitic incrustation, whose lines are nearly perpendicular to
the strise of the polished surface. Where that incrustation has
peeled off the striae are shown in unbroken continuity.

During my rambles over Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon I had not
discovered any traces of the action of glaciers which appeared dis-
tinct and unmistakable. I had not seen the Fuzur, with its po-

INDICATIONS OF GLACIAL ACTION ON LEBANON. I49

lished surfaces, more perfect and extensive than an}' I had visited
either in Europe or America. It is this glacial action which im-
parts special interest to that locality, and which is corroborated by
the appearance of the parallel fissure. That one is widest at the
bottom, and narrowest at the top, where it is also so covered over
by rocks that no glacier could have possibly entered it. Hence
its sides are as rough as when first split apart. The same is true
of all the neighboring fissures, where glacial action was equally im-
possible. If we have there sufficient proof that, in some former
period in the earth's history, el Fuzur was filled with a glacier, the
conclusion is certain that at that time the greater part, if not the
whole, of Lebanon, down to the sea itself, was buried under enor-
mous accumulations of snow and ice.

El Fuzur is in the secluded and sheltered gorge of the river,
and but five hundred feet above the sea-shore. In the immediate
neighborhood are two or three houses and the mill. The place is
known as el Muwafukah, or the fortunate. The climate in that
sheltered nook being almost tropical, everything planted there
grows with surprising luxuriance, and is well watered by the canal
which turns the mill. In the present condition of our earth nei-
ther frost nor snow ever invade that spot, and the orange-tree and
the taro-plant flourish all the year round in the open air. If these
mountains have been covered with thick ice since the cliffs of el
Fuzur were rent asunder, the geological phenomena and features
of Lebanon, as well as its natural history and productions, present
a most interesting problem for science to solve. Apparently, it
has required a great extent of time and many physical convulsions
to bring hills, ridges, valleys, and plains to their present fertile con-
dition ; and during those countless ages the forces of nature have
accomplished an amount of abrasion, excavation, and degradation
which astonishes even the imagination.

Careful search may yet discover other indications of the action
of glaciers in these mountains ; but, from the nature of the rock,
they will be found only in places protected from the frost, snow,
rain, and sun. The cliffs of Lebanon are continually adding to the
accumulations of debris along their bases by the breaking off of
large masses of rock and rubbish ; and thus all traces of glacial

150 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

action are obliterated from their sides or buried deep by the talus
at the base. There is also another agency constantly operating in
this country to obliterate all traces of glaciers. The extraordinary
cloud-burst, called sell by the Arabs, sweeps away everything that
opposes its overwhelming floods. I have often examined the tracks
of those cloud-bursts, and been appalled at the wild havoc they
make. As hardly a season now passes without some part of the
mountains being swept by them, they would, in the long lapse of
ages since glaciers disappeared from Lebanon, have either washed
away or buried up all traces of terminal moraines.

But here we are at Jisr el Kady, which, I suppose, derives its
name from one of the family of el Kady, by whom it was built.
We will see what kind of refreshments the dukkanjy has to offer,
while we take our noonday rest, with the noisy river at our feet,
and those clattering mills on either side of us. We have now
returned to the regular road between Beirut and Deir el Kamar.

The two main branches of the Damur here unite ; Nahr el
Ghabiin comes from the north-east, Nahr el Kady from the east,
augmented by the streams from the region around Btathir and
'Ain Dara. The great fountains of Nahr el Kady below 'Ain
Zahalteh are, however, the true permanent source of this river.

Those valleys, with their tributaries, are studded with villages,
clinging to the declivities on both sides, and embowered in vine-
yards and mulberry-gardens. They enhance the beauty and inte-
rest of this wild and picturesque scenery.

They are inhabited by Druses and Maronites, the former being
in the majority ; and it is owing to that fact that, during civil
wars, the Druses get the upper hand and commit atrocious crimes
upon the Christians, as exemplified in the massacres of i860.

It is time for us to leave this cool and refreshing retreat, above
the noisy, rushing river, and commence the steep ascent of the
mountain. We have nearly three hours yet to ride before reach-
ing our tents pitched in the western suburb of Deir el Kamar.

Jisr el Kady is not likely to be swept away by any torrents
with which the Damur can assault it, for its buttresses, on either
side, are founded upon the everlasting rock.

Substantial as it is, and high above the foaming river that now

ROMAN BRIDGE-BUILDERS.— WILD BEASTS OX LEBAXOX. 151

darts down the smooth and worn channel below its ample arches,
there have been times, even within my experience, when the Da-
mur overflowed the topmost stone on the parapet of that bridge.
To resist such winter floods and summer cloud-bursts, or seils,
bridges, in this mountainous country, must not only be solidly
built, but the arches, also, must be wide and high. The Roman
bridge-builders were aware of this necessity, and hence the strong
and lofty arches which they constructed over even insignificant
streams, specimens of which are still to be seen at Nahr Abu el
Aswad, between Tyre and Sidon, and at Mu'amaltcin, north of the
Bay of Juneh, on the road to Tripoli.

That group of rocky pinnacles, on the right of our path, recalls
a curious incident which occurred in this vicinity a few years ago.
Passing this way to Deir el Damar with her servant, one of the
American missionary ladies w^as astonished to see a nimr, or pan-
ther, stretched out upon a rock not far from the road. Not de-
siring a closer interview, they did not disturb the quiet of his
rest, and were glad to pass on unmolested.

It is surprising that such wild animals can hold their own in a
region so thickly populated as this.

They are still found in a few places, and occasionally shot and
killed by parties who go out in pursuit of them. When Ibrahim
Pasha disarmed the inhabitants of this country, the wild beasts be-
came so numerous and destructive in certain districts that he was
obliged to restore arms to those who were specially exposed to
their depredations. Such facts serve to illustrate the divine pro-
mise to the Hebrews: "I will not drive them [the Canaanites] out
from before thee in one year ; lest the land become desolate, and
the beasts of the field multiply against thee." ' They also render
altogether credible the Biblical accounts of the presence of wild
beasts in Palestine in ancient times, when the people had no more
formidable weapons than the bow, the sword, and the spear.

Formerly this road was very rough and the ascent fatiguing,
but Rustum Pasha, the Governor- general of the Lebanon, has
greatly improved it, and before long carriages will he able to drive
all the way from Beirut to Deir el Kamar and Bteddin.

' Exud. xxiii. 2ij.

152

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

There can scarcely be finer scenery on Lebanon than this —
above, around, and far below us — the mountains, the wadys, the
Damur valley, and the distant sea.

The prospect is, indeed, as grand as it is beautiful, and as varied
as it is verdant ; but your progress through the Lebanon will be a
continual advance from glory to glory, and you will find it difficult
to decide which is the most beautiful view.

DURZY AND DURZIEH.

That small Druse village, called Bshetfin, which we have just
passed through, remains in appearance just what it was when I
came to this country. It has not increased in size nor advanced
in any degree. If half the inhabitants had gone to sleep fifty years

DRUSE STAGNATION.— CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE. I 53

ago and awoke up to-day. they would have noticed but Httle change
about the place since they began their long slumber. Even the
picturesque oak-trees that surround the village do not appear to
have grown much in half a century.

In these respects Bshetfhi is a fair representative of many other
Druse villages. They are stagnant, and make very little progress
in any direction. Some of them have declined both in population
and property. That may be ascribed, in part, to the social and
religious customs of the people, and partly to those civil wars and
massacres which desolated Lebanon at different times from 1842
to i860. Many Druses became deeply implicated in those ruinous
conflicts, and found it necessary to emigrate to the Hauran to
escape punishment for their crimes. Not a few villages were thus
almost deserted, and the Druse population of this part of Leba-
non is probably not greater now than it was fifty years ago. Their
feudal sheikhs and emirs have also lost their ancient position and
power, and can no longer protect and support the numerous rela-
tives, retainers, and servants that formerly depended upon them.

The Druses will not become artisans, and few of them learn any
mechanical trade ; neither will they " open shops " in the markets.
Their one occupation is agriculture, and that on a small scale.
Hence they have become poor, while the native Christians eagerly
pursue every kind of profitable occupation, and are rapidly growing
in wealth, intelligence, and numbers.

We have now reached the top of this long ascent from Jisr el
Kady, and turning eastward we will ride through mulberry, fig, and
olive gardens for half an hour along the north side of this deep val-
ley. Our tents are awaiting us in an enclosed field at the west end
of Dcir el Kamar, where I have often pitched on former occasions.

Nowhere in all Palestine have we seen such luxuriant and fer-
tile fields, or such carefully cultivated terraces.

That is due to the abundance of water, brought from a con-
siderable distance, whose little rills come foaming down the ter-
races like miniature cascades, and irrigate every available spot
where a tree, a vine, or a vegetable can be made to grow. We
shall soon come in sight of the palaces at Btcddin, situated across

the wady, and higher up the mountain-side.
L

154 '^^^ LAND AND THE BOOK.

August nth. Evening.

Your friend, Mu'alim Daud, kindly accompanied me through the
town, in the cool of the evening, and during our walk he gave me a
graphic account of the varied fortunes of his family in connection
with the civil wars, conflagrations, and massacres which have oc-
curred in Deir el Kamar within the last forty years. I was sur-
prised at the appearance of the town, and could hardly believe that
the houses, churches, and convents had all been burnt so recently
and again rebuilt. Mu'alim Daud, however, informed me that the
stone of which they were constructed was of a kind which suffered
very little from fire, so that the walls were generally left standing.

That is true of nearly all the houses on these mountains, and
hence the work of reconstruction is greatly- facilitated. Deir el
Kamar was rebuilt, after the massacres of i860, at the expense of
the Turkish Government, and the houses are now about as good
as ever. But the population is much reduced; a large proportion
of men and boys were murdered in i860, and of those who escaped
not a few have settled elsewhere, nor will they again make Deir
el Kamar their home. Who can wonder at that, in view of the
terrible calamities which have befallen them and their families?

Mu'alim Daud estimated the present inhabitants at six thou-
sand, which he said was considerably less than what it was before
the massacre. That seemed to me below the actual number, for
the town extends more than a mile along the southern slope of the
mountain. But the Mu'alim said that some of the houses were
still uninhabited. Pointing to a broad terrace overlooking the val-
ley, he assured me that, in the summer of i860, over five hundred
of his fellow-townsmen were slaughtered in cold blood in one of
the large houses there, and their bodies thrown into the yard be-
low. The number of the Christians that were killed by the Druses,
in Deir el Kamar alone, Mu'alim Daud said, was over one thousand.
It is evident, from all I learned of the massacre, that it w^as the de-
termined purpose of the Druses to exterminate the male popula-
tion of the town ; and the details of that ferocious butchery, given
on the spot by an eye-witness, recalled to my mind some of the
accounts in the Bible of similar slaughter, often recurring in the
history of this strange country in ancient times.

A BORDER-LAND.— CIVIL WARS.— PALACES AT DEIR EL KAMAR. I 55

This has always been a border-land, and peopled by many an-
tagonistic tribes, now dwelling amicably together, now engaged in
bloody feuds, subjugating, expelling, or exterminating one another
in endless succession. And it is to be feared that the massacre of
i860 was not the last enacted on these mountains.

So I apprehend ; for even my kind guide — when showing me
the Druse quarter, elevated above the rest of the town, and now
covered with shapeless ruins — said: "There is all that remains of
the habitations of our enemies. Thank God, no Druse can now put
his foot in Deir el Kamar, and, if God will, we shall yet have far
greater revenge for our kindred and the desolation of our homes."

Such, no doubt, is the cherished hope of all his co-religionists ;
and the realization of it will be left to their children, as a family
legacy never to be forgotten. But all their attempts hitherto have
proved failures. Three times have I seen the effort to subjugate
or annihilate the Druses set all the Lebanon in a blaze, and each
succeeding defeat of the Maronites was more crushing and disas-
trous than the one before it. Had it not been for the timely inter-
vention of the European Powers, and the occupation of the country
by the French after the massacres of i860, not only the Maronites,
but the Christian population of these mountains, would have been
nearly annihilated by the Druses and Moslems, assisted, as they
were, by the Turkish Government. Let us hope that a better re-
ligion, better education, and a better government will ultimately
eradicate these fierce passions, so that Druse and Maronitc may
dwell together in harmony and peace on this goodly mountain.

Amongst the ruins you saw were those of the houses and pal-
aces of the sheikhs and begs of Beit Abu Nakad, an ancient family
from the Hejaz that aided in the conquest of Egypt and the north
of Africa in the seventh century. From thence they emigrated to
the south of Lebanon about the twelfth century; but they are
rarely mentioned in the confused annals of the mountains until
about two hundred years ago. From that time onward they fig-
ure largely in all the wars which desolated Lebanon. They have
been a fierce and turbulent "family," and their story is a perpet-
ual repetition of bloody feuds, in which they have often been
nearly exterminated. Their residences in Deir el Kamar have been

156 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

burnt several times and their property destroyed. Owing to the
leading part which they took in the recent massacres, they have
been forbidden to enter the town, their habitations were levelled
with the ground, and the very materials carried away to rebuild
the houses of their enemies.

August 1 2th.

Instead of passing through the town we will take the road
below it, which leads along the base of the hill, and then across
the valley and up the mountain to the famous palace of the Emir
Beshir at Bteddin. The smaller palace which he built for his
mother is seen in the mulberry-gardens, and that of his eldest son
is higher up the hill to the south-west. The only thing worthy
of notice near them is the canal which supplies the palaces and
the surrounding gardens with water brought from the fountains at
'Ain Zahalteh, about eight miles to the north-east of Bteddin.

The Emir Beshir resided at Bteddin in great dignity and state,
and for many years governed all Lebanon as an independent prince.
He ruled with a strong will and an iron hand, but was expelled
from the country in 1840, when Syria was restored to the Sultan
by the allied powers of Europe, and he died an exile in Constanti-
nople. He was the last of a long line of governing emirs of the
Shehab family. Their genealogical record extends through more
than forty generations. But their day is over, and their glory has
departed ; nor is there any probability that another Shehab will
ever again rise to power either in Lebanon, in Wady et Teim, or
in the Hauran, where they originally dwelt, and from whence they
long ago passed over into these mountains.

Forty generations ! Do the Shehab emirs carry up their pedi-
gree to an antiquity so high as that ?

There are other things about Lebanon besides magnificent sce-
nery quite worthy of attention. Not the least remarkable is the
history and the character of its inhabitants. There were no less
than twenty-four feudal, families in these mountains, and some of
them boasted of a pedigree which, for antiquity, puts to the blush
that of the most aristocratic dynasties in Europe. The emir who
called on us in Shemlan traces his genealogical tree to Paradise,
where its roots were nourished. He claims direct descent from the

THE SHEHAB PKIN'CES.— PALACE AT BTEDDIX. I 57

Prophet; and from Muhammed any Moslem chronologer will carry
the line up to Ishmael, from whence to Adam in Mdcn they follow
the Biblical list. The accuracy with which such lont; chronologies
and pedigrees are kept not only illustrates Biblical genealogies, but
increases our confidence in their reliability.

And thus the chronicles of the Shehab family run through
forty-one successive generations of governing emirs to the death of
the Emir Beshir. There are several points of resemblance between
those emirs and the judges and kings of Judah and Israel. Some
were good and wise ; others were wicked and did evil in the sight
of the Lord, and were punished. There were family feuds, rival-
ries, and murders not a few; and there were various incidents, acci-
dents, and anecdotes to diversify the uniformity of their history.
As amongst the Hebrews, there was, at first, but one line of princes;
afterwards the Shehab family was divided into two, and finally
three branches — one in Upper Wady et Teim at Rasheiya, another
in Lower Wady et Teim at Hasbeiya, and the third on Lebanon.
The governing families of the Hebrews passed away long ago, but
the Shehabs are still in the land, though greatly impoverished and
fallen from their former position of dignity and power.

This esplanade, or medan, as you call it, presents some idea of
the wealth and power of the Emir Beshir ; and the view is not only
grand, it is magnificent. The palace occupied one side, covered
arcades, retainers' and servants' rooms, kitchens and stables the
other two, and it is open towards the valley, Deir el Kamar, and
the distant sea on the fourth side. The palace is built upon the
cliff, and is about two hundred and fifty feet above the valley, and
three thousand feet above the Mediterranean. Below it the de-
clivities of the mountain sink down to the bottom of the wady
which lies between Bteddin and Deir el Kamar. The decorations
about the palace, its carved doors and windows, its marble floors
and halls, its inlaid walls and painted ceilings, its courts, fountains,
and baths, retain the mere semblance of their former glory. The
palace was used by the Government for many years as a barracks,
and most of the fine marble has been carried away by the officers,
and the whole establishment was allowed to go to ruin. Since the
massacres of i860 it has become the summer residence of the Gov-

158

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

PALACE AT BTEDDIN.

ernor-general, and it has been repaired and enlarged. The water
from the canal supplies the palace and the gardens, and then
plunges down the cliff into the valley — a foaming, noisy cataract.

Mukhtarah is the next place we are to visit this morning.
Being two hours distant, it is time we were on our way there.

DISTRICT OF ESH SHUF.— BATTLE-FIELD OF THE DRUSES. 1 59

That beautifully wooded village of B'aklin, some fwo miles west
of Bteddin, is the stronghold of the Druses, in the Shuf, as this dis-
trict is called ; and there many a battle has been fought in the past,
between the rival sheikhs and emirs of Lebanon, A short distance
ahead of us is another celebrated battle-field, near the small hamlet
of es Simekaniyeh. There seems to be no reason why that region
should have been the chosen theatre of so many contests, except
that it is situated nearly midway between el Mukhtarah and Bted-
din ; and yet several fights have occurred there during the present
generation. Indeed, we are surrounded with battle-fields, and nearly
every hamlet and village has its tragic story.

Native historians speak of long periods in which this district of
esh Shuf was reduced to a howling wilderness by the contests for
its possession between rival chiefs of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon.
Not only were the villages burnt, and the people butchered or
driven away, but the olive -groves, the mulberry fields, and other
species of property were purposely destroyed. And it is one of
the best possible proofs of the natural fertility of this part of the
mountain that it recovered so rapidly from those ruinous visita-
tions. Most of these picturesque villages, with their olive and
mulberry plantations, their fig and walnut trees, their poplar and
oak groves, their vine -clad terraces climbing to the clouds, have
been desolated by the fires of civil war more than once since I first
saw them. And yet that wide expanse of mountain and valley,
drained by the river Auwaly from the fountains at el Baruk, on the
north, to Jezzin, on the south, is about the best wooded, most popu-
lous, and the most flourishing on Lebanon.

Dr. H. J. Anderson, of Lieutenant Lynch's Expedition to the
Dead Sea, thus speaks of the scenery which now opens out before
us: "After passing es Simekaniyeh the country assumes an aspect
of grandeur not surpassed in any part of the Libanus. The noble
scenery of el Mukhtarah now presents itself, with its vast masses
and startling contrasts, its turreted cliffs and dark defiles, its sud-
den barriers and winding outlets, conducting the traveller gradu-
ally down into the singular valley of Nahr cl H.'iruk." And of the
geology of this region, which we are to traverse for the next five
hours, he says: "Vertical sections of the mountain-side show an

l6o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

alternation of massive and stratified limestone, resembling at first
view the successive deposits, sometimes so difficult to account for,
in the distribution of materials derived from the detritus of plu-
tonic rocks. In the neighborhood of el Judeideh the plough of the
husbandman frequently turns up casts of enormous Strombi and
Naticae. In general it may be said of the Lebanine groups between
Deir el Kamar and Jezzin that they possess every variety of appear-
ance, from the most porous to the most compact, and from the most
thoroughly silicified to the most completely disintegrated and bro-
ken down. The colors are as various as the consistence, running
from a pale yellow to a dark blue and purplish black."'

Dr. Anderson found this vicinity exceptionally rich in casts of
a great variety of fossils ; and here, above the road, you see them
protruding from the perpendicular bank in countless numbers.
The strombi are extremely compact, and I have collected speci-
mens weighing several pounds. These geological phenomena form
but one of the many attractions for the traveller through this mag-
nificent region of Southern Lebanon.

The long descent from el Judeideh, through olive-groves and
under walnut-trees, down to this bridge over the Baruk River, is
very picturesque ; and so is the bridge, with its noisy cascades
above and below, while all around it is embowered and nearly con-
cealed by a forest of waving silver poplar and wide-spreading syca-
more, and the stream is almost hidden from view by thick bushes
and twining vines. Not having expected a scene so romantic, I
gaze upon it with as much delight as though I was the first to dis-
cover it. Shall we ride up to that conspicuous palace of the Jumb-
lats, so beautifully situated in this wild valley?

By no means. We should not be able to decline the hospita-
lity of the young begs without positive rudeness. I have spent
more than one agreeable night there, and if time permitted we
might pass a pleasant week with the present representatives of
Beit Jumblat, who now occupy that palace at el Mukhtarah.

Beit Jumblat was the most wealthy and influential "house"
amongst the Druses ; and, with the single exception of the Emir
Fakhr ed Din Ma'an, Sheikh Beshir Jumblat was the most illustri-

• Ex. to the Dead Sea, pp. 92, 94.

PALACES AT MUKIITARAII.— FORTUNES OF BEIT JUMBLAT. l6l

ous prince of that singular people. Though the Jumblats were
celebrated for many generations in the region about Aleppo and
Killis, and, subsequently, at Ma'arret en N'aman and Jebel el A'alah,
they were not known on Lebanon until about 1630; nor did the
family rise to great distinction before the close of the last century.
Then Sheikh Beshir became the most powerful leader in these
mountains. The old palaces in el Mukhtiirah were built by him,
and he brought the water to them from the great fountain of the
river Auwaly, at el Baruk, six miles to the north-east of this place,
and at great labor and expense, the canal being cut through hard
rock along perpendicular cliffs for a considerable part of the dis-
tance. But Sheikh Beshir was the wealthiest prince in Syria, and
his possessions were scattered far and wide, over mountain and
valley, hill and plain, yielding, according to native report, the fabu-
lous income of fifty thousand pounds.

For many years he was the ally, then the rival, and finally the
declared enemy, of the Emir Beshir Shehab, the recognized prince
of the mountains by the Turkish Government. The Emir's party
ultimately triumphed ; and Sheikh Beshir Jumblat, defeated and
driven out of Lebanon, was beheaded in 1825 by the Pasha of
Acre, at the instigation, it is said, of Muhammed 'Aly, Governor
of Egypt. The palace at el Mukhtarah was plundered and burnt,
and the estates of Beit Jumblat were confiscated. But when Emir
Beshir Shehab was himself expelled from the country in 1840 by
the Allied Powers, and Syria was restored to the Sultan, the sons
of Sheikh Beshir Jumblat were allowed to return to their homes,
and much of their ancient estate w^as given back to them.

In the revolutions of those days the palace of the Emir Beshir
Shehab at Bteddin — built in part of marble, and adorned with
columns taken from the palace at el IMukhtarah— was in turn plun-
dered and burnt by the Druses of the Jumblat faction. These are
only examples of numberless similar revolts, triumphs, and reverses
of the ruling families of the Lebanon, without alluding to the
treachery, torture, assassination, and murder that preceded, accom-
panied, and followed them. Indeed, the history of these moun-
tains is little else than a chronicle of such retributive tragedies.
Most of the present palace was built by Sa'id Beg, the son of

1 62

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

THE PALACE OF SA'iD BEG JUMBLAT AT EL MUKHTARAH.

Sheikh Beshir Jumblat ; and his story runs sadly through a period
of forty years, during which civil wars often desolated Lebanon,
and he was frequently accused of treachery and cruelty by his ene-
mies. Involved, willingly or otherwise, in the massacres of i860,
Sa'id Beg Jumblat was taken prisoner by the Turkish Government,
tried in Beirut, and barely escaped with his life, owing to the pow-
erful influence of the British Commissioner. He was, however, far
gone in consumption, and was removed from prison to a private

GROVES OF 'AMMATCr.— WATER-FALLS AND CLIFFS. 163

house only to die. The famih^ has been, and is still, in a certain
sense, under the protection of the British Government ; and I have
felt a deep interest in their troubled history and declining fortunes.

We are now entering the beautiful groves of 'Ammatur, the
pride and boast of this region.

A veritable paradise of fruitful trees, dense bushes, trailing
vines, and blooming flowers ; vocal with the song of birds, the
hum of bees, and the murmur of running water. Nowhere else
have we found such noble walnut-trees; and here, too, I see, for
the first time in the East, genuine gray squirrels, leaping from
branch to branch as nimbly as they do in the far West.

They are not so large, but in all other respects they appear to
be the same, and are found wherever there are walnut-trees like
these. But, notwithstanding the peaceful attractions of this earth-
ly paradise, with its trees and flowers, birds and fountains, and even
squirrels, the inhabitants of 'Ammatur, mostly Druses, are divided
into hostile factions, and are constantly quarrelling, and sometimes
murdering each other. We shall ride through this wilderness of
verdure and beauty for more than half an hour.

The road now makes a long bend inwards to pass around a
deep chasm on our right, beyond which is the noble oak-grove of
Bathir. There we will lunch near a large fountain which flows
out from under perpendicular cliffs that tower upwards to the
clouds. A path winds as best it can up those stupendous ram-
parts to Niha, B'adaran, and other villages situated some two thou-
sand feet higher up on the mountains. The stream goes bravely
to work from its very source; drives a mill directly below it; then
another, and still another, which seem to hang on the very edge of
the precipice down which the sturdy young brook plunges in noisy
cascades, a hundred feet high and more, in its eagerness to join the
rushing river of el Baruk in the valley far below.

There are other brooks farther on whose fountains are hitklcn
away in the upper regions of Lebanon, from whence their streams
come tumbling down the cliffs high overhead, as though falling from
the clear blue sky. In fact, the entire ride from here to Jezzin is
extremely romantic ; nor is the magnificent scenery of this region
destitute of historical incidents and thrilling adventures.

164 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

I am constantly surprised at the endless variety in the appear-
ance of these cliffs. They do not present one uniform and monoto-
nous wall perpendicular to the horizon, but massive buttresses are
pushed out here and there to the fore-front, high above the deep
o-oro-e of the river, and then the line of cliffs retreats behind
castellated peaks, and recedes far into the mountain, protected by
rocky turrets and flanked by unassailable bastions.

Those extraordinary and nearly Alpine proportions, these fan-
tastic shapes, those inaccessible heights, and these profound depths,
are all mainly the result of a remarkable disintegration. Immense
masses of rock, great blocks, bowlders, and slabs have been split
off, or rolled down from the mountain, and lie at the bottom of
the cliffs in wild confusion, and far below runs the Jezzin branch
of the river Auwaly. The profound gorge of that river trends
sharply round to the west, and through it the Auwaly finds its
way to the sea, between gigantic cliffs of gray limestone.

At the turning-point, where the stream from Jezzin unites with
the river of el Baruk, and the two combined form the Auwaly, is
a pretty little plain called Merj Bisry, covered with fertile fields
and cultivated gardens, and bordered along the banks of the river
w'ith oleander and myrtle bushes. On that quiet and secluded
"meadow" of Bisry, as the name implies, are some remains of an
ancient temple, nearly buried beneath the debris of the overhang-
ing mountain, and further concealed by thickets and thorn bushes.
There are no inscriptions, and but three or four columns, probably
of Egyptian origin, and brought there by the Phoenicians. There,
too, one is reminded of the warlike and revengeful nature of the
Druses, for Merj Bisry is celebrated for many a bloody skirmish in
former times between rival families in this part of Lebanon.

It was amidst this grand scenery that the celebrated Druse chief-
tain, Fakhr ed Din, terminated a long career of rebellion against
the Sultan. High in the face of that limestone cliff, called Kul'at
Niha, some distance to the east of Merj Bisry, and apparently inac-
cessible from above or below, is Mugharat Niha, a cavern in which
the Emir Fakhr ed Din is said to have been besieged for some
years. When compelled to forsake that unassailable retreat by the
poisoning of his w'ater supply, he took refuge in a cave under the

EMIR FAKHR ED DIX.— WATER-FALL BELOW JEZZIX.

l6:

cascade of Jezzin. There he remained until the cave was sapped
from below. As the story relates, the sturdy old rebel calmly

smoked his pipe
until the sap-
per's chisel was driven
up through the rug on
which he was reclin-
ing. Then he surren-
dered, and was taken
to Constantinople, and
there beheaded — the fate
of many another rebel
against the Grand Turk.

Instead of passing on
to Jezzin we will take
this path on the right,
which will lead us to the
cascade below the village.

Here it is, but the cav-
ern is not visible. The
stream from the fountain

of Jezzin plunges down this perpendicular cliff for about two
hundred and fifty feet. I have spent several hours, first and last,
at this cataract, and have stood upon the brink and dropped

WATliR-FAl.I. HKIAUV JKZZl.N.

l56 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

my line for more than t\vo hundred and forty feet without touch-
ing the sides of the diff. Descending into the deep chasm, on the
western side, I have filled my cup from the vapor of the water at
its base, as it fell in misty rain from seeming clouds above. This
water-fall is the most magnificent spectacle of the kind in Syria.
During the winter the rush of the water and the roar of the cata-
ract are quite deafening; but in summer most of the stream is
exhausted by irrigation. At present you see but a small stream of
water tumbling over the precipice, with its silvery spray swaying
hither and thither at the will of the breeze produced by its descent
down the face of the cliff.

The approach of night amidst such scenes is strangely fasci-
nating. There is a sudden quiet all around — a stillness as of ex-
pectancy pervades the atmosphere ; the birds are silent, and only
the rippling water, gliding onwards and over the profound abyss,
sounds distinct and clear like the accompaniment of a song when
the words have ceased ; and the desire is " to sit on rocks," and " to
muse o'er flood and fell."

All very true ; but, before darkness overtakes us, we had bet-
ter seek our tents, which are pitched in a beautiful grove of walnut-
trees west of the village of Jezzin.

August 1 2th. Evening.

We are spending a delightful evening under the friendly shelter
of these trees with their wide-spreading branches ; and the air is
decidedly cooler than at Shemlan.

Jezzin is nearly three thousand feet above the Mediterranean,
and is higher and farther removed from the warm air of the sea
and the plain than that village. We pitched once on this camping-
ground with our Ambassador to Constantinople and his family.

How came they to be in this unfrequented part of Lebanon ?

They had delayed their tour through the Holy Land until the
middle of summer, and while exposed to the heat and malarial
influences of the plain of Gennesaret — where, long ago, " Peter's
wife's mother lay sick of a fever" — several of the party were
prostrated by that dangerous malady.' Being informed of their
condition by a letter from an Episcopal clergyman then in Naza-

' Luke iv. 38.

THE AMBASSADOR.— INVALIDS.— TOrR OF PALESTINE. 167

reth, Dr. Van Dyck and I went to their assistance. We found
them at Safed, and the Doctor decided that it was necessary to
remove them from that neighborhood, even if they had to be car-
ried. Some of the invaHds had so far recovered as to be able to
ride, so extemporizing a sort of palanquin for the Ambassador and
one for his wife, we were ready to start. The American Vice-
consul of Sidon, who had accompanied us. summoned, through the
aid of the local authorities, forty fellahin to act as porters. As
they had never been trained to carry people, sick or well, our pro-
gress was exceedingly slow, owing to the many changes amongst
the bearers, and very uncomfortable for the invalids.

To avoid the heat on the sea-coast we kept upon the moun-
tains, passing Kedes, the Kedesh of Naphtali, Hunin, the Chateau
Neuf of the Crusaders, and Deir Mimas. We crossed the Litany
below Kul'at esh Shukef, Castle Belfort, and ascended the south-
western slopes of Lebanon through the shady valley of " the flow-
ery " Zaherany to JerjiVa, and thence along Jebel er Rihan to
Jeba'ah, "the beautiful." We reached this walnut-grove at the
end of the fourth day from Safed. The invalids were soon bene-
fited by the change of air, and, greatly enjoying the variety and
magnificence of the scenery, were able to continue their journey
by way of el Mukhtarah and Deir el Kamar to Abeih. After a
few days' rest there, they went down to Beirut, and then took the
steamer for Constantinople. .Their experience emphasizes the warn-
ing to all who intend to travel through this land not to make the
tour of Palestine during the hot months of summer.

You have spoken of Jeba'ah before with special admiration ;
why is it considered so beautiful a village?

Three things, to the Arab mind, constitute natural beauty —
good water, a cool breeze, and abundance of verdure — and Jeba'ah,
owing to its situation and the surrounding mountains, has all of
those. Did it fall in with our arrangements for the future prose-
cution of our travels, the ride around the extreme south-western
end of Lebanon would lead us through some of the wildest, well-
wooded, and most picturesque scenery in this region.

The distance from here to Jeba'ah is only about three hours,
and before descending to the village the road skirts the grandest

1 58 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

old forest in all Lebanon. Through that dense wood a guide would
lead us up to Neby Safy, a solitary shrine on the highest pinnacle
of Jebel er Rihan, commanding views of vast extent and great va-
riety. That muzar is frequented by Metawileh, and Bedawin Arabs
from the Huleh and elsewhere. The village of Jeba'ah, one thou-
sand feet directly below Neby Safy, has the best-watered and most
verdant fields, vineyards, and gardens in Southern Lebanon. I have
spent more than one summer, with my family, in the castle and the
village. The ride thence, southward, along the mountain -side, to
Jerju'a and the well-wooded gorge of the Zaherany, and beyond it
to the beautiful plain of Jermuk, is delightful.

Jerju'a is about an hour south of Jeba'ah, and above that vil-
lage is a conical peak, similar to Neby Safy, covered by an oak
grove, and crowned with the white dome of a muzar, called Neby
Sijud, The native Jews of this country occasionally make pil-
grimages to that shrine, although it is now the tomb of a Moslem
saint. From the village of Jermuk I once went up and over the
wild mountains of Jebel er Rihan, as the southern end of Lebanon
is called, to Kefr Huneh. For a considerable distance there was
no road whatever, and the only inhabitants were the tent-dwelling
Bedawin. Taking two of them as guides, we forced our way for
miles through tangled bushes and under low trees, winding upwards
as best we could. For the first hour the rock was limestone, but
before reaching the squalid hamlet of Rihan it had given place to
amorphous trap. The only thing the people of Rihan seemed to
cultivate was their tobacco, which is celebrated throughout that
region, and of that there were large fields all around the village.

Rihan is the Arabic for myrtle, and both the mountain and the
village are rightly named from it ; for I never saw elsewhere such
masses of flowering myrtle, and the rills in the ravines were bor-
dered with dark -green oleander -bushes, whose flowers, red and
white, were in full bloom and in prodigal profusion. For several
miles the path was literally covered with bullet-shaped pebbles.
They were of all sizes, from a pea to that of an orange, and were
perfectly round, but not water-worn. I suppose they are globular
iron-ore. We will find them in some other localities, generally in
connection with the sandstone formation, and especially where it

ASCENT OF LEBANON.— ANCIENT HIGH PLACES. 169

lies in contact with amorphous trap-rock. Higher and higher up
the mountain -path we ascended, until the entire valley of the
Litany, the region around the upper Jordan, Lake Huleh, and the
mountains of Bashan and Gilead beyond, were brought within the
ever -widening horizon. That whole region of Lebanon is wild,
wooded, and strangely broken up with towering peaks of every
shape and size. There are several cones so like the craters of ex-
tinct volcanoes that one not aware that they are composed of
compact limestone would inevitably be deceived. The summits of
some of them are crowned with white-domed muzars, like that of
Neby Safy. There is the place to hunt wild-boar, wolves, and pan-
thers, in the tangled bushes and thickets, and through the pro-
found gorges which descend to the Litany, on the south-east. The
ride over that part of Lebanon is rarely taken by the traveller ;
but it is well worth the trouble and fatigue, the scratches and the
rents to face, hands, and garments which must be endured in the
achievement. It took me seven hours to reach Kefr Huneh.

We read in Deuteronomy xii. 2, " Ye shall utterly destroy all
the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their
gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every
green tree." May not the origin of those muzars upon high hills
and lonely mountain summits be traced back to the time when
the Canaanites occupied these mountains, and performed at such
shrines those heathenish abominations so often mentioned in the
Bible with utter abhorrence and stern denunciation, and on ac-
count of which they were condemned to extermination ?

The white domes of the Neby, the Wcly, the Muzar, or the
Mukam are to be seen from one end of this countr}' to the other;
and yet no one knows when, by whom, or for what special reason
they first became consecrated shrines. Many of them arc dedicated
to the patriarchs and prophets; a few to Jesus and the apostles;
some bear the name of traditionary heroes, and others appear to
honor persons, places, and incidents of merely local interest.

Many of these "high places" have probably come down from
remote ages, through all the mutations of dynasties and religions,
unchanged to the present day. We can believe this the more rea-
dily because some of them are now frequented by the oldest com-
M

I70

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

munities in the country, and those most opposed to each other —
Arabs of the desert, Muhammedans, Metawileh, Druses, Christians,
and even Jews. We may have, therefore, in those "high places
under every green tree upon the high mountains and upon the

MUKAM — SAINT S TOMB.

hills," not only sites of the ver}^ highest antiquity, but existing
monuments, \\ith their groves and domes, of man's ancient supersti-
tions ; and if that does not add to our veneration, it will greatly
increase the interest with which we examine them.

There is one of these " high places," v.'ith its groves of venerable
oak-trees, on the summit of Lebanon, east of this village of Jezzin.
The top of the mountain is of an oval shape, and the grove was

JEZZIN.— MASSACRE.— SAID BEG JUMBLAT.— FOUNTAIN". ijl

planted regularly around it. When I stood w ithin that mystic cir-
cle of mighty oaks, and looked across the vast plain of Coelesyria.
northward to the temple of Ba'albek, and then southward ovcr
the mountains to ancient Tyre, I fancied that it had been a con-
necting point between the two great temples of Baal and Belus.
The first rays of the "God of Day" would glance from the altar
in Ba'albek to that high place, and thence into the grand portal
of the temple of Belus at Tyre.

August 13th.

The houses in Jezzin are well-built, and it appears to be a
thrifty and prosperous place.

It gives name to a large district, of which it is the centre and
the capital. Here are the shops — shoemakers', saddlers', black-
smiths', carpenters', tailors' — and there are the mills for the sur-
rounding villages ; and hence the appearance of life and business
in and about the village. The inhabitants are also occupied with
the care of their vineyards and mulberry-fields, and in the culture
of silk. Jezzin was under the jurisdiction of the Jumblat famil\'
of Mukhtarah ; and amongst the charges against Sa'id Beg was one
that he caused this village to be burnt during the civil war in i860.
Perhaps he could not prevent it, since the destruction of the place
was a great pecuniary loss to him. The inhabitants being all Ma-
ronites and Greek Catholics, every house was burnt ; and when I
visited the place soon after it presented a most melancholy and
deserted appearance. But the men were not massacred, as were
those in Deir el Kamar ; and on the restoration of peace nearly all
the families returned, and speedily repaired their dwellings. The
population is, probably, as numerous now as it ever was; and, being
entirely liberated from Druse dominion, the people are more pros-
perous and secure than formerly.

As we have a steep ascent to climb, \\-e will water our horses
from Jezzin's noble fountain. Like the one at Bathir, it is utilized
from its very source, and drives those mills below it at the least
possible expense. All the luxuriant verdure that clothes the entire
valley is also the gift of this never-failing dispenser of fertility and
life; and the inhabitants may well be proud of their copious vil-
lage fountain and their si)lendi<l groves of walnut-trees.

J -2 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Jezzin is singularly sheltered by these high and rocky cliffs, and
the mountain on the east of it rises steeply to a great elevation.
The prospect from its summit must be very extensive.

A rouo-hly-hewn pathway winds up that eastern mountain, and
leads to a wide plateau, which stretches for several miles to the
north-east. It was the favorite hunting-ground, with falcon and
pointer, of the Shehab emirs, in the days of their power and glory.
I once spent a morning rambling over it, in search of ancient re-
mains reported to have been seen there. But, as so often happens,
I found such native traditions worthless. There are no ruins of
any importance in that entire region.

We have been steadily climbing up the mountain since we left
the fountain, and have reached a great height, as is evident not
only from the ever-widening prospect, but also from the cool and
bracing breeze that is so refreshing to the weary traveller.

It comes from the far west, over the wide expanse of that dis-
tant sea, and is the prevailing wind, both in summer and winter,
along the entire coast of Syria and Palestine.

Those two peaks towering above us are more than five thou-
sand six hundred feet high, and are visible for a great distance in
every direction. They are the twins, or Taumat of Niha. In a
cloudless night they are distinctly seen far out to sea, rising like
pyramids against the sky, from the long, dark outline of the Leba-
non range, and to the mariner, approaching. from the west, they are
important landmarks.

We have now reached the highest point on our route to-day ;
and here the road from Sidon over Lebanon crosses the path and
descends eastward to Meshghurah. In former times, when Sidon
was the seaport most frequented by European ships, this road was
the highway upon which merchant caravans travelled between
it and Damascus. All that trade and travel, however, has been
transferred to Beirut, and this route, once so thronged, is nearly
deserted. In another hour we shall reach Kefr Huneh, the last
and most elevated village on the south end of Lebanon, and the
limit of our excursion in that direction.

The road to it along the dry bed of this watercourse is about
the roughest we have yet ventured upon. Our horses have been

KEFR hCnEH.— TOBACCO.— CIRCULAR LAKE.— JISR BCRGHOZ. I 73

constantly slipping and sliding for the last half hour over the
smooth surface of broad rocks lying at every possible angle, and
mine has become quite discouraged and dismayed.

Not any more so than his rider, I suppose; but the worst is over,
and we will soon see Kefr Huneh wedged in amongst great blocks of
gray limestone, and more than half concealed by them. We need
not devote much time to that straggling and unimportant village.
As at the hamlet of Rihan, these large and well-cultivated fields
indicate that tobacco is the chief product of the place. There is,
or was, a custom-house officer stationed here to collect the mir}-,
or tax, upon the tobacco grown in this part of Lebanon, and to
prevent smuggling. I was here once when there occurred a violent
Arab row between that officer and a band of smugglers, who were'
caught with several loaded mules concealed in the thick woods to
the south-west of the village.

These wide-spreading walnut-trees amongst the houses contrast
very effectively with the tall and slender poplars bordering the
tiny brook which runs eastward through that rocky region.

Following the course of that stream lies our path, for three or
four miles, to a lake, nearly circular in shape, about three hundred
yards in diameter, and, to all appearances, occupying the mouth
of an extinct volcano. There are no indications of volcanic action
about it, however, though large masses of trap-rock are seen higher
up the mountain-side, to the north-west.

The road from Kefr Huneh, which has led us on to the lake,
descends eastward to the Litany, through a long ravine which be-
comes more and more precipitous, until near the end the traveller
is hurried, nolens volens, down the cliffs to the very bank of the
roaring river, half a mile below Jisr Burghuz. I have frequentK'
crossed the river on that bridge, in going and returning from Has-
beiya, and always stopped to admire the scenery of the Litany, and
to watch the contest of the river with the mountain for a passage
through the chasm and on towards the sea. Below the bridge
the course of the river is between gigantic mountain cliffs, rising
on either side a thousand feet high and more.

At the lake we leave the road from Kefr Hunch to the Litany,
and must now wander over a desolate region, to the north-east,

174 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

in search of Meshghurah. For much of the distance — nearly two
hours — we shall have no road, and may roam at our free will over
this lofty plateau. The ride is none the less interesting on that
account, and from many points the outlook commands an extended
and magnificent prospect over mountain and plain far as the eye
can follow southward. Directly to the south-east of us the sub-
lime majesty of Hermon rises heavenward in solemn grandeur, and,
though apparently quite near, in reality the gorge of the Litany
and the wild regions of the Upper Jordan lie between us.

We have yet a long descent around the base of the southern
twin, or Taum of Niha, to Meshghurah, where we are to spend the
night ; and, as the road is rough and rocky, I prefer to dismount
and walk. Our tents are to be pitched just below a ledge of shelv-
ing rocks, from beneath which a number of copious fountains gush
out. Uniting with other springs equally large, they form a brawling
brook, which rushes down eastward into the Litany, watering on its
way extensive gardens and well-cultivated fields.

August 13th. Evening.

My evening walk through this straggling place and amongst
the mulberry gardens revealed little that could suggest or justify
its claim to be one of the oldest villages on Lebanon.

Five centuries ago Meshghurah was mentioned and praised in
such important geographical works as that of the Emir Abu el
Feda [Abulfeda] ; and the inhabitants claim for their village far
greater antiquity. Some of the houses certainly have an antique
appearance, and may be of almost any age ; but there is nothing
to distinguish the place from other agricultural villages, except the
great extent of the mulberry-gardens which spread far down east-
ward to the gorge of the Litany. They depend, for their life and
extraordinary production, upon the abundant irrigation furnished
by the copious fountains of the place. Such fountains, in a posi-
tion so advantageous, must always have made Meshghurah a desira-
ble and valuable possession. Formerly it was an important station
on the caravan route between Sidon and Damascus ; and what lit-
tle direct trade and travel there is at present between those two
cities still passes through it, and here those coming from Sidon
expect to spend their first night.

REBUILDING OF VILLAGES.— DRUSES AND MARONITKS. 175

W'e are now in a thickly populated and very productive part
of this mountain; but all the villages along these south-eastern
slopes of Lebanon have been repeatedly destroyed since I first
passed through this region. Being inhabited mostly b}^ Maronites,
and peculiarly exposed to warlike incursions from the neighbor-
ing Druses and those of Wady et Teim and the Hauran, and from
the Moslems of the Buka'a, they suffered greater calamities during
the civil wars than many villages in other parts of the country.
The Christians from Zahleh and adjacent places repeatedly came
down the Buka'a, and attempted to penetrate into the Shuf and
other Druse districts through these valleys and mountain-passes;
and in that way those villages were involved in the fiercest and
most ruinous conflicts. Each party in turn burnt, plundered, and
destroyed as the varying fortunes of the war afforded opportunity.

And now I suppose those villages have all been rebuilt, and
have recovered their former prosperity.

As the walls are generally left standing, the houses are easily
re -roofed; and the abundance of poplar and other trees furnish
unusual facilities for that purpose. The banks of the Litany, and
those of the numerous brooks that descend to it, are lined with
them ; and as the mulberry-trees were not cut down, a few years
of active effort was suf^cient to restore the villages to their ave-
rage state of prosperity. But for the last six hundred years at
least this part of Lebanon has been the theatre of innumerable
tragedies, and the history of the ruling families during that period
of confusion and anarchy is written in blood.

Conspiracy, treachery, murder, war — those constitute the staple
with which the chronicle is woven throughout. So runs the story
of all the Druse and Maronite emirs, and the mind revolts at the
endless repetition of the same crimes. The only mitigating reflec-
tion is that, bad as the atrocities committed in our day have been,
they certainly are no worse than those of former times, while the
condition of the people is rapidly improving. They are increasing
in numbers and intelligence; they build better houses; wear bet-
ter clothes ; have more and better food, more schools, more books,
and far more personal liberty than during the days of anarchy and
oppression. But the old feudal families, especially amongst the

1^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Druses, are sinking hopelessly into the sea of oblivion, and from
thence no hand will be outstretched to save them.

August 14th.

We have visited the last village on this south end of Lebanon,
and now we will return to Shemlan along a route quite different
from the one by which we came.

Where are we to find our tents at the end of this day's ride?

At 'Ain Zahalteh, a village directly above the main source of
the river Damur; and, as much of the road is mountainous and
difificult, we have taken an early start. There are more ways than
one to reach 'Ain Zahalteh. We might turn to the left and follow
the path along the base of Taumat Niha, passing by 'Aithenit, and
then, crossing over Lebanon by Thughrat Bab Mari'a, descend on
the west side to B'aderan, Niha, and Ma'asir to Mukhtarah ; or we
might keep higher up the mountain by taking the road that would
lead us to el Baruk, and thence to 'Ain Zahalteh. As that route,
however, would be very rough and fatiguing, with but little of in-
terest along it to repay us for the toil, we will pass down to the
Litany, and, crossing over, follow the east bank of the river to
Jubb Jenin, at the lower end of the Buka'a.

We have been listening for the past half-hour to a sound ris-
ing upward from the valley and pervading the quiet morning
atmosphere — a sound as of many waters.

It is the eternal anthem of the Litany — "evening, morning, and
at noon" — as it glides onwards over the rocks, and sweeps past
those stupendous cliffs in the gorge farther to the south. And now
the road leads down the steep declivity to the bridge on which we
are to cross to the eastern side of the river. It derives its name
of Jisr Kur'un from a village some distance below it. I have often
passed over the road below that village, and ascended, along a
rocky ravine, the mountain-range called ed Dahar, to the well-pre-
served ruins of the temple at Telthatha. They are on the very
summit of the Dahar, and it is four hours from there to Hasbeiya
through the long vaUey of upper Wady et Teim.

One object in selecting this route is to let you see the remarka-
ble collection of geodes between Jisr Kur'un and Jubb Jenin, so we
will now turn up through the fields on our right. In many places

GEODES.— THE BUKAA A LAKE.— THE LITANY. 1 77

the entire surface of the ground is covered with them, and they are
of all sizes, from that of a marble to a melon, which the larger
ones amongst them closely resemble in shape.

How do you account for the presence of these geodes in such
great numbers in this locality?

They have been washed out from the hard clay bluffs of the
ridge above them on the east. There they are embedded in num-
bers numberless, and are dislodged and spread over the plain by
the winter torrents. I once crossed over those bluffs on my way
to Rasheiyet el Wady, at the northern base of Hermon, and was
surprised to find the road, for many miles, literally paved with large
bowlders of trap-rock. That obtrusion of trap, I suppose, occurred
at the time when the range of ed Dahar was thrown up across the
southern end of the Buka'a between Lebanon and Hermon.

This beautiful and fertile plain seems to be nowhere more than
two or three miles wide, and appears as flat and level as though
once the actual bed of a lake. The river meanders through it from
side to side, as if reluctant to leave this peaceful and verdant region.

When buried under deep snow, as it often is, the outlook over
this part of Coelesyria is anything but cheerful. In great winter
storms I have seen the plain above Jisr Jubb Jenin covered with
water, and then it becomes an impassable marsh. It has been sug-
gested that the Buka'a was originally the bed of a lake, and that
the upheaval of the range of ed Dahar cut off the connection with
the Jordan valley, to which it naturally belonged ; and thus the
Litany, that now drains the Buka'a, was forced to find, a passage
for itself westward, through Lebanon, to the Mediterranean. It is
worth while visiting that locality merely to see the contest for the
right of way between the river and the mountains.

The banks of the river, as it winds through the plain to the
north of us, are marked out by groups of tall silver-leafed poplars,
which more than half conceal the villages beyond them, and those
on the mountain-slopes above them.

They are all on the west side of the Litany, and are well pro-
tected from the winter's storm and cold by the lofty range of Leba-
non immediately above them. They have enjoyed peace and com-
parative safety for the last quarter of a century, and have become

178 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

quite prosperous. In Sughbin, and sev^eral other villages, there are
now Protestant communities and well-conducted schools, to the
manifest improvement of the people in every respect.

At the extreme south-east corner of the plain is a village called
Kamid el Lauz, and that it occupies an ancient site seems evident
from the extensive quarries along the base of the mountain. Luz
was the original name of Beth-el, as appears from Judges i. 22-26,
where it is also stated that the man who showed the children of Jo-
seph " the entrance into the city " was allowed to depart in safety:
"and the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city,
and called the name thereof Luz : which is the name thereof unto
this day." The Buka'a, and the region connected with it on the
north, was probably in the land of the Hittites, who at one time
were sufficiently powerful to engage in battle w^ith the Egyptians.
Possibly that village of Kamid el Lauz may mark the site of the
city which the treacherous inhabitant of Beth-el built for himself
" and all his family." I have not been able to find the name Luz
or Lauz, which has the same significance in Arabic that it has in
the Hebrew, attached to any other ancient site in this country.

We will lunch and rest at Jisr Jubb Jenin yonder, where you
see a group of poplar-trees. They will afford us, at least, a partial
shade from the hot sun. The bridge takes its name from Jubb
Jenin, that village on our right. It is mostly inhabited by fanatical
Moslems, but we have no occasion to pass through it.

We must here cross over, on this bridge of Jubb Jenin, to the
western side of the river, and, as the base of the mountain is not
far distant, we shall soon be climbing up the Lebanon, which rises
for several thousand feet above this plain of the Buka'a.

We have again come upon another collection of geodes, but
they seem to have all been broken open by former travellers.

They were exactly in the same condition the first time I passed
this way, and the idea occurred to me that they were purposely
broken, as the interior lining of chalcedony furnished the best
specimens of that mineral to be found in this region. Amongst
these numberless fragments I have also found specimens of agate,
which may have added greater value to them in the estimation of
engravers on precious stones in a former age.

VINEYARDS.— ASCENT OF LEBANON.— MENN. OR M.VNNA. 179

As we approach the foot of the mountain I see that the vnics
in those terraced fields are still loaded with grapes.

Owing to the sheltered position of the vineyards, their exposure
to the sun, and the dryness of the air on this side of the mountain,
the grapes are allowed to remain on the vines much longer than
upon the west or seaward side of Lebanon. This prolongs the
grape crop ; and the markets of Beirut and Sidon, and those of
the principal villages in the neighborhood, are supplied from such
localities until late in December. I have even seen vinexards half
buried in snow with the grapes still upon the vines.

We must now address ourselves in good earnest to the long
and tortuous ascent of Lebanon by the village of Kefareiya, to the
top of the mountain range that overlooks the valley of el Baruk.
The climb is a long and fatiguing one ; but the ever-widening view
— eastward across the plain of Coelesyria and over the mountains
of Anti-Lebanon; northward as far as " the entrance of Hamath ;"
and southward to Mount Hermon and the Jordan valley — will
amply compensate for the toil.

The road, by its ceaseless windings amongst the oak-trees,
affords prospects from many projecting spurs over the great plain
— with its checkered surface and long, broad belts of fallow land —
of ever-varying beauty and great fertility. I notice that the rocks
under the oak-trees are saturated with an oily substance, as though
a jar of oil had been actually emptied upon them.

The natives will tell you that it is not oil, but menn, or manna.
It is caused by an insect that punctures the leaves, and thus the
flowing sap produces this distillation which stains the rocks and
stones under the trees. I have seen it in many other places, and
have been told by persons from the mountains of Armenia that, in
certain localities there, it congeals, and is collected by the peasants
and used like honey. The manna which the monks of Mount
Sinai gather under the tamari.sk-trees, and sell to pilgrims, is doubt-
less produced in the same way. I purchased small skins of it when
in the Convent of St. Catherine. It was .so nau.seous that no other
evidence was needed to show that the monkish manna held no
possible relation to that "angels' food" which the children of Israel
did gather in the wilderness, when God commanded the clouds from

i8o

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

EL ARZ — THE CEDAR.

above, and opened the doors of heaven, and " rained down manna
upon them to cat, and had given them of the corn of heaven." '

We may rest our tired horses for a while on this high ridge of
Lebanon, nearly six thousand feet above the sea. As for myself, I
shall dismount and walk down the steep and rough pathway that
will lead us to the famous fountains of el Baruk.

These old trees around us, and most of those on the highest

' Psa. Ixxviii. 23-25 ; Exod. xvi. 4-36.

THE CEDARS OF EL BAROk AND EL MA'ASIR. l8l

ridges of the mountain extending for sc\'cral miles to the south,
towards the village of el Ma'asir, are genuine representatives of
Lebanon's most ancient groves of cedar. There need be no hesi-
tation in regarding them as the surviving descendants of those
forests from whence Hiram's skilled hewers of timber cut down
cedar-trees for Solomon to use in building and beautifying the
Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. They have not died out, or
been replanted by man, since that distant day, and some of them
are amongst the oldest specimens of cedar-trees in this land.

To the Biblical student, and, indeed, to all travellers, it is
deeply interesting to find them occupying this position on the
mountains, and not far from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

It is not probable that Hiram resorted for cedar- trees to the
distant groves at the north end of Lebanon, when the sides of these
mountains near his own capital were covered with those noble
trees. When wandering through the grove above el Ma'asir, I
felt assured, from the large size and apparent great age of some
of the trees, that the sound of the ax^ of Tyre's sturdy fellers of
timber had once echoed amongst them. The crash of falling trees
had often startled the oppressive and solemn silence of those lofty
mountain ridges, and from there, in all probability, the timber was
carried down to the coast, and conveyed by sea in floats to Jaffa,
and from thence carried up to Jerusalem.'

The descent on this western side of Lebanon is not so steep as
that on the eastern side of the mountain, and it has taken us about
an hour to reach these fountains of el Baruk.

They well up from their hidden source in a quiet and unpre-
tending fashion, quite different from the dcafcn.ing roar of most of
the fountains we have seen.

And the waters are the purest of all in the mountains. No
sediment of any kind is deposited by them, nor are the pebbles in
the least discolored, although these mighty waters have glided over
them for unnumbered ages. It was the superior character of this
water that induced Sheikh Beshir Jumblat to construct an aque-
duct and convey it to his i)alacc at Mukhtarah. 1 have spent seve-
ral days encamped in a grove of walnut-trees, a short distance bc-

' I Kiiifjs V. 8-IO ; 2 Chron. ii. i6.

l82 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

low the fountains. Most of the trees have been cut down and the
timber sold to speculators, but we could still find a pleasant place
to camp, had we not directed our muleteers to go on to 'Ain Za-
halteh, which is an hour's easy ride farther north.

The sight of our tents pitched near these fountains would have
been very gratifying indeed, for the latter part of our ride has been
quite wearisome. But this varied and impressive mountain scenery
amply repays us for all the fatigue which it has cost to come and
see it, and I take my leave of it with great reluctance.

We could easily spend a week here, as I have done myself, en-
camped under those large walnut-trees, and beside the purling
stream of clear cold water that issues from these copious fountains
— the head-waters of Nahr el Baruk — and flows down through that
beautiful valley below us on the left. But we shall find scenery at
least as magnificent as this at 'Ain Zahalteh, and by going on to
that village we will shorten our ride to-morrow nearly two hours.

The houses at el Baruk, like those in most of the villages on
Lebanon, present an attractive appearance — at a distance — and
they are quite in keeping with their picturesque surroundings.

El Baruk, el Fureidis, on the opposite ridge, and the villages in
this neighborhood occupy that part of Southern Lebanon which is
inhabited almost entirely by Druses, and they " are situated," says
a former traveller, " on some of the wildest positions of Lebanon.
Even these villages of el Baruk seem hung in the clouds, on the
verge of precipices, and they have their green belt of pine, poplar,
walnut, and other trees, vines and bushes, covering the crags and
relieving the desolation of the site. The dwellings are built of
hmestone, the roofs are flat, the windows are always small ; the
door is usually in the middle ; and the Lebanon homes often re-
semble the terraces by which they are surrounded. The path by
which these villages are approached is a nervous one, and seems
to be cut out of the masses of limestone of which the heights are
composed."

Speaking of this valley of el Baruk, or el Fureidis, along which
our road to 'Ain Zahalteh lies. Dr. Anderson, in his geological re-
port, says that it " is one of the most attractive combinations of
trees, green fields, and running water in this or any other part of

MOUNTAIN SCENERY.— FOUNTAINS OF THE DAMUR. 183

Syria, and abounds in natural pictures which make its name of Ht-
tle paradise" [Wady el FureidisJ"a pardonable exaggeration."'

He describes this region, between Wady 'Ain Zahalteh and
Wady es Sufa, "as marked by variegated sandstones and enlivened
by a cheerful vegetation. The pines are strikingly distributed, and
many mulberry and fig trees diversify the scene. The streams are
made available in driving mills and watering numerous patches
of cultivated land, while the iron-stained rocks appear at intervals
through the landscape, overhanging it in wild escarpments, or soar-
ing far above it in the shape of turretcd and battlemented peaks." ^
There is nothing exaggerated in this description, and he might have
added that in a single sandstone cliff all shades of color, from the
purest white to jet black, are strangely blended and contrasted.

Our ride is nearly over, for we are not far from 'Ain Zahalteh ;
and we shall find our tents pitched, and ready for our reception,
close to Burj el 'Amad, in the middle of the village.

And most welcome will they be, for though the scenery through
which we have passed to-day was at times sublime, and always inte-
resting, still our ride down, and up, and along these ranges of Leba-
non, has been extremely fatiguing.

August 14th. Evening.

As far as I could see, in the dim twilight, as we approached 'Ain
Zahalteh, the region to the west and north appeared to be endlessly
diversified by profound wadies, lofty peaks, and perpendicular cliffs,
on both sides of the stupendous gorge of the river.

The mountains arc singularly cut up by the many tributaries
of Nahr el Kady, as the main branch of the Damur River is called,
which, rising in the region south of Jebel el Keniseh, expand and
deepen the natural declivities of Lebanon into many a yawning
abyss and frightful chasm, opening out prospects on every side
which, for sublimity and grandeur, are rarely surpassed. From the
base of the cliff, in the gorge below this village, the copious foun-
tains of Nahr el Kady burst out with great force and uproar.
A part of the water is conveyed by an aqueduct to Bteddin to
supply the palaces there, and to irrigate the surrounding gardens;
a far larger portion is distributed through the fields and gardens
' Ex. to the Dead Sea, p. 98. ■' E.\. lu tlic Dead Sea, p. 100,

1 84 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

along both sides of Wady es Sufa, but the main vokime of the
stream rushes down the valley, in many a foaming cascade, on its
way to Jisr el Kady, and onward to the sea.

That wady abounds in remarkable cliffs of blue argillaceous
marl, which are subject to occasional slides and overwhelming ava-
lanches. The Emir Haidar, in his history of Lebanon, says that
nearly one hundred and fifty years ago a projecting terrace at Kefr
Nebrakh, about an hour and a half west of 'Ain Zahalteh, which
had a small village on it, parted from the main mountain, and
plunged into the wady below, carrying houses, gardens, and trees
with it in wild confusion. It completely stopped the river for
seven days. The emir relates that one man who was on the slid-
ing mass escaped unhurt, but was ever after a raving maniac. The
catastrophe occurred during the life of the historian, and not far
from his home, and we may therefore credit his narrative. I
have frequently stood on that awful precipice, and gazed upon
the debris of the avalanche, at the bottom of the profound river
gorge, fifteen hundred feet directly below. Similar land slides
occur every winter on Lebanon, but not on so gigantic a scale,
or accompanied by circumstances so appalling and tragical.

Such avalanches appear to have been known even in the days
of Job, and he refers to them to illustrate the overthrow of man's
vain hope and confidence. " Surely," says he, " the mountain fall-
ing Cometh to nought, and the rock is moved out of his place;"
and he connects such appalling catastrophes with the waters which
wear the stones, when, as now, they were occasioned by the great
rains and torrents of winter.'

Burj el 'Amad is the only remarkable building in 'Ain Zahal-
teh. It was once the stronghold of Beit el 'Amad, one of the feu-
dal families of the Druses, but it has, of late, been transformed into
a church for the P/otestant community of this village. When I
first visited this region Sheikh Khuttar el 'Amad, the last of his
line, was considered the most daring chieftain and expert swords-
man amongst the Druses. His exploits long ago brought him into
trouble with the Government, and he was obliged to flee into the
Hauran, where he died, and Beit el 'Amad is now extinct.

' Job xiv. l8, 19.

PINE-TREES AND CEDARS.— PROBLEM OF FOUNTAINS. 1 85

August 15th.

Knowing that we had before us a comparatively short day's
journey, I rode out this morning to view the remarkable scenery of
the place. I visited a pretty grove of pine-trees growing on the
hill-side east of the village, and was surprised to find there, and on
the mountain above them, some genuine cedars of Lebanon. Re-
turning to the village, I descended into the river gorge below it, to
the base of the cliff, to see the famous fountains of 'Ain Zahalteh,
so remarkable even in this land of great fountains, from whence
rivers of waters burst forth like an overwhelming flood.

It is worthy of note that the main source of the Damur, here
at 'Ain Zahalteh, is so near that of the river Auwaly at el Baruk.
One is puzzled to account for so great an outflow of water from
the same mountain-ridge, where rivers are so close together and so
nearly on the same level. Where are the vast reservoirs that send
forth, summer and winter, such powerful and never-failing streams,
and how are they stored in such a narrow mountain-range as this
of Southern Lebanon ? " Who hath divided a watercourse for the
overflowing of waters?'" But no problem is more obscure than
that of the origin of fountains in this land.

As there is no direct road through such a wilderness of tow-
ering peaks and deep valleys to Shemlan, what route are w^e to
follow to-day, in order to reach that village ?

We have a variety of paths from which to choose. The one
the muleteers have taken would lead us along the south side of the
valley to Kefr Nebrakh, and down to the road from Dcir el Kamar
to Beirut at Jisr el Kady. Another path would conduct us along
the north side of the wady to 'Ain Teraz, where the valley unites
with that of the Ghabun, and thence up that valley to Bhauwarah :
both roads are picturesque but difficult. We shall, therefore, as-
cend the main wady on the right for an hour, and then cross over
to the west side of it and pass through Bhamdun.

The road which you have selected along this ridge is sufficiently
execrable, though the surrounding scenery is wild and magnificent.

The sandstone formation at 'Ain Zahalteh, with its invariable
pine-groves, continues for a considerable distance northward ; and

* Job xxxviii. 25.

1 86 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

such formations are often much broken, and cut up by the winter
rains into almost impracticable ravines. Not far ahead of us the
old road passes along the edge of a cliff, and is so very narrow and
dangerous that I am always thankful to get safely over it. A bet-
ter road has been made across the ridge east of it, which we shall
follow, although it is much the longest. We shall then descend
into the valley and easily cross over to the other side.

It is always a relief to escape from such zigzag roads, with their
ill-constructed steps, like those of a broken stairway.

From this deep valley we might ascend northward to the
French carriage -road to Damascus at Ruweiset el Hamrah, and
follow it westward to 'Aleih ; but I wish to show you the village
of Btathir, the only remaining homestead of the Druse feudal chiefs
which you have not seen. For that purpose we will cross over the
high ridge in front of us, from the top of which it can be seen on
the opposite face of an almost impassable ravine.

The Druse sheikhs of Beit 'Abd el Melek have their so-called
palaces at Btathir ; but, like the other feudal families on Lebanon,
they have fallen from their glory, and lost their former position
and power. Their village is the capital of Aklim el Jurd, the dis-
trict through which we have been riding since leaving 'Ain Zahal-
teh. Jurd is the name for a high, cold, and rough region, and is,
therefore, eminently appropriate to this district. The sheikhs of
Btathir can claim the honor of having been the first to introduce
factories for the reeling of silk in this region, in connection with a
French company. Those establishments are now quite numerous
on the Lebanon, and have greatly increased the value of the silk
industry throughout the country.

Bhamdun, through whose vineyards we have been riding for
some time, is inhabited chiefly by Christians of the Orthodox Greek
Church ; and, owing to the friendly relations maintained by them
with their neighbors, the sheikhs of Btathir, that village has not
been either sacked or burnt during all the civil wars that have
desolated so large a part of Lebanon. The people are industrious,
economical, and prosperous ; their houses are large and well-built,
and their fields and vineyards are extensive, spreading far up the
mountain eastward, and down the steep declivities westward into

BHAMDUX.— FOSSILS.— BIIAUWARAH. 1 8/

the valley of the Ghabun. Bhamdun is celebrated for its grapes
and raisins and the excellency of its dibs.

This village was early occupied as a summer retreat by Ameri-
cans and others from Beirut ; but, as it is nearly a thousand feet
higher than Shemlan, the night air is often too cool for comfort.
Dr. Anderson found the neighborhood very rich in fossils, and a
large part of those described and illustrated by him were obtained
in this region. An isolated hill, about a mile to the north-east of
the village, is remarkable for the extraordinary number of ammo-
nites and other fossils found there.

The descent westward into the Ghabun valley is long, and so
steep that I always prefer to dismount and walk down the worst
parts. The road is strewn, as you see, with fossils of many kinds,
and any one who has the curiosity can gather them. We will find
the ascent on the opposite side very gradual, and shall follow the
road southward high above the wady for an hour, and then turn
to the west along a path which has the range of mountains above
'Alieh on the right, and the valley of the Ghabun on the left.
That stream flows southward, and joins the Damur at Jisr el Kady.

That pretty little hamlet far below us, on the other side of the
wady, nestling amongst the rocks, and half concealed in the ver-
dure, is Bhauwarah. The late Colonel Churchill owned it, and
resided there for many years. During that time he published a
valuable work on Lebanon, its inhabitants, the Shehab emirs, the
Druse sheikhs, and the civil wars in these mountains.

Leaving Keifun and Suk el Ghurb on the right, we will cross
over the ridge and descend westward to 'Aitath; and, passing
through the small oak -grove just above that village, in half an
hour we shall dismount at our own door in Shemlan.

Once more from these commanding heights we look off upon
this glorious prospect — the boundless sea, " this great and \\k\c
sea. There go the ships;" and there is the city of Beirut, the
broad plain, the foot-hills, and the exalted majesty of Lebanon.

We hail thee in distance, still mountain, that liftcst thine head,

Where the wavelet, that noelts as it gliblcns, from snows everlasting is fed.

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

VI.

SHEMLAN TO THE NATURAL BRIDGE.

Summer Resorts on Lebanon. — 'Aitath. — Beit Tulhuk. — Suk el Ghiirb. — Ancient Church.
— The Sweating Picture. — Convent of St. George. — Monks. — Wady Shahrur. — In-
habited Tree. — 'Aleih. — Tragedies in the Old Palace. — Ibrahim Pasha. — Tragedy of
the Three Brothers. — Decline of Feudal Princes. — Wady Hummana. — Coal Mine. —
Muhammed Aly. — Petrified Pine-cones. — District of el Metn. — The Emirs of Beit el
Lema. — Brummana. — The Damascus Road. — El Mugheiteh. — Snow Blockade. — Jebel
Keniseh. — Summit Level. — Khan Murad. — Cold Winds and Malignant Fevers. — A
Glorious Prospect. — El Bukaa. — Anti-Lebanon. — Eastern Side of Lebanon. — Shtora.
— The Road to Damascus. — Temple at Mejdel 'Anjar. — Neb'a 'Anjar. — Intermitting
Fountain. — Deir el Guzal. — Kiibb Elias. — Mekseh. — Extensive Views over Ccelesyria.
— Zahleh. — El Berduny. — "Vine and Fig-tree." — El Mu'allakah. — Burning of Zah-
leh. — Prosperity of Zahleh. — Kerak Niih. — Ascent of Lebanon. — Bituminous Shale. —
Globular Iron Ore. — Limestone Pinnacles. — Neb'a Sunnin. — Temples on Lebanon. —
Temple near 'Anturah. — Husn Niha. — Tomb of Noah. — Tomb of Seth. — Origin of
Primitive Sanctuaries. — Rock-cut Tombs. — The Druses and their Religion. — Druse
Funerals. — Feudal Families of the Druses. — Lex talionis, or Blood Revenge. — Moses
and the Hebrews. — Matrimonial Alliances. — Abraham and Jacob. — Betrothal. — Noc-
turnal Incident. — Bears and Wolves. — Ascent of Sunnin. — Outlook from the Sum-
mit of Lebanon. — Sirocco. — Descent of Lebanon. — Druse War-song. — Bringing Grain
to the Mill. — Grinding at the Mill. — Baking Bread in the Tannur. — Native Bread. —
VThe Use of Leven. — The Staff of Life. — Cone-shaped Oven. — City Ovens. — Ovens
in the Time of the Hebrews. — Baking upon the Saj. — Wady Biskinta. — Griffin Vul-
tures. — Eagles. — Pinnacles of Limestone. — Casts of Fossil Shells. — Dr. Anderson's
Description of the Fossils of Syria. — Kiil'at el Fukra. — Tiberius Claudius. — The Tem-
ple in the Midst of Rocky Pinnacles Described by Dr. Robinson. — Remains of a
Tomb. — Road from the Dog River to the Natural Bridge. — 'Ajeltiin. — Fantastic
Rock Scenery. — Wady es Salib. — Canal from Nahr el Leben. — Irrigation. — Sowing
Wheat in Autumn. — Neb'a el Leben. — Milk and Honey. — The Natural Bridge. —
District of el Kesrawan. — The Maronites. — Feudal Families. — Monastery Bells.

September ist.

What a bright and pleasant morning at the very outset of our
tour through Northern Lebanon !

As the muleteers know their business thoroughly, and are well
acquainted with the roads, they may be left to take their own time

SUMMER RESORTS ON LEBANON— THE SWEATING PICTURE. 1 89

and way to Neb'a Sunnin. We, however, will make a long detour
from the regular road, to obtain more comprehensive views of the
mountains and valleys of the Upper Ghurb.

The people of Beirut are greatly favored in having their sum-
mer resorts in these villages prettily situated above the plain, the
city, and the sea. They are so high that the air and the water
are cool and refreshing, and yet near enough to the city so that
they can be reached in a few hours.

'Aitath, through which we have just passed, is a fair specimen,
and it is further distinguished as the home of the Druse sheikhs of
Beit Tulhuk, one of the families of Lebanon's feudal lords, whose
glory has faded, and their palaces are fast crumbling into decay.
I have spent several summers in that village, and occupied one of
those palaces. Since then a few commodious dwellings have been
built, and they are now rented to some of the English and Ameri-
can residents of Beirut. Suk el Ghurb, directly above 'Aitath, is
the more popular resort, especially for the Greeks and Greek Catho-
lics of the city, attracted to it, in the first instance, perhaps, by the
reputed sanctity of its ancient church. I remember Suk el Ghurb
when there were only half a dozen small, low houses around the
old church, and all nearly hidden from view by mulberry terraces.
Now, as you observe, it has become a picturesque village, with large
houses built upon and above the high rocky ledge which extends
quite to the base of the mountain-ridge south of it.

About forty-five years ago I was taken to see an old picture in
that church, which was said, in those times of ignorance, to be en-
dowed with miraculous powers. It was called the sweating picture,
from a propensity it had of perspiring profusely. The features of
the patron saint were so besmirched with the smoke of wax ta-
pers as scarcely to be visible in the dim light of the dark vault.
Giving the old priest a small gratuity, he besought the saint, with
prayers and exclamations, to perform the miracle, and soon the
picture was bedewed with moisture; but my companion, a shrewd
native, declared that he saw the priest sprinkle water upon it. The
miraculous power of the saint was exhausted long ago, and the
dilapidated old church has been replaced by a new edifice.

That long, level terrace of the Convent of Mar Jirjis esh Siiir.

IQO THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

St. George of the Cliff, just below us, is the favorite promenade of
the monks, and there every pleasant evening some of them are al-
ways to be seen, apparently engaged in devout meditation, while in
reality they are taking a little exercise, and enjoying the cool air
and the magnificent prospect.

The entire mountain-side, and this profound valley sinking far
down to the plain, present a wide expanse of terraced fields and
fruitful gardens, studded here and there with small clusters of
houses, which give to it the appearance of one continuous village.

Wady Shahrur, or el Wady, as it is sometimes called by way of
eminence, is one of the most densely populated valleys of Lebanon.
Owing to the character of the soil and the abundant supply of
water from the numerous fountains, nearly every variety of fruits
and vegetables in this country are raised here. The little rills that
come tumbling over the cliffs and foaming down the terraces ex-
haust themselves in the summer season amongst the vineyards, the
gardens, and the groves below. During the winter they rush madly
down to the plain, and swell the turbid Nahr el Ghudir into an im-
passable torrent, sweeping everything before it to the sea.

Some of the English and American residents of Beirut have
built houses for themselves amongst the rocks and upon the ledge
above us, and more picturesque positions could not be desired
for summer residences. This venerable oak, near the edge of the
precipice, is one of the " inhabited trees," upon whose branches the
natives hang bits of rags torn from their garments — votive offer-
ings to propitiate the mysterious being supposed to frequent them.
Such trees are found all over this country, and illustrate the te-
nacity with which ancient superstitions retain their hold upon the
minds of the ignorant and credulous inhabitants.

We are now passing through 'Aleih. This village has of late
been greatly improved, and there are at present many large and
comfortable houses in it, some of them built by wealthy citizens
of Beirut. Many of the foreign consuls have selected this place
for their summer residence, and the Governor-general of the Leba-
non frequently spends a few weeks here. 'Aleih has the reputa-
tion of being very healthy, and is considerably higher and cooler
than Shemlan. A branch of Beit Tulhuk resided here ; but the

TRAGEDIES IN THE OLD PALACE AT 'ALEIH. I9I

sheikhs have been deprived of their former power by the Turkish
government, and the family is now almost extinct.

That rambling old palace on the hill-side recalls a series of tra-
gedies enacted there many years ago. The first summer I spent
on Lebanon I lived in a house not far from the palace, which was
then occupied by one of the sittat, with her two sons and a cousin
of the young sheikhs. The three boys were of about the same age
— from twelve to fifteen — bright and intelligent. They visited me
often, and I became quite interested in them. The three gen-
erally came together, accompanied by their respective guardians ;
and the cousin was always attended by a servant who carried a
silver cup, and would never allow him to drink out of any other.
It was feared that the young sheikh would be poisoned at the in-
stigation of his aunt, the mother of the two boys — a princess as
beautiful as Delilah, and equally treacherous.

The summer passed quietly away, but a year afterwards the
cousin was inveigled into a room in the palace, and there mur-
dered by the two brothers, because he was the heir to most of the
property. The country had but recently passed under the nomi-
nal control of the Egyptian Government, and Ibrahim Pasha had
marched northward to encounter the army of the Sultan. During
that disturbed interregnum every one " did that which was right
in his own eyes," as the Hebrews did in those days when there
was no king in Israel; so there was no investigation, and no one
was punished. But the tragedy did not end in that atrocious
murder. The two brothers were engaged one day in cleaning
their weapons, when the younger was shot by the elder brother.
It was reported that the deed was accidental, but of that there
was great doubt amongst the people.

The double murderer, now sole possessor of the entire property
of the family, became a leading sheikh amongst the Druses; and
when the war broke out, in 1842, between them and the Maronites
he took an active part in it. Being accused of outrageous cruelties,
he fled to the Hauran ; but, after remaining there for some time,
he was pardoned by the Turkish authorities and recalled. Kticjuettc
required him to pay his res^jccts to the Pasha in Damascus; and,
after being graciously received and dismissed, he started to return

192 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

to that palace in 'Aleih, accompanied by some of the sheikhs who
had been with him in the Hauran. They never reached Lebanon.
The cholera, which was then raging in this country, attacked them,
and all died on the road. It was the general belief, however, that
they had been poisoned on taking leave of the Pasha at Damascus.
The widowed and childless mother married a sheikh of another
family, but was soon after divorced and sent away to die, no one
knows when or how. Thus ends the sad story of one of the
branches of Beit Tulhuk — the first family of Druse sheikhs with
whom I became acquainted nearly half a century ago.

The Nemesis of retribution, though delayed, had neither pity
nor mercy for such monsters in the guise of men and women.

That dark record is not an isolated chapter in the history of
this country. Muhammed Aly, in i830-'3i, sent his warlike son,
Ibrahim Pasha, to w-rest Syria from the Sultan ; the leading feudal
family in Lebanon sided with the Turkish Government, and, in
consequence, the male members were obliged to flee to distant
parts. In i840-'4i the Egyptians were driven out of the country
by the combined European Powers, and Syria was given back to
the Turks. There were then three brothers in that family of
Druse sheikhs, and they were raised to their former station, and
their property was restored to them. During the ten years of
their enforced exile two young sheikhs lower in station had risen
to power, and had married the only brides, sisters, within the mar-
riage circle of the family. After the return of the fugitive brothers,
the two oldest killed the husbands and married their widows them-
selves.

Such atrocious villany reaped its swift reward. The eldest
brother became imbecile, and sunk into obscurity and poverty.
The other usurped all authority, and laid hands upon the entire
property ; nor could he be induced to allow a decent competency
for the support of his elder brother. He became wealthy and
powerful ; but, owing to his presumable complicity in the massa-
cres at Deir el Kamr in i860, he was denounced by some of the
Commissioners of the European Powers, imprisoned in Beirut by
the Turkish authorities, and barely escaped being beheaded. At
length, through the earnest intercession of political friends, he was

DECLINE OF FEUDAL PRINCES.— WADY IlC.MNL^NA. 193

allowed to leave his prison, but only to die. A few days after his
liberation he expired in a house not far from my own.

Great hopes were entertained that the youngest of the brothers,
when he came of age, would exert a happy influence upon the peo-
ple ; and he appeared anxious to qualify himself for a life of useful-
ness, but he soon became insane. The widows had three brothers,
the youngest of whom became a raving maniac. The oldest was
killed during the civil wars that desolated Lebanon, and the other
brother retained just enough wit to manage the property. I was
brought into frequent contact with both those families of Druse
sheikhs and marriageable princesses, and observed, with painful
interest, the dreadful calamities attending their career, and the
declining fortunes of their ancestral house.

The feudal lords and ladies of these mountains have indeed
been visited with relentless and condign punishment.

For at least a thousand years the native princes on Lebanon
and Hermon have been engaged in plots and outbreaks, assassina-
tion and murder, and now their families are either extinct, or are
rapidly declining, with no prospect of their restoration to power.
The country has, however, no cause to regret the dying out of
those old families. They blocked the wheels of progress, and
their extinction was as necessary as it was inevitable.

We have now reached the carriage road to Damascus, which
winds up the slopes of Lebanon above the profound gorge of Nahr
Beirut. Let us ride to the edge of the cliff, and look down into
the wide and deep valley of Hummana.

It is impossible to gaze upon scenery so vast and sublime with-
out giving expression to one's great surprise and admiration.

Wady Hummana is considered one of the finest in Lebanon.
It possesses a greater variety of forest scenery than any other val-
ley, interspersed with silk-reeling factories, convents, churches, and
picturesque villages. It has also one interesting feature found no-
where else in Syria. Near the bottom of the valley, below Kurna-
yil, is the only coal-mine in this country. Its existence had been
long known, but it was not worked until the Kgyptians got pos-
session of these mountains. Muhammed Aly employed an English
engineer, in i834-'35, to superintend the mining operations, and

194 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

many hundred tons of coal were taken to Beirut, for the Egyptian
steamers. But the coal was of an inferior quality, and so impreg-
nated with sulphur as to corrode the boilers. There was, also, a
large proportion of iron pyrites mingled with the coal, and the
mounds of that rubbish, thrown out of the mine, became ignited
by the autumn rain, and continued to burn for several months.

When the Turkish Government was again established over
Syria, mining operations were, of course, abandoned, nor is it proba-
ble that they will ever be renewed. Besides the impurity of the
mineral, the stratum is not more than two and a half feet thick,
and the working of it is rendered difficult and expensive by nume-
rous dislocations and " faults " in the strata. I was surprised to
find in the mass of shale overlying the coal numberless fragments
of perfectly preserved specimens of petrified pine-cones, in all re-
spects like those which now grow on the pine-forests that crown
the sandy ridge above the mine. How they came there, and what
they imply or suggest, we may leave to geologists to explain.

Directly below Deir el Kul'ah the deep gorge of Nahr Beirut
is divided into two branches. The one which descends from Jebel
Keniseh forms this beautiful valley of Hummana. The other, com-
ing down through the yawning chasms in Jebel Sunnin, drains all
the western slopes of that imposing mountain. Between those two
profound wadys is the district of el Metn, with its coal-mine, below
Kurnayil, its pine-forests, and numerous villages. The Metn is in-
habited by a mixed population, Greek, Maronite, and Druse ; and
each party, in turn, Maronite or Druse, has swept over it during
the many civil wars, killing, plundering, and burning, and the mar-
vel is that it recovers so rapidly.

A large part of el Metn has been constantly governed for the
last two hundred years by Emirs of Beit el Lema. They came
from Jebel el A'alah, south-west of Aleppo, with a pedigree as long
as the tail of a comet, and settled at first in Kefr Selwan. After
the usual fortunes and inevitable misfortunes which have befallen
every feudal family on these mountains, they became, nominally.
Christians, and finally sunk into poverty and obscurity. Some of
them still reside in Sulima, a village on the northern side of the
well-wooded ridge, beneath which lie the coal-measures of Leba-

BRUMMAXA.— EL MUGIIEITEH.— SNOW-DRIFTS. 195

non. Others are living at Brummana, that village on the top of
the mountain, above the Bay of St. George.

Many years ago Brummana was the favorite summer resort of
the Europeans of Beirut, but the water is scarce and not palata-
ble, being slightly impregnated with sulphur from the ferruginous
sandstone, which overlies the entire ridge. The village is celebrated
for its noble prospects and pleasant rides through pine-forests, and
for a group of oak-trees of venerable age and great size, under the
dense shade of which I have spent many a pleasant hour.

The gradients on this part of the Damascus road, which leads
up almost to the summit of Lebanon, are by no means steep, and
the ascent is so gradual as hardly to be perceptible.

A short distance ahead of us the rise is more rapid until the
famous pass of el Mugheiteh is reached, over five thousand feet
above the level of the sea. Before the French engineers opened
the way up through that wilderness of rocks and crags, el Mughei-
teh was a long and dangerous defile, which many fatal accidents to
individuals and caravans had rendered notorious. Every winter it
was overwhelmed by snow-drifts, and all travel to and from Damas-
cus on that route was suspended. Even this broad and admira-
bly constructed road is often completely blocked, and a channel
through the snow has to be made.

I have ridden over the part where we now are when the chan-
nel was barely wide enough to permit the diligence to pass. On
one occasion the snow on either side was higher than the top of
the diligence, and the passage was so narrow that the snow was
swept from both sides on to the vehicle. The accumulation of
snow is due to the proximity of Jebel Keniseh, which lifts its head
to the clouds, six thousand six hundred feet above sea-level, and
directly above el Mugheiteh. So steep is the side of that rugged
mountain that much of the snow that falls upon it is drifted down
into the pass during the great winter storms.

The summit level of the ridge is only about a mile across, and
then the road begins to descend eastward towards the Biika'a — at
first gradually, Ijut after passing Khan Murad its descent is very
steep, and the diligence rumbles along with dangerous velocity
even around the sharp zigzags, quite down to the i)lain. We will

jq6 the land and the book.

stop to rest for an hour at that khan, where the hospitable inn-
keeper will furnish us with hot coffee after our lunch. It was
originally a dilapidated khan, where I have encamped more than
once, long before the Damascus road was constructed by the
French, but it has been greatly altered to adapt it to the wants
of the Company. Wherever it was practicable, the new road fol-
lowed the line of the ancient highway, and the stations of the Com-
pany are also located at or near the old khans of former days.

This way-side inn is directly below the south-eastern shoulder
of Jebel Keniseh, and, of course, is very cold in winter, and often
buried under the deep snow. It is also exposed to violent gales
of wind. I once pitched my tent on the roof of the old khan,
which was then the only level place about it. But it was not a
secure or a comfortable camping-ground. Some time after mid-
night there came sweeping down from the heights of Jebel Keni-
seh a furious gale that nearly carried away my tent ; and, though
it was midsummer, the wind was extremely cold.

An old sheikh of 'Aitath explained to me why it was that so
many of the men who came from the mountain villages to this part
of the Buka'a at harvest time soon returned, having been attacked
with malignant fevers. He said the fever was not caused by ma-
laria, but was entirely due to those cold winds. The harvesters
slept on the threshing-floors, and owing to the extreme heat in
the first part of the night, they used no covering, and were conse-
quently exposed to the chilling wind that invariably began to blow
after midnight. That, I believe, to be the true cause of most of
the fevers which abound on Lebanon during the latter part of
summer, and all travellers should then protect themselves and
their muleteers from the pernicious effects of such cold winds.

We have been descending rapidly since we left Khan Murad,
and now, far below us, the broad expanse of the Buka'a stretches
away to the north, and, passing the ruins of Baalbek, is lost to
sight at "the entrance of Hamath." Across the plain, southward,
is Hermon, and opposite to us is Anti-Lebanon ; while Lebanon,
that goodly mountain, rises above us to the clouds.

This is indeed a glorious and comprehensive prospect.

Instead of hurrying, like the diligence, down the ever-winding

THE RANGE OF ANTI-LEBANON.— THE DAMASCUS ROAD. 197

road to the plain, we will take our stand on that high bluff north
of us, and survey the splendid outlook which it affords. It was
mainly to show you this magnificent and suggestive view that we
have made this detour from the regular route.

Hermon seems to dominate the entire southern portion of the
Buka'a ; but the long, irregular range of Anti-Lebanon, which walls
in the eastern side of the plain, appears to be much lower even
than our present stand-point on these western mountains.

It is in reality lower than the Lebanon range, and yet I have
ascended some peaks east of Ba'albek and above the plain of
Zebedany which are six or seven thousand feet high.

The Buka'a now seems to be surprisingly near, and outspread
almost at our very feet, like a great carpet of diverse patterns.

This eastern side of Lebanon is entirely different from the
western. There are none of those long reaches of nearly level
ground by which the summit is easily gained, but the mountain
drops abruptly to the plain, almost without a break ; and the dili-
gence, which takes six hours to reach this point from Beirut, de-
scends swiftly down to Shtora, the half-way station to Damascus,
in thirty minutes. From Shtora travellers often take a carriage
or hire horses, and make a hasty visit to Ba'albek, which is six
hours distant from that station.

One can follow the line of this carriage-road to Damascus quite
across the plain to the other side, until it passes behind that low
ridge which extends far away to the south-east.

From Mejdel 'Anjar, on the eastern side of that ridge, it ascends,
by easy grades, the long Wady Harir, to the level but stony Sahil
Judeideh, and thence passes into Wady el Kurn, which it follows
towards ed Dimas, a large village on the western border of a rocky
and dreary plateau, called es Sahra, that extends eastward to the
banks of the Barada. The road cro.sses that desert of ed Dimas,
and winds along the left bank of the lively and beautiful river of
Damascus, overshadowed by tall trees of various kinds, and then
passes out upon the plain between luxurious gardens, and through
the verdant Merj to the gates of the city.

With your glass you can see the walls of an ancient temple,
standing on the northern end of the hill which hides Mejdel 'Anjar

iq8 the land and the book.

from view. That temple was well built, like those upon Hermon,
and there are some enormous stones in the eastern and Avestern
walls, twenty -one feet long and nearly six feet high. There are
no inscriptions, and it has no name or historic association, except
that, directly below it, on the north-east, are the extensive ruins
of 'Anjar — towers, walls, columns, and other remains — supposed to
mark the site of Chalcis, the capital of a small province ruled by
the Ptolemies and the Herods. The temple may have been built
in the first century by Herod Agrippa 11., mentioned in the Acts,
in honor of the Emperor Claudius.'

About half a mile north-east of those ruins is Neb'a 'Anjar, the
main permanent source of the river Litany. There are several
large fountains much farther north, on both sides of the plain,
such as those of the stream that passes down from Sunnin through
Zahleh, and at Ras el 'Ain, near Ba'albek ; but during the summer
the water from them is exhausted by irrigation. The stream from
Neb'a 'Anjar always forms a deep river, which cannot generally
be crossed except at the bridge. It has, in fact, several sources,
but the main one is an intermitting fountain. Sometimes the
quantity of water from it is quite small, and at other times it is
largely increased. I was there once when the overflow was so
great as to endanger the mill-dam below it. Somewhat similar
phenomena occur at Fauwar ed Deir, the Sabbatical river, north
of Tripoli, mentioned by Josephus and Pliny.

Upon a low ridge opposite us, on the eastern side of the
Buka'a, is a place called Deir el Ghuzal, the convent of the gazelle,
where there was an ancient temple, the remains of which are still
to be seen on the hill-side and in the valley below. On some low-
cliffs south of it are a few words of a Greek inscription, but they
impart no valuable information. There is a much longer inscrip-
tion in a village farther north which I once copied w^hen passing
along that side of the plain from Ba'albek to Neb'a Anjar.

What is the name of that ruined castle upon the high crag on
the side of that ravine to the south of us?

It is called Kubb EHas, and there is a village below it of the
same name. Fakhr ed Din, the celebrated Druse emir, is said to

' Acts XXV. 26.

CCELESVRIA.— ZAHLEIL— EL BERDUNY. I99

have built it ; but it was dismantled long ago, and there is nothing
about it of much interest or to indicate its age. It was probably
constructed to command the ascent over Lebanon, and for the
protection of caravans, merchants, and travellers.

It is time to continue our ride. We will get a guide at Mek-
seh, the next station ahead of us ; and, keeping along the moun-
tain above the extensive vineyards of Zahleh, we will climb to
Neb'a Sunnin, near the summit of Lebanon west of that village.

How magnificent are the views over the great plain and the
surrounding mountains ! From every projecting ridge the prospect
is different, but always impressive and beautiful.

We obtain, from some points, a perfect view of the whole of
Coelesyria; for although that name came, ultimately, to have a far
wider application, the Buka'a is the original Coelesyria, or hollow
S\ria of ancient history and geography. We are to pass through
the northern part of it hereafter, and will become more familiar
with it, and with the names of many villages scattered over this
fertile plain. From that prominent ledge of rocks to which we
are coming we will obtain an excellent view of Zahleh, the most
populous and prosperous town on Lebanon.

It is a much larger place than I expected to see, and its situa-
' tion has been well chosen, and is exceedingly picturesque.

There is nothing resembling it on these mountains. The town
occupies both sides of the valley, which widens as it deepens, and
finally opens out upon the plain to the south-east. Through the
middle of the valley flows the sparkling little river of el Berduny,
which descends from the south-eastern end of Jebel Sunnin; and,
after contributing to the wants of the town, its life-giving waters
are distributed over a wide area of vineyards, gardens, and culti-
vated fields on the plain of el Buka'a below. Along the banks,
through the town, and elsewhere grow hundreds of tall and grace-
ful silver-leaved poplars, which add much to the attractiveness of
the place and the beauty of the scene. The houses arc built
upon the sloping declivities on both sides of the river, and rise,
tier above tier, far up the steep side of the mountain.

There are several churches in the town, including one recently
erected by the Protestant community. Excellent schools, both for
O

200 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

boys and girls, have been established, and are flourishing remarka-
bly. The desire for education has extended to the surrounding
country, and schools have been opened in many of the villages.

The Rev. Gerald F. Dale gives a graphic description of the
scenes and scenery in this neighborhood, and the manners and
customs of the inhabitants at the present day :

" The Zahleh people are now in the vineyards. We went yes-
terday to Furzul to hold the usual service, and during the hour's
ride were surrounded with vineyards before us, behind us, and upon
either side of us. The road wound over the low spurs of the
mountain, which were carefully cultivated, and beautifully terraced
all the way down to the fertile plain of Coelesyria. The ruins of
Ba'albec were in sight to the north, and toward the south Mount
Hermon was towering above everything. Men, and women, and
children, horses, donkeys, camels, and mules, were going and com-
ing with baskets or boxes or saddle-bags of grapes. Each person
in passing politely invited us to help ourselves [from the tempt-
ing baskets], and some would take no denial.

" We sold two pocket Testaments for twenty pounds of grapes,
the grapes to be delivered at any time during the present week.
We scattered mission papers where we thought that they would be
read and appreciated, and turned aside for a talk with one of our
church members whose vineyard was by the roadside. In two dif-
ferent places companies of people were treading out the juice of
the grapes to make grape molasses. In all directions people were
making raisins, and some were preparing the ripe fruit to be sent to
the neighboring villages for sale. Here and there, upon a terrace,
was a fig-tree, and we thought of the time in America when we read
and wondered at the words 'They shall sit every man under his
vine and under his fig-tree.' "

Vineyards and vines, treading out the juice of the grapes, and
here and there a man sitting " under his vine and under his fig-
tree " are subjects eminently Biblical ; and here on the spot we
certainly can testify with Mr. Dale that " this land is a grand
commentary upon the Bible." ^

Although Zahleh does not command so magnificent an outlook

' I Kings iv. 25 ; Micah iv. 4 ; Zech. iii. 10.

PROSPERITY OF ZAIILEH.— BITUMINOUS SHALE. 20I

as Deir el Kamar, nor is the scenery around and about it so wild
and romantic, yet it appears to be almost twice as large. What
is the supposed number of its inhabitants ?

Including el Mu'allakah, "the suspended" — a mere annex to
the town, and almost exclusively Moslem — the population is over
thirteen thousand — all Christian, principally of the Greek, Catholic,
and ]\Iaronite sects — and it is steadily increasing.

No one looking down upon Zahleh from our stand-point would
imagine that every house in the place was burnt during the last
civil war, and yet such was the fact. By a combined attack of the
Druses this town was captured, plundered, and burnt. The in-
habitants, however, escaped ; and, being particularly energetic and
enterprising, they speedily repaired and re-roofed their dwellings,
and during the last twenty years of peace they have more than
regained their former prosperity. They not only manufacture the
articles needed by the numerous peasantry around Zahleh, but also
deal largely with places at a distance, and with the Bedawin tribes
of the eastern desert. Some of the merchants have become com-
paratively wealthy, and live in commodious houses.

About a mile north of el Mu'allakah is the small hamlet of
Kerak Nuh, where is shown the reputed tomb of Noah, of which I
will give you an account in the evening. At present we must
commence the last steep ascent of Lebanon, at the top of which
we will be obliged to quicken our pace to reach the tents at Neb'a
Sunnin before it becomes too dark to sec the way.

Between this point which we have now attained, on the summit
of the ridge, and Kurnayil is a locality of bituminous shale, near the
village of Kefr Selwan. The shale crops out in many places, and in
some parts it is arranged in laminre not thicker than brown paper.
Indeed, my attention was first attracted to it by its fluttering in the
wind like the leaves of an open book. Thrown into the fire, that
bituminous .shale burns with a bright flame, but it has a sulphurous
smell, and leaves a hard, stony residuum. Nor is this the only min-
eralogical product met with in that region.

The ridge between Jebel Keniseh and .Sunnin is sandstone, and
the surface is covered in many places with small rounded pebbles
like bullets and balls of various sizes, coated over with iron rust

202 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and sand. They are called globular iron ore, and resemble those
found in such quantities on the south-eastern side of Jebel er Ri-
han. Those curious globules are generally found arranged in con-
centric layers, as if formed by accretion, around a solid nucleus.
But by what agency they were formed there, on that sandy ridge
of Lebanon, is a problem not easily solved.

Another problem is equally puzzling. Our path from here on
to Neb'a Sunnin is entangled in a wilderness of sharp limestone
pinnacles — needles, obelisks, shafts, and spires — some of them of
colossal proportions, and looking as if driven up from below through
the sandstone during the long ages of the past.

Was this singular rocky formation always thus, or has the sand
drifted in upon and nearly buried these jagged pinnacles?

They have doubtless been worn into such grotesque shapes by
the action of weather, water, and time, but from whence came
the sand here upon the summit of the Lebanon range? In fact,
the geological problem presented by the sandstone formations on
these mountains remains still unsolved.

We seem to have risen quite above the range of human habita-
tions, and this is a wild and desolate region.

Our ride for to-day is nearly over, for beyond this rough ravine
into which we have descended we will find the tents pitched and
comfortably arranged for our reception, and dinner awaiting us.

Neb'a Sunnin is a fountain of no great size, but the water is
clear as crystal and icy cold, and the air is delightfully cool and
bracing. There is a weird influence about this oasis in a wilderness
of mountains— neither khan nor hut, not even a sheepfold near-
shut out from the world below, shut in with the stars above.

This is the only suitable camping- ground for many a weary
mile along the road we are now travelling. I have spent more
than one night encamped upon the greensward below the foun-
tain. Sunnin towers above it to the north-east for over three
thousand feet, and here we are nearly twice that height above the
sea. To any one who proposes to climb to the top of Lebanon,
there is no better place to spend the previous night than this
Neb'a Sunnin ; for the ascent to that lofty summit and the return
from it will require an entire day.

ANCIENT TEMPLES ON LEBANON. 203

Neb'a Sunnin, September ist. Evening.

During our long ride we passed no ancient ruins, no prostrate
temples, no forsaken altars ; and yet it seems almost impossible
that man could dwell in the midst of such august scenery with-
out being inspired with religious thoughts and emotions, prompting
him to give expression to them in the erection of such edifices.
How do you account for their absence from this part of Lebanon?

Partly by qualifying your statement, and in part by the con-
sideration that the inhabitants of this western side of the mountain
were near the cities on the seaboard, and they would naturally per-
form their religious ceremonies, such as they were, in the grander
temples and more celebrated shrines of the neighboring cities. But
your remark is not in strict accordance with the facts in regard to
this region. Not to mention the remains of the temple at Dcir el
Kul'ah, there are others quite worthy of attention. In the valley
of the north-eastern branch of Nahr Beirut, which comes up here
almost to our tent door, are the ruins of a large temple, near 'An-
turah, not the Maronite village in Kesrawan, but one of the same
name belonging to this district of el Metn. It was one of the
most ancient sanctuaries on these mountains, too old for inscrip-
tions, and was built of large stones, but without much architectu-
ral ornamentation, and what remains consists mainly of broken
buttresses and masses of shapeless rubbish.

East of our camping-ground, on the other side of the moun-
tains, in the neighborhood of Niha, there are the remains of two
ancient temples. The one near the village has been so thoroughly
demolished, and the materials carried away, that neither its dimen-
sions nor its architectural character can now be distinguished. A
ravine leads up westward from Niha into the mountain, for half
an hour, to a small plain, upon which is the other temple, called
Husn Niha. It stood on a wide platform, facing the east, and had
a portico in front, with a flight of steps leading up to it, more than
thirty feet broad, and still in good preservation. The walls were
built chiefly of small stones, although a few are ten or twelve feet
long, and well squared. The temple was nearly one hundred feet
long, and over forty feet wide, but the interior is much choked up
with fallen stones and broken columns. The columns are not large.

204 ^^^ LAND AND THE BOOK.

and appear to have had capitals of the Ionic order, as had also the
pilasters, along the walls, on each side of the naos, but the work-
manship is inferior to that of most temples, either on Lebanon or
Hermon. On the east, south, and west are extensive remains of
substantial buildings, whose object it is impossible to ascertain.

At Kerak Nuh, north of Zahleh, there was, probably, a heathen
shrine, as there is now a Moslem mukam over the reputed tomb
of Noah. When I first visited it, many years ago, the grave was
covered with a ragged cotton cloth of faded green ; and the old
sheikh informed me, with the utmost simplicity, that the patriarch
was so tall that, when they came to lay him in his sepulchre, one
hundred and thirty-two feet long, they were obliged to sink a deep
shaft, into which his legs, from the knee downwards, were depo-
sited. It is a curious fact that native tradition has transferred to
the Buka a more than one Biblical celebrity. Directly across the
plain from Kerak Nuh, on a spur of the lower range of Anti-Leba-
non, is the wely of Neby Shit — the tomb of the prophet Seth—
but it is only fifty-five feet long. It is kept in better condition
and regarded with greater reverence than that of Noah, and is fre-
quented by Metawileh as well as Moslems.

How could men be brought to believe, without evidence, that
Noah was buried at Kerak Nuh and Seth at Neby Shit?

Or that one was one hundred and fifty feet high, and the other
under sixty, with other equally absurd traditions? The conclusion
is that the origin of such primitive and fabulous sanctuaries dates
far back into the twilight of man's history. Jew and Persian,
Greek and Roman, Christian and Moslem, have each in turn found
those shrines already venerated, and have adapted them to their
own peculiar superstitions. They owe their origin, however, not
to any of them, but to the races settled in this land after the
great deluge, in the days of Noah himself. Besides ancient tem-
ples and venerated shrines, these magnificent mountains contain
other traces of man's presence and handiwork in remote antiqui-
ty. Numerous rock-cut tombs are found near almost every vil-
lage, and in many lonely localities they are the only witness that
human habitations ever existed there. Those tombs were of va-
rious shapes and sizes, and are, doubtless, extremely ancient. We

THE DRUSES AND THEIR RELIGION. 205

have seen specimens of most of them in GaHlee and Phcenicia. as
well as in Southern Lebanon.

As we shall not again pass through the part of Lebanon occu-
pied by the Druses, I should like to learn something more definite
about their histor}', character, and religion. We have found them
in nearly every village, and have been invariably treated by them
with the greatest respect and kindness.

Their places of worship are low, isolated buildings, called khul-
wat, or solitudes, generally situated on lonely summits of the
mountains, but in no other respects differing in appearance from
ordinary dwellings. There is nothing in and about those khidwat
to throw any light upon the Druse religion, and they carefully
avoid the subject when introduced. Though residing for many
years amongst the Druses, and on terms of cordial acquaintance
with many of their principal men, I could never obtain from them
much reliable information. They affect to keep their religion an
inviolable secret; but this is now quite absurd, since their sacred
books have been studied with entire success by De Sacy and other
foreigners, and even by many natives of this country. During their
wars with the Egyptian Government, soon after I came to Syria,
their most sacred khulwat were plundered, and their books were
seized and distributed to various European libraries, or sold to the
curious in this and other countries. Their religious doctrines have
thus become known, and their origin and history clearly revealed.

Early in the eleventh century a certain Persian, called Muham-
med Ibn Isma'il ed Durazy, began to proclaim the divinity of EI
Hakem li Amr Allah, the Caliph of Egypt, maintaining that he
was the last incarnation of the Deity. Durazy was mobbed in a
mosk at Cairo while reading an argument to establish his doctrine,
and some say he was killed in the fray, others that he escaped and
was sent by El Hakem to Wady et Teim, where he successfully
published his system, and made many proselytes amongst the tribes
who occupied the valley between Hermon and the south end of
Lebanon. From cd Durazy, no doubt, this sect derived the name
by which they are now commonly known. It is, however, a nick-
name, which they repudiate and dislike. They claim to be strict
Unitarians, and call themselves el IMuwahhedin, which has that sig-

2o6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

nification. Their religious system was formulated, not by Durazy,
but by Hamzeh Ibn Ahmed, also a Persian, whom they style el
Hady, or the Guide. He composed most of their sacred books,
and is, therefore, their real religious prophet. He supplanted
Durazy, and the Druses disclaim all connection with him.

By what means Durazy or Hamzeh, one or both, contrived to
propagate their doctrines and gain proselytes is not known, but
tradition says that they were aided by supplies of money sent to
them by their insane divinity, el Hakem. Such arguments have
always been successful in this country, and are so still ; but all we
know with certainty is that a considerable body of fanatical con-
verts was organized into a compact, secret, and resolute society
which has lived on through numberless social convulsions and civil
wars for nearly a thousand years. They gradually spread over
Southern Lebanon, Hermon, and into the Hauran, to Jebel el A'alah,
above Antioch, and to Mount Carmel and the mountains east of
Acre, while a few thousands have settled in Damascus, Beirut, and
other towns. They are, however, not a large sect, the highest esti-
mate being one hundred thousand souls. In any case their power
and influence in this country are due, not to their numbers, but
partly to their geographical location, and still more to their in-
domitable courage and admirable organization. This compact and
available organization has been established and perpetuated mainly
by two separate agencies, one religious, the other secular, but
which, in times of danger, act in perfect concert and with surpris-
ing success. The religious and " initiated " sheikhs, on necessary
occasions, can and do summon the entire community to rally round
the standards of their feudal lords, and the Druse nation then acts
as one man against the common enemy.

In brief, the religious doctrines of the Druses appear to have
been derived mainly from the teachings of various sects of nominal
Moslems in Persia, Egypt, and the East, grouped together by Mu-
hammedan writers under the general name of Bateniyeh. They
were mystics, who gave an allegorical interpretation to much of
the Koran, and were persecuted as heretics by the orthodox. The
most celebrated of these schismatics were the Carmathians, who
\vere with great difficulty subdued by the Caliphs of Bagdad.

RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES OF THE DRUSES. 20/

The doctrines of that sect, however, survived the extinction of
their poHtical organization, and, mixed up with speculations and
dogmas still more ancient, derived from Zoroaster, the Gnostics,
and other Oriental philosophers, constitute the strange medley of
m^'stical opinions found in the six or seven sacred books of the
Druses. Their idea of God difTers from that of Islam mainly in
the exaggeration of the doctrine of the Divine Unity. Though
they hesitate to ascribe any distinct attributes to the Deity, they
maintain that He has often assumed a human form, but more in
semblance than in reality. The most remarkable of those divine
manifestations and Ministers of Truth are the following: Adam,
Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, 'Ali Ibn
Abi Talib, Muhammed Ibn Isma'il, Sa'id el Muhdi, and el Hakem
li Amr Allah, who was the last of them all.

A strange group of incarnations, certainly. But if the Druses
believe that Jesus was one of the divine manifestations, how do
they regard him and his Gospel ?

They have tw^o Christs, one divine, the other the son of Joseph.
The latter was one of the Ministers of Truth ; he was crucified,
while the former escaped. It would be a wearisome and pro-
fitless waste of time to detail the wild and utterly baseless stories
which the Druse disciple is taught to believe on this and kindred
matters. The only other doctrine of the Druses which is of sufifi-
cicnt interest to deserve special attention is that of the transmigra-
tion of souls. This they maintain openly, and apparently from real
conviction. They do not admit that the souls of wicked persons
pass into the bodies of brutes, as a punishment for their sins, as
do the Nusairiyeh and some other sects. Still, it is their opinion
that transmigrations, from one human body to another, and from
one state or condition to a different one, better or worse, has
in it the elements of retribution. The metempsychosis, you are
aware, has been taught, in one form or another, from remote an-
tiquity. It is owing to a belief prevailing amongst the Druses that
the Chinese hold this and some other of their dogmas, that they
regard them as brethren, and expect, at some future time, a mighty
army from that country to come to their aid, b\' which the whole
world will be subdued or converted to their creed.

208 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The entire Druse community, both male and female, is divided
into 'Akkal and Juhhal, initiated and uninitiated. The great body
of the nation belong to the latter class, and cannot be said to have
any religion. They have no professed creed, observe no religious
ceremonies, and never attend the assemblies of the 'Akkal in their
Khulwat. The initiated, besides their peculiar dress, are distin-
guished by a greater dignity and sobriety of demeanor, and are
bound by numerous restrictions from which the Juhhal are entirely
free. They do not accept office, hold it unlawful to indulge in
smoking and such luxuries as coffee, and abstain from all intoxi-
cating drinks. There are many things regarded by them as " for-
bidden," usury, for example, and they believe the money of the
Government to be polluted. Many of the women are 'Akkal, and
meet with the men in the Khulwat. The female 'Akkal are much
respected, and when I came to Syria were about the only women
who were able to read and write. In their domestic relations the
Druses partly conform to the Moslem regulations, but polygamy
is not practised amongst them. Divorce, however, is so easy and
so common, that the advantages of monogamy are lost. They
can literally '' put away their wives for any cause," or for none
whatever but the whim of the moment. This introduces great
irregularity and confusion in their family relations. Without giv-
ing credence to the reports of their enemies on these subjects, we
shall do them no injustice by admitting that their matrimonial and
domestic matters need greatly to be reformed.

The Druses are agriculturists; at least, none of them follow
mechanical occupations, and very few engage in trade or are shop-
keepers. Though not specially industrious, they are extremely
simple and frugal in their habits, and contrive to live on very
small incomes. In their ordinary intercourse they are polite and
ceremonious to a proverb, even in little things. Etiquette obliges
them to be most punctilious in showing the greatest respect to
their friends on all private and public occasions — social visits,
births, marriages, and deaths. No sooner does a Druse die than
his acquaintances, male and female, are seen hurrying from all
quarters to the funeral. The most frequent and the largest gather-
ings on Lebanon are at funerals, and in times of danger or contem-

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY.— FEUDAL FAMILIES. 209

plated war such occasions are availed of for political purposes, and
many an uprising has been matured at these gatherings. Perhaps
the worst feature in their character is religious hypocrisy. They
curse Muhammed in their secret meetings, and yet join in the
Moslem forms of worship when residing amongst them. They
will, in a word, conform to the faith of the strongest, whatever it
may be ; and hence it is almost impossible to accept with confi-
dence their professed conversion to Christianity. There are a few,
however, amongst them who have become sincere Christians.

There are, or have been, nine chief historical families of feudal
princes, emirs, and sheikhs. Several of them are now extinct, such
as the Tannuch emirs and those of Beit Ma'an. In Lebanon there
only remain at present the emirs of er Reslan and the sheikhs of
Beit Jumblat, of 'Ammad, of Abu Nakad, of Tulhuk, and of Abd
el Melek. All these feudal families are rapidly declining in wealth,
power, and influence. During the wars and commotions of the
present century several other families have risen into importance,
especially in the Hauran, whither large numbers of Druses have
emigrated from Lebanon. The emirs of er Reslan reside in the
lower, and the Tulhuk sheikhs in the upper, Ghurb; the Abd el
Melek in the Jurd ; the Nakadiyeh in and around 'Abeih and Deir
el Kamar; and the 'Ammads east of that village. The large dis-
trict of esh Shuf is the home of the Jumblats, whose palace is at
INIukhtarah. Theirs is by far the wealthiest and most influential
family amongst the Druses, and Sheikh Beshir was their most cele-
brated hero, at least in modern times. Indeed, the only other chief
that achieved historic celebrity amongst them was the Emir Fakhr
cd Din Ma'an, who lived nearly three hundred years ago, and
played an important part in the wars of his times. He conquered
a large part of this country, and for many years set at defiance the
power and intrigues of the Turkish (lovernment.

The Druses have the reputation of being particularly stern and
remorseless in the execution of the old law of blood revenge.

The lex talionis is in force, not only amongst the Druses, but
with all the non-Christian tribes who inhabit the mountains at the
head of the Mediterranean, and also amongst the l^edawin wiio
roam over the surrounding deserts. Alliances are made between

2IO THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

families and tribes, near and far away, for the sake of mutual pro-
tection, and to enable the contracting parties to retaliate injuries
to life and property. By these compacts the parties are bound to
stand by each other in case of need, to join in all quarrels, shelter
each other when fleeing from the law or from the pursuit of ene-
mies, and to bear their proportion of the fine incurred by any vio-
lation of property or injury to person. Especially must they aid
in cases of manslaughter or murder ; in the first instance, to con-
ceal and further the escape of the slayer, and then to stand by his
family to prevent a general massacre by the enraged relatives of
the slain ; and, finally, they must do all in their power to bring
about a compromise, by inducing the other party to accept a ran-
som for the blood shed and abandon their right of revenge.

It is one of the cruel features of this lex talionis that, if the
murderer cannot be reached, the avengers of blood have a right to
kill any member of his family, then any relation, no matter how
remote, and, finally, any one of the blood confederation. I knew
of a case where a Christian had killed a Mutawaly of 'Ain Ibel ;
and, as the Metawileh are far the most numerous in that region,
and delight to get an opportunity to assault the Christians, the
whole village was immediately deserted, the terrified people seek-
ing shelter and concealment amongst their confederates, wherever
they could find them. Even on Lebanon, which the Allied Powers
have undertaken to look after, I have known, not one, but many
horrible tragedies. Several of my acquaintances have literally been
cut to pieces by the infuriated avengers of blood, and in some in-
stances those poor victims were not implicated in the murder, and
had only a remote connection with the families involved. Were
it not for these confederations there would be no safety in such
emergencies, and they do actually furnish an important check to
the murderous designs of " avengers."

I once inquired of a guide if he were not afraid to go into a
certain neighborhood w^iere a murder had been committed by one
of his confederation. " Oh no," he replied ; " our 'aileh can num-
ber twelve hundred guns, and our enemies dare not touch me ; and,
besides, the matter is to be made up by our paying a ransom."
That is the ordinary mode of settling those sanguinary affairs.

CITIES OF REFUGE.— COMPACTS AND ALLIANCES. 211

Such compacts, with all their consequences, are extra-judicial,
are ignored by the law of the land, and opposed to it. Their act-
ual object seems to be to render the execution of the law impos-
sible. But as in the Hebrew community in the time of Moses,
so here, the custom of blood revenge is too deeply rooted to
be under the control of the feudal lords of the land ; indeed, they
themselves and their families are bound by it in its sternest de-
mands. It is plain that Moses, clothed with all the influence and
power of an inspired law -giver, could not eradicate this dreadful
custom, and was commissioned to mitigate its horrors by estab-
lishing cities of refuge, under certain humane regulations, which
are fully detailed in Numbers and Deuteronomy.' In process of
time other places besides those six cities of refuge acquired the
character of sanctuaries, to which persons could flee ; and they
were established, sanctioned, and sustained by necessity.

But we must remember that both law and custom have abo-
lished all sanctuaries. There is now neither city nor shrine whose
sanctity affords a refuge to one fleeing for his life, and yet the law
of retaliation remains, and is executed with energy by the non-
Christian tribes, who are in the majority. And those compacts,
offensive and defensive, are intended to answer the same purpose
that the ancient sanctuaries and cities of refuge did, and they do
it. When a man fleeing for life arrives amongst his allies, he is
safe, so far as their utmost power to defend him can go, and they
are to pass him on to more distant retreats if necessary. For this
purpose those compacts and family alliances are extended all over
the land, from Dan to Beersheba, and thither the refugees are
sent with the utmost despatch and secrecy.

Old Emir Beshir succeeded, after a few terrible examples, in
putting an end to the custom of blood revenge on Lebanon. But
many a Druse wove his smothered vengeance into his unshaven
beard, and waited his opportunity during the long reign of that
energetic prince. And this is the reason why his downfall, in
1840, by the action of the Allied Powers, was followed by so many
shocking tragedies. Long outstanding accounts were immediatel}'
referred to a bloody arbitration and settled in death.
' Nunilj. XXXV.; Dcut. xix.

212

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The introduction of a higher and more perfect development of
Christianity amongst Oriental sects has to encounter and overcome
many other obstacles from customs adverse to its nature, which are
at least as ancient as history. They have stiffened by old age into
elements of unyielding resistance ; and yet the reception of the
Gospel must abolish or greatly modify even those which have
struck their roots down to the very heart of society.

In addition to those confederations devised for external pro-
tection, there is the system of matrimonial alliances which pre-
vails amongst all non-Christian sects in this country. There are
certain family circles, called mejawise, within which alone such alli-
ances are permitted. They mutually give and take, and outside
of those they must neither marry nor give in marriage. Treaty
stipulations, such as Hamor and Shechem wished to establish be-
tween their people and the family of Jacob, are still considered
matters of importance ; and long negotiations are often necessary
before the difficult and delicate compact can be accomplished.
The readiness with which the people of Shechem consented to the
hard condition imposed by the treacherous sons of Israel proves
that their alliance was considered an honor and a benefit.'

There are also one-sided mejawise, in which, from necessity, a
family consents to take, in order to get wives for their sons, but
refuses to give, from an aristocratic feeling of superiority. Many
of those matrimonial circles are extremely narrow, and seem to
have for their main object the preservation of property within the
immediate family. The same purpose lay at the bottom of many
Mosaic institutions, or original customs vvhich he sanctioned. But
it now acts badly, tends directly to deterioration of the race, and
ends in insanity and extinction. I have known instances where
there was not a single disposable bride within the entire circle of
mejawise. This often leads to murder between contending candi-
dates for a wife, oftener still to the marriage of mere children to
very old men. The difficulty is sometimes got over by purchasing
Georgian girls in the Constantinople market. The Gospel must,
of course, abolish that traffic ; but at the same time it will open
the way for marriages on better principles.

' Gen. xxxiv. 8-12.

MATRIMONIAL NEGOTIATIONS.— FICTITIOUS RELATIONSHIPS. 213

It will also abolish the very ancient system of marrying only
relations. This custom prevailed in the family of Abraham even
before he left Mesopotamia ; and the reason assigned by Laban for
o-ivino- his daughter to Jacob — because he was a relative — is still
held to be binding. If there are two claimants for the same bride,
and one is a relation, that is admitted to be a valid plea in his
favor. But this also is attended with all the objections already
mentioned, and causes many unnatural and compulsory marriages,
with their subsequent bad consequences.

The Gospel will, likewise, bring about an entire change in the
mode of conducting matrimonial negotiations. They have always
been managed in these countries by others than those most inte-
rested in the result. The parents— or the elder brother, if there
are no parents— make the bargain, and the poor bride has nothing
to do but to submit. Her preferences and dislikes are treated with
utter disregard, and I have known fatal catastrophes to arise from
that cause. Under the ameliorating agency of the Gospel, the ma-
terial veil of Oriental seclusion will give place to the veil of genuine
modesty and self-respect, for which that has been in all ages but a
miserable compensation. True religion will educate and elevate
the females, and introduce them into society, where they will have
opportunities to become acquainted with those who seek them in
marriage ; and they will not be married off while mere children to
those they do not know, or, knowing, dislike.

The Gospel will also greatly narrow the list of prohibited de-
grees of relationship. That established by Moses was certainly
comprehensive enough; but ecclesiastical legislation in the East
has added to it, and introduced the fictitious relation.ships of god-
parents and foster-brothers, and the like. In practice, these rules
are found to be so intolerable that the clergy have been obliged
to exercise largely the power of dispensation ; but that opens a
wide door to intrigue and bribery. Half tlu- quarrels between
priest and people grow out of the manner in which this tlis[)ensing
power is exercised in matrimonial affairs.

Certainly Christianity knows nothing about matters in them-
selves unlawful, but which may be matle just and right by paying
a few piastres to a priest. That whole system, with all its api)end-
P

214 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ao-es, will be abolished, and the priestly revenue derived therefrom
be dried up. Such changes in social habits and domestic institu-
tions, to be brought about safely, must begin from within and de-
velop gradually, and not be forced upon society by foreign influ-
ence acting from without ; and the Christian reformer should be
contented to wait for this gradual development.

The present system of betrothal is much the same, I suppose,
as it was in ancient Bible days?

It is a sort of half marriage, accompanied with religious cere-
monies, and the setthng of the nature and amount of dower which
the bridegroom is to give — a custom equally ancient. This, too,
in its present form and essence, is destined to give way before the
advancement of a higher Christianity, or at least to be so modified
as to make marriage a less commercial transaction, in which the
affections of the parties have no concern. As a part of that sys-
tem by which relatives dispose of the hand and heart of a poor
victim long before she is old enough to have any notions of her
own, it needs to be greatly modified.

Neb'a Sunnin, September 2d.

You are early this morning; it is still quite dark.

Not so early as you think; our camping-ground lies in the deep
shadow of Sunnin, and the sun will be two hours up before his
rays strike our tent. But early rising is indispensable on such a
journey. Breakfast will soon be ready, and then the tents must
be struck, and everything strapped tight and safe, to insure against
the possible accidents or adventures which may befall the mules
while climbing up and down these mountains.

To what were we indebted for the noise and confusion during
the night? I was startled out of a profound sleep by the report
of a gun close to my head. My first thought was that we were
attacked by robbers ; but as you took the affair quite philosophi-
cally, I did the same, and, burying myself beneath these ponderous
quilts, soon forgot all about the disturbance.

The explanation is simple enough. After the moon had set,
leaving us in the dark, something frightened the horses, and Yusuf,
roused out of sleep, declared he saw a large wahsh creeping up to-
wards them. Seizing his gun he blazed away at it, without reflect-

NOCTURNAL INCIDENT.— WOLVES AND BEARS. 215

ing that the flash and the roar would startle the horses. They,
of course, pulled up the stakes to which they were tethered, and
plunged about amongst the rocks. The mules did the same, and
a general stampede followed. After much shouting the panic
subsided, the animals were caught and re-tethered, and, muttering
curses upon Yusuf, his gun, and his wild beast, the muleteers were
soon fast asleep, covered over head and ears in their 'abas.

The danger, however, was not from robbers, but one of the
mules got entangled in the tent ropes, and threatened to drag the
whole tabernacle away in its fright, and that proceeding is no tri-
fling accident, as I have experienced more than once. But it is
time to mount and march. We must take our lunch with us, for
we will find no khans along the road as we did yesterday. The
tents will be pitched in a field above the Natural Bridge, and near
the canal that comes from Neb'a el Leben.

Are bears and wolves still found in these mountains.''

Wolves are not uncommon, especially in the wildest and least
frequented regions. Bears, however, are extremely rare. I have
never seen one during all my rambles, though others of my ac-
quaintances have on these very mountains, but they could not get
near enough to shoot them.

Many years ago I encamped at this same Neb'a Siinnin, one
clear, calm evening in the month of August. After dinner my com-
panion, but recently arrived from America, resolved, in spite of my
protestations and warnings, to climb to the top of Sunnin to see
the moon rise over Anti-Lebanon. The whole western side of this
mountain was in deep shadow, and I saw my friend disappear in
the darkness with considerable solicitude. Directing one of the
muleteers to follow in the line of his adventurous ascent, I set
about collecting thorn bushes and brushwood to make a bonfire at
the proper time to guide him back to the tent. In about an hour
I was startled by the sound of a deep, long-drawn Imwl, a little
north of the ravine by which my friend intended to gain the sum-
mit. That was soon followed by another, still farther north, and
that again by a third, in the same direction, until the whole
mountain-side resounded with <)niinf)us howls.

The muleteers said they were bears, but I was sufficiently fa-

2i6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

miliar with the howl of the wolf to recognize perfectly what they
were. Lighting the bonfire, I sent one of the men to go as far as
he could in the dark and fire off his gun, from time to time, as a
signal to my companion ; his courage carried him but a short dis-
tance from the camp, and soon both he and the other man re-
turned, declaring that they dared not remain out in the dark. To
make the story short, the rash adventurer got back to the tent
about midnight, but thoroughly tired out. Far from reaching the
summit, he had been drawn into the centre of the mountain, along
a rough, water-worn channel, until, after unavailing efforts to get on
and up, he found himself at the foot of a perpendicular cliff, which
could not be scaled, and was obliged to return.

Is the ascent, then, so impracticable?

By daylight it is not ; but in the darkness it is folly to attempt
it ; and at any time it would task the endurance of most persons
to accomplish the ascent and return in the afternoon. I made my
first attempt more than forty years ago. Our camp, on that oc-
casion, was near the southern base of the ridge, and it took two
hours' steady riding from it to reach the first snow. There we left
our horses, and set out on foot. The climb was fatiguing, but at
the end of an hour and a half we stood upon the topmost pinnacle
of the mountain. Many have been the vicissitudes of fortune,
and the changes which civil wars and revolutions have brought
upon this land from that day to this, and yet the outlook from
the summit of Sunnin, eight thousand six hundred feet above the
blue Mediterranean, remains essentially the same.

With my glass I could discern the oak -clad sides of Mount
Tabor in the south, the desert of Arabia in the east, and the faint
outline of Cyprus, a hundred miles away, over the sea, westward ;
and to the north the Lebanon range extending to the highest
point of the mountain above the Cedars. On the left hand Her-
mon and Anti-Lebanon, the long plain of Coelesyria, with the ruins
of Ba'albek and the meandering Litany ; on the right. Tyre and
Sidon, the rock-bound coast, the villages on the mountains, and the
wide-spreading plain, while the city of Beirut lay gleaming in the
sun almost at our very feet. And what shall be said of the sea,
stretching from north to south, and westward to the sky?

DESCENT OF LEBANON.— SIROCCO.— DRUSE MULETEERS. 217

The descent over the snow to where we had left our horses was
accompHshed in less than half the time it had taken to reach the
summit. There our cook awaited us with some lemonade, which
he had prepared by boiling the snow, and then cooling the water
thus obtained with pieces of frozen snow, cold as ice could have
made it. The lemonade was most refreshing, for a hot sirocco
wind had set in, and we were almost suffocated.

Walking on the snow, and surrounded with snow-banks, it is
more natural to suppose that you suffered from the cold, instead
of being oppressed by the heat.

The sirocco passes over high mountains, even when buried in
snow, without losing its peculiar character ; apparently absorbing
no moisture, nor having its temperature essentially lowered. The
thermometer stood at loo'^, and we were glad to avail ourselves of
the friendly refuge from the heat afforded by " the shadow of a
great rock." There w^e remained until the approach of evening
admonished us to seek a more desirable place to spend the night.
Descending round the south-east shoulder of Sunnin, we followed
a path made by the mountaineers, who carry frozen snow at that
season to the villages and cities below.

For miles the path ran along the very edge of shelving declivi-
ties, which appeared to sink far away to the level of the Buka'a,
and our muleteers amused themselves and us by rolling large
stones down the mountain-side, which, with giant leaps and rum-
bling, crashing roar, went thundering to the bottom. As the sha-
dows of evening lengthened, and the moon rose over the dark ram-
parts of Anti-Lebanon, those sturdy Druse muleteers unsheathed
their short, broad swords, fired ofT their guns, joined hands, and,
marching on before us, began to sing their familiar war-song. They
sung in chorus, some of them an octave below, some an octave
above the rest, and at times one would lead and all the others
respond with a heartiness that made the welkin ring, while their
loud, harsh voices echoed from cliff to cliff, and were lost in tht
labyrinths of the deep ravines below.

At length their warlike demonstrations, their vocal music, and
their mimic march subsided ; a dreamy silence came over us, and
thus we continued the descent, hour after hour, searching for wa-

21 8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ter, near which we might encamp for the night, but not a drop
was to be found in that apparently endless ravine. Finally, about
midnight, we reached a village on the edge of the Buka'a, called
Shemustar, where we were able to obtain water for ourselves, our
horses, and our teapot ; and there we encamped, and slept as only
weary travellers can sleep after such prolonged fatigue.

Our present position is near the border-line between the district
of el Metn and the far more celebrated one of el Kesrawan, which
lies north of this profound gorge of the Dog River. And now I
advise you to dismount and walk, as any one either merciful to his
beast or careful of his own neck will do, when about to descend
into such a wady, at least fifteen hundred feet deep.

This succession of zigzags, windings, and turnings, down broken
rock-cut steps and over smooth split -up ledges, is, indeed, inde-
scribable, but I have no longer any criterion by which to decide
what is or what is not a practicable road on these mountains.

We have, in fact, taken a wrong path, which has led to a mill
at the bottom of this fathomless wady of Biskinta. But we need
not regret the mistake, as it has given you an opportunity to see
what these horses, mules, and mountain donkeys can accomplish,
even when they are heavily loaded.

I have been watching some of them bringing grain to the mill.
One man in front steadied the sagacious beast by holding hard
against its head, while another, with the tail in both hands, acted
as a drag behind, and thus all three came sliding down together.
After lunch I should like to examine the primitive machinery of
that flour-mill driven by this noisy mountain stream.

Let us now enter the mill. The entire machinery, you perceive,
is extremely simple. The upper millstone is of light, porous lava,
about five inches thick, and four feet in diameter, driven round,
horizontally, over the lower stone, by a water-wheel turning the
same way, the shaft of which penetrates the centre of both the
millstones, and is firmly fitted into the upper one. A wedge-shaped
box is suspended above a hole near the middle of the upper stone,
and from it the wheat descends, in a dribbling stream, through the
hole upon the lower millstone. The flour is thrown out from an
aperture on the side of a narrow rim made of hard mortar around

BAKING BREAD IN THE TANNUR. 219

the lower stone, which also prevents it from being scattered hither
and thither in the process of grinding. That man collects the
flour, from time to time, with a bit of lath, and pushes it into a
sack conveniently suspended for its reception. There is no machi-
nery for bolting, but the bran is separated from the flour by a sieve
whenever there is need for a batch of bread. Of course there are
much larger mills than this, having more than one set of mill-
stones, driven with greater water-power, and producing far larger
results; but the method followed is essentially the same in all
these mountain mills, as well as in those upon the plain.

Yusuf, I see, has purchased a large quantity of that wonderfully
thin and tough bread, which so much resembles sheets of brown
paper cut round. Having watched the process of grinding flour, I
should like to be shown how bread is made from it.

He says the loaves are fresh baked, and that the oven is close
by. I hear the pat, pat, patting of the women around the tannur
of this small hamlet connected with the mill. There we will find
a merry group busy in achieving a baking.

The tannur, as you see, is merely a hole in the ground, about
three feet deep and two feet in diameter, lined with cement and
smoothly polished. It is filled wnth thorn bushes, dry grass, and
weeds when it is to be heated, or with any kind of fuel that will
make a sudden and fierce blaze ; and the heat is kept up by throw-
ing in a fresh supply, as occasion requires. Three women are neces-
sary to carry on the operation of baking to advantage. One to roll
or pat out the dough into comparatively thin loaves ; another to
manipulate each loaf, tossing it, from hand to hand, and over her
arms, so as to expand regularly when thrown upon a round cushion
made for the purpose ; and the third woman to clap the loaf on the
cushion upon the heated interior side of the tannur, and tear off
the one which is sufficiently baked. A shed is generally built over
the tannur, or it is excavated in the floor of a small room, open, in
front, by which it is made easy of access, and sufficiently protected
from the rain and the snow during the winter.

The loaves are not as thick as ordinary pasteboard, and arc
from one foot to a foot and a half in diameter. The bread is called
markuk, that is, "rolled," or made thin; and when the tannur is

220 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

quite hot two loaves can be thus baked "in a minute," and it is
no unusual thing to see a pile of one hundred and fifty of these thin
loaves by the side of the women baking at the tannur. Fresh, hot,
and crisp, this bread is excellent eating, but in two or three days
it becomes as tough and as hard as leather.

It is evident that these women at the tannur do not ahvays use
leaven, nor do they wait until the dough has had time to rise.

Not when they are in haste ; neither did most of the women
mentioned in the Bible. Instead of that, however, they mingle
with the dough a large amount of salt. And though it appears to
us an inferior bread, yet it is the very staff of life to those hale and
hearty sons of the mountains. Their morning, noon, and evening
meal is largely made on bread, and often there is very little else.
The peasant whose bins are stored with wheat sufficient for the
wants of his family during the winter feels but little concern about
other sources of supply until the coming harvest.

There is a kind of oven shaped like a hollow cone, having a hole
in the top, into which is cast the same sort of fuel as that used
in the tannur. The ashes are swept away through a small door on
one side when the smooth pebbles with which the bottom of the
oven is paved are thoroughly heated, and the bread is laid upon
them. I never saw that kind of oven used except by some pea-
sants on the plain of Acre. Of course there are other modes of
making and baking, and in the cities the public ovens can bake
bread and prepared meats in large quantities, and in any form
desired by the natives or foreigners. The making and baking of
bread is often referred to in the Bible, and the Hebrew word for
oven is the same as the Arabic " tannur," and probably signifies
substantially the same thing.

Such ovens, however, would not be convenient for a nation con-
stantly moving from place to place, as were the Hebrews in the
Wilderness of the Wanderings.

They had portable ovens, and possibly made use of the saj,
which is of iron, in shape like a large bowl, and of various sizes.
Placed over burning embers, like a cover to a dish, it is quickly
heated, and the dough spread on the upper, or convex, side is soon
baked. The saj is pre-eminently the oven of the Bedawin, though

BAKING UPON THE SAJ.— VULTURES AND EAGLES. 221

they also bake by the simplest of all methods, under hot embers,
and the bread thus made is savory, especially to the tired and the
hungry. The loaf baked upon the saj is thicker than markuk,
and laid on in strips, not more than four inches broad and eight
long. I have eaten that bread hot from the saj on the banks of
the Jordan, near its entrance into the Dead Sea, and found it quite
palatable under the circumstances.

It is time to find the way up and out of this profound Wady
Biskinta, and resume our ride to the Natural Bridge.

Passing through that solitary forest above the flour -mill, we
have disturbed a number of eagles; what has attracted them to
the cliffs in this tremendous ravine?

They are griffin vultures, and the explanation of their presence
is found in the proverb quoted by our Lord : " Wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." ' In his pro-
phetic discourse about the destruction of Jerusalem he probably
had in mind the vultures, which were commonly called eagles, just
as these flying above our heads are, by the natives of this country.
Whether this parable be interpreted figuratively to signify the
eagle-headed standards of the Roman legions, or literally the im-
plied doom of the Holy City, was terribly significant. Jerusalem
was then rapidly becoming a moral carcass, and the eagles were
already on the wing, and erelong they did gather together at its
awful destruction. Eagles are found on Lebanon and throughout
this country, and the allusions to them and to their habits in the
Bible are the results of actual observation, and exceedingly accurate.
We take no note of time as we ride along gazing upon scenery
too grand for description. For a considerable distance we have
had, on our left, a very wilderness of great, jagged pinnacles, hav-
ing a strange resemblance to fluted columns and the many-shaped
turrets of Gotiiic architecture.

The rock, which the architects of Nature have fashioned so fan-
tastically, is an intensely hard limestone, which, when struck, gives
out a clear, metallic ring quite unexpected. There is a far more
remarkable wilderness of similar rocks on the other side of the
valley of the northern branch of Nahr el Kelb.

' Matt. xxiv. 23.

222 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

One is continually meeting with surprises on these gigantic
mountains. For the last half-hour I have noticed with astonish-
ment that the entire surface over which we have been riding is
literally covered vvath casts of various kinds of shells.

No intelligent traveller can wander about over Lebanon with-
out having his attention frequently attracted to such countless
fossils. Those most abundant in this neighborhood are varieties
of cardium, venus, area, mactra, trigona, and strombus. They are,
however, mere casts, the shell having disappeared entirely from
every specimen. There are localities in Lebanon where the petri-
fied shell remains quite perfect. That is especially true in regard
to large deposits of ostrse, exogyra, ammonites, echinus, turritella,
nerinea, hippurites, and star -fish. There are, also, two or three
localities of fossil fish : one near the convent of St. George, above
the bay of Juneh; and another at a village called Hakil, on the
mountains, three hours north-east of Jebeil.

What is most astonishing is, not the existence of such fossils,
but the inconceivable quantity of them. It is no exaggeration,
but the simple fact, to say that the road and the entire face of
the country, in many places, are covered with them. Dr. Ander-
son gave special attention to the fossils of Lebanon ; and in the
appendix to the official report of the United States Expedition to
the Dead Sea will be found a very interesting description of the
fossils of Syria, illustrated by thirty-two plates, in which more than
two hundred and fifty specimens have been accurately delineated.
Many of the original specimens in those plates once belonged to
me, and I recognize in them the familiar features of old friends.

Instead of going direct to the tents, we have been riding for
nearly an hour through an almost pathless wilderness of ragged
rocks and across stony fields to visit the remains of two ancient
temples near the ruins of that old tower now called Kul'at el
Fukra, the castle of the water-shed.

One is surprised and astonished to find such remains of an-
tiquity in a bleak mountain solitude like this. Where were the
people that required such temples for their worship ?

Farther south are the shapeless remains of the nameless town,
but who its inhabitants were is not known with any certainty.

CASTS OF FOSSIL-SHELLS OX LEBANON. 223

CASTS OF FOSSIL-SHEM-S COLLECTED ON LEHANON

224 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

This massive square tower stands on the water-shed of this re-
gion, and commands a fine view southwards down Wady es Salib.
It was built of large stones, without mortar — some of them six feet
long. The entrance faced the east, and over it is a portion of a
Greek inscription, nearly illegible, but which Dr. Robinson says
contains " the name of the Emperor Tiberius Claudius." There
is a staircase, ending now at the upper story, w^iich probably led
to the top of the tower. The whole structure, with its interior
chambers, is in a ruinous condition. It may have been a sepulchral
monument, and never intended for purposes of defence.

Let us walk through these fields of Indian corn to the ruins of
the principal temple, in the midst of that labyrinth of rocks, five
minutes south of the tower.

No more appropriate site could have been chosen for a fortress,
but a temple is singularly out of place here. The entire edifice
must have presented a very picturesque appearance, with its rock-
hewn court and portico of many columns, facing eastwards towards
the Lebanon and the rising sun.

This labyrinth of limestone rocks and the temple in the midst
are graphically described by Dr. Robinson :

" The singularity is," he says, " that the strata are perpendicu-
lar, and have been worn away by time and weather, so as to pre-
sent various forms of columns, needles, blocks, and ridges, separated
by narrow clefts, chasms, passages, little chambers, and recesses ;
the whole rising up some twenty or thirty feet or more, and all
exceedingly wild and rugged. On the eastern side the rocks were
cut away for a space large enough for the temple and a portion
of its court. The walls of rock thus formed served, towards the
front, as sides of the court ; but the remaining part of the court,
farther east, was built out with walls of a yellowish-colored lime-
stone, with an entrance in front by a portico of many columns, all
of the same kind of stone. Indeed, the whole front of the court
seems to have been highly ornamented. The body of the temple
stood farther back, amongst the rocks, and on a terrace higher than
the court. It was built of the same yellowish limestone. The
stones are large, and were laid up with cement. The noble portico
on the eastern front was composed of either four or six large col-

RUINED TEMPLE NEAR KUL'AT EL FUKRA. 225

umn5 of rose-colored limestone three feet nine inches in diameter,
with Corinthian capitals. From long exposure these columns now
appear blue on the outside. The temple we judged to have been

RUINIiU TEMl'LL NEAR KULAT LL IIKKA.

not less than one hundred feet long by fifty feet broad. But so
entire is the prostration and confusion that accuracy is out of the
question."' A statement which we can fully confirm.

In the field east of the temple are the remains of a plain but
massive enclosure, constructed of large blocks of hewn stone, pro-
bably a tomb. Some of the stones are over twelve feet long and
three feet thick, but there are no inscriptions nor any architectural
ornamentation upon them. Traces of foundations are also to be
seen to the south and north, and a few rock-cut tombs.

A short distance below this temple the road from the plain near
the mouth of the Dog River passes along to the Natural Bridge,
and we shall follcjw it to our tents.

Looking down this wady and over the mountains between us

' Rob. Res. vol. iii. py>. 612, 613.

226 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and the sea, that road must be extremely rugged and wild, and
in many places remarkably picturesque.

It is only by penetrating into these mountains along such un-
frequented paths, descending into profound depths, and rising to
sublime heights, that any adequate idea of what Lebanon really is
can be obtained. Following the northern bank of the river to the
weir, the path winds through the pines, and zigzags up the pre-
cipitous side of that rocky chasm of the Dog River for half an
hour. Reaching the summit of the ridge, the ascent is gradual but
steady, along a worn and stony road, for about two hours to the
village of 'Ajeltun. In many places the view to the north and
south, and over the sea westward, is extensive and magnificent.

For miles north-east of 'Ajeltun the scenery is very peculiar and
striking. The path passes through the midst of a region of lime-
stone rock of fantastic shapes and sizes, resembling houses, castles,
fortresses, temples, columns, buttresses, and towers, round, square,
and tapering to a needle-point. Some of those natural columns
are over forty feet high, and are surmounted by large, flat slabs of
rock, looking, at a distance, like gigantic centre -tables. Issuing
from that labyrinth near the village of Kulei'at, the road descends
steeply for an hour down Wady es Salib to the banks of the north-
ern branch of the Dog River. The water in that gorge dries up
in the autumn, for the stream from the fountains of Nahr el Leben
and Nahr el 'Asal is entirely absorbed by irrigation.

The valley of Nahr es Salib, especially the bed of the stream,
is a wild chaos of enormous rocks which have been brought down
by the winter floods, or have fallen from the cliffs on either side of
the wady. Those cliffs rise in many places almost perpendicularly
for twelve and fifteen hundred feet, and the ascent, where it is pos-
sible, is not only difficult but actually dangerous. The distance
from 'Ajeltun to the Natural Bridge is about four and a half hours
to an unencumbered rider, but it took our party, on one occasion,
seven hours, owing to the difficulty of descending and ascending
the profound gorge of Nahr es Salib. An easier but much longer
road to the Natural Bridge leads from Kulei'at, through a region of
fantastic, castellated rocks, around the northern side of the gorge,
and by the village of Fureiya, in the valley below Neb'a el 'Asal.

CANAL IRRIGATION.— SOWING IN AUTUMN.— NEIi'A EL LEBEN. 227

From where does this canal, along which we have been riding,
derive its abundant supply of water, and of what special service is
it in this bleak and rocky region?

It comes from Neb'a el Leben. and is used entirely for irriga-
tion. (3n these lofty declivities of Lebanon, which we are now
traversing, the peasants sow their wheat and barley in August and
September, that the seed may take firm root before the fields get
buried under deep snow, which often begins to fall in October, and
remains till the following April. As there rarely is sufficient rain
in the autumn to soften the soil, that early sowing can only be
accomplished by flooding the ground with water from such canals.
When sufficiently saturated, a man, with the wheat in a basket,
scatters the seed over the surface, while another starts his plough,
drawn by the leanest of lean kine, and mixes up the earth, wheat,
and stones in a very miscellaneous manner.

The only result one would expect from this soil, treated in that
fashion, would be an abundant harvest of stones.

There are the tents pitched on the south side of the canal, and
commanding a magnificent view down Wady el Leben, and over the
mountains far away northwards. The Natural Bridge is not five
minutes distant from the tent door.

September 2d. Evening.

I have been down to the Natural Bridge, and have followed the
foaming, dashing stream up the wild chasm to its source. It bursts
out amongst the rocks under the cliffs of Jebel Sunnin, and is as
clear and cold as ice. Leben, I suppose, suggests to the Arab mind
the purest and most refreshing beverage with which the delicious
water of that great fountain can be compared.

Neb'a el Leben, fountain of milk, and Neb'a el 'Asal, fountain of
honey, farther north, in a figurative sense abundantly confirm the
Scripture, and emphatically illustrate the promise of the Lortl to
the Hebrews concerning this country: "I will bring you up out of
the affliction of Lgypt unto a land flowing with milk and honey"
— "a land of fountains that spring out of the hills."'

One of the most impressive views of that astonishing bridge is
obtained from beneath the gigantic span of the rocky arch, j-'roni

' Exod. iii. 17 ; Dcut. viii. 7.

228

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

JISR EL HAJR — THE NATURAL BRIDGE.

there the wild gorge of the river below the bridge, and that of the
stream from Neb'a el 'Asal on the north-east, and beyond them the
cliffs of the distant mountains of the Kesrawan, are seen at once,
as if looking through the chaotic ruins of a mountain tunnel.

I have visited this wild, mountainous, and rocky region several
times during the past forty years, and with ever-increasing inter-
est. The height of Jisr el Hajr, or the stone bridge, measuring on
the northern side, is one hundred and fifty feet above the bed of

THE NATURAL BRIDGE.— EL KESRAWAN.— FHE >L\RONITES. 229

the stream ; on the southern side it is about half that height. The
span is over a hundred and sixty feet, and the curve is so regular
and clean cut that one can scarcely believe that it is entirely natu-
ral. The thickness of the rock above the arch is thirty feet ; and
the breadth on top, where the road passes over it, from ninety to
one hundred and fifty feet. There is an excavated amphitheatre
south of the bridge, about three hundred feet in diameter, and
enclosed by a perpendicular wall of limestone rock about one hun-
dred feet high. In those cliffs, and in the sides of the chasm,
down which the stream from Neb'a el Leben rushes, flocks of wild
pigeons and hundreds of field-sparrows have built their nests, and
thither they gather in the evening in merry conclave.

The region west of our present position, extending from the
Dog River on the south, to Nahr Ibrahim, the classic Adonis, on
the north, is called el Kesrawan, the Holy Land of the Maronites.
"There the wicked [Druses] cease from troubling; and there the
weary [Maronites] be at rest." Though the Maronites are met
with in all parts of Syria, no Druses are seen in the Kesrawan, and
none are allowed to reside there. From the time of Neibuhr and
Volney, at the least, travellers have been made familiar with the
Kesrawan, its villages, churches, convents, monks, nuns, priests, bish-
ops, and patriarchs. All these proclaim aloud the piety and zeal of
the clergy, and, alas ! the ignorance and superstition of the people.

The Maronites are of Syriac origin, and the earliest notice of
them is as schismatic heretics of the Monothelitic sect, settled
along the head-waters of the Orontes, in the fifth century. They
derive their name, from John Maro, their first bishop and patron
saint, who was killed by Justinian. During the fierce persecutions
directed against them by the Emperors of Constantinople they re-
tired to the inaccessible heights of Lebanon, and there set at defi-
ance all the wiles and assaults of their enemies. When the Crusa-
ders invaded this country they united with them against the Sara-
cens, and in the twelfth century they renounced their heretical
dogma of the divine and human nature of Christ having but one
will, and became reconciled to the Roman Catholic Church.

It was during their long rehellion against the Catholic faith that
they were generally called Mardaites, from a word which signifies
Q

230 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

rebels. Though they have become bigoted Papists, Syriac is even
yet their sacred language ; and their ecclesiastics are required to
read parts of their liturgy in that language. They are eminently
religious, and singularly intolerant and superstitious. Every ham-
let has its church, and many a conspicuous mountain summit is
crowned with a convent for monks or nuns, or for both ; and it is
said that at least one-third of the land in the Kesrawan belongs
to the convents and other ecclesiastical institutions.

Their parish priests are generally selected by the people from
amongst themselves, and may be married before being ordained.
If the wife of the priest dies he cannot marry a second, and must
remain a widower for the rest of his life. Like the priests, the
bishops are all natives of the country, and they elect the patriarch,
who is confirmed by the Pope. The Maronite Patriarch is, in fact,
the Pope of Lebanon. He is the spiritual head of the sect, and
exercises great authority over its temporal affairs. His office is
one of dignity and power; and he usually resides, in ecclesiastical
state, at the celebrated convent of Kanobin, in the wild gorge of
the sacred river el Kadisha, below the Cedars.

The Maronites, the most numerous body of Christians in el
Kesrawan, amount to over one hundred thousand. The people are
tillers of the soil, cultivators of silk, and manufacturers and traders
in a small way; but generally all are very poor and extremely igno-
rant. Education is not encouraged, and liberty of conscience is
unknown. Two or three colleges, so called, testify to the value
the Pope, the Jesuits, and the Maronites place upon the education
of candidates for the Roman Church. The college at Ghuzir and
that at "AntLira are in the hands of the Lazarists and Jesuits. The
most celebrated, however, is that of the Maronites at 'Ain Warkah.
But the entire hierarchy is an omnipresent and stifling religious
incubus; and all classes and conditions of the people are devoted
to the worship of saints, and especially of the Virgin Mary.

Have the Maronites on Lebanon no feudal families of sheikhs
and emirs, like those of the Druses ?

The chiefs of the Mardaites, or rebels, have dwindled down to
but three families of sheikhs— those of Beit el Khazin, in the Kes-
rawan ; of Beit Habeish, farther north ; and of Beit ed Dahdah,

FEUDAL FAMILIES.— MONASTERY BELLS. 2^1

north of them. Their chronicles are largely made up of domestic
quarrels, intrigues, horrible assassinations, and petty wars, and they
carry up their genealogy to a fabulous date ; but the earliest notice
of those sheikhs goes back no farther than the sixteenth century.
They have now greatly declined in wealth and importance ; and,
like the emirs of Beit Shehab and el Lema, they are surely and
rapidly subsiding into the category of ordinary fellahin. Such
feudal families are a curse to any people, and the sooner they are
absorbed into the far greater family of the human race the better ;
and yet the Maronites glory in their sheikhs, their record, and
their mountain retreat of el Kesrawan.

I can readily believe that these rude and hardy mountaineers,
residing in such romantic wilds and almost isolated from the world,
have become intensely attached to their secluded valleys and ra-
vines, their towering cliffs and rugged mountains, and to the primi-
tive simplicity of their native villages and unpretentious homes.

That is certainly the case. They arc a romantic and pictu-
resque people ; and their religion also, such as it is, appears to be
omnipresent. One is never out of the sight of a priest, a nun, a
monk, or a bishop ; and if not those, then a cross, a church, or a
convent. Morning, noon, and at evening the mountains and val-
leys resound with the ringing of many-toned bells, and the effect
is most impressive and suggestive. During the solemn silence of
the night the monastery bell rings out its mighty peal on the
ambient air; and immediately, to the right and to the left, from
some lofty peak or profound ravine, others chime in with their me-
lodious responses, which echo and re-echo along the mountain-sides,
and far up the snowy summits of Lebanon ; and then the deep,
rich tones cease, and the chorus dies away, and all is still again.

>32 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

VII.
THE NATURAL BRIDGE TO THE CEDARS.

Bird's-eye View of the Kesrawan. — Picturesque Hamlets and Flourishing Villages. — Con-
vents Isolated in Winter. — Nahr es Salib. — Flooded Fields and Ploughed-up Roads. —
Cascade. — Neb'a el 'Asal. — Wady ShebrCdi. — Volcanic Action and Fields of Trap-
rock. — Energy and Industry of the People. — Products of the Soil. — Lebanon Wine. —
Zuk Miisbah. — 'Arak. — Sacramental Wine used by Papists and Greeks. — The Juice
of the Grape. — The Wine Used at the Last Supper and the Feasts of the Jews. —
" Unfermented Wine." — Wine, Ancient and Modern. — The Wine of the Bible. — The
Hebrew Debash and Arabic Dibs. — Winter on Lebanon. — Monotonous Life of the
Natives. — Mountain Houses. — Miscellaneous Company. — Animals, Smoke, and Fleas.
— Smoking and Sleeping. — The Return of Spring. — Biblical Allusions to Manners
and Customs. — Ancient and Modern Habitations. — Reminiscences of a Former Tour.
— Lost in a Fog. — Magnificent Prospect. — The Lebanon Range. — Descent to 'Afka.
— Walnut and Sycamore Trees. — Venus and Adonis. — Goats in the Clefts of the
Rock. — A Tremendous Cliff. — Scene from the Bridge. — Mugharat 'Afka. — Source
of the Adonis. — Three Cascades. — Temple of Venus. — Syenite Columns. — The Wor-
ship of Adonis. — Destruction of the Temple by Constantine. — Retrospective. — The
Damsels of Phcenicia. — "Women Weeping for Tammuz." — The Poetry of Milton,
and the Vision of Ezekiel. — "Smooth Adonis ran purple to the Sea." — Ancient and
Modern 'Afka. — Metawileh. — The Valley of Nahr Ibrahim. — Bridge. — Emir Ibrahim.
— Mar Maron. — Burj Fatrah. — Ancient Aqueduct. — Plateau. — Wady el Muneitirah. —
Wady el Mugheiyireh. — Eagles and Ravens. — Natural Bridge. — Grotto at el 'Aukurah.
— Wine-vats. — El 'Aukurah. — Trap - rock. — Burckhardt. — Native Hospitality. — The
Avenger of Blood. — Lofty Plateau. — Arab Encampment. — Transportation of Sheep
to Egypt. — Pasture-lands of the Kurds. — Funnel-shaped Pits. — Jebel Jaj. — El Mesh-
nakah. — Burr el Haithy. — " Timber of Cedar." — Wady Fedar. — M. Renan's De-
scription of the Ruins at el Meshnakah. — Rock-cut Tombs. — "Baal a la tete
Rayonee." — Figures Carved in the Rock at el Ghineh. — "The Image of Venus." —
Ard 'Akluk. — Hid Treasure. — Inscriptions on the Rocks. — Dr. De Forest. — M.
Renan. — The Emperor Adrian. — Tannurin el Foka. — Fog in Autumn. — Fossil Fish.
— Hakil. — Duma. — Iron Ore. — Wady Tanndrin. — Ard Tannurin. — Wady ed Duweir.
— Wady el Jauzeh. — Jebel en Niiriyeh. — Theoprosopon. — Nahr el Jauzeh. — Kul'at el
Museilihah. — Black-mail. — Cedar-grove. — The Emir Beshir and the British Fleet. —
Manufacture of Pitch. — Trees Cut Down will often .Sprout Again. — Ruins of a Coiu
vent. — Amyun. — El Kurah. — El Hadith. — Wady el Kadisha. — The Holy River. — Dei^

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE KESRAWAN. 2^^

Kanobin. — Maundrell's Visit to Kanohin. — As'ad esh Shidiak'. — Hasrun. — Convers-
ing Across the Chasm. — F^xceptional Cultivation. — Gorge of the Kadisha Described
by Dr. Robinson. — "The Beauty and the Grandeur of Lebanon." — Bsherreh. —
Bridge over the Holy River. — Productiveness of the Soil. — The Cedars of God. —
A Sabbath of Rest among the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Cedar pre-eminently the
Biblical Tree. — El Arz.— Biblical Allusions to the Cedar. — Cedar Wood. — The Palaces
of David and Solomon and the Temple of the Lord. — The Temples of Zerubbabel
and Herod and the Graven Images of a God. — Fragments of Cedar among the Ruins
of Nineveh. — Cedar not Mentioned in the New Testament. — Juniper. — Pine. — The
Thistle and the Cedars of Lebanon. — The Destruction of the Ancient and Modern
Cedar. — Sunday-school under the Cedars. — The Cedar-tree of the Bible. — The Lo-
cality of the Cedars Described by Dr. Robinson. — Dean .Stanley. — Canon Tristram. —
Glacial Moraines. — The present Cedar-grove. — Age of the Cedars. — The Glory of
Lebanon.— Four Cedar-trees Intertwined and Growing together. — Dean Stanley's
"'Description of Old and Young Trees supporting one another. — Graceful Form and
Shape of the Cedar. — Vain Effort to Protect the Young Cedars. — Lebanon could be
Covered with Cedars. — Cedars in the Parks and Gardens of Europe. — "Full of
Sap." — The Cedar not Used for Building Purposes.— Feast of the Cedars. — Modern
Chapel. — Decline of Religious Zeal.

September 5th.

Early this morning I again walked up to the source of Nahr
el Leben, and watched the great volume of water glide forth noise-
lessly from the base of the cliffs of majestic Sunnin towering far
above it. Though the stream was soon lost to sight amongst the
rocks below, I could hear the roar of its waters as they rushed
foaming down the many cascades towards the Natural Bridge.
From the lofty heights above the fountain I obtained a bird's-eye
view of the Kesrawan, down to the sea-shore, over the summits of
those lower ranges of Lebanon which appear so precipitous and
rugged from Beirut. That city itself and the Bay of St. George
were distinctly visible far away to the south-west.

It seems scarcely credible that a region so limited in extent,
and so broken up with bleak and barren mountains, should never-
theless be studded with picturesque hamlets and flourishing vil-
lages. They crown many a lofty ridge, and cling to rocky ledges
and sloping hill-sides that seem to be quite unapproachable. Some
of the convents, built upon isolated pinnacles, are in fact cut off
for days and even weeks from all communication with the outer
world by the snows of winter; while others, hid away in deep ra-
vines, are sometimes nearly overwhelmed by sliding avalanches.

234 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Where are we to encamp this evening ?

At 'Afka, near the fountain of Nahr Ibrahim, the source of the
river Adonis ; and it is time we were in the saddle. After crossing
the Natural Bridge, we will ride over the intervening plateau and
descend to Neb'a el 'Asal, the fountain of honey, from whence
issues the twin stream which unites with that from Neb'a el Leben,
and together form Nahr es Salib, the northern branch of the Dog
River. It is a short half hour's ride to the north-east ; and, as is
usual at this season, I see that the farmers have flooded the fields,
to prepare them for sowing their winter wheat. We must pick
our way through the spongy soil as best we can, with no little
discomfort to the horses and their riders.

They have actually ploughed up the road through the fields,
leaving not a trace of it to guide us on our way.

That is the custom in many parts of the country, and I have
often been misled and perplexed by it. But the difficulty is now
over, and we will soon reach the fountain. The stream from
Neb'a el Leben, just before it unites with the waters from Neb'a
el 'Asal, plunges over that high ledge of rocks west of us into the
ravine below in one unbroken cascade.

The scenery around this Neb'a el 'Asal is desolate and dreary,
and there is nothing so grand and picturesque in its immediate
neighborhood as at the Natural Bridge — only a volume of water
ghding forth between a chaotic mass of volcanic rocks and flowing
in various directions over newly-ploughed fields.

The quantity of water is much greater during the rainy sea-
son, but it is always clear and cold. The natives pronounce it
the best in these mountains. We will not only make a practical
test of its virtues, here at the fountain-head, but also fill our
" bottles " with it, for there is no other spring betwen this and
'Afka of equal excellence. The road from this place will lead us
northward for several miles up Wady Shebruh, a long valley hav-
ing the main Lebanon range towering upwards on the east, and
a parallel lower, ridge bounding it on the west.

The greater part of this region, around the head-waters of the
Dog River, appears to have been thrown up into its wild, rugged,
and "dislocated" condition by volcanic action. The soil of the

PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL.— THE WINE OF LEBANON. 235

fields on both sides of the road is of a very dark color, and seems
to be composed altogether of disintegrated trap-rock.

It appears in many places in amorphous masses several hun-
dred feet thick ; but the land is extremely fertile, and produces
exuberant crops of wheat and barley. Although the entire region
northward to the Cedars is exceedingly mountainous, rocky, and
rugged, and cut up by profound chasms and deep valleys, yet
every available spot where a few handfuls of earth can be scraped
together is carefully cultivated and thoroughly irrigated. The
labor required to level down the fields, to build up and repair the^
terrace walls, and to keep open the small canals for irrigation, re-
quires a degree of energy and industry amongst the people which
is amply rewarded by abundant harvests. Wheat and barle}', In-
dian-corn and all the principal cereals raised in this country are
grown in the higher regions, and cover the hill-sides and climb the
mountain heights. The mulberr}', the vine, the fig and the olive,
the walnut, the apple and the pomegranate, and many other fruit-
trees nestle in the green valleys, giving beauty and variety to
scenery itself unsurpassed by any on the Lebanon.

I have heard it stated that most of the wine of Lebanon is
produced in the Kesrawan. Is much of it made there at present ?

The quantity is quite limited, although the quality is said to
be good by judges of such matters. The best is made at Zuk
Musbah ; and the light wines obtained from some convents are
especially celebrated. A few of those " self-denying institutions "
are provided with the "still and worm" for the distillation of 'arak
from the fruit of the vine, a favorite stimulant throughout the
land, and some of the inmates arc said to be too fond of that
fiery kind of " wine-spirit " for their own good.

Do the priests or the monks use any substitute for wine in their
religious ceremonies during the observance of the Lord's Supi)cr?

There is not even a tradition in the Papal or Greek Church to
countenance such a practice ; on the contrary, both affirm that
sacramental wine must be genuine wine.

Certain modern critics maintain that "the good wine" drank at
the wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the "fruit of the vine" used
and alluded to by our Lord at the institution of the holy supper,

236 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

was the pure juice of the grape.' Has any such beverage been
known in ancient or modern times in this country ?

The juice of either ripe or unripe grapes is now occasionally
used as a refreshing beverage, similar to lemonade, especially on
the mountains or in places where lemons are unobtainable. It
is reasonable to suppose that such a beverage was both known
and used in this land from time immemorial. From the context
it is evident that " the good wine " of the miracle at Cana was of
an intoxicating nature ; and there is no proof that the " fruit of
the vine" used at the Last Supper was not real wine. It is worthy
of remark in this connection that the Jews give the same name to
the wine which they use during the observance of the Passover,
and that their invariable custom has been, and is now, to use such
wine at their feasts. Christ says of himself, "The Son of Man is
come eating and drinking ; and ye [the Pharisees] say, Behold a
gluttonous man, and a winebibber;" if Jesus drank wine on ordi-
nary occasions, he would conform to the undeviating custom of
the Jews and drink wine at the Passover.^ It is well to remember
that there is no mention either in the Old or New Testament of
"the juice of the grape" having been used as a substitute for
wine, or even as a refreshing beverage.

This matter of wine — especially " unfermented wine" — has been
frequently and earnestly discussed by those living in countries
where it does not exist as a beverage ; is there now, or has there
ever been, any substance to which such a qualifying designation
can be applied in this country ?

Wine is the fermented juice of the grape ; and, so far as its
essential elements are concerned, is substantially the same in all
countries. Its color, taste, aroma, and intoxicating properties de-
pend upon the quality of the grape and the method of its manu-
facture. The juice of the grape, in the process of wine-making,
always has, and always will, pass through fermentation into the
alcoholic state ; it then becomes wine. No other kind of wine is
known in Syria, and, so far as can be ascertained, it never had any
actual existence. There is no evidence that there has occurred any
important variation in the manufacture, the use, or the effects of
' John ii. 10 ; Matt. xxvi. 29. '■' Luke vii. 34.

THE WINE OF THE BIBLE.— WINTER ON LEBANON. 237

wine from remote antiquit)', and it is idle to build theories in regard
to the existence or the use of " the unfermented juice of the
grape" upon mere suppositions which have no basis in fact.

The common name for wine in the Bible, in Greek, Latin, and
English, is almost identical in sound, and equally comprehensive in
signification. In Arabic the specific name, " khamr," expresses its
nature, because it is fermented ; and the Hebrew word, when not
qualified by some explanatory term, has just the same meaning.
No doubt the Hebrew and Greek words, translated "wine" in some
parts of the Bible, were applied to various preparations of wine
mixed with other beverages; there was also "spiced wine," "sweet
wine," and "new wine," but the principal ingredient was wine — not
unfermented grape-juice, not syrup, not honey; and the effects
actually produced, and intended to be produced, were essentially
the same as they are in modern times.

Is the Hebrew " debash," rendered "honey," the Arabic dibs?

It is a comprehensive term, and was used for both honey of
bees and honey of grapes, and in the latter sense is equivalent to
dibs. The best dibs is now made at Bhamdun, by boiling down
the juice of ripe grapes one-half or two-thirds to the consistency of
syrup. A small quantity of clay is mixed with it to clarify it, after
which it is beaten until it becomes quite thick. It is of a golden
color, and will remain sweet for a long time. Dibs is stored in
jars or skins for winter use, and is generally eaten on or with
bread, but it is not used and never regarded as a beverage.

How do these Maronite mountaineers pass the time during the
winter, cut off as they are from the outer world by the snow ?

The difference between winter and summer, in these higher
regions of Lebanon, is almost inconceivable to any one who has
not had personal experience of it. Now the country is everywhere
alive with the inhabitants of the villages, and many of them are
almost deserted. Even the women and children are abroad in the
fields and vineyards, and their voices are both merry and musical.
But two or three months hence you will not meet a living creature
on these mountain-roads. The flocks will all have been taken from
their temporary folds on the mountain-sides, and either sent down
to the plains below or housed with their shepherds in the hamlets

238 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and villages. The very birds — the crow and the raven, the eagle
and vulture — will have flown to a milder climate.

Owing to the winter rains the roads and paths will then be
nearly obliterated, or become the channels of roaring torrents ;
mud and slush and snow will be encountered on every side ; while
chilling winds blow through the wadys, and freezing blasts rage
around the ice-clad crags ; and woe to the luckless wayfarer whom
accident or necessity compels to be abroad. The natives who
have not or cannot emigrate to the cities on the sea-shore pass
the time as best they can in the villages, taking care of the stock,
keeping up the smoky fires, and dropping in now and then upon
their neighbors to while away the dreary hours with such con-
verse as their circumstances suggest. Their low habitations are but
poorly lighted and ventilated even in summer. In winter every
crevice is closed, and what small windows there may be are plas-
tered up tight, so that neither air nor light can penetrate except
through the door into the one large room which constitutes the
whole house. Within that one room are gathered men, women,
and children, unto the second and third generation ; dogs and
donkeys, cows and sheep, goats and chickens — in short, everything
living and moving in and about the place.

To us such a life would be dismal in the extreme.

I have sometimes spent the night in the midst of such a mis-
cellaneous company, and occasionally with the addition of camels,
horses, and mules, the latter a very disturbing element. It does
well enough as an interesting experiment, but a night at a time
is quite sufificient to test one's powers of endurance. Two un-
avoidable evils are intimately associated with those winter gath-
erings around the social hearth, and both are intolerable — the
pungent smoke, which has no way of escape, and the fleas, which
have no desire to do so. In such dismal abodes there is no light
to read by, no book to read, and but little useful occupation either
for old or young. The grand resource is smoking and sleeping.
Of tobacco there seems to be an inexhaustible supply, and the
sleeper is rarely exhorted to consider the ways of the ant and be
wise. Thus these people hibernate, like bears in their dens, until
the winter storms blow over and the mild breath of returning

ANCIENT AND MODERN HOUSES.— REMINISCENCES. 239

sprin<'>" gradually melts the snow from their neighborhood. Then
thev come forth and shake themselves, and prepare to follow their
usual avocations, under a clear sky and a warm sun. It should
be borne in mind that this description specially applies to the life
of the unsophisticated mountaineers, which is essentially the same
throughout the elevated regions of Syria and Palestine.

Was it always thus in this land ?

The manners and customs of the peasants and farmers appear
to have changed but little from very ancient times. The allusions
to such matters in the Bible are few and incidental ; but we may
infer from them, and from other circumstances, that the ordinary
habitations of the villagers, even at the beginning of our era, were
no better than they are now, and the stall of the ox and the
manger were then, as now, in the house. There are no hous&s of
that period standing at the present day in any of the places fre-
quented by our Lord in Galilee and the adjacent regions ; but at
the sites of some of those "cities" mentioned by Josephus there
are foundations which indicate very inferior habitations. As they
must be those of the largest and most substantial houses, the
greater part, it would seem, were so small and ephemeral as to
leave no trace behind. "Cities" of ten thousand inhabitants, ac-
cording to his accounts, occupied sites where a modern village of
as many hundreds would scarcely find sufficient room.

I am continually being reminded by the scenery through which
we are riding to-day of other rambles over these picturesque moun-
tains. This is not the first, nor even the fourth, time that I have
passed this way. On one occasion the presence of a party of
ladies and gentlemen added greatly to the interest of the excur-
sion. We followed the valley from Neb'a el 'Asal northward to
the base of a perpendicular cliff, where the road turns abruptly to
the right and ascends the steep side of the mountain. It took
an hour's hard climbing to reach the top of the pass, where we
were promised a glorious outlook down to the sea over the region
drained by Nahr Ibrahim, the ancient river Adonis.

Long before reaching the summit we were completely enve-
loped by a dense, palpable mist, driven up the ravine by the west
wind, and nothing could be seen ten steps ahead of us. The

240 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

descent was even longer than the ascent, and in many places all
dismounted and walked, to relieve both horse and rider. Soon we
lost our way, and the whole caravan seemed about to plunge off
the narrow plateau into a fathomless abyss of cloudy vapor. It
was impossible, however, to go very far wrong, since the tremen-
dous chasm of the river on the left, and the cliffs of Lebanon
towering to the sky on the right, allowed of but little margin to
wander on either side. After rambling hither and thither, now on
the edge of the cliffs, and then through the thick bushes, bewil-
dered with numberless goat -paths, we finally got safely through
that tangled wilderness, just as the mist began to rise and reveal
the deep gorge of Nahr Ibrahim belov/.

There we stopped and lunched upon the brink of a precipice
which descends sheer down many hundred feet into the valley of
the river. Just before we reached 'Afka there suddenly burst upon
us a most magnificent prospect. The sun broke through the fog,
filling the profound gorge of the river Adonis with golden light,
and revealing the fantastic buttresses and rounded towers of the
mountain ramparts. It was difficult to believe that they were not
designed by man for the defence of the valley, but their colossal
proportions dispelled all thought of human art.

This long range of Lebanon on our right rises several thousand
feet, terrace above terrace and ledge above ledge of perpendicular
rock. Masses of rock in some places seem to have been rolled
from the summits above and swept down the mountain-side.

Many kinds of trees spring out of crevices in those gigantic
walls; and along the narrow margin of those ledges bushes and
underbrush grow and spread out into clumps, green and shady, but
absolutely impenetrable ; even goats cannot enter except in places
where the shepherd has cut a way through for them.

This has been a long and fatiguing descent, and, from the im-
posing appearance of those massive buttresses ahead of us, on the
right, towering to the sky, and which seem to bar our further pro-
gress, I conclude that we are not far from our camping-place.

'Afka is directly below us, but before we can reach it we will
have to zigzag down the mountain-side along a road rough and
rocky, and through tangled bushes and clumps of small trees for

VENUS AND ADOXIS.— GOATS OX THE CLIFFS. 24 1

some distance. After passing by the ruined temple of Venus, and
crossing the bridge over the Adonis, we will arrive at our tents,
pitched on the brink of the flowing river, and in the midst of a
forest of walnut and sycamore trees.

'Afka, September 5th. Evening.

This is the most romantic spot we have visited in our travels
through this country. With its cavern and fountains, its river and
ruins, grove, m}'th, and fable, it rivals Banias.

Here, according to ancient mythology, the beautiful Adonis,
the favorite of Venus, was killed by a wild-boar, nor would she be
consoled for his loss or allow his lifeless body to be removed until
the gods decreed that he should return to her during the spring
and summer, and that she might go to him in the winter. And
thus we have a reference, in this tragic myth, to the changes of
the seasons — the joyous spring and the generous summer, the
dreary autumn and the mournful winter.

Let us walk out to the bridge, climb into the cavern above it,
and then visit the ruined temple on the opposite side of the valley.
The stream which we have just crossed rises near the cavern, tum-
bles over the road, and falls into the ri\er below the bridge.

See that flock of goats creeping like ants along the perpendicu-
lar precipice, so high above our heads. How did they get there?
and how can they escape from their perilous position?

The cliff above the cavern is more than a thousand feet high,
but the rock strata form regular ledges, one above the other,
extending to a considerable length, and overgrown with bushes.
As for the goats, they manifest no anxiety about their exalted
position or its supposed dangers. On the contrary, they appear
to be enjoying themselves amongst the bushes up there, utterly
regardless of the glorious prospect all around and the roar of these
mighty waters hundreds of feet below them.

This stone bridge with its rounded arch may not be as ancient
as some we have crossed, but the picturesque scenery which it com-
mands is unsurpassed by any of them. Cliff and cave, streams and
water- falls — this amphitheatre of rocks around it. and the placid
basin of clear, cold water above it — all c()ml)inc to make a n.itural
picture of wonderful beauty and grandeur.

242 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

We are now about two hundred feet above the bank of the
river near where our tents are pitched.

ScrambHng up those great masses of fallen rocks and into this
cavern is a feat not easily accomplished.

When I first visited Mugharat 'Afka a wide natural arch spanned
the cavern near its mouth, and, by creeping over it, I reached an
upper ledge, along which I penetrated into the mountain for a
short distance, but discovered nothing very remarkable about it.
In winter the stream which issues out of the cavern is, probably,
the overflow of the main fountain springing up within the hidden
and deeper recesses of the mountains. The streams that now burst
forth from amongst the rocks below the cave are connected with
the principal source of the river Adonis, and thus, in summer, they
would be sufficient to draw off the water, as the quantity is then
greatly decreased. Rushing down amongst the rocks, they iill the
little basin above the bridge, and then the stream from it sweeps
on for a short distance and falls, in quick succession, over the
cliffs in three regular and beautiful cascades.

On our way to the ruins of the temple we will be obliged to
cross another stream, which comes tumbling down the ravine from
the north-west and enters the river below the falls.

Water, water everywhere, and what a deafening roar! This
temple must have commanded a magnificent prospect — up the
river, across the falls, over the bridge to the deep cavern above,
and away to the top of that sublime cliff.

The site was well chosen on this bluff at the extreme end of
the projecting ridge. The temple probably stood upon a plat-
form on the highest of a succession of terraces raised up from the
banks of the little stream that now flows out below it. The edi-
fice itself could not have been a very large or imposing structure,
to judge from its present ruins — a confused mass of well-squared
stone, with very little architectural ornamentation. Some of the
stones are large, and all are limestone, quarried from the rock in
this region. One is surprised to find under the rubbish a column
of red or Syenite granite, like the one in the village of 'Afka,
which must have been brought from Egypt to Jebeil, and then
transported up and down these mountains with incredible toil.

MUOllAKAl 'AlkA— boLK^ 1. "!■ IHi. AiJOMo.

DAMSELS OF PHCENICIA.—" WOMEN WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ.' 243

Byblus, the modern Jebeil, was the reputed birthplace of
Adonis, and devoted to his worship ; and this temple of Venus
was erected here in commemoration of his tragic fate. Here were
practised — in the month of Tammuz, or midsummer — the most
licentious rites, down to the time of Constantine. That emperor,
according to Eusebius and Sozomen, deemed such a temple un-
worthy of the light of the sun, and decreed its destruction. These
ruins bear emphatic testimony to the thoroughness with which his
orders were executed. There is something very impressive in the
fact that we are looking upon the same scenery to-day which wit-
nessed the celebration of the burial of Adonis, by the damsels of
Phcenicia, many thousand years ago. We are listening to the
solemn cadence of the same river, which murmured a requiem as
they, with dishevelled hair and weeping and wailing, followed the
funeral procession to this temple upon whose ruins we now stand !

Ezekiel says, "There sat women weeping for Tammuz" at the
gate of the Lord's house.* Was the worship of Venus and Adonis
transferred from this temple to that at Jerusalem ?

The Grecian Adonis was probably none other than the more
ancient PhcEnician deity Tammuz ; and it is supposed that the
weeping of the Jewish women was in commemoration of the cele-
brations which took place annually at Byblus and in this place
during the month of Tammuz, corresponding to our July. Milton,
marshalling the gods of Canaan before Satan, thus alludes to
Adonis and his worship :

Thammuz came next behind,
Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
In amorous ditties all a summer's day ;
While smooth Adonis from his native rock
Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood
Of Thammuz yearly wounded : the love-tale
Infected Zion's daui^hters with like heat ;
Whose wanton passions in the sacred porch
Ezekiel saw, when, by the vision led,
His eye survey'd the dark idolatries
Of alienated Judali.'

' Ezek. viii. 14. "^ Paradise Lost, Hook I., lines 44^) to 457.

244 'THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The widely -known fable which ascribes the red color of this
river to the blood of the beautiful Adonis may be thus explained :
The first rains of winter carry down a large amount of sand, which
gives to the water, and even the sea near the mouth of the river,
a reddish color. I once encamped for two days at the mouth of
the river, making excursions up the gorge as far as was practicable,
and found vast formations of red sandstone on both sides, and par-
ticularly along the north-eastern bank. On a former visit I dis-
covered what may possibly be the true origin of that mythical
transformation, here at the very place wl^ere Adonis is supposed
to have been killed. Just below our tents there is a mass of
amorphous trap-rock, friable and loose, and of a blood-red color,
quite sufificient to cause " smooth Adonis from his native rock
run purple to the sea."

'Afka, September 6th.

We will have a long, and in some parts a fatiguing, ride to-
day. This route from 'Afka to the Cedars commands magnificent
views of the distant sea, and will lead us through some of the
grandest scenery in Lebanon.

The farther one penetrates into these mountains the deeper is
the interest they inspire. From the time when the women of
Phoenicia were accustomed to visit that temple of Venus, thou-
sands of years ago, until the day when Constantine ordered its
destruction, a considerable town must have risen near this grand
and picturesque source of the Adonis.

The ancient Apheca was deserted long ago. A few stones re-
main, larger and better squared than the rest, but they are the
only traces of antiquity to be seen at this once celebrated place.
The inhabitants of modern 'Afka barely exist in a village, beauti-
fully situated in the midst of groves of walnut and other trees, on
the south side of the valley and west of the ruined temple. They,
and the people who occupy this wretched hamlet on the north side
of the river through which we have just passed, are all Metawileh,
miserably poor, notorious thieves, and about the most degraded gen-
eration we have seen in this country. Being the sole representatives
of their sect in this region, their houses were burned during the last
civil war, and they have been but partially repaired since.

VALLEY OF THE ADONIS.— LOFTY BRIDGE.— BURJ FATRAII. 245

At sunrise this morning I had a grand view of the valley of
Nahr Ibrahim and the river gorge, quite down to the sea, from a
high cliff above the cavern. I should like to explore that region,
for it appears to be well wooded and romantic.

The river valley is lined with many kinds of trees — oak, syca-
more, kharnub, bay, plane, orange, and mulberry. But notwith-
standing the brilliant foliage, the magnificent .scenery, and the
ceaseless and deafening roar of the river as it tumbles over the
rocks, cascades, and mill-dams, the valley of Nahr Ibrahim is very
sickly, especially in the summer and autumn.

The gorge is wild, and in many places inaccessible. Profound
chasms break down into it, on either side, upon whose beetling
crags and projecting ridges a convent or a village is often seen
standing out against the .sky, or clinging to the rocks far above the
foaming torrents of the river. Near its mouth Nahr Ibrahim is
crossed by a lofty bridge of a single arch, which has a span of
sixty-three feet, and an elevation of thirty-six feet above the wa-
ter. That bridge appears to be erected upon the foundations of
one more ancient, probably Roman. Arab historians inform us
that it was built by Emir Ibrahim, a nephew of ]\Iar Yohanna
Maron, who lived in the eleventh century; and from him the river
is said to take its present name. That Mar Yohanna must not be
confounded with John Maron, from whom the Maronites as a sect
derive their name.

I have ascended the mountain on the north side of the river
gorge for two hours, to examine the ruins of Burj Fatrah, not far
from el Harf, a village situated on a conical peak seventeen hun-
dred feet above the level of the sea. The remains are insignificant,
but they may mark the site of a .shrine dedicated to the worship
of Thammuz. Burj Fatrah is perched upon the edge of a preci-
pice overhanging the gorge of the river, and it made my head
dizzy to gaze down into the fearful abyss and see the eagles sail-
ing about above their nests far below my stand-point. 'I'lie pro-
found depths resounded with the ceaseless roar of the river— that
eternal anthem which the J'hccnician pilgrims must have listened
to with mysterious reverence as they toiled up those mountains
towards the temple of Venus, near the fountain of the Adonis.

246 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The only remains of any importance in the valley of Nahr Ibra-
him are the broken arches of an ancient aqueduct that conveyed
the water of the river to Jebeil. It was carried along the cliffs, on
the south side of the gorge, until, near the narrow plain between
the mountain and the sea-shore, it crossed over to the north side.
The gorge there is about three hundred and fifty feet wide from
cliff to clifT. The arches of the first tier of the aqueduct are
eleven, and of about twenty-two feet span, supported by massive
buttresses, eighteen feet thick, most of which are still standing.
The main arch, above the bed of the river, had a span of fifty feet.
Above the first tier of arches there was another, much narrower,
and proportionately higher. The canal of the aqueduct appears to
have been upon the top of them. The entire height of the aque-
duct above the bed of the river was about one hundred feet.

Only one arch is now perfect, and it is apparently Saracenic.
Indeed, most of the masonry of the buttresses is of the same order,
but the lower part of them was built of larger, bevelled stones, leav-
ing no doubt as to the antiquity of the original structure. The
cliffs on either side of the river are in many places almost perpen-
dicular, and hence most of the wall built into or on their sides to
support the aqueduct has fallen away. The wonder is how it was
possible to construct the work along such precipices. Upon reach-
ing the plain the canal was carried northward through the modern
village of en Nahra. A short distance beyond that village the line
of the canal is over one hundred feet above the level of the sea.

The road we have been following northward is nearly level
along this elevated plateau, which extends westward between the
chasms of Wady el Muneitirah and Wady el Mugheiyireh. The
streams from 'Afka and 'Akurah, the main tributaries of Nahr
Ibrahim, flow through those valleys. This plateau is walled in —
south, east, and north — by clifTs of great height and remarkable
outline, closely resembling colossal towers and gigantic castles.

I notice flocks of small birds flying about the trees and chat-
tering among the branches of the bushes, while hawks, vultures,
and eagles sail majestically along over the profound chasms, and
the omnipresent raven drops headlong from the cliffs above.

This pleasant ride of two hours has brought us to a natural

GROTTO AT 'AKURAH.— WTXE-VA IS.— EL 'AKLKAII. 247

bridge of a single rock across the ravine, over which the road
passes, and beneath which is the entrance to Mugharat el 'Akurah.

Our party of ladies and gentlemen spent a whole morning ex-
ploring the hidden recesses of that cavern, and were greatly im-
pressed by their subterranean experiences. Getting down to the
low entrance of the cave was accomplished with difficulty, but, once
inside of the grotto, we found the floor comparatively level. With
many tapers, casting faint gleams of light into the darkness, we
crept on and in for about one hundred yards; then, leaving the
main grotto, and turning to the left along a broad passage, we
followed it for perhaps two hundred yards. The floor in that part
is uneven and slippery. Numberless pools of water, some shallow,
others deep, filled to overflowing by dripping stalactites pendant
from the roof, rendered our progress slow and rather critical.

Near the extreme end of that passage, which it was supposed
we were the first to explore, is a lofty grotto, whose sides are
incrusted with translucent, crystallized spar, through which the light
from our tapers shone with a bright red color. What with singing
and shouting to wake up the slumbering echoes, breaking off speci-
mens of stalactites, and an occasional plash into the ice-cold water
of some treacherous pool, we remained much longer in the grottoes
than we supposed. When we got back to the entrance it was time
to lunch, and that we enjoyed exceedingly, sitting on the smooth
rock floor at the mouth of the cave. In former times that floor
had been levelled, and the vats, troughs, and channels necessary
for a wine-press were excavated out of the solid rock. The pro-
spect outwards, looking under the natural bridge and down the
deep gorge, was extraordinary and very picturesque.

The mighty range of Lebanon is here flanked and sustained by
numerous round towers and many -shaped buttresses, even more
gigantic than those above the cave at the fountain of the Adonis.

This village of 'Akurah is a mile or more from the grottoes, antl
has a plentiful supply of water. It abounds in groves of walnut-
trees, and is surrounded by vineyards and mulberry terraces. Being
a centre for this part of the country, it has a blacksmith and car-
penter, and a few shops, but the inhabitants are rude and fanatical.
Through a cleft in that perpendicular wall of rock extending be-

248 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

hind the village, and which is over one thousand feet high, a road
passes up the mountain from Jebeil to Ba'albek.

From 'Akurah the level road we have been travelling thus far
ceases, and we must toil up the mountain to the north-west of the
village, for two thousand feet or more, over an immense formation
of trap-rock extending westward for several miles.

Burckhardt spent a night in 'Akurah in 1810. Learning Arabic
in Aleppo, he assumed the character of a native, and, travelling
through the country, threw himself upon the hospitality of the
people. He says: "The mountaineers, when upon a journey, never
think of spending a para for their eating, drinking, or lodging. On
arriving in the evening at a village they alight at the house of some
acquaintance, if they have any, which is generally the case, and say
to the owner, ' I am your guest.' The host gives the traveller a
supper consisting of milk, bread, and burgul, cracked wheat, and,
if rich and liberal, feeds his mule or mare also. When the traveller
has no acquaintance in the village he alights at any house he
pleases, ties up his beast, and smokes his pipe till he receives a
welcome from the master of the house, who makes it a point of
honor to receive him as a friend and to give him a supper. In the
morning he departs with a simple ' Good-bye.' " '

Burckhardt generally received a kind reception, but at 'Akurah
he was shabbily treated. The inhabitants, he says, have " a bad
name amongst the people of this country," and " are accused of
avarice and inhospitality." They neither receive travellers nor give
a supper, nor sell them provisions for ready money. " The conse-
quence of which conduct is, that the Akourans, when travelling
about, are obliged to conceal their origin, in order to obtain food
on the road." Not to go supperless, Burckhardt made the sheikh
believe that he was " a Kourdine in the service of the Pasha of
Damascus," and he, becoming alarmed, sent him some bread and
cheese. Such were some of the customs in these mountains se-
venty years ago ; but the traveller of the present day finds native
hospitality greatly changed, and is more likely to be cheated by
exorbitant prices than to receive gratuitous entertainment.

I first became aware of the existence of el 'Akurah and its

' Burckhardt, p. 24.

AVENGER OF BLOOD.— LOFTY PLATEAU.— ARAB ENXAMPMENT. 249

people by the following incident : Late one evening during the
winter of 1835 I was startled by the abrupt entrance into my room
of a man completely disguised by his cloak, who threw himself
down upon the floor before me, exclaiming, " I am your suppliant."
Upon inquiry I found that he belonged to 'Akiirah, and having
killed a man in the church, which we saw in passing, he had fled
to Beirut, pursued by the avengers of blood. Some one had di-
rected him to my house, as the safest asylum, and that accounted
for his unwelcome intrusion. Through the influence of his rela-
tives and friends the affair was finally settled by the payment of
a considerable sum as blood-money.

The great elevation which we have now reached, on the highest
part of this ridge, commands a wide prospect over a wilderness of
bristling pinnacles, gigantic cliffs, and profound valleys — a vast and
varied scene, such as no pen can describe and no pencil portray.

There is not a human habitation for many miles on this lofty,
cold, and desolate plateau ; but at this season of the year num-
berless goat-paths traverse it in every direction. They seem all
equally well marked, and the traveller, if not provided with a local
guide, will inevitably get bewildered and lost. He might, much to
his surprise, stumble against a camel, and make the startling dis-
covery that he has strayed into an Arab encampment.

The top of Lebanon is certainly the last place where one would
expect to find those roving sons of the desert.

There is a tribe of sedentary or resident Arabs who pass the
winter on the sea-coast, and pasture their insignificant flocks and
herds on these heights in the spring and summer. In October
they strike their tents, and with their cattle and flocks descend to
the milder regions below. Before the transportation of sheep by
steamers from this country to Egypt became general the high and
level districts on Lebanon were the pasture-lands of the Kurds.
They came from the north of Syria in the spring with thousands
of sheep, which they sold as they proceeded through the country
— in the summer to the villagers on the mountains, ami in winter
to the residents of the cities on the plains.

There are no fountains on those highest levels of Lebanon, but
in the spring the melting of the snow affords drink for men and

250 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

cattle. Snow-water is often found during the summer in funnel-
shaped holes or pits formed in the ground by the snow. There are
hundreds of them on these lofty ranges ; but, from my experience,
I can caution those who desire to explore the summits of Lebanon
not to expect to find an abundance of water in them. I could not
get a drop from any of them in June.

This entire region down to the sea belonged, I suppose, in
ancient times to Byblus, the modern Jebeil, and this part of it
presents a most extraordinary appearance.

That long range of limestone rocks, west of our route, piled
up in utter confusion, is called Jebel Jaj. It is composed entirely
of huge isolated bowlders, amongst which are many oak-trees, old,
gnarled, and scraggy, whose lower branches have been hacked and
hewn off by charcoal-burners and shepherds. Long ago I spent a
night on the east side of that rocky mountain. The object of that
excursion was to visit some ruins at a place called el Meshnakah.
After ascending the mountain east of Jebeil for three hours we
came to Burr el Haithy, evidently an ancient site. Up to that
place we had been accompanied by some workmen sent to con-
struct a road by which the beams, cut down from a neighboring
forest of pine-trees, could be transported on camels to the sea-shore
at the mouth of Nahr Ibrahim, It was in that way, perhaps, that
the "timber of cedar" for Solomon's temple was brought "down
from Lebanon unto the sea" by the "servants" of Hiram.'

Burr el Haithy is not far from el Meshnakah, or the place of
hanging, as its Arabic name implies; but our guide took a wrong
path, and soon involved us in one of the worst w'ar — a rocky place,
abounding in tangled thorny thickets — that I ever encountered.
It was only by dismounting, and forcing our frightened animals
over breakneck rocks half concealed by the thick thorn-bushes,
that we got through the w'ar — not to el Meshnakah, however, but
to the bottom of the tremendous Wady Fedar. We then followed
up the w^ady to a ruin in the vicinity, and finally encamped for the
night at the foot of Jebel Jaj. The next morning we returned to
Jebeil, greatly disappointed at not having accomplished our pur-
pose of visiting the ruins at el Meshnanak.

' I Kings V. 8, 9.

M. KENAN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE RUINS AT EL MESHNAKAH. 25 I

M. Renan was more fortunate, and in his splendid work, " Mission
de Phenice," he gives a detailed description of the place and the
ruins. He speaks in glowing terms of the wild and romantic sce-
nery, and is convinced that the remains are those of a temple dedi-
cated to the worship of Tammuz, V^enus, and Adonis. The enclo-
sure of the temple was rectangular, three hundred and twenty-five
feet long by one hundred and sixty-six feet wide. The entrance
was from the east. The walls — never very solid — are now mostly
prostrate. Corinthian capitals and entablatures are found scattered
amongst the debris, but their style and execution are rude and
imperfect. Short columns are also found in a depression near the
eastern end of the main court of the temple.

There are tombs with several loculi hewn in the rock — of a kind
common all over Lebanon — having heavy stone covers. About five
hundred feet north of the court a passage was cut through the
rock, and on each side of the entrance to it is a large figure in a
niche having Ionic pilasters and a cornice. On the sides of those
figures are smaller ones, in the same general style, but all are so
defaced that M. Renan is uncertain about their origin. As in
nearly every other collection of such tombs in Syria, there are no
inscriptions upon those at el Meshnakah, which may imply that
neither Greeks nor Romans had any connection with them.

Ten minutes' walk to the east of the entrance to the temple
court are the remains of a small sanctuary, and there was found,
on a block, a figure which M. Renan says represents Baal, " i\ la
tete rayonee." If really meant for Baal, that figure is a very inter-
esting one. M. Renan found cut on the rocks at el Ghimeh, south
of el Meshnakah, between Nahr Ibrahim and Mu'amaltcin, a group
representing a man in a short tunic, carrying a lance, with which he
is about to strike a bear standing up to attack him. Near that
group is the figure of a woman seated, apparently mourning.
These very naturally suggest the pathetic myth of Venus and
Adonis, only the bear ought to be a boar. Another group, not
far distant, consists of a man with two hunting-dogs.

M. Renan's quotation from Macrobius is very pertinent when
taken in connection with those groups: "The image of Venus is
found in Mount Lebanon having the head veiled, in a sorrowful

252 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

attitude, holding her face in her left hand enveloped in her robes.
Tears are believed to flow from the eyes of those beholding her.'"
As Macrobius was a non-Christian writer, about the beginning of
the fifth century, he may not only have seen the image of Venus,
but also "assisted" personally at her worship.

Ard 'Akluk, as this plateau is called which we have been tra-
versing, extends from the top of the ascent above el 'Akurah north-
ward for about two hours to the region around Tannurin el Foka.
Owing to its lofty position, near the summit of the Lebanon range,
the melthig snow by day feeds the little rills that cross its surface ;
and the heavy dew at night refreshes the green grass, giving to this
little plain the appearance of a pasture land well supplied with
springs of water, and surrounded by high mountains, jagged cliffs,
rocky precipices, and profound gorges. Most of Ard 'Akluk be-
longs to the village of Tannurin et Tahta, or lower Tannurin, which
is out of sight in a deep valley to the north-west of us.

Many years ago I spent several hours rambling over the wide,
rock-strewn wilderness east of the range of Jebel Jaj, in order to
examine some inscriptions upon the rocks. A number of peasants
at work in the fields volunteered to conduct me to them. In the
language of the natives a large isolated rock upon which letters
are inscribed is called a burj, which means a tower. I soon dis-
covered that the eagerness of those peasants to show me the
mysterious " writing on the rocks," was occasioned by the belief
that the inscriptions indicated the place where "hid treasure" was
to be found. They kept watch over my movements, and were
suspicious that my object in copying the letters was to obtain the
key, dalul, or indicator, and that, having found the place, I would
come again, secretly, and rob the buried treasure.

I examined some of those rocks and copied a few of the in-
scriptions, but there were rarely more than two or three words,
generally only as many letters. Nearly all that I saw were on large
isolated rocks, but some are cut upon the sides of cliffs, and are
somewhat longer. I could make nothing of them, except that the
name of the Emperor Adrian was found in most of them. Dr.
H. A. De Forest afterwards copied a number of those singular
" writings on the rocks." M. Renan devotes no less than twenty-

EMPEROR ADRIAN.— TANNURIN EL FOKA.— FOG IX AUTUMN. 253

one folio pages of his work, " Mission de Ph^nice," to those inscrip-
tions. He copied eighty, found in more than sixty places, and
heard of others. His surmise may be the true one, as to the origin
of those cuttings, that they were inscribed on the rocks, by order
of the Emperor Adrian, to mark out the parts of the forest in
that region which belonged to the Roman Government from those
which were owned by private individuals.

M. Renan is not quite correct, however, in supposing that, with
the exception of Dr. De Forest, he was the first traveller who had
seen and copied those inscriptions. Others had done the same
many years before ; but to him belongs the credit of having care-
fully examined and illustrated them. None but those who have
attempted to penetrate that rocky wilderness in Wady Tannurin
and scale those perpendicular clifTs or cross those yawning chasms,
can adequately appreciate the fatigue or even the danger attend-
ing such an achievement ; and, after all, the results are very
meagre and unsatisfactory to the explorer.

This small hamlet which we are passing through belongs to
Tannurin, and called after it Tannurin el Foka, or the upper. The
place is only inhabited during the summer by some peasants from
the village below, who plant Indian-corn and various kinds of vege-
tables in every available spot. About the middle of September
they gather in their crops, and send everything down to the village
before the first snows of winter render this region inaccessible.
During many tours through this part of Lebanon I have had oc-
casion to encamp two or three times at Tannurin el Foka. Once,
soon after our tents were pitched, a dense fog enveloped us, and
night came on, cold and bleak, and " sablcd all in black."

That was something novel in my experience on these moun-
tains so early in the autumn; but the outer darkness only made
the well-lighted tents more cheerful and the party more social.
The peasants — men, women, and children — brought us chickens,
eggs, green corn, leben, and plenty of fire -wood. They told us
that after two or three weeks the entire region would be wholly
forsaken, nor would a traveller pass over the road we had followed
from 'Akurah until March or April of the next year.

Midway between our present route and the sea-shore is some

254 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

of the grandest scenery in Lebanon. Gigantic cliffs break down in
all directions, most of them nearly perpendicular, and all dipping
westward at various angles. They open up distant views over
valley, hill, and narrow plain to the sandy shore and out upon the
boundless Mediterranean beyond. Soon after coming to this coun-
try I visited a locality of fossil fish at Hakil, a village far down
below us on the left. The fossils were found at the bottom of a
deep wady, and at that time, when the locality was unknown, one
could gather excellent specimens by the mule-load.

The fish were small but well preserved, and the rock in which
they were embedded could be split into thin laminae, and, no matter
how thin, each face was coated with fossil fish. Their number
w^hen thus packed in the soil must have been very great. The
largest specimen I obtained appeared to have a small fish in its
mouth, as though caught in the act of swallowing its victim.
Besides fish, many of the specimens had between the laminae per-
fectly preserved leaves and other vegetable matter. When that
locality became better known it was visited by many travellers, and
the people of the village, finding they could sell the fossils, gath-
ered them up so thoroughly that on my last visit to the place
no good specimens could be obtained.

From Hakil the road led over rough ridges and through deep
valleys for about three hours to the large village of Duma, where
I spent two nights and part of three days in the hospitable family
of the Greek priest. On the summit of a lofty ridge south of the
village some natives were engaged in digging out and smelting
iron ore. I was told by them that the work would soon be aban-
doned, owing to the stifling heat and want of ventilation at the
bottom of the deep shaft from where the ore was procured.

Wady Tannurin seems to drain the western slopes of Lebanon ;
where does the little river running through it enter the sea?

This region is called Ard Tannurin, but the wady takes differ-
ent names. Below the village of Tannurin it joins Wady ed
Duweir, which near the sea bears the name of Wady el Jauzeh.
On the north of it are the stupendous cliffs of Jebel en Nuriyeh.
That ridge extends far out into the sea and terminates in a pre-
cipitous promontory several hundred feet high. It is called Ras

RAS ESH SIIUKAH.— NAHR EL JAUZEII.

-3 3

esh Shukah, the famous Theoprosopon, or Face of God, of the
ancients, and is the most conspicuous cape on the eastern shore of
the Mediterranean. As there is no room for a road around the
base of that lofty promontory-, the highway to Tripoh and the
north passes up Wady el Jauzeh for some distance, and then

kOl'aT el MUSEIUHAII.

crosses over the cape and down to the plain on the other side.
Nahr el Jauzeh rises in Ard Tannuriii, and the stream below us
in Wady Tannurin is one of the main branches of that river. Kl
Jauzeh enters the sea a short distance south of Ras esh Shukah.
and between that point and el Batrun, the ancient ]^.tr\-s.

To the north-east of el Batrun, in Wady el Jauzeh. and where

256 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

that valley is exceedingly narrow and completely shut in by tower-
ing cliffs, are the ruins of a Saracenic castle, now called Kul'at el
Museilihah, which was built upon a high and isolated rock, nearly
perpendicular on all sides. It commanded the bridge over the
stream and the highway, and travellers and caravans were obliged
to pay whatever black-mail was levied upon them by lawless native
sheikhs who frequently occupied it in former times. The castle
has long been in a dilapidated condition, and trees and bushes
have grown up among the ruins. I found nothing more formida-
ble about it than a shepherd lad peacefully watching over his
flock of black and white goats as they scaled its rocky heights to
reach the bushes growing upon the edge of its overhanging cliffs.

From this Wady Tannurin the road leads up a long and steep
ascent, only to descend again by a difficult and muddy path into a
deep ravine. Passing westward along the farthest side of it, we
will come to an extensive grove of cedar-trees. There are many
hundreds of them, but all are comparatively young and small.
They spread over the rocky ridges between the villages of Tannu-
rin, Niha, and el Hadith, about four miles farther north.

This old man from Tannurin, who accompanies us as guide,
repeats essentially the same story about those cedars that I had
heard many years ago. The young trees, he says, have sprung up
from the roots of older cedars, cut down by order of the Emir
Beshir Shehab to furnish tar and pitch for the British fleet, which
was then in this part of the Mediterranean, watching the proceed-
ings of Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and Syria.

It is quite unexpected to hear from such an authority here on
Lebanon of Napoleon and the English fleet, and of events that
occurred in the beginning of this century.

The old man says, also, that other forests have disappeared in
a similar manner — for the manufacture of pitch — and that the work
of denudation is still going on in these mountains. Whether or
not his stories are strictly true, one of them is sufficient to account
for the general disappearance of cedar forests on Lebanon.

A few old stumps are still seen amongst these young cedars,
yet not enough to prove that this forest sprang from them.

The natives continually cut away the old stumps, to obtain

EL HADITII.— RUINS OF A CONVENT.— EL KURAIL 257

resinous chips, which make kinclHng-wood for their fires, and often
serve the purpose of an oil-lamp. The account of our guide in
regard to the origin of this cedar-grove reminds us of the well-
known fact, referred to in the fourteenth chapter of Job, that
trees cut down to the roots will often sprout again.

We have come to tlie end of this cedar-grove, and must now
follow our guide northward to el Hadith. Returning from my
first visit to the well-known Cedars above Bsherreh, in No\-ember,
1834, we were overtaken at el Hadith by a cold and drenching
rain ; and fearing that it might be the prccursoi^ of a snow-storm,
which would effectually block up the mountain -passes, we deter-
mined to descend to the plain. The road was extremely rough,
and the rain made the rocks so slippery that my horse fell several
times, and once I was thrown off amongst the stones. Two hours
from el Hadith we saw the ruins of a convent, built upon an
arch thrown midway across a chasm in a high cliff, two or three
hundred feet below its summit, and as many above the torrent at
its base. The last occupants, it was said, were robbers, who had
been captured and put to death by the Turkish authorities.

After reaching the plain a ride of two hours brought us to
Amyun, Avhere w-e spent the night. It is the largest village in the
Kurah, a district which extends westward to the sea, and north-
ward to the city of Tripoli. El Kurah is an irregular plain, some-
what elevated above the sea, having a substratum of cretaceous
rock, hard on the surface, and softer beneath. The soil is admi-
rably adapted to the growth of the olive-tree, and the numerous
villages situated upon the plain are surrounded by olive-groves,
which impart an appearance of life and beauty to what would
otherwise be a bare and barren expanse. The river Kadisha mean-
ders through the Kurah in a deep and narrow vale, overhung by
perpendicular cliffs, which only decrease in height as it leaves the
mountains and approaches the sea.

From el Hadith our course changes from north to east, having
the stupendous gorge of Wady el Kadisha far below us on the
left. This valley is so deej), and the cliffs on cither side so pre-
cipitous, that the river at the bottom of it cannot be seen from
many points along the road.

258 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

I notice several convents upon projecting rocks, and quite a
number of churches and villages clinging to the steep and pictu-
resque terraces on the north side of the wady.

This is a sacred region to the Maronites ; and the Kadisha is
the holy river, because it rises near the "Cedars of God." Amongst
the convents is Deir Kanobin, which has a history fifteen hundred
years long, and not always very peaceful or Christian. It derives
its name from the Greek word for convent, but it has been the
seat for many generations of the Maronite patriarch, and the princi-
pal summer residence of the present incumbent of that high office.
The convent has not essentially changed since the close of the
seventeenth century, when Maundrell visited it, and the scenery
not at all. His description of it and its surroundings is graphic
and exceedingly interesting :

" Its situation is admirably adapted for retirement and devo-
tion, for there is a very deep rupture in the side of Lebanon, run-
ning at least seven hours' travel directly up the mountain. It is
on both sides exceeding steep and high, clothed with fragrant
greens from top to bottom, and everywhere refreshed with foun-
tains, falling down from the rocks in pleasant cascades, the inge-
nious work of nature. These streams, all uniting at the bottom,
make a full and rapid torrent, whose agreeable murmuring is heard
all over the place, and adds no small pleasure to it.

" Kanobin is seated on the north side of this chasm, on the
steep of the mountain, at about midway between the top and the
bottom. It stands at the mouth of a great cave, having a few
small rooms fronting outwards that enjoy the light of the sun; the
rest are all under ground. Kanobin had for its founder [in the
fourth century] the Emperor Theodosius the Great ; and though
it has been several times rebuilt, yet the patriarch assured me the
church was of the primitive foundation. It stands in the grotto,
but fronting outwards receives a little light from that side. The
valley of Kanobin was anciently, as it well deserves, very much
resorted to for religious retirement. You see here still hermi-
tages, cells, monasteries, almost without number. There is not
any little part of rock that jets out upon the side of the moun-
tain but you generally see some little structure upon it for the

EL HASRCx. -EXCEPTIONAL CULTIVATION. -EL KADISHA. 259

reception of monks and hermits, thoui^h few or none of them are
now inhabited." ' A statement essentially true at present.

The "convent," or Deir Kanobin, was the prison, and near it
is the tomb of As'ad esh Shidiak, a learned native, and the first
Protestant martyr on Mount Lebanon.

It has taken us a little over an hour from el Hadith to reach
this beautiful and well-wooded village.

It is called Hasrun, and is situated on the edge of the precipice
overhanging the deep wady of the same name. On the opposite
side of the valley is Hadshit ; and though the villagers can call to
each other across the profound chasm, it takes two hours to pass
from one place to the other. An hour farther on we will cross
the Kadisha, and half an hour from there we will enter the lower
part of Bsherreh, although its actual distance from Hasrun as the
crow flies is not two miles.

This region is justly celebrated for its exceptional cultivation:
every available spot where a handful of earth can be made to pro-
duce a blade of wheat or a single vegetable is terraced up and
thoroughly irrigated. Besides wheat, barley, Indian-corn, and the
cereals and vegetables of this country, the potato is successfully
cultivated in the fields along the steep mountain-sides. Patches
of tobacco, mulberry gardens, and extensive vineyards climb the
mountain heights, surround the villages, and descend into the deep
wadys far below, while here and there and everywhere, in little val-
leys and sheltered nooks, silver-leafed poplars, walnuts, figs, apples,
pears, plums, peaches, quinces, and other fruit -bearing trees arc
seen in all their leafy perfection.

As the road winds along the brink of this gorge of the Kadisha,
with its perpendicular sides over a thousand feet high, we can look
down from time to time into its profound depths.

"The gorge," says Dr. Robinson, "is for the most part deeper
and wilder than any other in Lebanon. Its great depth, its sides
— rocky, precipitous, and dark — closely approaching each other be-
low, and then in some parts gradually sloping off and opening out
above; the rich cultivation and exuberant fertility of every si)ot
where earth can be made to lie; the gardens of fruit -trees, the

' Early Travels, pp. 502, 503.

26o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

mulberry plantations, and the fields of grain and vegetables cloth-
ing and adorning its sides, and mingling everywhere with bold,
romantic rocks and precipices ; the villages, sometimes peeping
from among the trees, and sometimes perched picturesquely on
the rocks ; the convents, thrust into curious remote nooks and in-
accessible places, sometimes deep in the valley, and sometimes on
the summits of the surrounding mountains — all these presented a
scene singularly wild, picturesque, and beautiful.'"

As we descend into the valley, in order to ford the Kadisha,
purling rills and shooting streams everywhere cross our path and
disappear in the depths below, and the scenery in all directions is
grand and sublime — the deep gorge and basin ; the streams from
the sources of the Kadisha tumbling and foaming along their chan-
nels to form the holy river; the convents, the verdure, and the
villages ; the great wady which, from the bottom to the summit of
the mountain, appears only as one unbroken slope; and the magni-
ficent snow-capped range of the Lebanon above the cedars, which
forms the amphitheatre in which all are contained — these here
combine the beauty and the grandeur of Lebanon.''

Bsherreh, on the northern side of the gorge, is a large village,
and the houses, rising tier above tier up the mountain-side, give
it quite a striking and imposing appearance.

It is surrounded and half concealed by groves of silver-leafed
poplar and walnut trees, oak woods, fig orchards, mulberry terraces,
vegetable gardens, vines and vineyards ; but a near acquaintance
reveals the same neglect and squalor which characterize every vil-
lage on Lebanon. The streets are mere lanes — crooked, narrow,
and filthy — winding at random up and down amongst the houses.
There are a few shops where the mountaineers procure their sup-
plies of groceries, clothing materials, and other necessaries. We
must there replenish our exhausted commissariat, have our horses
re-shod, and allow the men time to purchase barley for the animals
and supplies for themselves during our stay at the Cedars, and for
two days' journey beyond, until we reach Ba'albek.

The holy river is here divided into several streams, and fording
them is not so formidable as I had expected.

' Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 597. ^ Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 597.

A PRIMITIVE BRIDGE.— BSHERREH.—" THE CEDARS OF GOD." 261

Earlier in the season I have crossed el Kadisha — with horses
and loaded mules — on one of the most primitive of bridges, even in
this rural region, constructed by laying trunks of trees across the
stream, and placing slabs of stone upon them, covering the whole
with thorn-bushes, grass, and earth.

Bsherreh is abundantly supplied with water; and the gardens
in its immediate neighborhood, although apparently just clinging
to the cliffs below, and climbing the mountain above the village,
are very productive. The arable lands are extensive, and yield
good crops of wheat, barley, Indian-corn, tobacco, and potatoes.
While our men are making their purchases we will pass on and
up towards our camping- ground. It will take an hour's steady
climbing, over a road steep, rough, and slippery, to reach our desti-
nation ; but the extensive views obtained as we ascend are cer-
tainly amongst the most impressive in this part of Lebanon.

The dark clouds overhead have passed away, and the setting
sun fills the gorge of the holy river far below us with its mellow
light. Those trees standing like sentinels watching our approach
are the advance-guard of the grove under whose solemn and sug-
gestive shadow we propose to pass a quiet Sabbath amongst the
far-famed " Cedars of God."

Sunday, September 7th.
I could spend a week here, merely to breathe the cool, fresh
air, fragrant with aromatic odors from "the trees of the Lord [that]
are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
where the birds make their nests;" and to enjoy the universal
quiet and the solemn grandeur of these venerable patriarchs of the
grove, which is so very impressive.' Tree and branch and twig
and leaf are still and motionless, keeping a Sabbath of reverent
re: t, and there is nothing to disturb the peacefulness of the place.
Even the ravens and crows and the tiny finches seem to glide in
and out of the uppermost boughs with unwonted sobriety.

The cedar was pre-eminently the l^ible tree, greatly admired

and esteemed by the Jews, and its Hebrew name is still preserved

' in the modern Arabic one, cl arz. " To the sacred writers the

cedar was the noblest of trees — the monarch of the vegetable

' I'sa. civ. 16, 17.

262 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

kingdom. ' Solomon spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in
Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall."
To the prophets it was the favorite emblem for greatness, splen-
dor, and majesty; hence kings and nobles, the pillars of society,
are everywhere cedars of Lebanon.'" And to the Psalmist it was
the type of increasing prosperity for the righteous : " he shall grow
like a cedar in Lebanon.'" The cedar was celebrated in Bible
times for its great height. According to Amos the Lord says,
" Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like
the height of the cedars.'" Isaiah tells us that "the day of the
Lord of hosts shall be upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are
high and lifted up.'" ''Sennacherib, king of Assyria," in his pride
and arrogance, " reproached the Lord and said. With the multitude
of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to
the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedars thereof.'"
And so Ezekiel represents the Lord as saying, " I will also take
of the highest branch of the high cedar;" and the same idea is
implied in other passages of the Bible.'

The cedar had special claims to be regarded with reverence by
the Jews, and, owing to its fragrance, its yielding readily to the
skilful hand of the artificer, and its durability, cedar-wood appears
to have been considered by them as amongst the choicest of woods.
It was always present in the palaces of their kings, and may be
said to have "assisted" in the worship of God in the Jewish
temples. "The king [David] said unto Nathan the prophet, See
now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth
within curtains.'" "Solomon built also the house of the forest of
Lebanon, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon
the pillars, and it was covered with cedar above upon the beams.'"
" Solomon covered the house [the temple of God] with beams and
boards of cedar; and the cedar of the house within was carved
with knobs and open flowers: all was cedar: the altar was cedar
overlaid with pure gold.'"" In the time of Zerubbabel the men of

' I Kings iv. 33. " Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 591. ^ Psa. xcii. 12.

* Amos ii. 9. ^ Isa. ii. 12, 13. « 2 Kings xix. 20-23.

"> Ezek. xvii. 22. * 2 Sam. vii. 2. ' i Kings vii. 2, 3.

'» I Kings vi. 9, 10, 15-18, 20.

IMAGE OF A GOD.— CEDAR-WOOD IN NINEVEH. 263

Sidon and Tyre brought " cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea
of Joppa," as was done in the days of Solomon, to be used in
building the second temple " according to the grant that they
had of Cyrus;"' and Josephus tells us that "the roofs" of Herod's
temple "were adorned with cedar curiously graven."'

Isaiah leads us to infer that cedar-wood was used in the manu-
facture of graven images by cunning workmen ; that the worshipper
of idols " chooseth a tree that will not rot ; he heweth him down
cedars; he burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he
eateth flesh ; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth
himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire; and the
residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image."" That
the cedar "will not rot" appears to be confirmed by specimens
taken from the most ancient ruins which man has explored.
" Fragments of cedar-wood, about three thousand years old, were
found in the ruins of Nineveh by Mr. Layard, and are now in the
British Museum. They were first supposed to be yew ; but a care-
ful microscopic examination made by Mr. Carruthers, with the
odor they emitted when burnt, proved it to be cedar-wood."'

There is no mention of the cedar-tree in the New Testament.

Simply, I suppose, because our Lord and his disciples had no
occasion to allude to it. Nor is it necessary to insist that, in the
fifty or more notices found in the Old Testament, reference is
always made to the cedar of Lebanon. Evidently it did not grow
in the desert, and the cedar -wood mentioned in Leviticus and
Numbers was probably a species of juniper.^ So also the state-
ments in Ezekiel, that masts of cedar were made for the ships of
Tyre, may have had reference to exceptional cases, as the ordinary
pine of the country was better adapted for such purposes."

The parable of the trees inviting the bramble to rule over them,
and the indignant reply, " Let fire come out of the bramble and
devour the cedars of Lebanon" — the allegory of the thistle pro-
posing the marriage of its son to the daughter of the cedar—" and
there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trode down

' Ezra iii. 7. ' Wars v. 5, 2. ^ Isa. xl. 20; xliv. 14. 16. 17.

•• Hist, of Hil). riants, j). 123. * Ecv. xiv. 4, 6, 7 ; Niimh. xix. (t.

' Ezek. xxvii. 5.

264 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the thistle" — both, I suppose, are as well adapted to rebuke the
proud and pretentious now as they were then.'

Alas ! flames far more destructive than any " out of the bram-
ble " have devoured " the goodly cedars." " Open thy doors, O
Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars."^ And not only
has the charcoal-burner consumed " the glory of Lebanon " in his
smouldering pits, but forked lightning sometimes rends asunder
the strongest and shatters the tallest trees amongst them. "The
voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ; yea, the Lord breaketh the
cedars of Lebanon."^ Isaiah tells us that they rejoiced at the fall
of Babylon, "saying, Since thou art laid down no feller is come
up against us;" yet more barbarous fellers than the hosts of
Babylon have raised their Vandal axes against " the cedars of
God," not to build and adorn the palaces of kings and the tem-
ples of the Lord, but to burn and destroy, and to manufacture into
tar and pitch for the navy of a Christian nation.^

On some of my former visits to this grove I have found the
nights extremely cold, even in the middle of September. Several
years ago, in company with a party of ladies and gentlemen — Eng-
lish, Scotch, French, and American — we came here to spend the
day of rest. Saturday had been cold, misty, and gloomy, and this
grove was enveloped in a dense fog. Sunday morning, however,
dawned upon us clear and bright, and the day was one of unal-
loyed enjoyment, not soon to be forgotten. In the presence of
such impressive scenes and scenery conversation seemed almost an
impertinence, and the morning was spent in wandering through the
grove in silent meditation. Our party dined beneath the verdant
canopy of these venerable trees, and, as was natural, the topics of
conversation were mostly suggested by our immediate surround-
ings. As the cedar was pre-eminently a Biblical tree, it was pro-
posed that we form ourselves into a Sunday-school class, the lesson
being the Cedars of Lebanon ; and we proceeded to search out and
read over the passages in the Bible in which they were mentioned,
and to compare the ancient with the modern tree.

Li order to correspond to the Biblical descriptions, the cedar-

' Judges ix. 15; 2 Chion. xxv. 18. ' Zech. xi. i.

2 Psa. xxix. 5. ^ Isa. xiv. 8.

THE CEDARS OF LEBANON.— OLD GLACL\L MORAINES. 265

tree should be tall, goodly, choice, excellent; flourishing and abun-
dant, with spreading branches and umbrageous foliage, and of great
strength and durability. " The Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon
with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high
stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. His height
was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were
multiplied, and his branches became long. Not any tree in the
garden of God was like unto him in his beauty; so that all the
trees of Eden envaed him."'

" The cedars [of this grove] are not less remarkable," says Dr.
Robinson, " for their position than for their age and size. The
lofty ridge of the mountain trends slightly towards the east; and
then, after resuming its former direction, throws off a spur of equal
altitude towards the west, which sinks down gradually into the
ridge terminating at Ehden. This ridge sweeps round so as to
become nearly parallel with the main ridge, thus forming an im-
mense recess or amphitheatre, approaching the horseshoe form :
surrounded by the loftiest ridges of Lebanon [over six thousand
feet high and], which rise still [three or four thousand feet] above
it, and are partly covered with snows. In the midst of this amphi-
theatre [on a group of half a dozen small knolls] stand the cedars,
utterly alone, with not a tree besides, nor hardly a green thing in
sight — ['at the apex of the vegetable world"]. The amphitheatre
fronts towards the west ; and, as seen from the cedars, the snow
extends round from south to north. High up in the recess the
deep, precipitous chasm of the Kadisha has its beginning, the
wildest and grandest of all the gorges of Lebanon."^

Canon Tristram aptly remarks that the general appearance of
this grove is of a thick clump, as though it was the r(imnant of
some ancient forest." The little rocky knolls upon which it stands,
and which Dr. Hooker believes to be "old moraines deposited by
glaciers," cover but a few acres of the arena enclosed within this
vast amphitheatre, and the trees themselves do not exceed four
hundred, of all sizes and ages. There is a regular gradation from
small and comparatively young trees to the largest and oldest patri-

' Kzck. xxxi. 3, 5, 8, 9. '■' Dc.nn Stanley.

^ Rob. Res., vol. iii. pp. 590, 591. * Land of Israel, p. 629.

266 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

archs of the forest. The large trees are about twelve in number,
and have several trunks, dividing into three or more great branches
a few feet from the ground. Of those trees some are over forty
feet in circumference, others thirty and twenty feet in girth. They
are from fifty to eighty feet in height, "with fair branches," and
their " shadowing shroud " spreads widely around.

Nothing very satisfactory has yet been ascertained in regard to
the age of these cedars, nor are they more ready to reveal it than
those who have an uneasy consciousness of "length of days." Very
different estimates have been made by botanists and others, var>'-
ing from eight hundred to two thousand and even three thousand
years ; but the method of ascertaining their approximate age by
counting the growths, or concentric circles, in a section of the
trunk does not appear to be very reliable.

Some of these trees are, certainly, very old ; they have names
and dates of persons known and unknown to fame carved upon
their gnarled and knotted trunks many generations ago, and the
growth of the tree since then is hardly perceptible.

One cannot look upon these patriarchs of the forest — the glory
of Lebanon — without feeling that they are endowed with a species
of immortality — their ancient story! — their glory and renown!
coming down the ages from "the garden of God" — "the cedars
of Lebanon which he hath planted" — to the temple of the Lord —
from the time of David, Solomon, and Hiram to the days of Ze-
rubbabel and Herod the Great. As they stand now they have
stood for many centuries, looking down in tranquil repose upon
the ephemeral generations of mankind as they passed on to ob-
livion ; and it is their great antiquity and renown which are their
chief glory, and attract so many from all parts of the earth to
make " pilgrimages " to this " sacred grove," and to meditate
within the mystic circle of its " shadowing shroud."

Wandering through the grove this morning, I noticed, near the
south-west part of it, four trees that have become inextricably in-
tertwined. About twenty-five feet from the ground two of them
have grown together, and a large branch of the third has passed
into and through the trunk of the second tree, near the same
place. Twenty feet higher up, a stout limb from the third tree

FOUR CEDAR-TREES INTERTWINED.

267

AN AGED CEUAR Ol' LEKANON.

has also passed through the second, and. still higher up, a strong
branch from it is similarly united with the same tree. Finally, the
third tree has become firmly joined to the fourth, and no one of
the four could be felled without cutting down all the others.

I suppose that growing together was the result of friction after
the several branches had become permanently intertwined. Dean
Stanley probably alludes to the same unusual spectacle when he

268 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

says: "In one or two instances the boughs of these aged trees are
held up by a younger tree; others, again, of the smaller ones,
whose trunks are decayed, are actually supported in the gigantic
arms of their elder brethren."

The form and shape of the cedar give to it a very striking
and graceful appearance. In places where it can grow naturally
and freely the tree assumes somewhat the symmetry of its beau-
tiful cone. The branches spread out horizontally from the main
trunk, and the lower ones are the longest. These again divide into
other boughs, which preserve the same horizontal direction, and
so on to the smallest twig; and even the leaves follow the same
general arrangement. Climb into one of these trees, and you will
see a succession of verdant floors beneath your feet, and similar
floors overhead, spreading around the trunk, and gradually con-
tracting their circuit, as you approach the topmost boughs. The
cedar-cones stand upon or rise perpendicularly out of that green
flooring. Travellers gather and carry them to their distant homes,
and they are found in private cabinets more frequently than almost
any other memento from the Holy Land.

Forty-five years ago, when visitors and travellers were few and
far between, I found hundreds of young trees and shoots springing
up from the seeds of the ripe cones, and from the roots of the aged
cedars; and an effort was made to protect them from the goats and
cattle of the shepherd and the peasant. That, however, was soon
abandoned, and during the summer and autumn this grove is over-
run by men and animals, and the young cedars are trampled upon
and destroyed. This shows that, instead of four hundred, there
might be as many thousand trees in the grove, and that the whole
of the lofty ridges of Lebanon could again be covered with cedars.

It is some consolation to know that, if this forest of cedar
should slowly die out and disappear through the negligence and
vandalism of the natives and the ruinous policy of the Turks, the
tree itself will not be lost. It has been propagated from seeds
in the parks and gardens of Europe, and there are specimens of
the cedar in England, I suppose, as fine as these in this "sacred
grove" upon the heights of goodly Lebanon.

The wood, bark, cones, and even the slender leaves of the cedar

FEAST OF THE CEDARS.— PRIEST AND CHAPEL. 269

are " full of sap," as the Psalmist has it. imparting to them their
peculiar fragrance and their abiding life ; and it was that which
rendered cedar-wood valuable, and also imperishable ; but, owing
principally to the scarcity of the tree, the timber is now rarely
used for building purposes in this countr\-.

During most of my former visits a holy quiet seemed to pervade
this grove, and I have always regarded it with those feelings of
reverence and solemnity which no other spot on Lebanon is calcu-
lated to inspire. I am not surprised, therefore, that even to this
day it is invested with a religious sanctity by multitudes of Chris-
tians. The i\Iaronites of these mountains assemble here in Au-
gust, and celebrate the Feast of the Cedars under these venerable
trees. More than forty years ago, on my second visit to this grove,
I heard "mass" performed in a rude and rustic chapel, which has
given place to the little edifice lately erected by the poor priest
who now solicits aid from travellers for its maintenance and his
own support. He complains, and not without reason, of the sad
decline of relicrious zeal in these modern times.

270

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

VIII.

THE CEDARS TO HURMUL AND BA'ALBEK.

The Summit-level of the Lebanon Range. — The Cedar Mountain.— Jebel Mukhmal. —
Pass over Lebanon Described by Dr. Buchanan. — Ehden. — Paradisus. — Yusuf Karam.
— Pass around the West End of Lebanon. — Tripolis. — El Mina. — Small Islands
North-west of Tripoli.— The Castle of Tripoli. — Library at Tripoli Burnt during the
Crusades. — Burckhardt. — Tarablus esh Sham. — Terminus of the Euphrates Valley
Railroad. — Ruwad, Arvad. — Cyclopean Wall. — Alexander the Great. — Tartus, Tor-
tosa. — Castle and Church at Tartus. — Bombardment of Tartus. — Antaridus. — Ancient
Quarries. — Idol-temple. — Remains near 'Ain el Haiyeh. — Sepulchral Monuments. —
M. Renan. — Marathus. — Area.— Tell 'Arka.— Temple of Alexander. — The Emperor
Severus. — The Holy Lance. — Ruins of Area. — Tunnel. — Fossil Shells. — Exuberant
Verdure and Grand Sceneiy. — Nahr el Barid. — Orthosia. — Ruined Temple on Harf
es Sphiry. — Dining with the Beg at Sir. — The Man of Uz. — The Sabbatical River.
— Fauwar ed Deir. — Intermitting Fountains. — Gray Squirrels and Walnut-trees. —
Fountain and Overhanging Cliff. — View from the Pass above Sir. — Cloud-burst.—
Homer. — Tydens. — Dislocated Strata. —Wheat and Snow. — Sheepfolds. — 'Ain el
Beida. — Natives Making Tar. — A Mountain Meadow. — Et Tubban. — Water-shed. —
Wady Farah. — "Boundless Contiguity of Shade." — 'Ain el Ayun. — Dahar el Kiidhib.
— A Camp-fire on Lebanon. — Personal Incident at Hurmul. — Local Rebellion. —
Hurmul. — Woodland Scenery on Lebanon Described by Van de Velde. — " The En-
trance of Hamath." — Dr. Robinson. — Ribleh. — Pharaoh and Josiah. — Nebuchadnezzar
and Zedekiah. — A Dreadful Massacre. — The Camping-ground of Fierce Conquerors.
— The Hittites. — The Kheta. — Egyptian Inscriptions. — Rameses II. — M. Ebers. —
Battle near Kadesh between the Egyptians and the Kheta. — The "Right Arm" of
Rameses II. — Pentaur. — The Iliad of the Egyptians. — "I was alone." — Rameses II.
Fighting the Kheta, with Two Lions at his Side. — A Warlike and Powerful People. —
The Report of the Spies sent by Moses. — Frequent Communication between Egypt
and Syria in Patriarchal Times. — Egyptian Influence in Syria. — Site of Ketesh. —
Kedes. — Laodicea. — Tell Neby Mindau. — Lake of Hums or Kedes. — Stone Dam. —
Abulfeda. — Canal to Hums. — Rivulets and Corn-fields. — The Fountains of the Oron-
tes Described by Van de Velde. — Neb'a el 'Asy. — The Orontes. — The Monk's Cavern.
— Kamu'a el Hiirmul. — Hunting Scenes Delineated on the Kamii'a. — Outlook over
the Plain from the Kamu'a. — The Canal from 'Ain Lebweh to Ka'a. — Perpendicular
Banks above Neb'a el 'Asy.^Ras Ba'albek. — Conna. — Wady Fikeh. — El 'Ain. —

SUMMIT-LEVEL OF LEBANON.— THE CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 2/1

Aiji. — The Water-shed. — A Night in a Bedawin Encampment. — Lebweh. — Lybo. —
Saracen and Crusader. — Neb'a Lebweh. — An Oasis in the Desert. — Lake Yemmuneh.

Disappearance of the Water of the Lake. — Ruined Temple at Yemmuneh. — Vil-

lat^es on the Hill-sides, not in the Plain. — Lone Column in the Biikd'a. — Ancient
Temple and Rock-cut Tombs at Nahleh.

September Sth.

Instead of following the ordinary road from the Cedars to
Ba'albek, we will take a nnore circuitous course, across the ranges
of northern Lebanon, to the source of the river Orontes, near
Kamu'a el Hurmul, and thence southward, ascending the broad
valley between the two ranges of Lebanon and Anti- Lebanon to
Ba'albek. That route will lead us through regions about which
very little is known ; but we have only to follow the muleteers,
who have already started with a guide for Sir, where we are to
encamp for the night. Our course for the first three hours will be
westward along the lofty ridge which comes to an end above the
picturesque village of Ehden.

It is evident that our tour to the Cedars has not brought us to
the termination of goodly Lebanon.

Far from it. This mountain -range extends at least twenty
miles farther to the north-east, and then it descends gradually
down to the lower hills of Jebel 'Akkar, which connect, it with the
mountains of the Nusairiyeh. The characteristic feature of the
range is also changed. From Taum Niha, on the extreme south,
up to this lofty peak east of the Cedars, the summit-level of Leba-
non is quite narrow— not more than a mile wide. But from there
northward it expands into an elevated plateau at least ten miles
broad— a cold, barren, and uninhabited region, fit haunt of bears,
wolves, jackals, and other wild animals.

Nothing, certainly, in this country can exceed in grandeur this
vast amphitheatre around the Cedars; and the views of the grove.
and those of lofty Lebanon towering above it, which we obtain from
many projecting points along our road, will never be forgotten.

The range is here called Jebel el Arz, the Cedar Mountain ;
and the highest peak overhanging the grove is Jebel Mokhmal.
It is more than ten thousand two hundred feet above the level of
the sea— probably the most elevated point of land in all S\ria.
higher than Sunnin, and even Mount Hcrmon. To those coming

272 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

from Ba'albek to the Cedars the outlook from the top of the pass
over them is, perhaps, the most extensive in this region. For about
two hours the road winds up the steep mountain -side, affording
many fine views of the distant range of Anti-Lebanon and the far-
off ruins of Ba'albek ; the broad and varied plain of Coelesyria, and
the silvery lake of el Yemmoneh, gleaming in the sunlight ; the
bleak little village of 'Ainata, built upon a spur of the mountain,
its beautiful grove of walnut-trees almost directly below ; and the
magnificent and nearly perpendicular sweep of the Lebanon range
extending southward far as the eye can follow.

Such is the prospect from the eastern side of Lebanon over
the plain of Coelesyria. The outlook westward from the top of
the pass above the Cedars is thus described by Dr. Buchanan: "As
we approached the summit of the mountain our path lay over un-
broken snow. Never shall I forget, while memory lasts, the mag-
nificence of the view which burst upon us when we suddenly turned
the narrow ridge of the mountain. Before gaining this point we
had many times turned round to gaze w^ith rapture on the scene
we were leaving behind. But grand as that view was, it seemed
almost tame and commonplace in comparison with the wonderful
and glorious sight that opened upon us when we at length reached
the summit of this gigantic mountain wall and looked over to the
other side. The range of the Lebanon at this particular point is
so narrow as almost to resemble the top of a wall. This singular
peculiarity is caused by the immense gash made by the valley of
the Kadisha, which nearly cuts the mountain through.

"We were now standing at the top, and on the very brink of
this crevasse, which descends rapidly to the broad and beautiful
plain that stretches out from the western base of the mountain to
the sea-shore at Tripoli. It is made up of a succession of vast
basins or cavities, with sudden breaks or precipices dropping sheer
down from one to another, and walled in, all the way down, by
mountain heights overhanging this abyss on either hand. The
bottom of the uppermost of these large cavities lay about fifteen
hundred feet beneath us. Sweeping forward from the point where
we stood, the mountain encloses it on two sides, rising at the same
time several thousand feet higher above it than at the point where

SCENE FROM THE TOP OF THE PASS ABOVE THE CEDARS. 273

we stood. We were therefore lookinj^ down into this enormous
cavity, and away downwards and onwards to the phiin and the
sea, between these stupendous heights.

" It is amongst these heights the Lebanon attains its loftiest
elevation — the cluster of peaks immediately in front of us on the
right rising over ten thousand feet above the sea-level, while those
on the left are not much lower, and both of them, from their sum-
mits down to the vast hollow or cavitx' between them, exhibited
one unbroken mass of dazzling snow. It is necessary to conceive
of this foreground in order to form any correct idea of the striking
and almost supernatural appearance of the scene which here met
our startled and bewildered eyes.

" Light fleecy clouds were sailing across our line of vision from
one mountain -side to another. The glorious blue heaven was
above our heads. Far down beneath us, at the bottom of the
gorge, gleamed [the Holy River] in the bright sunshine, and the
plain seemed almost at our feet. [On its outer margin] was Tri-
poli, shining brightly above the dark foliage of the groves and gar-
dens around it ; and there was the sea, as blue as the sky, [rising
up to] those fleecy clouds .... and there was another expanse of
blue [rising above them] to the sky. It was the sea seen at the
same moment both below and above the clouds ! We stood
amidst the snow gazing in a sort of ecstasy on this wonderful and
truly glorious scene. The first object that attracted our notice, in
a corner of the huge cavity or basin immediately beneath us, was
a group of trees — one solitary clump — standing apparently on a
floor of gray rock, only a few hundred yards beneath the line of
the snow. These were the Cedars of Lebanon.'"

Our road from the Cedars, though rough and rocky, has been
endlessly diversified by distant views of mountain scenery, com-
bining every element of beauty, grandeur, and sublimity. We
have had glimpses of the profound gorge of the holy river Radi-
sh a ; have seen, far below and above us, several villages and con-
vents; have crossed green valleys and purling streams; have been
refreshed by the waters of cold and sparkling fountains; ami ha\e
at last, after a pleasant ride of three hours, arrived at this pretty
' Notes of a Clerical Fuilougli, ]). 432-434.

•T

2-74 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

villa"-e of Ehden, embowered in verdure, and surrounded by vine-
yards, mulberry terraces, and pine, fig, and walnut trees.

Ehden is about five thousand feet above the level of the sea,
and from its advantageous position, on the slope of the mountain
at the north-western angle of the great amphitheatre around the
Cedars, it commands a magnificent outlook in all directions. It
has abundant fountains, substantial houses and churches, and the
inhabitants are remarkably enterprising and prosperous. Nor is it
entirely unknown to fame : it has been confounded by Maronite
monks with the Paradisus of the ancients, and " is said to have
been the birthplace of the Maronite scholar, Gabriel Sionita, the
editor of the Syrian version in the Paris Polyglot.'" Formerly it
was the seat of a Maronite bishop, and more recently it became
the refuge of a Maronite rebel against the Government, Yusuf
Karam, the ruins of whose dwelling are still to be seen in the
middle of the village. In the winter this place is buried in deep
snow, and those of the inhabitants who can do so then descend
to Zugharta, a large village on the south side of a fertile valley
between the foot-hills of the mountain and the city of Tripoli.

Since leaving Ehden the direction of our ride has changed to
the north-east, and from the top of this pass around the west end
of the mountain we must bid farewell to the city of Tripoli and
that vast expanse of land and sea.

Owing to the great transparency of the atmosphere to-day
Tripoli seems to be surprisingly near.

It is at least seven thousand feet below us, and it would take
more than nine hours to reach it.

Compared with Tyre and Sidon, Tripoli appears to have but
little historic interest, either ancient or modern.

And yet it has long been, and is now, one of the most impor-
tant towns on this coast. The ancient geographers inform us that
it was founded about 700 B.C. by three colonies from Arvad — that
little island of Ruwad, away to the north — Sidon, and Tyre, and
that they occupied separate quarters ; hence the name Tripolis,
triple city. Its Phoenician name is supposed to have been Kady-
tis, " the holy ;" and it is inferred that the river Kadisha, which

' Rob. Res. vol. iii. p. 587.

TRIPOLI.— TOWERS AND ISLANDS.— THE CASTLE. 275

runs through the town, still preserves the form and significance of
that ancient name. It is not mentioned in the Bible, nor even
alluded to by classic writers until the times of the Greeks. El
IMina, the harbor, appears to occupy the site of the original town.
Tripoli was a member of the Phoenician league, and participated in
an unsuccessful revolt against the Persians. In Alexander's time
it was a seaport of the first rank, and continued to increase in com-
mercial importance until after the Moslem invasion, when the town
was destroyed, and the present city of Tarablus was founded, about
two miles inland, towards the south-east. Tripoli was one of the
last cities that surrendered to the Saracens, on the final overthrow
of the Frank kingdom in Syria and the Holy Land.

The shore between the mouth of the Kadisha and the north-
western end of the Mina was defended by a number of square
towers. There were originally seven, but one of them has entirely
disappeared, and the remaining six are dilapidated and fast crum-
bling into shapeless ruins. The best-preserved is Burj es Scba'a,
the lions' tower, so called from a tradition that two lions were for-
merly visible on a slab over the entrance — probably the shield and
arms of Count Raymond of Toulouse. Burj es Seba'a is ninety
feet long and sixty-six feet wide, and it has seventy granite col-
umns built into its walls. All those towers were probably con-
structed during the times of the Crusaders. A group of about a
dozen small and rocky islands extends into the sea, from el Mina
towards the north-west, for several miles. The largest and the
most distant is called Sha'ishet el Kady ; the next is er Rumkin ;
and the third in number and size is en Nukhl, distinguished by a
palm-tree, from which the name is derived. It is said that a num-
ber of rabbits inhabited it in former times, and that there are an-
cient remains and several deep wells on another island. Those
near the shore are merely ragged rocks, rising only a few feet out
of the water, and have nothing remarkable about them.

When the Crusaders besieged Tripoli, in 1 104, Count Raymond
built the existing castle on the hill, then called the Pilgrims'
Mount, at the entrance of the Kadisha into the plain, in order to
protect pilgrims and harass the Moslem.s. Arab historians relate
the story of the burning of a great library, containing over one

276 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

hundred thousand volumes, in Arabic, Persian, and Greek, when
the city was captured five years after by Baldwin, and Bertram, the
son of Count Raymond. A fanatical priest in his train, finding
many copies of the Koran in the library, concluded that it con-
tained nothing else, and ordered the entire collection to be burnt.
The library was founded by Abu Talib, an author of some cele-
brity ; and Moslem writers lament the destruction of so extensive a
library, but the historians of the Crusades do not even mention it.

Tarablus, or modern Tripoli, is often mentioned by Arab writ-
ers, who speak with enthusiasm of its wealth and the beauty of
its gardens, surpassed only by those of Damascus. Then, as now,
it abounded in extensive gardens of orange, lemon, apricot, pear,
plum, apple, and other fruit trees ; but it is, by way of eminence,
the city of roses. "Tripoli is built upon the declivity of the low-
est hills of the Lebanon, and is divided by Nahr el Kadisha into
two parts, of which the southern is the most considerable. On
the north side of the river, upon the summit of the hill, stands the
tomb of Sheikh Abu Nusr, and opposite to it, on the south 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. Many parts of Tripoli bear marks of the ages of the Cru-
sades ; amongst these are several high arcades of Gothic architect-
ure, under which the modern 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 one of the most favored spots in all
Syria, as the maritime plain and neighboring mountains place every
variety of climate within a short distance of the inhabitants.'"
" The path leading up either hill [from the river Kadisha] opens
on a brilliant and extensive landscape : of the plain, two miles in
width, covered with gardens even to the sea ; of the port on the
left, with the islands ; of the heights of Lebanon behind, and the
boundless and beautiful Mediterranean Sea in front — and over all
an atmosphere pure, soft, and splendid.""

Such was Tarablus esh Sham, Tripoli of Damascus, more than

' Burckhardt, Travels, p. 163, 164. '^ Carne's Syria, p. 22, 23.

POPULATION OF TRIPOLI.— HOME OF THE ARVADITES. 2//

threescore years ago, and such essentially it is at the present day.
It is the capital of a military province, the seat of a Greek bishop ;
contains churches, monasteries, nunneries, an orphanage, one s)'na-
gogue, and the Female Seminary of the American Mission ; it has
spacious mosks, with tall minarets, some of which were once
Christian churches, and rejoices in ed Derwishiyeh, a monastery of
whirling dervishes, picturesquely situated at the foot of the hill, on
the left bank of the Kadisha. I might add much more about Tri-
poli and its immediate surroundings; but if we loiter along the way
until all that could be said is told, our progress would be slow
indeed, and the narrative prolonged to weariness.

\\'hat is the number of the inhabitants in Tripoli?

About twenty thousand, including six thousand in the Mina. In
Tripoli three-fourths of the population is Muhammedan; in the Mina
the majority is in favor of the Greeks ; there are, also, in both places
a few Maronites and some Jews. Tripoli has declined in commercial
importance, and its trade is not very extensive. It consists mainly
in silk, soap, olive-oil, tobacco, oranges, lemons, and even potatoes
from the gardens and fields in the neighborhood. Sponges have
always been a specialty amongst the exports. They are gathered all
along the shore, both to the north and south of Tripoli, by native
and Greek divers, who frequently bring up portions of the rock
with the sponge still adhering to them. If Tripoli should become
the terminus of the Euphrates Valley Railroad, leading from the
Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, and thus connecting Syria with
India, its future growth and prosperity would be assured ; but it
has a formidable rival in Alexandretta, whose harbor is safer, though
from Tripoli the grade into the interior would be less difficult.

It will take five hours more to reach our place of encampment,
and therefore we must quicken our pace. There is neither village
nor human habitation between this and Sir.

Can you not enliven the loneliness of the ride by giving some
account of Ruwad, the island-home of the Arvadites, far away on
the horizon to the north of Tripoli ? Since the Arvaditc is men-
tioned in the tenth chapter of Genesis, there must be some remains
of special interest upon that island, or in its immediate neighbor-
hood, for it is one of the oldest historical sites in the world.

278 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Except in Genesis x. 18, and i Chronicles i. 16, Arvad, the son
of Canaan, and the Arvadites, his descendants, are not mentioned
in the Bible until the time of Ezekiel, nearly two thousand years
later. He places " the inhabitants of Arvad " among the mariners
of Tyre, and with its army, who " were upon thy walls round
about." ' Strabo speaks of the island as a rock in the midst of the
waves, inhabited by mariners, and he says that the houses were
exceedingly lofty, owing, no doubt, to the limited area of the
island. We hear little more of Arvad until the time of Alex-
ander the Great, when both the island and the adjacent territory
submitted to that conqueror, and its "mariners" assisted in the
siege of Tyre. Arvad was an important place, " a city of refuge "
for political fugitives, under the Seleucidae ; and it was one of
the little kingdoms with which the Romans established friendly
relations', and to whose favor they commended the Jews, their con-
federates, in the time of the Maccabees."

Eventually Ruwad fell iiito the hands of the Saracens, who
destroyed the city, expelled its inhabitants, and, out of the ruins
of their lofty houses and towering palaces, they built the modern
castle crowning the highest part of the island. Under the Turks
Ruwad has become a heap of ruins and a barren rock; it has now
no commercial or political importance, and its inhabitants, few in
number and miserably poor, far from affording a refuge to the
fugitive, can hardly protect themselves against the exactions of
their oppressors. On my first visit to the island I found the castle
and its Turkish appendages occupied by the families of seafaring
men — sailors, fishers, and sponge-divers — a maritime population
unique of its kind, and numbering about two thousand in all.

Thp shape of the island is an irregular oval, the longest side
being from east to west ; but it is very small, not over three-quar-
ters of a mile in circumference, and it was formerly enclosed by
double walls, probably of Phoenician origin. On the western side,
close to the margin of the sea, are the remains of a high wall built
of large bevelled stones, which in size and appearance are Cyclo-
pean, resembling those in the foundations of the temple at
Ba'albek. At one place that wall is still more than thirty-five feet

^ Ezek. xxvii. S, il. - I Mace. xv. 23.

HARBOR OF ARVAD.— CASTLE AT TORTOSA. 279

high, and was originally over fifteen feet thick. From isolated
blocks and columns, mostly of basalt, I copied seven Greek inscrip-
tions, containing forty-two lines, in a fair state of preservation.

The harbor was made by extending the massive outer wall into
the sea at the north-west and south-east angles of the island. The
water thus protected was divided into two harbors by a mole con-
structed of immense stones, and carried a short distance towards
the main-land. Cisterns, for the storing of Awater and other neces-
saries, and even rooms for dwelling purposes, have been excavated
in the rock in many parts of the island ; and upon the rain-water
collected in those cisterns the present inhabitants mainly depend
for their ordinary supply of that indispensable article.

The position of Arvad was much more formidable than that of
Tyre, for it is at least two miles from the main-land, and the depth
of the sea Avould have rendered it impossible for even Alexander
to deprive it of its insular character, had he desired to do so. As
Pal^Etyrus was much larger than the island-city, so the Arvadites
had suburbs on the neighboring coast, at Tortosa, and for several
miles south of it, far more extensive and of greater interest than
anything that could have been erected on their island.

Tartus, or Tortosa, the ancient Antaridus — situated on the
shore to the north-east of Ruwad, and not directly "opposite," as
its name implies — though once a large place, is now reduced to an
inconsiderable village of less than two thousand inhabitants, who
reside, mostly, within the castle of the old city. That castle was
defended on the land side by double walls built of massive bevel-
led stones, which appear to rest upon their original foundations.
The walls had salient towers, and were further protected by a
double fosse cut in the solid rock. The one on the outside of the
walls is forty feet wide and twelve feet deep ; that between the two
walls is sixty-three feet wide, and is parti)' filled up with ruhbisli.
On the side towards the sea the castle had only one wall, which is
still in good preservation, having been strengthened along its base
by a sloping abutment of large, smoothly -cut stones, probably
added by the Romans, to protect it from the action of the sea.
The entrance to the castle strikes the beholder with surprise b)-
its great solidity. It is in a projection of the outer wall, ni'ar to

28o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and facing the sea, and was formerly reached by a drawbridge
across the fosse. The gate opens into a large room with a vaulted
or groined roof, and on the keystone of the entrance is a defaced
figure deeply cut into it, probably the arms of the Knights of St.
John. Crossing the inner fosse and passing through the second
wall, the open court of the castle is reached, having on the left a
spacious hall one hundred and fifty-five feet long and fifty-six feet
wide. The walls were seven feet thick, and the vaulted roof was
supported by five clustered columns in the centre of the hall.
There were six windows in the front of that hall, and over one of
them, carved in relief, is the figure of a lamb, the favorite emblem
of the Crusaders, who occupied both the castle and the town.

Some distance to the south-east of the village and outside the
walls are the remains of a fine church, in good preservation, having
clustered columns, groined arches, and pointed windows, and appa-
rently of the same age and architecture as the hall in the castle. It
is now used as a mosk, and a minaret has taken the place of a bel-
fry. Its length is one hundred and thirty feet ; its breadth, ninety-
three feet ; and its height — over sixty feet — must have given it a
conspicuous and imposing appearance. When the English fleet
bombarded Tartus in 1840, to dislodge some of Ibrahim Pasha's
troops, that church was struck several times, and a cannon-ball was
embedded in the western wall over one of the windows.

The history of Antaradus is essentially the same as that of
Arvad, for it was colonized by the Arvadites ; but during the Cru-
sades the former seems to have been a place of far greater impor-
tance than the latter. Although the town was once taken by
Saladin, the Crusaders did not abandon the place until after the
final defeat of the Franks at the battle of Hattin.

About an hour from Tartus, on the right bank of Nahr Amrit,
around 'Ain el Haiyeh, and for some distance south of that foun-
tain along the road to Tripoli, there are extensive quarries, an
excavated idol -temple, and several sepulchral monuments. The
mystery about those quarries is, what became of the immense
amount of stone that was cut out of them ? The temple — now
called el M'abed, the place of worship — consists of a court one
hundred and eighty feet long and one hundred and fifty feet

ROCK-HEWN TEMPLE.— SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 28 1

broad, hewn out of the soHd rock to an average depth of about
ten feet, the south side being the highest. The entrance to the
temple was probably from the north, as that side of the court ap-
pears to have been purposely cut awa}'. In the middle of the
court a portion of the rock remains, about ten feet high and more
than fifteen feet square. Upon that stands, facing north, what ap-
pears to have been the shrine of the idol. It \\as constructed of
three large stones, one on either side, and one at the back, upon
which rests a huge concave block, like a canopy, fifteen feet long,
twelve feet broad, and over six feet thick ; the whole structure
being more than twenty feet high, and embellished with a frieze
and cornice similar to those on some Egyptian tombs.

There are ancient remains about 'Ain el Haiyeh — traces of old
foundations, ruins of temples, and broken sarcophagi — evidently
marking the site of a place of some importance. About a mile
south of el M'abed arc several singular sepulchral monuments,
called el Maghazil, the spindles. They consist of a pedestal, over
fifteen feet square and nearly ten feet high, surmounted by a cy-
lindrical or cone-shaped block from six to fourteen feet in height,
upon which was a pyramidal stone, the entire height being more
than thirty feet. One of those monuments was ornamented at the
base with rude sculptures, apparently of lions ; and under all of
them there are rock-cut tombs, containing loculil of unusual size.

Standing alone amidst sand-hills and myrtle jungles, nearly a
mile south of el Maghazrl, is a very striking mausoleum, called Burj
el Buzzak, the snail's tower. At the base it was about thirty-one
feet square, above the base nearly twenty-eight feet square, and the
entire monument was almost an exact cube, the height being a
little more than thirty feet. It was divided into two stories, con-
sisting of one chamber in each, and finished off with a cornice,
above which there may have been a pyramidal stone. Burj cl
Buzzak was constructed of massive blocks, some of which are
nearly fifteen feet long and about eight and a half feet broad, and
the floor and roof of the chambers w^ere coipposed of two immense
slabs, four feet thick. The top of the monument was reached by
a staircase ascending from the inside. M. Kenan, in his " Mission
en Phenicie," has described and illustrated those curious sepulchral

282 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

monuments, and he supposes that the ruhis in the neighborhood
of 'Ain el Haiyeh are of Phoenician origin.

The region around the quarries at 'Ain el Haiyeh is called Ard
Amrit by the natives, and Amrit may be the Arabic form of the
Greek, Marathus, the name of a town and colony founded by the
Arvadites, the great-grandsons of Noah.

Our road, since leaving that lofty stand-point on Lebanon over-
looking the plain of Tripoli and the great western sea, led us along
a narrow ledge of hard, smooth rock, and then, descended into a
deep ravine, densely wooded, on either side, with a great variety of
forest trees — oaks of several kinds, sycamores, cypress, juniper, and
terebinth trees, and a number of thorny bushes, including the bar-
berry and the omnipresent blackberry — a region so wild and unin-
habited that only wolves, panthers, and bears are seen there. The
nature of the country west and north of us is extremely rough and
rocky, especially around the source of the short river of 'Arka,
which enters the sea about fifteen miles north-east of Tripoli.
That pretty little stream gets its name from a village near the
ruins of Area, a Phosnician city, originally founded by the Arkites,
the descendants of Canaan's seventh son, according to the record
given in the tenth chapter of Genesis.

Tell 'Arka, the acropolis of the old town, is situated above the
plain, about four miles from the sea. It is about a mile in circum-
ference, of solid rock at the base, but the upper part was artificial.
The sides were quite steep, rising to more than a hundred feet,
and the top was flat, covering an area of nearly three acres. The
city, built upon a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, lay around
the east, north, and west sides of the tell. The river comes rushing
down from the heights of Lebanon east of the tell. Leaping down
the mountain-side, tumbling over the rocks and darting through
deep ravines, it sweeps by the precipitous side of the tell, and,
passing under a bridge of a single span, forces its way through a
rocky channel out on to the plain and thence to the sea.

After the mention of the Arkite in Genesis x. 17 nothing is
definitely known of the history of Area until about the time of
Vespasian and Titus, when the city was also called Caesarea of
Lebanon ; and there appears to have been a temple there, dedicated

TEMPLE OF ALEXANDER.— rETER AND THE IIOLV LANCE. 283

to Alexander the Great, in which annual festivals were held in his
honor. Josephus intimates that Titus passed by Area, on his way
to Antioch, after the destruction of Jerusalem.' The emperor
Alexander Severus was born in the temple at Area, and recei\-ed
his name from that circumstance. Area was the seat of a Chris-
tian bishop, and in the fifth century was subordinate to Berytus.
Afterwards it fell into the hands of the Saracens, and in the begin-
ning of the twelfth century was an important fortress, capable of
resisting all the efforts of the Crusaders to get possession of it.

It was at Area, while the army of the Crusaders was encamped
before the place, that the dispute occurred regarding the genuine-
ness of the holy lance, with which it was said the Saviour's side had
been pierced, and which had been discovered at Antioch by Peter
Bartholomew, a priest of Marseilles, and intrusted to the custody
of Count Raymond of Thoulouse. As visions and denunciations
could not dispel the doubts of the multitude, Peter resolved to sub-
mit to the trial or ordeal by fire. That quieted the camp. A fire
was kindled on the plain, and Peter, taking the holy lance in his
hands, passed through the flames apparently unscathed. But the
multitude, in their reverence of Peter, rushed upon him to touch
the cross, tore off his clothes for relics, and might have killed him,
had not Count Raymond with his guard come to his rescue. The
deluded Peter died twelve days after, either from the effects of his
burns or his bruises, or both, upbraiding those who had persuaded
him to make the dreadful trial.

The fatal result of that ordeal discouraged the people and their
leaders, and after a siege of two months, perceiving that they could
not capture Area, they burnt their camp and proceeded on their
way to the Holy City. After the fall of Tripoli, Area surrendered
to Count William of Cerdagne, and since then it has been taken
and retaken by Saracen and Crusader, Egyptian and Turk."

The ruins of the old town are not extensive, and are found
mostly on the north side of the tell. They consist of ordinarx-
sized building-stones, with here and there amongst the heaps the
fragments of a granite column. The tcini)Ic of Alexander stood on
the south-eastern side of the tell, where the rock is perpendicular.
' B. J. vii. 5, I. '' Rob. Res. vol. iii. p. 57S-581.

284 '^^^ LAND AND THE BOOK.

Its columns have been either shaken down the precipice by the
earthquake which destroyed the town in the thirteenth century, or
they have been thrown down by the equally destructive Saracen
and Turk. I counted sixty-four lying on the bank of the river,
one-third of which are of red Syenite, the rest of gray granite.

High up in the face of the perpendicular rock, above which the
temple stood, is a horizontal tunnel, supposed to lead under that
edifice. A stream of water must have passed through that tunnel
and fallen into the river, as is apparent from the tufaceous deposit
upon the rock below. The canal which now conducts the water
to the mill, near the bridge, and which is tunnelled through a spur
of the mountain, may have been originally designed to convey
water to the temple and the city. A short distance above the
bridge, on the south side of the river, is a perpendicular cliff of
white calcareous sandstone, in which recent shells are thickly min-
gled, and in as perfect preservation as when they were cast up on
the sea-beach. I collected a number of pectens, cardiums, and
venuses. The dip of that formation is towards the sea.

The village of 'Arka is a mean little hamlet, built upon the ruins
of the old town to the east of the tell, and occupied by a few fami-
lies of Christians and Moslems, miserably poor and degraded.

The mountain ridges around Sir are limestone, but much of
the intervening soil is volcanic, very black, and surprisingly fertile.
Here is Neb'a Sir, near the south side of the village, and, though
this is the dryest season of the year, the fountain is sending forth
a powerful stream, driving the primitive wheels of those flouring
mills, only a few rods from its source.

In no part of the country have we seen the trees — oaks, pines,
poplar, walnut, and mulberry— so large and flourishing.

The cause of this exuberant growth is obvious enough — water,
water everywhere, and plenty of it.

The natural scenery above and below the village is extremely
^vild and picturesque, and on a scale so grand that it would require
a day to ride around this vast amphitheatre.

From the towering cliffs of Lebanon, which have an elevation
of at least nine thousand feet above the level of the sea, the whole
of this mountainous region about Sir breaks down rapidly towards

NAHR EL BARID.—ORTHOSIA.— RUINED TEMPLE. 285

the plain. Four great and deep ravines descend from the north-
western end of that "goodly" range, and their streams, uniting
below Sir, form Nahr el Barid, the cold river, which goes tumbling
and foaming in its rocky channel down to the plain, about three
thousand feet below the village. On the south side of Nahr el
Barid, above the khan, and about two miles from the sea and eight
miles north of Tripoli, there are some ancient remains of an exten-
sive city, probably those of Orthosia, mentioned in i Maccabees
xv. 37, as the place to which Tryphon fled when besieged by King
Antiochus in Dora, the modern Tantura, south of Mount Carmel.

On a former occasion, having pitched my tent amongst these
oak-trees east of "the palace," where we are now encamped, I
called upon Khudar Beg, the governor of this district. After the
usual compliments, the sipping of coffee, and smoking of pipes, I
requested the Beg to let me have a guide to the ancient temple
called Husn es Sphiry, from a small village of that name near it.
The Beg declared that it was impossible to go there and return
that afternoon, but finally he ordered a rough old trooper to mount
his horse, and we set off immediately.

We descended at once into a rough and narrow path, muddy
and slippery, and overhung with briers and thorn-bushes. It took
an hour to ride down to the bottom of that ravine, where we
crossed Nahr el Barid. The ascent on the opposite side was long
and steep, but after an hour and a quarter's hard climbing we
reached the temple. It stands on the summit of a limestone ridge,
called Harf es Sphiry, which commands a prospect over a vast and
varied region, including the north end of Lebanon, the long, bil-
lowy ranges of Jebel 'Akkar, the Nusairiyeh mountains, farther
north, and the plain to Safita, TartCis, and the island of Ruwad.
And over the top of the eastern ridges I saw the plain of Hums
and Hamath. stretching away to the north-east and onward into
the sandy desert farther than the eye could follow.

The walls of the temple were nearly perfect, and, though well
built of beautifully white and intensely hard limestone, there was
very little ornamentation about them ; and an inscription over one
of the entrances to the temple was the only evidence of its Greek
oridn. Amongst the ruins there were two or three small columns,

286 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

but they had no capitals, and the design of a few adjoining build-
ino-s was not easy to determine, as our time was Hmited, and we
were obHged to hurry off without sufficiently examining the temple
or the ancient remains in its neighborhood.

Long before we got back to the village it became quite dark,
and much of the ascent was beset with difficulties and dangers,
appreciated only by those who have learned from experience what
risks they run who ride up such mountain roads late at night. On
reaching the tent I found a slave waiting for me with a lantern; he
had been sent to conduct me to "the palace," where I was expected
to dine with the Beg. There is but little social distinction observed
at such feasts in the old feudal halls of this country, especially in
such out-of-the-way places as Sir. All, from the Beg and his
brothers down to the humblest of his retainers, partook of the same
meal, and in the same way, without any plates, and using their fin-
gers instead of knives and forks or spoons.

In the main hall or reception room a large, low, circular table,
without any cloth, was covered with bowls filled with mutton,
chicken, and vegetable stews, leben, olives, and pickles ; there were
also copper trays placed at intervals around the centre of the table,
filled with rice, burghul, kibby, and roast lamb, torn in shreds, and
swimming in a sauce of butter and onions. Twenty-five persons
sat round the table, with nothing but the mat or a carpet under
them, and each had at his right hand half a dozen loaves of thin
bread. All ate rapidly and voraciously, and each guest sprang up
as soon as he was satisfied to give place to another, who immedi-
ately took the vacant seat without waiting for an invitation. After
leaving the table, water was poured upon the hands of each guest
from the same brass pitcher and over the same ewer ; and to each
a cup of coffee was handed and a pipe offered, though it was ex-
pected that some would smoke their own tobacco.

Fifty or sixty men thus dined in about half an hour, after which
the dishes were removed to the harem, and the women and chil-
dren were oblicfed to content themselves with the remains of the
feast. It would take a large income to feed so many hungry retain-
ers, but of course the Beg does not provide such a dinner as that
every night. It was intended to honor the guest, and not without

THE MAN OF UZ.— THE SABBATIC RIVER. 28/

a desire to impress him with the splendid hospitaHty of the house
of Ra'ad. The Kady of the district took pains to acquaint me
with the antiquity, wealth, and power of that family, all of which of
course I accepted upon such impartial testimony. But an air of
dilapidation and appearances of unmistakable poverty about " the
palace" and its belongings were calculated to suggest serious doubts
in regard to the accurate details of the family history and the avail-
able resources of its hospitable representative.

Seeing the successive groups of hungry retainers gathered about
the Beg's round table, I thought of that famous Emir in the land
of Uz called Job, and of his solemn protestations: " If I have with-
held the poor from their desire, or have eaten my morsel m\'self
alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof, then let mine arm
fall from my shoulder blade." ' We must pay our respects at " the
palace " before night comes on, and secure a guide for to-morrow,
for though I have crossed over the mountain eastward to KamiVa
el Hurmul, I would not venture to do it again without taking a
competent native to show us the way.

Sir, September Stk Evening.

Having completed our arrangements for to-morrow, I would
like to know something about the "Sabbatic River" which Jose-
phus alludes to in connection with the journey of Titus through
Syria. I have hitherto regarded it as altogether mythical, but it
actually exists, it seems, and still keeps up its irregular flow.

That of the Jews is, indeed, sufficiently apocryphal, but the one
mentioned by Josephus is not. He says that Titus, on his way
from Berytus to Antioch, " saw a river as he went along, of such a
nature as deserves to be recorded in history. It runs in the middle
between Arcea, belonging to Agrippa's kingdom, and Raphanea.
It hath somewhat very peculiar in it, for when it runs its current
is strong and has plenty of water; after which its springs fail for
six days together and leave its channel dry, as any one may see ;
after which days it runs on the seventh day, as it did before, and
as though it had undergone no change at all ; it hath also been
observed to keep this order perpetually and exactly, whence it is
that they call it the Sabbatic River, that name being taken fron^

' J(j1) xxxi. if), 17, 22.

288 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the sacred seventh day among the Jews.'" PHny also refers to the
same river, though he makes it rest every seventh day, according
to the injunction in the fourth commandment.

Josephus locates the Sabbatical River between Arcea and Ra-
phanea. Area, the capital of the Arkites, is at Tell 'Arka, north-
east of Tripoli, and between it and Hamath, on the east of Jebel
'Akkar, is the site of Raphanea, near the ruined castle of Barin.
North of Tell 'Arka, and a short distance west of Kul'at el Husn,
is the convent of Mar Jirjis el Humeira, and in the wady below it
is a fountain called Fauwar ed Deir, from which flows at intervals
a sufficient volume of water to entitle the stream in this country to
the name of a river. The site accords with the description given
by Josephus, and there I discovered the "Sabbatic River" in 1840;
but the fountain is now said to be quiescent two days, and active
on a part of the third day only.

The account which the monks gave me of the actual phenome-
non was, that every third day St. George, their patron saint, de-
scends into the fountain and forces the water out with a loud noise,
to irrigate the extensive plantations of that rich Syrian convent.
It was a day of rest for the fountain when I examined it, but evi-
dently a considerable quantity of water had flowed along the chan-
nel of the river a few hours before. The cave out of which the
river issues is at the base of a hill of limestone involved in a forma-
tion of trap-rock, and it is well known that subterranean reservoirs
of water are sometimes drained by intermitting fountains acting
upon the principle of the siphon.

A very simple diagram will illustrate the phenomenon. Let A
in the diagram represent such a reservoir, filled by the veins D E F.
Let S be the siphon, which, of course, must begin at the bottom
of the pool, rise over the elevation at C, and end in the wady at B
— lower than the bottom of the pool. Now, the condition neces-
sary to cause the stream to intermit is, that the capacity of the
siphon be greater than the supply from D E F. If the supply were
greater, or exactly equal to that capacity, the pool would be always
full, and there could be no intermission. The periods of intermis-
sion and the size of the stream depend upon the capacity of the

1 B. J. vii. 5, I.

INTERMITTING FOUNTAINS.

JS9

pool A, the supply from D E F, and the calibre of the siphon S.
If it required six days for D E F to fill the pool, and the siphon
could exhaust it in one, we have the conditions required by the
statement of Josephus — a river runnini^^ only on the seventh da}-.

INTERMITTING FOUNTAIN.

On the other hand, if D E F fill the pool in one day, and their
continued supply is so nearly equal to the draining power of the
siphon that it requires six days to draw off all the water, then it
will run six days, according to Pliny, and rest on the seventh.
Now the supply, it is supposed, fills the reservoir in about two
days and a half, and the siphon drains it off in half a day.

I suppose the Sabbatical River always had nearly the same vol-
ume of water in it as the stream below the convent of Mar Jirjis
has at the present day, and that its stated periods of intermission
were as irregular then as they are now. The love of the ancients
for the marvellous, and a desire to conform that natural phenome-
non to the Jewish division of time, will sufficiently account for the
inaccuracies of Josephus and Pliny.

Sir, September glli.

Our guide has come, and, as we are to ride to-day for ten
hours through a wild and uninhabited region, sometimes without
any visible road or distinct path, we had better be in the saddle.
Our course will be due east, and for the first hour the ascent is
gradual, winding about amongst large wahuit-trees and across ex-
tensive fields of Indian-corn.

290 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

This scenery is singularly beautiful, and these bushes are full
of birds ; and gray squirrels run from tree to tree, and leap from
branch to branch, just as they do in other lands far away.

They are enjoying their favorite food, walnuts and green corn,
of both of which there is here an abundant supply. We are about
to pass away from the grateful shade of this leafy grove, and a
steady climb up the mountain for another hour will bring us to
the source of the main branch of the river Barid. The fountain
bursts out at the base of a gigantic cliff, and the stream, rushing
through large heaps of debris and between fragments of great
rocks that have fallen from the overhanging cliff, plunges imme-
diately into a narrow chasm, down which it leaps, in noisy cas-
cades, one after another, falling at least four thousand feet in a
very few miles, before it reaches the plain far below.

The cliff is called Ijr el Kul'ah, the foot of the castle, and it
breaks sheer down from the northern extremity of the Lebanon
range at least five hundred feet in perpendicular descent, thus
abruptly cutting off Lebanon from the confused mass of mountains
lower down and farther north. The top of the pass, above the
fountain, is about eight thousand feet above the sea, and, as we
rise higher and higher, the views westward over Sir, and the plain
of 'Akkar, beyond and below it, are continually changing in charac-
ter and expanding into the distance, until their variety seems end-
less and their extent almost limitless. The point beyond Tripoli is
nearly due west, and an imaginary line drawn from there eastward
would pass near Hurmul, the village where we intend to encamp,
and which we expect to reach to-night.

A few days before my first ascent of this pass a cloud had burst
over the cliff above the fountain, and the flood was so great that
it not only washed out deep channels in the mountain, but it also
overwhelmed many vineyards and corn-fields in its destructive
course. Such cloud-bursts, called seil by the Arabs, are not un-
known in other countries, for even Homer must have derived some
of his vivid descriptions of martial combat from the suddenness
and violence of their devastations. The merciless rage and on-
slaught of Tydeus on the field of battle is compared to the over-
powering floods of such a seil, when

PASS OVER LEBANON'.— SUMMER SHEEPFOLDS. 29I

"From high hills the torrents swift and strong
Deluge whole fields and sweep the trees along ;
Through ruined moles the rushing wave resounds,
O'erwhelms the bridge, and bursts the lofty bounds.
The yellow harvests of the ripened year
And flattened vineyards one sad waste appear."

The last two lines describe exactly the direful results of the sell
at the north end of Lebanon as I afterwards saw them.

This pass over Lebanon is not across a sharp ridi^c, like most
of the others, but along a broad depression, evidently caused by
volcanic action. It will take three hours to ride through it. and
we shall have lofty cliffs on our right and large snow-banks in the
sheltered ravines. The volcanic formation over which our pathway
winds appears to have been driven up from below like a wedge,
and with such force as to split asunder the limestone strata and
scatter the fragments northward for several miles, piling them upon
each other in the wildest confusion. In that outburst the strata
have been dislocated, bent, and overturned in the most extraordi-
nary manner. In one place they have been jammed inward
like the dog-eared leaves of an ill-used school-book, and the
superincumbent mass has been tilted over southward, contrary to
the ordinary dip of the strata in this region, which is generally
downwards towards the plain of el Buka'a.

We have now reached the highest part of this long pass, nearly
nine thousand feet above the level of the sea. In some places the
young wheat, sown by the peasants from Sir, is already quite green,
and waiting for the coming snow to cover it up and protect it from
the cold in winter. This road is then buried under deep snow-
drifts and rendered impassable until the spring.

Scattered over this region are many sheepfolds, made with the
branches of trees that abound on the mountain ; there the shep-
herds abide with their flocks by night while spending the hot
months of summer in these lofty regions. And there they breathe
the purest air and drink the ice-cold water which trickles down from
the melting snow-banks. Now those sheep-folds are deserted ; but
no tent-life in this country is so romantic as that isolated, open-air
existence of the shepherd, roaming all day over these mountains

292 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

with his flocks, and protecting them from savage beasts and thiev-
ing men through the long, starry nights of summer.

Apparently this is the highest, dryest, and most lonely pass in
the country. We have not crossed a single stream nor passed a
solitary wayfarer during this morning's ride of nearly five hours.

There is a small fountain near by, called 'Ain el Beida, which,
our guide says, furnishes the only drinkable water between it and
Hurmul; there we will rest and lunch.

Several paths cross each other at 'Ain el Beida. One descends
Wady Siry and leads northward to a ruined town near the head-
waters of Nahr 'Akkar. Another goes south-east to Ba'albek, and
a third— the continuation of the one we have followed — will take
us eastward to Hurmul, which is still more than five hours distant.

That long ridge on the left of our path appears to be covered
with a dense forest of pine-trees.

Riding over this region on another tour, I went out of my way
to reach it, in order to examine the process of making tar and pitch,
in which some natives were then engaged. They build conical fur-
naces, which, after being filled up with resinous wood, they cover
with earth. The wood is then ignited, and the smouldering fire
consumes it very slowly. The rosin trickles to the bottom, and is
drawn off into vessels. It is then boiled, to reduce it to the con-
sistency of tar and pitch. Those pitch-burners, with their faces,
hands, feet, and garments besmeared with tar and blackened by
smoke, were a most savage-looking set. They glared upon me with
bloodshot eyes through the lurid light of their smouldering .fur-
naces, and shouted after me in a most hideous manner as I rode
away from that Tartarean region.

For the next two hours we must pass over a sterile plateau,
having nothing" of any interest upon it. Far away to the south
stretches a long, broad valley or marshy plain, called Merj 'Ahin,
the meadow of 'Ahin, in which many small pools are visible. It
resembles in general appearance the valley or plain about Lake
Yemmuneh, although there are more trees in that valley and upon
the mountain and hills adjacent to the lake. In many parts of this
unproductive plateau over which we have been plodding nothing
seems to flourish except hundreds of small, round, spiny shrubs

ET TUBBAX.— THE WATER-SUED.— WADV FARAH. 293

called tubban. At a distance they look like hedgehogs or porcu-
pines. They are found elsewhere on the highest parts of Lebanon,
and when the clumps are green and the spines tipped with pale
pink flowers, they are quite pretty.

We have now passed the water-shed of this region and entered
a wady which descends gradually eastward to the base of the moun-
tain near Hurmul. It is overshadowed by large oak-trees, but is des-
titute of fountain or stream, cultivated land or human habitation.

To relieve the dreary monotony of this interminable wady I will
give you an account of a trip through a parallel valley, called Wady
Farah, a few miles south of this one, with which memory associates
some pleasant experiences. Our party had spent a rather anxious
night below Mugharat er Rahib, the monk's cavern, near the source
of the Orontes, and, after examining both those remarkable places
in the morning, we followed the windings of Wady Lcbweh south-
ward for an hour. Crossing to the west side of it. we entered Wady
Farah and began the ascent leading towards the pass over the
mountain above the Cedars. We soon found our path overshad-
owed by wide -spreading oaks and other evergreen trees, and the
ascent was very gradual and continuous until we reached the sur-
prising deviation of seven thousand feet.

In all that ride of six hours there was not a house or cultivated
field to be seen •, we met no wayfarer, nor could we obtain a drop
of water. But the lofty ridges on either side of the valley were cov-
ered with a dense forest, " a boundless contiguity of shade," which
made the ride very enjoyable. Red-legged partridges kept up a
continuous cackling and calling on all sides, and gray squirrels ran
from tree to tree and hid themselves amongst the thick branches.
The Nimrods of the party had many a scramble up and down the
mountain -sides, hoping to add variety to our bill of fare in the
evening, but the game was extremely wary and wild. Issuing,
towards evening, from that long and lonely valley, we encami)ed in
a broad depression called Wady el 'Ayun, on the side of a green
meadow, and just above a purling rill of ice-cold water. 'Ain el
'Ayun, the source of that little stream, was a short distance above
our tents, and it well deserves its name — the I'\)untain of fount-
ains—for there is none higher, or purer, or colder in that region.

2Q4 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Wady el 'Ay Cm abounds in springs, the water from which col-
lects in the lower valley into small pools and miniature lakes, like
those in Merj 'Ahin. Dahar el Kudhib, one of the highest peaks of
Lebanon, towers up to the sky for at least two thousand five hun-
dred feet above Wady el 'Ayun, and directly below that lofty sum-
mit, on the western slope of the mountain, are the Cedars. There
was something sublime in the utter solitude of such an encamp-
ment, so high and so shut in by the majestic range of Lebanon.

As the shadows on the mountains lengthened and the darkness
in the valley deepened the air became quite cold. The muleteers
climbed the steep side of the mountain, and, with their long ropes,
dragged down whole trees — roots, trunk, and branches — which had
been blown over by the storms of winter, and were as dry as tin-
der. These they piled up in front of the tents and set them on
fire. The crackling and roaring of the flames; the lurid blaze of
such a conflagration ; the lights and shadows on tents and tourists,
mules and muleteers; the volumes of white and black smoke, rising
high into the air — the scene and the situation all combined to make
a picture of one of the most romantic night encampments I had
ever witnessed even in this land of the ancient patriarchs.

We were obliged to keep up that camp fire all night; and in
the morning we found that the dew had frozen the roofs and walls
of the tents as stiff as boards, and small fires were kindled in them
before they could be taken down. Frost sparkled on the grass, and
the little pools in the valley gleamed with a thin coating of ice.
Altogether the experience of that night and morning were de-
cidedly exceptional to the traveller in this country, and the cold
continued all the following day, and the next night at the Cedars
was far from being a comfortable one.

In another hour w^e shall reach our tents, pitched under the
large walnut-trees below and south of the village of Hurmul. On
my former ride over this road it began to grow dark after leaving
this point where we are now, and the guide led us down a steep
and rocky path to the south-east, to avoid entering the village.
The tents had just been pitched, when some Mutawaly horsemen
came galloping up, shouting in a most belligerent style. At first
they were very insolent, but when told who we were they apolo-

LOCAL REBELLION'.— HURMUL.— WOODLAND SCENERY. 295

gized and retired, saying that they had mistaken us for a detach-
ment of Turkish cavalry sent against them from Hums.

The next morning we learned that the inhabitants of that dis-
trict had rebelled against the Governor of Hums, and that the
sheikhs had gathered together at Hurmul all their roving and law-
less retainers, expecting an attack from the irregular cavalry in the
employ of the Government. Their families had been sent to the
mountains, and the men were prepared either to fight or run away,
as the exigencies of the case might demand. Early in the forenoon
an agent arrived from the Governor with conditions of peace, and,
while the contracting parties were arranging the terms of submis-
sion, we improved the opportunity to visit the village.

Hurmul probably occupies an ancient site, and it has been a
much larger place in former times. It is now the last village in
this direction belonging to the Government of the Lebanon. It is
prettily situated high up the slope of this natural amphitheatre;
and the houses are divided into several clusters by narrow ravines,
through which little streams come tumbling down into the valley.
The land around it is very fertile, owing to the abundance of water;
and the silver-leaved poplar, the walnut, pomegranate, and other
fruit-trees growing in and about the village, give it a very pictu-
resque appearance. But the lawless Mutawaly who inhabit it would
soon convert Paradise itself into a frightful wilderness, and Hurmul
is becoming more and more dilapidated.

Hiirmul, September 9th. Evening.

Lieutenant Van de Velde gives a graphic description of the
woodland scenery in this vicinity, and becomes quite enthusiastic
over its park-like nature. He thus writes to his friend : " Much
already have I said to you about Lebanon and its glories. Yet be-
tween Hurmul and the Cedars I saw still more of Nature's beauties,
and these, too, of quite a different kind from what I had seen in the
more southern mountain-ranges at Jeba'a or Jez/.in. r^'oni Hurmul
our path began immediately to rise, and brought us ere long into
a high-situated valley, which had been transformed into a magnifi-
cent park by Nature alone, without any assi-stance from the hand
of man. I was delighted with the picturesque grou[)s of oaks,
the fantastically -shaped terebinths, the oddly -twisted stems and

296 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

branches of other trees, in which were blended together all sorts
of green, pale, dark-yellowish, or sometimes inclining to brown.

" At other points, again, the road led over rocky plateaus, grown
over with short, prickly shrubs. Alternating with these there ap-
peared at other places cypress groves [Juniperus excelsa], where
each several tree was in itself a study for the landscape painter,
some on account of their enormous stems and branches, others on
account of their trunks having been broken by storms or being half
decayed with age ; and others, too, on account of the bright verdure
of the shoots here and there springing up from a piece of root ap-
parently dead and partially torn out of the ground. Would you
see trees in all their splendor and beauty, then enter these wild
groves, that have never been touched by the pruning-knife of art,
where neither branches nor stems are ever bent into rectilinear
forms, and where the dead wood is never removed from amidst the
living. Come up into Mount Lebanon, and then tell me if you
ever had an idea of such natural groves as are exhibited by the
elevated valleys of this mountain-range."'

Was not "the entrance of Hamath " in this neighborhood?

That familiar Biblical phrase indicated a well-known place — a
pass or opening leading into the territory of Hamath. In marking
out the boundaries of the Hebrew " inheritance in the land of
Canaan," Moses says: "This shall be your north border: from the
great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: from mount Hor
ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath ; and
the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad."' The spies sent
by Moses to explore the land extended their search " from the
wilderness of Zin [in the south] unto Rehob, as men come to Ha-
math ;" and that part of the country in this direction not subdued
by Joshua, when he "was old and stricken in years," and which
never came into the actual possession of the Hebrews, is thus de-
scribed : "All Lebanon toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under
mount Hermon unto the entering into. Hamath."'

From those and other incidental notices in the Bible it is evi-
dent that, if Mount Hor be identified with Lebanon, or a conspicu-

' Syria and Palestine, vol. ii. p. 474, 475. '■' Numb, xxxiv. 7, 8.

•* Numb. xiii. 21 ; Josh. xiii. 5.

THE EXTRAN'CE OF HAMATH.— A DREADFUL MASSACRE. 297

ous peak at the northern extremity of that range, then " the en-
trance of Hamath" would have been north or east of it, and Zedad
still farther off in the latter direction. Between the ranges of Le-
banon and Anti-Lebanon, as they gradually terminate in the plain
some distance south of Hamath, there is a long, undulating, and
comparatively narrow tract connecting the plain of Coelesyria with
that which opens up towards Hamath ; and to the south-east of
it, on the other side of Anti- Lebanon, is Sudud, the ancient
Zedad, and far away to the south-west is " Baal-gad under Mount
Hermon." That undulating region has generally been considered
as the Biblical " entrance of Hamath," and to the spies, coming up
the plain of Coelesyria, from the south, it would have presented
such an appearance. Dr. Robinson supposes that " the entering
in of Hamath" "was at the northern extremity of Lebanon, and
that this became a geographical name for the great interval or de-
pression between the northern end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh
mountains;" and he is probably correct.'

From the hill-side above Hurmul the ample corn-fields of Rib-
leh are seen, extending about ten miles to the north-east, and
beyond them spreads the vast plain towards Sudud, and far away
eastward until it is lost in the sandy desert around Palmyra.

A Riblah is mentioned by Moses as being on the north-east
border of the Promised Land.^

That is the place ; and the name has remained unchanged from
that day to this. Nothing more is heard of Riblah after that for
almost eight hundred and fifty years, and then we learn that '* Pha-
raoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to
the river Euphrates;" and on his way he slew Josiah king of Judaii
at Megiddo, and put Jehoahaz his son "in bands at Riblah."'
There also Nebuchadnezzar established his camp when he came up
against Jerusalem. The princes of the king and the army of the
Chaldees went on, and when they had captured the king of Judah
" they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar to Riblah in the land
of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. Then the king
of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes :

• Rob. Res. vol. iii. p. 568, 569. •' Numb, xxxiv. 11.

' 2 Kings xxiii. 29-33.

298 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover
he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry
him to Babylon," '

A dreadful massacre, and a most dismal doom ! What was there
about Riblah that induced those terrible invaders to select it for
the camping-ground of their vast and merciless armies ?

At modern Ribleh there are now only a few wretched peasants'
houses, situated on the east bank of the Orontes, and no important
remains save the ruins of an ancient square tower, called el Keniseh,
the church. But no better location for a temporary camp could
have been chosen in that region by those fierce conquerors of old
than Ribleh. By the side of a never-failing stream, with rich corn
lands around it, everywhere well watered, it can furnish ample means
of subsistence for the largest of armies : and, from its central posi-
tion, military expeditions could be sent in all directions — eastward
to "Tadmor in the wilderness;" southward to Damascus, or through
Coelesyria to Jerusalem ; westward, by the low pass near Kul'at el
Husn, to the sea -coast of Phoenicia, and thence to Egypt, and
northward across "the land of Hamath" and beyond "the river
Euphrates " into the kingdom of Assyria.

The last time I was here I obtained a guide and guard from the
Governor's agent and set off over a beautiful country, sinking gradu-
ally to the plain, to visit the lake of Kedes, near which the chief
city of the Hittites is supposed to have been situated.

That name is eminently Biblical, and even patriarchal, and it
is quite unexpected to hear of that ancient people as formerly
residing in this distant and little known region.

Very little information about the Hittites can be obtained from
the Bible, both before and after the conquest of the Promised Land.
They were called " the children of Heth," the second son of Canaan,
and the great-grandson of Noah, and in Abraham's day they were
settled in the south of Palestine. It was of " Ephron the Hittite"
that Abraham purchased "the cave of Machpelah" at Hebron,
when Sarah his wife died.'' Esau married two of the daughters of
the Hittites, "which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Re-
bekah ;" and, lest Jacob should follow the example of his erratic

^ Jer. xxxix. 1-7. ' Gen. x. 15 ; xxiii.

THE HITTITES.— KETESII.— THE KHETA. 299

brother, and " take a wife of the daughters of Heth," they " sent
him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence." '

On the return of the men whom Moses sent " to spy out the
land of Canaan" they reported that the Hittites dwelt in the moun-
tains, from which it would appear that during the capti\ity of the
Hebrews in Egypt they had removed into the central part of the
country.' We hear of them again as gathering together with other
tribes to fight Joshua "at the waters of Merom," where they were
defeated with great slaughter,' It is possible that some of them
escaped at that time and established themselves permanently in the
valley of the Orontes, where, eventually, they formed a powerful
confederation with other Canaanitish tribes.

Egyptologists learn from the monuments that the Pharaohs of
several dynasties waged war upon a nation in this region supposed
to be that of the Hittites. They had horses and chariots, and some
of the Egyptians appear to have taken wives from among them.
Ketesh, their principal city, was rendered tributary to Egypt, and
it was probably situated near the present lake of Kedes. The an-
nals of the Egyptians confirm the accounts given of the Hittites
in the Bible, for in the time of Solomon we are told that all
the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria had horses and
chariots brought forth out of Egypt ; and Solomon himself had
Hittite women among his many wives.^

Additional interest has been imparted to the subject by modern
discoveries in Egypt, which imply that the Hittites had long been
settled in this country and were a numerous and powerful confed-
eration, apparently occupying the region around the head -waters
of the Orontes. They are called "the Kheta" in the Egyptian
inscriptions, and, probably before Abraham came to Canaan, and
long before the time of Moses, there were protracted conflicts
between them and the different dynasties of Egypt. M. libers
informs us that "a stela was discovered in the wall to the south
of the great hypostyle at Karnak, on which was a copy of the
treaty which put an end to the war between Ramcscs H. and the
Kheta," and he very justly adds that "this di)cumcnt excites our

' Gen xxvi. 34, 35 ; xxvii. 46; xxviii. 1-7. '' Numb. xiii. 29.

3 Josh. ix. I, 2 ; xi. 3, 5, 8. •* i Kings x. 29 ; xi. i ; 2 Cliion. i. 17.

300 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

respect and admiration for the Asiatic nation, which must have
reached a high pitch of civihzation, and it raises our opinion of
the high poHtical status of both the nations who were parties to
such a treaty. The Kheta king secured the alHance thus effected
with the Egyptian sovereign by giving him his daughter in mar-
riage, and this greatest of all the Pharaohs was thus enabled to
enjoy the results of his successes in the field and to spend the last
decades of his reign — which lasted sixty-seven years — almost with-
out interruption in the exercise of the arts of peace." '

Rameses II. was proud of his own personal achievements in the
wars against those Kheta. " In a furious battle near Kadesh, the
capital of the Kheta, he was cut off from his army, and, by the
might of his own ' right arm ' he defended himself against a consid-
erable number, forced his way through the enemy who surrounded
him, and then, setting himself again at the head of his troops, he
defeated the Kheta army, and forced them backwards into the
river. Pentaur, the chief poet of his [Rameses II.] time, sang of
this great deed of arms in an epic, which was inscribed on temple
walls and in papyrus rolls — the Iliad of the Egyptians. ' I was
alone, and none was with me,' is the cry that the poet puts into the
mouth of the king; but Amon stood by the distressed Pharaoh and
fought for him, and so the rescued king built a magnificent temple
in the Necropolis as a thank-offering, and to keep his own glorious
deed in remembrance. On the principal architecture of this votive
building the often-repeated burden of Pentaur's epos may still be
read: 'I was alone, and none was with me.' His artists have carved
rich and vivid battle-scenes on the broad surfaces of the walls of
the pylons, representing the fight at Kadesh, the camp of the
Egyptians, the flight of the Kheta and their allies, and the king
himself as of colossal stature, towering above his foes. The turmoil
of the battle, the fiery onset of the horses, the heroic stature of
Rameses, by whose side two lions are raging and fighting, the
terror of the vanquished, and the hurry of the fugitives, are viv-
idly depicted.""

The conflicts of the Egyptians with the Kheta, before and after

' Egypt : Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque, vol. ii. p. 284.

^ Egypt : Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque, vol. ii. p. 2S0, 281.

REPORT OF THE SPIES.— THE SITE OF KETESH. 30I

the time of the Hebrew exodus, seem to tlirow a new light upon
the condition of this country and its inhabitants. The people, at
least in some parts, appear to have been more warlike and powerful
than the reader of Genesis would naturally suppose.

The report of the spies, sent by Moses from the wilderness of
Paran to examine the condition of the country, no longer seems to
be the mere exaggeration of terrified cowards. " The people," said
they, "is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled
up to heaven. We be not able to go up against the people, for
they are stronger than we.'" The Hittites are mentioned by the
spies, and those Egyptian records supplement in many ways the
Biblical narratives of the condition of this land in patriarchal
times, for it is now ascertained that there was then frequent com-
munication between Egypt and Syria. That enables us to under-
stand how it was possible for twelve Hebrews "to spy out the
land," without interruption, from the wilderness of Paran north-
ward " unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath." As the influence
of Egypt in this country must have been very great in those times,
the spies probably had merely to assume the character of Egyp-
tians to secure protection and safety ; and their report seems to
imply that they were not molested in their dangerous mission.

The supposed site of Ketesh is about fifteen miles north-east of
this village of Hurmul, and a short distance south of Tell Neby
Mindau, on the left bank of the Orontes. The ruins consist of
heaps of rubbish, traces of foundations, hewn stones, and fragments
of columns. I noticed some half-submerged vaults in one place,
and at another the bases of twenty columns apparently still in their
original position. The river finds its way among the ruins, and the
low bridge built over it was evidently constructed out of the re-
mains of the old city. I found the name Kedes applied only to the
mill at the bridge, which is called T.ihunct Kedes. Dr. Robinson
and others who have visited that region locate Laodicea ad Liba-
num at Tell Neby Mindau, and it may be found that the Roman
city was built upon the remains of the ancient Hittitc capital.

A few miles north of the bridge the river spreads out into the
shallow lake of Hums, called also the lake of Kedes, which is wholl}'
' Deut. i. 28 ; Numl). xiii. 31.

OQ2 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

artificial, having been made by a dam built across the valley where
it is not more than half a mile wide. The dam was built of trap
rock, and the lower part was originally over thirty feet thick, nar-
rowing towards the top, where it is now about three feet wide.
The height of the dam above the bed of the river is nearly twenty
feet. The facing-stone of the dam is all gone, leaving only the
ancient rubble-work, which has been often broken, and subsequently
roughly repaired by the natives.

Abulfeda, the celebrated Arab geographer, who was the Emir
of Hamah in the fourteenth century, relates that the building of
the dam was ascribed, in his day, to Alexander the Great, and he
states that there were two towers upon it At present there is only
one, at the north-west extremity of the dam, called Burj Sit Belkis.
The canal that carries the water to Hums begins near the north-
east corner of the lake. In former times there was another conduit
at a higher level— a sure indication that the dam was originally
several feet higher than it is now. Over the door of a mill below
the dam is a Greek inscription, the only one that I could find.

The length of the lake is about eight miles, and the breadth
four at the widest part. There is a small island, with a tell upon it,
at the southern end of the lake. The tell must have been made
before the lake was formed ; and around it there are said to be traces
of foundations and ruins of ancient buildings.

Hiirmul, September loth.

The fountain of the Orontes is a short hour's ride south of
Hurmul, so we will go there first this morning. These numerous
little rills which cross our path, and come tumbling and foaming
down the mountain-side from the secluded ravines above us on the
west, are united into rivulets in the valley, and lead away northward
over the rolling country between this and Ribleh. It is mainly to
the waters of those purling brooks that the extensive corn-fields
around that village are indebted for their luxuriant growth.

Lieutenant Van De Velde climbed up this same road to Hurmul
which we are now descending after his visit to " the place where
the Orontes bursts forth from its copious sources." He says that,
" much farther to the south [of the fountain we are about to visit],
the waters of the Orontes begin to form a stream. This stream is

FOUNTAINS OF THE ORONTES. 303

not derived from the main springs, but from the gradual confluence
of a number of different rills into a considerable brook, which,
under the name of Nahr Fikeh, flows in a deep ravine past the
chief fountain of the river. Here [above the fountain] the rocky
sides of the ravine are fearfully steep; some places seem quite inac-
cessible. I had to follow a dangerous path, better fitted for moun-
tain-goats than for men, in order to get to the foot of the rocks.

" On reaching the bottom you perceive, on the east side of the
ravine, a hole overshadowed by thick sycamores; high brushwood
seems to make it vain to attempt approaching the spot ; but an
eye accustomed to such jungles soon detects a winding path, and
perceives also that the dark-green wild fig-trees and the festoons of
vines that wind between them are the productions of a Nature to
which the hand of man has remained a stranger. In this lovely
spot there is a deep basin of water, which lies still and motionless,
of a clear dark-blue color, and overflowing on all sides, owing to the
abundant ingress of the water that rises from the subterranean
springs. This seems to me to be the principal source of the river.
But if one passes to the other side of the Fikeh brook by a little
bridge formed of stones and branches put together, and then cau-
tiously ascends the cliffs, he will perceive that from under the rocks
to the north of that principal source of the river the water bursts
forth with great force, and this not at one point only, but at dif-
ferent places, all close beside each other. Boiling and foaming do
the waters gush up and unite themselves with the Fikeh stream.
No wonder that hardly half a mile farther on we find the Orontes
already augmented into a broad and swift-rolling stream ; no won-
der, too, that throughout its farther course it maintains the charac-
ter of a considerable river." '

The fountain of Nahr Fikeh is too far to the south-east for us
to visit it, but here we are above "the copious sources of the
Orontes," so graphically described by Lieutenant Van de Vcldr,
and to descend to them we must exercise both effort and caution.
The water, as you see, flows out from the very base of Lebanon in
this wild and savage chasm, and forms at once a stream fifty feet
wide and over three feet deep. The fountains seem to burst out

' Syria and Palestine, vol. ii. p. 47'. 472-

oQ^ THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

from the rocks under the hill on the east side of the chasm, as if
the water came from Anti-Lebanon, but the explanation is that the
strata of Lebanon dip under the general plain at this end of the
Buka'a, and the water is thereby carried below the surface, and is
then turned back to its natural outflow, and hence it appears to
come from the east instead of the west.

This Neb'a or 'Ain el 'Asy, as the natives call it, is not the most
distant source of the Orontes, as we shall see during our day's ride.
In the winter the fountains at Lebweh and el 'Ain contribute
largely to swell the volume of the river, but at present the streams
which come from them are nearly exhausted in irrigating the fields
of Indian-corn, which is the chief product of this entire region, and
constitutes the staff of life for most of the inhabitants.

I have followed this largest of Syrian rivers from its entrance
into the Mediterranean Sea near Seleucia, at the foot of Mount
Casius, to its sources in this and other chasms, and the points of
special interest along its tortuous course are quite familiar to me,
and the river itself I greet as an old acquaintance. It flows on
to-day just as it has flowed during unknown ages in the past, and
just as it did when I first stood upon this spot; and, so long as
" goodly " Lebanon lifts his head to the clouds, the river Orontes
will continue to pour forth its crystal waters to refresh and fer-
tilize the plains of Northern Syria.

We will now descend along the bank for a short distance and
get a view in passing of the traditional grotto of Mar Maron, exca-
vated in the cliff on the opposite side of the river. .It is also called
Mugharat er Rahib, the cave of the monk.

One is taken by surprise to hear that any human being could
live in such a cavern at this place, so lonely and solitary.

You need not be alarmed to hear also that the cell of the monk
has since become the robber's den. I have been through it seve-
ral times, and Dr. Robinson during his second tour through this
country explored it carefully. He thus describes it :

" Where the stream, having turned around the high projecting
point, flows eastward for a little time on the right-hand side, high
up in the precipice looking north is the excavated convent now
known amongst the common people as Deir Mar Maron. It is only

THE CAVE OF THE MONK.— BRIDGE OVER THE ORONTES. 305

a few hundred yards distant from the great fountain, towards the
north-east. The precipitous chff is here about three hundred feet
high, and the cavern is about two-thirds of the way up. The hill
on the opposite side of the river is less precipitous, and rises to
the height of some four hundred feet.

" The monks took advantage of a shelf of overhanging rocks,
cut away more deeply underneath it, and then built up in front
breastworks and outer walls, with loop-holes, thus forming a' covered
gallery along the face of the precipice. Behind this they then exca-
vated rooms and cells, mainly in two stories, but also some cells in
a third story. These are all small, and are now dark, dirty, and
d-esolate. No one dwells there, though it was said that one or two
monks had remained there for a time within a few years. In the
autumn the cavern [is sometimes] occupied as a shelter for flocks
of sheep and goats.

"The story [that the reputed founder of the Maronite sect once
dwelt in that cavern] is apparently a mere legend ; as is perhaps
Mar Maron himself ; there is nothing to connect [that saint] in any
way with this spot or this region. The great convent said to have
been founded in his honor after his decease, and called Deir Mar
Maron, was, as some say, at Hamah ; or, according to others, at
Apemea, now Kul'at el Mudik.'"

We will have some difficulty in climbing up the hill without a
path, and getting into the road that leads on eastward from llur-
mul to the Kamu'a, distant about an hour from this cavern.

Having reached the bridge, we will cross over the Orontcs and
ascend the steep bluffs on the other side up to the level of the
rolling plateau between the river and Kamu'a el Ilurmul.

This whole region for miles around is seared and sterile, consist-
ing mainly of low hills, covered with fragments of basaltic rock,
loose and crumbling, and the scanty herbage has been entirely
burnt up by the sun. There are no canals for irrigation, as the
Orontes flows in its deep chasm more than a hundred feet below
the surface level, and the only living thing we may see during this
morning's ride is a fox, or a flock of partridges, or, perchance, a
couple of fleet gazelles.

' Rol). Res. vol. iii. ji. 539, 540.

3o6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Kamu'a el Hurmul looks from here like a square tower with a
pointed top, and it must be visible from every direction.

We will have to leave the road and ride up to it across this
rather difficult country. I saw that curious monument, standing on
its elevated mound, for a day and a half before I got to it, when
coming from Aleppo in 1846, and wondered all the while what it
could be. Since then it has been visited by travellers, who make
the detour from the regular route between Ba'albek and the Cedars.

Standing on this tell, and looking off over the plain as it ex-
pands northward towards Hamath, one feels almost assured that the
narrow track of rolling country between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon
connecting the plain of Coelesyria with that of Hums is the actual
"entrance of Hamath;" and that this singular monument may once
have served as a land-mark upon the border of the Hebrew terri-
tory in this direction.

No one has discovered when or by whom Kamu'a el Hurmul
was built, nor what special event it was intended to commemorate.
The sculptures on its sides represent hunting scenes, and it may
have been erected over the grave of some " mighty hunter " who
was mortally wounded while pursuing the chase in this vicinity;
but no inscriptions have been found to explain the figures or relate
the circumstances, and both history and tradition are silent upon
the subject. This unique and solitary monument stands, facing the
four cardinal points, upon a pedestal of basalt about five feet high,
and is reached from either side by a flight of three steps. It is
built of limestone, and consists of three stories : the first has square
pilasters at the four angles, supporting a plain cornice ; the second
is a little smaller, and has two pilasters on each side and one at
each angle; the third story rises from a receding base above the
cornice, and is a perfect pyramid in shape. At the base the monu-
ment is thirty feet square, and the first story is about twenty-five
feet high ; the next is nearly twenty, and the pyramid, surmounting
the whole, about fifteen, so that the entire structure from the base
to the summit must be more than sixty-five feet high.

The common limestone of the neighborhood was used in the
construction of this extraordinar>^ monument ; the stones are about
two feet thick, and well squared, but they were laid up without

KAMU'A EL HURMUL.

.5^/

cement or mortar, and, consequently, it has not been able to with-
stand the destructive power of the earthquake. It is cracked in
several places, and the south-west corner has fallen, carrying with it
a portion of the pyramid. We are thus enabled to see that the
interior was built up solid, though of smaller stone.

■■■^j3^:

--^- -Jiai, .

*^^^^*r^

KAMIA Kl, lilK.MLl, — .M<J> U .Mi,.N 1 I i i.M M l.Mi >i< v i i \ i'-

But the distinctive and peculiar features of KamiVa el Hurmul
are those hunting scenes so boldly and graphically delineated in re-
lief upon its sides. The sculptures of animals and implements of
the chase on that broad surface of smoothly-cut stones, near the top
of the first story, arc almost of natural size.

308

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Those on the east side are the most distinct ; they represent
dogs attacking a wild -boar from before and behind. Spears are

Figures on the east side.

hurled, of which three stick in his side, and there are bows, quivers,
a coil of rope, perhaps, and other hunting implements. On the
north side there are two stags — one standing, the other lying down ;

Ficrures on the north side.

and there are spears crossed, quivers, and two coils of rope. In the
middle of the west side is a large animal, probably a bear, with two
cubs — one standing up in front, the other following behind. There

Figures on the west side.

are also spears crossed, a coil of rope, bows, quivers, and spears,
apparently hurled. So much of the south side has fallen away that
the animals represented there are somewhat indistinct, but a dog

OUTLOOK OVER THE PLAIN FROM THE KAMUA.

309

appears to be seizing an animal from behind, probably a stag or a
gazelle. The body of the dog and a part of the head of the stag
are gone, but bows, quivers, a spear hurled, and other implements
of the chase are plainly visible.

Ficures on the south side.

Few sites suggest scenes of such varied interest in the history of
this country. Kamu'a el Hurmul stands on this dreary and deso-
late hill, high above the surrounding region, and in the narrowest
part of this rolling plateau. Below it, on the north, flows the clas-
sic Orontes diagonally across the plain, past the Biblical Riblah and
the supposed site of Ketesh, and through the lake of Kedes, and
thence by Hums and Hamah and Apamea to Antioch and the sea
at the foot of Mount Casius. Eastward the plain rolls back to the
horizon and onwards to the Euphrates ; and westward the tower-
iner heights of Lebanon shut out " the great sea," and the plain
of Coelesyria stretches away southward far as the eye can follow
to where the snow-capped range of Hermon is faintly outlined
against the pale blue sky. Mighty armies — Assyrian, Egyptian,
Babylonian, Persian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Saracen
— have marched past during the long ages of human history, but
now that nameless monument is deserted in this solitude, and left
to tell its story to the stars. Ik-ars and boars, gazelles and jackals
may still roam around it, but men and armies will nircly, if ever,
come within sight of its sculptured walls.

Instead of descending again into the valley of the (Brontes we
will make our way through the open, roadless couiUn-~a rocky
and desert plain — to the fountain near Lebweh, about three hours'
ride to the south. We shall, ere long, reach a broad canal which

3IO THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

conveys the water of that fountain northwards to Ka'a, a distance
of about fifteen miles, to irrigate the extensive corn-fields which lie
too high to be flooded by canals from the Orontes itself. For
several miles above the fountain of el 'Asy, near Mugharat er Ra-
hib, the bed of that river is more than fifty feet below the sur-
rounding country, and the rocky banks on either side are nearly
perpendicular, so that one has no suspicion of their existence until
he finds himself suddenly standing on the brink of the chasm.

This must be the canal you mentioned, and there is water
enough in it and to spare for irrigating purposes.

And yet so utterly sterile is the soil in this vicinity that nothing
grows along the course of the canal itself.

That village on our left is called Ras Ba'albek. It is distant
three hours and a half, to the north-east, from Lebweh, and the
intervening country is hilly and broken, descending rapidly to the
south-west. Part of the present village lies in ruins, but there are
indications that it was formerly a Christian town of some impor-
tance. A fine fountain bursts out in the village, and contributes
largely to the productiveness of the gardens and fruit orchards and
to the fertility of the plain below er Ras and to the west of it.

There are in and about the place the ruins of ancient buildings,
the remains of an aqueduct, and the foundations of two churches,
which were solidly built of large beveled stones, and must have
been of considerable size. A short distance east of the village
there is a dilapidated convent, facing the deep gorge between the
lower ridges of Anti-Lebanon. Its only occupant is a monk from
'Abeih, with whom I am well acquainted. His pastoral charge
consists of a flock of goats, over which he watches with zealous
care, as Ras Ba'albek is a notorious place for sudden raids by
prowling Arabs from the eastern desert.

Dr. Robinson identifies er Ras with the ancient Conna, between
Emesa, Hums, and Heliopolis, Ba'albek, and the seat of a bishop
in the province of Phenicia in Lebanon. As there is very little
resemblance in the names, he asks, " Is perhaps the present name
er Ras merely a translation of the Greek [words], the head?"' The
answer to which may possibly be found in the correctness of a simi-
' Rob. Res. vol. iii. note 5, pp. 536, 537.

WADY FIKEH.— EL 'AIN.— THE WATER-SHED. 311

lar identification of another Beit er Ras, south-east of Gadara, " in
Decapohs," with the Roman city of CapitoHas.

From the top of that hill ahead of us we will bid farewell to
Kamii'a el Hurmul and the lake of Hums, and then descend into
the deep chasm of Wady Fikeh. The village of Fikeh is not visi-
ble from here. It is in the bottom of the gorge, and considerably
higher up the stream. The valley, though narrow and precipitous,
is well cultivated; but in winter the water of this little brook is. of
course, not needed for irrigation, and it is then allowed to descend
westward and join the river that comes down from Wady Lebweh.
This winding road up the chasm, on the south side of Wady Fikeh,
is much steeper than the one by which we descended into the
valley, and we still have a ride of about an hour along a compara-
tively level road before reaching the fountain at Lebweh.

That small village on the left, up amongst the foot-hills of
Anti- Lebanon, is called el 'Ain, the fountain. It is abundantly
supplied with water from three small fountains, and surrounded by
verdure and vineyards. If it was not so far south it might be
identified with the Ain mentioned in Numbers in connection with
Riblah, on the east border of the Promised Land.' The reference
there is probably to the fountain of the Orontes near Mugharat
er Rahib. There are some rock tombs west of el 'Ain, but no
ancient remains of importance, in the village. This stream that
comes down from el 'Ain is sufficiently powerful to drive some
flour-mills below the village.

On one occasion I rode for several hours southwards through
the corn-fields in this vicinity, in order to find the water-shed be-
tween the Buka'a and the valley of the Orontes, and, just before
sunset, I noticed that the water from the irrigating canals began to
run towards the south instead of the north. There, of course, was
the water-shed of that region, and it was nearly due west of the
fountain of Lebweh, to which we are now going. The corn-fields
ran out into a rolling wilderness of barren hills ; the sun went
down, and a dense fog enveloped us in almost tot.d cl.irkness. I
had with me only one native, and, after wandering about in hope-
less bewilderment until nearly eleven o'clock at night, we were

' Numl>. xxxiv. 11.

312

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

rejoiced to hear the barking of dogs, and soon found ourselves in
the midst of an encampment of Bedawin Arabs.

We had no Httle difficulty in establishing peaceable relations
with the fierce shepherd dogs, and on arriving at the tent of the
sheikh we found only his wife and daughter in it, he himself having
been summoned to Ba'albek by the Pasha. The sheikh's wife,
however, was quite equal to the occasion. She rekindled the ex-
piring fire, roasted and made some hot coffee for us, and gave us
bread, and brought leben "in a lordly dish" for our supper.

That modern Jael was of an inquiring turn of mind, and, as she
had never before entertained a European guest, she had many curi-
ous questions to ask. Finally she retired to another part of the
tent, leaving us to doze by the fire until daylight. She then
ordered one of the Arabs in the camp to guide us to the regular
road along the Buka'a, and we pursued our way until noon before
overtaking our servants and the baggage. They also had got lost
in the fog, and, finding a spring of water, encamped near it, greatly
perplexed and anxious about us, for they knew that we had no
provisions, and no beds nor any bedding.

I suppose we need only to follow the canal, along which we
have been riding, to reach the fountain at Lebweh?

Nor is it far off. I begin to see the ruins of the village, which
lie a short distance to the north-west of it, on a low tell nearly sur-
rounded by the streams from the fountain. I have, generally, found
this village almost deserted, as it is now, but sometimes it is inhab-
ited by the peasants who cultivate the corn-fields which spread out
into the plain below. Lebweh occupies an old site, and it is be-
lieved to correspond to the Lybo of the ancient Itinerarium Anto-
nini, a place on the road between Emesa and Heliopolis. On the
north side of the tell are the foundations of an old structure, prob-
ably those of a temple, and the rest of the mound is covered with
heaps of rubbish, with here and there a piece of a broken column
or the fragments of a capital. Arabian writers mention Lebweh as
a fortified place ; and here it is said that, in the twelfth century,
a company of two hundred Saracen horsemen fell in with a troop
of Frank cavalry, put them to flight, and killed their leader, a chief
of the Knights Hospitalers.

EIRKET EL YEMMUNEH— LAKE ON LEBAXOX. 313

The quantity of water at this fountain of Lebweh, one of the
most distant sources of the Orontes in this direction, is very great.
It issues from a mass of pebbles and gravel, at the base of a ledge
of limestone rock, in four large streams and many smaller ones, and
is used to irrigate the fields both to the south and west ; but the
greater part of the water is taken northwards by that canal close
to which we have been riding for so long to-day. The rest of the
water flows oK towards the north-west, in a deep and narrow chan-
nel, along the eastern side of Lebanon, and through a rocky and
barren region. The stream from Neb'a Lebweh is joined by that
coming down Wady Fikeh, and the two, under the name of Nahr
el 'Asy, unite with the water of the great fountain near Mugharat
er Rahib and form the river Orontes.

There is nothing here to detain us but the grateful sight of this
verdure, spreading all around like an oasis in the desert, so we will
continue our ride to Ba'albek, which is five hours and a half distant.
Some travellers on the regular road from Ba'albek to the Cedars
spend the night at Lake Yemmuneh ; others, however, prefer to
camp at 'Ainata, a village to the north-east of the lake.

I thought there was no large lake on Lebanon.

A number of small streams rise along the w-estern side of the
lake from the very roots of Lebanon, and, uniting around the base
of an ancient temple, form a considerable river, which crosses the
plain eastwards for nearly a mile, when it disappears in a sink-hole
under the surface of the lake or pool. When the supply from that
river is greater than the capacity of the sink-hole, the water spreads
out far and wide into the lake, which is increased or decreased in
size according to the volume of water and the season of the year.
That disappearance of the water is one of the most remarkable
phenomena of the kind in this country ; and the question is, where
does it reappear? The natives think that Birkct el Yemmuneh is
the source of Nahr Ibrahim, which, as you will remember, issues
from the cave of Adonis at Afka, below the Natural Bridge, and on
the other side of Lebanon. The more probable theory is that it
forms part of the fountain of the Orontes near Mugharat cr Rahib.

During the heavy rains of winter Birket el Yemmuneh actually
deserves the name of a lake, U)r then the narrow plain south of it,

314

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

BIRKET EL YEMMUNEH — LAKE ON LEBANON.

which stretches along the eastern base of the lofty range of Leba-
non, is flooded for a considerable distance. Even in summer there
is a sheet of water more than a mile in length ; but the lake is
greatly reduced in the autumn, as the principal fountain near the
temple almost entirely dries up at that season.

The ruins of the temple are near the base of the mountain,
which sweeps upwards to the clouds in one magnificent rise of more
than three thousand feet. It stands on a low rocky platform, facing
the main fountain, and the water that flows out around it is of the
softest and coldest in the land. The platform was two hundred and
sixty feet long by two hundred feet wide, and the temple is about

BA'ALBEK.— AMUD VAAT.

3»5

fifty-six feet long by thirty-six feet wide. Some of the stones are
very large, but the edifice appears to have been destitute of archi-
tectural ornamentation. In winter the numerous springs which sur-
round the site transform it into a low island, and then the ruined
temple presents a very striking appearance.

We have had in view for some time the ruins of Ba'albek, domi-
nating the glorious plain of the Buka'a, which stretches away off to
the south-west far as the eye can follow.

It looks like some formidable castle of mediaeval times, but I
am surprised that there are no villages in sight upon the plain.

The land, however, is highly cultivated, but, as in the case of
other plains in this country, the peasants have their homes on the
neighboring hill-sides. In the central parts there is no water. The
heat in summer is oppressive, and the climate unhealthy. On the
hills the air is cooler and pure, and there are all the fountains.

Instead of going direct to Ba'albek we will turn to the right and
visit a curious monument which stands alone in the open plain
of the Buka'a, and apparently had no connection with any other
structure ancient or modern.

The only living objects near it this c\"cning are those noisy
hawks, who greet us with shrill screams of alarm as they hover
about their nest in the crevices at the top of the column. It is
much weather-worn, and looks as though the first shock of an
earthquake would bring it to the ground.

And yet it was exactly in its present condition forty-five years
ago, when I first saw it ; and, having survived so many of those de-
structive phenomena in the long ages of the past, no one can pre-
dict the time of its final overthrow.

For w^^iat purpose do you suppose it was erected ?

Like the lone monument of Kamu'a el Hiirmul, this 'Amud
Ya'at, or el Maghzel, the spindle, as it is called, may have had
some reference to boundaries; but more probabl)' it was raisetl in
commemoration of some important victory, or special event now
unknown. The column, standing upon a pedestal six antl a half
feet high, is of the Corinthian order, and is reached by five steps.
The shaft is composed of fifteen blocks, five feet in diameter and
three feet thick, but the caj^ital is weather-worn and disintegratetl.

3l6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK,

and the inscription on the north side is so defaced as to be en-
tirely illegible. Including the base and capital, this singular mon-
ument must have been more than fifty-five feet high, and it may
have had a statue on the top of it.

We are now on the regular road from the Cedars to Ba'albek.
Wearied with this long day's ride, we will not stop at Nahleh to
examine the foundations of a ruined temple, resembling those we
saw on Hermon, nor visit the rock-cut tombs east of that village.
An easy ride of an hour and a half will bring us, in the cool twilight,
to our tents, pitched in the court of the great Temple of the Sun,
from where we can gaze at our leisure upon the ruins of Ba'albek,
those marvels of architecture in this or in any other land.

B-VALBEK.— EL BUKA'A.— EZ ZEBEDANV.

J'/

IX.

BA'ALBEK TO DAMASCUS.

Ba'albek and el Biika'a. — Approach to Ba'albek from the Cedars, and from Zahleh. —
Personal Experience. — The Cardinal Points. — Position of Ba'albek. — The Ancient
City. — The Old Wall. — Doric Column. — Remains of the Old Town. — Statues. — The
Modern Town. — The Acropolis. — Artificial Platform of the Great Temple. — Stairway
Leading to the Platform. — The Portico. — Latin Inscription. — Antoninus Pius and Julia
Domna. — Massive Square Towers. — Large Stones. — Vaults. — Main Entrance. — The
Hexagonal Court. — The Triple Gate. — The Great Court. — Niches, Recesses, and
Chambers. — The Eastern, Northern, and Western Sides of the Court. — Raised Plat-
form. — The Temple of the Sun. — The Peristyle. — The Six Columns. — The Walls of
the Temple Platform. — Cyclopean Stones and Walls. — Trilithon. — The Three CJreat
Stones. — Seven Stones in the West Wall. — Nine Stones Parallel to the North Wall. —
Vaults and Galleries under the Platform. — Temple of Jupiter. — The Pantheon at
Athens. — Platform of the Temple. — The Portico. — The Peristyle. — The Vestibule. —
The Portal. — Mr. David Roberts. — The Hanging Keystone. — The Assyrian Eagle. —
Stairway to the Top of the Temple. — The Nave of the Temple. — Fluted Columns and
Sculptured Niches. — The Sanctum. — Sacrificial Procession. — Vaulted Chambers. —
Moslem Iconoclasts. — Nine Columns on the North Side of the Peristyle. — Entablature
and Roof of the Peristyle. — Lieutenant Conder. — Three Columns on the West Side
of the Temple. — The Leaning Column on the South Wall of the Temple. — Four
Standing Columns. — Fluted Columns of the Portico. — Saracenic Tower. — The Octag-
onal Temple. — Columns, Niches, and Festoons. — Ionic and Corinthian Columns
around the Interior Walls. — A Christian Church. — Ras el 'Ain. — Coelesyria. — El
Bukd'a. — The Orontes and the Leontes. — El Berduny and Nalir Anjar. — Tlie Grave
of Noah and the Tomb of Seth. — Toi and David. — The Ilittites and tiie Egyptians.
— The History of Ba'albek. — Baal-gad. — The Plain of Aven. — Heliopolis. — Julia,
Augusta Felix. — The Emperor Trajan. — John of Antioch. — Antoninus Pius and
Septimus Severus. — Julia Domna and Heliogabalus. — Venus Worshipped at Ba'al-
bek. — The Emperor Constantine. — Muhammedan Vandalism. — Kiil'at Ba'albek. —
The Quarries. — The Great Stone in the Quarry. — Kubbet Diiris. — The Road to
Damascus. — Emirs of Beit Harfush. — Bereitan. — Kliurailjch. — A Donkey Fallen
under its Load. — The Humane Laws of Moses. — Nahr Vahfufeh. — A Roman Britlge.
— SQrghaya. — Volcanic Plain. — The Water- shed. — '.\in Ilawar. — Ez Zebcdany.—
The Plain, the Gardens, and the Vineyards. — The Source of the Barada. — The

jl8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Lofty Range of Anti-Lebanon. — Bludan. — Wild and Romantic Scenery in Suk Wady
Barada. — The Pass. — The Bridge. — Ancient Roadway Cut in the Rock. — Latin In-
scriptions. — "Abila of Lysanias." — Rock-hewn Aqueduct and Rock-cut Tombs. —
Ancient Quarries. — The Tomb of Abek— Ruins of a Small Temple. — Plain and Vil-
lage of Siik Wady Barada. — A Devout Hermit.— Gibbon. — Kefr el 'Awamid. — An-
cient Temple. — Ride along the Canal. — A Succession of Surprises. — 'Ain el Fijeh.
—The most Copious Source of the Barada. — Massive Remains of Platforms and Tem-
ples. — Fever and Ague. — 'Ain el Khudra. — Grand Scenery and Execrable Road. —
Tunnel through the Cliff.— Zenobia and Palmyra.— Bessima.— Es Sahra. — French
Carriage-road. — Dummar. — Kubbet en Niisr. — First and Finest View of Damascus. —
Description of the Scene by Lieutenant Van de Velde and Mr. Addison. — The Barada
Described by Dean Stanley. — The Canals and Streams from the Barada. — The Main
Stream. — The Paradise of the Prophet. — The Mountains and the Plain. — Hermon.
— Nahr el A'waj, the Pharpar. — Jebel Kasyun. — Adam and Abraham. — Cain and
Abel. — Es Salahiyeh. — Broad Paved Road. — The Tent and the Hotel.

September nth.
I HAVE devoted the early hours of the morning to these cele-
brated ruins, and have examined them again and again, and always
with a feeling of ever increasing admiration and astonishment.

The disappointment experienced by some visitors on first ap-
proaching Ba'albek is partly owing to the vast proportions of the
surrounding region. The valley of Coelesyria, now called el Buka'a,
extends to a great distance northward and southward, and is shut
in by the long and lofty range of Lebanon on the north-west, and
that of Anti-Lebanon on the south-east. During the many hours
of approach along its undulating surface towards Ba'albek the eye
grows familiar with such magnitudes as the extreme length of the
plain, the great height of the mountains, and the profound depths
of the valleys, and in comparison with them any structure of man's
designing, no matter how imposing, is as nothing.

Coming to Ba'albek from the Cedars, the distant view of these
ruined temples is not very impressive, and to approach them from
Zahleh is still more disappointing, as I experienced on my first visit
in 18^5. Hour after hour we rode along over the plain in weary
monotony. Several times I spurred my horse to a gallop, expect-
ing to reach those columns in a few minutes, but had to draw rein
again and breathe my jaded steed, that had not a particle of my
enthusiasts. When, at last, the hoofs of our horses clattered upon
the pavement at the entrance I exclaimed, almost in disgust, to my

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.— POSITION OF BA'ALBEK. 319

companion, "Is this Ba'albek?" "It is," was his reply; "and now
prepare yourself for hours, if not days, of exploration and wonder;
you will need all that time, and, having done that once, you will do
it again whenever you have an opportunity."

Dismounting, I came to a prostrate column, and was surprised
to find that, on tip-toe, and with my arm outstretched, I could not
measure its diameter. I climbed up between two of those six stand-
ing columns, and felt dwarfed to utter insignificance beside them ;
and I looked up to the entablature with awe, and wondered how
high it could be. A fallen fragment lay close by, and I jumped
down to measure it, and to my astonishment found that it was
more than fourteen feet thick I Such columns and such fragments
lay all around, in bewildering confusion ; but by degrees I learned
to comprehend the grand design of the whole, and from the plat-
form in the middle of the great court I tried to reconstruct, in
imagination, their magnificent sanctuaries.

I cannot feel at home in any place until the points of the com-
pass are correctly understood. Here the east persistently seems to
be north, and the west south. Let us, therefore, commence our
survey of these celebrated ruins at Ba'albek by settling the actual
position of the four cardinal points.

That can easily be accomplished if you will bear in mind that
on a low ridge or spur of the sloping tract which extends westward
from Anti-Lebanon into the Buka'a, and upon an artificial platform,
raised from thirty to fifty feet above the immediate environs, these
ruined temples stand, facing the rising sun. They are surrounded
by mulberry-gardens and groves of walnut and pojilar trees, through
which small streams from Ras el 'Ain find their way to the plain
below. This particular site was selected, I suppose, because it was
the first beyond the fountain which extended farther west than the
cit}% so that the temples would stand out alone and conspicuous,
and command an unobstructed view over the Buka'a to the north
and south — of Lebanon across the plain westward, and Anti-Leba-
non eastward. The ground rises gently to the south-east, affording
an admirable position for the town, whose Syrian name, Ba'albek,
was translated by the Greeks into Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.

The old city was irregular in form, and was surrounded by a
Y

320 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

wall, which can be traced along almost its entire circuit of nearly
two miles. The existing fragments of the wall reveal the fact that
it was not the most ancient, since it was constructed out of older
material ; and the part still standing, on the south-west, with its
battlements and square towers, though both are badly cracked and
broken, has quite a modern appearance. When I first visited Ba'al-
bek I saw the fragments of a Doric column, which stood on the
hill-side, in the angle formed by the wall, and over a cave in which
are several sarcophagi. The height of that column, from the bot-
tom of the base to the top of the capital, was about forty feet. A
hole appears to have been made in the capital to correspond to
a groove in the side of the shaft, but for what special purpose it
is now impossible to determine. Built into the wall in that south-
western part of the city are fragments of ornamented friezes and
cornices. Some of the sculptured stones are upside down, and
others have portions of Greek inscriptions upon them.

The remains of the old town are of no special importance.
They consist of detached masses of building-stone, fragments of
columns, friezes, and cornices, plain and ornate, thrown together in
heaps or scattered here and there in hopeless confusion. Statues
and other antiquities have been dug up from the ruins, and some
stones were found with Greek inscriptions upon them. Careful
excavations would probably reveal more of the same kind. The
modern town lies to the east of the temples, and is built among the
ruins, and out of the old material, of the ancient town. It occupies
but a small portion of the original site, and consists of about two
luindred and fifty houses, most of which are inhabited by Greek
Catholics, and the rest by Moslems and Metawileh.

The modern traveller, however, does not linger amongst the
remains of the old city, nor loiter about the narrow streets and
crooked lanes of the present town. The main attractions of Ba'al-
bek are the wonderful ruins of these temples, which surpass even
those of Greece and Rome in the vastness and boldness of their
design, their symmetrical proportions, and the delicate execution
of their elaborate decorations. It has been well said of them that
"these temples have been the wonder of past centuries, and they
will continue to be the wonder of future generations." Let us now

THE ACROPOLIS.— ARTIFICIAL LLATFORNL— I'lIL STAIRWAY. 32 1

proceed, in imagination, to the Acropolis, in the north-western part
of the cit\'. where the temples stood, and which constituted its de-
fence in that quarter for centuries after their destruction.

The Acropolis extended westward from the town, rising gradu-
ally in that direction, and the artificial platform occupied b\' tlie
great temple was irregular in form and nearly one thousand feet in
length from east to west, and four hundred and fifty feet wide from
north to south. A broad flight of steps, probably one hundred and
fifty feet in length and fifty feet wide, led up from the city to the
portico at the eastern end. The steps are now all gone." The floor
of the portico was elevated about twenty feet above the ground.
The portico was one hundred and eighty feet long from north to
south, thirty-seven feet wide, and probably over forty feet high. It
had twelve columns in front, four feet in diameter, and with an
interval of ten feet between them.

Standing on that elevated platform, supporting a portico one
hundred and eighty feet in length, those columns, w ith their Corin-
thian capitals and ornamented entablature, must have presented a
magnificent appearance. Only the bases of the columns remain,
upon two of which are Latin inscriptions to the effect that Anto-
ninus Pius and Julia Domna, grateful for their safety, caused the
capitals of the columns to be covered with gold. Flanking the
portico on the north-east and south-east are square towers, with
rooms in them. Those towers wouUl attract attention anvwhere,
for they were constructed of very large stones — one of them is
twenty-five feet long — and the spacious room in each is more than
thirty-five feet square, and ornamented with pilasters, niches, and
cornices. .Steps led down from the rooms into vaults beneath the
platform. The upper parts of the towers have been fortified with
battlements and pierced with loopholes by the Saracens.

The wall at the back of the portico is nineteen feet thick, and
most of the stones of which it was constructed are of cyclopean
size, some measuring from ten to twenty feet in length. That
massive wall is also ornamented with pilasters, niches, and cornices,
and through it was the main entrance leading into the hexagonal
court beyond; but the interior of the portico is now filled with
heaps of ruins and great masses of fallen walls, and the gateway is

322

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

almost entirely blocked up
the central and largest of
which was twenty - three
feet wide, and the smaller
ones, on each side of it,
were ten feet in width.

The gate consisted of three portals,

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The side en-
trance on the
left is the only
one now open
— a low passage
roofed over with
very large stones.
Entering the
hexagonal court,
it is found to
be two hundred feet in
length from east to west,
and two hundred and fifty
feet wide from anele to

SCALE n,- FEET.

WEST.
The lliree great stones

50 100 200 EAST.

PLAN OF THE COURTS AND TEMPLES AT BA'ALBEK.

THE GREAT COURT IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 323

angle. On all sides — east, north, and south, except the west — it had
rectangular recesses, with four columns in front of each ; and at the
ant^les there were irregularly shaped rooms of different sizes. The
eastern recess was the \estibule before the entrance from the por-
tico, and directly opposite to it, on the western side of the hexago-
nal court, was the triple gate leading to the great court in front of
the Temple of the Sun. The central portal of that gateway was
fifty feet wide, and the side portals were each ten feet in width, and
the ornamentation upon them all was extremely rich and elaborate.
Only one of those portals remains — that on the right.

The great court is a quadrangle four hundred" and forty feet
long and three hundred and seventy feet wide. On all sides except
the western this great court had niches, rectangular, square, and
circular recesses or chambers, differing in size, and having two or
more columns in front of each. The recesses are separated from
each other by square pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and between
them are two rows of niches: the lower is shell-shaped, or scolloped,
the upper is plain, with a projecting cornice or pediment ; and that
design, of niches between square pilasters, has been generally fol-
lowed along the walls of the recesses themselves. Above the niches
ran an uninterrupted entablature, with a frieze composed of garlands
of fruit and flowers, and all the recesses are supposed to have once
been covered over. All of them are now in ruins, and there is not
a column left standing. As the recesses on the three sides corre-
spond in every respect with each other, a description of those on
the right of the small portal, along the east side of the court, and
the ones along the north side of it. will give an adequate idea of
them all, and of the general appearance of the great court itself.

Proceeding northward, therefore, there is, next to the triple gate,
on the right, a large niche eighteen feet in width, which was i)roba-
bly intended for a colossal statue ; then a rectangular recess about
twenty-f^ve feet deep and forty-five feet in length, with four columns
two and a half feet in diameter in front, of Syenite granite from
Egypt. Next to that there is a room thirty feet in length, willi a
door in front instead of columns, and a side door communicating
with a chamber, about twenty feet sciuare, in the north-east corner
of the wall of the great court.

524

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Turning west and proceeding along the north wall of the court,
there is a room similar to that on the east of the square chamber
in the corner, with which it also communicates by a door. The
square chamber is thus rendered inaccessible except from these side
rooms. Next to that room is a rectangular recess, with four col-
umns in front, then a semicircular one nearly thirty feet long, with
two columns in front; and next to it, occupying the middle of the

SHELL-SHAPED AND RECTANGULAR NICHES AND SEMICIRCULAR RECESS AROUND
THE GREAT COURT.

wall on this side, is a rectangular recess over sixty feet in length,
with six columns in front. Then follow, in the same order as be-
fore, a semicircular recess with two columns in front, a rectangular
one with four columns, and a room with a door next to the corner.
Adjoining this is a shell-shaped niche ; but there were no recesses
or columns along the west side of the court between it and the
peristyle of the temple, a distance of about one hundred feet.

TEMPLE OF THE SUX.— THE SIX COLUMNS. 325

In the middle of this western part of the court, and fronting the
temple, are the remains of a raised quadrangular platform, upon
which, it is said, there were two rows of pedestals, three in a row,
probably intended for statues. We have now. in imagination, be-
fore us — standing upon a stylobate three hundred feet long and
two hundred and forty feet wide, and considerably higher than the
great court which we have just traversed — the Temple of Baal, or
of the Sun. Broad steps led up to it, and it was surrounded b\' a
peristyle two hundred and ninety feet in length by one hundred
and sixty feet in breadth, consisting of fifty-four columns seven and
a half feet thick, sixty-two feet high, and supporting an entablature
the top of which must have been eighty feet above the ground, and
one hundred and thirty feet above the level of the plain.

All that remains of that magnificent peristyle are six columns,
with their entablature, standing among the most wonderful masses
of ruins that man has ever seen, and the like of which he will never
behold. The base of each column consisted of a single block of
limestone, the shaft of three unequal in length, the capital of one,
and the entablature, reaching from column to column — a distance of
about fifteen feet — was also composed of but a single block, nearl_\-
square. The sections of the shafts were fastened together by round
or square iron cramps, and the distance between the columns was
eight feet. The style of architecture is Corinthian ; the capitals of
the columns are richly sculptured, and the entablature is profusely
ornamented with fretted mouldings, garlands, and busts, designed
with great taste, and carefully executed. From the splendid effect
produced by the six columns now standing the magnificence of the
entire peristyle can be imagined, and some idea formed of the grand
appearance of the temple itself. Not a trace remains of its walls,
however, and the probabilities are that it was never built, and that
" the peristyle alone served the purpose of a vast h)'pa:thral tem-
ple " under a clear sky, and dedicated to the Lord of Light at
Ba'albek, "the city of the sun."'

If those columns, whose shafts lie in great fragments all around,
ever enclosed a temple, it must have been of the usual (piadrangu-
br form, and it stood facing the east on this elevated platform high

' Roh. Res., vol. iii. p. 512.

326

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

IIIK MX LHJLIMNS (IN THE SOLTH SIDE OF THE PER1M\1.1..

above the plain. Only the north wall that sustained the line of
columns on that side is exposed to view. It consists of thirty-nine
courses of large bevelled stones, each course being nearly four feet
high, and of about the same thickness. The eastern wall adjoins
the western side of the great quadrangular court in front of the

THE THREE GREAT STONES IX THE WEST WALL.

;^7

peristyle. The southern wall is almost entirely buried up w ith rub-
bish and ruins, and the western wall is partly broken down, afford-
ing a view through the gap of the mulberry-gardens below and the
plain beyond. The walls upon which the columns were erected
were of the same height, but whether the i)latform enclosed b\-
them was built up solid, or whether the temple stood on massive
vaults, can only be determined by careful excavation.

IKS'- ■ '" ,-v:..-»^ ,

r''^:j-\ ■^-

'■.^

i %

rvr- /■<■.:;■ v-^

.^^

1 HL lliRtK (JKEAT STU.Nhs IN 1111, Ul.al WAI.I..

But neither the courts, nor this platform, nor these columns, nor
yet the temple itself constituted the greatest of Ba'albek's archi-
tectural marvels. Those were the cyclopean stones and walls which
surrounded the Acropolis itself, and they still confound e\en the
imagination of the beholder. To see them we must descend from
this platform, near the north-western corner, to the gardens at its
base, on the outside of these walls. Those "external substruc-
tions," as they are called, were nearly thirty feet distant from the
walls sustaining the columns, and on the north side the intervening
space appears never to have been filled in. riic most imjiosing of

328 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

them are the celebrated "three stones" in the western wall, that
gave the name of Trilithon to the temple in ancient times.

There they are ; look at them ! — the most enormous stones that
man ever quarried out of the solid rock or built into the walls of
any edifice. They are twenty feet above the ground, and rest upon
seven stones each one of which is almost thirty feet long and thir-
teen feet high, and those are laid on others much smaller — a curious
fact, but not uncommon in the construction of ancient massive sub-
structions. The great marvel is, how they were placed on the top
of those other stones, which are themselves of a wonderful size even
in Ba'albek. The largest of the three stones is sixty-four feet in
length, the second sixty-three feet eight inches, and the third sixty-
three feet, and together they are one hundred and ninety feet eight
inches long, thirteen feet in height, and about the same in thickness.
They contain more than thirty-two thousand cubic feet, and must
weigh nearly one thousand tons each — the greatest masses of stone
ever handled by man. They were cut and polished with such ex-
actness and care that when brought together the blade of a pen-
knife could not have been inserted between them, and even now
at first sight they seem to be one prodigious stone in the wall,
nearly two hundred feet long.

Passing around this north-west angle of the platform, and pro-
ceeding along the north side, we come to nine large stones corre-
sponding to the seven in the west wall upon which " the three
stones" are placed. These stones are also cyclopean in size and ap-
pearance, measuring about thirty-one feet in length, thirteen feet in
height, and ten feet in breadth, and they were laid here just as they
came from the quarry. They stand in line, parallel to the north
wall of the platform, and distant from it about twenty feet — the
most ancient, the roughest, and most picturesque objects in all
Ba'albek. It may have been the intention to place the great stone
still remaining in the quarry upon this wall, and thus to complete
the line of substructions to the north-west corner ; but that entire
work seems to have been abandoned, the most ancient platform
was evidently left unfinished, and the temple which was to have
been erected upon it may never have been begun.

The platform upon which the courts and peristyle of the Temple

TEMPLE OF JUPITER.— Tin: GRAND PORTAL. 329

of the Sun stood, and which is now covered with ruin.s, is sustained
by vaulted galleries, crossing each other at right angles. Those
vaults were constructed of very large stones, and the foundations
are of the same age as the external substructions, but the arches
are Roman, and, from the inscriptions upon the walls and key-
stones, it appears that they were used for stables and warehouses
by the Roman soldiers. We will now return to the top of that
platform b}' the same wa)' that we came down here, and, passing
b}' the six columns, visit the lesser temple, which stood a few
rods to the south-east of them.

It is probable that the Temple of the Sun was consecrated to
all the gods of Heliopolis, and that this temple was dedicated by
the Romans to Jupiter. It is small when compared with the great
temple near it, but it is actually the largest, most perfect, and most
magnificent temple in Syria, and is only surpassed, in the beauty
of its architecture, though not in size, by the Pantheon, at Athens.
The platform upon which it stands is considerably lower than that
of the great temple, and probably there was no connection between
them. There were no courts in front of the temple, but a flight of
thirty steps led up to the portico from the east. The steps were
still in existence in 1688, but they have been destroyed since then,
and their place is now occupied by a Turkish fort. The temple,
including the colonnades, was about two hundred and twenty-five
feet long, and one hundred and twenty feet wide, and it was sur-
rounded by forty-two columns, fifteen on each side, eight at the
end, and the same number in front, counting the corner columns
twice. An interior row of six fluted columns formed the jjortico,
and the vestibule was included between the projecting walls of the
cclla. Similar columns .stood one on each side of the portal.

Nothing now remains of the portico but a few fragments of
shafts and bases of columns, and its place is partiailx' occupied b\'
the wall of the modern Turkish fort. Crossing the vestibule, which
was sixty feet wide and twenty- five feet deep, we come to the
portal of the temple, forty-two feet high and twenty-one feet wide;
but nearly half of it is cfjncealed by ruins and rubbish. Just as
"the three stones" exceed all others in size, and "the six col-
umns" surpass in grandeur anything still standing amidst the ruins

330 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

of the great temple, so this portal excels all else in the profusioii
and variet)' of its ornamentation, and the admirable skill with which
those intricate designs have been executed.

The sides or door-posts of this magnificent entrance are huge
pilasters, in three courses, and the top, or architrave, is composed
of three great blocks, elegantly sculptured on three sides. Around
the door, on the outside, is a belt of rich ornamentation, in reced-
ing panels, of leaves, flowers, and fruits, vines and grapes inter-
twined, and most delicately carved in relief. Above this the archi-
trave is elaborately adorned with vines and grapes, figures and
animals, and the frieze and cornice are finished with rich mould-
ings, acanthus -leaves, corbels, and scrolls. In the words of Mr.
David Roberts, the well-known Scotch artist, " this is perhaps the
most elaborate work as well as the most exquisite in its detail of
anything of its kind in the w^orld. The pencil can convey but a
faint idea of its beauty. One scroll alone of acanthus-leaves, with
groups of children and panthers intertwined, might form a work of
itself. Even independent of the beauty of the sculpture, and its
excellent preservation, we are lost in wonder at the size of the
stones, and at the nature of the machinery by which such masses
were raised and placed in position." '

But Time has dealt ruthlessly with this noble structure. In
1751 it was still perfect; but the earthquake of 1759, besides over-
throwing three columns of the peristyle of the great temple, and
nine in that of this temple, cracked and broke these massive mono-
liths, or door-posts, and so rudely shook that lofty architrave that
the ponderous key-stone slipped from its central position and sank
down about three feet. There it remained suspended in the mid-
dle, between those great blocks of the lintel on either side, for
more than a hundred years, threatening the astonished beholder
with instant annihilation if it suddenly dropped down upon him.
This key-stone is nearly eleven feet high, twelve feet thick, and
six feet broad, and will weigh about sixty tons. Quite recently,
through the laudable efforts of Mr. Burton, the English consul at
Damascus, it has been propped up by a square pier built of ordi-
nary masonry. But the celebrated eagle sculptured upon it has

' Roberts's Holy Land.

i^||rMRip«i

ASSYRIAN EAGLE— EMBLEM OF THE SUN.

5:>'

I'OKTAL AM) KEV-STONE OK THE TEMll.K ol' J I llll.K.

thus been completely concealed from view. That eagle was repre-
sented with a tuft or crest of feathers, and with outstretched wings,
holding in its claws a staff or caduceus, and in its beak twisted gar-
lands, the long strings of which extend on either side, and are held
up by flying genii. The crest is supposed to be emblematic of the
sun, the god to whom the eagles and the temples were consecrated.
Similar eagles have been found upon the ruins of some of the most
ancient temples in this country, as at Rukhlch, and esj)ecially the
Z

332

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

one on the portal of the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra. They
are all supposed to be of Assyrian origin.

Winding stairways within the jambs of this portal lead up to
the top of the temple. The entrance to one of them is built up,
but we can get through the low opening near the base of this one,
on the right, and ascend to the top of the wall, from where we
will obtain a good view of this assemblage of ancient architectural
marvels and of the plain and the surrounding mountains.

INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER.

Descending into the interior of the temple, we see that it had
no windows, and probably it was only partially roofed. The nave
measures about ninety feet in length by seventy-four feet in width.
On the sides up to the sanctum it had eight fluted half columns,
with Corinthian capitals, and having two niches between them, one
above the other. The lower niches were arched and elaborately
sculptured; the upper had highly ornamented triangular pediments,

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER. T,7^^

supported by slender columns, and they appear to ha\e had central
pedestals for statues. The semi-columns in tiie corners on either
side of the portal were double, and the sanctum at the west end
had square pilasters on the sides, with Corinthian capitals.

The sanctum, or place of the altar, extended quite across the
cella, and was about thirty feet broad. It was elevated nearly six
feet above the floor of the nave, and several steps led up to it. On
each side of the steps are great slabs, with groups of figures carved
in relief upon them, representing a sacrificial procession, and doors
lead down to vaulted chambers beneath the sanctum. These
groups are much defaced, probably by the fury of Christian or
]\Ioslem iconoclasts, or by both. They have been but recently ex-
cavated, and if not again covered up the figures will ere long be
entirely destroyed. The nave or cella of this temple is buried
many feet deep with great masses of sculptured friezes, fragments
of columns, capitals, and heaps of rubbish ; but it ought not to be
uncovered until there is a government in this country that can
and will protect from ruthless vandalism the exquisite remains of
ancient art which such excavations would surely bring to light.
Leaving the interior of this temple of Jupiter, let us now walk
around the peristyle on the outside of it.

Here on the north side there are nine columns still remaining.
They stand nearly nine feet apart, and there is about the same dis-
tance between them and the temple wall. The diameter of the
columns is over five feet ; the base is three and a half feet high ;
the shaft, composed of three stones, is forty-eight and a half feet
in height, and the capital is six feet high, making the total height
of each column about fifty-eight feet. The entablature resting
upon these columns is about ten feet high, and has a double frieze,
richly ornamented. It is connected with the wall of the temple by
great slabs of stone, slightly concave, which form the roof of the
peristyle. They are divided into panels of various shapes — hexa-
gons, rhomboids, and triangles, containing busts in high relief of
gods and probably emperors, but most of them have been pur-
posely defaced. The mouldings, scroll-work, tracery, and foliage,
filling up the intervening spaces, are all extiuisitely sculptured, and
when perfect this ceiling of the entire colonnade must ha\e pre-

334

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

sented a beautiful appearance. Lieutenant Conder, of the Palestine
Exploration Fund, supposes, from actual calculation, that these col-
umns supporting that entablature and the roofing were subjected to
" a crushing weight on each pillar of one hundred and five and a
half tons, or four tons to the square foot."

Of the eight columns on this western side three remain standing,
with their entablature connecting them together; the fragments of

four are still in po-
sition, and one has
been entirely over-
thrown. Passing
round to the south
side, the bases only
of four columns are
left in situ. One
column has fallen
against the temple,
but so firmly was
it held with iron
cramps that the
first and second
section of the shaft
remain fastened to-
gether and lean un-
broken upon the
wall of the cella,
apparently a solid
column thirty-sev-
en feet high, and
fifteen feet in cir-
cumference, and
there it has been
for more than a hundred years. Farther on are four standing col-
umns supporting a connecting entablature and roofing; and, on
turning the south-east corner, we see behind the first two a couple
of the fluted columns which extended along the eastern side and
formed the portico in front of the temple. Upon the top of those

THE LEANING COLUMN ON SOUTH WALL OF THE TEMPLE.

RUINS OF THE PORTICO.— THE OCTAGONAL TEMPLE.

0J3

four columns, at the south-east angle of the temple, and at a height
of nearly fifty feet from the ground, the Saracens built that square
tower which is now in ruins. Its superincumbent weight and pre-
carious condition seriously threaten the stability of the supporting
columns and of that part of the temple itself.

Having now examined the ruins of the.se marvellous temples,
with all their plat-
forms, courts, por- "H
ticos, gates, col- }
umns, thick walls, ■
and great stones in
the substructions,
we will leave the
Acropolis and pass
through the fields
and along the vil-
lage lane to visit
the small circular
or octagonal tem-
ple. It stands a
short distance to
the south-east of !~^
the temple of Jupi-
ter, surrounded by
high garden walls,
and almost con-
cealed by mulber-
ry-trees and tall sil-
ver-leafed poplars.

In order to get
a good view of its

beautiful proportions we will have to climb over this garden wall
on the west side of the road. It is evidently of the .same age and
style of architecture as the great temples, but is not supposed to
have had any connection with either of tiiem.

This templet was semicircular in form, about forty feet in di-
ameter, and was approached by a broad flight of steps. It is sur-

• 1 llIK liiKlKO I>1- IIIK IKMl'I.K OK JlTITl-.K.

336 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

rounded by a peristyle of six Corinthian columns, whose architraves
and entablatures are also semicircular, projecting outward from the
temple walls to the columns, a distance of about nine feet, and it
is that feature which gives to the temple its octagonal appearance.
Similar columns stand close to the entrance, one on each side, and
the door-posts consist of large monoliths. The entire structure
seems to have been covered with a domed roof. The entablature is
elaborately ornamented, and along the walls of the temple, between
Corinthian pilasters, are shell-shaped niches with round architraves,
supported by small square pillars. Above the niches hang festoons
of foliage and flowers, with bosses over them and figures at each
end, and "wherever a bust or a statue could be introduced it has
been placed there."

The exterior of this temple is the most attractive ; within it is
encumbered with ruins and rubbish. Around the interior w^alls
there are two tiers of small columns, one above the other. The
lower tier is Ionic, supporting a plain cornice, and the upper is Co-
rinthian, with triangular projecting pediments. Two hundred years
ago this little temple was used as a church by the Greek Christians,
but now its condition is very precarious, and the slightest shock of
an earthquake will prostrate this elegant gem into a shapeless mass
of unsightly rubbish.

A walk of nearly twenty minutes along the green banks of this
little stream will bring us to Ras el 'Ain, or the fountain-head, as
it is now called. Heliopolis must have depended upon that copious
fountain for its supply of water, and there is evidence in many parts
of the temples that they were also abundantly provided for from
the same source. This purling stream rises about a mile to the
south-east of the temples and near the head of its own little valley,
between the hills at the base of Anti-Lebanon. Left to itself its
natural course would be southward along the plain until it joined
the Litany, and Ras el 'Ain is now regarded as the fountain-head
of that river, yet not a drop of its waters reach the Litany except
in winter. So full and strong is this stream, however, that even in
summer, after supplying the modern town, driving the mills and
watering the gardens, it is only exhausted in irrigating the corn-
fields which extend for some distance into the plain.

RAS EL 'AIX.— EL BUKA'A.— C(ELESVRL\.

JJ/

Here is the fountain, and, as you perceive, it boils up from the
ground in several places, and is enclosed by a low semicircular
wall, forming at once a pretty little pond overflowing with clear,

THE OCTAGONAL TEMPLE.

cold water. The trees, the greensward, and the murmuring streams
make this a delightful place of resort for the natives, and Ras el
'Ain is famed for the salubrity of its air as well as its refreshing
fountains. Those ruins close by are the remains of two mosks,
built, according to the inscriptions, about six hundred )'ears ago
by the Muhammedan rulers of Ba'albck, Mcick ed Dhiihir and his
son, Melek el As'ad.

.September nth. Evening.

The view from the top of the hill above Ras el 'v\in of the ruins
of Ba'albek, the mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and the
Buka'a between them, was magnificent. Wc could see far down
that beautiful plain, and it seemed to fall away westward and south-
ward with a very manifest descent. I would like to explore it, for
it is associated in my mind with Coelesyria of historic celebrity.

According to the early classic geographers, Cculesyria included

338 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

only this long, broad valley or plain which separates the parallel
ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and which is mentioned in
the Old Testament in connection with Baal-gad as " the valley of
Lebanon." ' Dr. Robinson supposes that Amos alludes to it when
he speaks of the "plain of Aven."^ The name Coelesyria does not
occur in the Bible, but was given to it by the Greeks, after the time
of Alexander the Great, and it exactly describes this remarkable
valley or "hollow" between the two mountain ranges of Syria. Its
modern Arabic name, el Buka'a, the cleft, is equally significant, and
it is frequently spoken of as Sahl el Buka'a, the plain of the cleft.
It extends from Kamu'a el Hurmul, on the north, opposite the
highest peaks of Lebanon, to Jubb Jenin, under Hermon, on the
south, a distance of about seventy miles, having an average width
of from seven to nine miles. The highest part of the Buka'a is in
the neighborhood of these temples, which are nearly four thousand
feet above the sea ; but west of Lebweh the plain descends gradu-
ally northward and southward until near Hurmul, and below Jubb
Jenin it is not much more than two thousand feet above sea-level.

The Orontes, called el 'Asy, the rebellious, because its course is
northwards, contrary to that of the other rivers in Syria, drains the
northern part of the Biika'a. The central and southern portions
are comparatively level, and their fertility and beauty are entirely
due to the abundance of water. The Litany, the ancient Leontes,
one of the longest and largest rivers of Syria, rises near Ba'albek,
and is joined, as it flows southward through the plain, by many
tributaries. Amongst them is el Berduny, which descends from
snow-capped Lebanon, above Zahleh, and the large stream from
Nahr 'Anjar, that flows out from the very roots of Anti-Lebanon
near the site of ancient Chalcis. Perennial streams descend from
the mountains on either side, and copious fountains rise in the plain
itself in such positions that the water can be conducted to all parts
of its surface. Looking down upon the Buka'a from any one of
the hundred stand-points on Lebanon and Hermon, the beholder
is charmed with the checkered and endlessly- varied expanse of
blending wheat-fields, green or golden, recently-ploughed land, black
or reddish-brown, and broad belts of dun-colored fallow ground,
' Josh. xi. 17 ; xii. 7. '■' Amos, i. 5 ; Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 519, 520.

BIBLICAL HISTORY OF BA'ALBEK. 339

reaching to the foot-hills, and losing themselves amongst the vine-
yards that cling to the mountain-sides.

The Buka'a has a legendary history of its own, attested by cu-
rious monuments. At Kerak Nuh the grave of Noah is shown, and
on the opposite side of the plain is the tomb of the prophet Seth.
while the ruins of these temples at Ba'albek have astonished the
world for many centuries. The massive foundations surrounding
them, and upon which they were built, must have been placed here
at a time too remote for even tradition to reach ; and long before
"Toi, king of Hamath," sent presents to David, the Hittites of
that region were suf^ciently powerful to contend with the Pharaohs
of Egypt for supremacy in this valley of Coelesyria.'

Has Ba'albek no Biblical history ?

We read that, after his victory at "the waters of Merom,"
"Joshua took all that land, from mount Halak even unto Baal-gad
in the valley [or buka'a] of Lebanon under Mount Hermon ;" and,
again, that when "Joshua was old there remained much land to be
possessed," amongst which was "all Lebanon towards the sunrising,
from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon unto the entering into Ha-
math."' Baal -gad, in the Buka'a — for the Hebrew and Arabic
words are identical— must then have been a noted place on the
northern border of the Promised Land, and was evidently conse-
crated to the worship of Baal from remote antiquity. These
notices of Baal-gad in the Bible agree very well with the location
of Ba'albek. It is " in the valley of Lebanon under Hermon," and
midway between that mountain and " the entrance into Hamath."
The gigantic proportions of the oldest remains now seen at Ba'al-
bek carry back to remote antiquity the existence of this site, and
it may have been one of the holy places of the Canaanites or
Phoenicians in the time of Joshua. If the "plain of Aven," men-
tioned by Amos, was the plain of On or Heliopolis, and identical
with this plain of Ba'albek, then, nearly seven hundred years after
Joshua, Ba'albek was celebrated for the worship of the sun, intro-
duced into it from Egypt. That is all its Biblical history; but it
is still uncertain whether this ancient and remarkable site is ati)--
where referred to in the Bible.

» 2 Sam. viii. 9-11. '^ Josh. xi. 17 ; xii. 7 ; xiii. i, 5-

340 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

As Heliopolis, Ba'albek is mentioned by several writers during
the first centuries of the Christian era; but the principal notices
of it are derived from the coins of the second and third centuries,
which represent it as a Roman colony, styled Julia Augusta Felix.
The coins of Septimus Severus show two temples, one a larger and
another a smaller, and a coin of Valerian has two temples upon it.
The oracle at Ba'albek, or Heliopolis, was consulted by the Em-
peror Trajan, in the second century, before he undertook his sec-
ond expedition against the Parthians ; but the earliest authentic
record of these temples is found in the writings of John of Antioch,
surnamed Malala, about the seventh century. He mentions that
''JEVius Antoninus Pius erected at Heliopolis, in Phoenicia of Leba-
non, a great temple to Jupiter, one of the wonders of the world."

It is possible that the original design here at Ba'albek was to
construct a platform surrounded by cyclopean stones, and to erect
upon it an altar consecrated to the worship of Baal. That design
appears never to have been fully accomplished, and the Phoenicians
probably adapted this site for one of their temples. The Greeks
and the Romans, in their turn, may have adopted both the site
and the ruins of the Phoenician temple for their own purposes ;
and Antoninus Pius perhaps began to build his temple out of the
remains of one more ancient, and it was probably finished by Sep-
timus Severus fifty years later. That may have been the smaller
temple, and it was probably consecrated to Jupiter; the great tem-
ple of Baal or the sun was apparently never finished. Julia Domna,
mentioned in the votive inscriptions, was the wife of the Emperor
Severus and the daughter of the priest of the sun at Emesa, Hums.'
Her- relative, Heliogabalus, also a priest of the sun, assumed that
title when he was proclaimed emperor in Emesa, and afterwards
built a temple dedicated to the Syrian god on the Palatine Hill, at
Rome. It is not improbable that both of these temples were built
by the munificence of the Roman emperors during the early cen-
turies of the Christian era, and that here are the ruins of their
greatest architectural achievements.

Venus was also worshipped at Ba'albek, under the name of
Hedone, pleasure, and the beautiful octagonal temple in the fields

' See page 321.

HEATHEN DEITIES.— CHRISTIAN MARTYRS.— THE QUARRIES. 341

may have been dedicated to that voluptuous goddess. But the
worship of heathen deities and the celebration of their rites and
ceremonies was suppressed by the Emperor Constantine. He built
a large basilica here, whose ruins are probably those still seen in
the middle of the great court in front of the temple of Baal.
During the last thirteen centuries the Muhammedans — fanatical
haters of all temples, idols, and even innocent statues — have done
what they could to deface and destroy the architectural and artis-
tic beauties of Ba'albek, and they have recorded their zeal and
success in pompous inscriptions ; none of them, however, of much
historic value. By those vandals the entire platform, vaults, tem-
ples, and all, were converted into a strong fortress, still known
amongst the natives as Kul'at Ba'albek — the castle of Ba'albek.
Deluded victims of Baal's abominations have been here ; and to
these temples came the worshippers of Jupiter and the votaries of
Venus ; and here Christian martyrs have been put to death by
heathen idolaters and zealous followers of the false prophet. The
Canaanite and the Hebrew, the Assyrian and Egyptian, the Greek
and the Roman, Saracen and Christian, Tartar and Turk — all have
been here ; and for centuries to come travellers from every nation
will visit these ruins with wonder and admiration.

September 12th.

We will pass by the great stone in the quarr}', this morning, as
it is on our way to Damascus, and from the top of the hill above
it you will get the best general view of Ba'albek and its ruined
temples. The quarries are less than a mile distant, to the south
of the town, and are an interesting study to the architect and the
antiquary. They show the great thickness of the rock formation,
which enabled the builders of the temple to cut out immen.se blocks
and large stones of any desired length and breadth. Such forma-
tions are rare in this region, and that may have led to the .selection
of the site of the temples at Ba'albek.

These ancient quarries extend along the base of the mountain
towards the south-west for a considerable distance, and some of
them appear to have been wrought to a great depth. Stones for
the modern buildings in the town are now quarried from a place
farther south, where the rock is white, soft, and easily wrought.

542

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Now you can see how those enormous stones in " the substruc-
tions" of the great temple were quarried. A space of about six
inches was cut into the soHd rock around and below them, and
when thus detached they were conveyed rough-hewn to the places
they were to occupy in those cyclopean walls. This great stone
was not entirely separated from the rock beneath, but for what
reason the work of cutting it away was suspended we shall prob-
ably never know. It is larger in every respect than either of the

THE GREAT STONE IN THE QUARRY.

three others in the west wall, and the intention was, perhaps, to
place it upon the row of nine large stones in front of the north
wall of the temple platform. From here it looks as if a man could
reach the top of it, but ride up to it and you will be astonished to
find that even on horseback, with a cane in your hand, you cannot
measure its height. It is nearly seventy feet long, fourteen feet
wide, and fourteen feet high ; contains about thirteen thousand
five hundred cubic feet, and would probably weigh fifteen hundred
tons ! How those enormous masses of stone, in such great blocks,
were transported and placed in position on the wall, twenty feet

KUBBET dCrIS.— ROAD TO DAMASCUS.— FEUDAL LORDS. 343

above the ground, is another of the unexplained wonders connected
with the famous ruins at Ba'albek.

Near that village of Duris, on the road to Zahleh, and about
half an hour from Ba'albek, is a rude Moslem sanctuary, probably
once the tomb of some great saint or sinner. It is octagonal in
shape, and was constructed of fragments of pillars and square
stones taken from the temples at Ba'albek. One of the granite
pillars is upside down ; and an old sarcophagus, set up on end,
served as a prayer niche. It is called Kubbet Duris, and is of no
special interest, except that the eight pillars of which it is made
are of Syenite gra-
nite from Egypt.

The road to
Damascus turns to
the left here, and
ascends diagonally
the declivities of
the eastern moun-
tains, which are
rough and rocky,
and frequently in-
tersected by ra- *
vines, which drain
the waters of this
part of Anti-Leba-
non into the Buka'a. A path leads southwards to Xcby Shit, a
large Mutawaly village, where there is a conspicuous wcl\', the re-
puted tomb of the prophet Seth ; and on the opposite side of the
Buka'a, at Kerak Nuh, is the tomb of the patriarch Noah, both of
which we have already noticed. Those villages are near the bor-
der, between the district of el Buka'a and that of Ba'albek.

The feudal lords of Beit Harfush, a family of Mctawileh Emirs,
governed this district, from Zahleh northward, including Ba'albek,
the surrounding mountains, and the adjacent plain. They were a
turbulent set, occupying these rugged mountains of Anti-Lebanon,
and almost as independent as the Emirs of Lebanon. Between
them there was eternal enmity, and many a bloody battle. The

KUBBET dCrIS.

344 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Emirs of Beit Harfush were always in a state of chronic rebellion
against the Turkish government, and they kept this district of Ba'al-
bek in constant turmoil by their tyrannical abuses and daring rob-
beries. A few years ago the government made a clean sweep of
the entire family, and those of the Emirs not killed were banished
to distant parts of the empire. Though severe, the treatment was
needed, and the beneficial effect upon the country is seen and felt
even by the wayfarer and the stranger. We ourselves can now
pitch our unprotected camp where it suits our purpose, without
fear of disturbance or danger of robbery.

Our road over the low foot-hills of Anti-Lebanon since leaving
the quarries has been singularly devoid of interest.

From 'Ain el Barideh, with its small fountain, to Bereitan, it
runs parallel with the Buka a, and would have been exceedingly
monotonous were it not for the fine views it affords in many places
of the beautiful plain and the grand range of Lebanon west of it.
At Bereitan there are many rock-cut tombs, some of which have
Greek inscriptions upon them ; and though the village is prettily
situated between white hills on the eastern edge of the Buka'a, it
probably has neither a Biblical nor historical interest attaching to
it. The road now begins to ascend the mountain, and in about
one hour and a half it will lead us to Khuraibeh.

The village is a most unsightly cluster of dilapidated hovels,
and its name is an appropriate one, since it means a ruin ; other-
wise it has little to distinguish it from many similar places on these
mountains, except a wide, deep well which supplies the inhabitants
with water, there being no fountain in this place.

After passing through Khuraibeh our ride has been along the
dreary slope of this mountain, and in many places it is very
narrow, and even dangerous.

A misstep would roll horse and rider down the mountain-side
for several hundred feet into the valley below. Our course is east-
wards, and in a little over an hour we will reach the top of this
gradual ascent, and then descend steeply to the bridge over Nahr
Yahfufeh by a zigzag path, paved here and there with limestone
bowlders, lying at all angles of inclination, and worn smooth by
constant travel and hopeless neglect.

"LYING UNDER HIS BURDEN. "-H I'MANi: LAWS OF MOSES. 345

Thus far, however, we have not had aii>- accident — not even the
usual falling of a mule under the load or the tumbling off of the
cook with the provisions for our lunch.

Yet this very path, so rocky and slippery, has just furnished us
with a commentary on one of those humane precepts which distin-
guish the Mosaic laws. See those men ahead of us lifting a poor
donkey that has fallen under its load. Moses says, "If thou see
the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldst
forbear to help him. thou shalt surely help with him."' Now the
people lifting the donkey are bitter enemies — Maronites and Druses
— quite recently engaged in a bloody civil war, and ready to begin
again on the very first opportunity, and yet they help to lift the ass
that is lying under his burden as though they were the best friends
in the \\orld. We have in this simple incident the identical occa-
sion for the precept, and its most literal fulfilment. Nor is that
all. It is fair to infer, from the peculiar specification made by
Moses, that the people in his day were divided into inimical parties
and clans, just as they now are in these mountains. Moses would
not have mentioned the ass of an enemy if enemies were not so
common that the case specified was likely to occur.

So, also, we may conclude, I suppose, that the donke\'s were
half-starved, and then overloaded by their cruel masters.

Such are now the conditions in which those poor slaves of all
work ordinarily fall under their burdens, and then, as now, it re-
quired the united strength of at least two persons lifting, one on
either side, to enable the ass to rise out of his painful and often
dangerous predicament. The plan is to lift the beast to its feet
without taking off the load, which is a tedious business. And we
may also infer that the roads were then as rough and slippery as
this which has upset that unfortunate donkey.

All those deductions I believe to be very near the truth. Man-
ners and customs, men and things, roads and loads are apparently
very much what they were three thousand years ago.

We are now on the road to Damascus that passes up from the
Buka'a along this pretty little valley with running water in it, the
first we have come to since leaving Ha'albck. The stream is here

' Ex. xxiii. 5.

346 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

called Nahr Yahfufeh, and it descends through this wild and wind-
ing gorge, with rugged precipices on either side, to the Buka'a, and
thence across the plain to join the Litany. It is here spanned by
a low stone bridge, evidently ancient, and probably Roman — a
relic of the old road between Ba'albek and Damascus, traces of
which are still visible in several places. Turning southward, we will
ascend this fertile valley, through fields of Indian-corn, and along
the eastern bank of this purling brook which is half concealed by
thickets of wild roses and overshadowed by willows and poplars,
with here and there a grove of walnut-trees. In half an hour we
will come to the fine fountain of Surghaya, below that village.

Surghaya is surrounded by fields of corn, vegetable gardens, and
fruit orchards, while the banks of the sparkling stream below it are
lined with walnut-trees and groves of silver poplars ; but the inhabi-
tants are rude and fanatical Moslems. I once spent a night there,
encamped below the village, near a grove of poplar-trees ; and the
next morning we were greatly annoyed by some of the people, who
tried to extort a heavy fine from our muleteers for alleged injury
done to a few trees by their mules.

This plain, through which we have been riding south of Sur-
ghaya, appears to be of volcanic origin.

There can be no doubt about that. It is, in fact, an elevated
plateau, nearly level, over a mile in width, and extending for more
than three miles between two parallel ranges of mountains. Its sur-
face is covered with lava bowlders and stones, and is but partially
cultivated, having some vineyards, wheat-fields, and gardens. It is
the water-shed between the east and the west, and that is the most
interesting feature about it. All the waters and streams that de-
scend from the southern part of this little plain fall into the Ba-
rada, and, passing Damascus, are lost in the marshes of the lakes
on the borders of the eastern desert, while all from the northern
part run down to the plain of Coelesyria and join the Litany, and
thus enter the Mediterranean near Tyre.

We have already passed the water-shed, about four thousand
feet above the level of the sea, and our road follows the course of
this stream from 'Ain Hawar, that hamlet on the left. It is a win-
ter tributary of the Barada, the far-famed "river of Damascus;" but

PLAIN AND GARDENS OF ZEBEDANV.— THE BARADA. 347

in summer its waters are exhausted by the town of Zebedany and
its gardens. The distance between Ba'albek and Zebedany is about
seven hours, and the road we have travelled over to-day is the
shortest, though not the most interesting one. In another hour
we will reach our tents, pitched near that flourishing town.

September 13th.

This beautiful expanse of green meadows, gardens, and trees is
an exceedingly refreshing sight, and the murmur of running water
and the songs of many birds is delightful to the ear.

The position of Zebedany, in the midst of its gardens, here at
the northern end of this plain, which stretches away southward for
more than seven miles, is exceedingly picturesque. The plain is
well cultivated and abundantly irrigated. It was once, probably,
the bed of a natural lake more than three thousand five hundred
feet above the level of the sea, and on its sloping sides are ter-
raced vineyards, and some of the gardens are surrounded, like those
at Damascus, by impenetrable hedges, and abound in fruit-trees of
all kinds. The grapes, apples, and apricots of Zebedany are cele-
brated throughout the country, and the markets of Beirut and
other towns are supplied from these gardens.

The streams of several copious fountains enter this verdant
plain from the hills around the northern end, and by them most of
the gardens and fields in the central parts are well watered, while
those along the east side are irrigated by abundant streamlets that
descend from the lofty mountain-range of Bkklan. The river Ba-
rada rises in a small, oblong lake or pond among the low hills on
the west side of the plain, about four miles south of Zebedany, from
whence it meanders, as we shall see, along the western and south-
ern borders of the plain, but contributes little or nothing to its fer-
tilit)'. The lake is marsh}-, and covered with reeds and busiics, but
it is nowhere very deep, and the amount of water issuing from that
source of the upper Barada is not half as large as that from the
great fountain at 'Ain el Fijeh.

It is about nine hours to Damascus by the route we proi)ose to
follow, and it is quite time we were in the saddle. Instead of pass-
ing down the middle of the plain we will ride around to the east
A2

248 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

side of it, and through the luxuriant gardens of Zebedany which
extend for some distance southward.

We are ah'eady amongst the numerous streamlets that come
tumbling down the declivities of these mountains which rise so
abruptly on the left to a great height.

They form part of the loftiest range of Anti-Lebanon ; those on
the western side of the plain are nearly six thousand feet above the
sea, but these are higher still. The town of Zebedany has an eleva-
tion of nearly three thousand six hundred feet, and Bludan, on the
mountain above it, to the east, is a thousand feet higher, while
the lofty peak of Anti- Lebanon, behind that village, rises to a
hei2"ht of more than seven thousand five hundred feet above the
level of the Mediterranean.

Bludan is best known as the village where the British Consul
of Damascus, the Irish and American missionaries, and a few mer-
chants of that city spend the summer. It is beautifully situated
on the mountain-side, facing the west, and surrounded by vineyards
and gardens of fruit-trees, vegetables, and flowers. It is abundantly
supplied with running streams and purling brooks, and, from its
great elevation, commands a magnificent view of the plain beneath
and the mountains beyond as far southward as Mount Hermon.

Having passed away from the borders of those fruitful gar-
dens of Zebedany, which have the neatest and best kept hedges in
Syria, not excepting those of Damascus, we will now turn westward
across the plain to the Barada, and follow the left bank of that
river to where it descends, through the eastern mountains, into the
deep and narrow chasm of Suk Wady Barada.

The river here appears to be deep, and its course swift and
noiseless, as it goes on its winding way through the fields and
meadows of this ever narrowing plain.

Farther on, near the ruins of an ancient bridge, it falls over a
ledge of rocks in a series of beautiful cascades; and thence on-
wards to the pass west of the village of Suk Wady Barada it is a
tumultuous and roaring torrent. There we may rest awhile in the
wild and romantic gorge and admire the grand and magnificent
scenery almost unequalled even in this country.

These cliffs are in some places quite perpendicular, especially

PASS, BRIDGE, AND ROMAN ROAD NEAR SUK WADV BARADA. 349

FALLS OF THE BARADA — THE RIVER AUANA.

on the southern side of the gorge, and the mountains towering
above them on our right are at least a thousand feet high.

In the narrowest part of this chasm is the famous pass of Suk
Wady Barada, where the lofty and perpendicular cliffs are not
much more than one hundred and fifty feet apart. And here, just
at the outgo of the river, between the high and rocky walls of the
pass, the Barada is spanned by a modern bridge of a single arch.

On the northern or left bank of the river, and about one hun-
dred feet above the bridge, is an ancient road, cut along the face
of the cliff and through the solid rock for a distance of over six
hundred feet. In some places the rock was cut down nearly fifteen
feet, and the roadway hewn out to a width of over twelve feet.
The road terminates abruptly at the north-east end in a precii)ice,
and if it was carried any farther it must have been over a viaduct
or upon an embankment. Two Latin inscriptions on the rock
above the road, and near its eastern terminus, ascribe the work
to the emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius
Verus, about the middle of the second century.

350 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The most interesting portions of those inscriptions apparently
reveal the fact that the expense of constructing the road and cut-
ting through the rock was borne by the inhabitants of Abilene.
The mention of that place, in this vicinity, is regarded as confirming
the identification of Abilene with the city of Abila, and both with
the tetrarchate of Abilene governed by Lysanias when John began
to preach the baptism of repentance in the wilderness of Judea.'
This identification is now generally accepted, and the ancient re-
mains near the village of Suk Wady Barada are supposed to mark
the site of the "Abila of Lysanias."

I notice several rock-cut tombs above the Roman roadway, in
the cliffs on the north-western side of the river bank.

I have climbed to an ancient aqueduct, below the road, and
then up to the tombs. The aqueduct appears to have been con-
structed about the same time as the road. It is also hewn out of
the rock in some places, and tunnelled through in others. The
tombs are of the ordinary kind, of which we have seen so many
in this country — square chambers with loculi for sarcophagi on the
sides and in the floors. The tombs are without inscriptions, and
the sepulchres empty. Some of them appear to have had stone
doors, which may, probably, still be found in the debris below the
tombs. On the top of the mountain above those rock-cut tombs
are extensive ancient quarries.

High up on the southern cliff, nearly opposite the village of
Suk Wady Barada, and surrounded by venerable oak-trees, is Wely
Neby Habil, the reputed tomb of Abel, where, it is said, he was
buried by Cain his brother. Like the traditionary tomb of Noah
and that of the prophet Seth, the tomb of Abel is a place of Mu-
hammedan pilgrimage. It is part of the foundations of an old wall,
about thirty feet long, and can be traced much farther than the
domed structure that rises above it. It is quite possible that Neby
Habil may have derived the name from Abila, that of the ancient
city whose site is supposed to have been near this pass of Suk
Wady Barada. South of the tomb are the prostrate ruins of a
small temple, about fifty feet in length and thirty feet wide.

We have been resting here nearly an hour admiring this wild

' Luke iii. 1-3.

AN'CIENT ABILA.— ROMANTIC SPOT.— MASSACRE AND PLUNDER. 35 I

and impressive scenery. Let us cross the bridge and proceed on
our way towards 'Ain el Fijeh. You will observe that the lofty
cliffs of the defile soon separate below the bridge, mainly by the
receding of those on the left, thereby affording space for the little
plain and the village of Suk Wady Barada. The river winds
through the plain ; and amongst the trees, which thickly cover the
entire surface, are seen many fragments of the houses of ancient
Abila; but there are no remains of any temple, public edifice, or
even large building. The road beyond the bridge passes, for some
distance, below the overhanging cliff on the right bank of the
river, but soon the mountain falls back and the declivities become
less precipitous, and open out towards the south-east so as to allow
an easy ascent out of the valley for the regular road to Damascus.

The situation of this village, in the bend of the river, surrounded
by trees, gardens, and vineyards, is quite picturesque, and the sce-
nery around it is wild and imposing.

This romantic spot, shut out from the rest of the world by these
lofty mountains and perpendicular cliffs, was the chosen retreat of
a devout hermit, whose cell was visited by many pilgrims during
the fair that was annually held in this vicinity, and from which this
village derived its name of es Suk, the fair. And here was enacted
one of those diabolical scenes of surprisal, massacre, and plunder
for which the Moslems have always been pre-eminently celebrated.
Gibbon has given an exceedingly graphic account of that catas-
trophe, and of the slaughter of the pilgrims and merchants gath-
ered here, and he closes the description in his usual vein of ridi-
cule and sarcasm. "The holy robbers," he says, " returned in
triumph to Damascus. The hermit, after a short and angry con-
troversy with Caled, declined the crown of martyrdom, and was
left alive in the solitary scene of blood and devastation." '

On that high hill above the road is Kefr el 'Awamid, the village
of the columns, so called from the prostrate columns of an ancient
temple which once stood upon the brow of the hill. The portico
of the temple faced the Barada, and must have commanded a good
view of the river and the valley below. We shall not turn aside to
visit it, nor shall we follow the course of the river, which here flows
' Dec. and Fall of tlic Rom. Emp., chap. li.

352 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

southwards for a short distance to the right side of the valley, but,
fording the stream below the mills on the opposite bank, we will
continue our ride nearly due east, along this canal that irrigates the
luxuriant gardens below us. The road — a mere path — follows the
sinuosities of the canal, having the verdant expanse of gardens and
vineyards on our right, and the white limestone cliffs of the moun-
tain towering a thousand feet high on the left. Passing this way
on a dark night, our animals were at times unable to keep to the
path, and repeatedly stumbled into the canal, to the great disgust
of the muleteers and our annoyance.

There is no danger of that kind to-day, for we have already fol-
lowed the canal for half an hour, and I am quite delighted with the
luxuriance of the vegetation and the grandeur of the mountains
and cliffs on either side of the valley.

As there is nothing of special interest in any of the villages
along this route, w^e will pass on for half an hour and stop to lunch
at 'Ain el Fijeh, the most famous fountain in all this region.

Your assurance, this morning, that our ride to-day would pre-
sent a succession of surprises has been fully confirmed.

The charm of them all is due entirely to the Barada. That
river, flowing through the verdant plain of Zebedany, rushing down
the defile of Suk Wady Barada, and meandering along the valley
towards 'Ain el Fijeh, gives to this Damascus road its ever-changing
character and remarkable contrasts. Without the river the plain
would become a dreary desert, the defile a desolate pass, the valley
the dry bed of a torrent, and these high mountains and picturesque
villages would be bleak and unattractive.

Here at 'Ain el Fijeh one is at a loss which most to admire —
the great quantity of water that bursts from beneath this ruined
platform, cold and beautifully clear, or the rushing, roaring cataract,
foaming and tumbling over the rocks as it plunges down its narrow
channel; or the thick forest of tall trees, willows and walnuts, syca-
mores, plane and poplars, that overshadow the banks, or the mag-
nificent cliffs that rise a thousand feet or more and shut in this
happy vale on every side. Each in turn delight the eye of the
beholder and captivate the imagination.

'Ain el Fijeh, though not the most distant, is by far the most

THE BARADA AND THE FIJEH— MEETIXc: OF THE WATERS. 353

copious source of the Barada. Arab geographers, however, re-
garded it as the fountain-head of the river of Damascus. That is
hardly correct, for the upper Barada drains the entire mountains
and valleys of this part of Anti-Lebanon for more than twenty
miles, and during the rainy season it is a formidable river, alto-
gether independent of its auxiliary from 'Ain el Fijeh. This foun-
tain bursts out from a cavern under the mountain that has two
openings, one of which is partly arched over, and in winter the
volume of water is twice the size of that in the upper l^arada.

ij I —rri

THE liARAUA AND THE FTJEH — THE MEETING OK THE WAIEKS.

Escaping from the cavern, it rushes down over and amongst the
rocks, and through a perfect forest of walnut, poplar, and other
trees, with the impetuosity of a roaring torrent, and then expands
into a broad stream, clear as crystal. A hundred paces farther on
it joins the Barada, and the two streams run side by side for some
distance, until the limpid waters of 'Ain el Fijeh are fuKill)- merg«''l
into the turbid stream of the Barada.

254 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Above the cavern is an ancient platform, built of large and
massive stones, and upon it are the remains of a small temple,
about thirty feet square ; but it now has neither portico nor col-
umns. Below the platform, and to the right of the cavern, there
appears to have been another temple constructed over a heavy
vault, through which the stream from the fountain may have been
conducted. The side-walls or piers supporting the vault are nearly
forty feet long and six feet thick. The rear wall rested against the
bank, and was about thirty feet long and four feet thick. It had
an opening as if to receive the water from the fountain, and there
is a similar opening towards the front, apparently for the stream
to flow out. These ancient structures were perhaps dedicated to
the god of fountains and streams and overshadowing groves.

More than half of our day's ride still remains to be accom-
plished, and it is time for us to proceed on our way.
I should like to spend days here instead of hours.
No doubt; and yet, like the first Paradise, this one has its ser-
pent. Fever and ague lurk about it and infest its groves. Owing
to the superabundance of water, and the dense foliage and the
rank vegetation, 'Ain el Fijeh is decidedly unhealthy in summer
and autumn. I have been struck, while passing up the valley in
October, with the sallow countenances of the natives. It is then
not safe to sleep a single night at that glorious fountain.

A canal runs along from the fountain to irrigate the fields below
us ; are we to follow it, as we did the one from Suk Wady Barada?
The road descends through the river gorge, and in half an hour
it will bring us to the beautiful little meadow of Bessima.

This small fountain of pure water, surrounded by greensward,
rises close to the river and runs directly into it.

It is called 'Ain el Khudra, the fountain of verdure, and from
here on the valley narrows, and the precipitous sides of the chasm
leave hardly room for the road.

The scenery in this gorge is magnificent and truly sublime, but
the road is execrable and dangerous, especially where it winds
round the face of the cliff which overhangs 4:he river.

Below this, and beyond the village of Bessima, the gorge, whose
eeneral direction has been eastward, makes an abrupt turn south-

TUNNEL THROUGH THE CLIFF.-ES SAHRA.-CARRIAGE-ROAD. 353

wards, and becomes so narrow that there is not space enough for
even a foot-path along its precipitous sides. A tunnel has been
excavated there through the cliff on the left bank of the river. I
have attempted to penetrate the palpable darkness at its mouth,
but without a light it is impossible to venture very far into that
unique tunnel. It varies in height and width, and has occasional
openings in the roof. The tradition among the natives is that the
tunnel was made by Zenobia to convey the water of 'Ain el Fijeh
to Palmyra, which is, of course, absurd ; but its real purpose has
not yet been discovered. It was probably an aqueduct intended
to conduct the water to the Sahra below el Ashrafiyeh. though
it ends abruptly near that village, and cannot be traced any far-
ther. It is occasionally used at present as a passage-way between
Bessima and el Ashrafiyeh.

As there is no available path down the valley for several miles,
our road here below Bessima turns to the left and leaves the ri\-er,
with its refreshing verdure, for a climb up this steep and narrow
mountain-gorge. It will lead us to a rocky and sterile plateau
called es Sahra, the desert, whose undulating surface, destitute of
trees, is everywhere strewn with loose stones and flints, which
render it disagreeable both to the horse and his ridpr.

The Sahra appears to be quite extensive, spreading far away
to the north, east, and south, and evidently was never cultivated,
nor had it any settled inhabitants.

That is because there is no water. That necessary element of
life, which is so abundant in the valley of the river Barada below,
cannot be found on this desert plain.

We have had to-day all kinds of scenery, and ever)- \arict\' of
soil and production, from the most luxuriant vegetation to this
bleak and blasted Sahra. It is, indeed, a region of surprises and
marked contrasts in close pro.ximity.

Nor is this the last of them. We will soon begin the descent
from this desolate plain towards the river, and there the road winds
through cretaceous hills of dazzling whiteness, not a little painful to
weak eyes. It will b/ing us in half an hour to the carriage-road.
constructed by the French company, from Beirut to Damascus, and
to the substantial bridcre over the Barada at the village of Dummar.

356 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

How invigorating and refreshing is the sight of this river of
Damascus, with its green valley everywhere so full of trees !

Here at Dummar is the first station from Damascus on the Com-
pany's road, and the necessary buildings that have been put up con-
trast very strangely with the miserable houses of the natives, and
the so-called villas of wealthy Damascenes. A path from this place
leads up the rocky ridge on the left, and many travellers ascend
that steep and winding way, in order to obtain their first view of the
city and its surroundings from Kubbet en Nusr, on the summit of
Jebel Kasyun. It commands the best view of Damascus; and ever
since the Muhammiedan era that shrine has been associated with
the traditional visit of the false prophet to that terrestrial paradise.

It has taken us half an hour to climb up to this place from the
bridge at Dummar, and there to the right, on the brow of the east-
ern ridge, is the white-domed Wely of en Nusr. Let us ascend to
it and survey the enchanted scene far, far below. Remember that
here you are nearly four thousand feet above the sea, and about five
hundred feet over the plain and the city, which is at least a mile
and a half distant in a straight line —

This is the place. Stand still, my steed ;
Let me review the scene. ^

We have passed through the land from Beersheba to Dan, and
around the majestic heights of Hermon, and over goodly Lebanon
from the Baruk cedars to the lofty peaks above Tripoli ; but no-
where has such a glorious vision of verdure burst so suddenly upon
us, nor have we ever looked down upon a sight like this."

Let us seek protection from the dazzling glare of these lime-
stone hills in the grateful shade of this Moslem shrine, and from
beneath its venerable arches we can gaze with unwearied eyes
upon that unequalled prospect— of river and plain and city — which
spreads out below us for many miles in all directions. "A greater
contrast," says Lieutenant Van de Velde, " than that of the blinding
Avhite chalky hills of Anti-Lebanon, and the green oasis of Damas-
cus, of the lone dry rocks, and the finest and most populous city of
the East, it is impossible to imagine. A single look from this point

' Longfellow's "Gleam of Sunshine." * See Frontispiece to this volume.

FIRST AM) FINEST VIEW OF DAMASCUS. 357

appears at once to explain the tradition of the Moslems, that Para-
dise must have been here," and one feels inclined " to sit down and
abandon all idea of proceeding farther rather than lose the enjo\--
ment of this ravishing sight. No wonder that the Syrians, with
such a city, were a more haughty people than all the nations that
surrounded Israel." '

" Like the first view of Constantinople," said Mr. Charles G.
Addison, forty-five years ago, this of Dam.ascus and its surroundings
'* is unique, and will bear comparison with no other that I have
seen. Conceive our sensations, after journeying through thirsty,
dusty plains, and across white, sterile mountains, to find ourselves
standing on a lofty ledge of rocks, near the tomb of a sheikh, when
one of the most magnificent prospects in the world suddenl\- burst
upon our sight. We looked down from an elevation of more than
five hundred feet upon a vast plain, bordered in the distance by
blue mountains, and occupied by a rich, luxuriant forest of the wal-
nut, the fig, the pomegranate, the plum, the a[)ricot, the citron, the
pear, the apple, and the poplar, forming a waving grove more than
thirty m»iles in circuit ; not such a wood as one sees in England,
France, or Germany, but possessing a vast variety of tint, a pecu-
liar density and luxuriance of foliage, and a wildly picturesque
form, from the branches of the loftier trees throwing themselves up
above a rich underwood of pomegranates, citrons, and oranges, with
their yellow, green, and brown leaves ; and then conceive our sensa-
tions to see, grandly rising in the distance above this vast super-
ficies of rich, luxuriant foliage, the swelling leaden domes, the gilded
crescents, and the marble minarets of ["the one hundred and one"
mosks in] Damascus, while in the centre of all, winding towards the
city, ran the main stream of the river Barada." '^

Though written nearly half a century ago, that graphic descrip-
tion of Mr. Addison's is a perfect pen-and-ink sketch of this beauti-
ful scene upon which wc are now gazing from the same stand-point.

But we must not forget the Barada. that "river of Damascus,"
which is the perennial source of all this luxuriant verdure. After
referring to its winding way amongst the sterile hills and through
the deep gorge, before it reaches the plain, " visible everywhere by

' Syria and I'alcsline, vol. ii. p. 453. "^ Damascus and I'alin) ra. vol. ii. ]>. 59, 60.

^c8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

its mass of vegetation — willows, poplars, hawthorn, walnut, hanging
over a rushing volume of crystal water— the more striking from the
contrast of the naked desert in which it is found," Dean Stanley,
looking down upon the Barada from this same spot, adds: "The
river with its green banks is visible at the bottom, rushing through
the cleft ; it bursts forth, and, as if in a moment, scatters over the
plain, through a circle of thirty miles, the same verdure which had
hitherto been confined in its single channel. It is like the bursting
of a shell— the eruption of a volcano — but an eruption not of death
but of life.'"

Before and after it issues from the gorge upon the plain the
Barada is divided into several canals and strong streams, which are
conducted along the borders of the gardens to the right and left ;
and those again are subdivided into smaller streams, which convey
the water to all parts of the plain, so that there is not a garden but
has a purling rill of pure water running through it. But the river
does not appear to be greatly reduced in volume, and flows on
through the plain, passing the wall of the city, where it supplies
the fountains in the streets and in the courts of private houses, the
cisterns, baths, khans, mosks, and public buildings. Thus dimin-
ished, the Barada meanders through the plain east of Damascus
for fifteen miles, and is finally merged in the marshes and the
lakes on the verge of the eastern desert.

Tradition affirms that here, at this Kubbet en Nusr, the dome
of victory, after gazing upon this beautiful scene, the Prophet, then
a mere lad and camel-driver from Mecca, exclaimed, "There is but
one paradise for man !" and, turning away, he refused to enter Da-
mascus. The "true believers" did not follow the self-sacrificing
example of the Prophet, and Damascus to-day is pre-eminently a
Muhammedan city, the capital of a Turkish province, and the offi-
cial residence of the Governor-general of Syria and Palestine.

Let us return to the road and descend to the plain by the
ancient highway, a narrow and crooked path, cut in the rock, and
winding down the steep hill-side. This mountain-range, on which
we have been standing looking down upon the city and over
the plain, extends for more than fifty miles in a north-easterly

■ Sinai and Palestine, p. 405, 406.

THE MOUNTAINS AND THE PLAIN AROUND DAMASCUS. 359

direction, and then sinks down into the sandy desert of Pahiiyra.
On the right, and across the deep gorge of the Barada, it rises
gradually westward, until it is merged into the grand range of Her-
mon, thirty miles away. That majestic mountain dominates this
whole region, and, from its exalted heights, looks calmly down upon
the boundless plain that sweeps round its base and spreads far away
to " the hills of Bashan," fifty miles off.

Southward are the parallel ridges of Jebel el Aswad and Jebel
el Mani'a, and between them runs Nahr el A'waj, the ancient
Pharpar. It crosses the plain to the south-east, and is lost in the
lake on the borders of the desert. Eastward the line of vision is
bounded by the distant Tellul es Sufa, a long range of extinct
craters, but the plain in other directions seems interminable, and
extends farther than the eye can follow. Seen from this eleva-
tion, and over so great a distance in all directions, the plain ap-
pears to be almost level, but there are great inequalities in it,
and in many parts the undulating surface swells up to high hills
and higher mountains, some of which are of volcanic origin. The
craters, however, are now extinct from whence issued the amazing
streams of lava that covered the vast regions of the Hauran.

Jebel Kasyun, as this part of the mountain-range is called, is
bare, steep, and rugged. It rises about one thousand five hundred
feet above the city, and forms, in connection with the ridges north
and south of it, the western and northern boundary of the plain.
Upon its summit is a Wely, or saint's tomb, which commands a
more extensive view than Kubbet en Nusr. Moslem tradition
asserts that on this mountain Adam lived; that in one of its cav-
erns Cain hid the body of Abel, and that the very rocks, which
in some places are of a reddish color, were thus stained by the
blood of his murdered brother. Here, according to the same
authority, Abraham, the Father of the Faithful, lived, in a cave,
until he was fifty years old; and here he forsook his idols for the
worship of the one and only true God.

We have now reached the village of es Salihiyeh, at the base of
Jebel Kasyun. It is the largest suburb of Damascus, and here are
to be seen the summer residences of many wealthy Damascenes.

This broad and well -paved road, bordered with large walnut

360 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and other trees, and having a foot-path on either side, is the only
one of the kind we have seen in Syria.

It will lead us, in less than half an hour, to one of the city gates,
and from there we will go direct to the hotel, leaving for another
occasion the many objects of interest which attract and distract our
attention as we ride along the garden-walls under the grateful shade
of these large walnut-trees. It is not always safe to encamp out in
the suburbs of this city, and it will be pleasant to exchange, for a
while, the inconveniences of tent life for the comforts of a well-
conducted hotel.

ESH SHAM.— DAMASCUS. ^6l

DAMASCUS.

Damascus and the Manners and Customs of the East. — One of the Oldest Cities in the
World. — Thebes and Memphis, Babylon and Nineveh. — Damascus the Capital of
Syria. — Biblical History of Damascus. — Abraham and Chedorlaomer. — Hobah. — Dam-
mesek, Dimeshk. — Esh Sham. — Damascus Founded by the Cireat Grandson of Noah.
— Josephus and Nicolaus. — Abraham Reigned at Damascus. — Eliezer of Damascus. —
Abraham's Place of Adoration. — Burzeh. — The Site of Hobah. — David. — The Tribes
of Naphtali and Manasseh. — " David put Garrisons in Damascus." — Hadad. — Solo-
mon. — Rezon. — Abijam King of Judah ; Tabrimon of Syria ; and Baasha of Israel. —
Asa Sends Presents of Silver and Gold. — Invasions of Ben-hadad I., King of Damas-
cus. — "Streets in Samaria." — Ben-hadad II. — Ahab. — Invasions of Ben-hadad II. —
Aphek. — Flight of Ben-hadad II. — "Streets in Damascus." — Death of Ahab. —
Jehoram. — Naaman the Syrian Leper. — "A Little Captive Maid." — Jehoram Rends
his Clothes. — Elisha, "a Prophet in Israel." — The Jordan and the " Rivers of Damas-
cus." — The "Blessing" of Naaman. — Two Mules' Burden of Earth. — An Altar to
Jehovah in Damascus. — Ben-hadad's Attempt to Capture Elisha. — Siege of Samaria.
— "A Great Famine." — Flight of the Syrian Army. — The Hiltite Confederacy. —
Elijah and Elisha. — Visit of Elisha to Damascus. — Death of Ben-hadad. — Ila/.acl
King over Syria. — " Joash Beat Ben-hadad [III.] three times." — Jeroboam II. Re-
covers Damascus. — Pekah. — Tiglath-pileser Captures Damascus. — Pattern of an .Mlar
sent to Urijah by Ahaz. — Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, and Darius. — Amos and
Isaiah. — Jeremiah and Ezekiel. — Zechariah. — Macedonian, Greek, and Roman Con-
quests. — Parmenio. — Alexander the Great. — Pompey Receives the Ambassadors from
Syria, Judaea, and Egypt in Damascus. — Sextus Cresar. — Herod the Great. — Saul,
called Paul.— Spread of Christianity in Damascus.— John the liaptist. — Muhammedan
Conquest of Syria. — Siege of Damascus. — Gibbon. — Massacre of Christians by the
"Sword of God." — Damascus the Capital of the Muhammedan Empire. — Baneful
Influence of Islam. — Decline of Damascus. — Descendants of Ishmael. — A Hebrew of
the Hebrews. — Garments Ancient an<l Modern.— Hotel at Damascus. — Citron and
Lemon, Roses and Jessamine.— Court of the Kh.alifs of Islam. — The King and (Jueen
of the "Arabian Nights." — The Streets and Bazaars of Damascus. — The Horse-market.
—The Hangman's Tree. — Saddlers Street.— Street of the Coppersmitiis.— Castle of
Damascus. — Ancient Bows and Arrows. — The Fosse. — Street of the Auctioneers. —
Suk el Arwam. — Oriental Bargains.— Given Away for Nothing. — Intricacy of the

362 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Streets in Eastern Cities. — Donkeys and Camels. — Khan As'ad Pasha. — Caravans
from Bagdad and Elsewhere. — Importunate Christians. — Intense Fanaticism. — A Mos-
lem Shopkeeper. — Fate, or God's Decree. — The Wiles of Satan. — Sanctimonious
Moslems. — Bazaar of the Goldsmiths. — Manufacture of Gold and Silver Filigree. —
South Side of the Great Mosk. — Ancient Remains. — Triple Gate. — Greek Inscription.
— "Thy Kingdom, O Christ." — Book Bazaar. — Copies of the Koran. — Manuscript
Books. — Arch and Pediment of an Ancient Gateway. — Bab el Barid. — Slippers. —
"The House of Rimmon." — Greek and Roman Temple. — Church of St. John the
Baptist. — A Basilica. — Dimensions of the Great Mosk. — Rows of Columns. — Triple
Roof. — Central Dome. — Stained-glass Windows. — Texts from the Koran. — Praying
Rugs. — Lamps and Chandeliers. — Praying Niches. — The Head of John the Baptist. —
Court of the Great Mosk. — Colonnades. — Ornamented Piers and Arches. — Corinthian
Columns. — Saracenic Fountain and Pavilion. — Domes of the Hour, and of the Treas-
ure. — Visit to the Great Mosk by a Party of Ladies and Gentlemen. — Photographs. —
Minarets of the Great Mosk. — View from the Gallery of Madinet el 'Arus. — Rini'
mon. — Baal. — Tombs of Saladin and the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. — Public Baths.
— Baths not mentioned in the Bible. — "Pools." — Hot and Cold Water Baths Intro-
duced by Herod the Great. — Baths the Resort of Evil Spirits. — Street Calls and Cries.
— "Drink, O Thirsty!" — The Colporteur in Damascus. — "The Bread and Water of
Everlasting Life." — Private Houses in Damascus. — The Entrance. — The Court. — The
Marble Fountain. — El Lewan. — Reception-rooms. — Panels in the Roofs and Window-
shutters Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl. — The Harem. — Coffee-shops along the Banks
of the Barada. — Oriental Music and Singing. — The Orchestra. — Musical Instruments.
— Greek and Albanian Music. — Biblical Music. — Music in the Time of the Prophets.
— Samuel and Saul. — Saul among the Prophets. — Elisha and the Minstrel. — David
and Saul. — The Harp and Viol, the Tabret and Pipe. — Ride through the Suburbs of
Damascus. — The Gardens. — Canon Tristram. — Flowing Streams and Golden Fruit. —
Camping in a Garden. — Canal of et Taurah. — Es Salihiyeh. — Villa of the British
Consul. — Exuberant Vegetation. — The Myrtle. — Fountains and Streams in the Gar-
dens, and in the Courts of Public and Private Buildings. — Making Kaif under the
Xiees. — Nahr el Yezid. — Jebel Kasyiin. — The Barada, the Abana. — The A'waj, the
Pharpar. — Bardines. — The Golden -flowing River. — Chasm of the Barada. — Dams
and Canals. — Net-work of Watercourses. — The Main Stream of the Barada. — Lake
'Ataibeh. — Cufic Inscription. — Carriage -road. — Mud Walls. — Sun-dried Bricks. — El
Merj, the Meadow. — Speeding the Departing, and Welcoming the Coming. — Cara-
vans and Pilgrims. — The Haj. — Et Tekiyeh. — Hospital for Poor Pilgrims. — Mosk of
Sultan Selim. — Muhammedan Burying -ground. — Graves of Muhammed's Wives. —
Fatimeh. — The Myrtle and the Palm. — Funeral Mourning. — Mary at the Grave. —
Hired Mourners. — Biblical References to Mourning. — Esau and Job. — David and
Jeremiah. — Floods of Tears. — "Jesus Wept." — Tear Bottles. — Smiting the Thigh. —
El Meidan. — Labyrinth of Crooked Lanes. — Bab es Saghir. — Moslem Funeral Pro-
cession. — "That Eternal Truth and Necessary Fiction." — Ancient Stones in the
City Wall. — Bab Kisan. — Traditional Place of Paul's Escape. — Christian Cemete-
ries. — Spot where Paul was Converted. — Bab esh Shiirky. — Extensive View from
the Top of a Mound. — Throwing Dust in the Eyes of European Commissioners. —

ONE OF THE OLDEST CITIES IN THE WORLD. 363

Leper Hospital. — House of Naaman the Leper. — Leprosy in Damascus. — Roman
Triple Gate. — Saracenic Tower. — Gates of Damascus. — "The Street called Straight."
— Double Colonnade Described by Dr. Porter. — Christian Quarter. — Armenian Con-
vent. — Syrian and Greek Catholic Churches. — House of Ananias. — The Jews in
Damascus, Ancient and Modern. — The Jewish Synagogue. — Paul Preached in the
Synagogues at Damascus. — The Orthodox Greek Church. — Massacre of the Christians
in i860. — The Moslem Quarter. — Damascus Blades and Dama.sk Silks. — Population
of Damascus. — House of Judas. — Locks and Keys. — Key on the Shoulder. — Locks
and Keys in the Time of David and Solomon. — Suk el 'Attarin. — Attar of Roses. —
Dr. Beke. — Rev. J. Crawford. — Extent of the Damascus Gardens Eastward. — The
Eastern Plain Destitute of Trees. — Licorice Plant. — Villages on the Plain. — The
Barada. — Harran el 'Awamid. — The Southern Lake. — Bedawin. — Columns of Basalt.
— Remains of an Ancient Temple. — Greek Inscription. — The Biblical Haran. — Pur-
suit of Jacob by Laban. — Harran el 'Awamid and Mount Gilead. — Tradition of the

Jews. — Return to Damascus.

Sunday, September 14th. Evening.

Damascus has preserved the manners and customs of the East
better than any other city in Syria, and they have been continued
unchanged from generation to generation down to our own day.
Here they can be seen and examined to the greatest advantage.

Where there is so much to claim attention one is at a loss to
know where to begin.

It will be most satisfactory to gain, at the outset, a general idea
of Damascus, its history, and its surroundings, and we cannot do
better than devote this evening to that special purpose. Though
I would not venture to assert that Damascus is the oldest city in
the world, yet it may safely be said that no other city has had so
long and persistent an existence. The ancient cities in the valley
of the Nile, and of the Euphrates — Thebes and Memphis, Babylon
and Nineveh — long since ceased to exist, and are now only known
by their vast ruins and mounds of .shapeless rubbish ; yet Damas-
cus is still the capital of nearly all Syria, and the most populous
and flourishing city of the East.

Is it known when and by whom Damascus was fountled ?

This city is first alluded to in the Bible during the time of Abra-
ham, when it was so well known as to be mentioned, in the brief
account of that patriarch's pursuit of Chcdorlaomer, in order to
define the position of " Hobah, which is on the left-hand (or north |
of Damascus.*" Its ancient Hebrew name, Dammesek, is the same

' Gen. xiv. 15.

B 2

364 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

as the present Arabic one, Dimeshk, but it is commonly called by
the natives esh Sham, the general name for Syria, meaning left or
north, and by all Arab writers Dimeshk esh Sham, Damascus of
Syria. Josephus informs us that it was founded by Uz, the son of
Aram, the grandson of Shem, and the great-grandson of Noah.' He
appears to accept the tradition recorded by the historian Nicolaus,
that Abraham came with an army from the land of the Chaldeans
and reigned at Damascus, but after a long time he removed and
went into the land of Canaan. " The name of Abram," he adds,
" is even still famous in the country of Damascus ; and there is
shown a village named from him The Habitation of Abram." "^

There is no reason to believe that Abraham ever reigned over
Damascus; but, as this city lay on the line of his migration "from
Ur of the Chaldees into the land of Canaan," it is quite possible
that he may have tarried a considerable time in this neighborhood."
His steward, whom at one time he thought would be his heir, was
Eliezer of Damascus, one born in his house, implying that his par-
ents were members of Abraham's household at the time of his
sojourn in this region." Mesjid Ibrahim, Abraham's place of ado-
ration, a sacred shrine venerated for the past eight centuries, was
erected upon the spot where, according to tradition, the patriarch
built an altar and gave thanks to God for his victory over " Che-
dorlaomer and the kings that were with him."' It is at Burzeh, a
village an hour to the north-east of this city, which is said, by an
Arab historian, to mark the site of Hobah.

After the time of Abraham there is no further notice of Da-
mascus in the Bible until the reign of David — a period of nearly
eight hundred and seventy-five years. The possessions of the tribe
of Naphtali, and those of Manasseh east of the Jordan, bordered
upon the territory of Damascus, and the relations between the two
peoples during those long, silent centuries appear to have been gen-
erally amicable. But when David " became one of the great men
of the earth" he began to extend his power and his dominions, and
" as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates " he was
brought into hostile collision with " the Syrians of Damascus," who
" came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah. David slew of the

' Ant., i. 6, 4. ^ Ant., i. 7, 2. ^ Gen. xi. 31. * Gen. xv. 1-4. ^ Gen. xiv. 17.

DAVID GARRISONS DAMASCUS.— INVASIONS OF BEN-HADAD. 365

Syrians two and twenty thousand men." He also " put garrisons
in Syria of Damascus : and the Syrians became servants to David,
and brought gifts."' At that time, according to Josephus and
Nicholaus, Hadad, a great king, ruled over Damascus and other
parts of Syria, and his "posterity reigned for ten generations.'"'

The conquest of David, and the tributary condition of the Syri-
ans of Damascus, lasted only during his hfetime; for when Solomon
came to the throne Rezon, a servant of the former King of Zobah,
and a " captain over a band " of robbers, in all probability became
"an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon."' He came to
Damascus and dwelt there and ruled over it ; but, being an adven-
turer and usurper, Rezon was probably soon expelled from this city,
and it again became the seat of the Hadad dynasty. After the re-
volt of the ten tribes there was a league between Abijam, King of
Judah, and Tabrimon, King of Syria, and between Baasha, King of
Israel, and Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, who succeeded his
father and dwelt at Damascus. It was to this Ben-hadad I. that
Asa sent presents of silver and gold from the treasures of the house
of the Lord and from the king's house, saying, "Come and break
thy league with Baasha, King of Israel, that he may depart from
me." Ben-hadad took the presents and sent his captains "against
the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maa-
chah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali."*

Incidentally we learn, from i Kings xx. 34, that Ben-hadad I.
again invaded Israel, and took many cities, and established "streets
in Samaria" for the purpose of trade and traffic between the mer-
chants of Damascus and the inhabitants of that city. His son,
Ben-hadad II., during the reign of Ahab, " gathered all his host
together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses
and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria." The account
of his arrogant demands and their rejection by Ahab; of the battle
and the great slaughter of the Syrians, of the flight of Ben-hadad
and his horsemen, is given in the twentieth chapter of i Kings. "At
the return of the year Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went
up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. The battle was joined : and
the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand foot-
' 2 Sam. viii. 3-6. ^ .\iU., vii. 5, 2. '' i Kings xi. 23-25. •• i Kings xv. i()-20.

366 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

men in one day." Ben-hadad again fled and hid himself, but was
prevailed upon by his servants to surrender to Ahab, who received
him as a brother. "And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities which
my father took from thy father I will restore ; and thou shalt make
streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. So he
made a covenant with him, and sent him away." '

Three years after that Ahab is the aggressor, and the prepara-
tions for the encounter with Ben-hadad, and the fatal result to the
King of Israel, are eminently Biblical, and given at length in the
last chapter of i Kings. After the death of Ahab there was a
short interval of peace. Ahaziah, his son, fell through a lattice at
Samaria, and "so he died;" and Jehoram his brother "reigned in
his stead."' Then occurred one of those most interesting episodes
in Biblical history, abounding in striking and instructive illustra-
tions of the state of society at that remote period. Naaman, the
Syrian, of Damascus, was a great captain : " he was also a mighty
man in valour, but he was a leper." At the earnest solicitation of
" a little captive maid out of the land of Israel," he came to Sama-
ria. He brought ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of
gold, and ten changes of raiment, and a letter from Ben-hadad to
Jehoram, saying, " Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold,
I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest
recover him of his leprosy." The king read the letter, rent his
clothes, and exclaimed, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that
this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?"
When Elisha heard of it he remonstrated with the king for having
rent his clothes. "Let him come now to me," said he, "and he
shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."'

But the story is too familiar to need repetition. Every one can
remember the indignant and contemptuous reply of the great cap-
tain to the prophet's command, " Go and wash in Jordan seven
times." "Are not," he exclaims, " Abana and Pharpar, rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? So he turned and
went away in a rage." It is worthy of note, however, that, after
he had "dipped in Jordan, and was clean," and when the prophet
refused his " blessing," as Naaman called his gift, the latter asked

1 I Kings XX. I, 26-34. '^ 2 Kings i. 2, 17. ^ 2 Kings v. I- 8.

AX ALTAR TO JEHOVAH.— ELISHA VISITS DAMASCUS. 367

that "two mules' burden of earth" be given to him with which to
build an altar here in Damascus, and "offer burnt offerintj and
sacrifice unto the Lord." ' Naaman had, probably, been informed
that " an altar of earth," and " not of hewn stone," was necessary
to the worship of Jehovah, and hence his request."

This interchange of friendly relations was soon interrupted, for
Ben-hadad again invaded Israel, and endeavored to capture Elisha ;
but the attempt failed, and the host sent for that purpose were
smitten with blindness, and led into Samaria by the prophet him-
self." "After this Ben-hadad gathered all his host, and went up,
and besieged Samaria." Then occurred that " great " and memo-
rable famine when " an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of
silver," and children were eaten by their own parents. The city
was saved by divine interposition, for " the Lord had made the host
of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses,
even the noise of a great host : and they said one to another, Lo,
the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites,
and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they
arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses,
and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life."*
Recent investigations explain the reason for that panic and the
precipitate flight of Ben-hadad's army. The Hittite confederacy
was one of the most powerful military organizations in Western
Asia, and at that time it was in alliance with the Egyptians.

Ben-hadad made no farther attempts upon Samaria after that
remarkable panic and flight of his army from before its walls. He
appears to have been engaged, to the close of his reign, in repel-
ling the invasions of the Assyrians, who sought to extend their
power over Syria and Palestine, It was during that period of
comparative peace between Syria and Israel that " Elisha came
to Damascus." He visited this city apparently to fulfil one of
the three commands of the Lord to Elijah when in the cave on
Mount Sinai. There " the Lord said unto him. Go, return on thy
way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt

' 2 Kings V. 9-19. * Kxod. xx. 24, 25.

' 2 Kings vi. 8-23. * 2 Kinj^s vi. 24, 25 ; vii. 6, 7.

^68 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

thou anoint to be king over Israel : and Elisha the son of Shaphat
of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.'"
EHjah seems to have taken a large liberty in the manner of car-
rying out those various commands. He did not go to Damascus
at all, nor did he, personally, anoint either Hazael or Jehu. He
" found Elisha and cast his mantle upon him ;" that is, he invested
him with the prophetic office by that symbolic act ; and Elisha
"arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him."'

Elisha was now a prophet " in the room " of Elijah, and at the
time of his visit to Damascus " Ben-hadad the king was sick ;" so
he sent Hazael to meet him, with " a present of every good thing
of Damascus, forty camels' burden." And he "came and stood
before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent
me to thee, saying. Shall I recover of this disease?" In that inter-
view, while assuring Hazael that the king would surely die, Elisha
fixed his gaze steadfastly upon him until Hazael " was ashamed :
and the man of God wept." "And Hazael said. Why weepeth
my lord ?" Elisha replied that God had shown him that he would
be king over Syria, and that he would inflict terrible calamities
upon Israel. Upon which Hazael exclaims, " Is thy servant a dog,
that he should do this great thing?"' Well might the prophet
weep, for Hazael murdered his master on the following morning,
usurped the throne, and, during a long reign of about forty -six
years, desolated the country east of the Jordan, "oppressed Israel,"
and even threatened Jerusalem, enacting all the atrocities which
Elisha foresaw and predicted.

But "the Lord had compassion" upon the Israelites, "neither
cast he them from his presence as yet." He gave them a saviour
in the person of Joash, King of Israel, who beat Ben-hadad III.,
the son of Hazael, three times, " and recovered the cities of Israel.""
We read also, in 2 Kings xiv. 27, 28, that Jeroboam II., the son and
successor of Joash, "recovered Damascus and Hamath ;" and after
that, in the days " of Pekah the son of Remaliah," the King of Da-
mascus appears as an ally of Israel against Judah. "So Ahaz sent
to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, Come up and save me."

' I Kings xix. 15, 16. ' i Kings xix. 19-21.

3 2 Kings viii. 7-15. * 2 Kings xiii. 22-25.

HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.— FULFILMENT OF PROPHECV. 369

And he " went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the
people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin." ' Ahaz also came
to this city, and here saw an altar, a pattern of which he sent to
Urijah, who made one like it, and set it up in the Temple at Jeru-
salem.' Thus ran the checkered history of those rival nations until
Damascus and Israel were overwhelmed in succession by the Assy-
rians, Babylonians, and Persians, under Sennacherib, Nebuchadnez-
zar, and Darius, on the north, and the Egyptians on the south.
Then was fulfilled the prophecy of Amos, and that of Isaiah. A
fire devoured " the palaces of Ben-hadad," " and the kingdom
[ceased] from Damascus." " Behold, Damascus is taken away
from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap j" and the cap-
tives of Samaria were "carried into Assyria, and placed by the
river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes."^

In the days of Jeremiah, about 600 B.C., Damascus had "waxed
feeble ;" and Ezekiel alludes to its former prosperity and commer-
cial relations with Tyre.* One hundred years later it is mentioned
by Zechariah, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian
captivity." Then came the Macedonian, Greek, and Roman con-
quests, breaking and fusing all separate nationalities into one vast
empire. During those centuries of turmoil and strife Damascus,
though it recovered some of its ancient glory and again became a
rich and flourishing city, had no independent existence, nor any
history of special importance. After the defeat of Darius at the
battle of Issus, B.C. 333, Damascus surrendered to Parmenio, the
general of Alexander the Great, and with it the family and treasures
of the Persian monarch. Here, according to Josephus, I'ompey
received ambassadors from Syria, and Judea, and Egypt; and here
Sextus Caesar bestowed the government of Coelesyria upon Herod
the Great, who afterwards built a gymnasium and theatre in this
city." And hither came "Saul (who also is called Paul), breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." '

At the beginning of our era Damascus was one of the many
large and prospering cities subject to Roman rule, and during the

' 2 Kings xvi. 5-9. '•' 2 Kinj;s xvi. 10-16.

•■' Amos i. 3, 4 ; Isa. xvii. i ; 2 Kings xvii. 6. ■* jir. xlix. 23-27 ; E/.ck. xxvii. l3.

^Zcch. ix. I. " Ant., xiv. 3, I ; (;, 5 ; 15. J., i. 21 , 1 1. ■" Ads ix. I-3 ; xiii. 9.

370 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

following centuries Christianity spread rapidly amongst its inhab-
itants. Under the Byzantine Empire this city was the seat of a
bishop, and its ancient heathen temple was converted into a Chris-
tian church and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. For more than
two centuries after that Damascus continued to prosper, until at
the time of the Muhammedan conquest it was one of the first cities
of the Eastern Empire.

In the year 634, after defeating the army of the Emperor Hera-
clius on the plain of Hums, the Arabs besieged Damascus, this
ancient capital of Syria. The siege lasted seventy days, and then
the city surrendered, and most of the inhabitants were allowed to
withdraw. According to Gibbon, they were pursued by Khalid,
" the Sword of God," with four squadrons of cavalry, and " not a
Christian of either sex escaped the edge of their scymitars." The
remaining inhabitants of the city became the tributary subjects of
the conquerors, and seven places of worship were allotted to them,
and half of the church of St. John. Towards the close of the
seventh century Damascus rose, for a time, to great prominence as
the capital of the Muhammedan Empire, which soon extended to
India on the east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Although
this city has enjoyed periods of great prosperity during the past
twelve centuries of Moslem rule, yet the baneful influence of Islam,
here, as elsewhere, has been depressing and destructive. It is im-
possible to ruin a city so favorably located as Damascus ; still, it has
notably declined in many important respects — in the variety and
perfection of its manufactures, the extent and value of its com-
merce, and in the wealth and refinement of its inhabitants.

As Damascus has retained its individuality during a period of
about four thousand years, and as it is of all Eastern cities the
most Oriental, one naturally expects to find that not only have the
manners and customs of ancient times remained unchanged, but
that its present inhabitants have come down from the earliest ages.

Would you seek acquaintance with the descendants of Ishmael?
They are to be seen in every bazaar, with their swarthy complexion,
sharp features, and lithe and slender figures, clad in simple but
primitive garments, very much like those worn by Abraham and
they of his household when sojourning in this vicinity. Do you

"A HEBREW OF THE HEBREWS."— " THE ARABIAN NIGHTS." 37 1

wish to see a veritable "Hebrew of the Hebrews" — a son of "Abra-
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob?" You will find f^roups of them in the
Jewish quarter of the city, with fair countenance and bri<;ht eyes,
curling locks and flowing beards, servile expression and obsequious
manner, clothed in much the same style and costume as their fore-
fathers. You cannot name an article of their dress, from head to
foot, but that you there behold only the modernized form and fash-
ion of its ancient shape and size, for the Jews of Damascus have
adhered with great tenacity to the manners, the customs, and the
costumes of their ancestors. During our stay in this city you will
be constantly reminded that we are still in the land of the Bible,
and that Damascus furnishes, in many respects, the best li\ing illus-
trations of the Holy Book that are now to be found in an\- part of
the Promised Land.

September 15th.

This hotel — with its paved quadrangular court in the centre,
marble fountains, running water, orange, citron, and lemon trees,
rose-bushes, trailing jessamine-vines, and blooming shrubs, its open
lewans, spacious and lofty rooms on the ground floor, and smaller
ones above, with winding stairs, rambling verandas, and projecting
balconies — transfers us, almost by enchantment, into the realm of
Oriental story and amid the scenes of the "Arabian Nights."

Ever since the wealthy and pleasure-loving Khalifs, the success-
ors of the great prophet of Islam, assumed the supremacy over their
more refined Christian subjects and established their court at Da-
mascus, this city has been admirably adapted to illustrate those
Oriental romances of the happy king, Shahriyar, and his faithful
queen, Shahrazar. And to-day many a house within the city walls,
and a garden in the suburbs, is the palace and the grove in minia-
ture of a Moslem Khalif equally minute, though none the less ma-
levolent, than the famous vicars of Muhammed. We will let our
horses rest to-day, and allow the muleteers the opportunity to have
their animals re-shod, while we visit the bazaars of the city. There
are many places of special interest within the walls of Damascus,
besides its shops and streets, and we will, therefore, direct our
steps to Khan As'ad Pasha, passing through several of the princi-
pal bazaars on the way to that celebrated caravansary.

372 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

In this large open space which we are crossing horses are col-
lected from the desert and elsewhere and offered for sale, on certain
days of the week. Some of them are in a semi-wild state, and pre-
sent a shaggy and uncouth appearance, while others are said to be
of the famous Arabian breeds raised by the Bedawin of the 'Anazeh
tribe. That large plane-tree is one of the sights of Damascus. The
trunk is nearly forty feet in circumference, and one of its branches
is occasionally used as a gallows. Here are the shops and stalls for
the sale of barley, and farther on is the saddle market. There you
will find saddles of all shapes and sizes, from the hard pack, stuffed
with straw, to the crimson cloth and gold-embroidered saddle of the
Effendi and the Pasha. And there, too, are seen girths of every
description, and saddle-cloths of gaudy colors and various patterns ;
broad, shovel -shaped stirrups, and silver- spangled bridles with
clumsy ring bits, and trappings and tassels for the horses of the
Bedawin. This clatter of many hammers proceeds from the shops
of the coppersmiths. Here are made basins and ewers, pots and
pans, cups and kettles, colanders, and other kitchen utensils. Those
large copper trays — some of them nearly five feet in diameter —
are, in fact, used as tables, upon which the dishes are placed and
around which the guests seat themselves on the floor. They are
often adorned with elaborate calligraphical designs and compli-
cated texts from the Koran.

The castle, on the opposite side of the street, is a large, quadran-
gular fortress, nearly nine hundred feet long and seven hundred feet
wide. From its great height, and many projecting towers, and the
surrounding moat — twenty feet broad, and fifteen feet deep — it pre-
sents a formidable appearance. The interior, however, is in a ruin-
ous condition, and only a few vaults are occupied. Some of them
chiefly contain bows and arrows, old armor, and other military rub-
bish. It is said to have been built by Melek el Ashraf, about A.D.
1 2 19, but this can only imply that he rebuilt the fortress upon the
foundations of a former one, for the substructions are evidently
ancient, and probably Roman. The main branch of the Barada
flows along the north wall of the castle, and its waters could be let
into the fosse, the bottom of which is now covered with reeds.

Leaving these jabbering and importunate auctioneers to dispose

BAZAARS AND STREETS.— BARGAINS.— KHAN AS'AD PASHA. 373

of their second-hand garments, old-fashioned weapons, and copper
trays to the highest bidder, we will pass through Suk el Arwam, or
the Street of the Greeks. Here are dealers in all sorts of Oriental
articles, mostly gaudy and trashy, and not worth a quarter of the
price asked for them : tobacco-bags of \^arious colors, embroidered
in siK^er and gold ; long pipe-stems encased in blue, green, and
crimson silk, bound with gold braid and ornamented with brilliant
tassels suspended from the middle of the stems, and adorned with
amber mouthpieces six inches long. These persistent dealers offer
you, "for nothing," a cloth suit, a red fez, a shawl, a dagger, or a
so-called " Damascus blade," bright-colored socks, or a carpet to
say your prayers upon — and all *' without money and without
price." If you accept on those terms they will expect a present
of at least twice the value of the goods thus "given away."

" It is the most difficult thing in the world," says an Oriental
traveller, " to find one's way about a populous Eastern town, from
the intricacy of the streets and the many winding bazaars, which
are so very confusing. Sometimes you arc pushed into a corner for
several minutes and spattered with mud by a string of donkeys,
who trot heedlessly and with noiseless tread over the dirty pave-
ment; and sometimes you are nearly knocked down and run over
by a string of camels, who take up the whole passage between the
shop-boards on which the goods are exposed for sale, and whose
soft, spongy feet make no sound to warn one of the approaching
danger." Fortunately for us, we have at last reached this great
khan without encountering anything more formidable in these
bazaars than motley crowds of men, women, and children buying
and selling, and occasionally an Effendi on horseback.

This khan belongs to the family of As'ad Pasha, by whom it
was built nearly one hundred years ago. He was the Governor of
Damascus for fifteen years, and is said to have been an ujiright man
and a public benefactor. The main entrance is gram! and very
striking — one of the finest specimens of Arabian architecture in this
country — and the stone carving above the lofty gateway and around
the stalactite vaults is of the most elaborate character. The khan
was constructed of black basalt and white limestone in alternate
layers, and is about two hundred feet square. The interior court is

374 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

half that size, with a large, round fountain in the centre, above
which is a lofty dome resting upon four arches, each supported by
four clustered pillars. These are connected with the walls by a
series of similar arches and domes — eight in all. Those domes have
each sixteen large windows, through which light, air, and sunshine
penetrate to the rooms and the court below. Around the sides of
the court are vaulted magazines of various sizes for the disposal of
merchandise of every description at wholesale.

On either side of the main entrance a staircase leads up to an
arched corridor, which extends quite around the building, and com-
municates with the small retail shops and offices of the merchants.
It forms a fine promenade, from where one can look down upon
the strange and truly Oriental scenes in the court below, free from
the noise and confusion which there characterize every commercial
transaction, large or small. To Khan As'ad Pasha come caravans
from Bagdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Beirut, and elsewhere. On entering,
the muleteers and camel-drivers, with mighty din and uproar, throw
down their loads of merchandise in this court, and here they must
remain until the owners settle with the custom-house ofificials.

The janissary of the consulate has come to conduct us from
this khan to the Great Mosk. He will obtain admission for us,
and insure proper respect from the custodians of that sacred edi-
fice. We will now leave the khan and pass through some of the
bazaars which you have not yet seen.

I have noticed with surprise the difference in the demeanor of
the shopkeepers towards their customers. The Christians are of^-
cious and importunate ; the Moslems, on the other hand, are indif-
ferent, contemptuous, and even insolent.

The Moslems of Damascus number more than four-fifths of its
inhabitants, and their intense fanaticism is notorious; hence their
arrogant treatment of all unbelievers. Christians are infidel dogs,
and Jews are curs of the lowest degree, while all Europeans are
generally regarded as Russians, with whom the Sultan is supposed
to be at war. Amongst themselves, however, Muhammedans are
respectful, and treat each other with extreme deference, even in
matters of the smallest concern.

A Moslem shopkeeper is a religious phenomenon wonderful to

A MOSLEM SHOPKEEPER.— BAZAAR OF THE GOLDSMITHS.

0/ :>

behold, whose faith is as necessary to him as his food or his rai-
ment. Proceeding with solemn step through the street, he strokes
his beard at every turn, muttering short ejaculations of praise to
God and prayer for his almighty aid. Arriving at his shop, he'
unlocks the shutters, exclaiming, " O thou Opener of all things,
and Knower of all things !" and ascends to his seat, upon a quilted
mattress, about a yard square. Placing his shoes out of sight, and
filling his pipe, he reclines against a large, soft cushion, and compla-
cently strokes his beard or plays with his beads while patiently
awaiting the customer whom fate or God's decree may send him.
If his customer be a Jew or Christian, he " takes refuge in God from
the wiles of Satan ;" for according to the nature of that first
"opening" transaction will his business during the day be fortu-
nate or otherwise. If the amount of the purchase is satisfactory,
he praises God for having diverted the money of an infidel into the
hands of a true believer; but should the amount be insignificant,
he calls upon the Enricher of all, the most merciful God, to dispel
his ominous ill-luck by sending him another customer of a more
promising countenance and longer purse.

The infidels are common victims, and to cheat and abuse them
is the special prerogative of all true believers. It is astonishing to
see a ^loslem, at the close of a wrangling bargain with a Christian
or a Jew — during which the buyer has been cheated in quality,
quantity, and price, and roughly dealt with — suddenly betake him-
self to his prayers, perform them in a most solemn and abstracted
manner, and immediately thereafter engage in a similar scene over
some petty purchase worth only a few piastres. A thousand times
in the day is the name of God invoked to confirm the l>'ing state-
ment of the seller in regard to the article offered to the bu\'er, and
this taking of "the name of God in vain" has continued unchanged
from the time of Moses down to the present day.

We have now reached the bazaar of the goldsmiths, and are in
the vicinity of the Great Mosk. After examining some of their
handiwork we will ascend to the dilapidated roof of this bazaar,
from where we can obtain a view of the exterior of the mosk.
Here you will be shown a great variety of ornaments in silver or
■^old and in delicate filigree work, many of tliem quite beautiful, for

376

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the head, the ears, the neck, the arms, the fingers, and even for the
nose and ankles of the Bedawin women. There are also brilhant
sprays of diamonds, and a great profusion of pearls, coral, amber,
and costly gems to tempt the wealthy.

Where do they keep all those treasures which you have enu-
merated ? I see nothing but a row of dingy stalls, with one or two
men and as many boys in each, apparently trying to melt something
in a crucible over a common blow-pipe.

The jewelry and precious stones are kept in tin cases, locked up
in those ordinary wooden boxes which you see in the stalls, and

DIAMOND, PEARL, AND GOLD EAR-RLNGS. — DIAMOND NECKLACE.

they are exhibited with great care to an intending purchaser. The
stalls are generally raised nearly four feet above the street, and are
about seven feet square. The entire furniture consists of one or
two mats or carpets and the same number of quilted mattresses
and soft cushions. The stock in trade is placed in the tin cases
and strong wooden boxes, and the principal machinery used is com-
prised in the following list : a hammer, anvil, hole in the floor or
forge ; an oil-lamp, a crucible, a blow-pipe, and a small, flat, and
smooth piece of charcoal; a shears, pincers, and a piece of iron or
steel, with holes of various sizes, through which the gold or silver

GOLD FILIGREE WORK.— GREEK INSCRIPTION. 377

wire is drawn. Thus equipped, one of these jewellers will make a
pair of ear-rings in gold filigree work from an Oriental design, or
from any other which may be given to him ; and the process is very
simple. A rude sketch is made ; the gold wire, drawn to the requi-
site thickness, is cut into the necessary pieces ; these are shaped to
conform to the design, then placed in position on the flat piece of
charcoal, a pinch of solder is dusted over them, and a boy with the
blow-pipe is brought into requisition. That primitive manufactur-
incr process is repeated until the design is complete, and then comes
finishing and polishing, and the ear-rings are done. They are
weighed, and to the value of the gold the jeweller adds the price of
his labor, and the result is the entire cost of the ear-rings.

A bakhshish has unlocked this side- door, and we may now
ascend to the roof of the bazaar. From here we get a good view
of the south side of the mosk — its windows, minarets, sloping
roofs, and central dome. A part of the wall at the south-western
angle, the remains of the gate near the southern transept, and the
round arches of the windows on either side and above the present
main entrance, sufficiently indicate the Greek and Roman origin
of this Moslem mosk and former church of St. John the Baptist. If
we had time and opportunity we could approach nearer to the wall
of the mosk and examine these ancient remains, especially those
of the triple gate, which are almost entirely concealed by the walls
of this bazaar. The western arch is hidden from sight, but part of
the central and eastern arches rise above the line of those roofs.

During one of my earliest visits to this place, in company with
some missionary friends, we found a Greek inscription high up in
the wall, and above the central gateway, which to us was a new dis-
covery, as we supposed it had not been seen by any traveller. Pro-
curing a ladder, we succeeded, with some diiificulty, in copying it.
It is now well known, and being interpreted reads as follows:
"Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and thy do-
minion endureth throughout all generations," taken from the thir-
teenth verse of the one hundred and forty-fifth Psalm, with the
name of Christ interpolated. It was evidently intended for the
gateway leading into the enclosure of the churdi, pn.hahly for the
lintel of the entrance through which the Christians had access to

378

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

their part of the edifice during the time of its partial occupation by
them and the Moslems. It is surprising that Muhammedan fanati-
cism has allowed it to remain there for more than twelve hundred
years, and has not long since effaced and removed it from the sacred
precincts of this their grandest mosk in the city of Damascus.

ARCH AND PEDIMENT OF AN ANCIENT GATEWAY.

From the bazaar of the goldsmiths we have now found our way
into that of the booksellers. Copies of the Koran, beautifully illu-
minated, were occasionally found in the shops, but in these days a
good manuscript copy can only be obtained secretly and by paying
a high price for it. The magic energy of the printing-press will ere

ANXIENT GATEWAY.— BAB EL BARID.— HOUSE OF RIMMON. 379

long altogether supersede the laborious methods of the copyist,
and even now but few manuscript books of special value are ex-
posed for sale in these stalls. Here is another side-door, which the
same amount of bakhshish will unlock, and from the terrace of this
private house we can examine the remains of an ancient gateway
in front of the western entrance to the Great iMosk. Those four
massive columns are all that can be seen of it here in the street.

What we now see rising above the roof of the bazaar is a por-
tion of the arch and pediment of the gateway, supported by three
columns with Corinthian capitals. The one at the end is composed
of a square pier of masonry, with a semi-column on the inner and
outer side. The cornice, arch, and pediment are profusely orna-
mented with scroll-work, flowers and foliage, and other architectural
designs similar to those seen among the ruins at Ba'albek. In the
masonry over the cornice there is a small window with a double
moulding, and, judging from the proportions of this elaborate frag-
ment, the entire gateway must have been more than seventy feet
high and of about the same width. Let us descend and walk
through the booksellers' bazaar to Bab el Barid, at the end of the
street. The double colonnade which formerly extended from this
ancient portal to the mosk has been almost entirely destroyed,
and only a few of the columns remain ; some of them are built into
the walls of the shops and houses along the street.

Here we are at this unpretentious entrance to the mosk, and
the custodians have brought the slippers we are required to wear
within the sacred edifice. On former visits I had to purchase slip-
pers in the shoemakers' bazaar, but the keepers have become more
accommodating, expecting to be liberally rewarded for their polite
attentions when we leave the mosk.

This is the most important historical site in Damascus, and may
have been originally an open space, the centre of which was occu-
pied by an altar dedicated to the idol-gotl of the S)'rians long before
Abraham passed this way, "to go into the land of Canaan." Here,
no doubt, was "the house of Rimmon," probably erected by one of
those Ben-hadads who reigned in this city from the time of David,
and which is referred to by Naaman in his interview with l^lish.i.'

' 2 Kings V. 17, iS.
C 2

38o

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

And here Ahaz the king of Judah may have seen that altar when
he came to Damascus, " the pattern" of which he sent to Urijah the
priest in Jerusalem. Several hundred years later, when the Greeks
and the Romans were here, a heathen temple stood upon this spot,
with its altars and courts, its colonnades and triumphal arches. It
must have occupied an area nearly equal in size to that of the pres-
ent Haram esh Sherif, in Jerusalem. After Christianity became the

JAMI'A ES SEIYED YEHYA — CHURCH OK ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.

established religion of the Byzantine Empire the temple was con-
verted into a church and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and the
Moslems believe that his head still remains in the cave where it is
said to have been placed by the monks of that church.

When Damascus fell into the hands of the Muhammedans, in
the seventh century, this church was occupied by Moslems and
Christians, the former taking possession of the eastern part, while
the latter were allowed the use of the western portion. That

JAMI'A ES SEIYEU VKIl VA— 1 HE MOSK OF ST. JOHN. 38 1

division, which indicated the comparative toleration of Muhamme-
danism at that period, did not continue long, and the Christians
were not only expelled from their place of worship, but they were
forbidden to enter the enclosure of the sacred edifice. From thence-
forth the entire structure was transformed into Jami'a es Seiyed
Yehya, or the Mosk of St. John, which name it still bears. The
church was in the form of a basilica, and the space between the
enclosing walls of the quadrangle upon which it stood was about
five hundred feet long and three hundred and fifty feet broad.
It occupied nearly one half of that space, on the south side of
the quadrangle, and but few changes have been made in the inte-
rior plan since it was transformed into a mosk. The open court
on the north occupies much the largest part of the quadrangle, and
the ancient outbuildings in it have been removed, and fountains and
minarets erected in their place.

Turning to the right, let us now enter the sacred enclosure of
this present mosk and former church.

This vast edifice, with its numerous columns, its Saracenic arches,
lofty roof, and many pendant frames containing scores of oil-lamps,
dimly lighted, is entirely different from any public building we have
yet seen in this country, and it presents a most singular and inter-
esting appearance.

Though it cannot be called magnificent in its present condition,
yet the impression produced upon the beholder by the architectural
proportions and the great dimensions of the mosk is peculiar and
impressive. It is about four hundred and fifty feet long, and one
hundred and twenty-five feet wide, and is divided into three aisles
by two rows of columns — twenty in each row -which extend the
whole length of the edifice. The columns are about twenty-four
feet high, and most of them have Corinthian capitals. There is
another row of columns along the north side of the mosk, but they
are encased in masonry, and the space between them is now takL-n
up by many windows and doors, through which access to the mosk
is gained on that side. The triple roof rests upon two tiers of
arches supported by the rows of columns, and it is said to be cov-
ered with lead on the outside. In the centre of the mosk, and the
transept of the ancient church, there are four massive piers, and

282 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

above them rises a dome about one hundred and twenty feet high,
and one hundred feet in circumference. There is colored glass in
the windows on the south side of the mosk, and along the walls
and upon some of the columns are extracts and texts from the
Koran, in the usual style of intricate caligraphy which the Arabs
delight to employ and display.

Almost the entire marble fioor is covered with carpets of differ-
ent sizes and various patterns, upon which the "true believers" per-
form their daily prayers. Looking eastward along these aisles the
most striking objects are those great dome-shaped frames with their
hundreds of lamps, and the numerous chandeliers, suspended by
long chains from the arches and lofty roof. The minbar, or pulpit,
and the mihrab, or praying-niches, in the south wall, with their slen-
der marble columns, are quite attractive and suggestive. But the
most sacred spot in the mosk is the cave above which is the shrine,
or Mukam es Seiyed Yehya. The mukam is between the third and
fourth column, to the right of the dome, and near the south wall of
the eastern part of the mosk. It is enclosed by a quadrangular
wall, built of five courses of polished marble, upon which stand
twenty square columns, six on each side, and four at either end,
counting the corner columns twice. The cornice is elaborately
ornamented by extracts from the Koran, in large letters, and above
it rises a ribbed dome, resting upon an octagonal structure, and sur-
mounted by a gilded crescent. The height of the dome is about
twenty-five feet, and the head of John the Baptist is believed by
the Moslems to be still preserved beneath that mukam. Like those
of many Christian saints, the remains of the Baptist have been gen-
erously distributed amongst several favored mosks. His head is
here, his heart is claimed in Aleppo, and one of his fingers is said
to be in a mosk at Beirut.

The association of Biblical and even Christian celebrities with
Muhammedan shrines in and around this most Moslem of cities
appears to be one of the strange features of Damascus.

We are now in the large open court enclosed by the walls of the
mosk. Including the colonnade on the east, north, and west, the
court is about four hundred and fifty feet long, and one hundred
and eighty feet broad. The columns in the northern colonnade are

COURT OF THE GREAT MOSK.— ORNAMENTAL PIERS. 383

encased in masonry, and support twenty-four horseshoe arches, upon
which rests an upper tier of fifty smaller round arches. The sides
of the masonry piers are ornamented with various patterns in panel-
work, and elaborate designs of rich arabesque adorn the capitals,
while the arches are painted on the inside in alternate black and
white irregular squares, presenting a striking and checkered appear-
ance. The upper tier of arches is composed entirely of layers of

►J^

MIKAM i-:. bhiVLD VHiVA— TOMli UK ST. JOHN THE HAl'Tlbl.

black and white limestone, and the combined effect of those varied
designs and different colors in the colonnade give it an appearance
eminently Oriental and attractive. More than half the number of
Corinthian columns remain exposed to view in the eastern and
western colonnade, and the arches in the upper tier are supported
by smaller columns of the same order.

This Saracenic structure over the fountain in the middle of the
court is quite imposing, with its eight columns and as many arches;
and the domed pavilion above them is large and attractive.

384 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

It is called Kubbet en Naufarah, dome of the water-spout, a
name suggested no doubt by the constant and refreshing sound of
the plashing waters from those numerous jets. Here " the faith-
ful " perform their ablutions before entering the mosk, and in the
pavilion above this octagonal basin some of their religious ceremo-
nies are conducted. Kubbet es Sa'ah, the dome of the hour, is in
the eastern part of the court ; and that curious structure near the
western end is called Kubbet el Khusneh, the dome of the treasure.
Under the dome of its octagonal chamber — built upon those fine
marble columns, whose Corinthian capitals are almost perfect — the
sacred books and records of the mosk are deposited, but no visitor
is allowed to inspect such precious " treasure."

Several years ago our party of ladies and gentlemen spent an
entire forenoon in the mosk and around this court. We were
accompanied by the dragoman of the British Consulate, and at his
request our photographer was allowed to take pictures of some of
the interesting objects within this great court, and views of the
colonnades and the minarets of the mosk. The entire party
ascended this central minaret, called Madinet el 'Arus, the minaret
of the bride — winding up this same spiral stairway of one hundred
and sixty steps which we are now climbing — to the gallery from
where the muezzin proclaims " the call to prayers." The mosk of
St. John has three minarets. The one we are on is the oldest. It
is built up square, and has four galleries. Madinet el Ghurbiyeh,
the western minaret, on the south-west side of the court, is the most
beautiful. It is octagonal, built in receding sections, like a tele-
scope, and has three galleries. The loftiest minaret of them all is
Madinet Tsa, minaret of Jesus, so called from a Moslem tradition
that on the morning of the judgment-day Jesus will descend from
heaven upon it and sit in judgment on all the nations of the earth.
It is built upon a square tower, and is octagonal in shape, taper-
ing to a point, and surmounted, like the other two, by a crescent.
There are two covered "galleries" in the tower and two open ones
on the "spire" of the minaret.

The view from this minaret over this most Oriental of cities is
exceedingly characteristic and interesting. We look down upon a
motley scene of flat, drab-colored roofs, dark, narrow streets, square,

A PANORAMA FROM IIIE MINARKl OF THE BRIDE. 385

ORNAMENTED PIERS AND ARCHES IN THE COIRI oK THE C.REAT MOSK.

whitewashed walls, innumerable domes, lofty minarets, and tall, ta-
pering cypress-trees, varied here and there by the green shrubs and
large fruit-trees in the courts of some of the principal houses.

A panorama taken from the gallery of this Madinet cl 'Arus

386 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

would include nearly every important house, public building, mosk,
and church in the city, and a large number of the villages on the
plain. The new Greek Catholic Church in the extreme south-east-
ern part of the city is seen to advantage from here, and the great
castle west of us rears its lofty quadrangular walls high above all its
surroundings. The outlook from our stand-point extends far be-
yond the city and its suburbs, to Jebel Kasyun, above es Salihiyeh,
on the north ; to Mount Hermon, on the west; to the distant region
of the Hauran, on the south ; and eastward to the green marshes
of the lakes — a vast and endlessly diversified prospect of moun-
tains and valleys, waving forests of fruit-trees, fertile plains, and
stern, hopeless deserts.

We will now descend from this minaret, having " made the
tour" of the mosk of St. John, which, as we have already re-
marked, probably occupies the site of "the house of Rimmon," in
which Ben-hadad worshipped, leaning upon the hand of Naaman.'

Was Rimmon one of the many names given to Baal ?

As the name of the ancient Syrian god it is mentioned only
once in the Bible, and its signification and derivation are doubtful.
It may have had reference to the pomegranate, still abundant in
the gardens of Damascus ; or have been an abbreviated form of
Hadadrimmon, the combined names of the Syrian deities. Some
suppose that it was derived from Aram, the general name for Syria,
and the region of which Damascus was the capital. It is probable,
therefore, that " the house of Rimmon," in this city, w-as one of the
many temples dedicated to the worship of Baal, the supreme god
of the Aramaean tribes.

The most interesting monuments in the vicinity of this mosk
are the mausoleum of Salah ed Din, the famous Saladin of Crusad-
ing times, and the tomb of Melek ed Dhaher Bibars, the Mameluke
Sultan of Egypt. These custodians appear to be satisfied with their
bakhshish, so we can leave the mosk through the same gate by which
we entered it and go back to the hotel.

September 15th. Evening.
Returning from the mosk this noon w^e passed a public bath
with a curtain drawn across the entrance, indicating, as you said,

' 2 Kincrs v. 18.

PUBLIC BATHS INTRODUCED BY HEROD THE GREAT. 387

that it would be occupied for the rest of the day by the women.
Are they not allowed to use the bath at night ?

Muhammed is credited with the ungallant assertion that when
a woman enters a bath the devil goes in with her; and he forbade
women to go there except in rare cases of emergency and for sani-
tary purpo.ses. Moslem women, however, have entirely disregarded
his injunction, and those forbidden places are occasionally engaged
for special nights by the families of the wealthy. The ordinary
custom is to reserve the bath for the exclusive use of men in the
forenoon, and women in the afternoon. Brides are taken to the
bath by their relatives and friends a short time before the wed-
ding; and such parties often spend several hours there, drinking
lemonade, sipping coffee, smoking the nargileh, and partaking of
sweetmeats and other refreshments. Singing women are hired
to add to the entertainment on those occasions, and the merr}'-
making is often noisy enough to be heard out on the street.

Is it not strange that private and public baths similar to those
now in use in this country are not mentioned in the Bible?

The Hebrews appear never to have built any in their houses
nor in their cities, though ablutions of various kinds were common
enough, and even enjoined, as part of the necessary ceremonial
observances on numerous occasions. For the performance of some
of those ablutions provision was made in the Tabernacle, and also
in the Temple of Solomon. Subsequently, when synagogues came
into use, a small tank or pool was provided for the same purpose.
It is possible that the "pools" in and around Jerusalem were con-
structed for general bathing, and the Pool of Bethesda was evi-
dently resorted to by the infirm and diseased for its healing virtues.
Still, there is no evidence that baths, artificially heated and sup-
plied with hot and cold water, like those now so common in nearly
every part of the world, were ever erected in Palestine until about
the time of Herod the Great. He and his successors had become
accustomed to them during their visits to Rome, and they built
baths in many of the cities of this country, as part of a general
plan to break down the stern exclusiveness and isolation of the
Jews, and induce them to associate with Greeks and Romans, and
conform as far as possible to their manners and customs. Chris-

388 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

tians throughout the Roman Empire resorted to the baths as early
as the first century, and they are now patronized by all classes,
especially of the Moslem community. Muhammed disliked baths;
and as they are supposed to be the favorite resort of evil spirits,
prayer is not performed in them, but an ejaculation is uttered on
entering to be protected from the machinations of the Jan.

While we were passing through the crowded bazaars this after-
noon, on our way to visit some of the fine houses of this city, I
was very much interested and amused by the number and variety
of the street calls or cries. I have been startled in Beirut by shrill
warnings to look behind or before me to avoid being run over by
loaded animals, but here in Damascus one's ears are assailed by
many additional calls: " Ya Khawajah !" " Ya Kunsul !" " Ya Ef-
fendi!" " Ya Sheikh!" " Ya sit!" " Ya walled!" " Ya bint!" " Yem-
minak!" " Shemalak !" " Rasak !" " Riglak !" — all warnings to be-
ware, uttered now in front, now behind, now on this side, now on
that, until one knows not which way to turn for safety. Two lads,
carrying between them a large tray loaded with bread, cried out,
" Ya Karim ! ya Karim !" That is not the name for bread.

No, it is one of the attributes of God, and signifies the bounti-
ful or generous ; and since bread is the staff of life, the name im-
plies that it is the gift of the Bountiful One.

Another cry was made by a man carrying on his back a large
leathern " bottle," and jingling in his hand several deep and bright
copper saucers, to attract attention. I could hear nothing but
" Ishrub ya 'atshan ! ishrub ya 'atshan !" which meant, you said,
"Drink, O thirsty!" That sounded like the Biblical invitation,
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters."'

Yes ; but, according to Isaiah, they were to " buy without
money and without price." That man's invitation, however, is
very different. By the sale of his sherbet he makes his living, and
he who has no money will get no drink; and if he should thus
publicly offer to sell wine with or " without price," he would be
torn to pieces by a fanatical Moslem mob.

I liked the sound of his invitation, nevertheless.

And I will only add that it is a most significant and encourag-

' Isa. Iv. I.

PRIVATE HOUSES IN DAMASCUS.

589

iiv fact that the colporteur may be seen in those bazaars pursuiny,"
his humble vocation, and offering the true "bread" and the water
of "everlasting life" to the perishing multitudes in this intensely-
Moslem city. And the best wish we can express in behalf of the
Damascenes is that they may be brought to accept it, through
Ilim whose kingdom, according to the inscription over the entrance
to their mosk, "is an everlasting kingdom," and whose "dominion
endureth throughout all generations."

The house of our obliging vice-consul, and those of his friends
and acquaintances which he took us to see this afternoon, are all,
apparently, constructed upon the .same general plan.

SPKCIMKNS i)K IKSSI'.I.I.ATia) I'AVKMKN I.

The exterior wall is always of rough mud, of a plain drab color,
and without windows, or with very small ones. The entrance from
the street is through a most unpretending door, opening into a
dark and narrow hall, with a projection or screen at the farther cui\.
which shuts off the view into the main court. That court has no
roof, and is nearly .square, and in some of the larger houses is more
than one hundred and fifty feet long. The walls of the court are
constructed of red and white limestone or black basalt, in alternate
layers, to a height of about fifteen feet, and finished with ordinary-
masonry. It is p-aved with large slabs of white marble, bordered
with narrow strips of black slate, and sometimes arranged in i)relty
])attcrns and complicated figures, especially in front of the chamber

OQO THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

doors or around the fountains. In the middle of the court is a
large tank or fountain, generally octagonal in shape, and raised two
feet or more above the pavement. It is cased in marble, and the
sides and panels are profusely ornamented with intricate designs
in slate and limestone of various colors. The fountain is kept full
of clear, sparkling water from the never-failing " river of Damascus,"
by one or more bronze spouts and central jets. Upon it choice
flowers are arranged in large pots, and near it arc fruit-trees,
rose-bushes, and jessamine-vines, which impart an attractive and
pleasing aspect, and their fragrance pervades the entire court and
penetrates into every room in the house.

On the south side of the court, and facing the fountain, is an
open lewan, with a lofty arch in front to support the roof. The
pavement of the lewan is of marble, with designs in mosaic of
various shapes and sizes, and of different colors. Along three
sides of it are divans with marble fronts; they are generally a
foot and a half high, and the quilted mattresses, together with the
numerous cushions piled upon them, are covered with Damascus
silk of brilliant color and rich texture. The walls of the lewan
are built up for about ten feet, with alternate layers of red and
white limestone or black basalt, and above that there is an elabo-
rate display of fresco or mosaic work, in large panels and patterns.
On either side of the lewan there are spacious and lofty rooms,
sometimes over thirty feet high. They are entered by doors lead-
ing from the lewan, and one of them at least is furnished and
decorated in a more elaborate style and design than the lewan.
Frequently there is a marble fountain in the centre of the room,
and the walls display a profuse ornamentation in marble, stucco,
mosaic work, and fresco painting.

The roof is sustained by long, slender beams of poplar, polished
and painted in bright colors. In some of the mansions of the
wealthy those beams are covered with gilt, and farther ornamented
with small pieces of mirrors and mother-of-pearl, inlaid in the wood,
which add to the brilliancy of the apartment. The panels in the
ceiling, in the doors, the window-frames, and shutters are similarly
ornamented, and, in addition, are composed of many small pieces
of polished wood of different kinds, arranged in curious figures—

COFFEE-SHOPS ON IIIE BANKS OF THE BAKADA.

39'

over fifty in one panel. The apartments for the use of the family
and those reserved for domestic purposes, kitchen, batli, and ser-
vants' rooms, are arranged around the court, on this side or that,
according to the comfort and convenience of the inmates of the
establishment. The Moslems have an interior and entirely distinct
and separate house, sometimes more profusely ornamented and
elegantly furnished, for their harem, the entrance to which is
from the court of the main dwelliner.

The coffee -shops along the
banks of the Barada, which we
looked into this evening, were
more attractive, and the mot-
ley throng in some of them
was greater and far more in-
teresting, than any we saw at
Beirut.

That is due in a great meas-
ure to the time, the place, and
the people. Damascus is famous
above all the cities of Syria for
its coffee-shops and the eminent-
ly Oriental appearance of the
crowds in its streets, and " night
is the propitious season to visit
the cafes. The glare of the sun
glancing on the waters is passed
away; the company is then most
numerous, for it is their favorite
hour, and the lamps, suspended

from the slender pillars, are lighted. The throng, in the various
and brilliant colors of their costumes, crowd the place, some stand-
ing moveless as the pillars beside them, some reclining against the
rails, others seated in groups, or solitary, as if buried in 'lonely
thoughts sublime;' while the rush of the falling waters is sweeter
music than that of the tambourine and the guitar that vainly
strive to be heard, and the glare of the lamps mingles strangel)'
with the moonlight, that rests with a soft and \ivid glory on

SPECIMENS OF \V(hiI) rANEI.-WORK.

392

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

KAN UN, AND MODE OF PLAYING IT.

the waters and falls beneath pillar
and roof on the picturesque groups
within." '

But the music was excrucia-
ting, and the singing the most
outrageous concert of harsh,
nasal sounds I ever heard.
The same nasal twang
and grating
gutturals are
heard in all
the singing of
every denomi-
nation through-
out the East.
The Orientals
know nothing of harmony, and cannot appreciate it when heard,
but they are often spellbound or wrought up to transports of
ecstasy by that very music which so
tortured your nerves. I have rarely
known song to be more truly ef-
fective than among these stolid chil-
dren of the East, especially in
such places of public resort.
Seated on a raised platform
at one end of the coffee-
shop, half a dozen per-
formers discourse strange
music from curious instru-
ments, interspersed occa-
sionally with wild bursts of
song, which seem to elec-
trify the smoking, coffee-
sipping company. They
usually have a violin, two or three kinds of flutes, a tambourine,
kettle-drums, and derbekkeh. One man plays a large harp, lying

' Game's Syria, The Holy Land, etc., p. 71.

MODE OF PLAYING THE KAMANJEH.

ORIENTAL MUSIC AND SINGING.

393

upon his lap, called a kanun, and an expert performer often makes

very agreeable music with it. Another man, with a droll but

merry countenance, tells stories and

perpetrates jokes, to the infinite

amusement of the audience. There

are also players on the guitar, or ka-

manjeh, and one of them has a ver\^

large instrument of that kind, over

whose few chords his nimble fingers

sweep at times like magic.

The Greeks, and especially the Al-
banians, manage the kamanjeh with great skill. They have a small
kind, which they take with them on their
3 extemporaneous picnics, and they will sit by
the hour on the shady bank of some mur-
muring brook and sing to its faint and mo-
But the most popular of all musical instruments

DKKK — TAMHOrKINE.

o^@

CASTANETS.

notonous notes
in this country are the der-
bekkeh, the deff, or tambou-
rine, the castanets, and the
nukkairat, or kettle - drums.
At weddings, birthdays, and
all other festal gatherings
they will thrum the derbek-
keh, and beat the deff, clink
the castanets, and clap
their hands in concert
without weariness or
intermission until long
after midnight.

It is now impossi-
ble, I suppose, to ob-
tain an accurate knowl-
edge of Biblical music,
and of the musical in-
struments used by the
Hebrews.
D 2

.... M^^

DERBEKKl II.

DERnEKKFiir.

394 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

That is the more surprising, since the allusions to both are
almost innumerable throughout the entire Bible. The antedilu-
vians had both music and musical instruments, the latter said to
have been invented by Jubal, the son of Lamech, the first bigamist,
or, rather, polygamist — an origin sufficiently illustrious. It is be-
lieved that musical instruments were not employed in the worship
of God until long after their invention.

Music was used by the prophets, at least occasionally, to su-
perinduce a condition of mind and body suitable for the reception
of prophetic communications. When Samuel had anointed Saul he
told him, "Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down
from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe,
and a harp, before them ; and they shall prophesy : and the Spirit
of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with
them." And so he did, to tlie amazement of the people. " There-
fore it became a proverb. Is Saul also among the prophets.'" Eli-
sha says, " But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass,
when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon
him" and he prophesied."

The power of music over both mind and body is one of the
most curious and mysterious mentioned in the Bible. David with
his harp could charm away "the evil spirit" from Saul. And,
whether it was actually a demon permitted by God to terrify him,
or a fit of demoniacal jealousy and hatred, the effect of the music
was equally surprising.^ "The harp and the viol, the tabret and
the pipe," were in the feasts of the ungodly both before and after
the time of David, but they were so far redeemed from those evil
associations by him that they ultimately became consecrated to the
worship of Jehovah.*

September i6th.

I propose that we ride out this morning to Salihiyeh, the large
suburb of Damascus on the north-west, and from there along the
canal to the gorge of the Barada, and then through the Merj and
around the Meidan to the south-eastern corner of the city wall,
and back to the hotel along " the street called Straight." We will

' I Sam. X. 5, 6, 10-12. ^ 2 Kings iii. 15.

^ I Sam. xvi. 14, 23. * I Chron. xv. 16.

THE GARDEXS.-THE CANAL.-ES SALIIliVEH. :;95

pass out of the city at Bab es Salihiyeh, and ride northward for a
quarter of an hour along the broad, well-paved, and shaded road
between Damascus and es Salihiyeh.

The glimpses into the gardens obtained over these mud-walls
are very inviting, and one feels inclined to enter and wander about
under the trees and along the little rills.

I have done that often, and, were our visit in June instead of
September, you could fully appreciate Canon Tristram's account of
what he saw within them. "Tall mud-walls," he says, "extended
in every direction under the trees, and rich flowing streams of water
from the Barada everywhere bubbled through the orchards, while
all was alive with the song of birds and the hum of bees. The
great apricot-trees were laden and bent down under strings of ripe,
golden fruit. The lanes were strewn with apricots. Asses, mules,
and camels in long strings carried heaped panniers of these ' golden
apples.' Walnut, peach, plum, pomegranate, pear, olive, orange, and
even apple trees, crowded the maze through which for an hour we
wound, till we found our camping-ground in a garden, one tent
shaded by an apricot, the other by a walnut-tree, surrounded by
pomegranates in full blossom, while a rill from the Barada ran past
to cool our water-bottles."'

Nahr et Taurah, which we have just crossed, is the largest of the
many canals taken from the Barada for the purpose of irrigation.
It is conducted along the plain for several miles, and passes through
some of the villages east of Damascus, before it is finally lost in the
marshes of the eastern lakes.

Salihiyeh is quite a long and narrow village, and the greater
part of it appears to be above the plain and the gardens.

It has been regarded as more healthy than Damascus, and many
of its wealthy citizens have built spacious residences here, in which
they spend the hot months of summer. During my first visit to
Damascus I was the guest of Mr. Farren, the British Consul-gen-
eral, who resided in one of those villas. It was located in the midst
of a large garden, a short distance to the cast of our present road,
and the entrance was through a low door into the front court.
Beneath an iirbor ovcr-canopicd with running roses and other flow-

' Land of Israel, p. 6i6, 617.

396 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ering creepers there was a large fountain with a Hvely jet d'eau in
full play ; and on three sides of the arbor marble platforms for
divans were raised about two feet above the court. A short dis-
tance from the arbor there was a pool twenty feet long, twelve feet
wide, and three feet deep ; and beyond that another fountain, in
an octagonal basin or reservoir, cased with white marble. From
there the water was conducted to a garden in a channel paved
with colored tiles. In the centre of the inner court there was a
fine octagonal reservoir, supplied with clear cold water by four
bronze spouts with serpents' heads.

Besides those various fountains and reservoirs, basins and pools,
a canal ran along the western wall of the garden ; and the waters
of still another flowed through the middle of it, to refresh the
flowers, irrigate the fruit-trees, and water the vegetables.

Mr. Farren's villa was constructed upon the same general plan
as that of the houses we have visited in Damascus, and it was
adorned with the usual amount of ornamentation on walls and ceil-
ings ; but it was furnished in the European style, and combined
the comforts of the West with the luxury of the East.

The abundance of water causes vegetation of all kinds to grow
in these gardens with surprising exuberance. Even the myrtle
expands into a stout tree, and the inhabitants of Damascus make
frequent excursions to es Salihiyeh, during the season, to pick the
myrtle-berries, which are eaten when ripe, or dried and sold in the
market.

Fountains, streams, basins, reservoirs, in the city and in the gar-
dens — seem to constitute the special charm of Damascus.

You have only to supply, in imagination, every court, and
house, and mosk, and khan, and the numberless coffee-shops, with
one or more, and then you will not be surprised that there are not
only hundreds but thousands of them, and they constitute one of
the principal attractions of the gardens themselves. It is very
common to see the Damascenes sitting under the trees making
kaif — eating luscious fruit, and inhaling fragrant timbek from nar-
gilehs placed in the rills that flow through these gardens— while
the plane, the sycamore, and the willow spread a leafy canopy over
their heads and shade them from the burninsf sun.

NAHR EL VEZiD.— lEBEL KASVC'N.

397

This
broad ca-
nal, called ''f
Nahr el Yezid,
which abundantly sup-
plies es Salihiyeh with
water, sharply defines the
limit of fertile gardens
below from the arid waste
of the mountain above.
Jebel Kasyun — steep, rug-
ged, and treeless — domi-
nates the plain on tlie
north, and obstructs the

view in that direction. Lik-c other places in and around Damascus,
It has its fabulous sites and idle legends that connect the primeval
home of the human race with the valley of the liarada.

After following the windings of the canal for half an hour the

D 2"

J.N.NKR COLRT Ul' AiU>l.^H.Al sALIIli VK.ll.

3^8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

road will lead us to the gorge of the river, where the Barada flows
out on to the plain, and from whence its life-giving waters are dis-
tributed far and wide by numerous canals to all the suburbs and
the gardens around the city.

The Barada is supposed to be the Abana, or Amana, one of
those "rivers of Damascus" preferred by Naaman the Syrian leper
to "all the waters of Israel." Is there any reason to question the
correctness of the identification?'

None of much force. For the city itself the Barada is the only
river ; and, being the largest of the two, it would naturally be men-
tioned first by Naaman. The A'waj, or Pharpar, is several miles
south of Damascus, and its waters do not reach even the suburbs.
In the fifth century the Barada was called Bardines by the Greeks ;
and it is undoubtedly the Chrysorrhoas — golden-flowing river — of
the ancients. That name was probably given to it because of the
inestimable blessings it bestowed upon the inhabitants of this
region, since gold is not found along its banks, nor in the moun-
tains between which it rushes on its way to the plain.

This chasm through which the Barada issues on to the plain is
quite narrow, and the lofty limestone cliffs on either side are jagged
and precipitous. But the foaming river and the waving trees, the
tall poplars and the exuberant vegetation, present a contrast as
striking as it is picturesque; and the carriage-road from Beirut,
winding down the defile, adds a novel feature to the scene.

Some distance up the chasm there is a dam across the river
where the canal of et Taurah begins ; and still farther up another
dam, below Dummar, conducts the waters from the Barada into
the canal of el Yezid. Opposite to us, across the chasm, other
canals are taken out of the river ; and here begins that net-work of
watercourses for which Damascus is celebrated. The main stream
of the Barada, after issuing from this chasm, passes directly down
through the Merj, and flows along the northern wall of the city;
and although a large portion of the water has been drawn off by
the five or more canals above this chasm, and a great quantity is
distributed throughout the city proper, still a considerable amount
is conveyed to the numerous villages, gardens, and fields north.

' 2 Kinfjs V. 12.

MUD-WALLS.-SUx\-DRIED BRICKS.-EL MERJ. 399

east, and south of Damascus. Nor is the Barada exhausted in the
marshes about Lake 'Ataibch, for it flows into that lake a consid-
erable stream of clear water. A short distance up this chasm there
is a Cufic inscription on the face of the clifT above the carriage-
road. It records the deeds of one of the Khalifs of Damascus;
and though the letters are large and well-cut, they are so compli-
cated that the inscription is difficult to decipher. My reason for
mentioning it is because Damascus, though one of the oldest cities
in the world, has almost no inscriptions of any age or importance.

We will now turn back and ride along the carriage-road towards
the city, with the Barada below us on the right, and this wilderness
of verdure on our left extending northward for many a mile.

These high mud-walls that border the gardens and narrow lanes
effectually shut off the view of those on foot, and they are certainly
anything but attractive to those on horseback.

They are constructed more for service than for ornament, and
in this climate they last several years. The walls are generally over
six feet high, and are built of compact masses of earth, like great
sun-dried bricks. A wooden frame, three feet or more square and
about two feet wide, is placed on the spot which the "brick" is to
occupy; it is then filled with earth and mud and pressed down
firmly. When sufificiently hard and dry the frame is removed, and
another "brick" is constructed in the same manner, and so on until
the entire mud-wall is finished.

What a beautiful expanse of greensward that is on the right
bank of the river! We have seen nothing like it near any city
or village in this country.

It is called el Merj, and it is the favorite resort of the Damas-
cenes ; nor is there another city in Syria that can boast of such a
verdant " meadow," as its name implies. It is frequented by men,
women, and children, who sit la/.ily on the river-bank sipping coffee,
smoking water-pipes, or eating sweetmeats and fruits, while they
watch the passers-by, or admire the horsemen from the city exer-
cising their Arabian steeds. Here the Damascenes come forth to
meet their returning friends and relatives; and from here they
speed the departing and welcome their coming guests. Here, also,
the caravans and pilgrims encamp previous to their departure for

400

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Mecca ; and when the Haj is about to leave Damascus this beauti-
ful Merj presents an extraordinary and animated spectacle, and one
eminently Oriental. Instead of entering the city by the gate be-

MOSK OF SULTAN SELIM IN THE TEKIyEH.

fore us we will cross the river and continue our ride southward and
eastward on the outside of the city walls. We will pass along the
extensive suburb of el Meidan, and thus complete the circuit of the
citv as far as the eastern grate.

ET TEKiVEH.— TOMBS OF Ml'IIAMMEDS WIVES.— FUNERALS. 40I

That large edifice on our right, at the end of the Merj, with its
numerous domes and tall minarets, is called ct Tekiyeh. It was
built by Sultan Selim I., in the sixteenth century, and "is a large
quadrangular enclosure, divided into two courts. Around the wall
of the [northern] court runs a row of cells, with a portico or gallery
of columns in front. Over each cell is a small dome, and another
over the portico in front of it, forming thus two rows of small
domes around the court." The southern court is similar, except
that it contains "a large and fine mosk, with its dome and two
minarets. There poor pilgrims are lodged and fed, especially those
going to or returning from Mecca with the Haj."' The mosk, with
its double row of marble columns in front, its large dome, and tall,
slender minarets, is one of the finest in Damascus, but the whole
structure is fast falling into a dilapidated condition.

We have been riding for some time through this Moslem bur}--
ing-ground, but I have seen nothing impressive about it — only a
confused number of gravies huddled together without order, and no
conspicuous monument anywhere to relieve "the dreary shades" of
this great city of the dead !

Yet there are some fine marble tombs, and beneath many ordi-
nary graves there are vaults capable of holding several bodies.
Most of the marble head -stones are surmounted by a neatly-
wrought turban, and below it is a long Arabic inscription record-
ing the virtues of the true believer who has "entered upon the
mercy of God" and experienced peace. In the great cemetery
south of the city "rest in peace," it is said, three of Muhammed's
wives, and Fatimeh, the child of his favorite daughter, the wife
of 'AH. To-day this silent cit}' of the dead — this wilderness of
tombs — is almost deserted, but on certain occasions it is crowded
with women and children, who visit those whited sepulchres of
their relatives to place upon them fresh branches of the myrtle
and the palm. They are frequently accompanied by poor sheikhs
from the mosks, who recite portions of the Koran, and short prayers
in behalf both of the living and the dead.

At funerals, and over the gra\'es in which relatives and friends
have been recently buried, manifestations of grief are often bois-

' Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 45<j.

402

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

terous and extravagant ; but many of the mourners are hired
for the occasion, and weep, lament, beat their breasts, and tear
their hair, according to custom and contract. But from all that
we must not infer that there is no genuine mourning amongst all

WOMEN WEEPING AT THE GRAVE,

sects and classes in this country. Amidst all the parade of ficti-
tious grief there are burning tears and aching hearts, and heads
bowed in silent agony and hopeless despair. Many a Fatimeh or
a Mary goes " to the grave to weep there," and loving friends fol-
low them thither, to comfort them with their real sympathy.'

' John xi. 31.

HIRED MOURNERS— BOISTEROUS \VEEriNG. 403

The custom of hiring mourners is very ancient. Jeremiah says,
"Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that the\' may
come ; and send for cunning women, that they may come : and let
them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may
run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.'" Every
particular there alluded to is observed on funeral occasions at the
present day. There are in every city and community "cunning
women," and these are always sent for. When a company of s\-m-
pathizers comes in those women "make haste" to "take up a wail-
ing," that the newly come may the more readily unite their tears
with the mourners. They know the domestic history of e\'ery per-
son, and immediately "take up" an impromptu lamentation, in
which they introduce the names of relatives who have recently
died, touching some tender chord in every heart ; and thus all weep
for their own dead, and the " mourning," which might otherwise be
impossible, comes naturally and sincerely.

The references to lamentation and mourning are very numerous
in the Bible, and some of the ways in which the afflicted and
bereaved gave expression to their grief seem to us extravagant and
unbecoming; loud, boisterous weeping by men, for example, and
yet that was very common in those ancient times. Esau, when
robbed of his birthright, " cried with a great and exceeding bitter
cry, and he lifted up his voice and wept."' Job's three friends,
"when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they
lifted up their voice, and wept ; and they rent every one his mantle,
and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven."' David often
wept long and loud— for Saul and Jonathan, over Absalom, and over
his own sins." "I am weary with my groaning," he exclaims; "all
the night make I my bed to swim ; I water my couch with my
tears.'" "Oh that my head were waters," says Jeremiah, "and
mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people !""

There appears to have been a marvellous propensity to weep
and a wonderful capability to pour out floods of tears in those
olden days. Even in the time of Christ we read that Jesus him-

• Jcr. ix. 17, 18. ^ Gen. xxvii. 34, 38. ^ Job ii. 12.

* 2 Srd-n. xix. 4. ' Ps.^. vi. 6. " J<-'r. ix. i.

404

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

self wept ; ' and in another place that the woman who " stood at
his feet behind him," as he "sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,
began to wash his feet with tears, and wipe them with the hairs
of her head, and kissed his feet."'

So far from regarding such overflowing tears as unbecoming,
the ancients treasured them up in " bottles," as evidence of their
lasting sorrow, perhaps ; and for a similar reason, I suppose, they

deposited those lachryma-
tories in the sepulchres of
the dead. Allusion to that
extraordinary custom is
thought to be found even
in the Bible. David prays,
" Put thou my tears into
thy bottle : are they not
in thy book ?" ' Lachry-
matories are still found in
ancient tombs throughout
this country. They were
made of thin glass, or more
generally of pottery, often
not even baked or glazed.
They are of various sizes,
with a slender vase -like
body, and a long funnel-
shaped neck; but nothing
except dust is found in them at present. If the relatives and
friends were expected to contribute their share of tears for those
bottles they would certainly need "cunning women" to cause their
" eyelids to gush out with waters."

Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak of smiting the thigh in times of great
distress and mourning. Is that custom observed to this day?^

On such occasions you will often see people sitting on the
ground with their feet under them, which brings the thighs into
such a position that the smiting of them is rendered perfectly

LACHRYMATORIES, OR TEAR BOTTLES.

1 John xi. 35.
8 Psa. Ivi. 8.

• Luke vii. 37, 38.

* Jer. xxxi. ig ; Eze. xxi. 12.

jr.

■■\ ,

■'

■M

f 'f' ■

;TiMii'ii

KfllV iJIIIH'l;;

|;ii|il;

SMITING THE THIGH.— EL MEIDAX.— FUNERAL rROCESSION. 405

natural. Thus seated, and swaying backwards and forwards, the}'
lift their hands spasmodicalh-, from time to time, and smite each
thigh with considerable violence, giving expression to their grief in
loud wailing and lamentation. No one can live long in this coun-
try without witnessing every exhibition of mourning mentioned in
the Bible — rending the garments, tearing the hair, beating the
breast, falling upon the ground, smiting the thighs, casting dust
upon the head, and the like.

We have passed out of the Meidan, as that southern extension
of Damascus is called, and we will continue our ride through the
suburbs towards the south-eastern corner of the city wall.

We seem to be entering a winding labyrinth of crooked lanes,
with wretched houses and mounds of rubbish on either side, and
dilapidated tombstones all around — in such a maze there is danger
of becoming bewildered and losing the way.

That would certainly be the result if we attempted to pene-
trate it alone; but our guide will take us safely through. On our
left is one of the many gates of Damascus, called Bab es Saghir.
through which have passed for many centuries countless funeral
processions to the numberless tombs and graves which cover this
whole region far and wide. Like almost everything else purely
Oriental, such processions are conducted without much regard to
order and propriety. A confused medley of men and boys, in all
kinds of costumes, follow the bier, which is preceded by two or
more dervishes carrying the flags of their order, three or four small
boys with an open copy of the Koran, and six or eight blind men
chanting in a monotonous tone the profession of faith. That
"eternal truth," "La ilah ilia Allah" — "There is no god but
God," accompanied by that " necessary fiction," as Gibbon styles
it, " Muhammed rasul Allah" — "Muhammed is the prophet of
God" — is the only funeral dirge, and they repeat it over and over
until the grave is reached.

We have caught occasional glimpses of the city wall, on our
left, and it appears to be almost as dilapidated and ruinous as the
suburb along which it extends.

Bab es Saghir is probably of Roman origin, and in a few places
along the wall large and well-cut stones are seen which may be (^f

4o5

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

any age; but the present wall is mere patch-work, built by Sara-
cens, Arabs, or Turks, and barely sufificient to defend the city
against incursions from the Bedawin. We shall soon escape from
this cemetery, through which we have been threading our doubt-
ful way for half an hour, and, turning to the left, we will reach the
south-east angle of the wall not far from Bab Kisan. That gate
has been walled up for many centuries, but this neighborhood is
not devoid of interest. Although the wall has been rebuilt several
times, monkish tradition still points to that part of it between this
round tower on our left and the gate west of it as the place from

SOUTH WALL OF DAMASCUS, WHERE PAUL WAS LET DOWN.

where Saul " was let down through a window in a basket by the
wall, and escaped," from the hands of the governor, as he informs
us in his second letter to the Corinthians.' In this vicinity are the
cemeteries of the various Christian denominations; and there, too,

' 2 Cor. xi. 32, 33.

CONVERSION OF PAUL.-LEPER HOSPITAL.— EASTERN GATE. 407

the monks have recently located the spot where Paul was con-
verted, "as he came near Damascus, breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." ' During the
Crusades the site of that stupendous miracle was located at Juneh,
near Kaukab, a village on the road to Jerusalem, about six miles
to the south-west of Damascus ; but as four places along the roads
leading to the city have been pointed out at different times, it is
evident that the true site is still unknown.

As we approach Bab esh Shurky, the eastern gate, we see large
mounds of rubbish, and from the top of one of them an extensive
view is obtained, not only of the surrounding country, but also of
a considerable part of the city. After the massacres, and confla-
grations in i860, these mounds were largely increased by the ruins
of the Christian quarter, which were carried out of the town, in
order to clear the encumbered streets and prepare the way for
rebuilding the houses of the Christians. That work was vigorously
prosecuted by the Turkish authorities when the city was visited by
the international commission appointed by the six great Powers
of Europe to investigate that awful tragedy. The day upon which
the High Commissioners visited the ruins was quite windy, and the
dust from the rubbish was blown into their faces. Lord Dufferin,
the English representative, is said to have remarked upon that
occasion that the Turkish authorities were attempting to throw
dust in their eyes, both literally and politically.

A short distance north of this East Gate is a large, dilapidated
building, now used as a leper hospital, and said to occupy the
site of the house of Naaman the leper, hi the same neighbor-
hood arc the wretched hovels of those afflicted with that loath-
some disease ; and it is a remarkable fact that lepro.sy has been
perpetuated in this city from the time of Naaman down to the
present day. Some of the most frightful ravages of that dreadful
scourge of God arc still to be seen upon its miserable victims in
and around the leper hospital at Damascus.

liab esh Shurky deserves to be carefully examined, as it is evi-
dently Roman, and the walls and arches present almost the only
specimens of anti(|uity to be seen in this mud-built Alulianinu'dan

' Acts ix. 1-9.

E 2

4o8

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

city. The entire triple gate-
way was nearly one hundred
feet long and about fifty feet
high. The central arch was
forty feet high and twenty feet
wide, and the side arches are
about twenty feet in height
and ten feet broad. The main
arch has fallen long ago, and
the gateway has been walled up
for more than eight centuries,

BAB ESH SHURKY — THE EAST GATE.

together with the smaller portal on its south side. The entrance
to the city is now through the small portal on the north side, and

THE STREET CALLED STRAIGHT.— THE HOUSE OF ANANL\S. 409

built upon the northern buttress of the central arch is a square
minaret, from the top of which a fine view of the city and its sur-
roundings is obtained. East of the gateway are the remains of a
Saracenic tower. Damascus now has about a dozen gates, but for-
merly it had more than three times that number, most of which are
in ruins, or have been closed for several centuries. Many of the
principal streets leading to the various quarters of the city also have
gates, which are closed after dark; but a bakhshish to the gatekeeper
will admit the belated wayfarer at any reasonable hour of the night.
We will now pass through Bab esh Shurky and follow the street
which extends westward from it quite across the city. It is called
the Sultaneh, or highway, and is the modern representative of *Uhe
street which is called Straight," where st.ood the house of Judas
when Paul visited Damascus.

The street, though not exactly " straight," is wide for an East-
ern city; but a moment's inspection of the dilapidated houses along
it will convince any one that none of them could by any possibility
have been in existence at that time.

If it was then adorned throughout its whole length by a double
colonnade it must have been a fine avenue. Dr. Robinson men-
tions the report about such a colonnade, "but could hear of no one
who had actually seen the columns." ' Since then Dr. Porter has
" traced the remains of the colonnades at various places over nearly
one third of its length." He says that the street "was divided by
Corinthian colonnades into three avenues, of which the central was
for foot passengers and the others for chariots." Thus " a noble
street extended from the east to the west gate, intersecting the
city. Its length is about a mile, and its breadth exceeded one hun-
dred feet."' We are now in the Christian quarter, most of which lies
along the northern side of the street, but here on our left is the
Armenian convent. The Syrian church and convent and the Greek
Catholic church are also on the south side of the street, but to
reach them we would have to penetrate this quarter for some dis-
tance through narrow and crooked lanes. All those' ecclesiastical
edifices have been rebuilt since the massacres and conflagrations of
i860. The house of that "certain disciple named Ananias." by
' Rob. Res., vol. iii. p. 455. ' l'"ivc Vcars in Damascus, p. iS.

4IO

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

"THE STREET CALLED STRAIGHT.

whom Paul was miraculously restored to sight, is but a short dis-
tance up that narrow street to the right. There is a cave in the
house which the Latin priests have converted into a chapel, and
there, according to their traditions, the angel of the Lord ap-
peared to Ananias and directed him to " go into the street which
is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called
Saul, of Tarsus : for, behold, he prayeth." '

' Acts ix. lo, II.

THE JEWS OF DAMASCUS.— PAUL IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES. 411

There must have been quite a colony of Jews here at the time
when Saul came with his cruel commission from the high priest.

The Jews of Damascus claim to be the descendants of its an-
cient Hebrew^ inhabitants, and they have perpetuated their language
and religion, their costume, and their manners and customs, from
the time of David down to the present day. As in past ages, and
in nearly every countr}', the Jews had special localities allotted to
them, so here they have their own distinct quarter. It occupies
the south-eastern part of the city, and is separated from the Chris-
tian quarter by this street which, as in the time of Paul so now.
is still called " Straight." If religious institutions and forms of
w'orship improve, like wine, from mere age, then the ten or more
Jewish synagogues in this city, and the services observed within
them, would be without a rival for strength of body and character-
istic virtue. At any rate, the transmission unchanged of a form of
faith and mode of worship — resembling in many respects those of
the primitive Christians— through countless generations of mighty
revolutions in the affairs of men and nations, is a marvellous fact,
to be explained only by reference to Providential agency. It forms
one of the thousand links in the chain which anchors our faith fast
to the Bible, as the Word of God.

Paul must have often taken a prominent part in the synagogue
worship in this city, when " he preached Christ in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God, and confounded the Jews which dwelt
at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ." '

We may without hesitation carry the institution of the syna-
gogue and its worship here in Damascus many centuries farther
back than the time of Paul — to the Babylonian Captivity at least,
and even beyond that more than three hundred years, to the day
when Ahab "made streets" in this city. It is improbable that a
colony of Jews would reside here without places of worship, and
they were, perhaps, much like the synagogues of the present day.

This street on our right leads to the Orthodox Greek church,
the residence of the Patriarch, and the flourishing schools adjoining
it. The church is dedicated to the Virgin, and has been rebuilt
since the massacres of i860. " It was the scene of one of the most

' Acts ix. 20, 22.

412 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

fearful acts in the tragedy of i860," says Dr. Porter. "Hundreds
of men, women, and children had taken refuge in it. It was at-
tacked by the mob, set on fire, and those who attempted to escape
were hurled back into the flames." '

Has it been possible to ascertain how many Christians were the
innocent victims of Turkish treachery and Muhammedan fanati-
cism during the three days of those atrocious massacres and dread-
ful conflagrations?

The most reliable estimates place the number of adult males
killed outright at over two thousand five hundred. But even that
apparently large number of murdered men fails to convey to the
minds of those who have never resided in this country an adequate
idea of the horrors and terrible results of that massacre of the
Christians by Turkish troops and fanatical Muhammedans here in
Damascus, on the 9th, loth, and nth of July, i860. The whole
number of Christians massacred in i860, from Lebanon on the
north to Hermon on the south, exceeded six thousand.

We have now reached the bazaars and the business portion of
the city, which occupy the greater part of the Moslem quarter, to
the north and north-west. European manufactures have nearly
paralyzed every branch of Oriental art which flourished in this
city in other days. The " Damascus blade," formerly so cele-
brated, and the rich silk fabric called " damask," have disappeared
entirely from the- bazaars, and have been replaced by cheap and
coarse imitations from the forges and looms of Europe. The trade
and traffic of this city is now chiefly with the pilgrims to and from
Mecca and the surrounding tribes of Bedawin. •

A walk through the crowded bazaars gives the impression that
Damascus is a very populous city.

Four-fifths of the inhabitants, or nearly one hundred thousand,
are Muhammedans. There are also about four thousand Meta-
wileh, and five hundred Druses, who, however, conform to the faith
of Islam while residing in the city. The Christians of various
sects amount to more than fifteen thousand — principally Greeks
and Greek Catholics — including the small communities of Latins,
Maronites, Armenians, Syrians, and Protestants. The Jews may

' Five Years in Damascus, p. 20, 21.

"THE KEY UPON HIS SHOULDER."— ORIENTAL LOCKS, ETC. 413

number five thousand, and the entire population cannot be much
less than one hundred and twenty-five thousand.

We have passed the narrow lane on the left, on which the tra-
ditional house of Judas stands, where Ananias restored Paul to
sight and baptized him.' It is now in the possession of the Mu-
hammedans, and contains the tomb, not of Judas, but that of
Ananias, which is much respected by them.

This Moslem has unconsciously exhibited an illustration of
Isaiah xxii. 22: "And the key of the house of David will I lay
upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he
shall shut, and none shall open." The key with which he locked
the door of his magazine was large enough, certainly, and it might
well be laid on his shoulder.

I have seen keys more than twice the size of that one, carried
upon the shoulder of merchants, shopkeepers, and others. The
material "house of David" was the stronghold of Zion, and such

castles have great wooden locks,
with keys in proportion. I once
spent a summer in an old castle
whose outer gate had such a lock,
and the key was almost a foot and
a half in length, and
quite a load to carry.
Locks of that kind are

is:

F=^^^

LOCK AND KEY

<»

no doubt very
ancient. Their
construction,
though truly

simple, is such that a false key can scarcely be made to
fit them, and the difficulty is increased in proportion to the num-
ber and position of the movable metal drops and the holes into
which they are required to fall.

These locks are often placed on the inside of the gates of gar-
dens and outer courts, and even on the doors of inner rooms in
some places. To enable the owner to vnilock them a hole is cut

' Acts ix. 17, i3.

414 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

in the door, through which he thrusts his arm and inserts the key.
The garden gates about Damascus are thus secured, and such must
have been the custom at Jerusalem in the days of Solomon. In
Song V. 4 he makes the bride say, " My beloved put in his hand
by the hole of the door ;" that is, she saw him thrust in his hand
to unlock the door, that he might enter.

The strong scent of musk, the aromatic odor of spices and
drugs, and the lavish display of boxes and bottles, of many colors
and sizes, remind us that we are now in Suk el 'Attarin, as this
part of the "Straight Street" is called. As in all Oriental cities,
so pre-eminently here, in Damascus, the principal streets derive
their names from the special branch of trade to which they have
been devoted from time out of mind. It may be well to mention
in passing, and by way of explanation, that a dealer in essences
is a 'attar, and that here can be purchased rose-petals for confec-
tions, rose-water to flavor refreshing beverages, and curiously-
shaped vials of attar or otto of roses, so well-known abroad, and
so highly prized as a perfume in Oriental countries. Riding in
these covered bazaars and through this motley crowd is both un-
pleasant and quite unsafe; besides, it is not customary here in
Damascus, so we will send the horses forward, and walk to the
hotel by the shortest route.

September 15th. Evening.

No one who takes such a ride through the exuberant suburbs
of Damascus as we did to-day will be at a loss to account for its
existence from early times, or for its long life and enduring pros-
perity ; and it is not surprising that Dr. Beke should have tried
to prove that Haran, the place to which Abraham migrated from
Ur of the Chaldees, and from which he went forth into the land
of Canaan, was situated in the vicinity of this city.

Dr. Beke was thoroughly convinced that Harran el 'Awamid, a
village south-east of Damascus, and near the South Lake, marks
the true site of the Biblical Haran, and he made a tour with his
wife through that region to establish the identification, which
nearly cost him his life.

Have you ever been to that Harran ?

I visited it in company with Rev. J. Crawford, the well-known

THE EASTERN PLAIN.— BEDAWIN.—HARRAN EL 'AWAMID. 415

missionary of this city, and will give you an account of our ride
thither. That neighborhood is infested by lawless Druses and
roving Bedawin, and we were obliged to take a guard of Turkish
soldiers or horsemen for our protection. Issuing from Bab esh
Shurky, we came in an hour to Meliha, and in half an hour more
to Zebdin. The gardens of Damascus extend for several miles in
that direction, and the road was shaded nearly all the way by fruit-
trees and high and wide -spreading walnuts. During the next
hour's ride we crossed many watercourses lined with tall siK'cry
poplars, and finally forded a large stream called Nahr Harush.

Beyond that the country was destitute of trees, and little culti-
vated. The plain, for several miles before reaching Harran, was
covered with a short grass, presenting the appearance of a stiff
sward, with here and there a thin sprinkling of low bushes. Large
tracts were also overrun with the licorice-plant, called by the Arabs
rub es sus. Numerous villages, with their gardens of fruit-trees
and groves of poplars, dotted the plain in all directions ; and about
an hour's distance on the left flowed the Barada, meandering east-
wards towards the lake. It took us just four hours to reach Har-
ran, which lies on the perfectly level plain that extends to the
marshes of Bahret el Kibliyeh, into which the Barada enters, and
through which it finds its way to the lake.

From the roof of the mosk in the western part of the village
we could see the green fringe of tall reeds that borders, and in
some places nearly covers, the surface of the lake ; but the lake
itself was not visible. The Bedawin, however, assured us that
there was always a considerable expanse of clear water near the
mouth of the Barada, even during the dryest season of the year.
The villanous-looking Arabs and Bedawin in and around the vil-
lage caused our guides great uneasiness, and they requested us not
to remain there any longer than was necessary. We therefore pro-
ceeded at once to examine the three tall columns in the centre of
the village, from which it derives the specific name of Ilarran el
'Awamid, Harran of the Columns. They are detached from any
other ancient remains, and are in some respects quite unique, and
excite the surprise of the visitor.

The material of the columns is black basalt, somewhat porous.

4i6

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

but very hard. They are nearly twelve feet in circumference, and,
including base and capital, are about forty feet high. The shafts,
composed of six or seven pieces — the number differing in each —
are much worn and cracked, large fragments having split off and

REMAINS OF A TEMPLE AT HARRAN EL 'aWAmId.

fallen away. Two of the columns have Ionic capitals, but that of
the third, which stands at an angle to the others, has fallen from
its high position ; and as the edifice to which they belonged no
longer exists, one is at a loss to understand the object for which
they were erected. They are probably the remains of an ancient
temple, the ruins of which, consisting of hewn stones and broken

THE BIBLICAL HARAX.— THE PURSUIT OF JACOB. 417

columns, are scattered about the village. Vnu\t into the wall of the
mosk is a portion of a shaft with a Greek inscription ; but it is so
defaced, and partially concealed, that we could not decipher it.
That is the last village in the direction of the lake ; and, apart
from the columns, there is nothing of the least interest at Harran,
nor any indication that it ever was a place of any importance.

Does the topographical position of Harran correspond to the
requirements of the Biblical Haran ?

Exactly where Haran \vas is not mentioned in the Bible, and it
is only in connection with the pursuit of Jacob by Laban that the
identity of Harran el 'Awamid with the Biblical Haran should be
considered. Three days after his flight Jacob was pursued by La-
ban and overtaken " in Mount Gilead," after a chase of seven days.
The distance between Harran el 'Awamid and the place in Gilead
where Jacob " pitched his tent " could not have been more than
ninety miles, and it might have taken him ten days to get there;
but it is almost ridiculous to suppose that it would take Laban
seven days' hot pursuit to reach the same spot. Remembering
that the uniform tradition of the Jews themselves is that they
came from Mesopotamia, and that "the city of Nahor" was in
that country, and from other reasons which it is not necessary to
mention, we must conclude that the accidental resemblance in
the names of the two places is too slender a basis to support the
theory of their identity.

On our way back to Damascus we followed a path farther to the
north, crossing and re-crossing the main stream of the Barada, and
we were glad to get safely back to the city, and so w^ere the horse-
men sent for our protection by the Pasha,

4l8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

XI.
DAMASCUS TO EL MUSMEIH.

Damascus the Capital City of Islam. — The Religion Established by Muhammed. — Life
and Character of the Arabian Prophet. — The Caaba. — Khadija. — Muhammed Asserts
his Prophetic Mission. — El Hegira. — The Crescent and the Star. — Conversion of the
Inhabitants of Yathreb. — Jewish Colonies. — Inconsistencies in the Character of Mu-
hammed Described by Mr. Muir. — "Weeping with them that Wept," yet taking
Pleasure in cruel Assassination and Massacre. — Death of Muhammed in Medina, and
his Burial in the House of 'Ayesha. — El Haram. — "The Illiterate Prophet." — The
Koran Revealed by the Angel Gabriel and Transcribed upon the Shoulder-blades of
Camels and Goats. — Compilation and Revision of the Koran. — Muhammedan Rever-
ence for the Koran. — The Death Penalty. — The Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the
Gospels of Jesus. — The Patriarchs Inspired Messengers. — Jesus Mentioned with Re-
spect in the Koran. — Muhammed the Last and Best of God's Prophets. — Moslems
are Unitarians and Fatalists. — Apostasy Imperils Life. — The Attributes of God. —
Spiritual Beings. — Worship of Saints. — The Resurrection of the Body. — Judgment
at the Last Day. — Paradise. — Wine Prohibited. — Prayer. — Ablutions. — Friday, the
Assembly. — Alms -giving. — Bread Thrown to Dogs. — Alms Forbidden to Christians
and Jews. — Rigid Fast during Ramadan. — Necessary Preparations for a Tour through
Bashan and Gilead. — Pilgrimage to Mecca. — El Haj. — Damascus the Starting-place
of the Syrian Pilgrims. — Emir el Haj. — Departure of the Pilgrims from Damascus. —
The Mahmel. — Escort of Bedawin Mounted on Camels. — Pilgrims on Camels, Horses,
and Mules. — Return of the Haj from Mecca. — Forlorn and Woe-begone Appearance
of the Pilgrims. — Bab Allah. — "Bab el Maut, the Gate of Death." — Burckhardt. —
Pilgrims that now Pass through the Suez Canal. — Mr. Muir's Estimate of the Benefits
Conferred upon the World by Islam. — The Continuation of Derb el Haj. — The Ghii-
tah. — Abulfeda. — One of the Four Paradises of the Earth. — Moslem Legend. — The
Plain of Damascus Crowded with Villages. — Absence of Important Ruins. — The
Merj. — Jebel el Aswad. — Quarries of Basalt. — The Pharpar. — El Kesweh. — El 'Awaj.
— The Sabirany. — Wady Barbar. — 'Ain Menbej, an Intermitting Fountain. — Roman
Road. — Jebel Mani'a. — Villages. — Jebel esh Sheikh. — Aklim el Bellan. — Kul'at
Jendal. — Ascent of Hermon. — Wady el 'Ajam. — Moslem Villages. — Bedawin and
Kurds. — Cold Winds. — S'as'a. — Ancient Road. — El Kuneitirah. — Paul's Journey to
Damascus. — Juneh. — Deir 'Aly. — Frogs. — Greek Inscriptions. — Leboda. — Marcion. —
The Marcionites. — El Jeidur. — Jetur. — The Hagarites. — The Half Tribe of Manas-

DAMASCUS, THE CAPITAL CITY OF ISLANf. 419

seh. — The Captivity. — Alexander the Great. — Seleuciilcc. — Iturea. — Aristobulus. —
Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea. — John the Baptist. — El Jaulan. — Golan, a City of Refuge.
— Gaulanites. — Elevated Lava Plateaus. — Wuld 'Aly Bedawin. — No Inhabited Vil-
lages. — Lava Bowlders. — Robbers. — Ruins of Old Towns and Deserted Villages. —
Ez Zughbar. — A World once on Fire. — El Merjany. — Good Water. — Basaltic Soil. —
Burckhardt. — Column of the Morning. — .Small Temple. — Subterraneous Aqueduct. —
Private Habitations at El Burak Described by Dr. Porter. — Stone Walls, Doors, Win-
dows, and Roofs. — Stone Gate. — Saltpetre Manufactories. — El Liwa. — Wady Liwa.
— Arabs of the Lejah. — Villages and Towns in Ruins. — Cultivation and Winter Tor-
rents. — Um ez Zeitun. — Druses. — Hid Treasure. — Ard el Bathanych. — Batanis. —
M. Waddington. — Inscriptions. — The Ancient Names of Places still Preserved. —
Jebel Hauran. — Ard el Bathanyeh Described by Dr. Porter. — Ibrahim Pasha. — El
Harrah. — Mr. Cyril C. Graham's Adventurous Tour in the Ilarrah. — A Desert Waste.
— Ancient Wells. — Deserted Places. — Rock Inscriptions. — Ilimyritic Writing. — Kings
of the Himyri. — Dr. J. G. Wetzstein. — The Safah. — Volcanic Soil. — Arabs of the Le-
jah. — Nomadic Tribes of the Desert. — The Apostle Paul. — Early Christian Churches
East of the Jordan. — Origin. — " The Region of Argob." — Trachonitis. — Zenodorus.
— Robbers' Caverns. — Csesar, Herod, Philip, Agrippa. — El Lejah, an Asylum. —
Dr. Porter's Description of the Lejah.

September 17th.

Damascus being the capital city of Islam in Syria, it must be
the best place to s4:udy the religion of " the true believers." We
move about among Moslems every day, and the spirit of their re-
ligion pervades the very air we breathe, yet I have only a general
and v^ague idea of its origin and religious obligations.

Islam — "submission to the will of God" — is the religion estab-
lished by Muhammed, and it is the dominant faith of about one
hundred and fifty millions of the human race; and the mosk, the
dome, and the minaret are seen everywhere throughout the Moslem
world, from the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic
Ocean. As Muhammed is himself the incarnation of the religion
which commonly bears his name, it is impossible to speak of Islam,
or even think about it, apart from the life and character of the
Arabian Prophet, "the apostle of God." 1 will therefore give you
a brief account of his career, and of the faith of Islam.

Muhammed was born about the year 571, at Mecca, an ancient
city of Arabia, in the province of Iledjaz, and nearly si.\l\' miles
inland from Jiddah, its sea-port on the eastern shore of the Red
Sea. His parents belonged to the tribe of Kureish and the f,iniil\-
of Hashcm, the most illustrious and influential in the eil\' ; the

420 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

hereditary custodians of the Caaba, with its black stone and sacred
well, Zemzem. The Caaba was said to have contained statues of
all the gods worshipped by the Arabs before the time of Muham-
med, but he broke all the idols, and it is now the most venerated
shrine in the Moslem world. Having lost his parents in early life,
the future prophet was adopted by his uncle, and accompanied
him on a trading expedition to Syria. Subsequently, at the age of
twenty-five, he conducted a similar expedition in the interest of
Khadija, a rich widow of his native city, who ultimately rewarded
him with her hand and fortune.

During his visit to Syria, then a part of the Byzantine empire,
he was brought into contact with Christianity as represented by
the Greek Church of that day, which, no doubt, greatly influenced
the general character of some of his peculiar visions and revelations
recorded in the Koran. It was not until his fortieth year that Mu-
hammed began to assert his prophetic mission, and, after enduring
great opposition from his fellow-townsmen for ten years, he was
obliged to flee for his life to Medina, then called Yathreb. That
flight of the prophet, known as el Hegira, occurred on the i6th of
July, A.D. 622, and has served to fix the date of the Muhammedan
lunar year from that day to this — a period of more than twelve
centuries. And "from the fact that on that night the moon was
gibbous, a crescent with a star has been adopted by the Muham-
medans as an ensign of the royal arms, and on their banners, in
commemoration of what they consider as the most distinguished
period in the life of the prophet."^

The conversion of the inhabitants of Yathreb enabled Muham-
med rapidly to establish his authority as Prince and Prophet over
the whole of Arabia. In Yathreb there were two colonies of Jews
to whom the prophet must have been indebted for many of the
moral and religious precepts incorporated into the Koran. Before
the Hegira, and until the time when he established himself in
Yathreb as a powerful and warlike prince, Muhammed's moral and
religious record was fair and honorable in the main, but from that
date and onward every evil element in the character of the prophet
developed with surprising rapidity.

' Rev. J. Wortabet's Researches into the Religions of Syria, p. 164.

INCONSISTENXIES IX THE LIFE OF MUIIAMMED. 42 I

"The truth is," says ^Ir. William ^luir, "that the strangest in-
consistencies blended together — according to the wont of human
nature — throughout the life of the prophet. The student of the
history will trace for himself how the pure and lofty aspirations of
Mahomet were first tinged, and then gradually debased, by a half-
unconscious self-deception ; and how in this process truth merged
into falsehood, sincerity into guile — these opposite principles often
co-existing even as active agencies in his conduct. The reader will
observe that, simultaneously with the anxious desire to extinguish
idolatry and to promote religion and virtue in the world, there was
nurtured by the prophet in his own heart a licentious self-indul-
gence ; till in the end, assuming to be the favorite of Heaven, he
justified himself by 'revelations' from God in the most flagrant
breaches of morality. He will remark that while Mahomet cher-
ished a kind and tender disposition, ' weeping with them that wept,'
and binding to his person the hearts of his followers by the ready
and self-denying ofifices of love and friendship, he could yet take
pleasure in cruel and perfidious assassination, could gloat over the
massacre of an entire tribe, and savagely consign the innocent babe
to the fires of hell. Inconsistencies such as these continually pre-
sent themselves from the period of Mahomet's arrival at Medina;
and it is by the study of these inconsistencies that his character
must be rightly comprehended."'

Muhammed died June 8th, A.D. 632, in the sixty-third year of
his age, at Yathreb, then called Medinat en Neby, the city of the
prophet; and he was buried on the spot where he died, in the
house of 'Ayesha, over which now rises the green dome of el Haram,
the sacred mosk of Medina. Passing from this mere glance at the
man to the religion which he established, the attention is naturally
directed to the Koran, of which he was the original author. Muham-
med exulted in the title of the Illiterate Prophet, and it is presumed
that he could neither read nor write. The angel Gabriel revealed
to him, as occasion required, the chapters, verses, and fragments of
the Kor^n, and they were written by some of his friends upon
palm-leaves, white stones, pieces of leather, and the shouUlcr-blades
of camels and goats. After the death of Muhamnictl those literary
' Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. pp. 322, 323.

422 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

fragments were collected and compiled during the caliphate of Abu
Bekr, and subsequently revised in that of Othman. The result was
the Koran, which the entire Moslem world has accepted as contain-
ing the inspired "revelations" of the Arabian prophet.

El Koran is regarded by the Muhammedans with a degree of
profound reverence accorded to no other book in the world, for
it is believed to be absolutely divine, uncreated, incorruptible, and
eternal. Its teachings prescribe their religious faith, guide their
daily life, and permeate and control their whole intellectual being
and moral character, and to deny its divine authority the penalty
is death. Besides the Koran, Muhammed accepted certain other
scriptures as being inspired by God, including the Pentateuch, the
Psalms of David, and the Gospels of Jesus, but all of them are
supposed to have been corrupted, and their authority was abro-
gated by his own "revelations." Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
and Jesus were inspired messengers and apostles. Jesus is men-
tioned with respect in the Koran, but he is not the Son of God,
and the Jews " did not crucify him, but one like him was given
up unto them."' Muhammed was the last and the best of God's
prophets, and has abrogated the authority of all his predecessors.

A Moslem, or Muslim, is one who has submitted to the will of
God, and all Moslems, as you know, are unitarians and fatalists.
Any one who makes the brief declaration that " there is no god but
God, and Muhammed is the Apostle of God," is a Moslem, nor can
he apostatize except at the peril of his life. Muhammedans believe
in the essential attributes of God : that he is infinite, unchangeable,
and eternal, the Lord of all, and the creator of the universe, and
that all events, both good and evil, are foreordained by him and
inevitable. The practical and living faith of a community is gener-
ally very different from its fundamental creed and religious dogmas,
and so it is and always has been amongst the Moslems. Though
they acknowledge " no god but God," yet there are innumerable
companies of spiritual beings, good and bad, and of both sexes,
some of whom were created long before Adam ; and there are
many shrines dedicated to reputed saints all over the Muhammedan
world which are regarded with the utmost reverence.

' El Koran.

WORSHIP OF SAINTS.— PARADISE.— PRAYER AND ALMS-GIVING. 423

Pilgrimages are made to those shrines, prayers and sacrifices are
there offered to the saints, and various rites and ceremonies per-
formed which it is impossible to distinguish from actual worship.
Thus the saint is invoked, and the invisible spiritual beings propi-
tiated, and in reality the followers of the prophet arc practicall}-
superstitious and idolatrous, notwithstanding his fierce denunciation
of the worship of any being other than God alone. Moslems be-
lieve in the resurrection of the body, in a general judgment at the
last day, with subsequent rewards and punishments, and in a future
life in paradise — a place of gardens and fountains — amidst nc\-cr-
fading scenes of luxury, and in the enjoyment of eternal delights.
The "true believers" deserve paradise who have faith, and accord-
ing to the measure of their good works so will their portion be
in that promised abode of the blest.

Every Moslem is required to pray, to give alms, to fast, and to
make pilgrimages ; they are forbidden to eat certain meats, and the
use of wine is strictly prohibited. As " in the beginning," so now
"the evening and the morning" constitute the day, and the Mos-
lem is directed to commence his daily prayers at sunset. Prayer
may be offered at any time, or on any spot not polluted, but it is
forbidden in baths and a few other places. As you arc already
aware, the regular and appointed times for prayer are five, and Mos-
lems are obliged to perform certain ablutions before engaging in
their devotions. Those ablutions consist in washing the face, hands,
arms, head, neck, mouth, ears, nostrils, and feet, and, like nearly
every important action performed by a Mussulman, these arc begun
with the formula, "In the name of God, the merciful, the compas-
sionate." F'riday is the Moslem Sabbath, because Adam was created
on that day of the week, and also because the resurrection is to
take place on that day; hence its name, el Jhum'ah, the assembly.
Muhammedans do not abstain from transacting business or follow-
ing their usual avocations on l^Viday, but the noonday services in
the mosks are more varied and prolonged.

Next to the most important duty of prayer is that of alms-giv-
ing. Alms were at first both obligatory and voluntary, but now
they are freely bestowed, and may be dispensed either in nioiie)- or
in kind. The least amount should not fall short of a fortieth, but
F 2

424 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

many give a far greater proportion of their income in charity and
alms. Bread may be thrown to the dogs in the street, and money
distributed among the poor and needy followers of the prophet, but
it is forbidden to give alms to the infidel Christian, and to aid the
unbelieving Jew. "During the month of Ramadan, in which the
Koran was revealed," Moslems are required to abstain from eating
and drinking, nor can they smoke, from daylight to sunset. That
rigid fast is obligatory, even upon children, " but whoever is sick, or
on a journey, he shall fast the like number of days.'" The nights
being given up to feasting and revelry, there is no great hardship
in that fast when Ramadan occurs in winter; but during the long,
hot days of summer the suffering is very great, especially among
the working-classes. As the Muhammedan year is composed of
twelve lunar months, Ramadan retrogrades through the entire cir-
cuit of months in about thirty-three years and a half, so that during
my residence in this country that long fast has occurred in all times
and seasons, from midwinter to midsummer.

But the preparations for our journey through Bashan and Gil-
ead, and the region " beyond Jordan eastward," are completed. The
mules have been loaded, and the muleteers are ready to proceed,
for an early start is necessary this morning in order to reach the
place where we are to encamp to-night.

I notice that you have increased the number of our caravan.

The regions we are to pass through are entirely destitute of
markets, nor can our store of provisions be replenished until we
reach es Salt, on Mount Gilead, above the north-eastern end of the
Dead Sea. The needed supplies for many days were, therefore,
obtained here, and I have hired two additional mules to transport
them. One of the muleteers is a Druse, the other is a Christian,
and both are from the Kauran. As they are acquainted with the
roads and the inhabitants of that district, they will often save us
from the delay and annoyance of having to procure local guides,
and they will add to our protection in that wild and lawless region.

We are now passing through the narrow suburb of the city
called el Meidan, the Race-course, which extends southward along
this broad street, or Derb el Haj, the pilgrims' road from Damascus

' El Koran.

THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.— DEPARTURE OF THE HAJ. 425

to Mecca. Every Moslem who is able to do so is required to make
" the pilgrimage to the house of God, el Haram," at Mecca. When
that long journey, which usually occupies four months, is under-
taken in the summer or in midwinter the suffering and loss of life
is very great, and often only a small portion of " the pilgrims" ever
return to their homes. Those who survive the pilgrimage are al-
ways thereafter dignified with the title of Haj, an honor bestowed
alike upon the Muhammedan devotee from Mecca and the pious
Christian who visits Jerusalem, the Holy City, though the latter
rarely avails himself of the meritorious distinction. Damascus is
the starting-place of the Syrian pilgrims, and the Pasha of the city
is the Emir el Haj. He is expected to accompany the sacred Mah-
mel, or canopy, which contains the covering sent every year by the
Sultan for the Caaba at Mecca, but that pious duty is generally
relegated to his representative.

The spectacle of the departure of the Haj from Damascus for
that city is quite imposing, is it not?

To the European it is altogether unique, but to those familiar
with Muhammedan religious processions the difference is entirely in
the degree of reverence paid to the Mahmel, and in the greater dis-
play of fanatical feeling by those who take part in the showy pag-
eant. Motley crowds of men, women, and children of every age
and size throng this thoroughfare in the Meidan, line the roadway
on either side, fill the shops, the windows, and the roofs of the
houses along the whole length of Derb cl Haj — the men dressed in
garments of various shapes and every shade of color, the women
enveloped in white izars, their faces hardly concealed by thin and
gaudy veils, and the children decked out in tawdry tinsel and pro-
tected from "the evil eye" by mystic amulets and charms.

The Mahmel, carried upon the back of a special camel, is a can-
opy of green silk supported on silver posts and surmounted by a
gilded ball and crescent. It is followed by the Emir el llaj antl his
guard, consisting of a detachment of irregular cavalr\' and an escort
of Bedawin mounted on camels. Then come the pilgrims, whose
number is growing less every year. They perform the journey on
camels, though a few ride horses and mules, aiul the rich even hire
pakuuiuins for themselves or their families. The procession along

426 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the Meidan is preceded, surrounded, and followed by a noisy and
tumultuous rabble of men, women, and children, which imparts
neither dignity nor order to the movements of the caravan.

Similar scenes are witnessed here on the return of the Haj from
Mecca, but the pilgrims then come in groups, straggling along, with
no attempt at parade or to present a grand spectacle. The burn-
ing sun has tanned them to a dark bronze hue ; their garments are
travel -stained, dusty, and ragged, and their appearance is forlorn
and woe -begone to the last degree. They could, indeed, fit out
another Gibeonite embassy with " old sacks upon their asses, and
[water] bottles, old and rent, and bound up ; and old shoes and
clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them ; and all the
bread of their provision dry and mouldy" — no doubt like the "re-
mainder biscuit" after a voyage round the world.'

This unpretending city gate at the southern end of the Meidan
which we are now approaching is called Bab Allah, because through
it the Haj passes when commencing the long, trying, and perilous
journey to the " House of God," in Mecca. Bab Allah, the gate of
God ! " but it might, with more propriety, be named Bab el Maut,
the Gate of Death," as Burckhardt remarks ; " for scarcely a third
ever returns of those whom a devout adherence to their religion, or
the hope of gain, impel to this journey."'' Most of the pilgrims
from the northern parts of the Turkish empire now pass through
the Suez Canal by steamers to Jiddah, the port of Mecca on the
Red Sea ; and similar facilities are also availed of by the pilgrims
from Egypt, northern Africa, and elsewhere ; and if the merit of the
pilgrimage is thereby somewhat diminished, so also is the hardship
and loss of life in a still greater degree.

In comparing the advantages conferred upon the world by Mu-
hammedanism, with its attendant evils, Mr. Muir may be thought
to hold the balance w-ith too even a hand, but some of his observa-
tions are w^eighty and well worth remembering. " We may freely
concede," he says, " that it banished forever many of the darker
elements of superstition which had for ages shrouded the Peninsu-
lar [of Arabia]. Idolatry vanished before the battle-cry of Islam ;
the doctrine of the unity and infinite perfections of God, and of a

' Josh. ix. 3-6. ■■' Travels in Syria, etc. pp. 52, 53.

BENEFITS CONFERRED UPON THE WORLD RV ISLAM. 4.?7

special all-pervading Providence, became a living principle in the
hearts and lives of the followers of Mahomet, even as it had in his
own. An absolute surrender and submission to the Divine will —
the very name of Islam — was demanded as the first requirement of
the religion. Nor are social virtues wanting. Brotherly love is in-
culcated within the circle of the faith ; orphans are to be protected,
and slaves treated with consideration; intoxicating drinks are pro-
hibited, and IMahometanism may boast of a degree of temperance
unknown to any other creed.

" Yet these benefits have been purchased at a costly price. Set-
ting aside considerations of minor import, three radical evils flow
from the faith, in all ages and in every country, and must continue
to flow so long as the Coran is the standard of belief. First : Polyg-
amy, divorce, and slavery are maintained and perpetuated — striking
as they do at the root of public morals, poisoning domestic life, and
disorganizing society. Second: freedom of judgment in religion is
crushed and annihilated. The sword is the inevitable penalty for
the denial of Islam. Toleration is unknown. Third : a barrier has
been interposed against the reception of Christianity. They labor
under a miserable delusion who suppose that Mahometanism paves
the way for a purer faith. No system could have been devised with
more consummate skill for shutting out the nations over which it
has sway from the light of truth. Idolatrous Arabia — ^judging from
the analogy of other nations — might have been aroused to spiritual
life, and to the adoption of the faith of Jesus; Mahometan Arabia
is, to the human eye, sealed against the benign influences of the
Gospel. Many a flourishing land in Africa and in Asia which once
rejoiced in the light and liberty of Christianity is now overspread by
a gross darkness and a stubborn barbarism. It is as if their day of
grace had come and gone, and there remained to them ' no more
sacrifice for sins.' That a brighter day will yet dawn on these
countries we may not doubt ; but the history of the past and the
condition of the present is not the less true and sad. The sword
of Mahomet and the Coran are the most fatal enemies of civiliza-
tion, liberty, and truth which the world has yet known." '

I should like to emphasize most of these remarks of Mr. Muir,
' Muir's Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. pp. 320-322.

428 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

especially the last of them ; and it would be easy to add to the list
of evils conferred upon the world by Muhammedanism many others
so weighty as to sink Islam, the religion of the "Illiterate Prophet,"
forever in the profound gulf of utter condemnation.

We are now favored with a tolerably smooth and very wide
road, bordered on each side by groves of olive-trees.

It is the continuation of Derb el Haj, and extends southward in
nearly a straight line for more than an hour, but not at this unusual
width. No doubt it was made thus broad in this immediate vicinity
to accommodate the crowds, the pilgrims, and their camels that
congregate here at the commencement of the Haj. The bridges
over the watercourses are constructed very low and broad, to facil-
itate the passage of the caravans during the rainy season — a great
convenience, as I have found, after a heavy storm of rain in winter.
This district immediately around Damascus to the south, the
east, and the north-east is called the Ghutah. It includes the city
and the greater part of the region irrigated by the Barada and its
numerous canals. Of course it is exceedingly fertile wherever the
water extends over the plain. Abulfeda says of it : " The Ghutah
of Damascus is one of the four paradises which are the most excel-
lent of the beautiful places of the earth, but it excels the other
three." And the Moslem legend reminds us that Muhammed re-
fused to enter this charming region, declaring that, as man could
have but one paradise, he chose to have his in the other world.
Notwithstanding these flattering commendations, I have found many
places in the Ghutah neglected and barren, and, though the plain
of Damascus is crowded with villages, nearly a hundred by actual
count, most of them are wretched hamlets, with nothing attractive
about them, and one is surprised at the almost total absence of
important ruins on this great plain. To the south-east of the Ghu-
tah is the Merj, extending to the lakes, and west and south of our
road is the district of Wady el 'Ajam.

This plain of Damascus is not so level as it appears from the
outlook near Kubbet en Nusr, north-west of the city, and those sur-
rounding hills, from their dark color, must be of volcanic origin.

The range on the left is called Jebel el Aswad, the black moun-
tain, and the basaltic stones so largely used in building the khans.

EL AAVAJ, THE PIIARI'AR.— VILLAGE OF EL KESWEH. 429

mosks, and other public edifices of Damascus are brought from
quarries in those hills. We have now left the plain and begin to
descend into the valley of the A'waj, supposed to be the Pharpar,
the second river of Damascus, mentioned by Naaman, the Syrian
leper. In about an hour we will reach the long bridge of several
arches over the river east of the village of el Kesweh.

The valley lies much lower than the general lev^el of the sur-
rounding country, and the banks of the river are bordered by thou-
sands of tall silver-leaved poplars, by which the course of the stream
can be traced both east and west for a long distance.

Its Arabic name, A'waj, means crooked, and was probably given
to indicate that peculiarity in the ever-winding way of the river.
It drains the south-eastern slopes of Hermon, traverses from west
to east the district of Wady el 'Ajam, and, after passing through
the rough and rocky region eastward from the village of el Kesweh,
it meanders over the plain, and is finally lost in the marshy lake
called Bahret Hijaneh.

What is the name of that village above us on the right ? It
appears to be a considerable place, with mosks, minarets, and other
public buildings ; and these winding and well-wooded banks of the
river, the tall poplar trees, and the green meadows on either side
of the stream, are decidedly pretty.

That is el Kesweh, and it is inhabited principally by Moslems.

Here also is a spacious khan, with many native tra\'cllcrs about
it, and even several Bedawin with their horses and camels.

Like them, we will rest awhile at this inn and refresh ourselves
with a cup of "black coffee." From here on these primitive wayside
institutions become few and far between, as we advance into the
region east of the Jordtin until we reach es Salt, on Mount Gilead.

The A'waj, or Pharpar, is a much larger stream than I expected.

Once when I crossed over this substantial bridge below el Kes-
weh the river was running full up to the top of the arches, and a
considerable part of the narrow valley was under water. Many
years before I had crossed and recrossed it on my way to S'as'a,
and then got the impression that it was a small stream, but on that
occasion it was everywhere unfordable, and the volume of water in
it appeared to be nearly equal to that of the Barada. It was then,

430 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

however, exceptionally large, owing to recent rains and the melting
of the snow on the eastern slopes of Hermon, or Jebel esh Sheikh.
The main permanent tributaries of this river come from fountains
which rise near the villages of el 'Arny and Beit Jenn, on the south-
eastern slopes of Hermon, and, uniting in the neighborhood of S'as'a,
form the Sabirany, the local name for the A'waj between the vil-
lages of el Kesweh and Beit Sabir.

It is also re-enforced by small streams from that part of the
mountain, one of which comes down Wady Barbar, and the name of
that valley is supposed to preserve, in its Arabic form, the ancient
Hebrew word Pharpar. I visited one of those permanent sources
at the fountain called 'Ain Menbej, a short distance eastward from
Beit Jenn. The stream issues from a deep cavern extending under
the mountain, and at times, according to native accounts, there is
a great rush of water from it, accompanied with a loud rumbling
noise. The volume of water thus discharged is said to be full of
fish. When I was there the fountain was comparatively quiet, but
there were plenty of small fishes in the deep pool within the mouth
of the cavern. 'Ain Menbej is probably an intermitting fountain,
like those found in other places in this country.

We have thus far followed the regular Haj road, which leads
from Damascus to Mecca, but from el Kesweh the pilgrims con-
tinue southward along the ancient Roman highway to Sunamein
and Mezarib. Our road, however, trends a little to the eastward,
and gradually ascends the slope of Jebel Mani'a.

I am surprised to find the country so sparsely inhabited. There
is not a village in sight on either side of the path, and only a small
part of the land appears to be under cultivation.

The villages whose inhabitants till the land in this neighborhood
are hid away in the ravines of Jebel Mani'a, and the first inhabited
place along our route is Deir 'Aly, about two hours distant from
el Kesweh. As we rise to a greater elevation the views of Jebel
esh Sheikh, towering high above the surrounding district and rocky
ridges of el Bellan, are truly magnificent. Aklim el Bellan, as that
region is called, extends southward along the foot-hills of Hermon
from the dreary plateau of es Sahra, north-west of Damascus, to the
district of el Jeidur, the ancient Iturea. Large parts of both dis-

AKLIM EL BELLAX.— kOl'AT JENDAL.— WADV EL WJXM. 43 1

tricts are encumbered with volcanic rock and incapable of profitable
cultivation. Bellan, as you are aware, is the Arabic name of the
low, tangled thorn-bush which covers a large part of this country.
It is the poterium spinosum, and, from its great abundance in that
region, it probably gave the name Bellan to the entire district.

I have repeatedly passed through Aklim el Bellan, and once, on
my way from Damascus to the summit of Hermon, night overtook
us as we entered a dark defile of the mountain, and our guide con-
ducted us to a ruined castle in Wady Barbar called Kul'at Jcndal.
near the village of the same name. That region was then in a dis-
turbed state, owing to an uprising of the Druses, and we found the
old castle occupied by a band of highway robbers. After learning
who we were they allowed us to enter, and we remained there
that night unmolested. In the morning they sent a guard of their
number to protect us as far on our way as they thought was neces-
sary. Our road led up a long ravine with a gradual ascent until we
reached the water-shed at the head of the pass into Wady Shib'a.
From the top of the pass we turned to the right and ascended
northward along the edge of the ridge leading up the mountain-side,
and in about two hours we reached the ruined temple now called
Kusr 'Antar, which once crowned the summit of Hermon. The as-
cent of Jebel esh Sheikh from Kul'at Jendal is less fatiguing, ac-
cording to my experience, than any other, but it is entirely desert-
ed, and some of the gorges that descend from the mountain east-
ward to the plain far below are extremely wild and picturesque.

The district south of the Ghutah, through which we have been
riding, and which is traversed by the river A'waj, is called Wady el
'Ajam, the valley of the Persians, but when and how that name
came to be applied to this region is unknown. The district extends
eastward from Aklim el Bellan to Bahret Hljaneh, and, though
mountainous, rough, and rocky, much of it is well watered and thor-
oughly cultivated. There are more than thirty villages in Wady el
'Ajam, many of which lie west of the Haj road, and arc principally
inhabited by Moslems. El Kesweh is one of the largest and most
flourishing, and the small hamlet of Deir 'Aly, ahead of us, one of
the poorest and most dilapidated.

The entire region south-west of our road to the valley of the

432

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Jordan is given up to wandering tribes of Bedavvin Arabs and
Kurds, and even they abandon the more elevated parts of it in
winter, and descend to the sheltered ravines below, to escape the
fierce winds that then sweep over it. They are sometimes so cold
as to kill not only the flocks, but their shepherds also.

Many years ago we rode direct from Damascus to S'as'a, and,
though it was in the early part of May, we nearly perished by the
way-side, owing to a most pitiless gale of wind. When we reached
the dilapidated, castle-like khan at S'as'a my companion was speech-
less, and so chilled that he had to be lifted off his horse and have his
limbs rubbed for nearly an hour to restore the circulation. S'as'a
is a miserable village, about ten miles west of el Kesweh, on the
south side of Nahr el Jennany, a branch of the A'waj. Formerly
it had two large caravansaries, one of which was fortified with tow-
ers and buttresses, and that part of it still standing is now occupied
as a modern khan. We found it crowded with fellahin, or peasants,
who had taken shelter within it from the cold wind-storm, and had
kindled a large fire in one of the dingy vaults of the old khan,
which contributed greatly to their comfort as well as our own.

At S'as'a an ancient road from Damascus to the coast passed
through the middle of Aklim el Jeidur in a south-westerly direction
to Kuneitirah, and thence down to Jisr Benat Ya'kob over the Jor-
dan below Lake Huleh, and southward to Tiberias and Jerusalem,
or westward to the sea. There are very few villages along that
route between S'as'a and the Jordan ; and el Kuneitirah, w^hich is
the central station, is now occupied by a few peasants only. The
khan and other buildings are in ruins, and the place, though well
supplied with water, is often deserted.

It was probably along that road that the over-zealous Saul hur-
ried onward toward Damascus on his cruel mission. He would
have crossed the Jordan on the bridge of Jacob's Daughters, and
pressed forward by Kuneitirah and S'as'a to Juneh, where he would
get the first view of the plain of Damascus ; and probably, when
about to enter the Ghutah, not far from that village, he fell to the
ground overpowered by that great light which suddenly shone
from heaven round about him. This is, of course, mere inference
from the line of travel he would be likely to select. No name is

jOneh.-deir "alv.— the MARCIOMTES. 433

given to the place where SauTs miraculous conversion occurred.
We are only told that it was "near Damascus," and before he en-
tered the city." Evidently the place was not the one which is now
pointed out on the eastern side of the city; and a tradition dating
back to the twelfth century places the actual spot near Juneh.

It has taken nearly five hours from Damascus to reach this
Druse village of Deir 'Aly, and we can spare a few minutes only for
rest and lunch, for half our day's ride to el Musmcih, on the north-
ern border of the Lejah, remains to be accomplished.

There seems to be nothing of special interest in or about this
forlorn and dilapidated village.

It evidently occupies the site of an ancient town, and there are
several Greek inscriptions on old stones built into the walls of these
ruinous houses. In company with a party of English and Ameri-
can friends, I spent a night at this place a few years ago. The day
had been rainy, and the evening air was chilly and uncomfortable,
and all night long we were serenaded by an innumerable multitude
of frogs in a pond near our tents. In the morning we copied some
of the inscriptions. According to one of them, on the lintel of a
door of a private house, the name of this place in the fourth century
was Leboda ; and its modern name of Deir 'Aly may have been
given to it from the ruins of a church which, according to the
same inscription, belonged to the heretical sect of the Marcionites.
There are several other short inscriptions built into the walls of
these miserable hovels, and over the door of a ruined apartment in
the court of the sheikh's house is carved an altar, a scroll with a feu-
Greek letters, the figure of a bird, probably meant for a dove, and
a palm-branch — all clearly cut and well preserved. The present in-
habitants are quite proud that their village had an ancient name
and history, even though Christian and heretical.

Who were the Marcionites?

A sect that derived the name from Marcion, a native of Sinope,
on the Black Sea, and a religious sceptic of the second century.
Marcion held that the God of the Old Testament was the creator
of matter which was essentially evil, and the source of evil in this
world, and that he was not the God of the New Testament. He

' Acts ix. 3.

434

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

also rejected all the gospels except that of Luke, and he even al-
tered it to accord with his own teachings. He denied the resurrec-
tion of the body and other essential doctrines held by the ortho-
dox, and by his zeal in disseminating his religious opinions he
caused great controversy in the Church.

Marcion was repeatedly excommunicated, and finally cut off en-
tirely from Christian fellowship. Subsequently he became the head
of the sect that bore his name, and was both dreaded and hated,
as the following anecdote makes sufficiently evident. He was anx-
ious to claim acquaintance with Polycarp, and, meeting him on one
occasion, Marcion asked if he knew him. " I know thee as the first-
born of Satan," was the repellent and curt reply. It does not ap-
pear that Marcion ever visited this part of the country, but his doc-
trines spread extensively among the Eastern churches^

It is strange to find the name of such an ancient schismatic
sect established in the early days of Christianity at this now forlorn
and wretched hamlet of ignorant Druses, and I suppose that many
of the " initiated " among that peculiar people would accept most
of the heretical speculations of Marcion.

The district west of us is far more varied and interesting than a
large part of the featureless region over which we have been riding
since leaving Deir 'Aly. It is now called el Jeidur, and the name
was probably derived from Jetur, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael,
whose descendants appear to have inhabited that region.' In the
fifth chapter of ist Chronicles we read that the trans-Jordanic tribes
— " the sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of
Manasseh, valiant men, able to bear buckler and sword, and to
shoot with bow, and skilful in war, made war with the Hagarites
[Ishmael's descendants], with Jetur, and Nepish, and Nodab. And
they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered
into their hand, and all that were with them. And the children of
the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land ; they increased from
Bashan unto Baal-hermon, and Senir, and unto Mount Hermon.'"*

Though the entire country east of the Jordan to Hermon, in-
cluding, of course, the possessions of Jetur, was thus practically sub-
dued, the Hagarites were not exterminated, but they were held

' Gen. XXV. 15, 16. ^ 1 Chron. v. 18-23.

EL JEIDUR.— ITUREA. 435

in subjection by the two tribes and a half, who dwelt in the land
" until the captivity." After that event, and until the return of
the Jews from Babylon, the inhabitants of this part of the country
appear to have regained their independence. But after the con-
quest of Syria by Alexander the Great, B.C. 333, the various tribes
in this region came under the sway of the Ptolemies and the Seleu-
cidre, and the Greeks, according to their custom, changed the name
of the ancient Jetur into Iturea.

During the interregnum between the revolt of the Jews against
the Syrian kings and the establishment of the Roman empire in
this land, and about the beginning of the second century B.C., we
learn from Josephus that Aristobulus, one of the Maccabean princes,
who had assumed the kingly title, "made war against Iturea, and
added a great part of it to Judea, and compelled the inhabitants, if
they w^ould continue in that country [to become Jews], and to live
according to the Jewish laws.'" About forty years later Syria was
declared a Roman province by Pompey, and Iturea was comprised
within it. And in Luke we read that Philip, the son of Herod the
Great, was tetrarch of Iturea at the time when " the word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.'"'' He prob-
ably obtained it from his father, and it seems to have remained in
the Herodian family until the death of Herod Agrippa, the last of
that line, when it reverted to the Roman empire.

The subsequent history of Iturea is essentially the same as that
of Damascus, of which it became a dependency, and has remained
so to this day. There is no reason to doubt the identification of
the modern district of el Jeidur with at least a part of the posses-
sions of Jetur, the son of Ishmael, and of the Cireco-Roman prov-
ince of Iturea. The names are nearly the same, and the position of
the present district accords with the general situation given to it
in the Old and New Testaments, and by Josephus and others.
El Jeidur is comparatively a large district, having Wady el 'Ajam
and Aklim el Bellan on the north ; the lower ranges and foot-hills
of Hermon on the west ; el Jaulan, the ancient Golan, and el Lejah,
Trachonitis, on the south; the latter also forming its eastern boun-
dary, and separated from it by the j^rcsent Ilaj road only.

' Ant. xiii. 11,3. '' '■"'^'' '■'• '•-•

436 THE LAND AND THE BOOK,

There is no natural division between the districts of el Jeidur
and el Jaulan, but an imaginary line, drawn from Dan over the
southern end of Hermon and across the plain in a south-easterly
direction to the Haj road, would suf^ciently indicate their relative
positions. El Jaulan was called Gaulanitis by the Greeks, and that,
as well as its present Arabic name, was derived from Golan, given
by Moses to the Levites, and appointed to be one of the three
cities of refuge "on this side Jordan towards the sunrising." ' Its
length is from north to south along the shore of Lake Merom and
the Sea of Galilee, which form its western border down to the river
Jarmuk, the ancient Heiromax.

Both districts of el Jeidur and el Jaulan are lava plateaus, over
two thousand feet above the level of the sea, and much of the land
is destitute of water in summer. But, owing to the great elevation
of the northern portions, that region is cold in winter, and often
covered with snow. In the spring, however, it abounds in rich
pasture, and the Wuld 'Aly, a Bedawin tribe, then take possession
of it with their countless camels and numerous flocks of sheep and
goats. I have crossed both districts in different directions without
finding an inhabited village or an acre of land that was not covered
with lava bowlders. The entire country was then nearly deserted,
and the Kurds and Bedawins I met with were robbers: justifying
in that respect the traditional reputation of the ancient Hagarites
and the Greco-Roman Itureans. In both districts there are ruins
of old towns and deserted villages to the extraordinary number of
over one hundred and thirty; but of inhabited places there are not
more than fifty, and while at least three-fourths of the former are
to be seen in the Jaulan, the same proportion of the latter are
found in the district of el Jeidur.

But to return to our present surroundings. It has taken us an
hour, brisk riding, from Deir 'Aly to this semi-dilapidated hamlet
called ez Zughbar, and half an hour of slow progress through a
barren waste covered with black lava bowlders, the debris of a world
once on fire, will bring us to the village of el Merjany. That name
was probably given to it from the merj, or meadow, north-west of
it, from whence comes this little brook of good water. We must

' Deut. iv. 41-43.

EL MERJANV.— EL BL'KAK. 437

fill our " bottles" at this place, for we may not find any water fit to
drink at el Musmeih, where we are to encamp. The plenteous sup-
ply of water here accounts for the fact that these scattered ruins
are partially inhabited while so many other places along this ex-
posed frontier are wholly abandoned. El Merjany was evidently
an ancient site, and some of the houses and other edifices were
large and well built; but no inscriptions have been found among
the ruins to tell what name it bore in former times.

From here on, for much of the distance to Musmeih, we must
wade through a loose grayish soil, like the remains of a great ash-
heap, free from stones, and sparsely covered with clumps of south-
ernwood and other shrubs and bushes. Road there is none, and
the Druse muleteer directs our course by some landmarks on the
distant border of the Lejah, not far from el Musmeih, seen bj- him,
but which are quite invisible to me.

From the top of this hill near Merjany, though it is not very
lofty, we look out over what appears to be a boundless plateau
stretching far away to the east and south-east. What is the
nature of the country in that direction ?

It has been rarely visited by travellers, and comparatively little
is known about it. Burckhardt, in one of his tours from Damascus
through the Hauran, passed from cl Merjany round the eastern
border of the Lejah. As we shall follow the western side, a brief
re'suint^ of his account will be interesting, and it will also help to
beguile the monotony and weariness of the next two hours' ride.

In half an hour from el Merjany to the south-east Burckhardt
came to 'Amud es Subh, or Column of the Morning, "an insulated
pillar," with a high pedestal, standing in the plain, of the Ionic
order, built of black lava, and about thirty feet high. There were
no inscriptions upon it, but from broken fragments of columns
around the pillar he supposed that a small temple may have stood
there, and "the remains of a subterraneous aijueduct, extending
from the village towards the spot where the column stands, are yet
visible." Two hours from Merjany is el Binak, "a ruined town sit-
uated on the north-east corner of the Lejah : there is no large build-
ing of any consequence here, but there are many priv.ile habita-
tions." In the interior of one house ami on the outside wall of

438 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

another, among the ruins of el Burak, Burckhardt saw two well-
preserved Greek inscriptions, which he copied.'

Dr. Porter, who visited el Burak many years after, and spent a
night in one of those "private habitations," thus describes it : "The
house seemed to have undergone little change from the time its
old master had left it, and yet the thick nitrous crust on the floor
showed that it had been deserted for long ages. The walls were
prefect, nearly five feet thick, built of large blocks of hewn stones
without lime or cement of any kind. The roof was formed of large
slabs of the same black basalt, lying as regularly and jointed as
closely as if the workmen had just completed them. They meas-
ured twelve feet in length, eighteen inches in breadth, and six
inches in thickness. The ends rested on a plain stone cornice, pro-
jecting about a foot from each side wall.

" The chamber was twenty feet long, twelve wide, and ten high.
The outer door was a slab of stone four and a half feet high, four
wide, and eight inches thick. It hung upon pivots formed of pro-
jecting parts of the slab working in sockets in the lintel and thresh-
old, and though so massive, I was able to open and shut it with
ease. At one end of the room was a small window with a stone
shutter. An inner door, also of stone, but of finer workmanship,
and not quite so heavy as the other, admitted to a chamber of the
same size and appearance. From it a much larger door communi-
cated with a third chamber, to which there was a descent by a flight
of stone steps. This was a spacious hall equal in width to the two
rooms, and about twenty-five feet long by twenty high. A semi-
circular arch was thrown across it, supporting the stone roof, and
a gate so large that camels could pass in and out opened on the
street. The gate was of stone, and in its place ; but some rubbish
had accumulated on the threshold, and it appeared to have been
open for ages.

" Such were the internal arrangements of this strange old man-
sion. It had only one story, and its simple, massive style of archi-
tecture gave evidence of a very remote antiquity. On a large stone
which formed the lintel of the gate-way there was a Greek inscrip-
tion ; but it was so high up that I was unable to decipher it, though
' Travels in Syria, etc., pp. 214, 215.

LUFH EL JEJAII.— WADV LIWA. 439

I could sec that the letters were of the oldest type. It is probably
the same which was copied by Burckhardt, and which bears a date
apparently equivalent to the year B.C. 306." '

According to Burckhardt, there were "two saltpetre manufacto-
ries at el Burak, in which the saltpetre is procured by boiling the
earth dug up among the ruins of the town. The boilers of these
manufactories are heated by brushwood brought from the desert, as
there is little wood in the Lejah about el Burak."' At that time
there were many such manufactories in all parts of the Lejah and
adjacent regions, but they are now nearly all abandoned.

Continuing his journey, Burckhardt "engaged a man at el Burak
to conduct [him] along the Lufh or limits of the Lejah. This east-
ern part is called el Liwa, from Wady Liwa, a winter torrent \\hich
descends from Jebel Hauran," far to the south-east, rising near a
village called Nimreh, below which for some distance it is called
Wady Nimreh. It flows northward along the entire eastern border
of the Lejah, " filling in its course the reservoirs of all the ancient
towns situated there. In some places Wady Liwa approaches close
to the Lejah, and in others advances for a mile into the plain ; its
banks were covered with the most luxuriant herbage, of which little
use is made, the Arabs of the Lejah being afraid to pass beyond
its limits, from the almost continual state of warfare in which they
live with the powerful tribe of the 'Anazeh and the government of
Damascus ; while the 'Anazeh, on the other hand, are shy of ap-
proaching too near the Lejah, from fear of the nightly robberies
and of the fire-arms of the Arabs who inhabit it. The laborers in
the saltpetre manufactories are Druses, whose reputation for indi-
vidual courage and national spirit keeps the Arabs at a respectful
distance. The Liwa empties into Bahret el Merj [or HijanehJ,
seven or eight hours east of Damascus."^

Burckhardt slept at el Khulkhuleh, " like all the ancient towns
in the Ilauran, built entirely with stone." There he collcctetl the
names of several ruined villages and tells, with ruins on or around
them, to the east and south-east of Khulkiudeh. The direction of
his route from that place " was sometimes south-east, sometimes

' The Ciiant Cities of liashan, etc., pp. 26, 27.

'■' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 214. " Travels in .'-;yria, etc., jip. 2lf), 217.

440

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

south, following the windings of the Lejah and the Liwa. In four
hours [he] reached Um ez Zeitun, a village inhabited by Druses,"
havdng passed nine villages and towns in ruins, w^iich " prove the
once flourishing state of the Lejah. The advantages of a wady
like the Liwa are incalculable in these countries, where we always
find that cultivation follows the direction of the winter torrents, as
it follows the Nile in Egypt; and the inhabitants make the best
use of the water after the great rains have ceased to irrigate their
fields and fill the reservoirs which supply both men and cattle with
water till the return of the rainy season."

" Um ez Zeitun is inhabited by thirty or forty Druse families.
It appears, by the extent of its ruins, to have been formerly a town
of some note. I here copied several inscriptions." Burckhardt had
intended to spend the night at Um ez Zeitun, but found the Druses
very ill-disposed towards him. "It was generally reported," he
says, " that I had [previously] discovered a hid treasure at Shuhba,
near this place, and it was supposed that I had now returned to
carry off what I had then left behind. I had to combat against
this story at almost every place, but I was nowhere so rudely re-
ceived as at this village, where I escaped ill-treatment only by as-
suming a very imposing air, and threatening, with many oaths, that
if I lost a single hair of my beard, the Pasha would levy an avania
of many purses on the village."' From that inhospitable place
Burckhardt continued next day southward by Suleim and 'Atil to
es Suweideh, but, as we shall there come in contact with his route,
we need not follow it any farther at present.

It would be very interesting to pass through that region and to
explore the country beyond it east of the Lejah.

It was the ancient Batanaea, and is still called Ard el Bathan-
yeh, the land of Bathanyeh, from a town of that name which occu-
pies the site of Batanis, the capital of the Greek and Roman prov-
ince. That region is mentioned by Josephus in connection with
Trachonitis and Auranitis as being subject to Philip, the son of
Herod the Great and Cleopatra, and the same whose tetrarchy is
alluded to by Luke.*

' Travels in Syria, etc., pp. 218-220.

^ Ant. xvii. 11, 4 : B. J. ii. 6, 3 ; ii. 12, 8 ; iii. 3, 5 : Luke iii. i.

rROVINXE OF BATAXAEA.— ARD EL BATIIANVEII. 441

El Bathanyeh was explored by M. Waddington, who gives in-
scriptions from about forty ancient towns which he includes within
the province of Batanaea. But perhaps he did not intend to ar-
range his inscriptions with strict reference to the old geographical
boundaries of the provinces, for a number of places are mentioned
in his group which certainly belonged to Trachonitis; that is, the
Lejah and others on the south and west of Jebel Hauran were not
connected with Batanaea. The ancient names are still preserved,
and several sites with similar Arabic names have been identified
with places mentioned by classic writers. But the old towns are
nearly all deserted, though many of the houses, with their remark-
able stone walls, stone roofs, stone doors and window-shutters, are
still almost perfect, and would require very little repair by the
natives of that region to make them habitable again,

" The name Ard el Bathanyeh," says Dr. Porter, " though well
known to the natives, is not much used by strangers. The region
is generally called 'Jebel Hauran,' or 'Jebel ed Druzc.' It extends
from the plain near the conspicuous hill [on the north] called Tell
el Khalediyeh to Sulkhad on the south, and from Kunawat to the
borders of the great plain on the east. The whole of the province
is exceedingly picturesque. The mountains are well wooded, with
forests of evergreen oak, and the sides terraced. In the northern
part, around Bathanyeh and Shuka, the slopes are gentle, and the
soil the richest in the Hauran. Along the whole eastern sides, as
I was informed, and in part saw, the slopes resemble those on the
north. Over the mountains and through the vales the pastures are
the most luxuriant in Syria. There is a pleasing variety, too, in the
landscape that is seldom witnessed in this land, and the natural
beauties arc enhanced by the vast numbers of ruined towns and
villages. Little peaks are always in view as one wanders along,
crowned with temple, castle, or crumbling tower, while the graceful
forms of lofty columns are here and there seen shooting up through
the green foliage. The whole of these mountains are basalt, and
the two loftiest summits, Abu Tumeis |in the north] and Kuleib
Hauran [on the south] were probably at one time volcanoes. Their
elevation is about five thousand feet." '

' lJil)liolhcca Sacra, etc., October, 1856, \^\\ -jtyr,, Soa.

^2 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

When the Egyptian army, under Ibrahim Pasha, about forty-
seven years ago, conquer:ed the Lejah after several severe battles,
many of the Druses who had taken refuge there escaped into the
region of el Bathanyeh. Some of their sheikhs, with whom I was
acquainted, finally returned to their homes on Lebanon, and they
spoke in high terms of the beauty and fertility of that country.
They also described a region in the dreary wilderness east of it
called el Harrah, or the burnt district, which, they said, was en-
tirely destitute of water, and that even the Bedawin Arabs of the
desert could hardly pass through it.

That "burnt district" is a veritable terra incognita, I suppose,
and must ever remain an undiscovered region.

The description of the Harrah given by those Druse sheikhs
accords in the main with that of the only two Europeans who
have attempted to explore it. In the autumn of 1857 Mr. Cyril C.
Graham accomplished a bold and hazardous tour through a con-
siderable part of that district, and I remember listening with great
interest to the narrative of his perils and privations after his return
to Beirut. He subsequently prepared a report of his journey for
the Royal Asiatic Society, which furnishes much reliable informa-
tion in regard to that region.

El Harrah is mostly a dreary, undulating plain, extending east-
ward and southward from Jebel Hauran for several days' journey —
a desert waste, destitute of verdure and springs of water, with no
running streams and but few trees, covered with fragments of black
basaltic rock, and glowing under the fierce rays of the burning sun
like a furnace — hence its significant name. There are a great num-
ber of wells in that region, and the ancient inhabitants must have
depended mainly upon them for their supply of water ; but they
are now either " broken cisterns " or filled up with rubbish.

"The deserted though not ruined" places examined by Mr.
Graham in the Harrah were of the same general character as those
of similar sites in the Hauran, having the same massive stone walls,
stone doors, stone window-shutters, and stone roofs. But perhaps
the most important discovery made by him in that burnt district
was the finding, in different places, of numberless rock inscriptions.
"I found," he says, "several such places, where every stone within

EL HARRAH.— ES SAFAIL— ARABS OF THE LEJAH. 443

a given space bore the mark of some beast or other figure, witli an
accompanying inscription." And he thinks that " we have in those
inscriptions specimens of a writing which, though not purely Him-
yaritic, is, nevertheless, very much allied to it."

"From reports brought by Arabs that there are innumerable
rock inscriptions in the desert between the Hauran and the Eu-
phrates." :\Ir. Graham is convinced "that one great race formerly
overran all those parts, and eventually settled in southern Arabia,
and formed the dynasties of the kings of whom we have more
specially heard under the name of the Himyri." A few years after
^Ir. Graham's adventurous tour, Dr. J. G. Wetzstein, then Prussian
Consul at Damascus, made an excursion into the Ilarrah and the
Safah, north of it, a district remarkable for the number of its cone-
shaped tells, the craters of extinct volcanoes. He also published
an interesting account of his tour, especially in regard to the little
known regions of es Safah.

It seems to me that our guide is treating us to a specimen of
the Harrah, or burnt district, by the route he is conducting us.
Our horses have been wearily plodding through this soft volcanic
soil for the last hour and a half, sinking at every step over their
fetlocks, to the great discomfort of both horse and rider. Mine is
well-nigh exhausted and quite discouraged, and inclined to halt
every few minutes to rest and take breath.

The temple at Musmeih is in sight, and we shall soon dismount
at our tents, pitched in front of it.

September 17th. Evening.

The wild -looking Arabs who stared at us from amongst the
ruins as we rode up to our tents had a very suspicious and sinister
appearance.

This deserted city is only occupied now by a few Ik'dawin from
the Lejah, and our Druse muleteer, who is acquainted with some
of them, says that they will not venture to molest us. The half a
dozen or more petty tribes of Bedawin who inhabit the Lejah,
though nominally tributary to the Pasha of Damascus, have a far
greater respect for the Druses in this region than for the Turkish
authorities, and they frequently refuse to pay the annual tribute
levied upon them. On such occasions they retire into the fast-

444 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

nesses of this rocky district, and bid defiance to the government
troops sent against them. But, owing to the scarcity of water in
the Lejah for their flocks and herds, they are eventually compelled
to come to terms with the authorities, and a compromise is usually
effected through the friendly mediation of some Druse sheikh.

During the spring and summer, the great nomadic tribes of the
desert, when not in open rebellion against the Pasha, generally
overrun the country east of the Jordan and the Hauran as far
north as the Ghutah of Damascus. But, as their relations with the
government and the Druses are about as uncertain as their own
with the Bedawin of this region, it frequently happens that their
hand is against every man, and every man's hand against them.
Then travel in this part of the country is unsafe.

Is it not probable that the apostle Paul passed through the
Lejah when he escaped from Damascus and "went into Arabia?"

It is, at least, possible. He appears to have remained in his
retreat for a considerable time, for he did not go back to Jerusa-
lem until three years after his return to Damascus. It is an inter-
esting thought that, perhaps during those three years, the zealous
apostle may have founded some of the churches which were greatly
multiplied in the country east of the Jordan and the region around
Damascus in the first and second centuries of the Christian era.
Those early converts seem to have been inclined to embrace va-
rious doctrinal heresies, and Origen, though quite advanced in
years, was summoned from Caesarea more than once to bring them
back to the orthodox faith ; and in such benevolent missions that
learned and eminent father was always successful.

The Lejah has been identified with " the region of Argob," a
part of " the kingdom of Og," the giant " king of Bashan," w^hich
Moses " gave unto the half tribe of Manasseh, with all Bashan,
which was called the land of giants."' In the time of Solomon,
about four hundred and thirty years later, " the region of Argob,
which is in Bashan," was assigned to one of his purveyors with its
"threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars."* We hear
nothing further of Argob in the Bible for a thousand years or more,
until after the reign of Herod the Great, when it is mentioned by

' Deut. iii. 3-5, 11, 13, 14. 2 j Kings iv. 13.

ARGOB.— TRACHONITIS.— EL LEJAH. 445

Luke under its Greek name of Trachonitis, apparently equivalent
to its ancient Hebrew designation of the rough or stony region.'

Josephus informs us that Uz, the great-grandson of Noah,
" founded Trachonitis and Damascus : this country," he says, " lies
between Palestine and Coelesyria.'"^ He also tells us that in the
time of Herod " one Zenodorus became a partner with the robbers
that inhabited the Trachonites, and so procured himself a larger
income ; for the inhabitants of those places live in a mad way, and
pillage the country of the Damascenes. This way of robbery had
been their usual practice, and they had no other way to get their
living." He then gives a description of the extraordinay caverns
of this district in which the robbers concealed themselves, their
cattle, and their plunder. Their raids became so destructive that
Augustus Caesar " wrote to Varro [then ' proconsul ' of Syria] to
destroy those nests of robbers, and to give the land to Herod, that
so by his care the neighboring countries might be no longer dis-
turbed with these doings of the Trachonites." ' Subsequently, Tibe-
rius Caesar gave this province to Philip, the son of Herod, and he
became tetrarch of this region, as we know from the third chapter
of Luke's Gospel. During the reign of Nero, Trachonitis was a part
of the kingdom of Agrippa.* Very little is known about it from
that time to the present day, except what can be inferred from
the numerous inscriptions which have been found amongst the
ruins of its temples, fortresses, and towns.

Argob and its Greek name, Trachonitis, are both supposed to
have been given to this region on account of its rough, stony, and
inaccessible nature; has its Arabic name the same significance?

Only by implication. The word Lejah, in a certain sense, refers
to the act of resorting to a place for the purpose of protection,
and Meljah would be the Arabic name for such an asylum ; and
this rocky wilderness of black lava is now, and probably always has
been, the refuge of those who have been compelled to seek safety
from their enemies and persecutors.

The Lejah is a district wholly unique, and is correctly described
by Dr. Porter as " of an irregular oval shape, about twenty miles
long by fourteen broad— the circumference [being] fifty-eight miles.

' Luke iii. i. - Ant. i. 6, 4. ^ Ant. xv. lo, I. * B. J. ii. (\ 3 ; '''• 3. 5-

446 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Its border is as clearly defined as the line of a rocky coast, which
it very much resembles. The surface is elevated from twenty to
thirty feet above the surrounding plain. At a little distance it
appears as flat as a sea ; the only hills in it are Tell el 'Amarah
and Tell Sumeid. The former is the loftier, and has an elevation
of about three hundred feet.

The physical features of the Lejah are very remarkable. It is
composed of black basalt, which appears to have issued from pores
in the earth in a liquid state and to have flowed out until the plain
was almost covered. Before cooling, its surface was agitated by
some powerful agency, and it was afterwards shattered and rent by
internal convulsions and vibrations. There are in many places deep
fissures with rugged, broken edges, while in other places are jagged
heaps of rock that seem not to have been sufficiently heated to
flow, but were forced upwards and then rent and shattered. The
rock is filled with air-bubbles; it is as hard as flint, and emits a
sharp metallic sound when struck."'

Although barren and incapable of cultivation, and almost en-
tirely destitute of fountains and streams, yet there are several
"pasturing places" in and about the Lejah, and it is dotted with
the remains of old towns, some of which were places of consider-
able size and importance. Thither the people resorted in ancient
times from all sides, and in this Lejah or asylum they dwelt secure
from the raids of lawless tribes, and bid defiance to the attacks of
even regular and well-disciplined armies.

' Five Years in Damascus, pp. 281, 282.

EL MUSMEIH TO EDIIRA' AND KUNAWAT. 4^7

XII.
EL MUSMEIH TO EDHRA' AND KUNAWAT.

Howling Jackals and Barking Dogs. — El Musmeih, Phaeno. — Rock -cut Road. — Cis-
terns. — Roman Legions. — An Episcopal City. — Temple at el IMusmeih. — Shell-shaped
Roof. — Columns with Wreaths or Bands. — Marcus Aurclius Antoninus and Lucius
Aurelius Verus. — Greek Inscription. — Trachonitis, el Lejah. — Governor's Palace
and Bishop's Residence. — Ruins of Private Houses. — Influence of External Nature
upon Human Character. — The Border of the Lejah. — Rocky Labyrinths. — Fountains
and Streams. — The Egyptian Army driven out of the Lejah. — Regular Troops of no
Avail in the Volcanic Clefts and Chasms of the Lejah. — Sha'arah. — Tower, Temple,
and Inscription. — Manufacture of Saltpetre. — The Outer and the Inner Lejah. — Oozy
Black Mud. — Stream from Tibny. — Scarcity of Water. — " Deceitful Brooks" and Job's
"Miserable Comforters." — The Guides of Ancient and Modern Caravans "Con-
founded and Ashamed." — Personal Experience in the Wilderness of Wandering. —
Deserted Villages and Partially Cultivated Plain. — Es Siinamein, the Two Idols. —
Mecca Pilgrims. — Aere. — Stone Walls, Doors, Windows, and Roofs. — Towers, Tem-
ples, and Inscriptions. — Fortuna, the Goddess of Luck. — Tell Kusweh. — Khubab. —
Ox Ploughing and Taxation. — Manufacture of Lava Millstones. — A Century Old. —
Boys' School. — Desire for Education. — Manners and Customs, Dress and Ajipearance
of the People in the Lejah. — Interments in Open Pens of Lava Fragments. — Shiik-
rah. — Muddy Causeway. — Melihat Hazkin. — Ruined and Deserted Towers. — Saints'
Tomb. — Gray Wolf. — Tibny. — A French Monk. — A Mass of Prostrate Buildings. —
Wheat Concealed in Cisterns. — Bedawin Robbers. — Storehouses of Joseph in Egypt.
— Luhf el Lejah. — Plain of the Hauran. — Ruins of Ancient Cities. — Ancient Fire-
proof Houses. — Houses Burned Down on Lebanon. — Healthy Climate and Extensive
Prospects. — El Hauran. — En Nukrah, el Lejah, and el Jebel. — Dr. Eli Smith's List
of Two Hundred and Thirty-nine Sites of Towns and Villages. — Moslems, Druses,
and Christians. — Greeks and Greek Catholics. — Sites of Seventy-five Villages and .An-
cient Towns within and around the Lejah. — "Threescore Cities Fenced with High
Walls." — "The Kingdom of Og in Bashan." — Approach to Edhra' through Lava Dc-
fdes and along a Rock-cut Road. — Site of Edhra'. — Exploits of the Hebrews in the
Time of Moses. — M. Waddington.— Edrei. — Zorava. — Der'a. — The Conilicl 15etwcen
Og, King of Bashan, and the Hebrews. — Edhra' identical with the City mentioned by
Moses. — Extensive Ruins, — Subterranean Residences. — Description of the Stone

448 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Roofs and the Supporting Arches. — Ancient Architects. — Window-shutters and Doors
made of Lava Slabs. — The Church of St. Elias. — Greek Inscriptions. — The Church of
St. George Described by M. Waddington. — Quadrangular Structure Described by
Burckhardt. — Square Tower. — Columns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Ruined Vaults
and Prostrate Columns. — Excursion into the Lejah. — Air-bubbles of Hard Rock. —
Masses of Lava, and Petrified Waves. — Shivered Hills and Funnel-shaped Pits. —
Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Bedawin Shepherds Professional Robbers. — "All
Thieves." — Scarcity of Pasture. — Deterioration of the Lejah. — No Wild Animals and
but few Birds. — Reservoirs in Caverns. — Native Traditions. — Few Springs and no
Never-failing Fountains. — Caverns mentioned by Josephus. — Subterranean Dwellings,
Pools of Water and Corn in Granaries. — Herod the Great. — Robbers of Trachonitis
and the Bedawin of the Lejah. — Greek, Cufic, and Nabathean Inscriptions. — M. Wad-
dington. — Harran. — Blood Feuds. — Law of Revenge. — Burckhardt's Visit to Dama. —
Rock-cut Cisterns. — Encampment of Medlej Bedawin. — Tents Concealed in the Crev-
ices and Fissures of the Rocks. — Modern Villages and Ancient Sites. — Remarkable
Preservation of Ruined Towns and Cities. — Pompeii. — Houses Constructed of Imper-
ishable Lava. — Temples and Public Edifices in the Lejah erected before the Christian
Era. — Ruins at Nejran. — Church with Two Towers. — Blood-money. — Terebinth-oil
used instead of Olive-oil. — Disappearance of the old Earthen Lamp. — Petroleum
from Pennsylvania. — "The Smoking Flax and the Bruised Reed." — The Servant of
the Lord. — Fire out of the Heel, and Ink out of the Mouth. — The Stream in Wady
Kunawat. — Shuhba Described by Dr. Porter. — A Roman City. — Streets and Gates,
Temples, Baths, and Public Buildings. — Theatre at Shuhba. — M. Waddington and the
Count De VogUe. — The Emperor Philip. — Philippopolis. — Shuhba and the Shehab
Emirs. — Nur ed Din and Saladin. — The Crusaders. — The Monguls. — The Emir
Beshir. — Muhammed Aly. — Civil Wars and the Massacres of i860. — A Long Pedigree,
from "the Beginning" to the Present Hour. — Temple at Suleim. — Neapolis. — Cav-
ernous Cistern. — Ruins of an Old Town. — The Village School and Native Teacher. —
Desire for Education. — Moments lengthened into Hours. — Proverbial Hospitality. —
Grseco-Roman Population East of the Jordan. — A Succession of Temples and Public
Buildings. — More Greek Inscriptions than in all Syria and Palestine. — Cities of the
Decapolis. — "Jesus went through the Borders of the Decapolis." — Roman Road. —
Oak Woods. — Approach to Kunawat. — River of Kunawat. — Theatre in Wady Kuna-
wat. — Outlook over the Plain of the Hauran to distant Hermon. — Nymphseum, or
Public Bath. — Round Tower. — Cyclopean Walls. — Oldest Ruins of Kenath. — Main
Street. — Houses with Sculptured Doors. — A Natural Fortification. — The City Wall. —
Paved Area. — Es Serai, or Convent of Job. — Beautiful Door-way. — Sculptured Figures
and Clusters of Grapes. — Colonnades. — Heathen Edifices and Christian Churches. —
Large Vaulted Cisterns. — Roman Prostyle Temple. — Colossal Head in High- relief.
— Heads of Baal and Ashtoreth. — American Palestine Exploration Society. — Worship
of Ashtoreth. — Syria Dea. — Ashtoreth Karnaim. — Peripteral Temple. — Dedicated to
Helios or the Sun. — Biblical History of Kenath. — Jair, Nobah, Gideon. — Josephus
and Herod the Great. — Ptolemy and Pliny. — Eusebius and the Peutinger Table. —
Kunawat the Biblical Kenath or Nobah. — M. Waddington. — Greek Inscriptions. —
King Agrippa. — Statue of Herod the Great. — Si'a. — Streams at Kunawat. — No Water

EL MUSMEIH, PH^NO.-RUIXED TEMPLE. 449

even for Money. — The Population of the Hauran Increasing. — Primitive School
and Venerable School - master. — Boards instead of Books. — Remarkable Zeal for

Instruction. ^ , „ ,

September ibtn.

Nothing more formidable than the melancholy howl of jackals
and the barking of the Bedawins' dogs disturbed our slumbers last
ni«yht. and while the servants are busy packing and the muleteers
are loading their animals wc will visit the ruins of this remark-
able and once extensive city.

What was the name of this place in former times?
El Musmeih was called Phaeno by the Greeks, and Pha^na in
the days of the Romans, and an inscription on the main entrance
to the temple determines the important fact that the Lejah is the
Trachonitis of the ancients. Pha^na was, indeed, one of its chief
towns, and that accounts for the size of the place as well as the
character of its ruins, which spread over a space nearly three miles
in circumference. It is situated at the northern end of the Lejah,
and just within its rocky border, and the road leading to it from
the plain was excavated in the hard lava.

Like all other cities in the Lejah, Pha^na was entirely dependent
on its cisterns for water, hence their number and large size. It
appears to have been an important place in the time of the Ro-
mans, for we learn from the inscriptions that a part of the Third
Gallic and of the Sixteenth Legions were at one time stationed
here. During the early centuries of the Christian era Pha^na was
an episcopal city, and its temple was converted into a church,
which subsequently was transformed into a mosk.

This temple at el Musmeih is a fine specimen of the architecture
of that Greco-Roman period, and it is one of the best preserved
ruins in this ancient " region of Argob." It stood facing the east,
and in front of it was a large paved court, which appears to have
had a colonnade on three sides of it. The fragments of those col-
umns are scattered about in confusion, not even the pedestals being
in situ. A flight of six stone steps lead up to the portico of the
temple, which consisted of six Doric columns— three on either side
of the main entrance; those on the right, or south, arc the only ones
still standing. The large and lofty central door, now almost en-
tirely walled up, was without decoration, and the small side doors

450 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

had each a semicircular niche, finished at the top in the form of a
shell, with four columns in front supporting a series of round re-
ceding arches and a projecting triangular roof.

The temple was, externally, nearly fifty feet wide, over seventy
feet in length, and about forty feet high, and the walls are almost
perfect, though they have been cracked and shaken by earthquakes.
Within it is not quite forty-three feet square, having a large semi-
circular niche in the west wall opposite the main entrance, which
is vaulted over by a shell-shaped roof of unusual size and beauty,
and cut in the hard basaltic slabs. The roof, which has fallen, was
made of the same kind of slabs, resting upon four arches supported
by four Corinthian columns, still standing in the middle of the
edifice. The columns are about thirty feet high, with correspond-
ing pilasters in the side walls ; their pedestals, ornamented with
wreaths, are over three feet high, and the shafts about two feet
below the capitals are also decorated with wreaths or bands.

This temple, according to an inscription on the lintel of the
main entrance, was erected by a commander of the Third Gallic
Legion, then stationed in this city, and during the reign of the em-
perors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Verus, or
between i6i and 169 A.D. This long inscription of forty lines on
the left of the main entrance to the temple is addressed to the
people of Phaena, one of the principal towns of Trachon, or Tracho-
nitis, thus establishing the identity of the latter with the Lejah.
There are other inscriptions upon the bases of the three columns,
on the architrave, in the portico, and on the pedestals within the
temple, but none of them are supposed to be of an earlier date than
the first century of the Christian era.

About forty rods east of the temple is a confused mass of ruins
belonging to a group of buildings, one of which was three stories
high, and it may have been the governor's palace and afterwards
the residence of the bishop of this diocese. Most of the private
houses of Phaena are now in ruins, but there are several large
structures in the southern part of the city which are still in a tol-
erable state of preservation, and from the top of one of them the
outlook over this dreary wilderness of black lava is wholly unique
and dismal in the extreme.

INHABITANTS OF ARGOB.— OUTSKIRTS OF THE LEJAH. 451

TEMPLE AT EL Ml

If external nature exercises a potent influence upon human char-
acter, no wonder that the inhabitants of Argob, Trachonitis, or el
Lejah were a wild and lawless set. Certain it is that the reputa-
tion which the people of this region have always borne strikingly
accords with its physical features.

It is high time we were on our journey. For the first hour ant!
a half our course will be due west along the northern border of the
Lejah to the site of an ancient place now called Sha'araii, where
the muleteers are to wait for us.

The country on the north and west sides of the Lejah, accord-
ing to your account, is rather desolate and uninteresting.

My remarks applied only to the few miles immediately after we
leave el Musmeih. We are now fairly entering upon the outskirts
of this wonderful basaltic wilderness of the Lejah, and the border
is as sharply outlined as though it were the ragged line of broken
cliffs extending along a rocky shore. It will give sufficient occu-

452 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

pation to even a practised rider to guide his horse safely through
these rocky labyrinths ; conversation might even prove to be' a
distraction dangerous to hfe and Hmb, so I will merely say that
there are several fountains between el Musmeih and Sha'arah
whose streams irrigate the fields on the neighboring plain culti-
vated by the inhabitants of that village.

More than forty years ago the entire Egyptian army, under Ibra-
him Pasha, was driven out of the Lejah, with great slaughter, by
the Druses. Their boast is that they had less than two thousand
fighting men, while the army of Ibrahim Pasha amounted to forty
thousand. The reason for that signal defeat is sufficiently obvious.
Regular troops can do nothing amongst the clefts and chasms and
intricate labyrinths of this volcanic Lejah against an enemy they
cannot see, and where they are shot down hopelessly contending
with foes they cannot dislodge.

That would certainly be their fate, especially if regular troops
were decoyed into such a rough and rocky region as this through
which we have been passing for the last half hour, entangled as it
is with these impenetrable thorny thickets.

We are approaching Sha'arah, which, as you see, is built on
both sides of the valley that descends into the western plain.
Burckhardt spent a night here, and his description of the place will
answer very well for the village of to-day : " Sha'arah is inhabited,"
he says, " by about one hundred Druse and Christian families. It
was once a considerable city, half an hour from the cultivated plain,
and surrounded by a most dreary, barren w'ar. It has several sol-
idly built structures, now in ruins, and amongst others a tower that
must have been about forty-five feet high. In the upper town is
an ancient edifice [a temple] with arches, converted into a mosque.'"
Over the door is a Greek inscription, which he copied, and from
which we learn that the temple was built about the same time as
the one at Phaena, or el Musmeih. He found a saltpetre manufac-
tory in the town, similar to those we passed at Sher'aya, on our way
here from el Musmeih, and he gives a detailed description of the
manufacture of saltpetre from the earth which was dug up from
amongst the ruins of these ancient towns.

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 114.

MUSMEIH TO KIIUBAB.— DECEITFUL BROOKS. 453

From Sha'arah our route will lead southward along the western
margin of the Lejah ; and it is time to address ourselves to the
rough road over its jagged and rocky spurs towards Khubab, where
we take our lunch. The outer Lejah, however, is not so wild and
inaccessible as the inner; the rocks arc not so high, nor is the sur-
face so uneven, and the patches of soil are larger, more frequent, and
better fitted for cultivation and pasture.

I am continually reminded of the great difference between my
former visit to this region and our present experience in the matter
of rain-water. I cannot recall a more disagreeable ride than that
from el ]\Iusmeih to Khubab. We kept along and over the rocky
margin of the Lejah, and even then our animals frequently floun-
dered in oozy, black mud, that seemed to have no bottom; then
we encountered a little stream called Nahr 'Arram, coming from
the vicinity of the village of Tibny, and flowing in a southerly di-
rection, which is now quite dry; and before we reached Tell Kus-
weh we overtook some natives whose donkeys had actually stuck
fast in the mud. Now the only trouble is to obtain water enough
for ourselves and our thirsty animals.

Such dried-up streams suggested to Job, I suppose, one of his
bitter rebukes of his false-hearted friends and " miserable comfort-
ers." In his anguish and disappointment, when he looked for sym-
pathy and support from them and obtained only unkind reproof, he
exclaimed, " My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as
the stream of brooks they pass away; which are blackish by rea-
son of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid : what time they wax
warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their
place. The paths of their way are turned aside ; they go to noth-
ing, and perish."'

We shall see many such streams on our farther travels in this
region, and may sometimes look for them as did " the troops [or
caravans] of Tema," and be disappointed as were " the companies
of Sheba " who "waited for them" and "were confounded because
they had hoped " for water and " were ashamed " when " they came
thither" and found none.''' The words "confounded" and "ashamed"
may refer to the feelings of the over-confident guides of those an-

' Jo!) vi. 15-1S. '' Job vi. Kj, 20.

454 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

cient caravans through the desert, who were expected to know
where an adequate supply of water could be obtained.

When passing, many years ago, "through that great and terrible
wilderness" of wandering, north of en Nukhl, the water-barrels were
exhausted, but our Bedawin sheikh assured us that we would find
good water at the place where he was taking us to encamp.' On
arriving there in the evening, however, there was very little water
to be obtained, and that so brackish that we could not drink it.
The sheikh was "confounded," and being sharply rebuked appeared
to be "ashamed," and taking one of the barrels on his shoulder he
set off in search of better water. He returned long after midnight
without any, and he seemed to feel greatly mortified that his repu-
tation as a reliable guide had been seriously impaired.

Although there is now no habitation of man to the east of our
road, for the villages are all deserted and desolate between el Mus-
meih and Khubab, still we are favored with prospects of great
beauty and vast extent over the rich and partially cultivated plain
of the Hauran and the district of el Jeidur westward, and north-
ward as far as to the majestic heights of Mount Hermon.

Is there no place of historical importance out on the plain?

South-west of el Musmeih and about ten miles distant from it is
the large Moslem village of es Sunamein, or the Two Idols. It is
on the Haj road from Damascus to Mecca, and there the pilgrims
sometimes spend one of the first nights of their arduous journey.
The ruins in the village are of considerable interest, and it is sup-
posed to have derived its present name from two figures cut on
a basaltic stone near the gate; but Muhammcdan iconoclasts have
rendered them almost unrecognizable. We learn from a Greek in-
scription that the ancient name of the place was Acre, probably
identical with a station on the Roman road between Damascus and
Nowa or Neve. Some of the houses have massive stone walls,
stone doors and window-shutters, and stone roofs.

In and about that village there are also several square towers,
large buildings, and the remains of two temples, one of which, built
of limestone and in the Corinthian style of architecture, was once
used as a church. The same Greek inscription informs us that one

1 Deut. i. 19.

KHUBAB.— MILLSTONES.— HABILA. 455

of those temples, built about the third century of our era, was dedi-
cated to Fortuna, or Tyche, the goddess of luck or chance.

Can we not stop and lunch here just as well as anywhere else on
this treeless plain, for I am becoming both weary and hungry?

Just as you please. Our thoughtful cook has brought a bottle
of water from the fountain near Tell Kusweh, which is much better
than any we shall find in the village of Khubab.

Edhra', where we are to spend the night, is about four hours
from Khubab, and as we are to pass through the latter place and
reach the former in time to examine the ruins there before dark, we
must not linger here over our lunch.

The sheikh of Khubab is a Druse, although it is a Christian vil-
lage and inhabited by about one hundred families of Greek Cath-
olics. It is situated on a rocky spur of the Lejah, terminating in
two low tells, and access to it from the plain is not difficult. Agri-
culture is the principal occupation of the people, who are taxed for
two hundred feddan, implying that they possess a portion of the
plain around and west of them which it would require two hundred
yoke of oxen to cultivate.

There is also a special industry carried on at this place, as well
as in some other villages in this region. Here the finishing touches
are put to the millstones which have been quarried out of the
basaltic rock of the Lejah for the past ages. " The stones are
cut horizontally out of the rocks, leaving holes four or five feet in
depth and as many in circumference ; fifty or sixty of these exca-
vations are often met with in the circumference of a mile," and,
as Burckhardt remarks, " the stones are exported over the greater
part of Syria as far as Aleppo and Jerusalem. They vary in price
according to their size, and are preferred to all others on account
of the hardness of the stone."'

On my previous visit to Khubab, Sheikh Diab, the head of the
village, told me that his people came there from Sulkhad one hun-
dred and five years before, at which time the place was deserted.
Consequently the houses are almost all comparatively modern,
though built upon and out of ancient edifices. Its original name
appears to have been Habila, and it must have been a considerable

' Travels in Syria, etc., ])]). 57, 113.
II 2

456 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

town, though, Hke all the rest in the Lejah, having no permanent
fountain, it is sadly destitute of good water.

The people are rather boisterous and rude in their behavior, but
they do not seem to be ill-natured.

There is a boys' school in the village, and when I was here be-
fore, the pupils were marched down to our camp early Monday
morning, with banners flying and a great clapping of hands for
music. Arranged in front of the tent, one of the boys stepped out
of the ranks and made a speech, all flower and compliment, which
the teacher had no doubt prepared for the occasion. That over,
they burst forth into vociferous applause and then marched back to
their school-room. That was more than I expected to see in the
Lejah, and affords reliable evidence that a desire for education and
improvement is slowly penetrating into the darkest parts of this
dark region. Many of the people were eager to procure books, and
a colporteur, I was told, had actually sold some in this village.

In manners and customs, dress and appearance, very little prog-
ress has yet been made by the people in this region towards a
higher civilization. The women generally wear the long, loose shirt
of blue cotton cloth almost universal in the Hauran for both sexes;
they go barefoot to the stagnant pool and bring home large buckets
of cream-colored water, which is the only kind there is here. No
doubt it wall lose some of its color in a few days, but none of its
offensive odor and other deleterious qualities.

The people of Khubab treat their dead in a most shocking
manner. On a bare lava ridge, a short distance to the east of the
village, I found a number of small open pens about three feet
high, made by piling up loose lava fragments. Within those pens
the corpse is placed, without any interment or other covering what-
ever. There is not a handful of earth in the immediate neigh-
borhood, and that is their excuse for not burying the bodies of
the dead ; but surely they might cover them with stones. I was
informed that within a year the bodies become perfectly dry, and
the bones are then collected and placed in a large and special pen
prepared for their reception. I saw two of those pens quite full of
such bones — a most revolting spectacle — the like of which I had
never seen elsewhere nor even heard of before.

MELIHAT IIAZKIN.— MONK AT TIBNV. 457

There is nothing to detain us here, so, leaving Khubab, we will
continue our journey along the road to Edhra', which at this season
of the year is passably good. In April I found deep mud in many
places, and near the village of esh Shukrah the road led through a
wide pond on a broken causeway made of loose stones, over which
our horses floundered in great perplexity.

The last time I was at Khubab I walked out in the evening to
examine a ruin called Melihat Hazkin, a mass of ancient buildings
with heavy stone doors still hanging on their hinges, Roman arches,
and slab roofs. I went into a room and shut the door, but was
rather puzzled to open it again, it moved so heavily on its stone
hinges. With some tribulation I copied a Greek inscription, sup-
posing that M. Waddington had missed it, but upon careful exam-
ination of his learned work found that it had not escaped his
thorough and indefatigable search.

Hazkin is quite within the Lejah, and the outlook from the
top of the ruins was dreary and desolate in the extreme. A num-
ber of ruined towers long since deserted were visible in various parts
of that melancholy volcanic wilderness, but not a human being was
anywhere to be seen. There is a Muzar, or saints' tomb, a little
to the north-west of the ruins, which is still frequented by the
Bedawin. Old rags and tattered flags hung about it and fluttered
sadly in the evening breeze, and the only living creature near was
a large gray wolf, who fled on my approach and soon disappeared
among the black lava rocks of the surrounding region.

There seems to be a great gathering of people at that village
which we see yonder on our right, situated on that low hill at the
very margin of the plain. What has brought them there?

They come from the surrounding country, probably to celebrate
the feast-day of one of their numerous saints. The village is called
Tibny, and the inhabitants are Greek Catholics, like those of Khu-
bab. I was surprised to find a monk stationed there who spoke
French fluently. He was ambitious to display his local knowledge,
and gave us a detailed account of the ancient history of the place.
The oldest ruins seen there are on the south of the villa</e, and
consist of a confused mass of entirely prostr.ite buildings.

In one place a number of the villagers were drawing up wheat

458 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

out of a deep cistern which they had uncovered in the middle of
a large dunghill — the last place where a stranger would expect to
find such "hid treasure;" but Bedavvin robbers sometimes torture
the owners until they reveal the cisterns in which the grain is con-
cealed. The wheat was perfectly free from mould or injury of any
kind resulting from its long confinement in that subterranean gran-
ary. The monk assured me that if those cisterns were hermeti-
cally sealed, the grain in them would remain for many years without
being damaged. It is an interesting fact that the wheat of this
country can thus be kept from year to year ; and some such custom
must have prevailed in very ancient times, for we know that Joseph
preserved his stores in Egypt during "the seven years of famine"
for at least that length of time.'

We are just extricating ourselves from this lava labyrinth, and
for most of the way we shall skirt the western margin of the Lejah
southward to Edhra'. The surrounding plain is called Luhf el
Lejah. Lihaf is the singular for the thick cotton quilt under which
the natives sleep, luhf being the plural, and the application of that
term to the narrow border of the Lejah may express the meaning
that the great plain of the Hauran, on the south and west, spreads
up to and covers the feet of the rocky lava spurs which stretch
down into it in various places and on all sides. Just within the
Lejah, and above and beyond the Luhf, are found nearly all the
ruins of ancient cities; and whatever inhabitants now occupy them
cultivate the neighboring parts of the plain.

I suppose that the selection of those sites was originally made
for the purpose of protection against robbers, who appear to have
infested this region in all past ages, as they do at the present time.
The houses were all roofed with lava slabs, and probably one reason
for using lava instead of wooden beams, even where there were for-
ests at no great distance, may have been to render the dwellings
fire-proof. I have seen the houses in the southern half of Lebanon
burned down at least three times within the last forty years. As
they are all built of stone, had they been roofed with stone slabs
like these of the Lejah instead of wood, it could not have been pos-
sible to burn them ; and since this district of old Argob has always

' Gen. xli. 46-48, 53-57-

ANCIENT SITES IN THE HAURAN AND THE LEJAH. 459

been exposed, even more than Lebanon, to sudden invasions and
internal convulsions, habitations that could not be set on fire proved
to be necessary both for protection and defence. Of course those
stone -roofed rooms are also the most durable, and much cooler
during the summer than those roofed with wood — an important
consideration in a region like this of the Lejah.

Though so little elevated above the surrounding country, the
inhabitants of the Lejah are evidently favored with a healthy
climate, and they certainly enjoy prospects of great variety and
of almost boundless extent.

Below them is the famed Hauran, most of it as level as the sea,
and in the spring it is covered with golden harvests ripening for
the sickle, while far away to the north-west and north tower the
snow-clad heights of Hermon and the rugged ridges of Ante-Leb-
anon. Dr. Eli Smith says that the province of el Hauran " is re-
garded by the natives as consisting of three parts, called en Nukrah,
el Lejah, and el Jebel," and he gives a list of two hundred and
thirty-nine sites of towns and villages in it. Many, it is true, are
marked as deserted, but a large and ever- increasing number are
occupied by a mixed population of Moslems and Christians, or
Druses and Christians, the latter chiefly of the Greek and Greek
Catholic sects, and all residing together in peace.

In the Luhf which surround the Lejah on the north, east,
south, and west there are thirty-seven names on Dr. Smith's list,
and there were many others whose names he did not get ; while
within the Lejah itself he gives twenty-two names of sites, and
recent research has brought to light not a few others. There are,
therefore, within and around the Lejah, more than seventy-five vil-
lages and sites of ancient towns.

I suppose that much of the Lejah, the ancient " region of Ar-
gob," and all the country west of it — " the kingdom of Og, in Ba-
shan " — was included in the conquest by the Hebrews, and that
therefore the statement that they " took threescore cities fenced
with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns a great
many" is neither improbable nor exaggerated.' Such dry lists of
names like those given by Dr. Smith are thus found to add impor-

' Dcut. iii. 4, 5.

460 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

tant confirmation to some of the accounts contained in the oldest
portions of the sacred Scriptures regarding this land.

We may at least conclude that if modern research had shown
that " the kingdom of Og in Bashan " was a mere barren waste, in-
capable of sustaining any considerable population, we should be
not a little perplexed with some parts of Biblical history; but no
such embarrassments can arise in regard to the narratives, for
we have before and around us this very region thickly studded
with sites apparently as old as the history requires, and certainly
quite as numerous.

Edhra', September i8th. Evening.

Our ride into this ancient city from the plain, along the rock-
cut road and through jagged fissures, was not a little nervous, and
quite dangerous to both horse and rider. The lava seems to have
run and spread like slag from a furnace, and in many places it is as
hard as adamant and as smooth as glass.

Though the site of Edhra' upon its rocky promontory is not
elevated more than fifty or sixty feet above the plain on the west
and south, yet it is surrounded on all sides for nearly two miles by
a wilderness of fractured lava, which would render the approach of
an enemy almost impossible.

Your account of the defeat of Ibrahim Pasha's army amongst
the rock labyrinths of the Lejah brought to mind the exploits of
the Hebrews in the time of Moses, and I seemed to get an entirely
new idea of the valor of those mighty warriors who could in a sin-
gle campaign overrun this whole region and take " all the cities of
the plain, and all Gilead and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei,
cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan." '

Perhaps you are not aware that M. Waddington and others as-
sert that this is not the Edrei mentioned by Moses; and from an
inscription found here he proves to his entire satisfaction that its
Graeco- Roman name was Zorava. That evidence, however, is not
decisive. No one will maintain, I suppose, that Zorava was the
original name of this place; and the Greeks might have changed
Edrei, the ancient Hebrew name, into Zorava to distinguish it from
another town vyith a similar name, supposed to be identical with

' Deut. iii. 8-10.

THE HEBREW CONQUEST.— THE REGION OF ARGOB. 461

Der'a, about twenty miles north-west of el Busrah or Bozrah, and
which M. Waddington maintains is the Biblical Edrei.

The account of the Hebrew conquest of this part of Og's do-
minions seems to imply that the final battle took place near the
border of his territory. The record is in these words: "And they
turned and went up by the way of Bashan : and Og the king of
Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle
at Edrei." ' As the Kingdom of Og appears to have extended to
the Lejah, and probably included this entire district, it is natural
to suppose that he would make his final stand somewhere along its
almost impregnable frontier. No more formidable position could
be desired than this at Edhra', and the present Arabic name is
much nearer the Hebrew than Der'a, the rival claimant, which ap-
pears also to be too far west to have been the scene of the com-
plete and disastrous overthrow of the king of Bashan.

The Lejah is generally admitted to be the Argob of the Bible,
and the term Argob — stony — pre-eminently applies to it, while it
does not at all describe the region round about Der'a. I am, there-
fore, inclined to adhere to the opinion that the conflict between Og,
king of Bashan, and the Hebrews took place near the border of
"the region of Argob," the Trachonitis of the Greeks and Romans,
the Lejah of the Arabs ; and, accordingly, here at Edhra' we find
the remains of an ancient city in a locality which meets the require-
ments of the Biblical narrative, and still bearing a name which may
be regarded as identical with that mentioned by Moses.''

The existing ruins are nearly four miles in circumference, and
although many of the houses and other edifices in their present con-
dition are of an age comparatively modern, yet they were erected
on foundations and out of materials far more ancient. Most of the
present inhabitants reside in the vaults of old structures which may
fairly be said to be underground, so great is the accumulation above
them of the debris of ruined buildings. To reach them one has to
descend as into subterranean courts and caverns.

Sheikh Ibrahim, the Christian ruler of Edhra', has been specially
polite, and under his guidance we have been able to examine the
principal ruins, and also to enter some of the private houses.
' Numb. xxi. 33-35. '■' 1 ><-•"'• i'i- i-?-

462 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

And more wretched human habitations we have rarely seen in
this country. Descending down broken steps encumbered with rub-
bish, we groped our way into rooms black as midnight and without
windows for either light or air. Waiting until our optical powers
had become adjusted to the glimmering of daylight from the low
door, we took a survey of those subterranean abodes. In almost
every instance they are simply ancient vaults, and the low black roof
was composed of volcanic slabs, one end of which rests on corbels, or
slight projections from the walls on either side, and the other upon
an arch which divides the room longitudinally in the middle. The
slabs have been trimmed so as to fit closely, and are about six inches
thick, eighteen inches broad, and from six to eight feet long. Al-
lowing one foot for the projections from each wall, and two feet for
the thickness of the central supporting arch, the width of the apart-
ment would be nearly twenty feet. Of course the rooms could be
made of any desired length and breadth by using longer slabs and
increasing the number of supporting arches. They are, however,
generally square, and the stone roof is very low.

That description applies, with very little modification, to all the
buildings in this whole region. Those ancient architects apparently
had but one model, and, whether from design or from necessity, they
erected edifices that were absolutely fire-proof. There was nothing
to burn. The walls, the roofs, and the very window-shutters and
doors were made of slabs of lava, and whether single or double
leaved, they turned on pivots and in sockets cut out of the stones
themselves. Most of the doors were low and rude, though I have
seen some that are skilfully carved with elaborate designs in panel-
work, and high enough for any of "the giants" of Bashan to enter
without unnecessary abasement and humiliation.

Amongst the i^uins the most remarkable appear to be those of
the so-called churches in the south-eastern and north-western part
of the town. But the structure which attracted my attention the
most is near the tower, in the middle of the present village.

The roof of Mar Elyas as it is called, or the Church of St. Elias,
has fallen, and only the walls remain standing. The Greek priest
took us down about ten feet into the court of that roofless sanctu-
ary, where they still worship, and was careful to point out the Greek

RUINED TEMPLES, CHURCHES. AND TOWERS AT EDHRA'. 463

inscriptions which even now are quite legible. From the one over
the entrance we learn that the church was erected during the sixth
century of the Christian era.

Mar Jirjis. the church of St. George, or el Khudr, as the IMos-
lems call that renowned saint in the north-western part of the town,
was originally a temple, and subsequently converted into a church,
but apparently never used as a mosk. M. Waddington says of it
that, "like the cathedral of Bozrah, which was built at the same
epoch [about A.D. 510-512], it has the form of an octagon inscribed
in a square plan. Eight columns bound by arches support the cu-
pola, which is surrounded on the outside by an open gallery. In
the four corners of the church there are small chapels, and on
one side a large chapel projected on the square, and here is the
tomb of St. George, an object of veneration to both Christians and
Mohammedans, Druses and Bedawin."

The quadrangular structure near the centre of the village was
probably a public building converted into a church and subse-
quently used as a mosk, " but it has long since been abandoned."
Burckhardt correctly describes it as " having two vaulted colon-
nades at the northern and southern ends, each consisting of a
double row of five columns. In the middle of the area stood a
parallel double range of columns of a larger size, forming a colon-
nade across the middle of the building; the columns are of the
Doric order, and about sixteen feet high. Over the entrance are
three inscribed tablets, only one of which, built upside down in the
wall, is legible. Adjoining this building stands a square tower,
about fifty feet high ; its base is somewhat broader than its top. I
frequently saw similar structures in the villages [of the Lejah and
of the Hauran] ; they all have windows near the summit; in some
there is one window on each side, in others there are two, as in
this at Edhra'. They have generally several stories of vaulted
chambers, with a staircase to ascend into them."'

I noticed that some of the columns in that quadrangular struct-
ure were of a green micaceous marble, the only specimens of the
kind I have seen in this region. There is a large open area on the
east of that edifice, like that of a modern khan, with pnjstr.itc col-
' Travels in Syria, etc., pp. 61, 62.

464 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

umns in the middle of the court-yard, and others still supporting
the vaulted roofs of former chambers. It appears to have been
repaired at one time by the Saracens.

Our day's work has left me thoroughly wearied with ruins, and
as we contemplate an early start and another long ride to-morrow,
we had better retire to rest.

Edhra', September 19th.

To extricate our caravan from the rocky wilderness around
Edhra', and reach Luhf el Lejah, half an hour to the south, is the
first thing to be done this morning, after which the road will be
comparatively level and pleasant to travel upon.

At what place do we expect to encamp to-night?

Kunawat, near the north-western base of Jebel Hauran, and it
will take seven or eight hours to get there.

I regret that we have not penetrated farther into a region so
peculiar and so celebrated from remote antiquity as the Lejah,

Some years ago our party, while in Edhra', had a strong desire
to explore it, and finding a Bedawin in the place who offered to
guide us through the Lejah to Harran, a village about eight miles
to the north-east of Edhra', we gladly availed ourselves of his ser-
vices and of the opportunity to see more of the interior of that
wonderful district. As there is nothing along our present route to
require special notice, I will give you an account of that ride. But
how am I to describe a region totally unlike any other with which
to compare it ? I could not follow that winding way again, for our
caravan made no impression upon the hard lava rock, and we left
no trace of our passage behind us. And though the distance be-
tween the two places is not very great, it took us four and a half
hours to reach Harran. You know that the Lejah is entirely vol-
canic, and that it nowhere rises higher than a hundred feet above
the surrounding plain of the Hauran. But that gives no idea of the
real nature of that extraordinary district.

Soon after leaving Edhra' I noticed that we were riding over
smooth lava rock resembling an unbroken floor, considerably ele-
vated in the middle, as though the molten mass beneath the outer
crust had swelled it up like an air-bubble, but without cracking or
bursting the surface. Those swellings or protuberances were of

INTERIOR OF THE LEJAH.— BEDAWIN SHEPHERDS. 465

frequent occurrence, extending for considerable distances, and form-
ing a surface as hard as iron, and giving forth a sharp metallic
sound when struck. Then there were places where those air-bub-
bles had apparently burst open, and ragged masses of lava were
scattered about in utter confusion. In some parts the hard crust
had been elevated into long rolling waves, extending at a right
angle to our course. Some of those petrified waves had not burst;
others were broken and shattered and tossed about in a manner
wholly indescribable. Over and amongst those adamantine air-bub-
bles and confused masses of broken lava our horses had to pick
their way as best they could.

Burckhardt penetrated farther into the interior of the Lejah, and
he says that " the rocks are in many places cleft asunder, so that
the whole hill appears shivered and in the act of falling down ; the
layers are generally horizontal, from six to eight feet or more in
thickness, sometimes covering the hills, and inclining to their curve,
as appears from the fissures, which often traverse the rock from top
to bottom.'" We also passed during our ride that day numerous
funnel-shaped pits, suggesting the idea that they were probably air-
holes for the mass of molten lava once seething below. Some of
those pits are now walled around with loose fragments of lava, evi-
dently to prevent the flocks from falling into them, and others have
been partially filled up, apparently for the same reason. Strange
as it may seem, yet it is a fact that the Bedawin of the Lejah have
numerous flocks of both sheep and goats in that dreary volcanic
region, apparently destitute of both water and pasture.

As we advanced into the interior, shepherds started up in the
most unexpected places and rebuked our guide roughly for bring-
ing "Franks" through their country. They, however, did not mo-
lest us, though it was evident that without our guide we would have
been surrounded and plundered, if nothing worse. The number of
those shepherds was quite surprising, and the sudden ni. inner in
which they appeared and again disappeared amongst the clefts of
lava seemed incomprehensible. Our guide, however, led the, way
at the head of the caravan, singing with stentorian voice some war-
like ditty quite unintelligible to us; but I suspect that he adopted

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 112.

466 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

that method to inform the people of his tribe that we were persons
whom they must not molest. However that may be, I noticed that
some sinister-looking Bedawin who seemed to be approaching us
with hostile intent turned aside and disappeared as soon as they
came within hearing of the words of his song.

How do those Bedawin live, and where do they find pasture for
their numerous flocks of sheep and goats?

An incident in the visit of Dr. Porter to Kunawat will sufficiently
answer your first question. " In the evening," he says, " all went
away except one, whom I recognized as having been amongst those
who were lurking around us at Deir es Sumeid. 'What brought
you to the Deir when you saw us there?' I asked him. 'To strip
you,' he coolly replied. 'And why did you not do it?' 'Because
Mahmud [the Druse guide] was with you.' ' But why would you
plunder us?— we are strangers and not your enemies.' 'It is our
custom.' 'And do you strip all strangers?' 'Yes, all we can get
hold of.' 'And if they resist, or are too strong for you?' ' In the
former case we shoot them from behind trees, and in the latter we
run.' ' How do the people of your tribe live? — do they sow or feed
flocks?' 'We are not fellahin [farmers], thank God!' he said, with
dignity. 'We keep goats and sheep, hunt partridges and gazelles,
and steal !' 'Are you all thieves?' ' Yes, all !' These answers were
given with the greatest composure and quite as a matter of course.'"

As to where their flocks find pasture, that is a question easier
asked than answered. For many miles along the road there was
neither grass, bush, nor tree: nothing but lava — bare, hard, black
lava; but there must have been places where bushes and herb-
age grew, though at some distance from our track. Even as we
approached Harran I saw but little which either man or beast
could eat. I think the Lejah has deteriorated in some respects
since Burckhardt saw it. He mentions five small tribes of Bedawin
who then wandered about in it, and had from fifty to one hundred
and twenty tents each. They also possessed large flocks of goats,
" which easily find pasture amongst the rocks," some sheep and
cows, a (ew horses, and many camels.'*

' Five Years in Damascus, pp. 207, 208.
^ Travels in Syria, etc., pp. 1 11, 112.

ROBBERS' CAVES IN TRACHOXITIS 467

We saw no goats or camels, though there were many sheep; nor
did we see any wild animals and but few birds. Near Harran there
were some partridges, but so wild and wary that we could not get
within shot of them. The flocks, their owners, and their families
must be supplied with water, without which they could not live, and
hence it is reasonable to suppose that there are reservoirs in caverns
well known to the shepherds. But we need not credit some of the
traditions and marvels related by the surrounding villagers. One
man assured me that the Bedawin could pass quite through under
the Lejah from end to end along subterraneous passages without
coming to the surface or being seen at all.

I made frequent inquiries both of our guide and the people of
Harran in regard to those caverns of which Josephus and some an-
cient writers about this region give such strange accounts. From
the guide I could learn nothing, but the sheikh at Harran said there
were vast caverns known to the Bedawin, in some of which there
were large reservoirs of water. That is at least probable, for in all
our ride there was not a drop of water to be found, and it is said
that there are but few springs and no never-failing fountains in the
inner Lejah. The description which Josephus gives of the " doings
of the Trachonites" and their mode of life is quite interesting.

He says that "it was not an easy thing to restrain them, since this
way of robbery had been their usual practice, and they had no other
way to get their living, because they had neither any city of their
own nor lands in their possession, but only some receptacles and
dens in the earth, and there they and their cattle lived in common
together. However, they had made- contrivances to get pools of
water, and laid up corn in granaries for themselves, and were able
to make great resistance by issuing out on the sudden against any
that attacked them ; for the entrances of their caves were narrow, in
which but one could come in at a time, and the places within incred-
ibly large and made very wide; but the ground over their habita-
tions was not very high, but rather on a plain, while the rocks are
altogether hard and difficult to be entered upon unless any one gets
into the plain road by the guidance of another, for these roads are
not straight, but have several revolutions. But when Herod [the
Great] had received this grant from Caesar, and was come into this

468 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

country, he procured skilful guides, and put a stop to their wicked
robberies, and procured peace and quietness to the neighboring
people," including those of Damascus.'

According to that description both the Lejah and its present
Bedawin inhabitants correspond almost exactly with the oldest tra-
ditions regarding this region and the character of its people.

Our object in going to Harran was to see the Lejah itself rather
than the ruins of old cities with which it abounds. Yet some in-
scriptions in Harran are regarded with interest, and M. Waddington
has an extended critique concerning them. There are several in
Greek and one in Cufic, the latter M. Waddington considers the
oldest Arabic inscription he found in this country. A Nabathean
inscription is also said to be there which, however, I did not see,
and have some doubts as to its existence.

Harran occupies a conspicuous position on the summit of a
ridge not far from the south-eastern boundary of the Lejah, and
when we came in sight of it our Bedawin guide refused to go any
farther, because there was a blood feud between his tribe and the
Druses of that village; and though he himself was not the cause of
the feud, yet, he said, they would kill him if they could catch him.
The ancient law of revenge is still in full force amongst these poor
fragments of by-gone races. We gave him his wages, and he quick-
ly disappeared in the lava wilderness through which he had safely
guided us for the last four hours from Edhra'.

The people of Harran told us that in order to see the real Lejah
we should visit the region around Dama, a place a few miles north
of their village. Burckhardt passed that way. He travelled as a
native, with natives for his guides, lived with them, and did as they
did; and hence he could penetrate into places where such cara-
vans as ours could not venture. He procured two Druse guides at
Khubab, and went from there to Dama, and thence through the
centre of the Lejah to el Musmeih. The distance from Khubab
to Dama was nearly four hours — about the same as from Edhra' —
the road becoming more difficult as he approached Dama, the coun-
try more barren and dismal, the rocks higher, and the pasturing
places less frequent.

' Ant. XV. lo, I.

DAMA IN THE LEJAH.— CONCEALED TENTS. 469

" It appears strange," he says, " that a city should have been
built by any people in a spot where there is neither water nor ara-
ble ground, and nothing but a little grass amidst the stones." And
yet he estimated the number of houses at three hundred, and most
of them were still in good preservation. He mentions one large
building whose gate was ornamented with sculptured vine-leaves
and grapes, like those we shall see this evening at Kunawat. " Ev-
ery house appears to have had its cistern ; there are many also in
the immediate vicinity of the town ; they are formed by excava-
tions in the rock, the surface of w^hich is supported by props of
loose stones. Some of them are arched and have narrow canals
to conduct the water into them from the higher ground."' When
Dr. Eli Smith travelled through the Hauran in 1834, Dama "was
considered the capital of the entire Lejah."

Passing on from Dama, Burckhardt and his guides saw "another
ruined place, smaller than the former, and situated in a most dreary
part of the Lejah, near which we found, after a good deal of search,
an encampment of Bedawni Arabs of the Mcdlej tribe, where we
passed the night. These Arabs being of a doubtful character, and
rendered independent by the very difficult access of their rocky
abode, we did not think it prudent to tell them that I had come to
look at their country; they were told, therefore, that I was a man-
ufacturer of gunpowder in search of saltpetre. The tent in which
we slept was remarkably large, although it could not easily be per-
ceived amidst the labyrinth of rocks where it was pitched.""

That accords well with the description given to me by a Druse
sheikh of Beit Tulhuk, on Lebanon, of their hiding-place in the
neighborhood of Dama, when the Egyptian army made that disas-
trous attempt to penetrate into the Lejah. The fissures and crev-
ices in the rocks were so narrow, deep, and winding that their en-
campment could not be seen until one was directly above it ; and
in many places the bushes clinging to the sides of the crevices so
concealed their tents that they could not be seen at all from above.
Though that sheikh was there for several weeks, he never ventured
outside of the camp without a guide, and never dared wander out
of sight for fear that he would not be able to find his way back.

■ Travels in Syria, etc., pp. no, ill. * Travels in Syria, etc., p. in.

470 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Burckhardt says that he and his guides found their "Avay with great
difficulty out of the labyrinth of rocks which form the inner Lejah,
and through which the Arabs alone have the clue." '

We have passed within sight of several villages which appear to
occupy the sites of ancient cities.

The most conspicuous of those along our route have been Busr
el Hariry, Ta'arah, and Kiratah, which we have just passed, half
concealed among the rocks within the Lejah, and several others
situated on the plain of el Hauran, the most important of which
is ed Dur, some distance to the south. But the whole region
east and south of us is dotted with old sites, and the former names
of many ancient places have been recovered by the aid of Greek
inscriptions found among their ruins.

The remarkable preservation of the remains of such towns and
cities is certainly very surprising. The houses are not buried under
mounds and hills of volcanic ashes, like those which concealed and
saved from destruction the private dwellings and public edifices of
Pompeii, but they have been exposed during long centuries to the
rain and frost and snows of winter, and the blazing sun in summer,
and yet they are still in such a condition that but few repairs are
necessary to render them habitable.

The explanation is, that all the dwellings and larger edifices in
this region were constructed entirely of stone — gate-ways, walls,
doors, windows, stairs, and roofs were all made of the imperish-
able doleritic lava, hard as adamant. They have never been over-
whelmed by volcanic eruption, and only partially demolished by
the shock of destructive earthquakes.

I suppose that the temples, theatres, and other public buildings
in those towns and cities of the Lejah must have been erected dur-
ing the time of the Romans, and before Christianity had obtained
any controlling influence in this part of the country?

No doubt ; and some of them may date back farther than the
commencement of our era. As to the sites which they now occupy,
many of them may be essentially the same as those upon which the
threescore cities mentioned in Deuteronomy were built. But let us
return to our interrupted description. We went from Harran to

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 112.

NEJRAN.— BLOOD FEUDS.— THE BUT.M. 471

Nejran, a place about two and a half hours to the south-east of it.
Nejran is a much larger village than Harran, and it is inhabited by-
Druses and Christians of the Greek Catholic sect. Much of the sur-
rounding country is cultivated, and it may be regarded as near the
extreme southern border of the Lejah.

Nejran presents an imposing appearance, due to its position on
the crest of the rocky ridge upon which it is built, but there is nei-
ther temple, theatre, nor other public edifice of importance in it,
and its ancient name has not yet been ascertained. The ruins
spread over a rocky surface nearly two miles in circumference, and
some of the old houses are large and in a fair state of preservation.
One of them has two stories, with wings on either side of the court,
and there are numerous rooms on both stories. It is occupied by
one of the leading Druse families in the Lejah. There arc also the
remains of a church, which appears to have been subsequently used
as a mosk. It had two towers, and upon the walls of the church
are some Greek inscriptions, one of which bears the Bostrian date
458, equivalent to the year 564 of our era.

Although the people of Harran were profuse in their offers of
service, we found it difficult to procure a guide to Nejran. At last
a young sheikh declared he would go himself, and arming to the
teeth, he mounted his horse and we set off; but he was evidently
not at his ease, and as soon as we came in sight of Nejran he told
us he could go no farther. " Why?" "Because there is a blood
feud between that village and ours, and if I entered Nejran not even
you could save my life. One of our people unfortunately killed a
man of Harran, and we have not yet been able to settle the matter
by paying the exorbitant sum demanded from us as blood-money,
and until that is paid any one of our village may be murdered in
retaliation ;" and turning his horse homeward, he was soon out of
sight. That was another striking illustration of the disorganized
state of society in this region, and the stringency of the law of
blood revenge, even down to the present time.

The Lejah appears to have had more trees at the time of Ihirck-
hardt's visit than at present — different varieties of oak, hawthorn,
and other trees. He mentions the Butm, which, he says, " is the bit-
ter-almond, from the fruit of which an oil is extracted used by the
I 2

472 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

people of the country to anoint their temples and forehead as a cure
for colds ; its branches are in great demand for pipe-stems." ' The
Butm is the terebinth, and near Harran there are many of those
trees, but of a stunted growth. I examined an ancient rock-cut oil-
press below the village, where the berries were ground to a pulp in
a stone trough or basin, and the oil expressed by a beam-press.

Butm-oil is used in that part of the country for lighting lamps
instead of olive-oil, but ere long both will be superseded throughout
this land by the cheaper and more brilliant petroleum imported
from America, and the old earthen lamp, with its dripping wick and
greasy stand, will be banished even from the homes of the poor.
Thus another very Biblical household article will disappear forever
from the Holy Land, and the humble habitations of the fellahin in
the Lejah and on Jebel Hauran, in the ancient kingdom of Bashan,
will be illuminated by "oil out of the flinty rock," procured from
the modern wells of Pennsylvania.

If your forecast of the near future in regard to that matter be
correct, then the traveller in this country will no longer see " the
smoking flax" mentioned by the prophet Isaiah which the Servant
of the Lord would not quench.^

Not if by "the flax" the wick in the seraj or common earthen
lamp of the East was intended. That, of course, will disappear
along with the lamp itself

Have you ever noticed the conditions which appear to be re-
quired by the language of the prophet?

When I first travelled about in Palestine and mingled freely with
the people, I witnessed them every night. The ancient clay lamp
was then universally used by the peasants. The wick was generally
made of a twisted strand of flax or cotton thread, and was immersed
in olive-oil in the shallow cup of the lamp. When the oil was nearly
consumed, the lamp burned dimly, and instead of giving out a cheer-
ful light it emitted a very offensive smoke. If the oil in the lamp
was not replenished, "the smoking flax" would soon be quenched
and the room left in utter darkness.

Isaiah seems to imply that this was sometimes done purposely.

And so it is now. I have seen the housewife thus "quench" the

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. II2. ' Isa. xlii. 3.

"THE SMOKING FLAX" AND "THE BRUISED REED." 473

spent " flax." tlirow it away as no longer worth anything, and put a
new wick in the lamp. The "Servant" of the Lord would not act
thus. He would replenish the lamp with oil, trim the wick, and
cause "the dimly burning" flame to spring up with fresh life and
brightness. That too I have often seen done in the habitations of
the fellahin. The moral significance of that act is perfectly obvious,
and it was intended to carry comfort and encouragement to the
poor, the weak, and the despairing, whose light and hope were ready
to die— a beautiful prophecy of Him who came into our world of
sin and sorrow to help the helpless, to lift up the fallen, and save
the lost. Though the earthen lamp, with its "dimly burning smok-
ing flax," may be quenched and disappear from this land forever, the
lesson taught by it will remain unchanged for all time.

The same comforting prophecy and promise are also taught by
the " bruised reed," and there appears to be no danger that it will
ever cease to exist in this country.' The banks of every brook and
irrigating canal are fringed with them, and we have seen thousands
of bruised reeds trampled underfoot and broken by man and beast,
cattle and heedless flocks ; nor does any one think it worth while
apparently to lift them from the ground and help them to regain
and maintain their upright position.

Even that is sometimes done, although the bruised reeds are
generally left by man to be utterly broken and to fall away and per-
ish. Not so, however, does the compassionate Servant of the Lord ;
and the broken reed was well chosen by the prophet to illustrate the
infinite condescension and kindness of Him who healed the sick,
cleansed the leper, and befriended the fallen and the outcast. But
these are only a few of the changes in the near future of this coun-
try that will obliterate many things familiar to the readers of the
Bible. Schools, books, newspapers, manufactures and machinery,
steam and the telegraph, are slowly yet certainly penetrating every
part of this land, and diffusing new ideas and customs amongst the
people. The younger generation even now make merry over the
simplicity and ignorance of their parents, which half a century ago
sometimes manifested itself in a most laughable manner.

I was once travelling north of Tripoli, and having occasion to

' Isa. xlii. 3.

474 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

light a match, struck it against the heel of my boot. At sight of
the blaze the crowd around me set up a loud shout, calling their
friends to come and see a man who could draw fire out of his heel !
On another occasion Dr. De Forest, while writing in his note-book,
frequently applied the pencil to his tongue. The crowd, after
watching the operation for some time, exclaimed, " See ! see ! This
Frank carries his inkstand in his mouth !" You will not meet with
similar examples of ignorance at present. All now know the use of
percussion-caps, which used to astonish them when I came to this
country, and you will now rarely find the old matchlock even in the
hands of the Bedawin. Nor in this very region of Jebel Hauran —
the stronghold of the Druses — does one see nowadays a horned
princess or a grandly beturbaned sheikh.

It is quite evident that many things ancient and Biblical, once so
common in this country, are fast passing away, and this renders it
the more interesting to traverse the land before they fade entirely
out of sight and vanish forever.

No doubt that is true, and yet all that is of real importance will
always remain stable as the everlasting hills or the ordinances of
heaven and earth which cannot be changed. But this is a subject
which we can better discuss on some future occasion and under
more convenient circumstances. Let us now give some attention
to the region immediately around us.

Instead of passing up the hill ahead of us to Nejran, the ap-
proach to which is by a winding path, rough and rocky, we will de-
scend into Wady Kunawat. The stream which comes down that
valley in winter from Kunawat passes out on to the plain of el Hau-
ran west of Edhra', and forms one of the tributaries of the river Jar-
muk, which unites with the Jordan near Jisr el Mejamia' and about
ten miles south of the lake of Tiberias. When our party descended
into this wady on our way from Nejran, the stream whose dry bed
we have just crossed was then so swollen by the great rains and
melting snow on Jebel Hauran that we could not ford it, and had to
follow up its course for several miles to find a place where it could
be safely crossed. Now there is not a drop of water in it, and we
can take the direct course south-east to Suleim, which is the next
place to be visited on our way to Kunawat.

RUINS AT SHUIIBA.— A ROMAN CITY. 475

A few miles east of Nejran and north of Suleim, on the crest of
a rocky ridge in Wady Nimreh, is a place called Shuhba, once a large
city. It was, says Dr. Porter, "almost entirely Roman — the ram-
parts are Roman, the streets have the old Roman pavement, Roman
temples appear in every quarter, a Roman theatre remains nearly
perfect, a Roman aqueduct brought water from the distant moun-
tains, inscriptions of the Roman age, though in Greek, are found on
every public building.- A few of the ancient massive houses, with
their stone doors and stone roofs, yet exist, but they are in a great
measure concealed or built over with the later and more graceful
structures of Greek and Roman origin. Though the city was nearly
three miles in circuit, and abounded in splendid buildings, its ancient
name is lost, and its ancient history unknown. Its modern name is
derived from a princely Mohammedan family [Beit Shehab], which
settled here in the seventh century.'"

Shuhba had two main streets running from east to west and
from north to south, which crossed each other in the middle of the
town. The streets are about twenty feet wide, and were well paved
with long slabs, which in many places remain in an almost perfect
condition. The gates at the end of the streets were formed of two
arches, with a pillar in the centre, and those on the east and south
are nearly entire. At the intersection of the streets there are the
remains of four massive pedestals of solid masonry, each about fif-
teen feet square and ten feet high. About two hundred yards to
the west of those pedestals, on the right of the street, are the ruins
of a temple, and five of the six Corinthian columns that once formed
the portico are still standing.

There are also the remains of other temples, baths, and public
buildings in that neighborhood. The entrance to the baths was
lofty, the walls containing the water-pipes were very massive, and
the various vaulted chambers were high and of different sizes. But
the theatre at Shuhba is the most perfect of all the public edifices.
It was built on a sloping site overlooking the plain, and the enclos-
ing walls, which were nearly ten feet thick, are still in a good state
of preservation. There were three doors in front, and nine x-aultcd
entrances on the sides leading into the interior. The arena was
' Bashan and its Giant Cities, p. 37.

476 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

about fifty feet square, and there were seven tiers of seats and sev-
en rows of benches, divided by a broad passage-way, which ap-
parently extended quite round the building.

From Greek inscriptions found there it appears that Shuhba
must have been a place of importance during the second and third
centuries of our era, and both M. Waddington and the Count de
Vogiie are of the opinion that it occupies the site of Philippopolis,
the birthplace of the Emperor Philip. He is said to have been the
son of a celebrated Arab chief of Trachonitis, and was chosen em-
peror by the Roman army which he commanded in the East about
the middle of the third century; and one of his first acts was the
founding of a city in this region which he dignified with the name
of Philippopolis in honor of himself.

To those of us who have been familiar for nearly half a century
with the fortunes and misfortunes of the Shehab Emirs on Lebanon
and elsewhere, Shuhba is invested with peculiar interest. Accord-
ing to one tradition the ancestors of that family left Arabia about
the time of Muhammed, with whose tribe of Kureish they claimed
relationship, and settled in Shuhba, to which place they gave their
own name. The tradition may be true, but Tannus esh Shidiak,
the native historian and unlimited panegyrist of the family, makes
Edhra' their adopted home, adding that they were called Edhra'ites
from the place of their abode, and says nothing about Shuhba.
The Shehabs, however, may have removed from Shuhba to Edhra'.

Their migration still farther westward in the twelfth century
was occasioned by the wars between Nur ed Din and Salah ed Din,
the great Saladin. The historian informs us that, owing to their
fear of Nur ed Din in Damascus, the entire Shehab family, with fif-
teen thousand followers, set out for Egypt to seek the protection
of Saladin. But when they reached Jisr Benat Ya'kob, over the
Jordan, they were overtaken by messengers from Nur ed Din, urg-
ing them to remain in the country and granting them permission
to reside wherever they desired. They acceded to his request, and
chose the valley of the upper Jordan as their abode; and after many
conflicts with the Crusaders, whose head-quarters in that region
w^ere then at the castle of esh Shukif, they succeeded in establish-
ing themselves at Hasbeiya and Rasheiyet el Wady, where they

FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF THE SHEHAB EMIRS. 477

continued to reside and misgovern the country down to the pres-
ent century in and around the valley of the upper Jordan.

When the Mongols under Hulagu Khan, the grandson of the
great Genghis Khan, invaded Syria in the thirteenth century, the
Shehabs, according to their historian, sent their families for safety
from the districts of Wady et Teim to that of esh Shuf, and thence-
forth they began to play an important part in the affairs of the Leb-
anon. The celebrated Emir Beshir, after the defeat and death of
his Druse rival, Sheikh Beshir Jumblat, of el Mukhtarah, in the early
part of this century, became sole Prince of Lebanon. He, from
necessity rather than choice, sided with Muhammed 'Aly of Egypt
in his rebellion against the Sultan, and when the combined fleets
of Europe came, in 1840, to restore Syria to the Turks, the Emir
Beshir surrendered to the English at Sidon and was taken to
Malta, whence he was allowed to go to Constantinople to intercede
with the Sultan for his restoration, and there he died.

The Shehab emirs who remained on Lebanon attempted to re-
gain their lost power by exciting those civil wars which have con-
vulsed that whole mountain more than once and covered Lebanon
with many burned villages. The terrible massacres of i860 com-
pleted the overthrow of the Shehabs both in Wady ct Teim and
in Lebanon. They have now sunk into ruin more utter and hope-
less than that which overwhelmed Shuhba, their traditional abode
in the Hauran, and the later catastrophies in their disastrous his-
tory I have myself witnessed. But we must not forget that they
claimed the longest pedigree of any "house" on earth. By the aid
of their kinship to Muhammed, Abraham, and Noah, they override
the Deluge and sail triumphantly down the stream of Time from
"the beginning" to the present hour.

Had our arrangements permitted I should have liked to visit
Shuhba, for it seems to abound with ancient remains of many kinds,
and of special interest to the traveller and the archaeologist.

The road to it leads through a wild and rocky region, and we
shall have repeated opportunities in the near future to examine
temples, theatres, and colonnades far greater and grander than those
of Shuhba. Let us, therefore, rest contented for this da)' with the
temple at Sulcim and those at Kunawat.

478 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

We have fallen temples and prostrate churches on either hand.
Nearly every hamlet has some of those monuments to show, and I
feel as though we were travelling through wonderland with the fos-
silized antiquities of by-gone ages and untold generations crumbling
to ruin all around and about us.

There is nothing to suggest such melancholy thoughts in the ap-
pearance of this temple at Suleim which we are now approaching.

It is indeed a beautiful edifice, though the cornice is, perhaps,
too lofty and quite overburdened with architectural ornamenta-
tion. One is surprised to find it in such an isolated position.

The walls of the temple are still standing and nearly perfect,
with the exception of the central portion and the portico on the
east side, where there has been a perfect avalanche of large stones,
occasioned by the falling in of the roof and the upper parts of the
walls. The temple appears to have been profusely decorated, judg-
ing from the number of these large blocks covered with scroll-work,
and garlands and wreaths of fruits, flowers, and leaves in bass-relief.
On one of the stones found in front of the temple there is a well-
preserved Greek inscription of six lines, the last of which is to the
effect that this temple was erected by Sadus of Neapolis. From
which it has been supposed that Suleim occupies the site of the
Episcopal city of that name, whose bishop was present at the coun-
cils of Chalcedon and Constantinople. M. Waddington, however, is
of the opinion that it was called Selsema during the Greeco-Roman
period — only another form of its present Arabic name.

This cavernous cistern in front of the temple is one of the larg-
est we have seen in this region.

It is about twenty-five feet square and nearly thirty feet deep.
The stone slabs forming the roof rested on corbels and were sup-
ported by three arches. The interior appears to have been covered
with cement, and the cistern was probably a large reservoir for the
supply of the temple, though it might have been used for the stor-
age of grain. The ruins of the old town around the modern village
of Suleim, situated on that low tell a short distance south of this
temple, are almost two miles in circumference ; but, with the excep-
tion of the foundations of another temple and the remains of a bath,
we shall see nothing there to attract our special attention.

TEMPLE AT SULEIM.

479

TEMPLE AT SUI.EIM.

Here come charging down upon us the pupils of the village
school, I suppose, a noisy band of thirty or forty boys, with their
native teacher bringing up the rear. He can speak a little Eng-
lish, it seems — and both are a most unexpected sight and sound in
this wild " mountain of the Druses."

Both are easily explained. A benevolent English gentleman has
sent the teacher here to open a school amongst his own people, and
he acquired his knowledge of English, such as it is, in the mission-
ary institutions on Lebanon. He says the people are anxious to
have their children educated, and the number of scholars certainly

480 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

confirms his statement. We must decline the invitation to rest and
partake of a cup of coffee and other refreshments which the gather-
ing company press upon us with such persistency. I am sorry to
disappoint them, but I know by experience that their " two mo-
ments" would lengthen into as many hours, and we cannot spare
the time even to enjoy the proverbial hospitality of the Druses of
the Hauran. So, with the usual profusion of regrets and salams, we
will bid good-bye to Suleim and follow our caravan.

We shall take the most direct road to our destination, which
leads up through the open country in a direction nearly south-east,
and most of the way through a well-wooded region. Kunawat, situ-
ated upon the western slope of Jebel ed Druse, is about two hours
distant, and we must quicken our pace that we may have time be-
fore dark to inspect the extensive remains of that ancient city.

These numerous temples and public buildings in this region are
apparently of Greek or Roman origin, and the question continually
arises, not so much in reference to the architects who erected them,
but as to the character of the people who required such edifices
for their religious worship and secular entertainment.

The population is now and has been for many centuries Arabic,
and nothing but that language has been spoken here for unnum-
bered generations. The inference is, therefore, inevitable that even
before the time when those structures were erected, and during the
first centuries of the Christian era, there was a large Graeco-Roman
population in this region. In all directions, from el Musmeih on
the north to 'Amman on the south, there was a continuous succes-
sion of such temples and public buildings. There are more Greek
inscriptions in this general region east of the Jordan than in all
Syria and Palestine together. But that foreign population has en-
tirely disappeared. There is not, I suppose, one drop of Greek or
Roman blood in any of the present inhabitants, nor a trace of their
language either. These facts may corroborate and explain the pe-
culiar linguistic condition that prevailed amongst the people who
dwelt east of the Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias.

That " great and wide " region at and before the commencement
of our era was called "the Decapolis," from a group of ten of the
principal cities within it, which appear to have been endowed with

THE DECAPOLIS.— ROMAN ROAD.— OAK FOREST. 48 I

certain privileges b}' the Romans. Of tliose cities Damascus was
the one farthest to the north, Canatha or Kunawat to the east, and
Gerasa, or Jerash, the most southern.

Those ten important cities must have exerted a controlHng in-
fluence upon the commerce, the civilization, and the language of
this part of the country for several centuries.

The region of the Decapolis is mentioned more than once in the
New Testament. When "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching
and preaching and healing all manner of sickness among the people,
his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all
that were taken with divers diseases, and he healed them. And
there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and
from Decapolis, and from beyond Jordan."'

After the drowning of the swine by the entering into them of
the devils which Jesus had cast out of the demoniac whose name
was Legion, " and when Jesus was come into the ship, he that had
been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with
him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him. Go home
to thy friends, and tell them how the Lord hath had compassion on
thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how
great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel."'
Our Lord himself visited parts of that region, and upon one occasion
" he went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon
unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decap-
olis."^ That is, he went northward, then eastward, and probably
crossed the Jordan at Dan and came down through the region east
of that river until he reached the shores of the Lake of Tiberias.

We have been following along the remains of a Roman road,
and now we are entering a beautiful forest of evergreen oaks which
seems to extend a great distance over the range of Jebel Hauran.

Kunawat itself is surrounded by it, and many of the ruins are
embowered beneath wide-spreading sindian trees, as these scrub-
oaks are called by the natives, and here and there some of the col-
umns are seen rising above the dense foliage. How different is our
present approach from that on my former visit. In half an hour
after leaving Suleim we came to this rattling brook, then not easy
' Matt. iv. 23-25. 2 Mark v. 1-20. ^ Mark vii. 31, R. V.

482 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

to cross. Now there is not a drop of water in its rocky bed. Ten
minutes farther there was another stream equally boisterous, and in
fifteen minutes more we came to the main stream of the Kunawaty.
It had overflowed its banks, and we floundered into and out of deep
pools and rocky channels through which the river made its way
northward amongst these oak-trees. Now^ we shall find no water in
the deepest of those pools to refresh our tired and thirsty animals.

Our day's journey, after crossing this modern bridge, is nearly
over, for we are entering the narrow lanes that lead up into the
town, having high-walled gardens on either side. We will hand our
horses to the servants and walk, for the road, though broad and
well paved, is worn and slippery, and there are some important ruins
to claim attention before we enter the town.

You notice that the general direction of Wady Kunawat, in this
part of its course, is northward, and that the city proper was on the
western side of it. Before passing to the tents, therefore, we may
as well cross to the eastern side of the wady and examine two
structures there that well merit our attention.

This edifice in Wady Kunawat above the bridge and the river is
a pretty little theatre partly hewn out of the surrounding rock.
It was about sixty feet in diameter, and had nine tiers of seats,
which are still in a good state of preservation ; and there was a cis-
tern in the middle of the arena. From a long Greek inscription, in
very large letters, which runs round the entire wall back of the
arena, we learn that this theatre was constructed at the expense
of a Roman officer named Marcus Oulpius Lusias, and presented by
him to the citizens of Canatha.

The view to the north -west over the oak woods and the plain
of the Hauran to the distant mountains and to the snowy summit
of Hermon beyond them is superb; and those seated on these bench-
es could not only witness the spectacle in the arena of the theatre,
but they could also gaze upon a varied and beautiful prospect of
great extent and special interest.

This other building a few rods higher up the wady was construct-
ed with large, well-cut stone, and it had a fountain within the court
wdiich was supplied with water from a small stream flowing under-
ground behind it, and which formerly supplied the theatre also.

Ts'YMPHiEUM.— ROUND TOWERS.— CONVENT OE JOB. 483

The water from tliis fountain so overflowed the court when I was
here in April that I could not examine this singular structure. It
is supposed to have been a small temple or Nymphaeum, but it was
probably designed for a public bath.

On the mountain ridge east of it is a conspicuous and massive
round tower, which is reached from this bath by a long and winding
stair-way cut in the rock. It is about one hundred feet in circum-
ference, and in its present condition not over twenty feet high.
Within it are heavy stone doors, some of them having well -cut
mouldings and panels, and ornamented with sculptured wreaths of
flowers and fruits. There are similar towers occupying command-
ing positions upon the surrounding hills, and which were evidently
constructed for purposes of defence. The large rough stones with
which they were built are bevelled, and the walls were very thick,
suggesting the name cyclopean. The remains of some of those
towers are probably among the oldest ruins of ancient Kenath.
We will now return to the west side of the wady and rest awhile in
our tents, pitched in- the oak woods north-west of the town.

Refreshed and invigorated, let us resume our examination of the
extensive remains of Canatha.

A walk of five minutes will bring us to the northern entrance of
the main street, which rises gradually southward, leading towards
the principal group of ancient buildings in Kunawat. The street is
quite wide and is paved with large slabs of lava, which in some
places are still well preserved.

Some of the houses on the west side of this street, with their
sculptured stone doors ornamented with panels and floral designs,
were evidently very substantial edifices.

Below us on the east is the deep wady, with almost perpendicu-
lar banks, which must have served as a natural fortification, and
they appear to have been farther strengthened by the city wall
which ran along the top of the cliffs in that direction.

Continuing the ascent southwards, we come to where the street
ends abruptly at a large paved area in front of an imposing group
of buildings called by the natives es Serai, or the palace, and also
Deir Eyub, the convent of Job. It is now almost impossible to de-
cide what this group of buildings was originally intended to repre-

484 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

sent, since only three of them are still in a tolerable state of preser-
vation, and the remains of others must be buried under these con-
fused masses of ruins. The exterior walls appear to have enclosed
an area nearly square, and the space within was evidently occupied
by three edifices whose external walls, running north and south,
were almost parallel to each other.

The one we will first enter, through this beautiful door-way on
the eastern side so richly ornamented with wreaths of flowers and
fruit, is almost one hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. It
stood upon a raised basement, and had a portico on the north con-
sisting of eight Corinthian columns about thirty feet high, with
brackets on the shafts for statues. This edifice had few architectu-
ral ornaments except those on the door-way, and it appears to have
been converted at one time into a church.

The second and middle structure is about eighty feet long and
seventy feet wide, and it had a receding portico of six Corinthian
columns. Curious sculptured figures surrounded by wreaths of vine-
leaves and clusters of grapes are seen upon portions of the frieze
and cornice of the portico now lying among the ruins of the fallen
pediment. A colonnade of eighteen columns having plain square
capitals ran round the four sides of this edifice at a distance of about
twelve feet from the interior walls.

The third edifice is larger than either of the others, and was en-
tered through an elaborately ornamented and beautiful gate-way in
the south wall of the middle structure. A double colonnade of
seven columns, with plain square capitals, ran down the eastern and
western sides of this edifice, and at its southern end there was a
semicircular apse about fifteen feet in depth. But the interior is
filled with confused heaps of fallen masonry, and much of it is so
overgroAvn with bramble -bushes and scrub-oaks that it cannot be
examined. From Greek inscriptions found among the ruins, but
which are now difificult to decipher, it would appear that some of
these edifices were dedicated to heathen gods and subsequently con-
verted into Christian churches ; and here we see the emblem of the
cross placed over the entrance of ancient idol temples.

Leaving this impressive group of ruined edifices, with their pros-
trate walls and standing columns, their fallen pediments and ancient

ANCIENT CISTERNS.— TEMPLE AT KUNAWAT.

485

portals so curiously and beautifully sculptured, we will proceed a
short distance to the south-west and examine the remains of what
must once have been a splendid temple. In front of the so-called
Convent of Job, and also between it and this temple, there are large
cisterns, once entirely vaulted over by long slabs of lava resting
upon parallel lines of arches. There are at least ten of these lines,
and in many places the slabs are still quite perfect. These cisterns
were probably intended to supply the temples and other edifices
in that neighborhood with water during the autumn.

fclU*"' *4I*'*- '"*''^

TKMl'I.K AT KONAWAT,

Like most of the other public buildings at Kunawat, this temple

faced the north; and it is considered a fine si)ecinicii of the Roman

prostyle— that is, a temi)le whose portico extended along the entire
K 2

486 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

front of the edifice. Four Corinthian columns, over fifteen feet in
circumference and more than thirty-five feet high, supporting a ped-
iment, formed the portico, and back of them, between the extended
side-walls or wings of the temple, was the pronaos or vestibule, with
two smaller columns in front. In the east and west walls of the
vestibule there were two niches, one above the other, and in the
south wall of the temple, opposite the entrance to the naos or body
of the edifice, there were two similar and larger niches. The walls
of this temple are mostly in ruins, and of the six columns in front
of it only four still remain standing.

Among some fragments of sculptured figures lying about in front
of the temple. Dr. Porter discovered a colossal head in high -relief:
" The face is broad and the cheeks large. The eyes are well formed,
but the forehead is low, and the brows prominent and contracted.
On the forehead is a crescent, with rays shooting upwards ; the face
is encircled with thick tresses. The mouth and chin are broken
away. It struck me at the time," he says, " that this was probably
intended to represent Ashtoreth," perhaps once the chief idol of this
temple.' More recently Mr. Charles F. Tyrwhitt Drake obtained
here a fragment of an altar, with the supposed heads of Baal and
Ashtoreth " boldly cut in high-relief upon the closest basalt, with
foliage showing the artistic hand."* Since then the members of the
American Palestine Exploration Society passed through this region
during a reconnoissance of the country east of the Jordan in the
autumn of 1875, and they found a fine antique head here, apparent-
ly the same as that seen and described by Dr. Porter, and they ob-
tained an excellent photograph of it.

Regarding the worship of Ashtoreth, Dr. Porter remarks that
she " was the goddess of the Phoenicians, the Philistines, and, in-
deed, the whole inhabitants of Syria.' Her worship was introduced
among the Israelites during the rule of the Judges, was practised
by Solomon, and was abolished by Josiah.' She was the repre-
sentative of the moon, hence the crescent and the rays seen upon
figures on early Phoenician and Roman coins; hence, too, Jeremiah's

' Five Years in Damascus, pp. 212, 213 ; Giant Cities of Bashan, p. 43.

2 Unexplored Syria, vol. ii. p. 166. ^ I Kings xi. 5, 33; I Sam. xxxi. lO.

■* Judg. ii. 13 ; I Sam. vii. 4 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 13.

WORSHIP OF ASHTORETH. — TERIPTERAL TEMPLE.

487

reference to her as 'queen of heaven." In classic authors she is
called Astarte, Aphrodite, and Syria Dca.^ In the country east of
the Jordan, and especially in Bashan, Ashtoreth was worshipped
from a very early age. One of its principal cities was called Ashto-
reth Karnaim, 'Ashtoreth of the two horns' or crescent, and this
city was one of the cap-
itals of the Kingdom of
Bashan at the Exodus.
It is, consequently, high-
ly interesting to find in
Kenath [or Kunawat],
one of the most ancient
cities of Bashan, monu-
mental evidence of the
worship of Ashtoreth.'"

Continuing our walk
north along the city wall
and down these terraced
fields for about twenty
minutes, we will come to
the remains of one of the
most striking and pictu-
resque peripteral temples
in this part of the coun-
try. It stands facing the

east, on a slight eminence in this thickly wooded valley, a short
distance beyond the western gate of the ancient city; and it was
built upon a stylobate or raised platform eighty feet by fifty and
about twelve feet high, beneath which are massive vaults and at
least one cistern, which still holds water.

A broad flight of steps led up to the portico, which consisted of
two rows of columns, six in each row; and the temple itself was
surrounded — hence its name — on the east, south, and west by a
range of sixteen columns, six on each side counting the corner col-
umns twice. These, with those of the portico, made twenty-eight

;\^v;3«'T^:&^-^^

^s-jliilH

ANTIQUE HEAD AT kOnAWAT.

' Jer. vii. 18 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 4.
^ Five Years in Damascus, p. 213.

* Lucian : Do Syria Dea; Paus. i. 14.

488

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

columns in all, and they stood upon pedestals five feet high, were
six feet in circumference, had Corinthian capitals, and a total height
of more than thirty-five feet. Of all those columns only seven, and
the bases and pedestals of a few others, remain standing.

PEKIPlEkAL TKMPLK AT KUNAWAT.

This temple was about forty-five feet long and thirty feet broad,
and there were eight pilasters along the exterior walls correspond-
ing to the same number of columns opposite to them. From in-
scriptions found here it is supposed that this temple was dedicated
to Helios, or the sun, but most of those seen upon the pedestals
of the columns are quite illegible. We will now return through the
open fields to our tents.

September igth. Evening.
Kunawat has been generally regarded as the modern representa-
tive of the ancient Kenath and the Hebrew Nobah. Is there any
valid objection to that identification?

THE BIBLICAL KEXATII AND THE ROMAN KANATHA. 489

Under that name Kenath is mentioned but twice in the Bible.
We read in Numbers that during the conquest of the land of Ca-
naan, "Jair took the small towns" of Gilead "and called them Ha-
voth-jair;" and that Nobah also "went and took Kenath and the
villages thereof and called it Nobah, after his own name.'" Also
that "Jair took all the country of Argob and called them [the towns]
after his own name — Bashan-havoth-jair," the towns of Jair in Ba-
shan ; and in i Chronicles, ii. 23, Kenath is mentioned in connection
with those towns of Jair.'' Two hundred years later we learn that
Gideon, in pursuit of the two kings of Midian, " went up by the way
of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah" — by which, of
course, Kenath is meant — "and smote the host."'

Though Nobah probably was not so called by the people who
then inhabited it, the name of its Hebrew conqueror was still fa-
miliar to the Israelites; but, like so many others imposed by foreign
rulers, it soon fell into disuse, and the place appears ever after to
have retained its original name — Kenath. From those incidental
notices it would appear that Nobah or Kenath was between Gilead
and Argob, and within the territory of Bashan. This is all its Bibli-
cal history, and we hear nothing more about it until the time of the
Romans, about the commencement of the Christian era.

Josephus relates that Herod the Great, through the machina-
tions of "Athenio, one of Cleopatra's generals," was defeated "at
Kanatha, a city of Coelesyria," by the inhabitants of the place, as-
sisted by the Arabians, who had assembled there "in vast multi-
tudes."' Ptolemy also locates Kanatha in Ccelesyria, and Pliny
mentions it among the cities of the Decapolis. But we get more
definite information regarding its actual position from Eusebius and
the Peutingcr Table. In the latter it is the third station on the
Roman road from Damascus to Bostra ; and the former speaks of it
as " situated in the province of Trachonitis, near to Bostra."

It therefore seems to be fairly established that Kunawat occu-
pies the site of the Biblical Kenath or Nobah, and that the ancient
name has remained almost unchanged during a period of more than
three thousand years. M. Waddington, however, is inclined to qucs-

' Numb, xxxii. 41, 42. - Dcut. iii. 14 ; Josh. xiii. 30.

* Judg. viii. 4, 5, II. •• 15. J. i. kj, 2.

490 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

tion the identification mainly on the ground that its location is too
far east for it to have ever been in the possession of the Hebrews.
That objection can have but little weight, since even he admits that
Sulkhad, which is still farther east than Kunawat, is the Salcah, or
Salchah, of the Bible mentioned by Moses.

M. Waddington found more than thirty Greek inscriptions on
various parts of the ruins in this place; most of them, however, are
brief, and do not throw much light on the history of either the
Biblical Kenath or the Graeco-Roman Kanatha. One of them seems
to connect the name of King Agrippa with Kunawat, and this is
confirmed by inscriptions which M. Waddington discovered at Si'a,
where the names of both Herod the Great and of Agrippa are found
in Greek and Aramaic upon the ruins of a remarkable temple at that
place, a discovery of special interest and importance.

The Herodian inscription was found upon the base of a broken
statue in front of the temple, and M. Waddington interprets it thus :
I, Obaesatus, son of Saodus, have set up this statue of King Herod,
our ruler, at my own expense. "This monument," says M. Wad-
dington, "is the earliest in which Herod is mentioned, and the
[Greek] word Kurio shows that it was erected during his life," more
than nineteen hundred years ago. It is an interesting fact that all
this region was granted to Herod the Great by Caesar, as Josephus
informs us in the fifteenth book of his Antiquities.'

Si'a may have been regarded as a suburb of Kunawat, for it is
not more than half an hour's walk from it towards the south-east.
When I was here in the spring w^e did not go to Si'a, because that
place was buried under the snow ; and not only was the river of
Kunawat a foaming torrent, but much of the country was flooded
by the melting snow on the Hauran mountains, and banks of snow
were still seen in these streets. Three different streams, quite for-
midable to cross, then descended through the woods north of Kuna-
wat and united with the river in the wady below, which thus became
altogether unfordable. It then seemed incredible that in the late
autumn one could scarcely procure sufficient water for himself and
his horse even for money, and yet such had been the experience of
one of our party in this region.

' Ant. XV. lo, I. 2.

PRIMITIVE SCHOOL.— BOARDS FOR BOOKS. 49 1

Kunawat is a fair illustration of the fact that the population of
this part of the Hauran has steadily increased during the last half
century. Burckhardt, in 1812, found here "only two Druse fam-
ilies, who were occupied in cultivating a few tobacco-fields." Forty
years later Dr. Porter was " favored with a visit from the village
school-master" — the first he had heard of in the Hauran — "a vener-
able old man, with sparkling eyes and a flowing beard.

"His school consisted of some twenty children; and I had seen
them bawling over their lessons on a house-top. The scholars had
no books, and [their 'master'] was obliged to teach them by writ-
ing letters and words on little boards, which they carried about and
rhymed over till form and sound became familiar. I afterwards saw
the little urchins walking through the city, proud of their boards,
which were strung round their necks.

" Here there was a zeal for instruction altogether remarkable. I
could not but sympathize with these poor children, forced to learn
the first principles of their language from rude letters scratched
upon rough boards ; and I could not but look with a feeling of re-
spect and admiration on the man who, without remuneration, gave
him.self up to the self-imposed task of instructing youth. I learned
that most of the boys and young men in the village could read, and
not a few of them write." '

But it grows late, and

"The deep night is crept upon our talk.
And nature must obey necessity."

' Five Years in Damascus, p]). 206, 207.

4Q2 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

XIII.

KUNAWAT TO EL BUSRAH.

The Druses in the Hauran. — Bedawin Incursions.— Moslem and Christian Villages.—
Desire for Education.— Local Feuds.— Oak Woods.— 'Atil.— Temple.— Bilingual In-
scription. — Athila. — Greek Inscription. — Emperor Antoninus Pius. — Zenodorus. —
Equestrian Statue. — Head of Baal. — Astarte. — Iconoclastic Vandalism. — El Kiisr,
Ruined Temple.— Impure Water.— Ague.— Column at 'Atil.— Roman Road.— Oak
■ Grove. — Mud and Dust. — Palmyrene Inscription. — Tomb of Chamrate. — Ode-
nathus. — Count de Vogue. — M. Waddington. — Roman Bridge. — Flour- mills.— Es
Suweideh.— Large Reservoirs.— Mecca Pilgrims.— Temple.— Triumphal Arch. — Nym-
phseum.- Emperor Trajan.— Aqueduct.— Mosk and Temple.— Greek Inscriptions.—
Ancient Trading Companies. — A Temple of Minerva. — Church and Monastery. —
Donkeys Floundering in the Mud. — Theatre. — William of Tyre. — Bildad the
Shuhite. — Job.— Greek Inscriptions. — M. Waddington. — Soada.— Dionysias.— The
Capital of Jebel ed Druse.— Square Tower.— Roman Road.— An Agricultural Region.
— Megeidel and er Resas. — Nahr 'Ary. — Flour-mills. — Kuleib Hauran. — Extinct
Volcano.— Burckhardt.— El 'Afineh. — Hebran. — Ancient Aqueduct.— Roman Road.
— Heavy Rains and Lively Streams. — El Kureiyeh. — Kerioth. — 'Ary, Ariath. — Isma'il
el Atrash.— Burckhardt and Shibly Ibn Hamdan.— Druse Hospitality.— Mujeimir and
Wetr.— Deir Zubeir.— Roman Road.— Roman Bridge.— Mosk of el Mebruk.— El
Koran.— The Instinct of the Camel— Incident in the Career of Muhammed.— Ruins
at Urn el Jemal Described by Dr. Merrill.— Bedawin Encampment. — Hundreds of
Camels. — Heavy Robbery. — The Perpetual Desert. — Scores of Ruined Towns.—
Swallows and Gazelles.— Ruins at Um el Jemal.— City Gate.— Streets and Avenues.
—Private Houses.— Churches and Crosses.— Greek, Latin, and Nabathean Inscrip-
tions. — Ninth Dalmatian Horse. — Vexillarii. — Square Tower. — Uriel, Gabriel, and
Emmanuel.— Genii of the Cardinal Points.— The God Dusares. — Camels laden with
Stones from the Ruins at Um el Jemal.— Deserted for Centuries. — Fragments of
Black Pottery.— Beth-gamul.— Plan of the City of Bozrah. — The Castle.— Cisterns. —
Subterranean Vaults. — Theatre within the Castle. — Outlook from the Seats in the
Theatre. — Dr. Porter's Description of the View from the Keep of the Castle.— Roman
Highways.— Towns and Villages on the Plain. — "Without Inhabitant and without
Man."— Corinthian Columns near the Centre of the City.— Colonnade or Temple.—
Ruins of a Bath. — Triumphal Arch. — Julius, Prefect of the Parthian Legion.—
Deserted Bazaar.— The Khalif 'Omar.— Mosk at el Busrah. — House of the Jew.— Col-
umns of Green Micaceous Marble. — Cufic and Aralnc Inscriptions. — Convent and

THE DRUSES IX THE HAURAN— BEDAWIN INCURSIONS. 493

House of Boheira. — Burckhardt's Account of the Monk Boheiia. — The Instructor of
Muhammed. — Stifling Sirocco. — Bedawin Shepherds and their Flocks. — Cathedral at
Busrah. — Sergius, Bacchus, and Leontius. — Archbishop Julianus. — Job. — Leper Hos-
pital. — The Emperor Justinian. — Beautiful Cufic Inscription. — Triumphal Arch. —
Palace of the Yellow King. — Bab el Hawa. — Roman Guard-house. — 'Aiyun el Merj.
— Temple. — Antonia Fortuna, Wife of Caesar. — Springs and Fountains. — Large
Reservoirs. — Mercantile Caravans. — Masons' Marks. — Aramaic Letters. — History of
el Busrah. — Bozrah of Edom. — El Busaireh. — Tophel. — The Judgments of Jeremiah.
— "The Line of Confusion and the Stones of Emptiness." — Judas Maccabeus slew
all the Males of Bosora. — The City Burned. — Carnaim. — A. Cornelius Palma. — Nova
Trajana Bostra. — A Military Colony. — Roman Highways. — The Euphrates and the
Persian Gulf. — The Bostrian Era. — Philip the Arabian. — Roman Emperor. — Early
Introduction of Christianity into Bozrah. — Origen. — Bishop Beiyllus. — Ecclesiastical
Councils held at Bozrah. — Trading Caravans. — Visits of Muhammed to el Busrah. —
Abu Talib. — The Monk Boheira. — Khadija. — Capture of el Busrali by the Moslems.
— Khalid, the Sword of God. — Treachery of Romanus. — Baneful Rule of Islam. —
Sulkhad. — Salcah. — Moses, Joshua. — Og reigned in Salcah. — The Castle at Sidkhnd
Described by Dr. Merrill. — The Crater. — Interior of the Castle. — Inscriptions. —
Masons' Marks. — Busts of Animals. — Lions and Palm-tree. — A Frontier Fortress. —
The Ancient Town at Sulkhad. — Druses from the Lebanon. — Sulkhad Visited by Dr.
Porter. — Deserted Houses and Streets. — View from the Castle. — Bashan, Moab
Arabia. — Thirty Deserted Towns. — "Judgment upon the Plain and the Cities of
Moab, far and near." — El Kureiyeh, Kerioth. — Biblical and Secular History of
Kerioth. — Ruins at el Kureiyeh. — Triple Colonnade. — Greek Inscriptions. — Seat
of a Bishop. — Burckhardt. — Dr. Porter. — Isma'il el Atrash. — Druse Families.

.Septeml)er 20lh.

We have held quite a levee this morning, and I have been at a
loss to discover the motive of such friendly demonstrations on the
part of these polite and courteous Druses.

They are always anticipating trouble with the government, and
they hope that we maybe able to speak a good word in their behalf
to those who have influence with the Turkish authorities in this
country. The Druses, from their warlike character and almost im-
pregnable position upon and around the mountains of the Ilauran,
may be regarded as exerting a favorable influence over this entire
region. The Bedawin tribes north, east, and south are more afraid
of them than of the Turkish Government, and hence their destructive
incursions are held in check. Were it not for that, there wotdd be
but few inhabited villages in this part of the country. /Xnd as the
number of the Druses is steadily increasing by emigration from the
Lebanon and Ante- Lebanon, their influence is constantly increas-

494

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ing also, and places not long since deserted are now reoccupied.
It is also largely owing to this growing power of the Druses that
Moslem and even Christian villages are multiplying.

The Druses, in fact, constitute the nucleus of a power which,
rightly directed, might ultimately redeem this beautiful region from
the devastations of the Bedawin. But they are themselves a fierce
and lawless generation, and are sadly in need of the higher civilizing
influence of Christianity and of Christian schools. There is, how-
ever, some reason for hope in regard to them, for they are not
Moslems nor fanatical, and in several places they are beginning to
appreciate the benefits of education and to ask earnestly for schools.
That was one of the subjects broached this morning by the sheikhs
of Kunawat, and I promised to submit their request to those to
whom that work naturally belongs.

It seems to me that Kunawat presents a fair field for such be-
nevolent and philanthropic work.

It is quite central, and certainly high enough to be cool and
healthy, and from it a large number of villages could be reached.
But those who would undertake such an enterprise should be pre-
pared to deal with a rude and lawless population, and to overcome
many obstacles. Some of the most formidable will arise from local
feuds between neighboring villages, and also from quarrels among
the inhabitants of the same village. The people of Kunawat are
famous for such quarrels, and not long since the rival parties had a
desperate encounter in which several persons are said to have been
killed and many more were wounded.

And now, as those courteous Druses have bidden us farewell and
godspeed in their characteristic fashion and in a style eminently
Oriental, we will mount our horses and proceed on our way.

It is pleasant to ride through these oak woods, which appear to
extend far up the mountains to the east and north of Kunawat.

An easy descent westward of nearly three-quarters of an hour
will bring us to 'Atil, where we shall find the remains of an equestri-
an statue, fragments of statuary in bass-relief, two ancient temples,
and several inscriptions well worthy of examination.

The village appears to be quite small, but it is prettily situated
on the western border of these eversfreen woods.

TEMPLE AT "ATIL.

495

'Atil is occupied at present by a few Druse families, and a portion
of this temple, in the south-eastern part of the village, has been con-
verted into a dwelling, and is now the residence of the sheikh of
the place. The temple, constructed of hard basalt, stood upon a
platform or stylobate about ten feet high. It was small but well-
proportioned, and the shell-work and other ornamental carving

TEMPLE AT 'ATIL.

about the front was rich and beautifully executed. The order of
architecture is Corinthian, and the walls of the temple projected
on either side of the portico, which consisted of two fluted col-
umns, with two plain ones in front and square pilasters or anta: at
the corners of the edifice. There are brackets nearly half-way up
the pillars and columns, apparently placeil there for statues.

496 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

From a curious bilingual inscription, discovered at Trevoux in
France, it appears that the Greek name of this place was Athila.
M. Waddington found here eight inscriptions, some of them re-
markably well preserved and others mere fragments. This inscrip-
tion on the base of the pilaster at the southern corner of the temple
is quite perfect, and from it we learn that the edifice was built about
the fourteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius,
corresponding to A.D. 151. Inscriptions have also been found here
in honor of heathen deities, Roman emperors and centurions, and
one which contains the name of Zenodorus, a famous person who,
according to Josephus, figured largely in the history of this region
about the commencement of our era.

Here, in this field, just south of the temple, are the remains of
the equestrian statue and of the bass-relief representing a female
figure with wings. A third fragment, quite large, is supposed to be
the head of Baal ; and a fourth, with the crescent moon rising from
the shoulders, may have represented Astarte. Similar fragments
are built into the walls of the gardens and dwellings in the neigh-
borhood. All the statues have been broken by fanatical Moslems,
and the sight of these fragments excites one's indignation against
the iconoclastic vandalism that has so wantonly destroyed them.

The other temple, at the northern end of the village, is a com-
plete ruin, and as these noisy lads are anxious to show us the way
to el Kiisr, or the palace, as they call it, we will gratify them, and
thereby furnish occasion to distribute bakhshish. Some of these
Druses are from the Lebanon, and claim to be old acquaintances.

This temple appears to have been inferior in every respect to
the one in the southern part of 'Atil ; and nothing now remains
standing except a part of the main entrance. There are no inscrip-
tions, but if the large blocks that lie about were turned over, some
might be found; and if the debris was cleared away, the side portals,
now buried under the rubbish, and the foundations of the temple
would then be fully exposed to view.

We will now go to see the fragments of a very curious column
just east of the village. Portions of it are built into a garden-wall
near this birkeh, or stagnant pool, the drainage of the surrounding
terraces, that supplies the inhabitants of 'Atil with water.

COLUMN AT 'ATIL.— ROMAN ROAD.— TOMB OF CIIAMRATE. 497

If the people drink this yellowish- green fluid, no wonder that
half of them have the ague, and all look pale and cadaverous.

They can procure better water by going for it only a short
distance, but most of them are too lazy and shiftless to do so.
There are the fragments of the column which, as you perceive, are
carved in imitation of the bole, or stem, of the palm-tree. It is
wholly unique, and when erected must have been quite high, as
appears from the different portions, if, indeed, they all belonged to
one single column. And now we must bid these polite attendants
a formal farewell and pursue our ride southward to es Suweideh,
about an hour and a half distant from 'Atil.

We are again on a well-defined Roman road, and it is bringing
us into a beautiful grove of oak and other evergreen trees.

It will take us an hour to ride through this grove, and after we
pass out of its grateful shade, the country becomes quite bare and
loses much of its picturesqueness. During the time of the Romans
that ancient road led to es Suweideh, then one of the principal
cities in this region, though now reduced to a mere village and
almost buried under the remains of its former greatness.

In the spring, the road was impassable in many places, owing
to deep mud, and we often had to pick our way through the fields
on either side in order to afford a sure footing to our perplexed
horses. Now it is dry and dusty, and far from being cither smooth
or agreeable. Like nearly all the Roman roads in this country,
the pavement of this one has been broken up by the heav)' rains
in winter, and has almost entirely disappeared.

The massive ruins of es Suweideh begin to appear ahead of us
in the distance, and before entering their bewildering lab\Tinths
we will turn to the left and ascend the northern side of the wady
to examine one of the most singular monuments in this region. It
is called ed Debusiyeh by the natives, and was built of solid masonry
upon a base approached by two steps. In shape it was a cube of
about thirty -three feet side, and finished above in the form of a
pyramid, and when perfect it must have been nearly forty feet
high. There are six pilasters, or semi -columns, of the Doric order
on each side, supporting a plain cornice; and upon the walls be-
tween them are sculptured emblems and ancient armor represent-

498 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ing coats of mail, helmets, and shields in bass-relief. The pyramid
has fallen, but the sides of this monument are nearly perfect, and it
appears never to have had an entrance of any kind.

There is a Greek inscription on the northern side, and one in
Palmyrene on the eastern side. Both are to the same effect, and
briefly state that " Odenathus, son of Annelos, built this tomb to
Chamrate his wife." That Odenathus was a different person from
the husband of Zenobia, who ruled in Palmyra more than two
hundred and fifty years after the time of Herod the Great. Count
de Vogiie supposes that he was an Arabian chief whose tribe had
possession of this region before the reign of Herod ; and M. Wad-
dington thinks that this monument is one of the most ancient
structures in the Hauran, though he does not believe that it dates
much further back than the commencement of the Christian era.

We will now cross over to the other side of this deep wady of
Suweideh, and examine the ruins of that ancient town.

The river in the wady is now dry, yet it is spanned by a well-built
Roman bridge of a single arch, whose height implies that the stream
is sometimes quite a formidable torrent.

It is so during the winter and early spring, and then the volume
of water is more than sufficient to drive the flour-mills of the village
in the valley below the bridge. Suw^eideh was built, as you see,
entirely on the south bank of the wady and upon a low, rocky
ridge, which extends westward to the plain of el Hauran. The
first object that attracts attention in advance of that wilderness of
ruins is this large reservoir on our right, from which the present
inhabitants of es Suweideh are supplied with water, there being
no springs or permanent fountain in the village. This reservoir is
nearly a thousand feet in circuit and at least thirty feet deep. It
was full when I was here in the spring, but now it is almost empty,
and has by no means an inviting appearance.

There is a larger reservoir south-west of the village, called Birket
el Haj because formerly it was one of the watering-places of the
Mecca pilgrims. Both reservoirs were lined with stone, and stone
steps led down to the bottom of them. Above us on the left, at
the east end of the town, are the remains of a temple, once sur-
rounded by a colonnade of twenty -two Corinthian columns, only

TEMPLE, ARCH, AND NYMPH.EUM AT ES SUWEIDEH.

499

about half of which now remain standing. From the disposition
of the columns, their various styles of workmanship, and different
dimensions, the entire edifice was apparently constructed out of
materials which belonged to other and more ancient structures.

TEMPLE AT ES SUWEIDEH.

When I was here, several years ago, the interior was a mass of
ruins, but it has recently been transformed into the divan of the
sheikh, whose humble dwelling is just east of it.

The main street commences near this temple, at a large gate-
way probably intended for a triumphal arch, and leads down towards
the south-west through the midst of the town, with fallen houses
on either side, and the ruins of several public edifices that merit
attention in passing. This semicircular structure, with niches and
Corinthian pilasters, a short distance below the gate-way, was prob-
ably a nymphncum, or a public bath, and upon it is an inscription
from which we learn that it was erected during the reign of the

500 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Emperor Trajan, about the beginning of the second century of our
era. The aqueduct with which it was connected, and which sup-
pHed it with water, may have been constructed at the same time.

This building, with arches and short columns which once sup-
ported the roof, is supposed to be a mosk, and it probably occupies
the site of a temple or other public edifice. It is said to contain
two Greek inscriptions, mentioning the names of certain trading
companies of merchants who flourished in this region during the
Graeco- Roman period. According to another inscription found in
that low building a short distance east of the mosk, there was
erected here a temple dedicated to Minerva. And here, near the
centre of the ancient city, is a large structure which appears to
have been a church, probably erected during the fourth century,
with perhaps a monastery attached to it. The street on the right,
below this edifice, is a mere quagmire in the spring, and I saw sev-
eral donkeys loaded with wheat floundering in it ; nor could they
be extricated until the ropes that bound the sacks upon their pack-
saddles were cut loose and their loads removed.

A short distance farther down the street are the remains of a
theatre. The walls are broken down, the seats all gone, and the
entire edifice is too dilapidated to be described.

Has es Suweideh no ancient historic record?

It is nowhere alluded to in the Bible, at least not under any of
the names by which it is now known or has been in times past. A
tradition mentioned by William of Tyre, in the twelfth century,
connects this place with Bildad the Shuhite, and the natives of
Suweideh believe that Job himself was the first prince of their
town. The remains of temples, churches, and other monuments
prove that it must have been a flourishing city of the Graeco-Roman
period, having a mixed population of heathens and Christians dwell-
ing together for a long time in comparative peace and quietness.
M. Waddington found here twenty-five Greek inscriptions, most of
which are, however, mere fragments; but from an extended analysis
of them he throws much light upon the age of these remains and
the probable history of the city itself.

Some of the inscriptions date- back to the time of Herod the
Great, and the Greek name of the place appears formerly to have

SOADA.— AGRICULTURAL REGION.— KULEIB HAURAN. 50I

been Soada ; but J\I. Waddington identifies it with the Dionysias
mentioned in the Notitiae of various ecclesiastical councils, from
which it would seem that Soada was an episcopal city belonging to
this part of Arabia. Hid away amongst these ruins of the ancient
town, there is a mixed population said to number about five hundred
Druses and a few Christians. Suweideh has long been regarded as
the capital of Jebel ed Druse, as this portion of the Hauran is
called, and the ruling sheikh still resides here.

The main street, through which we are passing, is not only very
dry at present, but also quite dusty and disagreeable.

There is nothing of much interest in this wilderness of prostrate
houses at the lower end of it, not even that tower which was about
twenty feet square and thirty feet high. Beyond it the Roman
road from Damascus to el Busrah or Bozrah passes southward
through the country in almost a straight line.

We v.ill now resume our ride. It is six hours from Suweideh
to Bozrah, and the country between the two places is neither level
nor mountainous, but agreeably diversified with hills, valleys, and
plains. This is, in fact, a fine agricultural region and, during the
winter season at least, abundantly supplied with water. But the
greater part of it is destitute of trees and uncultivated. There are
but few villages, and none of them are of much importance. Ere
long we shall pass through the small village of Megeidel,and a short
distance beyond it, to the left, is the hamlet of er Resas, situated
on the western slope of the Hauran mountain.

I remember er Resas chiefly from the fact that on a former tour
through this region we there left the direct road to Bozrah and
turned eastward towards the lower declivities of Jebel Hauran, on
our way to Sulkhad. In less than an hour we crossed what was
then a considerable stream called Nahr 'Ary. Keeping up the
southern side of it, we passed a succession of small flour-mills, all
busily improving the unusual flow of water from the eastern moun-
tains. From the higher ridges over which the path led we had
distinct views of the great conical peak called Kuleib Hauran.

We have seen that high mountain from many places along our

route during the past few days, and it has all the appearance of a

volcanic cone of great size and height.
L 2

502 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

It dominates this entire region, and was once, no doubt, in the
distant past an active volcano, and from it a great part of the lava
and volcanic debris which cover the surrounding country were prob-
ably discharged. The entire eastern side of the mountain is quite
bare, but it is covered with a straggling forest of oak, terebinth, and
other evergreen trees and bushes on the south, west, and north, and
the interior of the crater itself is said to be well -wooded. The
south-western side of the crater appears to have been broken away,
probably during a violent eruption in pre -historic times, leaving a
wide and deep cavity in that part of the cone.

Kuleib Hauran rises more than five thousand five hundred feet
above the sea, and though the ascent is not difficult, only a few
travellers have made the attempt, owing principally to the lack of
time and its isolated position. Burckhardt spent a night in a Bed-
awin camp at its base, but he became too ill to ascend to the sum-
mit. He was told that the Mediterranean could be seen from the
top on a clear day, probably through the plain of Esdraelon, and
out upon the Bay of Acre beyond the cape of Mount Carmel.
The prospect eastward over the Arabian desert was said to be
boundless and exceedingly impressive.

Owing to deep mud our progress towards Sulkhad was slow,
and as it began to rain we stopped at el 'Afineh, a small village
situated on a projecting ridge of the mountain, and only partly in-
habited by Druses. Hebran, a much larger place on the top of the
ridge, is just above it to the north-east, and there are other ancient
sites in all directions. We busied ourselves in copying some Greek
inscriptions among the ruins, supposing that M. Waddington had
not visited 'Afineh, but subsequently I found them printed in full
in his great work. From one of them we learn that the Emperor
Trajan caused the water from Kunawat to be conducted to 'Afineh ;
and some of the arches supporting that ancient aqueduct are still
to be seen east of the village, and not far from the Roman road
that led straight from Bozrah towards el Kufr.

As the night came on dark and stormy, the Druse sheikh of
'Afineh urged us to share with him his gloomy and smoky habita-
tion, but we chose rather to trust to our tents! The rain continued
through the night, and by morning the tents were thoroughly satu-

IMPASSABLE ROADS.— SULKHAD AND EL KLRKIVEH. 503

rated, and in no condition to be folded up until they were partially
dried by kindling small fires within them.

The people of the village assured us that the road to Sulkhad
was quite innpassable, and we were reluctantly obliged to abandon
the idea of going there. Obtaining a guide we struck across the
country, along an unfrequented pathway, directly southward towards
el Kureiyeh, the site of an ancient city midway between el Busrah
and Sulkhad. The path was at first very spongy, and fatiguing to
our horses, but when we reached the level plain, the marshy nature
of the soil ceased, and the road became more firm and solid. We
had noticed the fact in other places that during great rains the
ground became so saturated on the hill -sides that travelling was
very disagreeable to both the horse and his rider.

It is less than two hours from 'Afineh to Kureiyeh, yet in that
short distance we crossed several lively little streams descending
from the declivities of Kuleib Hauran and the eastern mountains
in deep and tumultuous torrents. Our guide, however, assured us
that in a few weeks they would all be. quite dry. In most of that
region the land is thickly strewn with volcanic bowlders, but the soil
is naturally fertile though treeless and uncultivated, nor is there a
single village between 'Afineh and Kureiyeh.

From many points along the road the great mound of Sulkhad
was clearly seen from summit to base and appeared surprisingly
near. It was in reality not more than four miles south-east of us,
and with the glass we could distinguish the broken walls of the
castle that occupies the entire summit of the mound.

Did you find anything of special interest at Kureiyeh?
It was once a large city, and some of the remains appear to be
ancient. The streets and lanes were quite impassable, owing to
bottomless mud, and the few inhabitants we found there seemed to
be miserably poor and shiftless. They were engaged mainly in
sunning themselves on the walls of a large reservoir, to dry their
tattered garments after the great rain of the previous night. Ku-
reiyeh has been identified with Kerioth, one of " the cities of the
land of Moab;" but there are some grave objections which rcciuirc
to be removed before the identification can be accepted. Similar
difficulties, however, attach to el Busrah, and while there we can

504 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

examine the two questions together, and discuss other matters of
interest connected with the Biblical history of that region.

What is the name of the village which we are now approaching,
situated upon the low hill to the left of our road ?

'Ary, supposed to occupy the site of Ariath, an episcopal city
during the fourth century mentioned in the Notitis or old ecclesias-
tical records. The ruins of the ancient city are extensive but quite
insignificant, and the modern village is now an inconsiderable place,
the residence of a Druse family of recent origin, but formerly of
great power and influence. It was the home of Isma'il el Atrash, a
Druse warrior very celebrated in this region about thirty years ago.
He was summoned to Beirut by the Governor -general of Syria,
and astonished the natives with his wild band of Hauran Druses.
Small of stature, the personal appearance of Sheikh Isma'il gave
no indication of the daring chieftain, yet he was the terror of the
Bedawin all over this region; and his three sons are still leading
sheikhs in Jebel ed Druse. Isma'il el Atrash died more than ten
years ago, and his tomb is just without the village.

Long before his day Burckhardt visited 'Ary on two separate
occasions, and the Druse sheikh of the place appeared to be greatly
pleased to see him. " Sheikh Shibly Ibn Hamdan," he says, " is the
kindest and most generous Druse I have known in Syria; and his
reputation for these qualities has become so general that peasants
from all parts of the Hauran settle in his village. The whole of
the Christian community of Suweideh, with the Greek priest at their
head, had lately arrived, so that 'Ary has now become one of the
most populous villages in this district. The high estimation in
wdiich the sheikh is held arises from his great hospitality, and the
justice and mildness with which he treats the peasants, upward of
forty of whom he feeds daily, besides strangers, who are continually
passing here on their way to the Bedawin encampments ; the coffee-
pot is always boiling in the menzul, or strangers' room. He may
now, in fact, be called the Druse chief of the Hauran, though that
title belongs in strictness to his father-in-law, Hussein Ibn Hamdan,
the sheikh of Suweideh." * Times and persons have greatly changed
since Burckhardt visited 'Ary, and though the family of Hamdan

1 Travels in Syria, etc., p. 225.

MUJEIMIR AND WETR.— DEIR ZUBEIR.— FIRST MOSK IN SYRIA. 505

Still exists in this region, its present sheikhs have lost most of their
property, their ancient renown, and their former pre-eminence.

We have passed during the last hour the villages of Mujeimir
and Wetr, situated on their tells a short distance to the left of our
road, and for another hour we shall have the shattered walls and
dark, massive towers and battlements of the celebrated city of el
Busrah, upon the wide-spreading plain of Bashan, constantly in view.
To the right of our road are the ruins of Deir Zubeir, a large square
edifice with thick walls, and which, as its name implies, was probably
once a monastery. And here we come upon the remains of the
Roman road that led from Bozrah, or el Busrah, northward to Da-
mascus. Traces of it, extending in a straight line across the plain,
are distinctly visible, and in some places the solid pavement, com-
posed of well-squared slabs of stone, is still almost perfect.

After crossing the small stream in Wady Zeidy, on the old Roman
bridge of three arches, below Jemurrin, we will turn aside and in-
spect the famous mosk called el Mebruk, the kneeling- place.
Burckhardt gives the following account of its origin : " Ibn 'Affan,
who first collected the scattered leaves of the Koran into a book,
relates that when Othman, in coming from the Hedjaz, approached
the neighborhood of Boszra with his army, he ordered his people
to build a mosque on the spot where the camel which bore the
Koran should kneel down." And he adds: " It is of no great size;
its interior was embellished, like that of the great mosque [at el
Medina], with Cufic inscriptions, of which a few specimens yet
remain over the mehrab, or niche towards which the face of the
imam is turned in praying. The dome or kubbch which covered
its summit has been recently destroyed by the Wahabi." '

If the tradition be reliable, this edifice occupies the site of the
very first mosk which the Muhammedans erected in Syria. The
method of being guided by the instinct of the camel was a favorite
device of the early Moslem leaders, copied from the example of
their Prophet. He thus pretended to ascertain at whose house he
should alight in Medina when he fled thither from Mecca, in the
first month of the first year of the Muhammedan era. Mr. William
Muir has given an amusing description of that singular incident
' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 235.

5o6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

which decided as well the location of the first mosk that was ever
built in the Muhammedan world." And now we may alight at our
tents, pitched under the shadow of the castle at el Busrah, on the
south side of the town, where we can rest in quietness and safety
during the coming Sabbath.

Sunday, September 2ist.

With the exception of a few low hills in the distance, el Busrah
stands out alone in the centre of this great plain of Bashan. The
castle of Salkhad is clearly seen crowning the summit of its lofty
volcanic cone, about twelve or fourteen miles nearly due east, and
the shattered walls of Um el Jemal, though five hours' ride across
the southern desert, are said to be visible on a clear day from the
top of the highest tower in the castle.

Um el Jemal, which many travellers have longed to visit, but
failed in the attempt to do so, is supposed to occupy the site of the
Beth-gamul mentioned by Jeremiah, is it not?

There appears to be some doubt in regard to the claim of that
place to Biblical notice. It has been visited by Mr. Cyril C. Graham,
M. Waddington, and the gentlemen of the American Palestine Ex-
ploration Society. Dr. Selah Merrill, the archaeologist of the party,
gives an interesting account of the ride through the desert to Um
el Jemal, and a detailed description of the ruins at that place.
They were encamped here at el Busrah, and, as an early start w^as
necessary. Dr. Merrill says, " We left our camp at five o'clock, and,
guided by a man wath a lantern, made our way over the ruins and
among the walls and columns of ancient palaces and temples to the
castle here; for the officer in command, Ibrahim Effendi, proposed,
as he had never visited the place, and was 'very much interested in
antiquities,' to accompany us with some soldiers. Fortunately the
morning, and the whole day, as it proved, was quite cool, so that
our ten hours and forty minutes in the saddle were less tedious
than they might otherwise have been. We were in all twenty men,
well mounted and well armed. Besides the animals we rode we
had three extra ones for photographic apparatus and water.

" About two miles outside of Bozrah we came upon a large en-
campment of Bedawin, numbering over one hundred long black
' Life of Mahomet, vol. iii. p. g.

BEDA\VIN ENCAMPMENT.— THE PERPETUAL DESERT. 507

tents, and judging from the deafening howl, there were three or
four dogs to every tent. Several hundred camels were scattered
about in groups, and there was evidently excitement of some kind,
for men were shouting and running about in all- directions. Some
of them ran up to our soldiers and told of a heavy robbery that
had been committed during the night, and of the great loss
they had suffered in cattle and camels. Our soldiers gave chase
in the direction indicated by these men, and it was a fine sight to
see them, with such of the Bedawin as were mounted, dashing over
the plain in their efforts to discover the robbers. These, however,
had done their work too near morning, or else had taken more than
they could manage, and had fled, leaving the camels, or most of
them, to return at leisure to their masters. I counted, in a single
string, one hundred and fifty camels thus making their way back.
During the next hour or two we saw as many as half a dozen groups
of camels at different places on the plain, that had passed through
the experience of being stolen the night previous.

"Three miles south of Bozrah we struck the perpetual desert,
the region of desolation. Not that the soil is barren, but in all
this wide and naturally fertile district no man dare plough, plant,
or build. Yet this desert shows signs of former cultivation, for the
stones in many parts have at some time been gathered into long
rows, evidently to serve as boundaries for fields. The plain is
covered with a small alkali shrub, which resembles the sage -bush
so common on the plains of the far West. The crocus also ap-
peared in many places, and the contrast between the barren, burnt
surface of the plain and these beautiful flowers was very striking.
On the way we passed several ruins, the names of which we could
not learn; and the same was true on our return, as we came the
most of the way by a different route. There are scores of these
ruined towns scattered about this plain awaiting the careful ex-
plorer. Far in the north-east the fortress of Sulkhad loomed up, a
magnificent object on the horizon, commanding a view of all this
wide plain to the north, east, south, and west. I noticed that the
common barn-swallows were very abundant ; and we also saw dur-
ing the day ten or more gazelles, to some of which our men gave
chase, but without success.

5o8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

" We reached Um el Jemal after a ride of about five hours. The
ruins do not abound in columns and temples, like those of Kunawat
and Gerash; still they are imposing and make a peculiar impression
upon one, because they stand alone in the desert. They are remark-
able, in the first place, from the fact that they present only two
prominent styles of architecture — namely, Roman and Christian, or
Byzantine — and not half a dozen, as is so often the case in other
places. They are remarkable, again, because they afford a good
example of an unwalled town. But the walls of the houses in many
cases join each other, and this would give the appearance of a city
wall separate from the houses. If there was no wall, there was at
least a gate to the city. This was broad, and composed of four
arches. When perfect it was one of the principal ornaments of the
place. The dwellings and edifices were not huddled together.
There has been no building and rebuilding on the ruins of former
buildings, according to later Oriental style.

" The open spaces about the houses were large, and the streets
were broad, and at least two avenues ran through the city from
north to south, one of which was one hundred feet wude, and the
other nearly one hundred and fifty feet. Nothing appears crowded ;
everywhere there is a sense of roominess. It must have been a city
noted for broad streets, spacious avenues, large courts, fine gardens
and promenades. Again the houses, which were built of stone,
were not only the finest, but the best preserved, of any in the
Hauran. Some of them were three or even four stories high.
Eleven or twelve feet was a common height for the ceiling in the
first story, ten feet in the second, and in two or more cases the
height in the third story was also ten feet. The doors of the rooms
on the second floor, as well as on the first, were, as a rule, seven and
a half or eight feet high. The rooms w^ere not small, but spacious,
— that is, spacious for private houses. A number of those that I
measured were ten by twenty- five feet or twelve by twenty- four.
There were, of course, both larger and smaller rooms than these.
The roofs were supported by arches, and by increasing the number
of these a long hall could be covered as well as a small apartment.

"A common style of building seems to have been a group of
houses with a wide space around the outside and a large open

RUINS AT UM EL JEMAL.

509

CHURCH AND CONVENT AT UM EL JEMAL.

court on the inside. These courts were fifty feet by seventy- five,
and sometimes larger. Stone stairs on the outside of the houses,
facing the court, led up to the second and third stories. Many
of these are in as good condition as if they had been built but
a year ago. There are no decided marks of great antiquit)\ In
the large reservoir before mentioned there are some bevelled stones,
with the fullest rough face. Very many of the stones of which the
houses are built are simply split, and not faced at all; yet it should
be observed that the splitting was remarkably regular. It was
evidently at one time, and I should judge for a long time, a prom-
inent Christian city. I found the remains of what I consider to
have been three Christian churches. One of these at least had a
portico, and columns were lying about the front of it. In no other

5IO THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

city east of the Jordan that I have visited do so many crosses ap-
pear on the hntels of the doors of private houses as here.

"Then, again, the inscriptions are by no means the least im-
portant fact connected with these ruins. M. Waddington has pub-
Hshed several Greek and Latin inscriptions from this place, and
during my visit I found seven others, which he has not given, be-
sides several in the Nabathean language. Among those which M.
Waddington has given I find that one is in honor of M, Aurelius
Antoninus. Another shows that the troops or garrison stationed
here were cavalry, belonging to the Ninth Dalmatian Horse, who
were under the command of one Julius, an officer attached to the
court of the prince. They formed a section of the body of troops
known as Vexillarii — veterans upon whom was conferred special
honor. Possibly a hint may be obtained as to the character of the
place by the kind and rank of the soldiers that were assigned to it.
This inscription belongs probably to A.D. 371.

*'0n the four faces of a square tower, belonging to a large build-
ing which may have been a monastery, are several inscriptions in
Greek, chiefly of a religious nature. One is a fragment taken from
the Twenty-first Psalm ; others contain the names of Uriel, Gabriel,
and Emmanuel. M. Waddington refers to the use of the names
Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael in the early Jewish writings.
Four angels were placed at the corners of the throne of God, who
were the genii of the four cardinal points. Uriel was the angel of
the north, consequently his name appears on the north face of this
tower. Gabriel is the name on the east face, and the edifice is put
under the protection of these two angels. Among the Nabathean
inscriptions is one from a monument dedicated to the god Dusares,
who was extensively worshipped in these regions.

"The Arabs are every year carrying off the stones of this city
to other places. As many as six men were at work while we were
there, throwing down the walls and getting the long roof- stones,
which were to be taken away on camels. Just before we reached
the place we met thirty or forty camels that had started with loads
of stone from these ruins. It is easy to see how important inscrip-
tions may be carried off, and thus valuable historical material forever
lost. This practice of removing stones from one place to another

RED AND BLACK POTTERY.— UM EL JE>L\.L, liETII-GAMUL. 511

has gone on for centuries. Indeed, it prevailed in Bible times; and
we may be justified in concluding that the citizens of the Hauran
possessed, in their day, much finer private houses than any which
now appear among the ruins.

" The place appears to have been deserted for centuries. I should
judge that the desertion was sudden and complete. There are no
traces of there having been any lingering deteriorating remnant of
people, or of any wretched subsequent inhabitants, to mutilate it,
as is frequently the case in these large ruined cities. I noticed an
interesting fact in regard to the pieces of pottery with which the
surface of the ground here, as in all ruined towns, is covered. In
most cases one sees only the red pottery, but in Um el Jemal the
black was the prevailing kind, and the red decidedly the exception.
There are but few places in Syria where the black pottery is made.
In the first century, according to the Talmud, the black kind was
considered superior to the red, and brought a much higher price
in the markets; and what is also interesting in this connection, a
certain town in Galilee had the monopoly of its manufacture.

" So far as I am at present aware, there are no means of knowing
what the ancient name of this place was, or whether it corresponds
to the 'Beth-gamul' of Jeremiah xlviii. 21-24. In the passage
referred to, it is stated that 'judgment is come upon the plain
country,' and in the list of eleven cities there specified, Beth-gamul,
Beth-meon, Kerioth, and Bozrah are mentioned. 'Judgment is come,'
it is said, ' upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.' But
it is not known how far the country designated extended. If
Bozrah, in the passage in question, corresponds to the place where
we now are [that is here at el Busrah], which is doubtful or at least
has not yet been proved, then there would be no difficulty in making
Um el Jemal, or ' Mother of the Camel,' correspond to Beth-gamul,
or ' House of the Camel,' of Jeremiah.

" On our way back, as we had no guide, and paths do not exist,
we took the wrong direction, and when we had ridden five hours we
did not find our camp. We ascended a slight elevation, which
commanded a view of a wide region. We had a choice of seven
ruined cities, which were in sight from where we stood ; but as
night was rapidly approaching, even our effendi could not tell

512 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

which was el Busrah. We made a guess, which proved a lucky
one, and after one hour and a half hard riding in the dark we
reached our tents in safety. The color of the basalt rock of which
these Hauran towns are constructed gives one at first the impression
that they have been blackened by fire," and as they approached
the ruins of el Busrah on that dark night, the black and broken
walls of these deserted houses reminded Dr. Merrill of the burned
portion of a large city after a great conflagration.'

As very few travellers have ever been to Um el Jemal, that
account of Dr. Merrill's visit is invested with special interest, and
I fully agree with him when he says that, if Bozrah corresponds
to this el Busrah, " then there would be no difficulty in making
Um el Jemal correspond to the Beth-gamul of Jeremiah ;" but that
has not yet been fully established.

September 22d.

We find ourselves this morning surrounded by a wilderness of
ruins that sets all description at defiance. There seems to be
neither beginning, middle, nor end to them, and one is at a loss
to know where to commence his explorations.

That question is easily settled w^ien you become acquainted
with the plan of the city of Bozrah, the direction of the main streets,
and the location of the principal buildings. The walls surrounding
the ancient city were very thick, and their greatest length was from
east to west. The space enclosed by them was more than a mile
square, divided into four unequal parts by two main streets running
north and south and east and west, which crossed each other near
the middle of the southern part of the city. Other streets ran
parallel to them, and the most important ruins are now found on
the eastern side and towards the middle of the town. The black
ruins of private houses are to be seen in all directions, mostly
towards the south-east and south, their walls still standing, but
the roofs have fallen in long ago.

There were extensive suburbs beyond the walls on the east,
north, and west ; but the most imposing, and in some respects the
most interesting, structure now seen at Busrah is this great castle
near which our tents are pitched. It occupies a commanding posi-

' East of the Jordan, pp. 79-87.

ROMAN THEATRE WITHIN A SARACENIC CASTLE. 513

tion outside of the south wall of the city, and directly opposite to
the principal street leading northward through the town. The
commander of the Turkish garrison in the castle, who called upon
us last night, has sent one of his soldiers to accompany us over
the fortress, and we may as well commence our examination of the
ruins at el Busrah by first visiting the castle and the remains of a
Roman theatre within its walls.

The only entrance to this strong fortress is through a large
gate -way with an iron -plated door studded with nails. It is in a
deep recess in a retired angle near the east end, and is reached by
a causeway or bridge of six arches across the moat that surrounds
the castle, and which could formerly be filled with water from the
reservoir near by, with which it was connected by an aqueduct.

Look well to your footsteps as we grope our way up this dark
and crooked staircase to the upper platform ; and now we can ex-
plore the narrow passage-ways, mouldy, subterranean vaults, numer-
ous chambers of different sizes, once used for various purposes, the
courts, and the massive towers. The whole interior of the castle is
in a ruinous condition, everywhere encumbered with heaps of rub-
bish, and beneath the vaults are large cisterns capable of containing
a supply of water sufficient to last the garrison for many months.
Some of these subterranean vaults, I suppose, were connected with
the theatre. Others were made by the builders of the castle for
store-rooms and stables, and the chambers in the upper stories were
probably for the use of the garrison.

This was one of the largest and best-built castles in Syria, and
its massive external walls are nearly perfect and evidently Saracenic.
Its construction probably dates from early Muhammedan times, and
in its present form it differs from all other castles in this country.
Here, near the central part, it contains a large and well-preserved
Roman theatre, certainly far more ancient than the castle which
now includes it. I suppose the theatre was erected upon a tell or
mound elevated about sixty feet above the surrounding country.
When the Moslem conquerors wanted a castle at this central and
important city of el Busrah, they availed themselves of this theatre
as a nucleus, added strong towers at both the east and west ends,
and walled in the front of the theatre, as we now see it. The

514"

THE LAND AND THE ROOK.

wonder is that the Muhammedans, who hold in utter abomination
all such edifices, allowed this theatre to remain almost perfect,
without attempting to remove or destroy it.

The theatre occupies a space upon this platform about two hun-
dred and fifty feet long and two hundred feet wide. It was semi-
circular in shape, and supported by massive piers and groined

thp:ai kp: within the castle at el busrah.

arches. On either side of the stage, which was about one hundred
and forty feet long and sixty feet wide, there was a large chamber
sixty feet square, whose exterior wall was adorned with Doric
pilasters. There were six tiers of seats, now partly covered up by
Saracenic buildings, and a colonnade of nearly sixty Doric columns
ran around and above the upper tier of seats, but most of them
have disappeared. The theatre faced the north, and the audience
not only witnessed the spectacle on the stage, but they could over-
look the entire city in front and below them, and beyond it was the

VIEW FROM THE KEEP OF THE CASTLE AT EL HUSRAIL 515

wide-spreading plain of the Hauran, stretching far away northward
to the foot-hills of Mount Hermon.

Before leaving this fortress let us ascend the tower at the north-
west angle. From the top of it wc can surve)- not only the ex-
tensive ruins of el Busrah, but also the surrounding countr)- for
nnany miles in all directions.

"The keep," says Dr. Porter, "is a huge square tower, rising
high above the battlements [of the castlej and overlooking the
plains of Bashan and Moab. From it I saw that Bozrah was in
ancient times connected by a series of great highways with the
leading cities and districts in Bashan and Arabia. They diverge
from the city in straight lines, and my eye followed one after an-
other until it disappeared in the far distance. One ran westward
to the town of Ghusam and then to Edrei ; another northward to
Suweideh and Damascus; another north-west up among the moun-
tains of Bashan ; another to Kerioth ; and another eastward, straight
as an arrow, to the castle of Salchah, which crowned a conical hill
on the horizon.

"Towns and villages appeared in every direction, thickly dotting
the vast plain; a few of those to the north arc inhabited, but all
those southward have been deserted for centuries. I examined them
long and carefully with my telescope, and their walls and houses
appeared to be in even better preservation than those 1 had already
visited." And among other ruined towns, he saw, from the top of
this tower, Um el Jemal, the supposed Beth-gamul of the Scriptures.
"The plain," he says, "extends to the horizon, and is rich and fer-
tile; while the ruins prove that it was at one time densely populated.
But the cities are ' without inhabitant,' the houses are ' without man,"
the land is 'utterly desolate,' judgment has come upon it all far
and near, and the whole of Bashan and Moab is one great fulfilled
prophecy." '

Let us now descend from this lofty outlook, and examine some
of the ancient edifices in the city whose ruins lie in such bewildering
confusion almost at our feet. We need not stop to decipher the
Greek inscriptions; they have been copied by Hurckhardt, Wadding-
ton, and others. M. Waddington collected at el Busrah nearly sixty
' Bashan and its Giant Cities, pp. 68-70.

5l6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

of them, some of great length, but most of them are brief and im-
perfect, and of no special historic value.

And now for our ramble amongst the ruins of ancient Bozrah.
We will first visit those tall columns which stand out so conspicu-
ously near the centre of the town. They occupy the opposite corners
of the two main streets which divided the city nearly in the middle,
one running from east to west, the other from north to south.
These four columns on the left stand diagonally across the north-
west corner of the street, but there is no trace of the structure to
which they belonged, and without excavations it is impossible to
determine the original plan and purpose of an edifice apparently
occupying so unusual a position. The columns are about twelve
feet in circumference and over forty-five feet in height. The capi-
tals are perfect, but the entablature has fallen. These four beauti-
ful columns are regarded as amongst the best specimens of the
Corinthian order in Syria, and second only to the six columns in
the peristyle of the temple of the sun at Ba'albek.

Those two lofty columns on the opposite, or north-east, corner
of the street probably belonged to a colonnade or a temple, but
only a part of the front wall remains standing, showing three tiers
of niches, one above the other. These columns are too slender
for their great height, being about nine feet in circumference and
nearly fifty feet high, and they are otherwise not in the most per-
fect style of classic architecture. They stand at the ends of the
edifice with which they were connected, on a base of white marble,
and had Corinthian capitals. One of them still supports a pro-
fusely ornamented entablature which rests upon a pilaster in the
front wall of the building.

If we followed the main street westward we would soon come to
a large ruined structure, on the south side of it, which from its thick
walls and vaulted chambers was probably a bath. A short distance
beyond it, on the same side of the street, and facing north, is a well-
preserved triumphal arch, partly concealed by the remains of private
houses. It was about forty feet long and twenty feet wide, and
had three arches, the central one of which was over forty feet high.
At the sides and between the arches there are square pilasters, and
niches for statues, and a vaulted passage-way led through under the

DESERTED BAZAAR.— HOUSE OF THE JEW.— MOSK OF 'OMAR. 517

arches lengthwise. From a Latin inscription on one of the pilasters
we learn that the triumphal arch was erected about the middle of
the third century of our era in honor of Julius Julianus, prefect of
the first Parthian Philippine legion.

Leaving these columns, and the ruins of the temple to which
they belonged, let us now^ thread our way northward along this ,
narrow' street, which appears to have been occupied by shopkeepers
whose little stalls were v^aulted over, the arches in many cases rest-
ing on short columns. This proves that they are comparatively
modern and consequently of no special interest. Our object in
passing through this deserted bazaar, which, even in Muhammedan
times, was the centre of extensive trade and traffic for several hun-
dred years, is to visit the great mosk at el Busrah, said to have
been built by order of the Khalif 'Omar.

Here, on the left, are the ruins of the so-called Beit el Yehudy,
the house of the Jew\ Nothing remains but the gate-way which
once led into the dwelling-place of that peculiarly fortunate, but
execrable, Israelite. Tradition affirms that he was deprived of his
original habitation by the governor of el Busrah, who built a mosk
upon the site. The Jew appealed to the Khalif 'Omar at Medina,
who gave him an order WTitten upon the jawbone of an ass, to this
effect: "Pull down the mosk, and rebuild the house of the Jew."
Consequently, he became "an execration, and an astonishment, and
a reproach " to every true believer from that day to this.

We will now cross to the western side of the street, and enter
the court of the great mosk. This small door, near the minaret at
the north-east corner of the edifice, will lead us into the interior.
Within, the mosk was nearly square, and the roof was supported
by a colonnade that ran round the three sides north, west, and
south, but on the east there was a double row of columns forming
the porch or vestibule. Most of the columns are of well- polished
white marble, with Corinthian capitals. They are all about eighteen
feet in height, and the shafts consist of a single stone. Two of the
columns have Ionic capitals, and some of the shafts are of green
micaceous marble, a rare variety, of which there are but few speci-
mens in this country. The basaltic columns in the colonnade are
coarse, unpolished, and badly executed.

5i8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

A beautiful frieze in stucco, and Cufic and Arabic inscriptions
in bass-relief, ran round the walls on the interior of the mosk. Two
of the marble columns have Greek inscriptions; one of them bears
the date 383 of the Bostrian era, corresponding to A.D. 489, and
the other contains the name of Christ. All the material of which
this great mosk of the Khalif 'Omar was constructed evidently
belonged to more ancient edifices, and the columns were brought
here from some Christian church or heathen temple.

We will not visit the ruined bath on the opposite side of the
street, nor extend our walk to the east and north-east of it to visit
the Deir and Dar, the convent and the house of the monk Boheira.
At the bath we would only find traces of the pipes that conducted
the water into it, and upon the door of the " convent " and over
that of the "house" we would see a Latin and a Greek inscription,
neither of which is of any special importance. It may be well to
mention, in passing, that the ruined walls and fallen roofs of those
two buildings are probably those of a former church and chapel.
The objects most worthy of notice in this vicinity are the cathedral
of Busrah — called by the natives the church of the monk Boheira —
and the Cufic inscription in the court of a small mosk near it. We
can examine them on our way back to the tents, as they are but a
short distance to the south-east of this mosk.

Who was the monk Boheira ?

Burckhardt says: "This is a personage well known to the bi-
ographers of Mohammed, and many strange stories are related of
him by the Mohammedans, in honor of their Prophet, or by the
eastern Christians, in derision of the impostor. He is said to have
been a rich Greek priest, settled at Boszra, and to have predicted
the prophetic vocation of Mohammed, whom he saw, when a boy,
passing with a caravan from Mecca to Damascus. According to the
traditions of the Christians, he was a confidential counsellor of Mo-
hammed in the compilation of the Koran."' It is supposed that
Boheira accompanied the youthful Prophet to Mecca, and afterwards
became his instructor, and that Muhammed derived from him that
imperfect knowledge of the Bible which his absurd and puerile
stories in the Koran so abundantly display.

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 22S.

STIFLING SIROCCO. — CATHEDRAL AT BUSRAH. 519

The massive and circular interior of this cathedral affords us a
grateful shelter from the hot wind. I have felt its enervating pres-
ence all the morning during our rambles among the ruins, and it
appears to be increasing in violence every hour.

Such stifling sirocco winds, with clouds of suffocating dust, are
not uncommon at this season of the year, and Busrah, situated on
the verge of the Arabian desert, is entirely exposed to their full
force and their irritating and debilitating effects. During a sirocco,
therefore, men and animals seek refuge from the fierce wind and
oppressive heat in the vaulted chambers, and behind the thick walls
of these ruined edifices, and I am not surprised to see that those
Bedawin shepherds and their flocks have found safe shelter within
the enclosure of this ancient cathedral.

They are certainly a startling illustration of the change that has
come over place and people since this edifice was erected.

This Greek inscription, on the west side of it, over the main
entrance, is still quite perfect, and from it we learn that the cathe-
dral is one of the oldest in this region, that at Edhra' antedating it
by about two years. M. Waddington has copied it, and, together
with the text, he gives a brief account of the three martyrs, Sergius,
Bacchus, and Leontius, in whose honor the church was built by the
Archbishop Julianus in 407 of the Bostrian era, corresponding to
A.D. 513. The cathedral was square externally and circular within.
The walls are nearly perfect, but the domed roof has fallen, and the
interior is encumbered with the debris. The altar was at the cast
end, and the apse was supported by short Corinthian columns with
low arches. In the walls arc several sculptured stones which must
have belonged to a more ancient building. On either side of the
entrance, and to the right and left of the chancel there are large
niches, and the circular walls of the rotunda were adorned with
many smaller niches and other architectural ornaments common to
all Oriental churches in early Christian times.

M, Waddington gives the text of an inscription found at Busrah,
in honor of the patriarch Job, and in his comments upon it he tells
us that a very ancient tradition makes the neighborhood of this
city the home of the patient man of Uz. He adds that Job was,
and still is, the patron of hospitals, especially for lepers, and he sup-

520 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

poses that the inscription belonged to such an institution founded
at Bozrah by the Emperor Justinian during the sixth century. It is
certainly interesting to hear of a tradition associating the name of
that ancient patriarch with this region — the supposed land of Uz.
In the court of that mosk, north of this cathedral, is the basaltic
stone mentioned by Burckhardt, "covered with a long and beautiful
Cufic inscription, which is well worth transporting to Europe ; the
characters being very small, it would require a whole day to copy
it.'" An excellent photograph of that inscription was secured by
the gentlemen of the American Palestine Exploration Society when
at el Busrah in the autumn of 1875, but I am not aware that any
attempt has been made to ascertain its purport.

UJLImJlgj>2JiL^5jL:J^j.l^AAJIj^JL4UlA>^

gill ^ L^^ b/i^Pc^ 0^1^^^ A^gAJl^^^U.-^'

CUFIC INSCRIPTION AT EL BUSRAH.

Turning our steps southward from the cathedral, we will pass by
the house of the sheikh of el Busrah on the right, and here, on the
left, spanning the main street which ran through the city from east
to west, is another triumphal arch, much smaller than the one
farther west, and only remarkable for the thickness of its walls.
South of this Roman arch is Kusr Melek el Asfar, the palace of the
Yellow King. It is a large ruined house with several courts, strewn
with sculptured stones and fragments of columns. Nothing is to

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 232.

GATE OF THE WIND.— ROMAN GUARD- HOUSE. 52 I

be seen in the south-eastern part of the town but the prostrate
ruins of former habitations, so we will pass on, without further de-
lay, to our tents near the castle.

September 22d. Evening.

Here at Busrah the distances are so great, and the ruins over,
under, and among which one must find or force his way are so con-
fusing, that exploration is rendered particularly fatiguing.

Especially in such a prostrating sirocco as this. It is more than
a mile from the east gate to Bab el Hawa at the opposite or west-
ern end of the street, but that is the longest diameter of the city.
The western half of the town appears to have been occupied princi-
pally by private dwellings, which are now entirely prostrate, and
the only remarkable structure in that neighborhood is Bab el Hawa,
the Gate of the Wind. It consists of a well-preserved Roman arch,
with shell-shaped niches and square pilasters on either side. Traces
of the ancient pavement are still visible, but the gate-wa\- is choked
up with rubbish and hewn stones.

Outside the gate, on the north, there is a round tower, or guard-
house, whose walls are in a ruinous condition. According to Burck-
hardt, the tower was built by Yiisuf Pasha, of Damascus, to com-
mand the springs called 'Aiyun el Merj, which rise some distance
to the north-west of it and within the walls of the town. But the
pasha probably only repaired the old Roman guard -house. Near
the springs is a meadow, and there appears to have been a small
temple or nymphaeum built over the fountain of el Jeheir, a little
stream which rises in that neighborhood. A large pedestal has
recently been discovered near the city wall in that \'icinit}', with
a Latin inscription dedicating it to "Antonia Fortunata, the wife
of Antonius Caesar." East of the springs are the ruins of a small
mosk called el Khudr, the Moslem name for St. George, and near
it are the remains of an old tomb.

It may well be that this city original!)' owed its existence to
those springs and fountains both within ami without the walls of
the town, for such "a blessing" is rarely found in these regions.
They, however, did not prove sufficient for the wants of ci Husrah
when it became the capital of the province of Arabia, else the com-
munity would never have constructed such large and expensive

522

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

reservoirs on the east side of the city. The one not far from our
tents, and near the south-east corner of the city wall, is about five
hundred feet long, four hundred feet wide, and even now over
twenty feet deep. The surrounding walls are more than ten feet
thick, and a staircase led down to the bottom. On the north and
east sides of the reservoir there are remains of former habitations,
and some public buildings, whose massive stone doors were nearly
ten feet high and about a foot thick, and near the north-east angle
is a ruined and deserted mosk with a dilapidated square minaret.

RESERVOIR .A.ND RUINED MOSK AT EL liUSRAH.

Burckhardt supposes that " this reservoir is a work of the Sara-
cens," intended for the use of the Moslem pilgrims, who as late as
the seventeenth century passed by this city on their way to Mecca:
but it appears to be ancient, and was probably constructed for the
supply of the great mercantile caravans that made el Busrah one of
their principal stations ages before the rise of Muhammedanism.
Burckhardt is mistaken when he says that " the basin is never com-
pletely filled." I have seen the reservoir full to the brim, and the
wavelets upon its surface, wafted by the wind, were like those on a
small lake. Some distance farther north, on the east side of the

BOZRAH OF EDOM AND BOZRAII OF MOAB. 523

town and outside of the walls, is another reservoir, nearly four hun-
dred feet square and fifteen feet deep. But heaps of rubbish en-
cumber the sides and centre, and it is only remarkable for the num-
ber of "masons' marks" upon the stones in the walls. "These
characters," says Dr. Merrill, " strongly resemble Aramaic letters
of the seventh or eighth century before Christ." '

Is it not strange that so little is known about the ancient history
of this great city, and that its claim to Biblical notice should be dis-
puted by some modern critics?

Like everything else in these days, Busrah must submit to the
scrutiny of enlightened and impartial criticism. The objections,
against its being the Bozrah mentioned by Jeremiah are, however,
not convincing, though it is but fair to admit that there remains a
certain degree of doubt with regard to the claims of this city to
Biblical celebrity. It must not be confounded with the Bozrah
referred to in the well-known passage, "Who is this that cometh
from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah."^ That place has
been identified with el Busaireh, or Little Busrah, as its name im-
plies, in the mountainous district to the south-east of the Dead Sea,
and about eight miles south of Tufileh, the ancient Tophel.'

But as the Bozrah mentioned by Jeremiah is associated with
Beth-gamul, supposed to be Um el Jemal, five hours to the south
of this place, and also with Kerioth, identified with el Kurciych,
a few miles east of el Busrah, and near the road to Sulkhad, the
undoubted Salchah of the Bible, it is reasonable to believe that
it may be the Bozrah intended by the prophet. The judgments of
Jeremiah were against the Moabites, who appear to have been ex-
tremely haughty and arrogant. " We have heard of the pride of
Moab (he is exceeding proud), his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and
his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart."* The Moabites were
apparently rich and prosperous at that time, and there nia\' have
been flourishing colonies of them in 13eth-gamul, in Kerioth. and in
Bozrah. And the prophet assures them that the judgment of the
Lord would overtake them wherever tliey dwelt ; for it is come
" upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near." '

' East of the Jordan, p. 55. ' Isa. Ixiii. i.

* Deut. i. I. * Jer. xlviii. 29. ' Jer. xlviii. 24.

524 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

He has certainly stretched out upon Bozrah or el Busrah " the
line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness." '

That prediction is far more Hterally fulfilled in the appalling
desolation of this city than in the entire obliteration of its insignifi-
cant namesake of el Busaireh, to which the prophecy is now gen-
erally applied. But whatever may or may not be the facts in
regard to the identity of el Busrah with the Biblical Bozrah, the
historic notices of the Grsco-Roman, Christian, and Moslem city
are numerous and explicit enough.

Judas Maccabeus, previous to the conquest of this region by
the Romans, in his expedition east of the Jordan, extricated great
numbers of his brethren who " were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor,
and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim." And " he slew all the
males [of Bosora] with the edge of the sword, and took all their
spoils, and burned the city with fire." ' A similar fate befell Car-
naim, which is supposed to have been at Tell 'Ashtarah, north of
Der'a. Judas took the city; slew the inhabitants, and burnt their
temple. During the reign of the Emperor Trajan, and about A.D.
105, his general A. Cornelius Palma, then governor of Syria, conquer-
ed all this region east of the Jordan, and made Busrah the capital
of the new Roman province, which was called Nova Trajana Bostra.

The Romans beautified the city, and adorned it with temples,
theatres, baths, and other public edifices, and under them it became
a military colony, and remained an important commercial centre
for many centuries. They also made public highways extending
in all directions, and especially eastward across the desert towards
the valley of the Euphrates. One of those roads started from
Bostra and, passing by Sulkhad, ran, it is said, in a straight line
through the desert to the head of the Persian Gulf.

The so-called Bostrian era originated in this city about the com-
mencement of the first century A.D., and after Bozrah had been
constituted the metropolis of this part of Arabia ; and it was ex-
tensively used upon the coins and inscriptions now found in the
cities and towns east of the Jordan. Towards the middle of the
third century, Philip the Arabian, a native of Bozrah, as is gener-
ally supposed, became Roman emperor, and, as was natural, he con-

' Isa. xxxiv. II. - I. M.icc. v. 24-2S, 42-44 : Jos. Ant. xii. 8, 3, 4.

VISIT OF ORIGEN TO EL BUSRAH.

5-3

ferred many privileges upon his native city. There are, however,
two other claimants in this region for the honor of being the
birthplace of that Arabian emperor of Rome.

RUINS OF EL BUSRAH.

After the establishment of Christianity in the empire it was
early introduced into Bozrah, and spread rapidly throughout all
this region. The great Origen made a visit to Bozrah in order to
restore to the orthodox faith the bi.shop Beryllus, who had taught
certain speculations regarding the pre -existing nature of Christ,
which were considered heretical. He presided over at least one of
the councils held here, and his mission was entirely successful.
This city became the seat of a metropolitan archbishop, after the
time of Constantine, having dependent upon it a large number of

526 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

bishops scattered over the entire province of Northern Arabia, and
Reland finds the names of several of its occupants in the lists of
various ecclesiastical councils. At present there is not a single
Christian family residing in el Busrah.

Previous to the Moslem era, or el Hegira, this city was frequented
by trading caravans and merchants from Mecca and other places
in western Arabia, and Muhammed himself visited it at least twice ;
once, when twelve years old, in company with his uncle, Abu Talib,
when — if ever — he had his famous interview with the monk Boheira.
Again, when twenty-five years old, he came hither in the employ of
Khadija, who eventually rewarded his mercantile success with her
hand and fortune. After the subjugation of Arabia, and soon after
the death of the Prophet of Islam, a Muhammedan army attacked
this city. The Moslems advanced under the leadership of the fierce
and impetuous Khalid, renowned as the Sword of God, and shouting
the fanatical cry, " Fight, fight, victory or paradise !" they fell upon
the Christians and drove them into the city.

The terrified inhabitants might have long resisted the Arabian
hordes, but the town was betrayed by Romanus, the governor, who
had been deposed from office, and who afterwards embraced the
faith of Islam. El Busrah was the first fortified city in Syria that
fell by treachery into the hands of the Muhammedans, and from
that day to this they have held uninterrupted possession of it.
Under their baneful rule it has gradually dwindled down to its
present insignificant condition, and only thirty or forty families of
poor Moslem fellahin and Bedawin shepherds now find shelter
amidst the vast ruins of the Roman capital of Arabia.

Do you suppose that Sulkhad occupies the site of Salchah or
Salcah, mentioned by Moses and Joshua in connection with the
Hebrew conquests on this "side Jordan toward the sunrising?"

Almost nothing is known about the long history of Salcah, ex-
tending over a period of more than three thousand years, and
some writers have not accepted the traditional identification, but
I think their objections are based upon insufficient grounds. In
"the story of the conquest" Moses says, "Then we turned and
went up by the way of Bashan : and Og, the king of Bashan, came
out against us, and we took all his cities and all Bashan unto Sal-

THE SALCAH OF THE BIBLE.— FORTRESS AND ANXIENT TOWN. 527

chah.'" Joshua mentions Og as reigning in Salcah, and includes
in his territory "all Bashan unto Salcah."' About one hundred
and fifty years later we read that " the children of Gad dwelt in
the land of Bashan unto Salcah."' These are all the Biblical
notices, and from them we arc justified in locating Salcah some-
where in this neighborhood, at the extreme eastern limit of the
Hebrew territory on this side Jordan.

"The most striking feature of Sulkhad," says Dr. ^Merrill, " is its
great castle, which, indeed, is one of the most prominent landmarks
in all the Bashan plain. It is built in the mouth of an extinct
crater, on a conical swell or rise composed of porous lava rock. The
hill itself is three hundred feet high, and the rim of the crater con-
sists of ashes and cinders, while near the foot of the mound the
volcanic rock appears. As the crater is bowl-shaped, there is a deep
natural moat entirely around the castle, and the fortress is ap-
proached by a bridge over this moat.

" The walls of the castle are from eighty to one hundred feet high.
The interior is a perfect labyrinth of halls, galleries, chambers, and
vaults, which are now in a very confused and ruined state. There
is a long Arabic inscription here, and also several in Greek, and on
the stones many masons' marks appear. There are a good many
busts, lions, eagles, and other figures sculptured upon the walls.
Near the gate [and on the exterior wall] are two colossal lions facing
each other, and between them is a palm-tree. [The importance of
Sulkhad] as a frontier fortress must always have been great, and
there are good reasons for regarding it as the fortress captured by
Judas Maccabeus after he had taken Bosora, the modern Busrah." '
The ancient town was on the eastern side of the mound, and is
entirely hidden by it from view. In the early part of this century
the place was quite deserted, owing principally to its lack of good
water; but it has been gradually reoccupicd, and it now has a con-
siderable population composed mostly of Druses from the Lebanon.
It was visited by Dr. Porter in 1854, and he has given a graphic
description of the impression its deserted condition made upon his
mind at that time. "On approaching Sulkhad," he says, "we rode

' Deut. iii. i-io. '^ J^^H- "'>• 5 ; "'''• "•

3 I Chron. v. 11. * ^ast of the Joitlaii, pp. 50. 53.

528 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

through an old cemetery, and then, passing the ruins of an ancient
gate, entered the streets of the deserted city. The open doors, the
empty houses, the rank grass and weeds, the long straggling bram-
bles in the door-ways and windows formed a strange and impressive
picture. . Street after street we traversed, the tread of our horses

KULA T SULKHAD — CASTLE OF SALCHAH.

awakening mournful echoes and startling the foxes from their dens
in the palaces of Salcah. Reaching an open paved area, in front
of the principal mosque, we committed our horses to the keeping
of Mahmood, who tied them up, unslung his gun, and sat down to
act the part of sentry, while we explored the city.

"The view [from the castle] is wide and wonderfully interest-

VIEW FROM SULKHAD CASTLE.— EL KIREIVEH, KERIOTIL 529

\ng; it embraces the whole southern slopes of the mountains, which,
though rocky, are covered from bottom to top with artificial ter-
races, and fields divided by [low stone walls or] fences. From their
base the plain of Bashan stretches out on the west to Hermon ; the
plain of Moab on the south to the horizon ; and the plain of Arabia
on the east, beyond the range of vision. Wherever I turned my
eyes, towns and villages were seen. Bozrah was there on its plain,
twelve miles distant. The towers of Beth-gamul [Um el Jemal]
were faintly visible far away on the horizon. To the south-east
an ancient road runs straight across the plain far as the eye can see.
From this one spot I saw upwards of thirty deserted towns! Well
might I exclaim with the prophet, as I sat on the ruins of this
great fortress and looked over that mournful scene of utter desola-
tion, 'Judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Keriathaim,
and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Kerioth, upon Bozrah, and upon
all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.' " '

The village of el Kureiyeh, in this neighborhood, is supposed to
be the modern representative of the ancient Kerioth included in
the judgment upon Beth-gamul, Bozrah, and all the other cities in
the land of Moab, is it not ?

W^hen the identity of el Busrah and Um el Jemal themselves
can be established with Bozrah and Beth-gamul, then it may
fairly be inferred that el Kureiyeh is merely the Arabic form of
the Hebrew Kerioth, and that both places are the same in name
as well as in location. It appears to have been a doomed city
in the time of Amos, for we read, " Thus saith the Lord, I will
send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth ;"
and besides the judgment pronounced upon it, nearly two hundred
years later, by Jeremiah, that prophet informs us that " Kerioth is
taken, and the strongholds [in Moab] are surprised." '■' But we
know even less of its Biblical story than that of Salchah, and
scarcely anything of its secular history.

The ruins at el Kureiyeh, though not important nor imposing,
are quite extensive, and consist of several square towers, a large
reservoir, the remains of a few public buildings, antl main- private

' Jer. xlviii. 21-24 '< Uashan nnd its (jiant Cities, pp. 76, 77.
'^ Amos ii. i, 2 ; Jcr. .\Iviii. 41.

530 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

habitations, some of which have very thick walls and heavy stone
doors. The reservoir is near the centre of the town, and was sur-
rounded by a stone wall. Adjacent to it is a singular structure,
with a portico consisting of three rows of columns, six in each row,
supporting a flat roof. A broad flight of seven steps, extending
the whole length of the portico, led from the first row of columns
up to the third. From a Greek inscription on a stone upon one of
the steps we learn that the reservoir was constructed during the
second century of the Bostrian era, or about A.D. 296.

In the fourth century el Kureiyeh appears to have been the
seat of a bishop in one of the ecclesiastical districts dependent
upon Bozrah, and from its position on the confines of the eastern
desert it must always have been a frontier town of considerable
importance. Since the conquest of this part of the country by the
Muhammedans, el Kureiyeh has dwindled into insignificance, and,
like most of the ancient towns in the Hauran, it has often been
entirely deserted. When Burckhardt visited it, only four of its seven
or eight hundred houses were inhabited, but thirty years ago Dr.
Porter spent a night at el Kureiyeh, and was hospitably entertained
by the celebrated Druse sheikh Isma'il el Atrash, who then resided
in the place, and he found upward of one hundred houses occupied
by at least as many Druse families.

EL BUSRAH TO UER'A AND JEKASH. 531

XIV.

EL BUSRAH TO DER'A AND JERASH.

The Countrj' between el Busrah and Jerash. — Plain of el Hauran. — Roman Road. —
Boundary Line between Gilead and Bashan. — Few Villages. — Volcanic Waste. —
Waving Wheat and Barley. — Broken Lava. — Remarkable History of the Hauran. —
Migration of Abraham. — The Region West and East of the Jordan. — \ Fierce Race.
— The Rephaims, Zuzims, Emims, Horites. — The Invasions of Chedorlaomer. — March
around the South End of the Dead Sea.— En-misphat. — Amalekites, Amorites.— Defeat
of the Five Kings. — Capture of Sodom. — Lot carried away Captive. — Pursuit of Chedor-
laomer by Abraham. — Night Attack.— Recovery of Lot and Restoration of the other
Captives.— Melchizedek. — Salem, Jerusalem.— A March of about two thousand Miles.
— Arrival of the Hebrews led by Moses.— Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites. — Sihon
and Og.— Reuben, Gad, and the Half Tribe of Manasseh.— Captives in Mesopotamia.
— Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. — Alexander the Great.— The Ptolemies and
the Seleucidze. — The Romans. — Byzantines and Muhammedans. — Illustration of the
Sacred Record by the Physical Features of the Country and the Manners and Customs
of the People. — Ishmael.— The Promise to Hagar wonderfully fulfdlcd.- Ishmaelites.
— Muhammedanism.— Ishmael the Ancestor of the Moslems.— Divine Predictions con-
cerning the Descendants of Abraham.— The River Zeidy.—Ghusam.— Central Parts
of Plains destitute of Villages. — Agricultural Hamlets.— Various Native Races.—
Nebaioth, Nabatheans.— Caravan Trade between Arabia, India, and Africa.— Pctra,
Sellah.— The Nabatheans unconquered by the Persians, Greeks, or Romans.— Expedi-
tion of yElius Gallus.— Ruin of the Nabatheans by the Abandonment of the Arabian
Caravan Lines. —Aretas. — Paul. — Herod Antipas.— John the Baptist.— The Ghas-
sanide.— Palmyra.— Zenobia.— Indigenous Tribes.— Roman Bridge over the Zeidy.—
Traces of Chariot-wheels.— Et Taiyibeh.— Large Tower.— Urn el Mciyadin.— Volcanic
Rock and Cretaceous Limestone.— Hill-sides aglow with red Anemones. —Villages.—
Ghurs.— Camels carrying Wheat to Acre.— Caravan Route.— Company nf Ishmaelites.
—Balm of Gilead.- Joseph sold into Egypt. — Fanatical Moslems.— Turki.>,li Firman.—
M. Waddington.— The Capital City of Og.— The Hebrew Invasion and the Conquest
of Bashan. — Edhr'a, Edrei. — Der'a, Adara.— The Onomasticon and the Pentingcr
Table.— Eusebius.—Muhammedan Conquest.— Situation of the Ancient Town ami the
Modern Village of Der'a.- Extensive Cemetery.— Prospect from Icll Kcrak.— El
Jaulan, Lake Iluleli, and Mount Ilcrmon.— Tell 'Ashtarah.— Aslitcrolli Kaiiiaiin.—

N 2

532 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The principal Divinity of the Phoenicians. — Temple at Carnaim. — The Maccabees. —
Atargatis. — Twenty-five Thousand slain at Carnaim. — Josephus. — The Onomasticon.
— Eusebius. — Dr. Merrill's Description of Tell 'Ashtarah. — A strongly fortified Place.
— Cyclopean Remains. — Massive Entrance. — Timotheus's defeated Army. — Large rock-
cut Reservoir. — Roman Baths. — Aqueduct. — Mosk and square Tower. — Sarcophagus
with Lion's Head. — Church and Monastery. — Remains of an ancient Structure. —
Masons' Marks. — Three Cities, one beneath the other. — Dr. Wetzstein's Subterranean
Residence of Og. — Crusaders at Der'a. — Ragged Arab Tents. — Bedawin, Gypsies, and
Vagabonds. — Fortune - telling. — Burning Straw. — Romping Children. — Abundant
Harvests. — Blasted Plain. — Luxuriant Grass, waving Wheat, and brilliant Flowers. —
Mountainous and wooded Region. — Cities of the Decapolis. — The Zeidy. — Cascades
and Rapids. — Country east of the Jordan dotted with Villages, abandoned to the
Bedawin. — Dr. Merrill's Search for the ancient Golan. — Wady or Nahr 'Allan. — Beit
er Ras, Capitolias. — Roman Road. — Ruins of Public Buildings and great Arches. —
Corinthian and Ionic Columns. — Ornamental Work and fine Eagles. — Inscriptions. —
Underground City. — Subterranean Dwellings. — Irbid. — Cyclopean Walls described by
Dr. Merrill. — Substructures of strong Towers. — Arbela. — Beth-arbel. — Eidun, Dion.
— Haj Road. — Pilgrim Caravan to Mecca. — Burckhardt at Remtheh. — Last inhabited
Village of the Hauran. — Cavernous Habitations at Remtheh. — Dr. Merrill's Experi-
ence at Remtheh. — No Water for Ten Hours. — Migration of the Wulid 'Aly. — "One
hundred thousand Camels." — Contrivance for the Comfort of the Sheikhs' Wives. —
The Ship of the Desert. — Bedawin Migrations and Hebrew Invasions. — Distress of
Moab. — Pasture and Provender for the Camels and Caravans of the Bedawin. — Life
of the wandering Ishmaelites. — Contempt for the Fellahin. — The Denizens of the
Desert number Hundreds of Thousands. — Wooded Hills. — Hawarah. — Beautiful and
Productive Region. — Tell Husn. — Ruined Castle. — Church and Columns. — Rock-cut
Tombs. — El Husn. — No Fountains. — Dry Cisterns. — Greeks, Muhammedans, and
Protestants. — No Distinction in Dress and Manners between the different Sects. —
Freedom of Speech and Action. — Extensive Forest. — Mahneh. — Canon Tristram. —
Biblical References to Mahanaim. — A Levitical City. — The Capital of Ish-bosheth. —
The Refuge of David. — The Chamber over the Gate at Mahanaim. — David's Grief
at the Death of Absalom. — A Station of Solomon's Purveyors. — Josephus. — Site of
Mahanaim described by Modern Writers. — Beisan. — Suggestion of Dr. Porter and
Conclusion of Dr. Merrill. — Jegar-sahadutha and Mizpah. — Galeed or Watch-tower. —
Josephus. — The Land of Gilead. — Covenant between Laban and Jacob. — False Gods
in the Family of Jacob. — The Call of Abraham. — Jacob at Mahanaim. — Jacob hideth
the Strange Gods. — Worship of the True God at Beth-el. — Oppressive Heat. — Birket
ed Deir. — Thousands of Flowers. — Cultivated Region. — Forest of Oak, Pine, Tere-
binth, and Hawthorn. — Um el Khanzir. — Shepherds, Milk, and fine Flocks. — Ride
through the Forest in the Land of Gilead. — Pine-trees. — Forest Fires. — Wheat
amongst Blackened Stumps. — Wady ed Deir. — Camp amongst Olive-trees. — Village

of es Suf. — Jerash Deserted and Unsafe.

September 23d.

As Jerash — the most important place we wish to reach from
here — is nearly south of el Busrah, why do we take this long

GILEAD AND BASHAN.— ROMAN ROAD.— PLAIN OF EL HAURAn. 533

circuitous route of over seven hours to the north-west ? W'c shall
be farther, I suppose, from Jerash at Der'a, where you propose
to spend the night, than we are now.

The country between el Busrah and Jerash is an uninhabited
desert — a no man's land — over which roam only bands of lawless
Bedawin. Even caravans rarely venture to cross it, and we must
necessarily take this route to get round it. But the time will not
be lost ; our course will take us across the plain of el Hauran, at its
broadest part, and will make us better acquainted with it than
otherwise we should have been. The old Roman road, also, which
we shall follow for some distance, is not without interest, especially
because it passes near the boundary -line between Bashan and
Gilead, the two great districts into which the region cast of the
Jordan was divided in ancient times.

Those names are familiar to readers of the Bible, and the fact
that we shall have both districts in view will relieve the mo-
notony of our ride through this dreary region, Der'a, also, I sup-
pose, occupies the site of an old town, and must be well worth
visiting for its own sake. There seem to be very few villages along
the road, and none of any importance, and the plain is apparently
as bare and lifeless as the desert itself.

The crops have all been gathered in, and the surface now pre-
sents only a dry volcanic waste; but when the autumn rains com-
mence, the whole aspect of this vast plain of el Hauran will quick-
ly change, as if by magic, to a brilliant green. Pass this way in the
spring, and you will find it a boundless expanse of waving wheat
and barley, promising abundant harvests a few months later.

I notice that the ground is everywhere strewn with fragments of
broken lava in countless numbers, but they are not large enough,
evidently, to injure the crops.

They do not interfere with the growth of the grain, and the
yield is as great here as in those central portions of the plain where
the soil is composed of dark volcanic ashes. Desolate and forlorn
as most of the Hauran is at present, it has been connected with
some remarkable events, originating in the earliest historic times of
which there is any authentic record. Our acquaintance with the
country west of the Jordan begins with the arrival of Abraham at

534 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Shechem. But previous to his migration from Haran to Canaan
the region east of that river was inhabited by a fierce race of men
divided into several tribes, who may have dwelt in this part of
the country from remote antiquity, and long before the invasions
of Chedorlaomer and his confederate kings.

From the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we learn the names of
various tribes who then occupied this land. The Rephaims dwelt
in Ashteroth Karnaim, a place probably at or near Tell 'Ashtarah,
which we shall see this evening from the hill above Der'a. A peo-
ple called the Zuzims lived in Ham, wherever that may have been ;
the Emims dwelt in Shaveh Kiriathaim, " and the Horites in their
mount Seir, unto El-paran." Chedorlaomer and his confederate
kings extended his invasion as far south at least as the Dead Sea,
including Sodom and its associate cities. Twelve years the inhab-
itants submitted, and then they rebelled against their foreign con-
querors. In the fourteenth year after Chedorlaomer's first invasion
he returned, "and the kings that were with him," to quell the re-
bellion and re-impose his own authority.

Chedorlaomer smote all those tribes, and continued his victorious
march around the south end of the Dead Sea and out into the wilder-
ness, and then " returned and came to En-misphat which is Kadesh,"
where Moses, four centuries later, encamped when he sent the spies
to explore the land of Canaan. Having subdued the Amalekites
in that region, Chedorlaomer led his army back homeward along
the west side of the Dead Sea, " and smote the Amorites that dwelt
in Hazezon-tamar" or En-gedi. From that place he proceeded to
attack the kings of the five cities of the plain, captured Sodom, and
carried away the inhabitants, including Lot, the nephew of Abra-
ham. Continuing his march northward, up the valley of the Jordan,
Chedorlaomer was overtaken by Abraham and the " three hundred
and eighteen trained servants, born in his own house," and utterly
defeated at Dan, under Mount Hermon.

It was a night attack, and Abraham smote the host of Chedor-
laomer "and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left of
Damascus." Having recovered Lot, Abraham returned and restored
the other captives to the king of Sodom, and he was blessed by
Melchizedek, " the priest of the most high God," who reigned in

THE ANCIENT NATIONS EAST OF THE JORDAN. 535

righteousness and peace at Salem — generally supposed to be Jeru-
salem. Thus ended one of the first military expeditions of which
there is any detailed account in authentic histor\'. Including the
more distant countries over which Chedorlaomer and the confed-
erate kings reigned, their invasion of this region, " beyond Jordan,
eastward," from the distant valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates,
implies a march of about one thousand miles — an extraordinary
undertaking for that early day, and one that could only have been
achieved by the despotic ruler of a nation with a stable govern-
ment and a well-appointed military organization.

What occurred here during the four succeeding centuries after
that invasion can be partly inferred, or imagined, from the condi-
tion of the country when the Hebrews, led by Moses through the
wilderness east of Aloab, arrived from Ezion-gabcr, " and pitched in
the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo." The old inhabitants had
all disappeared; we hear no more of the Zuzims, the Emims, and
the Horites. Instead of them the names of new races and tribes
occur: Moabites dwelt on the high plateau east of the Dead Sea,
and Ammonites had possession of the region around the head-
waters of the Jabbok, while the warlike Amorites occupied the cen-
tral parts of the country between them, with Sihon, their king, on
the south, and Og, king of Bashan, on the north.

Those two kings were destroyed by the Hebrews, and their ter-
ritory divided between Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manas-
seh. They, in their turn, were harassed and gradually overcome by
the Syrians of Damascus, and ultimately carried away captive to
Mesopotamia by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians.
After them came Alexander the Great and the Gra.'co-Macedonians.
and the Ptolemies and the Seleucidai held possession of the coun-
try down to the advent of the all-conquering Romans, shortly be-
fore the beginning of our era. Their Byzantine successors main-
tained a feeble and doubtful sway over the land until the early part
of the seventh century, when the fierce and fanatical Muhammedans
from Arabia swept them away, and overran the entire country east
of the Jordan; and they have held it ever since, to its utter ruin
and entire demoralization.

In glancing thus briefly at the various races, tribes, and nation-

536 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

alities that have occupied this region during the four thousand years
and more of the past, we do not depart from the main purpose of
our travels. In no other way can some of the ancient records in
the sacred volume be so strikingly verified and illustrated as by
studying the physical features of this country and the manners and
customs, the law^s and religions of the people who once occupied it,
and compare them w'ith the regions we pass through and the in-
habitants of the land as we see them to-day.

The latter are the direct, remote, or collateral descendants of
Abraham and the other patriarchs mentioned in the Bible, and they
still dwell in the regions originally assigned to them in those early
historic times. Ishmael, the son of Hagar, the Egyptian bondwom-
an, was the first-born to Abraham, and in regard to him the prom-
ise of the Lord made to his outcast mother has been most won-
derfully fulfilled: — "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it
shall not be numbered for multitude. And he will be a wild man ;
his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against
him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren,'"

One hundred and forty years after the invasion of Chedorlaomer
we find that the Ishmaelites had greatly multiplied and had spread
over the southern desert, " from Havilah unto Shur, that is before
Egypt," according to the promise." And there they are to this day,
possessing the special characteristics of their great ancestor, follow-
ing the same mode of life, dwelling in tents, wearing the same kind
of garments, and speaking substantially the same language. Mu-
hammedanism, which crushed out of existence so many other races
and tribes between the upper and nether millstone of its sanguinary
creed, has effected no essential change among the Ishmaelites during
the past twelve centuries of Moslem domination. In some impor-
tant respects it has not only perpetuated their peculiar traits but
contributed greatly to the expansion of the race itself.

Do you include the followers of the Arabian Prophet in that
multitude of Ishmael's descendants that could not be numbered?

Without accepting the Muhamm.edan legends in regard to the
founding of Mecca and the erection of the Caaba by Abraham and
his son Ishmael, still the fact remains that the Muhammedans claim
' Gen. xvi. lo, 12. - Gen. xxv. 18.

PROMISE TO HAGAR.— EZ ZEIDV.— VILLAGES ON THE PLAINS. 537

Ishmael as their remote ancestor and profess to be Ishmaelites, in-
heriting the reHgion of Abraham, with its promises and blessings
included; and in their long and varied career they have exhibited
the very same characteristic traits ascribed to Ishmael. Their hand,
also, has been against every man, and everj' man's hand against
them, and yet they still dwell in the presence of all their brethren,
in the centre of the Old World, a defiance and a menace to the
surrounding nations whether pagan or Christian.

The promise to Hagar thus expanded is, to say the least, very
suggestive and exceedingly impressive.

It would be easy to show that the divine predictions concerning
the other descendants of Abraham and the patriarchs — the Edom-
ites, Moabites, and Ammonites — were remarkably fulfilled, both as
to their homes in these regions and to their rapid extension and
multiplication ; but we may have occasion to resume this subject
when we come to the lands which were occupied by those peo-
ple; and though these and kindred topics are quite appropriate to
the country through which we are journeying we must not be so
absorbed in subjects far away as not to notice the objects of inter-
est that lie along our present pathway.

I have been wanting, for the last half hour, to inquire the name
of the river on our right and of the pretty village upon its bank.

The river is called Nahr ez Zeidy, and it drains the country west
of the Lejah and most of the slopes of Jebel Hauran to the north--
east of el Busrah. We crossed it on the bridge near Jemurrin, half
an hour north of el Busrah, and shall soon cross it again. The
name of the village is Ghusam, and it, no doubt, occupies the site
of an ancient town, as shown by the ruins of some large buildings —
the remains of a church and the existence of high gates with massive
stone doors. There are many other hamlets near by and far away
on the plain, but there is nothing remarkable about them.

We have noticed before this that the central parts of such plains
were generally destitute of large villages, important ruins, or ancient
monuments, and at this day we see around us only small agricultural
hamlets, the homes of the peasants who cultivate the fields adjacent
"to their habitations. But it is important to remember that there
has always been an indestructible, native clement in the population

538 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

of this region. Various native races and tribes have existed here
from remotest times, and they survived the tide of foreign nationali-
ties that ebbed and flowed around them down to the last centuries
before our era. The most celebrated native tribes, in times compar-
atively modern, were the Nabathean and the Ghassanide.

Who were the Nabatheans? We hear of them in this region,
and have seen their inscriptions in some of the places we have
visited during our journey south of Damascus.

They are supposed to have been the descendants of Ishmael's
eldest son, Nebaioth, and were originally a nomad tribe — a pastoral
people much like the Bedawin Arabs of the eastern desert. They
appear to have occupied Northern Arabia, and probably extended
from the lower valley of the Euphrates and the shore of the Persian
Gulf to the Red Sea and the confines of Egypt. Eventually most
of the Nabatheans seem to have abandoned tent -life and built
towns and cities. They became actively engaged in commerce, and
for many centuries almost the entire trade between Arabia, India,
and Eastern Africa was carried on by their countless caravans —
north to Syria, east to the Persian Gulf, west to Gaza and Egypt,
and southward through Central Arabia to the Indian Ocean. The
celebrated Petra — the Sellah, probably, of the Bible — was their
capital and the centre of their trade and traffic.

They became wealthy, civilized, and powerful, able to defend
themselves against foreign enemies — whether Persians, Greeks, or
Romans — nor were they ever effectually conquered by them. The
Persian invaders were always defeated, and the only Roman expedi-
tion into their dominions — that of yElius Gallus, in the time of Au-
gustus — was an utter failure. A more insidious enemy, however,
against which the unconquerable deserts could not protect the
Nabatheans, ultimately overpowered the entire race. They grew
great and wealthy through commerce alone, and when that failed
they succumbed and sunk into insignificance. The Graeco-Roman
merchants discovered that the passage through the Gulf of Suez
and Egypt was shorter, cheaper, and safer for Oriental commerce,
and thus the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea was forsaken, and the
Arabian caravan lines of trade were abandoned.

Some of the Nabathean princes rose to high station and were

JOHN THE BAPTIST.— THE GHASSANIDE.— ROMAN BRIDGE. 539

recognized as kings even by Roman emperors, and one is mentioned
under the title of Aretas as early as the reign of Antiochus.'

Was the Aretas whose governor " kept the city [of Damascus]
with a garrison, desirous to apprehend " Paul, a Nabathean?^

No doubt, and probably he was the same Aretas whose daughter,
married to Herod Antipas, was divorced by him at the instigation
of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. To avenge that insult to his
daughter, Aretas declared war against Herod and utterly defeated
him — a calamity which, Josephus says, was generally regarded by
the Jews as a judgment upon Herod for the murder of John the
Baptist, whom he beheaded to please the vindictive Herodias.'

The Ghassanide were of Arabian origin, mostly immigrants from
the central and western parts of the peninsula. They settled along
the southern and eastern borders of Syria, and finally spread over
the desert to the valley of the Euphrates. They were divided into
many distinct tribes, some of which became civilized and occupied
large and flourishing cities. We need only instance Palmyra and
its noble queen, Zenobia, who belonged to the Ghassanide people.
At one time they professed Christianity and built numerous monas-
teries, but the irruption of the Muhammedans into this countr\'
ultimately extinguished the Ghassanide dynasty, and their name
and fame ceased to appear in Arabian history. Similar indigenous
tribes, however, still exist, and we may come in contact with them
as we penetrate farther into the region east of the Jordan which
they claim as their special domain.

We are now approaching the bridge over the Zeidy, and as it is
about midway between el Busrah and Der'a we will rest there and
take our lunch in the shade near its eastern buttress.

The river seems sluggish and not very deep.

1 have passed this way in early spring, and the Zeidy was quite
unfordable. This bridge, of two arches, is broad and substantial
and apparently Roman. The traces of chariot-wheels on the stone
pavement establish its claim to a certain antiquity, for no wheeled
vehicles have passed over it, I suppose, for many a centur\'.

That village on the south is called et Taiyibeh, and farther west
you can see a large tower, which gives the name of Um el Mci-

' 2 Mace. V. 8. '2 Cor. xi. 32. ' .\nt. xviii. 5, 2 ; Matt. xiv. 3-12.

540 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

yadin — Mother of Minarets — to the village near it. The nature of
the country from here to Der'a changes from level to hilly, and
from volcanic rock to cretaceous limestone. In the spring the hill-
sides are all aglow with red anemones and other flowers, bright and
gay; now they are burned and brown under the scorching rays of
the sun during the rainless months of summer.

As usual, villages increase on the hills that border the plain,
and more life and activity are manifest among the inhabitants.

In this valley into which we are now descending, south of that
village called Ghurs, I once found a large caravan of camels that
were carrying wheat to Acre. The caravan had stopped here to
rest, and the camels were allowed to brouse upon the luxuriant
pasture. The men were asleep on the ground by the side of the
loads, and I was reminded, by their appearance and the road -they
were travelling, that this had been a caravan route from remote
antiquity. They would descend into the profound gorge of the
Jarmuk and cross the Jordan on the bridge called Jisr el Mejami'a,
the only one now available south of the Lake of Tiberias. Thence
they would pass westward through the plain of Esdraelon to their
destination at Acre. It was probably by this route that the " com-
pany of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing
spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt," to
whom Joseph was sold by his cruel brethren.' The road to Egypt
then left the plain of Esdraelon at Dothan, as it does still.

We have been making a rapid descent towards the Zeidy, and
that village on the hill beyond it must be Der'a, which we have
come to visit. It occupies a very commanding position.

We shall find our tents at the south-eastern extremity of the
town, where I spent a Sabbath many years ago. The inhabitants
are rude, fanatical Moslems, and it was not easy to find a suitable
place to encamp. No one would allow us to pitch in any of their
fields, and we were obliged to apply to the sheikh in the name of
the Sultan, whose Turkish firman we had with us for just such
emergencies. With evident reluctance and disgust he pointed out
a vacant spot which we then found quiet and well protected. There
is time enough to make the circuit of the place before it grows

' Gen. xxxvii. 25-2S.

CAPITAL OF OG.— HEBREW CONQUEST.— DERA AND EDREI. 54 1

dark, and in the evening we will look into the history of the old
town and its surroundings.

Der'n, September 231I. Evening;.

Der'a is a much larger place, and there are more remains of an-
tiquity about it than I had expected to find.

You are aware that M. Waddington and others have maintained
that this is the true site of the Biblical Edrei in which Og, the king
of Bashan, dwelt when the children of Israel invaded his territory,
in the time of Moses. But it appears to be improbable that Og would
locate his capital upon a hill in the open country, on the south-west
border of his kingdom, at a place that could be so easily surrounded
and captured, when his dominions extended over all Bashan, in-
cluding "the region of Argob " or the Lejah, with its bewildering
labyrinths and extensive caverns.

The Israelites came up from the south, and Og probabh- retired
before them to a town in the natural fortresses of the Lejah, and
there, as we have seen, are the ruins of a large and ancient cit}-,
at Edhr'a — a name almost identical with the Biblical Edrei. But
there are no data, either in the Bible or elsewhere, sufficiently ex-
plicit to settle that question. Der'a, however, is undoubtedly the
Adara of the Onomasticon and the Peutinger Table, said to have
been twenty-four miles from Bosrah ; and it was probably regarded
by Eusebius as the Edrei of the Bible. After the Muhammedans
conquered the country, in the early part of the seventh century,
Der'a is no longer mentioned as an important place, and has no
special history down to the present day.

The ancient town was situated upon a hill in a bend — almost a
loop — of the river Zeidy, but the modern village occupies only a
small part of the former site. Including the hill just north of the
village, the circuit of the old town must have been more than three
miles. On a former occasion I had a long ramble about the i)lace,
accompanied by the son of the sheikh. We went first to an ex-
tensive cemetery, the largest I have seen in this region — a perfect
wilderness of Muhammedan tombstones. We next ascended the
hill, which was once fortified, and the whole surface is covered by
the debris of a city apparently of great antiquity.

The prospect from Tell Kerak, as the hill is called, over the sur-

542

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

rounding country is very extensive. I could see with my glass most
of those lofty, conical tells which form so striking a feature of the
plateau of the Jaulan, east and south-east of Lake Huleh, with
snow-capped Hermon, in all his glory, for background on the north
— a panorama of great interest, and as vast as it was varied. On
the plain below us, which stretches north and east to the horizon,
are numerous tells, each with a significant name, but the one which
chiefly attracted my attention was Tell 'Ashtarah. It is nearly
north, and apparently about ten or twelve miles distant.

Is it supposed to occupy the site of the city where the Rephaim
dwelt in the time of Abraham?'

As already remarked in the account of Chedorlaomer's invasions,
a place called Ashteroth Karnaim existed in this region at that very
early day, and it is supposed to be identical with Ashtaroth men-
tioned in Deuteronomy, Joshua, and elsewhere as a city in Bashan
and not far from Edrei. If Tell 'Ashtarah could be identified with
both Ashtaroths it would impart additional interest to that site ;
but aside from the similarity in name and location, the Biblical and
other notices of the two places are not sufficiently decisive. We
hear no more of Ashteroth Karnaim until the time of the Maccabees.
Ashtoreth was the principal female divinity of the Phoenicians, and
her worship prevailed over Western Asia. A temple dedicated to
her, apparently, at Ashteroth Karnaim was well known in later
Hebrew times, and both the city, then called Carnaim, and the
temple are mentioned in Maccabees: Judas Maccabeus "took the
city, and burnt the temple with all that were therein.'""

The same achievement is referred to in 2 Maccabees, where the
temple is called that of Atargatis— another name for Ashtoreth—
and the number of the slain, in both city and temple, is said to have
been twenty-five thousand.' Josephus also mentions the exploits of
Judas at Carnaim, the capture of the city, the slaughter of his
enemies, and the burning of the temple.' In the Onomasticon
Ashteroth Karnaim is said to be six miles from Edrei, by which
Eusebius must have meant this Der'a, for Edhr'a, or Edrei, in the
Lejah is much farther from Tell 'Ashtarah.

' Gen. xiv. 5. "^ i Mace. v. 26, 42-44.

2 2 Mace. xii. 21, 26. ■* Ant. xii. 8, 4.

TELL 'ASHTARAH.— ASHTEROTH KARXAnL— RUINS AT DER'A. 543

Dr. Merrill carefully examined that interesting site. " The sum-
mit of the mound," he says, " is one thousand nine hundred feet
above the sea-level, sixty or more above the surrounding plain, and
is longer from north to south than from east to west. There is an
irregular depression on the summit, running from north-east to
south-west, which divides it into two portions. It is very probable
that this depression was much more marked in ancient times than
at present. The remains of the wall around the brow of the sum-
mit we examined with care, and the indications are that it has been
a strongly fortified place.

" On the south-west side of the hill there still exist some Cyclo-
pean remains of great interest. These consist chiefly of two lines
[of walls] formed of immense, unhewn blocks of stone, starting from
a point in the plain about twenty-five yards from the base of the
hill, and running thence to the base and up the side of the mound,
till they meet the wall, already mentioned, around the summit. At
the point in the plain where we have said these walls commence,
they turn towards each other at right angles, and space is left for a
great gate. This gate and passage may have served as the entrance
to a castle; and if the massiveness of the entrance affords any hint
as to the character of the place, it must have been one of unusual
strength. Being fortified, it is the only place in all that immediate
region whither a defeated army would flee, as is related of Timo-
theus's army in i Maccabees, 5, and there is no objection to regard-
ing it [that is, Tell 'Ashtarah] as the Carnaim of those times.'"

Descending from Tell Kerak we came to a large reservoir be-
tween it and the village. It was excavated in the solid rock, and
is about five hundred feet long, two hundred feet wide, and now
partially filled up with rubbish, but originally it may have been fifty
feet deep. Near the south-west corner of the reservoir are the
remains of ancient baths, probably Roman. I was told that the
reservoir is called Birket Siknany, because of the echoes made by
the walls. That "birkeh" is now dry, but it was formerly filled by
an aqueduct that was carried over the river gorge on a bridge. The
bridge, of four arches, is seen below Tell Kcrak, ami a line- of what
appears to have been an aqueduct, which the natives call Kanatir
' East of the Jordan, pp. 320. 33"-

544 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Far'aun — the Arches of Pharaoh — stretches across the plain beyond
it towards the north-east for several miles.

Returning through the village towards the south-east we tried to
enter the mosk, whose tall, square tower forms such a conspicuous
object in the general view of the place, but it was closed, and we
could only look into the large court from a terrace above it. The
mosk is about one hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred
feet wide, with three gates, and a double colonnade of many short
columns ran around it. In the north-east corner of the court is a
remarkable sarcophagus, adorned with the heads of lions and other
decorations in bass-relief. The mosk was built out of the ruins of a
church and monastery, and just south of it are the solid foundations
of a semicircular structure, probably the apse of the church. The
chord is nearly one hundred and twenty feet, and the edifice, which
faced the north, was divided into aisles by columns and piers.

At the south-eastern border of the village are the remains of
an ancient structure, which are well worth examining ; but the frag-
ments have been built into modern houses, and large pieces of the
cornice are scattered about in utter confusion, so that it is impos-
sible to make out the plan of the edifice. The son of the sheikh
said that there were many inscriptions on the walls of native houses,
and led the way through narrow, crooked, and filthy lanes to show
them ; but they were all mere masons' marks, consisting of a single
letter, cut into the face of stones which probably belonged to the
houses of the old city. I noticed, however, that some of those
marks were found on large, unhewn blocks of stone. That Der'a
must have been an important city in the Gr^eco-Roman times no
one can doubt who examines the existing remains.

Dr. Merrill remarks that " Dra'a ought to be a rich field for ex-
cavations, because at least three cities exist there, one beneath an-
other," and he translates Dr. J. G. Wetzstein's " interesting account
of his visit to the extensive underground dwellings which exist
here," and which Dr. Wetzstein calls " the subterranean labyrinthine
residence of Og," king of Bashan.' But neither Dr. Wetzstein nor
M. Waddington found any important inscriptions, and Dr. Merrill,
who recently attempted to explore that subterranean city, was not

' East cf the Jordan, pp. 349-352.

CRUSADERS AT DER'A.— FORTUNE-TELLING.— BURNING STRAW. 545

more successful than either of the others. Dr. Merrill relates the
historical fact " that when King Baldwin III. (1144-1162) and his
crusaders made their wild chase to Bozrah, they went by way of
Dra'a. The weather was hot, and the army was suffering terribly
for want of water; but as often as they let down their buckets, by
means of ropes, into the cisterns here, men concealed on the inside
of the cisterns would cut the ropes and thus defeat their efforts.
Probably the underground city has connection with all the impor-
tant cisterns of the place."*

Der'a, September 24th.

We have a ride of ten hours before us to-day from Der'a to the
village of Suf, near Jerash, where we are to spend the night.

I am surprised to see around the outskirts of this village so
many ragged Arab tents, with occupants equally ragged.

They belong to remnants of indigent Bedawin tribes, roving
gypsies and Mograbian vagabonds, who gather about such places
to beg and to steal. When we were here before, a Mograbian
woman came to the tents one afternoon and offered to tell our
fortunes and perform sundry tricks of legerdemain. She was the
only one of that people I have seen in this region who could speak
Arabic like a native of the country.

What is the cause of those clouds of black smoke that float
down the hill-side towards the river?

The shiftless natives are trying to get rid of the great heaps
of old straw and manure that overtop their houses by burning in-
stead of carrying them out onto the fields. It is the usual custom,
and they were doing the same thing when I was here years ago.
Then some small boys and naked children were romping in the
smouldering mass until they became nearly as black as the ashes
they were tossing about in their rude sport. Such great mounds
of refuse straw and chaff show that the wheat-fields around Der'a
are very extensive and yield abundant harvests.

The direction of our ride appears to be nearly south-west, and
the first village we shall pass through, you say, is Remtheh ?

It is an hour and a half brisk riding from Der'a, and at this
season of tlie year the brown and blasted plain, whicii we must
' East of the Joiilan, j). 352.

546 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

traverse to reach it, is a dreary and desolate waste. But I have
passed this way in the spring, when those swelling uplands and
broad fields were covered with luxuriant grass and waving with
green wheat, and these rugged hill-sides were fairly glowing with
thousands of red anemones, scarlet ranunculuses, and other gay and
brilliant flowers, presenting a beautiful appearance.

The country between our line of travel and the valley of the
Jordan northward and westward is wild and mountainous, and in
some parts it is well wooded with noble oak forests. It is the
region of the ancient Decapolis, and all but one — Scythopolis — of
the ten confederate cities were on this side of the Jordan. The
list includes Hippos, identified with Fik ; Gadara, the modern Um
Keis; Pella, Tubukat Fahil ; Capitolias, or Beit er Ras; Damascus;
Canatha, Kunawat ; Gerasa, or Jerash ; Dion, probably Eidun ; Phil-
adelphia, 'Amman ; and Raphana, which has not yet been identified.
There are several other sites of Biblical and historic interest, such
as Irbid, the ancient Arbela; Ibl, the Abila of Peraea; and el Mahneh,
possibly the Mahanaim where Jacob was met by the angels.

The Zeidy, after passing around the north side of Der'a, makes
a tremendous descent, by a succession of cascades and frequent
rapids, of more than two thousand feet in twenty miles down to
where it joins the river Jarmuk, and thence onward to the Jordan.
Numerous tributaries from the north and east find their way into it
through profound gorges, which render that region and that around
the Jarmuk north of it among the wildest and most picturesque east
of the Jordan. Much of the land, however, is capable of cultiva-
tion, and in ancient times it appears to have been dotted over with
villages and towns. At present it is mostly abandoned to the Bed-
awin, and large tracts are literally without settled inhabitants.

Dr. Merrill has made several excursions through different parts
of it. One of them was from Fik, the Aphek of the Bible, above
the south end of Lake Tiberias, northward to Nowa, and thence
southward to el Mezarib, Tell 'Ashtarah, Der'a, el Husn, and 'Ain
Jenneh in Wady 'Ajlun. In the first day's ride he was searching
for the ancient Golan, and though he could discover no site bear-
ing that name, he found a " Wady or Nahr 'Allan " in the region
where the city of Golan was probably situated. As in the case of

CAPITOLIAS.—IRBID. -CYCLOPEAN WALLS. 547

Wady Yabis and Jabesh-gilead, Dr. Meirill suggests that the name
Gollan is preserved in that of Wady or Nahr 'Allan — an identifica-
tion which may be accepted as sufficiently probable so far as the
mere name and locality are concerned.'

Some fifteen miles, nearly west, of Der'a is Beit er Ras, supposed
to mark the site of Capitolias. Dr. Merrill, who visited it also, says
that "it occupies the slopes and summits of two or three low hills,
and extends far to the east on the line of the Roman road [between
it and Um Keis, or Gadara] which is still quite perfect. The pub-
lic buildings were numerous and imposing, but are now mere piles
of ruins. Great arches exist here, also columns, Corinthian and
Ionic capitals, a vast amount of carved ornamental work, and
large, fine eagles, still perfect, whose wings spread three feet. There
are also some inscriptions [one Nabathean, the rest Greek] among
the ruins. The road leading east was lined with columns, and the
building-material was chiefly basalt rock. Evidenth' a great deal
of the old city is underground, for twelve fine arches in succession
could be traced which are below the surface, and indeed people
live in these underground apartments. This place has a special
interest, because it was one of the cities which belonged to the
Decapolis." ^

About an hour south of Beit er Ras is Irbid, now a small village
on the south side of a large tell or mound, upon which are the
ruins of a castle. "There are here fine Roman ruins and some e\'i-
dent marks of great antiquity," Dr. Merrill says; "the cyclopean
walls about this hill are a great curiosity. The)' arc relics of an
ancient people who once occupied this region, and as but few of
them exist east of the Jordan valley, they are on that account all
the more interesting. These here are formed, for the most part,
of bowlders laid into walls. In one section I counted five courses,
which reached altogether a height of twelve or fifteen feet, ami else-
where I counted three courses which reached nearly the same height.
In a few places the walls are formed of great blocks of unhewn
stone instead of bowlders, and these vary from ten to eighteen feet
in length and are of proportionate witllh and thickness.

"At certain points large foundations jjroject from the main wall,

' East of the Jordan, pp. 325, 326. ' East of tlic iDidaii, pp. 297, 29S.

548 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

in at least one or two cases for sixty feet. These are evidently
the substructures of strong towers. It is in these foundations that
the largest stones appear. The most perfect section of this ancient
wall is at present on the east side of the mound, and extends un-
broken for over three hundred feet." ' The Graeco-Roman name of
that place is supposed to have been Arbela. There was a city of
the same name — the Beth-arbel of Hosea and the Arbela of Josephus
— north-west of Tiberias and near Kuriln Hattin, whose ruins are
believed to be at a place also called Irbid.

" A little less than one hour south of Irbid, in the midst of a
fertile tract well supplied with water, is a large double village with
ruins, called Eidun," which. Dr. Merrill is confident, " should be
regarded as the ' Dion ' or ' Dium ' of the Decapolis." ^

That large, wretched village on the hill-side ahead of us is er
Remtheh, and I call your attention to the Haj road which passes
below it, with its many well -beaten parallel tracks made by the
great pilgrim caravan on its weary way to Mecca. In former times
the Haj road passed by el Busrah, but for many years since it has
kept along the western side of the Hauran, and from el Mezarib it
leads through the hill country west of Der'a, and thence trending
to the south-east reaches Remtheh and passes on over the plain to
Kul'at ez Zerka, near one of the sources of the Jabbok.

Burckhardt spent a night at Remtheh on his way to Jerash, and
he thus speaks of its inhabitants: "We met with a very indifferent
reception at the sheikh's house, for the inhabitants of the villages
on the Hadj route exceed all others in fanaticism; an old man was
particularly severe in his animadversions on Kafers [infidels] treading
the sacred earth which leads to the Kaabe, and the youngsters echoed
his insulting language. I found means, however, to show the old
man a penknife which I carried in my pocket, and made him a
present of it before he could ask it of me ; we then became as
great friends as we had been enemies, and his behaviour induced
a like change in the others towards me. Remtha is the last in-
habited village on this side of the Hauran ; the greater part of
its houses are built against the caverns with which this calcareous
country abounds, so that the rock forms the back of the house
' East of the Jordan, p. 294. ' East of the Jordan, p. 29S.

NO WATER AT REMTHEH.— MIGRATION OF THE WILD AI.V. 549

while the other sides are enclosed by a semicircular mud wall whose
extremities touch the rock." '

We have no occasion to visit those cavernous habitations, or
subject ourselves to the insolence of their fanatical inmates. We
must not neglect, however, to fill our "water bottles" and to give
drink to our horses, for there is no water to be found at this season
of the year between this and Suf. Dr. Merrill says that "the water
at Remtheh was very poor, and had it not been for some friendly
Turkish soldiers, who aided us in obtaining it, we should have had
none at all. The morning of the day that we left this place for
Jerash our animals had no water, nor did they or ourselves have
any until near sunset, although our march was about eight hours
for ourselves and about ten for our mules, and the thermometer
was 87° in the shade.

"When at last we found water it was a dirty, stagnant pool,
hardly eight feet in diameter. Our animals were frantic and entire-
ly unmanageable until, having crowded and almost tumbled over
each other in their efforts to reach the water, they had quenched
what must have been their burning thirst. Then came our turn.
We all drank freely. I fancied I never before was so heartily thank-
ful for any blessing as for the two or three glasses of the muddy,
dirty stuff which I drank here. But half an hour beyond this place
[or pool], and only a few minutes from Jerash, we found a small spring
of cool, fresh, delicious water, where, of course, we drank again."*

When passing through this region on a former occasion our
party beheld a sight never to be forgotten — one, indeed, worthy of
a long journey to witness. Some time before reaching Remtheh
our curiosity was excited by the appearance of a great caravan, ex-
tending, in an unbroken line, from south-east to north-west, farther
than the eye could reach in either direction. On coming up to it
we found that the Wuld or Wulid 'Aly, a branch of the Mnazeh
tribe of Bedawin, were upon their annual spring migration to the
Hauran, and subsequently to el Jaulan and the region south of Da-
mascus. Their camels, mostly accompanied by young ones of various
ages, seemed innumerable. The sheikh of the tribe, surrounded by
several horsemen, took up a position on the hill-side to overlook the

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 247. '■' East of the Jordan, p. loi.

550 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

march of the caravan, and he assured us that they had one hundred
thousand camels— no doubt a great exaggeration. We stood on the
hill and watched the countless numbers pass by for more than an
hour, and they came on eight or ten abreast, and with a steady and
rapid march, many thousands of them, old and young.

The men and larger boys were on foot, but the women and chil-
dren were perched upon the camels. Most of them were seated on
the ordinary rough, wooden saddle, but there were many extraordi-
nary contrivances for the comfort and protection of the wives of the
various sheikhs. The one in common use was made of two slabs,
or planks of wood, about ten feet in length, which were fastened
upon the frame of the saddle and at right angles to it. From the
ends of those slabs ropes were stretched over upright posts fixed
above the middle of the saddle, to support an awning under which
the women sat upon quilts and cushions. The swinging gait of the
camels gave to those curious tents an undulatory motion like that
of small boats on the ruffled surface of the sea. The camel, you
know, is called " the ship of the desert," and those extraordinary
contrivances certainly gave a new meaning to the adage.

The migration of such a formidable host, or caravan, of Bedawin
Arabs must be quite alarming to the agricultural population.

No cultivated country can bear them. I was reminded at the
time of the distress of Moab because of the invasion of his territory
by the children of Israel. No wonder that he said " unto the elders
of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about
us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field." ' Those Wulid 'Aly
Bedawin followed the Haj road as far as I could see them with my
glass, and north-west of Der'a they would spread themselves over
the districts of el Jaulan and el Jeidur up to the southern foot-hills
of Hermon, where they would find pasture during the summer. In
the autumn they would retire again to their winter-quarters in the
great desert that stretches away eastward towards the valley of
the Euphrates and the head of the Persian Gulf.'

How can sufficient food be found for so many mouths?
The camels of the Bedawin furnish an important part of it, and
one object of those annual migrations is to procure wheat and other

' Numb. xxii. 4.

WANDERING ISHMAELITES.— VII. LACK OF EL HISN. 55 I

necessaries upon which those " children of the East " subsist, ami
which they take with them to their home in the desert. A strange
Hfe is that of the wandering Ishmaehtes! Yet they glory in it, and
look down with contempt upon the poor fcllahin who dwell in
houses and till the soil. We greatly underrate the number of those
denizens of the desert. The 'Anazeh alone spread over Northern
Arabia and the regions between Syria and the valley of the Euphrates,
and must amount to several hundred thousand.

Since leaving Remtheh we have been riding over wooded hills
for two hours, without meeting a single wayfarer or seeing a human
habitation, nor even a deserted village.

There is a miserable hamlet ahead of us, situated on the plain,
called Hawarah, but with nothing attractive about it. The sur-
rounding country, however, is beautiful, and if properly cultivated
much of the soil would no doubt be productive. It was covered
with rich pasture when I passed this way in the spring. We must
now turn southward towards the village of el Husn, the capital of
this large district of Belad Beni 'Obeid.

What is there to be seen at that place ?

Husn means castle, and the most remarkable thing about the
village is a large and lofty mound, called Tell Husn, the summit
of which is overspread with the debris of a Saracenic castle, proba-
bly built upon the site of a far more ancient fortress. There are
remains of an old wall surrounding the top of the hill, and at the
south-western base of the mound are a few ordinary columns, but
without capitals or anything about them to indicate the character
of the edifice to which they belonged. In the village are also a few
short columns connected with a ruined church afterward transformed
into a mosk, but now deserted. Besides great stones, fragments of
pottery, and other ancient remains found in all directions, numerous
rock-cut tombs in the village and its neighborhood indicate that cl
Husn occupies the site of a very old city.

The village extends along the side of a hill u liich slopes eastward
towards a wady that passes around the south end of it and then
turns westward and descends into the Jordan valley. There are no
fountains in el Husn, and the inhabitants depend for water entirely
upon cisterns. Those are always e.xhausted in the latter part of

552

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

summer, and water has then to be brought from a long distance.
Of the seventy or eighty famiHes that reside at el Husn two-thirds
are Christians belonging to the orthodox Greek Church, the rest are
Muhammedans. A considerable number of the Christians had de-
clared themselves Protestants not long before I was there, and had
placed themselves under the care of the English mission at es Salt.
In appearance, dress, manners, and occupations there is no apparent
distinction between the different sects — and the same may be said
of all the fellahin in this region — nor do the Moslems assume any
superiority over the Christians in their general intercourse. During
a quarrel the latter will not hesitate to curse and even beat the
former — a freedom of speech and action not indulged in by the in-
habitants of any part of the country except those on Lebanon.

We will follow a road over the hills, a little to the east of el Husn,
by which we shall the sooner reach the friendly shelter of the great
forest which extends from it quite to Jerash and indeed far beyond.
About five hours from el Husn, in a south-westerly direction, and
two hours north-east from Kul'at er Rubad, according to Dr. Merrill,
is a ruin called Mahneh, in a w^ady of the same name, which, some
have supposed, marks the site of Mahanaim, where Jacob met the
angels after parting with Laban.

It is certainly remarkable that a place so distinguished in the
history of the patriarch, and subsequently in that of Ish-bosheth and
David, should be entirely lost.

And almost equally strange that the name, or one nearly identi-
cal with it, should be found, after so many centuries, clinging to
such a featureless locality as that of Mahneh is said to be. Yet
Canon Tristram, who visited the place, says, " There is every proba-
bility that the name of Mahanaim has been preserved in Mahneh,
and that these grass-grown mounds represent all that is left of the
capital of Ish-bosheth and the refuge of David." ' From the Bibli-
cal narrative, in Genesis and elsewhere, Mahanaim appears to have
been north of the Jabbok and east of the Jordan, within the terri-
tory of Gad and near the border of the half tribe of Manasseh.'

It was a Levitical city after the time of Jacob, and the fortified

1 Land of Israel, pp. 487. 488.

5 Gen. xxxii. i, 2 ; Josh. xiii. 24, 26, 29, 30.

KING DAVID AT MAHANAIM.— LABAX AND JACOB AT MIZTAII. 553

capital of a district, perhaps, in the days of Ish-bosheth and David.'
It was to Mahanaim that David fled from before Absalom, and
seated there " between the two gates" of the city they brought him
" tidings " of the death of his son after the battle in " the wood of
Ephraim."' And it was "to the chamber over the gate" at Maha-
naim that David went up, " and as he went, thus he said, O my son
Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had died for
thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"' After that memorable day
Mahanaim is mentioned but once in the Bible, and then merely as a
station of one of Solomon's twelve purveyors/

The incidental notices of Mahanaim by Josephus furnish no ad-
ditional particulars regarding the location of that cit)', and the site
is but vaguely referred to by more recent writers as lying about
half a day's journey nearly due east of Beth-shcan or Bcisan, which
seems to be much too f^ir north of the Jabbok. Dr. Porter suggests
the possibility that Jerash may be the true site of Mahanaim, and
Dr. Merrill concludes that " if any exi.sting ruin in the Jordan val-
ley, or in the foot-hills bordering on it, is to be chosen as the site
of Mahanaim, Khirbet Suleikhat perhaps answers the conditions
better than any other."' It is possible that future research will yet
bring to light some place between the Jordan valley, the ruins of
Jerash, and in the neighborhood of Wady Mahneh, that will prove
to be the real site of the lost city of Mahanaim.

Laban called the place where the covenant between him and
Jacob was made Jegar-sahadutha and Mizpah, " for he said. The
Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from
another."" But Jacob called it Galeed, the meaning in both cases
being that of a witness or watch-tower. Josephus tells us that " they
erected a pillar [upon certain mountains] in the form of an altar,
whence that hill is called Gilead; and from thence they call that land
the land of Gilead at this day." ' Whether we attach any importance
to that explanation or not, it is sufficiently certain that we are now
passing through the region of Mount Gilead where those remarkable
events occurred, and that fact imparts peculiar interest to our ride.

> I Chron. vi. 64, 80 ; 2 Sam. ii. 8, 12, 29 ; xvii. 24, 27 ; i Kiii^js ii. 8.

* 2 Sam. xviii. 24, 31, 32. ^ 2 Sam. xviii. 33. ■* i Kin^js iv. 14.

" East of the Jordan, p. 438. « Gen. xxxi. 47, 49. ' Ant. i. ly, 11.

554 I'HE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Is there reason to believe that the covenant between Laban and
Jacob was held to have been permanently binding upon the descend-
ants of the contracting parties?

It was a formal and final separation between the members of the
Abrahamic family and the original race from which they sprang;
and they never afterwards intermingled, nor were there any more
intermarriages between them. It would appear strange that a mere
family compact should have received such an extended description
in the Biblical record, could we not discover in that covenant a
higher and more important significance. Laban's entire tribe were
then idolaters, and the family of Jacob had been led astray and al-
ready worshipped the same false gods.

Rachel, the favorite wife of the patriarch, stole the images of her
father's gods and brought them with her in their flight ; and had
Jacob's family remained in Padan-aram they would, in all proba-
bility, have apostatized from the true God. Thus the divine pur-
pose in the call of Abraham, the leaving of his kindred and his
migration into Canaan, would have been frustrated. The breaking
off of all intercourse, therefore, with the Mesopotamian branch of
his race had become absolutely necessary for the preservation of
Jacob's descendants from lapsing into the worship of idols.

Nor was that flight of Jacob sufficient of itself to effect the all-
important result. The wonderful experiences of Jacob at Mahanaim
and at Peniel had no doubt greatly quickened the religious life in
Israel himself, but the Mesopotamian idols were still in his family.
When, however, a second migration had become necessary soon
after, in consequence of the cruel and treacherous slaughter of the
people of Shechem by Simeon and Levi, Jacob took advantage of
that occasion to exterminate from his family those abominable idols
and their worship. "Then Jacob said unto his household, and to
all that were with him. Put away the strange gods that are among
you, and be clean, and change your garments. And they gave unto
Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their
earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak
which was by Shechem." ' "Jacob and all the people that were with
him [went up to Beth-el, and there he dwelt] and built an altar," and

' Gen. XXXV. 2, 4.

SHEPHERDS AND FLOCKS.— OAK FORESTS OF c.ll.FAD. 555

established the worship of the God of his fathers, at the place where
" God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.'"
Thus was the great reformation completely effected, and we hear no
more of that kind of idolatr\' in the household of Israel.

We have now reached the regular road from el Husn to Suf
and Jerash, and will have the shade of this noble forest of oak,
pine, and other trees for the rest of our ride.

There is not a breath of air in these thick woods, and the heat is
most oppressive both to ourselves and our weary animals.

Very different, indeed, is this stifling atmosphere from that in
April, when our party came direct from cl Husn to Birket cd Deir,
which we have just passed on our right. Then it was a wide pool,
where we watered our horses and gathered some of the thousands
of flowers that overspread and glorified the hills in all directions.
Now the pool is diy, the hill-sides are blasted, and even the grass
has disappeared. Up to this point — an hour and a half from el Husn
— much of the country is cultivated, but from this on to Suf the forest
is uninterrupted, and is composed mostly of evergreen oaks, inter-
spersed occasionally with pine, terebinths, and hawthorn.

In another hour we shall reach a very large pool called Um cl
Khanzir— Mother of the Hog or Boar— but which might with more
propriety be named Mother of Goats, for it was surrounded by many
flocks of them in the spring. There we lunched, and the shepherds
brought us plenty of fresh milk. Those were the only animals we
found in the woods, and I never saw more beautiful flocks in any
other part of the country — goats black as the raven, with clean
limbs, long, pendent ears, and large, liquid eyes. We need not turn
aside to visit that pool, for it is now empty, dry, and solitary.

From Um el Khanzir to Suf is nearly two hours, and in spring
nothing can be more delightful than a ride through these forests,
the grandest in this land of Gilead ; and we need not wonder at the
encomiums lavished by all travellers that have passed this way on
the beautiful woodland scenery of these regions, for even the most
enthusiastic have not said enough mi its praise.

I notice that pine-trees are becoming more numerous, and the
grove on our left has apparently been swept by an extensive fire.

' Gen. XXXV. 6, 7.

556 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Such fires are not always accidental. When going from Jerash
to 'Ajlun I saw a part of the forest which had evidently been burnt
over by the peasants in order to clear the ground for cultivation ;
and young wheat was springing up vigorously amongst the black-
ened stumps of the trees — very much like what is often seen in the
far West in our own country — and I have no doubt that large tracts
of Mount Gilead might thus be brought under profitable cultivation.

Our road begins to descend southward towards Wady ed Deir,
having a high, wooded hill on the left and a more open country on
the right, and in half an hour we shall reach our place of encamp-
ment amongst the olive-trees on the west side of Suf.

As Jerash is only an hour farther on, why do we camp at this
miserable village instead of near the ruins at that place ?

Jerash is entirely deserted, and only robbers and one or two
millers are found there. And though travellers have become more
numerous in these days, and the danger less, our muleteers would be
very reluctant to take their animals and encamp amongst the pros-
trate columns and solitary remains of that remarkable city.

JERASH TO 'AJLCx, AND ES SALT. 557

XV.

JERASH TO 'AJLUN, AND ES SALT.

The Sheikh of Suf. — Experience of Canon Tristram and his Party. — The "Adwan levy a
Fine on the Sheikh of Suf. — Remains of Antiquity at Suf. — Stream in Wady ed Deir.
— Olive-trees and Woods of Oak and Pine. — Muzar Abu Bekr. — Old Coins for Sale. —
Broken Sarcophagi. — Cemetery of Ancient Gerasa. — Entering Jerash through a Breach
in the Wall. — General Survey of the City. — Seil Jerash. — The Site and the City of
Jerash. — Remains of Private Houses and Public Buildings beyond the City Gate. — The
Triumphal Arch. — The Emperor Trajan. — The Stadium. — Naval Combats. — The City
Gate. — Ruins of a beautiful Temple. — Remains of a large Theatre. — Grand Colonnade
of the Forum. — Fifty-tive Columns still standing. — The Main Street lined with Col-
umns. — The Pavement and the Ruts made by Chariot-wheels. — Side Street, Gate in
the West Wall, Bridge across the Stream. — Pedestals for Colossal Statues. — Sections of
the Colonnade along the Main Street. — The Apse of a Beautiful Building.— Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus. — Side Street and Bridge. — The Propylceum. — Antoninus Pius. —
Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun. — Earthquake Shocks. — Burckhardt. — The City Wall,
small Temple, and Church. ^Rovvs of Prostrate Columns and others still standing with
their Entablatures. — Square Pedestals covered with a low Dome. — Portico of a Theatre.
— Ruined Theatre designed for Gladiatorial Combats. — Northern Gate of the Ciiy. —
Guard-house. -^Street Pavement. — Groups of Columns with Ionic Capitals. — Ruins of
a Bath with Columns in Front. — Aqueduct. — 'Ain Jerwan. — Original Site of Jerash. —
Great Clumps of Oleander. — Ruins on the Eastern Side of the Stream. — Temple and
Church. — Spring and Aqueduct. — Bridge and Bath. — Jerash a City of Columns. — Not
mentioned in the Bible and almost unknown to History. — Dr. Porter. — Mahanaim. —
Dr. Merrill. — Ramoth-gilead. — Gerasa. — Josephus. — Alexander Janna;us. — A City of
the Decapolis. — Gerasa burnt by the Jews and captured by Vespasian. — Gerasa a
flourishing City for half a Century. — The Seat of a Bishop. — No Trace of Muhammedan
Work or Worship. — William of Tyre. — The Crusaders. — Jerash deserted in the Thir-
teenth Century. — Trading Caravans and Mercantile Stations. — Ezion-geber. — Pctra. —
Palmyra. — A Store-city of Solomon. — The Nabatheans. — Superior Skill and Enlcrjirise
of the Greeks and Romans. — Western Civilization and Classic Taste. — The stately
Forum and the luxuriant Bath. — Decline of Commerce and Abandonment of the
Grseco-Roman Cities East of the Jordan. — Prophecy translated into History. — The
Lord's Sacrifice in Bozrah. — Fulfilment of Prophecy. — The Olive Groves of Suf and
the Oak Woods of Jebel 'Ajlun. — Dr. Eli Smith. — Luxuriant Pasture and brilliant
Wild Flowers.— 'Ain Jenneh.— The Walnut and Olive.— Great Variety of Fruit-trees.

558 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

— Large Fountains and Abundance of Water. — Evening Ride through venerable Oak
Forests. — Jebel 'Ajlun. — "The Land of Gilead." — Jacob and Laban. — Mizpah and
Galeed. — Mahanaim. — Shechem and the Damieh Ford. — Wady 'Ajliin and the Jordan
Valley. — A Present of Sheep and Goats, Camels and Cattle for Esau. — Meeting between
Esau and Jacob. — Interview between Joseph and his Brethren. — Peniel. — City and
Tower at Penuel. — Gideon. — Jeroboam built a Palace at Penuel. — Josephus. — Dr.
Merrill locates Penuel at Telliil edh Dhahab. — The Hills of Gold. — Canaan's Ford. —
The Wood of Ephraim. — "A Great Oak" with "Thick Boughs." — The Death of
Absalom and the Biblical Narrative of the Battle. — Kul'at er Rubud. — Outlook from
the Fortress. — From Hermon to Hebron, and from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea,
while Jordan rolls between. — Famous Historical Events. — From Chedorlaomer to
David. — Elijah and Elisha. — From Judas Maccabeus to Herod the Great. — The Baptist
and the Redeemer. — The Moat and Foundations of Kiil'at er Rubiid. — Indications of
a more ancient Fortress. — The present Castle. — Saladin. — The Crusaders. — Abulfeda.
— A singular Transposition of Names. — The Village of 'Ajlun. — Modern Chapel and
Old Mosk. — Unsafe Region between 'Ajlun and es Salt. — Villages on the Plain of
the Ghor and upon the Hills of Samaria. — Sunken Channel of the Jordan. — Kefrenjy.
— The Course of the Jabbok through the Plain to the Jordan. — Dr. Merrill. — Succoth
and Tell Deir 'Alia. — Jacob encamped in Wady Fari'a. — 'Ain Thaluth. — Khirbet
Thaluth.— Indications of former Cultivation. — 'Ain Um el Jalud. — El Khiidr, St. George.
— Dibbin, et Tekitty, and Reimun. — Um el Jauzeh. — Limestone Strata. — Dense Oak
Woods. — Kiisr Nejdeh. — Captain Warren. — Tropical Climate. — Fruit - trees and
Flowers. — Burmeh. — Olive Groves.— Sandstone Formation.— The Zerka in Spring and
Summer. — Luxuriant Wild Oats and thriving Clover. — Impenetrable Thickets of tall
Oleander.— The Ford of the Christian Woman. — Visit from the Sheikh of a Bedawin
Encampment.— Bulls of Bashan.— Bedawin Boys and Girls. — Bakhshish. — Gorge of the
Zerka.— El Belka and Jebel 'Ajlun.— Sihon and Og.— The Zerka or Blue River. —
Wooded Heights and Fertile Plain of the Belka. — Waving Wheat and Barley, and
Wild Flowers bright and gay.— Clumps of Oak and Pine trees. — Many Birds and large
Coveys of Partridges. — "Ain 'Allan. — Green Fig-trees. — Khirbet 'Allan. — Sihan. —
Khirbet ez Zi.— Neby Osh'a.- Pilgrims and Votive Offerings. — Sacrifice and Feasting.
—Annual Fair. — Es Salt a Commercial Centre. — The Prophet Hosea. — Elijah and
Joshua.— Outlook from Jebel Osh'a described by Dr. Merrill.— From Mount Hermon
to the Dead Sea. — Jebel Osh'a and Mount Nebo.— The Spot where Moses stood.

Es Suf, September 25th.

Contrary to my expectations, we have had no occasion to
complain as others have of the behavior of the Moslem inhabitants
of this village during the past night.

Travellers have often been annoyed by their fanatical insolence
and by the importunate attempts of the sheikh, a notorious scamp,
to levy black-mail upon them, and once I had no little difficulty in
bringing him to reason. He was determined that we should not
visit Jerash at all unless we paid a large bakhshish. Then, as now,

ES SC'F TO JERASH.— ENTERING JKRASH. 559

I finally convinced him that we were able to take care of ourselves
and could dispense with his services as protector and guide.

Canon Tristram and his party were insulted, threatened, and
nearly robbed here. They were compelled to pay an exorbitant
sum before they were allowed to leave, and had to abandon all idea
of visiting Jerash. Subsequently, however, under the protection of
the 'Adwan Arabs, they were more successful, and Sheikh 'Abd el
'Aziz, with a strong party, recovered the money, levied, as a fine,
the sheikh's best cow, and brought him and his friends under com-
pulsion to be their guards to Pella, whither the 'Adwan could not
accompany them.' The village has not improved in any respect
during the last fifty years, and there arc no remains of antiquity
about it with the exception of a ruined square building, a few broken
columns, and one or two Greek inscriptions almost illegible.

Let us now start for Jerash, where we shall spend a day of un-
usual interest amongst the wonderful ruins of that once splendid
city. The site is about four miles to the south-east of Suf, and the
road to it winds along the west bank of this stream in Wady cd Deir,
and around the heads of shallow valleys, amongst olive-trees and
through straggling woods of pine, oak, and evergreen bushes, for
nearly an hour to Muzar Abu Bekr, a Moslem saint's tomb.

These people coming out to the road to meet us are some of the
temporary occupants of the Muzar, and they offer a few old coins
for sale, but none of them are of any special value. From Abu Bekr
there is a long and steep descent of about a mile to the north wall
of the city. On the left of the road and not far from the city wall
are many sarcophagi — upwards of fifty — scattered, as you see, far
and wide over the hill-side. The inscriptions upon them, and the
sculptured festoons and genii in bass-relief, have been nearly obliter-
ated and defaced ; but careful search and excavation might bring to
light some interesting relics of a by-gone age, for that must have
been the cemetery of ancient Gerasa.

We have now entered Jerash through this breach in the wall,
near the north-west corner, and from here we can lake a gcncr.d
survey of this once beautiful cit>': groups of columns standing
around the fallen walls of ancient temples; shapeless ruins of private

' Land of Israel, p. 567.

560 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

dwellings, and massive remains of great theatres ; the main street,
with a long double colonnade, terminating at the southern end in
the forum, with its grand circle of a hundred columns or more ; the
triumphal arch near the entrance to the town from the south, and
the crumbling walls of the city with their ruined towers and shat-
tered battlements — these are some of the principal features which
strike the beholder as he gazes upon this wonderful picture of ruin
and desolation. But the little stream, called Seil Jerash, that winds
through the town with its foaming rapids and rocky banks fringed
with green oleanders in full bloom, imparts life and beauty to the
scene and relieves the dreariness of this deserted city.

For the purpose of examining these ancient edifices in consecu-
tive order and to the greatest advantage, let us make our way south-
ward, as best we can, over great masses of ruins half concealed by
tall grass and rank weeds, to the triumphal arch about a quarter of
a mile beyond the city gate in that direction.

Jerash was almost surrounded by mountains, and was built upon
uneven ground on both sides of the shallow valley called Wady ed
Deir. The walls, nearly eight feet thick, enclosed an irregular area
about a mile square, which was divided into two unequal parts by
Seil Jerash, the purling stream that flows southward through the
valley on its way to join the Zerka — the ancient Jabbok — some dis-
tance below the town. The principal part of the city was on the
western side of the stream, and most of the important edifices stood
upon the rising ground on the west of the main street. The remains
of private houses and public buildings extend for some distance
beyond the city gate, but the only ruins of importance are those of
the stadium, or race-course, and these of this triumphal arch which
we have now reached and from whence we will start northward on
our tour of inspection through the city.

In thus approaching Jerash from the south, this structure is the
most imposing and the first to claim our attention. The Bedawin
Arabs call it Bab 'Amman, because the road from Jerash to that city
passed by or through it. The entire gate-way was about eighty feet
wide and forty feet high, and consisted of a central arch thirty feet
in height, and two smaller side arches with rectangular niches for
statues above them. On the front or south side are four Corinthian

TRIUMPHAL ARCH.— STADIUM.— THE CITY GATE.

;6i

semicolumns, occupying the spaces between the arches; but portions
of the shafts, all their capitals, and the frieze and cornice of the
structure have fallen. The remarkable and unusual feature about

TKIUMPUAL ARCH AT JKKASII.

those columns is the vase-shaped pedestal of acanthus leaves above
their bases, supposed to indicate that this tri[)le gatc-waj' is not older
than the time of the Emperor Trajan.

Near the triumphal arch, to the left of the roadway ami between
that structure and the gate of the city, is the stadium or race-course.
It was about three hundred feet wide and se\-en hundred feet long,
considerably depressed below the surface, had steps or seats, and
was semicircular at its northern end. The canal that passes along
its eastern side seems to indicate that it was sometimes fdlcd with
water from Seil Jerash, and used for the ])urp()se of representing
naval combats. I'rocecding northward we soon reach the cit\' gate,
a triple entrance resendjling the triumphal arch, and originally con-

562

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

nected with the massive walls of the town. It is now blocked up
by great heaps of fallen stones, and rendered almost impassable.

On the left, as we enter the city, are the remains of a beautiful
temple, which stood, fronting the north-east, upon a large mound
overlooking the main street and commanding a fine view of the
greater part of the town. This temple was surrounded by Corinthian
columns, only one of which — at the south-east angle — remains stand-
ing, and the portico was composed of two rows of columns, eight in
each row. The portal was about fifteen feet broad, and the walls were
nearly eight feet thick. The temple was fifty feet wide, and seventy
feet long, and the walls had square pilasters with a plain cornice on

TEMPLE Al JEKASH.

TEMPLE AND THEATRE AT JERASH.

56:

THEATRE AT JERASH,

the inside, and a row of six rectangular niches with round arches for
statues on the outside. The roof, the front and rear of the temple,
a portion of the side walls, especially on the west, and all the col-
unrins, appear to have been thrown down by an earthquake, and the
ruins — heaps of stones, fragments of the frieze and cornice, capitals,
bases, and sections of the shafts — lie scattered about and piled to-
gether in utter confusion. At the north-west corner of this temple
is a side-entrance leading towards a large theatre a few rods distant,
built against the side of a small hill and close to the city wall.

This theatre fronted towards the north and comnKuuled a mag-
nificent outlook over the city, so that those of the spectators occu-
pying the highest row of benches enjoyed an uninterru[)tcd prospect
of the surrounding mountains and of the principal puiilic buildings
and private residences in the town. Steps led up to the entrance of
the theatre at the ends of the proscenium and between it and the
semicircular walls. There were side-doors also, and the gallery was
P 2

564 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

reached by means of vaulted passages running under the upper tiers
of benches. The proscenium was embelHshed on the inside with
pilasters and Corinthian columns in pairs, supporting a plain entabla-
ture, and between the pilasters were ornamented niches for statues.
Twenty -eight tiers of benches are exposed to view, divided into
sections by narrow aisles, and above the tenth tier a broad passage
ran around the theatre, upon which were small chambers or private
boxes. The benches are almost perfect, and the theatre probably
accommodated upwards of five thousand spectators.

Descending eastward to the more level part of the city, we come
to the grand colonnade surrounding an oval area, probably the forum,
at the southern end of the main street and almost in front of the
theatre. This colonnade consisted of about one hundred columns,
fifty-five of which remain standing— on the west twenty-one, and
then four; on the east eighteen, seven, and five with their en-
tablatures. The columns have Ionic capitals but no pedestals, are
about six feet in circumference and from fifteen to twenty feet high,
in order to preserve the uniform level of the entablature. This
colonnade was paved, and probably open at the south, in front of the
theatre, and on the north, where the main street leads into the city.
Leaving the forum and proceeding northward, we will follow
along the main street towards the gate of the city in that direction.
The columns which once lined this splendid thoroughfare on either
side, for about a mile, were mostly Corinthian, but nearly all of them
have been overthrown by earthquakes, and many of those which
still remain standing are of different styles and vary in height from
twenty to twenty-five and even thirty feet. In some places the en-
tablature of the shorter columns rests upon a bracket set into the
shafts of the higher, and no attempt was made to preserve a uniform
height in the construction of the colonnade. That feature, together
with the difference in the size and height of the columns and their
various styles, has led to the conclusion that this colonnade was
built at different times and of material which had once been used
for other purposes. Although this street is rendered almost im-
passable by heaps of rubbish, blocks of stone, fallen entablatures,
fragments of capitals, and parallel rows of prostrate columns, the
roadway was not entirely destroyed, and the pavement can still be

THE OVAL FORUM.— THE MAIN STREET.

56:

seen in some places, with the ruts made by chariot-wheels in the
long ages of the past deeply worn into its hard surface.

This side street which we have now reached was also lined with
similar columns, and it led from a gate in the west wall of the city
to a bridge which crossed the stream upon three substantial arches,
the central one being the largest and highest. And here, at the
angles where these two streets met and crossed each other, there

SECTION OF THK COLONN.VDE ALONG THE M.VLV STREET AT JERASII.

were four cubical masses of stone, about seven feet high and fourteen
feet side, with niches for statues. They probabl)' were pedestals
for colossal statues, or columns may have been placed upon them
supporting a dome, under the centre of which a statue stood. Con-
tinuing northward along the main street we pass sections of the
colonnade on the right and left, composed of successive rows of
seven, three, and two columns, nearly all of which still support their
entablatures; but the three large columns on the right are without

566

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

entablatures, and they are the first we have seen, thus far, amongst
the remains at Jerash standing upon bases or pedestals.

Here on the left are the ruins of what apparently was once a
beautiful building. In the rear wall of this edifice — the only part
of it still standing, though in a ruinous condition — there is a large
semicircular recess, or apse, with two rows of niches one above the

mm t'-^^knjk^t /, , .

NICHES IN THE SEMICIRCULAR RECESS OF AN ELEGANT BUILDING.

Other. Each row consists of three round and two intervening rec-
tangular niches, above which was an elegant cornice with broken
pediments. Masses of stone lie in confused heaps within the
building, and from an inscription found upon a pedestal in the
portico it is supposed to have been constructed during the reign
of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, or towards the latter
part of the second century of our era.

EXTRANXE TO THE COURT OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER. 567

PROPYL^UM OF THE TEMl'LK OF THE SUN.

We are now approaching a group of ruins near the centre of the
town, the most imposing of which are the remains of the propykvum,
or entrance to the court of the Temple of Jupiter or of the Sun. A
bridge crossed the stream below us on the right, and this side street,
lined with columns on either side, evidently led up from it to the
propyhneum. Sculptured blocks, sections of columns, and broken
capitals, and pedestals lie scattered about the front of this grand
gate-way, of which most of the facade still remains standing. On

568 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

either side of this lofty portal there were small entrances, or windows,
and above them shell -shaped niches with projecting cornice and
broken pediments. The gate -way was rectangular and is nearly
perfect, but lintel and architrave have fallen, though enough remains
of the latter to give a good idea of its highly ornamental character.
From inscriptions found here it appears that this propylaeum was
constructed during the first half of the second century, in the time
of Antoninus Pius, and that the temple was dedicated to the Sun.

As that noble edifice stands upon higher ground and is not visi-
ble from here, we will leave the main street and find our way to it
up the hill westward and over great masses of ruins. And now we
can form some idea of the magnificent effect produced upon the
beholder as he advanced up the hill from the propylaeum, and the
temple with its surrounding columns and courts suddenly came into
view. The great court was encompassed, except perhaps on the
west, by a double colonnade, and the Temple of Jupiter or of the
Sun stood in the middle of it, facing the east, upon a stylobate, or
platform, about five feet high, surrounded by the columns of the
peristyle, and those of the magnificent portico in front. The corner
columns in the second row of the colonnade around the court
were heart-shaped — that is, they were double in front and gradually
tapered to a point in the rear. Of the many columns of the peri-
style only two remain, one on either side of the portico.

A flight of steps led up to the portico which consisted of two
rows of colossal Corinthian columns, six in each row. Five still
remain standing in the first, and four in the second row ; and those
nine columns, together with the two in the peristyle, are the largest
at Jerash, being about forty feet high and eighteen feet in circum-
ference. The shafts of most of the columns were composed of five
pieces, or sections, of the ordinary limestone of the neighborhood,
which takes an excellent polish, and the capitals were admirably
executed and beautifully ornamented with acanthus leaves. The
capitals of two of these eleven columns have fallen, and the shafts
of all of them are slightly out of place — a striking evidence of the
unmistakable action of severe earthquake shocks. According to
Burckhardt, "the number of columns which originally adorned the
temple and its area was not less than two hundred or two hundred

riMI'I.K OK jriMTlK f>K "1 Nil. .-.l.N.

TEMPLE OF JUPITER.— NORTHERN rilEAlKE. 569

and fifty," but without careful examination and extensive excava-
tions it is impossible to ascertain the exact number.'

The temple was about eighty feet long and sixty feet wide, but
the roof and most of the front wall have been thrown down ; the
other three walls, however, are almost entire. The interior is en-
cumbered with the remains of the fallen roof, and with the exception
of a row of six plain niches on the side walls, was apparently without
any architectural ornamentation. In the rear wall opposite the en-
trance of the temple there is a double arch and a vaulted recess with
a small dark chamber on either side.

The city wall is a short distance to the west of this temple of the
Sun, and not far from it, towards the south, arc the remains of a
small temple and probably those of a church. Returning to the
main street we will follow it northward to the cross street that led
to a large theatre in that part of the town.

There are rows of prostrate columns, and others still standing
with and without their entablatures on either side of this great
thoroughfare ; and now that we have reached the cross street there
appears to have been another set of pedestals here, at the intersect-
ing angles, like those we saw a short distance above the forum.

These, as you perceive, are square on the outside and rounded
within, and covered with a low dome beneath which a statue may
have stood, while others were probably placed upon those projecting
pedestals in the sides of the rotunda. Let us turn to the left and
pass up this side street westward.

These seven large Corinthian columns are all that remain of the
original twelve that formed the portico of this theatre. There were
two rows of them, six in each row, but now only five are still stand-
ing in the first, and two in the second row. Though the arena is
larger, and apparently designed for the exhibition of combats be-
tween gladiators or wild beasts, this theatre could not have accom-
modated as many spectators as the one near the forum. It had
sixteen tiers of benches and a row of six arched recesses, ov private
boxes, between the tenth and eleventh tiers, counting from liu' toj).
This theatre was comparatively low, but a fine view of the Temple
of Jupiter behind it, to the south-west, could be obtained from the

' Travels in Syria, etc., p. 254.

5/0

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

highest tier of benches, and the tops of the columns of the portico
are visible from the arena. The exterior wall of the theatre was
built of bevelled stones, and there appear to have been two lofty
main entrances to the benches and a smaller side door on the right.

NORTHERN THEATRE AT JERASH.

As there are no other ruins of any importance in this northern
part of the town, and but few of special interest across the stream
on the eastern side of the wady, we will return to the rotunda and
retrace our steps along the main street towards the south gate.

The northern gate of the town, though now in ruins, was a plain
but substantial structure, and within the massive city wall, on the
right of it, are the remains of the guard-house. Proceeding from
that gate southward to this rotunda, the ancient pavement of the
street is still to be seen in some places in a tolerable state of preser-
vation. About twenty columns in detached groups, most of them
with Ionic capitals and supporting entablatures, remain standing on

RUINS OX THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE STREAM AT JERASH. 571

the west side of the street, but on the left side the colonnade has
been almost entirely overthrown, and only two small columns with
their entablatures are now to be seen.

A short distance east of this rotunda, on the south side of the
cross street and above the right bank of the stream, are the ruins
of a large bath and the remains of a row of columns in front of it.
The walls were massive, and it had numerous chambers with high
vaulted roofs. It was supplied with water by an aqueduct, traces
of which still remain. Below the bath, near the bed of the stream,
is a fine fountain, called 'Ain Jerwan, with an abundant supply of
delicious water. The existence of that copious spring may have
led to the selection of this place for the site of the beautiful city
of Jerash, since there is nothing else to recommend it.

There is a good deal of heavy masonry in the wady near the
fountain, and the stream is half concealed by great clumps of ole-
ander, twenty feet high and more, that border it on either side.
That part of the town situated on the eastern side of the stream, or
Seil Jerash, presents the appearance of a confused mass of ruins —
the prostrate remains of a few public edifices and those of numerous
private dwellings. Near the left bank of the stream, and a short
distance to the south-east of the northern gate of the cit}', arc the
ruins of what originally appears to have been a small temple, and
which may subsequently have been converted into a church. Only
a portion of the wall, a vaulted entrance, and one of the interior
columns remain ; but from the number of broken columns, sculptured
cornices, and heaps of stones, that edifice when completed must
have presented quite an imposing appearance.

Farther down the valley there is a spring, a broken aqueduct, a
ruined bridge, and the remains of a bath which may have had a
colonnade of Corinthian columns around the exterior court. Still
farther south the stream is spanned by a bridge of three arches, but
both those bridges we have already noticed from the western part
of the town, together with the streets lined with columns which loil
down to them. Indeed Jerash was pre-eminently a city of columns,
the number of those still standing and the prostrate remains of
others strewn everywhere on both sides of the stream in such
bewildering confusion far exceeding three hundred.

572 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

The astonished and amazed visitor longs to know something
definite and satisfactory about the history of this wonderful city.

It is not mentioned either in the Old Testament or in the New;
neither its ancient name nor that of its founder have yet been dis-
covered, and it is almost unknown to history. The existing remains,
however, indicate plainly enough who were its builders in compara-
tively modern times, and by the aid of a few imperfect inscriptions
we conclude that most, if not all, of its public edifices were erected
after the beginning of our era. It is not of this Graeco-Roman town,
however, that the Biblical student desires special information ; there
was a previous city here, but no record of it exists, and travellers
and archaeologists are obliged to have recourse to mere conjecture
in regard to its ancient name and former history.

Dr. Porter thinks that it is reasonable to conclude that this city
occupies the site of Mahanaim ; but the topographical indications in
the various Biblical narratives suggest a position for that long-lost
place nearer the Jordan. Dr. Merrill identifies Ramoth-gilead with
Gerasa, and supports his theory with numerous references to Biblical
and historical authorities which certainly claim careful consideration.
We can examine that subject, however, when we reach es Salt, which
has been generally accepted as the site of Ramoth-gilead.

But whatever uncertainty there may be regarding the Biblical
history of Jerash, all agree that it is identical with Gerasa in Gilead,
a city of the Decapolis, and upon the eastern confines of Peraea.
Gerasa, however, was in existence long before the conquest of this
region by the Romans, and it is first mentioned by Josephus, who
relates that Alexander Jannaeus, king of the Jews in the last century
before Christ, marched against it, built a triple wall about the gar-
rison, and took the place by force.' The Romans included Gerasa
among the cities of the Decapolis, and it seems to have been burnt
by the Jews in retaliation for the massacre of over twenty thousand
of their number at Caesarea.^ Before the siege of Jerusalem, Ves-
pasian sent his general, Lucius Annius, to Gerasa, who took the
city, slew a thousand of its young men, carried their families away
captive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder them, after which
he set fire to their houses.^

' B. J. i. 4, 8. " B. J. ii. i8, i. =* B. J. iv. g, i.

A FLOURISHING CITV.— TRADING CARAVANS. 573

For half a century or more after that Gerasa appears to have
been a flourishing city, one of the largest and strongest on this side
of the Jordan; and probably during the early centuries of our era
it was adorned with those public edifices and private dwellings
whose deserted and prostrate ruins now astonish the beholder.
Though Gerasa became the nominal seat of a bishop, Christianity
has left few evidences of its existence upon the ruins, and the Mu-
hammedans seem never to have established themselves here, for we
find no trace either of their work or worship. According to William
of Tyre, the crusaders, under Baldwin II., in 1 121 destroyed a castle
here which was built by the king of Damascus ; and an Arabian
writer informs us that J crash was deserted in the thirteenth century,
and the few mills which wc see on the border of the stream to-day
were then, as now^ the sole representatives of this once populous
and splendid Graeco-Roman and pagan city.

One is tempted to venture into the debatable regions of con-
jecture and inference in search of the origin and story of this un-
known city. History informs us of a time when the commerce of
Southern India, Western Arabia, and Eastern Africa was brought
to Ezion-geber, the modern Akabah, at the head of the Elanitic
gulf of the Red Sea. Thence it was carried to Petra, and from that
city the great north-eastern caravan route led through Moab to
'Amman. The well -watered vale of J crash offered the next con-
venient halting-place, or station, for the caravans north of 'Amman
to el Busrah, Damascus, Palmyra, and their dependencies. Caravan-
saries, storehouses, and the necessary habitations for the mercii.mts
gradually rose up in the neighborhood of the fountain of Jerwan.
as they did elsewhere at similar stations, including even that at
Palmyra, the store city which " Solomon built in the wilderness." '

This great caravan commerce was in the hands of the Nabathcans
for centuries, both before and after the commencement of our era,
and probably they did not originate those stations, which we may
• suppose began to be formed at a very early age, but they merely
availed of what was already established. Tluis the sckclion of those
mercantile stations was not made by the Greeks and Romans, but
their superior .skill, enterprise, and wealth enabled them to control

' I Kings ix. 18; 2 Cliioii. viii. 4-

574 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

not only the business, but also to obtain complete possession of the
places where it was principally conducted. Greek and Roman
merchants began to visit those trading -stations, and growing rich
by the rapid increase of commerce they finally settled in them,
bringing with them Western civilization and classic taste. Hence
arose the stately forum, the magnificent colonnades, the great
theatres, the splendid temples, and the luxurious baths. Thus what-
ever ancient material they found available was used in the con-
struction of those grand edifices ; and those cities along the line
of that caravan route ultimately became wholly Roman, and all
trace of their former existence entirely disappeared.

This condition of things would naturally continue as long as the
commerce which sustained it lasted ; but when the route was changed
by which the commodities of the East were transferred to the West,
these cities necessarily declined, and they were abandoned by the
wealthy and forsaken by all. To translate prophecy into history,
the Lord's " sacrifice in Bozrah " and his " great slaughter in the
land of Idumea" have been completed. He hath stretched "out
upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. Thorns
[have come up] in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses
thereof," and there dwell " the owl and the raven. The wild beasts
of the desert " are there, and there " the great owl makes her nest
and lays, and hatches and gathers under her shadow."^

Certainly those desolations present a convincing testimony to
the fulfilment of divine prophecy.

That is emphatically true. No mere human sagacity could
have foreseen the utter ruin of 'Amman, Jerash, el Busrah, and
other magnificent cities along the extended caravan line from
Petra to Palmyra. Let us, therefore, carry away with us the im-
pressive lesson which they teach, and the most important which
they now confer upon mankind.

Instead of spending another night at Suf we will pass on to
'Ajlun, two hours and a half west of it, to which place our muleteers
have already preceded us. After leaving the olive groves of Suf
we shall be overshadowed by an uninterrupted forest of venerable
oak and other evergreen trees for more than an hour to 'Ain Jen-

' Isa. xxxiv. 6, ii, 13-15.

•AIN JEXNEH.— VENERABLE OAK FORESTS.— JEI5EL 'AJLCn. 575

neh, where there are several fine fountains, which water the flourish-
ing gardens and orchards and irrigate the fields of that village.

These forests extend a great distance both to the north and
south, and a large part of the country might be brought under culti-
vation by clearing away the trees. The substratum is everywhere
limestone, the soil is naturally fertile, and in the spring of the year
the surface is clothed with luxuriant pasture. " Jebel Ajlun," says
Dr. Eli Smith, "presents the most charming rural scener\- that I
have seen in Syria : a continued forest of noble trees, chiefly the
evergreen oak, sindian, covers a large part of it, while the ground
beneath is clothed with luxuriant grass, a foot or more in height,
and decked with a rich variety of wild flowers."

'Ain Jenneh certainly has the largest walnut-trees we have seen
east of the Jordan, and the gardens and orchards contain a great
variety of other trees — the olive, fig, apple, plum, quince, pear, apricot,
and lemon — all of which are loaded with fruit.

That is owing entirely to the abundance of water from the large
fountains under the cliffs farther up the wady, and the same cause
gives to this region around the village of 'Ajlun its well -wooded
appearance and rural beauty.

'.\jlun, September 25th. Evening.
This has been a day of varied and uninterrupted enjoyment, and
the evening ride through those venerable oak woods, when

" Tw ilight gray
Had in her sahle livery all things clad,"

was singularly impressive, and m\' fancy was busy recalling some
of the historic events which have rendered those great forests
memorable, especially during the earliest Biblical times.

The thickly wooded mountain range as far north as the Jarmuk
or Heiromax, and south to the Zerka or Jabbok, is now called Jebel
'Ajlun, and it is certainly one of the most picturesque regions east
of the Jordan. It is also distinguished by some remarkable incitlents
in the early history of the Hebrew people. Jebel 'Ajlun is in the
northern half of " the land of Gilead," and it is first mentioned in
the Bible in connection with the history of Jacob. Laban overtook
Jacob in Mount Gilead, and before parting they set up a heap of

576 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

stones as a witness between them, '' Laban called it Mizpah, or
watch-tower, but Jacob called it Galeed, the heap of witness ;" and
" from thence they call that land the land of Gilead at this day." '
"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And
when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host : and he called
the name of that place Mahanaim [the two hosts or camps]. And
Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the
land of Seir, the country of Edom."'

Jacob was coming from the north with the intention of descend-
ing into the Jordan valley, and probably crossing that river, on his
way to Shechem, at the well-known ford of ed Damieh, where the
road from Gilead to that city has always passed. This Wady 'Ajlun
would offer one of the best lines of descent to the Jordan valley
north of the Zerka or Jabbok, and here Jacob, after leaving Maha-
naim with its divine manifestations, would find ample supply of
water for his large household and his numerous flocks and herds,
camels and cattle, as well as abundant pasture.

Descending to the Jordan valley, and directing his course through
it southward for about a day's journey, Jacob met his returning
messengers, and learned with dismay that Esau was coming to meet
him, " and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly
afraid and distressed," and he halted on the north bank of the Jab-
bok, " and he lodged there the same night ; and took of that which
came to his hand a present for Esau his brother." He well knew
the character of Esau, and adopted the right means to propitiate
him and to gain the desired reconciliation with him. He selected
and sent forward a large present of sheep and goats, camels and
cattle, such as his brother would be likely to appreciate.'

And not only was the present large, but there was wisdom in
the method adopted to render it effective. "And he said unto his
servants. Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and
drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying. When Esau my
brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying. Whose art thou ?
and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? then
thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's ; it is a present sent
unto my lord Esau : and, behold, also he is behind us. And so

' Gen. xxxi. 46-49 ; Ant. i. ig, 11. '' Gen. xxxii. 1-3. ^ Gen. xxxii. 6, 7, 13-15.

JACOB AND ESAU.— PENIEL AND PENUEL. 577

commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the
droves. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth
before me, and afterward I will see his face ; peradventure he will
accept of me. So went the present over before him ; and himself
lodged that night in the company." '

As he expected, Esau was appeased. The next day "Jacob lifted
up his eyes, and looked, and behold, Esau came, and with him four
hundred men. And Jacob passed over and bowed himself to the
ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau
ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him : and they wept.'"* The meeting of the two brothers after their
long separation was altogether unique, and the description of the
scene reads now, after more than three thousand years, like a page
out of some Oriental romance. In simplicity, naturalness, and touch-
ing pathos there is nothing equal to it in the Bible, unless it be
the account of the interview between Joseph and his brethren in
Egypt when he made himself known to them.^

On the supposition that Jacob descended to the valley of the
Jordan through Wady 'Ajlun, where would Peniel be — the place
where his name was changed from Jacob to Israel?

It was, apparently, on the north side of the Jabbok and not far
from the ford where Jacob's household crossed that stream. There
probably was no inhabited place near it at that time, but the spot
where that mysterious conflict occurred may have been marked by
"a heap of stones," or pillar like that at Mizpah. In the time of
Gideon, about five hundred years later, there was a city and a tower
at Penuel, and Gideon " beat down the tower, and slew the men of
the city."' Nearly three hundred years later Penuel was rebuilt by
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and the first king of Israel; and accord-
ing to Josephus, he built him a palace at Penuel, a city so called.'
Dr. Merrill places the site of Penuel at Tellul edh Dhahab, or Hills
of Gold, in the valley of the Jabbok, about four miles east of Mush-
ra'a Kana'an, or Canaan's P^ord. " They are covered with ruins, and
on the eastern of the two are the remains of an ancient castle."" If
that identification is correct, tiien the scene of Jacob's mysterious

' Gen. xxxii. 16-21. "^ Gen. xxxiii. 1-4. ^ Gen. xlv. 1-15.

* Judg. viii. 8, 9, 17. ' i Kings xii. 25; Ant. viii. 8, 4. * East of the Jordan, p. 3(_)i.
Q2

578 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

conflict must have been nearer the crossing of the Jabbok and some
distance from the supposed site of the ancient city.

Here, at 'Ajlun we are in the midst, I suppose, of that "wood of
Ephraim " in which the battle between the armies of David and
his rebellious son Absalom was fought, and which " devoured more
people that day than the sword devoured." '

We shall see during our ride to-morrow many "a great oak" and
terebinth with ^' thick boughs," and low, wide- spreading branches
large enough to have caused that fatal accident to Absalom, and
which proved so disastrous to his cause. One can scarcely read the
narrative of that battle, as recorded in the eighteenth and nineteenth
chapters of 2d Samuel, without pausing to dwell upon some of the
many reflections which are suggested by it; but they are too obvious
to require illustration or comment.

It grows late, and I will only add that early to-morrow morning
we will visit Kul'at er Rubud, north-west of 'Ajlun, situated on a
high and prominent peak directly above the Jordan valley, and which
commands a more extensive outlook over the Land of Promise than
even Pisgah, where Moses stood and viewed the landscape o'er.
We will make the ascent in time to see the rising sun light up the
mountains and hills, the valleys and fertile plains of " Canaan's fair
and happy land."

Ajlun, September 26th.

The cool and bracing air of the morning will render the ride up
the mountain-side to Kul'at er Rubud less fatiguing, and the trans-
parency of the atmosphere will lend enchantment to the extensive
view from the top of the castle.

It has taken three-quarters of an hour from our tents to reach
the summit of the ridge,' winding up for the last fifteen minutes, by
a zigzag path, the steep side of the lofty peak which is crowned by
this ruined castle of er Rubud.

The outlook from this fortress is, indeed, magnificent and im-
pressive beyond anything we have seen " on this side Jordan toward
the sunrising," and one never to be forgotten.

The mountain descends abruptly, on the west, sheer down to the
valley of the Jordan, and the river itself can be traced by a "line of

' 2 Sam. xviii. 6-8.

VIEW FROM KUL'AT ER RUBUD.— HISTORICAL EVENTS. 579

luxuriant verdure " from the Sea of Galilee on the north to the
Dead Sea on the south, a distance of about seventy miles from sea
to sea, but of over two hundred miles following the sinuosities of
that remarkable river. That high mountain on the extreme north
is Hermon, and the billowy ranges south and west of it include the
picturesque hills of Galilee and Nazareth, and Mount Tabor. By the
aid of your glass you can see the plain of Esdraclon, and beyond it
is Mount Carmel, with its bold promontory projecting far into the
blue Mediterranean, that " great and wide sea."

The mountains of Gilboa, the hills of Samaria, Ebal and Gerezim
enclosing the vale of Nablus — the Shechcm of Jacob's time — are all
plainly visible nearly due west ; and southward stretches the rocky
region of Ephraim and Benjamin to the Mount of Olives, behind
which is Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. The hills around
Bethlehem and those still higher between it and Hebron close the
prospect in that direction, while below and beyond all else, from
north to south, lies the sea-coast from the Ladder of Tyre to the road-
stead of ancient Joppa, and the land of the Philistines fades away
into the sandy desert between Palestine and Egypt.

" Thus as we look down from Kul'at er Rubud — the watch-tower
of Gilead — upon this river and valley, the Sea and the Lake, our eyes
rest upon the scene of a multitude of famous historical events, in
which many of the great men of antiquity bore a part : Chedor-
laomer, Abraham and Lot, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon and Jephthah,
David and Solomon, Absalom and Joab [Elijah and Elisha], Judas
Maccabeus, Pompey, Vespasian and Herod the Great, John the
Baptist, and Christ, the Redeemer of the world."' Li reality this
prospect includes more points of Biblical and historical interest
than any other on the face of the earth. Deeply impressive as it
• is, we cannot linger here, but must descend to 'Ajkm and resume
our ride over the oak-clad mountains of Gilead to cs Salt, upon
the south-eastern side of the lofty peak of Jcbel Osh'a.

Has this castle of er Rubud no history, sacred or secular?

It is highly probable that a position so commanding and so easily
defended was occupied from remote antiquity by a fortress of some
kind. The moat is broad and deep, and it was partly excavated in

' East of tlie Jorrlan, p. 365.

58o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the solid rock upon which the castle stood ; and in the foundations
there are large stones, similar in character to those " in the lower
portions of the castle at Shukif and Banias.'" Those indications
point to an older fortress than the present castle, still they are less
distinct than what one would expect to find.

In its present form Kul'at er Rubud is a rectangular fortress,
nearly square, with thick walls and flanking towers or bastions.
An Arabic inscription within the walls of the castle ascribes its con-
struction to Saladin, the renowned antagonist of the crusaders ; it
is, therefore, Saracenic and comparatively modern. Abulfeda, the
Arabian historian who flourished during the first half of the four-
teenth century, says, " 'Ajlun is a fortress, and its suburb Riibud is
called el Ba utheh. The fortress is distant from the town about a
horse-race." And thus "a singular transposition of names seems to
have occurred between the two places."" The castle is now de-
serted and partially in ruins, but in the early years of this century
it was the residence of the governor of the district of 'Ajlun.

The village of 'Ajlun lies principally on the right side of Wady
Jenneh, and the inhabitants are mostly Christians of the Greek sect.
The only objects of interest about the place are a new building, in-
tended as a chapel to accommodate a few families who have become
Protestants, and this old mosk, with its strange and rather dilapi-
dated square minaret, on the bank of the brook. Built into the
walls are some fragments of sculpture and portions of inscriptions,
and about the mosk are a few indications of antiquity.

It is well that we are to reach a safe asylum at the end of our
day's ride, for there is but a single inhabited village, through which
we pass along the route we are to follow, between 'Ajlun and es Salt.

What was the controversy about between you and our guide
this morning before we left 'Ajlun ?

The man declared that he could not accompany us alone, not
from any fear while with us, but because the country between this
and es Salt was so unsafe that he must have two companions to
return with him. As his assertion was confirmed by the Greek
priest and others I was obliged to consent, and thus we have three
armed men with us. Dr. Merrill, wishing to send some of his im-

' East of the Jordan, p. 375. * Rob. Res. vol. iii. Sec. App. p. 166.

THE JORDAN AND THE JABOK.— SUCCOTH AND WADV FARrA. 58 1

pedimenta from 'Ajlun to es Salt, experienced the same difficulty,
and no doubt these wild Gilcad mountains are sometimes unsafe.

Our guide is leading us up the steep mountain-side to the south-
east of 'Ajlun, and as we rise higher and higher the prospect over
the valley of the Jordan and the country west of it widens rapidly,
and every moment becomes more varied and impressive.

Several villages begin to appear far below us on the plain of
the Ghor, and others upon the many-shaped hills of Samaria, on
the western side of the river; the Jordan itself, however, is not
visible. Its channel is sunk so deep below the level of the plain
through which it meanders that it cannot be seen even from its
own upper banks. Its ever-winding way, however, can be traced
in many places by the verdant fringe of willows and other trees
and bushes that line its borders.

What is the name of that village below us on the right, and
which we saw from Kul'at er Rubud ?

It is called Kefxenjy; a considerable place, and the only one that
merits a passing notice in the beautiful valley of 'Ajlun.

Before passing into the thick forest ahead of us let me direct
your attention to the course of the Zerka or Jabbok across the plain
of the Jordan until it unites with that river, a short distance north
of the ruined Roman bridge near the ford of ed Damieh. Dr. Merrill
thoroughly explored that region in search of Succoth, and is in-
clined to locate it at a conspicuous mound, called Tell Deir 'Alia,
"just north of the Jabbok" and east of the Jordan, and he may be
right.' But one would naturally expect that Jacob would hasten to
put the Jordan between him and his brother, whom he had deceived
and whose resentment he might justly dread. Instead of recrossing
the Jabbok and erecting his booths on the north of it, in the open
plain, I think that Jacob crossed the Jordan and made his winter
encampment somewhere in Wady Fari'a and on the banks of the
little stream that descends through that valley and enters the Jor-
dan near the Damieh ford. The road to Shechem has always fol-
lowed up that valley, and no better or safer place could Jacob have
desired than the beautiful Wady Fari'a.

A short distance ahead of us is a fine fountain, called 'Ain Tha-

' East of the Jordan, p. 387.

582 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

luth. It is an hour from 'Ajlun, and near it is a ruin bearing the
name of Khirbet Thaluth. Thus far there are indications of former
cultivation along our route, and the outlook westward is very wide
and varied. Kul'at er Rubud is quite a prominent and striking
feature in the distance far below us to the north-west. We shall
come in half an hour, through a dense wood, to another fountain,
called 'Ain Um el Jalud, where there is a Moslem muzar dedicated
to el Khudr, St. George, and around it are many olive-trees, whose
olives and oil are devoted to the maintenance of that sacred shrine
or saint's tomb. It is the only one we shall see to-day.

We are wandering through a veritable wilderness in this oak
forest, and without any visible road or pathway.

By following down the stream from the fountain we shall come,
in about half an hour, to a well-travelled road from Suf which de-
scends westward to the Ghor, or valley of the Jordan, and across it
to the ford of ed Damieh. Between the place where we cross it and
Suf are the three villages of Dibbin, et Tekitty, and Reimun, and
our guide says that this large open space in the woods is called Um
el Jauzeh. I remember it on account of the great thickness of the
strata in the cliffs on our left. They are composed of compact lime-
stone, and some of the large blocks I measured were more than
twenty feet thick. The guide warns us to look well to our safety
and that of the loaded mules for the next hour, as the ascent
through these woods is very steep. Road there is none, and the
oak forest is more dense and tangled than any other in this region.

On a former occasion those of us on horseback escaped through
these woods without being caught amongst the branches like Absa-
lom, but the muleteers were greatly troubled by the bewilderment
of their animals, and some of the loads were overthrown by project-
ing rocks and the low branches of the trees. The only indication
of man's presence in this extraordinary wilderness is a small ruin, as
of a tower, called Kusr Nejdeh, on the top of the hill half a mile
west of us. We have now reached the highest part of this great
dividing range of the Gilead mountains, and it commands magnifi-
cent prospects in every direction. Captain Warren, of the British
Palestine Exploration Fund, says that " this line of hills is a remark-
able feature in the country, and is somewhat higher than the Jebel

VILLAGE OF BURMAH.— THE ZERKA.— LUXURLANT WILD OATS. 583

Husha range," or Mount Gilead, north-west of cs Salt. From this
point there is a very steep descent of nearly an hour to the vil-
lage of Burmeh, where we will rest and lunch.

This has, indeed, been a great descent, and it has brought us
into an entirely different climate.

We are here fairly within the profound gorge of the Jabbok,
and the climatic transition was far more marked in April than at
this season in September. From shivering in the cold wind on the
mountain top, by a single hour's descent we found ourselves rejoicing
in the balmy atmosphere of this village of Burmeh, embowered as
it is by fruit-trees and semitropical bushes and flowers. To us,
at present, the one thing most delightful is this noble fountain with
its clear, cold water. Burmeh is a prosperous village, inhabited by
Moslems and Christians of the Greek sect, and surrounded by olive
groves, many of the trees exceptionally large, indicating a peaceful
existence in by-gone generations.

The descent from Burmeh to Mukhadat en Nusraniyeh, the Ford
of the Christian Woman, over the Zerka or Jabbok is more than two
thousand feet, and it will take an hour and a half to accomplish it.
We shall pass through many olive groves, and for part of the dis-
tance the road leads over sandstone, the only specimen of the kind
we have yet seen east of the Jordan. We will find the Zerka com-
paratively low, but in the spring, on a former visit, it was a formida-
ble stream and very rapid. It had recently been quite unfordable,
as could be seen by the grass and bushes lodged on the banks.

We spent the night encamped in a level field just below the ford.
It was then covered with a luxuriant growth of wild oats, so like the
cultivated cereal that we at first hesitated to enter it ; but it was of
nature's own sowing and had no owner to claim possession. The oats
were three feet high, and grew so thickly together that our horses
could hardly wade through them. Of course they revelled in such
exuberant pasture, and the weary mules, after their loads and pack-
saddles had been taken off, rolled and tumbled about upon it in
mere wantonness of animal enjoyment.

Amongst the wild oats grew clover more than two feet high,
with red tufts three inches long and large in proportion, whilst the
rushing, roaring river just beyond was hidden beneath impenetrable

584 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

thickets of blooming oleander from ten to fifteen feet high. We
found the air oppressively hot during the first half of the night, and
no wonder, for we had descended from the top of Mount Gilead,
west of es Salt, to the ford — a descent of at least three thousand
five hundred feet. Mukhadat en Nusraniyeh must be nearly on a
level, if not actually below, the surface of the Mediterranean Sea,
and that extreme depression accounts for the luxuriant and almost
tropical vegetation in that part of the Zerka valley.

Soon after going into camp we were visited by the sheikh of a
Bedawin encampment with a villanous-looking following. But they
did no harm, and after the usual smoking of pipes and sipping coffee
they quietly retired to their camp, pitched upon a shelf of the stu-
pendous and overhanging cliffs a short distance below our tents.
Just before sunset a herd of black cattle suddenly invaded our camp,
fat and frolicsome and sufficiently large to remind us of the famous
bulls of Bashan. Their keepers, half-clad boys and girls, grinned
and laughed at us from the cliffs above, but ere night set in they,
too, betook themselves with their cattle to the Bedawin encamp-
ment. Although we were not particularly satisfied with our neigh-
bors, they did not molest us during the night nor pester us with
importunate demands for bakhshish the next morning.

This last steep descent has brought us to the bank of the Zerka,
and we will now cross the river at the ford, not a very formidable
undertaking at this season of the year.

The gorge of the Zerka is exceedingly wild and picturesque, and
the cliffs rise almost perpendicularly to a great height on either side.

This mighty chasm now forms the boundary between the district
of el Belka on the south and that of Jebel 'Ajlun on the north, as
in ancient times it divided the kingdom of Sihon from that of Og,
king of Bashan. The perennial source of the Zerka, or Blue River,
owing to the peculiar color of the water, is near 'Amman, and its
course north-east to Kul'at ez Zerka; from there it trends round
to the north-west, and above the junction with Seil Jerash its direc-
tion is changed to nearly west until it reaches the Jordan valley,
when it turns to the south-west and enters that river a short dis-
tance above the ruined Roman bridge near the Damieh ford.

We cannot linger in this remarkable gorge, for there remain four

FERTILE TLAIN. -FLOWERS AND BIRDS.— MUKA.M NEBY OSH'A. 585

hours to be travelled before we reach our tents at es Salt. The
ascent from the valley of the Zerka is exceedingly steep after leav-
ing Mukhadat en Nusraniyeh, but in about an hour we shall enter
upon a wide and nearly level plateau, the commencement of the
famous wooded heights and fertile plain of the Bclka. Much of
the forest has been cleared away, leaving only picturesque clumps
of oak and pine trees, here and there, in places too rocky for the
pick and the plough. It is good land for agricultural purposes, and
some parts are covered with flourishing wheat and barley in the
spring. The fields which now appear so burnt and bare are then
exuberant and verdant, and all aglow with an infinite number and
great variety of wild flowers bright and gay. Here, for the first
time in this region, we saw many birds : pigeons, turtle-doves, jays,
blackbirds, and thrushes, and large coveys of red-legged partridges.

It will take more than an hour to cross this upland plateau to a
fine fountain called 'Ain 'Allan, which issues from a large cave
amongst the rocks, and is overshadowed by several green fig-trees
laden with fruit in their season. Near the fountain are the ruins of
a considerable village, to which the name of Khirbet 'Allan is given,
and another site, some distance to the east, bears the Biblical name
of Sihan — Sihon, king of the Amorites.

From 'Ain 'Allan a long and tedious climb of an hour and a half
will bring us to the highest part of the road over this Gilead range,
or Jebel Jil'ad, and near it is Khirbet ez Zi, where are the remains
of a few columns and the ruins of some ancient buildings. Had
we the time, we might leave the direct road to es Salt not far from
there and turn off westward to visit mukam en Neby Osh'a, near
the highest point of Jebel Osh'a, as that loftiest peak of this moun-
tain range east of the Jordan is called. The mukam is a plain
Muhammedan structure, consisting of a vaulted room containing
the reputed tomb of the prophet Hosea, and it is venerated by
Moslems, Christians, and Jews. The tomb is of ordinary masonry,
about twenty feet long, three feet high, and three feet broad, cov-
ered with the usual colored cloths presented to the saint as votive
offerings by devout pilgrims and " true believers."

A noble oak-tree overshadows the mukam, and around it are the
graves of a few Moslem devotees. Adjoining the building is a large

586 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

cistern, and near it is a small spring of impure water. Formerly the
Bedavvin, the inhabitants of es Salt, and others made pilgrimages
to the shrine of Neby Osh'a, and there they sacrificed, prayed, and
feasted, and a fair was generally held in the neighborhood on such
occasions. But the zeal of all sects has greatly declined in these
degenerate days, pilgrimages are less frequent, the annual fair has
dwindled to nothing, and es Salt has become the commercial centre
of all this region east of the Jordan.

What possible connection was there between the prophet Hosea
and that solitary and lofty summit of Jebel Osh'a on Mount Gilead ?

None apparently; nor is there anything in the history of that
prophet to invest his name and memory with special interest to the
Muhammedans or the Bedawin Arabs of the desert. The name
Osh'a attached to that mountain -peak, if ancient, probably refers
to Joshua. Dr. Porter suggests that of Elijah, but none of his re-
corded acts were connected with this region, while the great Hebrew
captain may have made that his central station when engaged in
his military expeditions against Sihon and Og, and the memories
of such an occupation would naturally have been preserved
amongst the traditions of the people.

"Jebel Osh'a," says Dr. Merrill, "is perhaps the most sightly
place in Palestine after Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon, Safed,
the hills behind Tiberias, and the plateau which slopes towards
Hattin, Tabor, the hills about Nazareth, those of Naphtali, Ephraim,
and Manasseh, Little Hermon, Ebal and Gerizim, Neby Samwil, and
Massada are in sight, and in fact nearly every prominent point in
the unbroken range of mountains from Jebel esh Sheikh [Hermon]
clear around to the south end of the Dead Sea. All the Jordan
valley, more than four thousand feet below us, is at our feet ; the
plain of Beisan, the tells at the mouth of Wady 'Ajlun and Wady
ez Zerka, all the Nimrin and the Shittim plains and the tells upon
them, the mouth of the Jordan, the entire Dead Sea, including the
extreme south end and el Lisan, the rolling country of Moab, or
the 'Mishor' of the Bible, the hills about 'Amman, the Hauran,
and the mountains of Gilead are in full view.

" In this wide and comprehensive prospect the eye sweeps over
the country to the north, the west, the south, and the east — a sweep

JEBEL OSH'A AND MOUNT NEBO. 587

of eighty to one hundred miles in extent. If one utterly ignorant
of the Bible record should go east of the Jordan to find the point
commanding the most extensive view on all sides, he would select
Jebel Osh'a. It is eight hundred to one thousand feet higher than
Mount Nebo itself. 'The hill over against Jericho' could just as
well be this place as Jebel Neba, and this would meet the conditions
of the thirty-fourth chapter of Deuteronomy better than any other
point. These are claims or facts which belong to this mountain,
independent of any claim of Jebel Neba [now generally identified
with Blount Nebo] to be the spot where Moses stood." '

From this turn in the road at the top of the ridge above Khirbet
ez Zi, it will take us three-quarters of an hour to reach our tents at
es Salt, and by a very steep descent.

They will be a welcome sight after our fatiguing ride of nearly
ten hours from 'Ajlun over the loftiest parts of Mount Gilead.

' East of the Jordan, pp. 194, 279.

588 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

XVI.

ES SALT TO 'AMMAN.

Es Salt. — Situation of the Town. — Capital of the Belka and only Inhabited Place in that
District. — Population of es Salt. — Warlike and Independent. — Protestant Church and
Schools. — Subterranean Bath. — Es Salt overthrown by Wars and Earthquakes. — Na-
tive Houses. — Shops. — The People of es Salt resemble the Arabs of the Desert. —
Vineyards and Olive-groves. — Fruit-trees and Vegetable Gardens. — Wheat and Barley.
— Products of the Flocks purchased from the Bedawin. — The Castle of es Salt. — Daher
el 'Omar. — Turkish Garrison. — Abundance of Water. — 'Ain Jeidur. — Ramoth-gilead.
— Cities of Refuge. — Levitical City. — One of Solomon's Purveyors. — Gilead and the
Region of Argob. — Ahab, Jehoshaphat, and Ben-hadad. — Ahaziah, Joram, and Hazael.
— Jehu. — Elisha. — " Watchman on the Tower of Jezreel." — " The Driving of Jehu."
— Region around es Salt not Adapted to the Use of Chariots. — Ramoth-gilead north
of the Jabbok. — Gerasa, Jerash. — Dr. Merrill. — Jerash opposite to Shechem. — No Mar-
kets south of es Salt. — 'Adwan Guards and Guides. — Scarcity of Water. — Wady Jeidiir.
— Prospect over the Land of Gilead. — Rolling Plain, deep Valleys, and Oak Woods. —
Fertile Fields and Abundant Harvests. — 'Amman to 'Arak el Emir. — Roman Bridge. —
Large Pool, Source of the Jabbok. — High, rolling Plateau. — Bedawin Battle -ground.
— Khirbet Sar. — Ancient Jazer. — Wady es Seir. — Oak Forest. — Rock-tomb or Dwell-
ing. — Captain Warren. — Rock-hewn Chambers at Petra. — Bedawin Robbers. — Rock-
bound Amphitheatre. — 'Arak el Emir. — Castle of Hyrcanus described by Josephus. —
Ruins of the Castle. — "A Lovely Landscape." — Rev. A. E. Northey. — Canon Tris-
tram. — Great Stones. — Colossal Lions.— Ionic Cornices and Egyptian Capitals. — Rock
Dwellings and Stables excavated in the Limestone Cliffs. — Cisterns, Caves, and Up-
right Stones, with Checker Pattern. — Ruins of Public Buildings and Private Dwellings.
— Aqueduct and Large Reservoir. — Fossils and Curious Petrifactions. — Oleanders over
Thirty Feet high. — The Dead Sea. — Wady Sha'ib. — Bedawin Encampments. — The
Stolen Pitchfork and the Christian Guide. — Mukam of Neby Sha'ib. — Votive Offer-
ings. — Resentful Wrath of a Moslem Saint. — Abundance of Water and Luxuriant Vege-
tation. — Golden Daisies and Wild Lupins. — Heavy Crops of Wheat and Barley. —
Flour -mills. — Plain of el Buk'ah. — Favorite Camping -ground of the Bedawin. — El
Buk'ah described by Captain Warren. — Flocks of Sheep and Goats. — Khirbet el Basha.
— Khirbet es Safut. — The Gate of 'Amman. — Ard el Hemar. — A Rough and Unculti-
vated Region. — From Kul'at ez Zerka to Yajuz. — Permanent Fountains of the Zerka.
— The Jabbok. — The Strong Border of Ammon. — Kiirat ez Zerka. — The Haj. — En-
campment of Bedawin. — Migration in Search of Pasture. — Bedawtn Women moving

ES SALT. 589

Camp. — Biblical References to taking down and setting up Tents and Tabernacles. —
An Uncultivated Region. — Storks and Partridges. — Fine old Oaks. — Extensive Pros-
pect. — Hermon, Sulkhad, and Kuleib Hauran. — Shouting Shepherds and Barking Dogs.
— Bedawin Encampment. — Forests of Oak and Terebinth Trees. — Yajuz. — Exuberant
Pasture. — Fountains and Flocks. — Small Roman Temple. — Great Terebinths. — Large
Stone in the Trunk of a Tree. — Open Enclosures with Massive Walls. — Bedawin Ceme-
tery. — The Grave of Nimr el 'Adwan. — Ruins at Vajuz. — Large Disc or Millstone. —
Extensive Quarries. — Female Statue broken by the 'Adwan. — The Moabite Stone. —
Sculptured Eagles and Lions. — Gadda. — El Jebeiha, Jogbehah. — Outlook over Reu-
ben, Gad, and Manasseh. — Hermon, Jerash, and el Buk'ah. — Ruins buried beneath the
Surface at el Jebeiha. — Highly Cultivated and Densely Populated Region. — Curious
Rock Strata. — Wady el Haddadeh. — Noisy Torrent. — Total Desolation and Utter
Loneliness at 'Amman. — Rabbath Ammon and the Graeco-Roman City of Philadelphia.
— The Site of a Great Capital. — Situation of the City. — Overthrown by Earthquakes.
— Corinthian Temple or Tomb. — Large Caravansary, Church, and Mosk. — The Basilica.
— Imposing Structure. — Roman Bridge. — Banks of the Stream lined with Masonry. —
Full of Fish. — Primitive Fishing by the Bedawin. — Ruins of an Old Mill. — The Great
Theatre. — Seats for Eight Thousand Spectators. — The Forum. — Colonnade of over
Fifty Corinthian Columns. — Odeon. — Northern Wall of the City. — Gate-way of the
City. — Remarkable Rock-cut Tomb. — Large Temple. — Main Street lined with Col-
umns. — Ruined Houses upon the Steep Declivity of the Hill. — "The Line of Confu-
sion, and the Stones of Emptiness." — The Citadel-hill. — Square Watch-tower. — Pe-
ripteral Temple within the Citadel. — Greek Inscription in Large Letters. — Beautiful
Church or Mosk within the Citadel described by Canon Tristram and Captain Conder.
— Massive Walls of the Citadel. — Large and Deep Cisterns. — Underground Reservoir.
-Concealed Passage. — Antiochus the Great. — Biblical Interest in Rabbath .-Vmmon. —
The Iron Bedstead of Og. — Captain Conder's Suggestion regarding Og's Throne. — In-
dependence of Rabbath Ammon. — The Siege of Rabbath by Joab. — Duration of the
Siege. — Capture of the City of Waters. — Joab's Message to David. — The Citadel taken
by David. — Remarkable Fulfilment of Prophetic Denunciations. — Droves of Camels,
and Numerous Flocks. — Ammon denounced by the Prophets. — Nothing but Ruins at
Rabbath, and Ammon a Perpetual Desolation. — Ptolemy of Egypt. — Philadelphia men-
tioned by Greek and Roman Writers and Josephus. — The Citadel Besieged and Cap-
tured by Antiochus and Herod the Great. — A City of the Decapolis. — Seat of a Bishop.
— Sunday amongst the Ruins at 'Amman. — Reproduction of Patriarchal Times. — The
Solemn Storks. — Three Sabbaths at 'Amman. — Old Woman and her Daughter. —
Grain preserved in the Theatre. — Absence of Trees. — A Plough for Firewood. — Nat-
ural Phenomena. — Disappearance and Re-appearance of the Stream between 'Amman
and Kul'at ez Zcrka.

September 27th.

Es Salt is so completely surrounded by high mountains and
deep valleys that the town cannot be seen until one is right above
it, and then it presents a very striking and picturesque appearance.
It is built on both sides of a narrow and precipitous wady which

590 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

descends rapidly eastward ; but the greater part of the houses cHng
to the decHvities of the steep and isolated hill, the summit of which
is crowned by a modern Saracenic castle. It is the capital of the
Belka, the residence of a Turkish governor, and now the only in-
habited place in that district. The population of es Salt consists
of about two thousand five hundred Moslems, and five hundred
Christians of the Greek sect ; and owing to their isolated position
amongst the Bedawin east of the Jordan, the inhabitants of this
town are both warlike and independent.

Many of the Christians have become Protestants, and they have
built a substantial church, with a house adjoining for a parsonage,
with rooms for schools and for other religious purposes. To obtain
a foundation for the church, they dug through rubbish for more
than thirty feet, and then came upon an ancient bath, the chambers,
arches, and pavement of which were quite perfect. That indicates
not only great antiquity, but also numerous overthrows by wars,
earthquakes, and other catastrophies by which this narrow valley
has been filled up to a surprising depth.

The houses of es Salt resemble those seen in many mountain
villages throughout this country, though there are some of a more
respectable kind, and amongst them are a few shops where the arti-
cles in most demand by the Bedawin are made and sold. The ma-
jority of the people do not differ in dress, appearance, and manners
from their neighbors, the Arabs of the desert, and the women gene-
rally wear a single, loose, blue cotton garment, with long flowing
sleeves, like their Bedawin sisters of the 'Adwan and other tribes.
The chief occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture, and the sur-
rounding olive-groves, the carefully terraced hill-sides covered with
extensive vineyards producing large clusters of grapes and fine
raisins, and the fruit and vegetable gardens of es Salt, are justly
celebrated throughout all this region. Most of the wheat and
barley grown in the valleys and on the plains in all directions be-
longs to the inhabitants of es Salt, and some of their fields are as
far east as 'Amman. From the Bedawin they purchase wool, but-
ter, skins, and other products of their flocks and herds; but the
amount formerly furnished by them has greatly decreased in re-
cent times.

CASTLE OF ES SALT.— RAMOTH-GILEAD. 591

The castle on the summit of the hill above the town is a very
conspicuous object, but it is in a ruinous condition, and only a
portion of it is now serviceable. It was surrounded by a moat
excavated in the solid rock, and the substructions are ancient ;
but in its present form — a rectangular fortress with square towers
at the corners — it is comparatively modern. It was repaired, if
not entirely rebuilt, during the latter part of the eighteenth
century by Dhaher el 'Omar, the predecessor of the infamous
Jezzar Pasha, surnamed the Butcher, and he resided in it for sev-
eral years, until finally driven out by the united efforts of the ri-
val factions in the town. It is now occupied by a Turkish garri-
son whose martial music wakes up strange echoes amongst these
hills of Gilead. Es Salt is abundantly supplied with water, and
may have owed its existence originally to the large spring near
the middle of the town. The stream from it, together with that
from the noble fountain of 'Ain Jeidur, in the deep wady below,
serves to irrigate the extensive fruit orchards and large vegetable
gardens along the valley.

What evidence is there to prove that es Salt occupies the site
of Ramoth-gilead, the second city of refuge east of the Jordan ?

There is no resemblance between the modern and the ancient
name of the two places; but the situation of the former, on the
declivities of a steep and lofty hill in Gilead, accords with the sup-
posed position of the latter, upon the " heights of Gilead," as the
name Ramoth-gilead implies. If the Jewish tradition be correct,
that the three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan were
opposite to the three on the west side of that river, then we must
look for Ramoth-gilead about a day's journey farther north, so as
to place it opposite to Shechem, the modern Nablus. Besides be-
ing appointed a city of refuge, Ramoth-gilead was allotted to the
Levites, and in the time of Solomon it was the seat of one of his
purveyors.' " To him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Ma-
nasseh, which are in Gilead, and the region of Argob, which is in
Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars." His
territory would thus extend as far north as the Lejah, and es Salt
would, therefore, be too far to the south of the natural line of
' Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xx. 8 ; xxi. 38 ; i Chron. vi. 80 ; i Kings iv. 13.

592 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

communication which must have existed at that time between
Jerusalem, Gilead, and " the region of Argob."

Nothing is heard of Ramoth-gilead after the reign of Solomon
for about one hundred years, and then Ahab, the king of Israel,
proposes to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to "go up" and "take it
out of the hand of [Ben-hadad II.] the king of Syria.'" The com-
bined attack failed ; Ahab was mortally wounded in his chariot,
"and died at even. And there went a proclamation throughout
the host about the going down of the sun, Every man to his city,
and every man to his own country."' A few years later, " Ahaziah,
the king of Judah, went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to war against
Hazael, king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead." ' King Joram was wounded
by the Syrians, and went back to be healed of his wounds in Jez-
reel ; yet it appears that he took Ramoth-gilead, and was able to
keep it, for immediately after the battle we read that Jehu and
" the captains of the host " were in possession of the city." Elisha
the prophet sent to Ramoth-gilead and anointed Jehu king of Is-
rael. " So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel. And there
stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied and said,
I see a company, and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son
of Nimshi ; for he driveth furiously.""

In all those Biblical notices of the battles around Ramoth-sfilead
mention is made of chariots; not only do they take part in the
contests, but the kings and the captains come and go in chariots.
Those battles could not have been fought at es Salt, nor even in
its immediate vicinity, for the region for several miles around is
too rough and mountainous for the use of chariots, and this fact,
amongst others already mentioned, tends to invalidate the claim
of es Salt to be the modern representative of the ancient Ramoth-
gilead. These objections to es Salt have led to the belief that we
must look elsewhere for the site of Ramoth-gilead, and to the con-
clusion that it must have been north of the river Jabbok.

Ramoth-gilead has been placed by some at Gerasa, a city of the
Decapolis, and the modern Jerash ; and by numerous citations from
the Bible, the Talmud, and other authorities, Dr. Merrill has sought

' I Kings xxii. 3, 4. '^ i Kings xxii. 29-36. ^ 2 Kings viii. 28.

* 2 Kings ix. 14, 15, and 5. ^ 2 Kings ix. i-io, 16-20.

NO MARKETS SOCTH OF ES SALT. 593

to prove that the identification is correct. The region around
Jerash accords better than that in the vicinity of es Salt with the
requirements of some of the important events that occurred at
Ramoth-gilead. Jerash " would be suitable for a city of refuge,"
says Dr. Merrill, " because it was on one of the main routes which
would be kept open, according to the command in Deuteronomy
xix. 3. For the same reason it would be an appropriate point at
which to station a commissariat officer who was to command East-
ern Gilead and Bashan. There chariots could be used, as we learn
they were extensively in two notable campaigns," and the ancient
Jewish testimony would be verified respecting the cities of refuge,
for Jerash is almost exactly opposite to Shechem or Nablus.'

We make rather a late start; what is the cause of the delay?

South of es Salt we shall not find a market where our exhausted
supply of provisions can be replenished, and, therefore, our cook
has been busy since early morning purchasing from the miserable
shops in the town whatever was available for his department. But
as the ride to 'Amman is only one of five or six hours, the deten-
tion will occasion us no serious inconvenience.

We are now under the protection of the 'Adwan, and Goblan,
the sheikh of that tribe, has sent his son, Fahd, and his cousin,
'AH, to act as our guards and guides from es Salt through the
region of the Belka, which they claim as their special domain.

Let us stop and water our horses at this noble fountain of
'Ain Jeidur, and fill our water bottles; for though in the spring
there is far too much water along some parts of the route for
the comfort of either horse or rider, all ephemeral streams are
now dried up, and we will not find a drop of water until we
reach the Jabbok, which flows between the ruins of 'Amman.

Having climbed the steep path which winds its way over slip-
pery limestone rocks up the profound gorge of Wady Jeidur, and
reached this elevated plateau above and east of es Salt, the pros-
pect over the southern portion of " the land of Gilead " appears to
be boundless, stretching away southward to the horizon.

I have traversed large parts of that vast region, which appears
from here like a great rolling plain, without an inhabited village

' East of the Jordan, p. 2(jo.

R 2

594 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

or even a ruin in sight. The country, however, is far from level.
Deep valleys descend in various directions, north and east to the
Jabbok, and west and south-west to the Jordan and the Dead Sea,
and the hill-sides, in some places, are covered with noble oak woods.
The soil is generally fertile, and broad fields of wheat and barley
promise abundant harvests. On one occasion I passed through the
region from 'Amman to 'Arak el Emir, on my way to the latter
place. The path led southward from 'Amman, through the green
vale of the Jabbok, for about a mile, and then turned westward at
a point where some ancient ruins attract attention. About half a
mile farther on up the valley the stream of the Jabbok is crossed
by a very low and broad Roman bridge of three arches.

Another mile brought us to the large pool where the Jabbok
rises silently out of the bed of the wady. Around the pool are the
foundations of ancient walls, and west of it the valley is dry, even
in the spring of the year. That pool, therefore, is the true fount-
ain-head and the real source of the Jabbok, and it is only about
two miles to the south-west of 'Amman. From the valley we as-
cended the western hills, and continued our ride over a high rolling
plateau stretching for many miles to the south and east, but tree-
less and entirely deserted. It has been " the battle-ground of the
Bedawin tribes in that region for several generations." After cross-
ing that plateau we came to an inconsiderable ruin called Khirbet
Sar, where are " the remains of a mausoleum with arches, also a
square tower of hard flinty stone." Dr. Merrill and others identify
Khirbet Sar with the ancient Jazer mentioned in the thirty-second
chapter of Numbers and elsewhere, and the plateau west of 'Amman
with "the land of Jazer," "which the children of Reuben and Gad
asked for because it was a place for cattle.'"

Immediately beyond Khirbet Sar we began to descend into
Wady es Seir by a very steep path, through a magnificent forest
of large oak-trees. That valley is very beautiful, and the mount-
ains rise higher and higher on either side, covered to their sum-
mits with thick groves of evergreen oaks, terebinths, and other
trees. Having reached the lively stream at the bottom of the
valley, we followed along its banks for several miles until our at-
' East of the Jordan, pp. 404, 405, 484.

ROCK TOMB OR CHAMBER.— CASTLE OF HVRCAXUS. 595

tention was called to what appeared to be the front of a house,
with a door and several windows, all hewn in the perpendicular
cliff high up the south side of the wady. We had not the time
to ascend to it. but Corporal Phillips, who was sent by Captain
Warren to examine it, while encamped near Khirbet Sar, gives
the following description of it :

"The rock is scarped, and there are seven windows — the four
upper ones have a cross-bar to them cut out of the rock, the three
below are plain. There is a narrow door at the bottom ; inside,
the chamber is about twelve feet square, and divided into two by a
wall running up the centre ; there were originally three floors, of
which only two cornices remain for supporting the joists ; on the
upper one pieces of wood are now resting, on which the shepherds
make their beds. On each floor are seven rows of pigeon-holes
cut in the walls on every side; they are triangular in form." Cap-
tain Warren calls it "a rock-tomb," but it differs essentially from
all such tombs in this country, and its remarkable facade, seen at
a distance, bears a certain resemblance to that of the rock-hewn
chambers at Petra. It was occupied by some Bedawin Arabs,
whose wild appearance and suspicious actions were not very as-
suring, and our guide supposed that they were robbers.

About an hour farther on in the valley below that singular
rock-tomb or dwelling, the mountain recedes on the north side of
the wady, leaving a large open space in the form of an amphithea-
tre, commanding a wide prospect westward, and surrounded on the
north, east, and south by wooded hills, cavernous cliffs, and jagged
crags of limestone rock. That rock- bound amphitheatre or ele-
vated platform is about two thousand five hundred feet above the
Dead Sea, and the rugged site is now called 'Arak el Emir, the
crag of the prince. The south-western part of it was once occu-
pied by " the strong castle " of Hyrcanus, a Jewish prince of the
Maccabean family, who " retired beyond Jordan and there abode,
because of the jealousy and hatred of his brethren." He built a
castle at 'Arak el Emir, and there " he ended his life by slaying
himself with his own hand."

We are indebted to Josephus for all we know about that castle,
the construction of which he thus describes: "Hyrcanus erect-

596 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ed a strong castle, and built it entirely of white stone, to the very
roof; and had animals of a prodigious magnitude engraved upon it.
He also drew around it a great and deep canal of water. He also
made caves of many furlongs in length, by hollowing a rock that
was over against him, and then he made large rooms in it, some
for feasting, and some for sleeping and living in. He introduced
also a vast quantity of waters, which ran along it, and which was
very delightful and ornamental in the court. But still he made
the entrances at the mouth of the caves so narrow that no more
than one person could enter by them at once ; and the reason
why he built them after that manner was a good one ; it was for
his own preservation, lest he should be besieged by his brethren,
and run the hazard of being caught by them. Moreover, he built
courts of greater magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with
vastly large gardens. And when he had brought the place to this
state he named it Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Judea,
beyond Jordan, not far from the country of Hesbon." '

Did you find that the existing remains at 'Arak el Emir cor-
responded to the description of them given by Josephus?

The great canal which Hyrcanus drew around the palace may
yet be found buried under the accumulated rubbish, and the caves
are still there in the rocks over against the palace ; but the state-
ment that they were many furlongs in length is a gross exaggera-
tion. The ruins of the palace itself are considerable. It stood upon
a raised platform in the south-western part of the rocky amphithea-
tre, "in the middle of a walled enclosure of ten or twelve acres,
of which the traces can still be seen. The position and scenery
around are beautiful, and Hyrcanus was a wise man to choose so
charming a spot for his enforced retirement. The glen to the
north-east, above Wady Seir, the cliffs, the sides of the hills cov-
ered with oaks and terebinths, with the undulating verdant slopes
below [and the purling stream flowing through the midst, fringed
with dark-green oleander-bushes in full bloom], make a lovely land-
scape," peculiarly characteristic of this region east of the Jordan.^

"The entrance gate-way [of the palace was] built of large stones

' Ant. xii. 4, li.

" Expedition East of the Jordan. By the Rev. A. E. Northey.

PALACE AT 'ARAK EL EMIR.— LIONS OF COLOSSAL SIZE. 597

squared and finished with the Jewish bevel. ['The frieze of this
portal is Ionic, and is formed of enormous slabs of stone. One of
which was twenty feet by ten.'] ' The aperture of the gate was
twelve feet wide ; one stone measured eleven feet in length by five
feet in width. From this gate-way to the castle was a raised cause-
way, with some [large] perforated stones [as if for bars or rails]
placed on it at intervals." The palace itself measures about one
hundred and twenty- five feet from north to south, and sixty- five
feet from east to west. It faced the east, and had, according to
Canon Tristram, "a colonnade in front, and there are many frag-
ments of pillars, some fluted and others plain, strewn about. Only
a portion of the front wall has stood the test of more than two
thousand years, but this is in wonderful preservation. It is com-
posed of great slabs. One in situ measured fifteen feet [long], by
ten feet high ; another, prostrate, was twenty feet long.

" These stones have been bound together, not by lime or clamps,
but by numerous square knobs or bolts, left in the different sides
of the stone, which fitted tightly into corresponding sockets cut to
receive them in the next block. Many loop-holes for archery pro-
vided for the defence of the place. About twenty feet from the
basement runs a beading of Doric ornaments, and above this is
a colossal frieze, some twelve feet high, formed of enormous slabs,
with lions sculptured in alto-relievo of colossal size. [They are
about six feet high and nine feet long.] Over these has been a
Doric entablature and frieze, but this has been thrown down, as also
have been many of the lions. It seems probable that earthquakes
alone have caused their overthrow, for human agency could scarce-
ly have overturned without destroying them. The building must
have been a strange medley architecturally, for we noticed many
Ionic cornices and Egyptian capitals of the Ptolemaic order with
the palm leaf."'

About half a mile from Kusr el 'Abd, the palace of the black
slave, as the castle is now called, are the rock-dwellings and sta-
bles which Hyrcanus caused to be excavated in the limestone cliffs.
" Great chambers," says Mr. Northey, " have been hollowed out, per-
haps originally natural cavities, but greatly enlarged and shaped by

' Land of Israel, p. 534. ' Land of Israel, pp. 534, 535.

598

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

COLOSSAL LIONS ON THE FACADE OF THE PALACE OF HYRCANUS.

artificial means. One which we measured was forty-five by thirty-
five feet, and about twenty feet high; another fifty-four feet by
thirty-six feet, and twenty-eight feet high. To each of these cham-
bers there were two openings: one a kind of square window, twelve
feet high by six feet wide; the other a rough, square door -way
below. At the side of the entrances was an inscription in ancient
Samaritan, the same in both cases. Beyond these was another
chamber, longer, narrower, and lower, which had been used as a
stable. It is ninety-six feet in length ; round the sides is a range
of mangers cut out of the solid rock, about three feet high.

" Close by is a round cistern, twelve feet in diameter, as well as
many other caves and passages, the entrance to some of which was
purposely made by Hyrcanus as difficult as possible. Two large
square stones, standing up edgeways, with a checker pattern on
them, puzzled us, as they have puzzled every one who has seen
them." Below those caverns in the cliffs is a large platform or

EXCAVATED LIMESTONE CLIFFS AT 'ARAK EL EMIR. 599

an elevated ter-
race, on which
there are the re-
mains of public
edifices and the
ruins of private
residences, most
of which appear
to have been
surrounded by
a wall ; and a
flight of steps,
cut in the rock,
led down from
that terrace to-
wards Wady es
Seir. On the
hill -side to the
south-west, be-
tween those re-
mains and the
castle, are the
ruins of houses,
and fragments of
a few columns,
and the traces
of an aqueduct.
" Here," accord-
ing to Dr. Mer-
rill, "was one of
the largest res-
ervoirs in the
country ; it was
almost a lake,
and when full
of water, even
ships could easi-

600 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

\y have floated in it. Nowhere else have I seen a wall of such
strength as the one to the south and east of this reservoir.'"

The cliffs in which those excavations were made abound with
various kinds of fossils in perfect preservation, and one might col-
lect specimens enough at 'Arak el Emir to fill a considerable cabi-
net ; for the rocks, and some of the blocks of stone amongst the
ruins, are literally a mass of curious petrifactions. I can corrobo-
rate Mr. Northey's description of the oleanders in that vicinity,
both as to size, abundance, and beautiful flowers. Along Wady
Sha'ib, midway between 'Arak el Emir and es Salt, I saw oleanders
which had grown into large trees. Some were nearly two feet in
circumference, and more than thirty feet high.

From the top of the ridge north-west of 'Arak el Emir, we had
an impressive view of the Dead Sea, which appeared surprisingly
near, though in reality it was more than two thousand five hundred
feet below us. From that magnificent outlook we had a long and
winding descent into Wady Sha'ib, which we followed northward for
several miles, and then climbed the lofty mountain south of es Salt.
'Arak el Emir is nearly four hours distant from es Salt, most of
the way through a rough, wild, and deserted region. We passed
several small encampments of Bedawin, but there is not an inhab-
ited village nor important ruin along the entire route.

Our guide found a pitchfork in one of the caverns at 'Arak
el Emir, where tibn, or straw, is stored by the Bedawin, which he
took possession of without scruple. But when we came near the
first Arab encampment he was afraid that some of them would
claim it and give him a thrashing. He begged to be allowed to
conceal the pitchfork in one of the loads on our mules, but that I
would not permit him to do, so he left us and made a long detour
to escape observation. He had not expected to find any Bedawin
camps along that unfrequented pathway.

It was impossible to convince him that he was guilty of theft ;
he stoutly maintained that he had a right to appropriate to his
own use all such stray plunder. The guide was a Christian from
es Salt, and yet, when we came to the Muhammedan Mukam of
Neby Sha'ib, in the wady of the same name, where votive offerings

' East of the Jordan, p. 107.

\YATER AND VEGETATION.— PLAIN OF EL BUK'AH. 6oi

to the saint, and ploughs, ox -yokes, goads, and other agricultural
implements lay around the sacred tomb without any protection,
he did not dare to steal a single article. The resentful wrath of
that Moslem saint is greatly feared by all sects, and no one will
venture to take anything left for safe-keeping at his tomb.

The grave of Neby Sha'ib has no building over it, nor is it
protected by a wall or an enclosure of any kind, and it is nearly
concealed by weeds and bushes, which grow in Wady Sha'ib with
surprising luxuriance, owing, mainly, to the abundance of water.
In all directions noisy brooks come tumbling down the tributary
ravines, and swell the stream in the valley into a roaring mountain
torrent. I have rarely seen vegetation more luxuriant than in that
region. For long distances we had to force our way through patches
of golden daises, wild lupins, and thorny thistles nearly as high as
our horses, and so thickset as to quite perplex them.

The crops of wheat and barley in many places were as heavy
as any I ever saw either in this country or elsewhere. In the
valley below and south of es Salt there are numerous flour-mills
driven by the stream from the noble fountains which burst forth
on all sides in that vicinity, and the region between 'Arak el Emir
and that town is very beautiful and romantic, and it is not sur-
prising that " the children of Reuben and the children of Gad,"
who " had a very great multitude of cattle," when they saw tiie
land should have eagerly poveted possession of it.'

We have now been riding two hours and a half from es Salt,
and may rest a while and lunch under the shelter of that solitary
and conspicuous terebinth-tree ahead of us, the only one of its
size in this part of our route. When I passed this way in the
spring, much of the country was flooded with water, and that
beautiful plain of el Bi:ik'ah, many hundred feet below us on the
left, and surrounded on all sides by high mountains, looked like a
lake with large islands in some parts of it. Owing to the abun-
dance of water and the rich pasture, el Buk'ah is a favorite camp-
ing-ground of the surrounding Bedawin. Captain Warren passed
through it on his way to J crash from Wady es Scir.

" The view from these hills to the north," he says, " is rcmarka-

' Numb, xxxii. i.

602 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ble ; fifteen hundred feet below us is an oval, depressed plain, nine
miles long and six broad, giving about forty-five square miles of the
richest meadow-land. It appears to be the dried-up bed of a lake
whose waters have cut their way to the Zerka, years ago, by wadies
on the north-west side." He found "the plain well cultivated in
parts, and elsewhere it swarms with flocks of sheep and goats."
There are several ruins on and around el Buk'ah, the most impor-
tant of which are Khirbet el Basha, " nearly in the centre of the
plain," and Khirbet es Safut, "on the side of the hill to the east."
At the former are " the remains of an extensive village or town of
soft stone, and some vaults," and "the principal object" still re-
maining in the latter " is a gate-way, eight feet high and seven feet
six inches wide, with a lintel over it, called the Gate of 'Amman ;
there are bevelled stones about."

El Buk'ah is now dry, and the vegetation on that depressed
plain has been withered by the long summer heat. The same is
true in regard to the region on our right, called Ard el Hemar,
which is clothed with luxuriant pasture in the spring ; and the
road, now so dusty, is then almost impassable from deep mud.

Our ride for the last hour, since leaving the large tree above the
plain of el Buk'ah, has been quite featureless; but picturesque hills
begin to appear to the north and in the east, and vary the mo-
notony. What is the nature of the country on our left?

Most of it is a rough, barren, and uncultivated region. In com-
pany with Dr. Selah Merrill, archaeologist of the American Palestine
Exploration Society, I came through it from Kul'at ez Zerka, some
twelve miles north-east of 'Amman, where the river Zerka, or Jab-
bok, trends round westward on its way to unite with the Jordan.
We had spent the preceding night encamped on a pretty grassy
meadow near some large fountains, the second permanent source
of the Zerka. Below the fountains the river winds round the base
of the ridge on which the castle of ez Zerka is situated, and then
begins its headlong descent of three thousand feet to the Ghor,
through abrupt and lofty mountains.

The Jabbok has always formed the natural boundary of the dis-
tricts north and south of it down to the present day. In the time
of Moses it was "the border of the children of Ammon [which]

KULAT EZ ZERKA.— BEDAWfN CAMP. 603

was strong;" and it now separates the district of the Belka from
that of Jebel 'Ajlun. Kul'at ez Zerka stands on the top of the hill,
some distance north of those fountains, and is one of the stations
of the Haj, or Muhammedan pilgrims, to Mecca. The Haj had
been there a short time previous to our visit, and had so effectually
swept up every article of food and provender that we could not
obtain any barley for the horses nor even an egg for ourselves.

There was a large encampment of Bedawin on the bank of the
river below our tents, and I was quite interested in their movements
the next morning. The "elders" having decided, apparently, to
emigrate in search of better pasture, the men set off with about
eighty camels; but neither they nor their animals carried any of the
camp equipage. Immediately after their departure, however, the
women in the camp broke out into bustling and noisy activity. As
if by magic the tents fell to the ground, were bundled up and placed
on the few camels left for that purpose, and in an inconceivably
short time the whole caravan passed up the river and disappeared.
1 had often heard that the Bedawin, when alarmed by the approach
of an enemy, could vanish, tents and all, in a few minutes; and
though not hastened by any fear of danger, I was glad to have seen
the feat thus accomplished. The women did the whole work, while
those " lords of creation," their masters, sauntered off in utter un-
concern. There appeared to be very little baggage of any kind to
be cared for, and no doubt the women got on all the better for
the absence of their lazy lords.

Biblical writers have drawn some affecting imagery from some-
what similar scenes. Thus Jeremiah exclaims: "Destruction upon
destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are
my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment." ' And again :
" My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken : my chil-
dren are gone forth of me, and are not : there is none to stretch
forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains."' Our own
tabernacles, also, soon disappeared from the green meadow by the
river, taking a different route to Yajuz, some four hours to the west
of Kul'at ez Zerka. There was no lack of paths for some distance
in the direction that we took, made, I suppose, by camels and flocks

' Jer. iv. 20. - Jlt. X. 2u.

604 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

coming down to the Zerka for water. Our guides — the same sheikhs
who accompany us now — paid no attention to them, however, but
cHmbed up rocky ridges and plunged into deep ravines, with a reck-
lessness which sometimes we hesitated to follow.

That part of Ammon's inheritance never was, and never could
be, cultivated, nor was there any indication of man's presence and
work for several miles. What the storks, which so solemnly range
over those barren hills, find to eat I cannot imagine ; nor what
entices thither the partridges, that cackle from the steep cliffs,
unless it be the hope of escape from man, their natural enemy.
In about two hours a steep climb raised us above the surrounding
country into a well-wooded region of fine old oaks, and opened out
a prospect of vast extent. We saw not only the ruins of Jerash
but the high castle -crowned tell of Sulkhad, the volcanic cone of
el Kuleib, in Jebel ed Druse, and many other places of interest on
the distant plain of el Hauran, and beyond it the snowy summit of
Hermon far away to the north.

After leaving that commanding stand -point on the top of the
ridge, the country began to assume a less forbidding aspect. The
shout of the shepherds and the barking of their dogs gave notice
that we were approaching a Bedawin encampment. The dogs
came charging down upon us with loud uproar; but the bark of
an Arab dog is worse than his bite, and upon second thought,
concluding that discretion was the better part of valor, they kept
at a respectful distance and finally fled at our advance.

From that encampment we descended into a well-wooded valley,
which inclines towards the south-west. The country improved
rapidly, and it was quite refreshing to ride through fine forests of
oak and terebinth trees. After riding four hours from Kul'at ez
Zerka we stopped to rest under the wide-spreading branches and
the "shadowing shroud" of the largest and most beautiful tere-
binths I have ever seen, and our horses regaled themselves upon
the exuberant pasture around the trickling fountain of Yajuz.

Yajuz is a singular place, with a name quite unknown to fame ;
but the ruins scattered about the shallow valley for a mile or more
are of considerable importance. Near the large terebinth- trees
there are three fountains, or rather holes in the ground, into which

OPEN ENCLOSURES AND LARGE TEREBINTHS AT VAJUZ. 605

the water collects in sufficient quantity to supply the numerous
flocks that gather about them. On the lower side of the fountain
farthest south once stood an ornamental structure of some sort,
probably a small temple. From the number and size of the blocks,
the fragments of columns, capitals, cornices, lintels, and carved
stones with various designs, it is evident that the edifice was of
Roman construction and of the Corinthian order of architecture.

But the most remarkable structures about Yajuz are the massive
walls of three large, open enclosures a short distance to the north-
east of the fountains. All three are overshadowed by terebinths
of very great size, from ten to fifteen feet in circumference, and of
rare beauty of outline. Some of the trees spring from the bottom
of the walls, and the largest among them has grown around and
lifted up from its position to a considerable height above the
ground a stone about two feet square and weighing at least half
a ton. Those enclosures seem to be far too wide to have been
roofed or vaulted over. The central of the three is about one
hundred and forty feet square, and the walls were built of large
and well -cut blocks of stone laid up without mortar. The other
two enclosures are smaller, and more of the surrounding walls re-
main standing in their original position.

I have nowhere else seen any structures similar to those, and
the character of the work seems to indicate that they are more
modern than the ancient town. The interior space is now mainly
occupied by the graves of the Bedawin. The great-grandfather of
our guides, a celebrated sheikh, died under one of those terebinth-
trees, and his grave is still well preserved, with its inscription, in
an open f^eld a little south of the central enclosure. The " family"
of our Bedawin guides owns the land in common at Yajuz, and
Sheikh Fahd performed the customary religious ceremony at the
grave of his great ancestor, whose name was Nimr el 'Adwan.

There is a fourth enclosure on the hill-side, about forty rods to
the eastward of the three others. It is smaller, but built of the
same large blocks of stone, and like them it is overshadowed by
great terebinth -trees. The ruins of the town itself cover a large
space on both sides of the shallow valley which declines gradually
towards the south-east. The houses on the left side are prostrate,

6o6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

but on the opposite slope of the hill many of them are still stand-
ing, and all were vaulted over, though in a rough and irregular
manner. In one I found a Bedawin family living, the only resident
inhabitants of that once large town ; other houses are used to store
tibn and grain. Short columns lie here and there among the ruins,
and the outline of what may have been a small church can still
be traced. Rock -cut tombs of various forms abound, and there
are many chambers sunk in the face of the rock as if for the
storing of grain ; but there are no inscriptions on the ruins to
throw any light upon the history of that remarkable place.

Dr. Merrill found reservoirs at Yajuz, "with substantial roofs
supported upon arches;" also "the remains of one temple and two
churches." He saw a large disc or millstone, eight feet in diame-
ter, lying in one of the extensive quarries, and "a great many
square stones laid out ready for use ; but for some reason they
were left, and remained untouched to the present day."'

Besides Sheikh Fahd we had with us two other sheikhs of the
'Adwan ; and they turned over a large block of stone to show us
the battered outline of a human figure sculptured upon it, in regard
to which they gave the following account : The figure was that of
a woman, appropriately draped and of life-size. It was quite per-
fect when first discovered, but the sheikhs themselves broke it up
and mutilated it, after the famous Moabite stone had been simi-
larly dealt with by the Beni Sakhr at Dihban or Dibon, In excuse
for that act of vandalism they said that they had heard that a well-
known person in Jerusalem had negotiated with a sheikh of their
tribe to carry away that statue, without the permission of the other
sheikhs. Fearing a quarrel among themselves similar to that be-
tween the Beni Sakhr about the Moabite stone, they went to
Yajuz in the night and broke up and mutilated the statue.

Our guides were of the party, and they showed us the head, the
feet, and part of an arm, all of which had belonged to that statue.
They also turned over other large blocks of stone, upon one of
which was an eagle with outstretched wings, and on two others
were the sculptured figures of lions in tolerable preservation. Those
sculptured fragments only increase the interest in Yajuz, and it is
' East of the Jordan, pp. 273, 274.

EL JEBEIHA, JOGBEIIAH.— CURIOUS ROCK STRATA. 607

to be hoped that future explorers will be able to discover the
ancient name and former history of that remarkable town.

Yajuz, then, has not been identified with any Biblical site?

I believe not ; in fiict but few travellers have either seen or
mentioned it. Dr. Merrill thinks " there are good reasons for re-
garding this place as the ancient Roman town Gadda," mentioned
in the Tabula Peutingeriana as thirteen miles from Philadelphia or
Rabbath-amman, the present 'Amman.'

About an hour's ride west of Yajuz, on the road to es Salt,
are the ruins of another Roman town. The site is now called el
Jebeiha, which at once suggests the name Jogbehah, a fenced city
built by the children of Gad before they accompanied their breth-
ren to the conquest of the country west of the Jordan.* The
situation of the town, on a broad hill-top, is a very fine one, com-
manding a magnificent outlook over a large part of the territory
of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. Hcrmon, in the far-off distance,
and the ruins of Jerash nearer at hand are again visible, and the
beautiful little plain of el Buk'ah lies almost at one's feet. Though
far older than Yajuz, the ruins at Jebeiha are mostly buried beneath
the surface, and there are very few remains above ground. Foun-
dations of buildings, numerous low, massive vaults, and demijohn-
shaped cisterns are found here and there on the top of the hill,
but the remains are not so extensive as those at Yajuz.

As we descend towards 'Amman w'e shall see many indications
that this region was once highly cultivated and densely inhabited,
but none of the existing ruins of ancient towns and dilapidated
towers are of sufficient importance to merit even a passing notice,
so we will not turn aside to examine them.

We have entered a winding wady, which sinks deeper and deep-
er every moment below the general level of the country, and the
cliffs on either side present a very curious appearance.

The rock strata have been upheaved, distorted, twisted, and
crumpled like the leaves of a dog-eared book. We are near the
end of our day's ride, and high up on our left you can see the
massive walls of the castle at 'Amman. This valley is called
Wady el Haddadeh, and there is a similar one on the north-west

' East of the Jordan, p. 227. ^ Numb, xxxii. 35.

6o8 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

side of the citadel-hill, where the strata are equally contorted and
remarkable. In the spring, water trickles from under the rocks
and cliffs in this valley, and the little rills soon swell into a noisy
torrent, rushing eastward to join the pretty river that flows through
the ruins at 'Amman. We shall find our tents pitched on the
north-west side of the river, and nearly opposite the great thea-
tre, one of the principal attractions of the place.

No one can visit 'Amman without being deeply impressed with
its total destruction and utter loneliness. I have come to it from
different directions, and the impression is always the same. The
traveller sees nothing along the way hither that can in the slight-
est degree prepare his mind for the melancholy desolation and
oppressive silence that brood over the prostrate ruins of this once
'* royal city." There is still time before dark to take a general
survey of the ruins of this " city of waters," and to visit the cita-
del on the summit of the hill directly above it.

Of the " Rabbath of the children of Ammon," where the iron
bedstead of Og was kept, there are no remains above ground to
be examined. What the astonished traveller now sees belonged
to the Graeco- Roman city of Philadelphia. There is no doubt,
however, as to the identity of the place itself with both those
ancient cities ; and it is marked out by nature for the site of a
great capital. These are some of its advantages : a strong posi-
tion, shut in by high mountains and surrounded by deep valleys;
an abundance of good water flowing through a narrow vale from
the south-west to the north-east, with a sufficient space on the
left bank of the stream for edifices of all kinds, public and pri-
vate ; while a large isolated hill, some three hundred feet high,
overhangs it on the north-west and north, affording on its sum-
mit a broad platform for a large and almost unassailable citadel,
and fertile hills and broad plains lie around it in all directions to
supply its inhabitants with many of the necessaries of life.

Philadelphia occupied not only the narrow vale on the left bank
of the little river, but most of the private dwellings, erected upon
arched vaults, rose tier above tier up the steep slope of the citadel-
hill. Many of those vaults are nearly perfect, but the houses have
all been thrown down by successive earthquake shocks, and the

RUINED TEMPLE OR TOMB.

609

u. ^^

entire hill -side is one confused mass of shapeless ruins. Com-
mencing our survey of the ruined city from the extreme south-
west, the first structure that especially attracts our attention is
a tomb or small temple. It stands, isolated, in the midst of this
green meadow, through which glides the little river of 'Amman.
The temple was
square, with mas-
sive walls, and Co-
rinthian pilasters
at the corners, sur-
mounted by an
elaborate cornice,
most of which has
fallen. It was cir-
cular within, and
had shell -shaped
niches and arched
windows profuse-
ly and elegantly
carved. An orna-
mental frieze sup-
ported a domed
roof, but it was
thrown down long
ago, and only a feu-
layers of w'cll-cut
stone of the lower
tiers of masonry
now remain.

On the rising ground at the northern end of the meadow arc
several large edifices, the walls of which are partly standing. The
first is a rectangular building about two hundred and fifty feet
long and one hundred and twenty- five feet wide, and near it is
another nearly two hundred feet long and one hundred and twen-
ty feet wide. It was divided into two unequal parts by a wall, and
had three entrances and four windows, with rounded arches ; and
near the north-west corner there is a square tower with a spiral
S 2

RUINED TEMl'Lli OR TUMH.

6io

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

stairway within of thirty-three steps. From the top of it there is
a fine view of the valley of 'Amman, with its striking ruins and
pretty stream, for a mile or more towards the north. The first of

EXTERIOR OF AN IMPOSING STRUCTURE.

those buildings may have been a great caravansary, and the second
was probably a large church, afterwards converted into a mosk.
Between those buildings and the stream are the prostrate walls
of other edifices difficult to explore or describe.

East of the mosk, and built upon the bank above the stream,
is the basilica. Within, it was about one hundred and fifty feet
long and eighty feet wide, and it had a nave and two side aisles,
with a small apse at the east end. The interior of the basilica
appears to have -been frescoed or plastered, to judge from the
many small holes in the stones in that portion of the apse and
side walls which still remains standing. Externally the basilica
must have resembled a strong fortress, for the eastern wall was

IMPOSING STRUCTURE.

6ll

very massive, and rose to a great height above the stream. North
of the basiUca are the remains of a building with pointed arches,
and beyond it are the ruins of the most imposing structure at
'Amman. It consists of curved walls, round towers, and angular
bastions of great thickness and strength, towering above the left
bank of the stream, and completely dominating the entire city.

Near one of the round towers is an arched passage which
served to convey the winter torrent from W'ady el Haddadeh
through the town and under the walls to the river. From the
existing remains and the crumbling ruins of another round tow-
er, this structure appears to have extended for some distance far-
ther north, and along the bank of the stream. Externally the
walls were constructed of well-dressed, bevelled stones, and with-
in, there were semicircular and arched recesses with two rows of

IMKKKJK or AN I.MI'USINC; STliL'CTl.RK.

niches between, and there are numerous small holes along the
walls, above and below the niches, for the support of the stucco
or plaster, which covered a part, at least, of the surface of the en-
tire structure. Two columns without capitals still remain standing

6l2

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ROMAN BRIDGE, AND BANKS OF THE STREAM.

nearly opposite the highest part of the structure, and the shafts
of three others are a sliort distance to the right, but they have
been moved out of the perpendicular by the shock of earthquakes.
Farther north is the round arch of a Roman bridge still span-
ning the stream. It is a plain semicircle of single stones, with-
out abutments or parapets, and appears to have been the only
one in the city. The numerous blocks of stones, and fragments
of columns lying in the bed of the stream, however, afford easy
stepping-stones, so that it is not difficult to get across in many
places. The banks of the stream both above and below the
bridge were lined with masonry, and vaulted over in some places ;
but if the bed of if was ever paved, the winter torrents have long
since carried away the stones with which the pavement was con-
structed. The stream is full of minnows and small fishes, which
the Bedawin sometimes catch by throwing stones at them — a very
primitive way of fishing.

THEATRE AND ODEOX,

6l 3

Let US cross the bridge and visit the great theatre nearly a quar-
ter of a mile to the north-east of it. The wall which lined the right
bank of the stream is almost perfect, and here on our left are the
ruins of an old mill, and beyond them the shapeless remains of some
undefined structure. This theatre is the largest and best preserved
of its kind in the country. It was almost entirely excavated in
the side of the hill, and partly hewn out of the overhanging cliff,
and the seats or benches were made of trap-rock, which never dis-
integrates. The front of the theatre was about three hundred feet
long, and the walls, including the corridors, nearly ninety feet thick.

lliEAlkE A.NlJ OlJhD.S Al AMMAN.

Within, the arena was over one hundred and twcnt}- feet long and
about one hundred feet in diameter. There were more than forty-
three rows of benches, rising upward from the arena in grand and

6 14 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ever widening semicircles, divided into sections by several flights
of steps, and separated into three tiers by broad passages which
con:imunicated with arched corridors running round the entire
semicircular structure under the seats in each tier.

Resting thus against the hill, says Mr. Northey, " nothing can
exceed the grandeur of the large theatre, crowned by the rocks out
of which its semicircle has been hewn. With its tiers of seats, its
passages, corridors, galleries, and vestibules, it must have been a
splendid building, capable of holding eight thousand persons."

In front of the theatre was the forum, over three hundred feet
in length and about two hundred feet broad, surrounded bv a col-
onnade of fifty or more Corinthian columns. Eight of those col-
umns are still standing, with their entablature, opposite the south-
western wall of the theatre, and parts of four others, at an angle to
them, extend along the south side of the forum. Nearly opposite
the north-western wall of the theatre, and fronting the north-east-
ern part of the forum, was the Odeon. Portions of the walls and
the three entrances in front, with their lintels and round arches,
remain, but the roof has fallen, the semicircular interior is a mass
of shapeless ruins, and the benches are buried under heaps of rub-
bish and piles of square stones. The Odeon, however, is the best-
preserved ruin at 'Amman, and it appears to have been a good
specimen of a small theatre in the Corinthian style of architecture.

The northern wall of the city extended from cliff to cliff about
forty rods north of the Odeon, and the gate -way on the left
bank of the stream is well defined. It led out of the street of
columns which ran parallel to the cliffs of the citadel-hill, and not
far from the hill itself. Half a mile farther north, near the spot
where the ravine on the northern side of the citadel-hill unites with
the river vale, is a remarkable tomb having an ornamental facade
not unlike that of a triumphal arch, with small side entrances ; but
the interior is merely a large, rock -cut, sepulchral chamber with
several sarcophagi in situ arranged along the sides.

We will now recross the bridge and climb the steep hill above
the city, in order to examine the remains of the citadel and the
ruins of some remarkable structures upon its summit. This com-
paratively level space on the left, between the bridge and the

RUI.NKD TEMl'Li:.

615

citadel -hill, is strewn with confused masses of ruins, but none of
them appear to be of any importance. On the right, and close to
the foot of the hill, are the ruins of a large temple. Part of the
rear wall, ornamented by a large square niche, with a smaller, shell-
shaped one above it, and surmounted by a beautiful cornice with
elegant broken
pediments, sup-
ported by two Co-
rinthian columns
with their entabla-
tures, still remains
standing. That
temple faced the
east, and in front
of it are the brok-
en shafts of a few-
columns. With its
portico and spa-
cious court that
temple appears t< <
have extended al-
most to the main
street, lined with
columns and run-
ning northwards,
on an elevated ter-
race, parallel with
the river, until it
reached the north
gate of the city.

Look well to your footsteps as we ascend the steep hill-side, so
completely covered with the remains of prostrate houses, lest you
stumble over the ruined walls or tumble into one of the broken
vaults upon which, many of tlie private residences of this ancient
city were built. Like those at es Salt, these houses rose tier above
tier, the roofs of those below forming the courts of the om-s above
them, and so on up this steep declivity to the top of the hill.

KI.AK W \l.l. I U A I -AKl.K IK.M I'l.K

5i6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

But they have all been thrown down in an overwhelnning mass
by the shock of earthquakes, and nothing now remains of them
but some foundations and a few side walls. As in the case of el
Busrah or Bozrah, so here "judgment has come" upon Rabbath-
ammon, and the Lord has stretched " out upon it the line of con-
fusion, and the stones of emptiness."'

And now that we have reached the watch-tower or guard-house
on the top of the ridge, you can see that the hill extends from
south-west to north-east and is almost a mile in length, with a
broad, irregular platform on the summit having somewhat the shape
of a right angle. The deep Wady Haddadeh protects it on the
south-west, and it is defended by a profound ravine on the north-
west and north. The only available point of attack or approach
is along the narrow neck of land which connects it with the hill
farther west. Broad, level fields extend northward from the ditch
or moat near the north-east angle of that platform, along the top
of the ridge, and the surface declines rapidly to the river vale, about
half a mile beyond the north wall of the city. This square watch-
tower stands on the eastern side of the platform and overlooks the
entire city, the river, and the valley nearly three hundred feet below.
A short distance west of it we shall find the foundations and pros-
trate columns of a large and noble temple.

"According to our measurements," says Dr. Merrill, this temple
"was fifty feet wide by one hundred and sixty feet long. It had
four columns at each end and eight on each side," and was, there-
fore, a peripteral temple surrounded by twenty columns. They
were " forty-five feet high, and the capitals were of rich Corinthian
work. The columns were six feet in diameter, and on the end of
two sections was engraved, in very large letters, [a Greek word
which] signifies ' from a present, or gift,' showing that the column
was a contribution from some wealthy or benevolent person.
Around the entire building there appears to have extended an
architrave which was three feet wide, and under a portion of it at
least was a Greek inscription, beautifully carved, in two lines, the
single letters being six inches in length. The stones composing
this architrave were badly broken when the building fell, and some

' Isa. xxxiv. II.

PERIPTERAL TEMPLE WITHLN THE CITADEL.

617

PERIPTERAL TEMPLE WTrHlN THE CITADEL.

of them are covered in the earth, while others, half buried, project
from the ground; the inscription [upon the architrave] is much
mutilated and can be copied only in fragments."'

This low, square structure, a short distance to the north-west
of the temple, and half buried by a mass of rubbish, is supposed
to have been a church or a mosk. It was first described in detail
by Canon Tristram as " a perfect Greek church of the late Byzantine
type," and it has since been carefully examined by Captain Conder,
of the Palestine Exploration Fund. " The beautiful little Moslem
building on the citadel hill," he says, " is one of the most interest-
ing monuments of the town. It appears to be an erection all of
one period, although the south wall has been injured and perhaps
partly rebuilt. The building measures eighty-five and a half feet
north and south by eighty and a half feet east and west. It has
a central court, thirty- three feet square, and an arched chamber
leads back from each side of the court, measuring about eighteen
feet either way. There are four other chambers in the finir corners,
' East of the Jordan, pp. 264. 265.

6i8

THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and on the north-west was a staircase to the roof. The total
height is twenty -seven feet, and it [does] not appear that the
central court had ever been roofed in.

"■ The interest of this building consists in the architectural style
of iis details. Each alcove, or chamber, opening into the court has
a fine arch of peculiar shape, being very nearly semicircular, but
having that same slightly elliptical form at the top which can be
recognized in the arches of the Dome of the Rock at Jeri^salem.
On each side of the arch is a panel decorated with bas-reliefs in
stone. These represent arches supported on slender coupled pil-
lars. The arch in this case is represented of horseshoe form and
decorated with a dog-tooth moulding. It stands on a sort of
cornice supported by three small sculptured arches, each with

DECORATED ARCHES IN THE CHURCH OK MOSK ON THE CITADEL-HILL.

dwarf twin -pillars. Above the large arch is a second order of
these arches, also on dwarf twin -pillars. The spaces under all
these arches, between the pillars, are elaborately ornamented with
geometric designs which have a somewhat Byzantine appearance.
The existence of a mosque in the valley, with round arches, seems

WALLS OF tup: CrrADKL'.-UNDERClRULM) KKSERVOIR. 619

to show that the Moslems already were building here in or before
the ninth century, when they first began to use the pointed arch,
and as there is no distinctly pointed arch in the building under
consideration, we shall in the first instance be inclined to ascribe
its erection to the same period." '

Beyond this singular and interesting structure, to the north and
west, are the remains of the massive walls that protected the citadel
in that direction. It appears to have occupied the entire summit
of the hill, from the rock-cut moat on the north-east to this steep
escarpment on the west, and at those two only accessible points
of approach it was very strongly fortified. The walls are almost
entire and are very thick. They were constructed of large blocks
of masonry without cement, and the foundations were laid along
and " a little below the crest of the hill, and appear not to have
risen much above the level of its summit."

There were several large and deep cisterns, besides the temple
and other structures, enclosed within the walls of the citadel, and
it was almost entirely dependent upon them for its supply of water.
" Immediately north of the citadel," says Captain Conder, " we found
a great underground reservoir, having at its mouth a concealed
passage, which might perhaps have once led to the interior of the
fortress. This passage may be that of which Polybius speaks as
being used" by the defenders of the citadel during the siege by
Antiochus the Great in 218 B.C. The secret was betrayed by a
prisoner, which led to the surrender of the garrison.""

Leaving the citadel near the south-western angle of the wall.
and just above the narrow neck of land which connects it with
the hill farther west, we will descend into W'ady Iladdadeh and
find our way as best we can over and among broken columns and
ruined houses back to our tents on the left bank of Moiet 'Amman,
as the river is now called.

Septcniher 27tli. Evening.

The chief liiblical interest in Rabbath -amnion centres about
its capture by Joab and David; but it was the capital of the Am-
monites in the time of Moses, several centuries before the reign
of David. Its name appears in subsequent history and prophecy,

' llcth and .Moalj, p. I57-I5(j. '' llelli and Moalj, p. 150.

620 THE LAND AND* THE BOOK.

and in such connections as clearly to imply that it had regained
its independence, and had again become the chief city of the Am-
monite nation. For centuries after it disappears, and during sev-
eral succeeding centuries it re-appears as Philadelphia, but its an-
cient name was never lost ; and here, amid the ruin and desolation
of the Graeco- Roman city, and after a lapse of more than three
thousand years, we find its original name of Rabbath-ammon still
preserved in the modern Arabic one of 'Amman.

In " the story of the conquest of Og, king of Bashan," we find
the first mention of " Rabbath of the children of Ammon " as the
place where the iron bedstead of that giant king was to be seen :
" nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth
of it, after the cubit of a man,'" Concerning that remarkable
couch. Captain Conder suggests that the word " iron " may refer
to a throne rather than a bedstead, and that there may have been
" a possible connection between Og's throne and some rude stone
monument" at Rabbath; and he says: "It was, therefore, very
striking to find a single enormous dolmen standing alone in a con-
spicuous position near Rabbath Ammon, and yet more striking
that the top stone measured thirteen feet, or very nearly nine
cubits of sixteen inches, in length. The extreme breadth was eleven
feet. It seemed to me possible that it is to this solitary monu-
ment that the name ' Og's throne ' might be attached, and I here
give the suggestion for what it is worth." °

The Ammonites were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of
Abraham, and the kinsmen of the children of Israel. The He-
brews, therefore, did not molest them nor conquer their territory,
and Rabbath appears to have remained independent down to the
time of David. The Ammonites, however, ultimately became the
aggressors, and the immediate cause of the siege of Rabbath by
Joab was the shameful treatment of David's ambassadors, sent
" to comfort the king of the children of Ammon " on the death of
his father. King Hanun " took David's servants, and shaved off
the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments, and sent
them away. When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the
host of the mighty men" against the Ammonites. Joab defeated
' Deut. iii. ii. ^ Heth and Moab, pp. 155, 156.

SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF RAIiBATII BY JOAB AND DAVID. 62 1

them and returned to Jerusalem ; and the following year he and
all Israel were sent by David, "at the time when kings go forth to
battle, and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged
Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem."'

It is evident, from the record in the eleventh and twelfth
chapters of 2d Samuel, that the siege must have lasted about
two years, or at least until after the birth of Solomon. During
all that time the citadel could obtain water from the river be-
low; but when Joab had captured the lower town, or "the City
of Waters," that supply was cut off, and as many of the inhabi-
tants had no doubt escaped to the citadel, the increase of people
would quickly exhaust the cisterns, and compel a speedy surren-
der. Joab understood that, and therefore sent word to David to
come and take it, " Lest," said he, " I take the city, and my name
be called upon it," as in the marginal reading.

From the intimations in the Biblical narrative, we conclude that
there were two cities, one along the river vale, " the City of Wa-
ters," and the other upon the summit of the hill above it, and that
it was this last which David came to, and fought against and took.
It was the great citadel where the king dwelt, and included a large
and populous city, and not merely a castle defended by a strong
garrison. The king's crown, " the weight whereof was a talent of
gold, was set on David's head, the spoil of the city in great abun-
dance was brought forth," and after cruelly torturing the inhabi-
tants, "David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.""

Four centuries later we find that Rabbath -ammon had not
only recovered from the effects of that conquest, but had again
become the capital of the Ammonite nation. Some of the de-
nunciations of the prophets against it have been fulfilled in a
manner, and to an extent which strikes the traveller with aston-
ishment. " Therefore the days come, saith the Lord, that Rabbah
of the Ammonites shall be a desolate heap. Wherefore gloriest
thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, saying. Who shall come
up unto me? Behold ye shall be driven out every man right
forth; and none shall gather up him that wandcrcth."' "And I
will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couch-
' 2 Sam. X. I, 2, 4, 5, 7-14 ; xi. i. ' 2 Sam. xii. 26-31. ^ Jer. xlix. 2, 4, 5.

622 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

ing place for flocks : and ye shall know that I am the Lord." '
Though we see few camels at 'Amman, the interior of some of
the buildings on the citadel -hill is still occupied by them, and
the square tower above "the City of Waters" is so filthy from
the flocks folded in it, that one can scarcely venture into it, and
the surrounding region is at times covered with large droves of
camels and numerous flocks of sheep and goats.

Many of those prophetic denunciations referred not merely to
the capital city, but also to the entire people and land of Am-
mon. •' Behold, therefore, I will stretch out mine hand upon thee,
and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen ; and I will cut
thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of
the countries: I will destroy thee: and thou shalt know that I
am the Lord."' "The Ammonites [shall] not be remembered
amongst the nations ; and Amnion shall be a perpetual desola-
tion."^ Those prophetic threatenings have been fulfilled to the
very letter. Nothing but ruins are found here by the amazed
explorer. Not even an inhabited village remains, and not a sin-
gle Ammonite exists on the face of the earth.

About three centuries later Rabbath -ammon was rebuilt by
Ptolemy IL of Egypt, and called, after him, Philadelphia, and it
is mentioned under that name by Greek and Roman writers and
Josephus. During the wars between the Syrian and Egyptian
successors of Alexander the Great the possession of it was fierce-
ly coiitended, and with varying success. Antiochus the Great be-
sieged and captured it in the third century before Christ, and
Herod the Great carried the citadel by assault, a few years be-
fore the commencement of our era. Li the time of the Romans
Philadelphia was one of the cities of the Decapolis ; and after
the establishment of Christianity it became the seat of a bishop,
and thus continued until the Muhammedan conquest, in the sev-
enth century. From that time this place is rarely mentioned,
even by Arabian writers, until modern travellers began to visit it
in the early part of the present century, and astonished the world
with descriptions of its remarkable ruins.

' Ezek. XXV. 5. '■' Ezek xxv. 7.

•^ Ezek. xxv. 10 ; Zeph. ii. 9.

THREE SUNDAYS AT •AMMAN.— A PLOUCII FOR FIREWOOD. 623

Siimlay, September 2Sth. Evening.

The quiet rest of this Sabbath-day amidst the ruins at 'Am-
man will be remembered as amongst the most agreeable, impres-
sive, and instructive experiences in our pilgrimage through these
Biblical and historical lands. Everything around us, animate and
inanimate, suggests the ancient, and recalls the manners and cus-
toms of extinct tribes and nationalities. Men, women, and chil-
dren, in costume, in features, in language, and in actions, seem to
be a veritable reproduction of primitive and patriarchal times.

And the same is true of the animals, of the camels and the
asses with their old-fashioned saddles, and the flocks and the
herds with their shepherds and their dogs. E\'en the birds are
Biblical, for the solemn stork, which, according to Jeremiah, " know-
eth her appointed times" for migration, has already reached this
point.' They congregate every evening in great numbers about
these ruins, and the top of the minaret and of the high v.-alls in
that vicinity are covered with them.

I have spent three Sabbaths here. On m\' first visit there was
not a single inhabitant, and the day was much quieter than the
present one. Years after, on my second \isit, there was only a
poor, blind, and wretched old woman and her daughter hid awa\'
in one of the vaults of the great theatre. She kept the keys of
the chambers under the seats, in which grain had been deposited
for safe-keeping by the 'Adwan, and very few flocks came here to
drink. This year there has been but little rain, the brooks and
many of the fountains are already dry, and hence not onl)' the
Bedawin and their camels and flocks, but e\'en the storks and other
birds are compelled to come here, and during the autumn this gen-
erally forsaken vale will be full of life, noise, and confusion.

An incident in our experience yesterday indicated most em-
I)hatically the entire absence of trees in this region. The charcoal
which we brought with us had been exhausted, and after trying
in vain, by offering a large bakhshish to the bo\'s who gathered
about the tents, to procure something combustible with which to
prepare our dinner, the cook was obliged to purchase a plough from
a fellah and cut it Lip for firewood. Such misuse of an agriculturcd

' Jcr. viii. 7.

624 l"^^^ LAND AND THE BOOK.

implement, so necessary to the very existence of the farmer himself,
never before occurred in all my travels in this country, nor have I
ever heard of a similar expedient. The last fragments of that ill-
fated plough will serve to boil the kettle for to-morrow morning's
tea, and it appears that we must migrate or dispense altogether
with cooking, for there is not another plough to be found.

To-morrow our ride will be a long one, through' the wide open
plains of the fertile Belka to 'Aiyun Musa, the Fountains of Mo-
ses, in the valley below the summit of Jebel Neba, or Mount Nebo.
Had we the time we might have made an excursion to the place
where this pretty little stream disappears entirely, and then fol-
lowed along the banks to where the waters re -appeared again.
Burckhardt, when he was here in i8i2, was informed that this
stream disappeared and re-appeared three times between 'Amman
and Kul'at ez Zerka, and I have had the opportunity to confirm
the correctness of that statement.

The last time I was here, in company with Dr. Merrill, we started
down the valley on our way to Kul'at ez Zerka, about twelve miles
distant. Soon after leaving these ruins we noticed that the volume
of water in the stream was gradually diminishing, and in half an
hour after that the bed of the stream was as dry as the road.
About a mile farther on the water began to re-appear in the same
gradual manner as it had disappeared. And that subsidence of the
waters beneath the small stones in the bed of the stream and their
subsequent re-appearance was repeated three times before we came
to the great fountains of the Jabbok near Kul'at ez Zerka, which
the Bedawin call Ras ez Zerka, the head-waters of that river.

The rock strata must be of a very peculiar character to enable
the water of so considerable a stream to sink away by insensible
degrees until the bed of it was quite dry.

I have noticed similar phenomena occurring in small brooks, but
I never before saw a large stream thus die away and rise again.
For the last hour before we arrived at the fountains of the Zerka
the stream was quite as large as at 'Amman, and it was evident,
from the marks along the banks, that during the winter this stream
from 'Amman does not all disappear below the surface.

•AMMAN TO AVLN MLS A.

XVII.

'AMMAN TO 'AYUN MUSA.

Noisy Rooks.— Solemn Storks.— Ascent to the Plain south of 'Amman.— No Roads and
no Fences. — The Land of the Ammonites. — Jephthah's Victorious Campaign. — Aroer
to Minnith. — Tyre supplied with Wheat from Minnith.— No Inhabited Place upon the
Belka. — Abu Nugla.— Excursion to Mushatta.— The sterile Desert.— Luxuriant Wheat.
— Camps of the Beni Sakhr.— Commotion in the Camp.— Uneasy Guides.— Rualla Bod-
awin.— Blood Feud.— Haj Road to Mecca.— Route of the Egyptian Haj.— En Nukhl.—
"The Wilderness of the Wanderings."— Khan Miishatta.— Massive Enclosing Wall de-
fended by Twenty-five Towers.— Octagonal Towers.— The Fa9ade.— Elegant Sculpture,
unparalleled by that of any Age or Nation. — Twenty-two Animals and fifty-five Birds
carved in Stone. — Entrance Gate-way.— The Middle Division of the Enclosure.— Cham-
bers for the Guard and Garrison.— Court.— Triple Gate of the Palace.— Court.— Entrance
Gate-way to the Audience-chamber. — The Audiencc-cliamber. — Side Chambers. — Walls.
Vaults, and Domes constructed of Brick.— Large Size and Extraordinary Number of the
Bricks.— Bedawin Tribal Marks.— Rude Arabic Characters.— Desolate and Lonely Site.
—Material and Workmen transported from a Distance.— The wonderful Palace of Mush-
atta discovered by Canon Tristram.— Mr. James Fergusson.— Chosroes IL— Shahr Barz.

Dr. AlerrilL— Mushatta, a Church and Convent.— Mushatta never finished.— Its Origin

and Purpose unknown.— The Wintering Place.— But little Debris and less Destruction.
—Dread of the Rualla Bedawin.— The Haj Road and the Advance of the Hebrews
along the Eastern Frontiers of Edom and Moab.— Entrance into the Territory of Sihon.
—The Amorites and Moabites. — Reuben and Gad.— The Boundaries of Moab and of
the Amorites.- A rolling Country.— Green Wheat-fields.— Quails and Gazelles.— The
Jackal and the Fox.— Temple and Church at Madeba.— A large Reservoir.— Ziza.—
Tanks and Cisterns.— Ruined Houses.— Remains of Temples and Public Buildings.—
Roman Suburb at Madeba.— Colonnade.— Bil)lical History of Medeba.— " The Plain
of Medeba."— Great Battle in the Time of David.— Thirty-two thousand Chariots.—
Joab and Abishai defeat the Amorites and Syrians.— Medeba taken by Sihon.— Capt-
ured and re-captured by the Ammonites and Moabites.— Secular History of Medeba.—
The Nabatheans.— Slaughter of a Wedding -i)arty near Medeba.— John Maccabeus.-
Hyrcanus I. besieged Medeba.— A History of Conciuest, Bloodshed, and Sieges.— Me-
deba the Seat of a Bishop.— The ]5esom of Destruction.— Devastating Beil.win.-
Traces of old Roads.— Ancient Names of I'ersons and Places well known \>y the roam-
ing Denizens of the Desert.- Monuments of Remote Antiijuity — The Dolmens.—
Pillars of Witness and Votive Monuments.— Stone Circles, Menhirs. Disc-stones, and
T 2

626 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

rock-cut Tombs. — Menhirs alluded to in the Bible.— Disc-stones. — Agricultural Capa-
bility of the Belka. — The Region between Madeba and Abu Nugla. — The Beni Sakhr.
— Thousands of Camels. — The numberless Camels of the Midianites. — Fifty thousand
Camels taken from the Hagarites. — Golden Ear-rings of the Ishmaelites. — The Bed-
awin Lineal Descendants of the Hagarites. — Ornaments and Garments similar to those
of the Midianites. — The Wheat in the Valleys more luxuriant than on the Plain. —
Cretaceous Limestone Ridges. — A double Supply of Rain-water. — Arabic Proverbs
and Biblical Utterances. — A high Appreciation of Water. — Surprising Number of
Cisterns excavated in the Cretaceous Rock. — The 'Adwan and the Broken Cisterns. —
Extensive View over Ancient Moab. — Kerak. — Diljon. — The Moabite Stone. — King
Mesha. — Two hundred thousand Lambs and Rams. — Baal-meon. — Ruins at Ma'in
described by Canon Tristram. — Beth-meon. — Biblical History of Beth-meon. — One of
the High-places of Baal. — Balak and Balaam. — The Birthplace of Elisha. — Ma'in a
shapeless Mass of Ruins. — Threshing-floors. — Bedawin taking Wheat out of a deep
Cistern. — Grain concealed from hostile Tribes. — Entrance to a deep Pool of Water
reluctantly disclosed. — No W^ood to boil the Kettle. — The Zerka Ma'm. — Excursion
to Callirrhoe. — Bedawin Encampment. — Camels and Flocks of Sheep and Goats. —
Fresh Cheese. — " Houses of Hair." — A pretty Pastoral Scene. — A magnificent View
of the Dead Sea. — Changeable Color of the Water. — A hopeless Wilderness. — Tre-
mendous Gorge of the Zerka Ma'in. — Lieutenant Conder's Description of the Gorge
and the Hot Springs of Callirrhoe. — " The Black Crackle." — The Hot Sulphur Springs
of Callirrhoe. — The Stream from the Zerka Ma'in. — Pools full of Fish. — Tunnel
through Tufaceous Sulphur. — A thermal Bath at 140° Fahrenheit. — The Mules found
by Anah in the Wilderness. — Anah discovers Callirrhoe. — Visit of Herod the Great
to Callirrhoe. — Baaras. — Fountains of Hot Water described by Josephus. — Medicinal,
and good for Strengthening the Nerves. — " Mines of Sulphur and Alum." — John the
Baptist beheaded in the Castle of Machasrus. — Herod's Supper, and the Dancing of
Herodias's Daughter. — " The Head of John the Baptist in a Charger." — War between
Aretas and Herod. — " The Destruction of Herod's Army a Punishment from God." —
Vain Attempt to reach the Shore of the Dead Sea from the Sulphur Springs of Callir-
rhoe. — The Ibex. — Stupendous Cliff of Columnar Basalt. — A gigantic Organ. — Kufeir
Abu Bedd. — Disc-stones in Moab. — Mensef Abu Zeid. — Two large W^olves. — Shefa
Neba, the Crest of Nebo. — Sahl Neba. — Jebel Neba, " the Mountain of Nebo." —
Elevated Plateau of the Belka, and great Depression of the Shittim Plain. — Preserva-
tion of ancient Biblical Names. — The unchanged Name of Nebo. — View from Jebel
Neba. — El Muslubiyeh. — The grassy Ravine between Jebel Neba and Jebel Siaghah.
— Ruined Temple on Jebel Siaghah. — The City of Nebo. — View from the Ruins on
Jebel Siaghah. — The Headland or Ras of Siaghah. — " The Mountain of Nebo, and
the Top of Pisgah." — Here Moses must have stood. — The View of the Promised Land.
— The Outlook from Ras Siaghah. — The Names Neba and Siaghah, and Nebo and
Pisgah. — Siaghah an Arabic Form of the Hebrew Pisgah. — Descent to 'Ayun Musa. —
Approach of the Hebrews to the Land of Promise. — " The Mountains of Abarim." —
Descent of the Israelites to "the Plains of Moab." — Balak and Balaam. — Balaam's
Sublime Conceptions regarding the God of Israel. — Thrice seven Altars and twice as
many Sacrifices. — Jebel Neba the first Station. — Balaam's Parable. — "The Field of

NOISY ROOKS.— SOLEMN STORKS.— ri.AIN OF EL BELK.\. dl-J

Zophim." — The Grassy Vale between Jebel Neba and Jebel Siaghah. — The Parable
of Balaam. — "The Top of Peor." — The Summit of Siaghah. — Balaam's Parable. —
Wralh of Balak, and Flight of Balaam. — What "the Son of Beor saw and said." —
Balaam an Unprincipled Man. — Slain in Battle fighting against Israel. — Obstinate
and Puzzling Questions.

September 29th.

Leaving 'Amman at this early hour, there is nothing stirring
among these solitary ruins except that colony of noisy rooks in the
crannies of the cliff that overhangs the river opposite the Basilica.

They are always there, and loudly express their alarm and resent-
ment of all passing intruders. In the spring the high walls of the
ruins in that neighborhood are the favorite roosting-place of the
storks. It is then one of the diversions of the place to watch those
large and long-legged birds flocking thither at evening from the
surrounding region, and to witness the quarrelling amongst them-
selves for the most comfortable spot upon which to roost. They
rarely nest in this part of the country, but migrate for that purpose
to the extreme north of Syria and to Asia Minor; still many of
them prolong their stay here until the end of the summer, and are
seen in small companies roaming through the fields and over the
plains, seeking in silent and solemn gravity for their proper food.

What may that be ?

Earthworms, grubs, grasshoppers, insects, snails, mice, and frogs.
Storks are by no means fastidious as to their diet, and they even
kill lizards and small snakes, and devour them greedily.

Having after this long ascent reached the general level of the
country south of 'Amman, we must turn to the south-west, and
direct our course towards Jebel Neba. For most of the day we
shall follow no road, nor do we need any. The great plain of the
Belka stretches away westward and southward farther than the
range of vision ; nor is there wall, hedge, or enclosure of any kind
to interfere with the perfect freedom of our travel. Although this
fertile plateau must have been thickly inhabited by the Ammonites,
in the days of their prosperity, they have left but few indications
of their presence, and there is not even a tree within sight to attract
attention or relieve the oppressive solitude.

Very different must this land of the Ammonites have been
when Jephthah made his victorious campaign against the king of

628 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Ammon, more than eleven centuries before the Christian era. He
conquered twenty cities in this very Hmited territory from Aroer,
supposed to be the ruin called 'Aireh, north-west of 'Amman, to
Minnith, possibly Minyeh, east of Hesban.' Minnith appears to
have supplied Tyre with a superior kind of wheat in the time of
Ezekiel, and it is fair to conclude that it was somewhere on this
wheat-growing plain of the Belka ; and it may have given its name
to all the wheat that was taken to Tyre from this region.^

That supposition is sufficiently probable to impart additional
interest to this broad, apparently boundless, and treeless plain, over
which we seem to be wandering at will.

The objective point of this day's ride is Jebel Neba, Mount
Nebo, which rises to a moderate elevation on the south-western
border of the Belka. We shall, therefore, cross this great plain
diagonally from north-east to south-west, and along that line there
is not an important ruin nor a single inhabited place, and we have
entire liberty to select any course that best suits our purpose. By
inclining to the south of the direct line from this to Nebo, we shall
pass Khirbet Abu Nugla, or Abu Nukla, el 'Al, and Hesban, on the
right, and near enough to Madeba and Ma'in, on the left, to obtain
a view of them and of the land of Moab beyond the Zerka Ma'in,
southward to the river Arnon. Several years ago our party spent
a night at Abu Nugla, to which deserted place we had come from
Madeba in order to find water and to shorten the ride to Mushatta,
about five hours to the south of 'Amman.

Abu Nugla is not a ruined village, nor is there a single house in
sight; and only a number of rock-cut cisterns are found there, from
one of which we obtained an abundant supply of cool, sweet water.
We had for our guides Fahd and 'Ali, and three other sheikhs of
the 'Adwan. As none of thenn had ever been to Mushatta, they
could not tell how long it would take to get there, nor how many
hours' ride it would be from there to 'Amman, where we intended
to spend the next night. In that uncertainty we took an early
breakfast, and leaving the muleteers and servants with one of the
'Adwan sheikhs to make their way to 'Amman direct, we set off
southward to re-discover the now famous palace at Mushatta.
' Judges xi. 33. ^ Ezek. xxvii. 17.

THE STERILE DESERT.— CAMPS OF THE BEXI SAKHR. Gzg

We had a striking illustration of the manner in which the fertile
land fades away into the sterile desert. For the first half hour
we passed through luxuriant wheat, there being no road, and then
ascended a low rocky ridge, from which the plain rolled a\va\- cast-
ward and southward to the horizon. For the next hour the soil
was capable of cultivation, and much of the land must occasionally
be sown with wheat. That part of the plain of el Belka was dotted
over with the camps of the Beni Sakhr, and the smoke from their
early fires rose only a few feet above the tents, and spreading widely
over them, had all the appearance of a silvery cloud gleaming in
the morning sunlight ; but a gentle breeze from the soutii soon
dissipated that bright and beautiful illusion.

Our guides were not quite at ease after we left their own terri-
tory and entered upon that of the Beni Sakhr. As we passed by
one of the large encampments of that tribe there appeared to be
a hurried gathering of Bedawin engaged in an angry discussion.
Men on foot and on horseback were coming from all sides, and
there was a general commotion in the camp. One of our sheikhs
cantered off to meet a horseman with a long spear as he passed
speeding towards the noisy assembly, and he reported that the
dispute was about some family quarrel amongst the Beni Sakhr
themselves, and with which we had no concern.

After passing beyond the range of the Beni Sakhr the guides
suddenly called a halt, and taking our glasses made an anxious
survey of the region to the south-cast. We had reached the debat-
able frontier between the Beni Sakhr and the Rualla Bedawin, a
large tribe occupying the desert farther east, and who for the time
being were " at war " with both the 'Adwan and the Beni Sakhr.
Our sheikhs finally decided that what they supposed to be an en-
campment of their enemies was merely a clump of bushes on the
hill-side, and we resumed our ride in that direction. I asketl Sheikh
Fahd what would have occurred to us all in case there had real!}'
been some of those formidable Rualla in sight.

"We should have had to dei)en(l u[)on the speed of our horses,"
said he, "and fled back to the camp of the Beni Sakhr, for the
Rualla are very powerful. That tribe are more than a match for
the 'Adwan and the Beni Sakhr combined, and wiiilc the existing

630 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

blood feud remains unsettled neither we ourselves nor any travel-
ler could pass east of the Haj road without great risk."

The peculiar parallel and well-worn tracks, which we soon after
crossed, were made by the caravan of the Haj on its way to Mecca.
There are more than twenty of such trails, running close together,
as far as the eye can reach in either direction. I have seen the
same thing on the route of the Egyptian Haj, which I crossed on
my way from Sinai, near the castle of en Nukhl, in the middle of
"the Wilderness of the Wanderings." When there is nothing to
prevent the caravan from spreading out, the camels select different
paths and thus advance with a broad and imposing front. Of course
they must all follow in single file when passing through narrow
ravines, and then their progress is much retarded.

Sheikh 'Ali, who had cantered up to the top of the hill ahead
of us, motioned that the place we had come to see was farther to
the south, and we therefore changed our course accordingly. Soon
after rising the hill we reached Mijshatta, after a pleasant ride of
about four hours from Abu Nugla. The so-called palace stands
upon the open desert, and entirely alone in that arid and treeless
wilderness. As we approached it from the north and on a higher
level, it had the appearance of a ruined caravansary of great size ;
and in fact it is called Khan Mushatta by the Bedawin. Such is
the first impression, nor is it modified until one passes around the
external wall to the main entrance on the south side.

Mushatta is an extraordinary and unique structure, unlike any
other ruin with which to compare it in this country. It consists
of an open square area, surrounded by a massive wall, about five
hundred feet in length on all its four sides, and from fifteen to
twenty feet high, and the space thus enclosed was divided longi-
tudinally, from south to north, into three parts, the central being
the largest. The wall is built of well-cut but not very large blocks
of limestone, and was defended by twenty-five towers. Those at
the four corners or angles are circular, the flanking towers on either
side of the entrance are octagonal, and those along the side walls
are semicircular. The facade extends for about one hundred and
eighty feet between the first semicircular towers on the right and
left of the main entrance, and of course includes the two octagonal

KIIAX MUSIIATTA— THE WINTERINCrLACE.

631

flanking towers. The latter are entirely covered with most intri-
cate, elaborate, and admirably executed sculpture, which is con-
tinued over the face of the wall beyond each of them for about
seventy feet to the east and west.

A — THE WINTER 1

It can be truly said of the fa9ade that it is "adorned with a
richness and magnificence unparalleled, and scarcely exceeded in
the architecture of any age or nation." The wall of the fa<;adc, in
its present condition, is about twenty feet high, and along the face
of it ran an elegant zigzag moulding, at least ten feet higii, in bold
relief, with large bosses in the centre of the triangular segments,
or sections, above and below the moulding. Within and about
those sections every available space has been covered with fret-
work of great beauty and variety of design — vines, fruit, birds,
animals, and even men. In the midst of that graceful stone tracery
of blending foliage and fruit birds are seen in the act of pecking
at the fruit, and there are a variety of animals, some of which are
represented as drinking from stone vases.

On that part of the fa9ade west of the gate-way are lions, pan-

632 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

thers, lynx, several with wings, buffaloes, gazelles, and some other
animals. Among those, but mostly above them, are many kinds
of birds, such as peacocks, pigeons, partridges, and smaller birds —
twenty-two animals and fifty-five birds in all. There are also figures
of men on the side of the tower west of the entrance, and one on
the wall beyond it, but they are somewhat defaced. The ornament-
al work of the gate-way is of the same character as that on the zig-
zag moulding ; but it is not so elaborate as that on the octagonal
towers, or upon the fagade on either side of them. There are no
birds and but two animals on the wall east of the entrance, but
a space as large as that on the west side, and corresponding to
it, is covered with blended vines, fruits, and flowers in endless
variety, and beautifully carved.

It is very evident that the facade, and indeed the entire struct-
ure, at Mushatta was not only never finished, but it can be said
that it was not even fairly commenced. The gate-way on the south
seems to have been the only entrance, and within the enclosure the
middle division, two hundred feet wide and five hundred feet long,
was apparently the only one intended for occupation. It was di-
vided into three sections, the central being the largest, and that
around and beyond the entrance was the smallest. In that section
there were sixteen chambers, probably intended for the accommo-
dation of the guard and garrison ; but nothing seems to have been
added to the foundations, Avhich are just level with the surface.
The middle section was an open court, nearly two hundred feet
square, but without any rooms or chambers, and no traces of foun-
dations. The third and last section is somewhat smaller, and was
entirely occupied by the so-called palace itself.

The entrance to the palace was from the south, through a wide
and lofty central gate -way, with two smaller side entrances. The
fallen arches of that triple gate lie prostrate in regular order in front
of the entrance, apparently overthrown by an earthquake shock.
The massive square buttresses and pillars from which those arches
sprung, and upon which they rested, are still standing, and the carv-
ing on their capitals resembles that upon the outside of the main
gate-way between the flanking towers. Beyond the triple gate is a
large open court, about sixty feet wide and seventy-five feet long.

THE SO-CALLED PALACE OF MLMlAl lA. 633

with several vaulted chambers on either side, communicating with
interior passages, courts, and various other chambers.

At the end of the open court was another wide gate with mas-
sive square pilasters, whose capitals are more elaborately orna-
mented than those of the triple gate-way. That entrance led into
what was probably the grand audience-chamber of the palace. It
had large semicircular recesses, or alcoves, on the sides and at the
farther end opposite the entrance, and, including them, it was about
fifty feet square. The audience -chamber appears to have had a
domed or arched roof, with side vaults over the three alcoves. To
the right and left of the entrance are doors leading to courts and
passages communicating with lofty vaulted chambers, which extend
on either side of the audience-chamber, and beyond it to the north
wall of the main enclosure ; and behind the audience-chamber are
similar vaulted chambers, which are entered by arched door-ways
on the right and left of the rear alcove.

With the exception of the triple gate -way and the entrance to
the audience-chamber, the walls, vaults, and domes of the so-called
palace at jMushatta were constructed of brick or tiles. The walls
were of great thickness, and about twenty-five feet high, and the
bricks of which they were built rested upon a foundation of three
courses of well- cut stones. Many of the bricks are about a foot
square and three inches thick. They were well burnt and laid in
mortar, and the amount of them is truly surprising. The palace,
also, was never finished, and the stones are covered with the tribal
marks of the Bedawin. Hundreds of such signs and brief sentences
in rude Arabic characters are seen all over the walls of the cham-
bers, and also on those of the main enclosure. Such marks and
scrawls are of no special historic importance, and there is apparent-
ly nothing about the twenty-five or more chamlx-rs of the palace to
indicate that they were intended for the dwelling apartments, or
even the hunting-lodge of a royal prince.

The site certainly has nothing to recommL-nd it for a pal.ilial
residence. Situated on the open plain, with higher ground about
it, surrounded by a flat, arid desert, entirely destitute of water, with
no human habitation in sight for many a weary mile, far from
any highway — what could have been the motive that led to its

634 I'HE LAND AND THE BOOK.

construction? and from whence came the building material? The
compact limestone is different from the rock of the surrounding
region ; and the brick, of which there is such an extraordinary
amount, must have been moulded and burnt far away from that
neighborhood. In fact, the entire material and all the workmen
must have been transported thither from a great distance ; and to
what end, for what purpose, and by whom ?

Canon Tristram, to whom we are indebted for the discovery and
detailed description of the wonderful "palace at Mushatta," accepts
the opinion of Mr. James Fergusson, " referring it to the Sassanian
dynasty of Persian kings, and to the history of Chosroes II., and
fixing the date to be A.D. 614.'" Dr. Merrill finds "that Chosroes
was never in Palestine," and is "almost certain that Chosroes did
not build the Mushatta palace." " It is, moreover, very doubtful," he
says, " if it was built by Shahr Barz," the general of Chosroes." And
he adds: "During the latter part of this period [extending from
the second to the fifth centuries of the Christian era], when the
Byzantine artists were the finest in the world, when Christianity
w^as tending towards monasticism, and when, for the East Jordan
country at least, wealth abounded, it is not unreasonable to suppose
that one of the Christian emperors built at Mushatta a church and
convent on a magnificent scale." ^

We examined the ruins at Mushatta together, and I find, on
looking over my notes, taken on the spot, that such an idea — of a
large convent and church — was constantly suggested by the peculi-
arities of that vast structure; and the arrangement of the courts,
passages, chambers, alcoves, etc., accords \^'ith such a theory as that
of Dr. Merrill. Whatever may have been the object in its construc-
tion, however, it was never realized. The architects and builders
dropped the work half finished, and fled, leaving unsolved " the ori-
gin of one of the most interesting ruins to be found in any part of
the world." But we can also, like Dr. Merrill, feel "quite confident
that more detailed measurements and observations, accompanied by
excavations, will throw light upon a question which it would be
most gratifying to have solved."*

' Land of Moab, p. 208. * East of the Jordan, p. 260.

' East of the Jordan, pp. 262, 263. ^ East of the Jordan, p. 263.

DREAD OF THE RUALLA.— APVAN'CE OF THE HEBREWS. 635

jMushatta is merely the Arabic name for a place which may be
occupied in the winter, but those ruins can now only afford a miser-
able shelter to the Bedawin, with their flocks and herds, during the
rainv season. There is, therefore, but little rubbish in or about the
place, and the intricate and elegant carving has suffered less from
vandal hands than that in any other ruin in the country. The walls
have not been pulled down and the stones carried away to adja-
cent villages, for there are none in that region, and therefore even
the bricks, which might be easily transported, remain undisturbed.
Our Bedawin sheikhs were in such dread of the Rualla that they
urged us to depart from that neighborhood. Indeed some of them
mounted their horses and started, and we were obliged to follow
them, although we would have liked to spend days instead of hours
studying the details of that extraordinary structure. After leaving
Mushatta for 'Amman, we followed the Haj road northward for
several miles. Those many compact and parallel paths testify to
the earnest and persistent enthusiasm of the Muhammedan world.
Age after age, for a thousand years and more, those pilgrim cara-
vans have trod their weary way along that dreary road and toiled
through the burning desert to Mecca and the venerated Caaba in
far-distant Arabia. That strange caravan route has always been
invested, in my mind, with peculiar interest. It indicates, south of
Miashatta, I suppose, the general course which the Hebrews followed
on their journey to this region from Ezion-gaber, when they " turned
and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab." '

Refused permission to pass through the land of Edom. they
must have inclined eastward for many miles to get beyond the ter-
ritory of the Edomites, before they could turn northward, and that
would bring them near the present Haj road to Mecca, which, no
doubt, follows the most practicable route along the eastern frontier
of Edom and Moab. When, therefore, the Hebrews had reached
a point in their journey northward, somewhere in the wilderness
south-west of Mushatta, they probably turned westward, and en-
tered the fertile region between the territory of Moab and lliat of
"Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon." The Amorites had con-
quered much of the original possessions of the Moabites, as we learn

' Dcut. ii. 8.

6^6 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

from the twenty- second chapter of Numbers and elsewhere. At
the command of the Lord, Moses did not hesitate to attack them,
and having defeated " Sihon and all his people," he took their cities.
Nor were they restored to the Moabites, but the whole territory of
the Amorites was allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad.

We must now be traversing that very region, but I suppose it is
nearly impossible to ascertain the boundaries of those tribes.

The river Arnon appears to have been the natural boundary be-
tween them on the south, but their possessions seem to have been
singularly intermixed, and places may have frequently changed own-
ers, sometimes being subject to the Moabites and at others to the
Amorites, and subsequently to the Hebrews.

After four hours of steady riding southward from 'Amman, we
must be in the territory of Reuben, for Elealeh and Mebeba, which
belonged to that tribe, are a few miles to the west and south-west
of us. We shall pass by the former to-morrow, but it would now
lead us too far out of our way to visit the latter. We will there-
fore ride to the top of that hill a short distance ahead of us on
the left, from which we can get a distant view of it.

From our present stand-point Mabeba, situated on its tell, and
extending down on to the plain, presents quite an imposing ap-
pearance, and it must have been an important city.

We came to it from Ma'in in an hour and a half, our Bedawin
sheikhs leading us over a beautiful rolling country and through
green wheat -fields in the broad vales that lay between the two
places. Quails started up from under the feet of our horses, flew
for a few rods, and then dropped down into the wheat as if they
had been shot. The 'Adwan guides and some of our party gave
chase to fleet gazelles, but failed to overtake them ; and a guilty-
looking jackal and a terrified fox had to run for their lives. We
went first to examine a ruin upon, the hill west of the city. You
can distinctly see the two columns which still remain standing be-
fore the western entrance to that edifice. They are about twenty
feet high, and the shafts swell out in the middle ; the capitals, one
Corinthian, the other Ionic, and the entablature, merely a large
block of rough stone, have evidently been placed there at a later
period. The edifice to which the columns belonged may have been

LARGE RESERVOIR.— ZIZA.— ROMAN RIIXS. 637

a large temple, Avhich was afterwards transformed into a church.
The exterior walls have all disappeared, but the foundations of the
apse at the east end can be clearly traced.

Between the hill on which that church stood and the city in the
shallow vale is a large reservoir or tank. It is about three hundred
and thirty feet long from east to west, and three hundred and twelve
feet broad from north to south, measuring from the inside. It is
over fifteen feet deep from the top of the wall to the soil which
now covers the bottom, and which is often planted with tobacco.
At the south-east and north-east corners stone steps led down to
the water, and on the latter corner was a strongly built tower,
probably for the defence of the reservoir. The wall is in excellent
preservation, and is about twenty feet high and twelve feet thick ;
but on the east side at the base it is over eighteen feet wide, dimin-
ishing to twelve feet at the top, and further strengthened b\- a mas-
sive embankment, as it was exposed on that side to the heaviest
pressure from the great body of water within the reservoir.

A strong dam was carried across the shallow valley southward
to lead the water into the tank during the rainy season. It has
long since been washed away, and the reservoir is now always
empty. It would require but little expense to put that large
reservoir into complete repair, and thus secure an abundant sup-
ply of water, not only for all necessary domestic purposes but also
to irrigate the fertile fields below it to the south-east. That tank
is larger and much more substantially built than the one at Ziza,
a place to the south-east of Madeba, which we saw to the south of
our route to Mushatta. There are several tanks and numerous
cisterns in the town itself, some of which, still containing water,
were roofed over and were about thirty feet deep.

The houses of the inhabitants appear to have covered the entire
mound-like hill upon which the city was built, nor were there many
open spaces or public buildings within the walls of the town. The
existing remains, of apparently Roman origin, are chielly on the
north-east of the tell and outside of the city proper. There are to
be seen the ruins of a few small temples and several important
buildings, as the amount and character of the prostrate remains
abundantly testify. The eastern gate of that Roman suburb was

638 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

constructed of large well-squared blocks, and a colonnade ran west-
ward from it to the main group of temples and other edifices.
Many of the bases of the columns are still in their original position,
and the ruins in that quarter are evidently of a later period than
those of the old town. Amongst the ruins are great vaults of very
deep cisterns, some of which still hold water in the rainy season.
Long lines of large, well -cut stones extend in various directions,
and seem to enclose nothing, and the edifices to which they be-
longed may never have been completed.

Madeba furnishes one of the most striking examples of the te-
nacity with which the ancient names have adhered to their original
sites. The name has remained identically the same since the age
of Moses, a period of about three thousand five hundred years, and
the first mention of it, in Numbers xxi. 30, implies that it was a
well-known place long before the time of the Hebrew Law -giver.
According to Joshua, xiii. 9 and 16, the city was assigned to Reu-
ben, and mention is also made of " the plain of Medeba." Stand-
ing on the top of its ruin-covered tell one can realize the appropri-
ateness of that topographical designation. Madeba is surrounded
by a plain, varied indeed by long wave-like swells which roll away
to the horizon, but still a plain of considerable extent. Upon that
plain in the time of David the great battle was fought between the
Ammonites, with their Syrian confederates, and "all the host" of
Israel, commanded by Joab and his brother Abishai. The Syrians,
with their " thirty and two thousand chariots," were defeated, and
fled from before Joab, and the Ammonites were chased into the
city by Abishai ; but Medeba itself was not captured, and the in-
ference is that it remained in the hands of the Ammonites.'

Medeba originally belonged to the Moabites, but it was taken
from them by Sihon, king of the Amorites.^ He was defeated by
the Hebrews on their approach from " the Wilderness of the Wan-
dering," and all his land was confiscated ; but it is not certain that
Medeba was ever actually occupied by the Israelites. The Am-
monites held it during the reign of David, and the Moabites appar-
ently regained possession of it in the time of Isaiah.' After that
Medeba is not mentioned again in the Bible. In the second cent-
^ I Chron. xix. I-15. ^ Numb. xxi. 30. ^ Isa. xv. 2.

SECULAR HISTORY OF MEDEBA.— UNCHANGED ANCIENT NAMES. O39

ury before the •Christian era Medeba belonged to the Nabatheans ;
and we read of a grand wedding-party issuing from the city, with
the bride and a great train, as befitted " the daughter of one of the
great princes of Chanaan." But the bride and groom and all their
friends, " with drums, and music, and many weapons," were set upon
by Jonathan and Simon Maccabeus, and a great slaughter was made
of them, and all their spoils were taken, in revenge for the blood of
John, their brother, whom the Nabatheans had captured and carried
off, with all that he had, to Medeba.' Josephus informs us that
Hyrcanus I. took Medeba after a siege of six months, " and that
not without the greatest distress of his army."'

Thus the history of Medeba, from the earliest times before
Moses and the Hebrew conquest down to the Roman period and
the beginning of the Christian era, has been distinguished by con-
quests, battles, revolutions, bloody massacres, and long sieges ; and
it has had its full share in the misfortunes of this region east of the
Dead Sea. During the early centuries of our era it was a place of
some importance and the seat of a bishop, whose name appears in
the records of some of the Eastern Councils. Since then the Mu-
hammedan conquerors with their besom of destruction have swept
over it, and now the devastating tribes of Bedawin spread their
tents upon its great plain and about its crumbling ruins.

Although ancient roads lead in various directions from Madeba,
some of which — probably Roman — can still be traced by parallel
lines of curb -stones, yet the Bedawin follow none of them, but
strike across the plain and through the green wheat-fields in the
direction they wish to take, without any paths whatever. And it is
quite startling to hear from those ignorant denizens of the desert
the identical names of persons, such as Sihon, and of places, like
Medeba, which they bore, and by which they were known in this
region, three thousand five hundred years ago, and which have
been perpetuated unchanged down to the present day.

The ruins of the temples and other public edifices at Madeba
are comparatively modern. Are there no ancient remains in this
region of a Moabite or Hebrew origin ?

The most remarkable monuments of remote aiUitiuity found in
' I Mace. ix. 36-42. '' Am. xiii. <J. i. H. J. L 2- 6.

U 2

640 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

many parts of this country, especially in Moab, Gilead, and the
region east of the Jordan as far north as the sources of that river
under Hermon, are the dolmens; and they have been seen and
described by nearly all travellers through that part of Syria. The
most common form of the dolmen consists of two rough, unhewn
blocks of rock laid parallel, or at an obtuse angle to each other,
with a third flat, table-like rock placed upon them. The side blocks
vary in length and height from one to six feet, and the flat rock
above them from three feet in length, with proportionate breadth
and thickness, to thirteen feet by eleven feet, and two feet thick.
No ornamentation or inscriptions have been discovered upon the
dolmens, and they are rarely found on the top of mounds or hills;
but they stand mostly on the hard surface of the native rock, upon
the sloping sides of mountains and hills, in great valleys, and, occa-
sionally, in low places and concealed spots.

When, by whom, and for what purpose those dolmens were
erected, and in such numbers — for there are hundreds of them — are
questions to which no very satisfactory answers have yet been given.
That they are extremely ancient all admit ; but they were probably
not tombs, for there is no evidence that they were ever used as
sepulchres. It has been conjectured that they were connected with
religious rites as altars and for sacrificial purposes ; but there is no
indication of fire about them, and if they were ever sprinkled with
the blood of victims, or smeared with oil, all traces of such offerings
have long since disappeared. There is no probability that they
were- made by the Ammonites or Moabites, the descendants of Lot,
and they certainly were not erected by the Hebrews. The natu-
ral inference seems to be that they were the pillars of witness and
votive monuments of a pre -historic race or people who dwelt in
this land anterior to the time of the Hebrew patriarchs, and set up
to confirm a solemn covenant, commemorate an important event, or
to acknowledge and propitiate some unknown god.

Besides dolmens there are other ancient monuments in Moab — -
rude stone circles, cairns, menhirs, disc-stones, and rock-cut tombs
with loculi and well-preserved sarcophagi ; but all these are com-
paratively modern when compared with the dolmens. The stand-
ing stones, called menhirs, from three to ten feet high, more or less

ANCIENT MONUMENTS.— THE BELK A. —THOUSANDS OF CAMELS. 64 1

squared and otherwise manipulated, are isolated pillars, and are sup-
posed to have been objects of superstitious customs and religious
reverence among the people in ancient times. They are alluded to
in the Bible, more or less distinctly, and that imparts additional
interest to them. The discs resemble large millstones set up on
end, and are about ten feet in diameter and from two to four feet
thick, and some of them have a round or square hole in the centre
of the disc. They indicate a great advance in mechanical skill
above the constructors of dolmens, who appear to have had no
kind of tool whatever, and must have handled those great blocks
of stone with extreme difficulty.

No one can obtain an adequate conception of this plain of
Moab, the modern Belka, and of its agricultural capabilities, with-
out traversing it in various directions — east, west, north, and south.

Our ride to-day across it diagonally has furnished a constant
confirmation of that statement. Hour after hour we have travelled
through it, until its boundless expanse and its treeless and feature-
less uniformity have become positively fatiguing, and its general
fertility exceedingly wearisome.

The region between Madeba and Abu Nugla is of the same
character. The distance is about twelve miles, and the direction
nearly north. We followed our 'Adwan sheikhs through the wheat-
fields and over the rolling plain, making our own pathway as we
proceeded, and we soon found ourselves in the midst of scenes quite
new and surprising. Far as the eye could reach, the plain was
covered with droves of camels belonging to the Beni Sakhr Bed-
awin, whose proper range is south of the Zerka IMa'in, but who
were then at peace with the 'Adwan, and could roam over that part
of their territory with their flocks and camels. Those of the Beni
Sakhr whom we saw with the camels were morose and taciturn, and
they did not even return our salutations. I was glad, however, to
pass through the midst of such scenes, which transport one back
to patriarchal times more distinctly and impressively than any-
thing else in this country. I tried to count the camels, but after
reaching a thousand I gave it up; there were certainly over five
thousand of them in sight, both old and young.

We need not wonder that the terrified Hebrews, in the lime of

642 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Gideon, said that the camels of the Midianites and the Amalekites
" were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude ;" '
nor does the statement in i Chron. v. 20, 21 seem incredible, that
the united tribes east of the Jordan, when they made war with the
Hagarites, and " cried to God in the battle and were helped, took
away of their camels fifty thousand." The Hagarites were nomads,
and roamed over this eastern country, and they were more numer-
ous and certainly more wealthy than the present Bedawin.

The ear-rings of the Ishmaelites whom Gideon "subdued"
amounted, in weight, to " a thousand and seven hundred shekels
of gold ; besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that
was on the kings, and besides the chains that were about their
camels' necks."' But though poorer than the Hagarites of old,
the modern Bedawin may be their lineal descendants, and there is
quite enough of resemblance between them to throw much light
upon the narratives in the ancient Scriptures. And if we could fre-
quent the tents of the Wulid 'Aly, and those of the powerful tribes
of the 'Anazeh, we would no doubt find ornaments and garments
similar to those worn by the Midianites in the time of Gideon.

I noticed, as we rode along, that the wheat growing in the val-
leys was generally much more luxuriant than that on the open
plain — a circumstance easily explained, and one which this region
through which we are now passing affords a constant succession of
illustrative examples. About one -third of the land is composed
of long low ridges of cretaceous limestone, having shallow fertile
vales between. The rich soil has been washed down from the tops
and sides of those ridges, leaving an upper crust of rock sufficiently
hard to shed off the rain, and the double supply of water thus
obtained gives to the wheat in the vales below its exceptionally
luxuriant growth. That fact originated a very significant Arab
proverb. They say of a person remarkably fortunate, " His land
drinks its own waters and those of others also." Such expressions
could only be used by a people living in a similar region, and to
whom water was a prime necessity. To that extent they corrobo-
rate and illustrate many Biblical utterances and poetic allusions
which imply an equally high appreciation of water.

' Judges vii. I2. , ' Judges viii. 26.

EXCAVATED CISTERNS.-VIEW OVER MOAB.-MOAHITE STONE. 64:;

As those rocky ridges, culminating in mounds or tells, are the
general and characteristic feature of Moab. and as we now find the
ruins of ancient cities upon them, that topic will bear an additional
remark or two. Below the upper hard crust of the rock there
is generally a soft cretaceous formation, in which cisterns are ex-
cavated with very little labor or expense: hence their surprising
number. Not only is every tell upon which ruins are found honey-
combed with them, but such cisterns are excavated in the hill-sides,
in the valleys, and on the plains, far from the site of any city.

It is a significant fact that not one of all the hundreds of those
cisterns was made by the present dwellers in the land. The 'Adwan
have neither mechanical skill nor energy enough to keep even the
existing ones in repair; and our guide. Sheikh Fahd, admits that
many cisterns that held water twenty years ago are now broken.
After the rainy season a very large part of this region is abandoned
by the Bedawin, owing principally to the lack of water, and in time
the whole of this plain of Moab will be forsaken by them.

We have now reached a part of the plain, on our way to Nebo,
which commands an extensive view southward over a large portion
of ancient Moab. Beyond the profound gorge of the Zerka Ma'in
the ruins of Dibon, at Dhiban, are plainly made out ; and far away
southward is the elevated plateau where Sihon reigned when the
Hebrews came and overthrew his kingdom. The view extends
towards Kerak, though that city itself cannot be seen. That entire
region was once densely inhabited, and the sites of many Biblical
and historical towns have been identified and described by modern
explorers. Dibon has been recently brought into prominence by
the discovery there of the now famous Moabite stone with its long
inscription concerning King Mcsha, the "sheep-master," mentioned
in 2 Kings iii. 4 as having " rendered unto the king of Israel " two
hundred thousand lambs and rams, with the wool. On this side
of the Zerka Ma'in the ruins at Ma'in are plainly visible, the sup-
posed site of Baal-meon, one of the towns which "the children of
Reuben built" before they passed over into the land of Canaan.

I was at Ma'in with Dr. Merrill, and we made an excursion from
there to the hot springs of Callirrhoc. Ma'in occupies the sitles
and summits of three or four low hills above and cast of the wide

544 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and shallow vale which declines towards the Zerka Ma*in. Though
covering a larger space than Madeba, the remains of the ancient
city are not so well preserved, presenting only the appearance of
a mass of shapeless ruins. " The remains are of the ordinary type,"
says Canon Tristram — "foundations, fragments of walls, lines of
streets, old arches, many carved stones, caves, wells, and cisterns in-
numerable. Some curious cavernous dwellings, built up with arches
and fragments of old columns, are still occasionally used by the
Arabs as folds and sleeping-places." '

The Reubenites took it from the Moabites, rebuilt or fortified it,
and probably changed its name to Beth-meon.' It subsequently
reverted to the Moabites; and Jeremiah, in his denunciation of
Moab, includes it "among the cities of the land of Moab upon
which judgment is come."' Its destruction, along with the other
cities of Moab, " the glory of the country," was foretold by Ezekiel
nearly nine hundred years after the Hebrews took possession of it
in the time of Moses.' It has been supposed that "the high places
of Baal," to which Balak brought Balaam " that he might see the
utmost part of the people" of Israel and curse them from thence,
was at Ma'in or in its immediate neighborhood. But if the Hebrews
were then encamped on " the plains of Moab," over against Jericho,
Balaam must have travelled about ten or twelve miles farther to-
wards the north-west before he could see them at all. Ma'in is
mentioned by Eusebius as the birthplace of Elisha, and as being a
large village in Moab called Balmano in his day. Under the blight-
ing influence of Islam it has sunk into a shapeless mass of ruins,
without one solitary inhabitant remaining.

We encamped in the shallow vale near the west side of the
city. In the threshing season that place must present a very lively
scene, for the whole area was marked off into threshing-floors. A
little farther away some Bedawin were filling their sacks with wheat
from a deep cistern which they had uncovered. The owners often
conceal their grain in such wells, and if a raid is made upon them
by a hostile tribe those hidden treasures remain undiscovered.
There are many cisterns among and around the ruins, but it was
' Land of Moab, p. 304. " Numb, xxxii. 38,

2 Jer. xlviii. 20-24. * ^'^^^- '"'^- 9-

THE ZERKA MA IN.— BEDAWIN ENCAM I'MENTS.-THE DEAD SEA. 645

some hours before any one could be induced to show the entrance
to a deep underground pool, and the quality of the water was n6t
of the best. Neither was there wood enough in the vicinity to
make the kettle boil, so our men were scattered abroad towards
night, like Israel in Egypt, gathering stubble. During the after-
noon I looked down into the tremendous gorge of the Zerka Ma'fn,
which is some distance south of Ma'in. That is one of the two
principal rivers of Moab, and it finds its way westward through im-
penetrable gorges, frightful chasms, and the wildest of wild ravines
down to the hot sulphur springs of Callirrhoe, and thence between
perpendicular and impassable cliffs to the Dead Sea.

We devoted an entire day to an excursion to Callirrhoe and
back to our camp at Ma'in. Understanding that we had a long
and fatiguing ride to accomplish, we left our tents at early dawn,
and started with our 'Adwan sheikhs for a large Arab encampment,
which we reached in half an hour. Sheikh Fahd engaged the chief
of the tribe to accompany us, and his local knowledge was of special
value during the day. The camp of Sheikh 'Eed was pitched
around the head of a shallow vale, forming an oblong enclosure,
within which the camels and flocks of sheep and goats were folded
during the night. The camp presented a lively appearance in the
early morning — women and children all busy milking the flocks
and leading them forth to their dewy pasture upon the surrounding
hill -sides. We noticed many small cakes of fresh - made cheese
placed on the tops of their sable tents — or " houses of hair," as the
Bedawin call them — to dry, out of the reach of their hungry dogs.

It was a pretty pastoral scene, and the region was quite pict-
uresque — the ridges covered with small trees and bushes, the inter-
vening valleys clothed with green wheat, and here and there, in
some shallow ravine, were the black tents of a Bedawin encamp-
ment. Farther on the surface of the country was broken by deep
ravines which descended southward to the valley of the Zerka
Ma'in, and on the north stretched the high and wooded range of
el Muslubiyeh above the profound depths of the Deatl Sea.

In about an hour from the camp of Sheikh 'Fed we came out
upon the top of a ridge which coinmanded a magnificent view of
the Dead Sea, over the whole of its expanse to the extreme south-

646 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

west end, and including a wide range of country west of it. We
were all surprised at the beautiful appearance of the placid blue sea
far, far below us, its calm surface looking like that of a great mir-
ror set in a massive frame of sable rock and many-colored cliffs.
Josephus says that the Dead Sea changes color three times every
day, and that seems to be true enough, for its general appearance
in the morning is quite different from that under the blazing sun
at mid-day, or in the evening when the rocky ramparts that wall it
in cast their varied shadows upon it.

Turning southward we followed a mere trail along the side of
the general ridge that overhangs the awful gulf of the Dead Sea,
and from which we had frequent glimpses of it, and admired the
wonderful and perpetual variation in its appearance and color. The
character of the country entirely changed, all encampments disap-
peared, and we were in the lonely and hopeless wilderness, the
resort of the ibex, and of more wild and formidable beasts than
they. After riding for about three hours we came to an extremely
steep descent into the tremendous gorge of the Zerka Ma'in, where
all dismounted and walked. The rock had changed to a soft, yel-
lowish sandstone, and the path, winding downwards, led along nar-
row ledges which in some places were quite dangerous.

"At length," says Lieutenant Conder, "we reached the brink
of the gorge — here some seventeen hundred feet deep, the stream
being near the springs [of Callirrhoe] still sixteen hundred feet
above the Dead Sea [though only three hundred feet higher than
the level of the Mediterranean]. Tawny cliffs of limestone, capped
with chalk, rise on the north, and are seamed with gullies, where
the marl has been washed down, like snow-streaks left in summer,
beneath the cliffs. On the south is a steep brown precipice with
an undercliff of marl. But the central feature of this ghastly scene
of utterly barren wilderness was the great black bastion projecting
from the southern cliff, and almost blocking the gorge — an outbreak
of basalt which shows like a dark river in the valley of Callirrhoe,
as seen from the west side of the Dead Sea.

" It took a full hour to reach the bottom of the gorge, and the
scene beneath was wonderful beyond description. On the south,
black bas&lt, brown limestone, gleaming marl ; on the north, sand-

GORGE OF THE ZERKA MAIN.— HOT SPRINGS AT CALLIRRIIOE. 647

Stone cliffs of all colours, from pale yellow to pinkish purple. In
the valley itself the brilliant green of palm clumps, rejoicing in the
heat and in the sandy soil. The streams, bursting from the cliffs,
poured down in rivulets between banks of crusted orange sulphur
deposits. The black grackle soared above, with gold-tipped wings,
his mellow note being the one sound re-echoed by the great red
cliffs in this utter solitude.'" If any one wants to smell sulphur,
breathe sulphur, see sulphur, taste sulphur, bathe in scalding sulphur
water, and be nearly stifled with hot sulphur steam, let him descend
into that gorge, and visit the hot sulphur springs at Callirrhoe.

Those springs are on the north side of Wady Zcrka Ma'in, and
"the brooks, which run from ten springs in all, var\' from 110° to
140° Fahrenheit in temperature, and fall in little cascades amid
luxuriant foliage, to join the main course of the stream [of the
Zerka Ma'in], which is far colder and fresher, flowing from the
shingly springs higher up the valley, and forming pools beneath
white rocks of chalk, which we found full of fish, and hidden in a
luxuriant brake of tamarisk and cane. Crossing three rivulets, from
each of which our horses, apparently aware of the heat of the water,
shrank back in fear, we reached the principal hot spring, which has
formed a ledge of breccia-like deposit in the valley just north of
the basalt cliff Here the chasm is the narrowest, and the main
stream below could be seen winding among black bowlders, which
impede its course, with the dark precipice frowning as though about
to fall. The stream has bored through the sulphurous breccia, and
runs in a tunnel of its own making, issuing from this hot shaft about
one hundred feet lower, in the gorge itself."*

Upon that tufaceous deposit of sulphur made by the hot steam
itself, and which is over twenty feet thick, we rested after our fa-
tiguing descent and ramble up and down that extraordinary valley,
and tested the temperature and tasted of the amazing quantity of
the hot water which bursts forth from that principal spring. A con-
tinuous blast of hot air and steam issues from a crevice in the tufa-
ceous platform; and one of our 'y\d\\an sheikhs, who was afllicted
with rheumatic pains, extemporiy.ed a steam -bath by spreading
branches and bushes over the aperture and lying upon them, above

' Heth and Moab, pp. 145, 146. '•' Hclh and Moab, ]ip. 146, 147.

648 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the boiling water, enveloped in his large 'aba. Whether or not he
was cured of his rheumatism by that primitive thermal bath we
did not ascertain ; but the hot springs of Callirrhoe are celebrated
all over the country for their medicinal virtues, and, indeed, they
have been known from very ancient times.

In the genealogical catalogue of " the dukes [or emirs] of the
Horites, the children of Seir, in the land of Edom," this singular
statement occurs: "This was that Anah that found the mules in
the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father,'" The
word translated " mules " is supposed to signify " hot springs," and
it has been suggested that Anah was the first to discover the hot
springs of Callirrhoe, as they are by far the most remarkable in
this region east of the Dead Sea. Leaving the hypothesis of the
mules to stand for what it is worth, the earliest notice of Callirrhoe
is given by Josephus in his "Antiquities of the Jews." According
to him, Herod the Great " went beyond the river Jordan, and bathed
himself in the warm baths that were at Callirrhoe, which, besides
their other general virtues, were also fit to drink; which water runs
into the lake called Asphaltitis." ^ Herod's condition, however, be-
coming desperate he was taken back to Jericho, where he died.

In the description which Josephus gives of the fortress of Ma-
chaerus, where Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist, he
mentions " a certain place called Baaras, in that valley which en-
compasses the city on the north side. Here are also," he says,
" fountains of hot water that flow out of this place, which have a
very different taste one from the other; for some of them are bitter,
and others of them are plainly sweet." And he mentions also two
fountains, one very cold and the other very hot, a short distance
from each other, " which waters, when they are mingled together,
compose a most pleasant bath ; they are medicinal, indeed, for other
maladies, but especially good for strengthening the nerves. This
place has in it also mines of sulphur and alum."'

I have always been led to suppose that John the Baptist was
beheaded somewhere in Upper Galilee.

Josephus specifies the place, in the fortress of Machaerus, far
away, indeed, from the scenes of the Baptist's exhortations, and

' Gen. xxxvi. 20-24. ' -^'^t' ''^'''- 6, 5. ^ B. J. vii. 6, 3.

BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AT MACH.ERUS. 649

where no reader of the New Testament would think of looking for
it. There is scarcely a more impressive record in the whole Bible
than that of the death of John, when the criminal circumstances of
that dismal tragedy are brought to light. Herod, rebuked by the
Baptist, banishes him to the most distant fortress in his kingdom ;
but, entangled by his wicked wife in a war with Aretas, he was, ap-
parently, compelled to go himself to that same fortress to oppose
the Arabian prince, whose daughter he had divorced in order that
he might marry Herodias, " his brother Philip's wife."

It is presumed that she accompanied Herod to Macha^rus, and
that there her daughter danced before him on his birthday, when
he "made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief men of Gali-
lee." What followed is well known. Her dancing pleased Herod,
and " he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would
ask," even to the half of his kingdom ; and, at the instigation of her
vindictive mother, she said, " I will that thou give me here the head
of John the Baptist in a charger." " Immediately the king sent one
of his guard, and he beheaded him in prison, and brought his head
in a charger, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to
her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and
buried him ; and they went and told Jesus."'

Josephus informs us that Aretas and Herod "raised armies on
both sides, and prepared for war, and sent their generals to fight
instead of themselves ; and when they had joined battle, all Herod's
army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who, though
they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Herod's army.
Now the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came
from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did
against John, that was called the Baptist.""

What a strange combination of circumstances brought all those
persons together in that distant fortress on the frontier!

The subsequent fortunes and misfortunes of the jirincijial actors
in that dismal tragedy are of no special interest to us; but there is
perhaps no incident mentionetl in the Bible upon which contempo-
raneous history sheds so much light as that of the beheading of
John the Baptist by Herod Antipas.

' Matt. xiv. 1-12; Mark vi. 14-29. * AnI. xviii. 5. 1.2.

650 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Misled by the apparent nearness of the Dead Sea, Dr. Merrill
and some of our party attempted to follow the gorge of the Zerka
Ma'in to the shore. " It was a rough, hard scramble," says Dr.
Merrill, " but after going for two hours, and becoming terribly ex-
hausted with the heat and a strange sense of depression, we found
our time would not be suf^cient, even if our strength should hold
out, and we returned."' I spent the time rambling up and down
the river gorge, counting the number of springs, large and small,
cold and hot, and in examining with my glass the great mass of
dark trap -rock which towers to a height of a thousand feet sheer
and more above the left bank of the stream, in the vain hope of
seeing some of the ibex, or wild goats, that are said to abound on
those impracticable cliffs. The stupendous cliff of columnar basalt
just opposite the largest of the hot springs is composed of number-
less columns, ranged together like the pipes of a gigantic organ,
running up the perpendicular face of the cliff from base to summit,
and so arranged that the lower ends are fairly exposed to view, and
can easily be counted. After counting more than two hundred, I
abandoned the attempt to number them all.

Owing to our long detention at the hot springs of CalHrrhoe,
we did not start on the return to Ma'in until late in the afternoon,
and it was long after dark before we reached our tents. And that
reminds me that our own day is drawing to a close; but we are
now amongst the eastern hills of Jcbel Neba, and in half an hour
we shall stand upon the summit of Nebo, where Moses stood and
took his farewell view of the fair and happy land, the Land of
Promise. We will cross to the south side of the shallow vale which
extends westward towards the ridge above 'Ayun Musa. My ob-
ject is to show you one of those extraordinary disc-stones which I
have spoken of before. Here it is at the ruins of this village or
hamlet which Sheikh 'Ali says is called Kufeir Abu Bedd.

It looks like a great millstone, but it is far too large to have
ever been intended for that purpose.

It is nearly ten feet in diameter and about a foot and a half
thick — a huge, rough-hewn disc, standing on edge with one-third of
it sunk into the ground. It has not the usual round hole in the
' East of the Jordan, pp. 248, 249.

JEBEL NEBA, THE MOUNTAIN OF NEBO. 65 1

centre, nor any indications to aid in explaining its use, nor the ob-
ject in bringing it to this particular spot. There are two others in
this Moabite region somewhat similar to it, one of which was dis-
covered by Dr. ^Merrill on the Shittini Plain. It is called Mensef
Abu Zeid, the dish or tray of Abu Zeid. Riding over this plain,
and before reaching that disc, on a former occasion, two large wolves
came down the side of the hill and crossed the path ahead of us.
Sheikh 'Ali tried to bring one of them down with his gun, but the
distance was too great, and they only quickened their flight over
the plain, and soon disappeared from view.

Our guides are pointing to that low ridge directK" west of us,
and exclaiming, " Ha, shefa Neba !" Lo, the crest of Nebo ! We
will ride up its gradual slope, and descend into the slight depres-
sion bevond it called Sahl Xeba, between it and Jebel Neba. and
ascend to the summit of that mount, about a mile distant, which
has been generally accepted as " the mountain of Xebo " to which
" Moses went up from the plains of Moab."

Jebel Xeba seems but a little higher than the plain over which
we have been riding all day. It is merely an oblong ridge, which
scarcely lifts itself more than a few hundred feet above the fields
which spread up to it on the east.

You must remember that the plain of the Belka is an elevated
plateau, and that in this vicinity it is about two thousand four
hundred feet above the Mediterranean Sea; and though the sum-
mit of Jebel Neba is not three hundred feet higher, yet its position
near the edge of the tremendous descent to the plain of Abel
Shittim adds thirteen hundred feet more to its height, and thus, in
reality, it presents a noble stand -point — four thousand feet above
the Dead Sea— from which to survey the Promised Land beyond
Jordan westward. Though there is nothing to distinguish this
mount from other hke ridges in sight, some of which are even high-
er still, we do not hesitate to accept the identification of Jebel
Neba with "the Mountain of Nebo." It is as well known to the
Bedawin as the name of Moses himself.

The force of that evidence is greatly increased by the fact that
this particular neighborhood is distinguished above all others for
the preservation of the ancient and Biblical names of places in it.

652 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Not to mention the Fountains of Moses, in the valley directly be-
low this " Mountain of Nebo," there are Ma'in, Madeba, El 'Al,
Hesban, and many others now bearing the identical names which
they had in the time of Moses ; and hence it is reasonable to be-
lieve that the name of Nebo has come down to us unchancfed from
the same distant period.

But no mountain can be accepted as " the top of Pisgah," or
the hill, that does not fulfil to a reasonable extent the Biblical
statements in regard to the view from it which Moses had over
the Promised Land. Applying that test to Jebel Neba we find
that not only do higher tells to the east hide the Belka from view,
but the long dark ridge of el Muslubiyeh, a few miles south, cuts
ofT the prospect in that direction, while on the north and north-
west the range of Mount Gilead conceals not only the upper Jor-
dan valley towards the Sea of Galilee, but a large part of the Prom-
ised Land to the north and west of that sea or lake.

Leaving this stand -point, therefore, let us descend westward,
down this rough and pathless slope, and, crossing a shallow ravine
covered with luxuriant grass in the spring, ascend the first of the
two oblong tells, half a mile off, called by the common consent of
the Bedawin Jebel Siaghah, The top of this ridge, particularly on
the north-western side, is covered with the ruins of a temple, con-
sisting of large blocks of stone, broken columns and cornices; and
there were round about it, especially at the east end, the remains
of houses and large cisterns to supply the inhabitants with water.
If there ever was a city called Nebo in the neighborhood it is more
likely to have been upon this ridge, as there are no such remains on
the top of Jebel Neba.

The view from these ruins upon Jebel Siaghah, in its length
and breadth, is essentially the same as that from our stand -point
on Jebel Neba. We will, therefore, ride down and out along the
summit of the other tell, which, though lower, extends a quarter
of a mile farther towards the west. But, as at Jebel Neba, the first
impression is quite disappointing. As to this stand -point itself,
there is nothing for the imagination to dwell upon. It is merely
a smooth, rounded headland, bare and barren, without cliff or crag
above, visible precipice or ravine below. The last of its kind above

THE TOr OF riSGAII WHKRE MOSES STOOD. 653

the Shittim Plain, it falls away down towards the shore of the Dead
Sea, three thousand six hundred feet below, so gently that it can
neither be pictured by pencil nor described by pen.

And yet, standing upon this bold and breezy headland, jutting
far out above the plain and the Dead Sea, commanding a mag-
nificent outlook north, west, and south, with nothing in front of it
to obstruct the range of vision, one cannot help exclaiming. That
is " the mountain of Nebo," and this is " the top of Pisgah !"
Here, if anywhere in this vicinity, Moses stood when " the Lord
shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. and all Naphtali. and
the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah,
unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of
Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar." '

It is well that there should be nothing about this modern Pisgah
to foster the tendency to pervert such "high places" by con\-erting
them into sites of superstitious idolatr}-.

Nothing more is desirable than that the view from it should
correspond in general with the statement in the last chapter of
Deuteronomy; and that is true of this projecting headland or ras
of Jebel Siaghah. It may be mentioned, in passing, that the word
ras is found in the Arabic Bible in connection with Pisgah, and it
is now generally applied to a bold and projecting headland, like this
ras of Siaghah, especially when jutting far out into the sea. In
regard to the outlook from this stand-point, it is not necessary to
insist upon a literal interpretation of general and comprehensive
terms, for that would simply require a superhuman agencw b\ir
example, there is no stand-point either on Jebel Siaghah or any-
where else in this vicinity from which "all the land of Gilead, unto
Dan," can be seen, except by miracle or mirage ; nor can " all Naph-
tali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Ju-
dah, unto the utmost sea," be brought within the range of the most
powerful telescope. The same must be said of " the south," if by
that name the Negab be meant, that vast region which extends far
away into the wilderness south of Bccr-slu'h.i. Wh.it can actually
be seen from here on a very clear day, by one whose eye is not
dim, meets every reasonable demand of the Bible, and has been

' iJcul. x\.\iv. 1-3.

654 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

elaborated and described by many travellers, leaving little to be
discovered or added to by those who follow them.

In regard to the names Neba and Siaghah, and their identity
with Nebo and Pisgah, our guides remarked on a former occasion,
when I was here with Dr. Merrill, " Before the Franks came and
required us to find two separate mountains, we used the names
Neba and Siaghah interchangeably for one and the same ridge. Now
we call the one farther east Jebel Neba, and the two tells at the
western end of the ridge Jebel Siaghah." That topographical des-
ignation and identification of those names by the Bedawin seems to
agree with the mention of " the mountain of Nebo" and "the top
of Pisgah," in the thirty-fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. Nebo is
" the mountain " of which Pisgah is " the top," ras, or headland ;
and Siaghah is probably only another and an Arabic equivalent for
the Hebrew and the English Pisgah.

Is the ridge to the north-east of Jebel Neba identical with the
"mountains of Abarim, before Nebo," from which the Hebrews
descended to "the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho?"'

We shall have something to say on that general subject during
the evening in our tents, to which we must now find our way. I
see them pitched on a terrace near the southern fountain of 'Ayun
Musa, and as the descent is more than a thousand feet, and very
steep, I prefer to dismount and walk, to the relief of my horse and
the safety of myself.

'Ayun Musa, September 29th. Evening.

Owing, I suppose, to the association of the names in this local-
ity with those of persons and places referred to in connection with
the approach of the Hebrews to the Land of Promise, my thoughts
have been equally divided between Moses, the law-giver, and Ba-
laam, " the soothsayer," in respect to whom many puzzling and ap-
parently unanswerable questions immediately arise.

With regard to the approach of the Hebrews, it is probable that
the various ridges north-east of el Muslubiyeh, and between it and
Hesban, including Jebel Siaghah and the ridge of Jebel Neba, bore
the general name of "the mountains of Abarim " in the time of
Moses. A division of the host may, therefore, have descended to

^ Numb, xxxiii. 47-49.

THE ALTARS OF BALAK AND THE PARABLES OF BALAAM. 655

'•the plains of ]\Ioab " from Wady Hesban. another by way of Jebel
Neba and 'Ayun Musa, and a third by Jebel Siaghah, without, how-
ever, taking permanent possession of " the top of Pisgah."

While the children of Israel were encamped upon the Shittim
Plain, Balak brought Balaam to the high places of Baal, into the
field of Zophim and to the top of Peor, to curse the people from
thence. One is surprised to find, where least expected, in the ut-
terances of that false prophet, and in the lofty strains of his poetic
inspiration, many of the most sublime conceptions in regard to the
God of the children of Israel himself. At the request of Balaam,
Balak erected successively seven altars, at three different places,
and offered on each altar a bullock and a ram, vainly hoping that
Balaam would curse Israel for him from one of those stations.

After the first series of sacrifices, possibly on the ridge of Jebel
Neba, " the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and he took up
his parable and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me
from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse
me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God
hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not
defied ? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills
I behold him : lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be
reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob,
and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his."'

The second series of sacrifices was offered, apparentK- in "the
field of Zophim," probably somewhere in the grassy vale between
Jebel Neba and Jebel Siaghah, and there are several places in that
"field" from whence only a part of the Israelites might have been
seen. After the sacrifices "the Lord met Balaam, and put a word
in his mouth. And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak,
and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man,
that he should lie; neither the son of man. that he shouKl repent:
hath he said, and shall he not do it? or Iiatli he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandnunt to
bless; and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it."'

After the third, and last, series of sacrifices, which were offered

' Numl). xxiii. i-io. * Numl). xxiii. 14-20.

X 2

656 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

on " the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon," perhaps
the summit of Jebel Siaghah, now strewn with the ruins of an an-
cient temple, Balaam took up his parable and said : " How goodly
are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! As the
valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the
trees of lignaloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees
beside the waters. Blessed is he that blesses thee, and cursed is he
that curseth thee."' Balak in anger commanded Balaam to fiee,
which he did. "And now," said he, "behold, I go to my people:
come, therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do
to thy people in the latter days.

"And he took up his parable and said, Balaam the son of Beor
hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said : He hath
said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of
the Most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into
a trance, but having his eye open: I shall see him, but not now:
I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall come a Star out of
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the
corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom
shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies;
and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall
have dominion, and he shall destroy him that remaineth of the
city. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place :
and Balak also went his way."''

Balaam was evidently an unprincipled man, and uttered those
prophetic parables against his will, for he afterwards gave evil coun-
sel to the Midianites, and was slain in battle with them when fight-
ing against Israel.' And now if you wish to sleep to-night here at
the fountains of Moses, under the shadow of " the mountain of
Nebo," whereon Barak and Balaam erected their thrice seven altars,
and sacrificed twice as many oxen and rams, you will do well to
banish from your dreams all those obstinate questions, geographical,
historical, psychological, ethical, and the like, which the Biblical
history of this region so naturally suggests.

' Numb. xxiv. 3-6, 8. '■' N'umb. xxiv. 14-19, 25. ^ Numb. xxxi. 8, 16.

THE FOUNTAINS OF MOSES TO THE FORD OF THE JORDAN. 657

XVIII.

THE FOUNTAINS OF MOSES TO THE FORD OF THE
JORDAN NEAR JERICHO.

The Fountains of Moses. — The Stream from the Fountains. — Ashdoth-pisgah.— Tulat
es Sufa and the Field of Zophim. — Ascent of Nebo. — The Servant of the Lord and
the Land of Promise. — Khurbet Barzeleh. — Grave of Neby 'Abd Allah. — " From the
Ancient Times." — Rude Sketches on the Tomb of a Prophet. — A Sanctuary. — The
Plain of the Belka and the Plains of Moab. — Heshbon. — Fine Pavement. — Singular
Edifice. — Jewish, Roman, and Saracenic Architecture. — Cisterns. — Reservoir. — Fish-
pools in Heshbon. — Ruined Cities of Moab. — Prophecy and History. — "The Cry of
Heshbon." — Biblical History of Heshbon. — Captured by Alexander Jannceus. —
Elealeh. — "The Height." — View from el 'Al over the Plain of Moab. — "The Pride
of Moab." — Descent to 'Ain Hesban. — Road to Hesban. — The Turkish Government
and the Survey of Moab. — "The Land of Giants." — Rephaims and Eniims. — The
Children of Lot, Moab and Ammon. — The Amorites. — The Hebrews. — The roving
Bedawin. — Ancient Biblical Names remaining Unchanged. — Kubalan el Fadil. — A
Bedawin Sheikh described by Captain Conder. — The Black Tents of an Ar.ab Encamp-
ment. — A Noisy Welcome. — Sheikh 'AH Diab. — A Patriarchal Scene. — 'Ain Hesban.
— Luxuriant Wheat and Barley. — Flour-mills. — The Stream from the Fountain. — Fish-
pools. -^The Eyes of the Prince's Daughter. — Captain Conder. — "The Gate in Beth-
rabbim." — Road from 'Ain Hesban to the Jericho Ford. — Canon Tristram. — Northern
and Southern Sides of Wady Hesban. — Circle of Dolmens. — The Region between the
Mountains and the Plain in the Time of the Hebrews and at the Present Day. — View
over the Plain of Abel-shittim. — Valleys and Streams and principal Hills around and
upon the Plain.— Beth- jeshimoth.— The little City Zoar.—15eth-haran. — Herod the
Great and the Warm Baths at Tell el Hammam.— Tell Kefrein, Abel-shittim.— Tell
Nimrln, Beth -minrah.— Tell el Hammam. — M'hadhar or Um Hathir. — Hubbisa.—
Warm Sulphur Springs, Baths, and Aqueduct at Tell el Hammam.— Clumps of Scraggy
Trees. — Apple of Sodom. — Tell Ektanu and Tell cr Rameh. — Bclharamphtha.—
Julius or Livias. — The Streams in the Wadies. — Group of Dolmens. — Large Disc-stone.
— "The Dish of Abu Zeid." — Flooded Wheat-fields. — Plain of Abel-shittim and the
Acacia-trees. — Tell Kefrein and Kirjathaim.— Abel-shittim.— Completion of Deuter-
onomy and the Last Address of the Hebrew Law-giver.— " The Favor of God."— The
Spies sent to Jericho. — Deserted Condition of the Plain, and Bustling Activity of the
Hebrew Encampment. — The Goodly Tents of Lsrael.— The Plain of Abel-shittim and

658 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

the Camp of the Hebrew Nation. — " From Beth-jesimoth unto Abel-shittim." — Ample
Space for the Tribes to Encamp. — Route of the Israelites from the Red Sea. — Expe-
ditions for the Subjugation of Gilead and Bashan. — " Seeing is Believing." — Testimony
of the Land to the Truth of the Book. — Passage of the Children of Israel into the
Land of Canaan. — High Bluffs on the Banks of the Jordan. — Dividing of the Waters,
and the Passing Over of the People. — The Command of the Lord to Joshua. — Return
of the Waters of the Jordan. — The Camp at Gilgal near Jericho. — Under the Palm
Groves. — "Jerusalem the Mother of us All." — The Land of the Book.

September 30th.

I VISITED the so-called Fountains of Moses this morning in the
valley above our tents. How came they to be associated with the
name of the great Hebrew law-giver?

Tradition affirms that when " Moses went up from the plains of
Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah," he rested
and refreshed himself at those springs, and from that time they
were called the Fountains of Moses unto this day. The northern
spring gushes out from under the rocks in the valley, and runs
for a short distance over a broad ledge of limestone. The rock
extends across the shallow vale from east to west, and the stream
falls over the edge of the cliff in a pretty cascade, about thirty feet
in height. " The real beauty of the fall," says Canon Tristram,
" is best seen on descending ; when the overhanging platform is
found to be the roof of a cave, its front partially built up with
stalagmite below and stalactite above, and water dropping in all
directions. The roof is one mass of pendent fronds of maiden-hair
fern — the sides are tapestried with them, the floor is carpeted with
them," and the cliff is draped with them from top to bottom.'

The second spring is about three hundred feet south of the first,
and one hundred feet higher up. It bursts out from a small cave
at the base of the overhanging cliffs in a single stream, and plunges
headlong down the steep declivity westward, to join the foaming
torrent from the northern spring below the cascade. After the
meeting of the waters the little river rushes on, overshadowed by
thickets of blooming oleander and flowering bushes, leaping and
tumbling down to the plain two thousand feet below, and thence
in deep and narrow channels to the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
The springs of 'Ayun Musa are a thousand feet directly below the

' Land of Moab, p. 336.

THE FIELD OF ZOPHIM.— VIEW FROM THE TOP OF PISGAH. 659

summit of Jebel Neba, and their Biblical name is supposed to have
been Ashdoth-pisgah, the Streams of Pisgah. mentioned in Deuter-
onomy iii. 17, and elsewhere. That identification, therefore, fur-
nishes additional proof that Jebel Neba, towering above us on the
south, is the veritable mountain of Xebo. to the top of which
Moses probably ascended from these same streams.

This is to be our last day's ride in " the land of Moab." and.
indeed, through the region "beyond Jordan, towards the sunrising;"
instead, therefore, of going direct to our camp on the bank of that
river, we will ascend " the mountain of Nebo. to the top of Tisgah."
and take a farewell view of the Promised Land from that exalted
summit, as Moses did more than three thousand years ago. Our
morning survey will be more satisfactory and impressive, in some
respects, than the one we had last evening.

Captain Conder found that the name given by the Bcdawin to
this steep ascent, leading up to the ridge of Jebel Neba from the
north, is Tul'at es Sufa, the Ascent of Sufa, and he discovered
" that it is radically identical with the Hebrew Zuph," and " in the
form 'Ascent of Zuph' it is the modern representative of the old
' Field of Zophim,' or of views." ' That identification and associa-
tion of names may well be accepted, for "the field of Zophim"
was evidently near Pisgah, and it was the second station where
Balak and Balaam built their seven altars.'

The ascent of Jebel Neba is much steeper, and the bold head-
land of Jebel Siaghah projects farther out above the plain of Abcl-
shittim, than I was aware of yesterday evening.

And now that we have reached "the top of Pisgah," we could
willingly spend the whole day here, gazing upon that most inter-
esting of all lands, " the Land of Promise." " Moses was a hundred
and twenty years old " when he stood on the top of Pisgah ; " his
eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the Lord said
unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto
Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed : I have
caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over
thither. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land
of Moab; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day."'
' Heth and Moab, pp. 129, 130. ' Numb, xxiii. 14. ' I)cut. xxxiv. 1-7.

66o THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

Our previous travels through the land, from Beer-sheba to Dan,
and this journey over the region beyond Jordan eastward have
made us familiar with the Promised Land "through the length
of it, and the breadth of it," and we can readily follow the enumer-
ation of the places which Moses saw. And now we can depart and
"go over thither," thankful that we have been permitted to stand

"where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o'er."

We will now start for the banks of the Jordan by way of Hesban
and el 'Al, the Heshbon and Elealeh which the Hebrews captured
from the Amorites as they passed down to " the plains of Moab,"
below us on the left. The ruins at Hesban are about five miles
distant to the north-east, and it will take us nearly an hour and
a half steady riding across the plain to reach them. At Khirbet
Barzeleh, upon that low mound to the right, there are some old
foundations and a few caverns, but we will not stop to examine
them. The grave of Neby 'Abd Allah, however, is worthy of a
passing visit, and we will incline to the north and ride up to it.

Our guides regard this Neby 'Abd Allah as a very holy man,-
whom their ancestors have venerated "min zeman el kadim," from
the ancient times ; but they can give no information as to who
he was, and the supposition that this is the grave of Moses, " the
servant of God," is purely fanciful. The tomb of this prophet is
kept in repair — another evidence of the perpetuation of his memory.
On the south side of it are the usual representations of rank and
hospitality, consisting of rude sketches of the prophet himself on
horseback, his coffee-pot, mortar and pestle, coffee-cups and plates.
Near this tomb are some ordinary Bedawin graves and a deep cis-
tern, now dry; and, as in the case of other muzars, the immediate
vicinity of the saint's tomb is a sacred asylum or sanctuary, where
ploughs, ox -yokes, goads, and similar agricultural implements of
the Arabs are allowed to remain in perfect safety.

We will now follow along the regular road northward from
Ma'in to Hesban. On the right the beautiful plain of the Belka
fades away beyond the range of vision, along the vanishing line
of the eastern desert, and on the left far below us are ** the plains

THE RUINS AT HESIUN.— FISIirOOLS IN HESIIBON. 66l

of Moab," upon which the Hebrews encamped, but tliey are con-
cealed from our view by the ridge of Jebel Neba.

The site of Heshbon, the ancient capital of " Sihon, king of the
Amorites," stands out quite conspicuously above the plain of the
Belka, as we approach it from the south.

The ruins at Hcsban cover the sides and summit of an elon-
gated double tell, less than two hundred feet high. Many of the
houses and other edifices were evidently built by the Romans, and
they were originally more substantial than those of other cities in
this region, but none of them are of any special interest. The ex-
isting remains are mostly those of prostrate habitations, amongst
which are columns, capitals, entablatures, old walls, and massive
foundations. Upon the highest part of the tell is a fine pavement
in good preservation, which may have belonged to a temple ; and
on the south-west side of the mound are the walls, almost entire,
of a large, singular edifice with some broken columns about it, and
exhibiting specimens of Jewish, Roman, and Saracenic architecture.
But more than most ancient sites, Hesban abounds in large vaulted
chambers and bottle -shaped cisterns, some of them hewn in the
rock, and which may date back to remote antiquity. The city
must have depended upon cisterns for its supply of water, for the
nearest permanent fountain is at 'Ain Hesban in the deep valley
below it, and distant more than half an hour to the north-west—
a most inconvenient resource for the inhabitants of the ancient
town at all times, and entirely unsafe in time of war.

There seems to have been a large reservoir on the plain below
the city to the east. Were "the fishpools in Heshbon," referred
to in the Song of Solomon, similar to that artificial tank?'

It certainly was one of the pools in Heshbon. but it probably
contained no fish, for they cannot live in stagnant water. If the
allusion really was to fish -pools, the royal poet may have had in
mind the stream from 'Ain Hesban, along the course of which are
numerous pools where small fishes can still be found. It is more
reasonable to suppose, however, that Solomon referred to the pools
or reservoirs beside the principal gate of the city itself.

Let us sit down and rest a while under the shadow of this

' Solomon's Song vii. 4.

662 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

strange building, from the ruins of which we can survey the whole
of Moab, and even identify the sites of many of those cities that
were doomed to destruction, as recorded in the fifteenth and six-
teenth chapters of Isaiah and the forty-eighth chapter of Jeremiah.
Their prostrate walls and ruined habitations, scattered in all direc-
tions " far and near," around and about us, testify to the literal
fulfilment of those prophetic denunciations, and it is that which
imparts a deep and peculiar interest to our pilgrimage " through
the land " on this side of the Jordan " towards the sunrising."

We have only to translate prophecy into history to obtain the
most impressive picture of this land as our eyes behold it to-day.
" From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Ja-
haz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim:
for the waters also of Nimrin shall be desolate. Fear, and the pit,
and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab. A fire
shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of
Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab.'" And thus the
desolation of Moab has been accomplished, more completely than
even the prophets foresaw or could ever have imagined.

Heshbon is mentioned in the Bible more frequently than any
other city in Moab. We hear of it as the capital of " Sihon, king
of the Amorites," who had taken it out of the hand " of the former
king of Moab. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say. Come
into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared."^ After
the defeat of Sihon by the Hebrews, on their march to the Jordan,
"Heshbon and all the villages thereof" fell into their hands. It
was among the cities that were rebuilt by the tribe of Reuben, but
it subsequently belonged to the tribe of Gad, and was allotted to
the Levites." According to Jephthah, the Israelites continued to
reside in Heshbon for at least three hundred years.*

Nothing more is heard of it for several centuries down to the
time of Isaiah, when it appears that the Moabites had regained
possession of it after the captivity of the ten tribes ; for it is men-
tioned among the cities of that people, and included in the pro-
phetic denunciations against them.^ But in the time of the Mac-

' Jer. xlviii. 34, 43, 45. ^ Numb. xxi. 26, 27. ' Numb, xxxii. 37; Josh. xxi. 39.

* Judges xi. 26. ^ Isa. xv. 4; Jer. xlviii. 2, 34, 45.

VIEW FROM EL 'AL.— THE PRIDE OF MOAB. 663

cabees, about five hundred years later, it was recovered from the
Moabites by Alexander Jannc-eus, who, according to Josephus, took
possession of the city and compelled the inhabitants to become
Jews.' In the fourth century of our era its name occurs in the
Onomasticon, and then disappears from the page of history alto-
gether; but many modern travellers have been here since it was
first visited by Seetzen, in the early part of this century.

A pleasant ride of twenty minutes across the gently rising plain
to the north-east will bring us to el 'Al, the modern representative
of Elealeh. It occupies a commanding position above the plain,
on the summit of a natural tell which, according to Captain Warren,
is nearly three thousand feet above the level of the Mediterranean
Sea; and its modern Arabic name, "the height," is essentially the
same as its ancient Hebrew name, the " ascent or height of God."

The existing remains at el 'Al are more considerable than I ex-
pected to find them, and they entirely cover this high tell and ex-
tend below it on to the plain of the Belka.

Especially on the east and south there are ancient vaults and
cisterns and a few broken columns and large stones marking the
sites of former habitations and important buildings; but, as at
Hesban, none of them appear to have been of any special interest.
Elealeh being not much more than a mile from Heshbon, they
must always have shared in the fortunes and misfortunes of each
other, and that sufficiently accounts for the fact that the two are
named together in the Biblical narrative. The view from these
ruins on the top of the tell over the plain of Moab is singularly
impressive from its great extent, utter solitude, and oppressive
silence. There is not a tree, nor a village, nor an inhabited house
between it and the utmost verge of the horizon. "We have heard
of the pride of Moab," says the prophet ; " therefore I will water
thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh : for the alarm is
fallen upon thy summer fruits, and thy harvest is fallen."'

We will now descend to 'Ain Hesban in the valley north-west
of the ancient Heshbon. I have come from that fountain to
el 'Al in about an hour; the distance is nearly three miles, and
the descent cannot be much less than seven humlred feet. The

' Ant. xiii. 15, 4, 5. ' Isa. xvi. 6, 9.

664 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

road leads down the valley and over glaring white rocks. The sub-
stratum of this entire region is cretaceous limestone, and the soil
is very fertile. I have also been up and down the direct road from
'Ain Hesban to the ruins at Hesban, and for some distance, in the
steepest part of it, the path appears to have been excavated along
the face of the cliff. Beyond that the road is marked by a low
wall extending from the top of the ridge across the plain towards
the south-west, and reaching almost to the ruins at Hesban.

I regret that our journey through the land of Moab has been
so limited and restricted from necessity; there must be many sites
farther south of great Biblical interest and importance.

The Turkish Government has refused to allow any further sur-
veys to be made of this part of the country, and we may congratu-
late ourselves that we have been enabled to traverse so much of it
without fear or favor, thanks to the faithfulness and efficiency of
our 'Adwan guards and guides. " In times past " this region east
and south-east of the Jordan was called " the land of giants." The
Rephaims and Emims dwelt there, and they, perhaps, were the
descendants of those troglodytes who erected the dolmens and
other monuments which puzzle archaeologists at the present day.
Then came the children of Lot — Moab and Ammon — and drove
out the giants and occupied their country. They in turn were ex-
pelled from most of their territory by the Amorites, who appear
to have forced their way between the Moabites and Ammonites
and taken possession of their towns and villages.

The Hebrews, led by Moses, conquered them, and their territory
was divided between Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
After several centuries the descendants of those sons of Israel were
carried away captive by the Assyrians and Babylonians from the
far east. Thus all nations and tribes who occupied this land in
succession, during the long ages of the past, have one and all dis-
appeared. All have vanished entirely, and the prowling and roving
Bedawin have come up like the locusts over the land, utterly igno-
rant of their origin and the history of their race.

It is a great satisfaction to know that, notwithstanding the num-
berless changes of races and rulers, we can be as certain that Moses
and the chosen tribes came here and conquered the country, as

ANCIENT BIBLICAL NAMES-SHEIKH KUBI.AN EL FADIL. 665

that David reigned in Jerusalem, or that any other important event
recorded in Biblical history actually took place.

And it is more than satisfactory to feel assured that the He-
brews beheld this very region through which we are now passing:
that they not only saw, but actually lived in the cities whose ruins
we have visited, and called them by the identical names which we
have heard given to them by the ignorant Bedawin after the lapse
of more than thirty centuries. This prolonged identity is unique in
history, and it furnishes a strong corroboration of the truth of the
Biblical narratives concerning the wonderful events that occurred
in this region in those ancient times.

We have made a great descent from the ruins at cl 'Al during
the past hour, and for the last ten minutes we have been ascend-
ing the valley above the bank of this pretty little stream.

It comes from 'Ain Hesban, and this beautiful wady is the
summer retreat of Sheikh Goblan or Kubalan el Fadil, the well-
known chieftain of the Nimr branch of the 'Adwan Bedawin of
the Belka. Fortunately for us he is absent, and we thus escape
the necessity and consequent delay of a formal call upon him.
When I saw him last he was determined to make me a present of
his mare, well knowing that, whether the gift was accepted or not,
I would be obliged to make him a suitable bakhshish. Captain
Conder thus describes him :

" Riding slowly on a bay mare, he approached with four mounted
followers. His figure is one remarkably striking at first sight. A
tall, gaunt man, with a grey, bronzed face half hidden by his kufe-
yeh, one eye red and sightless from a sword-cut which has furrowed
all one cheek. His hair long and silvery, and his beard quite wiiitc.
His age probably seventy, though he believed himself to be about
forty. He wore a double kufeyeh [about his head], the inner black,
the outer one black with gold embroidery. His shirt was white
and clean, with a kumbaz, or long gown [over it), fastened by a
belt, with yellow and purple vertical stripes. The white sleeves
of the shirt hung out beyond those of the gown, reaching to his
feet, which were cased in loose boots of red leather, without any
sock or stocking. Over all he wore a beautiful abba, or cope-like
mantle, of broad white and amber- coloured stripes. This most

666 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

picturesque costume was strangely at variance with the long, lean
figure, the red eye, the muffled voice, the thick, obstinate nose, and
the long gash on the bony, dusky cheek ; but the hand was soft,
and the white nails carefully trimmed.'"

And there are the black tents of the Bedawin Arabs pitched
on both sides of the stream from 'Ain Hesban — the largest en-
campment of the 'Adwan tribe we have yet seen.

Our approach creates a general buzz and bustle amongst the
miscellaneous inhabitants ; horses snort and neigh, donkeys prick
up their long ears and bray, dogs rush frantically about and bark
ferociously, while men, women, and children gather in groups to
welcome us as we ride by — a very animated, picturesque, and
even interesting spectacle. We will pass on to 'Ain Hesban, a short
distance above the camp, where we will stop and rest. Sheikh 'Ali
has brought us a pitcher of cool, fresh water from the fountain — a
most welcome offering, for the latter part of our ride has been ex-
tremely warm. The last time I was here there were four separate
encampments in sight, one above the fountain and three below it.
That of Sheikh 'Ali Diab, the chief of the elder branch of the
'Adwan tribe, called 'Ashiret Saleh, was much the largest, and his
tent must have been more than sixty feet long. The whole neigh-
borhood was alive with Bedawin — men, women, and children — and
the various possessions of the tribe : a scene eminently patriarchal,
and a fit place to observe the manners and customs of a nomadic
life similar to that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Moses, and
even the children of Israel themselves.

'Ain Hesban is a noble fountain of beautifully clear water,
flowing out from a small cave under the cliff on the north side of
Wady Hesban, and it forms at once a fine mill-stream. The valley
comes down from the east and is quite dry; but below the fount-
ain it trends round to the south-west, and in the spring the fields
on each side of the stream are covered with luxuriant wheat and
barley. Formerly there were several flour-mills along the banks of
the stream from 'Ain Hesban which flows through the valley south-
ward for two or three miles, and then plunging down a romantic
ravine turns westward and runs down to "the plains of Moab," and
' Heth and Moab, pp. no, in.

THE FISH AT AIN HESBAN.— ROAD TO THE JERICHO FORD. (£j

thence to the Jordan. Now there is but a single dilapidated mill —
a sure indication that the population of this region, even in modern
times, was much greater than it is at present.

When encamped here with Dr. Merrill, I rode for some distance
along the banks below the fountain to see the little pools made
by the stream, in which there were many small fishes. As we have
already observed, it has been supposed that the royal poet referred
to them in his " Song," when he compares the eyes of the " prince's
daughter" to "the fishpools in Heshbon."' There never was either
fountain or running stream in that city on the elevated plateau
above 'Ain Hesban, nor sparkling pools; only dark cisterns or open
tanks of rain-water in which fish cannot live. Captain Conder says,
"This [brook], though shallow, has many fish in it, and reminded
us of ' the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate in Bath-rabbim,' which
gate we supposed might be the passage cut through the rocks at
the top of the steep, winding mountain-path from the stream to the
city on the plateau above." ^

The road we are to follow from 'Ain Hesban to the ford of
Nuwaimeh, after passing the top of the ridge west of the fountain,
leads northward for an hour, and thence westward for about two
hours, down an easy descent north of Wady Hesban, to Tell el
Hammam at the foot of the mountain. From there it crosses " the
plains of Moab," upon which the Hebrews encamped in the time
of Moses, to the ferry over the Jordan near Jericho. Canon Tris-
tram and his party followed down the valley from 'Ain Hesban to
the plain, keeping mostly on the south side of the wady, the other
side being in many places quite impracticable.

" Marked was the contrast," he says, " between the rugged red
sandstone cliffs, sharp and precipitous, dotted with eagles' and
vultures' nests, which formed the north wall of the wady, and the
more gentle terraced slopes covered with luxuriant verdure, un-
scorched by the sun, which bounded it on the south. On the last
rocky eminence which pushed forward into [the plain] were the
most perfect primaeval remains we had found in the country.
Round the slightly elevated crest at the western end of the ridge
was a perfect circle of dolmens, each composed of three upright
' Solomon's Song vii. 4. ' Hclh and Moah. pp. 125. 138.

668 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

and one covering stone. Several of them had fallen, but the stones
were in their places, and it was clear that they had been arranged
in a circle round a great cairn, or central pile of stones, which
crowned the ' tell,' and doubtless marked the burial-place of some
hero famous in his day, but who lived before Agamemnon." '

A great change has come upon this region since the Hebrew
host passed this way down to their camping-ground on the acacia
meadow, or Abel-shittim. Since leaving 'Ain Hesban we have
not seen a single individual, nor even a flock of goats with its
Bedawin shepherd and noisy dogs. Then all these valleys and
hills must have been alive with " much cattle," and thousands of
men, women, and children must have crowded every practicable
pathway down to "the plains of Moab."

This silent solitude is not always so deserted even now. In
the spring the plain itself presents a very different aspect. The
peasants from es Salt and elsewhere are then busy attending to
their crops, and large flocks from the Belka and other parts of
Moab slowly wend their way down to the ferry of Nuwaimeh,
destined to supply the markets in Jerusalem during the pilgrim
season. This is, also, not the only way from the high plateau of
Moab to the Jordan, but it is the easiest one ; and since the estab-
lishment of the ferry it is the most frequented. The road now
winds down this narrow ridge with profound ravines on either
side, all of which are dry, rocky, and impracticable.

The Hebrews must have had an extensive view of the plain
from many places along this descent from the plateau of Moab.

Let us turn aside and rest a while under the shadow of that
great rock while we contemplate this glorious prospect. We can
see the entire plain of Abel-shittim, the Jordan valley, and the end-
lessly diversified hills of Judea, the Dead Sea, and every tell upon
" the plains of Moab " from Tell Suweimeh on the south to Tell
Nimrin on the north. The entire western face of these Moabite
mountains, from es Salt to " the mountain of Nebo," is drained
by a number of wadies, all of which debouch on to Ghor es Seisa-
ban, as "the acacia meadow," or Abel-shittim, is now called.

Beginning at the south, the principal ones are Wady 'Ayun

' Land of Moab, pp. 345, 347.

VALLEYS AND HILLS AROUND AND UPON THE TLAIN. 669

Musa under Nebo, then Wady Hesban, and beyond it Wady Kef-
rein and Wady Sha'ib with its little river, which flows down from
es Salt, past Tell Nimrin, and irrigates that part of the plain. The
stream from Kefrein rises in the mountains east of 'Arak el Emir,
near a ruin called Khirbet Sar, and enters the plain between Tell
Kefrein on the north and Tell el Hammam on the south. The
little stream from 'Ain Hesban comes from Wady Hesban and
flows past and to the north of Tell Ektanu and Tell cr Rameh,
and the waters from 'Ayun Musa flow down the valley of the same
name and join the stream of Wady Jerifeh. After reaching the
plain of Abel-shittim all those streams from the different wadies
cut their own deep and narrow channels westward to the Jordan.

The principal tells on the plain of Abel-shittim, commencing
at the southern end and proceeding northward, are Tell es Suwei-
meh, identified with Beth- jeshimoth, a town allotted to the chil-
dren of Reuben ;' Tell Ektanu, supposed by Dr. Merrill "to be the
site of the 'little city' of Genesis xix. 20;" Tell er Rameh, identi-
fied by Canon Tristram with Beth-haran, one of the fenced cities
rebuilt by the children of Gad ;" Tell esh Shaghur, with the ruins
of a flour-mill near it; Tell el Hammam, to the warm baths of which
Herod the Great may have been taken before his death, instead of
to Callirrhoe ; Tell Kefrein, also identified by Canon Tristram and
others with Abel-shittim of Numbers x.xxiii. 49; and Tell Ximrin.
which marks the site of Beth-nimrah, a fenced citj' and a fold for
sheep, built by the children of Gad.^

We have now reached Tell el Hammam, the mound of the bath,
at the foot of the mountain. I spent two nights near it, encamped
on the west bank of this pretty little stream from Wady Kefrein,
and I passed the intervening day wandering about this beautiful
plain and exploring the surrounding hills. Tell el Hammam is a
high natural mound at the south-eastern end of the plain, and com-
mands a wide view over it to the south and west, and the stream
from Wady Kefrein flows past its north-western base. No part
of the tell is artificial except the ti)p, which is covered with the
debris of ancient buildings which may be of any age. The summit
appears to have been surrounded with a wall, and if it was well

' Josh. xiii. 20. ' Xuml). xxxii. 36. '' Nuinl) xxxii. 36.

5^0 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

fortified it would command the entrance into the mountains up
Wady Kefrein. "Nearly a mile from Tell el Hammam," says Dr.
Merrill, " up Wady Kefrein, is a ruin called M'hadhar [Um Hathir?],
and around it is a trench. In the valley below it is a ruined mill,
standing on a little knoll called Jaudat. Opposite M'hadhar, on
the south side of the wady, is another ruin called Hubbisa." '

Tell el Hammam is so called from some warm sulphur springs
near the base of it on the south-west. They form a marsh covered
with bushes and alive with frogs. Baths appear to have been built
close by, but all has been deserted for ages, no one knows how
many. " On the east of Tell el Hammam, at the foot of the hill,
is a fine aqueduct. It is cemented, and for the most part covered
with earth. Were it not exposed at a few points, one would not
be aware of its existence. It runs to the south from Wady Kefrein,
and appears not to have been used for a long time." "

Near the warm springs there are clumps of straggling and scraggy
trees about fifteen feet high. The leaves and berries resemble those
of the olive, and the latter are said to be eaten by the Ghawarineh
Arabs. Our 'Adwan sheikhs say the tree is held sacred by them,
and the wood is not burned — possibly because, like the cactus, it
will not ignite. Sheikh 'AH broke off a twig and rubbed his teeth
and gums with it, saying that it cleansed them and sweetened the
breath. The osher-tree, or apple of Sodom, also abounds in that
neighborhood, and the banks of the stream that comes down from
Wady Kefrein are overshadowed by dense thickets of reeds, olean-
ders, and other wide-spreading bushes.

Dr. Merrill, who carefully explored this region and bestowed
special attention to the various tells, says: "But of all this group
of tells [on the Shittim plain] the ruins on Tell Ektanu are the
most important. One building on its summit was two hundred
feet from east to west, with an entrance on the east side. The
foundation stones are large, while above these are the remains of
a layer of conglomerate stones, which have fallen to pieces with
age or by the action of the climate. But Tell er Rameh is the
place where I would like first to put in the spade. This is the
Beth-haran of Joshua — the Betharamphtha of Josephus — a place

' East of the Jordan, p. 232. ^ East of the Jordan, p. 232.

GROUP OF DOLMENS.— LARGE DISC-STONE. 67 I

which Herod Antipas rebuilt and called Julias, or Livias, in honor
of Julia, the wife of Augustus [the Empress Livia].

" As in nearly every other instance in the Jordan valley, so here
towns sprang up on or near a living stream, and generally not far
from where it left the hills. The stream in Wady Kefrein flows
under and just north of Tell el Hammam. The stream in Wady
Hesban flows north of Tell Ektanu, and also near Tell er Rameh.
They are both large streams, and we must cross on horseback or
else wade ; and getting wet is good neither for health nor comfort.

" Between Tell Ektanu and Tell el Hammam there is, near the
hill, a large group of dolmens. In a few cases the roof stone is point-
ed, with sloping sides like the covers of some sarcophagi that are
found in different parts of the country. It is remarkable that no
satisfactory explanation of these curious objects has ever been made.
About half-way between these two places I found an immense cir-
cular stone lying on the top of the ground. It is eleven feet four
inches in diameter, forty -four inches thick, and has a round hole
in the centre twenty-five inches in diameter. It is made of hard
sandstone, unlike any that exists in the neighboring hills, and it
must have been brought from the north. The outer edge is slightly
convex, and the stone does not appear to have been used." '

That large disc-stone, called by the Bedawin Men.sef Abu Zcid
the tray or dish of Abu Zeid, significant of his generous hospitality,
presents as great a puzzle as the dolmens; but of course such stones
are comparatively modern. They evidently were not intended for
millstones, nor for any practical use ; yet they are very substantial
realities, and those who cut out of the solid rock such huge discs
must have had some special object in view which fully compensated
them for their great labor and expense.

We are now on our way from Tell el Hammam to Tell Kefrein.
When we came from the Nuwaimeh ford to Tell el Hammam, the
wheat-fields through which we tried to pass had been flooded from
the stream, and our horses floundered about and waded across them
with great difficulty. We were obliged to turn southward, cross
the deep channel of the stream, and find a path on the south side
which proved to be smooth and hard, and we followed it all the

' East of llie Jordan, i)]). 230, 231.
2 A A

672 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

way to our camp at the foot of Tell el Hammam. We shall not
experience a similar difficulty now, and can keep along the direct
road to the ford which passes to the south of Tell Kefrein.

The nearer views we get of this plain are somewhat surprising.
It is not so level, and much of it is apparently not very fertile, the
outline of the eastern border is irregular and broken up by rocky
spurs from the mountains of Moab; and the acacia-trees, the Bib-
lical shittah, from which the plain derived its most familiar name,
are less numerous than I expected to find them.

Farther north the road from the ford to es Salt by Tell Nimrin
passes through the middle of what appears from a distance to be
extensive groves of those trees; but even along that route there
are now no dense forests of acacia- trees. The old and gnarled
acacias, however, scattered here and there upon this Shittim plain,
testify in the strongest degree to the appropriateness of its Bib-
lical name, and they are no doubt the descendants of the shittah-
trees which covered this plain in the time of Moses.

We will now turn to the right, and leaving the road, ascend
that low artificial mound ahead of us, called Tell Kefrein. It is
surrounded " on all sides [by] rivulets," as Captain Warren remarks,
"passing through dense masses of underwood, and carried off here
and there for irrigating purposes." The remains about and upon
the tell, and on its small rocky summit, are quite insignificant, con-
sisting of traces of walls and old foundations, a few vaults, and
some caverns which. Sheikh Ali says, are used in winter to store
away the surplus supply of straw belonging to the 'Adwan. Tell
Kefrein — the mound of the two villages — so far as the sound and
signification of the name is concerned, might stand for Kirjathaim,
the double city, rebuilt by the Reubenites. It has, however, been
identified by Canon Tristram, Captain Warren, Dr. Merrill, and
others with Abel -shittim itself, from which this plain derived its
name; and around it the Israelites pitched their last camp east of
the Jordan, before they entered the Land of Promise.

If that identification be correct, it imparts a peculiar interest
to this lowly mound and the surrounding region ; for here, accord-
ing to Josephus, Moses completed the book of Deuteronomy, and
amid the palm-trees of the place he delivered his last address to

"HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS. O JACOB." 673

the children of Israel. " Come, therefore," said the Hebrew law-
giver, "let me suggest to you by what means ye may be happy.
O children of Israel ! there is but one source of happiness for all
mankind, the favor of God."' And from here "Joshua the son of
Nun sent out two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land.
And they went to Jericho and lodged in the house of Rahab."^

The ford of the Jordan, near which we shall find our tents, is
about three miles distant from this Tell of Kefrein ; and that we
may reach them before dark we must spur on our horses to a brisk
pace over this smooth road and comparatively level plain.

How different this plain of Abel-shittim must have been when
the Hebrew host was encamped upon it from what it is at present!
Now it is strangely silent and entirely deserted, and we have not
seen a single individual in our ride across it.

At this season of the j^ear even the Bedawin, with their tents
and their flocks, have migrated to the green valleys and elevated
plateaus of Moab, and the silence and solitude of the plain are
quite oppressive. But when thousands of tents covered the sur-
face farther than the eye could reach, there was here a whole world
of human life and busy activity. Neither pencil can picture nor
pen adequately describe the wonderful scene, nor can imagination
reproduce it. History records nothing with which to compare it,
in this or in any land, and no wonder that Balaam, when he looked
upon the scene from the mountain of Nebo, and " saw Israel abiding
in his tents", according to their tribes," exclaimed, " How goodly are
thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! As the valleys
are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees
of lignaloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside
the waters, and blessed is he that blesseth thee."'

We have now reached the western edge of this plain of Abel-
shittim, and an easy descent of fifteen minutes along a winding
path will bring us to our tents, pitched on this side Jordan, near
the ferry of Nuwaimeh.

Jericho Eord, September 30th. Evening.

While we were riding across the plain of Abel-shittim this
afternoon, the question whether it was large enough to contain the
' Ant. iv. 8, I, 2. * Josh. ii. i. ^ Numb. xxiv. 2, 5. 6, (>.

6^4 THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

camp of the entire Hebrew nation was constantly recurring to my
mind. According to the census which Moses was commanded to
take of the children of Israel, after their encampment on "the
plains of Moab," the number of the men who were " twenty years
old and upward," and of all that were " able to go to war," was
six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.^ Multi-
plying by four, to obtain the number of the whole nation, we get
the large figure of two million four hundred and six thousand nine
hundred and twenty, without the Levites. Was there sufficient
space on the plain for the tents of such a vast multitude ?

At first these questions appear sufficiently formidable, but the
result of a little calculation will surprise you. If we take the aver-
age size of a tent among the Bedawin Arabs of to-day, and allow
ten persons to a tent, and then suppose that the children of Israel
in their totality numbered three millions, they would require three
hundred thousand tents. Allowing twenty square rods for each
tent, such an encampment would require six million square rods ;
but there are at least twelve million square rods on these '' plains
of Moab by Jordan near Jericho." The children of Israel " pitched
by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains
of Moab."' That is— if the identification of those places be correct

from Tell Suweimeh on the south to Tell Kefrein on the north.

The width of " the plains " in the neighborhood of those tells, in-'
eluding the wadies and adjacent hill -sides where tents could be
pitched, is about eight miles, while the length from the shore of the
Dead Sea and the foot-hills of "the mountain of Nebo " extends
northward for fifteen miles. That gives an area of one hundred
and twenty square miles, or over twelve million square rods, and
allows of ample space for the tribes to encamp in "the plains of
Moab, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim."

I have Tollowed the supposed route of the Israelites from the
Red Sea to Mount Sinai, and thence across the great and terrible
" wilderness of the wandering," and I nowhere saw a place for en-
camping at all comparable to this. With one or two possible ex-
ceptions, all the forty stations at which they pitched after crossing
the Red Sea were sadly deficient in good water, while here the

' Numb. xxvi. i, 2, 51. " Numb, xxxiii. 49.

TESTIMONY OF THE LAND TO THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK. 675

space was ample and the supply of water abundant and never
failing. From that great encampment here on this plain those
military expeditions went forth, which subdued Gilead and Bashan
and enabled the two and a half tribes to occupy their chosen in-
heritance east of the Jordan. Somewhere on these plains, near
Tell Kefrein perhaps, Moses had his head -quarters, and there
doubtless he composed the book of Deuteronomy, and rehearsed
it in the ears of all the people, for it is stated that " on this side
Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law.'"

I should like to read the whole of it here where it was written,
having Moab and Gilead and far- distant Bashan for background,
with Canaan's fair and happy land in full view, while Jordan rolls
between. I am thankful that we have been permitted to traverse
those regions, and to encamp upon this plain.

Seeing is believing, according to the proverb ; but " blessed are
they that have not seen, and yet have believed." That there actu-
ally is here just such a plain as this is required to confirm the state-
ment in the narrative that the incidents said to have occurred at
Abel-shittim did really take place. And to that extent at least
the testimony which the land of the Bible bears to its veracity is
of essential importance. We have had around us hundreds of wit-
nesses, on this side of Jordan and on that, in mountains, valleys, and
plains, in fountains, rivers, and lakes, in trees and plants, in birds and
beasts, in the works of man scattered over the whole country, and in
the ancient sites found everywhere throughout the land and still
bearing their ancient names— and they all testify to the credibility
of the Biblical record. And yet that is only one of the many ways
in which this promised land to the patriarchs of old confirms and
illustrates that book of books, our blessed Bible.

Where did the children of Israel pass over this river of the Jor-
dan into the land of Canaan ?

The account of that wonderful passage given in the third and
fourth chapters of Joshua furnishes no topographical data by which
that question can be answered with exactness. We read that the
host "removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan and lodged there
[for three days] before they passed over." If we assume that there

' Dcut. i. 5.

d'^^ THE LAND AND THE BOOK.

was but one broad crossing-place, it probably did not extend much
farther up the Jordan than this ford of Nuwaimeh, or Mukhadat
el Ghoraniyeh, the ford of the Ghor or Jordan valley. Above it
the upper plain of the Jordan valley terminates on the western side
of the river in high perpendicular bluffs, which would present an
insuperable obstacle to the ascent of the host to Gilgal. Those
bluffs, however, end abruptly a short distance north of this ford,
and from thence southward to the Dead Sea there would have been
no obstacle in the way; and the various tribes, after crossing, could
have proceeded directly from the banks of the river to their ap-
pointed stations " in the east border of Jericho."

It is difficult to realize that we are now encamped near the
place where one of the most stupendous miracles was enacted that
God has ever wrought in behalf of His chosen people.

In one important respect that crossing over Jordan is more im-
pressive than the passing of the Israelites through the Red Sea.
Here, at least, there is no question as to where the crossing was
made. Somewhere in this vicinity, the Jordan, full to the over-
flowing of all its banks, was divided, and " the waters which came
down from above stood and rose up upon a heap, and those that
came down toward the salt sea failed, and were cut off: and the
people passed over right against Jericho."' That unparalleled mi-
gration into Palestine, or invasion of it, by the Hebrew nation was
made in obedience to the command of God : " Have I not com-
manded thee?" said the Lord to Joshua. "Be strong and of a
good courage ; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed ; for the
Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Leaving
the banks of the Jordan, the children of Israel marched a few miles
westward, and encamped, according to the Biblical record, "in Gil-
gal, in the east border of Jericho," and "the waters of Jordan re-
turned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did
before."' Jericho was then called " the city of palm-trees," by way
of eminence, and the surrounding plain was probably overshadowed
by large groves of those graceful trees. Beneath them were doubt-
less pitched the countless tents of the children of Israel, and there
we will leave them to carry out their divinely appointed mission.

' Josh. iii. 15, 16. * Josh. iv. iS.

THE HOME OF THE BIBLE.— THE LAND OF THE BOOK. 677

Having thus followed that triumphant entrance of the Hebrew
nation into the earthly Canaan ^ — t}-pe and prophecy and promise
of that other passage through another river to an inheritance in
the better land, " incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven " for us,' it remains for ourselves to cross,
on the morrow, this same Jordan, not on dry land, but in that rude
and clumsy ferry-boat, and from thence to ascend the mountain
to the Holy City — that type, in Biblical symbolism, of the "Jeru-
salem which is above, which is the mother of us all."' After a
farewell survey of the sites and scenes within and around Jerusalem
we will go down to Joppa by the sea -side. From that city our
travels "through the land, in the length of it, and the breadth of
it," began, and there we will end them, devoutly thankful to our
Heavenly Father for His providential guidance and protection in
all our wanderings over this Land of Promise, the home of the Bible
— the Land of the Book.

' I Peter i. 4. '' Gal. iv. 26.

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS ILLUSTRATED.

ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE BOOKS OF THE BHiLE.

Genesis.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

Chapter

Verse.

Page.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

xxxiv.

8-12

212

xxi.

638

iii.

XXXV.

2, 4

554

33-35

461

ix.

6,7

555

xxii.

—

636

298

xxxvi.

20-24

64S

550

282

xxxvii.

3, 23, 31

xxiii.

I-IO

655

278

25-2S

540

659

xi.

364

xxxix.

14-20

655

xiv.

534

xli.

xxiv.

I, 2, 51

674

542

46-48, 53-57

458

2, 5, 6, 9

673

'•

3^)3

xlv.

1-15

577

3-6.8

656

364

14-19. 25

656

XV.

1-4

364

E.XODUS.

xxxi.

8, 16

656

xvi.

iii.

xxxii.

601

10, 12

536

227

607

xix.

669

xvi.

4-36

180

669

xxiii.

—

298

XX.

24. 25

367

J (

669

XXV.

15. 16

434

xxii.

662

536

xxiii.

345

644

xxvi.

34.35

299

41. 42

4S9

xxvii.

34.38

403

Leviticus.

xxxiii.

47-49

654

299

xiv.

4, 6. 7

263

669

xxviii.

1-7

299

xix.

674

xxix.

32,33

xxiii.

128

xxxiv.

7.8

296

XXX.

xxv.

297

xxxi.

46-49

576

311

47,49

553

NU.MBERS.

XXXV.

—

211

xxxii.

I. 2

552

xiii.

296

1-3

576

299

Deuteronomy.

6, 7. 13-15

5 70

3(ji

—

470

l6-2I

577

xix.

263

—

672

xxxiii.

1-4

577

xxi.

26, 27

662

—

675

68o

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS ILLUSTRATED.

Cliapter.

Vlll.

xii.
xix.

xxii.

xxiv.
xxvii.
xxxii.
xxxiv.

Verse.

Page.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

I Kings.

523

xiii.

296

Chapter

Verse.

Page.

675

9, 16

638

ii.

553

454

527

iv.

444

301

669

591

635

24, 26, 29, 30

552

553

1-7

461

489

200

I-IO

527

XX.

591

262

3-5, II, 13, 14

444

xxi.

591

8,9

250

4. 5

459

662

8-10

181

8-10

460

620

Judges.

vi.

9, 10, 15-18, 20

262

489

22-26

178

128

659

ii.

486

vii.

2,3

262

138

vii.

642

viii.

44,48

41-43

436

viii.

4- 5. II

489

ix.

573

591

8, 9. 17

577

116

227

642

299

169

ix.

264

xi.

299

—

211

xi.

662

5. 33

486

593

628

23-25

365

xii.

577

I Samuel.

XV.

16-20

365

1-3
1-7

28
34
653
654
653
659

vii.

ix.

xxxi.

10, II
10, II

25, 26

19
90

486

55
486

xviii.
xix.

XX.

26, 28
15, 16
19-21

I, 26-34
34

118
368
368

365
366

365

Joshua.

2 Samuel.

xxi.
xxii.

366

673

ii.

8, 12, 29

553

3,4

592

vii.

262

29-36

592

15, 16

675
676

viii.

3-6

365
46

2 Kings.

16, 17

9-1 1

339

2, 17

366

—

675

I, 2, 4, 5, 7-14

621

ii.

8,13

676

xi.

—

621

iii.

643

I. 2

299

621

3-6-

426

xii.

—

621

1-8

366

23- 27

26-31

621

9-19

367

1-18

143

xvii.

24.27

553

398

3.5,8

299

xviii.

—

57S

17, 18

379

338

6-8

578

386

339

24, 31. 32

553

vi.

8-23

367

527

553

24,25

367

338

xix.

—

578

vii.

6,7

367

339

403

viii.

7-15

368

i> 5

339

592

xxiii.

6,7

ix.

i-io, 16-20

592

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS ILLUSTRATED.

68 I

lapter.

Verse.

Page.

Ps.\lms.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

ix.

14, 15, and 5

592

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

xxxiv.

6, II, 13-15

574

xiii.

22-25

36S

vi.

403

II .

524

xiv.

27, 2S

36S

xxi.

—

510

616

xvi.

5-9

369

xxix.

264

xl.

263

10-16

369

Iv.

xliii.

xvii.

369

Ivi.

404

472

xix.

20-23

262

Iviii.

3.9

473

35,36

xliv.

14. 16, 17

263

xxiii.

487

Ixvi.

13. 14

xlix.

15, 16

4S6

Ixxviii.

23-25

180

Iv.

388

29-33

297

Ixxxiv.

43.47
3

116
59

Ixiii.

523

Chronicles.

xcii.

262

Jeremi.mi.

278

12-14

128

iv.

603

ii.

489

cii.

vi.

527

civ.

10-12

13S

vii.

487

iS-23

434

16, 17

261

viii.

623

20, 21

642

cxvi.

18, 19

ix.

403

vi.

64, So

553

cxviii.

17, 18

403

591

cxix.

164

603

xix.

1-15

638

cxxviii.

xxxi.

404

xxvii.

116

cxlv.

377

xxxix.

1-7

298

Chronicles.

Proverbs.

xlviii.

2, 34. 45

662
662

ii.
viii.

299

iSi

573

XX.

xxxi.

14
22

73
83

20-24
21-24
21-24

644

5"
529

XXV.

264

Solomon's Song

523
523
662

529

iii.

Ezra.

263

vii.

4
4

414
661

34, 43. 45

vi.

Nehemi.\h.

4
6.7

667

128

xlix.

2,4. 5

23-27

621

369

viii.

128

Is.vi.\h.

Ezekiel.

Job.

ii.

12, 13

262

viii.

243

ii.

403

iii.

18-23

xvi.

10, 13

vi.

15-1S

453

ix.

9, 10

116

xvii.

262

19, 20

453

xiv.

264

xxi.

404

xiv.

—

257

XV.

—

662

x.w.

622

7-10

638

622

II, 12

662

644

iS, 19

184

xvi.

—

662

622

XV.

31. 32

6.9

663

xxvii.

263

xvii.

369

8, II

278

xvi.

628

xxix.

xxii.

I. 2, 5-7

369

xxxi.

16, 17, 22

287

413

xxxi.

3.5,8.9

265

xxviii.

185

xxxiii.

xlvii.

682

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS ILLUSTRATED.

Daniel.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

Chapter.

Verse.

Page.

Chapter.

.Verse.

Page.

iv.

21, 24

vi.

lO, II

29. 31

xiv.

I-I2

649

xi.

402

HOSEA.

3-12

539

■ 35

404

xiv.

xxiv.

58
221

xiii.

4. 5
4. 5

79
84

Amos.

3.4

369

338

xxvi.

Mark.

236

ix.

Acts.
1-3

369

ii.

1-20

481

1-9

407

I, 2

529

vi.

14-29

649

433

262

vii.

481

10, II

410

vii.

113

130

17, 18
20, 22

413
411

MiCAH.

Luke.

iv.

200

—

434

xiii.

369

iii.

440

xviii.

Habakkuk.

445

xxi.

iii.

17
17, i8

IV.

I, 2
1-3

435
350
166

XXV.

Romans.

198

Zephaniah.

vii.

37.38

236
404

xi.

17, 18, 24

ii.

622

xi.
xii.

5-8
6,7

89
59

Corinthians.

Zechariah.

xiii.

xi.

539

iii.

200

xiv.

32,33

406

ix.

369

xi.

264

XV.

131

Galatians.

Matthew.

xvii.
xix.

6
1-6

114
113

iv.

677

iv.

23-25
40

481
84

John.

I Peter.

vi.

5.7

ii.

236

677

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED.

'AiN, Hebrew En, Fountain.

Aklim, District.

Bab, Door or Gate.

Beit, Hebrew Biith, House.

Belad, District.

BiR, Hebrew Beer, Well or Cistern.

Birkeh, Birket, Pool.

BuRj, Tower.

Deir, Convent.

Ed, Edh, El, En, Es, Esii, Et, Ez, I'lie.

Jebel, Mountain.

JiSR, Bridge.

Kabr, Tomb.

Khan, Inn or Caravansary.

Khirbeh, Khirbet, Ruin.

Kul'ah, Kf l'at, Castle.

Merj, Plain or Meadow.

MuGHARAH, MuGHARAT, Cave, CavCHi.

MuKAM, Shrine or Saint's Tomb.

MuzAR, Shrine or Saint's Tomb.

Nahr, River.

Neba', Fountain.

Neuv, Prophet.

Ras, Head or Promontory.

Teh., Hill or Mound.

Wady, Valley or Watercourse.

Welv, Saint's Tomb.

Abana, see Barada, Nahr, el.

Abarim, 535, 654.

Abbot, Peter, 16.

'Abd el 'Aziz, 'Adwan Sheikh, 559.

'Abd el Melek, Beit, 186, 209.

'Abeih, 27, 46, 122, 144-147, 167, 209, 310.

Abel, 350, 359.

Abel-beth-maachah, 365.

Abel-meholah, 36S.

Abel-shittim, 586, 651, 653-656, 659, 663-

675-
Abijam, 365.
Abila, 350, 351.
Abila, of Peraea, 546.
Abilene, 350.
Abishai, 638.
Abraham, 82, 207, 213, 298, 299, 359, 363,

3fJ4. 370, 371. 379. 414, 422, 477- 533-537.

542, 554- 579. ^20, 659, 666.
Absalom, 127, 403, 553, 578, 579, 582.
Abu 'Aly, Nahr, 137.
Abu el Asvvad, Nahr, 151.
Abu Bekr, 422.
Abu Bekr, Muzar, 559.

Abu el Feda, Abulfeda, Emir, 174, 302, 428,

580.
Abu Nugla, 628, 630, 641.
Abu Niisr, Sheikh, 276.
Abu Talib, 276, 526.
Abu Tumeis, 441.
Acacia, 668, 672.

Acre, 41, 51, 161, 206, 220, 502, 540.
Adam, 157, 207, 359, 422, 423-
Adara, 54I.
Addi.son, C. G., 357-
Adelsberg, caves of, 104.
Adonis, 137, 229, 234, 239-247, 251, 313.
Adrian, Emperor, 252, 253.
'Adwan, el, Bedawin, 559, 590, 593, 605, 606.

623, 628, 629, 636, 641, 643, 645, 647. 664-

666, 670, 672.
Aere, 454.

'Afineh, cl, 502, 503.
'Afka, 137, 234. 240-247, 313.
Africa, African, 41, 155, 426, 427, 538, 573.
Agamemnon, 668.
Agate, 178.
Agrippa, sec Ilcrod Agrippa.

684

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Ague, 354, 497-

Ahab, 365, 366, 411, 592.

Ahaz, 368, 369, 380.

Ahaziah, 366, 592.

'Ain, el, 304, 311.

'Ain 'Allan, 585.

'Ain 'Anoub, 133.

'Ain el 'Asy, 304. 310.

'Ain el 'Ayun, 293.

'Ain el Barideh, 344.

'Ain el Beida, 292.

'Ain Bsaba, 133.

'Ain Dara, 150.

'Ain el Fijeh, 347, 351-355-

'Ain el Haiyeh, 280-282.

'Ain Hawar, 346.

'Ain Hesban, 661, 663-669.

'Ain Ibel, 210.

'Ain Jeidur, 591, 593.

'Ain Jenneh, 546, 574, 575-

'Ain Jeiwan, 571, 573.

'Ain Kesur, 144, 147.

'Ain el Khudra, 354.

'Ain Membej, 430.

'Ain Teraz, 185.

'Ain Thaluth, 581, 582.

'Ain Um el Jalud, 582.

'Ain Warkah, 230.

'Ain Zahelteh, 26, 137, 150, 156, 176, 182-

186.
■Ainab, 142, 143, 147.
'Ainata, 272, 313.
'Aireh, el, 628.

'Aitath, 122, 133, 144, 147, 187, i8g, 196.
'Aithenit, 176.
'Ajeltiin, el, 226.

'Ajlun, el, 556, 574, 575. 57S-582, 587-
Akabah, see Ezion-gaber.
'Akkal, el, 206, 208.
'Akkar, Aklim, 138, 290.
'Akkar, Nahr, 292.
'Akurah, el, 246-249, 252, 253.
'Al, ei, 628, 636, 652, 660, 662, 663, 665.
Albanians, 17, 393.
'Aleih, 46, 122, 186, 187, 190-192.
Alema, 524.

Aleppo, 161, 248, 306, 374, 382, 455.
Alexander, Dr. A., 30.

Alexander the Great, 275, 278, 279, 283, 302,
338, 369, 435, 535, 622.

Alexander Jannreus, 572, 663.

Alexander Severus, 283.

Alexandretta, 277.

Alexandria, 47.

Algiers, 32, 84.

'Ali, 'Adwan Bedawin Sheikh, 593, 628, 630,

650, 651, 666, 670, 672.
'Ali, cousin of Muhammed, 401.
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, 207.
Alkali, 507.
'Allan, Nahr, 546, 547.
Almond, 45, 471.
Alms, 423, 424.
Alps, Alpine, 164.

Altar, 20, 118, 171, 262, 333, 340, 364, 367,
369, 380, 433, 486, 519, 553- 554, 655. 656,
659.
Alum, 648.

'Amad, Beit, 1S4, 209.
'Amad, Khuttar el, Sheikh, 184.
Amalekites, 534, 642.
Amana, see Barada, Nahr, el.
Amber, 60, 79, 80, 373, 376.
America, American, 27, 28, 86, 98, 107, 108,
117, 145, 149, 187, 189, 190, 200, 215, 264,
348, 389, 433, 472, 507, 556.
'Amman, 480, 546, 560, 573, 574, 584, 586,
590, 593, 594, 602, 607-624, 627, 628, 635,
636.

'Ammatiir, 163.

Ammon, Ammonites, 535, 537, 602, 604, 608,
619-622, 627, 628, 638, 640, 664.

Amon, god, 300.

Amorite, Amorites, 262, 534, 535, 585, 635,
636, 638, 660-662, 664.

Amos, 113, 262, 338, 339, 369, 529.

'Amrit, Nahr, 280, 282.

'Amud es Subh, 437.

'Amud Ya'at, 315.

Amyiin, el, 257.

Anah, 648.

Ananias, 410, 413.

Ananias, house of, 409, 410.

Anazeh, el, Bedawin, 372, 439, 549, 551, 642.

Anderson, H. J., M.D., 159, 160, 182, 1S7,
222.

Anemones, 132, 540, 546.

Anglo-American, 117.

'Anjar, Nahr, see Neb'a Anjar.

Annelos, 498.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

685

Ant Elias, 94.

Antaridus, see Tartiis.

Ante-Lebanon, 125, 142, 148, 159. 179, 196,
197, 204, 215-217, 271, 272, 297, 304, 306,
310, 3ir, 318, 319, 336-33S, 343. 344. 34S,
353- 356, 459. 493-

Antioch, 37, 206, 2S3, 2S7, 309.

Antiochus Epiphanes, 539.

Antiochus the Great, 24, 619, 622.

Antiochus Sidetes, 285.

Antonia Fortunata, 521.

Antoninus, M. A., 97, 349, 450, 510, 566.

Antoninus Pius, 321, 496, 568.

Antonius Cassar, 521.

Antony, Marc, 32.

'Antijrah, in the Kesrawan, 230.

'Anturah, in the Metn, 203.

Apamea, 305, 309.

Apheca, see 'Afka.

Aphek, 365, 546.

Aphrodite, 487.

Apple, 133, 235, 259, 276, 347, 357, 395,

575-

Apricots, 9, 45, 133, 276, 347, 357, 395, 575.

Aqueduct, 9, 49-51, 53, 93, 105, 181, 183,
246, 310, 350, 355, 437, 475, 500, 502, 513,
543, 544, 571. 599, 670.

Arabia, Arabians, 28, 41, 97, 127, I2g, 144,
216, 245, 275, 276, 302, 312, 353, 364, 372,
373, 399. 406, 419. 420, 422, 426, 427, 443,
444, 476, 489, 498, 501, 502, 515, 519, 521,
524-526, 529, 535, 538, 539, 551, 573, 580,
596, 622, 635, 649.

Arabian Nights' Entertainment, 74, 371.

Arabic, 12, 29, 30, 47, 55, 83, 84, 97, 115,
136, 220, 237, 248, 250, 261, 276, 282, 338,
339, 364, 401, 429-431, 436, 441, 445, 461,
468, 478, 480, 518, 527, 529, 545, 580, 620,
633, 635, 642, 653, 654, 663.

Arabs, Bedawin, 11, 12, 17, 21-24, 69, 83, 84,
168, 170, 201, 209, 220, 249, 310, 312, 372,
376, 406, 412, 415, 420, 425, 429, 432, 436,
439, 442-444, 449- 454- 457- 458, 461, 463-
470, 474. 476- 493. 494, 502, 504, 506, 507,
510, 519, 526, 533, 538, 545, 546, 549-551,
559, 560, 584, 586, 590, 593-595, 600-606,
612, 623, 624, 629, 630, 633, 635, 636, 639,
641-646, 651, 652, 654, 659, 660, 664-666,
668, 670-674.

Arabs, native, 51, 55, 60, 77, 81, 83, 84, 87-

90, 139, 144, 150. 173, 227, 234, 23s, 290.

3S2, 406. 415, 461, 504, 510.
'Arak, 126, 235.
'Arak el Emir, 594-601, 669.
Aram, Aram.-ean, 364, 3S6, 490, 523, 655.
'Aramon, 144.
Arbela, 546-548.

Area, Arkites, 282, 283, 287, 28S.
Ard 'Akluk, 252.
Ard Amrit, 282.
Ard el Bathanyeh, 440, 441.
Ard el Hemar, 602.
Ard Tanniirin, 254, 255.
'Areiya, 125.
Aretas, 539, 649.
Argob, the region of, 444, 445. 449, 451, 458,

459- 461, 4S9, 541, 591, 592-
Ariath, 504.
Aristobulus, 435.
Ark of the covenant, 69, 262.
'Arka. 282, 284.
'Arka, Nahr, 282, 284.
Arkites, see Area, Arkites.
Armenia, Armenians, 179, 409, 412.
Armor, 97, 372, 497, 49S.
Arms, Army, 72, 99, 139, 140, 143, 151, 191,

207, 214, 216, 217, 27S, 2S0, 283, 297, 29S,

300, 308, 309, 329, 367, 373, 412, 434, 442.

446, 452, 460, 466, 469, 471, 474, 476, 4S9,

505, 506, 510, 513, 526, 528, 534. 543, 545.

578, 592, 629, 638, 639, 649, 651, 665, 6G8,

673-677.
Arnon, 628, 636.
'Arny, el, 430.
Aroer, 628.
'Arram, Nalir, 453.
Arrows, 372.

Arvad, Arvadites, see Ruvad.
'Ary, el, 504.
'Ary, Nahr, 501.

Arz, see Cedar, and Cedars of Lebanon.
Asa, 365..

As'ad, Melek, cl, 337.
Asal, Nahr el, see Ncb'a cl .\sal.
Ashdolh-pisgah, 659.
Ashmane/er, 144.
Ashraf, Melek, cl, 372.
Ashrafiyeh, el, 355.

Ashterolh Karnaini, 4S7, 534, 542, 543.
Ahhloreth, 4S6, 487, 522.

686

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Asia, Asiatic, 300, 367, 427, 442, 542.

Asia Minor, 93, 131, 627.

Askelon, 41, 113.

Asphaltitis, 648.

'Assur, 116, 117, iig.

Assyria, Assyrian, 56, 95, 96, 262, 265, 297,

298, 309. 332, 341. 367-369, 535. 664.
Astarte, 487, 496.
'Asy, Nahr el, see Orontes.
'Ataibeh, see Shurkiyeh, Bahret esh.
Atargatis, 542.
Athenio, 489.
Athens, 47, 329.
Athia, 496.

'Atil, el, 440, 494-497.
Atlantic, 370, 419.
Auction, Auctioneer, 72, 73, 372.
Augusta Felix Julia, 46.
'Aujeh, Nahr el, near Jaffa, 41.
Auranitis, 440.
Austria, Austrian, 48.
Auwaly, Nahr el, 7, 9-12, 137, 159, 161, 164,

185.
Aven, the plain of, 338, 339.
A'waj, Nahr el, 359, 398, 429-432.
'Ayesha, 421.
'Ayun el Merj, 521.
'Ayun Miisa, 624, 650, 652, 654-656, 65S,

669.

Baal, 52, 118, 171, 251, 325, 339-341, 386,

486, 496, 644, 655.
Ba'albek, 52, 171, 196- 198, 200, 216, 248,

260, 271, 272, 278, 292, 306, 310, 312, 313,

315-347, 379, 516-
Baal-gad, 296, 297, 338, 339.
Baal-hermon, 434.
Baal-meon, see Ma'in.
Baaras, 648.
Baasha, 365.
Bab Allah, 426.
Bab 'Amman, 560, 602.
Bab el Barid, 379.
Bab el Hawa, 521.
Bab Kisan, 406.
Bab es Saghir, 405.
Bab es Salihiyeh, 395.
Bab esh Shurky, 400, 407-409, 415.
Bab Ya'kob, 49.
B'abda, 129, 130.

Babylon, Babylonians, 69, 264, 297, 298, 309,

363, 369,411, 435, 535, 664.
Bacchus, 519.
B'adaran, el, 163, 176.
Bagdad, 206, 374.
Bakhshish, 22, 377, 379, 386, 409, 496, 558,

584, 623, 665.
B'aklin, el, 159.

Balaam, 644, 654-656, 659, 673.
Balak, 644, 655, 656, 659.
Baldwin I., 48, 276.
Baldwin II., 573.
Baldwin III., 545.
Balm, 540.
Balmano, 644.
Bananas, 8.
Banias, see Dan.
Barada, Nahr el, 197, 346-359, 390, 391, 394-

400, 415, 417, 428, 429.
Barber, Barber- shop, 71-73.
Barberry, 282.
Bardines, 398.

Barid, Nahr el, 138, 285, 290.
Barin, el, 288.
Barley, 12, 227, 235, 259-261, 372, 533, 585,

590, 594, 601, 603, 666.
Bartholomew, Peter, 283,
Baruk, el, and Nahr el, 137, 159-161, 163,

164, 176, 179-182, 185, 356.
Basalt, Basaltic, 373, 389, 390, 428, 442, 446,

450, 451, 454, 455, 4S6, 495, 512, 517, 520,

547, 646, 647, 650.
Bashan, 169, 359, 424, 434, 444, 459-462, 472,

487. 489, 505, 506, 515, 526, 527, 529, 533,

535, 541, 542, 544, 584, 591, 593, 620, 675.
Bashan-havoth-jair, 489.
Basilica, 610, 627.
Batanaea, Batanis, 440-442.
Bateniyeh, el, sect of, 206.
Bath, ancient, 47, 475, 478, 483, 499, 516, 518,

524, 543- 571, 574, 590, 648, 670.
Bath, modern, 107, 358, 386-388, 391, 423,

647, 648.
Bathaniyeh, el, see Batanaea, Batanis.
Bathir, el, 150, 163, 171.
Bath-rabbim, 667.
Batrun, el, 47, 137, 146, 255.
Battlement, 53-56.
Ba'utheh, el, 580.
Bay-tree, 245.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

687

Bazaar, 60-74, 370-379. 3SS, 3S9, 412, 517.

Beads, 68, 375.

Bear, 215, 238, 251, 271, 282, 308, 309.

Bedawin, see Arabs, Bedawin.

Beer-sheba, 211, 356, 653, 660.

Bees, 31, 163, 395.

Beg, 74, 155, 161, 162, 2S5-2S7.

Beirut, 11, 13, 14, 22, 27, 31-33, 40-96, 99,
105-126, 136, 137, 143, 145, 146, 151, 162,
167, 172, 179, 185, 187, 189, 190, 192, 194,
195, 197, 206, 216, 233, 249, 2S3, 287, 347,
355. 374. 382, 388, 391. 398, 442, 504-

Beirut, Nahr, 45, 49-52, 93, 94, 125, 126, 137,
193, 194, 203.

Beirut Water - works, 92, 94, 99, loi, 105,
106.

Beisan, 546, 553, 586.

Beit Jenn, 430.

Beit er Ras, 311, 546, 547.

Beit Sabir, 430.

Beit el Yehudy, 517.

Beke, Dr., 414.

Belad Beni 'Obeid, 551.

Belad Besharah, 136.

Belfort, Castle of, see Kul'at esh Shukif.

Belial, sons of, 29, 30.

Belka, el, 584-586, 590, 593, 603, 624, 627-
629, 641, 651, 652, 660, 661, 663, 665,- 668.

Bellan, el, see Thorns.

Bellan, Aklim el, 430, 431, 435.

Belus, 171.

Ben-hadad I., 365-369, 379, 386.

Ben-hadad II., 592.

Ben-hadad III., 368.

Beni Sakhr, Bedawin, 606, 629, 641.

Benjamin, 579.

Berdiiny, Nahr el, 138, 198, 199, 338.

Bereitan, el, 344.

Berja, el, 22.

Berothah, Berothai, 46.

Bertram, 276.

Berylhis, Bishop, 525.

Berytus, see Beyrout.

Bessima, 354, 355.

Beth-arbel, 548.

Beth-el, 21, 178, 554.

Beth-gamul, see Um el Jcmal.

Beth-haran, see Tell cr Kameh.

Beth-jeshimoth, see Tell Suweimch.

Beth-meon, sec Ma'in.
BB2

Beth-nimrah, see Tell Nimrin.
Beth-shean, see Beisan.
i Bethany, 12S.
Betharamphtha, 670.
Bethesda, Pool of, 387.
Bethlehem, 579.
Bhamdun, 122, 1S5-1S7, 237.
Bhauwarah, el, 185, 1S7.
Bibars, Melek edh Dhaher, 386.
Bildad the Shuhite, 500.
Bir, see Cisterns.
Birkeh, Birket, see Pools.
Birket ed Deir, 555.
Birket Siknany, 543.

Birket el Yemmuneh, see Yemmuneh, el.
Bishop, 47, 229, 231, 277, 283, 370, 450,478,

525, 526, 530, 573, 622,639.
Blackberry, 282.
Blackbird, 585.
Black Sea, 433.
Black Stone, the, Mecca, 69.
Blind, Blindness, 130, 367, 623.
Bliss, Dr. Daniel, 100-102.
Bludan, el, 347, 348.
Boar, 131, 169, 241, 251, 308, 309, 4S1.
Boats, 5-7, 46, 93, 99, 103, 104, 107, loS, 263,

481, 599.
Boheira, Monk, 518, 526.
Bone deposit, 97, 98, 104.
Book, Booksellers, 64, 175, 205, 378, 379, 3S4.
Bos primigenius, 98.
Bosor, Bosora, 524.
Bostra, see Busrah, el.
Bostrenus, see Auwaly, Nahr el.
Bostrian era, 471, 518, 519, 524, 530.
Botrys, see Batrun, el.
Bottles, water, 23, 71, 388, 395, 426, 437, 455,

549. 593-
Bows, 372, 434.

Bozrah of Edom, see Busaireh, ol.
Bozrah of Moab, see Busrah, el.
Bramble, see Thorns.
Bread, 12, 75, 219-221, 248, 2S6, 312, 388,

389, 426.
Breccia, 51, 647.
Brick, 399, 633-635.
Bridge, 6, 7, 9-12, 27, 93, 97, 98, 105, 126, 146,

150, 151, 153, 160, 173, 176, 198, 227-229.

241, 242, 245, 256, 261, 282, 284, 301, 305,

344, 346, 349. 351, 355, 356, 428, 429. 432.

688

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

4S2, 498, 505. 513. 527. 539. 540, 543. 565.

567, 571. 581, 584. 594. 612-614.
Brigstocke, R. W., M. R. C. S., 100, loi, 103,

104.
Brummana, el, 45, 53, 94. 121, 195.
Bsherreh, el, 137. 257. 259-261.
Bshetfin, el, 152, 153.
Btathir. el, 186.
Bteddin, el, 129, 130, 151, I53. 156-159. i^i,

183.
Buchanan, Dr. R., 272.
Buffalo, 632.
Biikaa, el, 125, 136, 138, 139, 175-178, I95-

199, 204, 217, 218, 291, 304, 311, 312, 315,

318, 319. 337-339. 343-346.
Biik'ah, el, 601, 602, 607.
Burak, el, 437-439-
Burckhardt, J. L., 248, 426, 437-440, 452,

455. 463, 465. 466, 468-471. 491. 502, 504,

505, 515, 518, 520-522, 530, 548, 568,

624.
Burgul, cracked wheat, 248, 2S6.
Burj el 'Amad, 183, 184.
Burj el Buzzak, 281.
Burj Fatrah, 245.
Burj el Musheirifeh, no.
Burj es Seba'a, 275.
Burj es Sit Belkis, 302.
Burmeh, el, 583.
Burr el Haithy, 250.
Burton, Richard Francis, Captain, 330.
Burzeh, el, 364.
Busaireh, el, 523, 524, 574.
Busr el Hariiy, 470.

Busrah, el, 461, 463, 489, 501-503, 505-507.
511-527. 529. 530, 532, 533. 537. 539. 541.
545. 548, 573. 574. 616.
Butm, el, see Terebinth.
Butter, 590.
Byblus, see Jebeil.
Byzantine, 370, 380, 420, 508, 535, 617, 61S,

634-

Ca'aba, 420, 425, 536, 635.

Cabbage, wild, 97.

Csesar, Augustus, 46, 445, 467, 490, 538, 671.

Csesar, Sextus, 369.

Caesarea of Lebanon, 2S2.

Caesarea, Palestina, 41, 444, 572.

Cain, 350, 359.

Cairn, 640, 668.

Cairo, 205.

Caliph, 74, 205, 206, 371, 399, 517. 518.

Callirrhoe, 643, 645-648, 669.

Camel, 9, 11, 71, 83, 84, 122, 200, 238, 249,
250, 358, 368, 373. 374. 395. 421, 425. 428,
429, 436, 438, 466, 467, 505, 507, 510, 540,
549. 550, 576, 603, 621-623, 630, 641, 642,

645-
Cana of Galilee, 235, 236.
Canaan, Canaanites, 26, 143, 151, 169, 243,
296, 299, 339, 341, 364. 379. 414. 489. 534.
554. 577. 578, 639, 643, 675, 677.
Canaan, Son of Ham, 278, 2S2, 29S.
Canatha, see Kiinawat, el.
Capitolias, see Beit er Ras.
Captive, Captivity, 83, 369, 411, 435, 534.
Caravan, 172, 174, 199, 256, 374, 399, 428,
453. 454. 522, 526, 533, 538. 540, 548-550,
573. 574. 630, 635.
Carmathians, 206, 207.
Carmel, Mount, 118, 206, 2S5, 502, 579.
Carnaim, see Ashteroth Kaniaim.
Carob-tree, see Kharnub, el.
Carpet, 64, 68, 72, 85, 122, 165, 286, 373, 376,

382.
Carriage, see Road, carriage.
Carruthers, Mr., 263.
Casius, Mount, 304, 309.
Casphor, 524.
Castanets, 393.

Castle, 6, 48, 106, 167, 168, 198, 255, 256, 275,

276, 278-280, 288, 341, 372, 386, 413, 431,

441, 503, 506, 507, 512-515. 521, 527-529.

543. 547. 551. 573. 577-58o, 590. 591- 595-

597, 599, 602, 604, 607, 617-619, 621, 630.

Catherine, St., Convent of, 179.

Cattle, II, 135, 227, 238, 239, 249, 250, 268,

440, 445, 455, 466, 467. 473. 507. 550, 559.

576, 584, 594, 601, 668.

Cave, Cavern, 97-105, 108-110, 137, 164, 165,

241, 242, 245, 247, 288, 304, 305, 313, 320,

353, 354, 359. 367, 380, 382, 410, 430, 445.

467, 548, 549, 585, 596-600, 644, 658, 660.

666, 672.

Cedar, 116, 137, 139, iSo, 181, 185, 250, 256.

257. 356, 656, 673.
Cedars of Lebanon, 136, 137, 181, 216, 230,
235, 244, 257, 258, 260-274, 293-295, 306.
313. 316, 318.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Cemetery, 117, 401. 402, 405, 406, 456, 528,
541, 559, 668.

Cenchrea, 21, 71.

Ceratonia Siliqua, 131.

Cerdagne, Count William of, 283.

Chaff, 12, 545, 600, 606, 672.

Chalcedon, 478.

Chalcedony, 176-178.

Chalcis, 198, 338.

Chaldea, Chaldees, 57, 297, 364, 414.

Chamrate, 498.

Charcoal, 250, 264, 623.

Chariots, 55, 299, 367, 409, 539, 565, 592, 593,
638.

Chateau Neuf, see Hunin.

Chedorlaomer, 363, 364, 534-536, 542, 579.

Cheese, 248, 645.

China-tree, 46.

Chinese, 207.

Chosroes II., 634.

Christian, 13, 20, 21, 47-49, 51, 55, 60, 69,
71, 72, 84, 88, 90, 128, 140, 147, 150, 153-
155. 170. 175, 186, 194, 2or, 204, 209-214,
230, 252, 258, 264, 269, 277, 283, 284, 309,
310, 333, 336, 340, 341, 370, 371, 374, 375,
380-3S2, 387, 388, 406, 407, 409, 411, 412,
420, 424, 425, 427, 433, 444, 449, 450, 452,
455, 459. 461, 463. 470, 471. 480, 489, 494,
498, 500, 501, 504, 508, 509, 518, 519, 524-
526, 537, 539, 552, 573, 580, 583, 585, 590,
600, 622, 634.

Chrysorrhoas, 398.

Church, 45, 47, 87, 117, 132, 144, 154, 184,
189, 193, 199, 229-231, 258, 269, 274, 277,
280, 310, 370, 377, 380, 381, 386, 409-411,
449. 454. 462, 463, 471, 484, 500, 509, 518-
520, 537, 544, 551, 569, 571, 580, 590, 606,
610, 617, 618, 634, 637.

Churchill, C. H., Colonel, 187.

Cinneroth, 365.

Cisterns, 9, 22, 34, 92, 107, no, 275, 279, 344,
358, 442, 449, 458, 469, 478, 482, 485, 487,
513. 545. 551. 586, 598, 607, 619, 621, 628,
^•37. 633, 643-645, 652, 660, 661, 663, 667.

Citron, 357, 371.

Claudius, see Tiberius Claudius.

Cleopatra, 32, 440, 489.

Cloud-hurst, 150, 151, 290, 291.

Clover, 583.

Coal, 193, 194.

Cocoons, see Silk and Silk-worms.
Coelesyria, 136, 142, 171, 177, 170,

216, 272, 297, 298, 306, 309, 318,

346, 369, 445, 489.
Coffee, and Coffee-shops, 60. 79,

131, 143, 196, 20S, 285, 2S6, 312,

393. 396. 399. 429. 480. 504, 584,
Coins, 524, 559.
College, see School.
Colporteur, 389, 456.
Conder, C. R., Captain R. E., 334,

646, 659, 665, 667.
Conna, 310.
Conscription, no.
Constantine, 243, 244, 341.
Constantinople, 47, 156, 165-167,

357.477.478.
Consul, 14-17, 49, ic6, no, 167,

34S, 374. 384, 388, 389, 395. 443-
Convent, 21,45, 51.52, 105, 137, 154

193, 198, 222, 229-231, 233, 235,

260, 273, 277, 288, 289, 304, 305,

483-485, 505, 509. 510, 518, 539,
Corinthian, 225, 251, 315, 321, 323,

333. 336, 379. 381, 383. 384. 409,

475. 484. 486, 48S, 495, 498, 499,

519. 547. 560, 562, 564, 565, 568,

605, 609, 614-616, 636.
Cotton, 83, 84, 456, 458, 472, 590.
Cows, see Cattle.
Crawford, J., Rev., 414.
Crier, public, 56, 57.
Crocus, 507.
Cross, the true, 32.
Crow, 238, 261, 627.
Crusades, Crusaders, 27, 48, 89, 167,

276, 280, 283, 312, 386, 407, 476,

580.
Cufic, 399, 468, 505, 518, 520.
Custom-house, 173, 374.
Cyclamens, 132.
Cyclopean, 278, 321, 327. 328, 340,

543. 547. 548.
Cymbals, 118.

Cypress-tree, 18, 282, 296, 385.
Cyprus, island of, 131, 216.
Cyrus, 263.

Daiiak, cd, 176, 177.
Uahdah, Beit el, 230.

199.
337-

107,

387.
660.

689

200,
-339.

126.
391-

617-620,

212,

229.

190,

330,

.179

189.

245.

257-

310,

409.

544.

634-

325.

332.

450,

454.

516,

517.

569.

571.

229,

545.

275.
573.

342, 483.

690

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Daisy, 601.

Dale, Gerald F.. Rev., 200.

Dalmatian, 510.

Dama, 468, 469.

Damascus, 49. 74, 125, 142, 172, 174, 191,

192, 195, 206, 248, 276, 298, 330, 341, 343,

345-348, 351-353. 355-415, 417, 419. 424,

425, 428-433, 435- 437. 439. 443-445, 454,

468, 476, 481, 489, 501, 505, 515, 518, 521,

534, 535, 538, 539. 54^, 549- 573-
Damascus Carriage-road, 120, 123, 125, 126,

186, 193, 195-197, 355, 356, 398-
Dames de Nazareth, 123.
Damieh, ed, 576, 581, 582, 584.
Damouras, see Damur, Nahr ed.
Damur, Nahr ed, 25-27, 41, 137, 145-152,

176, 183-185, 187.
Dan, 211, 241, 356, 365, 436, 481, 534, 580,

653, 660.
Dancing, see under Manners and Customs,

Marriage and Rejoicing.
Danish, 96.
Darius, 369.
David, 10, 55, 59, 68, 69, 116, 127, 128, 139,

262, 266, 339, 364, 365, 379, 394.403. 404,

413, 552, 553, 578, 579. 619-621, 638, 665.
Dawkins, W. B.,98.
Deaconesses, Prussian, of Kaiserwerth, 106,

107.
Dead Sea, 10, 26, 221, 424, 523, 534, 535, 579,

586, 594, 595, 600, 639, 645, 646, 648, 650,

651, 653, 658, 668, 674, 676.
Dead Sea, Expedition to, Lieutenant Lynch,

U.S.N., 159, 160, 183, 222.
Debusiyeh, ed, 497.
Decapolis, the, 311, 480, 481, 489, 546-548,

572, 592, 622.
De Forest, H. A., M.D., 252, 253, 474.
Deff, ed, 393.
Deir, el, see Convent.
Deir 'Aly, 430, 431, 433, 434, 436.
Deir Eyub, Kiinawat, 483-485.
Deir el Ghuzal, 198.
Deir el Kamar, 27, 143, 147, 150, 151, 153-

157, 160, 167, 171, 185, 192, 201, 209.
Deir el Kul'ah, 45, 49, 51-53, 93, 194, 203.
Deir Mimas, 167.
Deir es Sumeid, 466.
Deir Zubeir, 505.
Deluge, 82, 477.

Der'a, 461, 515, 524, 533, 534, 539-548, 550.

Derb el Haj, see Haj, el.

Derbekkeh, ed, 393.

Derbyshire, caves of, 104.

Dervish, 67, 117, 118, 277, 405.

De Sacy, 205.

Desert, 216, 297, 358, 359, 372, 442-444, 507,

508, 533, 550, 551. 579- 586, 590. 629, 630,

633, 635, 660.
Dew, 135, 294.
Dhaher, Melek, edh, 337.
Dhaher el 'Omar, 591.
Diab, Ali, 'Adwan sheikh, 666.
Diamonds, 376.
Dibbin, ed, 582.
Dibon, 606, 643.

Dibs, grape syrup, 187, 200, 237.
Dihban, 606, 643.
Diligence, 125, 195-197.
Dimas, ed, 197.
Dion, 546, 548.
Dionysias, 501.
Dionysius Periegetes, 9.
Disc-stones, 606, 640, 641, 650, 651, 671.
Divan, 79, 85, 390, 396.
Dog River, see Kelb, Nahr el.
Dogs, 12, 22, 26, 71, go, 97, 238, 251, 308, 309,

312. 368, 424, 449, 507, 604, 623, 645, 666,

668.
Dolmens, 620, 640, 641, 664, 667, 668, 671.
Dome of the Rock, see Haram esh Sherif,

Jerusalem.
Donkeys, 22, 71, 90, ill, 122, 124, 200, 2l8,

238, 345, 367- 373- 395, 426, 453, 500, 517,

623, 648, 666.
Dora, see Tantura, el.
Doric, 320, 449, 463, 497, 514, 597.
Dothan, 540.
Douseh, ed, 1 17-120.
Dove, see Pigeon.
Drake, Charles F. Tyrwhitt, 486.
Druses, 19-21, 74, 87, 112, 140, 142-145, 147,

150, 152-156, 159-161, 163, 164, 170, 171,

175, 176, 182, 184, 186, 187, 189, 191-194,

198, 201, 205-213, 217, 229, 230, 345, 412.

415, 424, 431, 433, 434, 437, 439-444, 452,

455. 459. 463. 466, 468, 469, 471, 474, 477,

479, 480, 491, 493-496, 501. 502, 504, 527,

530.
Dufferin, The Earl of, 407.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

691

Dukekome, 32.

Dukkan, see under Manners and Customs,

Shops and Streets.
Duma, ed, 254.
Dummar, 355, 356, 39S.
Dunniyeh, ed, Aklim, 136.
Dur, ed, 470.
Durazy, ed, Muhammed Ibn Isma'il, 205,

206.
Duris, ed, 343.
Dusares, the god, 510.

Eagles, 221, 23S, 245, 246, 330-332, 527,
547, 606, 667.

Earthquake, 47, 284, 307, 315, 330, 336, 450,
470, 564, 56S, 590, 597, 608, 612, 616, 632.

East, Eastern, see Orient, Oriental.

Ebal, 579, 586.

Ebers, M., 299.

Eden, 157, 265.

Edhra', 455, 457, 45S, 460-464, 46S, 474, 476,
519, 541. 542.

Edom, Edomites, 537, 574, 576, 635, 648,
656.

Edrei, see Edhra'.

'Eed, Bedawin sheikh, 645.

Effendi, 372, 373, 388, 506, 511.

" Eg>'pt : Descriptive, Historical, and Pictur-
esque," 300.

Egypt, Eg>'ptian, 24, 41, 48, 83, 85, 93, 95,
96, no, III, 116, 129, 138-140, 144, 155,
161, 164, 178, 191-194. 205, 206, 227, 242,
249, 256, 281, 283, 297-301, 309, 323, 339,
341. 343. 367. 369. 386, 426, 440, 442, 452,
458, 469, 476, 477> 536, 538, 540. 577. 579.
597, 622, 630, 645.

Ehden, 265, 271, 274.

Eidiln, el, 546, 54S.

Elam, 55.

Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea, 538, 573.

Elealeh, see 'Al, el.

Ellas, St., Church of, 462.

Eliezer, of Damascus, 364.

Elijah, 78, 84, 367, 368, 579, 586.

Eliphaz, 35.

Elisha, 78, 84, 366-368, 379, 394. 579. 592.
644.

Elk, 98.

El-paran, 534.

Emesa, 310, 312, 340.

Emims, 534, 535, 664.

Emir, 9, 27, 42, 45, 74, 112, 129, 139, 140,
153, 156, 157, iS9-i(^i. 164. 165, 172, 174,
175, 184, 187. 19S, 209, 230, 2S7, 343, 344,

475-477, 648-

Emmanuel, 510.

En-gedi, 534.

England, English, 14-17, 48, 81, 86, 92, 99,
loi, 162, 163, 189, 190, 193, 256, 264, 268,
280. 330, 348, 357, 395, 407. 433. 477, 479,
552.

En-misphat, see Kadesh.

Enoch, 207.

Ephraim, 116, 553, 57S, 579, 586, 653.

Ephron, the Hittite, 29S.

Er, 127.

Esau, 82, 298, 403, 576, 577.

Esdraelon, 502, 540, 579.

Euphrates, 49, 277, 297, 298, 309, 363, 364,
524.535. 533. 539.550, 551-

Europe, European, 27^ 48, 72, 74, 77, 86, 108,
no, 124, 126, 140, 149, 155, 156, i6r, 172,
192, 195, 205, 210, 211, 268, 312, 374, 396,
407, 412, 425, 442, 465, 474, 477, 520.

Ezekiel, 243, 262, 263, 278, 369, 404, 628,

Ezion-gaber, 535, 573, 635.

Factory, 124, 1S6, 193.

Fahd, Adwan sheikh. 593, 605, 606, 62S, 643,

645-
Fair, 351, 586.
Fakhr ed Din Ma'an, Emir, 9, 45, 48, 93, 112,

160, 164, 165, 198, 209.
Falcon, 172.
I'arren, Mr., 395, 396.
Fatimeh, 401. 402.
Fauwar ed Deir, igS, 288, 289.
Fergusson, James, F.R.S., 634.
Feriy-boat, 11, 667, 668, 673, 677.
Fever, 123, 166, 196, 354.
Fez, 72, 84.
Fig. 45. 54. 132. 142. 153. 159. 183, 200, 235.

259, 260, 274, 303, 357, 575, 585.
Ffk. el, see Ajihek and Hippos.
Fikeh, el, 311.
Fikeh, Nahr el, 303.
Firman, 540.
Fir-tree, 139.
Fish, Fishermen, 108, 278, 430, 612, 647, 661,

667.

692

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Flax, 54, 472, 473.

Fleas, 122, 238.

Flocks, II, 22, 25, 26, 135, 237, 249, 256, 291,
292, 305, 432, 436, 444, 465-467, 473, 519,
555. 576, 577. 590, 602-605, 622, 623, 635,
641, 645, 668, 673.

Flowers, 8, 9, 14, 17. 33. 35. 36. 54. §9. 128,
132, 163, 168. 293, 348, 371, 385, 390, 3^6,
507, 540. 555. 575, 583. 585. 600, 601, 632.

Flute, 392.

Fold, 135, 237, 291, 622, 644, 645, 669.

Ford, 9, 25, 27, 667, 671-673, 676.

Fortuna, 455.

Fossils, 97, 98, no, 136, 160, 187, 194, 222,
223, 254, 600.

Fountain, intermitting, 198, 287-289, 430.

Fountains and springs, 133-136, 143, 145,
146, 161, 163, 171, 172, 174, 190, 202, 258,
273, 274, 2S0, 292, 294, 311,319. 336-338.
344, 346-34S, 446, 452. 456. 467. 482. 483.
498, 521, 551, 571. 573, 575. 581-583. 5S5,
586, 591, 601, 604, 605, 623, 647, 648, 650,
670.

Fountains of streams and rivers, 137, 138,
159, 161, 165, 174, 180-183, 185, 198, 226,
227, 233, 234, 241, 242, 245, 247, 258, 284,
288, 290, 302, 304, 305, 309-314, 319, 336-
338, 346-348, 352-354. 430, 446. 452. 467,
575. 591. 593. 594. 601-603, 624, 652, 654,
656, 658, 661, 663, 666, 667.

Fox, 108, 305, 528, 636.

France, French, 96, 106, 108, 125, 140, 155,
186, 195, 196, 264, 355-357, 457, 496-

Frogs, 433, 627, 670.

Frost, 294.

Fureidis, el, 182.

Fureiya, el, 226.

Furzul, el, 200.

Fuzur, el, X47-149.

Gabriel, 421, 510.

Gad, Gadites, 434, 527, 535, 552, 594, 601,

607, 636, 662, 669.
Gadara, 311, 546, 547.
Gadda, 607.
Galeed, 553, 576.

Galilee, 205, 239, 481, 511, 579, 648, 649.
Galilee, Sea of, see Tiberias, Lake.
Gallic, 449, 450.
Gallows, 372.

Gallus, ^lius, 538.

Ganges, 419.

Gardens, 6-9, 14, 15, 17, 27, 45-49. 51, 93,
106, III, 123, 153, 156, 158, 164, 168, 174,
183, 184, 190, 197, 199, 259-261, 265, 273,
276. 277, 310, 319, 327, 335, 336. 346-348,
352, 358, 360, 371. 395-399. 413-415. 482,
496, 508, 575, 590, 656, 673.

Gate of city, 55, 56, 360, 400, 405-409, 415,
426, 459, 4S7, 508, 521, 528, 553, 560, 561,
564, 570, 571, 614, 615, 637, 661, 667.

Gaulanites, see Jaulan, Aklim el.

Gaza, 41, 107, 113, 53S.

Gazelle, 198, 305, 308, 309, 466, 507, 632,
636.

Gebal, see Jebeil.

Genghis Khan, 477.

Gennesaret, plain of, 166.

Geodes, 130, 176-178

Geological Survey, England, 98.

George, St., 21, 288, 463, 521, 582.

George, St., and the Dragon, 92.

George, St., Bay of, 44, 45, 137, 195, 233.

George, St., Church of, Beirut, 92.

George, St., Church of, Edhra', 463.

George, St., Convent of, 21, 189, 222, 288.

Gerasa, see Jerash.

Gerizim, 579, 586.

German, Germany, 106, 357.

Ghabun, Nahr el, 150, 185, 187.

Ghassanide, 538, 539.

Ghawarineh, el, Arabs, 670.

Ghimeh, el, 251.

Ghor, el, 581, 582, 602, 676.

Ghor es Seisaban, see Abel-shittim.

Ghudir, Nahr el, 41, 131, 132, 190.

Ghurb, Aklim el, 45, 143, 189, 209.

Ghurs, el, 540.

Ghusam, el, 515, 537.

Ghiltah, el, Damascus, 428, 431, 432, 444.

Ghuzir, el, 230.

Giants, 444, 462, 664.

Gibbon, E., Esq., 351, 370, 405.

Gibeonites, 71, 426.

Gideon, 489, 577, 579, 642.

Gilboa, Mountains of, 579.

Gilead, Land of, and Mount, 169, 417, 424,
429, 460, 489, 533, 540, 553, 555, 556, 572,
575, 576. 579, 581-587, 591-593, 640, 652,
653.675-

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

69:

Gilgal, 676.

Girdle, see under Manners and Customs,
Garments and Sleeping.

Glacier, 148-150.

Gleaners, 39.

Gnostics, 207.

Goats, II, 83, 84, 238, 240, 241, 256, 26S,
305, 310, 421, 436, 465-467. 555. 576. 602,
622, 645, 668.

Goblan, Adwan, sheikh, 593, 665, 666.

Golan, see Jaulan, Aklim el.

Golan, town, see Wady 'Allan.

Gold, Goldsmith, 375-378, 398.

" Good Words," loi, 104.

Gothic, 276.

Gozan, 369.

Grackle, 647.

Graham, Cyril C, 442, 443, 506.

Grapes, see Vine, Vineyards.

Grasshoppers, 627.

Greece, Grecian, 131, 320.

Greek Catholic, 140, 171, 189, 201, 320, 386,
409,412,455, 457,459,471.

Greek, Greeks, ancient, 7, 26, 46, 51, 52, 97,
127, 137, 144, 204, 237, 243, 251, 258, 275,
276, 282, 309, 310. 319, 320, 338, 340, 341,
369, 377, 380, 387, 398, 420, 435, 436, 445,
449, 460, 461, 475, 478, 480, 490, 496, 500,
518, 524, 535, 538, 544, 548, 572-574. 608,
617, 620, 622.

Greek, Greeks, modern, 22, 140, 144, 186,
189, 194, 235, 236, 254, 277, 373, 393, 411,
412, 459, 462, 504, 552, 580, 583, 590.

Greek inscriptions, see Inscriptions.

Griffiri vulture, 221.

Guitar, 391, 393.

Gypsies, 545.

Habeish, Beit, 230.

Habila, 455,

Hadadezer, 364.

Hadeth, el, near Beirut, 129.

Hadith, el, near Tripoli, 137, 256, 257.

Hadshit, el, 259.

Hady, el, 206.

Hagar, Hagarites, 90, 434, 436, 536, 537,

642.
Ilaidar, Emir, 184.
Haj, tl, 400, 401, 424-426, 428, 430, 431,

435. 436, 454. 498, 548. 550, 603, 630, 635.

Hakem, el, 205, 207.

Hakil, el, 222, 254.

Halak, 339.

Ham, 534.

Hamah, Hamath, 67, 13S, 179, 196, 285, 288,
296-29S, 301, 302, 305, 306, 309, 339, 368.

Hamor, 212.

liamzeh, Ibn .Vhmed, 206.

Ilanun, King, 62O.

Haram, el, Mecca. 425, 426.

Haram, el, Medina, 421.

Haram esh Sherif, Jerusalem, 380, 6x8.

Haran, 414-417, 534.

Harbor, 5, 6, 44-49. 93. 275. 277. =79. 579-

Harem, el, 55, 87, 88, 286, 391.

Harf, el, 245.

Ilarf el Sphiry, 285.

Harfush, Beit, 343, 344.

Ilaroun er Raschid, 51.

Harj), 392-394.

Harrah, el, 442, 443.

Ilarran el 'Awamid, see Haran.

Harran, in the Lejah, 464, 466-4C8, 470-472.

Harush, Nahr, 415.

Hasbeiya, 11, 12, 38, 157, 173, 176, 476.

Hasrun, el, 259.

Hattin, see Kurun Hattin.

Ilauran, el, 153, 156, 175, 184, 191, I92, 206,
209. 359. 386, 424. 439. 443. 444. 454. 456.
458, 459. 463. 464. 469. 470, 474. 477. 480,
482, 490, 491, 493, 49S, 501-504, 508, 511,
512, 515, 530, 533, 548. 549, 5S6, 604.

Havilali, 536.

Havolh-jair, 489.

Hawarah, el, 551.

Hawks, 246, 315.

Hawthorn, 358, 471, 555.

Hazael, 367, 368, 592..

Hazezon-tamar, see En-gedi.

Hebard, S., 98.

Hel)ran, el, 502.

Hebrew, Jewish, 82, 86, 136, 143, 211, 220,
237, 243, 2<)i, 262, 289. 301, 300, 309, 339,
363. 430. 435. 445. 460. 461, 488, 489, 510.
526, 527, 529, 542, 591. 593, 595, 597,638,
658, 659, 661, 663, 668, 673, 674, 676, 677.

Hebrew Jews, 10, 20, 24, 28, 47, 48, 54, 57,
68, 69, 82, 83, 86, 96, 127, 128, 143, 151,
157, 168-170, 179, 204, 220, 227, 236, 243,
261, 262, 277, 278, 2S7, 288, 296, 299, 301,

694

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

341. 357, 365. 368, 369. 371. 374. 387, 393.
411, 412, 417, 420, 422, 424, 435, 459-461,
486, 489, 490, 517, 535. 539. 541. 550, 572,
575. 585, 586, 591, 620, 621, 635, 636, 638-
645, 649, 654-656, 660-668, 673-677.

Hebron, 298, 579.

Hedjaz, el, 155, 419, 505.

Hedone, 340.

Hegira, el, 420, 505, 526.

Heiromax, sej Jarmuk, Nahr el.

Heldua, Mutatio, 31.

Helena, St., tower of, 31, 32.

Heliogabalus, 340.

Heliopolis, 310, 312, 319, 329, 336, 339, 340.

Helios, 488.

Heraclius, 370.

Herds, 444, 576, 590, 623, 635.

Hermit, 258, 259, 351.

Hermon, 19, 52, 143, 174, 177, 179, 193, 196-
198, 200, 204-206, 216, 271, 296, 297, 309,
316, 338, 339, 348, 356, 359, 386, 429-431,
434-436, 454, 459, 482, 515, 534, 542, 550,
579, 586, 604, 607, 640.

Hermon, Little, 586.

Herod Agrippa I., 47, 490.

Herod Agrippa II., 46, 198, 435, 445.

Herod Antipas, 539, 648, 649, 671.

Herod the Great, 11, 46, 263, 266, 369, 387,
435. 440, 444. 445. 467. 489. 49°, 498. 500,
579, 622, 648, 669.

Herod Philip, 539.

Herodias, 539, 649.

Herodotus, 95.

Keshan, el, 596, 628, 635, 652, 654, 660-664,
667.

Heshbon, see Hesban, el.

Heth, 298, 299.

Hijaneh, Bahret el, 429, 431, 439.

Himyaritic, Himyri, 443.

Hippos, 546.

Hiram, 181, 250, 266.

Hittite, Hittites, 178, 298, 299, 301, 339, 367.

Hobah, 363, 364, 534.

Holy Lance, 283.

Holy Land, 54, 166, 268, 275, 472-474.

Homer, 7, 290, 291.

Honey, 179, 227, 234, 237.

Hooker, Dr., 265.

Hor, Mount, 296.

Horites, 534, 535, 648.

Horn, tantiir, head-dress, 19, 20, 474.

Hornets, 129.

Horonaim, 662.

Horses, 11, 17, 71, 93, 94, 106, 118-120, 124,
132, 133, 146, 172, 180, 197, 200, 214-218,
234, 238, 240, 248, 250, 257, 260, 261, 285,
294, 295, 299, 300, 318, 344, 355, 367, 371,
372, 399, 414, 425, 429, 432, 443, 452, 457,
460, 465, 466, 471, 482, 490, 494, 497, 503,
528, 549, 555, 580, 582, 583, 593, 601, 603,
604, 629, 635, 636, 647, 654, 660, 665, 666,
671. 673.

Hosea, 548, 585, 586.

Hospital, 107, 407, 519.

Houses, native, 44-47, 49, 53-59, 70, 71, 121,
122, 135, 146, 147, 154, 171, 175, 182, 186,
189, 190, 199, 238, 239, 315, 344, 356, 389,
390, 409, 455, 462, 472, 473, 495, 499, 502,
508, 509, 544, 547-549. 590-

House-tops, 44, 53-60, 135, 146.

Hubbisa, el, 670.

Hiileh, el, Merom, 143, 168, 169, 299, 339,
432, 436, 542.

Hiilagu Khan, 477.

Hums, 285, 295, 301, 302, 306, 309, 311, 340,
370.

Hunin, Kul'at, 167.

Hurmul, el, 290, 292-295, 301, 302, 305, 338.

Hursh, el, " The Pines," 42, 45, 48, 111-113,
125.

Husks, see Kharnub, el.

Husn, el, 546, 551, 552, 555.

Husn Niha, 203.

Husn es Sphiry, 285, 286.

Huxley, H. G., C. E., 99-101, 103, 104.

Hyena, 108.

Hyrcanus, 595-598, 639.

Hyssop, 262.

Ibex, 646, 650.

Ibl, see Abila.

Ibn 'Affan, 505.

Ibn Hamadan, Hussein, sheikh, 504.

Ibn Hamadan, Shibly, sheikh, 504.

Ibrahim Effendi, 506.

Ibrahim, Emir, 245.

Ibrahim, Nahr, 137, 229, 234, 239-247, 250,

251. 313-
Ibrahim Pasha, 42, no, 140, 151, 191, 192,
280, 442, 452, 460.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

695

Ibrahim, sheikh, 461.

Idol, 116, 280, 281, 341, 359, 379, 420, 423,
426, 427, 454, 484, 486, -54, 555, 653.

Idumea, see Edom, Edomiles.

Ijon, 365.

Ijr el Kid'ah, 290.

Iliad, 300.

Imam, 67, 505.

India, Indian, 28, 277, 370, 538, 573.

Indian, American, gS.

Indian-corn, 224, 235, 253, 259, 261, 289,
290, 297, 304, 346.

Ink-horn, 62, 63.

Inn, see Khan.

Inscriptions, 33, 49, 95-97, 144, 164, 19S,
224, 251-253, 279, 285, 302, 306, 316, 320,
321, 329, 337, 340, 341, 344, 349. 350, 377.
389, 399, 417, 433, 437-443, 445, 449- 45°,
452, 454, 457, 460, 463, 468, 470, 471, 475,
476, 478, 480, 482, 484, 490, 494, 496, 498-
500, 502, 505, 510, 515, 517-521, 524, 527,
530, 544, 547, 559. 566, 568, 572, 580, 598,
605, 606, 616, 617, 640.

Ionic, 204, 251, 336, 416, 437, 517, 547, 564,
570, 597. 636.

Irbid, see Arbela, and Beth-arbel.

Ireland, Irish, 348.

Iron-ore, globular, 168, 201, 202.

Isaac, 82, 298, 371, 659, 666.

Isaiah, 139, 262-264, 369, 38S, 472.

Ish-bosheth, 552, 553.

Ishmael, Ishmaelites, 157, 370, 434, 435, 536-
533. 540, 551-

Islam, Islamism, see Moslem.

Isma'il el Atrash, sheikh, 504, 530.

Israel, children of, see Hebrews, Jews.

Israel, Kingdom of. 157, 357, 365-369, 39^,
592.

Issus, 369.

Italian, Italy, 9, 48.

Itinerarium Antonini, 312.

Itinerary, Jerusalem, 22, 31.

Iturca, see Jeidiir, Aklini el.

Jabbok, 535, 548, 552. 553. 560. 575-578.

581, 583-585, 592-594, 602-604, 608-616,

6ig, 621, 624.
Jabesh-gilcad, 547.
Jackal, 108, 271, 309, 449, 636.
Jacob, 21, 82, 86, 212, 213, 298, 371, 417,

546, 552-555. 575-577. 579. 5S1. 655, 656.

659, 666, 673.
Jael, 312.

Jaffa, 7, 9, 41, 57, 107, iSi, 263, 579, 677.
Jahaz, 662.
Jair, 489, 591.

Jami'a es Seiyed Vehya, 380, 381.
Jan, el, 388.
Janissary, 374.
Japheth, 82, 84.

Jarmuk, Nahr el, 436, 474. 540, 546, 575.
Jars, 237.

Jaulan, Aklim el, 435, 436, 542, 549, 550.
Jauzeh, Nahr el, 137, 255.
Jay, blue, 585.
Jazer, 594.

Jeba'ah, 167, 168, 295.
Jebeiha, el, 607.

Jebeil, 137, 146, 222, 242, 243, 246, 248, 250.
Jebel el A'alah, 37, 161, 194, 206.
Jebel "Ajlun, 575, 584, 603.
Jebel 'Akkar, 136. 271, 285, 288.
Jebel el Arz, 271.
Jebel el Aswad, 359, 428.
Jebel Dahar el Kildhib, 136, 294.
Jebel ed Druze, see Jebel Ilauran.
Jebel ed Diihy, see Hermon, Little.
Jel)el Fum el Mizab, 136.
Jebel Hauran, 439, 441, 442, 464, 472, 474.

479-481, 493, 494, 501, 504, 537, 604.
Jebel Jaj, 250, 252.
Jd)el Jil'ad, 585.
Jebel Kasyun, 356, 359. 386, 397.
Jebel Keniseh, 52, 93, 136, 137, 146, 183,

194-196, 201.
Jebel Mania, 359, 430.
Jebel Mukhmal, 271.
Jebel el Muslubiyeh, 645, 652, 654.
Jebel Neba, 535, 587, 624, 627, 628, 643,

650-656, 658, 659, 661, 668, 669, 673,

674.
Jeijel en Nuriyeh, 254.
Jebel Osh'a, 579, 582, 583, 585-587-
Jebel er Rihan, 136, 137, 167, 168, 202.
Jel)el Siaghah, 652-656, 659.
Jebel Sfmnin, 42, 44, 45, 52, 93, I3f)-i38,

146, i(;4, 19S, igg, 201-203, 214-217, 227,

233, 271.
Jebel Taum .\ilia, 136, 13S, 172, 174, 176,

271.

696

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Jegar-sahadutha, 553.

Jeheir, Nahr el, 521.

Jehoahaz, 297.

Jehoram, Joram, 366, 592.

Jehoshaphat, 78, 592.

Jehu, 367, 368, 592.

Jeidur, Aklim el, 430, 432, 434-436, 454,

550.
Jemiirrin, el, 505, 537.
Jennany, Nahr el, 432.
Jephthah, 579, 627, 662.
Jerash, 481, 508, 532, 533, 545, 546, 548, 549,

552, 553. 555. 556, 558-574, 592, 593. 601,

604, 607.
Jeremiah, 369, 403, 404, 486, 506, 529.
Jericho, 54, 56, 587, 644, 648, 653, 654, 667,

673. 674, 676.
Jerju'a, 167, 168.
Jermuk, el, plain of, 168.
Jeroboam I., 577 ; II., 368.
Jerusalem, 23, 32, 47, 55, 56, 69, 71, 86, 96,

116, 127, 128, 181, 221, 283, 297, 298, 368,

369, 380, 387, 407. 414, 425, 432, 444, 455,

535. 572, 579, 592, 606, 618, 621, 665, 668,

677.
Jeshimon, 656.
Jessimine, 371, 390.
Jesuits, 230.

Jesus — from Bethany to Jerusalem, 128.
Jesus — the birth of, 11.
Jesus — at Cana of Galilee, 235, 236.
Jesus — at Capernaum, 56, 59.
Jesus — in the Decapolis, 481.
Jesus — in Galilee, 114-116, 239, 481.
Jesus — the Good Shepherd, 25, 26.
Jesus — at Jacob's well, 69.
Jesus — at Jericho, 113.
Jesus — at Jerusalem, 74, 89.
Jesus — the Last Supper, 75, 79, 84, 235, 236.
Jesus — on the Mount of Olives, 57, 58.
Jesus — the name of, 169, 207, 384, 422, 427,

472, 473, 518, 525, 579, 649.
Jesus — the .Sermon on the Mount, 69.
Jesus — wept, 403, 404.
Jetur, 434, 435.
Jewel, Jewellery, 375-377.
Jews, see Hebrew, Jews.
Jezireh, el, Sidon, 5.
Jezreel, 592.
Jezzar Pasha, 591.

Jezzin, 136, 137, 159, 160, 163-166, 170-172,

295-
Jiddah, 419, 426.
Jisr el Auwaly, g.
Jisr Benat Y'akob, 432, 476.
Jisr Burghuz, 173.
Jisr el Hajr, see Natural Bridge.
Jisr Jubb Jenin, 177, 178.
Jisr el Kady, 27, 146, 150, 151, 153, 1S4, 185,

187.
Jisr Kur'un, 176.
Jisr el Mejamia, 474, 540.
Jiyeh, el, 22.
Joab, 579, 619-621, 638.
Joash, 368.
Job, 26, 34, 37. 184, 2S7, 403, 453, 483-4S5.

500, 519, 520.
Jogbehah, 607.
John of Antioch, 340.
John the Baptist, 131, 350, 370, 377, 380,

382, 435. 539. 579. 64S, 649.
John, St., Church and Mosk of, Damascus,

370, 374. 375. 377-386.
John, St., Hospital of, 107.
John, St., Knights of, 280.
John's, St., Bread, 131.
Jonah, 18, 19, 21, 22.
Jonathan, 403.
Joppa, see Jaffa.
Jordan, 10, 11, 21, 24, 26, 28, 138, 142, 169,

174, 177, 179, 221, 364, 366, 368, 424, 429,

432, 434, 436, 444, 474, 476, 477, 480, 481,

486, 487, 510, 524, 526, 527, 533-535, 539.

540, 546, 547, 551-553. 572, 573. 575-579.

581-587, 590, 591, 595, 596, 602, 607, 634,

640, 642, 648, 651, 652, 654, 656, 658-660,

662, 664, 667-669, 671-677.
Joseph, 82, 84, 178, 458, 540, 577.
Joseph, husband of Mary, 207.
Josephus, 47, 56, 198, 239, 263, 283, 287-

2S9, 364. 365, 369. 435. 440. 445. 467,

489, 490, 539, 542, 548, 553, 572, 577.

595, 596, 622, 639, 646, 648, 649, 663,

670, 672.
Joshua, 143, 296, 299, 339, 527, 579, 586,

673. 675, 676.
Josiah, 297, 486.
Jubal, 394.

Jubb Jenin, 176, 178, 338.
Jubilee, year of, 56, 57.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

697

Judah, 127, 157, 243, 297, 298, 365, 368, 380,

592. 653.
Judas, house of, 409, 410, 413.
Judea, 127, 350, 369, 435, 596, 668.
Judeideh, el, 160.
Juhhal, el, 20S.

Julia, Augusta Felix, 340, 671.
Julia Domna, 321, 340.
Julianus, Archbishop, 519.
Julias, 671.
Julius, 510.
Julius Julianus, 517.

Jumblat, Beit, 160-163, 171, 192, 193, 209.
Jumblat, Beshir, sheikh, 160-162, 181, 209,

477-
Jumblat, Sa'id, 12, 161, 162, 171.
Jun 'Akkar, 13S.
Jiine Dahar, 13, 14, 18.
Juneh, Bay of, 139, 151, 222.
Juneh, near Damascus, 407, 432, 433.
Juniper, 263, 282, 296.
Jupiter. 329-335. 340, 341. 567-569.
Jurd, Aklim el, 1S6, 209.
Justinian, 47, 229, 520.

Ka'a, el, 310.

Kadesh, 534.

Kadisha, Nahr el, 137, 230, 257-261, 265,

272-277.
Kady, el, judge, 68, 69, 147, 2S7.
Kady, Beit el, 147, 150.
Kady, Nahr el, 150, 183.
Kadytis, 274.
Kaif, g, 52, 396.
Kalabat, el, 40-43, no.
Kamanjeh, el, 393.
Kamid el Lauz, 178.
Kamu'a el Hurmul, 271, 2S7, 305-309, 311,

315, 338-
Kanatir Far'aun, 543, 544.
Kanobin, Deir, 137, 230, 258, 259.
Kanun, el, 392, 393.
Karam, Vusuf, 274.
Kamak, 299.
Kaukab, el, 407.
Kedes, Kedesh, of Naphtali, 167.
Kedes, lake of, 298, 299, 301, 302, 309.
Kefareiya, el, 179.
KefTiyeh, 84, 665.
Kefr el 'Awamid, 351.

Kefr Huneh, 168, i6g, 172, 173.

Kefr Metta, 146, 147.

Kefr Nebrakh, 184, 185.

Kefr Selwan, 194, 201.

Kefr Shima, 132.

Kefrenjy, 5S1.

Keifiin, 1S7.

Kelb, Nahr el, 45, 92. 94-105, 126, 137. 218,

221, 225, 226, 229, 234.
Kenath, see Kunawat, el.
Keniseh, el, 29S.
Kentucky, caves of, 104.
Kerak, 643.

Kerak Nuh, 201, 204, 339, 343.
Keriathaim, 529.
Kerioth, see Kureiyeh, el.
Kesrawan, Aklim cl, 45, 140, 203, 218, 228-

233.
Ketesh, 299, 301, 309.
Kettle-drum, 392, 393.
Kesweh, el, 429-432.
Khadija, 420, 526.
Khalid, 351, 370, 526.
Khalif, see Caliph.
Khan, el, 11, 12, 19, 27, 31, 33, 40, 51, 71,

97, 106, 125, 126, 146, 195, ig6, 285, 358,

371, 373- 374. 396. 42S, 429, 432, 463, 610,

630, 631.
Khan Antun Beg, 106.
Khan As'ad Pasha, 371, 373, 374.
Khan el Hasmiyeh, 125, 126.
Khan Khulda, 27, 31-33.
Khan Murad, 195, 196.
Khan esh Shiah, 51.
Kharniib, el, 45, 130, 131, 245.
Khazin, Beit el, 230.
Kheta, 299, 300.
Khirbet 'Allan, 5S5.
Khirbet Barzeleh, 660.
Khirbet el Basha, 602.
Khirbet es Safiit, 602.
Khirbet Sar, 594, 595, 669.
Khirbet Silian, 5S5.
Khirbet Suleikliat, 553.
Khirbet Thaluth, 582.
Khirbet ez Zi, 585, 587.
Khul)ab, el, 453-457, 468.
Khudar Beg, 285-287.
Khfldr, el, see (jeorge, St.
Khulkliukh, cl, 439.

698

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Khulwat, Khulweh, 143, 145, 205, 20S.

Khuraibeh, el, 344.

Kibleh, south, prayer niche, 69, 382, 505.

Kibliyeh, Baharet el, 414, 415.

Killis, el, 161.

Kir, 55, 369.

Kuatah, el, 470.

Kirjathaim, 672.

Knights Hospitallers, 312.

Koran, el, 66, 68, 206, 276, 372, 378, 382,

401, 405, 420-422, 424, 427, 505, 518.
Kouyunjik,'96.
Kronos, 46.
Kubb Elias, 198, 199.
Kubbet Duris, 343.
Kubbet el Khusneh, 384.
Kubbet en Naufarah, 384.
Kubbet en Niisr, 356-359, 428.
Kubbet es Sa'ah, 384.
Kufeir Abu Bedd, 650.
Kufr, el, 502.
Kul'at Baalbek, 341.
Kul'at el Fukra, 222-225.
Kul'at el Husn, 21, 288, 298.
Kul'at Jendal, 431.
Kul'at el Mudik, 305.
Kul'at el Museilihah, 255, 256.
Kul'at Niha, 164.
Kul'at er Rubad, 552, 578-582.
Kiil'at esh Shukif, 167, 476, 580.
Kul'at ez Zerka, 548, 584, 602-604, 624.
Kulei'at, el, 226.

Kuleib Hauran, 441, 501-503, 604.
Kunawat, el, 441, 464, 466, 469, 477, 480-

491, 494. 502, 508, 546.
Kunawat, Nahr, 474, 482, 490.
Kuneitirah, el, 432.
Kurah, Aklim el, 140, 257.
Kurd, 248, 249, 432, 436.
Kureish, 419, 476.

Kureiyeh, el, 503, 511, 515, 523, 529, 530.
Kurnayil, el, 193, 194, 201.
Kiiriln Hattin, 280, 548, 586.
Kusr el 'Abd, 597.
Kusr 'Antar, 431.
Kusr Melek cl Asfar, 520.
Kusr Nejdeh, 582.

Laban, 213,417, 552-554. 575. 576-
Lachiymatories, 404.

Ladder of Tyre, see Ras en Nakiarah.
Lake, 173, 177, 298, 301, 302, 309, 311, 313-
315, 346, 347, 358, 359. 3S6, 395, 399, 414,

415, 417-

Lamech, 394.

Lamp, 472, 473.

Lane, E. W., 24.

Lantern, 74.

Laodicea ad Libanum, 301.

Latin, 52, 95, 97, 237, 321, 349, 410, 412, 510,
517, 518, 521.

Lava, 359, 436, 445, 446, 450, 456-458, 460,
464-466, 468, 470, 483, 502, 527, 533.

Layard, A. H., 96, 263.

Lazarists, 230.

Lebanon, 9, 11, iS, 19, 24, 26, 27, 33, 42, 44,
45. 49. 51. 52, 74. 94. 96. 98. 103, 105, 107,
III, 122, 123, 125, 126, 129, 130, 132, 133,
135-276, 282, 284, 285, 290-297, 303-306,

309, 313. 314. 318. 337-340, 343. 344. 356,
442, 458, 459, 469, 476, 477, 479, 493, 496,
527. 552.

Leben, curdled milk, 12, 75, 227, 253, 286,
312.

Leben, Nahr el, 226-229, 233.

Leboda, 433.

Lebweh, el, 304, 309-313, 338.

Lee, H., M.P., 107.

Legion, Legions, 449, 450.

Lejah, el, 433, 435, 437, 439-446. 449-453.
455-472, 476, 489. 537. 541. 542, 591-

Lema, Beit el, 194, 231.

Lemon, 8, 45, 133, 236, 276, 277, 371, 575.

Leontes, see Litany, Nahr el.

Leontius, 519.

Leper, Leprosy, 366, 398, 407, 429, 473, 519.

Letter-writer, 61-63.

Lettuce, 9.

Leven, 220.

Levite, Levitical, 436, 552, 554, 591, 662,
674.

Lex talionis, see under Manners and Cus-
toms, Covenants and Feuds.

Licorice, 415.

Lignaloes, 656, 673.

Lime, Lime-kiln, 28, 32.

Linen, 83.

Lion, 281, 300, 527, 544, 597, 598, 606,
631.

Lisan, el, 586.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

699

Litany, Nahr el, 13S, 167, 169, 1 73-1 78, 198,

216, 336. 33S, 346.
Livia, 671.
Livias, 671.
Liwa, el, 439, 440.
Lizards, 627.
Locust-tree, 131.
London, 125.
Longfellow, H. W., 356.
Lot, 534, 579, 620, 640, 664.
Louis, St., Castle of, 6.
Loytved, J., 96.
Lucius Annius, 572.
Lufh el Lejah, 439, 45S, 459, 464.
Lupins, 601.
Lusias, M. O., 4S2.
Luz, 178.
Lybo, 312.

Lycus, see Kelb, Nahr el.
Lynch, W. F., Lieutenant U.S.N., 159.
Lynx, 632.
Lyons, 124.
Lysanias, 350.

Ma'an, Beit, 2og.

Ma'arret en N'aman, 161.

Ma'asir, el, 176, 181.

M 'abed, el, 280, 281.

Maccabees, the, 278, 435, 542, 595, 662, 663.

Maccabees, I., 278, 285, 524, 543, 639.

Maccabees, IL, 542.

Maccabeus, John, 639.

Maccabeus, Jonathan, 639.

Maccabeus, Judas, 524, 527, 542, 579.

Maccabeus, Simon, 639.

Macedonia, Macedonian, 369, 535.

Machserus, 648, 649.

Machpelah, 298.

Macrobius, 251, 252.

Madeba, 628, 636-639, 641, 644, 652.

Madinat el 'Arus, 384-386.

Madinat el Ghurbiyeh, 384.

Madinat 'Isa, 384.

Maghazil, el, 281.

Maghzel, el, 315.

Magoras, 93 ; see also Beirut, Nahr.

Mahanaini, 546, 552-554. 572. 576.

Mahmel, el, 425.

Mahmud Beg, III.

Mahmud. Druse guide, 466, 528.

Mahneh, el, see Mahanaim.

Maimonides, 57.

Ma'in, 62S, 636, 643-645, 650, 652, 660.

Maize, see Indian-corn.

Maked, 524.

-Malala, 340.

Malta, 477.

Mameluke, 386.

Manasseh, 364, 434, 444, 535, 552, 586. 591,
607, 653. 664, 675.

Manger, 239, 59S.

^L'^nna, 179, 180.

Manners and Customs :

Amusements and Occupations, 6, 7. 9,
27, 28, 36, 38. 39, 54-57. 60-64. 67, 68.
71-74, 113, 115, 116, 122, 124-126, 132,
135, 147, 153. 167, 168, 171-173. 196. 200.
208, 217-221, 230, 235, 238, 247, 250, 277,
278, 292, 312, 372-379. 3S7-3S9. 391-394.
396, 399, 412-414, 455. 458. 4(15. 466, 491,
503. 517. 526, 536, 551. 552. 590. 645. 668.
Compliments and Hospitality, 63, 74. 75,
78-81, 160, 200, 208, 248, 286, 287, 312,
399, 440, 480, 493, 494, 497. 504, 577, 660,
671.

Cooking and Eating. 9, 22, 29, 30, 38,
55, 64, 74-79, 87, 113, 131, 175, 24S, 286,
287, 372, 375. 3S7. 391. 396. 399. 404.
424.

Covenants and Feuds, 30, 155, 157, 161,
163, 164, 175, 191-193, 209-212, 366, 468,
471. 494. 553. 554. 629, 630.

Funerals and Mourning, 106, 127-129,
208, 243, 366, 368. 401-405, 456.

Garments and Sleeping, 19, 20, 54, 55,
62-64, 66, 71, 72, 81-89, 125, 129, 175, 196,
214, 215, 238, 248, 354. 366, 370, 371. 373,
375. 379. 391. 403. 405. 425, 426, 456. 458,
503. 536. 540. 552, 590. 620, 623, 642, 644,
648, 665, 606.

Harvest and Tlireshing, 196, 227, 235,
459. 533. 545. 594. 6(X), 644, O63.

Irrigation and Drawing Water, 22, 71,
133. 149. 153. 168, 171. 174. 183, 19S, 199,
226, 227, 234, 235, 259, 288, 304, 310, 311.
313. 336, 347. 352. 354. 395. 39^. 42S, 440,
452. 473. 637, 669, 672.

Marriage and Rejoicing, 12, 13, 90, 118,
127, 128, 192, 193, 208, 212-314, 217, 230,
387. 391-394. 427. 526, 554. 639-

700

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Men and Women, 8, 9, ii, 19, 20, 22, 23,
38, 62, 70, 71, 76, 83-90, 124, 127, 135, 192,
193, 196, 200, 208, 219, 220, 237, 238, 252,
253, 286, 312, 345, 373, 376, 387-389. 399.
401, 412, 425, 426, 456, 472, 545, 550, 603,
623, 645, 666, 668.

Pilgrimages and Votive Offerings, 19-21,
23, 48, 67, 90, 107, 117-120, 168-170, 179,
190, 245, 258, 259, 266, 275, 300, 340, 34:,
350, 351. 399. 401. 412, 423-426, 428, 430,
454, 498, 522, 548, 585, 586, 600, 635, 668.
Ploughing and Sowing, 29, 36, 160, 227,
234, 455, 466, 507, 585, 601, 623, 624, 660,
668.

Servants and Slaves, 15-17, 19, 71, 74-
76, 78. 88-90, 153, 157, 191, 286, 312, 366,
391, 427.449. 482, 534. 536, 576-

Shepherds and Watchmen, 12, 25, 26,
30, 38, 113, 135, 237, 240, 250, 256, 291,
312, 432, 465-467. 519. 526, 555, 576, 584,
592, 595, 604, 623, 668, 673.

Shops and Streets, 40, 44, 60, 69-74,
131, 132, 143, 150, 153, 171, 208, 247, 260,
276, 371-379. 387-389. 409-414. 425. 438,
517. 590. 593-

Worship and Superstition, 17-22, 57,
64-69, 86, 87, 107, 117-120, 133, 168-171,
189, 190, 203-209, 222, 229-231, 235-237,
243, 245, 252, 258, 262, 263, 269, 339-341,
359. 364. 367, 375. 381, 382, 384, 388, 410,
411, 420-427, 457, 462, 463, 474, 526, 545,
548, 554, 586, 601, 641, 653, 660.

Mar Antanus el Kurkufeh, 132, 135.

Mar Elyas, 462.

Mar Jirjis el Humeira, 21, 288, 289.

Mar Jirjis esh Shir, 189.

Mar Maron, 304, 305.

Mar Mitr, 92, 94, 106.

Marathus, 282.

Marble, Micaceous, 463, 517.

Marcion, Marcionites, 433, 434.

Mardaites, 229, 230.

Maro, Maron, John, 229, 245, 304, 305.

Maron, Mar Yohanna, 245.

Maronites, 20, 22, 51, 105, 140, 143-145, 150,
155, 171, 175, 191, 194, 201, 203, 229-231,
237. 245, 258, 269, 274, 277, 305, 345, 412.

Marseilles, 283.

Marsh, 94, 346, 347, 358, 386, 395, 399, 415,
429, 670.

Martyr, 129, 259, 351, 519.

Maiy, sister of Lazarus, 402.

Mason's Marks, 523, 527, 544.

Massacres, 49, 68, 96, 140, 145, 147, 150, 153-
157. 159. 162, 171, 192, 210, 298, 351, 407,
409, 411, 412, 421, 477, 572, 639.

Massada, 586.

Mats, 60, 71, 75, 85, 122, 286.

Mattocks, 28.

Maundrell, 258.

Maut, Nahr el, 93.

Maxwell, W. J., C.E., 99-102.

Mebruk, el, 505.

Mecca, 65, 67, 69, 117, 119, 35S, 400, 401,
412, 419, 425, 426, 430, 454, 498, 505, 518,
522, 526, 536, 548, 603, 630, 635.

Medeba, see Madeba.

Medes, 369.

Medina, el, 420, 421, 505, 517.

Mediterranean, 5-7, 9, 11, 13, 24-27, 33, 41,

42, 44-49. 53. 92-95, 97. 105-111, 114. 115.
123, 126, 130, 132, 133, 135-138, 142, 145-
147, 149, 152, 157, 164, 166, 172, 173, 177,
181, 184, 187, 190, 195, 202, 209, 216, 226,
233, 238, 239, 243-246, 249, 250, 253-257,
263, 272-280, 282, 284, 285, 290, 291, 296,
298, 304, 309, 338, 346-348, 356, 432, 436.
502, 579, 584, 646, 651, 653, 663.

Medlej, Bedawin tribe, 469.

Megeidel, el, 501.

Megiddo, 297.

Meidan, el, 394, 400, 405, 424-426.

Mejdel 'Anjar, 125, 197.

Mekseh, el, 199.

Melchizedek, 534.

Meliha, el, 415.

Melihat Hazkin, 457.

Memphis, 363.

Menhirs, 640, 641.

Mensef Abu Zeid, 651, 671.

Menzil, Menzul, see Khan.

Merj, el, Damascus, 197, 394, 398-401, 428.

Merj 'Ahin, 292, 294.

Merj Bisry, 164.

Merjany, el, 436, 437.

Merom, see Huleh, el.

Merrill, Selah, Dr., 506, 512, 523, 527, 543-
549. 552, 553, 572, 577, 579-581, 586, 587,
592-594, 599, 602, 606, 616, 617, 624, 634,
643, 650, 651, 667, 669-672.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

701

Mesha, 643.

Meshghurah, el, 13S, 172, 174.

Meshnakah, el, 250, 251.

Mesopotamia, 213, 417, 535, 554.

Metawileh, Mutawaly, 140, 144, 16S, 170,

204. 210, 244, 294, 295, 320, 343, 412.
Metn, Aklim el, 45, 194, 203, 218.
Mezarib, el, 430, 546, 54S.
M'hadhar, 670.
Mice, 627.
Michael, 510.

Midian, Midianites, 489, 550, 642, 656.
Mile-stone, Roman, 95.
Mill, Miller, 54, 94, 96, 105, 147-150, 163,

171, 183, 218, 219, 221, 245, 284, 301, 302,

311, 336, 352, 49S, 501, 556, 573, 601, 613,

666, 667, 669. 670.
Millstones, 218, 219, 455, 606, 641, 650, 671.
Milton, 8, 243.
Mina, el, Tripoli, 275, 277.
Minat el Husn, 107, iii.
Minerva, 500.
Minnith, 628.
Minstrel, 394.
Minyeh, el, 628.
Mishor, 586.
Mission, Missionaries, 117, 145, 151, 200,

277, 377- 479-
Mizpah, 553, 576, 577.
Moab, Moabites, 503, 511, 515, 523, 529, 535,

537. 550, 573. 586, 628, 635, 636, 638-641,

643-645, 651, 654-656, 65S-664, 666-663,

673-675.
Moabite Stone, 606, 643.
Mograbian, 545.
Moiet 'Amman, 619.
Monasteiy, see Convent.
Mongols, 477.
Monks, 179, 189, 190, 213, 229-231, 235, 254,

259, 269, 274, 276, 283, 288, 293. 304, 305.

310, 380, 406, 407, 410, 457, 458, 462, 518,

526, 580.
Monothelitic, 229.

Monument, sepulchral, 224, 225, 280-282.
Moore, Sir John, 15.
Moraines, 150, 265.
Mosaic, 390.
Moses, 21, 55, 82, 85, 86, 89, 135, 138, 207,

211-213, 296, 297, 299, 301, 345, 375, 422,

436, 444, 460, 461, 490, 526, 534, 535, 541,

578, 5S7, 602, 619. 624. 636, 638, 639, 644.
650, 656, 65S-660, 664, 666, 667, 672-675.

Mosk, 61, 64, 65, 67, 69, 92, 12S, 277. 280.
337. 357. 35S. 374. 377-386, 3S9. 39^. 401.
409, 415. 417. 419. 423. 429. 449. 452, 463.
471, 500, 505, 506, 517, 51S. 520-522, 528,
544. 551. 580. 610, 617-619.

Moslems, 13, 19, 48, 51, 55, 63-69, 71, 72,
84-87, 90, 92, 106, no, 1 18-120, 140, 155,
157, 168, 170, 175, 178, 201, 204, 206-209,
275-277. 284, 320, 333, 337, 341, 343, 346,
350, 351. 356-359. 370. 371. 374. 375. 377.
380-382, 384. 387-389, 391, 401, 407, 412,
413, 419-431. 454. 459. 463. 475. 494. 49^,
505. 506, 513, 514, 517, 518, 521, 522, 524,
526, 530, 535-537. 539-54:. 552, 558, 559.
573. 582, 583, 585, 586, 590, 600. 601, 603,
617, 619, 622, 635, 639, 644.

Mother-of-pearl, 390.

Mu'allakah, ed Damiir, 27, 31.

Mu'allakah, el, Zahleh, 201.

Mu'amaltein, el, 139, 151, 251.

Muezzen, el, 64, 68, 384.

Mugharat 'Afka, 242.

Mugharat el 'AkGrah, 247.

Mugharat Niha, 164, 165.

Mugharat er Rahib, 138, 293, 304, 305, 310,

311.313-
Mugheiteh, el, 125, 195.
Muhammed, the Prophet, 56, 157, 207, 209,

356-358, 371. 387. 388, 401. 405. 419-422,

427, 428, 476. 477, 505, 518, 526, 536.
Muhammed 'Aly, 48, 140, 161, 192, 193, 477.
Muhammed Ibn Isma'il, 207.
Muir, William, 421, 426, 427, 505.
Mujeimir, el, 505.
Mukam, el, 18, 19, 21, 22, 168-170, 204, 343,

350, 356-359. 364. 382. 457. 463. 559. 582,

585, 586, 600, 601, 660.
Mukam es Seiyed Yehya, 382, 383.
Mukhadat el Ghoraniyeh, 676.
Mukhiulat en Nusraniyeh, 583-585.
Mukhtarah, el, 137, 158-162, 167, 171, 176,

181, 209,477.
Mulberry, 27, 36, 41, 45, 46, 51, 93, 94, 106,

III, 113, 115, 116, 126, 132, 133, 150, 153,

156, 159. 171. 174. 175. 183, 189, 235, 245,

247, 259, 260, 274, 284, 319. 327, 335.
Mules, Muleteers, g, 71, 122, 124, 133, 142,

173, 182, 185, 188, 196, 200, 214-218, 238,

702

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

248, 261, 271, 294, 345, 346, 367, 371, 374,

395, 424. 425, 443, 449, 451, 549, 556, 574,
582, 583, 600, 628, 648.

Mummy, 116.

Museum, British, 263.

Mushatta, Khan, 628, 630-635, 637.

Mushra'a Kana'an, 577.

Music, Musicians, see under Manners and

Customs, Marriage and Rejoicing.
Musk, 414.

Musmeih, el, 433, 437, 443, 449-454, 468, 480.
Mustard, 114.
Muwafukah, el, 149.
Muwahhedin, el, 205.
Muzar, see Mukam.
Myrrh, 540.
Myrtle, 8, 164, 168, 2S1, 396, 401.

Naaman, the Syrian, 366, 367, 379, 386, 398,

407, 429.
Nabathean, 468, 5x0, 538, 547, 573, 639.
Nablus, see Shechem.
Nahleh, en, 316.
Nahor, 417.
Nahra, en, 246.
Na'imeh, Ghufr en. Khan, 31.
Nakad, Beit Abu, 155, 209.
Nakad, Sheikh Hammiid Abu, 145.
Naphtali, 364, 586, 653.
Napoleon I., 256.
Napoleon III., 96.
Nargileh, water-pipe, 60, 79, 80, 126, 387,

396. 399-

Nathan the prophet, 262.

Natural Bridge, 137, 215, 221, 225-229, 233,

234, 242, 247, 313.
Na'urah, en, water-wheel, 8, 9.
Nazareth, 166, 167, 579, 586.
Neapolis, 478.
Neb'a 'Anjar, 198.
Neb'a el 'Asal, 226-228, 234, 239.
Neb'a el Leben, 137, 215, 226, 227, 229, 234.
Neb'a Lebweh, 313.
Neb'a Sir, 284.

Neb'a Sunnin, 189, 199, 201-203, 214, 215.
Nebaioth, 538.
Nebat, 577.
Nebo, city, 652.

Nebo, mountain, see Jebel Neba.
Nebuchadnezzar, 297, 369.

Neby, see Mukam.

Neby 'Abd Allah, 660.

Neby Habil, 350.

Neby Osh'a, 585, 586.

Neby Safy, 21, 168, 169.

Neby Samwil, 586.

Neby Sha'ib, 600, 601.

Neby Shit, 204, 343.

Neby Stjud, 168.

Neby Yunas, 18, ig, 21.

Necropolis, 300.

Negab, 653.

Nehemiah, 64.

Nejran, en, 471, 474, 475.

Nemesis, 192.

Nephish, 434.

Nero, 445.

Neve, 454.

New York, 125.

Niche, prayer, see Kibleh.

Nicolaus, General, 24.

Nicolaus, Historian, 364, 365.

Niebuhr, Carsten, 229.

Niha, near Bsherreh, 256.

Niha, near Jezzin, 163, 176.

Niha, near Zahleh, 203.

Nile, 41. 123, 363, 440.

Nimr, en, 'Adwan, sheikh, 605.

Nimreh, en, 439.

Nimrin, see Tell Nimrin.

Nimshi, 367, 592.

Nineveh, 263, 363.

Noah, 201, 204, 207, 282, 298, 339, 343, 350,

364, 422, 445, 477.
Nobah, 488, 489.
Nodab, 434.

Northey, A. E., Rev., 596, 597, 600, 614.
Notitiffi, 501.

Nova Trajana Bostra, 524.
Nowa, 454, 546.
Nukairat, 393.

Nukhl, en, in the desert, 454, 630.
Nukhl, en, island near Tripoli, 275.
Niikkar es S'adiat, 24.
Nukrah, en, Hauran, 459.
Nur ed Din, 476.

Nusairiyeh, en, 21, 207, 271, 285. 297.
Nusr ed Din, emir, 145.
Nuwaimeh, en, 667, 668, 671-673, 6"'6.
Nymphceum, 483, 521.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

703

Oak, 45, 52, 53, 133. 153, 159, 163. 16S, 170,
171, 179, 187, 190, 195, 216, 245, 250, 260,
282, 284, 285, 293, 295, 350, 441, 471, 4S1-
484, 494, 497, 502, 546, 553-556, 559, 574,
575. 57S, 579. 5S2, 5S5. 594. 596, 604.

Oats, wild, 583.

Obaesatus, 490.

Observatoiy, Lee, 107.

Occident, Occidental, 81, 163, 396, 507, 556,

574-

Odenathiis, 498.

Odeon, Odium, 614.

Og, 444, 459-461. 526, 527, 535, 541, 544,
584, 586, 608, 620.

Oil, see Olive, Olives.

Oil-press, 34, 472.

Oleander, 105, 164, 168, 560, 571, 5S4, 596,
600, 658, 670.

Olive, Olives, 12, 22, 33-40, 45, 48, 51, 107,
116, 126, 131-134, 142, 153, 159, 160, 179,
235. 257. 277. 286, 381, 395, 428, 472, 473,
556, 559. 574. 575. 582, 583, 590. 640. 670.

Olives, Mount of, 128, 579.

Omar, Khalif, 517, 518.

On, 339.

Onomasticon, 541, 542, 663.

Oranges, 8, 45, 133, 149, 245, 276, 277, 357,

371. 395-
Orient, Oriental, 49, 60, 64, 67, 72, 74, 75, 81,
83, 85-89, 163, 206, 207, 212, 213, 356, 363,
370-374, 383. 384. 391. 392, 396. 400, 405,
409, 412, 414, 472, 476, 494, 508, 519, 538,

551, 574, 577-
Origen, 444, 525.
Orontes, 67, 138, 229, 271, 293, 298, 299, 301-

305, 309-311, 313, 338.
Orthosia, 138, 285.
Osher, 670.
Othman, 422, 505.
Otto of Roses, 414.
Ottoman Bank, 106.
Oven, see Tanniir.
Ox, see Cattle.

Pauan-aram, 299, 554.

Paine, J. A., Professor, 96.

Palace, 47, 48, 55, 128, 130, 145, 153, 155-
158, 160-162, 181, 183, 186, 189, 191, 262,
264, 278, 285-287, 371, 450, 520, 528, 529.
596-598, 632-634.
C C 2

Pala;t)Tus. 279.

Palatine Mill, 340.

Palestine, 29, 54, 143, 151, 153, 167, 172, 239,

298, 358, 367, 3S7, 445, 579, 586, 634. 676.
Palestine E.xploralion Fund, English, 334,

582, 617.
Palestine Exploration Society. American, 96,

486, 506, 520.
Palm, 45, 51, 126-129, 275, 401, 421, 433,

497. 527. 597. 647, 653, 672, 676.
Palma, A. Cornelius, 524.
Palmyra. 17. 297. 29S. 332, 355. 359. 498,

573. 574-
Palmyrene, 498.
Pantheon, 329.

Panther, 151, 169, 282, 330, 631, 632.
Papyrus, 300.
Paradise, 156, 295, 354, 356-358, 423, 428,

526.
Paradisus, 274.
Paran, 301.

Parker, Edward Moon, Esq., 160.
Parmineo, 369.
Parthian, 340, 517.

Partridges, 293, 305, 466, 467, 585, 604, 632.
Pasha, 145, 161, 191, 192, 248, 312, 358, 371-

374, 417, 425, 442-444. 521. 591-
Passover, 236.

Patriarch, 137, 229, 230, 258, 41 1.
Patriarch, Patriarchal, ancient, 294, 29S, 301.

343. 363. 623.
Paul the apostle, 21. 34, 71, 369. 406, 407,

409-411, 413, 432, 433, 444, 539.
Peach, 133, 259, 395.
Peacocks, 632.

Pear, 259, 276, 357, 395, 575.
Pearl, 376.
Pekah, 368.
Pella, 546, 559.
Peniel, 554. 577-
Pennsylvania, 472.
Pentaur, 300.
Penuel, 577.
Peor, 655, 656.
Pera;a, 546, 572.
Persia, Persian, 57, 64, 204-206, 275, 276.

309. 369. 535. 538. 634-
Persian V,u\(, 49, 277, 524. 538. 550.
Peter the apostle, 57, 166.
Pclra, 538, 573, 574, 595.

704

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Petroleum, 107, 472.

Peutinger Tabic, 489, 541, 607.

Phaena, Phjeno, 449, 450, 452.

Pharaoh, 11. 96, 299, 30O, 339, 544.

Pharaoh-nechoh, 297.

Pharisees, 68.

Pharpar, see 'Awaj, Nahr el.

Philadelphia, see 'Amman.

Philip the Arabian, Emperor. 476, 524,

525-
Philip, son of Herod the Great, 435, 440, 445,

649.
Philippopolis, 476.
Philistines, 486, 579.
Phillips, Corporal, 595.
Phoenicia, Phoenicians, 6, 9, 46, 51, 96, 127,

143, 144, 146, 164, 205, 243-245, 274, 275,

278, 282, 298, 310, 339, 340, 486, 542.
Pigeon, 108, 109, 229, 433, 585, 632.
Pilgrims, Mount, 275.
Pine, 42, 45, 48, 52, 105, 111-113, 125, 132,

133, 139, 146, 182, 183, 185, 194, 195, 226,

250, 263, 274, 284, 292, 555, 559, 585.
Pipe, musical instrument, 394.
Pipe, see Tobacco.
Pirates, 48.

Pisgah, 578, 652-655, 65S-660.
Pit, 250, 264.
Pitch, 256, 264, 292.
Pius, iElius Antoninus, 340.
Plague, 93.

Plane, 245, 352, 372, 396.
Pliny, 198, 288, 289, 489.
Plum, 259, 276, 357, 395, 575.
Polybius, 26, 619.
Polycarp, 434.
Polyglot, Paris, 274.
Pomegranate, 235, 295, 357, 386, 395.
Pompeii, 470.
Pompey, 369, 579.
Pools, 9, 133, 145, 272, 292, 294, 313, 337,

387, 430, 433, 456, 467, 496, 549.
Poplar, 159, 160, 173, 175, 177, 178, 182, 199,

259, 260, 284, 295, 319, 335, 346, 352, 353,

357. 358. 390. 398. 415. 429-
Population, 49, 139, 140, 153, 154, 159, 171,

175, 190, 199, 201, 230, 277-279, 412, 413,

480, 491, 667, 674.
Porphyreon, 22.
Porter, J. L., D.D., LL.D., 409, 412, 438,

441, 466, 475, 486, 491, 515, 527, 530, 553,

572, 586.
Potato, 259, 261, 277.
Poterium spinosum, see Thorns.
Potiphar, 84.

Potter, Pottery, 19, 107, 511.
Press, see Oil, Wine-press.
Prickly-pear, iii, 670.
Princesses, see Sit, Sittat.
Prodigal Son, 131.
Promised Land, 297, 298, 311, 339, 371, 578,

650-653, 659, 660, 672, 675, 677.
Protestant, 129, 132, 178, 184, 199, 259, 412,

552, 580, 590.
Proverbs, Arabic, 30, 67, 642.
Prussia, Prussian, 443.
Psaltery, 394.
Ptolemies, Ptolemy, 24, 198, 435, 489, 535,

597, 622.

Quails, 636.

Quarantine, 48, 93.

Quarries, 45, III, 280, 2S2, 328, 341, 342,

344, 350, 455, 606.
Quince, 259, 575.

RA'AD, Beit, 287.

Rabbah, Rabbath, Rabbath-ammon, see 'Am-
man.

Rabbits, 275.

Rachel, 88, 90, 554.

Rahab, 54, 673.

Railroad, 49, 277.

Rain, 11, 12, 128, 133, 136, 177, 184, 186,
227, 238, 244, 257, 313, 440, 470, 497, 502,

503, 533> 643-
Raisins, see Vine, Vineyards.
Ramadan, 424.
Rameses II., 96, 299, 300.
Ramoth-gilead, 572, 591-593.
Ranunculus, 546.
Raphael, 510.
Raphana, 546.
Raphanea, 287, 288.

Ras el 'Ain, Ba'albek, 198, 319, 336, 337.
Ras Ba'albek, 310.
Ras Beirut, 41, 44, 106, 108, IIO.
Ras en Nakiirah, 108, no, 146.
Ras esh Shukah, 47, 108, 137, 254, 255.
Rasheiya, Rasheiyet el Wady, 157, 177, 476.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

"05

Raven, 238, 246, 261.

Raymond, Count of Toulouse, 275, 283.

Rebekah, S2, 2g8.

Red Sea, 419, 426, 53S, 573, 674, 676.

Reed, Reed-pen, 27, 62, 63, 105, 347, 372,

415, 473, 647, 670.
Refuge, city of, 211, 436, 591, 593.
Rehob, 296, 301.
Reiniun, er, 582.
Reindeer, 98.
Reland, Hadrian, 526.
Remaliah, 36S.

Remtheh, er, 545, 548, 549, 551.
Renan, E., M., 251-253, 281.
Rephaims, 534, 542, 664.
Resas, er, 501.
Reser\'oir, 92, 94, 106, 439, 440, 467, 49S,

503, 509, 513. 522, 523. 529. 530, 543. 599.

600, 606, 619, 637, 661.
Resin, 257, 292.
Reslan, Beit er, 209.
Reuben, 82, 83, 434, 535, 594, 601, 607, 636,

638, 643, 644, 662, 669, 672.
Rezin, 369.
Rezon, 365.

Riblah, Ribleh, 138, 297, 298, 302, 309, 311.
Rice, 75, 129, 286.
Richard Coeur de Lion, 89.
Rihan, er, 168, 173.
Rimmon, 379, 386.
Road, carriage, 43, 71, 120, 122, 123, 125,

126, 151, 186, 193. 195-197. 355. 356, 398.

399-

Road, Roman, 94-97, 430, 454. 481, 489. 497.
502, 505, 524, 533, 547-

Robbers, 22, 23, 54, 67, 133, 214, 215, 244,
257, 292, 304, 310, 344, 351, 365. 431. 436,
439, 445, 458, 466-468, 507, 556. 559, 595.
600, 601.

Roberts, David, R. A., 330.

Robertson, James, Professor, loi, 104.

Robinson, Edward, D.D., 9, 96, 224, 225,
259, 265, 297, 301. 304, 310, 338, 409, 580.

Robinson's Arch, II.

Rome, Roman, 9-11, 21, 26, 27, 46, 47, 51,
56, 94-97, 127, 144. 151, 204, 221, 245, 251,
253, 278, 279, 301, 309, 320, 329, 340, 341,
346, 350. 369. 372, 377. 380, 387, 388, 405,
407, 435, 436, 440, 449, 457, 460, 461, 470,
475, 476, 478, 480-482, 485, 486, 489, 490,

496-49S, 500-502. 505, 513,

525. 535. 53S. 539. 543. 544.
574, 581, 584. 594, 605. 607,
622, 637, 639, 66i.

Romanus, 526.

Rooks, see Crows.

Roses, 276, 346, 371, 390, 395,

Rousha, er, loS-iio.

Royal Asiatic Society, 442.

Rualla, er, Bedawin, 629, 635.

Ruins, 6, 22, 32, 47. 51-53, 92,
197, 198, 200, 203, 222-225,
251, 256, 257,263, 272, 275,
285, 288, 298, 301, 302, 310,
339-341. 343. 350, 352, 354.
415, 416, 431, 433, 436-442,
450.452.454,457,458, 461-
475. 477. 478, 481-488. 490.
529. 537. 544. 547. 551-553.
577. 580,582,584, 585.591.
604-620, 622-624, 627, 62S,
644, 650, 652, 656, 661-665.

Rvikhleh, 331.

Riimkin. er. 275.

Russia. Russian, 374.

Rustum, Pasha, 103, 122, 126,

Ruwad, er, 146, 274, 277-280,

Ruweiset el Hamrah. 186.

520, 521,
547. 54S.
60S, 612,

414.

524.

572-
620.

137

164

176.

241

-243.

250,

278.

2S1.

2S3-

312

314-

-337.

363.

379.

409.

445.

446,

449-

-464

468-

-471.

495-

522.

527-

556

559

-574.

594-

600,

602,

630-63 S.

643.

669, 670,

672.

151.

285.

SABB.A.TICAL River. 198. 2S7-289.

Sabeans, 57.

Sabirany, Nahr es, 430.

Sacrifice, 20, 21, 333, 367, 423. 5S6, 655. 656.

Saddle. Saddler, 372, 550, 623.

Sadus, 478.

Safah, es, 443.

Safed, 167, 586.

Safita, es. 285.

Sahil. es, 124-127.

Sahil Judeideh, 197.

Sahl Neba, 651.

Sahra, es, near Beirut, 42.

Sahra, es. near Damascus. 197, 355, 430.

Sahrazar and .Sahriyar, 371.

Sa'id el Muhdi, 207.

Saj, es, oven, 220, 221.

Saladin, Salah ed Din. 89, 2S0, 386, 476, 580.

Salcah, Salchah, see Siilkhad.

Salem. 535.

Salib, Nahr es, 226, 234.

7o6

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Salihiyeh, es, 359, 386, 395-397-

Salt, es, 424, 429, 552, 572, 579-581, 583-587.

589-593, 600, 601, 607, 615, 668, 669, 672.
Saltpetre, 439, 452, 469.
Samaria, 46, 116, 365-367, 369, 579, 581.
Samaritan, 598.
Samuel, 19, 55, 90, 394.
Sanballat, 64.
Sand-sea, 40-42, no.
Sandal, 82, 84.

Saodus, 490. *

Saracen, Saracenic, 48, 97, 144, 229, 246, 256,

275, 278, 283, 284, 309, 312, 321, 335, 341,

381, 383, 406, 409, 464, 513, 514, 522, 551,

580, 590, 661.
Sarah, 2g8.
Sarcophagus, 32, 33, 49, 132, 281, 320, 343,

350, 544. 559. 614. 640, 671.
Sarepta, 137.
S'as'a, es, 429, 430, 432.
Sassanian dynasty, 634.
Satan, 243, 434.
Saul, 55, 394, 403.
Schools, 47, 106, 107, 117, 123, 145, 175, 178,

199, 200, 230, 264, 277, 411, 456, 473, 479,

491, 494, 590.
Scotch, 264.
Sculpture, 281, 306-309, 320, 325, 330, 332,

333, 486, 519, 520, 527, 559, 567, 571, 580,

605, 606, 631-633, 635.
Scythes, 28.

Scythopolis, see Beisan.
Seal, Seal-ring, 64.
Seals, 108.

Sebaste, see Samaria.
Seetzen, U. J., 663.
Seil, see Cloud-burst.
Seil Jerash, 560, 561, 571, 584.
Seir, Duke, 648.

Seir, Land, Mountain, 534, 576, 656.
Selaema, 478.
Seleucia, 304.
Seleucidge, 278, 435, 535.
Selim I., Sultan, 97, 401.
Sellah, 538.
Seminary, see Schools.
Senir, 434.

Sennacherib, 96, 262, 369.
Serai, es, Kiinawat, 483-485.
Sergius, 519.

Seth, 204, 339, 343, 350.

Severus, Septimus, 340.

Sha'arah, 451-453.

Shahr, Barz, 634.

Sha'ishet el Kady, 275.

Shale, 201.

Shaphat, 368.

.Shaveh Kiriathaim, 534.

Shaving the head, 21, 71-73, 81, 84, 85, 620.

Sheba, 453.

Shechem, 212, 534, 554, 576, 579, 581, 591, 593.

Shechem, son of Hamor, 212.

Shediak, As'ad esh, 129, 259.

Shediak, Tannics esh, 476.

Shediak, Yusuf esh, 129.

Sheep, n, 25, 26, 82, 238, 249, 305, 465-467,

576, 622, 643, 645, 669.
Shefa Neba, 651.
Shehab, Beit, 129, 140, 156, 157, 172, 187,

231. 475-477-

Shehab, Emir Beshir, 27, 129, 139, 140, 156,
157, 161, 211, 256, 477.

Sheikh, 12, 74, 87, 88, 143, 153, 155, 159-162,
186, 187, 189, 191-193, 196, 204, 206, 209,
230, 231, 248, 256, 295, 312, 357, 388, 401,
433. 442. 454- 455. 461, 467, 469. 47i. 474.
494. 495. 499. 501, 502, 504, 505, 520, 530,
540, 541, 544, 548-550, 558. 559. 584. 593,
604-606, 629, 630, 635, 636, 641, 643, 645,
647, 650, 651, 665, 666, 670, 672.

Shem, 82, 84, 207, 364.

Shemlan, 122, 123, 133-135, 144, 147, 156,
166, 176, 185, 187, 190.

Shemustar, esh, 218.

Sher'aya, es, 452.

Sherbet, 126, 388.

Sheth, 656.

Shiloh, 19, 90.

Ships, see Boats.

Shittah, 672.

Shittim, see Abel-shittim.

Shoe, see under Manners and Customs, Gar-
ments and Sleeping.

Shoemakers, 379.

Shtora, 125, 197.

Shuf, Aklim esh, 159, 175, 209, 477.

Shuhba, esh, 440, 475-477.

Shuka, esh, 441.

Shukrah, esh, 457.

Shur, 536.

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

707

Shiirkiyeh, Bahret esh, 399.

Shuweifat, esh, 33, 35, 39, 42, 126, 132.

Si'a, 490.

Sidon, 5-9, 12, 13, 32, 44, no, in, 117, 136,

137, 139, 140, 144, 146, 151, 167, 172, 174,

179, 181, 216. 263. 274, 477, 481.
Sihon, 535, 5S4-5S6, 635, 636, 638, 639, 643,

661, 662.
Silk, Silk-worms, 27, 46, 48, 83, 84, 122, 124,

125, 171, 186, 193, 230, 277, 390, 412, 425.
Simekantyeh, es, 159.
Simeon, 88, 554.
Simon the tanner, 57.
Sinai, Mount, 179, 367, 630, 674.
Sindian, es, 575.
Singing, 392, 393.
Sinope, 433.
Sionita, Gabriel, 274.

Sir, es, 136, 138, 271, 277, 284-287, 289-291.
Sirocco, 217, 519, 521.
Sisters of Charity, 123.
Sit, Sittat, 19, 191-193, 474.
Smith, Eli, D.D., 459, 469, 575.
Snails, 627.
Snakes, 627.
Soada, 501.
Soap, 48, 132, 277.
Sodom, 534.

Sodom, apple of. see Osher,
Solomon, 69, 72, 116, 127, 128, 139, 181, 250,

262, 263, 266, 299, 365, 387, 414, 444,486,

553. 573. 579. 59i. 592. 621, 661.
Sop, the, 75.
Sozomen, 243.
Spain, Spaniards, 28, 32.
Sparrow, 59, 229.

Spies, 54, 296, 297, 299, 301, 534, C73.
Sponges, 277.

Springs, warm, 645, 647, 648, 650, 669, 670.
Squirrels, 1 13, 163, 290, 293.
Stables, 17, 19. 597, 598.
Stalactites, Stalagmites, 99-X04, 148,247,658.
Stanhope, Lady Hester, 13-18.
Stanley, A. P., Dean, 128, 136, 267, 358.
Statue. 316, 320, 323, 325, 333, 336. 341, 484,

490, 494-496, 565, 569, 606.
Stephanus, 46.
Stools, 60, 75-78.
Stork, 604, 623, 627.
Storm, 6, 9, 11, 12, 22, 107-110, 294, 296.

Story-teller, 393.

Strabo, 26, 46, 278.

Straw, see Chaff.

Succoth, 581.

Sudud, es, 296, 297.

Suez, Gulf of, 538.

Suez Canal, 426.

^^U 545. 549. 555. 556, 558, 559. 574. 582.

Sugar, Sugar-cane, 27, 28.

Svighbin, es, 17S.

Suk el Ghurb, 122, 147, 187, 189.

Siik Wady Barada, 348-352, 354.

Suleim, es, 440, 474, 475, 477-481.

Suleiman Pasha, 48.

Sulima, es, 194.

Sulkhad, 441, 455, 460, 490, 501-503, 506,
507. 515. 523. 524. 526-529, 604.

Sulphur, 194, 195, 201, 645, 647, 648, 670.

Sultan, 48, no, 140, 156, 161, 164, 191, 386,
401, 425, 477, 540.

.Siinamein, es, 430, 454.

Sunnin, see Jebel .Sunnin.

Surghaya, 346.

Suweideh, es, 440, 497-501, 504, 515.

Swallow, 108, 507.

Sweetmeats, 131.

.Swine, see Boar.

Sycamine, 114-I16.

Sycamore, 40, 45, 113-117, 160, 241, 245,
282, 352, 396.

Syenite, 242, 284, 323, 343.

Synagogue, 277, 387, 411.

Syria, .Syrian, 29, 42, 43, 45, 4S, 49, 54, 59,
83, 95, 115, 123, 125-127, 131. 140, 156.
i6r, 166, 172, 183. 192-194, 199, 205, 208,
222, 229, 236, 239, 243, 249, 251, 256, 271,
274-277, 287, 288, 299, 301, 304, 319, 329,
338, 340, 348. 357. 358, 360, 363-370. 379.
386, 391, 398, 399, 409, 412, 419, 420, 429.
435, 441, 445, 455. 477. 480, 4S1, 486, 504,
505, 511. 513, 516, 524, 526. 535. 53S, 539,
551. 575. 592. 622, 627, 638, 640.

Syria Dea, 487.

Syriac, 229, 230.

Syrian Protestant College, loi, 107.

Syrup, 131. 237.

Ta'arah, et, 470.
Tabor, 2 16, 579, 586.
Tablet, 394.

7o8

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Tabrimon, 365.

Tadmor, see Palmyra.

Taiyibeh, et, 539.

Talmud, 511, 592.

Tamar, 127.

Tamarisk, 179, 647.

Tambourine, 118, 391, 393.

Tammuz, 243, 245, 251.

Tamyrus, see Damiir, Nahr ed.

Tanner, Tannery, 107.

Tannuch, Beit, 209.

Tanniir, et, 219, 220.

Tanniirin el Foka, 137, 252, 253.

Tannurin et Tahta, 252-254, 256.

Tantura, et, 285.

Tar, 256, 264, 292.

Tarabulus esh Sham, see Tripoli.

Taro-plant, 149,

Tarsus, 410.

Tartar, 341.

Tartus, 279, 280, 285.

Tattooing, 23, 24.

Taurah, Nahr et, 395, 398.

Taurus, 24.

Tax, Taxation, 173, 443, 455.

Tekitty, et, 582.

Tekiyeh, et, 400, 401.

Tell el 'Amarah, 446.

Tell 'Arka, 282-284, 2S8.

Tell 'Ashtarah, 524, 534, 542, 543, 546.

Tell Deir 'Alia, 581.

Tell Ektami, 669-671.

Tell el Hammam, 667, 669-672.

Tell Keshan, 661.

Tell Husn, 551.

Tell Jaudat, 670.

Tell Kefrein, 669, 671-675.

Tell Kerak, 541, 543.

Tell el Khalediyeh, 441.

Tell Kusweh, 453, 455.

Tell Neby Mindau, 301.

Tell Nimrin, 586, 662, 668, 669, 672.

Tell er Rameh, 669-671.

Tell esh Shaghur, 669.

Tell Sumeid, 446.

Tell es Suweimeh, 668, 669, 674.

Tellul edh Dhahab, 577.

Tellul es Siifa, 359.

Telthatha, 176.

Tema, 453.

Temple, 47, 51-53, 128, 137, 164, 171, 176,
197, 198, 203, 204, 222-225, 241-245, 251,
2S0-2S3, 300, 312-316, 318-337, 350, 351,
354. 370, 380. 386, 431, 437, 441. 443. 445,
449- 450-452. 454. 455. 463. 470, 47i, 475,
477-480, 485-48S, 490, 494-496, 498-500,
508, 516-518, 521, 524, 542, 559- 562, 563,
567-569, 571, 573, 605, 606, 609, 615-617,
637, 63S, 652, 656, 661.

Temple, Jerusalem, 57, 69, 71, 128, 181, 243,
250, 262-264, 369, 387.

Tents, II, 19, 22, 24, 25, 123, 135, 153, 166,
168, 174, 176, 181-1S3, 196, 201-203, 214-
216, 222, 225, 227, 241, 242, 244, 249, 253.
285, 286, 291, 293, 294, 312, 316, 347, 360,
367, 395, 417. 433. 443, 456, 466, 469, 482,
483, 488, 489, 502, 506, 507, 512, 518, 521,
522, 536, 538, 540, 545, 550, 556, 578, 584,
585, 587, 603, 608, 623, 629, 642, 645, 650,
654, 658, 666, 673, 674, 676.

Terebinth, 282, 295, 471, 472, 502, 555, 578,
594, 596, 601, 604, 605.

Terraces, 44, 46, 47, 51, 132, 136, 142, 144-
147, 153, 159, 179, 182, 189, 190, 200, 235.
242, 247, 25S-260, 274, 441, 496, 529, 590,
654, 667.

Theatre, 46, 47, 369, 470, 471, 475, 482, 500,
513, 514, 524, 560, 563, 574, 608, 613, 614,
623.

Thebes, 363.

Theodosius the Great, 258.

Theoprosopon, see Ras esh Shukah.

Thistle, see Thorns.

Thorns, 2S-31, 164, 250, 261, 263, 264,
285, 431, 452, 484, 528.

Thrush, 5S5.

Thugrat Bab Mari'a, 176.

Tiberias, Lake, 432, 436, 474, 480, 481,
546, 548, 579, 586, 652.

Tiberius Claudius, 198, 224, 445.

Tibny, in the Hauran, 453, 457.

Tiglath-pileser, 36S.

Tigris, 535.

Timbek, 79, 396.

Titus, Arch of, 56.

Titus, Emperor, 47, 56, 2S2, 283, 287.

Tobacco, 9, 60, 79, 80, 126, 165, 168, 173,
208, 238, 248, 259, 261, 277, 285, 286, 373,

375, 387, 392, 399- 424. 472, 491. 584. 637-
Toi, 339.

282,

540,

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

709

Tombs, rock-cut, 32, 132, 144, 204, 225, 251,
281, 311, 316, 344, 350, 551, 595, 606, 614,
640.

Tophel, see Tufileh, at.

Tortosa, see Tartus.

Tower, 222, 224, 252, 275, 279, 29S, 302, 320,
321, 329, 335, 372, 384, 409, 432, 441, 452,
454, 457, 462, 463, 471, 483, 501, 505, 510,
5i3> 515. 521, 529. 544. 548, 553. 560. 576,
577. 579. 580, 591. 592, 594. 607, 609, 611,
616, 622, 630-632, 637.

Tracon, Trachonitis, see Lejah, el.

Tradition, 97, 204, 206, 356-359, 364, 384,
406, 410, 413, 417, 433, 467. 468, 476, 500,
505. 517-519. 526, 586, 591, 658.

Trajan, Emperor, 340, 500, 502, 524, 561.

Tray, 75-78, 80, 286, 372, 373. 651, 671.

Treasure, hid, 252, 440, 458, 644.

Trevoux, 496.

Trilithon, 328.

Tripoli, 136-140, 145, 146, 151, 198, 255,
272-277, 280, 282, 283, 285, 288, 290, 356,

473-
Tristram, H. B., Canon, 98, 265, 395, 552,

559. 597. 617. 634, 644, 658, 667, 669, 672.
Troglodytes, 664.
Troy, Trojans, 7.
Tryphon, 46, 285.
Tubban, et, 293.
Tiibukat Faliil, see Pella.
Tufileh, et, 523.
Tul'at es Sufa, 659.
Tulhuk, Beit, sheikhs, 143, 189-192, 209,

469.
Tunnel, 50, 94, 106, 228, 284, 350, 355, 647.
Turk, Turkish, 48, 49, 84, 139, 154, 155, 157,

161, 162, 165, 184, 191, 192, 194, 208, 209,

257, 268, 274, 278, 283, 284, 295, 329, 341,

344, 358, 406, 407, 412, 415, 426, 443, 444.

477. 493. 504. 513. 540, 549. 590. 591. 664.
Tyche, 455.
Tydeus, 290, 291.
Tyre, 22, 51, 146, 151, 171, 181, 216, 263,

274, 278, 279, 346, 369, 481, 628.
Tyre, see 'Arak el Emir.
Tyre, Ladder of, io8, no, 146, 579.
Tyropoeon, 11.

Um Hathir, 670.
Um el Jauzeh, 582.

Um el Jemal, 506-512, 515, 523, 529.

Um Keis, see Gadara.

Um el Khanzir, 555.

Um ez Zeitiin, 440.

Ur, 364, 414.

Uriah, 55.

Uriel, 510.

Urijah, 369, 3S0.

Usury, 208.

Uz, 37, 287,364.445, 519, 520.

Valeria.n, 340.

Van de Velde, C. W. M., Lieutenant, 295,
302, 303, 356.

Van Dyck, C. V. A., M.D., D.D.. 167.

Varro, 445.

Veil, see under Manners and Customs, Gar-
ments and Sleeping.

Velvet, 83.

Venus, 137, 241-245, 251, 340, 341.

Verus, L. A., 349, 450.

Vespasian, 127, 282, 572, 579.

\^exillarii, 510.

Vine, Vineyards, 36, 46, 54, 57, 58, 116, 132,
133, 142, 145, 147, 150, 159, 168, 171, 179,
182, 186, 187, 190, 199, 200, 235-237, 247,
259, 260, 274, 290, 311, 339, 346-348, 351,
352. 469, 484, 590, 631, 632.

Viol, Violin, 392, 394.

Virgin Mary, the, 230, 411.

Vogiie, de. Count, 476, 498.

Volcano, Volcanic, 136, 160, 169, 173, 234,
284, 291, 346, 358, 359, 428, 431, 43<>. 441.
443, 452, 457, 462, 464, 465, 470, 501-503,

506. 527. 533. 540-
Volney, C. F., 229.
Vultures, 221, 238, 246, 667.

Waddington, W. IL, 441, 457, 4(m), 461.
463, 468, 476, 478, 489, 490, 496, 498, 500-
502. 506, 510, 515. 519. 541. 544-

Wady 'Ain Zalialtch, 183.

W.ady el 'Ajani, Aklim, 42S, 429, 431, 435.

Wady 'Ajlun, 546, 576, 577, 581, 5S6.

Wady 'Allan, 546, 547.

Wady el 'Ayun, 293, 294.

Wady '.Ayiin Musa, 668, 669.

Wady Barbar, 430.

Wady Biskinla, 218. 22i.

Wady ed Deir, 556, 559, 560.

yio

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

Wady ed Duweir, 254.

Wady Farah, 293.

Wady Fari'a, 581.

Wady Fedar, 250.

Wady Fikeh, 311, 313.

Wady el Fureidis, 182, 183.

Wady el Ghabiin, 185, 187.

Wady el Haddadeh, 607, 611, 616, 619.

Wady el Harir, 197.

Wady Hasrun, 259.

Wady Hesban, 655, 665-667, 669.

Wady Hummana, 193, 194.

Wady el Jauzeh, 254, 255.

Wady Jeidur, 593.

Wady Jenneh, 580.

Wady Jerifeh, 669.

Wady el Kadisha, 257-261, 265, 272, 273.

Wady Kefrein, 669-671.

Wady Kiinawat, 474, 482, 483, 490.

Wady el Kurn, 197.

Wady el Leben, 227, 22S.

Wady Lebweh, 293, 311.

Wady Liwa, 439.

iVady Mahneh, 553.

Wady el Mugheiyireh, 246.

Wady el Muneitirah, 246.

Wady Nimreh, 439, 475.

Wady es Salib, 224, 226.

Wady es Seir, 594-596, 599- 601.

Wady Sha'ib, 600, 601, 669.

Wady Shahrur, 131, 190.

Wady Shebruh, 234.

Wady Shib'a, 431.

Wady Siry, 292.

Wady es Sufa, 183, 184.

Wady Tannurin, 253-256.

Wady et Teim, 156, 157, 175, 176, 205, 477.

Wady Yabis, 547.

Wady Zeidy, 505.

Wady ez Zerka, 586 ; see, also, Jabbok.

Wady ez Zerka Ma'in, 643, 645-647, 650.

Wahabi, 505.

Walnut, 159, 160, 163, 166, 167, 171, 173,
181, 182, 235, 241, 244, 247, 259, 260, 272,
274, 284, 289, 290, 294, 295, 319, 346, 352,
353- 357-360, 395, 415. 575-

War, 250, 452.

War, Civil, ig, 20, 140, 143, 145, 150, 153-
I55> 159. 162, 164, 171, 175, 186, 187, 191-
194, 201, 206, 209, 216, 244, 343, 345, 477.

Warren, C, Captain, R.E., 582, 595, 601,
602, 663, 672.

Washing the hands, 78, 79, 286.

Water-wheel, see Na'urah, en.

Weir, 105, 226.

Well, see Cisterns.

West Indies, 28.

West, Western, see Occident, Occidental.

Wetr, el, 505.

Wetzstein, J. G., Dr., 443, 544.

Whale, 21, 22.

Wheat, 29, 54, 75, 94, 135, 218, 220, 227, 234,
235, 259-261, 290, 291, 298, 302, 310-312,
336, 338, 346, 457. 458, 467. 478, 500, 533,
540, 545, 546, 550, 556, 585, 590, 594, 601,
606, 623, 628, 629, 636, 639, 641, 642, 644,
645, 666, 671.

Wilderness of the Wandering, 29, 179, 220,
454, 630, 674.

W^ilkinson, J. G., Sir, 95.

William of Tyre, 500, 573.

Willow, 346, 352, 358, 396.

Wilson's Arch, 11.

Wine, 208, 235-237, 388.

Wine-press, 247.

Wolf, 97, 169, 215, 216, 271, 282, 457, 651.

Wool, Woollen, 83, 84, 590.

Writing and Writing Materials, 61-64, 88.

Wuld, or Wulid 'Aly, 436, 549, 550, 642.

Yabis, Nahr el, 44, 45.

Yahfufeh, Nahr, 344, 346.

Yajuz, 603-607.

Yathreb, 420, 421.

Yemmuneh, el, 272, 292, 313-315.

Yew, 263.

Yezid, Nahr el, 397, 398.

Yusuf Pasha, 521.

Zaccheus, 113.

Zacharias, 435.

Zaherany, Nahr ez, 137, 167, 168.

Zahleh, 138, 175, 198-201, 204, 318, 338, 343.

Zebdin, ez, 415.

Zebedany, ez, 197, 347, 348, 352.

Zebeideh, Sit, 51.

Zechariah, 369.

Zedad, see Siidud.

Zedekiah, 297, 298.

Zeidy, Nahr ez, 537, 539-541. 546-

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

I 1

Zemzem, well at Mecca, 69, 420.

Zenobia, 355, 498, 539.

Zenodorus, 445, 496.

Zerka Main, Nahr ez, 623, 641, 643-647,

650.
Zerka, Nahr ez, see Jabbok.
Zerubbabel, 262, 266.
Zibeon, 64S.
Zin, 296.
Zion, 413.
Zippor, 655.

Ziza, 637.

Zoan, 116.

Zoar, 653, 662, 669.

Zobah, 364, 365.

Zophim, field of, 655, 659.

Zorava, 460.

Zoroaster, 207.

Zugbar, ez, 436.

Zugharta, ez, 274.

Ziik Miisbah, 235.

Zuzims, .534, 535.

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